Welcome to the 2008-2009 Season

Alright, for all of you returning to my site...thanks for the continuing support. For all those new to my site, Welcome!

This year I won't be picking preseason match ups, but have no fear. I will be giving my position on the regular season games. Stay tuned and 'Let's Get Ready for some Football!!!!'

Week 4 Updates

Well, it looks like Rex Grossman will officially be benched this week as Brian Griese takes the starting position going into Detroit. My opinion on this is that it only increases my confidence that the Bears will emerge victorious because right now, ANYTHING is better than Grossman.

Also, Steven Jackson is officially out for the Rams. That's just driving the nail home into the coffin as St. Louis travels to Dallas to face the Cowboys this week. Both of these updates only improve the confidence of my current picks for these games.

AFC 2007-2008 Division Predictions

The roar of the crowd, cold cracks of the beer, fans represent loud cause football is here! Or at least it will be within a few days! So before everyone leaves indentations in their recliners and become fixated to their television screens all Sunday afternoon, the arguable debate of division leaders must not be denied. Who do you have going into the playoffs this year?

AFC WEST

The Raiders continue to struggle on the offensive side of the ball as JaMarcus Russell continues to hold out and the questionable Daunte Culpepper is brought in as plan B. Either way, the Raiders don’t stand a chance of rising to the top of the Western Division this year. The true battle for this top slot is going to be fought between Broncos and Bolts as Denver looks to get back on top over the Chargers. This shouldn’t be an easy task, but after the loss of Marty Schottenheimer, the Chargers will lose their coaching edge. Norv Turner is going to lose in a match up of wits with Mike Shanahan.

1) Denver Broncos

2) San Diego Chargers

3) Kansas City Chiefs

4) Oakland Raiders

AFC EAST

For all the Patriot haters around the NFL, this probably won’t be the year you get to watch them decline into nothing. With several strong off-season moves, they should continue to be a dominating force in the AFC, much less the AFC East. The Jets will continue to win games as they struggle to overthrow the Patriots rein over the East. The team to improve this year will be Miami, as Cam Cameron proves he is capable of running with the big boys.

1) New England Patriots

2) New York Jets

3) Miami Dolphins

4) Buffalo Bills

AFC NORTH

The big battle in the North is going to be for the second place and a wild card slot come the end of the season. The Ravens stifling defense should continue to rank Baltimore on top of this division. That leaves the Steelers and Bengals to slug out for the number two slot. Given that Ben Roethlisberger can keep himself healthy this season, the edge should fall to the Steelers.

1) Baltimore Ravens

2) Pittsburgh Steelers

3) Cincinnati Bengals

4) Cleveland Browns

AFC SOUTH

The question in the South is: can the defending Super Bowl Champs remain on top? Several predictions are going to show the Colts at number one this year, and several others with show them fall. The guess is whether or not anyone thinks they can put a repeat for back-to-back Super Bowls. Vince Young and the Titans should be set to keep themselves in the running as they wash their hands of “Pacman” Jones. The Jaguars look as if they will continue to hold a strong defense. So once again, the Texans are left to scrape the bottom of the barrel.

1) Indianapolis Colts

2) Tennessee Titans

3) Jacksonville Jaguars

4) Houston Texans

That concludes this year’s 2007-2008 AFC predictions. The season is around the bend, and as the clock continues to count down, all NFL fans must ask themselves…”Are you ready for some Football?”

NFC 2007-2008 Division Predictions

With preseason only days away and countdowns ticking away the hours every where you look, it’s only natural that predictions begin to surface everywhere. Who will be this year’s team to beat? Who will be the team for everyone to beat? And, of course, who will be this years division leaders going into the playoffs?

NFC EAST

Last years Washington Redskins came in last in the division with an awful 5-11 record that was just a display of their trials and tribulations throughout the year. This year may not prove to be any better, as the team is already experiencing some notable injuries including Santana Moss and Clinton Portis. The New York Giants bested Washington with an 8-8 record to place 3^rd, but their loss of Tiki Barber and continuing woes revolving around Tom Coughlin will probably keep these two teams in a battle to stay out of last place. This leaves the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles to battle for the number one slot in the NFC East. Given the loss of Bill Parcells in Dallas, the NFC East ranks as follows:

1) Philadelphia Eagles

2) Dallas Cowboys

3) New York Giants

4) Washington Redskins

NFC NORTH

This is probably the easiest division for picking a winner in the entire NFL this year. There is no contest, hands down that the Chicago Bears will continue to own this division this year. The only question to be asked is in what order does the other three get ranked in? Jon Kitna, of the Detroit Lions, has actually gone on record guaranteeing a 10+ win season for the Lions this year. As laughable as that may be, an improvement should be a very likely prediction for a team that finished 3-13 last year. However, much improvement isn’t seen in Green Bay after an 8-8 season that ranked them 2^nd in their division last year. With an ageing QB in Brett Favre and no foreseeable hope for a championship, this team is set to struggle through another year. All in all, ranking for the NFC North will be:

1) Chicago Bears

2) Minnesota Vikings

3) Green Bay Packers

4) Detroit Lions

NFC SOUTH

With the impressive season displayed by the Saints last year, there seems to be no indication that they will be unable to repeat this process. With the return of Drew Brees, Deuce McAllister, Reggie Bush, and Marques Colston, there high powered offense should be set to run up a few scoreboards. The noticeable changes to this division this year will come at the hands of the Buccaneers and Falcons. Expect Tampa to rebound from last year to give Carolina a run for their money. The Falcons are going to have their down and out year this season as Michael Vick brings turmoil to the Atlanta club and Bobby Petrino wishes he had held on to Matt Schaub. It looks as if Joey Harrington is left to take up the starting quarterback job.

1) New Orleans Saints

2) Carolina Panthers

3) Tampa Bay Buccaneers

4) Atlanta Falcons

NFC WEST

Despite all the talent in Arizona, that franchise has got a curse hanging over it’s head and can’t be considered a contender until they break it. That doesn’t mean they can’t win a few games and create an upset. The NFC West is simply going to be a tough division to win this year. The Seahawks pulled off the number one slot last years through numerous injuries, but will be starting off this season with starters Matt Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander off the injury reports. The Rams broke even last year, but will be looking to improve upon that record. However, the team to be watching in this division this year will be the 49ers. There’s improvement in this club and they are looking to rise up in the rankings.

1) Seattle Seahawks

2) San Francisco 49ers

3) St. Louis Rams

4) Arizona Cardinals

That wraps the NFC 2007-2008 predictions. With the season staring it’s fans the face, they can only wait and see who truly will be this years division leaders.

Playoff scenario breakdown

The Playoff race isn’t quite over just yet, and several teams are still clinging to a playoff spot while others are hoping to take it away on Week 17, the last week of the regular season. So who’s locked? Who’s not? Who’s holding on? Who’s holding to hope? Here’s the rundown.

AFC East
New England Patriots have clinched the AFC East DivisionNew York Jets can clinch a playoff berth with:
-A win or Tie OR
-A Cincinnati loss or tie and Jacksonville loss or tie OR
-A Cincinnati loss or tie and a Tennessee win OR
-A Denver loss and a Jacksonville loss

AFC North
Baltimore Ravens have clinched the AFC North Division and can clinch homefield advantage with:
-A win and San Diego loss
They can clinch a first-round bye with:
-A win or tie OR
-An Indianapolis loss or tie
Cincinnati Bengals can clinch a playoff berth with:
-A win and a N. Y. Jets loss OR
-A win and a Denver loss and a Kansas City win

AFC South
Indianapolis Colts have clinched the AFC South Division and can clinch a first-round bye with:
-A win and a Baltimore loss
Tennessee Titans can clinch a playoff berth with:
-A win and a Cincinnati loss or tie and a Denver loss and a Kansas City win
Jacksonville Jaguars can clinch a playoff berth with:
-A win and a N.Y. Jets loss and a Cincinnati loss or tie and a Tennessee loss or tie

AFC West
San Diego Chargers have clinched the AFC West Division and a first-round bye and can clinch homefield advantage with:
-A win or tie OR
-A Baltimore loss or tie
Denver Broncos can clinch a playoff berth with:
-A win or tie OR
-A Kansas City loss or tie
Kansas City Chiefs can clinch a playoff berth with:
-A win and a Cincinnati loss or tie and a Denver loss and a Tennessee loss or tie

NFC East
Dallas Cowboys have clinched a playoff berth and can clinch the NFC East title with:
-A win and a Philadelphia loss OR
-A tie and a Philadelphia loss
Philadelphia Eagles have clinched a playoff berth and can clinch the NFC East Division with:
-A win OR
-A Dallas loss OR
-A tie and a Dallas tie
New York Giants can clinch a playoff berth with:
-A win and a strength-of-victory tiebreaker over Green Bay OR
-A win and a Green Bay loss or tie OR
-A tie and a Green Bay loss or tie and a St. Louis loss or tie and an Atlanta loss or tie and a Carolina loss or tie OR
-A Green Bay loss and a St. Louis loss and an Atlanta loss and a Carolina loss

NFC North
Chicago Bears have clinched the NFC North Division, a 1st round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs
Green Bay Packers can clinch a playoff berth with:
-A win and a N.Y. Giants win and a clinch of strength-of-victory tiebreaker over the N.Y. Giants OR
-A win and a N.Y. Giants loss or tie and a St. Louis loss or tie OR
-A win and a N.Y. Giants loss or tie and a Carolina win OR
-A win and a N.Y. Giants loss or tie and an Atlanta win OR
-A tie and a N.Y. Giants loss and a St. Louis loss or tie and a Carolina loss or tie

NFC South
New Orleans Saints has clinched the NFC South Division and a first-round bye.
Carolina Panthers can clinch a playoff berth with:
-A win and a N.Y. Giants loss or tie and a Green Bay loss or tie OR
-A tie and a N.Y. Giants loss and a Green Bay loss and a St. Louis loss or tie and an Atlanta loss or tie
Atlanta Falcons can clinch a playoff berth with:
-A win and a Carolina loss or tie and a Green Bay loss or tie and a St. Louis loss or tie OR
-A tie and a Carolina loss and a Green Bay loss and a N.Y. Giants loss and a St. Louis loss

NFC West
Seattle Seahawks have clinched the NFC West division title.
St. Louis Rams can clinch a playoff berth with:
-A win and a N.Y. Giants loss or tie and a Carolina loss or tie and an Atlanta loss or tie OR
-A tie and a N.Y. Giants loss and a Carolina loss and an Atlanta loss and a Green Bay loss.

Good Luck and Have a Happy New Year!

Silver Dragon

Week 14 Conclusion

I had a decent week in #14 at both straight up and against the spread. My Week 14 Straight up picks finished 11-5. My Week 14 Against the Spread picks finished 10-6.