1-3.
Yeah, that one has gotta hurt. With the same intuition that I exhibited in my preseason super bowl pick of the Cowboys (hah) and the Browns (urgh), I appear to have doomed the seasons of the fair Colts, Vikings, and Falcons.
In my defense, had I actually spent time researching the matchups and actually doing work on the picks, I probably could have gone 2-2.
Anyhoo, with as much foresight and skill exhibited in my previous week, here are my divisional round picks.
NFC
New York over Philadelphia
I have to go with the Defending champions on this one. The Eagles showed they could win on the road at the Vikings, but it was Tavaris Johnson after all. The Super Bowl road in the NFC will go through the Meadowlands.
Carolina over Arizona
You lousy redbirds picked a fine time to actually show up. Where were you against Minnesota, when the Conundrums of the Midway needed you to bolster their playoff hopes? So you beat Matt Ryan, eh? The Bears almost did that as well, if Robbie Gould could have kicked a squib kick, or the defense could have kept the reciever in bounds. Oh well, enough bitching. The Boringest Show on Turf continues on to face the New York Giants.
AFC
Baltimore over Tennessee
Of my picks, this is probably my least confident one (which means it will probably be the lone one to pay off). Tennessee looks vulnerable, one of those unpleasant #1 seeds that always seem to get picked off in the divisional round. Granted, one of those teams (2006 Bears) made it all the way to the Super Bowl, but they almost blew it against Seattle. However, the very fact they look so vulnerable has me second-guessing myself in this crazy NFL world.
Pittsburgh over San Diego
My confidence level for this game is about 50% lower is Rothlisberger isn't starting in Pittsburgh. Still, even without him, I can't see the Chargers making it to a second straight AFC championship. However, the prospect of an 8-8 team making the Super Bowl is an intriguing thought. Its like the mediocrity of the 2008 NFL season has come alive, and is tangibly trying to prove its title as most mediocre season ever.
NFL 2009! Catch the Fever. Or Don't.
Showing posts with label football. Show all posts
Showing posts with label football. Show all posts
Monday, January 5, 2009
Monday, December 29, 2008
Bears Post-Mortem 2008
I apologize for the rapid fire of posts (has it really been over 2.5 months since I posted here?), but I have to get my thoughts out about the latest edition of the Chicago Bears.
Simply put, it was a thoroughly frustrating, yet somewhat entertaining season. They finished about where I thought they would (somewhere between 7-9 and 9-7), but did so in a thoroughly inconsistent way. Looking at the season at it's end, it really isn't that different than last year. The offense was a little better, the defense was significantly worse, and the Devin Hester show became the Danieal Manning Show. All in all, it was a pretty mediocre season. And yet, they were 8 points away from making the playoffs.
So where do the Bears go from here? The defense is getting older, and former key pieces of the puzzle like Brian Urlacher, Tommie Harris, and Mike Brown aren't what they once were. Maybe they can pick up a good (or at least solid) defensive tackle, another solid linebacker, and a decent safety in free agency or the draft.
On the other side of the ball, the much maligned offense did nothing but raise more questions. Orton showed some signs of competence, but also showed some signs that he isn't the answer. The Bears appear to have found a top back in Matt Forte, but he can't be expected to carry the offense year after year. Unfortunately, Greg Olson appears to be just a good, rather than a great, pass catching tight end. Given the weakness of the Bears wide receiver corps, that is yet another reason to be pessimistic for next season.
In the end, its far too early to make any observations on how the Bears will do in 2009. The Atlanta Falcons and Miami Dolphins showed how quick things can change in a season. Until the Bears make their moves in the off-season, I'll stay in a wait and see mode.
The days of football are numbered for another season, and it is time for us who follow sports to move to college basketball, which is just getting ready to begin conference season. And don't forget that pitchers and catchers report in about two months.
At least I'm not a Lions fan.
Quick Playoff Predictions
Wildcard Round
Indianapolis over San Diego
Baltimore over Miami
Minnesota over Philadelphia
Atlanta over Arizona
Divisional Round
Pittsburgh over Indianapolis
Baltimore over Tennessee
New York over Atlanta
Carolina over Minnesota
Conference Championship Round
Pittsburgh over Baltimore
New York over Carolina
Super Bowl
New York over Pittsburgh
Simply put, it was a thoroughly frustrating, yet somewhat entertaining season. They finished about where I thought they would (somewhere between 7-9 and 9-7), but did so in a thoroughly inconsistent way. Looking at the season at it's end, it really isn't that different than last year. The offense was a little better, the defense was significantly worse, and the Devin Hester show became the Danieal Manning Show. All in all, it was a pretty mediocre season. And yet, they were 8 points away from making the playoffs.
So where do the Bears go from here? The defense is getting older, and former key pieces of the puzzle like Brian Urlacher, Tommie Harris, and Mike Brown aren't what they once were. Maybe they can pick up a good (or at least solid) defensive tackle, another solid linebacker, and a decent safety in free agency or the draft.
On the other side of the ball, the much maligned offense did nothing but raise more questions. Orton showed some signs of competence, but also showed some signs that he isn't the answer. The Bears appear to have found a top back in Matt Forte, but he can't be expected to carry the offense year after year. Unfortunately, Greg Olson appears to be just a good, rather than a great, pass catching tight end. Given the weakness of the Bears wide receiver corps, that is yet another reason to be pessimistic for next season.
In the end, its far too early to make any observations on how the Bears will do in 2009. The Atlanta Falcons and Miami Dolphins showed how quick things can change in a season. Until the Bears make their moves in the off-season, I'll stay in a wait and see mode.
The days of football are numbered for another season, and it is time for us who follow sports to move to college basketball, which is just getting ready to begin conference season. And don't forget that pitchers and catchers report in about two months.
At least I'm not a Lions fan.
Quick Playoff Predictions
Wildcard Round
Indianapolis over San Diego
Baltimore over Miami
Minnesota over Philadelphia
Atlanta over Arizona
Divisional Round
Pittsburgh over Indianapolis
Baltimore over Tennessee
New York over Atlanta
Carolina over Minnesota
Conference Championship Round
Pittsburgh over Baltimore
New York over Carolina
Super Bowl
New York over Pittsburgh
Friday, June 29, 2007
NFL Europe : 1991-2007
Quo Vadimus is sad to see that the NFL Europe is no more. Well not sad really, more like mildly disappointed. I remember the heady days of 1991, when it was known as the World League of American Football, and the cool (read: horrible monstrosities of the early 90's) logos graced those awesome Pro Set cards. You can have your "classic" Bears and Packers designs, I'll stick with the Orlando Thunder, thank you very much. That logo just screams football.
Of course, those days are long gone. As of its last season, the league was exclusively a European league, where NFL teams sent their rough prospects to develop. Unfortunately for the league, there weren't enough prospects who developed into stars. For every Kurt Warner, there were many more players like Henry Burris.
This is most assuredly a blow to the reputation of American football abroad. The sport was starting to gain a following in Germany, and there is some interest elsewhere (as shown by the sellout of the game in London). However, without a constant presence of the sport, will it continue to grow in Europe?
Only the passage of time can give us that answer. Until then, we'll just have to do with the great memories of the World Bowl, the awesome uniforms, and...well, not much else.
Of course, those days are long gone. As of its last season, the league was exclusively a European league, where NFL teams sent their rough prospects to develop. Unfortunately for the league, there weren't enough prospects who developed into stars. For every Kurt Warner, there were many more players like Henry Burris.
This is most assuredly a blow to the reputation of American football abroad. The sport was starting to gain a following in Germany, and there is some interest elsewhere (as shown by the sellout of the game in London). However, without a constant presence of the sport, will it continue to grow in Europe?
Only the passage of time can give us that answer. Until then, we'll just have to do with the great memories of the World Bowl, the awesome uniforms, and...well, not much else.
Monday, June 25, 2007
The Decommissioned Tank: Bears cut Johnson
Well, the Tank Johnson era is done in Chicago. Honestly, it was the right move. The team bent itself backwards for him, and stuck its neck out last year after his troubles with the law. What did he do to repay the team? He got in a car while drunk, and chose to piss away his career. Nobody said that football players were hired for their responsible decision-making skills.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Bears schedule is out
The NFL has announced the 2007 regular season schedule, and I am rather happy about it. Looks like they are scheduled for several prime-time and late afternoon games, which drastically increases the chance of me being able to watch their games. The Chargers game is the week one FOX headliner game. The next week, it appears they will be playing the Chiefs in the CBS late game. And in week three, they host Dallas in the NBC game.
As a Bear's fan, I instinctively get wary when so many of their games are in the national spot light. However, two straight years of success, including a large level of success in prime time games last year (Green Bay in week 17 does not count), gives reason not to be worried.
The revelation of the schedule does not alleviate the fact that we still have until September before the games start. Oh well, at least there is baseball to occupy the time.
As a Bear's fan, I instinctively get wary when so many of their games are in the national spot light. However, two straight years of success, including a large level of success in prime time games last year (Green Bay in week 17 does not count), gives reason not to be worried.
The revelation of the schedule does not alleviate the fact that we still have until September before the games start. Oh well, at least there is baseball to occupy the time.
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