The Sports Fist

August has come and we are anxiously awaiting the start of the NFL season. Preseason football is about the closest thing we have right now, so we will just have to wait a bit more for that competitive Sunday drive we crave so much. On the other hand, the NFL no longer has an off-season with all of the drama that comes with the time between the Super Bowl and Kickoff Weekend. Jason Taylor to the Redskins, Jeremy Shockey finally getting out of New York for The Big Easy, Pacman ( oh wait, it’s just Adam now right? Or is it back to Pacman?) Jones arriving in Big-D, and Steve Smith punching out one of his own guys. Am I forgetting anything? Oh, that’s right, the big cheese Brett Favre and the Green Bay conundrum. Thankfully, we do not have to wait much longer and everything is going to be played on the field, we hope. Here are my facts, insights, and predictions on the upcoming season.

AFC-

East-

New England Patriots- (13-3) The Pats have already forgotten about the Super Bowl, it is just their way. They will start the season out strong with four games against teams with losing records from last year, however, the Jets may give them a better game then either of the two they gave them last season. Tom Brady will only continue from his record breaking 50 TD year, but expect Wes Welker to get a few more TD’s this season since Bellichick has had plenty of time to scheme up a new way to get into the end zone besides using the Moss factor. Pats get another AFC East title.

New York Jets- (10-6) The Jets have made tons of moves to improve themselves. Vernon Gholston was a solid draft choice for a defense that needed a lot of help. 11-year veteran Alan Faneca will add guidance and depth to the offensive line giving better protection to… Brett Favre!. The addition of Favre is huge to this teams confidence. Just having him behind center will give them the belief in once again winning. Although Favre will have to learn new things, and learn quickly, he has proven himself to be a winner. I had the Jets being improved at 8-8 before Favre, now with him, they easily get 2 more wins just from his performances.

Buffalo Bills- (8-8) The Bills have been mediocre for years. They may have something in young QB Trent Edwards, so long as the Bills stick with him and do not have a QB by committee system again. A bit of turbulence for the squad with the Marshawn Lynch incident, however, the NFL has said they will not punish lynch which is a good thing since he is the best chance this team really has to produce on offense. It will be another streaky season for the Bills.

Miami Dolphins- (4-12) Miami picked up OT Jake Long in the draft, he has the potential to be a number one lineman in the league. Unfortunately for the Dolphins, Long isn’t able to stop all on coming traffic for their QB’s. I eventually think Chad Henne will be the starter at one point in Miami seeing as they really will have no other choice down the road, having yet another difficult season. Also, it will be interesting to see how Ronnie Brown performs after his injury; perhaps the enigmatic Ricky Williams can shoulder some of the load. One last point, Ted Ginn Jr. needs to have a break out year, other wise, the decision of not taking Brady Quinn two years ago could haunt them for a while.

West-

San Diego Chargers- (11-5) When we last saw the Chargers they were walking off of the field at Gillette Stadium after they lost to New England in the AFC championship. A major advancement in this team that can be taken from that game, as well as the playoffs last year as a whole, was how gutsy Phillip Rivers was. That will go a long way this year as they try to win a Super Bowl before their window of opportunity shuts. They also had a very good draft, picking up Antoine Cason to bolster their secondary and another crafty pick was Jacob Hester, the speedy back out of LSU. The Chargers major concern going into this season is TE Antonio Gates’ nagging foot injury, if he can be back to his regular form, expect this predicted 11-5 record, to easily go to a 13-3, or possibly 14-2.

Denver Broncos- (9-7) The AFC West is a one-team division this year much like the AFC East. The broncos were disappointing last season, but this year they really do not have what it takes. They are slightly better then KC and OAK this year, but not by much. Jay Cutler’s inconsistency may actually have a culprit, being that he was diagnosed with diabetes and is now properly medicated and gone on record as to saying he feels great. Cutler can be great, but without the proper weapons around him the Broncos will struggle, but perhaps, based on who they defeat, may sneak into the playoffs.

Oakland Raiders- (7-9) Seven wins for Oakland? Yes, I’m going to say this is the year they start to make strides toward resurgence. They did not have a spectacular draft, they did not have a 2nd or 3rd round pick. However, with the acquisition of Darren McFadden, the draft is by no means unsuccessful. They made a fine move adding secondary man DeAngelo Hall to an experienced defense. Oakland just has problems with their offense, leading to my next question. Can JaMarcus Russell be the QB the Raiders need? He had little time last year to get acquainted with the NFL because of his lengthy hold out and when he did play, seemed to struggle. Now he has time to work out, study, and do whatever it is he needs to do to play, he just has to show what he can do. With that said, even if Russell advances his game, the WR core of the Raiders is lacking any depth with only Javon Walker as a go to receiver. They will really need another wide out to have a big year.

Kansas City Chiefs- (6-10) The Chiefs need to insert Brodie Croyle as the #1 QB, he may not be the answer, but what this team needs is consistency. They just don’t have it right now. Larry Johnson is coming off, what I felt, was a disappointing season before his injury, and could very well already be on the down and outs with the way he runs. I don’t think we will see him have any historic years again, but he is still dominant. The Chiefs had a huge draft, they drafted 12 people, one of which was the mammoth DT from LSU Glen Dorsey, who, if healthy, will be a staple on that D-Line. The Chiefs have made moves on defense to get better, but nothing major will come of it this year. Re-building time at Arrowhead.

North

Cleveland Browns- (10-6) Cleveland did not take much from the draft this year. But that’s just fine for fans because for the first time since the Browns became the Browns again, expectations are big. Derek Anderson looks to make big on the contract he got and lead them to the post-season for only the second time in “new” Browns history. RB Jamal Lewis isn’t getting 2,000 yards for them, but what he can provide is good 3rd and short yardage and goal line production. Derek Anderson can chuck it out in any other situation. Let’s not forget the Browns added to their wide-out unit with Dante Stallworth. Between Stallworth and Edwards, the Browns offense will pick up from what it established last season.

Pittsburgh Steelers- (10-6) Last season, Willie Parker seemed to have a fumbling issue. He had a productive year still, gaining over 1300 yards, but only managed to see the end zone 2 times. So, the Steelers went and drafted feature back out of Illinois, Rashard Mendenhall. He will add to the run game the Steelers have always loved to use. I expect the Steelers to have a typical, solid year, with Big Ben connecting with Ward and Holmes consistently. The reason they will only have a mediocre 10-6 record? They have a brutal non-conference schedule, as well as having to play Cleveland twice.

Cincinnati Bengals- (6-10) LB Keith Rivers out of USC, a good draft choice for the Bengals who really needed help in the linebacker department since Dhani Jones was the only consistent LB for them. Looking at the roster of the Bengals, one has to wonder with all this talent, where is the winning? Well the offense can get points, but last season more times then not the offense seemed to struggle. It was no secret the defense was giving up points, but with Houszmenzadeh and Johnson in the slots, Palmer has his targets. Rudi Johnson had a terrible year last season and for Marvin Lewis’ sake, he needs to get healthy and come to form. This teams major problem is the fact they don’t believe they can win anymore.

Baltimore Ravens- (3-13) The Brian Billick era had to end after last year. Enter John Harbaugh, who came over from Philadelphia. This team has always relied on defense, whether that will remain the same is yet to be seen. However, there is no denying the fact that Ray Lewis, the anchor of that defense, is in the last years of his career. It is a time of change in Baltimore. Who will be the starter? Troy Smith, the rookie Joe Flaco or the never improving Kyle Boler? If this team wants to rebuild, throw Joe Flaco in there and see how it goes. They have a good back he can hand it off to in McGahee and rookie back Ray Rice will get some reps here and there. One huge concern is the air attack, again. The Ravens have just never seemed to go after a WR with proven game changing abilities. Derrick Mason is capable, not game changing. Mark Clayton is the best receiver they have at this point and he needs to have a big year in order to change the philosophy in B-more.

South

Indianapolis Colts- (12-4) Bursa Sack? Am I the only one who thinks that sounds like an alien life form was removed from Peyton Manning’s knee? Well anyway, I have no doubts he will be ready for opening night in Indy’s shiny new Lucas Oil Stadium. He may be a bit rusty the first few series, but this is Peyton, c’mon. The Colts will run that clockwork offense this year, same as every year, and will march right on in to the playoffs again. Solid receiving core as always and I expect Gonzalez to really have a big year as they begin to set the transition of Wayne to #1 and Gonzalez #2, anticipating Harrison’s retirement in a few years. The backfield is running smoothly with Joseph Addai and smart draft choice, Mike Hart. Tight End? Dallas Clark. They have someone in every position. The defense will be stingy in the secondary with Bob Sanders leading the way and up front, the pass rush is always fierce with Dwight Freeney going at the opposing QB’s. The main problem with the Colts, is just those two players, if they are not healthy, the defense is totally different and the entire team feels the effects.

Jacksonville Jaguars- (12-4) So, everyone wants to know if this is the year Jacksonville can knock the Colts off of their mighty AFC South pedestal. Well, I for one am not going to take the plunge. The Colts have shown me no signs of change and the Jaguars have not shown any killer instinct in taking the colts out, they lost to them twice last year. Sure one year can change everything, but I am not buying into it. They have the talent to go deep into the playoffs though, because, as the NY Giants proved last year, the playoffs are a whole new ball game. They have 2 great RB’s in Jones-Drew and veteran Fred Taylor, David Garrard proved he can win with his own team, and they have plenty of options from left to right, not to mention they got Jerry Porter, who will probably actually play hard for the first time in years. With the offense solid, the Jaguar D is concrete as well, but what else is new? Their pass rush is strong and LB crew always capable of causing turnovers, however, their secondary is susceptible to getting beat on the long routes. Expect the Jags to challenge to Colts from wire to wire in the division.

Houston Texans- (9-7) This could honestly be a playoff team in some other divisions. However, the fact of the matter is that they have to play both Indy and Jacksonville twice, and barring any upsets, that should be 4 losses right there. This team is capable of surprising people though. Matt Schaub came over from Atlanta last season and showed a lot of skill, he just could not stay on field week in and week out with some troublesome injuries. They have a capable backfield, but nothing great. Veteran Ahman Green, off-season pickup from the Titans Chris Brown, and rookie Steve Slaton out of West Virginia. From the receiving perspective Andre Johnson has been with Houston his entire career and continues to be their best bet in the slot. On defense, the #1 overall pick Mario Williams continues to improve. Unfortunately, just because Williams is on the defense, does not mean the defense is good. The Texans D is amongst the bottom of the league and needs improving if they plan to close the gap in the division.

Tennessee Titans- (7-9) They were a playoff team a year ago. They had a few needs, yet they were not answered. Getting Alge Crumpler does not mean they have an offensive weapon now. They needed protection up front for Vince Young and not much was improved in that area. The one great thing about the Titans, is that they do some how find ways to win football games. That does not last forever though. The Defense is talented but just not enough to keep them in games. The offense is just far too insufficient. However, with Vince Young, who has problems in his own right, some how does find ways to win, they just need some more help.