Thoughts in a Skitoliv World

Actually, yes, I am ready for some football. In July, the NFL re-asserts its dominance over the sporting landscape. Pennant races in MLB, free-agent signings in the NBA, and WNBA all-star games can not hold the populace’s attention like watching giant men sweating in the hot summer sun. Every city feels good right now about their teams chances for bringing home the Lombardi trophy. The NFL has created such parity that every team actually thinks it can make a run to the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, each year several teams meet with disappointment, either through injury, bad play, or that they were just not as good as they thought. So with that in mind, I decided to tell you as of right now (July 20th) how the teams look, who has a chance, and which teams have no real chance

Absolutely no chance of winning the Super Bowl:

Buffalo - New coach, no QB worth anything and an aging defense spell a long season for the Bills. Also, Willis "I am the best back in the league" McGhee is really not as good as he and every one else thinks.

New York Jets - First time head coach, QB’s that can not stay healthy or were never any good in the first place and a RB who is really old. It is amazing how bad this team got last year.

Tennessee Titans - Absolutely horrendous the way they handled Steve Mcnair. Also, I am not sold on Vince Young as an NFL QB, he is slightly better than Michael Vick and you do not win championships with scrambling QBs

Houston Texans - Hopefully on their way up. I do not see what everyone sees in David Carr, all he has proved in four years is that he knows hoe to get sacked, and not much else.

Oakland Raiders - All AAron Brooks has shown is that he knows how to throw interceptions. Randy Moss can not play the good citizen that much longer, look for an epic blow-up at some point, followed by a trade demand next off-season.

Detroit Lions - Who the heck is Rod Marinelli and why is he an NFL head coach? John Kitna/Josh McCown, is their really any difference to these guys? Why does Matt Millen have a job still after assembling this garbage of a team?

Green Bay - Yee-haw, another season of hearing about poor Brett Favre and how it is a shame he has to play with this bad of a team. Look for approximately 24 interceptions out of Favre this year and the commentators will not blame a single one on him.

Minnesotta Vikings - Brad Johnson is 38 years old. They have no running game to speak of, a new head coach and a very young defense. This will be a very down year in Minneapolis, particularly if Johnson gets hurt and they are forced to rely on the useless Mike McMahon.

New Orleans Saints - Lots of talent but too many questions. Are Brees and Mcallister healthy? Can Bush be as dynamic as in college? Who is going to play defense?

San Francisco 49ers - Alex Smith is the worst QB I have ever seen play in the NFL. Could possibly go down as a bigger bust than Akili Smith.

Arizona Cardinals - Despite all of their talent, this is still the Cardinals. SO automatically they stand no chance of winning the superbowl.

Possible Playoff teams but still not going to win the Championship:

Miami Dolphins - I am in the minority in thinking that the Dolphins will not be as good as last year. They added the human turn-over machine Daunte Cullpepper who may or may not be healthy for the start of the season. They are still probobly a year away from serious contending.

Cleveland Browns - Another team that is a year or 2 away, but if they get consistent play from Charlie Frye and healthy Braylon Edwards and Kellan Winslow, they could surprise a few teams. I like what they are doing in Cleveland.

Baltimore Ravens - Old defense, constanly injured Steve McNair, and they are still the Ravens which means they will be offensively inept. Playoffs not unreasonable, but their are much better teams than them.

Jacksonville Jaguars - Byron Leftwich or David Garrard, both are not as good as everyone says. Jimmy Smith’s retirement leaves them unproven at wideout and in leadership. Defense will be nasty and keep them in te hunt.

Kansas City Chiefs - Defense is still a concern as are their unspectacular wide recievers. Herm Edwards is a great coach so look for them to be in the playoffs, but not a championship team.

San Diego Chargers - Dynamic players everywhere. I can not pick them for a title due to Phillip Rivers as an unproven commodity. They also failed to address their secondary in the offseason.

The Entire NFC East - The Cowboys, Eagles, Redskins and Giants all have solid teams, but they all have multiple questions theat preclude picking them as serious title contenders. Cowboys; how long till the T.O. circus act explodes as it has everywher eelse he has been? Eagles; can they stay healthy and can McNabb truly lead them anywhere? Redskins; does anyone really belive Mark Brunell can repeat last years success? Giants; is Eli as good as advertised, can the defense co-exist? Too many questions on each team. One of them will win the Division but they will all beat each other up too much to go far in the playoffs.

Chicago Bears - I anxiously await the news that Rex Grossman got hurt defending himself from Monarch Butterflies. Defense will keep them in games, but they still have no offense, they are the NFC version of the Ravens.

Atlanta Falcons - If the Falcons played Matt Schaub at QB and Vick at some other position, I think they would have a much better chance of winning a title. Scrambling QB’s do not win titles!

St. Louis Rams - Another team I am not sure what to make of, they have a rookie head coach and a re going away from the greatest show on turf, so playoffs are not unreasonable, but title is far away.

The True Title contenders:

New England Patriots - Why they can win; Brady and Belichick are still there. Why they probobly won’t win; Several key offseason losses and a lack of depth in the wide reciever position.

Indianapolis Colts - Why they can win the title; Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy. Why they probobly won’t win the title; Manning and Dungy.

Pittsburgh Steelers - Why they can win; Cowher teams are always dangerous and the defense just keeps putting out all-pros. Why they won’t win; I am unimpressed by their running backs and also their secondary is lousy.

Cinncinnatti Bengals - Why they can win; Palmer, Johnson and Johnson are as lethal a combination as any in the league. Why they won’t win; Palmer struggles recovering from knee surgery, all those off-season problems off the field.

Denver Broncos - Why they can win; added Javon Walker to help with his game breaking ability. Why they won’t win; They plan to prominately feature Ron Dayne in their backfield.

Carolina Panthers - Why they can win; addition of Keyshawn and rookie Deangelo Williams will help free up Steve Smith. Why they probobly won’t win; team has yet to prove they can stay healthy, Delhomme still makes too many mistakes, and can he really spread the ball enough between Smith and Johnson to keep them happy?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Why they can win; Defense will remain the backbone of this team, and Cadillac Williams will have a monster year. Why they won’t win; Chris Simms was never able to beat Oklahoma what makes people think he can beat any team in a meaningful game in the NFL?

Seattle Seahawks - Why they can win; they managed to keep their core intact from the NFC championship team of last year. Why they won’t win; they lost the superbowl last year which in recent history dooms a team to no better than 7-9.

So there you have it, before the actual season starts I will do my picks for the upcoming season, some of them may surprise you!

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 20th, 2006 at 8:39 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.