Week 7 Preview

NFL= No Fun League???

The NFL took a big hit this week, no pun intended.  In week 6 football saw a bunch of illegal helmet to helmet hits that knocked a few players out of the game with concussions.  This week the NFL decided to not change their rules, but they will enforce the old rules about helmet to helmet hits.  Players that deliver illegal hits will be handed a stiffer penalty and repeated offenders will be suspended for a couple games.

Where there's change there's bound to be complaining.  A few NFL defensive players such as Channing Crowder of the Miami Dolphins, Terrell Suggs of the Baltimore Ravens have expressed their displeasure with the new enforcement of the rules.  Suggs says that he will continue to "go 100 miles an hour every play". Crowder expressed his feelings on the subject by saying the owners are just trying to "protect their main assets," such as the Quarterback and Wide Receivers, their main sources of money.

You cant blame the league for trying to protect its players especially given the continuing studies of concussions and the effects that they have on players.  Some people are saying that they're turning the NFL into a flag football league or a powder-puff league.  I agree with players on the fact that they're trying to too hard to protect the skill positions (don't even get me started on roughing the passer penalty's)  but you cant blame owners for wanting to protect their stars.  But they're also people, we might tend to forget this sometimes.  They're human beings and they can get seriously hurt and the number one rule is "safety first."  So be it if its the "No Fun League", players need to be safe and the idea that football is barbaric should not be the first thing that comes to mind when someone thinks about football.

Predictions
Atlanta over Cincinnati
Chicago over Washington
Philadelphia over Tennesse
Kansas City over Jacksonville
Pittsburgh over Miami
New Orleans over Cleveland
St. Louis over Tampa Bay
San Fransisco over Carolina
Baltimore over Buffalo
Seattle over Arizona
Denver over Oakland
New England over San Diego
Minnesota over Greenbay
New York (N) over Dallas

Power Rankings
1) New York Jets
2) Pittsburgh Steelers
3) New England Patriots
4) Baltimore Ravens
5) Atlanta Falcons

Week 6 Preview

The Panic Bowl
Has there ever been more anticipation for a game between two 1-3 teams?  This weekend the Dallas Cowboys travel to Minnesota to play a team just as desperate for a win as they are.  The Vikings Cowboys game is being called "The Panic Bowl", both teams had big playoff expectations at the beginning of this year but poor play and bad luck have kept these two teams in the cellar of the NFL this year and see their playoff chances slowly fading away after each week.  The winner of this game will be 2-3 and still have a realistic shot at making the playoffs being only 2 games behind the division leader.  The loser will be 1-4 and have to answer some big questions moving forward for the rest of the season.

Big Ben's Big Debut 
No one expected the Pittsburgh Steelers to thrive without starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, but that's exactly what they did their first 4 games of the season.  The Steelers are 3-1 this year and are coming off a bye week which gave Big Ben an extra week to get back in sync with his offense and is poised for a big debut at home playing the 1-4 Cleveland Browns.  Roethlisberger was suspended for the first 6 games of the season following allegations of sexual harassment, but Commissioner Roger Goodell cut his suspension from 6 games to 4 for good behavior.  

Week 6 Predictions

Chicago over Seattle
Miami over Green Bay
San Diego over St. Louis
Baltimore over New England
New York Giants over Detroit
Atlanta over Philadelphia
Pittsburgh over Cleveland
Nwe Orleans over Tampa Bay
Kansas City over Houston
New York Jets over Denver
Oakland over San Fransisco
Minnesota over Dallas
Tennessee over Jacksonville

Power Rankings
1) Baltimore Ravens
2) New York Jets
3) Pittsburgh Steelers
4) Atlanta Falcons
5) Chicago Bears

Week 3 Preview

0-3???
Not many teams can consider a game in week 3 to be a "must win game", but the Dallas Cowboys will be doing everything they can to avoid an 0-3 start.  Although its not impossible, it is pretty hard for a team to start the season 0-3 and still make it to the playoffs, (only three teams have done so since 1990) especially with the Super Bowl being in Dallas this year and the Cowboys pre-season hype to be the first team ever to play the Super Bowl in their home stadium.  The running game still hasn't show up to play this year and despite the fact that Houston is playing out of their minds this year, i don't see Dallas coming away with a victory Sunday and believe it or not seeing their playoff hopes go up in flames in only week 3.

The Minnesota Vikings are also flirting with disaster.  Starting off 0-3 was not what Brett Favre had intended when he joined the Vikings with two pre-season games left before the season started, but a week 3 loss to the unfourtuante 0-2 Detroit Lions will put a big damper on their playoffs hopes especially with how well the Green Bay Packers have been playing and the break out combination of Jay Cutler and Mike Martz.  Minnesota should have this game in the bag but not so fast, Detroit has been playing good football this year and have a front four that can give the Vikings offensive line some fits on Sunday. I give Detroit a chance to come into Minnesota and play their hearts out against a struggling Vikings team and walk out of there with an upset win. 

 Its a Hard Knock life for Edwards
The New York Jets were supposed to be riding the high of trouncing the New England Patriots all the way into their Sunday night divisional match up against the AFC East leading Miami Dolphins, but an unfortunate DWI pending case for WR Braylon Edwards as put yet another negative spotlight on Rex Ryan's football team (The real crime here, is Edward's beard).  Just last week the team had problems with the harassment of Mexican sports reporter Ines Sainz, and now with the report of Edwards DWI the Jets are looking more like a Frat house that a Pro Football team.  Ryan says Edwards will dress for the game but will not start against the Dolphins.  Not starting Edwards does not seem like a punishment, not playing him seems to be the consensus for a worthy punishment, but Ryan has not stated how much Edwards will play this week.  The Jets are already without Pro Bowl DB Darrelle Revis with a hamstring injury and the Dolphins have looked solid in their first two starts of the season.  The game will come down to the big plays made by two young starting QB's Mark Sanchez and Chad Henne trying to open up the field against two solid defenses.
  
Predictions
 Titans over Giants
 Patriots over Bills
 New Orleans over Atlanta
 Steelers over Buccaneers
Bengals over Panthers
 Raiders over Cardinals
Ravens over Browns
Texans over Cowboys
Redskins over Rams
Eagles over Jaguars
Colts over Broncos
Jets over Dolphins

Upset Specials of the week 
Chiefs over 49ers
Bears over Packers
Seahawks over Chargers
Detroit over Minnesota