NFL 2010

I expect Cowboys vs Bengals to be a good first quarter/half. The Bengals I think are flying under the radar a little bit this year, I expect them to be in the playoffs.
 
Yeah, Bengals are lookin' good and that Division is lookin' tough.

The NFC East will also be a wicked Division.

Giants are going to be much better and the Redskins will be improved with a Vet. QB that can lead and make plays.
 
I think Donovan will have to use every ounce of scramble he never knew he had behind that offensive line. Mike Shanahan is the true wild card. Can he do a better job with the shit pieces we think he has.

The mere fact the East is so tough is why I only expect the Boys to win the division with 10-11 wins, in any other division they would mop up.
 
By the way, I think Donovan gets way too much shit, I always defended him to Eagles fans. He is a damn good QB, but Eagles fans are generally idiots when it comes to football. I think they are going to throw Kolb under the bus just as fast, and still never get that Super Bowl.

Edit: Possibly the best player the Eagles ever had. Easily the best QB.
 
Just gonna pop in here and say goooooooooooo niners. :)

Raiders too I guess but... yeah...
 
I wish brett would just die already.

Also wish I could say something positive about the steelers this year... but the ravens were just better last year... and now they have boldin.
 
I could say plenty positive about the Steelers this year. Their main weakness is being without Roethlisberger for 4 to 6 games, but it's not like they're incapable of winning without him. Every time they've won the super bowl, it's been because of their defense, and the defense should be notably better than last year with unless they have some more devastating injuries like they did last year. Troy Polamalu and Aaron Smith, easily their two best defensive players that are not outside linebackers, are back to full strength, and they're a completely different team with those two on the field. Tyrone Carter is gone, and William Gay will not be starting. In fact, he'll be lucky to be a nickleback this season. Will Allen is a far more serviceable backup safety than Carter was by leagues, and he was the main weakness all year behind Gay, who is not starter quality. Getting Bryant McFadden back was an excellent move, and they have at least two very promising young corners as well in Keenan Lewis and Crezdon Butler (I don't know how Joe Burnett will develop). Ziggy Hood rotating on all 3 positions on the d-line should keep the men up front fresh, and he really came on toward the end of the season last year, taking over the second Ravens game by himself during the last few possessions. They now have excellent depth at linebacker as well by drafting Jason Worilds, Thaddeus Gibson, and Stevenson Sylvester, who will also be a great boon their their special teams units, which will be critical after giving up 5 touchdowns last year. They literally went from first to worst in that category and they lost games because of it.

On the other side of the ball, the most obvious improvement was the drafting of Maurkice Pouncey, who should be able to dramatically impact the way that the entire line plays. The loss of Willie Colon will not be fun, but I would rather have Trai Essex playing right tackle than right guard. If Justin Hartwig keeps sucking it up all season though, he might be moving to center sooner than later. Of course the loss of Santonio Holmes will not be pretty, but let's face it, Mike Wallace is taller, faster, possesses more football smarts, has the requisite drive, doesn't give up on blown plays, is less of a shithead, and showed last year that he can be a major player as a rookie. I think he'll be just fine as the number two guy, and while Emmanuel Sanders develops into the heir apparent to Holmes, Antwaan Randle El will be a serviceable number three guy who already knows the system. Hines Ward is Hines Ward, period. Heath Miller is the most underrated tight end in the league. The offensive line, with the exception of Justin Hartwig, is good, if inconsistent, though that might be saying a bit much for Essex, the other weak link in the chain. but Max Starks is a capable (but far from Pro Bowl) left tackle, Chris Kemoeatu is also an overlooked left guard who presence was sorely missed when he went down with injuries. I'm fully confident with Maurkice Pouncey coming in and automatically being their best offensive lineman though, so his impact should not be understated. With Willie Parker gone, Mendenhall coming full into the season as the known starter, having grown into his body even more, and having the support of the rookie Jonathan Dwyer, the running game should also improve, namely in the short yardage game. All Leftwich has to do is prove to be a capable game manager like Kerry Collins was a couple years ago. The defense should be able to see to it that they come out of the Roethlisberger suspension with a positive record. If they stay healthy, I don't think anybody should be writing them off this year. I think they're as likely to win the North as are the Ravens, and moreso than the Bengals. I don't think the Bengals will make the playoffs. They historically follow up good seasons with very bad seasons anyway. The Ravens are the sexy pick this year (actually they always seem to be lately), but we'll see. They should definitely make it to the playoffs, but I don't know if that will be through the wildcard or not.
 
Looking at the Steelers schedule, considering the loss of Ben for those first 6 games, four of which I see as a definite loos without him, I don't see the Steelers making the playoffs in a division nearly as tough as the NFC East.

I expect a 7-9 season for the Steelers, 8-8 being the upper limit.

Edit: @ KD - The Ravens are only getting better, and the Colts offensive line is suspect. I think the addition of Boldin and the continued maturation of Flacco puts the Ravens over the top.

2nd Edit: I think this is also the year the Texans take the division from the Colts. Just sayin. Found this little nugget:

http://blackandteal.com/2010/06/29/was-matt-schaub-better-than-peyton-manning-in-2009/

I was reflecting on the AFC South in 2009 and remembered the outstanding season Matt Schaub had. I also remember the Indianapolis Colts and Peyton Manning going to the Super Bowl. So I wondered, Who was the better QB in 2009?

Matt Schaub threw for 4,770 yards with 29 TDs and 15 interceptions. He finished the year with a very good 98.6 QB Rating.

Peyton Manning threw for 4,500 yards with 33 TDs and 16 interceptions. He finished the year with an almost identical QB Rating of 99.9.

Matt Schaub had a slightly higher average yards per catch of 8.2, while Peyton Manning had 7.9. Not a lot of difference in these numbers.

Here is why I am leaning toward Matt Schaub as having the better year;

Peyton Manning had Dallas Clark and Reggie Wayne. Matt Schaub only had Andre Johnson.

Matt Schaub was hit 92 times and sacked 25 times. Peyton Manning was hit 44 times and sacked 13 times. Does that make Peyton a better QB or Matt Schaub worked under harder conditions?

Matt Schaub had less weapons, was under more pressure and still put up numbers to equal or better Peyton Manning. In my book, Matt Schaub had a better year personally. Peyton Manning had a better year as leader of a team.

/waits for KD's head to explode. The author left out Owen Daniels, who is a solid TE, and the receiving skills of Slaton, but he still has a valid point.
 
Puts them over the top against the best QB/offense in the league and a team that routinely wipes the floor with the Ravens? No.

edit: Refering to that article you posted and your opinion that the Texans are going to win the AFC South: :lol:. What. The. Fuck. Ever. The Colts have lost all of ONE game to the Texans in like 2058235 years. Last year was the first time the Texans didn't finish the season .500 or worse. You seriously think they're going to improve that much when considering the Colts are also improved with their offseason acquisitions? Seriously?!?!

:lol: Come on man, don't kid yourself.
 
Puts them over the top against the best QB/offense in the league and a team that routinely wipes the floor with the Ravens? No.

Um, hi, last year, and especially 2+ years ago doesn't mean shit. The gap between the teams was offensively, and I already pointed out the two huge strides the Ravens have taken in that department.

Edit: lol at "best offense in the league". Might want to check the 2009 statistics dude.

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2009/

The Colts were:

7th in points
9th in total yards
5th in yds per play
2nd in Pass Yds
32nd in Rush Yds

If you average it out, they are basically the 7th best offense, ignoring the glaring rushing issue.

The offensive line was suspect last year and this is proof. Mannings 3 step drop/sidestep abilities bailed them out, but he is only getting older and less nimble.
 
Um, hi, last year, and especially 2+ years ago doesn't mean shit. The gap between the teams was offensively, and I already pointed out the two huge strides the Ravens have taken in that department.

Who gives a shit about their offense? The weakness of the Ravens' is their old and haggard defense who Peyton Manning routinely shreds apart. You can't win games if you can't stop a team from scoring.

Whatever, I'm not defending the Colts anymore. It's the samy story every single year; "the colts are going to regress. The Texans are going to win the AFC South and make the playoffs this year I swear! The Patriots are the greatest team ever, except when they lose. The Ravens are a physical football team and will out physical the finesse Colts team." Blah freakin blah. The same shit is said every year and all the Colts do is keep winning. Nothing has changed.
 
Looking at the Steelers schedule, considering the loss of Ben for those first 6 games, four of which I see as a definite loos without him, I don't see the Steelers making the playoffs in a division nearly as tough as the NFC East.

I expect a 7-9 season for the Steelers, 8-8 being the upper limit.

I'm willing to bet that, barring any genuinely team-changing injuries like they suffered with the losses of Polamalu and Smith last year, the Steelers will finish over .500. $20. Roethlisberger's importance to the team is overrated. They can win games without him. The Steelers have never won when their strength was their offense anyway. They're also usually a better team when they're considered an underdog. I'm very confident that they'll at least be at .500 when Roethlisberger takes the field.