The Titans look good in the offseason, their defense is strong, their offense is dynamic. But now, with the loss of Albert Hanesworth, who is going to fill the hole in the rush defense? Taking into consideration that they open up on the road against a run-based offense, that's not a good question to have. The Steelers, on the other hand, again have little weakness, one of the best line-backing cores, some of the best rushers and dominate corners on defense. A superbowl QB-WR combination and a slew of running backs behind an offensive line that (rush wise) has held up well. Their biggest worry is protecting Ben Roethlisberger. Titans only shot is to rush the QB as often as possible and hope they get there fast.
I pick the Steelers to win this one, 17-10.
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The Dolphins were the surprise team for last year. But with everyone preparing for a now well-known Wildcat offense, have they made enough changes to make a splash this year in the NFL? Possibly, but their difficult schedule plays an overwhelming role in the outcome of their success this year, and that starts on the road against a strong Falcons team. Atlanta was also a surprise team last year. The rookie QB-Coach combination was a huge succeess, and the addition of Michael Turner had really turned on the heat. This year, with the addition of Tony Gonzales, they could be a real threat. Losing the home-opener is not the way they want to start off, and they wont.
The Falcons win a close one in Atlanta, 27-24.
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The Chiefs have made some very intriguing offseason acquisitions this year, including Mike Vrabel and Matt Cassel. However, with Matt Cassel's recent injury, and the Chiefs lack of receivers and running backs, the offense doesn't look any better than last year as of yet. Their defense has certainly made improvements, but not enough to pick up all the slack that their offense will leave behind them. The Ravens had a phenomenal 2008 season and were one game away from the Superbowl. Their offense looks as good as last year, and their defense looks even better. The loss of Bart Scott and Rex Ryan to the Jets, may play an important role in their season, but this week it doesn't even matter.
Ravens take this one, 27-3.
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The Eagles have made some noise in the offseason, but mostly for the offense. They drafted another receiver (Maclin) to compliment Jackson in the slot and cause confusion for opposing defenses. Not to mention Vick, but he's not even a factor until week 3. The defense has lost a lot, including their heart and soul: Jim Johnson and Brian Dawkins, and they were a huge factor for their defense. The Panthers have stayed strong on both sides of the ball and still have a dominate run game that will prevail throughout the season, but the passing game will be the reason they win this one.
Carolina wins a shoot-out at home, 35-30.
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The Broncos have been slowly imploding through the offseason. The loss of Cutler is huge, and the loss of one of the greatest offensive coaches is even worse. Their defense has never been very good, they have had the players and not the coaching, and they still don't. However, now the offense seems to be taking a turn for the worst as well. The Bengals have made a lot of questionable moves during the offseason, but stand a good chance against a VERY distracted team. I expect the Bengals to have some-what of a bounce-back season and the Broncos' confusion to cause a lot of issues throughout the beginning of the season.
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It's now or never for the Vikings this season, with Favre under center, there are no excuses, unless, of course, Favre causes a locker-room frenzy. Even with Favre causing issues, the Vikings have a very good defense, and arguable one of the best running backs in he league. However, the Browns have yet to even name their starting quarterback and haven't made many improvements during the offseason. It's hard to win without a quarterback, but at least the Vikings know they have Adrian Peterson, just in case.
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The Jets have made some huge offseason changes, for the better. They have hired Rex Ryan for the head coaching position, and hence, have revamped the defense to a 3-4 runningback-eating quarterback-pressuring beast. Bart Scott will easily fit in considering its the same defense he ran with Ryan in Baltimore, and should cause a lot of issues for opposing offenses. They also have named the rookie Mark Sanchez their starting quarterback for this game. He seemed very calm in the preseason and looks promising for the season. The Texans looked promising towards the end of last year, their offense produced when it needed to, but the defense was lack-luster more often than not. They targeted that issue in the draft and should be a much more balanced team this year. Expect a solid season from Matt Schaub, but not a solid week 1.
The Jets will take this one in an ugly defensive battle on the road. 20-14.
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The Jaguars have been very quiet during the offseason. However, they did trade arguably their best running back in Fred Taylor. The loss of Taylor makes Maurice Jones Drew a better look in fantasy, but unfortunately makes his job that much more painful and enduring this year. Unless something changes from last year, they should be relatively the same 5-11 team. It will however be a close game for two reasons, first because its a division game. And second, because the Colts might have some trouble this year. Their coaching change may be for the worse, although Caldwell has the respect of the players as a coach, he may find himself in a little bit over his head. Prepare for the Colts defense to become slowly less impressive as the season goes on, and the offense to sometimes look confused. It can go either way, but the Colts have the upper hand in this battle, but i wouldn't be shocked if they lose. I don't expect them to have a bad season, but a rocky start might be evident.
Colts win a swinger, 24-17.
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The Lions have a new coach, they have cleaned the executive house, and have purchased a brand spankin' new franchise quarterback, but will Stafford really be the quarterback of the future for the Detroit Lions? Probably, but were talking FUTURE, not now. Will all this be enough to triumph over the Saints with 21 winless months on their shoulders? Doubtful. With Drew Brees on the field, its hard to say that the Lions could match his impressive offensive numbers. If the Lions want to stand a chance, they need defense, Stafford can only help there, by keeping the ball out of Brees' hands. The Saints continue their impressive offensive explosions from a year ago, and blow out the Lions. However, expect Stafford to look promising for the future and the Lions to win at least 5 games.
Saints win, 34-13.
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Dallas has lost a lot of talent in Terrell Owens, but gets a lot of injured players back, and a Roy Williams who is a little more familiar with the playbook. With Wade Phillips calling all the shots on defense, they should do well enough against the Buccaneers questionable offense to be able to rely on their run game to close this one out and not put their receivers under too much pressure. The Bucs haven't looked as good as they have been the last few years. A new coach with a new offense with a yet-to-prove quarterback at the helm in Byron Leftwich could prove dangerous, but its unlikely they will produce against this Dallas defense.
Cowboys win on the road in Tampa, 24-14.
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San Fransisco looked very promising when they added Michael Crabtree to the roster. Their somewhat lame-duck passing game looked to possibly become much better this season--hold on, they still haven't signed Crabtree? Oh, right... thats sounds like an underlying distraction to me. The run game for the 49ers will be strong against the Cardinals, but without a hefty defense, there is nothing they can do to stop the Cardinals top-notch offense. Look for the Cardinals to pass all over the 49ers, although it will be somewhat close, Cardinals will come out on top.
Cardinals will win this and start off strong, 31-21.
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The Washington Redskins have never looked better, seriously, but that really doesnt mean much. For the last 4 or 5 years they have been like the Cardinals of the last few years: they have all of the pieces, they just need to turn on the switch. They haven't been able to do that at all yet, and quite frankly, even with the addition of Albert Hanesworth, this is a .500 team as long as Cambell is their quarterback. They need to make a serious change in that department, and until they do they are only a threat if you play them twice a year. The Giants look fine, much less injured than last year, and should have little problem with the Redskins. These division games are almost always close, but the Giants will edge this one out.
Giants win 21-17.
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This is week 1, which means there are virtually no injuries. There are no excuses for either of these teams now. Seahawks have a great O-line, as always, and a couple of pretty good running backs rushing through those holes. They also have Matt Hasselbeck back and a new receiver in T.J. Houshmandzadeh. The Rams have a new head coach and a new defense that should dominate this year in their division. Their offense has always been ready to explode but hasn't really been on point for the last few years. I expect the Rams to have a bounce-back year with Spagnola coaching, but with both teams having a coaching change it could really go either way. I expect the Rams to have the better season, but at home in Seattle, the Seahawks are tough to beat.
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This might be the toughest division in football this year, the Bears have gotten the quarterback they have been dreaming of to compliment one of the better running games in the league and one of the best defenses. The only question the Bears have are in the receivers department. Unless Hester steps up, their receiving core is missing key pieces, Cutler might be able to add that element, but i wouldn't count on it. The Packers are very well rounded, and have had a great offense over the last year. Grant has stood as one of the better running backs in the league, and Aaron Rodgers has stepped up to the challenge of replacing Favre successfully. Their defense might have some issues, but they shouldn't have a problem with the Bears. The Bears will get hot later in the season, but they start off wondering.
Packers win at home, 30-21.
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This is not an easy game to pick. Tom Brady was injured all last year and may not be the same Brady we know, they have also lost a lot of leaders on defense, including Harrison, Vrabel, and Seymour. The Bills have rearranged their team quite a bit, and have added one of the most dominate receivers currently playing in T.O. That, however, does not mean they will be a much better team. They currently have no offensive coordinator, which could be a good thing or not, and have a defense that struggled often during the season last year. They started strong but fell apart against the tougher teams, they also went 0-6 within the division. Patriots offense will dominate, but I'm worried about their defense.
Patriots win fashionably, 34-21.
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The Chargers have a stacked offense once again, they haven't had much trouble in that department. The defense is back and healthy, and the Shawn Merriman incident shouldn't cause too much turmoil during the week. They will count on him throughout the season to be the backbone of that defense and needs to stay healthy and focused. The Raiders have had trouble in the past and have made numerous offseason changes to help solve those problems. Unfortunately, its going to take a few more years to rebuild this franchise. Although they take a strong step forward this year, the Raiders will lose at home to the Chargers.
The Chargers dominate the Raiders, 35-17.
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Watch out for them fins, i doubt they will lose to the falcons this weekend... they takin the title this year!
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