ATL @ CAR. Atlanta showed great promise but for now is the Brazil of the NFL – the football team of tomorrow. Mike Vick regressed after a strong 2004 season and looked out and out lost.
What is most disturbing to Ray Ray is the myriad of excuses he has for his performances – they want me to run, then they want me to pass; I have bad receivers; etc. Well, last year they were atrocious on defense which is a tomato in the face of HC Jim Mora Jr, a defensive specialist so to speak. Another defense – focused draft and the trade for DE Johnny Abraham.
Will this fix it all? Likely not, as the Falcons big weakness last year was at LB after Ed Hartwell went down with an ACL injury early in the season. Similarly CAR had big expectations at the start of 2005 but injuries on the DL, retirements and fading talent on the OL, sidetracked what should have been a solid season.
The Panthers did make the post – season, advancing to the NFC Title Game, but their inability to establish the run doomed them at the end. However, this year is somehow different and Ray Ray once again picks them to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. Whether it’s DeShaun Foster or rookie Deangelo Williams, the Panthers will run the ball in 2006.
Steve Smith is gimpy but KEyshawn Johnson will help move the chains until Smith is healthy and then draw off coverage. Key isn’t a burner but he is a good pass catcher and a big target – he can get physical with the elite NFC South corners, who are excellent athletes above all. Not really liking anybody in this one, but since it’s early go with the home team by default.
ATL 20 CAR 23
BAL @ TB. Baltimore had a long offseason to wonder what went wrong. Was it Kyle Boller?
Was it a depleted OL? Was it the soft, sultry stool pigeon singing of Jamal Lewis? Was it the loss of large bodies in the middle of the 3 – 4 DL?
Or was it Brian Billick, as Ray Ray suggested? The addition of Steve McNair and the quite withdraw of Kyle Boller to the sideline suggests that Ozzie Newsome, to some extent, listens to Ray Ray. The Ravens filled some holes but lost other players.
This could be a rebuilding effort if there were any young pieces in place. The Bucs are in a similar boat – Chucky searched for a quarterback and then fell in love with Chrissy Simms. She has the pedigree and the grooming to be a Pro Bowler, let’s see if he has the toughness.
Mental toughness. They have a spark plug in Cadillac Williams and a sleeper in Maurice Stovall – he will fit in well with the WCO. A home game, a veteran defense early in the season, it’s not Baltimore’s week.
BAL 13 TB 26
BUF @ NE. Many people laughed at Marv Levy in the offseason, especially with his reaches in the draft. Many people discarded Willis McGahee as ineffectual in a sputtering offense.
The same people ranked JP Losman in the category of Alex Smith. The Bills will have to scrap to win 7 games but they could do it. They looked like they had a clue this preseason, which is ahead of where they were last year.
Still, that won’t be enough to save them from the Patriots in Week 1. The Pats have the most ferocious DL in the NFL and even though their linebackers are terrible, the DL covers up for these deficiencies and combined with the ineffectiveness of the Bills offense, the rout will be on. BUF 10 NE 23
CIN @ KC.
This might be a good matchup if there weren't so many questions about KC - new coach, no Al Saunders. But they do have Larry Johnson, who reminds me of those action heroes from the blaxploitation movies - the tatoos, the anger, the will to run over any man in his way. Trent Green is 37 years old, which worries me very much for some reason.
Herm Edwards might work them up to 9 -7 this year, but it won't start with a win today. Marvin Lewis is firmly in control in the Natti and is turning things around, and doing so interestingly enough without "character" guys. Carson Palmer didn't experience any setbacks in the preseason, which is a good and encouraging sign.
A more encouraging sign would be a resilient run defense. CIN 31 KC 17
DEN @ STL. The Denver shuffle has silently gone uncovered in the offseason.
Shanahan let Mike Anderson go to Baltimore and then cut Ron Dayne. Rookie Mike Bell and Tatum Bell will split duties - one is an unknown quantity and the other is a home run hitter so long as there is a hanging slider over the heart of the plate. Rod Smith will eventually slow down but first round bust Ashley Lelie got shipped to Atlanta and rehabbing Javon Walker was brought in.
The DL needs someone who can generate pressue. And then there is Jay Cutler, a highly - touted QB from Vanderbilt of all places. So many pieces moving and so few questions answered, yet Shanahan got a free pass from the media this summer.
Meanwhile, the Rams with Scott Linnehan in place of Mike Martz and Joe Vitt made few personnel changes by comparison. They didn't make too many changes on offense or defense but they still stink. DEN 23 STL 13
PHI @ HOU.
Philadelphia has an insanely easy schedule the first half of the season, and what better way to start the cupcake party off with Houston. DE Darren Howard was a brilliant pickup for the Eagles, and drafting Broderick Bunkley makes it that much better. Throw in high - speed Mike Patterson and the Freak, and this is a DL to rival NE.
McNabb has looked very well this preseason, and Reid doesn't seem to mind that they don't have a running game. If Correll Buckhalter doesn't blow out his knee again then this might change. Najeh Davenport would've been a good addition but oh well, who needs a large fullback when you have Reno Renegade Mahe?
It's games like this when the not drafting of Reggie Bush makes sense. David Carr might get better but he'll get absolutely destroyed. PHI 27 HOU 13
CHI @ GB.
Do we even have to play this game? CHI 23 GB 10
SEA @ DET. The Vikings won't miss Steve Hutchinson much this year, since they are playing the easiest schedule in the NFL.
It'll be business as usual for the Seahawks - expect them to make a deep late season run again. The Lions seem to be responding to crazy man Rod Marinelli's drill sergeant approach to NFL head coach. Their defense is still in array but they will compete more than they did last year.
SEA 27 DET 17
NYJ @ TEN. This game would've been interesting around 1998. But now I don't literally know who will play QB for the Titans and I can't believe Chris Brown will get 20 + carries (so he gets the rest?
No clue). The best receiver is a TE for Tennessee, and their defense is a house of cards. Fortunately for the Titans the Jets are worse.
TEN 17 NYJ 13
NO @ CLE. Clevland rocks! Cleveland rocks!
Cleveland rocks! I can never take the Browns seriously after the NFL let Drew freakin Carey "open" the first game of the new Browns. I forget his precise words but reflecting on them, I now know why he is not on TV anymore.
I do think he is genuinely funny though. A big funny boob. Anyway, the Browns will mess up the hapless Saints.
NO 17 CLE 20
SF @ ARI. Is there a worse – off franchise than the Forty Niners? They have some good core talent in Gore, Davis, and Bryant but have completely effed themselves thanks to Alex Smith.
They sunk – and never was there a more apt use of that term than in this case – a lot of money into him and moreover, they acquired him at the same time when their star young RB, TE, and WR are entering their NFL prime. Translation: wasted talent. Arizona on the other hand is the dark horse (not really now that everybody is picking them to win) playoff pick but I don’t like them that much 7 wins is possible, 9 wins is improbable, and a playoff spot is definitely out of reach.
SF 13 ARI 27
DAL @ JAX. This could be a real fun game if you like two teams slugging it out. Two haphazard running games.
Two statuesque quarterbacks. Two aggressive, play - making defenses. The most exciting WR in the game, love him or hate him.
A freak athlete at WR who can make big plays in the passing game. Dallas will not be able to run on JAX despite Marcus Stroud missing the game with a foot injury. Look for more tough yards from Marion Barber than Orange Julius.
The Jags won't have an answer on the ground and will have a hard time passing. The only chances will be to go deep and test the Dallas safeties - 5th round pick Pat Watkins will start at FS next to veteran horse collarer Roy Williams - with Matt Jones. Offensively, this game should be an exercise in futility.
Defensively, it could be Crunch Course II. DAL 16 JAX 13
IND @ NYG. Brother versus Brother this ain’t, despite as the ESPN hype.
It’s a passing machine versus a frustrated understudy. No Edge no worries for the Colts. They moved the ball before Edgerrin James got there, they’ll move it after he’s gone.
The problem is, the person who moved it before he was there was Marshall Faulk. Ray Ray likes Dominic Rhodes as a backup but as a feature back, he looks very susceptible. Joe Addai could be a good back somebody but he runs like a girl for now.
The Colts still have a fast and aggressive defense though they did lose some key pieces. The Giants on the other hand have a great fantasy defense but a lot of new pieces that we’re not sure will mesh right away. They have a very durable little back in Tiki Barber and some weapons at the pass catching positions.
But it will come down to Manning and Manning, and it’s the proven All Pro versus the sporadic wunderkind. But for some reason, I am going with Big Blue here. Don’t ask me why IND 27 NYG 30
MIN @ WAS.
This could be a very interesting game from a pure analysis standpoint. If Clinton Portis were healthy this would be a very different game. But he tried to jack somebody up on an INT return in the first week of the preseason and it looks like he’s out in the first week of the regular season.
Meanwhile, it’s not that the Skins aren’t learning a new offense, they didn’t do the fundamentals very well in the preseason: blocking, tackling, etc. If the Vikings were a real football team, they would be in a position for an upset. But with a caretaker at QB and a career backup now featured as some sort of Brian Westbrook/Priest Holmes hybrid when he is more like a Pontiac Aztec kind of hybrid, these are bad things.
MIN 13 WAS 20
SD @ OAK. I’m not really what the incentive is to watch this game but there has to be something somewhere. Maybe Philip Rivers’ debut as the franchise QB.
Ray Ray thinks he will be very good in the National Football League. Antonio Gates made Drew Brees a Pro Bowler, so look for similar production for Rivers. LDT will drop off a little in his productivity but will be fine.
On the other hand, it’s the Raiders in Art Shell’s return and Aaron Brooks’ debut. They will be pretty bad this year. Go to sleep, get ready for work on Tuesday and Week 2.
SD 23 OAK 17
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