9/5: The NFL Kick-Off is Here

Greetings.... Short and sweet today...

• The NFL kicks off tonight with Cowboys/Giants on NBC. The defending champs are hosting this one (as is customary) and with the unusual Wednesday start, it almost helps the build-up. NYG is a 4-point favorite at home, and I actually like them in the game despite some uncertainty with health (Hakeem Nicks) because Dallas is so banged up (Witten, Bryant, Austin), and playing on the road against a wild crowd. I'm interested to see DeMarco Murray against that Giants front seven, and whether or not Eli can follow-up on his Super Bowl season. At any rate, let's get it!
• The Braves lost 6-0 last night to Colorado in front of about 12 people at Turner Field. Tommy Hanson simply isn't an electric pitcher anymore, and won't ever be one with his current velocity, but he was semi-effective except for the 2 homers last night. The Braves just couldn't get a hit with RISP and that was the story. Back at it tonight against Alex White and the Rockies. 
• The Yankees have blown a 10-game AL East lead. We can only hope they completely die and miss the playoffs. No mercy.
• Alabama is #1 in both polls, and I have one question. How could they not be?
• The Ryder Cup team is set for this year's captain Davis Love III. He went with Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker as captain's picks and I like both moves. The Ryder Cup is one of the events that I'm inexplicably tied too, seemingly forever, after watching the heroism of Justin Leonard back in 1999. One of my favorite events in sports.

One last thing, I didn't finish the NFL Previews before Wednesday's kick (sorry), but they'll be up in full by Sunday. Enjoy!

2012 NFL Preview Part 3: AFC East

Greetings everyone... Let's get right to it with the ever-interesting AFC East...

1. New England Patriots (13-3) - Tom Brady. Bill Belichick. Rinse. Repeat. As long as Brady is a top-3 quarterback (and the guy that I'd have #1 btw) and Belichick is still an elite coach, they will be a playoff mainstay. They have the most loaded offense in the league with the addition of Brandon Lloyd on the outside to go with Welker in the slot and the Gronkowski/Hernandez duo on the seams. Factor in Steven Ridley and Shane Vereen in a new, younger backfield, and they'll be a monster unit. On defense, they can't possibly be worse than last year, but with 2 first-round picks in Chandler Jones (who I've read rave reviews about) and Dont'a Hightower and newly-healthy Patrick Chung and Jerod Mayo, they'll be at least a little better. Easily the best team, and this could be the most lopsided division in the league this season.
2. Buffalo Bills (9-7) - This record is all about defensive improvement. Mario Williams and Mark Anderson both had double-digit sacks last year and were acquired to man the D-End spots. Marcell Dareus and Kyle Williams will lock down the middle, and this defense could be a top-10 unit. This would be a far cry from last year's team, and that alone will give them a boost. The jury is out on Ryan Fitzpatrick but I think he's at least average, and with Fred Jackson/CJ Spiller in the backfield and Steve Johnson on the outside, the offense should be solid barring injury. I like the Bills.
3. New York Jets (8-8) - On the other side, I hate the Jets. This offense is an absolute mess. Between the QB controversy of Tebow and Sanchez, the lack of explosion anywhere, Shonn Greene never having proven anything, and the Santonio Holmes sideshow at receiver. I don't see how they're going to score even with Jesus in shoulder pads as the backup QB. The only reason I'm granting them 8 wins is because they still have defensive talent. Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie and Kyle Wilson form the best cornerback trio in the league and they've upgraded at safety with Laron Landry and Yeremiah Bell. It's the best secondary in football on paper. I do know one thing, however, and that is that we'll all be sick of the Jets by mid-September if we're not already. 
4. Miami Dolphins (4-12) - Miami is probably better than 4-12.... until you realize that they are (voluntarily!) choosing to start Ryan Tannehill from game #1. This is not a good decision for this year and there's no way around that. Matt Moore isn't good, but he's unquestionably more effective at this moment than Tannehill, who is a project who wasn't even an elite college quarterback this time last season. Reggie Bush was their best offensive player last year and seems to have made the leap, but there's still injury/durability concerns and we don't know whether Daniel Thomas can take the load off of him in between the tackles. Brandon Marshall is gone as well, and the receiver situation is dire. They do stop the run and that will help them against the likes of Buffalo and the Jets, but the secondary is porous and in the division with Tom Brady... best of luck.

Enjoy! Stay tuned for Part 4 wrapping up the AFC with the AFC West.... 

2012 NFL Preview Part 2: AFC North

Greetings! Let's go to Part 2 of the NFL Preview...

1. Baltimore Ravens (11-5) - Best offensive player in the division (Ray Rice), best defense in the division (still, even without Suggs), and a quarterback that won't kill you. That's the recipe for the Ravens. This pick is as much an indictment of the rest of the division (chiefly, the Steelers) as anything else, but Baltimore has high-end talent and that's enough. I absolutely love Ray Rice, and I think he's the best running back in the game today when you combine his reliability, explosiveness, ability to block, and catch the ball out of the backfield. Look for Torrey Smith to explode a bit on the outside as Flacco throws a very nice deep ball, and Smith is, well, fast. On defense, Terrell Suggs is hurt and Ray Lewis is old, but the Ravens will still be good over there with Haloti Ngata, and I think Paul Kruger can and will fill in admirably for Suggs. I don't think they're a Super Bowl team, but they're the cream here.
2. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7) - Health and age are the concerns here. Ben Roethlisberger is a top-tier QB when he's on the field, but with his past injury woes coupled with a dreadful offensive line, how many games does he play? 10? 12? The backfield is a mess with a Mendenhall injury paving the way for Isaac Redman (also hurt) and Jonathan Dwyer. Mike Wallace held out and missed nearly all of camp. Did I mention the defense lost a ton of talent and that guys like Troy Polamalu aren't getting any younger? I think this is the year that it starts to unravel a bit for Pittsburgh. 9 wins shows my respect level for their culture, but I don't see it. 
3. Cincinnati Bengals (7-9) - Solid team. No upside. That's what I see in Cincinnati. Their only explosive player on offense is AJ Green and he is a big-timer as he enters year two. That said, I think there's a ceiling there with Andy Dalton, who is decent and nothing more, and with the Lawfirm (Benjarvus Green-Ellis) as the starting tailback and no 2nd receiver to speak of, I'm not frightened. On defense, I love the corners (Nate Clements and Leon Hall) but they need pressure to make things work. Wouldn't surprise me if they won 9 games, but it's a middling roster. 
4. Cleveland Browns (5-11) - Brandon Weeden is the quarterback. That's virtually all you need to know about Cleveland this year. Trent Richardson may be Adrian Peterson 2.0 but he's already banged up and they have zero at receiver to go with Weeden's likely ineptitude. They couldn't stop the run at all in 2011, and while the secondary is solid, it almost doesn't matter when you're 30th in the league against the run and you're seeing guys like Ray Rice twice a year. Godspeed.

Enjoy! Stay tuned for Part 3 with the AFC East.... 

2012 NFL Preview Part 1: AFC South

Greetings! This will be a touch shorter than in year's past, but we're still going team by team so here we go with the usually top-heavy AFC East...

1. Houston Texans (10-6) -  Houston was one of the best teams in the league last season, and simply got derailed by injuries to Matt Schaub, Mario Williams, and company. This year, Schaub is back in full force, but make no mistake, this is a running team now. Yes, the Texans are big in the ground game and with the Arian Foster/Ben Tate combination, they really should be. Andre Johnson provides the downfield threat (when he's on the field) and Owen Daniels is a solid tight end option. They have lost some big-time talent on both sides of the ball up front (Mario Williams, Eric Winston to name a couple guys), but the defense is still very stout. The linebackers are upper-echelon, and this team absolutely stuffed the run last year. To be honest, the roster isn't quite up to the level of last year, but this division is absolutely putrid and they are still the class among these 4 teams.
2. Tennessee Titans (8-8) - Jake Locker! That's the key to this season for Tennessee. If he's good, they have a chance at a wild-card spot. If he's bad/inconsistent, they could be going back to Hasselbeck and be stuck in the 6-win range. Couple that with Chris Johnson coming off the worst season of his career, and the fact that Kenny Britt can't stay on the field for various reasons, and you have a real question mark offensively. Fortunately for the Titans, they've added Steve Hutchinson to an already-stout offensive line, and that should help out both Locker and Johnson. Defensively, Kamerion Wimbley was acquired, and will be paired with Derrick Morgan to try to generate some pass rush. It's not a scary unit, but not one that will be getting embarrassed either. The Titans are the picture of mediocre for me, and they land at 8-8.
3. Indianapolis Colts (6-10) - I have a confession. I absolutely love Andrew Luck, and I wanted to move him higher than this. I actually believe he's the Tim Duncan of football. He's beyond goofy, but stayed an extra year (or 2, or 3 in Duncan's case) in college to craft his game, he's absolutely no frills, his fundamentals are perfect, and he even claps like Duncan. Rookie QB's don't usually succeed when they don't have weapons and/or a great defense, so that's why Indy is 6-10, but I'm absolutely all in on Andrew Luck. Donald Brown, Reggie Wayne and Austin Collie return to form the nucleus of skill guys, and while that is mediocre-to-bad, keep an eye on rookie TE Coby Fleener for some impact early. The Colts sold off a lot of their defense in an effort to get cheaper/younger, and it won't be a great unit at all, but there is some promise on that side of the ball. It's a year or two early for Indy.
4. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-12) - Wretched. That's the best word to describe Jacksonville. I've seen previews calling for them to garner as few as 1 win this season, and I feel that I'm being kind in giving them four. They have one game-changer in Maurice Jones-Drew and he's not even in camp due to a holdout. Blaine Gabbert stinks, the receivers stink (although I like Blackmon as a prospect), and the defense isn't good either. But hey, you have a new owner!

Stay tuned for Part Two on the way with the AFC North...

Alabama 41, Michigan 14

It wasn't that close... And I don't want to talk about it.

Michigan vs. Alabama

Greetings! Writing this via a borrowed iPad, so please forgive the brevity... Let's take a look at the big game tonight in Dallas in short thoughts...

• Denard Robinson is the best player on either team.
• Alabama has at least 8 of the next 10 best players.
• Fitzgerald Toussaint is suspended for Michigan, and without a ground game, the pressure increases on shoelace.
• I believe the single biggest mismatch tonight is the Alabama offensive line agains the Michigan defensive line. Bama is the best in the country with that unit and Michigan is severely undermanned.
• Alabama loses a ton of NFL talent on defense.... And still has an elite unit.
• I don't think Denard can win this game alone.... But for Michigan to win, he may have to.
• If there's an additional x-factor for Michigan, keep an eye on Roy Roundtree who is coming off a rough 2011 after his breakout 2010. 
• Nick Saban is the best coach in the country.
• It wouldn't shock me if Michigan won the game outright but it would certainly surprise me.
• I like Michigan +13.5.
• Alabama 30, Michigan 23

Enjoy! And Go Blue....

2012 College Football Preview!

Greetings everyone... Please forgive the lack of content in previous weeks... It will change! At any rate, let's take a (very) quick look at the upcoming college football season as it kicks off TONIGHT! Predictions commence...

ACC

• Champion - Florida State (11-2) over Virginia Tech (10-3)
• Sleeper - North Carolina
• Offensive Player of the Year - Logan Thomas, QB, Virginia Tech
• Defensive Player of the Year - Brandon Jenkins, DE, Florida State

Big East

• Champion - South Florida (9-3)
• Sleeper - Pittsburgh
• Offensive Player of the Year - Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville
• Defensive Player of the Year - DeDe Lattimore, LB, South Florida

Big 10

• Champion - Wisconsin (11-2) over Michigan (11-2)
• Sleeper - Nebraska
• Offensive Player of the Year - Denard Robinson, QB, Michigan 
• Defensive Player of the Year - Jonathan Brown, LB, Illinois

Big 12 

• Champion - Oklahoma (11-1)
• Sleeper - Texas
• Offensive Player of the Year - Collin Klein, QB, Kansas State
• Defensive Player of the Year - Jackson Jeffcoat, DE, Texas

Pac 12

• Champion - USC (12-1) over Oregon (11-2)
• Sleeper - Cal
• Offensive Player of the Year - Matt Barkley, QB, USC
• Defensive Player of the Year - John Boyett, S, Oregon

SEC

• Champion - Alabama (12-1) over Florida (10-3)
• Sleeper - Arkansas (not really a sleeper, but I tried)
• Offensive Player of the Year - Tyler Wilson, QB, Arkansas
• Defensive Player of the Year - Jarvis Jones, LB, Georgia

Preseason Top 10

1. Alabama - Nick Saban, everybody! As much as this pains me because they open up with Michigan in Dallas on Saturday, I trust Bama the most. Their defense will be top-flight yet again, they have the best O-line in the country, and a nice set of returning skill guys on offense. The defense won't be as dominant as last year in the early going, but by the time they hit the SEC, they'll be ready.
2. USC- Matt Barkley, Robert Woods, and Silas Redd form the the best skill position trio in the country... and that doesn't even take into account their elite production at #2 receiver and the stable of backs. The only question with USC is their depth because of scholarship limitations, and that's why they land here, but I love them.
3. Oregon - So much speed. Deanthony Thomas may be the most electric player in America, and they have Kenjon Barner as their workhorse. The QB spot isn't as "set" as in previous years, but reports have even more speed there than usual. The defense will be what carries Oregon this year and with guys like Kiko Alonso anchoring their speedy, swarming unit, they'll be scary. 
4. LSU - Gone are Mo Claiborne, Tyrann Mathieu, Michael Brockers, and the QB combo of Lee and Jefferson. That said, LSU could be better this year. Their offense will take a step forward with a more skilled guy in Mettenberger, and the defense is still loaded even with the panic surrounding the Honey Badger. 
5. Oklahoma - Easily the class of the depleted Big 12. Landry Jones returns for his 12th year as a letterman (lol) and will likely throw for 4000 yards. The defense should have enough talent to justify this lofty ranking, and the defensive backfield is a strength even in the pass-happy Big 12. 
6. Wisconsin  - Grind it out. Montee Ball leads another potent ground game, and new transfer QB Danny O'Brien should step it a la Russell Wilson and be effective right away. He's probably not the same player that Wilson was, but with talent everywhere and their massive O-line, he won't need to be. 
7. Arkansas - Tyler Wilson and Knile Davis is enough for me. And on the even brighter side? Bobby Petrino is gone!
8. Florida State - Easily the most loaded team in the ACC. EJ Manuel has been elite at times at FSU and has the experience to put it all together here. The defense could be the best in the nation, and is super deep. Could this be the year that FSU puts it all back together?
9. Michigan - I could write 5,000 words here (as you know). Denard Robinson is the most electrifying player in the country, Fitz Toussaint returns as a 1,000-yard rusher, and the O-line is virtually in tact featuring All-American LT Taylor Lewan. The defense took a million steps forward in 2011 and they should build on that success with a ton of returning talent in the back seven. The one issue is on the D-line as they replace Mike Martin and Ryan Van Bergen, but with Denard's uptick in efficiency and another year in the offensive system, it won't matter. 
10. Michigan State - Best defense in the Big 10 led by Will Gholston, and a big-time running game featuring Le'Veon Bell. They have to replace Kirk Cousins and that's no small task, but Andrew Maxwell looks like he could be up to the challenge. 

The Elite (by Position)

• QB - 1) Matt Barkley (USC), 2) Denard Robinson (Michigan), 3) Tyler Wilson (Arkansas)
• RB - 1) Montee Ball (Wisconsin), 2) Marcus Lattimore (South Carolina), 3) Le'veon Bell (Mich St.)
• WR - 1) Robert Woods (USC), 2) Marquess Wilson (Washington St.), 3) Sammy Watkins (Clemson)
• TE  - 1) Tyler Eifert (Notre Dame), 2) Philip Lutzenkirchen (Auburn), 3) Jacob Pedersen (Wisconsin)
• OL - 1) Barrett Jones (C, Alabama), 2) Taylor Lewan (OT, Michigan), 3) Ricky Wagner (OT, Wisconsin)
• DE - 1) Brandon Jenkins (Florida St.), 2) Jackson Jeffcoat (Texas), 3) Will Gholston (Mich St.)
• DT - 1) Star Lotulelei (Utah), 2) Jesse Williams (Alabama), 3) John Jenkins (Georgia)
• LB - 1) Manti Te'o (Notre Dame), 2) Jarvis Jones (Georgia), 3) Nico Johnson (Alabama)
• CB - 1) Nigel Malone (Kansas State), 2) Johnny Adams (Michigan State), 3) Nickell Robey (USC)
• S - 1) Eric Reid (LSU), 2) John Boyett (Oregon), 3) Tony Jefferson (Oklahoma)

The Champs

• USC over Oklahoma
• Alabama over Oregon
• Alabama over USC

Enjoy the pageantry, everyone!