NFL Football

[Colt Crawford]

In keeping with Jamie, and keeping these OOC boards alive I figured I would start a thread on something that I am obsessed with.

Basically what is everyone's opinion on this season so far and how is your favorite teams doing?

I am a die hard Steeler fan, and I have been slightly disappointed so far this season especially losing to the Bengals. However, looking a head at our schedule I know that we have enough win able games on there to still make the playoffs and maybe another run at the Super Bowl.

As for the rest of the league, I am disappointed in Houston again. I actually believed this year that they could compete for a playoff spot and maybe even win their division, but after starting 1-2 and yet to play Indy, I am not as confident any more.

I have a huge man-crush on Adrian Peterson right now. He is just amazing to watch and very well will go down as the best RB to ever play the game, barring any terrible injury.

[Chesbro]

I see offensive production down this year, but it's still pretty early yet. I don't see any team in the league as being truly dominant at this point. You could make a case for the Saints, I could see them as the front runners, but I don't see that defense holding up all season long.

I think some of the established veterans, who are normally pretty big producers, are having slow starts and it's hard to say if they are really going to come on.

I see some teams, just falling backwards, rather than forward. The Browns look awful and this could be a good reason why Brady Quinn fell as far down into the draft as he did. Other teams were smart to avoid him. Derek Anderson had that one great year, got paid and then nothing.

I have saw Seattle make a steady decline since they faced your boys in the Super Bowl.
Pittsburgh's defense looks just better than average this year and you can hardly blame that on just Polamalu going down. They just aren't firing on all cylinders on pass defense. They have no rush this year.

The Titans are coming off the best record in the league, with a superb rushing attack and they are winless this year.

The Panthers wrecked people last year and I don't even think I need to start on them this year.

The Cardinals squeezed into the Super Bowl last year, put up a great fight and are now looking like a second tier team.

I still don't have much faith in the up and coming teams, who appear to be improving. Buffalo, San Fransisco, Miami, Houston. What about the Redskins, who dumped a shitload of money down in the offseason for the big time Free Agents?

Football is still football and it's always going to be fun to watch, regardless of what is going on. I think the game is better when you get a shoot out match, where the offenses are just trading scores. That makes it real exciting to me. 3 and outs have been pretty common in the majority of the games I have watched this year and that makes it easier to pry myself away from watching the games in HD and sitting down to kick out Showdown on time.

[Eno Redrum]

San Fransisco is improving, but I have a hard time believing in ANY team that comes out of the NFC West. That division is like the AL West in baseball. I just can buy into a team that comes out of that division regardless if Seattle and Arizona made it to recent Super Bowls. That division has been stale since the Greatest Show On Turf declined in St. Louis.

I have always enjoyed the NFC East because those teams, no matter what their records are, get up to play each other each time they face off on the field. Think about it, Philly, Washington and New York all hate the Cowboys and the Cowboys always seem to have more fans at a home game than the home team does (not always the case, but have you ever watched a Cowboys/Cardinal game and seen all the blue jerseys in the crowd). When NFC East teams face off, it is reminds me off a good ole fashioned Cowboys/Steelers Super Bowl game from the 70s where the teams hate each other, the fans hate each other and everyone else is just on the outside watching the mayhem. The downside to the NFC East is Donald Kraft and his money spending ways. The guy does not know how to manage a team and needs to bring in someone who knows what the hell they are doing. He spends countless millions only to fall short each and every year. Not to mention the fact that each year they try to screw Jason Campbell and he still continues to just do his job. Campbell has ha da different Offensive Coordinator each year he has been a starting quarterback and had to learn a new system each time and yet they expect consistency from him. And then they wonder why they suck. Go figure.

Houston frustrates the hell otu of me because each year they are the "sleeper" pick to make the playoffs and each year they fall short. I just don't know how to take this team. Andre Johnson is solid and continue to do what he does, but the rest of the team just doesn't do anything for me and I guess that is why they are always on the outside looking in.

Not sure where you see improvement in Buffalo and Miami as they are just as bad as St. Louis and Kansas City record wise and only better due to talent. However, in their division they are all bottom dwellers and stand no chance of making the playoffs unless they make drastic improvements across the board.

The Chargers piss me off because I want so badly to see them make it to the next level, but it seems their stars disappear when it is all on the line.

All in all, the playoffs will be the same as it normally is, with maybe one or two exceptions. I expect the big names to be in the Super Bowl again and I don't think it will be the Cowboys.

[Patrick Martin]

Colt, the Steelers o-line isn't helping them right now and I honestly think the "power" in the AFC North is on a slow shift. The one thing the Steelers have always done well is replentish their linebackers and o-line, but over the past couple seasons they have failed to do either for whatever reason. Point blank, the organization is one of the best in football if not the best, but it all starts at the top and Dan Rooney is on his way out. When he sells, Steeler fans might find themselves in Bengal/Brown hell. So good luck with that.

Rob, odd that you say offensive production is down. I wonder if the "no wedge" rule has anything to do with this?

As for Quinn . . . something strange has happened in Cleveland. Throw out the stats. Quinn has been absolutely horrible, but for those that really follow the team and not just highlights . . . Quinn is a completely different quarterback this season than he was in his appearances last season and even before. He's playing scared. I credit it to Eric Mangini's "don't make a mistake" mentality. We'll see if he breaks Derek Anderson down at the knees.

But who cares about Cleveland? There's a lot more trouble up North than at the quarterback position.

My predictions:

Patriots
Ravens
Colts
Chargers
Steelers
Jets

Giants
Eagles
Vikings
Packers
Saints
Niners

Super Bowl
Ravens/Saints