Football is Coming!
I do not know why, but every year around this time, my mind is taken over by football. The offseason in the NFL consists of moves being made by every team to better themselves. Free agent signings, trades, The NFL Draft. They all add new and exciting new players to your home teams and you get an idea of which teams will be good and which ones will be horrible.
In a league such as the NFL where every player was one of the best players in college and high school, you can never tell for sure who is going to be good, but you can have a really good idea (especially when pre-season starts). You watch the pre-season and you can tell which teams are going to be good, not because of their record in the pre season, but by watching how well they play together. My favorite team is the Detroit Lions and they start the pre season on the twelfth of August against the Cincinnati Bengals. On that day, I will have no other plans.
I read a lot between the lines for a lot of things and I make predictions before the pre season starts, but they will change after the next few weeks. Here are some of my off season predictions.
Who will win the divisions?
NFC:
North: Detroit Lions. The Packers have won the Super Bowl last year, but they are not going to repeat. Last year the Lions beat out the packers once and lost to them by three points another time. The Lions had a few close losses last year and beat some good teams and they have only gotten better in the off season. Not to mention, looking at their schedule this year, there aren't many teams that look worthy of beating them.
South: Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons are just a really good team. They will build off of what they had last year and take down every other team in their division. It is a tough division, but the Falcons are the team to beat.
West: Seattle Seahawks. They won the division last year and with the addition of Sidney Rice and a few other players, they will be even better. A lot of people are saying they will be worse without Matt Hasselbeck, but Hasselbeck really didn't have too good of a year last year.
East: Philadelphia Eagles. This is another tough division. If I didn't pick the Eagles I would have to go with the Giants, but the moves that the Eagles made to improve their already good team this off season are still lingering in my head. Then again, I haven't seen these teams play yet.
AFC:
North:Pittsburgh Steelers. I hate to pick an obvious team like the Steelers, but their division is weak outside of the Ravens. Every player and coach just seems to be better put together than the Ravens are and they always seem to beat them.
South:Texans. Surprised? Everybody picks the Colts every year, but this year I see the Texans taking it. They have an increasingly good team every year and last year they had one of the league's top running backs in Arian Foster. As well as one of the best QB-Receiver tandems in Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson. Their Defense isn't bad either.
West: I'm going to have to go with the Sand Diego Chargers. This is just a process of elimination. The Raiders were okay last year, but they just got worse in the off season. The Kansas City Chiefs were alright, but I feel like they got a little bit lucky last year and their talent isn't really anything to brag about. As for the Broncos, they're still a big media spectacle over whether or not they are going to keep their starting QB.
East:Patriots. The Patriots are consistently good every year and with a few key additions from the off season, they will be good again.
Worst team this year: Cincinnati Bengals. They lost nearly every one of their key players this off season and nobody seems to really want to play there. This is definitely a re-building year for these guys.
Best team: That is really hard to say without seeing the teams actually play, but as a Lions fan, you know I'm a wee bit biased. I'm going to go with the Detroit Lions ;-).
What I'll be watching for: This year could be Matthew Stafford's first 16 game season. I will be watching really closely on how well he does and be nervous about injuries all year long. Stafford is expected to be one of the league's future best players if he stays injury free.
Well, there you have it. This is everything I have to say about football before the pre-season goes underway. I can not wait (obviously). Enjoy watching your favorite teams, whoever they are.
In a league such as the NFL where every player was one of the best players in college and high school, you can never tell for sure who is going to be good, but you can have a really good idea (especially when pre-season starts). You watch the pre-season and you can tell which teams are going to be good, not because of their record in the pre season, but by watching how well they play together. My favorite team is the Detroit Lions and they start the pre season on the twelfth of August against the Cincinnati Bengals. On that day, I will have no other plans.
I read a lot between the lines for a lot of things and I make predictions before the pre season starts, but they will change after the next few weeks. Here are some of my off season predictions.
Who will win the divisions?
NFC:
North: Detroit Lions. The Packers have won the Super Bowl last year, but they are not going to repeat. Last year the Lions beat out the packers once and lost to them by three points another time. The Lions had a few close losses last year and beat some good teams and they have only gotten better in the off season. Not to mention, looking at their schedule this year, there aren't many teams that look worthy of beating them.
South: Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons are just a really good team. They will build off of what they had last year and take down every other team in their division. It is a tough division, but the Falcons are the team to beat.
West: Seattle Seahawks. They won the division last year and with the addition of Sidney Rice and a few other players, they will be even better. A lot of people are saying they will be worse without Matt Hasselbeck, but Hasselbeck really didn't have too good of a year last year.
East: Philadelphia Eagles. This is another tough division. If I didn't pick the Eagles I would have to go with the Giants, but the moves that the Eagles made to improve their already good team this off season are still lingering in my head. Then again, I haven't seen these teams play yet.
AFC:
North:Pittsburgh Steelers. I hate to pick an obvious team like the Steelers, but their division is weak outside of the Ravens. Every player and coach just seems to be better put together than the Ravens are and they always seem to beat them.
South:Texans. Surprised? Everybody picks the Colts every year, but this year I see the Texans taking it. They have an increasingly good team every year and last year they had one of the league's top running backs in Arian Foster. As well as one of the best QB-Receiver tandems in Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson. Their Defense isn't bad either.
West: I'm going to have to go with the Sand Diego Chargers. This is just a process of elimination. The Raiders were okay last year, but they just got worse in the off season. The Kansas City Chiefs were alright, but I feel like they got a little bit lucky last year and their talent isn't really anything to brag about. As for the Broncos, they're still a big media spectacle over whether or not they are going to keep their starting QB.
East:Patriots. The Patriots are consistently good every year and with a few key additions from the off season, they will be good again.
Worst team this year: Cincinnati Bengals. They lost nearly every one of their key players this off season and nobody seems to really want to play there. This is definitely a re-building year for these guys.
Best team: That is really hard to say without seeing the teams actually play, but as a Lions fan, you know I'm a wee bit biased. I'm going to go with the Detroit Lions ;-).
What I'll be watching for: This year could be Matthew Stafford's first 16 game season. I will be watching really closely on how well he does and be nervous about injuries all year long. Stafford is expected to be one of the league's future best players if he stays injury free.
Well, there you have it. This is everything I have to say about football before the pre-season goes underway. I can not wait (obviously). Enjoy watching your favorite teams, whoever they are.
posted by RyMic at
10:46 AM
7 Comments:
Hi Ryan,
I am one of your classmates at Full Sail. I read your blog and as someone who works at ESPN and has had to cut video about the NFL lockout for ESPN.com, I completely understand where you are coming from. I am glad the lockout is finally over. I may not be huge on the NFL but I'll take pro sports over college sports any day. After reading your blog, you might want to look into writing professionally for a sports site. Your passion definitely shows and I'm sure your target audience of sports fans will feel the same way. Your blog may allow fans to connect with you and discuss topics when something happens in the world of the NFL. It may also reach the eyes of players and coaches or even other markets in football and may sway their opinion or decision on things, you never know. I really think you got something here and I hope you continue after this class is over. Anyways great job and good luck.
Rob Barbieri
Hello I'm also a classmate from Full Sail. I love football as well and glad to see a fellow classmate is just as excited for the new season as I am. I was really worried that there wasn't going to be any games due to the lockout. I'm a little disappointed though that there isn't going to be a Pro Football Hall Of Fame game because my hometown is Canton,OH where the games are held every year.
Another classmate here!
I have to acknowledge that my understanding with football is very limited. But I have to say that I'm a huge fan of the Philadelphia Eagles not because the Michael Vick frenzy, but because they always manage to go the distance with the little they have. I think the Tom Tebow circus at Denver is just that, the guy will have a not so bad season and that's it since Kyle Orton will be the starter for the team at the long run. Im looking foward to learn more about football with this blog.
Hey Ryan,
Your blog has definitely got me excited for Football as well! I'm excited to see that the lockout finally got resolved just in the nick of time!
I must say I'm a Carolina Panthers fan and I'm hoping for a better season then their last! What's your thoughts on Cam Newton? I think he may be a little overrated but we'll have to wait and see. I'm glad they acquired Derek Anderson to offset some of the inexperience at the QB position.
I definitely see the Lions doing well this season since they seem to be getting better each year. I always look forward to watching them every Thanksgiving.
Great blog Ryan
Ryan,
I can by your article that you are really excited about the football season. I could imagine that you believed there would be a football season even when it looked like some games of the season would be missed. I like you predictions.
I think the Eagles will be very successful. I do not want the Patriots, or the Steelers to win. I predict that the Superbowl can be the Philadelphia Eagles vs New York Jets.
I see the Lions improving, but not getting to the championship. At least not yet.
Hey, thanks for all of the comments from my classmates! Looks like there are a few Eagles fans in here. As for Mark, I know what it's like to have my team pick first. It's fun to see who they draft, but not fun to watch in the season. I think the Panthers are going to be better this year, and I think Cam Newton will do good as well. The only thing is that their division is so tough that I don't see them winning it for a long time. The Saints, The Falcons, and The Buccaneers are all really good teams. The Bucs and The Falcons are both led by young stars that will be there for a while too.
Another classmate from Full Sail, wanted to post on your blog because not only do I think its a great blog but also because I'm excited the lockout is over and football is back! The Tampa Bay Buccaneers just had their first pre-season game and shut out the Kanas City Chiefs, it was exciting to watch. Great blog and I look forward to reading more of your blog!
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