You guys check out Cyd's and Jim's outlooks on the NFL season? Interesting is Cyd's prediction of the Texans in the playoffs, his hatred for the Titans, Jim's thoughts that Altanta will win their division, and both Jim and Cyd's take on a Seahawks appearance in the playoffs.

4 days and counting.....

Texans will not be winning the division, Vikings also will not win, Green Bay will and as much as Miami chokes, they will win the division this year. Patriots Super Bowl Champs? Please!!!!

LOL@Texans in the playoffs.
Seahawks dangerous team. I have them picked to not only make the playoffs, but to play for the NFC championship.

Texans beating the Colts...whata joke! Hope his compensation for writing those predictions was nothing more than a Slurpee and a couple of White House Hamburgers!

[ August 31, 2003, 01:15 PM: Message edited by: la_meatman ]

In our NFL Preview I take Atlanta to win the NFC. Not that I would bet on it. My gut tells me Tampa won't repeat, the Eagles have lost too many people, the Packers don't have the defense. It's a stretch.

Would love for you all to post here your playoff teams and Super Bowl winner and it would be fun to look at this thread in January.

Hmmm....enjoyed the thought of the Cyd's picking the Ravens to pick the AFC North, then saw him pick the Texans to win the South, and instantly, the credibility was shot. Sorry Cyd, but Houston can't win many games when David Carr is picking himself off the ground after every play. And yes, he won't get sacked as often as he did last season, but they haven't improved their O-line THAT much.

And Jim, I still think that the NFC South is Tampa Bay's to win. I was at the Falcons-Ravens game where Vick hurt himself, and even before the injury (it was near the end of the first quarter), Vick was struggling to move the ball. It happened twice against Tampa Bay last season, and it happened against the Ravens in the preseason. Against an average defense, he's spectacular. Put him up against the high, high quality defenses, such as Tampa Bay's and Baltimore's, and he's still got a long way to go in his maturation process.

Also, he's out for at least the first four games, and the offense has been painful to watch under Doug Johnson). Add to that the fact that Vick will hardly be at full strengh when he returns (if you've ever broken your leg, you know what I'm talking about), and I don't see them being able to move the ball against the Bucs.

PF had an intresting thought here...

The South.. ATL is all about Vick. More more, no less. Ie the rely soooo much on his scrambling to win games... Thats gone right now. Plus when he gets back, he will be rusty. Tampa has trouble with Power running teams. I'm going to go out on a limb here.. there is a team in that division who will have a good power running game. This team also plays Defense. Yes, it's the overlooked Carolina Panthers. Watch out, that might just be your winner. They are going to play alot of close low scoring games this year kids.

As for the Iggles losing so many players on Defense.... it's the system. Nate Wayne is going to make everyone forget about Shawn Barber. I loved Hugh, but he tailed off last year down the stretch and in the playoffs. The big surprise right now might be Darwin Walker moving over to DE while the first round pick is hurt. That could be a DE waiting to come out. Then again they could suck. The Iggle D is about pressure. The Secondary is still intact.. they cover like they always do and you could have marginal players blitzing and getting pressure. nuff said folks.

Here are my picks for the '03-'04 season:

NFC divisional winners:
Tampa Bay
Minnesota
Philadelphia
St.Louis
NY Giants (wc)
Atlanta (wc)

AFC divisional winners:

Kansas City
Pittsburgh
New England
Indianapolis
Tennessee (wc)
Oakland (wc)

SuperBowl

Tampa Bay vs. Kansas City

Champs: Kansas City

Here're my picks.

NFC:
East: Philadelphia, NY Giants, Dallas, Washington
North: Green Bay, Minnesota, Detroit, Chicago
South: Tampa Bay, Carolina, Atlanta, New Orleans
West: St. Louis, Seattle, San Francisco, Arizona
Championship: Philadelphia over Tampa Bay

Headlines:
>> Only two teams matter: It's going to come down to another Eagles v. Bucs for the NFC Championship.
>> I think that Carolina going 4-0 in the preseason is very significant (especially given their improvement at the tail end of last season), while Arizona going 4-0 is completely irrelevant.
>> Preseason is complete and there've been no Randy Moss incidents: good sign that Vikings make it to the playoffs.
>> The football gods punish San Fran for its hubris in firing Mariucci and reward the Lions by making Detroit not completely sucky.

AFC:
East: New England, Miami, Buffalo, NY Jets
North: Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Cleveland, Cincinnati
South: Tennessee, Indianapolis, Houston, Jacksonville
West: Kansas City, Oakland, San Diego, Denver
Championship: Tennessee over New England

Headlines:
>> I still think each AFC except for Cincinnati has a legit shot at the playoffs.
>> Pittsburgh has the smartest and best fans in the NFL, and people in the 'Burgh are not optimistic about this season (even with Kordell gone). Not a good sign.
>> New England went 4-0 in the preseason. Wasn't there a year in the early 80s when the Patriots went 4-0 in the preseason, then 1-15 in the regular season?
>> Indy will lose in the first round of the playoffs because Peyton Manning still won't be able to win the big game.
>> Oakland could go back to the Super Bowl. Or they could end up in last place, 5-11. Neither would surprise me.

Super Bowl: Philadelphia over Tennessee

[ August 31, 2003, 02:29 PM: Message edited by: Charlie in the Trees ]

AFC EAST: MIAMI
AFC NORTH: PITTSBURGH
AFC SOUTH: TENNESSEE
AFC WEST: KANSAS CITY
WILDCARDS: NEW ENGLAND, BUFFALO

NFC EAST: PHILADELPHIA
NFC NORTH: GREEN BAY
NFC SOUTH: TAMPA BAY
NFC WEST: SAN FRANCISCO
WILDCARDS: ST. LOUIS, NEW ORLEANS

AFC CHAMPIONSHIP: MIAMI OVER NEW ENGLAND
NFC CHAMPIONSHIP: TAMPA BAY OVER GREEN BAY
SUPER BOWL: MIAMI OVER TAMPA BAY

Im sorry but the Falcons will be lucky to get past the Cowboys this year without Michael Vick. Just so happens I will be watching that game on Sept 7th courtesy of the Union Pacific. Im not a Cowboys fan so if the Falcons win, great. But Im realistic.

The Redskins in 3rd place? Funny.

The Redskins in 4th place? Even funnier.

Actually, I think third place is not far-fetched at all. It's very realistic considering the fact the Eagles are the team to beat in the NFC East until someone actually does. The Giants have proven to be a resilient team under Jim Fassel and will have to be reckoned with.

As for the Cowboys, I would actually not be completely shocked if they made some noticeable improvement this year. I would be on the lookout for them to make some major improvement by next year.

The Redskins will be a smoke-and-mirrors team if they improve beyond 9-7. The very best case scenario for the Skins is 10-6 and a first round playoff loss. At worse, they regress to 6-10 and right behind the Cowboys for fourth place.

Not so much funny as it would be joyous. wink

The predictions are for fourth place because, under the current NFL divisional set-up, with eight four-team divisions, fourth is as low as they can go. They have no quarterback. Their running game will be much weaker. Their defense line will be thin and they lost a very talented defensive coordinator who might've had some ideas on how to beef it up. Great defensive backfield, though.

Do you think they'll be better than third? Why? Because Spurrier's a genius?? A lot of brilliant college coaches wrecked on the rocks of coaching in the NFL, where winning takes more than being a charming recruiter.

The Eagles are way overrated. Their defense is weaker and their defense is what won for them last year. They have ONE offensive weapon who's coming off an injury.

Aside from the fact that the Giants typically go into the tank the year after they make the playoffs, especially under Fassel, they stink. Trust me on this one, they're a bad team. They're bad in a lot of places. Their offensive line is a mess, particularly the right side. Their special teams are still bad. Their secondary is terrible. And Kerry Collins will never win anything for any team.

PCC - I agree with you. The Eagles were a better team LAST year than they will be THIS year. Although with the NFC East being as weak as it is, I think they will win the division but not make it to the NFC Championship Game. Giants second, Skins third, Dallas last.

NFC North -
I think the Packers win it, but they too were stronger a year or two ago. Once again, this division is weeker than it had been in the past. Minnesota finshes second, Detroit third, in the cellar - Chicago.

NFC West -

Looks like the Rams, Niners, Seahawks, Cardinals. Perhaps the Seahawks and Niners swap as I think their records will be identical and it could come down that the regular season final game @ San Fran that determines if the hawks finish second or third in the division.

NFC South -

Oh God, I agree with PF, that the Panthers are going to be much improved. If they can put some offense together they will be tough. I still like the Bucs to repeat - the defense IS even better (is that possible?) then last year. After the Bucs it's a toss up between Atlanta and Carolina. I'm going with Carolina. The Saints finish last.

East - Philly
North - Green Bay
South - Tampa Bay
West - St. Louis

WILDCARDS: Carolina, Atlanta


The AFC

AFC East: Miami
AFC North: Pittsburgh
AFC South: Tennessee
AFC West: KC
WILDCARDS: Buffalo, Indy

AFC Championship - Miami @ Tennessee
NFC Championship - Rams @ Buccaneers

Super Bowl XXXVIII

Bucs over Titans

[ September 01, 2003, 11:19 AM: Message edited by: PewterPirate ]

Uhhhh, myopic deadskin fans....

uhhh did lil danny snyder pull out his purse and pay you off also? No qb, no rb (now that davis is gone), the wr are a little better. If spurrier wants to run the... run-n-shoot or whatever he calls it... he need to have an OL that protects the QB. yeah right. Their DL stinks.. as you can tell from the hitting the waiver wires to a lineman. The deadskins have such a brutal opening schedule.. dont be surprised if they go 0-6.

The Eagles have one weapon on offense? excuse me? The best running attack in the nfc east is going to come from the eagles. They have the best O line in the east. If they were a team that relied on Dmac so much, they would have fallen on their faces last year when he went down.

As far at the D goes. Sorry, they have THE best secondary in the nfl, hands down. The system that JJ runs is how these guys got sacks.

Actually, I think third place is not far-fetched at all. It's very realistic considering the fact the Eagles are the team to beat in the NFC East until someone actually does. The Giants have proven to be a resilient team under Jim Fassel and will have to be reckoned with.
As for the Cowboys, I would actually not be completely shocked if they made some noticeable improvement this year. I would be on the lookout for them to make some major improvement by next year.
The Redskins will be a smoke-and-mirrors team if they improve beyond 9-7. The very best case scenario for the Skins is 10-6 and a first round playoff loss. At worse, they regress to 6-10 and right behind the Cowboys for fourth place.

I'm a Redskins fan but I'm also a realist. Parcells being in Dallas scares the crap out of me. The Giants are a quality football team that can still get better. The Eagles, as I have said are the team to beat until someone actually beats them.

The Redskins can finish anywhere from last place to second and it wouldn't shock me. First place would be a "who-did-Snyder-pay-off" miracle.

You touted the Redskins last year and said the Eagles wouldn't win another game after McNabb was hurt. So you'll forgive me if I heartily laugh at your laughable assessment.

I've been following the NFL for many years ... based on these years of observation, I wonder:

a) Can Brett Favre really make it thru another season? Probably not. And what does this do to the Packers? Good money has to figure that this would be a down season for the Packers. The only upside for Green Bay is the weak North division.

Same goes for Jeff Garcia. Bad back = bad season for the 49ers. Oh yeah, they lost Mariuchi, too.

c) Some team always breaks thru. In the NFC, who could it be? Many expect Seattle will be the team. Some think the Giants. But these teams will only breakthrough if other teams fall on their face. Atlanta, w/o Vick, is average. St. Louis simply doesn't have the discipline or toughness to win the close ones in the 4th quarter.


Verdict: Philadelphia and Tampa Bay are the teams to beat.

PS: Don't put too much stock in the season opener. This match up will be decided in the season's finale.

And then there's the AFC. Nothing comes to mind.

I am intrigued by Baltimore and Tennessee. I actually enjoy watching Oakland play and wish them well. But they will never live down the Super Bowl debacle and I expect them to take a nosedive.

KC still has no defense. Pittsburgh will always be a "bridesmaid" in one form or another. And Indy? Well, I just don't get this team.

Verdict: Bet on the surest thing ... Tennessee.

Steve Spurrier went over a big hurdle this weekend by finally realizing he cannot cobble together ex-Gators to make a winning NFL club. I was kinda surprised when he cut Wuerffel -- and then he verified in an ESPN interview that Florida players alone just won't cut it.

As for Brett Favre -- he'll last all season -- he's only like 33-34 years old. The defense is the Pack's major problem this year. The OL isn't bad -- so Favre will be protected rather well -- despite Chris Hovan's talking!

hey...i love this site, and reading most of jim or cyd's comments are highly entertaining. BUT...to pick the Texans to win the AFC south div is insane! i like to drink as much as the next guy..but Cyd, buddy....i think rehab is in your future after these picks.
GO TITANS!!!

hey guys...here are my pics for the year. lets see what happens after the dust settles next year in Houston.

AFC EAST: New England
AFC NORTH: Pittsburgh
AFC SOUTH: Tennessee
AFC WEST: Kansas City
WILDCARDS: Indianapolis, Oakland

NFC EAST: Philadelphia
NFC NORTH: Green Bay
NFC SOUTH: Tampa Bay
NFC WEST: St. Louis
WILDCARDS: San Francisco, New Orleans

AFC CHAMPIONSHIP: Tennessee & New England
NFC CHAMPIONSHIP: Tampa Bay & St. Louis
SUPER BOWL: Tennessee & Tampa Bay
Champion: Tennessee

My thought is this: the AFC South is the weakest division in football, I'm not sold on any of the other teams, Dom Capers took the Panthers to the division title and NFC Championship in their second year together, David Carr is a good QB, they've got a good D, and a solid RB.

I probably wouldn't have them winning any other division - but, I'm not sold on any of these other teams.

I think the NFC North has the corner on that market bub...

[ September 02, 2003, 02:29 PM: Message edited by: PhillyFan ]

I agree the NFC North appears to be the weakest division (definately NOT the AFC South). Although an arguement could be made that the NFC East isn't far behind the North. Green Bay = Philly, Minnesota = Giants, Detroit = Washington, Chicago = Dallas.

Of course we won't know until week 16 of the regular season.

what on god's green earth are you talking about?

Kornheiser reports this a.m. that it was Danny-boy Snyder, not Steve Spurrier, who made the decision to cut Danny Wuerffel from the 'skins. Spurrier had neither the heart nor the balls -- so Snyder got to play bad cop.

Excerpt:
"If this works, and the Redskins win a bunch of games, then Snyder looks like a genius. (It's obvious Wuerffel is Spurrier's great obsession, his white whale. Spurrier hasn't yet accepted the truth that others see: that Wuerffel was a great college quarterback, but not a great NFL quarterback. Someday, maybe, he'll look back on this and thank The Danny. That is, if they're still talking.)

It has become routine to slam Snyder for meddling. He's like the love child of Jerry Jones and George Steinbrenner. But ask yourself this: Is there anybody other than Spurrier who believes Wuerffel should play quarterback here? Let's not lose sight of the forest for the trees. Snyder was right. Wuerffel had to go. ...

... Ultimately, the one taking all the risk is the owner. You bring in Deion. You fire Norv. You bring in Marty. You fire Marty. You bring in Spurrier. You cut Wuerffel. You're either a genius or a hosehead. Life's like that."

Link to column

(I'm so glad the Packers don't have a meddling owner ...)

The Redskins didn't "hit the waiver wires" looking for defensive lineman. They made two trades.

But I did notice that the Eagles signed Marco Coleman this week. You know Marco Coleman, cut by the Jaguars at the final cut down. Now which team was out trolling waiver wires looking for defensive linemen?

And DCBucky, all Dan Snyder did was break a tie between Vinny Cerrato and Steve Spurrier. All owners for every team in every sport do this. Only Dan Snyder gets BS heaped on him for it. And no one was ordered to do anything. Steve Spurrier was convinced that it would be better to have an extra offensive lineman than have Danny Weurffel as the 3rd quarterback when he can be signed anytime during the season, if necessary.

I would hope the eagles hit the waiver wires for a DE considering 2 of theirs are out for the season... rather than due to having a shitty DL like say, the redskins.

Boy arent you a big ole danny-boy appologist. Myopic comes to mind.

So, ummm, where does the apology line form for those of us who were questioning Cyd's sanity (some quietly, some publicly) on picking the Houston Texans to be a playoff team? Granted it was only one game out of 16. But is was a road game against a team that always plays well in September and is being picked by many to go to the Super Bowl.

[ September 08, 2003, 08:14 AM: Message edited by: Charlie in the Trees ]

Also, remember the last time Dom Capers led a second year expansion team. His Carolina Panthers went 12-4 and were within a game at the Frozen Tundra of advancing to the Super Bowl. Then again, the first year Panthers were 7-9 instead of the Texans' first year mark of 4-12. But if the Texans follow in the Panthers' footsteps, 9-7 may not be unrealistic, though I think 7-9 is more likely.

Texans will not be winning the division, Vikings also will not win, Green Bay will and as much as Miami chokes, they will win the division this year. Patriots Super Bowl Champs? Please!!!!


haha that was my original post. Whoops. Well the Patriots will not win the Super Bowl.

If only for one week, I'll take the temporary validation

I thought I'd revive the thread and see if people had new Superbowl predictions. I didn't partake at the beginning of the season, so my pick right now would be Tennessee over Philadelphia. Although I'd much rather see a Minnesota over Kansas City game in January!!

I'm sticking with my original:

Pittsburgh over Atlanta! What an idiot.

Did you make the Atlanta pick before or after Michael Vick's injury?

Before, I believe, the theory being that he'd be back in week 5 and lead them to glory. Not Jim's finest moment as a football savant, I'd say.

Is anybody here driving the Bengals bandwagon? I'd like to inquire about seat availibility, prices etc.

What the hell has happened to the Vikings? They looked incredible in the first, what, 6 games, now they look very shaky.

I'm getting a Colts vibe, too. Of course, if The Liquored Up Kicker, Mike Vanderjagt, is correct, they'll f**k up in the first round of the playoffs.

HA ! Cleveland THRASHED Pittsburgh a few weeks ago, Pittsburgh has a worse record than Cleve, the game is AT Cleveland this Sunday. And the line has Pittsburgh favored.

This is why Cleveland fans are paranoid.

The odds in my paper say the Browns are a 3-point favorite.

Yahoo! odds back JIP.

While my pick of the Bucs in the Super Bowl is a stretch, my pick that the Pats would win it all isn't so crazy.

Houston to win the division was a bust.

Baltimore, New England and Minnesota to win their divisions, though ridiculed at the time, don't look so bad

Tennessee and Carolina are both looking really good to me!