2009 NFL Season Thread

Go Bucs!

Yea, about 4 minutes.

Until Bernard Pollard takes him out again.

Ah, the only worthwhile thing the Chiefs did all year... fun times.

Looking forward to another year of Andy Reid, McBadd and a 8-8 finish...go Philly!

I never get enough disappoint out of the Bears. Here's to one more season of almost being good.

I don't think that even God is powerful enough to make that miracle happen.

The Chiefs suck and even Piloli isn't good enough to turn them around immediately.

Coming from a Raiders fan...

Go Steelers in 2009. Hopefully the dreaded SB curse won't come to pass, and they'll at least make the playoffs. And please, please, please: Get rid of Ike Taylor.

The Browns are going to make the playoffs......... if God destroys the Steelers, Ravens and Bengals like I asked.

Dan Baker, The Mangenious will sink the Browns in the long run.

Miami will defend it's division title by beating the NE Patriots and Jets...Twice...thus winning the Afc East with 12 wins...after they sign DE Julius Peppers, Draft a big play WR, and also sign RB Darren Sproles.

I think the Bucs could be looking at double-digit losses. And I thought that even before Gruden was fired. Our schedule next year is murder.

12 wins against that schedule? 9-7 would be a miracle.

I look forward to Bills fans talking playoffs in the spring and summer, then the team going something like 3-13 (as that schedule is brutal) and mercifully ending the Dick Jauron Era in the process.

Then again, the era that really needs to end is Ralph Wilson's, though not in the way I'm implying. It's clear he really doesn't give a shit about the team anymore, and at 90 he should be more concerned about waking up in the morning.

Redskins, Dolphins, Falcons, Titans, Chargers, Cardinals are all playoff teams next year along with usual cast of characters. Eagles, Cowboys, Ravens just barely miss the playoffs.

AFC Title Game is either Pittsburgh/San Diego or Pittsburgh/New England. NFC Title Game is either New York/Atlanta or Arizona/Carolina.

Division winners:
Cowboys Patriots
Falcons Colts
Vikings Steelers
Cardinals Chargers

Wildcards:
Bears Texans
Saints Jaguars

Cowboys over Minnesota in the NFC championship game
Chargers over Pittsburgh in the AFC

Colts will miss the playoffs next year, but barely.

7.


STEELERS.

So you're predicting the the second-place team that missed out on first due to tiebreakers will be alone in first?

Be still my heart. You so crazy!

Green Bay has hired Dom Capers to run the Pitt 3-4 in GB.

Seeing as a bunch of their 10 losses were Rodgers' inexperience being exacerbated by a sieve of a defense (yes, he was 0-7 bringing the team back in the 4th; however, in 3 or 4 of those games, he left the D/special teams with a lead in the last 2-3 minutes), I think GB can rebound. The main issue is how well their defensive personnel fit the 3-4 in the first place and how quickly they adapt. The D will probably be ugly for the first quarter of the season.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Jaguars will improve, but it'll be a struggle to be 8-8. They could be staring 4th place in the South dead in their face again.

Haley (Cardinals OC) is the new Chiefs coach, and LJ wants out, plus there's talks of trading Gonzalez to a team that will contend for a SB.

Boldin says the Cardinals can still suck it, and Ray Lewis names Dallas and the Jets as two teams he'd be interested in. I can already see Jerry Jones adding another trophy player like Lewis to his defense that needs DBs. And Dan Reeves was in talks for a head office position at Dallas until JJ decided he decided there was some authority that he didn't want to relinquish to Reeves. Oh well. Supposedly he had interviewed for the San Fran OC position too. Interesting that he wants to get back into football again.

there are coaching changes sure, but the core is still there...I don't see the Colts missing in the playoffs.
Nor do I see the Titans having the type of year that they just enjoyed.

If it's any consolation...I thought the same about the Steelers when they got Tomlin.

if anything i see the colts defense getting a bit better, mostly against the run.

Not that they'd be able to sign him, but the Colts could use Haynesworth in the worst way. I'm watching the Pro Bowl, and Manning has said 2-3 times that Haynesworth is one of the guys that he's trying to sell on the Colts. Ray Lewis would be an interesting addition as well.

What does being a Raiders fan have to do with the Chiefs sucking for the foreseeable future?

Haynesworth would be a monster for the Colts..but as of now I don't think there is enough cap space to make the room that's needed to sign him.

Haynesworth is a monster and a half, but he is also a bit of a risk. He will need to get a monster deal, and how will his motivation hold up a year or two down the road ? He is not exactly a good character type guy. He is a fierce player, but also wants payed more than anything else, plus injuries could loom. If he can put your team over the hump now, then sign him. If you think he is going to be a center piece for the long haul, I am not sure he is that guy.

There's a lot of talk about the Bucs making a move for Haynesworth, and frankly, I'm terrified about it. The guy did nothing until this last year -- conveniently a contract year -- and I worry he's going to get his money and be happy. Maybe the whole head-stomping thing lit a fire under his ass, but I've seen too many years like he had last year followed by a big contract and a disappearing act.

I like Ike Taylor. The Steelers have made due with absolutely awful corners for a while by having really good safeties who could cover up mistakes, Taylor is much better than the vast majority. Heck, Rod Woodson was the last real corner the Steelers had.

IMO, Taylor's mistakes to good plays ratio in a game is too many times N:1. At least in SB XL, he had the INT of Hasselbeck deep in Steelers' territory. I think the only noticeable play he had in this game was tackling Fitzgerald right after he caught a pass at the 3-4 yard line. Other than that, he got abused the 2nd half. Actually, at the SB party I was at for the 2nd half, I was complaining about how Taylor drives me crazy sometimes, and the very next play was Fitz's TD up the middle of the field, where Taylor not only had coverage, but he also missed the tackle.

I do agree on the lack of talent for their recent CBs. I really hoped Colclough(sp?) would change that, but it didn't happen. McFadden plays like he did at FSU--he's not a real shut down corner, but he's solid and usually makes the tackle/hit right after the guy catches the ball to stop the YAC. Townsend has his moments, but he's getting older and slower.

Think we should draft one? I know in the next year or two we're gonna need to start building up that D again anyway. We need some O-Line too.

I think the two biggest needs are DB and OL, plus a competent backup if Batch doesn't return. The Steelers aren't known for FA splashes, so I doubt they'd find a big name person that way, so the draft is pretty much the only option. That guy for Oakland (Ashomuga?) has been there, what 5-6 years, and now is coming into his own. I actually drafted him in my Dynasty league rookie draft and ended up trading him in the '06 season.

I'm pretty happy with the Bucs signing Luke McCown. The guy's got skills, if Gruden would have actually worked with him instead of bringing in the never-ending stream of over-30 QBs who knows where he'd be right now. And the size of the contract won't be too off-putting if there's any teams looking to trade for him, if that's how the team decides to go.

This probably means the Bucs aren't going QB in the draft this year. They'll have McCown, Josh Johnson, and probably Griese or some other vet. Next year's going to be a much better QB class anyway, so why rush this year? See what you've got in McCown, develop Johnson, keep Griese as a back-up.

Great. Now that Favre's retiring AGAIN, instead of fond looks back at his Packer career for days on end, we'll get melancholy looks back at his season with Jets for days on end.

He can't go out like this. I almost wish he'd stayed retired at the end of the 2007 season.

Enjoy, Jets fans, enjoy.

Thanks, I needed a laugh.

It is too early for predictions. I need to see how free agency shakes down, who gets released and how the various surgeries go. If Warner leaves Arizona, what could you expect out of them ? Maybe what people expected out of them leading up to 2008 (plus they already lost their O coordinator). I think the Steelers will be in good shape, if for nothing else than the Ravens will be weaker (depending on how their LB free agents shake out), the Browns will be better (but not by much), and the Bengals will be bad yet again (no surprise there).

I agree its way to early to be picking division winners. But I will say that I think T. Owens, Chad johnson, and maybe even McNabb will be playing for new teams next season.

I agree with all that, except maybe that Johnson might remain with the Bengals. I think the odds are he will be traded, but with TJ all but gone (I read they will not franchise him) I think they may just keep Ocho Cinco. That team will be a mess no matter what though. It would take a miracle and a healthy Palmer having the season to end all seasons, for them to become a playoff team.

The rumor of TO in Oakland is an interesting one. Oakland will be a black hole until Al Davis is in a casket. They might be able to rattle their way to 7 if everything goes perfect for them, but that is it. Davis undermines his coaches too much (and makes poor player decisions).

Another interesting subplot is what do the Jets do for a quarterback ? There recent free agent signings makes them a team that needs to make a playoff push now. Could they make a play for Bulger ? And what does he have left ?

That guy, has only been the best CB in football for three years running. That's not, now coming into his own.

But wasn't Bruce Gradkowski, Tampa's QB savior?

I call bullshit on that. They won 5 games last year and everything went wrong. They're the youngest team in the league, with a few FA pickups and if one or two players they draft can contribute right away, 7 wins is easily attainable in the AFC West. They might not even need that. Russell played well down the stretch, contrary to what people want to believe. A healthy McFadden will help too.

As for Al's poor player decisions, I hate how he's all about the athlete, and timed speeds, but he still has an eye for talent. It was hilarious how he called out Kiffin, at the presser when he fired him, for having Chris Johnson inactive week after week, only to cut Hall a few weeks later, insert Johnson into the starting lineup, where he performed admirably, and has now just signed a new, and well deserved, 4 year contract. This is the same guy every single Raiders fan wanted cut after the '07 Preseason. The old man still has it! Well sometimes...

We don't talk about Bruce Gradkowski anymore.

I've also heard that the Raiders are willing to trade their 2 top draft picks to the Cardinals for Anqouin (sp) Boldin.

That would be a bad trade.