5 Things I Think about the upcoming NFL Season
This upcoming season has all NFL fans excited (as does every season) because everyone is undefeated. Every fan is raving about their teams offseason moves and thinks that this might be the year. Here are 5 thoughts I have about the 2006 NFL season as a whole.
Number 1
Everyone knows my thoughts about the Defensive Rookie of the year but the offensive rookie of the year is a bit more challenging. The second overall pick Reggie Bush is a popular choice but he may be out done statistically because he is sharing the load with Duece McAllister. Young, Cutler, and Leinert are all going into the season as backups and Rookie receivers are generally (not always) unproductive. One guy to really watch is the Colts RB Addai. If he gets the carries over Rhodes, he could have a very productive season with the opposing defenses focusing on Manning and the passing game.
Number 2
Payton Marino, I mean Manning, may never win a Super Bowl. He is one of the best Quarterbacks to ever put on the pads, but his window of oppertunity may be closing. James's departure to the Cardinals will be a mild sting but isn't the reason that Manning's window is closing. Marvin Harrison is entering his 11th NFL season and will turn 33 during the season. That may not be extremely old but he will start to decline and the Colts will be hard-pressed to find a receiver with as much talent. The huge contracts the Colts have invested in their key positions puts a strain on adding big talent and unless they find some young (and cheap) gems, Manning will be the next Marino.
Number 3
Seattle is cursed this season and everyone is still predicting them to go deep into the playoffs this season. Shaun Alexander will get injured or just have a poor season because of the Madden curse and the Seahawks also have to deal with the Super Bowl hangover curse as well. Here's the curse in action:
2005
The Eagles went 6-10 following their Super Bowl loss.
2004
The Panthers went 7-9 which isn't too bad but not what they were expected to do after a Super Bowl appearance.
2003
The Raiders went 4-12 after being the dominant force in the AFC West for 4 years.
Seattle is doomed and they don't even realize it. Will they be the team to finally break one of these curses? Maybe, but I doubt it.
Number 4
The Steelers may also have a difficult time this season. I'm not sold on RB Willie Parker and Staley hasn't had a healthy season since he was an Eagle. This team may need to throw the ball more to find success in 2006. Which brings me to the QB position, Big Ben's accident will have an affect on this team. Even if he is back in time for pre-season, he is going to have to miss a lot of offseason practice time. This will affect his game whether any one admits it or not. Randel El was another loss for them this season too. His loss will make the Steelers remove a few plays from their playbook and utlimately hurt the passing game. The Steelers are still a great team, but not Super Bowl great.
Number 5
The AFC West playoff representative will win the Super Bowl. I beleive that whover emerges victorious from the brutal AFC West will have a great chance at being the Super Bowl Champions. In my AFC West Analysis I predict the division ending up like this:
Denver
11-5
Oakland
10-6
Kansas City
9-7
San Diego
5-11
If the Denver wins the division, it means the Walker and Plummer connection is working out and they got a running game. If the Raiders win the division, it means they found a QB and Moss is back on track. If the Cheifs win the division, it means LJ is nearly unstoppable and their old team stayed healthy, if the Chargers win the division, it means Rivers played well. It's a lot of if's but at least one of them will happen and that team will be a very strong playoff team.
Number 1
Everyone knows my thoughts about the Defensive Rookie of the year but the offensive rookie of the year is a bit more challenging. The second overall pick Reggie Bush is a popular choice but he may be out done statistically because he is sharing the load with Duece McAllister. Young, Cutler, and Leinert are all going into the season as backups and Rookie receivers are generally (not always) unproductive. One guy to really watch is the Colts RB Addai. If he gets the carries over Rhodes, he could have a very productive season with the opposing defenses focusing on Manning and the passing game.
Number 2
Payton Marino, I mean Manning, may never win a Super Bowl. He is one of the best Quarterbacks to ever put on the pads, but his window of oppertunity may be closing. James's departure to the Cardinals will be a mild sting but isn't the reason that Manning's window is closing. Marvin Harrison is entering his 11th NFL season and will turn 33 during the season. That may not be extremely old but he will start to decline and the Colts will be hard-pressed to find a receiver with as much talent. The huge contracts the Colts have invested in their key positions puts a strain on adding big talent and unless they find some young (and cheap) gems, Manning will be the next Marino.
Number 3
Seattle is cursed this season and everyone is still predicting them to go deep into the playoffs this season. Shaun Alexander will get injured or just have a poor season because of the Madden curse and the Seahawks also have to deal with the Super Bowl hangover curse as well. Here's the curse in action:
2005
The Eagles went 6-10 following their Super Bowl loss.
2004
The Panthers went 7-9 which isn't too bad but not what they were expected to do after a Super Bowl appearance.
2003
The Raiders went 4-12 after being the dominant force in the AFC West for 4 years.
Seattle is doomed and they don't even realize it. Will they be the team to finally break one of these curses? Maybe, but I doubt it.
Number 4
The Steelers may also have a difficult time this season. I'm not sold on RB Willie Parker and Staley hasn't had a healthy season since he was an Eagle. This team may need to throw the ball more to find success in 2006. Which brings me to the QB position, Big Ben's accident will have an affect on this team. Even if he is back in time for pre-season, he is going to have to miss a lot of offseason practice time. This will affect his game whether any one admits it or not. Randel El was another loss for them this season too. His loss will make the Steelers remove a few plays from their playbook and utlimately hurt the passing game. The Steelers are still a great team, but not Super Bowl great.
Number 5
The AFC West playoff representative will win the Super Bowl. I beleive that whover emerges victorious from the brutal AFC West will have a great chance at being the Super Bowl Champions. In my AFC West Analysis I predict the division ending up like this:
Denver
11-5
Oakland
10-6
Kansas City
9-7
San Diego
5-11
If the Denver wins the division, it means the Walker and Plummer connection is working out and they got a running game. If the Raiders win the division, it means they found a QB and Moss is back on track. If the Cheifs win the division, it means LJ is nearly unstoppable and their old team stayed healthy, if the Chargers win the division, it means Rivers played well. It's a lot of if's but at least one of them will happen and that team will be a very strong playoff team.
posted by The Analyzer at 7:34 AM
3 Comments:
10-6 for the raiders huh?
That's streching it a little don't you think?
I think maybe 8-8 is more like it!
check out my AFC West prediction.
AFC West
It's possible.
Seattle is going to blow.
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