Unfounded and unresearched NFL Predictions, among other things

I know, I know, most people don't give a crap what I think about how the NFL season is going to play out. I don't blame them. With all of the talking heads over at the WWL in Bristol and countless analysts and bloggers giving their two cents, it's hard to break away from the pack and give anything meaningful in terms of opening the NFL season. That being the case, I'm gonna spend less time on the Predictions themselves and more time answering a couple questions that could/should/will rear their ugly mugs at the start of a pristine 2008 campaign.

1. Has Chad Johnson lost his mind?

If any of you listened to my segment on WTSR's "Striker Bill" program Monday Night (that would be 91.3fm in Trenton for this who don't know), I brought this question up to my buddy Kubak. With all of his antics and trash talk he's given us over the years, nothing comes close to the name change from "Johnson" to "Ocho Cinco." Sure, the HoF jacket may have been a little premature and the Putting Pilon was quite entertaining, but how many people in the league, or anywhere for that matter, would change their last name to a number in a language that isn't even their own? Some may called this arrogance, other may call it brilliance, I just call plain plumb dumb.

For all of his talk, he's an average receiver (Housh is better, in my opinion) on a .500 team that plays little defense and can't keep it's players out of jail. He needs to spend less time tooting his own horn and more time backing his statements up. Give me 100 catches, 10 TD's and no mouth and I'll call him whatever he wants....except loverboy or babycakes cause I could see that getting awkward.

2. Will Brett Favre, the Ultimate Male, bring the floundering Jets back to the Promised Land (or at least the playoffs)?

Yes, Brett Favre is a Jet. Maybe you know that. Maybe you didn't. Regardless of whether you kept up with his summer newsticker or not, Favre will begin his 18th season in the league (1 with Atlanta, 16 with the Cheeseheads) in the somewhat bright lights of New York City (seeing as they play in Jersey). While great things will be expected of Favre at his new team, he can relish in the fact that, for the first time in his career, he will play second fiddle to someone else. In this case, the Giants, coming off an improbable Super Bowl victory over Belichick, Brady and the Pats.

We all know Favre is a country boy with country values and country style. The lights and media of NYC, while genial now, may not be so if the Jets fail to succeed early on in the season. While the offense has gotten better with additions of Favre and All-Pro Guard Alan Faneca, a lot remains to be seen from the Jets raw defense and some of their new additions, notably former Cardinal Calvin Pace. The Jets will benefit from playing a somewhat easy schedule, getting both of the West divisions (who suck something awful) and 4 should be wins against the Dolphins and Bills. The Jets have the look and feel of a potential wild card team, but they can easy stink up the joint like they did last year. It's up to Favre to make statements early and often or the Jets could find themselves in a tough spot in the overly-competitive AFC.

3. Which talented rookie RB will rise to the top of this year's class?

Darren McFadden, Jonathon Stewart, Reshard Mendenhall, Kevin Smith, Felix Jones, and Matt Forte. The Sensational Six, as I like to call them (ok, not really, I just came up with it, but it's got quite a nice ring to it), make up one of the highest-profile running back classes in years. The headliner, McFadden, has already garnered comparisons to everyone from Herschel Walker to Adrian Peterson. While incumbent RB Justin Fargas will start the season, it's only a matter of time before resident loony-bin Owner Al Davis forces Lane Kiffin's hand to play the Arkansas phenom.

While McFadden has the glitz and prestige, when it comes to importance and substance, the pick of the litter should be his Arkansas teammate Felix Jones. While he didn't get the recognition or playing time as McFadden, he is in the best situation as the change of pace back to Marion the Barbarian in Big D. He'll steal a lot of touches from Barber (which doesn't mean much as Barber is a TD machine) and Jerry Jones will want to see his first round pick in the game as much as possible.

Forte and Smith are also in interesting situations with Chicago and Detroit respectively (having little to no competition for starting roles), but they were beaten into the ground in college and it is yet to be seen whether they will hold up to the constant beatings they will get from playing in the brutal, defense-rich NFC Central.

4. Who is the darkhorse, sexy sleeper pick this season?

Last year, it was my woeful Niners. Two years ago, it was the Dolphins. Every year this millenium, it was the Arizona Cardinals. This year? ESPN picked the Texans and for good reason. 8-8 last year, second year for the Schaub/Johnson connection and one of the best young defenses in the NFL. I happen to disagree because I see ABSOLUTELY NO CONSISTANCY IN THE RUNNING GAME. Ahman Green? Steve Slaton? Marcel Shipp? Hey, while we're at it, let's bring back Wali Lundy or Ron Dayne. How about Curtis Enis? Rashaan Salaam needs work. I'm pretty sure Barry Word or Bam Morris would come out of retirement if Gary Kubiak asked politely. The point is, regardless of how great your defense and passing game are, you need some semblance of a running game to win in this league and I don't think Houston fits the bill.

My choice for sexy pick of the season? The Philadelphia Eagles.

I'm sensing crickets from the congregation. The Eagles, you say? You mean the same Eagles that was the odd man out in the NFC East last year? The same Eagles who currently have the most brittle QB in the NFL? The same Eagles who have a starting receiving corps of Greg Lewis, Hank Baskett and Cal Rook DeSean Jackson? Those Eagles?

That's right, those Eagles. To put it in other words: In Westbrook I Trust. You want to talk about someone who wins the perennial "Most underrated player of the NFL" award, it's Brian Westbrook. He runs, he catches, he scores TD's, he blocked, he saves babies from burning buildings and feeds cheesesteaks to the homeless of Philadelphia. The man is a monster between the tackles and damages egos/ankles on the perimeter. He's a one man wrecking crew for a team that only has one weapon. They are going to rely on him more than ever this season and I feel Westbrook, along with McNabb and their quality O-Line, will rise up to the challenge.

Some may think it's boring and you would be right. This is a team that, for the past decade, has been incredibly successful. That being said, they are also a team that has annually been given little to no respect because of underachieving in the playoffs and constant injuries to key players. This year will be different and you heard it here first.

Now that I've answered a few questions, on to the season and playoff predictions (playoff seed in parentheses):

AFC East - New England (#1), New York Jets (#6), Buffalo, Miami
AFC North - Cleveland (#4), Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Cincinnati
AFC South - Indianapolis (#2), Jacksonville (#5), Houston, Tennessee
AFC West - San Diego (#3), Denver, Oakland, Kansas City

NFC East - Dallas (#1), New York (#5), Philadelphia (#6), Washington
NFC North - Minnesota (#4), Green Bay, Detroit, Chicago
NFC South - New Orleans (#3), Tampa Bay, Carolina, Atlanta
NFC West - Seattle (#2), Arizona, San Francisco, St. Louis

AFC Wild Card - San Diego over New York, Jacksonville over Cleveland
AFC Divisional - New England over Jacksonville, San Diego over Indianapolis
AFC Championship - New England over San Diego

(Look familiar, it should. I don't see this changing very much, sorry if it's not original but if you're honest with yourself, anything else would be childish)

NFC Wild Card - Philadelphia over New Orleans, New York over Minnesota
NFC Divisional - Dallas over Philadelphia, Seattle over New York
NFC Championship - Dallas over Seattle

SUPER BOWL XLIII: Dallas over New England

There you have it, I got the Dallas Cowboys (as much as I hate to admit it) as the Super Bowl champs for the 2008 NFL season. While it probably won't come to fruition, I feel that my odds of picking this right are as good as anyone else's. That being said, if this matchup does happen and New England loses, it will go a long way into the minds of the general public that maybe, JUST maybe, there is some truth into the Spygate, Belichick-can't-win-without-cheating argument.

Knowing my luck, we'll get a Cleveland-Minnesota Super Bowl and the national media will swan dive into a vat of hydrochloric acid.

That's all for now. Come back late Thursday night, as I will be keeping a running diary for NFL Kickoff 2008 (yes, the running diary is en vogue, but I've always wanted to do one and now seems as good a time as any to do so).