User Comments

1. 

   9/10/08

   thefly

   Im still aching from the Tom Brady injury as I am a hardcore Pats fan. Im putting my faith into Matt Cassel. Before last year though, that Pats were never a flashy offensive team, they were running, pounding, defensive and won close games. So, Belichick knows how to win low scoring and close games. I still have faith the Pats will make the playoffs and by the time the playoffs roll around, Ill reform my opinion to see if they can make the Super Bowl or not. Go Pats!!!
   
   update: And the Miami Dolphins is the most pathetic form of a Football team.
   
   buzz buzz

   [reply]
   1. 

      9/10/08

      kdawg68

      I'm still picking them to win the East - but the fact that it was close against K.C. is not a good sign. Still, it was week 1 - and as this now a team with new leadership they have a right to improve. Have a feeling though that without a dominating running game much of last year and against K.C. last week, that teams will come after Cassell. He'll need to be Brady-esque to pull it off. Still, the Pats always find the right guys. They are the engergizer bunny of pro-football and just keep going, and going, and going.
      
      Edit: watch out for that improving Bills team and a J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets team that believes in itself now - despite only barely beating Miami. Buffalo is the more likely of the two challengers, but the Pats have owned them in recent memory. Makes me stay with the Pats for now unless one of them really jumps up. Jets have their chance first. It could be a good one!
   2. 

      9/10/08

      thefly

      It might not be a good sign but go back to 2002 all the way up to before last year and most of their games were close. I dont think they averaged over 10 point victories.
      
      The Pats more than any other team thrive in the kind of environment where people count them out. Its gonna be a long year but it was a long year when they went to the Super Bowl against the Greatest Show of Turf and me trying to convince people they were going to beat the Rams. I feel they will show everyone they are still a great team and you cant just run them over. They will find a way to beat teams but they wont be as dominating as last year.
      
      I want to see the Cowboys self destruct, I hate a team of pre-madonnas. I want Farve to do good but not better than the Pats. I wanna see Lawrence Maroney show the League that he is a dominating Back and will run over you.
      
      Its a bad year for a lot of players as a lot of people are out for the whole season. Merrimian is out, most of Seattle's receiving corps are out, Brady out, Vince Young having mental issues. There's a lot of injury going around the league.
   3. 

      9/10/08

      kdawg68

      For what it's worth - I thought Maroney was the best back in college coming into his draft. Injuries and scheme have slowed him down a bit. We still haven't seen his best stuff yet. I'm just not sold the defense can hold together. The Chiefs came within an inch of sending it to OT. That last pass to D. Bowe might've been completed by a slightly better team - and they are the bottom of the AFC and that was at home. Don't know - I'm still picking them but I don't think it's a championship season.
      
      Arrggghhh. Knife in the heart - that GSOT (Greates show on turf) team was my Rams, man. Damn Dre Bly. He blew the coverage on the big 3rd down and long on the field-goal winning drive. We had 'em man. And we were on fire at that point. Lovie Smith turned to Bly when he came off the field, and very cooly and calmly said "hey Dre, hey Dre - you just lost us a championship."
   4. 

      9/10/08

      thefly

      Maroney will shine this year. I want to believe that the chiefs came close was because the Pats were more than slightly distracted that their quarterback that has been with them for over 120 consecutive starts was hurt and wasnt coming back onto the field. Thats what I want to believe, haha.
      
      The D is aging and I will be surprised to see them not give up many points in games. But I think they will hold it together to win enough games. Its a shame because I was really looking forward to another Brady Manning showdown in week 9, damn!
      
      Yeah, and no one even knew Brady that year. Counted them out. But for me to compare Cassel to Brady in '02 would be naive on my part but I can hope right, haha. I feel that the team will muscle through this season and once the playoffs roll around then I will decide if they will be a championship team or not. After all, look at the Giants of last year. F*&%ing Giants!! Im still hurting, haha. But if I can get anything out of that is that a team coming together towards the playoffs have more than a fighting chance to win the Super Bowl.
   5. 

      9/10/08

      kdawg68

      Well said! Bravo to that spirit. Love talkig with passionate fans. You may be right - and Bellichek is a student of military history and knows how to rally the troops (I've heard he tours Antietam and Gettysburg, but I've yet to run into him, more's the pitty).
      
      One other thing in that K.C. game is that I really like Dwayne Bowe on K.C. He'd be such a better fantasy weapon if he was on a more explosive team. He's primed to breakout, but may be held back by his supporting cast. The fact that he was the go-to guy for scores moreso than L.J. and T.G. was big to me. They know what they've got and they're going to try and use it.
2. 

   9/10/08

   RecycleCindy

   Looks like my Seahawks are out of your running but then again they didn't really show up for week 1, did they? But it's still early and one can still dream...

   [reply]
   1. 

      9/10/08

      thefly

      Yeah, your receiving corps are all banged up. 4 of your top receivers are out with injuries and your quaterback is having back problems with bulging discs or something. Man, the Seahawks are not giving Holmgren his swan song.
   2. 

      9/10/08

      kdawg68

      I'm probably guilty of being biased against them. Being a Rams fan, they have morphed into enemy #1 beyond even the 49ers, but the Rams stink so bad it doesn't even matter at this point.
      
      The WR corps is pretty banged up. They've got a rookie TE. I'm not really sure they've ever solved the Right Guard position since letting 'Hutch' go. Defensively I like some of their playmakers, and coupled with Hasselback's veteran presence at QB makes them a logical contender for the NFC West crown. I just thought the NFC East was the cream of the crop at this point and took the Iggles and Giants for now as wild card teams. They each have weaknesses though.
      
      Ironically, despite all the talk being focused on the NFC East - keep your eye on the NFC South. For some reason those teams are always tough, and look at what we saw. The Saints pulled a close one out against a very game Bucs team (in New Orleans). The Panthers upset the Super Bowl hopeful Chargers. Even the supposedly lowly Falcons looked dangerous. That's the x-factor division that figures to have a say in things come playoff time - but who will survive? I picked the Saints, but that's dangerous as they would appear to have the weaker defense between them, Carolina, and Tampa.
3. 

   9/10/08

   thefly

   I think L.J. is overrated from the Chiefs. Did you see him on Hard Knocks last season on HBO. He's cry baby when he doesnt get the ball.
   
   Im also looking forward to Adrian Peterson from the Vikes, NOT the Bears, haha. He showed some sparks of greatness in the Packers game. I was just waiting for him to explode and run it in for a touchdown everytime he touched it. Being that its only week 1, I saw a lot to look forward to in his runs.
   
   The Saints got me a little excited also but I was so disappointed with last year with them. But they have that same glimmer from that "magical" year. Looking forward to seeing Drew Brees lighting up another offensive show. But Marques Colston is out, hopefully they can hold it together.
   
   The Colts looked really rusty in the Bears game and the Bears look phenomenal. Given, Manning hasnt had a real snap in a while and Marvin Harrison has been out for a long time and Anthony Gonzalez is still technically a rookie Im still not too worried about them. But F&%K the Colts, haha. As far as I see it they are my rivals for the Pats, haha.
   
   buzz buzz

   [reply]
   1. 

      9/10/08

      kdawg68

      The Bears did a great job attacking up the middle against a 1st-time starting Center, and they also did a good job getting a helmet on Bob Sanders in the running game. That should be the blueprint for how to beat the Colts this year, all year long. Trouble is, as you mentioned - Manning should improve after week 1 (that being his first action), they have weapons out the whazoo, and other teams don't have quite the defensive personell/talent the Bears possess.
      
      For the Bears - they could well take the Central. It's them and the Packers at this point. Minnesota needs to prove they can come from behind passing the ball and generate a pass rush before I can move them up. That Chicago defense and D. Hester will keep them in every game. The downside is K.Orton, but all he has to do is be a Trent Dilfer. They do seem built to win playoff games and late season games. Forte looked pretty sharp as well.