[Patrick Sun]

With pre-season under way, I think it's time for the regular 2007-2008 NFL thread.

[tyler payne]

Woo Hoo, it's football season once again!

I feel good about the Bengals this year, there is not a team in the league that can stop them. However, there are a few judges and league rules that may de-rail a superbowl season.

tyler

[Walter C]

I can see the Eagles winning the NFC East, and a good chance of getting to the Super Bowl, with the NFC being weak.

Let's go Birds!

[Jordan_E]

Right now, I don't care who goes where...it's FOOTBALL TIME! WOOT WOOT!

[Scott Merryfield]

Thanks for starting a new thread, Patrick. I thought about doing the same last weekend.

I'll kick things off with an analysis of my local team, the mighty (cough) Detroit Lions. Others feel free to fill us in on your local or favorite team.

• QB: Jon Kitna is the unquestioned starter. He threw for a lot of yards last season, but averaged over 2 turnovers per game. He'll need to protect the ball better this season. Hopefully the offensive line will offer better protection than last season. If Kitna gets injured, though, this team is in deep trouble. There is not another QB on the roster with any significant NFL game experience.
• RB: Kevin Jones is still recovering from a serious foot injury, and will probably start the season on the PUP, missing at least the first six games. That means the Tatum Bell will carry the load. There are questions whether he can catch the ball well enough, which is required in the Martz offense. TJ Duckett will be the short yardage back -- he looks old so far in camp.
• WR: The strength of the offense. Roy Williams, Calvin Johnson, Mike Furrey and Shaun McDonald give the team four legitimate NFL receivers. Johnson looks like the real deal, unlike previous high first round picks Charles Rogers and Mike Williams. If Kitna gets the time to throw, these guys will put up some stats.
• OL: The biggest question mark on the team. This unit was terrible last season, ranking #32 in rushing and 2nd worst in sacks given up. There are two new starters at RT (George Foster) and LG (Ed Mutilalo), along with a 50 pound lighter Damien Woody, who returns from injury. It's difficult to imagine the unit not being better than last season, but the question is will they be improved enough to make a difference? I think the unit is still not very good, and the team will struggle to run the ball, leading to red zone problems as Kitna will be forced to throw too much.
• DL: This is where all the money was spent on the defensive side of the ball. Kalimba Edwards, Corey Redding and Dewayne White are all getting paid more than they are worth, and Shaun Rogers was a major disappointment last season. The unit lacks a quality outside pass rusher, which means opposing QB's will have lots of time to pick on a weak secondary.
• LB: There is Ernie Sims and little else here. Boss Bailey and Teddy Lehman have not been able to stay healthy since they were drafted, and Paris Lenon is merely average at middle linebacker. Do you think that Poslusky would have looked good here instead of drafting QB Drew Stanton, who is on injured reserve?
• Secondary: This unit is a disaster. Safety Kenoy Kennedy is the only proven NFL-caliber starter in the group. CB Fernando Bryant can't stay healthy, and last year's 2nd round draft pick (safety Bullock) is unproven. The other CB spot is up for grabs between a bunch of youngsters and journeymen. The pass defense will not be pretty.

Outlook: The offense will be exciting with all the passing possibilities, but teams win with quality offensive lines and defense, and the Lions have neither. While Detroit is a fashionable pick to be this year's Saints, I think they will struggle to win six games.

[Chris]

Vick pretty well cooked as other defendents accept plea to testify against him:

They were given deals to testify against him. Vick has now been given until Friday to take a plea or face a trial now with 7 witnesses against him.. including all of his former co-defendants.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7119802?MSNHPHMA

[Shane Martin]

Scott,
Here's my outlook on the 2007 Dallas Cowboys. I really think the NFC East is pretty weak. The Eagles typically implode, Washington is rebuilding and New York is really in trouble especially when Strahan hangs them up.

Phillips is a defensive minded coach and defense is where the Cowboys had issues. They played too passive for my tastes and Phillips will solve that issue. I expect Ware to have a mega year(15+ sacks or more). Phillips will let Jason Garrett run their offense which looks to be fairly efficient so far.

QB: Romo is the man this year. He has this year to further prove that. If not then look for management to draft a QB next year given they have 2 first round picks.

RB: The top 3 running backs are solid. Jones has to prove he can stay healthy otherwise they will just keep giving the ball to Barber who is a touchdown machine inside the 20. Jones needs to run well this year given how big the line is and how they should open up holes left and right.

WR: A strength but their 2 main receivers are old. If they go down with injuries, there isn't much of any decent backups.

TE: Another strength. Look for Witten and Fasano to get the ball a bunch.

OL: Another area of strength. Their main offensive lineman are HUGE.

Defensively: Their line is good but thin if Jason Ferguson goes down. Their linebacking core is solid. Greg Ellis remains a question mark but Anthony Spencer was drafted to help that. He still needs to learn how to play Lb because he was a down lineman before otherwise it really puts the pressure on Ware to do it all.

Their secondary is somewhat questionable still. Ken Hamlin needs to prove he's a solid center fielder. I'm hoping the increased defensive pressure will help him as well otherwise I think it will continue to show how limited Roy Williams is. He's more of an ILB IMHO.

Kicking and Punting is solid. No worries there.

Overall: They are setup to win the East. A lot of hope is put on how Phillips will magically make the Cowboy defense the aggressive force they need to be. Phillips has proven he can do this. I still question whether Romo or Julius Jones are capable starters for this team. And I couldn't forget about TO. So far he's been fairly quiet but it's only a matter of time.

[Alex-C]

I created a HTF pickem group on Yahoo for those who are interested.
All you do is pick the winning teams each week.
NO SPREAD, so its easy.
Its free, easy and fun.
Your 2 lowest scores are thrown out.
The group # is 29026
The password is widescreen

[Shane Martin]

I'm sure Scott with agree with this NFL expert.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a.../70814009/1049

Kitna will throw for 5,000 yards this season