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NFL 2010 Regular Season Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

Scott Merryfield

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I'll start with my team picks:

 

NFC North:

  1. Green Bay
  2. Minnesota
  3. Chicago
  4. Detroit
 

NFC East:

  1. Dallas
  2. NY Giants
  3. Philly
  4. Washington
 

NFC South:

  1. New Orleans
  2. Atlanta
  3. Carolina
  4. Tampa Bay
 

NFC West:

  1. San Fran
  2. Seattle
  3. Arizona
  4. St. Louis
 

NFC Wildcards:

  1. NY Giants
  2. Atlanta
 

AFC North:

  1. Baltimore
  2. Cincinnati
  3. Pittsburgh
  4. Cleveland
 

AFC East:

  1. New England
  2. NY Jets
  3. Miami
  4. Buffalo
 

AFC South:

  1. Indy
  2. Houston
  3. Tennessee
  4. Jacksonville
 

AFC West:

  1. San Diego
  2. Oakland
  3. Denver
  4. Kansas City
 

AFC Wildcards

  1. NY Jets
  2. Houston
 

Super Bowl: Indy over Green Bay

 

 

A few observations:

  1. I think Minnesota will suffer some under Favre: The Sequel, as they are already struggling with injuries and the season has not started.
  2. I wasn't sure on the Jets vs. the Dolphins for 2nd in the AFC East. Miami could surprise and get NY's playoff spot.
  3. The NFC West is terrible. The 49ers will be the only team with a winning record, and win the division by default. Arizona is going to crash and burn, with only the horrible Rams keeping them out of the basement.
  4. The AFC West isn't much better. The Raiders should be improved if they do not get everyone hurt in the preseason.
  5. The Bears could finish anywhere from 2-14 to 7-9. I think the Mike Martz experiment will fail, and only the Lions presence will keep them out of last place.
  6. The Steelers are also in for a rough season, and could actually finish below Cleveland (but the Browns are very bad, too, so it's hard not to pick them last).
  7. I was leaning towards Dallas winning the NFC, but they have looked terrible in the preseason. I know it's preseason, but I'm giving the nod to the Packers based on this.
 

Scott Merryfield

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Finally, my more in-depth look at the local team... the Detroit Lions.

 

The offense is vastly improved with the addition of Jahvid Best (RB), Tony Scheffler (TE), Nate Burleson (WR) and Rob Sims (G), giving 2nd year QB Matt Stafford some real weapons to go with WR Calvin Johnson. This offense actually should finish in the top half of the league, which is a huge improvement over the past several years. Best actually looks like he could be something special.

 

The defense, however, is still going to be horrible. Detroit did improve the defensive line a great deal by adding top pick Suh (DT), Corey Williams (DT) and Kyle Vanden Bosch (DE). However, the linebackers are even worse than last year's very bad group, losing Ernie Sims and Larry Foote. That only leaves two legitimate NFL linebackers -- Julian Peterson and DeAndre Levy (and Levy is hurt again). The secondary is a disaster, with only safety Louis Delmas being a legitimate NFL starter. The cornerbacks are so bad, it's beyond description.

 

So, look for lots of high-scoring games. Unfortunately, the Lions offense will bog down enough that this will still be a last place team.

 

Final record prediction: 4-12 (which is a big improvement, considering they are 2-30 over the past two seasons combined).
 

Ockeghem

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Scott,

 

I don't see the Lions finishing behind the Bears, but we'll see. (Then again, I picked Detroit to finish 6-10 last year.) Mike Martz and Jay Cutler -- are you kidding? I don't see Cutler making it through the season under his system.

 

I think the Lions will finish either 5-9 or 6-10 this year. I think they can sweep the Bears and split with the other teams in their division. They've also got the Rams, Bills, and Bucs, so that's three possible wins. I like their defensive line (especially their front four). But, it's their secondary that worries me quite a lot. I do think that Stafford will get a bit more protection this year, too. One announcer today (Ray Bentley, a former NFL defensive player who played in two Super Bowls) picked Detroit to finish 10-6! But Bentley has them defeating the Eagles and (on Thanksgiving Day) the Patriots. I think that is a bit too optimistic. You should have heard his co-announcers giving him quite a hard time about predicting a 10-6 finish for Detroit. :)

 

I like most of your picks. I am trying to envision the Packers ahead of the Vikings, but given that Favre had quite an impressive year last year and is probably due for a mediocre year, I guess I can see this happening.

 

I would have picked the Jets to win their division this time around, but given what they've had to deal with with Revas, and the recent injuries during the pre-season, I think that the Patriots will probably be able to take their division again.

 

I will digest what you've written a bit before commenting too much more at this point.
 

Scott Merryfield

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Originally Posted by Ockeghem

Scott,

 

I don't see the Lions finishing behind the Bears, but we'll see. (Then again, I picked Detroit to finish 6-10 last year.) Mike Martz and Jay Cutler -- are you kidding? I don't see Cutler making it through the season under his system.

 

I think the Lions will finish either 5-9 or 6-10 this year. I think they can sweep the Bears and split with the other teams in their division. They've also got the Rams, Bills, and Bucs, so that's three possible wins. I like their defensive line (especially their front four). But, it's their secondary that worries me quite a lot. I do think that Stafford will get a bit more protection this year, too. One announcer today (Ray Bentley, a former NFL defensive player who played in two Super Bowls) picked Detroit to finish 10-6! But Bentley has them defeating the Eagles and (on Thanksgiving Day) the Patriots. I think that is a bit too optimistic. You should have heard his co-announcers giving him quite a hard time about predicting a 10-6 finish for Detroit. :)

 

I like most of your picks. I am trying to envision the Packers ahead of the Vikings, but given that Favre had quite an impressive year last year and is probably due for a mediocre year, I guess I can see this happening.

 

I would have picked the Jets to win their division this time around, but given what they've had to deal with with Revas, and the recent injuries during the pre-season, I think that the Patriots will probably be able to take their division again.

 

I will digest what you've written a bit before commenting too much more at this point.

I feel pretty good about my Lions pick of 4-12 based on their horrible defense, but I do think the Bears are hard to predict. As I said above, I could see them finishing anywhere from 2-14 to 7-9, but I am leaning towards the bottom end of that scale. I think Martz's system, with its lack of focus on protecting the QB, could get Cutler killed behind that poor offensive line. Also, the Bears do not have the talent at WR or RB to run his offense. Their best receiver is TE Olsen, and Martz ignores the tight end.

 

The only reason I have the Lions 4th is because one of these two teams has to finish last, and Detroit has been worse for a long time. I had the same problem picking the worst between the Browns/Steelers, Broncos/Chiefs, and Cards/Rams. I went with recent history in each case to determine who would finish higher, but in all cases none of the teams will compete for a playoff spot, IMO.

 

I think the Jets are overrated, between Revis's holdout and Sanchez not being as good he appeared last year. I really think the Dolphins could keep them out of that wild card spot, but I stuck with the Jets because of their off season improvements. I could see this going either way.
 

Steve_Tk

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I'll take a stab at this:

 

NFC North:

 

Green Bay

 

NFC East:

 

Dallas

 

 

NFC South:

 

New Orleans

 

 

NFC West:

 

San Fran

 

 

NFC Wildcards:

  1. NY Giants
  2. Atlanta
 

AFC North:

 

Baltimore

 

AFC East:

 

New England

 

 

AFC South:

 

Indy

 

 

AFC West:

 

San Diego

 

 

AFC Wildcards

  1. NY Jets
  2. Bungals
 

tyler payne

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AFC east = Pats

 

AFC south = Colts

 

AFC north = Bengals

 

AFC west = Chargers

 

Wildcards = Ravens, Jets

 

NFC east = Cowboys

 

NFC south = Saints

 

NFC north = Vikings

 

NFC west = 49ers

 

Wildcards = Green Bay, Eagles
 

Ockeghem

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I picked the Vikings last night (with the points) and won -- by one point. I've been thinking of picking every game this year to see how I fare. My son wants to do this as well. I told him it's quite challenging to get a lot of the games right when you pick against the spread.

 

Anyway, I was rooting for Minnesota to win outright, which didn't occur. It was still an interesting game, and I'm happy that the NFL season is upon us again. :)
 

Scott Merryfield

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I only saw part of the first half, but the Vikings offense looked very rusty. I guess that's what happens when your starting QB and best WR miss most of training camp. Of course, the Saints offense struggled at times, too.

 

On Sunday, the Lions will attempt to extend their current 20 game road losing streak. Only four more road losses and they can tie the NFL record the team originally set a few years ago. "The Detroit Lions -- Rebuilding Since 1957!"
 

Dheiner

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I'm not sure Chicago has enough offense to beat the Lions.

 

Of course that opinion could have something to do with the fact that....
 

Ockeghem

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Scott,

 

That streak will probably come to an end this weekend....
 

Steve_Tk

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Play calling for Vikings was terrible in second half. They gave up on the run, which was working.
 

Ockeghem

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^^^

 

Agreed. That game was there for the taking, and Minnesota seemed to be a bit rusty (as Scott suggested above). Then again, the Saints didn't look all that impressive either.
 

mattCR

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Vince Young was made to look like Tom Brady with the ability to run. Tennessee looked incredible but then you realize who they were playing ;)
 

Scott Merryfield

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Originally Posted by Dheiner

The Lions got hosed. That may be "the rule" but it's still wrong.

How did they get hosed when the officials called the play correctly? Even Lions head coach Schwartz said the officials got it right. Were the refs supposed to ignore the rule and award Johnson a TD?

 

The Lions didn't lose because of that call. They lost because their offense couldn't move the ball most of the game.
 

Ockeghem

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Originally Posted by Dheiner

The Lions got hosed. That may be "the rule" but it's still wrong.

Dheiner,

 

I think I know what you're saying. The call was consistent with the rule, but the rule in and of itself is wrong. If that's what you're saying, I agree. If the rule doesn't exist, it's a touchdown, right? I'm just asking for some clarification.
 
 

Johnny Angell

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All day long the TV has been saying they refs got it right according to the "rule." Not once have I head the rule explained.
 

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