NFL Predictions

With all the turmoil in Denver and the running back dispute in San Diego the only real threat for the Oakland Raiders next season is the Kansas City Chiefs.

Yes, the Chiefs have been absolutely terrible over the last decade or so, but with Matt Cassel behind center and some pretty good offensive weapons at his disposal they could be a big threat in the AFC next season.

Although I think the Chiefs will be much improved and both the Chargers and Broncos will struggle, it might just be the Oakland Raiders time to shine and get out of the dark shadows of mediocrity.

With JaMarcus Russell improving every season and an offense starting to come together the Raiders could be a force to be rekonded with in the AFC West next season.

It seems like almost everyone wants out of Philadelphia for some reason. The Eagles had a remarkable finish to their season last year, but I guess it wasn't enough to convince some of the best players on the team to stick with them.

One of the biggest blows to the Eagles this offseason was Brian Dawkins signing with the Denver Broncos. Dawkins seemed like one of those players that loved the Eagles so much that he would rather retire than go to another team, but as always money talks.

Another player that went to the Broncos from Philly was Correll Buckhalter. Hey, maybe with all the Eagles jumping ship for Denver maybe Philly will trade McNabb for Jay Cutler.

The latest Eagle to hit road is tight end LJ Smith who signed with the Baltimore Ravens.

Although the Ravens have never really had a good offense one of there best go to guys was tight end Todd Heap, but since he has all but disappeared in the offense the Ravens seem to be going with somewhat of a youth movement around franchise quarterback Joe Flacco. Smith isn't exactly a young buck, but he might be an upgrade at the position for Baltimore.

There was a lot of talk this offseason in the NFL about superstar players going elsewhere. Some of these players actually did take the money and went to another team like Albert Hansworth and Bart Scott, but Ray Lewis despite rumors of going to Big D stayed put with the Baltimore Ravens.

One thing that seems like a thing of the past in professional sports today is loyalty. Most superstar players, no matter how nice a guy they seem on TV, tend to take the high road these days. Just look at the Yankees!

Occasionally though, some players stay put and stay loyal to the team that took a chance on them in the beginning. Ray Lewis is one of those guys. Bart Scott may have bolted to New York with ex-defensive coach Rex Ryan, but Lewis wanted to finish his career as a Baltimore Raven. Got to respect that!

 Since Brett Favre has decided to retire, at least for the time being, the New York Jets now have the dilemma of trying to replace a hall of fame quarterback.

There are a few quarterbacks out there that would be a great fit in New York like Matt Cassel from the rival New England Patriots and Mark Sanchez who the Jets would have to make some moves in the NFL draft for, but they do have some options.

Out of all the positions in football the toughest position to find a great player for is the quarterback position. If you think of it the great teams out there today are the teams that have solid Pro Bowl type quarterback. In Indianapolis the Colts have Peyton Manning who isn't going anywhere and always leads his team to the post season. In New England there are now two awesome quarterbacks in Tom Brady, arguably the best to ever play the game, and Matt Cassel.

The list goes on and on, Pittsburgh has Big Ben, Giants have Eli Manning. A great quarterback is absolutely key to success in the NFL. 

So who will the Jets pick up? Who knows, but the smart move would be trying to get Cassel if the Patriots would let their division rivals have him.

  My Pick is   Eagles over the Vikings  Take the Eagles -3     This could be a close game, but the Eagles have a better pressure defense and a better QB which should make the difference.  Only chance Vikings have is if Peterson runs for over 150 yds. 

I see this pick as two solid teams with excellent QB's and good defenses.  I pick the Colts to win because they seem to get the favorable calls most of the time.  When was the last time you saw a Manning Td called back because of offensive holding?????  I can't remember either.  There are two teams in the NFL that seem to get the benefit on the majority of calls ( Colts and Patriots ).  This is Dungey's last year as Coach which could also benefit the Colts.  The Most Underated QB in football is Rivers.   If he doesn't throw Int's and San Diego runs for 150 + yds the Chargers will then have a chance.  Take the Colts  -1

The football lock this week is the New Orleans Saints -7 over Detroit.   Detroit is just showing up these days, not much motivation anymore.  The team they will beat will be the Green Bay Packers.  I believe they will beat them by a FG.  Of course the Saints are out of the playoffs, but will just the same win this game.  Take Saints -7

Miami  - 7.5  vs  St Louis  this week.   Giants came thru again last week.  I'm actually betting on the Giants as well, but thought I would post the Miami game.   Boy, Miami is doing real well this year and are getting stronger by the week.  I think this is a lock. 

Switchen gears this week.  Still like the Jets,  but for a lock I'm going with the Giants over Arizona.  They are playing so good right now.  Manning is doing such a good job of leading them to wins.   Don't think Arizona will be able to stay with them the whole game.  Take the Giants -6.5

Won last week again with the Jets

I'm still sticking with the Jets.  Even though Brett had one of his worse games last week, he will turn it around this week.   boy, he doesn't have the receivers he had in GB that's for sure, but they should stay in the +5 range and even have a chance to win this outright.  Buffalo probably has the better team, but with Brett, you just can't count them out.   PICK:   Jets  +5