betED.com :: View from the Couch Issue 151

betED Articles
The Couch

Couch - Most Recent

betED.com

The View from the Couch - by Gavin McDougald!

Sept 3rd, 2008 - NFL

Upping the Ante

Remember how bad you felt last September? What was usually the best time of year to be a sports fan, suddenly there was this great shadow cast over the NFL where many considered the luster of the national obsession to be permanently dulled due to the nastiness of the news.

No?

Ya - me neither. However while preparing to write this year's NFL preview by reading my wonderfully penned column from this time last year it turns out, just like the famous cheer from that football classic Wildcats staring Goldie Hawn, the NFL could only be described as 'U-G-L-Y, you ain't got no alibi, you UGLY!'

Commissioner Roger 'Good Cop - Worse Cop' Goodell was stealing all the headlines during pre-season due to the nefarious actions of 'Tank' Johnson, 'Pacman' Jones, Chris 'How come I don't have a nickname?' Henry and the -- you wouldn't believe it possible for one man to be so stupid - Michael Vick.

Things didn't get any better after the season kicked off because Super Bowl favorite New England Patriots were caught red camera-ed at cheating. Goodell had to give the sainted Bill Belichick a $500,000 fine and docked the Patriots $250,000 and their first-round pick in the draft.

Felonies, shootings, beatings, theft, assault, and finally the very integrity of the game called into question.

Times were bad for the NFL!

Except they weren't as far as we were concerned because the football was fan-frikin-tastic!

One of the best regular seasons overall was highlighted by breakout performances from Vikings' rookie Adrian Patterson and virtual perfection by Tom Brady. Then came a post-season that was actually better, capped by the greatest Super Bowl ever played.

So now, the NFL has a new problem.

They have to top that.

They got off to a good start because this offseason was pretty good to them. The bad news minimal, there were only a few shootings and some drug stuff. All of that was overshadowed however by Brett Favre saga that dominated the pre-Olympic sports world as few other stories have.

Brett Favre, the poster boy for Middle America for the past 16 seasons is now cavorting in the media capitol of the world, ready to take the Jets to the Promised Land - where their stadium buddy Giants went before.

Guaranteed to be 'the story' for the first half of the season at least, prepare for a quantum shift in Favre-ian enthusiasm as we all scream at our collective TV's 'e-firkin'-nough already!'

But seriously - can he do it? Or which of the Peyton boys, if any, get to play in Tampa on February 1st, 2009? Can Brady and the boys from Bastun complete perfection this year? Or, is time for a turning of the guard to one of the younger QB's out there - like Tony Romo and his dudes from Dallas?

Let's see shall we?

Starting where the most fun will be (at least the media types hope so) let's look at the AFC East:

Until someone can demonstrate the ability to limit the effect of the combination of Tom Brady and Randy Moss - the New England Patriots will be everyone's favorites. However, you gotta think the sting of going 18-0 and then coming up empty will leave a mark.

Next up - the New York Jets who went crazy adding Brett Favre, Alan Faneca, Kris Jenkins, and Calvin Pace. But that won't be enough to top the Patriots.

Third, the Buffalo Bills. Poor Buffalo. They were everyone's second pick in the east until that evil Favre ruined their lofty plans.

Miami Dolphins - Bill Parcells is a football genius. But he doesn't play. And he's not the coach.

The AFC North is one tough call, but let's give it to the team that addressed their biggest shortcoming, the Cleveland Browns. Despite going a respectable 10-6 last season, the Browns defense was exposed week after week as being one of the worst in the league. This season they added two-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Shaun and former Green Bay Packer Corey Williams, who is coming off a career year tackles-wise.

The Pittsburgh Steelers needed to bulk up on both their offensive and defensive lines but did neither so - runner up status for them.

The Baltimore Ravens begin the season with a one of the best defenses in all of football and an unproven offense. In other words, status quo.

Finally, the Cincinnati Bengals. A believer that trends matter, the Bengals finished first in the North in 2005, second in 2006 and third in 2007. This seems like the appropriate spot for them.

AFC South

Marvin Harrison is back to 100% and Peyton Manning is healthy, rested and now, hungry. Little brother showed him up so if you are an Indianapolis Colts fan, sit back and enjoy the show.

Jacksonville Jaguars - They have $60-million man David Garrard locked up and now he has two great receivers to throw to, Jerry Porter and Troy Williamson. Enough to keep them in second and to see them eliminated in the post season, once again, by the Patriots.

Can Vince Young make the leap to become the elite QB that he should be and lead the Tennessee Titans out of obscurity? Did you see the off-season pics of the guy? Fat and drunk aren't two of assets the Titans need right now. Hell, they could hire me for that.

The Houston Texans should lobby the league for a switch to the NFC South 'cause where they are, they've got no shot.

AFC West

The San Diego Chargers are another lock for the post season. The league was very kind to this unbelievably talented team handing them the easiest schedules in the AFC.

The hardest thing about this division is to pick who is the worst of the other three teams. Mike Shanahan has been the head coach of the Denver Broncos for an incredible 14 years. But it's unlikely that he will make it through his 15th.

The Oakland Raiders - A legendary franchise run by an octogenarian who still thinks he knows a thing or two about pigskin. Al Davis is still stepping in on coaching and player moves and so his team will continue to be the league wide joke that they have become.

Kansas City Chiefs - Guess how many rookie starters the rebuilding Chiefs could have this year? Thirteen. That's not a lucky number and this could get ugly.

NFC East

Can the Dallas Cowboys bounce back after being bounced out of the post-season by the Giants last season? If they don't, it will be the third straight time they have underperformed in the playoffs and you know Jerry Jones will lose it completely. Not enough to fire the GM of course. But let's face it, he's assembled the class of the NFL field here with perhaps the most talented team, top to bottom, ever.

In Philadelphia it's make it or break it time for Donovan McNabb. It's a guess at best to see how he does.

Following them should be the Giants. No way the Super Bowl hangover won't stick to last year's out-of-nowhere team.

Finally, the Redskins who looked like they were ready to take the next step, until camp opened and they lost about half of their team to various injuries.

Let's keep the NFC North short and sweet shall we? Because let's face it, this will be about the only time you'll be reading about any of them.

The Green Bay Packers chose Aaron Rodgers over Brett Favre. No, I'm serious!

The Minnesota Vikings may have the most talented player in the game with running back Adrian Patterson. Now if they only had a quarterback...

With one of the best 'D's' in the game, led by Brian Urlacher, and one of the worst 'O's' led by nobody, the Chicago Bears could well set the record for scoring the least and allowing the least points in a season in NFL history.

And finally the Detroit Lions. Seriously - when haven't the Lions being 'rebuilding?'

NFC South

The New Orleans Saints shocked everyone in 2006 and no one in 2007. If they have improved defensively even a bit, this division will theirs in a stroll.

Next are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who are just so incredibly old. If they don't keel over before it's over, they could be there at the end.

Last year the Carolina Panthers put all their woes on Jake Delhomme's wonky elbow. Trouble is, it's still wonky and they didn't do anything about it.

And finally, the Atlanta Falcons - All eyes will be on Matt Ryan, as he stands on the sidelines, holding a clipboard and watches his new team get thumped week after week. Should be fun!

And last but not least (well, actually they are) the NFC West:

Tough, experienced and relatively healthy, the Seattle Seahawks have a mission to get Mike Holmgren to the Super Bowl one more time.

The Arizona Cardinals are a gifted offensive team who should, theoretically, be able to put up a lot of points this year. However, the NFL gave them one of the toughest scheds in the NFC so, once again, they should be on the outside looking in.

Just what the San Francisco 49ers need! A QB controversy. Ahhh... Just like old times.

And finally, the St. Louis Rams should start off 0-3, and it should go pretty much downhill from there.

Fearless Prognostications:

NFC Champion: Dallas Cowboys

AFC Champion: Indianapolis Colts

Super Bowl XLIII Champions: The Indianapolis Colts.

And I'm not picking them to win just to see Jerry Jones go completely nuts.

Well, not much anyways.

Cheers - Gavin McDougald - AKA Couch

Check out 2008 NFL Betting Odds at betED.com.

- MLB Baseball
- Take me out to
  the ball game!

Terms & Conditions

betED.com features hot lines on your favourite sports action, amazing no download flash casino games and a poker room where you’ll never wait to find someone to play with!