Yes, I know it's been a long time since I've last done this. Due to the fact that I've just been busy with God-knows-what over the last few times that I did this, plus my absolute frustration with the way the 2008 NFL season turned out for the Packers, that basically explains my apparent lethargy towards this. But nonetheless, I'd like to talk about a few things, specifically what happened during the course of the year, going over my preseason predictions.
Let's start with the AFC East, where I said:
New England Patriots - 12-4
New York Jets - 10-6
Buffalo Bills - 8-8
Miami Dolphins - 2-14
OK, I didn't do bad here, despite the fact that I didn't get the playoff team right. I almost nailed the Jets' record right on the nose, and I did add the detail in which they'd miss out on the playoffs during the last week of the season. Who would have known that Tom Brady would go down for the year in week 1? Regardless, they did put up a valiant effort with Cassel, and were unfortunately the second 11-5 team to miss the playoffs (once again, due to a tiebreaker). The Miami Dolphins I swung and missed on (but who didn't?), mainly because Chad Pennington was playing for them, and I didn't have confidence in him. But hey--the Wildcat offense works wonders. Bills were basically who I thought they were.
In the AFC North...
Pittsburgh Steelers - 10-6
Cleveland Browns - 10-6*
Cincinnati Bengals - 5-11
Baltimore Ravens - 4-12
The Browns and Ravens turned out to be in flip-flopped positions, more or less. Derek Anderson was a disappointment and was probably seen as a one-year wonder, but is it all his fault that Braylon Edwards has stone hands at wide receiver? And then when Quinn went down for the year, we knew the Browns were screwed. Get this: their last offensive touchdown was back in week 11 in a Monday Night tilt with the Bills (it also turned out to be their last win). They did score a garbage-time interception return for touchdown on a Monday Night game against Philadelphia on Week 15, but I'm not counting the defensive touchdown. But it's also interesting to note that that was the last time the Browns scored a point at all this season, as they were shut out in two consecutive games to end it.
Now for the Ravens, who knew Joe Flacco would have played the way he would throughout the season? And I give props to the defense's play, especially one Ed Reed. If I knew the quarterback play would be this good, I'd have had more confidence in them. But it's impossible to know how exactly rookie quarterbacks will fare. Bengals and Steelers were on target for the most part.
Now, to the AFC South...
Indianapolis Colts - 13-3
Jacksonville Jaguars - 11-5*
Tennessee Titans - 8-8
Houston Texans - 8-8
Was Kerry Collins really worth more wins than Vince Young was? Looking back at it, I'll have to say yes. So many times he has been written off as being "done," but this time he isn't asked to do too much, but to not make mistakes. And you can thank that two-headed monster in LenDale White and Chris Johnson in the backfield, as well as that defense. I was right that there would be two 10+ win teams in this division, but not right on the fact that the Colts would not be the division winners. But they did make it interesting and didn't give up. The Texans are pretty much in the same position as they were last year. But the Jacksonville Jaguars were the real disappointment here. I honestly don't know WHAT happened here. Perhaps it was the loss of their two great run-blocking offensive guards for the season in the early parts of Week 1 that has hindered their ability to run the football with Taylor and Jones-Drew. And it also doesn't help that Garrard wasn't feeling comfortable back there because of the offensive line woes; that led to his subpar season.
And to round out the AFC with the West:
San Diego Chargers - 14-2
Denver Broncos - 6-10
Kansas City Chiefs - 4-12
Oakland Raiders - 3-13
So it's not too hard to pick the bottom two of this division this year. Nearly nailed it on the nose, but I think that's close enough. While the Chargers weren't 14-2 good, their 8-8 record winning the AFC West doesn't show how good they really were, especially when they lost their first two games at the gun/on a controversial call. (But then again, they almost lost to the Chiefs twice, so it might have evened out there.) But still, they played better than anyone in that division during the last four weeks, and took the division away from a Broncos team that really didn't want it. I swear, those guys would have been the worst division winners in recent memory if the Chargers didn't take it away from them. I don't think I predicted that 32 of the Broncos' running backs would go on injured reserve, but the defense is still putrid.
To the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 12-4
New York Giants - 11-5*
Philadelphia Eagles - 11-5*
Washington Redskins - 8-8
Gotta love overhyping the NFC (b)East! I should have seen the Cowboys just cower when Marion Barber went down, or when locker room chemistry issues started poking its ugly head out on them. But then the same thing happened to the Giants, no? They had home field advantage pretty much solidified, but then they shot themselves in the foot. Or leg. Whatever. The Philadelphia Eagles did a good job of getting their shit together in time and clinched the playoff spot (at the expense of my fantasy team's championship, but that's neither here nor there) before it really hit the shitter. And can we laugh at the Cowboys again? The Redskins...I don't know what happened here. This type of underachievement was expected from me, but not after they'd do so well in the beginning of the season.
Here are my wonderful NFC North predictions.
Green Bay Packers - 10-6
Minnesota Vikings - 9-7
Detroit Lions - 6-10
Chicago Bears - 5-11
I still don't regret my choice for division winner. The Packers really could have gone 10-6 if a few things went their way, or if they had a defense that was capable of actually holding late game leads. But then again, this kind of thing can be said about a lot of teams. I was almost on target with the Vikings, but too much bias kept me from giving them another win, as well as my unbiased expectations of them. But you knew the winner of this division would fail in the playoffs, and they did as expected. Even the Bears could have fought for that playoff spot if they didn't decide to wet the bed against Houston in Week 17, and they would have made Minnesota earn that division win, which they would have gotten anyway even if Longwell missed the kick at the end. I know I was talking about the lack of an offense the Bears appeared to have at the beginning of the season...but I'd have to say Matt Forte is a nice-looking running back. And trust me, you were lying if you said the Lions would go 0-16. Don't even act like they were going to do it. But I'm pretty sure you said they'd go 3-13 or 2-14 or 1-15 or whatever. But hey--at least they went undefeated in the preseason.
The NFC South lies ahead.
New Orleans Saints - 10-6
Carolina Panthers - 9-7
Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 8-8
Atlanta Falcons - 3-13
Well let's just say I was wrong with the Falcons. Matt Ryan basically proved EVERYONE wrong with his performance as a rookie. I was somewhat confident in Michael Turner taking the load at running back. Unfortunately, my analysis for the Falcons wasn't very extensive, as I was tired of typing a bunch of shit at the time. The Panthers finished 12-4, but weren't really as good as their record shows with Jake Delhomme playing inconsistently, and five of their wins totaling four points or less each time. The Saints...well that's what happens when you don't stop people from scoring. Drew Brees can pass the ball for miles, but it doesn't matter if they can't do anything against the other quarterback who can pass it for miles. How about that chokejob from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? A playoff berth (and a possible chance at hosting the Super Bowl) is within reach, and then they get diarrhea against the Raiders. Yuck.
And lastly, the NFC West:
Seattle Seahawks - 12-4
Arizona Cardinals - 7-9
St. Louis Rams - 5-11
San Francisco 49ers - 2-14
I knew the Seahawks' receivers were hurt for a good chunk of the year, and as was Matt Hasselbeck, but I went with my heart instead of my head. After my praise of the Cardinals during my analysis, I turned a complete 180 on them and said "nah, they won't do it." And with the way they were playing down the stretch, they shouldn't have done it. If there were a team that was capable of playing football in this division, they wouldn't have done it, and we wouldn't have seen this great story about the Cardinals being underdogs throughout the playoffs and silencing everybody. The 49ers sucked, but were better than 2-14, obviously. The St. Louis Rams, however, I'd have to say they're the worst team in the NFL, even with the 0-16 Lions. There's no logical reason for them beating the Redskins and Cowboys; they should be 0-16 with the Lions.
And so I got five teams in the playoffs as well, with three in their correct slotting (Steelers, Chargers, Eagles), while the others are just there (Giants, Colts). Of course, I had the Seahawks and Patriots in the Super Bowl, and that won't be happening. Just one win in the playoffs as well (Eagles), and I had one of those teams in the second round (Chargers).
That's gonna do it for this post. I should be coming back with some more writing hopefully soon.
Out.
~KG~
