2007 Predictions Revisited; 2008 Predictions Revealed
Sep 2, 2008 2008 Season, Colts Shmolts, Cooper Manning gently weeps, Predictions Guaranteed To Go Wrong, San Diego will miss the playoffs because Rivers is a do, Teams that aren't the Texans
If you’ve been paying attention, you’ve surely noticed that bfd and I have yet to do any predictions regarding the upcoming NFL season. The reason? Well, we are lazy. Beyond that, however, we also wanted to wait as long as possible to see how some stuff shook out in camps and whatnot.
Before I get into my prognosticatin’, however, I thought I would take a look back at my season-long predictions from last year, both good (my weekly picks) and bad (my preseason picks). Last things first, here were my NFL predictions for 2007:
Thursday night’s game was all well and good in that it was real football that mattered beginning to end. Football is back, yada yada yada. However, for all of us not living in Indianapolis (thankfully) or New Orleans, there is one day left until we kick off the season for real.
For fans of the Juggernaut, of course, tomorrow’s game against the Chiefs is full of storylines. Will Schaub keep making us forget about Zoolander? Is Ahman Green as much of an upgrade as we think? Are the Chiefs going to be worse than the Raiders this year? [Author's note: The answer to all of those questions is "yes."]
Now, I am on record as counting this game as one of our nine wins. I still believe that and, other than laughing about the Chiefs failures to win a playoff game since Bill Clinton’s first year in office, I have little to add.
I do think, however, that this is as good a place as any to throw out the official DGDB&D 2007 Predictions. Let’s rock. (# denotes first round bye, * denotes wild card)
AFC East
New England #
New York
Buffalo
MiamiAFC South
Indianapolis #
Jacksonville *
Houston (9-7)
TennesseeAFC West
San Diego
Denver
Oakland
Kansas CityAFC North
Baltimore
Pittsburgh*
Cincinnati
ClevelandNFC East
Philadelphia
Washington
Dallas
New YorkNFC South
Carolina #
New Orleans*
Atlanta
Tampa BayNFC West
Seattle #
St. Louis*
San Francisco
ArizonaNFC North
Chicago
Green Bay
Detroit
MinnesotaAFC Championship Game
San Diego def. New EnglandNFC Championship Game
Seattle def. CarolinaSuper Bowl
San Diego def. Seattle
Wow. Those are–what’s the word? BAD. Yeah, that’s it. Did I really have Chicago winning the North over Green Bay? Was I high or something? Christ.
NOW, when I was allowed to pick week-by-week, thereby incorporating what we knew about teams as the year went forward, I did much better. I went 156-91 in the regular season and 8-3 in the playoffs. I rocked shit. (Let this be fair warning to the rest of you taking part in Chris’s Pick’em League, bitches.)
With all that out of the way, let’s get into the 2008 season. Like last year, I am predicting order of finish, but not records, because I hate it when people predict overall records without checking to see if they are logistically possible based on the matchups.
Also, one last side note before I start. Another pet peeve of mine is writers and other experts who pick the same teams to win the divisions as last season and pick nearly all the same playoff teams. The former has never happened in the current setup and the historical rate of playoff team turnover is about 50%. So, off the bat, I’m tabbing Jacksonville, Tennessee, San Diego, Washington, Tampa Bay, and Green Bay as the teams from last year who won’t get in this year.
AFC North
Cleveland
Pittsburgh*
Baltimore
Cincinnati
AFC East
New England
Buffalo*
New York
Miami
AFC South
Indianapolis
Houston (9-7)
Jacksonville (Yes, I still have a post forthcoming explaining this. Damn you, stop pressuring me!)
Tennessee (6-10)
AFC West
Denver
San Diego
Kansas City
Oakland
NFC North
Minnesota
Detroit
Green Bay
Chicago
NFC East
Philadelphia
Dallas*
New York*
Washington
NFC South
New Orleans
Carolina
Tampa Bay
Atlanta (on the clock)
NFC West
Seattle
St. Louis
San Francisco
Arizona
AFC Championship Game
Indianapolis over Cleveland
NFC Championship Game
Philadelphia over Seattle
Super Bowl
Philadelphia over Indianapolis
So, there you have it. Now, if these are anything like last year’s, they’ll be moot by week 3.
An Open Letter to Bill Simmons, From My Giants-Fan Buddy, Rendhel
Feb 4, 2008 Anger, Cooper Manning gently weeps, Curious Coaching, Fuck the Cowboys, National Media, Open Letters, Super Bowl 2008, Teams that aren't the Texans, Tremendous Busts, Winner winner chicken dinner
How Dare You?
After a year of reading nothing but Patriots/Brady fellating from you, you have the audacity to write THAT as your post-Superbowl column? Where’s the mea culpa on Eli? Where’s the “sky is falling” commentary? Where’s the acknowledgment that the Giants literally beat the crap out of the Patriots?
Don’t write about how we got all the lucky bounces (false), how your offense just didn’t show up (only partially true), how the coaching staff didn’t call the game aggressively (untrue–how about going for it on 4th and 12? How about the fact that we shut you down on 3rd and short all game? How about the fact that you couldn’t block us?) Where’s the acknowledgment that we made Brady look not only human, but average? Where are the questions about why the perfect Tom Brady didn’t audible to max protect sets or 3 step drops once he realized they couldn’t contain our rush? Where’s the reminder to sports fans everywhere that October is NOT January (or February for that matter) and that there’s no substitute for playing tough hard nosed football in the playoffs? You used to know that. It’s how the Pats won their first three titles.
My Giants just punched Brady, Belichick and Rodney Harrison right in the face and reminded them that this is a man’s game. Take that fancy, all-throwing, non-physical ballet you called your offense and shove it up Beantown’s collective ass. The Patsies just joined the Karl Malone Lakers as the biggest poser teams to ever sell their souls for a championship and come up short. It’s the sports equivalent of cheating on your wife for the first time by renting a high-priced hooker only to find out that she’s got an 8-inch Johnson when you get her home. How’s it taste? The Giants are wicked awesome! Masshole.
