Pardon My Bias

This is bound to be an exciting NFL season with so many teams having the opportunity to win it all. I think most people are just excited to have football back in their lives. There really is nothing more special than a lazy Sunday in which you can just sit on your couch all day long watching football games. Damn I need to invest in NFL RedZone!

So what kind of exciting things will happen this year?

Young quarterbacks come alive…

Matt Stafford (if healthy) and Sam Bradford will be two of the top 10 quarterbacks in the league. I wanted to put Stafford in the top 5 but I was too afraid. Point is, Stafford is going to be a stud…barring he stays on the field, and Bradford is going to look good even though he does not have a legit #1 receiver.

Not so much of a bust after all…

Not sure why I think this and it probably is going to make me look like a complete fool but…Reggie Bush will have a good season. If Bush plays all 16 games, I see him gaining over 1,500 all-purpose yards with over 10 touchdowns. It is hard to get a read on how big of a factor Daniel Thomas will be, but since he is still a rookie, I am assuming that it will be more of a 50/50 backfield.

Finally the year…

Texan Time is Now. Photo courtesy of www.torotimes.com.

The Houston Texans will finally make the playoffs…I think. It is no secret that they have a high-powered offense with one of the best running backs and wide receivers in the league along with a gun-slinging quarterback but their defense should be much improved this season. They hired Wade Phillips, still one of the top defensive coordinators in my books, and signed Johnathan Joseph, the not quite Nnamdi Asomugha but still pretty damn good player. With the Indianapolis Colts unsure about the Peyton Manning situation and the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars starting a somewhat rebuilding phase, this may be the Texans best chance at winning the division.

Not just talking the talk but walking the walk…

The New York Jets will win their division. Whaaaat!!! You’re crazy man! No, those of you who think that the Patriots are this untouchable team are crazy. The Patriots are good…yes, but so are the Jets. This team really rises and falls on Mark Sanchez and entering his 3rd season, it is time for Sanchez to blossom. There are no more “he’s still young” excuses in my books, it is time to get it done.

Let the record break…

Philip Rivers will break Dan Marino’s single season passing yards record. Rivers was on pace to break this for a good chunk of last season but was unable to complete the feat. This year he will. Rivers finally has Vincent Jackson back for the whole season along side Malcom Floyd and hopefully Antonio Gates, if he can stay healthy also. 5,084 yards…that’s cake!

The “super” teams will be…

As I have stated before, this year’s Super Bowl will be between the San Diego Chargers and the New Orleans Saints…the winners being the San Diego Chargers. Although the Chargers are hyped up every year, this year has somewhat of a different feel. They do not have the normal hype as every other year but (somewhat) quietly boast a very strong, experienced squad. It also doesn’t hurt that they moved the kickoffs to the 35 yard line.

News came out yesterday that Mike Vick signed a 6-year $100 million contract with the Eagles. This is Vick’s second career “$100+ million” deal, the first player in the NFL to accomplish such a feat. There is no doubt that Vick deserves the money, as he is the most explosive player in the NFL. He revived his career last year with the Eagles, and proved that he is still a force to be reckon with. It is also a feel-good story for a guy who had his career destroyed, spent 3 years in jail, and lost almost all of his $130 million deal from the Falcons in the process.

Reports from Mike Florio from profootballtalk.com saying that Vick would not actually really ever get the $100 million. Only $40 million of the $100 million is guaranteed, but there is almost no chance of reaching the full $100. After looking into the contract more, Vick is due to be paid $20 million in his final year of the deal. In order to receive that money, Vick has to take the Eagles to the Super Bowl that year and he must take less than 1/3 of the snaps in the previous 5 seasons. That essentially is impossible. Vick would also be 36 years old by 2016, the final year of his deal.

courtesy of ru-crazy.com

Some many say the Eagles are smart for making this move, giving them financial safety in the future when Vick’s athleticism declines, but one thing the Eagles may have overlooked was DeSean Jackson. Jackson is still on his rookie contract making about $600,000 this year. It will be very difficult for the Eagles to re-sign Jackson after shelling out the big bucks like they did for Vick, and they run the risk of losing one of the most explosive down field threats in the league.

It also looks like the Eagles continued their off-season of showboating by throwing out a $100 million deal at Vick, where in actuality he is only guaranteed $35.5 million of that. The Eagles have been the story of after the lockout ended, bringing in coveted free agents Nnamdi Asomugha, Vince Young, and Cullen Jenkins and also trading for Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Vince Young even went as far as calling this a “dream team” even before the Eagles had taken a snap. The pressure is certainly on the Eagles to perform and succeed. If they fail, most will blame Mike Vick, the Eagles “$100 million man.” I guess he could always use his alias “Ron Mexico” again if  things go wrong.

As we enter the 2011 NFL season, we all wipe the sweat off our foreheads and thank the man upstairs for ending the NFL lockout. Even though I am as stoked as I was when T.O. performed a dance in the middle of the Dallas star, I still wonder what life would be like without the NFL season. If the NFL season were to go on hold for a year, what in the world would happen to the $3.25 billion salary cap that the NFL has?

With 32 teams in the NFL, and each team fielding a 53-man roster, that would be 1,696 players who were unemployed. But what could that 3.25 billion dollars buy? Let’s take a look at the Top-10 coolest things we could buy with $3.25 billion… Just because we could!

#10 – The McDonalds McDouble

The fact that we could walk into any McDonalds and legitimately order 3.2 billion McDoubles, actually gets us excited! Maybe some would feel bad for the employees, but your selling point would be, “Want to be a part of a Guinness World Record?”

#9 – Playing St. Andrews Golf Course

Playing the Turnberry Aisla golf course at St.Andrews would probably be the most epic golfing of your life. With the cost of $345 per 18-hole round, we figure that you could get really selfish and play the course 9.4 million times. If you do set this goal, you might want to think about playing 54 holes per day.

#8 – The iPad 2

With $3.25 billion you could quit admiring how awesome Steve Jobs and Apple are, and go hangout with the whole crew at the new ‘Spaceship’ headquarters in California (in 2015). While you are there, feel free to purchase 6.5 million iPads (16 GB) at $499 each. And feel free to send us one!

#7 – 1,000 Fiji Islands

At $2.8 million per 50 acre island in Fiji, we would probably purchase a whole plethora of these islands just because we could. You may not be able to afford to build a house on any of the islands, but then again… Who needs a house when you’ve got Wilson . Plus there is a good chance P. Diddy would bring his yacht to party with Cristal and hot women!

#6 – Ahh Beer (Beer Brewing Kits)

Even though the NFL season would be in a lockout, there is always time for a nice cold beer. And for a measly $250 per brewing kit, we would brew a lake of beer. We figure with 13 million beer kits, we would be the coolest neighbors on the block! Plus, no more beer-runs during Shark Week!

#5 – The Palms High Hefner Sky Villa

There is one thing that we can all agree on, and that is if we were rich we would party Hugh Hefner style. This exclusive hotel room at The Palms is the mecca of all hotel rooms and at only $40,000 per night, you could afford to live there for over 200 years. So unless you are planning on living for another 200 years, feel free to walk over and spend some good money at the Eden Gentleman’s Club in your spare time.

#4 – 2010 Ferrari F340 Spider

What would a list be without a Ferrari? In fact, we have decided that not only would we buy 14,000 Ferraris, we would film numerous rap videos with our posse called, “FerrAreWe”. At a base price of $217,000 per whip, we figure we would make enough revenue from the rap videos to buy Ben Roethlisberger some women.

#3 – Toms Shoes

If you have never put on a pair of Toms shoes, then you are totally missing out. Even if Toms aren’t your style, there is a soft spot in everyone and therefore we would buy 58.7 million pairs of Toms. The average shoe cost is $60 and for every pair purchased, the company sends a pair of shoes to a child in need. So have a heart and go buy a pair for your lady at the very least, plus Tom seems like a pretty cool dude.

#2 – A dream come true

Of course we had to throw in the ‘If I had 3 wishes, I would wish for more wishes’. At number 2 on our list we would make our dream come true and purchase an NFL team. It is estimated that the Washington Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys are the most expensive teams at around $1 billion to purchase, even though they aren’t up for sale. But we figure with $3.2 billion, any owner would give us the reigns.

#1 – A new couch and TV

Let’s be honest, all we really want is a bigger couch and a bigger flat-screen TV to watch ESPN. So for under $10,000, we would purchase the biggest possible TV plus this enormous couch. And while the NFL season would be in a lockout, we still have the college football season which is better anyway! So sit back, relax, and bask in your own richness, knowing that the majority of us will never get anything on this list!

Written by: Daniel Mercer, a film and sports enthusiast, and an inspired writer for usdirect.com, a Direct TV retailer.

With the 2011-2012 NFL season around the corner, it is about time to make some predictions on which players will excel this upcoming year. Unlike previous seasons, the beginning of the 2011 year will have somewhat of a different look. A usual MVP candidate, Peyton Manning, had surgery on his neck this offseason and may miss a few games. He also did not have the opportunity to go through training camp or play any of the preseason games, therefore he could have a little rust when he does finally return. Michael Vick had a huge, unexpected season last year and with the offseason acquisitions that the Eagles made, Vick has very high expectations. So lets dive into the picks:

Time for Rivers to become the best. Photo courtesy of www.sportydesktops.com.

MVP: Philip Rivers, QB, San Diego Chargers – Yes, I am a homer! Don’t hate. Over the past few seasons, Rivers has put up eye-popping numbers and is always near the top for QB Rating. Last year he had ridiculous numbers with Vincent Jackson missing most of the season. Yeah, Rivers made receivers like Seyi Ajirotutu look like stars. Call me a homer or just call me the dude who knows when he sees one of the best quarterbacks in the league. I’m finally sick of people not putting Rivers in the top 5 for quarterbacks. I don’t care how many rings Ben Roethlisberger has or how Drew Brees had a jaw-dropping season that led to a Super Bowl win. River is better than them so shut the hell up! I’m playing, don’t shut the hell up but really, Rivers is better and this season he will finally prove all the haters wrong.

Offensive Player of the Year: Ray Rice, RB, Baltimore Ravens – I still do not understand this award. If the MVP of the league is an offensive player, how is he not the offensive player of the year every time also. Stupid. Even stupider, I picked someone other than Rivers to win this award and I am not sure why. Honestly, Rivers will most likely get this one too but look out for Rice to have a big season.

Fear the Well-Groomed Beard. Photo courtesy of http://confessionsofalineman.wordpress.com.

Defensive Player of the Year: Ndamukong Suh, DT, Detroit Lions – I want him to tear quarterbacks apart…wait, let me double check to make sure that the Lions do not play the Chargers…okay cool, tear them apart! If I was rich, and unfortunately I’m not, I would pay all of Suh’s fines. His aggressive play is addicting, and I’m not one for violence but I loved his hit on Jay Cutler…sorry Jay. Get ‘em Suh!

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons – I think Jones wins this by default. The rookie quarterbacks are in horrible situations and most of the running backs will be splitting carries. That doesn’t take away from Jones’ talent. He is definitely going to make the Falcons’ passing game more exciting and the guy has Roddy White on the other side…aka double team him and let me get the ball.

Comeback Player of the Year: Bob Sanders, S, San Diego Chargers – Okay, this is not fully a homer pick. Sanders was the defensive player of the year in 2007 and has since been plagued with injury. If he can finally stay healthy for the season, this hard hitting safety is bound to get back to a high level. I guess I could go with Plaxico Burress, Albert Haynesworth or some other degenerate but Sanders just seems like a very intelligent choice. It doesn’t hurt him that I am hoping for him to have a huge season.

Coach of the Year: Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – I originally put Jim Schwartz but went back and erased it. I will admit that I am on the Lions’ bandwagon and feel like they have a team with tons of potential, especially if Matt Stafford can stay healthy, but I had to rethink my decision. In order for Schwartz to win this award, he would have to lead the Lions back into the playoffs. This could potentially happen but it may be difficult in a division with the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears and a McNabbified Minnesota Vikings. So I went with Morris and this means that I believe that the Buccaneers will make the playoffs. Josh Freeman is a stud and “the other” Mike Williams is bound to keep getting better after his huge rookie season, or I’m just sick because he’s on my fantasy team and I want him to put up huge numbers! Either way, Raheem Morris, continue with the fantastic job you did last season.

New Jersey Devils: Last year on paper the Devils looked like they could boast one of the league’s top offenses with a sure fire Hall of Fame goaltender behind them, ensuring a great season. And then they didn’t win. No, instead New Jersey flat out sucked. They were in a cap dilemma, pushed right to the ceiling, were floundering in the standings, had games where they were playing men short of a full bench, had basically no depth, and nothing coming through the minors to help any time soon. At least this season they may be playing with a full bench. The Devils spent the offseason trying to unload as much salary as they could (sort of the antithesis to last year) in an effort to keep something of a core together, aka, Zach Parise. And keep him they did…for at least one more year, as he will be free to any next offseason unless the Devils can work a way for him to stay. It may not be the money now, but more of the fact that it appears the Devils won’t be winning much. Colin White and Brian Rolston both hit the road, Travis Zajac appears to be starting the season on the disabled list, and the roster for the most part has guys, to steal a line from The Lord of the Rings, that “have seen too many winters, and some too few”. The proven guys are well into their twilight years, including goalie Martin Brodeur, and the depth of the roster is so green you would think the Devils had switched back to their original jerseys. And of course no one was added, but, hey, they kept Parise for another year. VERDICT: C’mon, do you really think this was a good offseason for the Devils? They kept Johan Hedburg, Andy Greene, and Parise. They got rid of some guys eating cap space. But this is an attempt to keep one player. The Devils need Patrick Elias and Brodeur to play like they were ten years younger, half the roster to play like they are five years older, and need Parise to stay healthy all year to have a shot in a very tough division. While there is a chance at a low seventh or eighth seed New Jersey is still scrambling from the shock of having their pants yanked off from the start of last season. Maybe they keep Parise, maybe they don’t. They have more talent obviously if they do, but have some salary to spend on the other 18 or so players they will need to have play if they don’t retain him. Losers.

New York Islanders: The Islanders are in year, well, still are in rebuilding and things may be slowly coming around for them. John Tavares is the real deal, Matt Moulson is proving to be a reliable scoring threat, and Michael Grabner is budding star. Given the fact the Islanders also have over sixteen million in cap space, things aren’t too bad on the Island outside of the fact they may not have a new stadium ever. But the Islanders are still a work in progress. The team is very raw, and the bottom lines are closer to putting on the foil then putting up any points. The defense is a royal mess full of slow plodders who are at least big, but a team with only human cones on the back line is going to be putting a lot of stress on their goaltender. As for that, it is a mystery for how things will pan out between the pipes for New York. Rick DiPietro is the de facto starter until he sneezes and has his vertebrate pop out of place. Evgeni Nabokov is supposed to report to the Islanders though he apparently doesn’t want to have to play in the crypt of stadium behind Mark Eaton and Milan Jurcina. That leaves Al Montoya. VERDICT: It was a pretty quiet offseason for the Islanders. They swapped Zenon Konopka for Marty Reasoner, picked up Brian Rolston to give them some more offense, and remained a mess with everything behind the blueline. There is some solid offense brewing in Long Island that looks fairly deep, but it doesn’t matter as they will be fishing the puck out of their own net quite a bit. Until the defense gets in order, and DiPietro can avoid hurting himself, the Islanders are lost cause. And really? Not trying to get more defensemen or another goalie during the draft or free agency? Defense first Garth, defense first. Losers.

Big Brad take his big game to the Big Apple for big money. Photo courtesy of nypost.com

New York Rangers: I’m just going to say that having that sort of money to throw around is nice, and for the Rangers it has been their saving grace. There have been so many duds in Manhattan by all rights New York should be screwed until about 2025. But no. Chris Drury gets bought out, Scot Gomez gets shipped out, and Wade Redden get buried in the minors at a cost of six and half million dollars for another three years. And despite all this, the Rangers drop six and two-third mil until 2020 on Brad Richards, the prize of free agency. Which they needed to do of course seeing how Drury and Gomez don’t fill the top line center role any longer. In a comical manner, Derek Stepan, who is 21 and only earning 875,000 dollars by comparison, is likely going to be centering the second line. The Rangers though wisely spent the bucks necessary to retain Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan, then sadly realized the cap was still in place leaving the blueline incredibly young. Dan Giradi is the veteran of the group, at only 27, and the other five projected defenders average age is 22. So thank god for Henrik Lundqvist. VERDICT: The Rangers got better, plain and simple. The defense will be an adventure but the goaltending is there (which is part of why they are not nearly in the shape of that of the Islanders), but they could develop into a very solid young core. Still, it wouldn’t have killed them to try and snag a guy like Scott Hannan, especially seeing how he went for only one million. Callahan, Dubinsky, and Richards all are in New York though, and, because of that, they are winners.

A huge shake up in Philly basically because of this guy. Photo courtesy of philly.com

Philadelphia Flyers: A little bit of sudden turnover out in Phily really makes for an interesting chemistry experiment. Captain Mike Richards, and assistant Jeff Carter both got dealt, Ilya Brygalov was brought in, and, oh yeah, Jagr pulling a reappearing Benedict Arnold (that may have a different meaning on Urban Dictionary) happened. The defense though stays the same, goaltending improves (even if only by a little bit maybe), and the offense got a huge shakeup along with the intangibles. Kind of funny that the Flyers weren’t happy with their leadership and chemistry so after replacing the old regime with a new one (though older in reality I suppose) they sign a guy who has been reportedly a locker room distraction with Jaromir Jagr, who finally returned to the NHL. Never mind the fact Jagr broke off talks with the Penguins and is playing on the team basically everyone in the Atlantic hates, it will be really entertaining to see how Jagr performs. Though it was a smart move. The Flyers needed wingers, they got decent wingers. The defense didn’t really change, though possibly the biggest move (in terms of addition) was Ilya Bryzgalov. This should finally settle the rotating goalie conundrum the Flyers have experienced, though it should be interesting to see if Bryzgalov can hold the sort of numbers he did in Phoenix without playing in the defensively minded style of Dave Tippet. Clearly the team in front of him is better though so it should be close I think. The depth upfront didn’t really leave, but just became drastically different, as did the entire makeup of the offense. Claude Giroux and James Van Riemsdyke are making the leap to big scorers which made Richards and Carter both expendable, and with Brayden Schenn on board Philly has their Richards of the future possibly. So while the trades didn’t make Philadelphia stronger, and I remain skeptical of Bryzgalov in a less defensive system (not to mention his lack of playoff success) free agency went decent with the additions of Jagr and Max Talbot.

I really only put this picture in to see if I could get any Penguin fans to throw up/cry/fling themselves off buildings. Photo courtesy of broadstreethockey.com

VERDICT: Bryzgalov is not getting younger, and the Flyers were in a position to win now with Richards and Carter. They are still in a position to win, but overall as I look at this team I really feel that last year’s squad was better. They said the moves also were brought on by intangibles yet the locker room has a brand new group of guys, so chemistry may have gone right out the window. Chris Pronger needs to get this team focused and on the same wave length so his health will be tantamount to their success I feel. Having said that, I think the whole offseason can backfire on Philly badly. I don’t really believe they got all that much better, and for that reason, they are losers.

Pittsburgh Penguins: It was a pretty quiet offseason in Pittsburgh, likely as everyone remained (briefly) flabbergasted that the Pirates were playing decent baseball. Then everyone came back to their senses, and the Pirates returned to not playing that entirely well, and the focus shifted to Sidney Crosby and his headaches. Concussions are bad news. Trust me, I’ve had seven. And if you remotely read this blog then you know how bad the long last effects can be. So while a large part of the Penguins’ success hangs on Crosby coming back, GM Ray Shero had to focus on doing something to get his team a boost just in case, especially after getting bounced early in the playoffs. The answer certainly wasn’t Alexi Kovalev, and with James Neal coming on at the trade deadline in the steal of the year there is almost a semblance of depth on the wings.  That became official with the signing of Steve Sullivan. Sullivan may be older, on the decline, and has a history of injuries but he also brings a cheap scorer to Pittsburgh, something they need until Dustin Jeffrey proves he can play a top six role. Max Talbot and Jaromir Jagr both bolted to the worst possible destination for Pen fans in Philadelphia, so the team could come out playing with a real chip on their shoulder. Still, the Penguins roll with two great centers, and if Crosby is playing 100%, they boast the greatest up the middle group in the league arguably. So even if your wingers are Tyler Kennedy or Pascal Dupuis they are going to score a lot. VERDICT: There wasn’t much to do in Pittsburgh besides hope Sid comes back and is alright. The slight move was snagging another top six winger and the Penguins did so on the cheap with Sullivan. The Atlantic is a tight division and the Penguins got better, though only by a little, but they could run away with the division. Winners.

With the NFL regular season just a few weeks away, let’s take a look at some teams that will really make a splash this year and some teams that may not even jump into the pool.

Buy - Houston Texans – Are the Texans finally ready to make the leap over the Colts? I think so. The Texans have steadily built up over the last couple years, but Manning and the Colts have certainly been their arch-nemesis. The Texans healthy are certainly a dangerous team. If Owen Daniels, who’s been hurt the last two seasons, can stay healthy will really help out Schaub and this offense. Arian Foster proved last year that he is an elite RB that can also catch the ball, and Andre Johnson is arguably the best WR in the league. They will certainly have a chance to take a step in the right direction in game 1 against the rival Colts, where it looks more likely that Peyton Manning will not be able to start. I also like the move of bringing in Wade Philips as defensive coordinator. I think Wade is a guy who can come in and fix some problems and hopefully make better use of Mario Williams and the pass rush this year. Although it will be interesting to see how Williams adopts the 3-4 defense while he’s been dominant in the 4-3.

Sell – Dallas Cowboys – The Cowboys will certainly be flying under the radar a little bit with Tony Romo coming back from his clavicle injury, which made him miss most of last season. The Cowboys may have the most dangerous receiving combo with Miles Austin and Dez Bryant out wide and Jason Witten playing Tight End. Felix Jones will be their premiere back with Marion Barber leaving to Chicago. The issue with the Cowboys as it has been in recent years is their secondary. I don’t see the Cowboys being able to stop anyone, and they have been exposed time and time again on this glaring weakness. Rex Ryan’s brother Rob Ryan has been brought in as Defensive Coordinator, which will certainly make a difference, but mostly on the front line. Demarcus Ware will have another monster season and will be at the top of the sacks list again this year, but the secondary is suspect. Also, as potent as the Cowboys’ offense is, I look at the Eagles in their division and their defensive specialist who will give Romo and his offense a fit. I just can’t see the Cowboys topping the Eagles in the NFC East.

Courtesy of themajors.net

Buy – Detroit Lions – The Lions’ fate this year rests in the health of Matthew Stafford. Stafford is an absolute stud, but he has been hurt the last two seasons. Stafford and Johnson can prove to be the most dangerous QB-WR tandem in the league. If Nick Fairley can get healthy by the season opener, the Lions defensive line looks terrifying with Fairley and Suh. The Lions are a young team, and their biggest goal for this season will be the ability to close out games. Last year, the Lions lost 6 games by 5 points or less. It will certainly be a challenge to overtake the Super Bowl Champions Green Bay Packers for the division title, but I believe the Lions have a real shot for a Wildcard spot.

Sell - Atlanta Falcons – The Falcons have a good team in a good division. I think they missed their window last year to make their mark, and this year they will end 3rd in their division. Michael Turner is a year older, and his numbers have gone down significantly since his great 2008 campaign. Roddy White is a stud and will continue to be, but the Falcons don’t seem to have enough pieces to make a charge at the playoffs this year. High expectations are being put on rookie WR Julio Jones, and Atlanta will need him to have a Dez Bryant like year for the Falcons to have a shot. The Falcons are also a mediocre defense coming in 16th in the rankings for overall defense, and 22nd in passing defense. Nothing about this team stands out besides the fact that Matt Ryan is a winner. Ryan may be able to lead the Falcons to another incredible season, but I believe he will take a back seat to both Drew Brees and Josh Freeman this season.

Buy - San Diego Chargers – This drum may be over beat, but the Chargers have one of the best rosters in the NFL, while playing in one of the weakest divisions – the NFC West. The Chargers who had the top rated offense in the league last year fell apart in special teams and turnovers. These are two problems they will certainly have to fix to make it back into the playoffs. Rivers is in his prime, and this time he will have a Vincent Jackson to throw the ball to the entire season. The Chargers also added Bob Sanders to the secondary, who I believe will be a candidate for comeback player of the year. I really do expect the Chargers to once again run their division, unlike the 3-3 they were last year. Of course they will also be tested this year having to play a tough NFC North division in their schedule. I also look for Ryan Mathews to have a much better sophomore campaign, they certainly will need it.

Sell - Arizona Cardinals – Everyone is claiming that since the Cardinals brought in Kevin Kolb, they will easily be able to win the weak NFC West. What has Kevin Kolb proven? This is a brand new offense for him to learn, and I think there will be an adjustment period involved. Beanie Wells will get the full carry load after backup running back Ryan Williams was injured and is out for the season. Wells has been disappointing in his two years in the desert, and I don’t think he is ready for the full load of carries. The Cardinals will miss Tim Hightower dearly this season. They also traded the heart of the defense in Dominique Rogers-Cromartie to the Eagles. It is a good thing the Cardinals signed Fitzgerald to an 8-year deal, because they’re aren’t going anywhere this season, and they would have most likely lost him to free agency. My bold prediction is that the Rams will actually win the NFC West with Sam Bradford having a breakout season.

Courtesy of monkeyhalo.com

Just a week ago, it looked like the Rangers had secured themselves the AL West title for back to back years after they came into Anaheim and took 3 out of 4 games from the Angels, making it look like there was never really a competition to begin with. The Angels had barely scrapped themselves to a win in extra innings in game 4 of the series. The keyword there being “scrap”

After the Rangers traveled to Chicago for a 3-game series against the White Sox, in which they lost 2 out of 3. After they traveled to Fenway Park to battle against the Red Sox in a 4-game series. After winning the first game, the Rangers have lost the last 2, with the finale coming Friday where Alexi Ogando and Andrew Miller will square off.

In the same time, the Angels have taken the momentum from the final win against Texas and swept passed a 3-game series with Orioles and a 2-game series against the White Sox. The Angels once again are only 2.5 games back of the Rangers. With the day off tomorrow, the Angels will be entering Texas down only 2 or 3 games (depending upon a Rangers win or loss tomorrow night) for a 3-game series with the Rangers starting Friday evening.

The Angels have found themselves with a second chance to get back into the AL West race. The Angels will have to take 2 out of 3 games this weekend in order to have a real shot at stealing the AL West. The Angels were lit up by the Rangers lineup last week, and Texas is no easy to play at. The Angels will have to rely on their strong starting pitching as they have all year, and hopefully get some timely hitting. If the Rangers are able to capture that some synergy they had in Anaheim last week, the final 3 games of the season against the Angels may be moot.

It should be a great series between one team with great pitching against a team with great hitting. This will certainly give us a good idea of who will win the AL West.

Let me start off by saying that I am very excited for this upcoming season. Now lets take a look at the teams.

The two superbowl teams are, for the most part, the same teams. Green Bay did lose a few key defensive players but will also be getting back many players who were injured last year. The biggest splashes were made by the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots. Although I do not consider the Eagles to be the Miami Heat of football, they are pretty stacked. Just when you thought they had put together a solid team, they go ahead and add Ronnie Brown and Steve Smith.

The Patriots on the other hand made two huge surprise acquisitions. First they traded for Albert Haynesworth and then they went ahead and traded for Chad Ochocinco. They are both big name players who somewhat declined last year but could break out with the Patriots.

Can Vick lead the "dream team? Photo courtesy of www.businessinsider.com.

These two teams, along with the Jets, have been the talk of the (shortened) off-season. Most already have the Patriots and Eagles in the Super Bowl but I am going to have to respectively disagree. Both the Patriots and Eagles have done an amazing job building their teams but I have this gut feeling on who will be playing in this season’s Super Bowl. I believe it will be the San Diego Chargers vs. the New Orleans Saints. I am from San Diego and I’m sure there is some major bias in my prediction but I feel very confident about both of my picks. The Chargers have a solid team all-around and the Saints have revamped after a slow year. To be honest, I do not even want the Saints to do so well because it may help prove that Reggie Bush was actually a factor but my gut is telling me to go with it.

Then again, how many times has a person’s gut been wrong…many times.

Carolina Hurricanes: So far this year Carolina looks perched in the same interesting position that they were in last year. That being there is a decent amount of talent, most of it overlooked, a good influx of young players, and being well under the salary cap. Sure Eric Cole left to be unproductive in Montreal, which means he will be back by November, and the offense in Raleigh is a relative guessing game, but starting from the back out Carolina made some pretty solid improvements. Brian Boucher finally allows Cam Ward a breather every once in a while instead of playing him every night, and Tomas Kaberle is certainly a better puck mover than Joe Corvo was. The offense may still be the glaring weakness, but as time has proven, defenses trump offense every time and Carolina’s blueline is quietly one of the better ones out east. Kaberle provides the offensive punch with Joni Pitkanen, complimenting the great shutdown duo of Bryan Allen and Tim Gleason, and with Jamie McBain developing Carolina could easily steal a seventh or eighth seed. As for that offense…There was not a great group to begin with, and this offseason provided a bit of improvement from a group of guys that may or may not be huge busts or steals. Alex Ponikarovsky and Anthony Stewart are two big bodies that could flourish, but they will be desperately required to put up big seasons, especially Ponikarovsky, if the Hurricanes want any real depth behind Eric Staal and Jeff Skinner. Until then, pressure remains on Tuomo Ruutu and Jiri Tlusty. Trying to be smart with money is one thing, but not spending any to fix a huge lack of depth is problematic. VERDICT: All in all, Carolina got better, even with Cole leaving. Kaberle>Corvo and Ponikarovsky could have a big year playing a Cole like game with Staal and Skinner. Most importantly, I feel the that resting Ward a bit more could result in a number of better performances out of him, and Boucher is a reliable backup so wins theoretically should go up. Winners.

If they play like how they are photographed this could be a long season in south Florida. Photo courtesy of cbc.com

Florida Panthers: Things were a bit crazy in Sunrise, Florida as Hurricane Tallon came through. Generously enough he brought a lot of spare parts from Chicago with him. Here’s the list of new guys: Jose Theodore (inconsistent former MVP), Ed Jovanovski (400 years old), Brian Campbell (overpaid underproducer), Marcel Goc (fourth liner from Nashville) , Michael Bradley (fourth liner from Washington), Sean Bergenheim (glorified playoff performer), Tomas Kopecky (overrated bottom six forward), Kris Versteeg (lackadaisical/maybe great third liner), Tomas Fleischmann (also overpaid underproducer), and Scottie Upshall (really? 3.5 million? Ok…). Needless to say, there is certainly a different look to the Panthers. It doesn’t hurt though seeing how they finished last year. VERDICT: Florida got better, at least on paper, and with the only direction to go being up, it’s a thumbs up for an offseason grade. They are still well under the cap, didn’t lose a ton of draft picks in their trades, and their pipeline of talent to the NHL is improving. The Panthers aren’t going to win the Cup, and aren’t likely to make the playoffs either, but they are improving and making themselves more interesting at least in the process. Another winner, regardless of how things go this season.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Obviously the biggest issue that the Lightning and GM Steve Yzerman faced was getting young scoring superstar Steven Stamkos to come back for another contract, and in a season of tough restricted free agent dealings, it was done pretty promptly despite the inevitable swirling of rumors of someone else giving Stamkos an offer sheet. It didn’t happen though, Stamkos re-signed and so did Teddy Purcell who finally had a break out year. The depth players for Tampa the year prior though didn’t stick around as Matt Smaby, Mike Lundin, Marc Pouliot, Randy Jones, Mike Smith, and playoff hero Sean Bergenheim all departed. While some may decry Bergenheim as being more than a depth player, the playoffs can do funny things to certain guys’ stats to where they are suddenly seen as a number one winger when they have barely been more than a third liner. Simon Gagne was also replaced, but with Purcell’s big year and Gagne spending a lot of time injured that was a move that was already done. In now are Matt Gilroy, Bruno Gervais, Ryan Shannon, and Mathieu Garon. Depth was never really Tampa’s big thing, what with being so top heavy, but the defense is very sound looking and the goaltending tandem is far ahead of last year’s duo of Dan Ellis and Smith. VERDICT: The big names got put back in place, albeit at a very expensive cost but that’s what happens when you employ very expensive talent (or in some cases Vinny Lecavalier). This basically is remarkably close to what the Lightning had at the end of the season, but less depth on offense, more depth in goal, and defense being a wash. So looking towards the future with the salary cap, the Lightning did what they needed to do to keep their top six intact for a while longer (minus Steve Downie next year though I predict), and with their available cap space being just under five million they will need all the cap space they can gather if they want to keep Pavel Kubina and Victor Hedman around for defense. Lecavalier and Ryan Malone may still be in the albatrosses for the books for years to come, but on the plus side Stamkos and Martin St. Louis will be around for a long time also. Because of that, they are winners this offseason.

Washington Capitals: I look at Washington and just am baffled a bit. They make two great signings getting Tomas Vokoun and Jeff Halpern next to nothing, but also make two moves that just blows my mind with Joel Ward and Roman Hamrlik. Starting with the positives: Washington kept Karl Alzer, signed a big name goalie for peanuts, traded their third goalie out for a huge payday of draft picks, and boosted their penalty killing with Halpern. The negatives: Spending nearly five and half million on Troy Brouwer and Ward and creating a logjam on the blueline while eating more cap space. Brouwer and Ward are both very nice role players, don’t get me wrong, but again the playoffs can make a team go blind when they see depth guys flourish with the extra space while their teammate superstars draw all the attention. There is no way that Ward deserved three million based off of his postseason performance alone, unless, and I will readily eat my words, he scores ten goals or more this year in the playoffs or puts up a forty plus performance this regular season. Frankly, I feel the latter won’t come close to happening. As for Hamrlik, I’m confused beyond comprehension right now about that signing still. The Capitals had a very respectful defense core that was still developing, and while they had some issues regarding injuries LAST year, there is now too much depth on the blueline to where Karl Alzner and John Carlson are backlogged. Either that or John Erskine, Jeff Schultz, and/or Tom Poti will be sitting in the press box with their sizable contracts. Having Erskine and Schultz both sit also could be the worst possible thing unless the Caps want to play with essentially five forwards and leave Vokoun to handle anything on their side of the redline. With Washington also over the salary cap, you have to figure that one of their defensemen is getting shipped out. My money is on Dennis Wideman, but Tom Poti makes more sense. VERDICT: When it’s all said and done, Washington got better, if only by what they did in goal. They stand a better chance with Vokoun, got him for only 1.5 million, and got better for the future with dealing Varlamov. The defense, while being a relative clustercuss currently, is a very dangerous offensive group (though actually playing defense is rather up in the air). The offense is still likely to be one of the most dangerous in the league simply by Ovechkin alone. Winners.

A new look isn't likely going to save the season for the Jets, though beer sales should be up with subliminal ad. Photo courtesy of huffingtonpost.com

Winnipeg Jets: The newest franchise (sort of) did at least one thing well and that was to get a bunch of players from the area to sign on. The hometown feeling will be a good one at least. The record likely won’t be. Guys joining the newly reformed Jets are Randy Jones, Derek Meech, Eric Fehr, Tanner Glass and Brett Festerling. This is not likely to really boost a record that was already pretty dismal. On the plus side Andrew Ladd and Blake Wheeler both decided to hang around, giving Winnipeg a semblance of a first line. This is largely because the rest of the lineup upfront is a crapshoot with heavy emphasis on one part of that term. With Ladd and Wheeler, the only other forwards who scored over thirty points were Evander Kane, Bryan Little, and Nik Antropov. The defense is a little bit more sunny led by Dustin Byfuglien who was second on the team in scoring only behind Ladd, and the teams only other 20+ goal scorer (Ladd was, again, the other). Tobias Enstrom and Ron Hainsey are two very solid defenders also, and Mark Stuart will be a welcomed pillar of size at least. Johnny Oduya has awesome hair at least, though the minus fifteen is more of the eyesore. Winnipeg is still well under the cap, and while I wouldn’t expect them to spend to the ceiling, it’s clear they have to throw around a few more dollars. Obviously getting a winger for the top six is the first priority, unless they want Eric Fehr and his twenty point output to carry the load, but there is a player they are kind of forgetting. That’s right, the guy taken right behind Steven Stamkos and Drew Doughty, Zach Bogosian. Bogosian just has not really hit his stride with the Thrashers, which leaves the Jets pondering what to do with him. He has carried a minus eighteen and now a minus twenty-seven with him the past two years, and wound up getting benched during the prior campaign. Winnipeg’s defense may be the one thing they have going for them, but it will be interesting to see if they give Bogosian a shot at all as a Jet. Might as well, just about everything was worse in Atlanta. VERDICT: Looking at the season ahead the Jets still resemble the Thrashers quite a bit. That is really not a good thing. Management is different, which is the biggest plus during this offseason as long as Don Waddell stays far the hell away. Still, scoring will be difficult to come by, and the fact a large portion of the team was well into the minuses for their plus/minus rating last year is a telling statistic, along with being outscored by 44 goals. Besides having a team, there appears to not be much to cheer about in Winnipeg barring some big time trades or signings. Losers.

Once again a new slew of role players join Chicago. Photo courtesy of blogs.bettor.com

Chicago Blackhawks: In their second year removed from the Stanley Cup the overhaul is essentially complete. Only Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp, Dave Bolland, Brent Seabrook, Nik Hjalmarson and Duncan Keith remain as main contributors (i.e. not a backup goalie or minor league call up) from the cup run. Really though, that’s a pretty respectable core. As long as the rest of the team can at least contribute something worthwhile, an issue the Hawks ran into last season when injuries occurred and there was little to no depth on the roster. And this summer Chicago caught a break, as Dave Tallon decided to get the band back together minus the key elements that made the band great. So somehow Brian Campbell was unloaded, and yes that borderlines the term of “Holy sh**, how?” Plus they got the inconsistent, but there-may-be-potential-there-we-just-can’t-quite-tell Rostislav Olesz. In instead is journeyman vet Sean O’Donnell and Steve Montador, who they essentially paid a bag of pucks for. Marty Turco is gone but who is backing up Corey Crawford? And upfront, musical chairs seems to have ended with the Hawks choosing age and annoyance with the likes of Andrew Burnett (old), Daniel Carcillo (annoying), and Jamal Mayers (old, annoying, and bald) over Jake Dowell and Troy Brouwer (both who are relatively annoying, neither bald sadly). Again, not a bad deal seeing how little those two were able to provide Chicago and yet they still got a first round pick (albeit a low one) for Brouwer. The bad move…Giving away Tomas Kopecky’s rights to Tallon for seventh round pick in 2013 when you know they could have gotten more from his crazy ass. VERDICT: The blueline has more defensive stability, but the forward core working with Toews and company looks every bit as shaky as last year, which doesn’t bode well. And again, who’s playing the bench while Crawford starts 82 games? Least they have cap space. Oh that’s right, they really don’t. Hawks are still struggling to put things back together which makes them losers.

A clear example of smart manuvering (Carter) and out of control spending (Wisniewski). Photo courtesy of sports.yahoo.com

Columbus Blue Jackets: Ok, there’s crazy, then there is James Wisniewski money sort of crazy. And think about this: Wisniewski isn’t getting younger at 27 years already, and he hadn’t broken the thirty point plateau until this year. Then to give him five and half million for the next six years? True that the Jackets still have over six million in cap space open, with no huge contracts looming (unless Steve Mason gets it together again this year, until then he is Andrew Raycroft status), but truth be told Columbus just isn’t that good and splurging on a defenseman who had one decent year seems borderline insane. It also completely negates the huge deal Columbus pulled to pluck up Jeff Carter until next decade. The blueline got a huge overhaul with Klesla moved out last season at the deadline, Mike Commodore getting bought out, and Jan Hejda taking off to Colorado. Replacing them is Radek Martinek (another former Islander), though to be fair Commodore isn’t really being replaced. Sadly for Columbus, last I checked the Islanders defense was pretty porous. Vinny Prospal however was a nice addition for the offense, which should figure to add on a few more goals with his and Carter’s joining. Something I think though that will be coming back to bite the Blue Jackets quite a bit (unless they go and get a goalie) is the departure of Mathieu Garon. Garon was no superstar but he was a more than capable backup, and with Mason being shaky as he has been since his Calder winning year his new backup, either Curtis Sanford or Mark Dekanich, is literally a case of “who the hell is this guy?” whenever Mason doesn’t start. VERDICT: Pros were Carter, Prospal, and Wisniewski coming in, and telling Commodore to take a hike finally. Cons were Scottie Upshall departing, Garon taking half the goaltending with him, and paying Marc Methot, Martinek, and Wisniewski a combined 10.7 million dollars for two guys locked in until 2015, and Martinek catching Rick DiPietro’s injury bug. Offense got better, goaltending got worse. Defense is rather meh and way overpaid. One out of three, I’m saying losers.

Detroit Red Wings: The Red Wings have been known for being rather shrewd in attracting talent, and getting guys to sign for less than they normally would for a better chance to win (key word being “chance”, got that Hossa?). But this offseason I found kind of confusing. Namely, the defense. The Wisniewski contract won’t be topped, but paying Jonathan Ericsson three and quarter? And did they not see that COLUMBUS wouldn’t even give Commodore another chance? I know with Brian Rafalski retiring and soon so will be Nick Lidstrom, but there could be options available outside of overpaying/paying anything at all to those two. At least Ian White was reasonable. The offense meanwhile looks the same, no problems there so that leaves us with Chris Osgood. Osgood’s retirement wasn’t a huge deal. Really. It wasn’t. The guy is a decent goalie, and put together some impressive postseasons. Except he wasn’t anything spectacular. Jimmy Howard has shown flashes of that, and in my book was already better than Osgood was at this point. Ty Conklin signed on again for another tour of backup duty in Detroit, where he had played pretty damn well, and so there is no issues in net. But did Detroit have a good offseason? VERDICT: Next offseason is going to be a very interesting one for Detroit. Lidstrom is a question mark, and Abdelkader, Helm, Bertuzzi, Hudler, Holmstrom, Stuart, Conklin, and Kronwall are all up for new contracts. They got some cap space to work with, but the blueline is weaker and may get far weaker next year. Not that the market was extensively deep, but I don’t really see Ian White being one of Detroit’s top pairing guys. Not a good setup for next year I think, but I could be wrong. For the time being though, they are losers, though will probably still get 110 points so only losing in the sense they got worse in terms of personnel.

Nashville Predators: Shea Weber finally reupped with the Preds and so I can finally finish this blog which I have had lying around for about three weeks. It was an interesting process as well, seeing how the Predators took Weber to arbitration, and then were forced to give Weber a one year deal for seven and a half million, which also means Nashville gets to go through this whole process again. Except next time the Predators also will have to deal with Pekka Rinne and Ryan Suter as UFAs. All in all, the expected happened with Weber returning, but, putting it bluntly, this was bad for the Predators. They likely could have signed Weber for less for a longer term and avoided arbitration all together, though they took the gamble and lost. The first day of free agency was not kind to Nashville, losing their playoff stud Joel Ward, longtime winger Steve Sullivan, and fourth line center Marcel Goc. Thankfully for Nashville they have a ton of young talent, and offense was never really their “thing” so to speak. They were able to keep all their young forwards, and even took on the low risk of adding Nic Bergfors who fits into that Rostislav Olesz category (see above). Seeing how Sergei Kostitsyn was given a shot at big minutes with the Predators and produced, Bergfors’ chances are as good as anyone’s, especially since the Preds, as stated, will be dying for offense yet again. The defense took an interesting turn with young gun (another, yes I know) Cody Franson shipped out with Matthew Lombardi, who played a total of two games with Nashville with a price tag of three and half million dollars, in exchange for Brett Lebda from Toronto. Lebda totaled zero games as he was promptly bought out. Nashville is clearly set at center, as in they have proven centermen, but Franson for Lebda is far from an ideal swap even with Lombardi coming off the books. Getting Jack Hillen for next to nothing isn’t a bad pickup, so at least they offset the “what-in-the-world?” swap with Toronto a bit. Still, the Predators’ defense is one of the best in the league with Weber returning and Ryan Suter, and they also boast one of the most overlooked goalies on a yearly basis with Pekka Rinne. VERDICT: This offseason, with the departure of role players, still is nothing new for Nashville, who still operates in small market mode. The offense took a hit, though everything else remains relatively intact. However, that deal with Weber, while it got done, was never really in any danger of Weber going elsewhere. The skinflint mindset bit Nashville hard, and they are going to have to deal with it next offseason now, even with their loads of cap space. They got 13 of their 21 players up for new contracts then, so that money is going to be wisely spent. Another loser out in the Central.

Arnott and Langenbrunner reunite in St. Louis via some photoshop work. Photo courtesy of puckingpattyb.blogspot.com

St. Louis Blues: Following one hell of a nose dive last season, right after they made the playoffs after what felt like a long time St. Louis started, or rather, continued their makeover nearing the end of last season. They got a very young talented defenseman with Kevin Shattenkirk to go along with fellow young blueliners Alex Pietrangelo and Ian Cole, and budding power forward Chris Stewart . Realizing they also had no depth, the Blues splurged in signing depth forwards. Smart, yes. Jason Arnott, Jamie Langenbrunner, and Scott Nichol bring very good veteran poise and track records to a young team. Sure Eric Brewer isn’t around anymore, but he is likely to hurt himself right before the season in a golf cart/snowmobile/duck duck goose game yet again. I personally am a tad skeptical of Brian Elliot replacing Ty Conklin, though to be fair Conk never really meshed too well in St. Louis, which is of course bizarre seeing as he is a goaltender. VERDICT: The Blues needed veterans, and they needed depth up front. They got just that. They were rather pedestrian in just about all team stats, except faceoffs, where they were ranked 28^th, but Nichol should immediately help that, and Arnott can give them some more flexibility than sending out Patrik Berglund or David Backes to take draws. The defense was pretty strong already, ranked second in the league in shots against on average, and with the core getting more seasoned and led by Barret Jackman the Blues could see a rebound. For all that, yeah, they’re winners.