Week one predictions
The Eagles will beat the Rams.
Most of you out there have remained sane; however some have looked into the preseason struggles of the Eagles and have jumped on the Dream Team hating bandwagon. If this opening game were against a team like the Lions or the Bucs, teams that are on a serious rise, then I would be looking with more interest.
2010 was an interesting 7-9 season for a team that had only won six games in the last three years combined. They beat San Diego, won against McNabb’s Washington, took Denver close in Mile High – but they were also crushed by the lions, destroyed by Atlanta and burned by New Orleans. Something to look at with those games is the quality of opposition. San Diego would in previous seasons be a big win, as would Washington and Denver. Last season losses to the Rams were one of many reasons these teams disappointed greatly.
The real teams, the playoff contenders (and the Lions), made short work of the Rams. I feel the Eagles are a true playoff contender, maybe this game will show us either way, but when it comes down to it, the Eagles have added two of the best corners in the league, shored up the D-line, added Steve Smith at wideout, stole Ronnie Brown from the Fins and many moves that can only be called improvements.
The Rams have added lots of ageing players and Bradford is one year more experienced. The Rams biggest weapon Steven Jackson is going to break down sometime, the question is; will it be this year or next? I concede this game wont won’t be a blow out, it will be slightly competitive, but it’s simple; the Eagles have a far superior defense and offense to the Rams. They will win this game 31 – 13.
The Dolphins will run the Patriots hard.
Fins – Pats is one of the most underrated games of the year. Everyone seems to focus on the Jets matchups. These games are always hard games (even if the score doesn’t always reflect that) and have gotten harder with the increased Dolphin’s pass rush. Cameron Wake is a name I fear and I am sure Tom Brady has nightmares about.
Another very underrated factor is the weather. The Dolphins play in humid Florida…the Pats in frigid Boston. This has an effect (on both teams fairly). The Patriots will win this game, but only because the Fins lack any sort of offense. Henne will be unable to score without a real running attack, and Bush is not a feature back. He has never played on a team where he is the major threat. I feel that he will be unable to beat the eight men boxes he will undoubtedly face. The Pats will take it 34 to 17, but while New England will own the first and fourth quarters, expect a dog fight in the middle quarters and expect Brady to be become fast friends with the Miami turf.
Cincinnati at Cleveland, the battle for Ohio will also be the battle for the number one pick.
This is a game Andrew Luck better be watching. I don’t feel that the Bengals will take Luck if they find themselves with that opportunity on draft day, and if I’m honest this season is Colt McCoy’s season to prove that the Browns shouldn’t take Luck if they find themselves in that position either. This game will go one of two ways. Ether one team will batter the other into the ground or it will be a real dogfight with tons of running and tons of mistakes.
The Browns and Bengals have been inept for years, but the lockout has done nothing to improve either team. Cincinnati has forced out Palmer, their starting QB, and traded away comical wideout OchoCinco. They may have gained AJ Green, but rookie receivers, even freaks, rarely do well in their first year (Dez Bryant as an example). The defense has taken several steps back and they have lost part of the corner tandem that made them a mild contender in 2009, sweeping the division, making the playoffs and losing in the wild card stage.
Since then it has been all downhill and they find themselves at the level of the Browns. Saying all this I expect them to win, if only just. Benson is fresh out of prison but still has enough talent to run over this Browns D and with Benson, Dalton will be getting 8 man looks to throw into. He actually impressed me in preseason. He made mistakes, but what rookie doesn’t? He won’t be amazing in this game, or maybe in any others this season, but he will be serviceable. Bengals win 20 to 10.
