NFL 2007 - 2008 Season

[Brian Baldwin]

Here we are a bit less than two weeks from starting another preseason with America's favorite sport, so it's time to start the official thread again. I thought today I'd discuss something a bit different than transactions and team potentials for the most part and instead talk about the overall health of the NFL as an entity.

Mostly I'm talking about our new commissioner Roger Goodell. When we look at what each of his predecessors brought to the NFL we see that Mr. Goodell has large shoes to fill. We're not talking so much about Jim Thorpe, Joe Carr, Elmer Layden, or even Bert Bell since none of them had the tremendous impact the next two did. Pete Rozelle was the first commissioner that sat in the seat for more than a dozen years. He brought the NFL to television and made it the lucrative sport that we see today. His replacement in 1989 was Paul Tagliabue, which unless you're as old as a handful of us here onsite, is probably the only commissioner most of the members have known. His contribution was the to set up the player cap and union to the standard we see today. This kept the league competitive and made it singularly the most popular sport in our nation because it allowed for any team at any time to actually make it to the big game. Baseball and Basketball both suffer greatly for not following along. Tagliabue also was the man that made drug abuse in the NFL a huge no-no. No other sports league polices itself as does the NFL.

So when Tagliabue stepped down that left a lot of us wondering what if anything Roger Goodell could contribute? Basically all he had to do is stay the course and enjoy the fruits of the others' labor right? Basically that's really all he had to do but he didn't. Instead he decided that the league still needed at least one more tweak. He instituted moral enforcement. This means if you get in trouble with the law either in connection with others not related to the game or directly, then you could face anything from suppension and fines to an outright ban from the NFL. This alone is quite a deterrent but Mr. Goodell has gone a step further to make sure this is the mainstream way of thinking within the league. He made it so teams that brought these players in would suffer penalties also.

What will this mean for the NFL? Basically it means within one generation of players we'll see only those that are of the best moral and physical fibre. It means that the NFL's popularity will grow well beyond what it is today. Ghetto behavior in millionare clothing will no longer be acceptable. The way a player conducts themselves will have a huge impact on whether they get a chance to make it to the Hall of Fame. A good example of this is the current and most forefront story in both sports news and daily news. Michael Vick of the Atlanta Falcons and his indictment on charges of opperating a dog fighting ring and drug charges.

Yesterday Roger Goodell ordered Vick to not attend training camp while the league reviewed the case with federal law enforcement agents. This sends a clear message that the commissioner means what he says. If a media darling and "superstar" such as Vick can face league banishment then so can any player.

Now I've never been a huge fan of Vick. To me he's just an overated running back that somehow ended up in a quarterback position but even when you put that aside you can see he was still heart and soul of the Falcon's team from a fan standpoint. In other words he was big money. Doesn't matter though how many seats he filled or how many fans wear his jersey number. What matters most to Roger Goodell is whether the man deserves to be an NFL player and thus represent our nation. We'll see.

So far I like what I see from Mr. Goodell, and I think if this player behavior thing is enforced fully we'll only see the league go much further in it's evolution. In the end those shoes from his predecessors are looking fairly well filled at this point.

[Ryan Ruck]

Brian,
I was wondering when we'd finally see this thread! Thank you for putting it up.

Great writeup! I think, as you said, that Goodell's course is indeed where the NFL should be headed. This from a Bengals fan! But seriously, some might say that Goodell has no place being the "morality police". I disagree. I say that the NFL is a private entity and should be run as the boss sees fit. If the employees don't like the way it is run, since this is America, they are free to find employment elsewhere. I also agree that this can be nothing but beneifical to the NFL considering some of the backgrounds some of these players are coming from.

It would be great if other sports franchises followed the NFLs steps. Especially the NBA! Or as Rush Limbaugh calls it the TBA (Thug Basketball Association).

Oh yeah... First Bengals pre-season game is August 9th!

[Luke]

You gents both make good points. In my mind, Pete Rozelle was the ultimate commissioner, guess that ages me a bit.
Baseball was America's sport for our Fathers generation, football has become America's sport for our generation.

We have gone from the umpire is always right, to the land of instant replay, ah the wonders of the electronic age.

In my opinon it is a good thing that Mr. Goodell is enforcing some type of moral fortitude on the game. Of course, I also miss seeing head coaches in suits and ties, ala Vince Lombardi, Hank Stram and Tom Landry. Once again showing my age,

Looking forward to another season of SuperChiefs......

[Brian Baldwin]

It's due to a contract with reebok that we see no suit and tie coaches these days. But from what I understand they changed it to where a coach can wear formal attire on the sidelines once in a while. Not sure on the specifics though. I too thought that it brought a lot of class to the sport.

[MTStringer]

I really hope he can pull this off. I've gotten to the point of ignoring most pro sports, at least til playoffs. Still love the sports, can't say the same for some of the participants. Being primarily a hoops fan, from hoops ground zero where we been tacking em up to a barn or tree or whatever for decades, I feel more empathy for the NCAA or high school basketball than the NBA. As for football, I too am a Bengals fan, nuff said for football. Really, the only pro sport featuring contestants I can admire, across the board, is NASCAR. Wheyan them boys tawk, I kin understand em.

[MTStringer]

Oh yeah, almost forgot, Best of luck w/o your star quarterback, Mr Petrino, UL doesn't miss ya.

[Brian Baldwin]

Two Bengals fans? I'm not sure that's allowed via most internet forum rules. Even on their own fan site.

They say you can the man out of the ghetto but you can't take the ghetto out of the man. This saying always upsets me. There are too many other players out there that are class acts that come from the same backgrounds as Vick and Jones. As a man that has had a wild past himself I can tell you that you can turn things around. Goodell's expectations are not outrageous nor counterproductive to the sport as some critics are saying. I personally think that Tagliabue should have dealt with it during his watch since it was in high gear when he stepped down.

[Brian Baldwin]

BTW you Bengal's fans... Here's a bit of footage of our new rookie punter.... He's the one making the tackle.

http://www.baylortv.com/streaming/00...00kbps_str.asx

[Ryan Ruck]

Tonight saw the first head-to-head NFL action of the season in the Hall of Fame game between the Steelers and the Saints.

And congrats on the Steeler's 20-7 win Brian!

Unfortunately, I was not able to watch the game. As it turns out, with all the premium cable channels I get, NFL Network isn't even available. And on top of that I was out working.

So, perhaps you can fill us in on some of the highlights Brian?

[Brian Baldwin]

As the Pre-Season draws to a close and the regular season gets set to begin, it becomes clear that my first prognostication article is due. I watched a lot of football this year, reruns of games from last year, the Draft, and of course many of the Pre-Season games. Here I will list three games for opening week I think are must see for any football fan along with predictions on the outcomes for the remaining games. So lets get started.

Thursday, September 6th. New Orleans at Indianapolis.

This is likely to be one of the best match-ups for the regular season. A real treat is in store for football fans everywhere if they can tune in to watch this game. Indianapolis of course is the defending Super Bowl champions and New Orleans is a team that could have easily faced them in the Super Bowl last year. Indy tends not to make many mistakes during a game and much of this has to do with Peyton Manning himself. Problem with them though is that he finally got his ring and hence lost the hunger to prove himself. But that's a minor problem at best because he didn't lose his ability or arm. New Orleans on the other hand can taste that ring and a win here could very well propel them into a winning mode that could take them all the way to big game next February. I look for a big passing game shoot out between the two gun slingers but also look for just enough running game to keep the defenses tired out. While Indianapolis is the obvious choice here, I'm going with the underdogs and picking New Orleans to win. But just barely.

New Orleans 31 - Indianapolis 28


Chicago travels to San Diego Sunday, September 9th, to play a minor version of the above game. Chicago is at this time my pick to repeat the Super Bowl for the NFC while San Diego has the potential to get there this year also. They have enough talent but without Marty I am loathe to say they will. At least until their coaching staff has had some time to wear in the team. Rivers is the better QB of the two teams but Chicago has a stiffling defense that can easily keep the scoring to a minimum. Here again Chicago is the obvious choice and I'm going with it. I don't see San Diego beating an established high-end team with their new coaching staff. Though if they're smart they'll make Chicago wear their home team uniforms in that hot sun Sunday.

Chicago 24 - San Diego 14


And finally we have Baltimore traveling to Cincinnati for a double header Monday night game, September 10th. They play the early game so in terms of that their teams will be more primed than the later game in my opinion. These are the two teams most betting pools alternate as winning the AFC North division and the two teams to watch for a possible AFC Championship appearance. Baltimore had a tremendous year last year and Cincinnati barely missed the playoffs by a loss to Pittsburgh late in the final game of the season. I see Cincinnati having a better year this year if they can keep their players out of jail long enough to field them but in the end it won't be enough to stop Baltimore Monday night.

Baltimore 30 - Cincinnati 17


Now there was a big enough difference in the above score to make people wonder why it would be a "game to watch". Well its more for future consideration. Those two teams are going to catch fire and fight out a titan brawl for the AFC North and maybe a shot at the Super Bowl.

Now here are the rest of the games.

Washington over Miami
Atlanta over Minnesota
Tennessee over Jacksonville
Carolina over Saint Louis
Pittsburgh over Cleveland
New England over New York Jets
Philadelphia over Greenbay
Denver over Buffalo
Kansas City over Houston
Seattle over Tampa Bay
Oakland over Detroit
New York Giants over Dallas
Arizona over San Francisco

An interesting note here... Most of my winning picks are the away team. If this plays out, more home teams will lose this week than I have seen in a long time.

[Ryan Ruck]

I see Cincinnati having a better year this year if they can keep their players out of jail long enough to field them but in the end it won't be enough to stop Baltimore Monday night.

Baltimore 30 - Cincinnati 17

I hope you're wrong on the final score.

I think the Bengals' hurdle this year won't be jail for players, I think it's injuries. They've had more than a few in this pre-season! I suspect the criminal problem has been nipped in the bud between Lewis and Goodell. Especially with Vick being a high profile example.

Speaking of Vick, it was a joke trying to watch Monday's Bengals game. Every other sentence spoken included the word "Vick". Sure had me steamed... I wanted to watch a football game not a soap opera.

[Ryan Ruck]

Just heard on local news that the Bengals are favored in the Monday game against the by 2.5.

Go !

[Brian Baldwin]

Are these the same odds makers that have Indy as an outside bet to win the superbowl again while they favor them heavily to repeat their appearance? And this against the Bears in Feb, 2008?

Anyone of the games I mention above could easily be switched around. It's the first game of the season. Heck. I was already way off on the Indy game against N.O.

Still, I see either Baltimore or Cincinnati going to the AFC championship this year so it's certainly a game to watch. But in this game Cincinnati has injuries, suspensions and a fall in morale. A win here would sure help them over the long run but I think they'll fall apart if things don't go right from the start. But I also believe Lewis will nip that in the bud after the game so it's not an issue in the remainder of the season. Well... If he's as a good a coach as I think he is, he will.

[Ryan Ruck]

Victory for the Bengals!!!!

A hard fought game by both for sure.

[Brian Baldwin]

Congrats on the win!!! That was something else. Palmer really showed what a good quarterback can do when need arises.

Our division has an easy week next week for the most part. Unless of course you're the Browns. LMAO. Facing their two toughest opponents in the first two weeks sucks. But they may switch things up next week by starting Brady Quinn. This guy can be a game breaker. He has a powerful arm, good decision making skills, and he can bench press like a line backer. Cleveland got a sweet trade up for him in the late first round considering he should have gone by the 11th pick overall.

Sure, he'll lose against Cincy more likely than not. But it's that rookie first game luck that could rear it's ugly head. Not to mention the Browns are peeved mightly about their huge loss to Pittsburgh this past Sunday and will go to extremes to make sure it doesn't happen again. (Not gonna help them though).

Baltimore should pick up it's first win against the Jets I'd think. So that will put Pittsburgh and Cincy in first and second (depending on scoring) and Baltimore in third with the Browns in dead last. All will be right in the universe once again. lol

It's the fourth week though where I see Pittsburgh sitting alone at number one if everything goes right. Cincy faces NE whereas Pittsburgh faces Arizona. If Pittsburgh wins again in week 5 while Cincy is off it's no problem since during their bye week Cincy plays KC. A tough team to beat in KC. That could see Pittsburgh up by two games when they come back.

On the flip side the Bengals could beat NE since the Pats will be without their cheating employee cameraman and then Palmer and Rudy could possibly take care of KC in like fashion. After all... Didn't Houston just do that? Betting Atlanta is wishing they had Schaub back right about now as KC is wishing Green were still with them. In this event the Steelers and Bengals would remain both tied and undefeated by week 7.

Now of course there's the whole "Any given Sunday" issue but bah... Our teams are too good for that. Right Ryan? lol

[Ryan Ruck]

Surprisingly, our D was actually doing well last night.

All will be right in the universe once again. lol

Haha... Just so long as Pittsburgh willfully accepts their proper place in .

[Brian Baldwin]

Surprisingly, our D was actually doing well last night.


Haha... Just so long as Pittsburgh willfully accepts their proper place in .

Your Defense were the true stars of last night's game. And though several Raven's fans are pointing towards the hugely bad call by the ref on that Baltimore touchdown by Todd Heap, they can't excape the fact they still had 5 or 6 more tries to get it in the end zone and still failed utterly.

While I still believe Cincinatti or even Baltimore will likely take the division this year; No team with 5 Lombardies is in .... Especially to some Orange sherbert dressed posers I won't name. *cough*Bungles*cough*

[Brian Baldwin]

Oh... BTW. I still have that Bengals stuffed cat you sent me on my desk. Patty suggested I give it to our new Rottweiller and film the carnage for posting here but I'm too classy to do that....... With the low res camera I own currently.

[Brian Baldwin]

Ok lets get this on record right now, right here. I can't stand cheaters! Today the NFL has found that the Patriots did indeed violate rules, (cheated) when they had an employee use a video camera to tape the signals of the Jets' defensive coaches and attempted to hijack their radio signals at the same time in order to pass that information on to coaches on the New England sidelines. Also, Head Coach Bill Belichick has been summoned to the stand before the commisioner to answer for his underhanded team efforts (cheating). The punishment for these actions could range from fines, loss of draft picks, and/or suspensions. I don't foresee player suspensions since none of the players were complicate, as far as can be determined, in the illegal acts.

It should be understood that Goodell is cracking down on things that give the NFL a black eye including players getting arrested or misbehaving, cheating of any nature, and setting examples of misconduct. My personal opinion is that in the case of the cheating I personally think they should give the Jets the win, (unprecidented), Levi heavy fines against the franchise to the tune of at least one million dollars, the loss of their first two draft picks in '08, suspension of Head coach for 4 games, and removal of all non-essential personal from the sidelines of the Patriots for the remainder of the season.

Yes it's a stiff punishment I'd levy, but I do believe I stated earlier that I can not stand a cheater. Had this been my beloved Steelers I think I would be even less understanding considering their history of integrity through the 75 years they've been with the NFL. I'd probably fire the coach outright and disallow their first stringers to play in the next couple games along with the above fines. The reason for this is, much like being a father, you are strictest on those you love the most since you want them to be the best people and examples they can be.

And that's my two cents on this matter.

You can read more here... http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=090...o&confirm=true

[Brian Baldwin]

Week one of the newly begun season is behind us and so to are my hugely misguided picks. lol I went a very poor 7-9 which is the worst I've done since I started these threads.

To recap last week: Baltimore was unable to stop Plumber and Cincinnati's defense from winning. That doesn't mean Baltimore made a poor showing just worse than what it would take to win this one. Cincinnati however made a huge improvement in their defense this year and it was quickly appearant.

New Orleans' Drew Brees was unable to compete with Indianapolis' Manning in a titan QB shootout. Peyton quickly picked apart a troubled defense that is little improved over last year's. The crushing score of that left a 31 point gap is the worst loss of the week.

Buffalo suffered the worst of any team with no fewer than 4 season ending injuries and that includes one of the most sad in reserve Tight End Kevin Everett who suffered a broken vertabrae in his neck during Sunday's game against the Broncos. Good news is that his surgery went fine and he should be able to walk again. Our prayers are with him and his family. The broncos were barely able to win the game against this tough team in the last second with a field goal kick.

Dallas beat the Giants like a red-headed stepchild and the Giants have lost little Manning for a couple of weeks likely do to a seperated or bruised throwing shoulder, depending on which reports you believe. This will seriously hamper the Giants ability to compete while Dallas will likely lead the division for some time.

Pittsburgh clobbered the Browns in the next biggest defeat of the week when their defense and Big Ben's passing proved to be too much for such a sub par team. As a result, Browns starting QB Charlie Frye is now a backup QB for Seattle. By week three I imagine that Brady Quinn will assume the duties of starter.

Now lets talk about next week...

Injuries to many teams will change some of the way's I pick so I will attempt to present this week's picks a bit differently. If you like this way then let me know and I'll continue it. Otherwise I'll go back to the old way next week.

We start off with the games to watch this week and I only have two.

Houston at Carolina on Sunday at 1pm EST. Houston destroyed Kansas City last week and their new QB looks pretty damn good IMO. Carolina trampled St. Louis and pretty much controlled the game from the outset. Both have solid teams with plenty of talent but I believe Carolina is the better team and while Houston has the better QB. A tough call for me this time but I'm going with Carolina to win it by a slim margin.

Carolina 27 - Houston 24

My second game to watch will be Monday night. Washington and Philadelphia. Washington comes off a win against Miami which is no great feat but Philly lost to Greenbay which shows they are far from the team that went to 4 NFCC games and a superbowl in the recent past. Washington's QB looked sloppy and Philly's looked tired and ready for retirement. But this is an important game because of the division. It is the NFC's biggest talent division and Philly needs this win to stay in it. Washington needs this win to compete with Dallas. I actually believe Washington's QB Campbell will be more calm this game and bring home the win.

Washington 28 - Philadelphia 24

Now for the rest of the games.

Indianapolis at Tennessee... The Titans pulled out a win against Jacksonville barely. They face likely the best team in the NFL and certainly the best QB the NFL has seen since Johnny Unitas. Indianapolis wins.

Green Bay at New York Giants... Almost a game to watch. Eli may still play but even if he does we'll see shorter passes that favor a troubled shoulder which will allow Green Bay to blitz much more. If he doesn't play they lose outright IMO. Green Bay wins It's second in a row.

Cincinnati at Cleveland... ROFLMAO!!!! Cincinatti wins unless the browns start Quinn. Then Cincinatti wins with a few extra sacks. As a Steeler fan I hope to eat crow on this.

New Orleans at Tampa Bay... New Orleans won't make the same mistakes twice. Tampa lost convincingly last week to show they are quickly headed to the bottom of their division. The Saints take home the W.

Buffalo at Pittsburgh... Buffalo even though injury depleted had the depth to keep the Broncos to the wire. Pittsburgh's win against the Browns is like winning against a local high school team. This game will determine if Tomlin's crew is serious about wanting the Super Bowl. Pittsburgh wins but may lose it's first place in the division when Cincinnati runs the score up on the Browns.

Atlanta at Jacksonville. Jags are coming off a loss to a team rival that leaves a bitter taste in their mouths. Atlanta is realising Vick was their team and wishing they had Schuab back. This is Jacksonville's game from the start to the end.

San Francisco at St. Louis... The third game I would have added to my games to watch if the teams were a bit better. Both are just so-so and I don't think San Francisico can challenge the veteran Bulger in this game. I see St. Louis winning barely and maybe in OT.

Minnesotta at Detroit... Detroit won against Oakland but that means absolutely nothing when you consider one team basically had to beat the other. They are the two worst teams in the NFL. Detroit hates to give up those top end draft choices for some reason. Even with top end draft choices year after year it won't help them a bit. This is Minnesotta's game.

Seattle at Arizona... Another potential game to watch. Seattle is playing a mini-Super Bowl game against "Steeler West" Arizona. Seattle has lost too much of it's talent for me to give them much of an edge. Veteran high end QB and a record of wins against this team is all Seattle has. Seattle should win but I am going to pick Arizona this time around. Too much coaching talent and the recent acquistion of Chucky Okobi as their Center just is too much to pass up. Arizona's game barely.

Dallas at Miami... This one's a no brainer. Dallas has worked hard under Parcell to make it to where they are. Wade Phillips is the coach they've been waiting for and Miami just plain stinks. Too many coaches and QB's in too short a time. Dallas by a good margin.

Kansas City at Chicago... Pittsburgh proved Chicago could be ran against effectively and KC has the talent in LJ to do just that. Low scoring game but tough. Chicago wins it if KC doesn't pull their heads out of their As****!

New York Jets at Baltimore... Regardless of the cheating done by New England the Jets would have lost that game. I don't see them winning against such a hard nosed defense as Baltimore's either. Baltimore's win and they keep third spot lacking one game from first in the division.

San Diego at New England... While not on my games to watch that's because I don't reccomend watching their game even if you're fans of New England this week (because they're cheaters!) Regardless of penalties imposed on NE by the NFL, I think San Diego is going to be too much for the Pats. San Diego wins by a slim margin.

And that is how I see this week playing out.