The Champions of the world return to defend their title, but can they do it? Popular opinion is that they are the team to beat, and I don’t want to second guess them winning the NFC Championship, but a second Superbowl? I’m not so sure…
There’s no doubt they’re capable, and given that I’m tipping them to make it to the big game I believe they have every chance to win it (any one team can win any one game, after all). But I think the pressure is far greater this year – a second Superbowl would move Aaron Rogers out of Brett Favre’s shadow for good, tie him with Bart Starr for rings and move GB onto five Superbowl rings and a three way tie with San Francisco and Dallas for second place. For all those reasons and one other, I don’t think Rogers and co will repeat.
That niggling reason would be their opponents, or, at least, the team I’m tipping to face them in Superbowl XLVI – the New England Patriots.
Aaron Rogers is a superb Quarterback, and the Green Bay Packers have bigger names at more positions than the Patriots. But the Patriots are the patriots. They are a collective; a unit; a one…
When people think about the patriots they may mention Belichick and Brady, but they are thinking of this complex pattern that bamboozles players, coaches and fans alike en route to postseason after postseason berth.
Although they’ve won 3 Superbowls in the last decade, they consider themselves woeful underachievers and, given their regular season records (especially the 16-0 2007 season) they damn well should do. They are overdue and the Packers will be the team to suffer for the Patriots long wait for Championship number four.
If the Patriots should fall before the big one (as they have done the last few years) the Packers move up to my number one spot.
Verdict: 13-3 record, NFC North Champions, NFC Conference Champions, Superbowl Runners-up.
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Tuesday, 23 August 2011
Jacksonville Jaguars
Here’s an underperforming team, who might be in for a rough season. They have talent and can sure win big games, but they lack any sort of consistency, and that only figures to get worse if they give significant time to their Round 1 draft pick, Blaine Gabbert, instead of starting a fit and healthy David Garrard.
Whether Garrard is available to go or not remains to be seen, but despite my faith in Gabbert to develop into a solid league QB, having someone else’s team thrust into your soft palms without a safety net – no standout receivers – and being asked to save your coaches job and, possibly, the team from falling so far out of favour with the commissioner, he might as well ship you to the USFL is not a great way to start a career. The same thing happened to Brady Quinn with the Browns and his stock plummeted because of things out of his control. Unfair? Certainly. Does anyone in this league care? Not a jot.
The Jaguars were on the cusp of becoming a great team a few seasons ago – Del Rio thought he had the winning formula at last with some field stretching play from speedy receivers and the constant threat of Pocket Hercules, Maurice Jones-Drew, the Jags were heading to the top!
But then the wheels fell off.
Jones-Drew’s production is still high, Garrard can still manage a game, but something isn’t right. And that something may well be everything.
In another system these players could shine. Has Coach Jack Del Rio lost his touch? I’m inclined to say yes, which pains me, because I love the guy. But I think his ethos has gone as far as it can go. His mindset is better suited to the position of coordinator, not Head Coach. I think we may see the team and Coach part ways come the end of the season if it turns out as disappointingly as I imagine it will.
Verdict: flashes of brilliance count for little in this league. It’s a long season and it will feel even longer for the Jags, who I see sliding to a 6-10 record at best. Sorry Coach, another losing season and it’s game over for now.
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Whether Garrard is available to go or not remains to be seen, but despite my faith in Gabbert to develop into a solid league QB, having someone else’s team thrust into your soft palms without a safety net – no standout receivers – and being asked to save your coaches job and, possibly, the team from falling so far out of favour with the commissioner, he might as well ship you to the USFL is not a great way to start a career. The same thing happened to Brady Quinn with the Browns and his stock plummeted because of things out of his control. Unfair? Certainly. Does anyone in this league care? Not a jot.
The Jaguars were on the cusp of becoming a great team a few seasons ago – Del Rio thought he had the winning formula at last with some field stretching play from speedy receivers and the constant threat of Pocket Hercules, Maurice Jones-Drew, the Jags were heading to the top!
But then the wheels fell off.
Jones-Drew’s production is still high, Garrard can still manage a game, but something isn’t right. And that something may well be everything.
In another system these players could shine. Has Coach Jack Del Rio lost his touch? I’m inclined to say yes, which pains me, because I love the guy. But I think his ethos has gone as far as it can go. His mindset is better suited to the position of coordinator, not Head Coach. I think we may see the team and Coach part ways come the end of the season if it turns out as disappointingly as I imagine it will.
Verdict: flashes of brilliance count for little in this league. It’s a long season and it will feel even longer for the Jags, who I see sliding to a 6-10 record at best. Sorry Coach, another losing season and it’s game over for now.
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Monday, 22 August 2011
Detroit Lions
This team has a lot to feel good about: mainly the fact that Matthew Stafford, the former Number One draft pick is still upright and healthy after spending the off-season wrapped in cotton wool.
With Stafford, the Lions are a threat; a genuine threat in a division that boasts both teams to feature in last year’s NFC Championship game. There have been false dawns for the Detroit faithful before, but I have a real feeling this year they’re going to score a lot of points – probably a lot more than they concede. Now, if they manage to keep that positive ratio going from game to game, we’re going to see a very, very good record by the end of the year, but, as always with a team comprised of such talent but so little experience, I think it likely they will blow some of the weaker teams out of the water, and be similarly buried by the big boys.
The re-working of the Lions logo a couple of years ago was a good move. Their new badge can shed the shame of the barren years and be the insignia of a new era – an aggressive, exciting and victorious era.
The Lions have arrived; believe the hype.
Verdict: In a stacked NFC full of more experienced teams (two of the most experienced play the lions twice each this year) the Lions will struggle to get into the playoffs however good they are. I fancy them to split the season with the Packers, who will go on to win the group with a conference topping 13-3 record, and the Lions will finish on the same record as Chicago, perhaps a 10-6, but make it to the playoffs as the sixth seed by having swept the series against the Bears. Lions in the playoffs? You heard it here first!
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With Stafford, the Lions are a threat; a genuine threat in a division that boasts both teams to feature in last year’s NFC Championship game. There have been false dawns for the Detroit faithful before, but I have a real feeling this year they’re going to score a lot of points – probably a lot more than they concede. Now, if they manage to keep that positive ratio going from game to game, we’re going to see a very, very good record by the end of the year, but, as always with a team comprised of such talent but so little experience, I think it likely they will blow some of the weaker teams out of the water, and be similarly buried by the big boys.
The re-working of the Lions logo a couple of years ago was a good move. Their new badge can shed the shame of the barren years and be the insignia of a new era – an aggressive, exciting and victorious era.
The Lions have arrived; believe the hype.
Verdict: In a stacked NFC full of more experienced teams (two of the most experienced play the lions twice each this year) the Lions will struggle to get into the playoffs however good they are. I fancy them to split the season with the Packers, who will go on to win the group with a conference topping 13-3 record, and the Lions will finish on the same record as Chicago, perhaps a 10-6, but make it to the playoffs as the sixth seed by having swept the series against the Bears. Lions in the playoffs? You heard it here first!
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Sunday, 21 August 2011
Denver Broncos
Let the John Fox era begin. The truly HORRIBLE experiment that was one-time stand-out Patriots coordinator, Josh McDaniels, is over. Thank goodness. McDaniels barrelled into this team full of the winning philosophy, attempted to impress himself on the organisation in every way, got it all a bit wrong, jettisoned the best QB of a highly-touted draft class to Chicago, fell-out with the team’s best – and one of the league’s best – receivers, and then eventually got himself fired for just kind of missing the point about winning and all…
It was all slightly embarrassing.
When I was a kid, the Broncos were seriously cool. The Elway years are some of the most iconic in professional sports. His passionate and extremely long career culminated in the only two championships to land in Colorado. Those days are long past and the Broncos are no longer cool. Gone are orange jerseys; gone are the characters; gone is Mike Shanahan; gone is the love; gone are the wins.
And they play in the softest division in the AFC. The Chargers should win it every year, but even they make it look difficult to play out of the AFC West. The Broncos will not win many games until they find their next Elway. Is it Tebow? Well, it sure as hell isn’t Orton – a fine game manager capable of some nice, nest throws when surrounded by a supporting cast working in unison.
I do think Fox should lump for Tim Tebow. Give him a season – a dead season as this one is – to earn his stripes. If it works out, you’ve got a face for your franchise and a foothold in the future.
Verdict: could be one of the worst teams this year, despite getting better at every position. 5-11 tops for me.
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It was all slightly embarrassing.
When I was a kid, the Broncos were seriously cool. The Elway years are some of the most iconic in professional sports. His passionate and extremely long career culminated in the only two championships to land in Colorado. Those days are long past and the Broncos are no longer cool. Gone are orange jerseys; gone are the characters; gone is Mike Shanahan; gone is the love; gone are the wins.
And they play in the softest division in the AFC. The Chargers should win it every year, but even they make it look difficult to play out of the AFC West. The Broncos will not win many games until they find their next Elway. Is it Tebow? Well, it sure as hell isn’t Orton – a fine game manager capable of some nice, nest throws when surrounded by a supporting cast working in unison.
I do think Fox should lump for Tim Tebow. Give him a season – a dead season as this one is – to earn his stripes. If it works out, you’ve got a face for your franchise and a foothold in the future.
Verdict: could be one of the worst teams this year, despite getting better at every position. 5-11 tops for me.
Pick up THE HARE newspaper at Night and Day, Bar Centro, Font or Tiger Lounge in Manchester town centre, or the Oakwood in Glossop.
E-mail theharenewspaper@hotmail.co.uk with questions, comments or contributory pieces.
Saturday, 20 August 2011
Dallas Cowboys
A couple of seasons ago I would rejoice whenever I saw Tony Romo in the news. Mainly because he was also attached to Jessica Simpson by some part of his body, but also because the Cowboys were champions elect with Wade Phillips at the helm and the most talented NFL roster at his disposal.
But now Jessica and Wade are in the rear view mirror and so, it would seem, are Dallas’s chances of being considered a serious contender.
New coach Jason Garrett is a great guy. He’s a former Dallas player himself and understands the rigours and rollercoaster ride of the modern NFL. He can connect with his team, but can he get the best from his star man?
Romo has been criticised over his career for his inconsistency, choke-factor, propensity to live the celebrity lifetime and his inability to win a playoff game.
Let’s address each point in defence of a player I believe still has a chance to make something of his career. He is 31 after all – it’s about now things should start happening…
Inconsistent he may appear, but a lot of that is not his fault. The players around him need to be in sync with their main man and although it’s his responsibility to get them to fall in line, Quarterbacking is only one part of the whole. In further, more practical defence of this downfall, he is, statistically, the most efficient passer of all time. Think about that. You can’t throw too many air balls and wind up with that against your name…
Choke-factor is a big deal. He does seem to choke in the fourth quarter of big games, but maybe his style of play just doesn’t suit the frantic offense often required as a game comes to a close. Sure, that means he isn’t a complete player, but that’s one reason why a team carries multiple players at the same position. Find a hurry-up guy and use him! I know it’s unconventional to have a situational QB, but Romo’s game is fine but for the last little bit of it – he panics and makes mistakes. Give the opportunity to a guy who needs to impress. Just a suggestion.
Celebrity lifestyle? Have you SEEN Jessica Simpson? Give the guy a break.
And as for the failure to win a playoff game – so what? Peyton Manning lost his first three, Eli manning his first two etc, etc. All great players lose playoff games – there can only be one winner and so what if you lose to three playoff calibre teams on the bounce. No big deal. It took Ivan Lendl four final losses before he won a Grand Slam – it happens in sport all the time. Remember the Broncos of the 80s? Yeah, exactly.
So are they any good? You know what, I think they might be. There is something in the back of my mind that says these guys could be a dark horse in the NFC. They won’t win their division (the Eagles should sew that one up), but they could get second and a decent enough record for a Wild card. It’s a big COULD, but don’t write them off…
Verdict: 10-6 and on the outside looking in. Just.
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But now Jessica and Wade are in the rear view mirror and so, it would seem, are Dallas’s chances of being considered a serious contender.
New coach Jason Garrett is a great guy. He’s a former Dallas player himself and understands the rigours and rollercoaster ride of the modern NFL. He can connect with his team, but can he get the best from his star man?
Romo has been criticised over his career for his inconsistency, choke-factor, propensity to live the celebrity lifetime and his inability to win a playoff game.
Let’s address each point in defence of a player I believe still has a chance to make something of his career. He is 31 after all – it’s about now things should start happening…
Inconsistent he may appear, but a lot of that is not his fault. The players around him need to be in sync with their main man and although it’s his responsibility to get them to fall in line, Quarterbacking is only one part of the whole. In further, more practical defence of this downfall, he is, statistically, the most efficient passer of all time. Think about that. You can’t throw too many air balls and wind up with that against your name…
Choke-factor is a big deal. He does seem to choke in the fourth quarter of big games, but maybe his style of play just doesn’t suit the frantic offense often required as a game comes to a close. Sure, that means he isn’t a complete player, but that’s one reason why a team carries multiple players at the same position. Find a hurry-up guy and use him! I know it’s unconventional to have a situational QB, but Romo’s game is fine but for the last little bit of it – he panics and makes mistakes. Give the opportunity to a guy who needs to impress. Just a suggestion.
Celebrity lifestyle? Have you SEEN Jessica Simpson? Give the guy a break.
And as for the failure to win a playoff game – so what? Peyton Manning lost his first three, Eli manning his first two etc, etc. All great players lose playoff games – there can only be one winner and so what if you lose to three playoff calibre teams on the bounce. No big deal. It took Ivan Lendl four final losses before he won a Grand Slam – it happens in sport all the time. Remember the Broncos of the 80s? Yeah, exactly.
So are they any good? You know what, I think they might be. There is something in the back of my mind that says these guys could be a dark horse in the NFC. They won’t win their division (the Eagles should sew that one up), but they could get second and a decent enough record for a Wild card. It’s a big COULD, but don’t write them off…
Verdict: 10-6 and on the outside looking in. Just.
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Friday, 19 August 2011
Cleveland Browns
I love the Browns.
I love everything about them.
I love their jerseys, their lids, their old school logo, the fans, the ground, Joe Thomas and, most importantly, Colt McCoy.
McCoy was, in my opinion, the steal of the 2010 draft. A third round pick-up, the Texas Longhorn’s Colt McCoy is the winningest Quarterback in NCAA Division I history. With 45 notches in the W column, second place in Heisman voting, a bunch of school records and a single season completion percentage of over 76%, he looked like a tasty prospect to me. But he slid all the way to the third and all the way to the Browns due his ‘lack of NFL size’, small hands and injury proneness.
Well now is his chance to shine, and shining he is…
McCoy’s pre-season performances have been nothing short of sensational. And it isn’t just the points his team are scoring that make him look like he’s playing better than he is, he is doing everything – everything – right.
His ball protection is superb; his game management is that of a five year starter; his passes are accurate and his release quick; his poise and footwork, refined; and his maturity and toughness are the things you pray for on Draft day.
But will it translate into results? The Browns have drafted well over the last five years, making the right moves on and around the big day to move up for playmakers and having the conviction to stick to their board and always select the number one guy.
Joe Thomas was a great pick, even if he was an easy one. He’s an example of how to draft sensibly and will affect this team’s chances of still being around in the Springtime for years to come. But the Browns ply their trade in the AFC North – that makes things tough. It is almost certainly the most physical division in the NFL and that, in the absence of consistent, season-long protection from the O-Line, can wear a young QB down and intimidate him before he finds his groove. Can McCoy avoid or overcome such harassment? I think he will, but I don’t think it will be enough for them to make the playoffs this year.
Verdict: I have them somewhere around – hopefully just above, probably just below - .500. They could even be as unlucky as to finish 10-6 and miss the playoffs through tiebreakers. It’s not their year – in another division (say, the NFC West) they might come top, but the North? No way. Next year Brownies, next year!
Pick up THE HARE newspaper at Night and Day, Bar Centro, Font or Tiger Lounge in Manchester town centre, or the Oakwood in Glossop.
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I love everything about them.
I love their jerseys, their lids, their old school logo, the fans, the ground, Joe Thomas and, most importantly, Colt McCoy.
McCoy was, in my opinion, the steal of the 2010 draft. A third round pick-up, the Texas Longhorn’s Colt McCoy is the winningest Quarterback in NCAA Division I history. With 45 notches in the W column, second place in Heisman voting, a bunch of school records and a single season completion percentage of over 76%, he looked like a tasty prospect to me. But he slid all the way to the third and all the way to the Browns due his ‘lack of NFL size’, small hands and injury proneness.
Well now is his chance to shine, and shining he is…
McCoy’s pre-season performances have been nothing short of sensational. And it isn’t just the points his team are scoring that make him look like he’s playing better than he is, he is doing everything – everything – right.
His ball protection is superb; his game management is that of a five year starter; his passes are accurate and his release quick; his poise and footwork, refined; and his maturity and toughness are the things you pray for on Draft day.
But will it translate into results? The Browns have drafted well over the last five years, making the right moves on and around the big day to move up for playmakers and having the conviction to stick to their board and always select the number one guy.
Joe Thomas was a great pick, even if he was an easy one. He’s an example of how to draft sensibly and will affect this team’s chances of still being around in the Springtime for years to come. But the Browns ply their trade in the AFC North – that makes things tough. It is almost certainly the most physical division in the NFL and that, in the absence of consistent, season-long protection from the O-Line, can wear a young QB down and intimidate him before he finds his groove. Can McCoy avoid or overcome such harassment? I think he will, but I don’t think it will be enough for them to make the playoffs this year.
Verdict: I have them somewhere around – hopefully just above, probably just below - .500. They could even be as unlucky as to finish 10-6 and miss the playoffs through tiebreakers. It’s not their year – in another division (say, the NFC West) they might come top, but the North? No way. Next year Brownies, next year!
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Thursday, 18 August 2011
Cincinnati Bengals
Oh dear, oh dear. Every year, this team, despite a high draft pick, seems to get a little worse and a lot more farcical. Terrell Owens is gone – retired. Chad Ochocinco is gone – to the already stacked New England patriots, no less. Carson Palmer is gone – retired in protest at being asked to pull on the most embarrassing livery the NFL has thrown-up since the tangerine Tampa days.
Disappointing as this team is, and with a relative unknown in Andy Dalton likely to start under centre, I can see this team winning a few by virtue of the fact teams might go to sleep on them and, let’s not forget, there are eleven professional football players on the field for the Bengals and some of them are superb athletes and the rest are still good enough to command a wage from the biggest league in America.
Give this young, vibrant and, if I’m honest in my opinions, well coached team some respect. If the players can manage their larger-than-life personalities, this team could be a thorn in every coach’s side.
Verdict: wholly uninspiring roster, with the exception of one or two vets and some sharp rookie pick-ups. They should go 0-16 but they will win around 4 I reckon. 4-12 and last in the AFC North.
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Disappointing as this team is, and with a relative unknown in Andy Dalton likely to start under centre, I can see this team winning a few by virtue of the fact teams might go to sleep on them and, let’s not forget, there are eleven professional football players on the field for the Bengals and some of them are superb athletes and the rest are still good enough to command a wage from the biggest league in America.
Give this young, vibrant and, if I’m honest in my opinions, well coached team some respect. If the players can manage their larger-than-life personalities, this team could be a thorn in every coach’s side.
Verdict: wholly uninspiring roster, with the exception of one or two vets and some sharp rookie pick-ups. They should go 0-16 but they will win around 4 I reckon. 4-12 and last in the AFC North.
Pick up THE HARE newspaper at Night and Day, Bar Centro, Font or Tiger Lounge in Manchester town centre, or the Oakwood in Glossop.
E-mail theharenewspaper@hotmail.co.uk with questions, comments or contributory pieces.
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