Growing up I used to despise Brett Favre and now I despise him even more. One of my friends, who was obviously a front-runner at the time, is a Green Bay Packers fan after they won the Super Bowl in the 1996 season. The thing that got me so mad is that Favre only won in 1996 and hasn’t done so since. My friend used to say, “He is the best quarterback in football.” How is that? Every time I watched the Packers in the playoffs post 1996, Favre blew the game by throwing an interception in the most crucial spots.
The same thing is still going on now. The last year Favre played with the Packers he blew the NFC Championship game to the Giants in overtime by throwing a pick. The next year with the Jets Favre was so concerned about his consecutive games streak that he played half the season hurt instead of resting which led the Jets who started off so strong, to not making the playoffs. Then last year Favre struck again when the Vikings were going down the field in the NFC Championship game against the Saints with just a few minutes left in the game Favre threw an interception to seal their fate.
Why do so many people think Favre is a great quarterback? Yeah he usually leads his team to the playoffs and he does hold almost every quarterback record because he has been around for 20 years, but he only won the Super Bowl once. Favre is one of the most un-clutch players in history.
The whole retirement thing is just another reason not to like Favre. Favre announced that he retired the last three years, to only come back after summer camp is over. Favre doesn’t want to be bothered training anymore, he just wants to come in and play in games that matter. This year I think Favre took things even further setting up the Vikings for a bigger contract. The Vikings were so desperate to get Favre back that they sent three of their players to his house to persuade him to come back. Then they offered him 28 million dollars in incentives, 15 million more than he was originally owed. What a sham! I can’t believe the Vikings were that desperate, to pay Favre that much after his history of not coming through when it matters the most. If the Vikings do not win the Super Bowl this year they will look like a bunch of idiots for paying Favre so much.

By Eric Heyer of Sports Fan Blog Network

The AFC North is going to be a tough division this season. The Bengals and Ravens are both expected to have great teams. The Steelers are kind of up in the air and the Browns have improved a little as well. Who will finish at the top of the division? Read on to find out.

4. Cleveland Browns: The Browns have moved on once again at the quarterback position with Jake Delhomme. The Browns gave Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson a chance over the last two years and neither one of them made it back to the team this season. Quinn was traded to the Broncos for fullback Peyton Hillis and a sixth round draft pick, and Anderson was released and picked up by the Cardinals. The Browns are hoping to get things right for once with Delhomme leading the way. Delhomme, the long time Panthers quarterback, hit rock bottom last season. After having a miserable start to the 2009 season, Delhomme went on the injured reserved list with a broken finger for the rest of the season. While he was out backup Matt Moore showed that he was cut out to start for the Panthers going 4-1 in his starts beating the Giants, Vikings, and Saints.
Other than adding Delhomme, the Browns didn’t really do much else in improving their team. Their wide receivers aren’t that good with the youngster Mohamed Massaquoi leading the bunch and behind him Josh Cribbs, who is more known for his record breaking kick returns.
The Browns are also lacking in talent on defense, with only a few bright spots in their cornerbacks Sheldon Brown and Eric Wright. On the defensive line the only guy that is reliable is the veteran Shaun Rogers and at the middle linebacker position D’Qwell Jackson. Other than that the Browns look like they will be a last place team once again. I’m starting to think that it was a mistake letting them come back into the league. I predict that they will only have four wins this season finishing at 4-12.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers cleaned house last season, proving to the league that they won’t stand up for misconduct off the field, no matter how good the player is. Santonio Holmes was the Steelers up and coming wide receiver until he ran into trouble with the law last season that prompted the Steelers to trade him to the Jets. Ben Rothlisberger was also involved in suspicion to sexual assault during the off-season. Rothlisberger had trouble in the past being suspected of sexual assault in 2009 also. The Steelers had enough, rumors were flying around that the Steelers were trying to trade Rothlisberger, but it never happened. Rothlisberger will be suspended for up to six games starting this season, which will greatly hurt the Steelers chances at making it to the playoffs. Byron Leftwich was picked up by the Steelers to fill in for Rothlisberger while he’s suspended.
I expect the Steelers to run the ball a lot with Rashard Mendenhall starting for the first time this year. Mendenhall will help the Steelers compete in the first half of the season, but the Steelers also have to pass the ball and the only weapon they are left with is the aging Hines Ward. Second year starter Mike Wallace might break out with his speed and prove to be an up and coming big name receiver. Then there is tight end Heath Miller, Miller is one of the best tight ends in the league, but since Holmes left the team Miller may not be as open as he as in the past.
The Steelers strong point has always been their defense and the same remains true this season. Led by strong safety, Troy Polamalu, James Farrior at middle line backer, Lamarr Woodley and James Harrison on the outside, and Ike Taylor leading the cornerbacks. The Steelers will again have one of the best defenses in the league, probably second behind the Jets. Their defense may help the Steelers make their games close while Rothlisberger is out. I think the Steelers will finish their season at 8-8.

2. Cincinnati Bengals: The Bengals bounced back last season and made it to the wild card round of the playoffs only to lose to the Jets. The Bengals added Terrell Owens to their roster this season to help them improve and go further into the playoffs. Carson Palmer has a great arm and he will be able to show it off this season with two receivers that can certainly stretch the field. Chad Ochocinco and Owens may be the best one-two punch at the wide receiver position this season. This is the Bengals year to make a run for the Super Bowl. The reason, Ochocinco and Owens aren’t getting any younger. As the years go by these guys are going to start to decline. Owens is 36-years-old, but he has the body of a 30-year-old, but who knows how long his legs will last? Ochocinco is 32 and should have his speed for the next two years at least. Cedric Benson will give the receiving corp. a break. Benson had a breakout season last year, rushing for over 1,200 yards and averaging 4.1 yards per carry. If Benson has the same sort of year as last season the Bengals offense will be scary.
The Bengals offense will have to be scary good because their defense is just middle of the line. The two biggest standouts on the defense is cornerbacks Jonathan Joseph and Leon Hall. Hall and Joseph each had six interceptions last season. Other than the corners, the rest of the defense is just so-so. Saying all of this, I think the Bengals are more talented than last season, but I think they will be one game worse because of their tough schedule. The Bengals should finish at 9-7.

1. Baltimore Ravens: After going 9-7 last season and making it to the divisional round of the playoffs, the Ravens should improve this season and win their division. The biggest reason why the Ravens will win the division this season is because of one man and his name is Anquan Boldin. The Ravens finally have a big name wide receiver, which they have been lacking for the last few seasons. Joe Flacco is now in his third year in the NFL, after improving last season over his rookie season, Flacco now has the weapons to be a premier quarterback in the NFL. Along with Boldin is the never aging Derek Mason, after almost retiring last season, mason is sticking around again sensing that this year the Ravens have a chance to make it to the Super Bowl. At the running back position is Ray Rice who proved last season that he is not a force to be reckoned with. Rice rushed for 1,339 yards and averaged 5.2 yard per carry last season while sharing the carries with Willis McGahee. This season Rice should get the ball more often to make things harder on opponents. If opponents guess wrong on a play and go to a pass coverage instead of going after Rice, he will burn them and vice-versa. For once the Ravens have a volatile offense to go along with their volatile defense.
When you think of the Ravens the first name that comes to mind is Ray Lewis. Lewis is now 35-years-old, but he’s showing no signs of slowing down. Lewis is still one of the most feared players in the league. The other mainstay on the Ravens defense is free safety Ed Reed, who is still the best at his position in the league. Then there is outside linebacker Terell Suggs who has also been on the Ravens his whole career. These three players are the face of the franchise’s defense. Other than the core three on defense, the rest of them look a little shaky. This may be the first season since the Ravens have been in Baltimore that their offense may be better than their defense and because of that I think the Ravens will flourish finishing 11-5 atop their division this season. (nfl.com)

By Eric Heyer of Sports Fan Blog Network

The NFC North is all about Brett Favre. If Favre plays this season for the Vikings, It will be a tough race between the Vikings and Packers. Do the Bears and Lions have a better team then last season? Maybe they will compete for a wild card spot… read on to find out.

4. Detroit Lions: The Lions are known to be the worst team in football ever since Barry Sanders after the 1998 season. The Lions had a very successful decade in the 90’s, making the playoffs six out of the 10 years, thanks a lot to the help of Barry Sanders. What will it take to make this team good once again? They have a young potential star quarterback in Matthew Stafford, a very good running back in Kevin Smith, probably the best wide receiver in the game in Calvin Johnson and they have a new tight end in Tony Scheffler. All these players are top of the line, but, their defense is still terrible. Everyone knows that defense is important to having a successful team in the NFL and the Lions still have a long ways to go in that department. They did draft Ndamukong Suh to help their defense out, but other than him the Lions defense still has a lot of holes. The Lions may be a little better due to the addition of Scheffler and Suh, but they will still let up a ton of points. The Lions may outscore a few teams, but not many. The Lions will improve by one win this season with a 3-13 record. At least they are improving every year, just very slowly.

3. Chicago Bears: Last year the Bears thought they had a playoff team with the acquisition of Jay Cutler. They were sorely disappointed when Cutler struggled all season long throwing interception after interception. Cutler finished the season with only one more touchdown then interceptions with 27 touchdowns and 26 interceptions. Cutler’s interception rate goes up every season, if it goes up anymore, Cutler will probably be in the 30’s. It is very hard to have a winning season when your quarterback throws 30+ interceptions. I think the Bears should focus on running the ball more this season because they have a great running back in Matt Forte. Cutler wasn’t the only one to blame for the Bears misfortunes last season. The Bears do not have great receivers, Devin Hester has speed, but he can’t catch. Earl Bennett has a promising future and may even be the top receiver on the team this season. The Bears tight end, Greg Olsen is one of the best in the league, he should be Cutlers main target unless he is double covered, which will probably happen a lot. The Bears defense is solid like usual led by Brian Urlacher. The Bears shouldn’t have any trouble stopping their opponents from scoring unless Cutler keeps giving up the ball. Basically this team all depends on Cutler, if Cutler stops throwing interceptions, they will be a playoff team, but I don’t see that happening. I think the Bears will have the same record as last season at 7-9.

2. Green Bay Packers: The Packers had a disappointing end to their season when they lost to the Cardinals in the playoffs in overtime. Everytime they lost last season, their defense let them down. Every single one of their losses, the Packers let up at least 30 points in the game. Two out of the Packers five losses also came from their division rival Vikings. If the Packers want to go further into the playoffs this season, they will have to find a way to beat the Vikings. Aaron Rodgers is one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Last season Rodgers had near MVP numbers with 30 touchdowns and only seven interceptions, giving him a quarterback rating of 103.2. Rodgers should thank his two great receivers Greg Jennings and Donald Driver for his success last season. The Packers running back Ryan Grant had a bounce back season last year and I think he will continue to improve this season. The Packers defense did not improve in my eyes with the departure of Aaron Kampman to the Jaguars. I think the Packers will struggle beating the Vikings again this season. The Packers will have to rely even more on their offense this season to outscore their opponents. I think the Packers will finish with the same record of 11-5 this season.

1. Minnesota Vikings: The Vikings may have the best offense and defense in the league. It is a toss-up between the Vikings and Saints as the best team in the NFC this season. The Vikings need Brett Favre to come back to have the best team in the league status. Favre announced last week that he will be retiring because his ankle isn’t well enough to play on. The season is still a little more than a month away though, there is still plenty of time for Favre to get back in shape. Like usual Favre is making his decision too soon, most people are expecting Favre to come out of retirement for the third straight year. With Favre the Vikings will be dangerous once again, their offense is lethal. Sidney Rice, Bernard Berrian, Percy Harvin, Visanthe Shiancoe, and Adrian Peterson round off the best all-around offense in the NFL. With Favre the rest of his offense will flourish, without him they will be wasted talent, Tavaris Jackson already tried to lead the Vikings and failed. The Vikings defense is solid with Jared Allen, Kevin and Pat Williams, Chad Greenway, Lito Sheppard, and Antoine Winfield. Even without Favre their defense will help them win a lot of games. The Vikings have a good chance of making it to the Super Bowl if favre comes back, if he doesn’t the Vikings will be lucky to make the playoffs. I will have to make two predictions for the Vikings, with Favre 13-3, without Favre 8-8.(nfl.com)

By Eric Heyer of Sports Fan Blog Network

The AFC East will have a new champion this season. The Patriots are no longer the team to beat in the division. Read on to see what team from the AFC East has a good chance of going to the Super Bowl.

4. Buffalo Bills: No changes here, the Bills are still the worst team in the AFC East. With a mediocre quarterback in Trent Edwards and the same at running back with Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson, the Bills offense will be one of the worst this season. The Bills drafted two wide receivers to try and help their offense, Naaman Roosevelt and Marcus Easley. The Bills still have Lee Evans to go along with the two rookies. The problem is the Bills do not have a good enough quarterback to get the ball to these receivers. The Bills defense is excellent and it will help them win some games this season. Since the Bills have added some new pieces, I think they will be better than last season, but not by much. I think the Bills will be 6-10 once again.

3. Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins will not be better than the Jets or Patriots this season, but I still think they will have a better season than last year, just barely. Chad Henne is now the starting quarterback for the Dolphins. After Chad Pennington went down for the season last year, Henne stepped up and proved that he is ready for the NFL. The Dolphins mainly use the wildcat offense, they do it better than any other team in the league. Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams are the keys to the Dolphins wildcat offense. Last season the Dolphins beat teams that were a lot better than them because of their trickery. When they weren’t in the wildcat, Henne proved that he has a cannon of an arm when he aired the ball out to Tedd Ginn Jr. Ginn was traded to the 49ers this season, but they also traded for one of the best receivers in the league in Brandon Marshall. The Dolphins also have a great defense led by newcomer Carlos Dansby. The Dolphins will be a dangerous team this season and they could possibly do better than third place this season, but before we get to far ahead of ourselves, on paper they will be 8-8 this season.

2. New England Patriots: With Tom Brady, Randy Moss, and Wes Welker on the same team, the Patriots are almost guaranteed to make the playoffs every season. Welker and Moss are probably the best one-two tandem of receivers in the league. To go along with Welker and Moss, is new addition Alge Crumpler at tight end. Crumpler may be getting old, but he still has a little bit left in him and may become a big target for Brady since everyone’s attention will be on Moss and Welker. The Patriots also picked up another aging veteran in Tory Holt, this seems like a good pickup to me because Holt will be used as the underneath man and should flourish in that spot. Holt is no longer a top receiver and the Patriots aren’t trying to make him one again.
The Patriots are a passing team, they always have been since Brady became their quarterback. Most of the time they work from the shotgun and have five receivers in the backfield, one guy usually gets open. The Patriots didn’t even try improving their running game this season, they still have Laurence Maroney and Fred Taylor as their backs. The Patriots defense isn’t what it used to be, they will probably give up a lot of points, but their offense is so strong that they should be able to outscore most teams. I think the Patriots will have the same record as last season at 10-6, only this year it will not be good enough to win the division.

1. New York Jets: The Jets may be the best team in all of football this season. The Jets had the best defense in the league last season, led by Darelle Revis, arguably the best cornerback in the game. The only problem is Revis is a holdout this season, not reporting to training camp. The Jets and Revis still haven’t come to terms on a new contract since he outperformed his previous contract. The Jets would be fools to let Revis slip away, they will give him what he wants or the Jets will not be nearly as good as they were last season defensively. On offense the Jets have improved a great deal. Mark Sanchez almost led the Jets to the Super Bowl last season with just one premier receiver in Braylon Edwards. Now the Jets have Laveranues Coles back for the third time after being traded away and Santonio Holmes. Holmes will be suspended for the first four games of the season, but that was alright with the Jets because they know he will help them in a big was once he’s back. To go along with their solid receiver corp. the Jets went out and got Ladanian Tomlinson. Tomlinson was thought to be washed up with the Chargers, but the Jets are taking a chance on him playing like everyone knows he can. If Tomlinson is anything like his younger self this season, the Jets will have by far the best team in the NFL. I think they will go 12-4 this season and wouldn’t be surprised to see them in the Super Bowl. (nfl.com)

By Eric Heyer of Sports Fan Blog Network

In the next few weeks leading up to the beginning of the 2010 NFL season, I will be making predictions for every division in both conferences. I am starting off with the always tough NFC East, where every team in the division has a chance to be over .500. I am starting off with who will finish last in the division and work my way up to the division winner.

4. Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles went from the second best team in the division to the worst with one huge trade during the off-season. Everyone knows who it is, their franchise quarterback, Donovan McNabb. Last season football commentators said either McNabb or Coach Andy Reid will probably be let go by the Eagles in 2010 if they did not win the Super Bowl in the 2009 season. No one believed that it would actually happen, but here we are now in 2010 and McNabb is now playing for the Washington Redskins. Out of all teams, why would the Eagles trade McNabb to a division rival? The Eagles play the Redskins twice every year, imagine if the Redskins win both games!
The Eagles were tired of having McNabb get them so close to winning it all and then failing. I can understand why the Eagles are frustrated, but Kevin Kolb, the Eagles new starting quarterback is not anything close to McNabb. There is also a chance of Michael Vick becoming the Eagles starting quarterback. I think Vick will give the Eagles a better chance at making the playoffs, but I guess the Eagles want to develop Kolb to be their next franchise quarterback. If Kolb struggles early the Eagles might give the ball to Vick, but either way I do not think they will be any better than last place in the tough NFC East. DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin can only help the team in so many ways. The two speedy young receivers will make the Eagles a middle-of-the-line team instead of one of the worst teams. This will also help the new starting running back, LeSean McCoy find some holes. McCoy is a promising new look as the teams running back after Brian Westbrook held that position for the last eight years. This is the Eagles only improvement in my eyes since Westbrook became injury prone over the last three seasons. I think the Eagles will be 7-9 this season, which would be good for third in most divisions, but in the NFC East they are dead last.

3. Washington Redskins: The Redskins aren’t playing around this season. They have a new head coach in Mike Shanahan, a new starting quarterback in Donovan McNabb, two new running backs to go with the already great Clinton Portis in Willie Parker and Larry Johnson. The Redskins were the joke of the NFL last season and they are making sure this season that it won’t happen again. The only position the Redskins didn’t make improvements in and they should have is the wide receiver position. The only somewhat reliable receiver they have is Santana Moss. Do not forget about tight end Chris Cooley, he will probably be McNabb’s main target throughout the season. McNabb made things work on the Eagles for years without big name receivers so the Redskins do not have to worry too much.
I think this team is going to be a run oriented team anyways. Shanahan is known for having the best running backs when he was with the Broncos. On top of that Shanahan coached Portis for a few years on the Broncos before he was traded to the Redskins. I expect the Redskins to spread the ball out to all three running backs because Portis and Parker are known to get injured, maybe with a lesser load they will all be fresh and thrive. Saying all of this I think the Redskins still need another season to become a playoff team. I think they will be 8-8 this season.

2. New York Giants: After a disappointing season last year that was riddled with injuries, the Giants are looking to bounce back to a playoff team once again. After winning their first five games in 2009, the Giants looked to be one of the best teams in football. Then they went on to lose four games in a row going into their bye week. The biggest disappointment, other than all of the injuries was Brandon Jacobs. Jacobs is the strongest running back in the NFL right now and he used to plow through lineman like they were nothing. Last year Jacobs almost looked timid running the ball. Jacobs never got his legs under him and he would be easily stopped after what seemed to be two yard gains every time he ran. This year Ahmad Bradshaw is the premier back. Bradshaw is the complete opposite from Jacobs. Bradshaw avoids contact and slinks around the defense like he’s covered in baby oil. The Giants didn’t make many changes this season. They are hoping that everyone stays healthy this season and they all do they should make a wild card berth. Eli Manning is now considered one of the better quarterbacks in the league and with a young wide receiver corp. that can stretch the field, Manning will be passing like crazy once again this season. The Giants are no longer a run oriented team like they have been known to be over the last 15 years. Unless Jacobs returns to his former self, I do not see Bradshaw being too successful as the premier back. The key to the Giants success will be to stay healthy because they have all the pieces to be a pretty good team this season. I see the Giants going 10-6.

1. Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys should repeat as division winners this season. After going 11-5 last season, the Cowboys will probably be around that same record this season. With the emergence of Miles Austin, the Cowboys are a dangerous team. Tony Romo to Miles Austin is what you would hear at least eight times a game last season when you watched a Cowboys games. Austin’s speed is unstoppable, no one can catch up to him. Because of Austin’s speed, he will probably be double covered and sometimes tripe covered all game. This will help all of the other aspects of the Cowboys offense, especially Jasn Witten, he should find a lot of open space down the middle of the field. Then of course there’s the Cowboys thee-headed monster in Marion Barber, Tashard Choice, and Felix Jones at running back. All three of these guys could be starters on other teams.
The Cowboys will need their offense to carry the load this season because their defense is aging and getting slower. The Cowboys have one of the top offenses in the league and it should make them division winners for their second year in a row. The Cowboys will probably finish the season at 11-5. (nfl.com)

By Eric Heyer of Sports Fan Blog Network

If you take a look at Donovan McNabb’s career, he seems to be a top level quarterback in the NFL. Not to knock on Jason Campbell or anything but I see McNabb helping the Redskins reach the playoffs this year. I know it is early and the season has not started but on paper the team looks strong. With the addition of Larry Johnson and Willie Parker, the running back spot looks top notch. The receivers look to be in good shape and you can never complain about their tight end core.

The one area I think needs work would be the offensive line. If they work a little harder during the off season I believe they can be at a level that can help them succeed this season. It is not always about getting new players, sometimes you just have to work with what you have and make those players better.