As the brilliant El Guapo says to his lieutenant Jefe, I have a plethora of things to talk about now that I’m back from my visit to Colonel Sanders’ place out in Colorado.
1. Colorado/Coors Field: A beautiful state with an amazing ballpark. It’s the best stadium in the big leagues, bar none. It has a great view from every seat, it has an extremely diverse selection of food and drinks, it has fun interactive games and it’s got a view of the most gorgeous mountains in the United States. It’s a must-see for anyone trying to get to all 30 MLB parks.
2. Yanks: Revisiting my Friday, July 15th blog for a moment (“Assorted Items”), I said that if the Yanks didn’t go 10-6 or 11-5 then they were done for. They went 10-6 coming out of the All-Star break (a .625 clip) and hung tough against the Red Sox, Angels, Rangers and Twins. I’m definitely encouraged by this and by the fact that they’ve done it with a patchwork pitching staff of Aaron Small, Al Leiter and Shawn Chacon. I don’t expect anyone to cry for the Yanks’ pitching woes but it makes me feel good that the Yanks can still play with the big boys. While I have little faith that the Yanks will make the playoffs over the A’s (by the way, how the hell are they on a 31-8 roll with that kind of crap lineup – seriously, half of their hitters barely belong in the big leagues) it’s still nice to know that there is some fight in these guys.
3. Ryne Sandberg: He should go to hell. With all due respect to Hart’s favorite player, I really hate it when people use the podium on a day honoring their accomplishments to take shots at others. When Ryne Sandberg took a veiled shot at Sammy Sosa, I really got angry. Sammy may be a cheater and a whole lot of other things but there’s no need for Sandberg to take a shot on the day when everyone was in Cooperstown to celebrate a great career. Ryne, if you don’t like Sammy, call him up and tell him off on your own time, otherwise, shut the f*ck up. You’re retired so you’re irrelevant now. I guess that’s why he’s bitter. And, as I’ve blogged before, while most Cubs fans have turned their back on Sammy now, he still was the only damn reason to go to a ballgame on the north side of Chicago from 1998-2001 since those teams sucked complete crap and he was hitting bombs out of the park. Ryne’s a jerk.
4. Raffy: What a moron this guy is. I don’t need to spend any more words on him. Suffice it to say that before Monday morning, he was a borderline Hall-of-Famer but now he’s shot his chance at Cooperstown in the foot. Loser.
5. Football Season: It’s definitely about that time. I spent the last few hours in Denver watching the NFL Network. For anyone that has Comcast digital cable or DirectTV, I encourage them to watch this channel. It made me very excited for the 2005 season.
For the record, I think the Eagles will make the playoffs because this team is substantially similar to the teams they’ve put out there the last 4 years but I don’t think they’ll make the NFC title game. I think the Redskins will contend for the NFC East and I think the Vikes and Falcons will struggle. I know I’m a big-time contrarian on these two teams but I just don’t see all that much to like about either squad. In the AFC, I think this is the year the Bengals finally top .500 and make the playoffs. I think the Ravens will be better and I think the Broncos will be better too. Again, I’m a contrarian on the Broncos. I think the pickup of the entire Browns defense was actually a decent move. My reasoning? Firstly, when used in a rotation of players, even limited-skill guys can be effective and secondly, because the Browns D was on the field for so much of the time last year that they were overexposed. Sure Courtney Brown hasn’t been a great #1 pick but the Broncos’ expectations of him are tempered so anything he gives them will be better than what the Browns paid for. In a division where offense is in abundance and defense is limited, the Broncos have added depth to their team. Skill aside, depth is the second most valuable component in a championship caliber team. I’m picking the Broncos to win their division and give the Colts and Patriots a fight.
For the record, I think the Eagles will make the playoffs because this team is substantially similar to the teams they’ve put out there the last 4 years but I don’t think they’ll make the NFC title game. I think the Redskins will contend for the NFC East and I think the Vikes and Falcons will struggle. I know I’m a big-time contrarian on these two teams but I just don’t see all that much to like about either squad. In the AFC, I think this is the year the Bengals finally top .500 and make the playoffs. I think the Ravens will be better and I think the Broncos will be better too. Again, I’m a contrarian on the Broncos. I think the pickup of the entire Browns defense was actually a decent move. My reasoning? Firstly, when used in a rotation of players, even limited-skill guys can be effective and secondly, because the Browns D was on the field for so much of the time last year that they were overexposed. Sure Courtney Brown hasn’t been a great #1 pick but the Broncos’ expectations of him are tempered so anything he gives them will be better than what the Browns paid for. In a division where offense is in abundance and defense is limited, the Broncos have added depth to their team. Skill aside, depth is the second most valuable component in a championship caliber team. I’m picking the Broncos to win their division and give the Colts and Patriots a fight.
10 comments:
Its definitely time for football to get started. Eagles will be back in the playoffs but they aren't going back to the title game. The question in the NFC is who is filling the void? Atlanta and the Vikings have flaws but no greater than any of the other cotenders to be.
Oakland is the MLB team version of Marty Schottheimer football . They have seemingly good records but come playoff time will flop. Should be an interesting race between the Yanks and Oakland for the Wildcard.
The Broncos will be much better once I become a walk on wide receiver and take the place of Jerry Rice when he falls to a heart attack in the altitude. MJ, I am glad that you enjoyed this beautiful state that I now call home and are welcomed anytime. It is absolutely beautiful here when the mountains have about 7 feet of snow on them. Just for a little fun filled fact about Colorado. The average annual snowfall in Arapahoe Basin ski resort is 367 inches which is about 30 feet, and that snow doesn't reall melt.
Its true, no one in the NFC really stands out right now so we have to default to the Vikes and Falcons, both of whom went to the playoffs last year. Of the six NFC teams that went last year (Eagles, Falcons, Vikes, Packers, Rams and Seachickens) only the Eagles have a spot reserved for them. I see the Redskins and Panthers moving up in the world and there are always 1-2 surprise teams every year that no one can predict before Week 4 or 5. Last year the Saints almost made it in. The Cardinals could be that team this year. All I know is that the Vikes and Falcons are being extremely overrated by writers this year.
Even in a weak NFC, those two teams are as close to bad as they are to good. The Falcons scored 340 points last year and allowed 337. They were 11-5. If you told me that they only outscored their opposition by a field goal and yet managed to win 11 games, I'd tell you that you were watching a lucky team. Ditto the Vikes -- they were 405 for and 395 against and broke even at 8-8. As I've said before, better D but no Moss probably means a similar PF-PA differential and another 8-8 season. And that's not even counting Mike Tice's dozen or so bonehead moves a year.
I think that a surprise team in the NFC will be the Detroit Lions. They have built up one of the best wide receiving corps in football and have a very good up and coming running back, in Kevin Jones. I think that Jeff Garcia will probably take over the realms at QB and come back to his days of throwing to a couple of extremely tall receivers ala TO in SF. I think this is Roy Williams' breakout year and will be on the same level as TO and Moss. If a QB cannot throw quite a few TDs to three receivers who are 6'2, 6'3, and 6'5 then he doesn't deserve to even play in arena football.
I want to save some fire for a more in-depth preview, but the team to beat in the NFC is the Carolina Panthers. They get back about 10 regulars who were all injured last year. Their defense is spectacular and we all know defense wins championships. They finished the second half last season red-hot. Plus, they drafted another RB, so this way they have 3 quality backs that can get injured before the season will be lost.
I'm with you on the Carolina Cats. I have them pushing the Eagles for supremacy in the NFC.
As for Detroit, they have 2 great WR's in Mike and Roy Williams (Charles Rogers doesn't qualify since he's played less than 100 reps in a pro football game) and a good young RB. Their QB situation is the problem. Joey's proven that he can't win in this league and Garcia has a lot to come back from. He was nothing short of horrible last year (as the Clevelanders can attest to). If Garcia can't find the magic, the Lions are the same 6-10 team as last year.
"It’s a must-see for anyone trying to get to all 30 MLB parks."
Not that your statement is factually wrong, but if someone is trying to see all 30 parks, wouldn't every park be a must-see?
Chad Hutchinson: Super Bowl MVP.
Coors Field is the greatest ballpark in the country, no question. The only good thing about Chad Hutchinson is his last name. I am looking forward to watching the Bengals/Bears game on Sept 25th high on percocet after my season ending surgery and watching the Johnson brothers (rudi and chad) score 6 TDs together.
I think we're reaching a (dare I say) a consesus around the Panthers being the favorite of the NFC. I have problems with Atlanta and the Vikings but it mostly centers around the fact that theyre dome teams. Dome teams, unless they are head and shoulders better than the opponents, have a harder time on the road and NEVER win on the road in the playoffs.
Out in Detroit Harrington will have to pull a Brees in order for Detroit to compete...Garcia is dead meat.
Touché, Stanny Jake. You know what I meant, smart guy.
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