Monday, November 15, 2010

Midseason NFL Report

Its that time of year. Its nearing the end of Week 10 in the NFL and unlike any other year in recent memory, it is a true tossup. Week in and week out, favorites are getting defeated by mediocre teams, and it seems the only constant in this season was that the home team had a good chance of winning. The best record in football is 7-2? And its held by the predictable Jets and Patriots, not to mention the Falcons who might have the best 12th man in football (sorry Seattle). If the playoffs started today the Raiders would be in? The Chiefs were the last undefeated team? Brett and Chuck's favorite two teams are a combined 4-14???? Even though personally its a down year for football, this season is very memorable because of the unpredictability of this season. What follows is a midseason NFL report of all 32 teams, and the prediction of their final record.

NFC EAST

Giants
Current Record: 6-3
Final Record: 10-6

They're averaging 263 yards passing a game, and that's 6th in the NFL. In the other major categories they rank in the top 5, needless to say Peyton's little brother and co. has been tearing it up in the NFL this first half. Even though Jason Garrett and the Cowboys took away some of their swagger (at least defensively by scoring 33 pts), this Giants team is destined to stay on track to make the playoffs, especially in an NFC that could send an 8-8 team to the playoffs. 4 of their next 7 games are division games with 2 against Philly and 2 against the Skins. Throw in Jacksonville, Minnesota, and the pesky Green Bay Packers and a 4-3 record to end the season is a safe bet. Would be good enough to win the NFC East if not for this next team...

Eagles
Current Record: 5-3 (and if they continue this romp of the Redskins, 6-3)
Final Record: 11-5 (win NFC East)

The secret to this team's success is obviously Michael Vick. When he's on the field, the obvious candidate for Comeback Player of the Year turns this offense into the quickest in the NFL. With DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin flying around the field and the breathtaking arm/feet of Vick, this Eagles team is nothing to mess with. Don't let the team stats fool you: 13th in passing yards, 5th in rushing, 13th in opp passing yards, 12th in opp rushing yards. This team is arguably a top 5 team not only in the NFC but in the whole NFL. Not enough can be said about Vick though. Vick has played in 5 games this year, with 7 TD's and 0 (that's right 0) INT. He's completed 76 passes for over 1000 yards, along with 261 yds rushing with 2 rushing TD's it looks like the sky's the limit for Vick and the Eagles. Looks like unloading McNabb may have been the right idea, touche Andy Reid. They still have Dallas and New York twice in December and January, but if Vick can lead this team to a division title, ol' number 7 will definitely be in the MVP discussion.

Redskins
Current Record: 4-4
Final Record: 5-11

Washington seems a little more two faced then Harvey Dent. Some weeks they look like they can hold their own at least defensively while McNabb is working with what he's got. Other weeks, such as the loss to Detroit last week and the whole "Grossman gives us the best chance to win" statement by Shanahan, and this team looks like a deer in headlights. Such as tonight, currently the Redskins are getting pounced by 28 in the first quarter. Good news for the Skins, is that Donovan McNabb is staying in Washington for the next 5 years. Bad news, is that their schedule doesn't get any easier with their easiest game being either against Minnesota or against Jacksonville, games that could go either way. Also, McNabb probably won't be there for the next 5 years. I don't see them getting anywhere in the second half, and falter to a 1-7 finish. Better luck next year (maybe).

Cowboys
Current Record: 2-7
Final Record: 6-10

Being a Dallas Cowboys fan, the first half of the NFL season was quite a let down to say the least. Coming into the season I requested every Sunday off of work, so I can sit and scream at the TV in my DeMarcus Ware jersey and hopefully celebrate a Cowboy victory. After a very dismal start, with a close loss to Washington, embarrasing loss to Chicago, and finally a Texas Bowl victory over Houston, at 1-2 my Cowboys were looking to straighten things out. Then the wheels completely came off, the plane crashed into the mountain, the "first team to host their own Super Bowl" prediction turned into "first team eliminated from playoff contention". It seemed week after week, the Cowboys would play pretty well, and despite giving up points in the 30's (and sometimes 40's) they would still only lose by single digits. Tony Romo went down, Jon Kitna never really showed up, and Wade Phillips looked like he held the best season ticket you can possibly get instead of a Head Coach. But maybe with a breath of fresh air in the form of familiar face Jason Garrett, this very talented team might get that kick in the rear that they need and finish proudly. As a fan I will never ever root for my team to tank, and with the kind of talent they got I can see them start to turn things around with a 4-3 record to end the season and give this team some motivation for next year unless there's a lockout. That is unless they go 8 in a row, make the playoffs and beyond......in an unpredictable season such as this one anything can happen.

Check in tomorrow from 12-1 PM on 95.7 KDRT or on KDRT.org for the Brett and Chuck Power Hour, the best hour in radio..history....period.

Early Week Notes

Some early week notes from the sports world:

-Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg has joined the Philadelphia Phillies organization and will manage their Triple-A affiliate team in 2011. We discussed Ryne Sandberg in one of our November 3 blogs, entitled "Adios Ryno," and how he had been passed over in the selection of the new manager of the Chicago Cubs. Now, he will be the head honcho of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

Sandberg, a longtime Cubbie, was very disappointed after not being chosen to manage the Cubs in 2011 or manage another MLB team. ""I spent the four years in the minor leagues to manage at the major league level, and that's where my heart is and that's what my next step is. That's where I look next. So I'll take it a step at a time and see if there's another opportunity out there and go from there," he said last month when the Cubs hired Mike Quade.

Hopefully Sandberg will be able to score a Major League job in 2012, if not sooner. Midseason firings at the MLB level are rare, but do happen on occasion. Hard to see him going back to the Cubs though, my guess is his major league job would have to be elsewhere.
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-The struggles for our local Sacramento Kings continue (sadface). After an exciting 3-1 start to this season's campaign, the team has now dropped five straight contests, including four at home. Elias Sports Buearu had an interesting note following Sunday's home loss to the Detroit Pistons;

The Kings' 100-94 defeat to the Pistons was Sacramento's fourth straight home loss. Since the start of the 2006-2007 season, the Kings have had 11 different home losing streaks of at least four games, most in the NBA over that span. In the previous eight seasons (1998-1999 through 2005-2006), Sacramento only lost four straight games at ARCO Arena once, in December 2005.

I miss the days when ARCO was such a tough place to win at! During the Kings "glory years" when I was just becoming a teen, it seemed every home game was practically a guaranteed Kings victory. Looking back at the 2002-2003 season, the Kings were an NBA best 35-6 at home. Unfortunately it is 2010, and those Kings already boast four home losses, and its only mid-November.

At some point soon I'd love to blog about the future of the Kings; whether it truly will be in Sacramento or not, and what it will take to turn around the franchise.
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Blasphemy! I'm all for Deron Williams having a strong week (Jazz were 4-0, he averaged 23 points, 11.8 assists and 4.0 rebounds), but no way was he the Western Conference Player of the Week. No way!!!!! Not when the Minnesota Timberwolves' Kevin Love averages 21.0 points and 20.3 rebounds. Granted the Timberwolves had a 2-2 week (beat Sacramento), Love still wrecked havoc on the boards all week, and for that, I grant him my Western Conference Player of the Week award, with Deron Williams as an honorable mention.