2010 NFL Football Season Predictions

Over the past week or so, I have become a bit of a psychic on Twitter. The number of things I correctly predicted, including a game-winning touchdown catch by Riley Cooper 2 minutes before it happened, is beginning to scare me. That being said, do not be surprised if all these predictions are right. Then again, don't be surprised if I just jinx myself and I put up an embarrassing 0 fer. I'll make my division picks, followed by wild card picks, followed by conference championship predictions and Super Bowl predictions.

NFC

East: The NFC East is one of the more interesting divisions this year. The Redskins acquired Donovan McNabb, the Giants maintained a relative status quo after last year's major disappointment, the Eagles overhauled everything on the field after a decent season that was soured by the last 2 games, and the Cowboys maintained a relative status quo. McNabb needs weapons to function. Redskins lack weapons. This division will come down to the Eagles, Cowboys, and Giants. This one pains me. NFC East Champion: Dallas Cowboys

North: The moment that the Bears find Jay Cutler a coach who does not treat him like a pocket passer is the moment I can begin to take the Bears seriously. This division is a 2-team race between the Vikings and the Packers. Aaron Rodgers is entering the prime of his career, whereas Favre is well past his. Vikings are being ravaged by injuries; Packers are not (yet, anyway). Adrian Peterson fumbles too much. NFC North Champion: Green Bay Packers

South: The Bucs suck. The Panthers could be a sleeper team. The Falcons could challenge for the title. The Madden curse could rear its ugly head on Drew Brees. I don't see any of these teams really stepping up and overtaking the Saints in this division. NFC South Champion: New Orleans Saints

West: The Rams are terrible. The Cardinals might be starting Derek Anderson this year. The Seahawks are terrible and getting more terrible. The 49ers are mediocre. A mediocre 8-8 record is all it will take to win this wholly pathetic divison. NFC West Champion: San Francisco 49ers

AFC

East: Anyone of 3 teams could conceivably win this division. The Bills are pathetic, but New England, the Jets, and Miami are all decent, football squads. Mark Sanchez is entering a 2nd year with a great defense to once again bail him out of his mediocre QB play. Ever since, 18-1, the New England Patriots have never felt the same with Brady and Belichick. Then again, Brady did have a knee injury that put him out all of 2008. I think Chad Henne and the Dolphins are going to surprise a few people this year. AFC East Champion: Miami Dolphins

North: The second that Big Ben learns to control Little Ben is the second that the Steelers will be much better off in life. His missing a 1/3 of the season is all the Steelers will need to knock them out of legitimate contention. The Browns better hope Colt McCoy can play in the NFL. The Ravens are a decent team, but Ray Lewis and Ed Reed are in the twilight of their career and I don't know how their bodies, with all the physicality they play with, will hold up over the course of a season in this stage of their career. I think people are honestly underestimating the Bengals. They have Chad Ochocinco, T.O. (granted it is not 2005, but the guy can still play football), and Jordan Shipley (who has been having an excellent pre-season) in the slot. The Bengals have the best QB, offense, and defense in this division. This division won't be as close as some people think it will be. AFC North Champions: Cincinnati Bengals

South: I doubted Peyton Manning last year.  I thought that his window had closed. I will not doubt Peyton Manning anymore. The rest of this division has no hope. AFC South Prediction: Indianapolis Colts

West: With the release of JaMarcus Russell, the Oakland Raiders are instantly 1,000% better. Jason Campbell has always been some sort of enigma for me. Everytime I see him I get the feeling that he has potential to be an NFL QB but the constant change of coach he had endured throughout his entire football career was taking a toll on him and bringing it down. Granted, there is another chance this change is no better, but I think this total change of scenery might be good, provided Tom Cable does not get fired this year. The Broncos will fool everyone into thinking they are great at the start of the year......and will end the year trying Tim Tebow as starting QB. The Chiefs are meh. Contrary to what everyone on ESPN thought in 2008, Matt Cassel is not a great QB. The Chargers lost LT, but have been able to win with LT declining the past year or 2. Norv Turner needs to be fired yesterday. AFC West Champion: San Diego Chargers

NFC Wildcard

Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings

AFC Wildcard

New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens

NFC Championship

Green Bay Packers vs. New Orleans Saints

AFC Championship

Indianapolis Colts vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Super Bowl XLV

Green Bay Packers vs. Indianapolis Colts

Super Bowl XLV Champion

Indianapolis Colts.

Peyton Manning will get his 2nd Super Bowl ring in Arlington, Texas and Jerry Jones won't even live out his lifelong dream of seeing the Cowboys play a Super Bowl home game.

Taking A Look At The Rest Of The Eagles NFL Draft (WITH DIFFERENT FINAL GRADE)

See here for my analysis of Day 1 of the Eagles draft and here for my analysis of Day 2 of the Eagles draft.

I'll be honest, outside of the hot names from the first few rounds, I am not an expert on the players. Heck, most of them I've never heard of before. So instead of trying to look at each player and haplessly grade them, I will give my likes and dislikes of this draft based on overall trends.

Likes: The Eagles sured up their defense like none other in this draft, drafting CB Trevard Lindley, DE/SAM LB Ricky Sapp, and Jabar Chaney, a guy that most projected in the late 3rd/early 4th round with one projection going as high in the 2nd round, in the 7th round. That was a steal and a half.

The Eagles came into this draft needing to do nothing but add depth to RB, WR. They did exactly that to all three positions. Nothing fancy, no big coups, but pure solid depth. As mentioned earlier, they added competition for Hank Baskett's position as 4th receiver by drafting Riley Cooper, they drafted RB Charles Scott, likely signaling the end of Eldra Buckley's time in Philadelphia, and to top it off they got a developmental QB and their future back up in the form of Mike Kafka. He'll be 3rd stringer behind Vick this year but once Vick is gone at the end of the season, he'll be the solid #2 guy behind Kolb.

Dislikes: I have two big dislikes from today and this draft as a whole. The first one is some of the reaches. T'eo-Nesheim in the 3rd round and Keenan Clayton in the 4th round, both of whom could have been had in later rounds. That being said, I do know nothing about these players, so who knows, maybe Andy Reid and Howie Roseman see something the rest of the league does not. It would not be the first time Reid did that. Sometimes it pans out, other times it does not.

My only other dislike of this draft is no offensive linemen. With Jamaal Jackson likely out to start the year, it would have been nice to get an o-linemen or 2, if for no other reason, than just for depth. But the organization seems to be high on Mike McGlynn as well as Fenuki Tupou, so who knows. I still would have liked to have seen some depth, though, as offensive lineman is one of the best positions to have depth at. The Eagles may think they are fine Week 1, but what happens when people start getting hurt?

Overall draft grade: B. Graham and Allen will be automatic starters, with Graham beasting it up playing on the opposite of Trent Cole. Sapp will likely compete for a starting job, but seeing as he can play SAM and no other Eagle can, I am thinking he might be an automatic starter as well. The rest of the draft seemed to be a lot of depth. The Eagles traded down a lot on Day 2 and still got the guys they needed and supposedly targeted to begin with. The reaches and lack of an o-linemen bring this draft grade to a B, but other than, I do not have many complaints. It's not a flashy draft like last year's one was, but the Eagles did not have needs in flashy areas. I am confident that after this draft, the Eagles are a better team than they were on Wedensday. And that, my friends, is always a good thing.

Overall draft grade: A-. I thought it was a B draft until I saw exactly what the Eagles did with that 55th overall pick in the draft. They turned that one 2nd round pick in to 5 later round picks with 3 Day 2 trade downs and with those picks they got from those trade downs, they selected Clay Harbor, Ricky Sapp, Daniel T'eo-Neshaim, Mike Kafka, and Riley Cooper, and a 5th rounder in 2011. Sure they did not fill up the offensive line, but to turn one 2nd round pick into all of that? That my friends is how you work the NFL Draft. One 2nd roupd pick turned into a 2nd/3rd tight end (Harbor), a starting SAM linebacker (Sapp), a situational pass rusher (T'eo-Neshaim), a developmental and future backup QB (Kafka), and a 6'3" 4th/5th wide receiver who can run the ever-effective fade route (Cooper). My friends, if that is not an A+ draft clinic then I do not know what is. Bill Belichick would be in awe. Upon further reflection, the only knock I can give it is no pick was an offensive lineman. As far as the reaches go, well, considering some of the steals the Eagles got in the later rounds (Sapp could have easily been someone's 55th overall pick alone), it all cancels out. As much hell as I give Andy Reid for his gameday coaching decisions, when it comes to the draft, you can count on one hand the number of teams who know how to work the draft better than the Philadelphia Eagles.

Eagles Draft A Man Whose Decision Helped Bring Roy Halladay To The Phillies

Well this is one of the more bizarre stories you will ever come across in an NFL Draft. For the second time in his life, Riley Cooper was drafted by Philadelphia. Of course, the Eagles did not draft him twice. His last drafting by a Philadelphia team before today came in 2006 when the Phillies drafted him.

But the fun does not end there. Not only was Riley a 15th round draft pick for the Phillies (#457 overall), but if Riley Cooper did not go to Florida, things might be very different at Citizens Bank Park right now. How could a 15th round draft pick make such a difference? Check out this report on Cooper written June 9, 2006.

Cooper, 6 feet 4, 212 pounds, was rated by most recruiting services as a first-rounder when the spring began. He was touted for his blazing speed and raw power, shining in a number of showcases during the summer before his senior season.

But he sustained a season-ending injury in March when he was involved in a late-night scrape in Clearwater. Cooper sustained a deep cut to his right arm throwing a punch through a car window.

According to Larry Cooper, Philadelphia told him it was going to take Riley Cooper with the 18th overall pick in the draft before being talked out of it. "They were asking us if they drafted Riley in the first round, would he sign, and we said no," Larry Cooper said. "As of (Monday) night, they wanted to take us in the 10th-15th round and pay us first-round money and see if they can get us up in Philadelphia by the 25th. That's still their plan."

Riley Cooper said he will report to Gainesville on June 27. Gator football coach Urban Meyer was one of the first to call after his selection, to congratulate one of his prize recruits and make sure he won't wilt under the pressure from the Phillies to sign.

"I don't think so," Cooper said.

As I have already mentioned, Cooper was taken 457th overall, not 18th overall, and he committed to Florida, instead of signing with the Phillies. However, there is one last twist to this story.

The Phillies did make a selection with that 18th overall pick. With that pick in the draft, the Philadelphia Phillies selected Kyle Drabek. Kyle Drabek was recently traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for Roy Halladay.

My question is: what if Riley Cooper does not commit to Florida? Is he now a Toronto Blue Jay? Or would he not be the prospect Drabek is and in turn we would never get Halladay? Would the Phillies have traded top prospect Dom Brown instead? And where would that leave the farm?

Okay, so maybe there are some stretches there, but the coincidence that the Phillies wanted to draft a guy but did not because he wanted to play football in Florida and in turn drafted a guy that got traded to Toronto for Halladay and the guy the Phillies originally wanted to draft that went to Florida to play football is now an Eagle, is beyond amusing. Anyone that followed that last mega run-on sentence is my hero. For realz.

(Hat tip to Bleeding Green Nation)

NFL Draft Day 3 Live Blog

Here is your hockey Stanley Cup playoff vital information for the day

Game 5: Nashville @ Chicago 3:00 (NBC - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, Itg: Pierre McGuire) (TSN)

Game 6: Pittsburgh @ Ottawa 7:00 (Versus - John Forslund and Darren Eliot, SR: Charissa Thompson) (CBC - Bob Cole and Garry Galley, ItG: Glenn Healy, SR: Elliotte Friedman)

Game 6: San Jose @ Colorado 10:00 (Versus) (CBC - Mark Lee and Kevin Weekes)

Eagles Get Their Man And A Ga Ga Ooh La la

While I celebrate the fact that the Flyers are still the only team in the 2nd round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, here is my good and bad from today's Eagles day in the NFL Draft.

The Good: Nate Allen. The Eagles needed a safety and they got what many are calling a safe bet in the NFL. He is a good cover guy who can also play corner if need be, but he is a safety first and safety is exactly where the Eagles should put him.

The Also Good: Andy Reid's House of Trades! May we take your draft picks? Good grief, after selecting Nate Allen, the Eagles traded down 3 times to garner what would total as a 3rd round draft pick, 4 4th round draft picks, 2 5ths, a 6th, and 2 7ths. In other words, we got picks like Andy Reid has cheesesteaks.

The Bad: Daniel Te'O Nesheim. Rated 2.0 out of 10 by NFL.com, considered a 6th round prospect coming in, cited as an overachiever at the University of Washington, a position we no longer needed to fulfill right away when others still existed. Yeah. Thus far, this is the only skidmark on what has been a solid draft for the Eagles. To me, this is a classic case of Andy Reid trying to show the rest of the league that he is smarter then them, but really, there is little doubt in my mind he could have taken Te'O with one of his 4 4th round picks.

As far as tomorrow goes, I've got my eyes on Bruce Campbell, any center, any corner, a 5th string WR, and a 3rd string QB. Live blog tomorrow at 10. Be there or be square.

E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!

NFL Draft Day 2 Live Blog

I'm spending the night watching the draft but if you want to watch and talk about playoffs, feel free to do so. Here is the hockey schedule.

Montreal @ Washington 7:00 (Versus - Sam Rosen and Billy Jaffe, SR: Bob Harwood) (TSN - Gord Miller, ItG: Pierre McGuire)

Boston @ Buffalo 7:00 (CBC - Dean Brown and Greg Millen, SR: Cassie Campbell)

Los Angeles @ Vancouver 10:00 (CBC - Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson, SR: Scott Oake)

Detroit @ Phoenix 10:00 (Versus - Rick Peckham and Daryl Reaugh, SR: Lindsay Soto) (TSN)

Jon Gruden Says A Naughty Word At The NFL Draft

When I heard this at the draft last night, I initially thought it was Kiper. But Mookie, whose initial thought was Gruden, was the one that got it right. Listen now as Jon Gruden goes on a rant about dumbasses before being cut of by Chris Berman to announce they are back on the air



"I said it's a crazy league, a lot of dumbass....." - Gruden

Haha. And even funnier than that was Mel Kiper laughing and Steve Young seemingly admonishing Gruden. It seemed like ESPN had a few problems of timing when Gruden, Jackson, and co. did not know they were back on the air when they actually were. That was not the only time something not meant to be heard over the air was in fact heard, but it was by far the funniest. ESPN might want to work on their production communications or else for all we know we could be treated to Chris Berman going crazy again.

So After Thinking About It A Bit.....

I've decided the Eagles made the right move by drafting Brandon Graham. When Tom Jackson calls you the best defensive player in a draft consisting of Ndamukong Suh and Eric Berry, you're a stud defensive end.

This is nowhere near as bad a pick as I once thought it was, mainly because I hardly ever heard of the guy before, and we passed up 2 of the guys I had my eye on and wanted the most in this draft (Earl Thomas and Kyle Wilson). And all in the process, gave up 2 3rd rounders while keeping both of their 2nd rounders, one of which is the 37th overall pick in the draft. Not to mention this pick completely stuck it to the Giants who had their eyes on Graham and were a sure bet to take him. Instead they end up with Jason Pierre-Paul. Brandon Graham >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> JPP.

The Eagles have pressing needs at safety and there are still 2 really high rated safeties available, Nate Allen and, dare I say it, Taylor Mays. If Allen gets taken and the Eagles do not want to take a chance on Mays (something I won't fault them for at all), offensive tackle Charles Brown would be a helluva steal at #37 for the Eagles, as they need some offensive line help as well as help in the secondary.

Off-topic, but it must be said, FLYERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHOOHOO!!!! 1ST TEAM TO ADVANCE TO THE SECOND ROUND! HELLZ YEAH, BITCHES!

Eagles Draft Brandon Graham

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Okay, maybe not really. Here's the good and the bad real quick.

The good: Tom Jackson called him the best defensive player in the draft. That's high praise from a man who knows what he is talking about. Graham is a hybrid type player and can play either DE or OLB. Look for the Eagles to use him opposite Trent Cole.

The bad: The Eagles traded up for this pick and in doing so,ignored a glaring need in their secondary. They need a CB and they need a safety, and once they traded up, they had Earl Thomas and/or Kyle Wilson at their fingertips and they blew it. They had their guys and instead they took Graham. The opposite of this is a deadly pass rush can help the secondary out a bit, but it starts to become a bit of a problem when you don't have a physical body back there. And now the Cowboys drafted Dez Bryant. Yeah we're screwed this year.

NFL Draft Day 1 And April 22 Stanley Cup Playoffs Live Blog: Fighting For Life Begins

Philadelphia @ New Jersey 7:00 (TSN - Chris Cuthbert, ItG: Ray Ferraro)

Ottawa @ Pittsburgh 7:00 (Versus - John Forslund and Darren Eliot, SR: Charissa Thompson) (CBC - Bob Cole and Garry Galley, ItG: Glenn Healy, SR: Elliotte Friedman)

Chicago @ Nashville 8:30 (Versus) (TSN2)

Colorado @ San Jose 10:30 (Versus) (CBC - Mark Lee and Kevin Weekes)

Pro Football Weekly's Latest Mock Draft Has An Interesting Choice For The Eagles At #24 Overall

24. Philadelphia Eagles
QB Tim Tebow, Florida

The careers of team president Joe Banner and GM Howie Roseman share some commonalities with Tebow's — a dogged determination defying the odds. As each day draws closer and NFL teams come to grips with the reality that is their NFL rosters, the value of quarterbacks in this draft continues to creep up, and by the time the draft kicks off in prime time, there is a very realistic chance of Tebow fitting into the first round. The Eagles had the deepest pool of talent at the QB position prior to dealing Donovan McNabb within the division and now have a vacancy with which to welcome Tebow with open arms. Banner's greatest strength has been preparing for the future, and if Kolb's contract can be extended now that McNabb is out of the picture, it will position the Eagles to deal him after developing Tebow for three years and give the Eagles another measure of protection, not to mention motivation for Kolb. Peria Jerry signed a five-year conract [sic!] totaling $13.25 million in this slot a year ago, with a more realistic value of $10.35 million over five years given incentives. If the Tebow experiment does not work out, the Eagles might be able to justify a $2 million annual salary in jersey sales. And given time to work his magic, Andy Reid has the incubator to build Tebow into a winner.

Uh........words can't describe this. The Eagles are going to forget about all of their pressing needs and select Tim Tebow. In the first round. I see.

Now if Tim Tebow drops to the 4th round or something, then yeah, think about taking Tebow as a QB to develop because the Eagles will likely be taking a 3rd string emergency QB at some point. But in the first round? When you have needs at safety, CB, D-line, and O-line? Incredibly nonsensical.

Also in this clusterfuck of a mock draft: Ndamukong Suh falls to Kansas City at #5, Earl Thomas falls all the way to #22 and New England.

After ripping apart this mock draft, all of this is now definitely going to come to life. Eagles will not trade up and take Tebow and Suh and Thomas will both fall. Such will be my life tomorrow, right?

Some Eagles News, Notes, And Draft Commentary

With all of the playoff hockey going on right now, the NFL Draft this Thursday has gotten a bit lost in the shuffle of things. But alas, the Eagles resumed their wheeling and dealing today, finding themselves in the midst of a three-way deal that saw them give up a 5th round draft pick while getting a starting linebacker, Ernie Sims. From ESPN.com

The Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos and Detroit Lions have pulled off a three-way trade, with the Lions obtaining former Broncos tight end Tony Scheffler and the Eagles receiving ex-Lions linebacker Ernie Sims.

The Eagles sent a fifth-round pick in this week's draft to the Broncos, while Denver sent its seventh-round pick to the Lions to complete the trade on Monday.

In 59 career games, all with the Lions, Sims has been credited with 420 tackles including 2.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and one interception. He was credited with 49 tackles last season.

"Ernie Sims is an impact player at the linebacker position," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "He brings a lot of energy to our already energized defense. We are looking forward to adding him to our team."

In the simplest form, the Eagles just traded a 5th round draft pick for a proven starting linebacker. Thus it goes without say that this is a massive steal for the Eagles and a great trade for them. Sims was a bit nicked up last year, true, but it was felt by many that he was not a good fit in Detroit's system whereas he will be much better for the Eagles. Of course, that trade leaves the Eagles with 10 draft picks for the 2010 draft (but they still have 5 in the top 87 in a very deep draft class), so the question naturally becomes what to do with them. The Eagles first pick is #24 overall and there are a lot of enticing options. Adam Schefter tweeted the following earlier today: "Packers, Eagles have expressed interest in trading up to 10-12 range. But it could depend on how board falls. Good prospects everywhere."

I'm not going to argue with him because as I mentioned above, this is a very deep draft class. The Eagles 2 glaring needs above all else are S and CB. The Eagles have what it will take to trade up in this year's draft, but if they do it, it will be for the right person.

In this case, there is only one right person the Eagles can trade up for: Eric Berry. Will he make it down to 10 is a mystery but if you are the Eagles, you have to do everything in your power to trade up for Eric Berry. He is your guy. You may have to go up higher than 10 to 12, but you have to make sure that you get your guy, and Berry is the Eagles' guy. The other options, if you are sticking in the 10-12 range is Earl Thomas, but 10 to 12 might be too high for him. Besides, he is at best unpolished, and the Eagles need someone who can come in and start for them now. That guy is Tennessee Safety Eric Berry. I would not be majorly pissed if the Eagles end up with Thomas, but if they have a chance to get Berry, they need to get him. Actually, if the Eagles do trade up with Berry still on the board and they draft Earl Thomas instead I will cry tears of great sorrow.

Berry is the only guy the Eagles I would like to see the Eagles trade up for, that being said, given Schefter's range, it does seem like it might be too low for Berry but too high for Thomas. I do worry that the Eagles might actually thinking about trading up for......(*gasp*) Joe Haden. Joe Haden is nothing but hype and if the Eagles take a chance and draft him I will cry great tears of sorrow.

Now if the Eagles don't trade up (likely the smartest thing if you don't get Berry), I see two very good possibilities at #24. The first one is the guy who I see as one of, if not the, best cornerback in the draft, Kyle Wilson. Now he's a CB who I would love to see in midnight green and a CB that I think can come in and start playing right away. Another option that I really like at #24 is Mike Iupati. The Eagles do need an offensive lineman, and when it comes to OL, I have a literal hard-on for him. He will likely be available at 24 if the Eagles elect not to trade up for a DB.

As far as draft day itself goes, yes, there will be a live blog of the entire NFL Draft, but on Thursday, I have a problem. The draft starts at 7:30. The Flyers play Game 5 of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series at 7:00. What will happen is I will watch the 1st period of the hockey game, flip to ESPN and/or NFL Network (I have not decided what network's coverage I am watching yet) just in time to see Sam Bradford in a Rams uniform, then flip back and forth like a madman between hockey game and draft until the hockey game ends and I can focus solely on the draft.

The Tears Of Kendra

Oh, Kendra! How long ago it was when all we did in Philly was worship your hotness and hope that Hank overcame his lack of skills to make you the happiest girl in all of Philly! And oh, how we have lost you and reduced to laughing at your husband for his unforgivable folly of not catching the onside kick that turned the game around at the start of the 2nd half! But whatever you, do Kendra, please don't cry! No! It's not worth it! None of it's worth it! Wait? It's too late. She did cry last night? What a shame.

Nothing is sadder than the tears of a wife who for the first time realizes that her husband is a complete waste of space.

But oh, for us, Eagles fans, how Hank can provide us with glory after all! For releasing Hank Baskett, we were able to add Michael Vick to the roster, and with Vick, oh, the Eagles can do so much with him this off-season! Pick up his option and then do the glorious trade! And what a glorious trade it will be! Yes! Yes, Kendra, your useless husband may have started a chain of events that gives your husband's ex-team a 3rd round draft pick! How we love you so!

Update:: We have a statement from Kendra via her Twitter account! She tweets: "I wasn't cryin cuz of the damn game it's cuz the paparazzi have no soul..they wouldn't leave me n family alone!!!!" and "people like to twist this stuff..we asked them to stop cuz of the baby n they were way too close n they didn't care at allllllll"

Well, the Paparazzi are about as soulless as her husband is useless on a football field.