The NFL season has arrived and it's about time. I think we were all a little tired of watching meaningless baseball since most of the teams are in comfortable shape. We start with the Titans heading off to Pittsburgh to take on the defending champs. Don't look for Kerry Collins to carry this team to as many wins as last season; age will catch up to him. His hairline is fading as fast as his career. The Titans will look to be physical, but without Albert Haynesworth clogging the run in the middle I forecast a drop-off.
As for the rest of the league, there are plenty of story lines to look at and here are my thoughts on a few of them:
If the Patriots' defense can allow an average of only 21 points per game, they will go undefeated. The schedule sets up nicely for them, they play Atlanta in week two and Baltimore in week three, but after those two weeks they don't play tough teams back to back again. Their offense will be better than two years ago. Yes, its true. They are even more stacked now that they have four capable running backs to carry the ball. The addition of Joey Galloway makes them unbelievably dangerous. They could potentially set up a formation that features Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Joey Galloway, Sammy Morris and Fred Taylor all on the field at once. How can you defend against that?
Richard Seymour, now an ex-Patriot, is not showing up to be with the Oakland Raiders. Why does this surprise anyone? It's the Raiders. Why would you want to be on a team where coaches punch each other, the quarterback is 260 pounds and they wasted their top ten draft pick this year on Darrius Heyward-Bey. I don't care if Mike Crabtree isn't playing yet, Heyward-Bey had games in college where he didn't catch a single ball. Do you think he will do better in the NFL? Also, if you're the Raiders, why do you trade a probable top ten draft pick for a 29-year-old, injury-prone defensive end? Seymour doesn't make them that much better. They are a bad team that has no business throwing away draft picks during a rebuilding phase.
The NFC North will be one of the most competitive divisions in the league this season and not a lot of people are talking about it. Yes, the Vikings have an over the hill Brett Farve, but that doesn't mean that they are going to run away from a talented division. The Packers will be better, with a talented quarterback in Aaron Rogers (who the 49ers should have drafted. I blame myself mostly. I wanted Alex Smith. Now how can you take this column seriously…?). Also, their defense, which underachieved in 2008 should play better. Then there are the Chicago Bears, who I think have a shot at winning the division outright. When it comes to the Bears, everyone has always said, "If they get a quarterback they would have a shot at winning it all." Now they have one of the most talented young quarterbacks in Jay Cutler. I know his receivers aren't all that talented, but no one knew about Eddie Royal before Cutler started force-feeding him receptions. Cutler can do it in Chicago as well, trust me. As for the Lions, well … Matthew Stafford was the No. 1 pick.
Finally we come to my San Francisco 49ers. Head coach Mike Singletary will get eight wins in his first full coaching season; he made a good call putting Shaun Hill as the starter. A tough running game along with an improving defense will be the staple of the team and for the first time in years 49er fans can get a little excited.
On to my picks of the week, every time the column runs I will select four teams to win, including at least two underdogs:
Steelers -6.5 over the Titans
Bengals -4 over the Broncos
Bears +3.5 over the Packers
49ers +6.5 over the Cards.
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