NFL Goes Through Week From Hell

There's really no other way to put this. The last week for the National Football League has been a week of pure public relations hell, for all that has been going on off the field. First there's the whole situation with Ray Rice and how the league went about that. Then throw in what is being reported about Carolina Panthers defensive linemen Greg Hardy was found guilty in a North Carolina Court for assaulting his former girlfriend, thus causing the Panthers to sit him out in week two. To add more to this pile, Minnesota Vikings Running Back Adrian Peterson turned himself in to Texas authorities for beating his four-year-old son, which caused the Vikings to take him out of the lineup in week two as well. As you can see, this has really been a rough go of it for the league.

First lets start with the Ray Rice incident. We all know that the league mishandled this situation right from the start. Nobody really knew how badly the league mishandled it, but you knew somebody had dropped the ball. Now we have a somewhat clearer picture here. According to the reports that have been coming in, four league executives have said that Roger Goodell had seen the video months ago from inside the elevator and still didn't say a word. If that wasn't bad enough, according to various sources, when Goodell met with Ray Rice back in April, regarding this incident, Rice had told Goodell to his face that he had hit his fiance. Goodell has said in interviews that Rice was indifferent about it when they met back in April. So somebody here is lying, its either Goodell or its everybody else. In this case I really think it's Goodell. He's trying to cover his rear end for this whole thing. Now that all these reports regarding the Rice incident are coming around, Goodell is trying to make up for it by making the ruling against Rice he did. But by the time the ruling came down it was already too late, the cat was already out of the bag.

So with all this going on with Goodell, they are now going to have an independent investigation delving into Goodell’s possible involvement in a cover-up of the Rice affair, it adds even more pressure on what the commissioner will do, either being forced to quit or he's going to get fired because of this.

But wait, there's more to it than that.

Now throw into the mix the conviction of Carolina's Greg Hardy. Hardy was convicted in court for assaulting his former girlfriend, Nicole Holder, in an incident that allegedly involved hair-pulling, slamming a toilet seat on her arm, and putting his hands around her neck, according to reports. During week one, Hardy was allowed to play for the Panthers. Once this story became public, Hardy was scrapped from the Panthers lineup in week two in their win over the Detroit Lions. I'll give the Panthers credit in this incident for the way the have handled this story. They pulled him from the lineup, and gone on public record saying that they do not support this kind of incident. Now whether or not he will be back in the lineup next week is still up in the air, the Panthers are going to allow the legal process to take course.

Same thing too with the Vikings. Before Sunday's loss to the Patriots, the Vikings found out that Adrian Peterson turned himself in to Texas authorities for beating his four-year-old son bloody with a tree branch. He faces two years in prison for child abuse if convicted, but for now he will simply remain on the 53-man roster. He didn't play Sunday, but the team said he may be back for week three. The team is going to wait and let the legal system play out before making a decision on what to do. Minnesota has taken the high road and gone on record as to where they stand with this.

Nothing can be done yet to either Hardy or Peterson by the league until the process has gone through the legal system. I'm sure, though, once everything is sorted out, that appropriate actions will taken by both the NFL and the respective teams. What both teams should do is take this week by week as the story unfolds.

From a league point of view, these two stories couldn't come down at a worse time. Things were bad enough with what was happening with Ray Rice. Now add this onto that story, its making a public relations nightmare for the entire league. The NFL has had better weeks, that's for sure. The league is too powerful to ahve this really bring it down, but there has been damage done. It shows that the NFL isn't perfect and really needs to change the way it handles things. If it doesn't, it's going to get a lot worse.

David Wright Injury And Mets Playoff Hopes

There's no doubt in anybody's mind who the face of the New York Mets franchise is. David Wright has been THE man in Queens since 2008 and has spent his entire ten year big league career with the Mets franchise. This season was expected to be a big year for David, a bounce back year of sorts by his standards. That hasn't exactly been the case. Some may thought it would be an injury, while others thought it was a mental issue. Well now we know exactly what the problem is with David Wright.

It's an injury thing. Wright has been battling a shoulder issue for the last three months, finally catching up to him, causing the Mets to shut the captain down for the year. The persistent inflammation in his rotator cuff that Wright has been dealing with is the reason why he has turned in the worst of his 11 year big league career this year. Before the Mets shut Wright down, he was hitting .269 with eight home runs and 63 RBI. In fact Wright hasn't hit a home run since July 11th at home against the Miami Marlins.

When healthy, Wright usually averages 25 home runs and 101 RBI's in a season while hitting around .301. You could just tell by watching Wright play over the last month that something wasn't right with the captain at the plate. In the field, Wright looked fine, but when he would come to the plate, you could just tell that something wasn't going right with David. Some speculated that it might be mental. He had a little protection in the lineup with how well Lucas Duda and Daniel Murphy had been hitting this year, but still Wright is normally a little more productive than what he had been showing in years past. You almost kind of knew that it had to be an injury, because when Wright was healthy, he can still drive the ball, which is something he wasn't doing at the plate this year.

Now Wright can get the rest he needs, come back stronger than every in 2015 and look like the Wright of old.

So now with David out for the rest of the year, this begs the question as to what the Mets are now going to do at third base the rest of the year? Also you have to wonder how this will effect the teams playoff hopes? Well the Mets tried an experiment against the Rockies in the final game of that series, moving Daniel Murphy to 3rd from 2nd and they placed rookie Dilson Herrera back at 2nd. Herrera spent time at 2nd earlier this year when Murphy spent time on the DL. This experiment worked out pretty well for the mets in this game, but now we just have to wait and see if this could be a possible long term solution. Not having Murphy at 3rd because Wright has that job locked down. It helps show the Mets what they have in the system with guys like Herrera and Wilmer Flores, both of whom could be used as the shortstop next season.

But that's not till next season. First the Mets have to get through the rest of this season, which has 16 more games left for the team. Some Mets fans think that the team still has a shot at the last Wild Card spot. At the moment they currently sit 5.5 games out of the last wild card spot, trailing still the Marlins, Braves, Brewers, and Pirates for the final spot. I can see a bit of an argument here, considering that the Mets have won four straight games, are 7-2 in the month of September and are 13-7 in their last 20 games. That does give the team a little bit of hope. But at the same time, most of the teams they've played in the last few weeks are teams that are under .500.

In the final 16 games the Mets play the Nationals at home for four games, the Marlins at home for three, go to Atlanta for three, then to Washington for three and close out the year with three at home against the Houston Astros. The Mets would have to go 12-4 over the final 16 games to even sniff the last wild card spot and, as much as I hate to say this, that's not going to happen. The Mets can't beat the Nationals at home to save their lives, when they play the Marlins they play a little better and they are average against the Braves. So a lot has to go right for the Mets to make the playoffs, but sad to say its not going to happen the Mets are going to once again miss out on post season ball.

Best And Worst Of NFL Week One

Week one of the NFL season is in the books, a week which saw quite a few interesting twists and turns that fans didn't see coming.  Some things nobody saw coming, like the fact that the Jets Bills and Dolphins all won while the Patriots lost (to the Dolphins). We also saw two overtime thrillers, with Atlanta beating New Orleans and Buffalo beating Chicago. Week one also saw dramatic comebacks and blowout games. Some teams played the way they expected to, while others had a tough go of it to start the season. So with all that being said, here are some of the best and worst of week one in the NFL.

Best:
Philadelphia Eagles 2nd Half Offense
When the Eagles came out of halftime in their opening game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, they were facing a 17-0 deficit. Things didn't look too good for the Eagles. Then the light switch came on. Philadelphia turned it on, scoring 34 points, while piling up 291 total yards and didn't turn the ball over at all.

Worst:
Philadelphia Eagles 1st Half Offense
This is what made the Eagles second half of the ball game so impressive. Not only did they somehow manage to fall behind 17-0 to one of the worst teams in the league, on paper, in the Jaguars, but they did so in somewhat epic fashion. The offense was just horrible to start off the game. They gained 129 total yards on offense, couldn't score a single point, and oh yeah managed to turn the football over three times, all from Nick Foles fumbling twice and getting picked off once. With as bad as the team looked in the first half, it made their second half performance just that much better by comparison.

Best:
Buffalo Bills Run Defense
Just last season, the Buffalo Bills had one of the worst running defenses in all of the league. In fact the Bills run defense was the 5th worst in the entire league a season ago, allowing on average 128.9 yards per game to opposing running backs. To make matters worse, they had to start off against one of the top tandoms in the league in Chicago. But the Bills managed to hold Forte and Carey to a total of 86 yards on the ground, a noted improvement from last season.

Worst:
Oakland Raiders Running Game
In most cases, the running game in football is supposed to be able to take pressure off the starting quarterback, especially if he happens to be a rookie quarterback in his debut. That didn't happen in this case. now granted the Raiders went up against the Jets, who last season had the 3rd best rushing defense in all of football, allowing just 88.2 yards per game on the ground. But still its sad that Maurice Jones-Drew, Darren McFadden and Marcel Reece combined for 26 yards on 14 carries against the Jets. Sorry but that really can't happen in this game.

Best:
Derek Anderson, Quarterback Carolina Panthers
Now I know that Anderson didn't have the best statistical week for a Quarterback this week, consider this. The Panthers number one QB, Cam Newton, missed his first ever NFL start due to a rib injury, which forced the Panthers to go with Anderson in the first place. Anderson hadn't won a game as an NFL starter in almost four years. But that still didn't stop him from going 24 of 34 for 230 yards and two touchdowns. He played an efficent game, playing almost mistake free football. He threw a bad pass that if Dashon Goldson had hung on to a would-be fourth-quarter interception that might have allowed Tampa Bay to complete a comeback from a 17-0 deficit. Still he was able to step in and lead the Panthers to a win.

Worst:
Tony Romo, Quarterback Dallas Cowboys
It seems like I've had to say this quite often lately when it comes to the Cowboys franchise QB. It’s not like he can afford to be picked off three times under normal circumstances. But given the state of the Dallas defense — as evidenced by Sunday’s performance vs. the 49ers — the Cowboys aren’t going anywhere but the top of the draft if their $108 million quarterback doesn’t play better. Romo had a rough outing, and if he doesn't get it together then its going to be a long year for the Cowboys

Best:
Matt Ryan, Quarterback Atlanta Falcons
Matty Ice was back to form in week one in the Falcons thrilling victory over the Saints in overtime. Ryan was the top individual performer of the weekend, among quarterbacks at least, throwing for 448 yards and three touchdowns. Ryan was brilliant from the pocket, shredding a Rob Ryan defense that finished fourth in the league a year ago in opponent’s yards per game. The Saints gave up just more than 300 yards per game last year, and the Falcons gained 568 yards on Sunday. The Falcons trailed at two separate points in the fourth quarter and Ryan led them down the field to score twice. He was that good this weekend.

Worst:
Alex Smith, Quarterback Kansas City Chiefs
All offseason long, Smith wanted a new contract from the Chiefs.  Kansas City gave him what he asked for. Alex Smith wanted a new contract this offseason, and the Chiefs gave him one, to the tune of $76-million. You would think a player making that much money would show up on opening day. Well that didn't happen for Smith against the Titans. Kansas City’s offense was stagnant all day long against a defense that wasn’t supposed to be all that great, and Smith struggled to move the ball through the air. Smith completed 19 passes for 202 yards, but he threw three interceptions which ruined any chance at a Kansas City comeback. The whole Chiefs offensive game plan was baffling, including Andy Reid’s decision to only give Jamaal Charles seven carries, but Smith was the worst of the group.

Best:
Miami Dolphins Defense
Miami pitched a second-half shutout against the Patriots, holding them to 67 yards and five first downs over the final two quarters while taking the ball away twice. Assist to the 89-degree South Florida temperature and 61% humidity.

Worst:
Jadeveon Clowney, Defensive End Houston Texans
This isn't exactly the worst performance of the weekend, it's more a case of bad luck for Clowney. He logged one tackle in his NFL debut, but that was about it. Why? well he ended up with a torn meniscus in his knee trying to make a tackle, which will cause him to miss at least a month. Talk about a bad break.

Ravens Cut Ties With Ray Rice After Incident

You almost knew, in some way shape or form, this was going to happen. It was only a matter of time. We all know about what happened with Ray Rice and his fiance, now his wife, Janay Palmer in Atlantic City back in February. Before Monday, all that was known was that Rice was seen dragging an unconscious Palmer from the elevator in the hotel. How she got knocked out wasn't exactly known, but it was speculated that Rice had hit her and knocked her out. Due to this he had been suspended for 2 games by the league for this. But as time has passed, the NFL has changed their policy on domestic abuse because of this story. Now things have changed even more, and in a big way.

Early Monday, TMZ sports had gotten hold of a video from the elevator in the hotel. The video shows Rice and Janay Palmer in an elevator at an Atlantic City casino. Each hits the other before Rice knocks Palmer off her feet and into a railing. An earlier TMZ video showed Rice dragging Palmer, now his wife, from the elevator at the Revel casino, which closed Sept. 2 (ESPN). Due to this video coming to light, the Baltimore Ravens have cut Ray Rice from the team, and the NFL has come down as well, suspending Rice indefinitely. The Ravens said earlier Monday that they never saw the new video released by TMZ Sports. Hours later, they sent out a one-sentence statement: "The Baltimore Ravens terminated the contract of RB Ray Rice this afternoon." (ESPN).

Now this is a ruling that people would not only agree on, but would say that it's long overdue. Hitting a women has no place in society, it is morally wrong in all aspects. Under no circumstances, whatsoever, is it OK to strike a women. Rice should never strike his Fiance for any reason.

In regards to how the NFL handled this whole situation, it could have gone a lot better, but they did get the ruling right. When this whole story first broke, what the League and the Ravens should have done is, put Rice on suspension indefinitely until this issue was resolved. The fact that it was originally just a two game suspensions left sort of a black eye on the league, which the league tried to rectify by strengthening its policy on domestic abuse. The policy now states that for a first offense its a six game suspension and a second offense is now a lifetime ban. I think something really should have been in place before this went down. I'm just hoping that the NFL can now have a better handling of this situation, should it arise again, in the future.

Now the reason I say it should have been just an indefinite suspension is because, when the story first broke, the league didn't have the full story as to exactly what happened. You knew at some point the full story and video was going to come out to public knowledge, it was just a matter of time. I do believe that the League and the team had never seen the video before because if they had this would have been taken care of months ago. As far as the Baltimore Ravens are concerned in this matter, they handled the situation they way they should have. Once this information became public knowledge, they cut Rice, which tells me they want nothing to do with this kind of player on their football team.

Now Janay Rice, Ray's wife, has a different take on this story. She is standing behind her husband, which any good wife does, and she is going out and bashing the media for Rice getting cut. Here is a direct quote from Janay, that she posted on her Instagram account:

“I woke up this morning feeling like I had a horrible nightmare, feeling like I’m mourning the death of my closest friend, but to have to accept the fact that it’s reality is a nightmare in itself. No one knows the pain that the media & unwanted options from the public has caused my family. To make us relive a moment in our lives that we regret every day is a horrible thing. To take something away from the man I love that he has worked his a– of for all his life just to gain ratings is horrific. THIS IS OUR LIFE! What don’t you all get. If your intentions were to hurt us, embarrass us, make us feel alone, take all happiness away, you’ve succeeded on so many levels. Just know we will continue to grow & show the world what real love is! Ravensnation we love you!”

That's a direct quote from her. I'm sorry but she's wrong in this regards. The media did play a role in this story, there's no doubt about it. But the media really had nothing to do with the fact that Ray Rice was cut. Ray rice's actions in February was why Ray Rice was cut by the Ravens. The media made this story public and helped the NFL change it's policy but the media had nothing to do with Ray Rice's stupidity when he struck Janay in the elevator. that was his doing. I understand she wants to stand by her husband's side during this time, but lets be honest here, the media had nothing to do really with Rice getting cut, Rice did that to himself.

To make matters worse, I really can't see Ray Rice getting back into the NFL anytime soon. Firs the NFL has to lift his suspension. Even if the league decides to lift said suspension, in my mind, it's going to be tough for any team to try and sign him to a contract. Is there a chance that Ray Rice could be back in the NFL? Absolutely. Will it actually happen? Highly unlikely.

NFL Season Preview

The time of year has arrived. Another fall, another NFL Season ready to kick off for it's 95th year. With some new faces in new place, as well as new rule changes that are going to be put into effect this year, its going to make for a highly entertaining football season that's for sure. The Seattle Seahawks come is as the defending Super Bowl Champions and are still a very good football team, but took a bit of a hit this year with losing talent. Despite the fact that the NFC East may be the weakest division in all of football, the NFC is still the stronger of the two conferences, which will make it a battle for the six playoff spots. There are some teams that got a lot better, some teams took a few steps backwards, while yet other teams didn't really do much at all to improve their odds.

There will be a few new looks on the rule book for this season. One is the new rule on dunking. "Dunking" the football through the goal post/crossbar is now considered unsportsmanlike conduct (15 yards). This rule was enacted thanks to Jimmy Graham of the New Orleans Saints. Graham was known for dunking the football after every touchdown. His celebration in week 12 last year, a game against the Atlanta Falcons, caused the goal post to be bent out of shape, causing a delay in the game. This was a big reason for the new rule change. Another change that will be enacted this year is video replay and review on fumbles. Expand replays to cover recovery of loose balls even if the play is blown dead. This was in response to the blown call in last years playoffs, in the NFC title game between Seattle and San Francisco. The 49ers NaVorro Bowman's clear recovery of a loose ball and downed by contact, but the ball was still given to the Seattle Seahawks after Seahawks running back Michael Robinson took it away from Bowman after Bowman was forced to let go of the ball due to a severe knee injury. Despite the indisputable video evidence of the recovery by Bowman, the play was not reviewable. So that lead to the change in the rule.

But enough about the boring rule changes. Lets get down to the nitty gritty. Here's what I got for each and every division this season in the NFL. We start off with the National Football Conference.

NFC West
1. Seattle Seahawks: 12-4*
The Champs are going to be a threat again to come out of the NFC, but they took a bit of a hit this offseason. Their defense, while still one of the tops in all of football, isn't looking the same as last year since they lost two key cornerbacks in Brandon Browner and Walter Thurmond. The defensive line lost a ton of depth too, with Clinton McDonald, Chris Clemons, and Red Bryant not coming back. That defense won’t be as dominant as they were last season, but still they will be very very good and will be the top dog in the West.

2. San Francisco 49ers: 11-5 (WC)*
It was a very strange offseason for the 49ers. Too many off-the-field issues to feel great about the upcoming season in the toughest division in the league. Players have legal trouble and injuries. Despite all that the 49ers still have a potent offense, with an improved secondary with the addition of Antoine Bethea. This is a good, veteran squad, who when healthy and together, can be another force in the NFC.

3. Arizona Cardinals: 9-7
Arizona was a big surprise last season, picking up 10 wins. But considering that they play in the toughest division in all of football, it left them on the outside looking in. Arizona lost three of its starters from a year ago on defense, but they still have a very solid secondary. The offense can hang with quite a few teams this year, much like they did last year. Like I said last year they surprised a lot of people with their record, but this year, half of their games are against teams who were in the playoffs last year.

4. St Louis Rams: 6-10
Here's a team that's been hit with a little bit of bad luck. Losing Sam Bradford to the knee injury for the year really hurt this team. Now they have to rely on Shaun Hill as a starter. Don't get me wrong I'm sure Hill is a capable QB, but he hasn't had to be a proven starter, his entire career has been spent as a backup. Now the Rams offense, had Bradford been able to play this year, would have been good, but with him hurt, it hurts their chances. The defense in St. Louis is one of the tops in all of football, but playing where they do its going to be rough.

NFC South
1. New Orleans Saints: 11-5*
The Saints are going to be another force in the NFC this season. They are still the class in this division. Drew Brees will again be leading a high powered offense, with his arsenal of weapons like Jimmy Graham, Marques Colston, Kenny Stills and Mark Ingram. There will be no real trouble for the Saints in putting up points this year. The defense is going to be much improved and home field means more wins. The Saints are 31-9 at home since 2009 and that includes a season without their head coach.

2. Carolina Panthers: 9-7
Carolina had a big year last year, winning the division at 12-4. This year, however, Carolina has taken a step backwards. Cam Newton is still going to lead the offense, but they have downgraded for him with weapons to work with this year. His top receivers from last year, Ted Ginn Jr and Steve Smith, are both out of town. Now Cam's top throwing targets are going to be Kelvin Benjamin and Jerricho Cotchery. In my book, while both are good receivers, its a downgrade. They do still have Greg Olsen and DeAngelo Williams, which will try and balance out but still its a downgrade.

3.  Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 8-8
This is a team in Tampa that could be a vast improving team, given the right direction. The offense has the skills to hang around a bit, with weapons like Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson in the passing game and Doug Martin running the football. The question with the offense is how quick can Josh McCown get aclimated and get the ball out to his big receiving weapons. The defense in Tampa is going to be good this year, and will be able to keep them in most of their games this season. But if the offense can't hang, then they will slip.

4. Atlanta Falcons: 7-9
Atlanta has taken a bit of a hit lately. Tony Gonzalez just called it a career, so that leaves a hole at tight end. The team has a potent passing game, with Matt Ryan still being able to sling the ball. Ryan has good targets to work with in Roddy White and Julio Jones. The problem with the Atlanta offense may be the running game, as Steven Jackson and Jacquizz Rodgers are a question mark. The defense really is in flux too as without a good pass rush, they won't be too effective this year.

NFC North
1. Green Bay Packers: 11-5*
This division has been the Packers division for a while now, and will continue to be their division for a while longer. The offense is, once again, going to be a force in the NFC this year. Aaron Rogers is still a very lethal quarterback, there's no doubt about that. With him in the lineup last year, the Packers were 6-2, without him they were 2-5-1. That shows just how good this guy is. Throw in the likes of Eddie Lacy running the ball, while Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson are catching passes from Rogers, it gives the Packers a balanced, deep attack. The defense is a little bit weaker than in years past, but still a very solid ball club that will keep the Pack near the top of the NFC all year long.

2. Detroit Lions: 9-7 (WC)*
Here's a team that's on the rise with a bright future ahead of it. Their offense is loaded. Matthew Stafford is quickly becoming a top five quarterback in this league. Throw into the mix Calvin Johnson, who is hands down the best wide receiver in the entire game. Calvin isn't the only weapon you have to worry about, not when you have the likes of Golden Tate and Kevin Ogletree at wideout and Brandon Pettigrew at tight end. Plus with a duel threat running game in Reggie Bush and Joique Bell, this Lions offense is going to be hard to beat. Defensively, the Lions are solid but still leave a lot to be desired. They have the chance to go deep into the playoffs, but that's if the Defense can rise above itself. Still they are good enough to squeak out a wild card spot.

3. Chicago Bears: 9-7
This is going to be a very tough team to deal with this season. On the defensive side of the ball, there leaves a lot to be desired. Once feared for their defense, the Bears don't seam to have it at that elite level right now. Sure they have some studs on defense like Charles Tillman and Lance Briggs, but nobody else on Chicago's D really strikes fear into you. On offense, however, there is plenty to like. They had stud players on offense like Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery to catch passes, while Matt Forte is quickly becoming one of the top running backs in all of football. With Jay Cutler throwing the ball, there's a lot to like. That's if Cutler can stay healthy.

4. Minnesota Vikings: 5-11
Even though they have the best running back in the entire league in Adrian Petterson, the Vikings aren't quite there yet. Minnesota could surprise with a healthy roster but it’s hard to get too excited until either Matt Cassel or Teddy Bridgewater proves a difference-maker at quarterback.

NFC East
1. Philadelphia Eagles: 11-5*
This is a team last year that surprised quite a few people by winning the division. They are poised to to again this year in one of the weakest divisions in football. Nick Foles was brilliant a season
ago, throwing only two picks. There's no way he will be that good again this year, but he will still be very effective. The passing attack lost DeSean Jackson, but they still have Jeremy Maclin, Brent Celek, Riley Cooper and Brad Smith makes for a potent passing game. The defense isn't star studded but it will be good enough to keep the team in games.

2. Washington Redskins: 8-8
This team may be a surprise team this year. The defense looks good from a year ago, with the likes of DeAngelo Hall bolstering that secondary. They may not have a big defense but still going to be tough to play against. The offense has the potential to be very very good. Alfred Morris is becoming a top ten running back in this league. In the passing game, Pierre Garcon, DeSean Jackson, Andre Roberts and Santana Moss are going to be very tough to play against. The question mark with this team is the health of Robert Griffin III/ A healthy RG3 will put the Redskins in contention with the Eagles for the title, but if we get the RG3 we saw last year, then its going to be a long year in the nations capital.

3. New York Giants: 8-8
This is going to be a big year of change for Big Blue. The defense is going to be much better than it was last year. The Giants brought in a lot of veteran players for experience and to plug holes. Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin have a solid history of rebounding from bad seasons. Do they have the pass protection and playmakers to do it again?

4. Dallas Cowboys: 7-9
The Dallas defense is going to be an issue once again. No DeMarcus Ware, no Sean Lee, no Jason Hatcher and as good as the offense might be, they will not score 35 points every week. Sure they have a solid offense lead by Tony Romo and he has weapons in Jason Whitten, Dez Bryant and DeMarco Murray. You know that the Boys can score points, but the defense may not be able to keep those points held up.

Now we switch gears and move on to the American Football Conference.

AFC West
1. Denver Broncos: 12-4*
These guys were the class of the AFC last year and they will be again this year. The defense for Denver was average at best a season ago, but now they've gotten better. Rahim Moore and Aqib Talib were added to bolster the secondary, while DeMarcus Ware joins Von Miller as the monsters that will lead that front seven. So Denver's defense has really gone better. Offensively, they are still the top dog in the conference. Sure they lost Eric Decker, and Wes Welker is suspended the first four games of the year. But the team still has Julius Thomas and Demaryius Thomas, while they added in Emmanuel Sanders to catch passes. Then there's Montee Ball carrying the load out of the backfield. And, oh yeah, they still have some guy named Peyton Manning throwing the football. These guys are good, scary good.

2. San Diego Chargers: 9-7 (WC)*
Last year wasn't a fluke for this Chargers team. Philip Rivers had a great season last year, showing that he is still one of the top QB's in the game, and now he gets Malcom Floyd back to go along with Keenan Allen and Antonio Gates. This offense is going to be really good. The defense gave up under 18 points a game over the last seven weeks of the season including the playoffs I'll even go so far as to say 10 wins for the Chargers isn't out of the realm of possibilities.

3. Kansas City Chiefs: 8-8
Last season started off great for Kansas City, going 9-0 to kick the season off. But then the wheels fell off for the Chiefs, going 2-6 down the stretch, including the playoffs. Don't get me wrong, they delivered quite well for Andy Reid, and Alex Smith played well. But the way the team finished out last year left a bad taste in everybody's mouth. Offense usually isn’t a concern on an Andy Reid-coached squad. It is for the 2014 Chiefs because of a leaky offensive line and shaky wide receiver corps. That's going to hurt KC this year.

4. Oakland Raiders: 4-12
This is a must-win season for the Raiders' coaches and front office but it would serve the organization well to give them contract extensions now and build this team the right way. I suspect we will see Derek Carr under center before the season is over. Regardless of who is under center, the Raiders don't have enough weapons to be a contender.

AFC South
1. Indianapolis Colts: 11-5*
Andrew Luck is really starting to step into his own as the quarterback in Indy. He has really filled in nicely in the post Manning era in Indy. There is plenty of weapons for Luck to play with on offense in a returning from injury Reggie Wayne, they also have Hakeem Nicks and TY Hilton to catch passes. Throw in the running game of Trent Richardson and Ahmad Bradshaw, it makes for a pretty potent offense. Add that up with a solid, and improved defense, the Colts are a cut above everybody else in the division.

2. Tennessee Titans: 8-8
This team is really going to be a surprise dark horse in this league this year. The Titans are solid on defense, especially up front. New head coach Ken Whisenhunt will get the quarterback situation sorted out, having Jake Locker settled in as the man under center in the Music City.. The offense simply needs to score more points. Last year they had eight games where they scored 20 or less points. They have a few weapons for Locker to work with in the passing game, so keep your eyes on the Titans this season.

3. Houston Texans: 7-9
This Texans team is going to have one of the best defensive lines in the league, being lead by JJ Watt and rookie Jadeveon Clowney, they are going to be a force to be reckoned with. What bothers me here is the offense. sure they have plenty of weapons in the likes of Arian Foster and Andre Johnson but the question here is how good is Ryan Fitspatrick going to be?

4. Jacksonville Jaguars: 5-11
Gus Bradley has his young team pointed in the right direction but he needs more talent on offense. They had 13 games where they scored 20 or less points. This year Bradley brought over some of his former Seahawks players to fortify the defense. Plus they have something to work with at the quarterback position with Blake Bortles

AFC North
1. Cincinnati Bengals: 11-5*
In what is probably going to be the toughest division in the AFC, this is the division’s most complete team – and one poised to finally win in the postseason after three consecutive first-round losses. The defense will be solid once again. On the offensive side of the ball, with A.J. Green, Brandon Tate and Marvin Jones catching passes from Andy Dalton, this passing game is going to be very good. Throw in the running of Giovani Bernard and the Bengals offense is going to be good.

2. Baltimore Ravens: 10-6 (WC)*
After having a down year last year, finishing the year 8-8, the ravens are going to be returning to form again this season. Re-tooling the offense should push the Ravens back into the postseason for the sixth time in seven years. I know they will be without Ray Rice the first two weeks of the season due to off the field issues so Bernard Pierce will handle the running duties till he gets back. As for the passing game, Joe Flacco is going to have fun this year. he gets Dennis Pitta back from injury, and he can work in Owen Daniels, Tory Smith, Steve Smith and Jacoby Jones in the pass game, so there will be plenty to go around.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers: 9-7
Last year Pittsburgh had a strong second half of the year but came up just short in their search of a playoff spot. Same thing will happen again this year. It's not that the Steelers are an older team its they don't have a good enough team. Le'Veon Bell will have an impact on the running game but the Steelers are average at best.

4. Cleveland Browns: 4-12
Despite getting Johnny Manzel as a backup quarterback there isn't much hope in the city of Cleveland. Cleveland has solid leadership in the front office and on the coaching staff but they are not ready for prime time just yet. Look for a solid finish to the season and a glimmer of hope for 2015.

AFC East
1. New England Patriots: 11-5*
The AFC East is not ready to dethrone Tom Brady. Brady is 58-16 against his division and he should add at least four more wins to that total this year. Brady still has weapons to work with in the likes of Aaron Dobson, Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, and a returning Rob Gronkowski. The Pats always find a way to pull it out, even when it looks like the chips are down. On the defensive side of the ball, the secondary got a big boost by adding Darrelle Revis. New England is still the class of the East, looking to grab their 6th straight division title.

2. New York Jets: 9-7
This is a team that surprised a lot of people last year when they finished the year at 8-8. This year the jets can improve, with a little bit of luck. They have new weapons to work with on offense in Chris Johnson and Eric Decker, to help Geno Smith in his development. On defense the Jets are still a top ten defense except for the secondary which is a huge question mark. Plus it doesn't help that the Jets secondary goes through hell in a six week stretch of facing some of the top passing offenses in the entire league.

3. Miami Dolphins: 8-8
The Dolphins' offensive line is being rebuilt and just had a setback with the hip surgery for Mike Pouncey, which only adds to the pressure on Ryan Tannehill. The Dolphins' first two games are against New England and Buffalo.

4. Buffalo Bills: 6-10
The Bills go as EJ Manuel goes and he may be a year away from being ready to lead his team to the division title. There's little doubt the Bills are headed in the right direction and could be better than anticipated.

So there we have it, the picks for every division this season!

New York Jets Season Preview

Three years is quite a bit of time to wait. That's how long it has been since the New York Jets have seen playoff football. A 6-10 finish two years ago sandwiched in between a pair of 8-8 finishes, including the improbable finish a year ago. This year's Jets team looks a bit different from last years club. Rex Ryan has a new contract in his pocket, and has some new weapons to work with. Geno Smith has some new targets to throw to, a new back to hand the ball off to and more confidence in his game. The Jets did some retooling in the offseason, some of it good and some of it not so good.

Lets start with the not so good. That being the inability to address the need in the secondary. The Jets failed to capitalize on the market for secondary help, which could end up hurting the club. Right now, Gang Gree's secondary is composed of Dee Milliner (hurt will miss the opener), Kyle Wilson, Dawan Landry, Jaiquawn Jarrett, Calvin Pryor, Antonio Allen and Dimitri Patterson (we all know what kind of trouble he's been causing lately). Its strange top see a Jets secondary that doesn't have either Darrell Revis or Antonio Cromortie in it at all. The Jets knew going into the year that the secondary was going to be a weak spot. The only thing they did to address it was draft Calvin Pryor in the first round and sign Dimitri Patterson for $3 million, making many fans of the team scratch their head. This is going to pose a problem for the club during the early part of the season, as during a six week stretch, the team faves six of the more potent passing offenses in the entire league.

The front seven that the Jets have, they will be good enough to be a top five defense in the league and keep the team in a lot of the games. Muhammad Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson and Damon Harrison are going to have that Jets’ defensive line as another force to be rekoned with. All three are Pro Bowl-caliber players, capable of disrupting offenses. That could take some pressure off the secondary if they can stifle the run and get to the quarterback, something linebackers Quinton Coples, Calvin Pace and Jason Babin will be counted on to do. So that front seven is going to be a major disruptive force in this league.

The other question facing this Jets team this season is going to be some of the offense.

If the secondary starts to falter, the the new look offense could be thrown into a slugfest. This year, hands down, Geno Smith will have the starting job outright, with Michael Vick on the roster as sort of a fail safe just case something happens to Smith. Now how far the offense can go will be determined on which Geno Smith shows up. Will we see the Geno Smith looking like a rookie or will we see a composed, above average quarterback leading this team? So that's as much a question as how well the secondary is going to play. But there is some big pluses for the Jets on the offensive side of the ball.

As far as Smith goes, he now has some weapons to work with in the passing game. The Jets now have a number one receiver to throw to in Eric Decker. Decker is a very  good receiver and will be looking to solidify the top tole in the receiving game with the Jets, who haven't really had a top guy the past few years. Now the team has their top guy, to go along with Jeremy Kerley in the slot. Only question the Jets have in the passing game is who will fill in as the number two wide out. Some thought it would be Stephen Hill, but he didn't work out with the team, so its up to the likes of Kerley and David Nelson to fill that role behind Decker. To go along with that passing game will be a revamped running attack. Chris Johnson was brought in over the winter, which will make a big impact on this team and the running attack. Johnson isn't going to be the 2,000 yard rusher we saw back in 2009, but he is still a 1,00+ yard runner. Combine him with the soild running of Chris Ivory, and the Jets have a good running game to work with.

Here's the Jets schedule for this season:
1 September 7 1:00 p.m. EDT Oakland Raiders MetLife Stadium
2 September 14 4:25 p.m. EDT at Green Bay Packers Lambeau Field
3 September 22 8:30 p.m. EDT Chicago Bears MetLife Stadium
4 September 28 1:00 p.m. EDT Detroit Lions MetLife Stadium
5 October 5 4:25 p.m. EDT at San Diego Chargers Qualcomm Stadium
6 October 12 1:00 p.m. EDT Denver Broncos MetLife Stadium
7 October 16 8:25 p.m. EDT at New England Patriots Gillette Stadium
8 October 26 1:00 p.m. EDT Buffalo Bills MetLife Stadium
9 November 2 1:00 p.m. EST at Kansas City Chiefs Arrowhead Stadium
10 November 9 1:00 p.m. EST Pittsburgh Steelers MetLife Stadium
11 Bye
12 November 23 1:00 p.m. EST at Buffalo Bills Ralph Wilson Stadium
13 December 1 8:30 p.m. EST Miami Dolphins MetLife Stadium
14 December 7 1:00 p.m. EST at Minnesota Vikings TCF Bank Stadium
15 December 14 4:05 p.m. EST at Tennessee Titans LP Field
16 December 21 1:00 p.m. EST New England Patriots MetLife Stadium
17 December 28 1:00 p.m. EST at Miami Dolphins Sun Life Stadium

This is going to be a very interesting season for Gang Green. Geno Smith had some growing pains in his rookie season, now he has the year experience under his belt and he has a few more reliable weapons to work with this year. That will lead to a vast improvement in his game. The passing and running games for this Jets teams are both improved from a year ago. The front seven on this Jets team may be one of the top in all off football, but the secondary still leaves something to be desired. If the Jets secondary can step up and be an average to solid secondary, then there's no telling how far this Jets team can go.

Best Case Scenario: 9-7 maybe 10-6
For this to happen, a couple of things have to fall into place. The biggest thing, again, is going to be the secondary. That secondary has to play well to help out the front seven. Also Geno Smith has to get a good handle on the ball. If he can cut down on his interceptions and manage the clock the Jets are going to be in great shape.

Worst Case Scenario: 7-9
The Jets are going to faulter if Geno has a repeat of the way last year started, he ends up looking like another rookie quarterback instead of a 2nd year pro. Also if Eric Decker can;t handle being the top guy at receiver it won't help Geno's cause much. Then again there is the secondary which isn't viewed too highly.

Final Prediction: 9-7
This team is a little bit different then last year's squad. Geno has that experience and now has a few more targets to throw to. He has more confidence in his game and it will help in a big way.

New York Giants Season Preview

Last season was a year that most people associated with the New York Giants would like to forget. Starting the year off 0-6, before coming up with a 7-9 final record, good for 3rd place in the NFC East. It marked the 2nd year in a row that Big Blue has missed the playoffs, something that head coach Tom Coughlin and the rest of the team are hoping to put behind them. Sure the Giants won the Superbowl three years ago, but this team is a shamble of that club. There were plenty of additions made to this team, but there is still a lot that is left to be desired.

Lets start with the offense shall we. The team went 0-6 to start the year, before finishing out strong, ending the year at 7-9. Now Kevin Gilbride, the offensive coordinator from last year, decided to hang up the clipboard. Enter Ben McAdoo, who is now in charge of trying to improve this offense. And he has a lot on his plate. McAdoo is trying to implement a West Coast Offense, which is already a tough enough task. Now try doing it with a quarterback in Eli Manning who is coming off a very rough year last year and throw in some of the other problems the offense has. The O-line is already reeling with the loss of guard Geoff Schwartz to a dislocated big toe for an indefinite period. Speed at the receiver position has been reduced with first-round draft pick Odell Beckham Jr. fighting a hamstring injury since training camp opened.

Big Blue's offense really has gone through an overhaul heading into this year. With the new offense that McAdoo is trying to install, it calls for a more up tempo style of play that the Giants are going to have to get used to quick. This new style utilizes quick releases, with short, precise routes and high completion percentages. If Beckham ever gets healthy, Manning has the receivers with veterans Victor Cruz and Rueben Randle. The running game also has potential with free-agent signee Rashad Jennings and rookie Andre Williams. The line is the question mark with tackles Will Beatty and Justin Pugh the only returnees.

Right now, on paper at least, the Giants offense looks like a small mess heading into the start of the season. The offensive line doesn't look like it knows what its doing, and to a degree looks about as bad as last years line did at the start of the year. Eli isn't much better off either. If the Giants even want to sniff the playoffs this year, Eli has to put last year behind him and return, somewhat, to form. If Eli turns in a repeat performance that he had last year, then the Giants are going to be in the exact same place.

That's just the offense. There has been an upside to this Giants team.

The defense got better. For quite a while, the front seven for the Giants made the secondary look great. Now it appears it might be the other way around this year. The biggest threat on the Giants line has to be Jason Pierre-Paul. JPP had a down year last year, but from every indication, he is back in top form, which is what fans saw from him back in 2011, when the Giants last won a Superbowl. Heading into his fifth pro season, the Giants need him to step up. When he is good, the 25-year-old can dominate with his speed, strength and athleticism. Then there's a vastly improved secondary. In fact this may be the best secondary that Tom Coughlin has had as Giants coach. He now has Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Antrel Rolle, Quintin Demps and Prince Amukamara to shut down opposing receivers.

So the Giants defense can, and should be able to, keep the Giants in a lot of games. The big question is going to be the offense and how well it can click.

Here's the Giants schedule for this season:
1 September 8 7:10 p.m. EDT at Detroit Lions Ford Field
2 September 14 1:00 p.m. EDT Arizona Cardinals MetLife Stadium
3 September 21 1:00 p.m. EDT Houston Texans MetLife Stadium
4 September 25 8:25 p.m. EDT at Washington Redskins FedEx Field
5 October 5 1:00 p.m. EDT Atlanta Falcons MetLife Stadium Fox
6 October 12 8:30 p.m. EDT at Philadelphia Eagles Lincoln Financial Field
7 October 19 4:25 p.m. EDT at Dallas Cowboys AT&T Stadium Fox
8 Bye
9 November 3 8:40 p.m. EST Indianapolis Colts MetLife Stadium
10 November 9 4:25 p.m. EST at Seattle Seahawks CenturyLink Field
11 November 16 1:00 p.m. EST San Francisco 49ers MetLife Stadium
12 November 23 8:30 p.m. EST Dallas Cowboys MetLife Stadium
13 November 30 1:00 p.m. EST at Jacksonville Jaguars EverBank Field
14 December 7 1:00 p.m. EST at Tennessee Titans LP Field
15 December 14 1:00 p.m. EST Washington Redskins MetLife Stadium
16 December 21 4:05 p.m. EST at St. Louis Rams Edward Jones Dome
17 December 28 1:00 p.m. EST Philadelphia Eagles MetLife Stadium

Big Blue has veteran experience that was brought in to plug in the holes they had from last season. One benefit the team has this year is that they play in a relatively weak NFC Eastern Division. So there is still an outside chance for the G-Men to take the division this year, but a lot really has to go right. The team's offense really has to click and Eli Manning has to have a better year than the one he did last year. That defense can keep them in the games every night but the offense has to show up and support their D.

Best Case Scenario: 9-7 maybe 10-6
For that to happen, three things must fall into place, and they are all related to that offense. The team needs to click with Ben McAdoo's west coast style. The Offensive line needs to do its job and protect Eli Manning and get the running game established. Finally Eli Manning has to play better. If he can cut down his turnover numbers from last year the Giants are going to be in great shape.

Worst Case Scenario: 7-9
Well this is pretty self explanatory. The offense could have an exact repeat of last year. The Line could suck again, the running backs can hold onto the football and Eli Manning keeps turning the ball over again. Simple as that.

Final Record: 8-8
The Giants made improvements to their team, but with the offensive line still a question mark and with Eli somewhat uncertain about his ability, you really don't know what to expect with the Giants. So with everything thrown into consideration, this is where I see the Giants finishing.