Well after Thursday night there is one thing that is clearly apparent and that is the good get better.  All eyes were on Tom Brady last night in his first action since game 1 last year.  Tom Brady proved to be very good for his first game back.  He was accurate but did have trouble with the deep ball you can tell that he is still leery about his knee when he has to sit in the pocket for long, but other than that he looked good.  One thing I noticed is the bend in his knees when he dropped back and the slight bounce or chop in his feet.  He still has a long way to go in that department but I say the effort to break his old habit of a straight leg delivery and little motion in the pocket was apparent.  Brady looks to be dangerous in this upcoming season.

On the other side the defending champs , believe it or not, look like their defense has only gotten better.  It was an actual shock that the starters played as efficient as they did and were able to make plays with out doing as much scheming and blitzing as they will do in the regular season.  The only weak point could be seen in the number two corner spot where you can tell the young corners are still trying to find their stride.  The positive of that is that Polamalu was able to pick up the slack for those corners while he was in the game.  Write this down now, “You will see the Steelers defense be even more dominant this year than they were last year”.  I know it is just preseason but Vegas has gotten the top two teams write this year maybe just not in the correct order.

He didn't do too much in Jacksonville... 11 catches & 181 yards. But let's see what he does with two more veteran Pro Bowlers in Todd Heap and Derrick Mason.

The Ravens made some free agency movement by picking up two wide receivers that have showed the capability to be productive. Although both players, Jerry Porter and Kelley Washington, have either been a disappointment or simply have not had much playing time as of late, their potential and skill are no doubt present.

Porter is the one that has been a disappointment. In fact, he has been a disappointment since his years with Rich Gannon in 2004 and 2005. Since then, his numbers are a total of 56 catches for 905 yards. Hardly great for a guy who was considered a great slot man and potential number two wide receiver, if not number one. However, in those two solid years with Gannon in 04 and 05 he produced 64 catches for 998 yards and 76 for 942 respectively. So, that’s just three years ago, and in the three years after he has had to deal with Kerry Collins before he found the fountain of youth in Tennessee, a young JaMarcus Russell, and a fluke-a-luke David Garrard in Jacksonville last season. Perhaps good things are to come on a team with a promising QB in Joe Flacco and a winning attitude.

Kelley Washington has not done much since his years in Cincinnati. In fact, his totals since 2005 are not very good; 20 catches for 119 yards. But in his first two years he looked like he was on a steady growth plan with 22 catches for 299 yards in 2003 and 31 catches for 378 yards in 2004. Plus, he has had to play behind four exceptional Pro Bowlers in T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Chad Ochocinco from 05 to 06 with the Bengals, and two more in Randy Moss and Wes Welker in New England from 07 to 08 which could definitely leave a guy to be overlooked.

Although both these men are not stars, they definitely have shown the tools to be admirably productive at best. What this tells me is that the Baltimore Ravens are really looking to be better than their already great 11-5 record from last year.

Never too early for Fantasy Football!

1.  Tom Brady – You can think about that injury all you want, but when you factor in that a 100% Tom Brady threw for 50 TDs and over 4,800 yards with just 8 INTs, then the hampered mobility version of Brady can afford 5 to 10 less TDs and maybe 600 or so less yards. Don’t forget his team’s receiving core has been bolstered by Joey Galloway.

2. Drew Brees – It’s not wins that count in this game… it’s numbers. During his three year tenure in New Orleans, and because of the lack of production in the Saints’ running game, Drew Brees has 4,400+, 4,400+, and 5,000+ yards, with 26, 28, and 34 TDs all respectively. What he loses in a potentially high INT rate (11, 18, and 17 also respectively), he makes up for by averaging 289.79 yards per game and by only having missed one start in the last five years (none in New Orleans).

3. Kurt Warner – After one full year as the Cardinals undisputed starter, he reverted to his accurate past at a 67.1% completion rate, amassed 4,583 passing yards (good for 286.44 a game), and a cool 30 TDs against an up and down 14 INTs. And like Brees, it’s not how many wins you get in this game… it’s the numbers. Now that Larry Fitzgerald has become the LeBron James of his position after his postseason play, Kurt Warner should be in for another big year. Some of you may be worrying about the potential loss of Anquan Boldin, but remember, his playing time was very limited in those playoffs, and Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston surely produced.

4. Peyton Manning – It may come as a surprise that Peyton Manning is number four on my list. He is still good for a smooth 3,800-4,100 yards this season and an ample high 20’s to low 30’s in TD numbers. However, he does not have anywhere near the yards per game potential as the previously mentioned QBs as his team’s defense is definitely above Brees’ and Warner’s, and better than Brady’s as well.

5. Philip Rivers – Philip Rivers showed in 2008 that he can be a big numbers guy. He finished up with 4,009 yards, and a career high 34 TDs. It would not be a stretch to question his potential consistency due to his 2006 and 2007 seasons. In those years he threw for 3,300+ and 3,100+ yards, with 22 and 15 TDs, all respectively. However, last season we started to see huge signs of wear and tear on LaDainian Tomlinson, which is probably a big reason why his numbers soared this past year as compared to those previous two. So in that respect, it would not be a stretch as well to see him having a great fantasy type season again this year.

Much will be said about Brady's mobility affecting his game this year. But he is certainly a QB who has the smarts to adjust to full-time pocket life.

The fact that Tom Brady’s leg injury from last year no doubt opened the door for many teams in the AFC to be considered at a competitive balance should be no secret to anyone. Now that Brady is back, he has lost mobility, but that doesn’t mean that this year’s Patriots can’t be very close to explosive as they were in their undefeated regular season from two years past.

Even if the Patriots’ offense isn’t going to be as explosive as it was when it was the most explosive offense in NFL history, well then how bad can the drop off really be? Still one of the top offenses ever? Close to one of the top offenses ever? Or at least one of the top two offenses this season. Either way, those odds are good for the Pats.

Don’t be surprised if the Patriots run away with the AFC East where the Jets are still growing and have no proven quarterback, the Dolphins rely on trickery and near-perfect play from Chad Pennington at quarterback, and Buffalo where, Trent Edwards proved last year that he still has something to well… prove!

T-izzle, is the Dizzel, in the Buffalo Bizzel.

I wonder if TO looks to everyone like he is already troubling the waters in Buffalo by opting out of the team’s voluntary workouts, as he recently has reported. I mean, it’s the first real official function that has been held by his new team and he could already raise hairs as well as questions with this move. However, to me, just let the guy live.

First of all he’s already 35 years old. And seriously, how big a deal is this stupid mini three or four day work out? It must literally be a few weight lifting sessions, some standard conditioning, and three fine meals a day. I think if a 35 year old man who is in the 14th year of his career says he doesn’t want to go to the voluntary work out, who cares. TO has been in the league so long now, he knows how his body reacts to stress, or when too little is too little, and he’s led the league in TD catches over the last three years.

I wouldn’t jump on TO just yet. Let’s wait and see if he has a sideline tirade, or speaks his mind a little too much to the media before we start chastising him.

And seriously folks… the Bills suck. They don’t have a chance. They started the season 4-0 and stutter-stepped it the rest of the way to a 3-9 finish. That’s not the stuff of champions, and neither is Trent Edwards or the bum-butt Buffalo Bills. They will easily be swept by Tom Brady’s Patriots, and would get destroyed by many of last year’s playoff teams.

And if you ask me, I would liken watching the Bills hopeful run-oriented approach to a lower level online madden gamer attempting to beat someone in the 20s.

Jay Cutler could be making many fans of some other lucky team smile sometime soon.

Yesterday it was reported that the Pro Bowl Quarterback of the Denver Broncos, Jay Cutler, had officially requested a trade. Today, we the people, began contemplating where he might end up if his request is honored. I’m sure there are many fans out there whose team could use a guy in Jay Cutler who played like the potential franchise-type quarterback that many analysts foresaw. The scoop is that new head coach Josh McDaniels, who was offensive coordinator for the Patriots, wanted to trade Cutler for Matt Cassel since he was familiar with his system already. This has since angered the young Cutler and he now wants to go… but where?!

To start off an easy process of elimination, every team in the AFC is out since teams don’t usually like to send star players away to in-conference franchises. And although Cassel was finally traded to another AFC team, like his former Patriots, in the Chiefs, that was more of an “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” deal.

This was the widespread thought when that deal went down, because Scott Pioli, the former general manager of the Patriots moved onto Kansas City to try and resurrect that ball club.

So the AFC is out!

In the NFC East, Dallas has Tony Romo, NY has Eli Manning, and Philadelphia has Donovan McNabb. So far, Jason Campbell of the Washington Redskins still has a lot to prove, while Cutler seems way more promising than him thus far when both their careers are compared.

In the NFC North, the Packers have Aaron Rodgers, and the Vikings made moves to throw their young QB Tarvaris Jackson into a competition with newly acquired Sage Rosenfels from Houston. I don’t think that the Lions could attract an odor, so the Bears are definitely a hot spot. They’ve had no success with Rex Grossman, and minimal with Kyle Orton.

In the NFC South, the Saints boast Drew Brees, and the Falcons have a young star in rookie of the year Matt Ryan. The Panthers would have looked to have some great trade bait with the disgruntled Julius Peppers, but now it looks like he may be a Patriot soon. However, with Jake Delhomme being their current signal caller you still can’t count them out. Then there’s the Buccaneers who got rid of veteran Jeff Garcia.

After that, in the NFC West, the Seahawks have Matt Hasselbeck who is not past his better days yet, and Kurt Warner is obviously safe as the Cardinals QB. Cross those two teams out and you have the 49ers with the disappointing results of Alex Smith’s progress, and the St. Louis Rams, who should have started thinking about dropping Marc Bulger quite some time ago.

So there you have it. The top candidates to have Jay Cutler for President!

Julius Peppers

The Patriots are making more than a splash this year in the off season. Our Sportsroids sources have confirmed that this deal is very close to being completed. Peppers will probably play OLB in the Patriots system, so it will be a interesting change for Peppers. If the Patriots pull off this move they will be a very different team in 2010. They will receive an off season grade of A+ from me, since they signed Leigh Bodden, Julius Peppers,Joey Galloway, Shawn Springs and Fred Taylor. I expect them to win the division.

Joey Galloway of the New England Patriots

Over the last two seasons we have seen the dynamic duo of Randy Moss and Wes Welker set records for the Patriots. It seemed it couldn’t get any sweeter for The Patriots. But now, they have picked up a long time NFL great wide out Joey Galloway, Galloway is known for his incredible speed and big catch ability, and seems to be a great match for this squad. You would have to be a moron to argue the fact that this team is now stacked with a bonafide WR triple threat for the ages. They have Pro-bowl caliber WR’s from 1 through 3 and I really can’t recall when any other team was this stacked as they are at WR. Say what you will about Galloway’s old age and recent surgery at the end of last season, he still was the most explosive and fastest WR on the Bucs at year’s end. This season everyone should fully expect Brady to have a monster season as long as his knee can hold up. I am interested to see how that chump holds up!

and PS

I hate the Patriots!

Randy Moss & Wes Welker will soon be united with Joey Galloway!

Tom Brady and Randy Moss New England Patriots Framed Tri Photo Collage

Terrell Owens A Free Agent Once Again

Here we go again. The ink is not even dry yet on Manny Ramirez’s contract and this morning we learned that our favorite media darling, Terrell Owens, has been released by the Cowboys. I guess we are not really too shocked by this but I can tell you for sure Tony Romo is the saddest cowboy on the plain. But who cares about him? All I want to know is: Where is T.O. going now?

There are 31 other teams out there that surely would love to have his numbers injected into their offense but only a handful would find it worth it. As well an even smaller group have enough to lure him in. Further still even less would take the risk.

So who are they? Well, first you would have to weed out the pretenders. T.O. is not going anywhere a rebuilding is in progress. Certainly he is not going anywhere there is no QB with a resume. That leaves teams with coaches that have job security as well as stability. But Philly is out and Parcells disciples Coughlin and Sparano surely would not have him.

I do not think that Atlanta or Baltimore would risk the progress of their young starting QB’s by bringing Owens in to help. The Vikings could certainly use his services. However, they do not throw the ball in an offense built around Adrian Peterson nor do they have a QB to get Owens the ball.

The Jets? HAHA

How about the Redskins, Saints or Chargers? Hey why not right. The Redskins and Dan Snyder have proven they will spend money on anything. Owens would love the chance to remain in the division and now stick it to Philly and Dallas. Given the way he regularly torches the Giants that would mean six games worth of great potential from Owens. The Saints have the high powered offensive attack that would suit Owens wants as well as his need to be with a big time QB in Drew Brees. But is there room for him and his ego among all those other big names? Shockey Bush Colston etc. San Diego might be the best fit. He becomes the number one option for Phillip Rivers who is probably salivating as we speak. It would take pressure off Antonio Gates and his big toe. As well this would open up a running lane or two for Ladainian Tomlinson and allow him to be L.T. again.

Allow me to just throw this out there: X Y Z – Owens Welker Moss. Get your pop-corn ready!

With just two weeks of play left in the regular season of the 2008-2009 year, a few teams have locked up a spot in the playoffs while others are still fighting to make it. What is about to unfold in this article is, what are in my mind, the teams that will make it.

We already know the Steelers and Titans have locked up spots and first round byes in the AFC. In the NFC the Giants have clinched their division while the Cardinals have as well. First I will go over the locks to get in.

In the AFC the only sure-fire lock I have is the Indianapolis Colts. If they beat Jacksonville this Thursday in Florida, they’re in. With the way the Jags have disappointed, I do not even see them using the rivalry bug as added motivation to beat Indianapolis.

In the NFC, surprisingly, the Carolina Panthers have not clinched even with an 11-3 record, which is a testament to the competitiveness of the NFC. However, one more win or one more loss from another team or two would put them in. The Cowboys have been hot lately. I don’t care about Romo’s performance in Pittsburgh. The game was still close, and it has been their only slip up since his return from injury. They face the Ravens at home, and Eagles in Philadelphia. The Eagle game should be tough and they easily can lose, but to me, I think all of the air got sucked out of the Raven team with their last minute loss to Pittsburgh last weekend.

The Vikings should clinch their division as the Bears face the Packers on Monday Night at home, but then travel to Houston the last week. Houston is on pace to finish up 9-7 and Andre Johnson should be able to shred their weak pass defense.

After that I don’t think Tampa will get in as they have slipped up and their weaknesses are beginning to be exposed. The Falcons and Eagles to me will be the ones to fighting for the 6th seed in the NFL as they have both been consistent as of late.

Back in the AFC, I’ll take the Patriots to win their division. They are at home against the Cardinals who have clinched, and then at a bum Buffalo team. That would put them at 11-5. The reason I see this happening is because the as-of-late inconsistent Jets should lose in Seattle this weekend, and the Dolphins will beat the Kansas City Chiefs. But when they play each other in New York, I’ll take a last-ditch effort by Favre to even their records at 10-6, giving one of them the 6th seed.

The only seed I am unsure of is the 4th seed in the AFC as the Broncos are 8-6 and Chargers 6-8. If the Chargers beat Tampa Bay in Tampa this weekend, which is not an oversight, and the Broncos lose at home to the Bills, which is still a bit of a stretch even if the Broncos aren’t so consistent, then they will be playing in San Diego for the division in week 17. If that happens, I’ll take the Chargers.

So that’s how I believe the “tournament” brackets will be set up come January.