2010 NFL Predictions

AFC

AFC East

New England Patriots 10-6*

New York Jets 9-7

Miami Dolphins 9-7

Buffalo Bills 3-13

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens 11-5*

Pittsburgh Steelers 10-6*

Cincinnati Bengals 7-9

Cleveland Browns 4-12

AFC South

Indianapolis Colts 12-4*

Tennessee Titans 10-6*

Houston Texans 7-9

Jacksonville Jaguars 5-11

AFC West

San Diego Chargers 10-6*

Kansas City Chiefs 8-8

Oakland Raiders 6-10

Denver Broncos 5-11


NFC

NFC East

Dallas Cowboys 10-6*

Washington Redskins 9-7*

New York Giants 8-8

Philadelphia Eagles 7-9

NFC North

Green Bay Packers 13-3*

Minnesota Vikings 8-8

Detroit Lions 7-9

Chicago Bears 5-11

NFC South

Atlanta Falcons 11-5*

Carolina Panthers 10-6*

New Orleans Saints 9-7

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5-11

NFC West

San Francisco 49ers 10-6*

Seattle Seahawks 7-9

Arizona Cardinals 5-11

St. Louis Rams 4-12

NFL M.V.P- Aaron Rodgers

Offensive Rookie of the Year- C.J Spiller

Defensive Rookie of the Year- Brandon Graham

AFC Championship- Indianapolis Colts over Pittsburgh Steelers

NFC Championship- Green Bay Packers over San Francisco 49ers

Super Bowl XLV Indianapolis Colts over Green Bay Packers

3 Biggest Winners of Jets Preseason

Ladainian Tomlinson- Just as I predicted, LT has shown he will be an upgrade over Thomas Jones. The Jets received criticism left and right for dropping Jones and replacing him with LT, yet, Tomlinson has shown he has more left in the tank. Tomlinson has demonstrated throughout camp and the preseason that he is still a very good running back with plenty of burst and agility. LT's biggest impact on the Jets will be his ability to catch the football out of the backfield. With Shonn Greene and LT in the backfield, the Jets look primed to be on the NFL's best running teams for a 2nd consecutive year. Greene and LT have a very different skill set which will keep defenses on their heels. LT has certainly earned himself more then just 3rd down duties. He was able to break off a 43 yard run against the Redskins 1st team defense (a pretty good defense at that) and made a few nice plays catching the football.

Vernon Gholston- Lets face it, Gholston was already at rock bottom so anything he showed would be an improvement. He was able to make some plays in the backfield and apply pressure on the QB. He certainly looks more comfortable at defensive end then he ever did at linebacker. With Calvin Pace out for the first few weeks, it will be up to Gholston and Jason Taylor to replace that productivity. The Jets are thin on the defensive line so it is imperative that Gholston be a reliable backup this season.

Antonio Cromartie- Had arguably the best training camp of any player on the Jets and brought that productivity to the preseason games. Cromartie's size and speed are ideal for Rex's man-to-man schemes and he will obviously need to step up with Revis out. He should have had 2 interceptions in the Jets first game against the Giants but let the ball slip through his hands. Cromartie will be seeing plenty of balls thrown his way early in the season so it is very important that he be ready to take over Revis Island.

Honorable Mention
Santonio Holmes-He is the Jets best wide receiver and play maker and the team will feel his absence during weeks 1-4. Holmes will be spending plenty of time with Sanchez in order to build up a chemistry during his suspension. When he returns, the Jets will have one of the best, most dangerous receiving cores in the entire NFL.

3 Biggest Losers of Jets Preseason

Joe McKnight- McKnight was drafted to replace Leon Washington, yet, during this preseason he showed he wasn't even good enough to replace Danny Woodhead or Chauncey Washington. Fumbles, indecisive running, going down easy, McKnight showed nothing to make anyone believe he is worth keeping on the roster. His NFL career started with him throwing up on the field during a rookie mini camp and then failing a conditioning test before training camp. Rex has stated that McKnight will be on the team but will be inactive until he gives the coaching staff a reason to play him. Make no mistake about it, if McKnight had not been a fourth round pick, he would have zero chance of making the Jets roster.

Vladimir Ducasse- Another disappointing rookie, Ducasse was supposed to replace Alan Faneca and it became apparent early he is nowhere near ready to step onto an NFL field. He quickly lost the starting job to Matt Slauson within the first week of training camp and the LG battle was really a no contest throughout. He almost got Sanchez killed during one of his lone drives with the 1st team offense. Coming from UMass is a process and Ducasse does have unlimited potential but for now he has awful technique and is still a year or two away from stepping on an NFL field.

Mark Sanchez- His preseason started with a pick and didn't get much better after that. Sanchez looked confused, indecisive, and showed little to no progress from his rookie season. Sure, the preseason means very little for starting quarterbacks because the offense is so vanilla, but Sanchez hasn't left Jets fans with a lot of assurance going into the first game with Baltimore. The first team offense as a whole looked very poor during throughout the preseason. They better fix their problems before matching up with Ray Lewis and company.

Honorary Mention

Darrelle Revis- Still holding out

College Football Preview

Conference Winners

Big East Winner- Pittsburgh

Big 12 Winner-Texas

Big 10 Winner-Ohio State

ACC Winner-Virginia Tech

Pac 10 Winner-Oregon

SEC Winner-Alabama

BCS Games

Rose Bowl- Oregon vs Iowa

Sugar Bowl- Alabama vs TCU

Fiesta Bowl- Texas vs Pittsburgh

Orange Bowl- Virginia Tech vs Florida

National Championship Game-Boise State vs Ohio State

National Champion-Boise State

Heisman Winner-Terrelle Pryor

Where To Go From Here

As August turns to September and contenders look to October, the Mets look to 2011. The 2010 season was a valley of ups and downs, certainly with more lows then highs. By seasons end, the playoff drought will be at four years. Four years since Beltran stood looking at strike three of the 2006 NLCS. Four years since the Mets were a contender. Four years since the Mets mattered.

The current Mets team is made up of a core that has run it's course. The team has more stars then the average Major League club. There are All Star calibre players in the infield, outfield, and pitching staff. For the Mets to barely be .500 and in fourth place in the NL East is not only bad, it is embarrassing. Unfortunately for Mets fans, 2011 looks to be every bit as disheartening as 2010.

From a personnel standpoint, the Mets have big decisions to make. Will they trade Reyes? Is Thole the full time catcher? Is the outfield set as is? Are there any pitchers that could be added to the rotation? Who is the real Mike Pelfrey? These are questions that will need answers for the Mets to even think about competing next season.

Unfortunately for the Mets, their off season options will be limited due to a $130+ million dollar payroll and bad contracts that still have one year left to cash out. Carlos Beltran, Luis Castillo, Francisco Rodriguez, and Oliver Perez are not only expensive and untradeable, they have little to no upside going forward. In other words, the Mets are stuck with declining players who will still require huge chunks of money.

The best part about the 2010 Mets season was the development of young, promising pieces of the future. Ike Davis looks to be one his way to stardom. John Niese has shown flashes of being a future #3 fixture in the rotation. Josh Thole, though lacking in power, has been very consistent both behind the plate and with the bat. Ruben Tejada has remarkable defensive ability and at only 20 years old, he has plenty of time to improve his hitting. Lastly, Jenrry Mejia is the Mets most valuable commodity. He is young, cheap, and has been dominant thus far. He has the ability to be a big time ace once he gains more experience. In effect, there are players to be excited about in the future.

2010 also produced pleasant surprises like R.A Dickey (2.57 ERA in 20 starts) and Angel Pagan (batting .295 through 122 games.) It is no shoe-in that both players will be able to replicate their success next season, but both players have certainly earned a spot in the team's immediate future.

Despite all these feel good observations from this season the Mets have continued to lose games. Every lose seems to be because of a different variable. If Johan pitches 8 innings and allows 1 run, the Mets put up a goose egg on offense. If the Mets score 6 runs through 5 innings, Mike Pelfrey allows 7 runs in 4 innings. During this past year, the team has simply not made the plays necessary to not only play postseason baseball but to even be in the discussion come September.

From where the team sits today, 2011 looks to be similar to 2010. The Mets have the potential to tease their fans again next year and that is most likely what will happen. Underachieving roster, lame duck manager, bloated payroll, and desperate fan base. The Mets have plenty of areas to improve but as history has shown us, they most likely won't get it right.

No Revis? No Chance

The Darrelle Revis holdout is coming up on four weeks. There have been glimmers of hope, but so far there is still no resolution. As of right now, it appears this will not be resolved before the Jets season opener on September 13th. The Revis camp wants their client to be the highest paid cornerback in the league. The Jets want to sign him to a long term deal that is more accommodating to the team's future. The end result? No agreement.

Everyone has heard the arguments for both sides throughout this ordeal. Revis has three years left, the Jets promised a new contract, Revis is the best at his position, yada yada yada. No matter which side you take, one thing is clear. The 2010 New York Jets are not a shoe in for the Super Bowl, let alone the playoffs without their best player on the field. In 2009, Revis had arguably the best season a cornerback has ever had. No one on the Jets roster can even come close to replacing that type of production.

Antonio Cromartie is great...as a #2 cornerback. Kyle Wilson is great...as a nickel back. Dwight Lowery is better then average...as the dime back. The secondary would be undoubtedly the best in football with #24 eliminating half the field. Without him? Things fall by the wayside. Cromartie is not a shutdown corner. He is a high risk/high reward type of player who will make you sing his praises one play, and curse his name the next. He has never been a fan of contact and is easily one of the worst tacklers in the NFL. For the most part, Cromartie should be able to dominate #2 wide receivers, but facing the NFL's elite may not be so easy. Kyle Wilson was widely regarded as the best man-to-man cover corner in the draft and has been very promising so far in training camp. However, things will certainly get rocky once the bullets start flying for real. Rookie corners rarely, if ever, have great rookie seasons. Wilson is going to realize very quickly that covering Wes Welker is just a tad bit tougher then covering Joe Schmo of the Western Athletic Conference.

In the past, Rex Ryan has been a master of reshuffling and retooling. He has won some games without Ray Lewis and Ed Reed and his Jets defense will still be above average without Revis. That is all well and good, but the stakes are raised when your team has Super Bowl aspirations. Jets fans will realize just how much they miss #24 when their Revis-less defense is getting beaten up by Anquan Boldin, Randy Moss, and Brandon Marshall during the first 3 weeks of the season.

The AFC is a loaded conference and the AFC East is one of the toughest divisions in football. The Jets have put it all on the line this season and anything short of the AFC Championship would be a major disappointment. Without Revis, everything changes. The Jets go from a potential 1/2 seed to a team that will have to fight and claw it's way to the playoffs.

Until the Jets kick it off for real, there is a chance this deal can get done. The two sides have been playing chicken for weeks now and hopefully one side blinks first. If the stare off goes past September 13th than all hell could potentially break lose. No Revis means no division title, no Super Bowl, no championship. But hey, Jets fans have been living that way since 1969.

Sleeper Quarterback/Running Back Fantasy Options

Quarterbacks


Matthew Stafford-The Lions will be playing from behind for most of the season which means more opportunities for Stafford to air it out. He averaged over 225 yards per game through the air last season so he should improve in his second season. The Lions added Nate Burleson and Tony Scheffler in the off season to give Stafford more weapons to go along with Calvin Johnson. Getting Stafford as a #2 Quarterback is a great option, especially if your #1 QB isn't a sure thing.

Matt Ryan-An injury plagued second season took Ryan off of the national radar. In year 3, however, Ryan will prove to be an upper echelon QB. If you choose to go heavy on the Running Backs and Wide Receivers in the early rounds then Ryan will be a great option in the fifth/sixth round.


Kevin Kolb-Playing with no proven Running Back and with a coach who loves to pass makes Kolb a very attractive option. He has been able to sit and learn Andy Reid's system, which should make him comfortable behind center from the start. He may throw a lot of interceptions, but Kolb will put up plenty of yards and touchdowns to even it out.


Jay Cutler- Sure he led the league in interceptions last season but he did throw 27 touchdowns to go along with it. Now playing under Mike Martz, Cutler will be slinging it to a group of Wide Receivers who have had a year to get accustomed to his ball. Cutler could approach 30 touchdown passes and 4,000 yards this season. He could be a steal in the 5th round.


Running Backs


Arian Foster- The Texans lost 2nd round draft pick Ben Tate for the entire season. This leaves Foster and Steve Slaton as the only two viable starting options on the team. Slaton has had an awful fumbling problem that will hinder him from receiving the majority of the carries. Foster will be the starter on a great offensive team, which will bolster him stats. He was able to average 4.8 yards per carry last year as a part time player so there seems to be potential there. He will also be available late in fantasy drafts this year.

Ryan Matthews- No more LT means there is plenty of carries up for grabs in San Diego. The Chargers were one of the NFL's worst running teams last year, yet, LT still managed to accumulate 12 touchdowns. Matthews will be the only viable starter at Running Back in a high powered option. Look for Matthews in the 4th/5th round.

Ahmad Bradshaw- Though Jacobs might receive the majority of the carries, Bradshaw will be close behind. Behind a declining offensive line, Bradshaw was able to gain 778 yards and 4.8 yards per carry with 7 touchdowns. Look for Bradshaw in the 8th/9th round as a #3 Running Back.

Clinton Portis- Larry Johnson and Willie Parker are over the hill, finished, done. The Redskins will need to hand someone the ball in Mike Shanahan's new offense and currently Portis is the only viable option. The Redskins have made improvements to their offensive line which should open more holes in the run game this season. Portis in the 7th/8th round would be a steal, either as a poor #2 or a great #3.

Chris Wells- No more Kurt Warner or Anquan Bolding means no more great aerial attack in Arizona. Wells had a very good rookie season and should improve in year 2 with more carries and opportunities. The Cardinals have not even settled on a starting Quarterback so naturally they will be relying more on the running game this season. Russ Grimm and Ken Wisenhunt love the "ground and pound" philosophy so Wells will be natural beneficiary.