Well it's that time of the year again, ball season, and for me there is no ball, like football. Nothing keeps my attention like football, and especially at is best level, the NFL. So even though I'm no expert, by no means, I thought I would go out on a limb, and make some predictions about the upcoming year. That way all you folks who see me at the Long County football, basketball and baseball games will be able to come up to me and laugh, and say, "You picked who?"
Today I will focus on the National Football Conference, and later, we will look at the American Football Conference.
Let's go to the NFC East first, since that's where the defending Super Bowl champs are, the New York Giants. And speaking of
the Giants, they proved last year that the best team doesn't always win a championship, but the team playing the best ball at the end of year, usually does. Unfortunately for the Giants, that won't happen again, for that matter, they won't even be in the playoffs at the end of the year. In the East you can look for Tony Romo to lead the Cowboys to the best mark in the NFC, and take that division easy. They have the best offensive line in football, one of the best QBs, a solid running game, and a good defense; all that adds up to one
heck of a good season in 2008.
The Giants will finish number two, with the Philadelphia Eagles behind them, and the Washington Redskins bringing up the rear.
In the NFC North, the team to beat will be the Green Bay Packers, they have one of the best young running backs in the NFL in Ryan Grant, and with Donald Driver and Greg Jennings on the outside, all QB Aaron Rogers has to do, is not lose the game. On the defensive side, the secondary, will make up for an average defensive line, and all that adds up to the Pack hosting a playoff game this year. The Minnesota Vikings will be runner-up in the North, and should make the playoffs as a Wild Card Team. The Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears be sitting at home during the post season, thinking about Draft Day.
In the NFC West, we will see a big change, as the St. Louis, errr, excuse me, the Arizona Cardinals take home the Western Crown. The Birds, clearly earned the Underachiever's of the Year Award last year, and by Coach Ken Whisenhunt, naming Kurt Warner as his starting QB, he is telling everyone he wants to win now, not in the future. The team's defense is weak, and its not that the team is that good overall, it's just that the rest of the teams in the division are not that good. With the firepower that the Cardinals have on their offense, they will out score their division opponents and take the title with around a 9-7 or even 8-8 record. The St. Louis Rams will bounce back to the number two spot with Steven Jackson pounding the ball off the tackles, as the Seattle Seahawks fall to third, which will probably mean the retirement of Head Coach Mike Holmgren. And the once great San Francisco 49's will still be at the bottom, and still looking towards next year, again.
In the NFC South, we have the Atlanta Falcons rising to take; just kidding, unfortunately we all know our home team aint going to take no division, unless they get realigned into a high school region. But speaking of "aints', the New Orleans Saints can no longer be defined as that any more, as they will win the South easy, riding the arm of Drew Brees. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will finish number two, and will once again see the playoffs. They will be led by Head Coach "Chucky" Gruden, a solid defense, and the most underrated football player in the league, QB Jeff Garcia. But to everyone's surprise, except mine of course, the Falcons will finish third in the division, as they put up around, six wins, this year, and the once promising Panthers will fall to fourth.
    So when the Playoffs begin, we will have Arizona, Dallas, New Orleans, and Green Bay taking their divisions, and we will have Tampa Bay and Minnesota in as Wild Card teams. The two top teams will be the Cowboys and Saints, and they will end up meeting in the Conference Championship Game. The game will be a good one, but the home field advantage will be with the Cowboys, as they go to the Super Bowl, for an unprecedented 9th time.