2006 Superbowl Predictions
By James Brockerman of Ultimatecapper.com
In the AFC North you have the ClevelandBrowns, Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers and the BaltimoreRavens. In this division it is pretty much up in the air. CanBig Ben Roethlisberger repeat last year’s rookie season? Not areal great showing in pre-season this year but that's not a strongenough indicator. Can Cleveland ever do anything right? Are theBengals worthy? They sure have some great offensive weapons inRudy Johnson, Chad Johnson and Carson Palmer. Can the Raven’sD make the difference? With Ray Lewis, Neon Deion Sanders, KyleBoller, Jamal Lewis and Todd Heap the only team that seems tostand up is the Baltimore Ravens and they should win thisdivision.
In the AFC South there seems to be nostopping one team and they didn’t get any worse in the off season.But let’s look at the division with the Tennessee Titans, HoustonTexans, Jacksonville Jaguars and the Indianapolis Colts. Eachteam here has shown signs of brilliance in the past few yearsbut hands down the champion in this division is the IndianapolisColts (despite having a mediocre defense.) They still have PeytonManning, Marvin Harrison, Edgerrin James and Brandon Stokley andstill have one of the most explosive offenses in the game. Addingto the mix is defensive minded coach Tony Dungy who is a majorfactor in improving the teams defense each and every year he'sbeen in Indy.
Now let us look at the AFC East MiamiDolphins, Buffalo Bills, New York Jets and the reigning Superbowlchamps the New England Patriots. Can Ricky Williams still runlike the wind even though he has taken a year off to "find himself?"I would say no but the jury is still out on this one. The onething that Miami needed was to improve there offensive line andeven former LSU coach Nick Saban can not help this team. The BuffaloBills can not survive with J.P. Losman as their starter. Theirdefense is tough but the offense may be a nightmare.. On to theN.Y. Jets, Chad Pennington and the Jets have a shot at the wildcard. Last but definently not least, the 3 time world championNew England Patriots. They have lost some defense and their offensivecoordinator but they haven’t lost their determination which is"no one comes before the team." They still have Tom Brady andCorey Dillon and a firey goal to get back to the Superbowl. Theywill win their division.
In the AFC we are to the West Divisionincluding the Oakland Raiders, Denver Broncos, San Diego Chargersand Kansas City Chiefs. Oakland went out and got Randy Moss andis showing signs of life but it won't be enough. Randy's off fieldand sideline antics cross cancel the briliance he shows on thefield so we make him a non factor. Dude really needs to keep hismouth shut. His latest public tirade included letting us all knowthat he smokes dope sometimes during the year. Too bad he can'ttalk about winning games rather than smoking dope, 'nough said.
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Denver has a running game just like every yearbut can Jake “the snake” Plummer lead them to the promise land?His past has been checkered with inconsistency however he's cominginto the prime of his career and we may see huge numbers, especiallywith the good group of receivers he has. We REALLY like AshleyLelie. The Chargers have Drew Brees and LaDainian Tomlinson butthey still have no field goal kicker and they may have a goodyear and make the wild card if they can follow up on a seasonin which we feel they over achieved.. Then we have the KansasCity Chiefs who we should see more of the same from, great onoffense, questionable on defense but good enough to potentiallymake the playoffs. A lot will hinge on the legs of stud RB PriestHolmes.
So we have the Ravens, Colts, Patriots, Chiefs,Jets and the Broncos. In the AFC title game I believe itwill be the same as the last year’s title game as no team canhandle the team play of New England or the high octane offenseof the Colts. The road to the Superbowl runs thru Foxboro yetagain and with manning 0-7 there one would think that he justcan’t win there. However this is the year for manning to securehis legacy and finally make it to the big dance they will beatthe Patriots 27- 20 in the bitter snow and cold.
Now let us take a look at the NFC andwho the Patriots will be facing for Superbowl XL. In the NFCNorth we have Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers, DetroitLions and the Chicago Bears. With the Bears, they have no quarterbackyet again (Rex Grossman went down with an injury again) and eventhough their defense is great with Brian Urlacher he may not beenough to give them a .500 record. The Detroit Lions have allthe tools now and if Joey Harrington can do his job they willmake the wildcard. He has all the weapons you could need in RoyWilliams, Charles Rogers, Marcus Pollard, and Kevin Jones. I guessthe ball is in Joey’s court. If he doesn't "bring it" by week4 or so expect coach Mariucci to end the "Harrington experiment"and give the backup a shot.
Green Bay is a whole problem by itself even thoughthey have Brett Favre, Ahman Green, Bubba Franks, Javon Walkerand Donald Driver. The team really has no defense and you justcan’t win with out that fellas. Last but not least, we have theMinnesota Vikings with Daunte Culpepper, Nate Burleson, MichaelBennett and minus the troublesome Randy Moss. Losing Moss hurtathletically but intellectually they have now become a betterteam with a more cohesive lineup. They will win there divisioneasily.
In the NFC South we have the Tampa BayBuccaneers, New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers and the AtlantaFalcons. Let us look at the Buc’s first and on that note thereis not much to say except that Cadillac Williams and Brian Greisewill help this team, just not enough this year. Then there arethe "Aints." Ya know if Aaron Brooks were to get canned and theirthird string QB Kliff Kingsbury was to replace him it would probablycreate better results. The Saints have Joe Horn, Donte' Stallworth,Deuce McAllister and somewhat of a defense, the only thing thatthey are missing is a real QB. One day they'll figure it out andget somebody else in there, or will they?
The Carolina Panthers with DeShaun Foster, SteveSmith, the massive Julius Peppers and Jake Delhomme need onlyto stay healthy and they just very well may make it back to thedivision finals but they will need to get there as a wildcard.Last but not least our division winner... the Atlanta Falcons.With Michael Vick, Alge Crumpler, T.J. Duckett and Warrick Dunnthere is no stopping them to getting back to winning their division.Vick will of course need to stay healthy which we believe he willas the plan is to have him run less and become more of a pocketpasser. The guy could get away with it in his college days andin the college game but NFL defenses are simply too big and fastfor his brittle frame. Nonetheless, the Falcons appear to be thewinner here.
In the NFC East we have the reigning NFCChampion Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskinsand N.Y. Giants. With the Giants, Eli Manning needs another yearor two. But don’t give up, good times are coming Giants fans.On to the Redskins with a BETTER than ever Brunell at QB. Thisoffense features Clinton Portis, David Patten and Santana Moss.You would think that the Redskins stand a chance but even withJoe Gibbs they don’t this year. Better luck next year guys.
Well coach Parcel’s finally did it. He mighthave the right team to make Jerry Jones happy and go back to theSuper Bowl. Getting Drew Bledsoe into an offense featuring JuliusJones, Jason Witten, Keyshawn Johnson and Terry Glenn just maybe the answer if the D can hold up. Then there are the Eagles.Can they hold it together with all the media and B.S. as wellas there internal struggle with Terrell Owens/Donovan McNabb.If the team continues to have internal turmoil they could implodeby mid season and look "simply average." Even with a healthy BrianWestbrook they will not win their division this year, that honorwill go to the Dallas Cowboys.
Now we move on to the NFC West with theSan Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals, St. Louis Rams and SeattleSeahawks. The 49ers are working on rebuilding for the what, 5thyear? But they really think that they have the answer NOW withRookie QB Alex Smith who they will sit for opening day. The daysof Joe Montana are long gone here as even if Smith had the skills,their offensive line is nothing better than average and he's goingto be thrown around like a ragdoll by opposing defenses, especiallywith no run game to respect.
The Arizona Cardinals look good this year withplayers Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald, J.J. Arrington and whatshould be a "better" Kurt Warner. Most people say that Warneris done, guess again guys. On to St. Louis and the Rams TorryHolt, Isaac Bruce, Marc Bulger, Steven Jackson and his now backup Marshall Faulk. Can the Rams go the distance? Time will tell,but we don't think so. Not this yr. Last we have the Seattle Seahawks.Coach Holmgren has really done a good job at assembling this teamthat appears to have everything but star wide receivers. DarrellJackson is probably going to shine though this year in the primeof his careeer and Bobby Engram is a great possession receive.We like this team as a darkhorse to win a bunch of games witha more improved QB Matt Hasselback however we see the ArizonaCardinals winning the division. Dennis Green's hard work willprove to finally pay off.
Ok, let's recap my picks:
The Vikings, Falcons, Cowboys, Cardinals, Panthers, and the Eagles.The Falcons play the Cowboys and the D is too much for Vick toovercome and the Cowboys go back to the Superbowl with a finalscore of 27-21 with Dallas coming out on the victorious end. ThenDallas meets Manning’s Colts at Superbowl XL with the Cowboysnot being able to handle the high octane offense and Peyton andcompany finally get their just reward stifling all the doubtingThomas’s of the Football World. Final score 37–14 Colts.
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