Bernard Pollard most certainly seized the fear of the Patriot Fan and sucked away the energy of their Super Bowl hopes. Thank You Bernard you are a true American Hero.

So I didn't get time to post this last week given my classes and what not. And now that Brady is out they are all shit any way so I'm not gonna put much extra effort into them. Well or any effort at all. Let's just say they will be wrong.

Now that I've broken down each division over the past two weeks it is time for me to do my playoff predictions. To wrap up here's what I see the the NFL playoff seeds lining up as.

1. NFC South Champs: New Orleans Saints 14-2
2. NFC East Champs: New York Giants 12-4
3. NFC West Champs: Arizona Cardinals 9-7
4. NFC North Champs: Detroit Lions 8-8
5. NFC Wildcard #1: Dallas Cowboys 12-4
6. NFC Wilcard #2: Seattle Seahawks 9-7

1. AFC East Champs: New England Patriots 15-1
2. AFC North Champs: Pittsburgh Steelers 14-2
3. AFC South Champs: Indianapolis Colts 12-4
2. AFC West Champs: San Diego Chargers 11-5
5. AFC Wilcard #1: Tennessee Titans 10-6
6. AFC Wildcard #2: New York Jets 10-6


Wild Card Weekend

Seattle Seahawks vs. Arizona Cardinals

Winner: Seahawks

Dallas Cowboys vs. Detroit Lions

Winner: Cowboys

New York Jets vs. Indianapolis Colts

Winner: Colts

Tennessee Titans vs. San Diego Chargers

Winner: Chargers

Divisional Playoffs

Seattle Seahawks vs. New Orleans Saints

Winner: Saints

Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants

Winner: Cowboys

San Diego Chargers vs. New England Patriots

Winner: Patriots

Indianapolis Colts vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Winner: Steelers

Conference Championships

NFC Championship: Dallas Cowboys vs. New Orleans Saints

Winner and NFC Champions: Saints

AFC Championship: Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New England Patriots

Winner and AFC Champions: Patriots

Super Bowl XLIII: New Orleans Saints vs. New England Patriots

Winner and Super Bowl XLIII Champions: New England Patriots

It's week one and you're making your survivor league pick. You win you move on you lose you're out. You get to choose from any team in the NFL, so what to do. Do you pick the Patriots, who definitely are going to win so that you can assure that you move on to week 2, but then you can't use them anymore. Or do you pick a team with a bit more risk to save the juggernauts for later. Well the above picture shows the distribution of picks on Yahoo's survivor leagues and not surprisingly the Patriots are first but, at least to me, it's surprising how much confidence the nation has in the Jets. Enough confidence to make them the 4th most confident pick.

Perhaps its my limitless pessimism, but until I see the Jets win a few games this season I'd stay far away from utilizing them in a survivor league. Favre should be a considerable improvement and on paper the Jets should make a push at the playoffs, but until you have any form of proof they are still a 4-12 team playing on the road against a division rival. A division rival whom also has a new quarterback, a new coaching staff, a healthy running back squad, etc, aka a ton of unknowns.

For my sake I hope the nation is right, but I think they're pretty stupid for taking the Jets week 1. I'm taking the Pats.

MVP: Three Day Old Cheeseburger, Going with Tom Brady or Peyton Manning is incredibly boring. I went with Brady last year and got it right but who cares. I'm going out on a limb and saying Ben 'Three Day Old Cheeseburger' is going to have a massive season for the Steelers and going to help lead them to a division crown and one of the best records in the AFC. So I'll jump out on the ledge and pick him.

Offensive Player of the Year: LT, For all the love that Adrian Peterson has gotten in the offseason, LaDanian is still the best running back in the league. I expect him to bounce back from the playoff controversy with a massive 2008 campaign.

Defensive Player of the Year: Troy Polamalu, I went with him last year and he got hurt. He is the key to the Steelers defense, he stays healthy and they win a lot of games and he gets a lot of hype. He gets injured and they are screwed.

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Jonathan Stewart, Who trusts DeAngelo Williams as a starting running back? I don't and think Stewart will get the bulk of the carries and approach 1000 yards this year.

Defensive Rookie of the Year: Sedrick Ellis, If the Saints are to improve to the levels I think they will, than they will need sizable improvements on defense. One of these being Jonathan Vilma, the other beeing rookie Sedrick Ellis.

NFL Comeback Player of the Year: Marc Bulger, Injured most of last season, I expect Bulger to be back and firing with a vengeance.

Kicker of the Year: Shayne Graham, Ya that's right bring back the kicker of the year category. Simply so a redhead can win an award.

Week 1 is apparently favorites week as I love a bunch of favorites and overall like the favorites a ton more than the Dogs.

5. Detroit Lions -2.5 at Atlanta Falcons

Rookie QB in his first career game pretty much equals loss. The Lions could and should get off to a head start on what might compete as the worst division in football.

4. Denver Broncos -1.5 at Oakland Raiders

The Broncos won't be down for more than a season and will return to playoff contention this year. This means easily dispatching the Raiders week 1.

3. New Orleans Saints -3.5 vs. Tampa Bay Bucs

I picked the Saints to go 14-2 (Man I'm stupid), so if they can't beat the Bucs by 3.5 at home the first week of the season than I'm gonna be dead wrong.

2. New York Jets -2.5 at Miami Dolphins

This is with my heart as much as with my head. The Jets need to win this week if they want to make the playoffs, else they may fall into an 0-3 hole and be done with. 2.5 points is nothing and the Jets should win comfortably by a touchdown.

1. New England Patriots -16.5 vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Ha Ha Ha Tom Brady is injured. That's as believable as Belichick not trying to cheat to win. The Chiefs suck, the Pats will want to get off to a strong start and at home they will absolutely mall Herm and his crew.

New England Patriots

Predicted Record: 15-1
Playoff Seed: 1

Key Player: Tom Brady, If Brady gets injured or killed the Patriots won't make the playoffs. If he stays healthy than they will win the AFC. Can we bring back Mo Lewis the hit man and have him pull a Drew Bledsoe?

Fantasy Player to Eye: LaMont Jordan, I know he's been a complete lame fantasy player the last two seasons in Oakland, but people seem to get revived in New England when they actually win games. Maroney is obviously going to get the majority of the carries but there is potential that Jordan could eventually be a solid contributor.

Why the Record: If Tom Brady is healthy, which he seems like he is, the Patriots will win a lot of games. I can't pick them to go undefeated, and they might be slightly worse than last years team, but they still are the best team in the NFL>

New York Jets

Predicted Record: 10-6
Playoff Seed: 6

Key Player: Kris Jenkins, The Jets have been unable to stop the run since the day Mangini took over their roster. Part of the problem was the fact that they never had a massive space eating defensive tackle. This offseason the Jets traded for Jenkins hoping he will fill the role. If he doesn't it will be another year where their defense mightily struggles.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Dustin Keller, The rookie Keller is more wideout than receiver which seemingly has worked out for the Dallas Clarks and Chris Cooleys of the world. He's going undrafted in many leagues currently but could potentially emerge as a solid target for the Jets.

Why the Record: I think 10-6 is an optimistic but realistic number. They have a lot of winnable games on their schedule and if they can win this weekend and avoid going 0-3 (NE week 2, @SD week 3) then they could potentially make a run towards the postseason.

Buffalo Bills

Predicted Record: 9-7

Key Player: Lee Evans, The man shows flashes of greatness and then disappears into the futility in other games. Last year he reduced his yardage from 1200+ to 800+. If he doesn't return to his 06 numbers the Bills offense will once again struggle.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Marshawn Lynch, If the offense can become more consistent with Edwards at QB the entire season, than Lynch could potentially see more time in the end zone.

Why the Record: The Bills could easily finish anywhere from 2nd to last in the AFC East. I personally believe that Evans will return to his old form and that Lynch will stay on course and they will win a lot of home games.

Miami Dolphins

Predicted Record: 6-10

Key Player: Chad Pennington, The Dolphins should have a strong rushing attack if both Brown and Williams stay healthy. Now its Pennington's job to make accurate throws and attempt to push the ball deep so that teams don't load up against the run. If he can do that the Dolphins could easily surprise a lot of teams.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Ricky Williams, The man just got a contract extension somehow so the Dolphins must believe in him. If Ronnie Brown again gets hurt, a strong possibility, and Ricky garners all of the carries he could easily rush for 1200 yards again.

Why the Record: I actually think the Dolphins have a decent chance of winning more than 6 games this year. I think their rushing attack will be sound, Pennington will make smart decisions and they will be one of the surprising teams in the NFL this year.

1. San Diego Chargers

Predicted Record: 11-5
Playoff Seed: 4

Key Player: Shawn Merriman, When you're arguably the best defensive player in the NFL and every game you are one wrong hit away from being done for the season you are a huge factor. If Merriman goes down so does their pass rush and so does their 2008 hopes.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Antonio Gates, He's still getting drafted like he's the top TE in the NFL and yet his health has been highly questionable this point. I think they're might be a bit of a fall off from what you would expect his numbers to be at seasons end.

Why the Record: They still have LDT and with Merriman giving it a go they still have a formidable defense. It's just they won't have enough gas to get over that hump once again.

2. Denver Broncos

Predicted Record: 10-6

Key Player: Selvin Young, That running back by committee thing that worked so brilliantly for the Broncos for so long just hasn't been quite the same the past few years. Currently it's Selvin Young's job and if the Broncos are to be successful he needs to have a big year.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Jay Cutler, Last year he was hampered by playing with Diabetes without even knowing. This year on insulin Cutler will be straight bangin.

Why the Record: The Broncos had a poor by their standards season in 07 but should bounce back to wear they usually are at this year. And that is at the fringe of making the postseason and in the low double digits.

3. Kansas City Chiefs

Predicted Record: 5-11

Key Player: Offensive Line, It hasn't been that long since the Chiefs had the most dominant rushing attack on the planet. And then Shields and Roaf retired and their big advantage was sunk. If they are to return to Larry Johnson's beastly years past they need vast improvement on the O-Line.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Dwayne Bowe, Bowe came out of nowhere and had a very solid rookie campaign. The question is now that he's made a name for himself will he start drawing more attention and go into a sophomore funk?

Why the Record: Brodie Croyle...

4. Oakland Raiders

Predicted Record: 2-14

Key Player: Lane Kiffin, The ownership tried to force you to resign and you refused, now you still have the reins of a sinking ship. Any chance you can pull it out from under?

Fantasy Player to Eye: Justin Fargas, Sure McFadden is going to be the more dynamic running back and will take away a lot of the load Fargas was given last season. But the question is which player will wind up with the ball on the goal line? My bet is it will be Fargas who will be lest risky for the organization to abuse on goal line stands.

Why the Record: They're the Raiders. JaMarcus isn't going to be any good and McFadden isn't going to be enough for them to start throwing up a ton of points. They'll probably be better than 2-14 but whatever.

1. Indianapolis Colts

Predicted Record: 12-4
Playoff Seed: 3

Key Player: Center, With Jeff Saturday shelved for a bit the Colts are going with rookie Jamey Richard who must be able to help protect Manning while also delivering quality snaps that do not mess with the Laser Rocket Arms timing.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Anthony Gonzalez, Gonzo was an underrated beast for the Buckeyes in college and now with some question marks surrounding Marvin's health he will emerge with even more opportunities to catch the ball.

Why the Record: They are the Colts, they still have Peyton Manning and Addai and Harrison and Wayne. They lost Saturday which will hurt a lot but they will still win in the double digits.

2. Tennessee Titans

Predicted Record: 10-6
Playoff Seed: #5

Key Player: Vince Young, Vince Young regressed mightily in his Sophomore campaign, yet the Titans still won 10 games and made the playoffs. If he could return or improve upon his rookie campaign numbers the Titans will make a push for the division.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Chris Johnson, LenDale went training at Wendy's in the offseason and looks like a land whale. Mr. Johnson could potentially swoop in and become the #1 back for the Titans because of LenDale's cravings.

Why the Record: They won 10 games last year with horrible quarterback play. If they get some play from Vince they will easily win 10 games again.

3. Jacksonville Jaguars

Predicted Record: 10-6

Key Player: Wide Receivers, The Jaguars have a very very weird combination at receiver this year with Reggie Williams being knicked up, Matt Jones facing felony drug charges, Dennis Northcutt being old, Jerry Porter being useless for seasons with the Raiders and Troy Williamson being cut by the Vikings. Someone on the roster needs to step up and catch passes.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Maurice Jones-Drew, Jones-Drew regressed in his sophomore campaign and lost over a yard on his per carry yardage average. He's still slated to share the load with old man Fred but potentially this could be the year he gets the Lions share of the carries and rewards those who selected him in the 2nd round.

Why the Record: Once again the Jaguars will be carried by their rushing game and their defense. And once again they will come up short due to the fact that they have no dynamic air attack.

4. Houston Texans

Predicted Record: 5-11

Key Player: Mario Williams, Why? Someone needs to hit the other quarterback as much as their quarterback gets hit. It's only fair.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Steve Slaton, He plummeted in the draft after he decided to come out early but now sitting behind injury plagued Ahman Green who could emerge as a running back who garners carries and lots of points.

Why the Record: The division is brutal, the rest of the schedule is difficult and they still have Matt Schaub at quarterback and big time question marks at running back.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Predicted Record: 14-2
Playoff Seed: 2

Key Player: Troy Polamalu, Last year the crazy haired one went down and so did their defense. This year the Steelers need him to be healthy if they are to get through the entire season.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Three Day Old Cheeseburger, Last season the Cheeseburger threw a ton of touchdown passes (except in the 1st round of the playoffs of course). This year perhaps to go along with those TD passes he'll tack on a bit more yardage.

Why the Record: Cause I'm stupid probably and 14-2 is a bit ridiculous considering they practically play every difficult team in the NFL 5 times a piece. I guess I just think they're going to be really good and the Cheeseburger is going to be a beast.

Cincinnati Bengals

Predicted Record: 8-8

Key Player: CPD, Every year its the same story with the Bengals, how many of them will get arrested before the season starts and/or how many felons are they going to sign. If key players don't get arrested maybe they'll win some games.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Chris Perry, You may or may not remember who Chris Perry is, but he used to be an absolute beast at Michigan before he was drafted by the Bengals and left to rot on the bench. Now that he's been handed the keys to the empire and gets a chance to shine.

Why the Record: The Bengals should again be mediocre. They should be able to put up a lot of points but once again have a poor defense.

Cleveland Browns

Predicted Record: 6-10

Key Player: Brady Quinn, Why? Because he's not gonna play at all and I just think its going to be funny watching him cheer Derek Anderson from the sidelines.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Kellen Winslow, the soldier has been allergic to the end zone for the majority of his NFL career. Perhaps this will be the year that he gets to celebrate.

Why the Record: The schedule is tough and I have a funny feeling that Anderson and company are going to regress mightily this season.

Baltimore Ravens

Predicted Record: 1-15

Key Player: Quarterback, Kyle Boller just landed on IR so its not him. Is it Joe Flacco? Is it Troy Smith? Is it me? I'd vote me, but I doubt that's gonna happen.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Ray Rice, If/When Willis gets injured and is out for the year, Ray Rice could potentially become a solid #3 running back on any fantasy team.

Why the Record: No QB + aging/injured defense, plus I got a little out of hand with their losses. 1-15 is extreme but they're gonna be really bad.

1. Arizona Cardinals

Predicted Record: 9-7
Playoff Seed: 3

Key Player: Offensive Lineman, The Cardinals scored a lot of points the final weeks of the season thanks to Kurt Warner connecting for 300+ yards. If the offensive line can give Warner the time, they will once again score a ton of points.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Anquan Boldin, He's a beast of a man and his fired up that he hasn't gotten a massive contract yet and with the pass first offense Boldin will be a top flight wide out.

Why the Record: A mediocre schedule with a lot of offensive fire power equals a slightly above average record.

2. Seattle Seahawks

Predicted Record: 9-7
Playoff Seed: 6

Key Position: Matt Hasselbeck, Bald man struggled a bit in the preseason and with the absence of old reliable Shaun Alexander even more burden for the Seahawks success will be placed on his shoulders. Perhaps they should take the ball and score.

Fantasy Player to Watch: Julius Jones, The problem with Jones the past few seasons has been his inabilty to get in the endzone.

Why the Record: Their the Seahawks of course their supposed to have the best (tied for it) record in the NFC West because the division is crappy and they win all their home games every year.

3. St. Louis Rams

Predicted Record: 8-8

Key Player: Marc Bulger, I have no idea who their backup QB is and as a fantasy owner of Bulger I don't want to find out. In 2006 Bulger threw 24 tds and only 8 ints. If he puts that performance up then the Rams will make a playoff push, if not they're gonna be near the West basement.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Steven Jackson, He slipped a bit due to his contract dispute, but honestly how much effect is it going to have sitting out training camp for a couple weeks? The man is a sprinting tank. He's going to put up a ton of points and be a reliable running back.

Why the Record: I expect Bulger to get a little knicked up but have a solid season. So they should finish around .500.

4. San Francisco 49ers

Predicted Record: 2-14

Key Player: Mike Martz, He's the 'offensive guru' and he hand picked the QB, so it's on his head to score some points with this team.

Fantasy Player to Watch: Isaac Bruce, Someone on this team needs to catch passes right? I mean Martz likes to throw 100 times a game so maybe old man river Ike Bruce will do something.

Why the Record: JT O'Sullivan...

New York Giants

Predicted Record: 12-4
Playoff Seed: 2

Key Player: Justin Tuck, With the absence of Osi and Strahan the man with the millions Justin Tuck is going to need to perform at a very high level. He has all the pressure squarly on his shoulders. If he gets to the QB consistently they can make up for the absences. If he struggles the Giants will give up a lot of points.

Fantasy Player to Eye: The Juggernaut, Brandon Jacobs will be a beast at the goal line this year and with Eli comfortable the Giants should be putting up a lot of points this season.

Why the Record: Eli Manning. Perhaps it was just 4 games or perhaps it was the turn around of a career. I go with the latter. Despite having less talent and being more mistake prone than his older brother he's always somehow had a better knack for the big spot. His rookie year he lead some 4th quarter comebacks. He actually beat Florida in college with a less talented football team, and he lead a complete underdog to the Superbowl title. 12-4 may be a high estimate, but Eli has turned the corner.

Dallas Cowboys

Predicted Record: 12-4

Key Player: Jason Witten, The Cowboys currently have some question marks after TO at the wideout position. Witten must have a big season to take away some of the double coverage which will often be placed on TO.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Felix Jones, I'm not saying that Felix Jones is going to get a boatload of carries or have a massive impact, but there is a chance that in addition to getting work as a 3rd down back that he ends up getting some downs as a slot receiver.

Why the Record: The Cowboys have the talent to win a ton of regular season games. The question is, does Tony Romo have the scrotum to win a playoff game.

Philadelphia Eagles

Predicted Record: 8-8

Key Player: The Physical Therapist, The story was the same last year as it has been in the past, knicks and bruises and injuries around the board. Already Kevin Curtis is down and if a few more players go down with injury the Eagles will just miss out on the postseason.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Reggie Brown, Without Curtis, Brown is undeniably the main receiving target for McNabb. He had a decent season in 2007 with 780 receiving yards, but in 2008 he should find himself with more receptions and more end zone celebrations.

Why the Record: Come on you really think Westbrook and McNabb are going to stay healthy this season? Westbrook has never played a full 16 games in a regular season and McNabb hasn't since 2003.

Washington Redskins

Predicted Record: 6-10

Key Player: Jim Zorn, Jim Zorn has never been an offensive coordinator in his life. Oh wait nevermind he was for a few weeks when he was hired as the offensive coordinator but then made the Head Coach. For someone with such limited coaching legacy to go off of, it shall be interesting to see how he performs with the coaching power.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Jason Campbell, He's got the gig all to his own and has the talent to make a mark. As a fantasy backup he just might surprise you and contribute to a few key victories.

Why the Record: Someone in the division has to lose games. The Redskins have the worst quarterback in the division and made some questionable coaching decisions coming into the year.

New Orleans Saints

Predicted Record: 14-2
Playoff Seed: #1

Key Player: Reggie Bush/Deuce McAllister, Deuce went down last year and so did the Saints. For as good as Brees has been the past two seasons they need a rush attack to balance the offense and to control the ball and wear down the defense.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Jeremy Shockey, Consider me on the bandwagon for Shockey. He's never quite lived up to his hype and/or skillset. With the Saints he will be targeted a ton and given the rest of their fire power and some added motivation he should put up lots and lots of points.

Why the Record: Well 14-2 is a bit much obviously, but their offense should be able to score with anybody in the league and with the addition of Sedrick Ellis and the free Jets give away in Vilma their defense should be much improved.

Tampa Bay Bucs

Predicted Record: 7-9

Key Player: Old Man Jeff, Or Dead man walkin as he referred to himself is now at the helm again for good (just with 47 backups). He won football games last year despite putting up limited numbers. Can he play magician again?

Fantasy Player to Eye: Ronde Barber, What he scores like a touchdown or two a year right? That's about 1 or 2 more than you may expect from certain skill positions.

Why the Record: Old man Jeff is bound to hit the floor some day and that day is today.

Carolina Panthers

Predicted Record: 6-10

Key Player: Jake Delhomme, Obviously when your Quarterback comes back from Tommy John surgery he's the major question mark on your team. Last year he went down and they pulled a QB out of the old folks home and then stunk. Jake needs to stay healthy for Ws.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Jonathan Stewart, He's a rookie running back which means he's always intriguing to watch. He could gobble the majority of the carries and rush for over 1000 yards or he could stink and pull a DeAngelo Williams and do nothing.

Why the Record: You ever heard of a QB being awesome the year after Tommy John surgery? Na I didn't think so.

Atlanta Falcons

Predicted Record: 3-13

Key Player: Michael Turner, He's finally getting the opportunity to start in the NFL and considering the dearth of offensive weapons on the Falcons its essential that he has a big season if they want to win some football games.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Opposing Defenses, In a deep league and missed out on one of the top defenses. Well then just hit the waiver wire and grab whatever defense is playing the Falcons and enjoy the plethora of sacks, ints and defensive tds.

Why the Record: A Rookie QB with inexperience everywhere and no solid karma around equals another very high draft pick.

Detroit Lions

Predicted Record: 8-8
Playoff Seed: 4

Key Player: Kevin Smith, Without Mike Martz as the offensive coordinator the Lions might actually try to run the ball a little bit, and rookie Kevin Smith is probably the man for the job. If he can gain some yards on the ground consistently than the Lions could win the division.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Calvin Johnson, The man will be beast this year. He will not be the bust draft pick that some of his predecessors were and he will eclipse Roy Williams as the #1 target on the team this year due to his ridiculous size and speed combo.

Why the Record: Well 8-8 isn't very good and winning the division at 8-8 is pretty pathetic, I just don't think this division is going to be good at all this year. I think the Lions will win their home games and be able to put up some points and somehow sneak away with the crown. But then get pummeled the first round of the playoffs.

Chicago Bears

Predicted Record: 6-10

Key Player: Kyle Orton, Who knows if he will be starting for more than a week but the Bears key has been and will continue to be quarterback play. They haven't gotten any and I doubt they will from the neck beard this year. And without it they won't make the postseason.

Fantasy Player to Eye: The Running Back Position, They have some guy named Forte as their expected starter. Please raise your hand if you have any idea who he is. I certainly have my hand down. They'll have to hand the ball off to whomever is the running back so figuring out who the #1 guy truly is and getting him as a 3rd string rb would be a nice add.

Why the Record: Kyle Orton is not a good quarterback. He wasn't a good quarterback his rookie year when they lucked into a ton of wins. He's not a good quarterback now. And to top it off they don't have an established go to running back. Offense is going to be very poor for the Bears this year.

Green Bay Packers

Predicted Record: 6-10

Key Player: Ryan Grant, He busted onto the scene last year and was a beast. And in order for the Packers to alleviate some of the ridiculous pressure that his lumped onto Rodgers shoulders he needs to carry the load and put up some big games.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Greg Jennings, Jennings emerged as Favre's go to receiver last year and was amongst the elite fantasy wideouts in 2007. Now with Rodgers taking the helm one could question his status and his draft ranking might slip. If he winds up with the same production he could be a steal, if he dips he could sink your squad.

Why the Record: I'm a believer in the overwhelming distraction that was Brett Favre lingering into the season. I'm a believer that Aaron Rodgers was never that good and that he will struggle under the pressure. And I'm a believer that the Packers will struggle mightily against the AFC South.

Minnesota Vikings

Predicted Record: 6-10

Key Player: Quarterback Position, I have no idea if Jackson is going to be the starter the entire year or if Gus 95 year old head buttin Ferrotte will take the helm but whoever is throwing passes needs to make a few completions or the opposition is gonna throw 11 in the box on each play.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Chester Taylor, The Vikings can't pass the ball. Last year despite the fact that AP was a complete monster Taylor still got a solid number of carries and put up quality numbers. Even as the #2 back on the team he could put up #1 running back numbers.

Why the Record: The theme of this division is 'Crappy Quarterback' and the Vikings are the division leader in the category. There's only so much the best running back in the NFC can do. Just look at how bad the Chargers were for years despite the greatness of LDT.

So this is how I do my predictions each year. I put the entire schedule down on a piece of paper and I pick every single game until the end of the year and then I tally up the totals. Some of the teams end up with surprising totals and many end up skewing further away from the middle than if I was to generically pick a record. But this is how I do it so, if you care to check them out scroll down.

Click on any of the images to blow up so you can see the schedule and the picks.

Had the ole draft last night. It's only an 8 team league so all teams are stacked. Feel free to make fun of me and tell me that the ole squad is going to suck or that it would be a sweet team if it was 2005, or that Chad Johnson already got hurt since my draft was held.

Click on the picture if you need it larger.

First somehow someway a family in Green Bay bought a Favre Jets jersey six years ago. Apparently the guy got the jersey for his wife and didn't notice the fact that there was no yellow in jersey and that the green was the wrong color and that there's a big Jets logo on the sleeve (Midwestern Intelligence at its finest). The family has season tickets and the woman even wore the jersey to several home games which basically tells the story that Midwesterners are nicer than New Yorkers cause if someone wore a Packer Pennington jersey to the Meadowlands they would be made fun of the entire game.

I guess the bigger question is how the hell did this jersey actually get made? I mean there was never really any Favre to the Jets rumors a long way back. Was someone at the ole NFL Jersey factory really just not paying attention for a couple of hours? And if so, wouldn't you think that a jersey like this would not find its way to a retail store but rather to some lucky Jet fan in Nicaragua?

And this is your downloadable Madden cover with Favre on the Jets. For some reason I think a lot of people (and by a lot I mean almost everyone) are just gonna be ok with the Packer Favre on the front of their Madden box.

In a matter of days Pennington went from a sympathetic figure in my mind to an enemy. I felt bad that he was the one to get his head lopped off on thursday, but now that he's moved on to quarterback a rival franchise I shall be rooting for his often defeat.

One thing Jets fans can not claim with a straight face is that Pennington is a traitor. They cut him at a time when finding a job isn't exactly easy. His options to become a starting quarterback in the NFL were obviously limited and even more so than originally thought with teams like the Vikings showing no interest. So Pennington went a place where he knew he would get PT, a place that wanted him, and a place that paid him (11.5$ million seems a bit much). To restrict him from going to an team in the AFC East would be completely unfair.

As for the Dolphins, other than the price tag, I think it makes logical sense. Henne is obviously their quarterback of the future, but to throw him into the fire both does not make sense for the 08 squad and does not make sense for Henne's development. So by getting Pennington they are getting a great mentor to show Henne the ropes, potentially make the team competitive in 2008, and only locked into a single season. In reality the Dolphin's offense this season is mostly going to be turn and hand the ball off to Ronny and Ricky so Pennington's job is going to be much easier than it was last year with the completely ineffective Jets running attack. I actually think the Dolphins could surprise teams this year, I'm not saying they're going to make the playoffs but I think 7 wins could be within reason.

To sum it up, I'm glad Pennington so quickly landed a job but come week 1 I hope I see a lot of Jets smashing his face into the turf.

Last Favre Post of the Week. I Promise.

He Didn't Look Too Comfy

Perhaps this was to be expected, I mean if you were the face of a franchise for 16 years and people kept on pummeling you with questions about your former team, would you look comfortable. And why wouldn't you feel awkward holding up a green jersey without any yellow.

Anyway, it certainly would have felt better as a Jet fan if he came off gung-ho, but to expect him to be over Green Bay in a day is probably not realistic. Plus he is a southern sap.

No Logical Person Can Criticize this From the Jets End

As much as you may hate Brett Favre or as much as you may think he sucks or think he's overrated or over the hill, if you think Chad Pennington is a better quartback you are smoking some heavy crack. Hey, I love Pennington and I think he can lead a team to the playoffs, but he's not as good as Brett Favre. He might be 5 years younger, but his arm is about 10 years older. And while you may say Favre has a knack for throwing ill timed interceptions, so did Pennington. Check out how many 4th quarter final drive ints he threw. Or how many ints to the house he threw. If you jumped on any of his slant or out routes it wasn't that hard to catch a Pennington lob.

Thus for this season there's no arguing that the Jets made the right decision. If they don't make the playoffs its a 3rd round pick. Who cares. If they make the playoffs its a 2nd round pick. The playoffs are fun for a pick in the 50s. If they make the Superbowl I will gladly, I repeat gladly give up the 31st or 32nd pick to see my favorite team play for a championship for the first time in my life. Perhaps you spoiled Patriot fans have lost the perspective of what its like to watch a team fail year in and year out. It sucks, and while chances are very slim this would happen its better than the zero chance they had Wednesday.

As for the 'future' this has limited effect. It's pretty much a Favre for Chad and a 3rd or 2nd round pick. Who cares. This far from cripples their future, and if Clemens is actually the future of the organization he will still get his opportunity in a few years. Chances seemed likely that if they trade didn't end up going down that Clemens would have ended up on the bench anyway.

Will the Boos Come

Jet fans as a whole can be pretty scummy. Again they cheered the fact Pennington was injured last year. Favre is the single biggest name ever to play for the Jets and he's brought excitement to a depressed fan base, but the same can be said for Alex Rodriguez or Carlos Beltran. Both of those players were superstars and as soon as they struggled the boos came out in full force. The Jet fan is dying for Favre and the team to succeed and they will probably give him a little leeway but come week 6 if the team is going 2-4 he will hear it from the crowd.

Ok I'm done with Favre for the week... WOOOOOOO!!!!

Growing up in Connecticut you have a lot of options as a sports fan. You're close enough to New York to pick one of the big apple squads but you're still in New England so you can always choose to cheer for the squads in Boston. So as a little kid in Connecticut when picking a favorite football team you have three options the Jets, Giants and Patriots. So when picking my squad I had two logical options. See my father grew up in Central Mass, yet when he was a little kid the AFL had yet to form and the Patriots did not exist. So he picked up the closest NFL team to cheer for which happenned to be the New York Giants. And when the AFL was finally formulated and the Patriots because Massachusetts team, instead of dropping the Giants from his fanhood he adopted both squads. Hell, they techhnically weren't even in the same league so there really was no conflict. After engraining this fanhood in his childhood he has kept rooting for both teams to this day.

So being his son it would have been logical to pick one of those teams to cheer for. But alas my youth and favoritism was stronger than a fathers disjointed devotion. I've been on God's Green Earth for over 25 years now and for as long as I can remember I have only had one consistantcy favorite, my affinity for color the green. For whatever reason Green has been my favorite color so when it came to choosing a favorite football team as a little 3 or 4 year old the kid in me made a choice based on one thing, jersey color. I asked my mom for Jets dolls and Al Toon action figures and created a Jet fan for life.

And since I made that decision over 20 years ago nothing has ever seemed to work out. During that span the Giants have won three Superbowls including the most dramatic and shocking win in history. The Pats created the last dynasty in football winning 3 Superbowls in a 4 year period. Additionally they got to the big game 3 more times in my lifetime, that's 7 Superbowl trips in 25 years. To put it bluntly there has rarely if ever been a moment when being a Jet fan was something to be boast about. Sure there have been bright and enjoyable moments, like leading Elway in the AFC Title Game (we didn't win), watching Wanny throw away the division in 2002 or pummeling Peyton Manning in a Wild Card game but there has never been that we're on top of the world (or even the northeast) moment. There has never been a reason for the rest of the world to really care about whether or not you are a Jet fan. Until today.

Whether the Jets go 6-10 or 12-4 this season they are relevant today. Even though everyone had their fill of Brett Favre news about 3 weeks ago, today they are still interested in Jet fans. People come up to you and say, so how pumped are you, or what do you think about this year, or are you excited. And come September they will actually desire to watch Jet games. Hell, Jet fans most of the time don't even want to watch Jet games nevermind the general population.

So ya, did I get a little carried away with excitement today for a 38 year old quarterback well past his prime? I sure did. In 25 years my fandom has never been truly relevant to the sporting world until today, so I'm going to cherish it.

Bringing in Favre means that he's the starting QB and out goes the quarterback controversy.

Chad Pennington

It's bittersweet to see Chad go for myself. He never was the most talented player in the world and the injuries ruined him of the limited arm strength he had to begin with but he laid everything on the field and after Namath he arguably could be the 2nd best quarterback in franchise history. He lead multiple playoff trips, picked up a couple wins and gave his heart out. Hell, he tried to suit up in games with a completely blown out shoulder, he was brittle but he battled and tried to fight through injuries. Perhaps I my feelings doesn't model those of the Jet fan base, especially considering the pathetic showing they gave when Pennington got hurt last year. But it's sad to see the words cut and Pennington in the same sentence.

With that being said its depressing watching Chad Pennington play football. He's probably top 5 or better regarding Quarterback intelligence in the NFL. He knows where to throw, when to throw, and how to read a defense. The fact that he could even be an NFL quarterback with his arm strength is testimony to his intelligence. But in a big spot in the 4th quarter when the Jets needed him to bring them down the field, he just couldn't thread the needle and put the ball in spots and NFL quarterback should be able to. He will never be a Superbowl winning quarterback, its sad but its true.

I really hope Chad latches on somewhere and gets a fair opportunity to be their starting QB. Like most I think the Vikings are the perfect fit, and I hope he winds up leading them to the post season.

Kellen Clemens

I think its pretty safe to say that I haven't exactly been the biggest Kellen Clemens fan in the world. I was hoping the Jets drafted either Leinart or Young in the 06 draft and was blah when they drafted him in the 2nd round. I wrote a little letter to Jet fans when he sucked completely in the first three quarters against the Ravens. Essentially he showed arm strength yet no ability to read defenses and no ability to pick up or read blitz packages. Essentially he was the polar opposite of Pennington.

After last season I think it's pretty safe to say I have no faith in Clemens to play this year, next year or the year after. I even said the Jets should draft Chad Henne so that they could have someone to compete with Clemens. So there is no part of me that is feeling sad to not see Clemens taking a large amount of snaps this season or next season or ever.