A BLOG in 2 Parts

PART I-For the Record
Well, my good friend Billyball noticed that in my AFC preview I had predicted records for some but not all of the teams. Now to arrive at my predictions I did actually go through the entire NFL schedule and pick the winner of each game, so I have a projected record for each team. So for Billy and my other loyal readers I will give you the actual standings throughout the NFL. So here it goes (* are your playoff teams):


AFC EAST:
New England* 11-5
Miami* 10-6
Buffalo 6-10
New York 3-13


AFC NORTH
Cincinnati* 11-5
Pittsburgh* 10-6
Baltimore 6-10
Cleveland 2-14

AFC SOUTH
Indianapolis* 14-2
Jacksonville 8-8
Houston 4-12
Tennesee 2-14

AFC WEST
Denver* 11-5
Kansas City 10-6
San Diego 8-8
Oakland 4-12

NFC EAST
Dallas* 10-6
New York 9-7
Washington 9-7
Philadelphia 9-7

NFC NORTH
Chigago* 10-6
Minnesota* 10-6
Detroit 5-11
Green Bay 5-11

NFC SOUTH
Carolina* 12-4
Tampa Bay* 9-7
Atlanta 8-8
New Orleans 4-12

NFC WEST
Seattle* 13-3
St. Louis 6-10
Arizona 6-10
San Francisco 3-13
Now I give myself a one or two game swing on each, team because as I mentioned in my NFC Preview the 49ers somehow won four games last year, and I could easily see them losing every game, but that probably won't happen. The big differences will be with the cellar dwellers. Like Cleveland, Tennessee, San Fran, Nawlins, and say the Jets. I'm sure these teams will have an upset in them somewhere along the way, but that's just too tough to predict right now.

PART II- Countdown to Manning Bowl I
Well here we go, the opening game of the 2006 NFL season is hours away and I am giddy! So here is my look at WEEK 1:

Miami @ Pittsburgh- This a battle of two of my least favorite and most overrated NFL teams. The Steelers had the edge in my mind because this one is being played in the Ketchup Packet (That's what I'll be calling Heinz Field this year, it'll catch on, just wait and see), but now they have Charlie "Soft" Batch at the helm. But the thing is the Steelers will rely heavily on a stingy "D" and a grinding running game, which means Charlie only needs to NOT make mistakes, easier said than done......Miami wins 28-23

Atlanta @ Carolina- Atlanta is sort of unpredictable this year, but I'll try anyway. Basically the birds will have to probably play a pretty flawless game and force some Carolina miscues. There's a better chance that Jamal Anderson will sign an NFL contract this week, than the Falcons winning in the haunts of historic Bank of America Stadium! Bank on a Carolina win, 31-16

Buffalo @ New England- Now this looks like an easy one, but looks can be deceiving. I still remember a few seasons back when these two opened the season in Buffalo and the favored Pats were drubbed 31 or 38 to zip. So don't misunderestimate the Bills, but also don't pick them to win this game. New England 31-24

Cincinnati @ Kansas City- The Bengals have a pretty fierce schedule this season and it starts at Kansas City, one of the most hostile environments for visitors, so lookout. The Bengals are good and will win the division and make the playoffs, but this season will start on a down note in KC. I mean Kansas City sports fans have been waiting for this game since the Royals season was over back in May, they'll be angry. Someone named Johnson will have the most rushing yards in this one. Kansas City 42-38

Denver @ St. Louis- Denver is a much better football team, but Jake "The Snake" will help keep the Rams in this one. Last year the Broncos were obliterated in Miami in the opener 34-10, then proceeded to win 13 of 15. Could another opening day massacre be in store for Denver? Nope, Broncs hold 'em off 49-44

New Orleans @ Cleveland- The Saints will be a feel good story this year no matter how many games they win, and I like their chances to send the Dawg Pound and the Frye Guys home disappointed as they win it 17-11

New York Jets @ Tennessee
The winner of this will quickly fall behind in the race for next year's #1 draft pick. The Titans are not saying who will start at QB, forcing the Jets to prepare for both Billy Volek and Kerry Collins. Oooooooooo! Does it really matter? Honestly? They could probably throw Vince Young in there and still win it. The Jets take an early lead in securing the #1 draft pick, Titans win
12-3

Baltimore @ Tampa Bay- The Bucs are a team I think can really win some games, but they could also be a total flop. It all rests on the shoulders of young Chris Simms. If he's at least 82% as good as daddy dearest, the Bucs should be okay. This will be a defensive battle with the Bucs winning it 5-3

Philadelphia @Houston- The Eagles may come out a bit shaky, luckily they have the Oilers, er, Texans in week one. While Donte' Stallworth is not an overall solution to winning, he will help. The Eagles soar in this one 38-10

Seattle @ Detroit- It's Kitna vs. the team he started with. Apparently this story line has been hidden behind such non-stories as T.O's health and the Manning Bowl? While Kitna will show the 'Hawks why they would have won the Super Bowl last year if he were at the helm, the Seahawks will still prevail. Seahawks win 35-31.
Kitna goes 38-50, 437 yds, 4TDs and 1 pick cause not even Kitna's perfect.

Chigago @ Green Bay- This classic NFC Central battle ( yeah I said Central, what of it?) will be marred by the fact that the Packers are, well, atrocious. The Bears should keep the Pack out of the endzone, so all they'll have to do is find a way to get...in...the endzone. Well actually all they'll need is points of some sort and their defense will be the offense as the roll 27-6 (that's 6 FGs, a defensive TD and a safety).

Dallas @ Jacksonville- The T.O. Era in Dallas begins and the Jaguars will be the victims of that. Mostly it'll be the Dallas defense keeping Byron Leftwich busy that'll be the key in this one. Dallas will edge the Jaguars 24-17

San Francisco @ Arizona- An intriguing battle out west as the Cardinals have an exciting offense, while the 49ers have, ummmmmm....well they have, ummm..... well, look for the Cardinals to open their new home in style by beating up on the 49ers 42-28

Indianapolis @ New York Giants- It's Manning vs. Manning. If this game were decided by the QBs skill levels or likability then the Colts would win handily. Well it's not, but hey, the Colts will win handily anyways! I only hope Archie Manning has some sort of half Peyton, half Eli jersey fashioned for him to wear, either that or he wears a Colts jersey and Eli cries. Colts 37-17

Minnesota @ Washington- This has the potential to be a pretty good game. With Kleinsasser in the mix the Vikings will be tough to stop, but the Reskins will use the homefield advantage to win a nail biter 19-16

San Diego @ Oakland- The Raiders are undefeated when opening a season on Monday Night at home. That might not be true. But look for some of that ol' Aaron Brooks magic (you read correctly) in this one as the Silver and Black manage to win the opener 38-34.

Well there you have it! An eerie vision of things to come.