popsiclepete said:
Best matchup is Chicago vs Green Bay by far. .
Not sure I agree with that. To me PHI v. Carolina and NYG v. WSH look like pretty darn good games too not to mention ATL v. MIA. Not saying your wrong on CHI v. GB but to say "by far" I think is a stretch.
Philly v. Carolina looks like a very good game to me too though. In fact to me that is the best game on the dockett. Yeah I know Delhomme had that horrible game in the playoffs against the Cards but still I think this will be a very good game. I expect Philly to have one of the top offenses in the league this year. More weapons for McNabb this year, they solidified the protection for him too getting him two new tackles in Peters and Stacy Andrews. By the way Buffalo fans, why the hell did BUF let Peters go and not even replace him? What the hell is Buffalo thinking? Jason Peters is one of the leagues better tackles. The protection is solidified though and if Maclin can even do anything close to what Desean "Fraction" Jackson did last year for Philly in his rookie campaign then the Eagles will have a formidable tandem at receiver. I know Westbrook has been missing time in training camp but I dont think thats a big concern. Its not a big deal if a star vet misses some time in camp I'd rather him be healthy. Plus it also gives a chance for Mccoy and Booker to learn pass-pro. The loss of Dawkins though will be a hit though even though he was aging. Lets face it when you lose a guy like B.Dawk you lose that great communicator on the back-end of the defense that can get everyone lined up and ready to play. You lose I think an inspirational leader. Brian Dawkins was a physical prescence and an excellent tackler in terms of their run defense. But I did like what I saw from Quentin Mikell last season though and I think he is ready to step in and be a playmaker in that secondary. One thing to look for though is how the Eagles do on short-yardage situations this year. It was an issue for them last year. If that O-line can be more explosive and they can get Leonard Weaver going then maybe they can clean that area up because they struggled last year in short yardage situations. If you ask me I think they should go out and sign a veteran back like Deuce Mcallister who is a thumper back that can come in specifically for short-yardage situations. He wont be the feature back obviously but he can just be the short-yardage specialist. Carolina took a hit though this week with Kemeaoutu gone for the season. That is a big loss as he played well for them last season. But I love the backfield with "Smash and Dash" uh I mean "Identity and Theft" (as Lendale would say) and they have Steve Smith. They have playmakers on all 3 levels of the defense with Peppers, Beason and Harris.
Carolina/Philly is the game I am most looking forward to (not including the Falcons game because I am a Falcons fan and of course that is the game I look forward to most).
WSH and NYG - I mean talk about two defenses that will be balling this season. Big Blue's D-line is a solid groups that they can rotate guys in and out from. They got a lot of good pass-rushers with Osi, Tuck, Kiwanuka. I like their D-tackles with Robbins, Cofield and offseason pickups Canty and Rocky Bernard (I thought this was a really shrewd pick up by GM Jerry Reese in the offseason. This D-line will be as good as they were in the SB year and that will make things easier for the LBs and the secondary. Granted they lost Wind from "Earth , Wind and Fire" but Jacobs and Bradshaw should be able to handle the load. I am not that concerned with the receiving corps. I know some will point to the fact that the Giants dont have Plax anymore and lost Toomer to FA and they didnt really make any notable FA acquisitions in that department but the Giants have great structure in the organization, they have a franchise QB, the team is built around running the football and playing defense , and then you have a timely play-action kind of oriented passing attack. So I think they will be fine offensively.
As far as the Skins go, sure the question is at QB and the O-line but I think their defense will be balling. Haynesworth up front, London Fletcher a tackling machine at LB and a really good secondary with guys like Horton and Landry and Hall. Yeah I know Hall is a little overrated and probably overpaid but he is a good player just not as good as he likes to think he is. But the prescence of Haynesworth up-front should help the secondary.
Cant wait to discuss all the games with you guys during the season. I know a lot of the terbites like to bet on the games but hopefully everyone will be watching the games too so we can discuss the various games we saw.
Love football season. Wish there was more talk on football the past few months. I know football doesnt generally get a lot of talk during the offseason on terb but I for one wish there was more.
