2012 Week 1 Picks

Eagles at Browns: Eagles of course. This should be an easy win. Trust the Eagles to make it harder than it has to be, of course, but there's no excuse. They have to win the easy games this year, and if they blow this one, they might want to think about relocating to Cleveland. Permanently.

Cowboys at Giants: Giants. And more drama in Dallas. Also, the sun rose in the east this morning.

Colts at Bears: Bears. Rumor has it Brian Urlacher might not play, which would be a shame. Gotta let Andrew Luck know what he's in for, right?

Rams at Lions: Lions. Everyone's 0-0, and the Rams are still one of the worst teams in football.

Dolphins at Texans: Texans. Except for the Dolphins.

Falcons at Chiefs: Falcons. Oy, and the Chiefs.

Jaguars at Vikings: Jaguars. Blaine Gabbert HAS to be better this year, right?

Redskins at Saints: Poor RG3. What a lousy way to start your NFL career. Saints.

Bills at Jets: Bills. How long do you think it will take Jets fans to erect a billboard to Tim Tebow along 95?

Patriots at Titans: Patriots.

Seahawks at Cardinals: Cards? Who knows? Who cares? It's the first week, and it's already nearly a lock that these teams will be bottom feeders.

49ers at Packers: Now this is gonna be a game. I'm calling the Pack. despite my contention that the 49ers will win their division, because, come on, they aren't going to lose their home opener.

Panthers at Buccaneers: Panthers. Looking for a good year from Cam Newton.

Steelers at Broncos: Broncos. Unless someone knocks down Peyton a few times, because The Peyton does not care to be knocked down, of course.

Bengals at Ravens: Ravens.

Chargers at Raiders: Raiders. It's my upset pick.

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Preseason Picks, Hot Off the Electrons

Because, I mean, really, what's hot off the presses these days that's not a dying industry?

You know the drill. I make preseason picks right before the season starts based on scant information, then in January, I check back and rank on myself for doing a bad job. Fun for the whole family.

AFC East

Patriots, not so much because they're great. I mean, they still have Tom Brady and all, but the cast of characters around him is looking a little thin these days. But the rest of the division is terrible. The Bills? They were 6-10 last year, which could earn them the #2 spot in the division this year. Yep, it's that bad. The Jets? Well, they now have TWO quarterbacks who can't play the position. The Dolphins? I'm starting to think that being featured on Hard Knocks is like the Madden Curse, only worse.

AFC North

Ravens. Most of the pieces are still in place from last year, the Steelers are still an aging team, last year for the Bengals was a fluke, and the Browns? They're still the Browns.

AFC South

Texans. Again, most of the pieces are still in place from last year, and I think they get at least one more year to make something happen before Andrew Luck figures out the pro game.

AFC West

I think the Chargers step up again this year. I know most people are picking the Broncos, but I don't think Peyton Manning is going to last long. I didn't think he'd ever play football again after the neck surgery, and he's sure as hell not used to getting hit. Ever. Welcome to the NFL, buddy.

AFC Wildcard

Raiders and Steelers. The Steelers may be old, but they're not dead. And the Raiders? I have a good feeling, based on zero evidence. Also, the AFC competition isn't exactly brutal this year.

NFC East

It's going to come down to the Giants and the Eagles for sure. The Cowboys remain punks, and, while the Skins may be on a upswing, they're at the very start of it this year. I have to go with my boys, of course, but I wouldn't be shocked to see both teams in the postseason.

NFC North

Lions. Which is probably crazy, given that the Packers play in this division, but I always have to have one wacky pick. No, it wasn't the Raiders to make the playoffs. OK, maybe I have TWO wacky picks this year. Then again, everyone thought I was nuts for picking the Texans last year. Hey, even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

NFC South

Falcons. I think the Panthers will do well, too, thanks to Cam, but there are still too many missing pieces in Carolina. The Saints are battling adversity - it's adversity they brought on themselves, of course - and that usually seems to help them, but I think the "no real head coach for a year" hurdle is too big to clear. The Bucs? Tough luck with that division, kids.

NFC West

49ers. I don't know that we'll see them in the NFC Championship game again this year, but they'll get to the playoffs, not least of which because their division is TERRIBLE.

NFC Wilcard

Giants and Packers. Who could easily swap for the division with the Eagles and Lions.

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"Westbrook Breaks Free..."

Chef Spouse first truly became an Eagles fan in the Andy Reid era. His position, with which I cannot argue, was that for many years, the three most exciting words in football were, "Westbrook breaks free..."

This week, another great Eagle has retired, as an Eagle, as it should be.


Thanks for everything, West36. You were part of a small, special group of players that defined Eagles football for nearly a decade.

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Preseason: Eagles at Patriots, Monday, August 20, 2012

It's Foles-sanity!

I Loved: that the Eagles won their second pre-season game in a row.
I Did Not Love: that the Eagles won their second pre-season game in a row without starting QB Michael Vick. Who hasn't sustained a major injury - yet - but has had two different "contusions" in two games that required removing him from the game and carting him off for x-rays and MRIs and CT scans.
In the history of my Eagles fandom, we've had four main starting quarterbacks: Jaws, Randall Cunningham, Donovan McNabb, and Michael Vick. Know what three of those guys have in common? They're constantly one play away from a season-ending injury. Which means Eagles fans spend every weekend from August through (if we're lucky) early February in a constant state of panic. And this year? Is shaping up to be just like every other single damn year since Jaws retired. When I die early, you can blame Cunningham, McNabb and Vick for twenty years of weekly heart attacks.
Bright spots:
After two games where he was unexpectedly thrown to the lions, so to speak, it seems like Nick Foles might have been a good draft pick. Maybe. Let's not get too excited. It's the pre-season. Of course, if history is any indication, he'll be starting by week 4. Hope he's ready.
Brandon Boykin wants to make the team so badly I can taste he. And he's making a strong case.
DeSean Jackson made a tackle! That Patriot should be embarrassed. I'm bigger than DeSean. And he didn't just ride the guy down - he flipped him! Go DJax!
DRC seems to be getting the hang of the system in Philly. Finally.
The defensive front is going to be scary dominant.
Clay Harbor had a big night. And Shady brought his usual awesome.
Dim spots:
Why oh why are there always so many goddamn stupid penalties? The worst ones - the absolute worst - are defensive penalties that extend drives. Time and again, just when the guys are about to get off the field, somebody pulls some dumb shit that keeps them out there. This has been going on for 10 years? 15? Forever?
People seemed upset that Andy Reid was yelling at Cullen Jenkins. Why wasn't he yelling at everyone? These guys have to shape up. I am not alone among the fans in not wanting to see another season of [this] close.
And did I mention that Mike Vick got knocked out of a second game in a row right at the beginning of the game?

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Is It Football Yet?

Since I do this on the side and for fun only, I usually basically take the offseason, well, off. But this year has been exceptionally quiet. There is a reason, but what's important now is that the draft is long over, training camp is in its second week, we're a week from the Eagles first pre-season game versus the Steelers, and it's time to brush off the dust and kick my football brain back into gear.

Seeing as I've been pretty out of the loop for the key mini camp months, I'll be watching the pre-season games carefully to see how the Eagles new acquisitions fare, how the guys who stuck around from the shopping spree last year are looking, and whether the team's superstars are ready to lead a deep playoff run for 2012 (the answer to that last one better be "HELL yes!").

I plan to post at least some games notes from the pre-season games I'm able to catch, and OF COURSE I'll post my annual walk-of-shame pre-season picks. Making a fool of myself since 2005 all for you.

For my DC area peeps, things are going to run a little differently for game day this year. Rather than just having an open invitation every week and often not getting a critical mass of people, we're going to choose ONE Sunday/game per month and do actual invitations, so we get a good crowd and can plan accordingly.

The first one will be Sunday, September 30, when the Eagles face the Giants on Sunday Night Football and honor Brian Dawkins by retiring his number. Life-Long Eagles Fan Mom and You-Two-Calm-Down-or-I'm-Turning-Off-the-TV Dad will be in town for the weekend to celebrate Dad's birthday. The menu will feature 100% from scratch enchiladas, and the evening is likely to include a tequila tasting. We'll be open for business starting with the 4 pm game. Mark your calendars now!

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Godspeed, Wolverine

Brian Dawkins announced that he will be retiring from the NFL this morning. The Eagles have, of course, invited him to come back and retire as an Eagle.

Lots has been going on in the NFL, and I haven't posted about any of it - I know - but I had to take a minute to post this:

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Super Bowl 46 Recap

It's official. Eli Manning is Bill Belichick's kryptonite.

Raise your hand if you had the "safety" square as the first score in your office football pool. Yeah, me neither.

Fortunately, the game got better after that. And it *was* a pretty good game, even if it was between two teams I really did not want to watch again this season.

Leading up to kickoff, I was still thinking that the Pats would win, although after all the "Tom Brady is a god - A GOD!!!" talk on the pre-game shows, I had convinced myself that the Giants winning was the lesser of two evils. Which I guess it still is. Sorta.

If you had told me that the receiver who dropped the key pass would be Wes Welker and the receiver who caught the key pass would be Mario Manningham BEFORE the game, I would've said you were nuts. Just goes to show how much I know.

Obviously Ahmad Bradshaw was supposed to go down on the 1, letting the Giants run the clock down and kick the field goal for the win. But oops - he scored a TD. Normally, leaving Tom Brady with a full  minute would've been a mistake. But the Pats receivers were not sharp in the second half last night, and the Giants hung on for the win.

If Madonna was going to reprise "Like a Prayer" backed by a gospel choir, I gotta point out: what was with all the white people? And what was with the ultra-slo-mo assisted cartwheels? And the giant "WORLD PEACE" at the end of her set? It's a puzzlement.

In the meantime:

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