Manny "Shock" Saez's NFL Football fan blog

I don’t consider a 9-7 team playoff worthy, but in the crazy industry that is the NFL, a division winner automatically makes the playoffs. Despite their lackluster win-loss record last year, the Tampa Bay Buccs did win their horrible division and made the playoffs. They rested their players in the last week of the season and were then defeated in the first round by the New York Giants, the eventual Super Bowl Champions. To me, they aren’t a great team at all. They play in a bad division and really any one team from the NFC South can win that division. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Atlanta Falcons win the NFC South this year. Ok, lets be real. The Buccs made the playoffs last year, so it wasn’t all bad. There were aspects of their team that were really good and some that were not so good.

Continue reading "32 Teams in 32 Days, Team #16: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers"

a 7-9 record was not good enough to get the Panthers into the playoffs last year. Most of that can be blamed on their quarterback problems last season. Jake Delhomme was having a fantastic year until the injury bug hit him hard and ended his season. This forced the Panthers to play the under-achieving David Carr, a man I feel should not even be playing in the NFL, let alone starting for any franchise. Things got so bad in Carolina, that they even went out and got the older-then-God Vinny Testaverde. Testaverde played ok, but it wasn’t what this team needed to have success. Lets face it, the season was over when Delhomme went down. The offensive line played terribly last season. Delhomme may not have been able to avoid the injury, but Carr was getting killed back there when he played. The Panthers needed to fix that offensive line coming into this year. They did pick up a couple of good draft picks. Jeff Otah from Pittsburgh will be a great addition to the line. I don’t think its going to be enough, but lets hope for the Panther’s sake that the offensive line can come through.

Continue reading "32 Teams in 32 Days, Team #15: The Carolina Panthers"

The Saints were the surprise story of the 2006 NFL season. They exploded onto the scene with new superstar Reggie Bush in their offense. They managed to make it all the way to the NFC Championship Game before falling to the Chicago Bears. 2006, was a great year for every New Orleans’ fan. However, 2007 was not so great. The Saints lost their first 4 games. In what seemed to be a meltdown, The Saints did everything they could to get back into the season. They finally were able to win a game. Not only that, they strung 4 wins together. They then lost 2. This pattern would continue until the Saints would finish the season with a 7-9 record and they would end up missing the playoffs as well. It wasn’t the year they were expecting and this year they must do everything they can to get back to being a contender.

Continue reading "32 Teams in 32 Days, Team #14: The New Orleans Saints"

“With the 3rd pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, the Atlanta Falcons select Matt Ryan, Quarterback, Boston College.” The stain of Michael Vick has finally been dissolved. With the drafting of Matt Ryan, the Atlanta Falcons are finally ready to move on. They have drafted a worthy franchise Quarterback and the re-building has finally begun to take place. Does this mean the Falcons will be successful in the 2008 season? Of course not, but this is a giant step in the right direction. No more Michael Vick. Welcome to Atlanta, Matt Ryan.

The Falcons defense isn’t great. It isn’t good. Lets face it, its going to take a couple years before this team will be completely rebuilt. There are some pretty good players on the defense, but it takes 11 men to make a defense great. They are short by about 9. Lawyer Milloy is a very talented strong safety, but he’s getting up there in age. He can’t play football forever. The Falcons will need to start looking other places for their production. I’m very interested in seeing the development of Curtis Loften out of Oklahoma. Oklahoma has a great football program, so hopefully his time there will have prepared him for the NFL game. Maybe Loften can be the next playmaker for this team.

Continue reading "32 Teams in 32 Days, Team #13: The Atlanta Falcons"

The Houston Texans were a much improved team last season, even without star wide receiver Andre Johnson playing in most of those games. They played well enough to garner their first .500 season. An accomplishment for a struggling franchise. They have helped to make the AFC South the toughest division in the AFC and although they will most likely lose all of their division games this season, they will at least put up a valiant fight. I think we are going to see an even better team then last year with the possibility of a 10-6 season. That will not be easy, but as long as they don’t do worse then .500 they will have had a good season. Lets take a look at some of the weapons the Texans will bring with them into this season.

Their defense is lead by defensive end Mario Williams. Many people were shocked when the Texans picked Williams over Reggie Bush in the 2006 draft, but those skeptics have been quickly silenced as Williams has had two miraculous years and Reggie Bush... well, we’ll get to him in a different blog. Other then Williams, their defense is lacking in star power, but what they lack in that area they make up for in grit and determination. They can and will get sacks and if you’re not careful they will sneak up on you and beat you. It’s a solid defense that with a couple more star players could be one of the more feared defenses in the league.

Continue reading "32 Teams in 32 Days, Team #12: The Houston Texans"

#10 can’t do it by himself. Vince Young is a very talented football player that wins football games. The only problem that this winner of a National Championship has is that he can’t win the football games that he needs to win by himself. There aren’t a lot of playmakers in the Titan offense to help Vince Young get it done and until the Titans address this problem, they will only be good enough to lose in the playoffs. This is the NFL. As fun as it is to watch Vince Young run all over the field, its not enough to get the job done. I am disapointed that the Titans organization did not draft a wide receiver in the first round, a round in which no wide receivers where drafted. Even when wide outs started to go in the second round, the Titans still did not bite. They missed out on a lot of playmakers. They should be ashamed.

Continue reading "32 Teams in 32 Days, Team #11: The Tennessee Titans"

The Jacksonville Jaguars emerged last year as a tough team to beat. They with help from the Tennessee Titans have made the AFC South Division the toughest division in the AFC. No longer will the Colts steam role their division on their way to the playoffs. The Colts will now have to fight to win their division and they will have to get through the Jacksonville Jaguars to do just that. The Jaguars made the playoffs last year with the combination of a hard hitting defense, a superb ground game, and a quarterback that although does not throw the ball a lot, does not make mistakes when he does. That is a formula for a team that can make a lot of noise for the upcoming season.

First lets talk about the defense. They hit hard. When you play against the Jaguars you know that you have been in the toughest game of your life. They may not be able to stop you, but they can and will hit you and you will feel the effects of that. With Reggie Hayward at defensive end, Rasheen Mathis and Drayton Florence at cornerback, and Mike Peterson at linebacker it is a defense that has the stars to be successful. They once again come into this year looking to shut down every team they play, especially Peyton Manning and the Colts. What I am most looking forward to though is to see how well Derrick Harvey out of Florida will do when he gets to chance to play at defensive end. He was the Jaguars’ first round draft pick and I personally think he will fit in very nicely with this defense. Time will tell, but I think the Jaguars have improved their already impressive defense tremendously with this draft pick. We must also be on the look out for what Quentin Groves can bring to this team as well.

Continue reading "32 Teams in 32 Days, Team #10: The Jacksonville Jaguars"

They are a great team. One of the best teams every year in the NFL. They have one of the top 3 Quarterbacks in the league every year. And 2 seasons ago, they won the Superbowl. They are the Indianapolis Colts lead by the poster boy of the NFL, Peyton Manning. Last season ended in misery for the Colts as they lost in a shocker to the San Diego Chargers. A Chargers team that did not have star running back Ladainian Tomlinson and starting quarterback Phillip Rivers playing at the time. The Colts are looking to not let that happen this year. Peyton Manning and his team are determined to once again win the championship and add another piece of jewelry to their fingers. However, they will not have it as easy as it has been over the last few years. The Colts will now have to battle to earn their spot in the playoffs. The AFC South as emerged as the toughest division in the AFC. With the breakout team in Jacksonville, the team that is missing only a few playmakers in Tennessee, and the up and coming team in Houston, the AFC South has become a division that can go any way. I love it.

Continue reading "32 Teams in 32 Days, Team #9: The Indianapolis Colts"

America’s Team. They have had their rough years, they have had their great years, but through it all they always remain on the hearts and minds of America. The Dallas Cowboys. Since their reign of dominance in the early 1990's, the Cowboys have not looked like a sure fire Superbowl contender until last year. Lat year, they dominated the NFC en route to winning their division and leading their conference. But then as if written out of a storybook, the Dallas Cowboys choked in their first playoff game to the eventual Superbowl Champion New York Giants. And once again Tony Romo ended the season with a sour taste in his mouth. Few can forget, Tony Romo’s botched field goal hold in the 2006 season during the playoffs. He fumbled the snap and because of that, the Dallas Cowboys lost that game. In the 2007 season, the Cowboys looked dominate and it seemed that they were going to be in the Superbowl, but they couldn’t even make it past their first game. The Cowboys come into the 2008 season with everything to prove. They are looking for relevance. Looking to get to the Superbowl. Looking to silence all the critics who say they choke. And with a team like their’s, who’s to say they can’t do just that?

Continue reading "32 Teams in 32 Days, Team #8: The Dallas Cowboys"

The Eagles ended the 2007 season with a 8-8 record and did not make the playoffs. Considering they play in the toughest division in the NFC probably has something to do with that. However, there is so much more that bothers me about the Eagles. Their offense plays well one week and then struggles the next. Donovan McNabb plays like an elite quarterback one game and then the next game people start talking about him being traded or that year being the his last in Philly. What bothers me the most about the Philadelphia Eagles is the lack of loyalty from its fans. They have been booing Donovan McNabb since he was drafted. They are the toughest fans to please. They call it passion. But to be honest, I think even the best teams would struggle to please these fans. With fans like them who needs enemies?

Continue reading "32 Teams in 32 Days, Team #7: The Philadelphia Eagles"