The Dallas Mavericks have maintained a steady presence in the NBA's Western Conference. After years and years of disappointing seasons, Mark Cuban's...
The Dallas Mavericks have maintained a steady presence in the NBA’s Western Conference. After years and years of disappointing seasons, Mark Cuban’s ownership of the franchise has resulted in many positive moves.
The 06′-07′ season proved to be one of the most disappointing seasons for a team that went 67-15 in the regular season. The Mavs lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Golden State Warriors.
In 06, the Mavs were up two games on the Miami Heat then lost 4 games in a row. The Mavs did rebound a season later with an outstanding record of 67-15, only to lose in the first round.
The Mavs plays in a very tough Western Conference with the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, the improving Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz, and Houston Rockets. In the 08-09′ there were 6 teams in the West with more then 50 wins – this upcoming season should be no different.
The Western Conference is loaded with very good teams and winning the West will prove to be very difficult for the Mavs. Dirk can’t win games by himself all the time and will need even more help from players like Jason Terry, Josh Howard and newly acquired Shawn Marion.
Drew Gooden will be a big presence in the paint for Dallas. One of the Dallas Mavericks’ weakest points in recent years has been rebounding. Gooden should help in this area with his size, 6′10 and 250lbs.
With Shawn Marion and Drew Gooden in town, they should definitely see improvements on defense.
As a result, this is a Mavericks team that the Lakers and Spurs have both publicly spoken praises for. Many pre-season power rankings have the Mavericks at #2 or 3 in the Western Conference, and with good reason. This is a talented team of experienced basketball players.
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The 08’s season for the Seattle Seahawks was an utter disappointment finishing 4-12. The Seahawks caught the injury bug and no one was able to stay healthy, thus the bad record.
The 09’s season started off well with a win against the St. Louis Rams – who are in the process of rebuilding their team. The Seattle Seahawks finished third in the NFC West last season with a 4-12 record, Seahawks can not go through another season like that.
Flashes of that returned last week, when Hasselbeck was forced out of the Seahawks’ game against the San Francisco 49ers during week 2 of the 2009 NFL season.
At the goal line, Hasselbeck was hit hard by 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis, and was forced to leave the game. Some x-rays conducted later revealed that Hasselbeck had suffered a bruise to the ribs, and his status for the team’s week 3 game against the Bears at home is in doubt.
In 08′, Hasselback only started 7 games for the Seahawks — when he did play he only completed 52% of his pass attempts with 5 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Hasselback is in his mid 30s — there are not many good years left for him one would assume if he can’t stay on the field.
QB Seneca Wallace has stepped in for Hasselback and has done fairly well — completing around 61% of his pass attempts. The acquisition of T.J. Houshmandzadeh gives the QB’s of the Seahawks a number one option. WR Nate Burleson has had a good season averaging over 10 yards per catch. Burleson only played one game in the 08′ season.
It will be difficult for the Seahawks to contend in the NFC West with the improved of the San Francisco 49ers and the defending NFC West champs Arizona Cardinals — even though the Cards have struggles in the beginning of the season.
If the Seahawks can stay healthy for the majority of the season they are an easy 8 win team — which is double the wins from last season. The Seahawks have their coveted “12th man” with the home crowd which makes it difficult for opponents to play them on their own turf.
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Who would have expected the Tennessee Titans to open up the season with an 0-2 record? After a successful 2008 season, it’s shocking.
The Titans play in the AFC South, the same division as the Indianapolis Colts – this doesn’t bode well for the Titans. Once you dig yourself a hole in the NFL in the beginning, you spend the rest of the season trying to climb out of it.
It’s not that the Titans are a bad team. In 08′ the Titans went–3, winning the AFC South and overthrowing the Colts. This year QB Kerry Collins is completing less then 59% of his pass attempts – granted the Titans have an average receiving core.
The running game of the Titans is more dangerous, as Chris Johnson and LenDale White are a formidable running duo. The Titans’ defense has been good at stopping the run but not much else. The Titans are among the worst in the NFL in points per game allowed and passing yards per game allowed.
In week 1, the Titans faced a difficult challenge in visiting the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh. Having to play the defending champions at their own field on opening night is a huge challenge in and of itself, but the Titans handled the challenge well, nearly coming away with a win against the Steelers.
So they were 0-1, but they were expected to lose that game, right? Surely, they’d bounce back to 1-1 after hosting the Texans at home.
It is hard to believe that a team coached by Jeff Fisher will continue to play this way for an entire NFL season.
Since the Titans play in the same division as the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans, hopefully they can get some “easy” wins against them and other below average teams to finish the season with a respectable record. This can either be a very long season for the Tennessee Titans – or it can be one where they find out what they are made of bouncing back from a bad start
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The New Orleans Saints started out the season with all guns blazing. They have the potential to have the greatest offense the league has seen in the last 30 years which includes the 2007 New England Patriots team that set many NFL scoring records.
QB Drew Brees is playing the best he has ever played and will be a favorite for MVP once the season is over. The 09′ season should be a good one for the Saints franchise overall, many expect the Saints to play late in January.
Drew Brees has established himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the league – having all the offensive threats such as WR Marques Colston, RB Mike Bell, BB Reggie Bush, and WR Jeremy Shockey. All the pieces are in place for the Saints to win many games this season.
The offense ranks in the top 10 in every major statistical category and should continue to do so all season long. The Saints defense isn’t bad either; they are holding opponents to around 20 point per game — averaging much more then that on offense.
The Saints schedule looks a lot easier then it did in the start of the year, their division isn’t as strong as it was in 08′. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in a rebuilding process and the Carolina Panther can’t seem to get anything together.
The defense is what the Saints need to keep opponents to a relatively low score – we know the Saints can score in bunches and quickly. But defense wins championships!
New Orleans has struggled financially the last few years and a good Saints football team is what the New Orleans community needs. Sports have been a great way to help bring communities together during tough times.
The Saints had a disappointing loss to the Bears in the 06′ NFC Championship game in freezing weather. Let’s hope for the Saints sake they receive home field advantage all through out.
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The San Francisco 49ers are a young team with lots of upside. Head coach Mike Singletary and his “I want winners” mentality seems to be working.
The 49ers had a disappointing season in 08′ but improved towards the end of the season. While Steve Young, Jerry Rice, Joe Montana are long gone from the 49ers – the players the 49ers do have are RB Frank Gore, TE Vernon Davis, LB Patrick Willis, and QB Shaun Hill. They might not be the most talented group of players to ever play for the 49ers, rest assure, Coach Singletary will maximize his players and make sure they play up to their potential.
The NFC West is one of the worst divisions in football – well not the most competitive. It seems to be up for grabs this year.
The more impressive of the two victories was San Francisco’s week one win over the Arizona Cardinals, in Arizona of all places. A 20-16 win shut down the defending NFC champions, surprising many football fans around the country.
QB Shaun Hill won’t dazzle you with eye popping statistics but he won’t make many mistakes either. Hill is completing over 60% of his throws and has a good QB rating.
Coach Singletary is the perfect man for the job to make this happen, the 49ers are a young team and need a “general” like coach to keep them on the straight and narrow.
After that win at Arizona and another impressive win in week 2 against the visiting Seattle Seahawks, things are looking up for the San Francisco 49ers, and they’re surprisingly leading the NFC West division after two weeks of football.
The 49ers may not have to worry about the teams in their own division, they will have to worry about the likes of the Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants, New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys and other potential NFC contenders.
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The Tampa Buccaneers are one of the many teams in the NFL trying to start from the ground up and rebuild their franchise. After the Super Bowl win in 02′ the Buccaneers haven’t had much success.
This was a strong team that made the playoffs in 2007, but one that faltered a bit in 2008, slipping in terms of both offense and defense.
The old saying is that if you have two quarterbacks you have no quarterbacks – that is the case with the Bucs. Byron Leftwich and Josh Johnson are average QB’s at best, no much more.
The defense didn’t change much. They’re one of the worst units in the league and they should have spent a bit more on balancing out the squad, not just improving the offense.
Head coach Raheem Morris, at 33 years old, is one of the youngest head coaches in football. Some might believe that is too young but to save money teams will spend less on a young coach rather then pay the high price tag for a coach with Super Bowl wins. Head coach Mike Tomlin is the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl, he was just 36 years old.
The Bucs need to find a capable quarterback and build their defense up once again if they ever expect to be a force in the NFC South again like they once were.
QB Josh Johnson has been named the started of the Bucs – while it’s too early to say what he is made of – if the Bucs were confident in his abilities he would have been named the starter over Leftwich to begin with.
The Bucs defense is one of the worst in the league – if not THE worst – the Bucs have given up more the 30 points more times then many teams give up the entire season. It will be a long season for the Bucs in 09′.
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A stronger Jacksonville Jaguars team came back revamped and determined to make an impact in 2009, with some solid offensive weapons in place. After a weak 5-11 season in 2008, they look to bounce back in 2009.
David Garrard seems to improve a bit with each season. I’ve always thought he’s one of the smarter QBs in the league, but hasn’t had much help around him. That may change this season.
The 09′ season seems to be an extension of the 08′ season, not much has changed. Not all is lost for the Jaguars, they do have one of the premier running backs in the NFL in Maurice Jones-Drew – who at only 5′7′ is a threat every time he carries the ball. MJD might be good for fantasy players but he can’t win games by himself.
The team headed to Indy in week 1 of the NFL season. While the team usually plays some pretty good football against the Colts, beating the Colts on their own turf is a tall order, especially in week 1 while emotions are running high.
QB David Garrard was supposed to take that leap into one of the elite quarterbacks in the NFL, he is yet to take his game to the next level and has become and average QB. If this is Garrard’s fault or the fact he has no play-makers other then MJD remains to be seen.
During the team’s second week of football, the Jaguars hosted the visiting Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals, last year’s NFC conference champions, also set off their season on a bad note as they lost to the 49ers during their first week of football.
Things didn’t look good for the Jaguars in week two either, as they lost to the Cardinals by fourteen points. With a match up against the Texans next, more challenges await.
The Texans lost to the Jets in week one, but the Jets look great with their new rookie QB Matt Sanchez and a stellar performance by their defense. I’m going with the Jaguars over the Texans.
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After beating the Bears at home during week 1, things were looking good for the Green Bay Packers. Coming off of a disappointing (yet promising) 6-10 finish in the 2008 football season, the Green Bay Packers have higher hopes in 2009.
Aaron Rodgers continues to improve, and is legitimately one of the best quarterbacks in football. Greg Jennings is one of the best receivers in football, and veteran wide receiver Donald Driver isn’t such a bad option at the position himself.
Brett Favre is an icon in Green Bay despite how his departure ended there. Aaron Rogers must show he is capable in taking the Packers to the Super Bowl, but he can’t do it alone. If the management bring in the right players around him, I think he’s the type of QB to make this happen.
The Packers have a very good team overall, an every down running back with Ryan Grant, a veteran WR in Donald Driver (who caught many passes from Favre), and a stellar defense that will improve over the course of the 09′ season.
Regardless, it seems like a lot of the hype may have been a bit premature and unwarranted. The Packers lost a very disappointing game to the Cincinnati Bengals at home in their second game of the season.
Not only are they strong offensively, but they have a very good defense with the likes of A.J. Hawk, Charles Woodson, and Aaron Kampman. Defense wins championships!
Somehow, the Bengals managed to overcome the Packers, maintaining the lead for most of the game. Aaron Rodgers himself wasn’t too bad (he didn’t throw any interceptions), but Ryan Grant was weak at the running back position, and lost a key fumble that seriously hurt the Packers’ chances of winning the game.
The Packers do have the potential to win the NFC North because have the necessary skill position players to do so. The Packers lost many close games in 08′ which hurt their season tremendously — maybe the Packers win the close games they lost last season.
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Any fan of the New York Jets has to be feeling pretty good about their team right now. The Jets seem to be a completely new team post-Mangini, and their 2-0 start has the city of New York buzzing about the new and improved New York Jets.
The Jets looked great during the first week of football, with a big win in Houston over the Texans. Rookie QB Matt Sanchez looked like he’s NFL ready in their first game. This was very exciting.
After winning a strong season opener in week 1 against the Texans in Houston, the Jets came back home as the underdogs against the Patriots, armed with a healthy Tom Brady. This was a huge test for NY and they came ready.
While Brady showed some rust during the season opener against the Bills last Monday night, he was still able to come through with a game winning drive that brought New England the victory. This was enough to keep the Patriots as the team to beat in the AFC East, and perhaps in the AFC altogether.
The Pats came to New York on Sunday and the Jets looked like an entirely new team. Not only was Brady limited to his first game without a touchdown pass since 2005, but the Patriots lost their first regular season game with Brady as their quarterback since December 11, 2006!
Rookie QB’s typically have up and down first years – these are the “up” days for Sanchez. Despite the Miami Dolphins winning the division in 08′, the New England Patriots are the class of the division until the Patriots lose with a healthy Tom Brady.
The Jets have a formidable running attack with Leon Washington and Thomas Jones, and WR Jerricho Cotchery is contributing.
My hat goes off to the Jets for a huge win. This shows, if they can beat Tom Brady and the Patriots, they can defeat any team on any given Sunday.
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Tom Brady is back in New England, and football fans have generally expected the team to pick up right where it left off before he went down. Unfortunately for Patriots fans, this isn’t the case.
The New England Patriots now are built on competing to win Super Bowls, not missing the playoffs. With Brady again at the helm the Patriots are looking to pick up where they left off from the 07′ season when they set countless NFL scoring records.
Unfortunately, things haven’t quite turned out this way during the first two weeks of the season. I guess it will take them some time to get it back and adjust to the changes.
The Patriots won their first game at home against the Bills, and after a shaky start, essentially looked like the team of old. Well, Tom Brady did when he took control in the final two minutes. The rest of the team, not so much!
Many expect Brady to be rusty and shows sign of being a rookie again. It isn’t all about Tom Brady. The Patriots wide receivers must give Brady help and make plays and the offensive line must keep Brady upright and protected.
Brady threw together an efficient 2 minute drill in week 1 against Buffalo, and somehow, the Patriots came away with a win. It really didn’t look like the Pats would pull it out, but I guess you can never count any team out with a healthy Tom Brady.
Brady was a comeback king during the team’s first matchup against the Bills, working his typical magic at the end of the game to will the team to victory. Week two showed a completely different side of Brady that no one had seen before.
One has to wonder if a year away from football brings on a little more rust than the football world is expecting. Week 3 for New England should be a telling one.
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