Noffke's NFL Predictions

Following in Ryan's Lead, I will have my NFL predictions.

I personally can't wait for the NFL season to start. I am sick and tired of hearing how bad the Bears are going to be and how lucky they were last year. This reached a peak today with Bill Barnwell said on the BS report he thinks the Bears will be the worst team in the NFL, primarily based on the new kickoff rule (WHAT!?). Anyway, here we go.

z - conference winner; y - bye week; x - division winner w - wildcard team.

AFC East

Z. Patriots
2. J-E-T-S
3. Bills
4. Dolphins

Patriots are as good as advertised. Jets have a good year, but miss the playoffs. Bills and Dolphins are terrible.

AFC South

X. Texans
W. Colts
3. Titans
4. Jags

I know, I know, Texans aren't that good, but who in this division is? Jags are the worst team in the NFL, Titans could be good depending on if CJ doesn't have any problems without a training camp and how well Hasselback plays. Colts make it in, but not the division winner unless Peyton gets healthy quick.

AFC West

X. Chargers
2. Raiders
3. Broncos
4. Chiefs

Chiefs benefited from and easy schedule last year, and will struggle this year. Broncos will be good, but inconsistent again. Raiders will suprise with some stability for Jason Campbell in Offense (first time he's in the same offense 2 years in a row since High School) but the Chargers are the class of the West. It's tough to finish #1 in offense and defense and miss the playoffs, but some how they did it last year.

AFC North

Y. Steelers
W. Browns
3. Ravens
4. Bengals

Steelers will be the Steelers. I believe in Colt McCoy. Ravens will have a good year and the Bengals will struggle with New QB Andy Dalton, but he'll win Rookie of the Year.


NFC East

Y. Eagles
2. Redskins
3. Giants
4. Cowboys

Eagles have a lot of hype, and part of me thinks they could have a terrible year. Saying that, Andy Reid always seems to have his teams making the playoffs. Mike Shanonhan was embarassed last year and will have his team ready to play with Rex Grossman. Giants and Cowboys have solid years.


NFC South

Z. Falcons
W. Bucs
3. Saints
4. Panthers

Falcons get Home field primarily based on them getting to play the Panthers twice. Bucs keep on rising. Saints will be good, but just miss the playoffs.

NFC West

X. Rams
2. Cardinals
3. 49ers
4. Seahawks

Rams schedule is brutal to start, but no one in this division will run away from them. Cardinal's season will depend on Kolb. 49ers will be starting Kapernick by week 8 and the Seahawks are lousy.

NFC North

X. Packers
W. Bears
3. Lions
4. Vikings

Packers only go 9-7 and beat the Bears for the division on a tie breaker. Lions could be good, but everyone will get hurt again. Vikings could be good, but O-Line is a problem.


Playoffs (Home Team in CAPS)

AFC

Wildcard

Browns over CHARGERS
Colts over TEXANS

Semi-finals

STEELERS over Colts
PATRIOTS over Browns

Title Game

STEELERS over PATRIOTS

NFC Playoffs

Wildcard

Bears over PACKERS
Bucs over RAMS

Semi-Finals

Bears over FALCONS
EAGLES over Bucs

Title Game

Bears over EAGLES

Super Bowl

Steelers over Bears

NFL Predictions

Hola everyone! With the first games tomorrow, I figured what time is better than now for my annual NFL predictions. A little key: z - conference winner; y - bye week; x - division winner w - wildcard team. Here I go:

AFC EAST

z - 1. Patriots 14-2

w - 2. Jets 10-6

3. Bills 7-9

4. Dolphins 5-11

AFC WEST

x - 1. Chargers 11-5

2. Broncos 7-9

3. Chiefs 6-10

4. Raiders 5-11

AFC NORTH

y - 1. Ravens 12-4

2. Steelers 9-7

3. Browns 6-10

4. Bengals 2-14

AFC SOUTH

x - 1. Colts 10-6

w - 2. Titans 9-7

3. Texans 7-9

4. Jaguars 4-12

NFC EAST

x - 1. Eagles 11-5

w - 2. Redskins 10-6

3. Giants 9-7

4. Cowboys 6-10

NFC WEST

x - 1. 49ers 9-7

2. Rams 8-8

3. Cardinals 7-9

4. Seahawks 4-12

NFC NORTH

z - 1. Bears 13-3

w - 2. Packers 10-6

3. Lions 7-9

4. Vikings 6-10

NFC SOUTH

y - 1. Saints 12-4

2. Falcons 9-7

3. Bucs 7-9

4. Panthers 4-12

WILDCARD ROUND

Chargers 27 Titans 17

Colts 17 Jets 20

49ers 17 Packers 24

Eagles 31 Redskins 20

DIVISIONAL ROUND

Ravens 20 Chargers 17

Patriots 31 Jets 17

Bears 21 Packers 17

Saints 27 Eagles 34

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Patriots 21 Ravens 24

Bears 28 Eagles 20

SUPERBOWL

Bears 17 Ravens 13

There you have it: Bears win the Superbowl. But we all knew that already!

Is It Monday Yet?

Dear ESPN

This is a letter to the morons at ESPN. I was watching Sports Center this morning and there was a discussion of the top 10 QB's in the NFL. Darren Woodson had 15 QB's on his board. One of the QB's was Mark Sanchez. ESPN has been riding Mark Sanchez's jock since he was drafted (he wasn't named a top 10 QB but was in the top 15). How is it that a guy who has an incredible offensive line, a great running game, great receivers, and a great tight end considered in the top 15 when he completes 54% of his passes? The guy threw for only 17 td's last year. The year before he threw for 12 tds and competed 15% of his passes. I'd honestly put him near the bottom of the league in QB's. Yet ESPN rides this guy's jock like he's actually good. HE'S NOT. HE SUCKS.

And yes, this article is about to turn into how the heck is Jay Cutler not on the list of top 15 QB's. I get it ESPN, you hate him. Dilfer created your new QBR stat, and I do actually believe this, to try to make Cutler look bad. Sacks? Really? You are going to count sacks as the QB's fault? If that's the case, at least watch the film and find some objective standard in order to tell when the sacks are the o-line's fault and when they are the QB's fault. This is how flawed ESPN's QBR stat is. Here are two stat lines:

336 Completions/555 Attempts - 3,666 yards - 60.5% completion percentage - 27 tds 26 ints (6.61 yards per attempt) 40 rushes 173 yards 1 td 4 fumbles 35 sacks 76.8 regular QB rating

261 completions / 432 Attempts - 3,274 yards - 60.4% completion percentage - 23 tds 16 ints (7.6 yards per attempt) 50 rushes 232 yards 1 td 1 fumble 52 sacks 86.3 regular QB rating

Which player is better? Well, one QB has 123 more attempts and only around 400 more passing yards and 4 more passing tds with 10 more interceptions and 3 more fumbles. Essentially QB 2 could have equaled those numbers in one game. Here is the kicker, QB 1 is rated higher in ESPN's new QBR than QB2. Who are the QB's? Well if you haven't figured it out already they are both Jay Cutler. So, ESPN wants us to believe that Jay Cutler from 2009 was better than last years Jay Cutler. Why? Because of sacks. Somehow, the 17 more sacks Cutler took last year outweighs the 13 more opportunities Cutler gave the opposing team (granted 3 of those were fumbles recovered by the Bears but a fumble is a fumble). Oh yeah, and need I mention that in ESPN's QBR Trent Dilfer has one of the highest ratings in the league the year the Ravens won the Superbowl. ESPN your QBR stat doesn't even pass the eyeball test!

Now onto whether Eli Manning is a top 5, 10, or even 15 QB. I say no. Unlike anyone of the QB's I will name that are better than him, Manning is unable to put his team on his back and win a game. Yes, he can throw a TD in the last minute to make a game 17-14. So can Kyle Orton. And that is who I'd compare Manning to as a QB. Kyle Orton. Now onto where I'd rank Eli Manning right now, and this includes players I'd take over him that are currently in the NFL.

1. Peyton Manning

2. Tom Brady

3. Drew Brees

4. Phillip Rivers

5. Aaron Rodgers

6. Michael Vick

7. Ben Roethlisberger

8. Matt Ryan

9. Tony Romo

10. Matt Schaub

11. Jay Cutler

12. Josh Freeman

13. Joe Flacco

14. Carson Palmer

15. Eli Manning (only because these other guys have no established themselves yet)

16. Sam Bradford

17. Matthew Stafford

18. Matt Hasselbeck

19. Kevin Kolb

20. Donovan McNabb

21. Kyle Orton

22. David Gerrard

23. Ryan Fitzpatrick

24. Matt Cassel

25. Colt McCoy

26. Vince Young

27. Chad Henne

28. Rex Grossman

29. Shaun Hill

30. Jon Kitna

31. Alex Smith

32. Mark Sanchez

This was not based on any bias towards New York teams. I don't have a bias. This is an objective look at QB's I'd rather have starting on my team over Mark Sanchez and Eli Manning. ESPN, you need to hire objective reporters who don't care about their hometown team instead of these subjective morons you have on your staff. Quit sucking so much! Right now, you are the Mark Sanchez of sports reporting. Awful!

Kevin Wilson Gets Pissed At Radio Hosts Making Fun of IU

Some Fox radio show call Zakk and Jack invited Kevin Wilson on to do an interview. After an intro where they left Wilson on hold for about a minute and a half Wilson went on the attack.



Listen Here



Even though Zakk and Jack went on the rip on Wilson after they kicked him off the show, many other people in the Media have defended Wilson including Dan Dachich on his radio show, SI's Stewart Mandel and Andy Staples.





Mandel via Twitter





Wilson > condescending radio jocks RT @JimmyTraina: Train wreck sports talk radio w/ Indiana coach Kevin Wilson. http://t.co/qARzwtC



Staples has a Lot of back and forth via Twitter I am only including his comments. You can follow is hole chain here







RT @JimmyTraina: Train wreck sports talk radio at its finest here w/ new Indiana football coach Kevin Wilson.



@HawkeyeNation Agreed. Don't start ripping after you hang up on the guy. Hit him with that on the air if it's that important.



I know how Kevin Wilson feels. Last year, I lit up a host off-air for doing no prep before I came on. Should have done it on-air



Not so sure. Think he endeared himself to IU fans. RT @dcvol: If you're Wilson, though, you've got to bite your tongue.





prefer these guys. http://youtu.be/ws58s9wzYsA RT @turnershow: Trudeau and his wingman absolutely brutal





@andy_grey You're underestimating the public's mistrust of the media. Pit yourself against a media member and you look like a hero





@andy_grey He got more buzz by doing what he did than if he had given a sunny, cheery interview

Fantasy Football 2011: Top 5

So apparently I have a problem. It's apparently an addiction to have completed 10 mock drafts up until this point. But one thing I have noticed in these drafts is the high amount of variability in the first round. Generally, its the same people going 1-5 and then the next 5 are the same people in varying orders however that has not been the case this year. I have seen 6 different people go #1 overall including Adrian Peterson, Chris Johnson, Arian Foster, Mike Vick, Jamal Charles, and even Rashard Mendenhall. That being said this is my Top 5 for the first round. Feel free to comment or debate any of these.

1. Adrian Peterson
With a decent quarterback behind him and a bunch of solid receivers AP is set up to do what he does every year.

2. Mike Vick
I know what your thinking. Dan quarterbacks are so deep this year why would you waste your number 2 pick on an injury prone QB. Here's why: Mike Vick is a play maker. He was among the league leaders in fantasy points last year even not playing every game either due to his injury or to Andy Reid. As for being injury prone, think of it this way. Everybody is injury prone. How many hits is AP gonna take this year? Who took Brady a few years ago and expected nothing to happen to him. The fact of the matter is anybody can get hurt at any time so ignore injuries unless the injury is current.

3. Arian Foster
I've got good news and I've got bad news. First the bad news. Every team is now looking for this guy on every play. He had most of his success last year early in the year when nobody was game planning for him. Now for the good news. Matt Schaub isn't getting any worse. With his ability to air it out to Andre Johnson defenses wont be able to cheat up into the box to shut down Foster or they will get burned deep. So they have a choice. Either get burned deep and then have Houston run out the clock on them or let them run initially either way Foster is going to get his touches.

4. Ray Rice
With Willis McGahee out of the picture look for rice to get all his regular touches plus extra goal line carries.

5. Chris Johnson
Tennesee has no other option but to hope that CJ can run the ball effectively.

If I have time I hope to finish out the first three rounds.

Northwestern to Play on Purple Basketball Court?

Northwestern is hosting a vote (http://nusports.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/080111aab.html) to determine what thier new floor at Welsch-Ryan Arena should look like.

Here are the four options.

Option 1


Option 2

Option 3

Option 4

I personally like Option 1 the best, but could be talked into Option 4. I think my eyes would hurt after watching long stretches of BBall on a purple court.