Boski's Blogopoluza!

The NFL is back, just as I am leaving for two weeks. Oh well I will miss weeks 1 and 2, but it is for a very good cause. When I started this little dog and pony show most of the emphasis was on my so called knowledge of football. So there were many a long winded post about the NFL season. Sadly they are coming back, maybe. I might do that on another blog or try something radical and work on making them a little more succinctly and a bit more coherent.


So we try here with the 2005 Boski NFL Preview Spectacular!

Okay it is not spectacular but here is what I have for right now.

Again in my hours of study I have come to conclusion that I really do not have much of a clue on what will happen. I feel sure about three teams (New England, Philadelphia and Indy) and they all have questions as well. So let us take a gander at the NFL and pray that this will be better than my baseball picks.

NFC East

Philadelphia - Even with the T.O. soap opera and the loss of Simon they are the class of the NFC.

Dallas - Drew Bledsoe with a questionable O-line, that is not the recipe for long term success. They are a fringe Wild Card, but at least a year away.

New York Giants - They also have line issues on both side (talent and depth) They nearly got Manning killed this pre-season and they have not cloned Strahan yet.

Washington - Team Trainwreck is about the reach the station. They had a great D last year but they did that with mirrors and the O still sucks. I see 4 - 5 wins for them. I am hoping for that or less since Denver holds their 1st pick next year.

NFC North

Minnesota - I like they got better on D. Now if Mike Tice can get off of Stub-Hub.com and commit to a running game they show win this division. It is not going to be pretty but they will do just enough.

Green Bay - This team will not get to the playoffs and will lose a number of 38 - 27 games. They do not have the players on D and their O-line is in flux. I think they NFL may give them a playoff spot just because of Farve. Look I like Farve, he is great and Hall of Famer, but could they tone done their calls to the Vatican for that Sainthood. Enough already. I think they may need to give Madden a restraining order. I think he watches Brett's games in the dark dressed like Phil Hartman's character from the Spocketts game show sketch with Jason priestly.

Detroit - They have got the parts in place and I really like this team. So why do I have listed 3rd and not making the playoffs. Two words, Joey Harrington. There will be only so much Kevin Jones can do. Harrington has been awful and he has not shown anything to say he can turn it around. Yes his line is not great, but he is regressing. Too much worrying about playing piano on MNF and not enough about getting the ball to his WR's. Now with Jeff Garcia out (as if that was really going to help) and a rookie as the #2. It might be a long year for a team that has so much potential

Chicago - Bears fans, you have a good defense and Lovie is the right guy, but pray the White Sox win the World Series. Because by the time that wears off it will be January and now one will notice the 5 - 11 record and scoring only about 14 a game. I could be wrong and the Bears look like geniuses for drafting Orton, but these are the Bears and that just does not happen

NFC South

Carolina - Oh Carolina, jump across. Yes the Falcons got to the NFC championship game, but they are second best in this division. That will be made painfully true if the Panthers can beat the Falcons. Watching a John Fox team may be boring if you are not into defense and running the ball. But he wins, look if they were 1-7 and almost snuck into the playoffs. Considering the number of injuries and they had their 2nd string FB as the feature back it is amazing. They would have caused problems if they had made the playoffs. Julius Peppers is my dark horse for NFL MVP, I think he will win Defensive Player of the year, but I think he will raise his play to that elite level this year.

Falcons - Vick is amazing, as a runner. He still has miles to go as a QB. What is not going to help is that his WR corp is thin and very green. Look the Falcon found out that "the Price is wrong bitch". They have Crumpler and Finneran. They need Jenkins and White to accelerate the learning curve. The D is good and the special teams are special, but the O holds them from the Super Bowl and division this year. The Falcons will post their first back-to-back winning seasons this year.

Tampa Bay - I really would like to know what Gruden is trying to do. Sure Cadillac is going to be good in this league, but that D is aging and you have Brian Griese as your QB. That is not making me clamor to put money on them in Vegas.

New Orleans - I was going to rant about one of the rules I have learned over the years. That they Saints will always let you down. Win games they should not win and lose the games they should. The image the fits the Saints perfectly is the game they lost to Jacksonville in 03. Down by 7 with seconds to play. Score on an improbable play rivaling the Cal-Stanford game, then lose by missing the extra point. But I wont, even thought it looks like I have. I hope this team wins and gives the fans and the people recovering from Katrina something to block the pain, but being a road team for 16 weeks takes a lot out of you.

NFC West - Do I have to pick a winner?

St. Louis - Mad Scientist Mike Martz will confound and amaze you with feats of daring and stupidity as he leads his poor tackling and horrid special teams to a 8-8 maybe 9-7 season as he pushes the offense to try to win game in an AFL fashion. I think that they safest bet you can make is the Rams and the over unless it around 80, then you might want to think about it.

Arizona - Along with the Saints, this is a team that will always let you down. Unless Dennis Green can work a miracle. Hell the guy coached Northwestern during the 80's so he up for it. I like the pieces he is bringing together. A nice D, good skilled players, but if that line can not block and Warner plays more like Blair then it will be the same old same old in the Valley of Sunburnt.

Seattle - Team Potted Meat their play at the end of last season matched the color of those uni's. Awful. They team that can not catch is in for another year of too little highs and way too many lows. They are team scitzo. Great O-Line, bad D - Line. Good DB's and WR's who can not catch (they were helped by jettisoning Koren Robinson, the roto team killer). I think this is Holmgren's last stand.

San Francisco - You are on the clock and no I do not recommend taking Matt Leinart.


Coming up Next the AFC and scrapbooking tips from Mike Ditka. (or titled I have to get back to work)