Bold predictions thread 2011.

[MagicMan1315]

Mark Schlereth was on Sports Nation and they actually had his own "Bold Predictions"

These were his with a short explanation...

5. Patriots will not win a playoff game: He said they will do great in the regular season but lack the hard nose, grind it out and "pound-the-rock" mentality that is needed to win in the playoffs.

4. The Eagles will live up to the hype: They may not win the Super Bowl he said, but they will probably win the NFC East and do well in the playoffs. Andy Reid will keep the players motivated.

3. McNabb will silence his doubters.: They compared McNabbs year in Washington last year to the year when Farve was in New York. Now they are out of the "spotlight" in a way (being out of a big city on the east coast) and will be able to play well with a good running game in support.

2. Colts will not win the AFC South: Manning can erase some mistakes, but he is human, and he believes the Texans, with the key additions to their defense this free agency, will sneak up and steal the AFC south from them.

1. Cowboys will not make the playoffs: They have great talent, and finally a coach who can run a high powered offense, but they will not be able to protect Romo and their is not enough chemistry in the locker room.

Now I know some of these aren't ground breaking predictions but I have always liked and respected Schlereth and thought this was interesting and fit well in this thread.

Edit: Corrected the division. Didn't proof read.

[Yeah...THAT Guy]

Quote: Originally Posted by bjowers29

Like said before Cam Newton will be a bust Tim Tebow proves he can be a great NFL QB Mark Ingram wins offensive ROY Saints win the Super Bowl

The poor guy may not even get a chance.

Here's my thoughts (I posted it in the training camp thread):

He's a young, raw QB, and has never had great passing form and yet he still put up over 280 yards per game in his 3 starts last year and had 8 TDs to 4 INT/Fumbles and led a 4th quarter comeback against the Texans from 17 down to win it. I don't care if he doesn't throw the ball like Peyton Manning; he still improved the Broncos offense when he took over.

He still managed to put up more yards per game than Orton, had a better TD/turnover ratio, and technically had a higher winning percentage last year than Orton did as well (granted he went 1-2, but it's still technically better lol).

Tebow started in two division games against the Raiders and Chargers, so looking at Orton's games against those two teams from earlier in the year:

Raiders: Tebow leads Broncos to 9 more points than Orton did, and they lose by 16 instead of 45.

Chargers: Tebow leads Broncos to 14 more points than Orton did, and they lost by 5 instead of 21.

There's no reason to go back to Orton now just because they weren't able to find anyone that wanted him.

With Orton, the Broncos lost by an average of over 8 points per game. With Tebow, they lost by an average of a little over 6 points per game, and with Orton leading the way, the Broncos scored just over 20 points per game. In Tebow's 3 starts, the Broncos scored more than that all three games.

Actually, Tebow had 11 TDs to just 4 INTs/fumbles.

Personally, I was a big fan of Orton's when he was with Chicago and thought Denver got a wayyyy better deal out of the Cutler trade. I think it's kind of funny because when they were talking about Cutler/Orton, it went something like this: "Orton seems to have the intangibles for leading teams to wins. Cutler is the better QB though. Just look at his numbers."

Now, compared to Tebow, it's like this: "Tebow has the intangibles that you dream of your QB having, but Orton is the better QB. Just look at his numbers."

But then when you look at the numbers last year, I would take Tebow's numbers over Orton's if Tebow can put up numbers anywhere near the way he did in his rookie season.

[TheMatrix31]

Quote: Originally Posted by JBH3

In the AFC when the 2nd place team is 8-8, there's not much competition in the division. Each division in the AFC, aside from the South, had a second team winning at least 9 games. In 2011 the Jags face the Jets, Raves, Falcons, Saints, Steelers, and Chargers in out of division games. If this team won 8 last year, and was 2nd best in the division and has to face these teams this year....there's no competition in the division. I could see JAX losing all those games. Lets be real... Maybe the Texans could fare better this year? I don't even know what to make of the Titans. So yea...IMO there's no competition. You have an estabished perennial playoff team, and 3 what ifs. And I'm the one who is touchy about my team?!

Houston would have had 3 more wins if, like, five plays went the other way.
Andre letting a sure-fire TD slip through his hands and kicking it into the DBs hands against San Diego, the fumble while driving against Jacksonville which led to the tip-down secondary failure, the secondary giving up the field in 50 seconds against the Jets.

Not to mention the game against your beloved Philadelphia Eagles was extremely winnable too, but our awesome defense gave up 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. AND the Ravens game went to overtime after our defense dug us the early hole and it took a pick six to beat us in that overtime. AND the Broncos game where, again 14 unanswered points given up in the fourth.

The Texans spent their entire draft focused on the defense, drafting high motored, highly skilled beasts at every level of the defense. AND they signed the best cornerback not named Nnamdi AND a really good safety also in Danieal Manning. AND they hired Wade Phillips who is one of the best defensive coordinators around and has immediate success wherever he goes to be one. The offense remains one of the top 5 best in the league. If the defense is even MIDDLE of the pack, Houston can very well win the division. Will they? Who knows.

Not to mention that every AFC South game is a war and that the Colts haven't done a ****ing thing to improve their team this year.

The Colts barely scraped their way to a division title last year, and it really wasn't even their own doing. The division could have easily been Jacksonville's or Houston's, and like I said, both teams improved their team very much from last year where they beat themselves constantly.

I'm not saying Houston is going to win the division, because I clearly havent, but to say that the division is no contest is absurd at BEST.

[Yeah...THAT Guy]

Quote: Originally Posted by TheMatrix31

Houston would have had 3 more wins if, like, five plays went the other way. Andre letting a sure-fire TD slip through his hands and kicking it into the DBs hands against San Diego, the fumble while driving against Jacksonville which led to the tip-down secondary failure, the secondary giving up the field in 50 seconds against the Jets. Not to mention the game against your beloved Philadelphia Eagles was extremely winnable too, but our awesome defense gave up 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. AND the Ravens game went to overtime after our defense dug us the early hole and it took a pick six to beat us in that overtime. AND the Broncos game where, again 14 unanswered points given up in the fourth. The Texans spent their entire draft focused on the defense, drafting high motored, highly skilled beasts at every level of the defense. AND they signed the best cornerback not named Nnamdi AND a really good safety also in Danieal Manning. AND they hired Wade Phillips who is one of the best defensive coordinators around and has immediate success wherever he goes to be one. The offense remains one of the top 5 best in the league. If the defense is even MIDDLE of the pack, Houston can very well win the division. Will they? Who knows. Not to mention that every AFC South game is a war and that the Colts haven't done a ****ing thing to improve their team this year. The Colts barely scraped their way to a division title last year, and it really wasn't even their own doing. The division could have easily been Jacksonville's or Houston's, and like I said, both teams improved their team very much from last year where they beat themselves constantly. I'm not saying Houston is going to win the division, because I clearly havent, but to say that the division is no contest is absurd at BEST.

In defense of the Colts, they haven't made any big moves really, but they did most likely improve their running game with Delone Carter, improved their blocking with Anthony Costanzo (spelling?), and brought in a Jamaal Anderson for cheap who could develop into a decent player for them (former 1st round pick I believe), and signed Ernie Sims, who not too long ago was held in pretty high regards for a linebacker. They still have arguably the most weapons to throw too of any team (Packers, Saints, and Patriots are great too), and as long as they can protect Manning (whether or not they can remains to be seen), they should be among the best offenses in the NFL, and they still have a formidable pass rush and should have improved linebacker play. Personally, I think the Colts will be fine and win the division again, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Texans do either. I'd be surprised by the other teams though.

[TheMatrix31]

Quote: Originally Posted by Yeah...THAT Guy

Personally, I think the Colts will be fine and win the division again

I do too.

[mKoz26]

Quote: Originally Posted by MagicMan1315

4. The Eagles will live up to the hype: They may not win the Super Bowl he said, but they will probably win the NFC North and do well in the playoffs. Andy Reid will keep the players motivated.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Eagles managed to take the West, too, along with the North and East.

[Dog]

Quote: Originally Posted by mKoz26

I wouldn't be surprised if the Eagles managed to take the West, too, along with the North and East.

I think the Eagles will win the AFC South. The Colts just aren't that dominant team anymore, and the Texans are.. the Texans. The Jaguars have very odd uniforms and the Titans lost Randy Moss so they will be too upset and maybe forfeit every game.

Its the Eagles division to lose, IMO.

Sent from my LG Ally using Tapatalk

[MagicMan1315]

Quote: Originally Posted by mKoz26

I wouldn't be surprised if the Eagles managed to take the West, too, along with the North and East.

Quote: Originally Posted by JNes12

I think the Eagles will win the AFC South. The Colts just aren't that dominant team anymore, and the Texans are.. the Texans. The Jaguars have very odd uniforms and the Titans lost Randy Moss so they will be too upset and maybe forfeit every game. Its the Eagles division to lose, IMO.

Ha. Anyways, the minor typo aside, that is Schlereth said. Don't really agree with all of them, but just thought it was interesting.