Guess who's back?

Summer vacation is over.

That sentence could be interpreted several different ways. It’s somewhat sad, because long days of relaxing with friends, topped off with a Cubs victory, was real fun. But it’s also a good thing, because school’s return also means the return of the best word in the English language: football. College football already has begun, the NFL starts on Thursday, and most red-blooded Americans couldn’t be more excited. And with that, here’s an important announcement.

Because of school and other commitments- I still write a weekly column for the National Sports Review plus I got a job working at the Sun-Times high school website yourseason.com- I plan on posting only twice a week, at least until Thanksgiving. Of course things could change- I still want to do Cubs playoff rants after every game, assuming there is more than three of them this year- but right now the plan is to do a Football Thought of the Week on Monday and then NFL picks on Friday. When there’s a pro game on Thursday, like there is this week, that pick will appear on the Monday post. I’ll also try to drop a link or YouTube video in when it applies.


FOOTBALL THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

A lot of interesting stuff took place on the college gridiron this past weekend, but since I’ll only be posting NFL picks, it makes sense to give you my predictions for what will take place in the league this fall.

AFC:
East- New England--- Even with Brett Favre coming to the division, the other three teams best 53 players couldn’t beat the Patriots. I don’t see 16-0 again this year, but 13-3 is not out of the question for Brady, Moss and Co.

North- Pittsburgh--- There are only a few things that are consistent every football season: The Bears won’t have a good quarterback, Denver will run the ball a lot, and the Steelers will play physical defense. Add in Big Ben and Willie Parker (and rookie Rashard Mendenhall), and Pittsburgh looks like a threat for the AFC crown.

South- Jacksonville--- I say this is the year the Colts go down. Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison are banged up, and the Jags have one of the game’s most underrated players, quarterback David Gerrard. Also look for safety Reggie Nelson, AKA The Eraser, to become a Pro Bowl player.

West- San Diego--- The Chargers D may be banged up, and there are still the lasting memories of LaDanian Tomlinson sitting out the playoff game last year versus New England. But the other three teams in this division stink, letting the Chargers return to the playoffs.

Wild Cards- Indianapolis and Buffalo- One team, the Colts, you expect to see here. The other, the Bills, is a shock. But I think Dick Jauron’s team will be the surprise squad of the year, winning just enough games to get spanked by the Jaguars in the opening round of the playoffs.

AFC Champ- Pittsburgh Steelers--- The offense should be great, their D is always good, and even though it happened a year ago, I don’t like the chances of opponents going into Heinz Field in January and coming out with a win.

NFC:
East- Dallas--- If you know me, than you know how painful this is for me to pick the ‘Boys. But there are still big questions around Philly, New York and Washington, even though they all could contend for the crown. Watch for Dallas rookie Felix Jones to have a few eye-popping plays this season.

North- Green Bay--- Another painful pick, but I just can’t say that Minnesota QB Tavaris Jackson is ready to win the North. This whole division, including the Bears, are a giant question mark because there isn’t one proven quarterback among the four teams.

South- New Orleans--- Assuming that Hurricane Gustav (BTW: My thoughts and prayers are with all of NoLa and the Gulf Coast) doesn’t make the Saints play another 16 road games like they did in 2005, I really like N.O. With Drew Brees running the show and an improved defense, the Saints should easily handle the South.

West- Seattle--- What a strange division. The Seahawks make the playoffs every year but never seem to be very impressive. Arizona has a lot of talent, but then they remember that they’re the Cardinals and end up 6-10. And both St. Louis and San Francisco are giant unknown’s, never having any good players or national interest at all.

Wild Card- Philadelphia and Minnesota---These picks are based on the assumption that both Donovan McNabb and Adrian Peterson will play in 75% of their team’s games. If it ends up less than that for either of them, look for the Giants to fill one of these spots.

NFC Champ- New Orleans Saints--- This was a tough pick to make, mainly because there are no teams in this entire conference that are worry-free. But I like the Saints combo of big-play offense and solid D, especially if they can play in the Superdome throughout the playoffs.


Super Bowl XLIII- Steelers over Saints--- Pittsburgh celebrates their second Super Bowl in four years behind speedy Willie Parker's running and a great defense led by safety Troy Polamalu.


Week 1

Washington at New York Giants