What Are The Odds returns for our NFL Preview edition! This time we'll look at the Vegas Over/Unders for each NFL team going through the divisions until we cover all 32 teams. RSS will give you our picks on whether each team will go Over or Under the Vegas estimate for each team's win totals for the 2009 season.
Let's start with the AFC and NFC West, just to prove that we don't have an East Coast bias... like some other famous sports networks (cough, Bristol, cough)
AFC West
San Diego Chargers - Over/Under 9.5
Y1: SD is the team to beat out West in the AFC. Philip Rivers just got a massive extension, and LT is actually playing in the preseason. Darren Sproles is back and the controversy/distractions aren't there like they have in the past. The Bolts are a little under the radar for a change. They'll take the weak AFC west easily. OVER 9.5
Y2: Agreed that San Diego is the best team by quite a good bit in the weakest division in the NFL. The biggest addition to this team will be a healthy Shawne Merriman (left) coming off the edge to help restore a dominant defense. I'll say over, by a comfortable margin. OVER 9.5
Denver Broncos - Over/Under 7.5
Denver is the leading nominee for Worst Offseason This Decade by an NFL team. They lose Mike Shanahan, their new, young, egotistical coach kicks the Pro Bowl QB out of town, your best WR is disgruntled, your D is as thin as the Rocky Mountain air, oh and Kyle Orton is supposed to be your savior. Yikes! UNDER 7.5
Wow, 7.5 games for a team without last season's coach and starting quarterback? This seems like a slam dunk to go under, which is why I have a little pause. But, I can't get past Josh McDaniels completely blowing up a successful offense while doing little to improve one of the league's worst defenses. UNDER 7.5
Kansas City Chiefs - Over/Under 6
The question for the Chiefs has to be, do you believe in Todd Haley and Matt Cassell? Umm... I'm not so sure that I do. Kansas City was a bad team last year, they'll be bad again this year. Larry Johnson will still be broken down, the defense still isn't great, they'll finish in the cellar. UNDER 6
Someone has to be decent in this division, right? While I'm not a big believer in Matt Cassell outside of New England, this team should get by on a big infusion of toughness from Todd Haley. They'll scrape out enough division wins to get to 6 wins. Yes, I'll be the first to go out on a limb and say PUSH 6.
Oakland Raiders - Over/Under 5.5
As long as the head coach doesn't continue to go Brock Lesnar on the rest of the coaching staff, Oakland might be in for a sleeper year. Am I saying they can win the division? Of course not! That'd be Looney Tunes (kinda like that fella to my right). But guys like Russell, and McFadden, and Oakland's other youngsters should be able to step it up a little bit. Nothing's ever certain in the Black Hole, but the Raiders should have enough to get to 6 wins. OVER 5.5
The only race the Raiders will be in is for the 1st pick in next year's draft. The once proud silver and black have disappeared into a black hole of disorganization and disgrace. They don't have a team, but only a collection of athletes (Russell, McFadden, Heyward-Bey, etc.) They'll get a few wins, but certainly not more than 5. UNDER 5.5
NFC West
Arizona Cardinals - Over/Under 8.5
Y1: Well, history hasn't been very kind to Super Bowl losers in recent years. However, the NFC West isn't exactly the group of death in the NFL. If Kurt Warner's healthy, and he has Fitzgerald & Boldin to throw the ball to, they'll win the West. The D might drop off a step or two, but they'll still be good enough to get by. OVER 8.5
Y2: Can you say Super Bowl Hangover? While they have the best wide receiver duo in football, I don't see a lot of improvement in other areas. Kurt Warner staying healthy for a second straight year is a mighty big if and I'm also not sold on first-round draft pick Beanie Wells saving their running game. Teams will be prepared for their one-dimensional attack...welcome back to mediocrity Cardinals fans! UNDER 8.5
Seattle Seahawks - Over/Under 8
Under, under, under. Do you think Matt Hasselbeck's going to stay healthy? Do you think Edgerrin James is going to make a difference with his 2 yards a carry? No and no. Jim Mora, Jr. is now in charge and TJ Houshmandzedah isn't carrying a 4 win team to an 8 win team. UNDER 8
Interesting stat I heard on Mike and Mike today...Matt Hasselbeck has made the Pro Bowl in every odd year since 2003. While he might not put up Pro Bowl numbers, I do see him staying healthy enough to right last year's putrid offense. New coach Jim Mora should be a nice change of pace from the stale Mike Holmgren. Their defense should also come back to form, there's just too many good players on this team (Trufant, Tatupu, Houshmandzedah) for them to not win this weak division. OVER 8
San Francisco - Over/Under 7.5
I like Mike Singletary as a head coach. I don't love Shaun Hill as an NFL starting QB, but with this team he should get the job done. The 49ers will be very average this year, which makes me happy after years growing up of them terrorizing my Saints. This one will go very close to the number, I'll say barely over at 8-8. OVER 7.5
Of course I love Singletary too (not only as a Bears fan... any coach who willfully pulls his pants down is a winner in my book), but I'd love him more if he were playing. A team with no quarterback has no chance at 8 wins. Frank Gore hasn't shown the ability to stay healthy the last two years and although Patrick Willis is becoming one of the best linebackers in the league, one man can't carry an entire defense. Divas like Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree won't help Mr. Old School Coach Singletary either. They still need a few pieces before competing, so I'll say just under the Vegas line. UNDER 7.5
St. Louis Rams - Over/Under 5.5
Steve Spagnuolo's arrival alone should be worth a few victories. Rams fans need to hope that his prime will last a lil longer than Scott Linehan's did. They won't be great, but they will compete, which should be a pleasant change for Rams fans. OVER 5.5
I do like the hire of Spagnuolo, but this team won't make a quantum leap to win 6 or 7 games. Who's going to catch the ball for Marc Bulger? What impact defensive player does this team have? If their draft picks on defense develop, maybe this team can see moderate success, but it won't come yet this year. UNDER 5.5
2 comments:
Glad to see we agreed so much on this round, tell us what you think RSS Nation. What are your over/under picks?
I agree with a majority of these picks made by you two astute pigskin philosophers. Oakland at over 5.5, Seattle under 8 and San Francisco over 7.5 are my disagreements. The only excitement Oakland will have this season has already happened with the punch heard round the league. Seattle will be better with a proven WR now for Hasselbeck; running game a question though. SF will be a winner of 6 games all because of Gore. When you miss on a QB in the early picks of the draft it takes 5 years generally to right that ship. SF is nearing that, but as Harvey Dent says in the Dark Knight, "It is always darkest right before the dawn".
Brother Y
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