NFL Season Predictions
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- Created on Thursday, 08 September 2011 15:43
- Written by David Brockmann
Entering the NFL season tonight I have finally decided to halt my blogging boycott. I’ve taken much time into my decisions (some of them anyways) for how teams will finish in their divisions and what teams will make the playoffs. I’ll provide the standings for each division and provide a paragraph for each division explaining my results. Without further ado, here they are...
^ = best record in Conference, * = Wildcard teams
AFC East:
1. ^New England Patriots
2. *New York Jets
3. Miami Dolphines
4. Buffalo Bills
The AFC East has to be the absolute no-brainer for predictions. Is someone going to tell me that the Miami Dolphines with Chad Henne at QB and practically a lame-duck head coach in Tony Sporano, that the Dolphines are going to surprise everyone and finish ahead of the Jets or the Pats? Utter nonsense if I ever heard it. The reason for me placing the Patriots over the Jets in the division is simple, the Pats are out for vengeance over last years playoff loss vs. the Jets in Foxborough. The Pats are out to prove that the AFC East is their neighborhood, and they take lip from no one. I really don’t like giving out team predicted records but I’m going to say that the Patriots could easily go 12-4 or 13-3 and be a much better team than last years 14-2 team. 
AFC North:
1. Pittsburgh Steelers
2. *Baltimore Ravens
3. Cleveland Browns
4. Cincinnati Bengals
I should probably show my cards on this hand, I really don’t enjoy watching any of the teams in this division, it’s sort of like having a conversation in the check out line at the store, just dreadful. Pittsburgh puts me to sleep, unless Tom Brady is embarrassing the Steelers in Pittsburgh. But I do expect Pittsburgh to win the division, as they did last year, but primarily due to the fact that QB Ben Roethlisberger is there from day one of the season. The Baltimore Ravens are just as boring, but getting older on defense which is why I did not picked them for the division crown, they will struggle to get the final AFC Wildcard spot fighting off teams like Jacksonville, Kansas City and Cleveland. Now a surprise is the Cleveland Browns, I expect them to be improved but not playoff worthy.
AFC South:
1. Houston Texans
2. Jacksonville Jaguars
3. Indianapolis Colts
4. Tennessee Titans
Possibly the hardest division to predict, the AFC South. I think it’s pretty easy to conclude that Peyton Manning’s neck is the key to the division. While the Indianapolis Colts are a playoff team with Manning, without him, they are a 6-10 team at best. Houston excites me with their offense, but can their defense be good enough to win the division? I think so.
AFC West:
1. San Diego Chargers
2. Kansas City Chiefs
3. Oakland Raiders
4. Denver Broncos
For the AFC West, I desperately wanted to pick someone, anyone besides the Chargers. But allow me to be clear with me picking the Chargers it is by no means an endorsement that the will be Chargers crushing all before them and going 14-2. This division will be a dog fight for the top spot. I like Kansas City a lot, I feel that they are on the way to knocking off San Diego in the next year or two as the AFC West’s top dog, and being that top dog for some time.
NFC East:
1. ^Philadelphia Eagles
2. *Dallas Cowboys
3. New York Giants
4. Washington Redskins
The Philadelphia Eagles have all the weapons, and should easily rock this division and win it. My only concern with the Eagles is health, can this team with so many lean bodies be able to stay healthy and be able to play at it’s peak level throughout the year? My surprise is the Dallas Cowboys (my Team), last season everyone loved to pick the Cowboys at the start and then loved to kick them when they were down, while it annoyed me, it will make their ascent that much sweeter. New head coach Jason Garrett is poised to have an outstanding first full year as coach of the Cowboys, with Dez Bryant a year older and having a healthy Tony Romo for a full season. Besides with all the talent that the Cowboys have, and after going 6-10 last year, when they went to the playoffs the year before, you’re going to tell me that they won’t bounce back? As for the Giants, nothing says playoffs on this team, especially when QB Eli Manning became delusional by claiming he was just as good as Tom Brady... The Redskins are pretty close to being the definition of a dumpster fire.
NFC North:
1. Green Bay Packers
2. Detroit Lions
3. Chicago Bears
4. Minnesota Vikings
The NFC North is a fascinating division. Detroit has a plethora of talent, the Vikings have Adrian Peterson, the Bears were in the NFC Championship game last year, and oh by the way, the Green Bay Packers are defending Super Bowl Champions. The folks in the Midwest are in for a treat this fall watching these teams battle it out. I like the Packers to win the division, and have Detroit surprise many.
NFC South
1. Atlanta Falcons
2. *New Orleans Saints
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
4. Carolina Panthers
Another division that is loaded with talent (excluding the Panthers) is the NFC South. I struggled with this one as well, but I absolutely loved how the Falcons went out on draft day and drafted WR Julio Jones. Finally WR Rody White has someone else to take some pressure off of him, as does TE Tony Gonzalez, and QB Matt Ryan has another potent weapon to exploit defenses with. Saints and Bucs will battle for the second NFC Wildcard.
NFC West
1. St. Louis Rams
2. Arizona Cardinals
3. Seattle Seahawks
4. San Francisco 49ers
I absolutely love the St. Louis Rams, Sam Bradford, Stephen Jackson, Mike Sims-Walker, it’s going to be an explosive offense that won’t be stopped in the NFC West. Seattle took a step back when it couldn’t re-sign or replace longtime QB Matt Hasselbeck. Arizona managed to get QB Kevin Kolb from Philadelphia, but I still feel as if they need more pieces on defense before they can contend in this division, and the San Francisco 49ers, while I love the Jim Harbaugh hire, they must get Stanford QB Andrew Luck in the next draft, which means they’ll have to finish dead last in the NFL, which sadly is possible.
Well there it is, my NFL Predictions for the upcoming season, enjoy!
David's On Air Experiences at WUOT
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- Created on Thursday, 24 March 2011 14:04
- Written by Peter Brockmann
Borussia Dortmund to face cross-roads
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- Created on Thursday, 03 March 2011 18:29
- Written by David Brockmann
After watching Borussia Dortmund thoroughly dominate last years Bundesliga Champions, Bayern Munich in Munich 3-1 on Saturday, I thought about what winning the Bundesliga and playing in the Champions League would mean for the previously financially troubled club located in the Ruhr of Germany? I have contemplated the possible outcomes and have come with three distinct routes with many different possible outcomes. 
With the plethora of young players who came to the club relatively cheap, and performing at such a high level, it would be easy to assume that they might do what Bayern does with it’s homegrown talent, keep it. This would be one way that Dortmund could go, keep the squad that regained (they are 12 points up with 10 games left) the Bundesliga Shield after a nine year absence. Of course this would be quite expensive as the young players would probably ask for hefty pay increases, but with more money coming in thru automatic qualification to the UEFA Champions League and the millions of euros promised by that competition this may not be as big a challenge as one might think. The dangers with this is that the players might then become spoiled, or even not live up to the expectations that they themselves have brought upon themselves.
Another move that the club could do would be (as I call it), the “Werder Bremen decision” which is to sell of your players like stock, at the climax of value. This would produce a true killing in the transfer market, netting the club an enormous profit. Of course then they would have to rebuild, or plug in players who were not as instrumental in their success, which could create problems on the pitch and for mastermind manager Jurgen Klopp. Just look at what happened to Bremen this season after selling stud midfielder Mesut Ozil, after finishing in the top three and playing in the prestigious and lucrative Champions League, they are struggling to stay alive in the Bundesliga, hanging on to a one point lead in 15th place, one place ahead of relegation.
The last move is the “Schalke move”, which similar to their rival Ruhr club from Gelsenkirchen, finished in Champions League automatic qualification at second last year. Then they decided to splash millions of euros to purchase foreign players such as Spanish striker Raul from Real Madrid, and Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar from AC Milan for 13 million euro. But with the additions, manager Felix Magath has found it hard to find the correct formula for his team, as they are struggling threw the Bundesliga sitting currently in 10th place, and sitting 10 points out of any European competition.
Dortmund and Klopp face many tough decisions this summer with their squad. I expect as stated in a Wall Street Journal’s article by Gabriele Marcotti, the team is a tight knit group with a true mad hatter at the helm in Klopp, it will be a truly challenging decision for the club. It will be difficult for Dortmund to sell off their young and promising squad, but like Bremen has demonstrated, and what my Dad has always told me, sports is a business.
Boston Pummells Montreal
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- Created on Thursday, 10 February 2011 19:03
- Written by David Brockmann
The Bruins had come off a mind-numbing 2-0 loss versus the San Jose Sharks on the weekend and had the Canadiens coming to Boston for a chance to tie the Bruins on top of the Northeast Division. On Monday play-making Center Marc Savard announced, with Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli next to him that he will be shut down for the season due to another serious concussion, the Bruins looked ripe for a shelling in the hands of the Canadiens. Add in the fact that the Bruins had struggled versus the Canadiens all season including a January overtime loss in Montreal that saw the Bruins lose a 2-0 lead in the final three minutes, and everything was pointing to a titanic clash, the stage was set.
The climax of the game had to be the second period which saw eight goals overall and seven within six minutes. The second period also saw the first of the bench clearing brawls, which saw mostly piles of bodies trying to punch each other, which wasn't that fun to watch to be perfectly honest. But it was also when the Bruins showed that they can hit a team into submission, they can mentally get you off your game, and they can skate stride for stride with the Canadiens, who probably felt that they were superior to the Bruins before the game.
By the third period the crowd in the TD Garden was rabid, and probably could have gone on to riot if it were a playoff game, and honestly I was going berserk in my apartment watching the game.
I hate to use the term "statement game" but I am in this instance. The Bruins had truly made a statement and showed intent to be the toughest team and best team in the NHL with their performance last night. The Big Bad Bruins are back in the Hub of Hockey and they plan to not let anyone in the Eastern Conference and possibly even the League to get in their way.
Super Bowl Reaction
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- Created on Wednesday, 09 February 2011 20:51
- Written by David Brockmann
I was completely surprised to be honest to see the Steelers struggling to keep up with the pace of the Packers Offense. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers really came out firing and had a magnificent day throwing the ball, and probably could have had one of the best days in Super Bowl history if it weren't for a few drops by his wide receivers. What impressed me about Rodgers performance is the fact that the Steelers by the second quarter and most of the third quarter, had started to control the clock, holding Rodgers on the sideline, but once he had his chances he made them count. Rodgers came off the bench time and time again and looked as if he had not missed a beat.
Another impression I got watching the game was that ball-hawking safety Troy Polamalu for the Steelers had completely disappeared. But not only did he disappear, he looked lost as the Packers attacked the Steelers secondary. Truly an attest to the true genius of Packers head coach and play caller Mike McCarthy, and the play of Rodgers. 
Now for the commercials, half-time show and National Anthem. Lets start with the National Anthem done by Christina Agulera. First off if you are going to do the National Anthem at least get it right. I have only seen someone mess up the National Anthem once, at a Boston Bruins hockey game, and guess what, everyone noticed. As for the half-time show, the light show was impressive by the Black Eyed Peas, but what was not impressive was the singing by Fergie, I think she might want to find a tuner or maybe a new voice box. The commercials were more clever than funny; personally I enjoyed the groupon.com commercial.
Overall one cannot deny that Dallas Cowboys Stadium is a cathedral for the game, and that the game itself was a fantastic watch. What was not a fantastic watch was the line-up at the Papa John's before the game, yikes!
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