Hey, why the hell not? Youse guys already got it started anyway. And, I missed this by a day becuase of Wednesday night football? WTF?
Who do you think wins this all? Takes the divisions? All that fun. The cream of the NFL crop seems to be shifting some, with the grudging addition of the 49ers to the so-called elite teams. The Steelers seem to be fading into mediocrity due to age and attrition. The Jets, (pretenders anyway) are sinking into the morass of their outspoken coach, moronic owner, diminishing talent, and the unholy spector of Timmy Tebow in their not-too-distant future. The Pats were on shakey ground, but they seem to be righting themselves, even after the near-miss hail Mary pass that ended Super Bowl XLVLXLVII. Perennial doormat Deetroit is trying to force its way into national prominence, but in a situation similar to the Niners, are getting little to no love from the national media. Frankly the defending champ Giants have been off the map due to Rex Ryan shooting his mouth off at any moment, and Timmy (I love me some me) Tebow hogging the headlines. Funny, but I think NY struggles mightily. Granted, we got a good look at their matador defense yesterday (ole!) last night, so the NY press should be calling for Coughlin’s head by October.
Be that as it may, divisions like the AFC West, the AFC North, and NFC East and NFC South have no clear cut winners, and either all the teams are good, or all the teams are questionable. Even the dogmeat NFC West has 3 teams with exceptional defenses that no team really wants to come up against.
So, here’s my call:
AFC East: Pats (duh)
AFC North: Ravens
AFC South: Texans
AFC West: Raydurrrs
Wildcard: Chefs, Bengals
NFC East: Iggles
NFC North: Vikings (kidding, Packers)
NFC South: Falcons
NFC West: Niners
Wildcard: Giants, da Bearsss
The playoffs? Well, let’s predict those when we get there.
San Francisco 49ers Forever 
Other predictions (to refesh your memories):
Del Mar Dennis says:
AFC East Patriots
AFC North Steelers
AFC South Texans
AFC West Chargers
Wild Cards Broncos and Ravens
NFC East Eagles
NFC North Packers
NFC South Falcons
NFC West Seahawks
Wild Cards Cowboys and Lions
Super Bowl XLVII Patriots vs Packers
Super Bowl Champs Patriots
_____________________________________________________________________
rtfirefly says:
Okey doke, I’ll bite:
Pats, Ravens, Texans, Broncos (same ol’, same ol’)
WC-Steelers, Tebow
Giants, Saints, Packers, Niners (not very creative, am I?)
WC-Bears, Falcons
What do the rest of you guys think?
Looking at the last thread, Dennis is in full come-on-my-face mode where it comes to Tony Romo.
Funny thing is, Mr. September has the same amount of playoff wins as young Sir Alex Smith
Hmmmmmmmmmmm. Plenty of time for a reach-around, Dennis.
You mean the same amount as Tim Tebow.
No Steelers, Chuck? No way the Bungles will beat them out.
Him too . . .
AFC
E. Pats
N. Ravens
S. Texans
W. Broncos
WC Steelers and Chargers
NFC
E. Eagles
N. Pack
S. Panthers
W. Niners
WC Cowboys and Lions
SB Niners over Ravens
In the Harbowl!
I’ll think about the other divisions later. Niners will win the West, last year I called 10-6- I think 11-5 sounds right this year.There’s absolutely no reason at all to think Smith will be anything but better with his best weapons ever and another year in Harbaugfh’s system. If there’s a concern for me, it’s the unfortunate trend that Fangio’s defenses seem to decline every year everywhere he’s been.
One thing that is kind of unique is that a very successful team (niners) was able to return all its coaches and all its defensive personnel. Usually success translates to bigger contracts or bigger and better opportunities elsewhere but not in this case.
Statistically, Twin’s right, though. The problem is, there’s no way on God’s green earth that they can create 38 turnovers again. That’s such a high number, and teams that have that kind of success rarely repeat it.
Which means the offense has to pick up the slack of not being +28 in give/take. If the Niners can stay around +15, that should be enough.
We had kind of a “perfect storm” last year with health, turnovers +38, record setting kicking game, just about impossible to repeat it in those ways. To offset a presumed lower statistical year we have the entire staff (almost) and all the D players returning intact, a second year for Alex in the same system, improved skill players on the O, and greater solid depth across the board and at QB a back-up far more ready to step in if needed than last year. The 64 thousand dollar question is will it be enough. I believe it will be.
Nice article in Sports Illustrated on Justin Smith:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1205807/index.htm
just read that piece, he is some guy.
Whaaaaaaaaat?? Chuck picks the Raiders to win the division? Go Chuck!
Niner take their divsion, obviously. The SB champs must’ve have hired Chuck Brenshahan on the sly or something because their D looked awful against the Cowbutts last night. Two teams in the NFC to watch out for are Detroit and Carolina. I don’t think the Donkos are going to be as good as people think with Manning. The goddmaned Pats look like their back and may go all the way this year–Ravens are still potent but their window is closing. The Squeelers are irrelevant and the Cowfucks have a tough schedule coming up early so the Iggles could win that division
The Raiders only win that division if Carson Palmer finally makes the trade worthwhile. I am very skeptical. The Chargers and Broncos may still suck but the Raiders have not yet proven they suck any less. They *should* be better than last year. Should.
Yeah, 8-8 may be a dream too far for any of those teams, but the Raydurrrs did sweep their division last year. Palmer should be a little better.
On November 6, 2011 at the Mausoleum (aptly named cuz Undead Dead ruined the center field seats where I saw the World Series against Cincy), Tim Tebow passed for 124 yards and 2 TDs and rushed for 118 yards with a 9.1 avg/carry.
The Broncs swept the division on the road with Tebow as QB. 38-24 at Oakland.
For your viewing pleasure, Chuck.
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2011110607/2011/REG9/broncos@raiders#menu=highlights&tab=recap
Gonna be a long season, buddy. Might as well have fun with it.
Oh, yeah. I thought they swept. Was that 2010? Shit, I don’t know. OK, they were 3-3 last year in their division. 2010 they swept. To becoms the only team in hsstory to sweep their division games and miss the playoffs.
Fuck ’em. They can still win the AFC Worst.
Alex Smith will win the MVP Award this year before the Raiders win the AFC West.
That’s one of your most asinine predictions yet. And that’s saying something. As they say on ESPN First Take, “That’s not only asinine, it’s asi-ten, asi-eleven and asi-twelve!”
“Looking at the last thread, Dennis is in full come-on-my-face mode where it comes to Tony Romo.”
Tony shot his load last night alright. Romo loaded up my Yahoo! FF team with exactly 38.48 pts. Come on (that) Eileen.
Quite possibly the worst song and video in the history of songs and videos.
Although this one is a close 2nd:
The extended version, no less . . .
The “Safety Dance” is 100x worse than Eileen. Shit. You’d have to be on acid to attend their Renaissance Fair. But I think that’s SOP when attending any and all Renaissance Fairs…I have a confession. I actually saw Dexys Midnight Runners and some other shit band like Kajagoogoo circa ’83 or ’84 in concert at the Concord Pavilion. The girlfriend made me go. That was three of the worst grueling hours of my entire life.
I guess you had be in Berkeley at the time. An all-time great protest song.
My girlfriends loved it. Thus, so did I.
I have no Idea how good we will be this yr. We never saw Manningham or Moss for that matter. I know coach has some trick plays for our rd2 rb. I do know we will have to score more points this year since it will be hard to match our turnover differential. I would really like to see Alex perfect the swing pass since it was always one of our most dangerous weapons. I think we will give GB’s defense fits this week. I haven’t really paid that much attention to other teams to pick em yet. I do think we take our division.
I have nightmares of the way Singletary used Brian Westbrook dancing in my head.
It can’t be like that, can it?
More like didn’t use him.more like, one of the least creative coaches of all time, idiot thought he was King Canute.
That post came out weird and I haven’t had a drop I swear…
Singletary used Brian Westbrook?
I give Sing a pass on this one. I think Westbrook’s concussions late in the year before finished his career.
Baalke got him, and Sing refused to play him, seeing the brain damaged concussed great player unable to perform at his former Pro Bowl level.
I was jazzed when the Niners got him, the most pissed on here when Sing didn’t play him, but think I understand why. We just don’t know what goes on in the locker room or the doctors’ offices, and I think Westbrook’s injuries were worse than reported locally.
I wanted that change of pace, Darren Sproles quick. Even Darren Sproles, who I begged the Niners to get in FA and would still be a fabulous addition to Harbaugh’s power running game.
Has the season started yet? Am I ready? You betcha.
The fantasy football season sure has started. Just in case you were too afraid to check the early score: Mannings 51 Coyotes 4. You can blame the lopsidedness on that QB from Dallas.
How bout dat Cowboy!
I’m gonna leave the big picture division winnahs to you peerless pigskin prognosticators and settle for the weekly scoring calls for one team =Our Niners. So far we got:
Phil: 27-24 Niners “Cowboy gonna eat the OL tackle fer lunch”
Del Mar: 34-20 GB “In favor of the team with the better QB.”
12th man: 23-12 Niners “Field goals count too! 2 tds + 3 fgs”
Hey, Phil. “In favor of the team with the better QB.” You can just use that same quote week after week when I make my selections. Looks like I’ll be picking the 49ers’ opponents every week this year. Maybe If the Niners add De La Salle High School on the schedule I’ll call the QB matchup a coin flip. Maybe.
Well Del just remember how consistently wrong you were last year with those calls. You went a LOOOOOG time after the Niners lost to da Cows and before you got the weekly call right. This is a new, tougher year but we’ll see, huh?
Phil, if the score ends up how I said I want extra credit for breaking it down, you and Del only did half the job.
No problem Man, we got lots of extra credit around here, lol
23-21 is 12th man’s actual call. Not 23-12 tho that would be nice….I could hear Dennis screaming from here. Love that sound in da morning…
Twin’s on board with a 30-24 call for our guys.
I’ll consolidate this tomorrow and move it to a new thread if we get one.
Remember, Brian Westbrook did not know the playbook.
All two plays. Run up the middle twice, and throw a hopeless 20-yard pass on third down.
Yeah, that was the biggest crock of shit I ever heard. They said he needed more time to p/u the blitz schemes and what not. Bullshit! Andy Reid called Westbrook one of the most intelligent players he ever coached. I was so excited when we first signed him. I was thinking about all of the possibilities with him and Gore in the same backfield. Our coaches couldn’t even figure out how to suit ’em up the same Sunday. Fucking mooks.
True, that was a waste. Thank God Singletron is gone!
Didn’t know the playbook, more like playpage. How could he not know when the gatorade kid knew what was being called.
Chuck’s on a roll with the Tebow rants! I’m not biting tho…
Phil, you’re a Tebow disciple??? really???
Just for fun Man. He’s from my neck of the woods, town I used to live in, suburb of Manila = Makati. So I root for the hometown kid. He proved a few of his critics wrong last year and that was cool. He’s a better leader of men than a football player but it takes leadership to win on the gridiron too.
I didn’t know he was a Pinoy? Tebow is a good kid, great athlete, a strong leader he just hasn’t learned to throw an accurate ball in the NFL yet and I doubt he ever will. He is a do or die man, last minute heroics, but that is the stuff of comic books not week in week out QB play. I don’t bear him any ill will, just sick of hearing about a non factor QB.
His parents are/were American missionaries who lived over here, raised their kids here. He still comes back here during the off season. Land of his (and my) birth.
For some reason TT is very popular and gets a lot of press. His popularity exceeds his football skills which ticks some people off. Like Chuck yuck yuck…
Funny. Sounds like a guy named Steve Young. Tebow is entering year 3. Where was Young then?
I meant to add: The Broncos hadn’t won a playoff game in 6 years. They aren’t the Bengals; they aren’t the Chargers; they’ve been in 5 Super Bowls (mostly losing, the ’94 season drubbing by the Niners the best).
Tebow as the starting QB for the Broncs helped beat the defending AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers in Tebow’s first NFL playoff game in his first season as a full-time starter.
As I called it in advance.
Calling him a “non-factor” is “non-sense”.
And where is Chuck? Expect he’ll toss a coupla cans of gas on the fire, haha
so you a military brat phil? ignore me if that presumptuous of me.
Chargers in 94 rt
Tebow is at best an option QB RT, you may believe he has potential but being the cardiac kids can’t last. the league is built on moving the chains down after down. Amazing feats of daring do make headlines not champions.
’89 12th man. The ‘Fins romp, the Bronco castration. Yes, I forget and tend to mix them together. 55-10. The year I sat on gift seats on the 50 next to the Vice-Mayor of Tiburon (I didn’t even know Tiburon had a Vice-Mayor) that turned the season around.
John Taylor’s two 90+ yard TD kick returns.
Yes, sometimes defense and special teams even helps a QB like Joe Montana.
Dennis, who is that QB the UFO Coyotes will feature Sunday? Hmmm. I believe his initials are the same as mine, P.M.
Darren Sproles will be playing, too.
Jason Pierre-Paul was being held and face-masked but those 7th grade geography teachers couldn’t see it to call it. Wait till the bankers come back.
I know you’re loaded for bear with Manning. And RG III is a total wild card. He could light up the tote board or lay a goose egg. I didn’t take Manning in either of our leagues. I figured I had to continue with the suffering. He didn’t sign here for real, he can’t play on my fantasy team as well.
But I still have two big bullets left to fire myself with Rodgers and Rivers. And when you add my pal Romo, that makes three R’s. It’s like grade school and the old reading, riting (sic) and rithmetic (sic).
I’m all about the three R’s…Rodgers, Romo and Rivers in Yahoo! this year. And I have Ryan and Rodgers in ESPN. That makes four R’s. Nothing but R’s this year. That should make for some great storytelling next time at Rehab.
Not a fan of Cam Del?
Fantasy-wise I think Newton makes for a pretty damn good option at QB. His running skills make him a big threat. He had a ridiculous number of rushing TDs last year (14). That won’t happen again, but he’ll continue to rush for more than most.
But as a pure starting QB in the NFL? Not my style. I prefer the Brady’s, Bree’s and Manning’s who stand in the pocket and dissect the defense like a surgeon all the while marching their teams down the turf like a general al a George Patton or a Field Marshal like Rommel. I appreciate strategy and the QBs that execute it like a chess match.
Not many pure passers left these days, the trend is towards hybrid guys it seems, like Kap and Cam and what I expect to see from RG3. There are exceptions like Luck but even he is more athletic than a manning for instance.
I expect Cam to settle down a bit his sophomore year and not rely so much on his physical gifts. He has a year under his belt and a training camp too.
Rodgers’s not a bullet, he’s a freakin’ cannon. Rivers is another choke artist, worse than Tony in the clutch. RG III is the mystery man. Will he be My Guy Nate or Cam Newton as a rook?
Defense, special teams, and ball control running game. I don’t think it will be enough against a great team like the Pack at Lambeau. But it might, if Alex can hold onto the ball . Akers was Dennis’ miracle pick last year.
The Pack doesn’t like strong pressure defenses. Keep it in the trenches and let Patrick rule.
Thanks for remembering that. I was sick and tired of Nedney and his “calcified mass.” Joe did a great job here, but his injuries made him a liability. When the Eagles drafted Alex Henery (who Berger and I watched at Neb. and wanted the Niners to draft him) I knew Akers was going to be available. I screamed from the mountain tops to sign Akers. Most laughed at me for being so adamant and vociferous about wanting to sign a kicker.
Who was our MVP last year? Thank you.
Akers gonna be the difference in our 27-24 win at Cheesehead stadium. Weather’s gonna be warmer there than at the Stick this Sunday. Perfect kicking weather. The better TEAM is gonna win but don’t tell Del Mar, he’s not listening…yet
Phil, I always listen. That’s not the problem. It’s believing were we part ways. The Packers are the better team. And it has everything to do with who’s behind center.
Better QB yes but better team?
We’ll see. It’s going to be a good game. Our DL is a lot better and if we can pressure Mr Rodgers like NY did last year we got a good chance. We need to beat them in GB and the league has given us what, 4 recent chances out there to do so. I don’t get it
Hey Crabby? Didn’t your Dad go to the Hall of Fame and announce games at Lambeau?
What do you think?
Yes on the first question.
On the second, I want to say we’ll win but I don’t think we can win based on last year’s formula.I think they’ll need to throw a lot. Could be wrong and if I am Denny will remind me often- so what the heck- 30-24 49ers..
My apologies, Crabby. I thought your Dad did football at times, in addition to his Hall of Fame baseball broadcasting career, and was lucky enough to call a little at Lambeau. What’s Lambeau like, for those of us who can only see it on TV, what’s it like?
The Packers are an excellent team, and playing at home. They *should* be favored to win. It’s one measure of the progress this 49er team has made in the last year that we can even entertain the idea of a possible upset.
My take: don’t get behind early, and need to play catch-up. That’s not our game. We need to keep it tight, hit Rodgers early and often, and score some points. Won’t be easy, but it should be an interesting game.
They are favored with the bookie and the press Grump, but screw em.
I’m not following what you are apolgizing for, I think I wasn’t clear- it’s yes to the first two questions. I was counting “What do you think” as the 2nd question. He isn’t .in the broadcaster’s wing of the baseball, HOF- he’s in that wing of the NFL HOF.We never lived in Green Bay and I was actually a Viiking fan, which almost got me tossed from the Packer sideline for cheering a Viking TD rather demonstrably. I never attended a game at Lambeau, BTW. I did work in the booth with my Dad for many games, however. http://tinyurl.com/9953ec5
Four Super Bowls (when they weren’t at first called Super Bowls) and nine (9!) title games back when Al Davis wasn’t even a phantom under Pete Rozelle’s bed at night.
Quite a legacy.
I knew you must’ve been hiding in the booth somewhere.
12th man asked “so you a military brat phil? ignore me if that presumptuous of me.”
Not at all Man. Actually my Dad was with Del Monte pineapple out of Hawaii; came out here after WWII to put the plantation and cannery back together after 4 years of
Japanese occupation and neglect. He was deferred from serving as a farm type due to armed forces needing to eat!
I’m saying 28-20 Niners. I’ve already laid out the plan of attack and it isn’t last year’s model. Take advantage of their young D and lousy corners to build a lead, and then get after Rodgers.
This game is winnable, but should they lose, I sure hope they don’t do it by playing it conservative.
Apropos of nothing except to get a free shot at Dennis I repeat: If 12th man’s prediction of a 23-21 Niner’s win- never-mind my erroneous reported 23-12 call- comes true I’m going to be able to hear Dennis’s screaming all the way over here. Right Denny? I love that sound early in the morning…
Not Tebow again! The problem with Tebow is he’s on a crappy team now, and he will make little difference to their success or failure.
Sanchez is already hearing footsteps and he hasn’t played a down this year. Whoever is behind center is playing with a cast and crew of idiots.
Yeah Jets are a mess. Worse D than the Bronks then?
Phil, it’s a book geared for high school coaches and kids who want to be a QB someday.
Not worth the money except for those lucky few like me who can read the actual quotes (not the ghost written crap) and picture Joe saying that (the guy used to party with Dwight back in my area in Los Gatos after ’81 – before Jennifer kicked his butt).
Heineken is great. Long live the Dutch!
Jim Plunkett from my home town threw 5 interceptions filling in for Dan Pastorini (Santa Clara) in his first game starting in 1980 before winning the Super Bowl MVP award in the first of his TWO Super Bowl Championship starting roles.
He was a leader. Knees and confidence ruined by the Boston Patriots and the Niners.
So was Tebow a leader last year, to a much lesser degree. So might Tebow be in the next 3-4 yrs. Maybe not, he’s no Joe Montana and New York has eaten better men than him.
Read Joe Montana’s ghost written book again, “The Art and Magic of Quarterbacking”, and read about the leadership part.
Thanks I’ll see if I can get a copy out here. Yeah, leadership. V. important
The Onion strikes again: picture + headline worth a thousand woids? Check it:
Dickhead In Sanchez Jersey Turns Out To Be Mark Sanchez
http://www.theonion.com/articles/dickhead-in-sanchez-jersey-turns-out-to-be-mark-sa,29389/
Tebow, he’s everywhere…
Our peerless pigskin prognosticators weekly scoring calls for one team = Our Niners. So far we got:
Chuck: 28-20 Niners “Take advantage of their young D and lousy corners to build a lead, and then get after Rodgers”.
Phil: 27-24 Niners “Cowboy gonna eat the OL tackle fer lunch”
Del Mar: 34-20 GB “In favor of the team with the better QB.”
12th man: 23-12 Niners “Field goals count too! 2 tds + 3 fgs”
twinfan1: 30-24 Niners “I don’t think we can win based on last year’s formula.I think they’ll need to throw a lot”.
23-21 Niners from 12th man. I swear I’m not drinking…
Ok, now I am. Red Horse Strong Beer.
Not to be confused with reddog weak shit…
NOW, yes. Red Horse Strong Beer.
Do not confuse with Red Dog weak shit…
Yeah, 7 FGs and a TD . . .
Lol. That’s soooo last yeah
Man that’s soooo last yeah….
Told ya I was drinkin’
Chuck, did I fail to forget my lawyer’s brother used to live under John Brodie’s roof?
I just thought I would mention that, because your blog and Skeebs’ were dead because of Peyton Place. Were you aware that Niners 2012 is starting???????
Niners-Packers 16-7. Defense. Special teams. Ball control.
Turnovers.
Niners-Packers 16-7. Defense. Special teams. Ball control.
Turnovers.
Got it rt
Same as Super Bowl IIl. Surprise attack. Kill ’em with defense.
This isn’t Safety Dance. It’s a song for Alex. As long as he doesn’t try to figure out the lyrics. No one can. Just like first half…………………………. second half.
Cocker sure doesn’t look like that now. Tempus fugit…..
That was 42 years ago, Nippy.
I hope the Niners D creams Rogers good.
Query: Is Dennis presently horizontal or vertical? Sober or hungover?
I haven’t decided which direction I’ll be going yet, but I’m taking Paul Lynde for the block either way. X gets the square.
Great great song, RTF. The skit on SNL with Cocker and Belushi remains one of the most amazing things from that show.
http://tinyurl.com/8m9lrv3
Or this one:
http://tinyurl.com/8f9myke
Belushi was apparently a huge Joe Cocker fan. This is a pretty damn good impersonation.
New thread is up . . .