AFC South
This is a very difficult division to project. Indy, Jacksonville and Tennessee are all expected to be very good. And the Houston Texans are a talented, appealing team on paper. That said, here is how I think it will shape up.

1. Colts 13-3: Who cares that Tony Dungy is gone? Peyton, Peyton, Peyton. No offense to Marvin Harrison but I think Anthony Gonzalez will step right in and actually improve this offense. The offensive line should be improved from last year, and quietly the Colts have been investing on the defensive side of the ball and it all may come to fruition this year. This is quite possibly the best team in the AFC and it would not be a stretch or surprise to see Payton get himself another ring this year.

2. Jaguars 11-5: Projecting Jacksonville to get a wild card. Love this team on paper. Torry Holt, for some reason, is treated with laughter these days, but I think we will see a rejuvenation from him this year. You can toss his recent performances due to injury and in particular having no QB or offensive line. He now steps in as the man in a much better offense with a strong line, running game and competent QB. I think this move will prove brilliant for both player and team.

3. Texans 7-9: Too many questions for me to expect this to be the year Houston leaps into the playoffs. They have enough offensive firepower with Andre Johnson, Steve Slaton and a bunch of pass-catchers with a pretty decent QB in Matt Schaub. The problem is, keeping the QB healthy is a major concern and then you have to hope Slaton doesn't suffer a sophomore slump., Johnson, for all his talent, is still prone to dropping some balls .. and while the defense might be on the up, it is just impossible to project this team into the playoffs in such a tough division.

4. Titans 5-11: A lot of people love the Titans, not me. Kerry Collins should regress and / or get injured and as I noted before the loss of Albert Haynesworth will be felt at all levels. They have a stout enough offensive line and enough (aging) talent on defense where they pose a threat, but they seem an obvious candidate to fall back off the map this year.

Going to lump the AFC/NFC North division previews in the next post.

Are you Ready for some Football?

-Frist off, if you didn't see the Woodward Stakes at Saratoga this Saturday, Rachel Alexandra made history in incredibly exciting fashion. She became the first filly (female horse) to ever win the Grade I Woodward. It is very rare for a filly to run against older males at all, she did so and actually beat them, securing her spot as the horse of the year...and also is going to now be widely considered one of, if not the greatest fillies of all-time. Why I really post this however is to listen to Tom Durkin give what is one of the best calls in recent sports history. Just an enthusiastic, brilliant racing call that rivals anything I have heard from a sports announcer in recent history, enjoy:

-Just got back from Buffalo, sorry that the NFL Divsional Previews have been dis-jointed if we still have any readers out there. I will be churning out all but the AFC East and NFC East throughout the rest of the day, so if you're still following, be sure to keep coming back and let's talk some football. NFC East I will be giving an extended breakdown of tomorrow morning and I'm not sure when, but the Millman will be handling the AFC East at some point.

-Tonight we have an excellent kickoff to the NFL season as the Titans head to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers. These are two teams I am a bit down on this year, but if one of these teams has a chance to be truly bad this year it is obviously the Titans. Kerry Collins, I think, should have a tougher time this year. The running game with Chris Johnson and a motivated Lendale White could be very good. Meanwhile, the biggest loss comes in the form of DT Albert Haynesworth..and I think we are going to see the Titans really struggle due to this loss (and the Redskins really improve). Hard not to side with Pittsburgh tonight.

-During Wimbledon, I made a post about an American teenager named "Melanie Oudin". Sound familiar? Unfortunately, Oudin lost last night in the US Open Quarterfinals, but she certainly made a lot of noise, upsetting three ranked opponents and becoming the youngest American woman to make the US Open Quarters since Serena won the whole thing at the same age (by the way, Cris Everett also lost in the quarters at 17, not bad company). In my post (which you can find by simply searching Oudin in our search feature) I mentioned that I was impressed and that I thought she could possibly become a top-20 player. I think she secured a top-50 or top-40 rankings with her effort here and after watching some more I still agree with that analysis. She needs to become more consistent, but the gutsy teenager has enough talent to finally get excited about an American tennis player and she should be at least somewhat of a contender over the next few years.

-Speaking of tennis, this just in: Roger Federer won a challenge. Shocking to everyone I know. Seriously, how is it that the best player of all-time really can't tell if a tennis ball is in or out? Could you imagine playing Roger in a pick-up game? The guy is the best of all-time and he's calling balls you hit 6-inches inside the line out and complaining everytime you call one of his out.

AVP comes to save the season

Breaking News: Bills have cut starting Left Tackle Langston Walker, resigning recently cut Kirk Chambers....Does this make room for Demetrius Bell aka Jason Peters Jr aka Karl Malone's love child? Things are only getting better.

Okay so we have all heard the news that the Bills fired Offensive Coordinator this past Friday. Turk Schonert is gone, and he is going down swinging. I am not sure how much stock you can take in preseason, but the way the Bills performed, specifically the first team offense, was dreadful. The no huddle attack looked about as sharp as a backyard football game of kill the carrier. Speaking of Kill the Carrier, what a great game. Literally just pick up the ball and run around until 8 of your buddies just tackle and throw you to the ground, then the next sorry sap picks up the ball and it repeats again.

Anyways, back to Turk going down swinging, he took some serious jabs at Skeletor Jauron saying that he wanted him to run a "pop warner" offense and that he was on his back all throughout preseason. Well hell Turk, If you are going to have the 1st team offense score zero touchdowns (and the NFL even gave you a 5th preseason game) then you are not going to have any say in anything. The offense was bland last year, and the no huddle was supposed to invigorate this sorry squad. I know that the Bills did not have T.O for basically the entire off season, but its still no excuse.

The no huddle plays perfectly to the Buffalo Bills Strengths. The line is a huge question mark, filled with new starters, other teams scraps, and two promising rookie guards, but rookies none the less. You run the no huddle to tire out the defensive line and keep everyone on edge. They definitely between T.O, Evans, Lynch and Freddie Jackson have enough skill to move the ball. Trent Edwards has been hit hard this off season with negative thoughts on how he can't or won't throw the deep ball and is too conservative. whatever the case may be, the offense has looked so bad that even I have a hard time being optimistic. But lets not forget that NO one, and I mean NO ONE, circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills. This squad started off 4-0 last year, and failed mightily down the stretch. It all starts Monday Night, where the Bills will unveil their new white Throwbacks, and their new prize T.O who is a first year warrior with new teams. Alex Van Pelt has so much experience with calling the plays, as we all know his successful year calling plays for the NFL Europe's Frankfurt Galaxy.

This Patriots Squad is so unbelievably over-hyped I can't wait till we roll in to Foxboro, prime time and get our first win over the Pats since 2003 when we stole Lawyer Milloy 3 days before the game, stole their plays, and won 31-0. May have been the happiest day of my life seeing big Sammy Adams rumble down the sideline for a pick 6 opening game. Since that game we are a giant 0-87 being outscored by 678 pts, or something to that degree.

Lets take a look at this patriots team. Tom shaky knee, entourage staring, model wifing, shoulder inflamed, dimple chinned, dog carrying, pretty boy jackass is gonna have a terrible year. This cat sucks, such an overrated QB. Give me that system and I am throwing for at least 20 tds and making the playoffs. I am so sick of this man and Aaron Maybin is gonna knock him out cold. Losing Josh McDaniels is another thing that could hurt this team, not always easy to switch offensive coordinators that early in the off season. You are much better off waiting 4-5 days before your first game, it makes a big difference. Okay the offense should still produce, even though they have a RB committee that resembles a High School Football team. So washed up and bad.

The defense is why this team is gonna crash and burn. Richard Seymour, gone traded to the Raiders. Mike Vrabel, gone traded to the Chiefs. Tedy Bruschi, gone retired. Lewis Sanders, gone not with the team anymore. Ellis Hobbs, gone, traded to the Eagles. Rodney Harrison, gone, retired. That is a lot of STARTING players to lose, let alone absolute club house leaders.

We are going into Foxboro, shutting up the Boston Fans, who might rank #1 for biggest losers in the world and getting the W. Pre-season means nothing. You have all been warned.

Get on the Wagon before its too late. BUFFALO BILLS making the PLAYOFFS first time in a decade. Boom. Roasted.

NFC South Preview

The NFC South is a very interesting division comprised of some very solid football teams.

Last year the Panthers took home the division with a 12-4 record, 2nd place was the surprise Atlanta Falcons at 11-5, The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were 9-7 and the New Orleans Saints were 8-8. Overall last year we saw a very competitive division with a lot of solid teams. They sent two teams the playoffs, and if I am not mistaken they had a chance for a third with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers if they didn't lose the last week of the season to the Raiders no less. This year should be another tight race.

1. Carolina Panthers (11-5)

As much as the Panthers bore me, and they seem to continue to age every year, they always play consistent football. If Jake Delhomme can not fall apart the way he did last year, specifically in the playoffs they should be the favorite over the Falcons to win the division again. They have a great offensive line with Jordan Gross and Jeff Utah anchoring the tackles. D'angelo Williams had a torrid 2nd half of the season last year and has vaulted himself into a top 5 running back in many fantasy drafts. His backup, and former Oregon Duck (bet they are missing him now after being running backless after there starter dropped a bomb on Boise St.) is limping into the season, but should be ready to roll fairly soon.

Steve Smith has shown no reason he won't continue to be the unbelievable WR he has been over the past 5 years, but for some reason he has not been hyped up as one of the best WR going into the season. He has slid to the 2nd or 3rd tier of receivers and lets see if that is enough to motivate him to come out hot. He did last an entire training camp without punching a teammate, so we are off to a positive start with him. Not much other WR depth as the ageless Mushin Muhammed and the bust(?) Dwayne Jarret are nothing more than average 2nd and 3rd receivers.

Carolina doesn't seem to intimidate to much defensively outside of Peppers (who had a very strange offseason). They do however play solid football and though I don't think they are a contender, and ultimately, I think the Falcons could do more damage in the post-season, I think over 16 games they take the NFC South.

2. Atlanta Falcons 10-6

So I guess its time to figure out what the heck was going on with this Falcons team last year. Is Matt Ryan and Turner that good, or was this just the football Gods paying back the city of Atlanta for the hard times with Vick and Bobby the rat Petrino.

Strike one: The Falcons offensive coordinator is Mike Mularkey. Yuck. Strike Two: Coy Wire played significant time at MLB for this team because of injuries last year. Strike Three: Sophomore Slump? Okay those aren't really good reasons for the Falcons coming back down to earth this year, but I don't really think they will. They will be in contention for the division and wild card this year and they just have some really good skill guys. Matt Ryan is the truth, what he did last year was unbelievable. Michael Turner is a bulldozer and as long as he can stay healthy and on the field he will continue to run all over defenses. Roddy White has turned into a legit tier 2 receiver and Tony Gonzalez adds a excellent safety valve for Ryan over the middle. This offense, if not slowed by Mularkey's play calling, can be dangerous.

3. New Orleans Saints: 8-8.

This Saints team has .500 all over it. I expect the offense to come back down to life a bit. How could they not after losing offensive coordinator Doug Marrone to the Syracuse Orange. Marrone actually had Syracuse playing a competitive game last Saturday against Minnesota and it was really interesting to see Paulus on the field. You heard it here first. Syracuse over Penn State this Saturday. Mortal Lock.

Anyways, Drew Brees and the offensive will continue to put up points no doubt. Colston and Lance Moore are good receivers who will help Brees be a top 3 fantasy QB when its all said and done. I will say that he finishes with the best stats of the big three (Brady, Brees, Manning....and that Peyton, not Eli who will be throwing to one sorry group of receivers). The running game scares the heck out of me. Pierre Thomas was a 6 game flash in the pan and all of the sudden he is a reliable back who can shoulder the load? Is he a Black French man with a name like Pierre, someone research this for me. Dirty Pierre was a marginal RB last year who stole Td's from Reggie Bush. Reggie is hurt (not sure if he really is...I just assume so) and will give you a solid 3 yards a carry. He is a touchdown machine, so for those Reggie Bush haters I think we can agree he isn't a conventional every down RB, but the man can score and strike fear in defenders ground, air, or special teams.

The defense will be bad as usual. It also can't help that DC Rapper Walle is dropping lines in his raps about Jeremy Shockey..."Get so much cut disc jockeys jock me
You ***** mad that you not me
I remain a Giant and your Jeremy Shockey.

Shockey had so much promise, not really sure what happened to this guy. Too Busy passing out at Vegas Pools to be the dominate TE we all thought he would end up being.

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 3-13

I can't see any way this team isn't flat out bad. Let's get rid of our QB this offseason. Hey we mind as well have John Gruden leave. Lets draft a QB out of Kansas St who really isn't NFL ready, or a great talent (on paper). Does anyone mind if we just have a 30 year old Coach our team? Yeah that should work. You know what? This whole offensive coordinator thing isn't going to work, I know we have a game in like 5 days, but your gone. Who else does this (Kansas City, Buffalo) some really strong caliber teams there. Oh one more thing, can we get rid of the face of our franchise Derrick Brooks?

I don't even think this team warrants going into detail of the players they have on their roster and 3 wins might be generous. Poor Ronde Barber. Only Saving grace is if they play so bad this season they might return to the glory days of the creamiscle orange uni's.

Captain Check Down.

This is why the City of Buffalo has so much hope. Oh Just throw the ball to Leeeee!!

AFC West Preview

1. San Diego Chargers 12-4: Obviously, anyone who doesn't pick the Chargers to win this division is just trying to put on their best Skip Bayless act and pick the other side just to be obstinate. I hate to say it as I am definitely a Chargers hater, but on paper, this is a top-3 team in the AFC and a bonafide super bowl contender. I have a feeling that they are going to end up as a better team than the Patriots this year, though you have to give the healthy Patriots the nod before the season starts.

A healthy Tomlinson, an emerging WR in Vincent Jackson, a finally healthy Antonio Gates and one of the best young quarterbacks in the league - Philip Rivers - entering his prime. The defense should also be very good. Having to play the NFC East is probably going to keep their record from being best in the AFC, but they still likely will go 7-1 or 8-0 against the division and should be good enough to secure the 2 or 3 seed. The sky is the limit for this team and if they remain healthy and get themselves a bye, I think this is very likely the AFC representative this year.

2. Kansas City Chiefs 7-9: A brilliant move getting Scott Pioli, former Patriots VP (or whatever), is probably going to pay dividends sooner rather than later. While I think the Matt Cassel move was very questionable, this team has spent some draft picks attempting to re-build what was once the best offensive line in the NFL. Trading off Tony Gonzalez will prove to be a good move in the long run and they have some emerging offensive players in RB Jamaal Charles and WR Dwayne Bowe. Pioli knows how to construct a team and while I don't expect the re-build to be complete until 2 years from now, the seeds have already been planted and this stripped down version of last years team will likely be much improved.

Oh yeah, Larry Johnson might be dead.

3. Denver Broncos 6-10: If it wasn't for the Brandon Marshall situation I probably would have had them above the Chiefs. I didn't exactly like the Cutler move, and I think the Bears will benefit greatly from it, but I think the Broncos were going to bounce back this year. It would be hard for their defense to repeat just how bad it was last year and on paper they have some decent players. If Brandon Marshall plays for them I think they may be a bit of a "surprise" team that goes 8-8 as they have ample threats at wideout, a possibly very good rookie RB in Knowshon Moreno (as well as guys like Correll Buckhalter, who is fragile, but ultimately all these guys are better than the stiffs they were picking up from the local grocery stores last year). I'm not an Orton guy, but give him time and some weapons and he'll be able to win you some games. Even without Marshall I think this team will be less of a joke than most people expect. I think they'll compete...and possibly even moreso if they trade off Marshall who is putting on his best TO routine. Obviously the seeds are there for a complete blow-up, but I think Denver might have a bit of a push in them.

4. Oakland Raiders 3-13: I really want to say that this is the year it comes together for the Raiders. For the sake of R-Mania, I pull for them. As I look at the roster and try to put together an argument for them though, I just can't do it. Their star cornerback (Nnamdi Asomugha) is out for the first couple weeks. Their quarterback and face of the franchise is apparently just holding off Jeff Garcia for the starting job. They have no wideouts that should be good this year. And a quarterback who is probably terrible. They do have a nice RB duo in Fargas and McFadden, but can this offensive line finally be any good? To be fair, it has been lightyears better the past couple years than it was 3 years ago. But still, unless this line turns into a dominant force and unless those athletes on defense finally turn it into the unit it appeared it could be three years ago..this team looks like a cellar dweller yet again.

It wouldn't shock me if they finally get this thing headed in the right direction and out-kick KC and Denver..and I hope they do..but I'm certainly not betting on it.

AFC West Fantasy Sleeper:
RB Darren McFadden - Not being drafted as a top back, but with so few options, Oakland is going to want him to get as many touches as possible every game. While the offense could certainly hurt him, it also might add to his value as a receiver out of the backfield. McFadden is a threat to take it the distance every time he touches it and right now, he is probably being under-drafted.
WR Vincent Jackson - Another guy who maybe isn't a "sleeper" per se, but is being under-drafted. V Jackson is a perfect breakout player waiting to happen. Good receiver with great size who has quietly been very productive entering his prime on what should be a high powered offense. Draft him after a bunch of WR2's in your league and get yourself a WR1.

Fantasy Stud:
WR Dwayne Bowe - Bowe is another WR breakout candidate. Perhaps more risky than Jackson on an offense with limited options, but for that same reason even more upside. Bowe looks very probable to break out and might end up out-producing Calvin Johnson in my opinion.
RB Ladanian Tomlinson - He slipped to the 10th pick in my draft. There is no one else that deserves to go ahead of him outside AP, MJD, Forte, Jackson and maybe maybe maybe Moss. DOn't be scared about his pre-season form.

Fantasy Bust:
RB Larry Johnson - No shock here, but he looks dead.
WR Chris Chambers - Don't think he's going to see that many balls with so many other options. Prone to drops and I could conceivably see him phased out as an option with some of the slot guys either out-producing him and/or taking his job.

Blue Turf makes people crazy

Oregon Ducks looked real poor last night, but isn't it great to see football on. Thank the lord the season (at least college) is finally here.

Blount got a pretty good shot in though the Boise St. Player took it pretty well.

Not sure if anyone watched the game but Boise St. ran a spread formation (and I mean spread) on a 2 pt conversion. Not really sure how that gets stopped at all this year.