~ Official NFL 2003-2004 Thread ~ Part Uno

Your optimism is so sweet, i wub u shox

Just don\'t ask me what I think about the rest of your team

Porter for W. Green... I likey!

by the looks of it porter is gonna have a good year, as i\'m thinking green is too.  Now i\'m gonna have the depth at RB that i\'ve wanted all along.  

[videoholic]

Originally posted by shockwaves
*shockwaves bets he gets more touchdowns this year

A second year under Gruden will only be good for him.

And hence the reason why Brad Johnson is going to score way more than Pennington.

Only problem I see with Brad Johnson is if the defense plays as well as they do, they run so damn much in the second half to waste the clock.  It\'s so much better when the bucs use to be down all of the time because you got all of the prevent bogus yards at the end of the game.

well, I don\'t think you guys have to worry about running on 3rd downs, should be plenty of third and longs

[videoholic]

Sweet.  Johnson will be on my bench anyway.

Bucs will go 7-9 this year, mark my words.

[videoholic]

Swifdi, vapor snake, freesylah, virtually everything you said last year did not come true so I am certainly grinning from ear to ear right now.


Only thing going against the Bucs is their schedule.  The Rams on the other hand.  Whoo..  THey have a nice one.

Chiefs: 12-4, AFC West Champs. Mark it down.

Ah, hoo-rah for being biased.

See Yuz.

As much as it pains me to say this, the Rams will take the NFC.  I don\'t really dislike them at all, but I would rather the Niners or Falcons took it.

[videoholic]

I think it will be the Bucs for now.  Until I see any team have a clue against the defense it\'s just hard to bet against them.

If for some reason the defense falters this year then I would have to go with the Rams with a healthy Faulk.

49ers I don\'t think have a chance in hell.

Niners will win the Superbowl, and go 16-0.

Quote that.

Originally posted by videoholic
And hence the reason why Brad Johnson is going to score way more than Pennington.

Only problem I see with Brad Johnson is if the defense plays as well as they do, they run so damn much in the second half to waste the clock.  It\'s so much better when the bucs use to be down all of the time because you got all of the prevent bogus yards at the end of the game.

Trust me, you don\'t want a team that\'s always behind for a fantasy quarterback.  It means he\'ll force things, and have more interceptions.  Just look at Culpepper, Carr, Harrington, Plummer, and others who were always playing from behind.  

But take into consideration that this is Pennington\'s 2nd year as a starter.  That means more than 2nd year under a new coach developmentally.  Also remember that Pennington played fewer games than Johnson and yet had better stats.  Add in that Pennington was the highest rated QB in the AFC, and that he plays in a passing attack that fits his strengths and weaknesses perfectly, and you have good things.

Originally posted by videoholic
Only thing going against the Bucs is their schedule.  The Rams on the other hand.  Whoo..  THey have a nice one.

I can name MANY more things going against the Bucs.

1) Name the last defensive football team to repeat as champions.  They just don\'t.  All the great defenses are figured out sooner or later.  Great defenses are always figured out.  This even happened during the season last year.  They had 17 or more scored on them once in the first six games, but 3 times in the last five.  They also created far fewer turnovers as the season went on

2) The offense is still not great.  Their running game is just bad.  Pittman is not a good running back, and never will be.  Alstott isn\'t enough either.  Teams will lock more into the passing attack this year and that could mean more frustrations and turnovers in that part of the game.  Although Keyshawn, McCardell, and Jurevicious are all good WR\'s, that is a bad WR core as a whole.  They are all the same sort of posession WR\'s.  None of them is a deep threat that can stretch the defense.  That\'s a problem.

3) It is hard as hell to repeat in this sport.  No defending champ has made it out of the first round of the playoffs in several years.  Everyone is gunning for you.  You\'re the team to beat, which means you\'re studied more by the other contenders.  There is no team without weaknesses, and people will find them the next time around.

Originally posted by videoholic
I think it will be the Bucs for now.  Until I see any team have a clue against the defense it\'s just hard to bet against them.

*cough* New Orleans *cough*

Originally posted by theomen
As much as it pains me to say this, the Rams will take the NFC.  I don\'t really dislike them at all, but I would rather the Niners or Falcons took it.

I don\'t think they win it either.  The team has gotten much worse.  Sure the stars are still there: Warner, Holt, Bruce, Faulk...but what about the rest of the team?  The defense was really bad last year, and it only got worse during the off season.  They lost Dexter McCleon and Dre Bly and replaced them with Jason Sehorn for godsake.  They also lost Proehl the year after losing Hakim, which leaves them much thinner at WR.  I don\'t see them winning the NFC, or even their division for that matter.  The Niners are a better team.  

Personally, I see one of a few teams winning the NFC: Bucs, Packers, Eagles, Giants, Falcons, Redskins.  Let me explain each one.  

Eagles: They lost some on defense, but they are still one of the best defensive teams out there.  McNabb is healthy now, and a full season of work will have him playing much better in the playoffs.  If Duce continues to hold out, Buckhalter is more than enough to replace him.  Also, mark this down: McNabb is still better than Vick.

Bucs: They did it last year, and have the same team pretty much.  Jurevicious really emerged in the playoffs, and could contribute a lot more this year.  Gruden will make sure they always have a chance to win.

Packers: They have a Pro Bowl RB, and one of the better QB\'s ever.  Driver has emerged as a great WR, and the defense played well for the most part last year.  If the defense can step up a little more, they have a chance.

Falcons: Everyone focuses on Vick, but look around him.  Price gives him a legit #1 WR.  Dunn/Duckett are decent in the backfields, and I think Duckett will be better this year.  But most importantly, they have a really good defense behind all that.  If they can learn to beat the Bucs, watch out.  Vick will be back in time for it to still be possible.

Giants: The offense is going to be incredible this year.  Barber should have been a pro bowler, and Collins is really comfortable in the offense now.  Shockey and Toomer are both pro bowl calliber players as well.  But think about this.  When the Giants offense took off last year, they were playing with 1 WR.  Their #2, #3, and #4 WRs were all injured.  All are back now.  Watch out.  The defense is good too, and Will Allen and Peterson will only get better.  The special teams is totally redone.

Redskins: There is always a surprise team, right?  Ramsy will be a lot better this year, and Spurrier will do better with his game design as well.  He surrounded himself with the players he wanted, and no team gained more over the offseason than the Redskins.  Coles and Garner are a GREAT 1 2 punch at WR.  The defense is still filled with play makers.