| |
Football is back. But first, the usual.
I’ve finally settled into my new digs in the heart of the San Gabriel valley, as they call it. I’m just a few quick crashes and congestion from the heart of LA. I finally got some net capabilities at home, so I will no longer be popping in the ghetto library. I still don’t have a job, but I should soon (let’s hope). I haven’t been webbing as much I as used to, but I can now and I’ve been working on this football preview for over a month, at random points. But I did manage to get to see a few things this week.
Film of the day " the Wicker Man " 1973 " d. by " Robin Hardy
Horrible Remake of the day " the Wicker Man " out now
I don’t know if I’ve ever discussed the cult classic on this space before. Well, since the remake is out right now, I should. I was going to tell you not to waste your money on the current issue, and you shouldn’t (at least in theaters), but the more I think about, this is a great contrast of how to and how to NOT make a movie. If/when I get to teach a class on film, I think this duo could be in my syllabus. I would say that this is one of the best examples of adaptations and remakes and how they can be so different. Just like in my class with the great Dutcher, we broke down Abre Los Ojos vs. Vanilla Sky. Some day, I might choose this to see what went wrong, because you have two very different movies working from almost exactly the same story.
Story in a nutshell: cop goes to a clandestine island off the coast of somewhere civilized to search for a missing girl, after getting a letter. He sees that the people on the island are very eccentric, and have a very tight little farming community. They all act very shady as he looks for the little girl. He soon learns that they are in fact practicing pagan rituals in order to help the crops grow. He worries that the missing girl is going to be sacrificed for the next harvest to succeed, so he intensely searches for her. And I’ll leave it at that, since the ending is the best part. So what are the differences?
Problem Number One: Nic Cage. Sometimes, he’s okay. Sometimes, he’s bad. A very rare few times he has been good. Here, he is beyond awful. He’s a caricature of everything people make fun of him for. He’s screaming, he’s way overacting, he’s jumping off things for no reason, and he’s walking around the whole time with that stupid look on his face " The Nic Cage Face. He also has heavy makeup on that makes him look drugged out or an older, uglier version of Cillian Murphy. Don’t know why. The original, Edward Woodward, was an accomplished British actor, although he really didn’t do much differently in the film. He just wasn’t Nic Cage, and that was good enough.
Problem Number Two: Back story. In the original, a cop came to the island simply because he had a letter that a little girl was missing. Easy enough. But for some reason, the people behind this version didn’t think that was enough, so they added in some stuff about the missing girl and her connection to Nic. Lame. And, much like the Descent and a lot of recent horror movies, they inserted a tragedy in the opening reel to make us question the hero’s sanity, and also let them flash back to it in unnecessary dream sequences where things made loud noises and jumped out at you. Which reminds me….
Problem Number Three: Cheap Horror Tricks. My biggest complaint. See, the genius of the original film was that it was called a horror movie but had few horror elements in it. For the most part, it was light, quirky, even funny at times, but not intense and frightening until the end. Here, they made it just like any other random horror movie out today. It’s much more suspenseful, but it kills the arc.
Problem Number Four: ….what??? In the original, as I said, there were the people on the island that were rustic and shady, but not so threatening at first. Here, it’s different, and not as effective. But even stranger, the new version includes a very interesting facet: the island is now run exclusively by women. Men born on the island are completely inept, subordinate, and used just for breeding. Not only did they miss out on a chance thusly to have a cameo from the immortal Christopher Lee, whose role in the original really set him up as a cult icon, but they left a weird women-hating taste. I know that this is a cheap horror flick meant to get bucks, not a shrewd mystery like its predecessor, but if you look at the subtext…
… a community run by feminists, women pioneers, doing pagan rituals…
OH NO!!! FEMINISTS ARE EVIL AND DO WITCHCRAFT!!!!
(Seriously, who funded this movie, Pat Robertson????)
Why add this to the story? Why????? Does this new director have something against women? Did his mom push him around? Why waste the talents of Ellen Burstyn and Frances Conroy, two great elder female actresses?
And I can’t give it away, but the ending in the original made sense and tied everything together. I was very fearful that they would ruin it this time, but they kept it nearly the same. Thankfully. But there’s a major problem with the logic of it now " it’s waaaayyy too messy.
So, see the original, and if you really love films and are interested in how to spot good and bad, see the remake once it’s on video. You’ll learn something, if you’re into that sort of thing.
Bonus Film of the day " Igby Goes Down " d. by " Burr Steers " 2002
I might have put this up before, but I’ll do it again. This is a great film with a great soundtrack and possibly the most random cast ever. Kieran Culkin is great in the lead. Like Wes Anderson, but darker and more cynical. See it again like I did.
---------------------------------
Now I give you football. If you don’t want it, make like the Dolphins.
BIRDS OF A FEATHER: 2006 EDITION
Alright, I couldn’t resist. I’ll post my fantasy team for anyone (read: Danno) that’s interested. My crown is in jeopardy, as I go from a league with six people to sixteen. This severely waters down talent. But at least everyone has to really think as well. Backups in parentheses.
QB: Marc Bulger (Jon Kitna)
RB: Cadillac Williams, Kevin Jones (Marion Barber)
WR: Steve Smith, Deion Branch (just end your damn holdout already!!!!!!), Keenan McCardell, Marcus Robinson (Troy Williamson, Jabar Gaffney, Greg Lewis)
TE: Matt Schobel (Anthony Fasano)
K: David “Green” Akers
DEF: Buffalo (St. Louis)
More analysis later. I’m still pending trade options.
Also, I will continue my tradition of giving picks each week, started when I was on La Salle’s WEXP radio, 530 AM in Philadelphia, way back in the day. Just wins and losses, not spreads. Remember, coaches don’t care about the score. Let’s see if I can top Chris Berman, or at least the guys in Lancaster’s morning paper. I’m keeping track this time.
WEEK ONE PICKS
PIT over MIA
CLE over NO
SEA over DET
NYJ over TEN
KC over CIN
DEN over STL
NE over BUF
TB over BAL
CAR over ATL
PHL over HOU
CHI over GB
ARZ over SF
JAX over DAL
IND over NYG
MIN over WSH
SD over OAK
THE LEO 2006 NFL SEASON PREVIEW
For the first time in years, I will not be picking the Eagles to win the Super Bowl. That hasn’t really been working for me, so I’m taking it a step down this year. I’ll go with Indianapolis over Carolina, a very strong battle. This was my pick last year right before the playoffs started, but both of them ran into the eventual participants.
Why go with that again? Well, oftentimes, the Super Bowl is not who you think, but who is the hottest. That was the case last year. The Steelers had to keep fighting just to get in, and continued that through the whole way. Meanwhile, the Colts raced out to a great start and cooled off at the end. Sometimes, teams can’t readjust after that difference. Seattle managed to get Carolina, who was the best team in the conference, at their weakest. The Panthers were on a roll, but had just too many injuries. Thus, we had a lame Super Bowl without the two best teams in either conference, although the way the Steelers played for seven straight weeks, they certainly deserved it.
This year, I think the Colts do better. Teams that get close might fall apart, but they might also come back. Recently, the losing Super Bowl teams have had terrible seasons next. But teams that lost beforehand can rebound. Remember when the Broncos were winning big in ’96, and everyone thought they were finally going to win it, and that John Elway would get some redemption? Well, they ran into a hot Jacksonville team in the playoffs, and didn’t even make the AFC championship game. People wrote them off the next year, but they made the playoffs as a wild card and fought their way to the title. I think there’s a chance that Indy will emulate that. They were the best team for most of last year, but they coasted on an easy schedule. Now, they will be tested once the playoffs start. They’ll be in better shape.
The Colts also overcame a major mental obstacle last year by finally beating the Patriots. Now that they know they can, they’ll have more confidence, and if they get home field advantage, they’ll be tough. And, they signed Adam Vinatieri, improving their karma by like 400 %, and hurting New England’s. I think they’ll rebound, while people overlook them, and go all the way.
Oh, and the Panthers are the best team in the NFC. It’s not even close. And they have to have a decent injury-free year sooner or later. That’s easy. But they aren’t quite on the level of the top AFC teams.
Super Bowl: Colts 24, Panthers 17
But what do I think of those Birds? I think they’re not on the same level as they were, but they’re not finished either. They still have a lot of people from a team that made the Super Bowl and could have won 15 games. The conference, especially the division, has gotten better, but the window has not closed on them.
First, everyone is ready to kill McNabb, but they forget that he was hurt right away last season and probably never should have played. He struggled for a few months while he knew he needed surgery. People seem to think he’s terrible or something now. He was hurt! And I know he doesn’t have a great receiver anymore. TO made things easier for him. But, let us not forget that he made a few NFC title games without any good receivers, and his corps now are decent. These guys are better than the past few years. [And just so you know, I typed that paragraph BEFORE the trade for Donte Stallworth. Now I think their receivers rank in the high middle of the league. I’m giddy about this guy.]
Secondly, the division might be better, but a lot of those teams have flaws. Dallas and Washington could lose their QB’s at any time, TO is going to cause more problems, and the Giants are getting old in some spots. Also, their giant plunge from going undefeated in the division to going winless was misleading. Most of their divisional games happened late in the season, when everyone was hurt. And they almost knocked off Dallas and Washington, even with hurt people. So they weren’t that bad. The schedule makers need to balance things out, because they always have division games all at once. Read Bill Simmons " for once, he feels for Philly fans and can back up what I’m talking about.
That’s the only thing that concerns me this season: the schedule. Usually, teams with bad seasons get easy skeds. The Eagles do get to play Green Bay and San Francisco. But they also have their division, the NFC south, and the AFC south to deal with. Yikes. I was going to say that they could win 10 games this year and surprise everyone. But now?
Screw it. They still can. They can go 3-3 in the division. I know it. They can easily take down Houston and Tennessee. They can probably split with the AFC South, though New Orleans is the only easy one. Then, they’ve got the Niners and Packers, who they managed to beat last year with NO ONE. So that’s 9 wins to 7 losses. And I say they pull off one more win no one sees coming. See? 10 wins.
But I’m not putting any money on it.
AFC winners: Colts, Patriots, Steelers, Broncos / wild card - (Dolphins, Jaguars)
NFC winners: Seahawks, Panthers, Giants, Bears / wc - (Eagles, Falcons)
DARK HORSES: In the AFC, I still feel like the Ravens are capable. Last year, I picked them as a surprise Super Bowl team, and they didn’t even make the playoffs, giving me the Worst Pre-Season Super Bowl Pick Ever. Ouch. Thought Brian Billick knew something about Kyle Boller that I didn’t. Well, with Air McNair in tow, they have a chance, and they have depth in case Jamal Lewis really is done. There’s too high a chance of injuries to make me safely pick them for anything, but the potential is there.
In the NFC, I guess the Eagles count, but that’s too easy. Even though a lot of people are calling them a playoff team, basically eliminating the Dark Horse label, I think the Redskins are the only team besides Carolina that has the juice to make a Super Bowl run. I don’t think they’ll be able to surprise people again, and there’s way too much possibility for injuries here, but if they get lucky again, they have the talent to do it. Seattle and the Giants just do not strike me as teams that come through. Chicago and Tampa still don’t have enough O to make the next level. If Mike Vick improves and stays healthy, Atlanta could be dangerous. So I’ll say beware of the Skins and Falcons. But go with the Panthers.
AFC WEST:
Once again, this will be a tough three-man race. Oakland sucks and isn’t getting any better this year. Put away those Aaron Brooks jerseys, locals. You might as well have signed Kordell Stewart and Todd Marinovich to contracts.
Denver cruised more last season than I thought they would, mainly because their D came through. I’m sure it won’t be as easy this year. Does Jakey have some Shakey in him (okay, sorry, that was horrible) because he knows they like Jay Cutler so much? They usually make playoffs easy, so I’ll put them in there for now.
KC has everybody’s fantasy favorite in Larry Johnson. And while I’m proud to see one Penn State running back who finally did well in the pros, I think it’s more because of their system and great o line. If he gets hurt, Priest Holmes might return to prominence. So they’ll be fine on offense. But for the last few years, they haven’t had any D. Herm Edwards knows defense, but I think he’ll need a little more time to get them in order. Like last year, they’ll be in it, but I say they come up just a bit short.
San Diego has to adjust to Philip Rivers. And some of their key guys (Keenan McCardell are old). They’re in it too, mainly because of LaDanian Tomlinson (the one back who can carry a team by himself). I think they’re slipping, but they could surprise people.
Denver 10-6
Kansas City 9-7
San Diego 8-8
Oakland 4-12
AFC NORTH:
Who knew that Pittsburgh would drop from 15 wins but do better in the playoffs? Maybe it was the constant desire to win at the end of the year. I’m convinced that the team that comes out of the conference is the hottest, maybe not the year-round best. So where do I now rank the Steelers? Good, but not great. They won’t have as much motivation, they lost people, and the division could be potentially tricky. They should have enough to win it, because the Ravens and Bengals have many more questions than they do, but they could be in for a letdown. But don’t worry, Burghians. With Roethy (as long as he stays off the bike), they’ll be in contention for a long time.
Cincinnati has to deal with Carson Palmer coming back, multiple off-field incidents (and by multiple I mean every person as this team is wanted in the state of Ohio), the aura of losing that suggests they won’t last, and the rest of the conference. They can’t repeat what happened last year, but they aren’t finished, either. A near playoff miss sounds right.
I don’t know what to think about Baltimore. I thought last year that they might sneak in the playoffs and create some havoc, but they were out of it and the Steelers did that. Now they have Steve McNair to finally give them some leadership at QB. And they have Mike Anderson to help Jamal Lewis, who’s been overworked. But wasn’t McNair almost going to retire last year? Hasn’t he missed tons of games recently with injury problems? And wasn’t Anderson a system guy in Denver? If McNair stays healthy and regains form, they might be as good as any team in the conference. If not, they’ll lend up like they did last year. It’s too risky for me, but this team still scares me. They’re the dark horse deluxe, the horse that the headless horseman’s black cousin rode.
Cleveland finally appears to be on the right track, but still years away. Just stop torturing these fans already.
Pittsburgh 10-6
Cincinnati 9-7
Baltimore 9-7
Cleveland 6-10
AFC SOUTH:
Why Indianapolis? They took the next step last year, and they could have made it, but they ran into a very hot Pittsburgh team in the playoffs. Hey, it happens. They lost their momentum once they weren’t gunning for an undefeated season. They had things wrapped up early, and that always makes teams lose an edge. This year, they’ll have good competition to keep them in shape. And they can replace Edge James easier than you think. The system allows it. That, and Dungy has more time to figure out the D. I think they’ll be better off now.
Jacksonville made a big leap last year, but they also had a favorable schedule. It will be tougher, but they play Indy tough and the rest of the division sucks. Losing Jimmy Smith is a big hurt, so their young guys have to step up. Should have enough to make playoffs again.
Tennessee is in a long building process, but they’re doing it the right way. They know not to panic. Vince Young and Lendale White are a good start.
I’ll join the bandwagon of people who criticized Houston for its draft decisions. To me, there were three things they could have done:
1. Take Reggie Bush. Increases marketability and interest, adds a lot to offense that needs help. Maybe trade Domanick Davis for depth on line.
2. Take hometown hero Vince Young, trade David Carr for more help.
3. Trade down, take D’Brickashaw Ferguson, get more depth on line and on defense.
They did none of these. Terrible.
Why have these re-expansion teams (them and Cleveland) had such terrible management? Why did Carolina and Jacksonville have such an easy time making it? I really want to know.
Indianapolis 13-3
Jacksonville 10-6
Tennessee 6-10
Houston 4-12
AFC EAST:
This could be a tough division, but I’m not sold on Buffalo or New York doing anything. Too much uncertainty at quarterback. Buffalo has a solid D and running game, so they can survive, but they really need to figure out if Losman works at QB. With apologies to Dr. Carey and Markanthony, the Jets are in for a long and painful rebuilding process. Fortunately, they have the blocks to build around in Kellen Clemens and D’Brickashaw Ferguson. Next, a running back, since Curtis Martin is officially done.
The Dolphins made huge strides last season, but something tells me New England is just not going to cede this division. Daunte Culpepper needed a change of scenery, and he’ll enjoy having a good D for once. Still, last year made me scared to ever pick him for fantasy again, and he has to get by that.
The Pats have turmoil, but they always seem to get over it. As long as they have Brady, and they do, and they also added more depth at running back, they’ll be fine on offense. They always seem to figure it out on D, but it’s going to be tough this year. I think they manage to get the division, but they can’t make it to the big game again without a little more consistency on D. Just a tad short. But they scare me.
New England 12-4
Miami 11-5
Buffalo 7-9
N.Y. Jets 3-13
NFC WEST:
Seattle is not going back to the Super Bowl. They got a favorable schedule last year and the rest of the teams in the conference just weren’t ready. If Carolina had a few less injuries, they would have owned that game. Shaun Alexander is great, but without Steve Hutchinson, he won’t have the same year. Plus, he got his big contract, so he won’t have as much motivation. All signs point to a major drop-off for the defending conference champs (and we all know how recent losing Super Bowl teams fall apart the next year).
But… this division sucks. St. Louis has the talent on offense, but they’re retooling. They have an outside shot at the playoffs, but they need to figure out a lot of things. Arizona is getting much better, but they don’t have the o line to make Kurt Warner or Edgerrin James reprise old glory years. They’re still a year away. San Francisco continues to be years away from contending. They just hope that Alex Smith looks… decent? Mediocre? Better than Ryan Leaf? I think he will be.
Seattle 10-6
St. Louis 8-8
Arizona 7-9
San Francisco 5-11
NFC NORTH:
The old Norris division is a tough call this year. Chicago’s fluke run to the top last year was mainly due to everyone else sucking. Minnesota pulled it together, and won without any big stars, but can they do it again? Detroit and Green Bay are still a mess.
The Bears fell apart the last time they had a good season. But I’ll pick them to keep it going this time, because they have options at quarterback and running back. If Rex Grossman and Thomas Jones, the key cogs here, get hurt, they have Brian Griese, Kyle Orton, and Cedric Benson waiting. All these guys have experience, and know to do just enough to keep the awesome defense rested. They’ll grind out enough to do well.
As for the Vikings, I like Brad Johnson and I think he might be the most under appreciated, undeservedly dissed QB ever. They shouldn’t have gotten rid of him in the first place 8 years ago. Well, he won a Super Bowl, so he had the last laugh. But now, even though he played well last season, he’s 38 years old and they don’t have a great plan B. Plus, with Randy Moss and Nate Burleson gone, they have reclamation projects (read: drunks) and unknowns at receiver. They’ll have to rely on their D, which is never an easy task for any Minnesota team. I think they’ll be up and down, but falling short.
Matt Millen didn’t know what he was getting into.
I don’t think Brett Favre returning is a bad thing, necessarily, but he needs to let Aaron Rodgers get some snaps in. Otherwise, he is being selfish. Don’t tell me it’s for one last playoff run, because they are not making it.
Chicago 10-6
Minnesota 8-8
Detroit 6-10
Green Bay 5-11
NFC SOUTH:
This is a tough division. I think Carolina is the best team in the NFC by far, and barring another crazy year of injuries, should wreck everyone. Think about it: two years ago, they lose everyone to injury, start out 1-7, and still almost make the playoffs. Last year, they have tons of injuries again, but they win 11 games and make it to the conference championship. Even though they lost the tiebreaker and were a wild card, they were clearly the second best team in the conference. So, what happens if they DON’T have a bunch of injuries? And they solved their major needs for a second receiver and running back help. They’re scary.
But the rest of these teams aren’t bad, either. Atlanta gets John Abraham, plus they might finally have good targets for Mike Vick. They fell apart at the end last year, but they’re in it. Tampa Bay finally came back to the playoffs last year, quite unexpectedly, but they’re still uncertain about quarterback. Still, Gruden knows how to churn out offense and the Bucs always have a great D. New Orleans has had too much to deal with, but they did get Drew Brees and Reggie Bush to make the offense sizzle. Still, they’ve got uncertainty at home and a bad D. They won’t last in this gauntlet.
Carolina 12-4
Atlanta 9-7 ** (wild card)
Tampa Bay 9-7
New Orleans 5-11
NFC EAST:
Ignore the Birds at your own peril. I told you.
You know what else makes me feel good? Drew Bledsoe and Mark Brunell. Sure, they weren’t nearly as washed up as their old teams thought. But they’re not safe, either. These guys are old and don’t move that well. The chance for a big injury is high for both of them, especially Bledsoe. I’m predicting that one of them will miss a big chunk of time this year, and both teams are without experienced backups. Just watch.
This decade, the Giants have always followed up a good year with a disappointing one. That alone should make me doubt them, but I’ll admit that they look good and are probably the second best bet in the conference. I don’t know how much Tiki Barber and Michael Strahan have left, but I’m guessing they’re still good enough. And yeah, they got my boy LaVar, so that helps a whole lot on D. He’ll be motivated. I just wish he went to a different division.
Like I said, Brunell is great but can he do it again at 36 or so? Will defenses now be ready for Santana Moss? Is Clinton Portis that hurt? Washington has questions, but they have talent. I’m saying something happens to them, someone gets injured, and they don’t have the same magical year.
Same with Dallas. Bledsoe is slow and their o line has to fall apart sooner or later. TO will be motivated… for a while. Then, he’ll get sick of Bledsoe, start complaining, and things will go down from there. I don’t care what you say " if he didn’t fit in with Philly, he’s never going to fit in anywhere. Considering how much Reid and McNabb lobbied for him and tried to make him happy, while Parcells is already on his case. There is no way this is turning out well. He is going to make them miserable too. I think it’ll be this year, maybe not, but at some point, he will burn his bridges there. Besides, he never stomped on the Eagles’ logo, so he’s already got issues.
And don’t tell me he’s going to have a big day when he comes back to the Linc. He won’t make it out of that stadium unless he’s on a stretcher. This is my only guarantee for the season. I’m 100 % serious about this. Someone will do something to him. Perhaps the Philly mafia will be involved. Perhaps Dawk will take his knees out at the first opportunity. Perhaps the Eagles will bring Hugh Douglas out of retirement for one game, just so he can get into a fight with TO during stretches and have both of them ejected, or he will be able to get close enough to TO on the field to pull a Gilooly. Some way, he’s going down. No question.
N.Y. Giants 11-5
Philadelphia 10-6 (wild card)
Washington 8-8
Dallas 7-9
As we move into the home stretch of the summer (less than 60 days...) and football fever starts to set in, I'm going to start rolling out my Michigan season outlook, and opponent previews. A week by week look at my insanely optimistic predictions for Michigan's 127th varsity squad should have everyone drinking the blue kool-aid by kickoff on September 2. We'll start with the Vanderbilt Commodores.
Vandy was a last minute replacement for Ball State, which filled nicely into the November 4 slot on the schedule, and allowed us the opportunity to avoid a home schedule completed by October 28. With that, old friend Brady Hoke gets to avoid the inevitable beatdown by 2 months, and we get a slightly more attractive season opener. Vandy is an SEC team, right? (Anyone disagreeing with me can take that argument up with Phil Fulmer.) So...what do we know about Vandy?
Well, Michigan is 9-0-1 all-time against the Commodores, with the last meeting being a 42-14 whooping at Michigan Stadium in 1969. Vandy has had 23 consecutive losing seasons, last making a bowl in 1982. Last year's Commodore team was actually very competitive. The 4-0 Commodores were the early season feel-good story, receiving votes in the polls, and then promptly losing at home to Middle Tennessee State. They hung with LSU (until the late 3rd quarter) Georgia, South Carolina and Florida, and beat Tennessee in Knoxville. So...Vandy's not the normal cupcake, right? Well, not so much. Last year, they had this guy you may have heard of named Jay Cutler who was pretty darn good at quarterbacking. They also lost 3 of their top 4 tacklers on the defensive side of the ball. In fact, Vandy returns just 12 starters (6 a side) from last year's oh-so-close 5-6 squad. Couple that with the fact that it's the opening game, well, this one could get ugly fast.
Vanderbilt will look to replace Cutler with either former Arizona starter Jr. Richard Kovalcheck (granted immediate eligibility as he pursues a graduate degree) or last year's backup So. Chris Nickson. Odds are Kovalcheck wins the gig, and throws off the already-printed LaMarr Woodley tee for week 1. Oh well. Looks like LaMarr will need to go for 2 kills in game 1. In the backfield with Kovalcheck will be the tandem of Cassen Jackson-Garrison, and Jeff Jennings, both juniors. Jackson-Garrison is more of a big play threat, racking up a few 40+ yard runs last year, but neither back is as intimidating as NIU's Garrett Wolfe was last year, combining for just 1055 yards. So. receiver Earl Bennett gives Kovalcheck a solid target to throw to. Last year he grabbed 79 balls, and 9 of them went for TDs (5 against Kentucky alone.) In fact, his last 4 games he made 49 catches. Not bad for a true frosh. I suppose Leon Hall will be tested out of the gate. Senior Marlon White should start opposite Bennett, and he had 34 catches last year for 6 TDs. They return 4 starters from the offensive line, but Michigan's defensive line and linebackers should have no problem with them. While Vandy's strength is the passing game, they were only able to average 27 ppg with Cutler last year. They're going to need more than that to win in Ann Arbor, and I can't see their Kovalcheck or Nickson having great success against the Michigan secondary.
Defensively, Vandy's probably not going to put up much of a fight. They return 2 starters from last year's secondary which ranked 69th in passing defense, So. CB Josh Allen, and So. FS Reshard Langford. Things don't look much better up front, the loss of LB Moses Osemwegie hurts, and Vandy really needs Sr. DE Chris Booker to step up this year if they want to have any opportunity to get out of the SEC East's basement.
The bottom line is that I see Michigan winning pretty handily. This game should be fairly predictable. Your typical Michigan season opener. I'm seeing a lot of Mike Hart early, Kevin Grady getting the bulk of the 2nd half carries, and both ending up with good numbers. We'll throw a couple of obligatory TDs in there (my guess is Manningham and Arrington) to make the crowd "ooh" and "aah", and in the end, won't really be able to take very much from this performance.
So, the DP super-early Week 1 prediction? MICHIGAN 42, Vanderbilt 13
Odds of winning: 97%
Denver Broncos Schedule
Other Searched Terms: jay cutler 3 weeks out
, cutler+jay
, jay cutler password
,
, ,
|
|
