Indianapolis Colts 7/1
Whither Peyton? In the run up to the Super Bowl he was everywhere. Every third commercial had his doofy-looking face in it (every second one on ESPN), and he put in a workman-like effort on Saturday Night Live. Then he gets the ring and pretty much disappears. All summer, when we were inundated with scandal and in dire need of good football humor, he was AWOL. Imagine the goodwill points he could have scored simply by being all goofy and self-deprecating while Tom Brady was gallivanting about with Giselle and leaving the mother of his child to fend for herself. Come back Peyton, we need you.
Can the Colts repeat? Well, they won the Super Bowl because, late in the season and into the playoffs, their defense suddenly flourished. There was the return of Bob Sanders, which counted for something, but generally speaking they made no changes in strategy or personnel. They simply went on just as before except everything seemed to work. A very, very strange occurrence. Will it continue or could it happen again? I don't think so. Football is based on adjustments and adaptations not on things just unexpectedly working when they didn't before. My guess, Peyton and Co. have to carry the defense just like old times.
Jacksonville Jaguars 30/1
What's not to like? Byron Leftwich, maybe. But he is a serviceable QB and, really, he only needs to be steady, not stellar — with bar not set too high, he can probably reach it. The defense is all-round excellent, especially the line. The offense is all round excellent, including the line.
At 30/1 the Jags are my best bet in the AFC if I was going to make a futures bet, which I am not. No sir.
Kansas City Chiefs 55/1
The Chiefs are a disaster. Larry Johnson's prospects for a strong season are small. That's what happens when you get driven like a rented U-haul the previous season, the glory days of the O-line are distant memories, and — Hello! — your coach should be working at McDonald's. Abandon all hope.
Miami Dolphins 55/1
Who? They selected who? Ted Ginn? What the hell? I mean, WHAT THE HELL? Sorry, but I still haven't gotten over it. Look at it this way: they could have drafted Brady Quinn first and Ted Ginn may still have been available in the second round, if not, someone equivalent probably would have been. But no, they have to grab Ginn right off the bat then settle for John Beck in the second round. So effectively, they passed on Brady Quinn for John Beck. How did they manage that? Is it possible somebody selected Quinn and someone else heard it as Ginn?
Article comments
1 - Matthew T. Sussman
I mean, Brady Quinn is 7'8" and weighs 475 lbs. JaMarcus Russell is 9'2" and weighs 835 lbs.
Quinn and Russell are Transformers?
2 - Tinkerbell
Last week, I got a red pedicure, which isn't indicative of anything, so I have to wait until my next pedicure to accurately pick my predictions so you can get beat by a girl, as usual.