NFL Preview 2011

Everyone take a big sigh of relief.

That’s because the NFL is back and he won’t have to worry about wondering what life is like without football.

As early as mid-July, I was worried that this blog post was going to be a “Top 10 ways to survive the NFL Lockout”.

But thankfully, it is an NFL Preview blog.

Here is what I think will go down in the 2011 NFL season.

AFC EAST

1. New England

2. New York Jets

3. Miami

4. Buffalo

It didn’t take long for Jets coach Rex Ryan to make another bold guarantee after his team lost to the Steelers in last year’s AFC Championship game. About a month after the team’s loss, he came out and said “"I believe this is the year we're going to win the Super Bowl” at the Scouting Combine.

The fact is that he’s said this same statement for a couple years now, and the Jets have been not been able to make it that far. Who does this guy think he is? Hey, Rex, take a good long look in the mirror and ask yourself why your team went down 24-0 in the first half of that game against the Steelers? Maybe it was your fault for not having your team ready to play that game?

The Jets will never win a Super Bowl with Rex as their coach, and will never win one with that anemic offence. And I don’t even think they’ll be in the playoffs this year.

The Patriots do not have an anemic offence and are poised to replicate that 14-2 regular season of last year except with a better finish (lost to the Jets in the playoffs). Remember, Tom Brady was the first player to unanimously win the MVP award last year. The big question is if Chad OchoCinco and Albert Haynesworth can regain their old form as they start over in a Patriots uniform. The Patriots have a history of bringing in guys who looked like they were done, only to see them turn in superior seasons (Corey Dillon, Randy Moss). Expect OchoCinco and Haynesworth to have solid seasons. The Pats will win the AFC East.

Key game: NY Jets @ New England October 5^th- The Jets walked into Foxboro last January and shocked the 14-2 Patriots. Don’t expect Bill Belichick’s crew to repeat that same embarrassing performance.

AFC NORTH

1. Baltimore

2. Pittsburgh (Wildcard)

3. Cleveland

4. Cincinnati

The Pittsburgh Steelers are the NFL’s version of a soap opera. First, Hines Ward gets caught drinking and driving in the offseason. Not smiling so much anymore, are you Hines? Then James Harrison goes on a rant and rips everybody from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, to his own QB, Ben Roethlisberger for playing a bad Super Bowl game last year. And after Harrison ripped the commissioner of the NFL, it seems the league punished the Steelers by giving them a pretty hard start to the season (@ Baltimore, vs Seattle, @ Indianapolis, @ Houston). The Steelers could easily be 1-3 after the first quarter of the season. And you can bet there are still some issues in the Steelers room, even though they’ll say that everything is fine.

With the Steelers soap opera potentially having a crippling effect on their season, it’s time for the Baltimore Ravens to step up. We might be seeing one of the final times that this defence can be one of the most feared in the league with guys like Ray Lewis and Ed Reed getting up there in the age department. The Ravens should have beaten the Steelers in last year’s playoffs, building a 21-7 lead in the first half before letting it slip away. And as much as I don’t trust Joe Flacco in a big game, I’ll give the Ravens the division, with the Steelers snagging a wildcard berth.

Key Game: Pittsburgh @ Baltimore- September 11^th- Basically, whoever wins this game wins the division. Can you imagine losing to your division rival in the very first week of the season? How do you bounce back from something like that? Edge to the Ravens here because it’s in Baltimore.

AFC SOUTH

1. Indianapolis

2. Houston (Wildcard)

3. Tennessee

4. Jacksonville

Peyton Manning is breaking down and we can all write off the Colts, right? Not so fast. First of all, Manning said on national television that his goal is to play Week 1 of the season, meaning his neck surgery might not be as bad as we all thought. Second, when Manning plays, the Colts do well. Even last year, when Manning basically had guys off the street posing as his receivers,
the Colts won the division title. I’m not worried about the Colts like a lot of people are.

And make no mistake about it; the Houston Texans are a good football team. I have them as the other wildcard in the AFC. But I don’t know if they can overtake the Colts yet. Just getting to the playoffs would be a huge accomplishment for this team, especially considering all the hype around this team in the last few years, only to see one disappointing finish after another.

Key Game: Houston @ Indianapolis December 22nd- The Texans have never beaten the Colts in Indianapolis. This game might be for the division title, and for the Texans to prove they are for real they have to win at Lucas Oil Stadium.

AFC WEST

1. San Diego

2. Kansas City

3. Oakland

4. Denver

The San Diego Chargers will not get off to another horrific start this year. It’s been the same old story the last few years as the Bolts start 1-3, or 2-4, or in last year’s case 2-5, before they battle back and have an outstanding second half of the season and win the division. Last year, even though they fought back and finished with a 9-7 record, it wasn’t enough to catch Kansas City. I would not be shocked if this team comes out and just destroys the opposition in their first 5 games, (vs. Minnesota, @ New England, vs. Kansas City, vs. Miami, @ Denver). It’s a really easy schedule, minus the visit to Foxboro. And a really dangerous offence, led by a leading candidate for MVP this year, Philip Rivers.

Key game- Kansas City @ San Diego- September 25^th – The Chiefs went into San Diego last year and lost 31-0. The Chargers will hammer the Chiefs yet again and prove they are the class of the division.

NFC EAST

1. Philadelphia

2. Dallas (Wildcard)

3. NY Giants

4. Washington

The common opinion among many was after the Eagles spending spree in the offseason, that they’re the odds-on Super Bowl favourite. I wouldn’t go that far, but they are clearly the team to beat in the NFC East. There are going to be some hard-fought games in this division, and I think the Cowboys, with new defensive co-ordinator Rob Ryan, are a team who will have a monster bounce-back year and snap up a wildcard berth. And by the way, Giants QB Eli Manning has to stop throwing 20 picks a year if he wants to be considered an elite NFL quarterback. That will be tough against the Eagles and Cowboys secondary.

Key game- Philadelphia @ NY Giants November 20^th- The scene of last year’s epic Eagles comeback (trailed 31-10 with 8 minutes left and won 38-31 in regulation) capped off by a last-play DeSean Jackson punt return TD. The Giants will be ready for this one.

NFC NORTH

1. Green Bay

2. Detroit

3. Minnesota

4. Chicago

The defending Super Bowl champions won last year with a whole bunch of guys on IR. This year, they’ve got everyone back healthy. Look out. Aaron Rodgers has to be the pre-season favourite for the MVP. The surprise team might be the Detroit Lions who will be above .500 if they can keep everyone healthy, including the NFL’s equivalent of Buck Pierce, Lions QB Matthew Stafford. I think the Lions will just fall short of the playoffs, but 6 teams make it in the NFC, and I think the Lions will be a very close 7^th. (P.S. I didn’t mention the Bears because I think Jay Cutler bombs hard this year)

Key Game: Green Bay @ Detroit- November 24^th- When’s the last time a Thanksgiving Day game in Detroit actually meant something to the home town team? It just might this year, with the Lions expected to be a good team and the defending champs coming to town.

NFC SOUTH

1. New Orleans

2. Atlanta (Wildcard)

3. Carolina

4. Tampa Bay

The Falcons showed us who they really were last year when the Packers went into Atlanta and destroyed them in the playoffs, 48-21. I’m not saying Atlanta is a bad team, but I don’t think they are a Super Bowl contender just yet. They’ll snap up a wildcard berth. The New Orleans Saints are looking to bounce back after a comical loss to the Seattle Seahawks in last year’s playoffs. The Saints were still 11-5 last year and should have that many wins, if not more, this year.

Key game- Atlanta @ New Orleans- December 26^th- This Boxing Day battle will be anything but a defensive slugfest. Still, it might determine the winner of the division.

NFC WEST

1. Arizona

2. San Francisco

3. St. Louis

4. Seattle

One thing I know for sure about this horrid division, the winner will not be under .500 like last year’s division champion 7-9 Seattle Seahawks. The Cardinals have a decent QB again in Kevin Kolb, and it should be the determining factor in winning this division over three other mediocre teams.

Key game- Arizona @ San Francisco- November 20^th- Whatever….

AFC Championship: San Diego over New England

NFC Championship: Green Bay over Philadelphia

Super Bowl XLVI- Green Bay over San Diego

HirschStock

With Winnipeg’s annual rock festival, Rock on the Range taking place tomorrow, I thought it would be fitting to introduce something I’ve wanted to write about for quite some time.

MY dream music festival, appropriately titled HirschStock.

For this festival, I have selected 10 rock bands that I would want at my festival, but also, which version of that band I would want to perform.

(Example for all you non-rockers…would you rather have 2000 Britney Spears or 2011 Britney Spears performing? Exactly.)

I want this to be the best of the best.

And maybe with the way technology is moving these days, we’ll be able to bring some of these rockers back from the dead and straight to Hirschstock, which would be in Winnipeg, of course.

Let’s look at the Hirschstock lineup in order from the opening band to the headliner:

10. The Trews (2011)

Maybe this is a bit of an overreaction, considering it was the last concert that I attended, but the band from Antigonish put on an awesome show at SuperSpike at Maple Grove Rugby Park. Might have been the best 20 bucks I have ever spent. I have always been a HUGE supporter of Canadian rock and in my opinion, the Trews are, right now, the best rock band in the country and have many more great albums down the road.

9. The Doors (1970)

No need to get into how crazy lead singer Jim Morrison was during the band’s heyday, because we've all heard and seen it for ourselves. But I’ve said it before, when I fork out money to watch a concert, I want to see a damn good show. Jim Morrison made sure to do that every time he went up on stage. As long he holds off on the indecent exposure, this would be an awesome band to play HirschStock.

8. Pink Floyd (1980)

It’s a rare sight when Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters and guitarist David Gilmour are together on the same stage. It’s happened only a handful of times in the last 25 years, and despite a lot of bands burying the hatchet and reuniting for cross-country tours, Pink Floyd is one band who have never really thought about doing that. Hirschstock would have the 1980 version of this band (right after "The Wall" was released) when they still got along enough that they could actually play a show together.

7. Foo Fighters (2011)

I believe the Foo Fighters are the best rock band in their prime right now and their newest album “Wasting Light” disproved the theory that bands get worse with age. Coming off easily one of their top three albums, this band is taking over the rock world, led by their superior front man Dave Grohl. Just one problem, WHY WON’T THEY COME TO WINNIPEG THIS YEAR? Hirschstock would solve that.

6. The Beatles (1969)

Those who know me are aware that I’m not the biggest Beatles fan. But let’s make something perfectly clear here. I dislike the Beatles stuff pre-1967 (“I Want to Hold Your Hand, “She Loves You”) but am actually a big fan of albums post-1967 such as “Sgt Pepper” and “Abbey Road”. And what would make this performance at Hirschstock even more special? Well as most people know, they never performed live after 1966 (except on a roof that one time), which would make Hirschstock the site of history.

5. The Tragically Hip (1998)

In my opinion, 1998’s ”Phantom Power” was their last superior album. So imagine a setlist with those songs + songs from “Fully Completely”, “Day for Night”, and "Road Apples". I’m drooling as I write this. And also, 1998 Gord Downie was a lot more rowdy than 2011 Gord Downie.

4. Rush (2004)

Many hardcore Rush fans would want to see this band in their late 70’s-early 80’s, but after watching the 2004 DVD "R30", I was left in awe at how heavy Rush sounded. Yes Rush, the same band whose fan base is sterotypically linked to geeks and nerds. Their last few albums have them going back to their hard rock style that helped them get noticed. And really, how much synthesizer do I want at my festival?

3. Metallica (1999)

Many devoted Metallica fans would disagree and would rather see a show with Cliff Burton as their bassist. But there was nothing wrong with Jason Newsted who played bass for the band from 1986-2001. My selection is also based on the fact that James Hetfield’s voice from 1996-rehab(2001) was the best it’s ever been (see the 1999 "S&M" DVD). And hey, Lars could still play double bass that year, too.

2. Led Zeppelin (1973)

They’re the greatest rock band ever, no questions asked. But now the bigger debate is when I would want to see them. Give me 1973, right after they released Houses of the Holy, my favourite Zeppelin album.

1. The Who (1971)

Roger Daltrey. Pete Townsend. John Entwistle. Keith Moon.

This band was an absolute gongshow (a good gongshow) on stage, from explosions, to guitar smashing, to microphone swinging, to windmills. And of course, unreal musicianship.

I don’t think I could ask for anyone else to headline HirschStock.

Take it Easy Swaggerville

Should a CFL team with a 16-26 record over the last three years be making nicknames for their defence and selling $25 t-shirts with that nickname on it?

That’s the question I’ve been asking myself for the last couple of days.

Yes, just when it looked the Bombers would be pushed aside on the local sports scene this summer due to the return of the Winnipeg Jets, Winnipeggers and Manitobans have caught a case of Swaggerville fever after their beloved Blue Bombers have gotten off to a scorching 5-1 start.

And a huge reason for the surprising start has been because of the superb play of the defence, who are calling themselves “Swaggerville”.

It’s an age-old tradition in sports. Superior defences, and lethal offences, are given nicknames by the media, the fans, or in the Bombers case, themselves.

For example:

The Big Blue Wrecking Crew: A name that might have worked for the current Bombers squad, the New York Giants defence of the 1980s was given this name. Led by Lawrence Taylor, the 3-4 defence is still considered one of the greatest of all time after they won two Super Bowl Championships in five years.

The Purple People Eaters- Just an awesome nickname given to the 1970s Minnesota Vikings, who made 4 Super Bowls on the strength of their defensive unit.

The Steel Curtain- Maybe the most notable defensive nickname ever. The 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers defence was so deadly that in 1978, the NFL made rule changes specifically for offences to help contain “The Steel Curtain”. The Steelers won 4 Super Bowls in the 1970s and four members from that defence, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham, Joe Greene, and Mel Blount, are in the Hall of Fame.

Swaggerville- 16-26 record from 2009-2011. No playoff appearances. Yet to beat the Alouettes and the Stampeders, considered the class of the CFL.

Now which one of those doesn’t belong in that list.

Listen, let’s give the Bombers some credit first. The team has won more games (5) than they did all of last year (4) and when Buck Pierce and the offense is nowhere to be found, the defence holds down the fort and has been the main reason for most of the Bombers wins this year.

But I have a few issues with this whole “Swaggerville” thing.

The first issue being the list of nicknames that we just went through. Each of those three defences, along with many others not named here (Doomsday Defense, Orange Crush, Monsters of the Midway) had success for a considerable period of time. Each of those teams went to Super Bowls and most of them won one and even multiple championships.

But to give your defence a nickname after 6 games?!

And even worse, it was almost always the media who gave those defences their nicknames. But the Bombers have given this moniker to themselves. Can you say cocky?

Which leads me to my next issue. It’s always good to be confident and a little bit cocky. Confidence is a huge part of how football teams and any team in any sport succeed. But to go as public as the Bombers have had with this nickname is something that they may regret down the road.

BC Lions DE Brent Johnson was the first to speak out on Swaggerville saying in an interview on Vancouver radio, “I think they should sell some t-shirts while they can”. And I can guarantee you that Brent Johnson is not the only player around the CFL who is not a fan of Swaggerville.

A few years back, Brent Johnson was part of a BC Lions defence that was easily the most dominant in the league. The Lions could have come up with a nickname of some sort for their ferocious defence. But they let their playing do the talking and from 2004-2008, the team won 4 Western Division titles, and made 2 Grey Cups, winning in 2006.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers on the other hand, have been dysfunctional over the last couple of years. Yet the defence has no problem talking trash to the rest of the CFL.

What the Bombers have done here is put a target on their backs. Now every time they play, the opposing team will probably be more motivated than they usually are.

The opposing offence will be raring to go and ready to try and tear apart “Swaggerville”.

And the opposing defences will want to prove that they are better than Swaggerville and will come out angrier than ever which, I hate to say it, might put Bombers QB Buck Pierce even more in the line of danger.

You can say all you want on how this nickname was made to pump up Bomber fans and Bomber players. And it definitely has done that, but it has also pumped up the rest of the CFL, which might mean trouble for the Blue and Gold. Swaggerville has pretty much gone mainstream after the Bombers convincing win over the previously undefeated Edmonton Eskimos last Friday. The rest of the league is now ready to welcome in Swaggerville.

And the first Swaggerville test comes Saturday night against Brent Johnson and the BC Lions. The Lions are 1-5 and you can bet the Bombers will be walking into Empire Field with a little swagger in their step, no matter how “humble” their coach seems to think they are.

The Lions are coming off their first win of the year. BC will be fired up.

The Lions are playing at home. BC will be fired up.

Arland Bruce III joins the Lions receiving corps. BC will be fired up.

All signs point to a Lions win on Saturday. (The Lions even opened as 1 point favourites)

If you’re a contender, and if you’re a superior defence, then when the odds are against you, you step up and play out of your minds. In my opinion, this is the Bombers biggest test of the year to date because of the whole Swaggerville phenomenon taking off. If you want to give yourself nicknames, Bombers D, then you better shut down a Lions offence which looks like it could be lights-out for the rest of the year.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are currently in the midst of the longest Grey Cup drought among current CFL teams. It’s been 21 years since this team was crowned CFL champions.

And if this team wants to head back to the Grey Cup, taking place in Vancouver later this year, then Swaggerville might want to quit talking and just start playing football.

Or else this weekend’s trip to Vancouver will be their only trip to Vancouver this year.