SPORTSGERBIL'S 2009 FEARLESS NFL PREDICTIONS

About the only good thing with the summer coming to an end each year is that it means the NFL is back! Between the Cubs being pitiful this year and the Jets drafting Mark Sanchez, I know I couldn't be more excited to get this season going. Well it all begins tomorrow night when the defending champion, Pittsburgh Steelers, play host to the Tennessee Titans. Then, we'll just have to find a way to get to Sunday (or Monday for Jaxster) to see our teams for the first time. Hit play on the video above for a little classic NFL music while reading the picks!

Below are my predictions for 2009 that are guaranteed to look really embarrassing after the season plays out. The number in parentheses are the official Vegas over/under numbers for each team. Instead of giving you wins and losses, I'll just be predicting whether they go over or under that number. (^Best Record, *Wildcard)

AFC East: ^New England (O 11.5), Miami (U 7), NY Jets (U 7), Buffalo (U 7.5)
AFC North: Pittsburgh (O 10.5), *Baltimore (O 8.5), Cleveland (U 6.5), Cincinnati (U 7)
AFC South: Indianapolis (O 10), *Houston (O 8.5), Tennessee (U 9), Jacksonville (U 8)
AFC West: San Diego (O 10), Oakland (U 5.5), Kansas City (U 6), Denver (U 6.5)

AFC Wildcard: San Diego over Houston, Indianapolis over Baltimore
AFC Divisional: New England over Indianapolis, Pittsburgh over San Diego
AFC Championship: New England over Pittsburgh

NFC East: Philadelphia (O 9.5), *NY Giants (O 10), Dallas (U 9.5), Washington (U 8)
NFC North: ^Green Bay (O 9), Chicago (U 9), Minnesota (U 9.5), Detroit (U 5)
NFC South: New Orleans (O 8.5), *Atlanta (O 9), Carolina (O 8.5), Tampa Bay (U 6.5)
NFC West: Arizona (O 8.5), Seattle (U 8), San Francisco (U 7), St. Louis (U 5.5)

NFC Wildcard: New Orleans over Atlanta, NY Giants over Arizona
NFC Divisional: NY Giants over Green Bay, Philadelphia over New Orleans
NFC Championship: Philadelphia over NY Giants

AFC Overrated: San Diego; Even though they'll coast home in the weak AFC West, I think people are crazy for picking them to win the Super Bowl. I would like to see them gel in the regular season and earn a high seed before I can put them on the elite level of teams. They are certainly talented, but they are being given too much praise.
NFC Overrated: Dallas; I have seen too many people pick this team to go to the playoffs. They are probably the third best team in perhaps the best overall division in football. Tony Romo doesn't have the weapons he used to and the defense isn't great. I smell an 8-8 season.
AFC Underrated: Indianapolis; Peyton Manning has gone from overrated to underrated in my eyes. He carried a mediocre Colts team to 12 wins last year. I think he will win the team another AFC South title. I also think people are overrating the retirement of Tony Dungy. He was a much better man than coach. This has always been Peyton's team, not Tony Dungy's, and it won't be Jim Caldwell's either.
NFC Underrated: Green Bay; The schedule is very favorable for the Packers to win 11+ games this year. I think Aaron Rodgers is the best quarterback in the division. They have plenty of weapons on offense and a fairly decent defense. People are overrating the Vikings and Bears in my opinion. I think the Pack take home the NFC North and could do some damage in the playoffs.

MVP: Peyton Manning
Rookie of the Year: Mark Sanchez
Coach of the Year: Mike McCarthy - Green Bay

Super Bowl XLIV Pick: Philadelphia 27, New England 24; I think the Eagles will finally get it done. They will certainly miss long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson who died this offseason, but I think they will be fired up to play well in his honor. He will be more missed over time than this year I think. Michael Vick should make the offense very unpredictable as well. I think this is a very balanced team that should eek out a Super Bowl against Tom Brady's Patriots.

FROM PRISON TO PHILADELPHIA: VICK RETURNS TO NFL

Michael Vick has found a new home.

The former Atlanta Falcons quarterback signed a one-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles Thursday, less than three months after being released from prison. He plans to make $1.6 million dollars, and has a $5.2 million option for a second season. He will back up Donovan McNabb, who led the Eagles to a berth in the NFC Championship Game last January. Many wondered if Vick would end up in the NFL this season. Now that question has been answered.

Vick broke into the league in 2001, playing in eight games for the Falcons. He was awarded the Falcons starting quarterback job in 2002, rushing for an impressive 777 yards and 8 touchdowns. Even though he might not have been the most talented passer in the league, his ability to run the ball made up for that. He led the Falcons to an upset playoff win over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau field during the 2003 season and from 2004-2006, the former Virginia Tech star ran for a total of 2,538 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was arguably the most talented player in the NFL. He had everything going for him, until he was busted for being involved in a dog fighting ring and sentenced to jail for 23 months. He has served his time and is ready for the NFL once again as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Some teams were probably afraid to sign Vick, because it might attract negative attention. However, this is a good signing by the Eagles. McNabb and Vick is a great 1-2 punch in a league where you can never have enough talent at the quarterback position. With the college-style Wildcat offense that has become more popular in the NFL, adding Vick might mean more trick plays for Andy Reid's squad. As long as Vick can get himself into shape, I can't see how this doesn't help the Eagles in some way. Yes, there might be many people who protest this deal based on what the man did, which no one can argue was inexcusable. However, fans of the Eagles should be happy about this signing if they are worried more about the product on the field. People will have their opinions on the addition of Vick, but for now, he has a second chance with the team from the City of Brotherly Love.

Speaking of love, how much of it will the fans of Philadelphia show for their new second-string quarterback? We will soon find out.

Shawn Marosek

GOOD RIDDANCE

And I mean it. The Buffalo Bills have officially struck a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles to trade left tackle Jason Peters.

Over the past couple of years, Peters has been causing problems for the Bills, not showing up to practice or games due to holding out for more money. No offense Peters, but you aren't that good to be paying millions of dollars for, even if there is a pay limit in the NFL. And now that the Bills have acquired T.O. (yes it came up, don't have a cow man) they already chose the man they are giving the big bucks up to. But I think it's more to do with the fact that Peters thinks he's better than he really is, and continues to hold out for more dough. I don't understand why he keeps getting chosen as a Pro Bowler. Just because he's one of the biggest guys in the NFL doesn't mean he's the best at what he does. How many times in one game do we Bill fans hear, "False Start. Number 71." Then the depressing amount of yard loss.

Philadelphia Eagles took Peters in return for their 28th pick in the NFL draft, as well as their fourth round draft pick. When this was just a rumor, it was said that the Bills would be seeking the first and third round draft picks. Though the Bills got one of the picks they were looking for, I guess they thought Peters was better than he actually is too. At least in trading terms. Maybe Peters will take over for Dawkins as the leader of the Eagles song, dancing and flapping around. Somehow, I have a feeling it just wouldn't look the same.

Jaclyn Kahn

NFL CLASS ACT: BRIAN DAWKINS

Since I had lost my faith in the Buffalo Bills last season, I began to root for the Philadelphia Eagles, especially once they made it to the playoffs. Since I haven't really rooted for a team in the playoffs before, it was exciting until they got beat out by the Cards. There are many reasons why I chose to root for Philadelphia, such as McNabb, but I also liked Brian Dawkins. I liked how he played, and I liked how he revved up the crowed, dancing around enthusiastically to their theme/fight song.

Earlier in the year, Brian Dawkins was traded to the Denver Broncos. This caused a minor uproar within the Eagles community, and led to one part time worker being fired over what he said about the Eagles letting Dawkins go. I understand that if you work for a company or whatnot, that you probably shouldn't say anything bad about them, especially on Facebook where they can actually read it. However, it shows how much of a fan the man, Dan Leone, was to the team he worked for. I honestly was a little surprised to hear that the Eagles let Dawkins go, but at the same time, I can see how they might think he is getting old and might not be performing up to the standard they need to win any championship in the future.

Long story short, what does Dawkins do? As a Bronco now, he will actually be facing the Eagles in Philly. Because players receive 2 tickets for away games, Dawkins decided to give his tickets to Dan Leone. Obviously Dan cannot see the games anymore as part of his job since he was newly fired, and I think that Dawkins is a class act. He would be an even bigger class act if he could get that guy's job back, but he wasn't the one who publicly made statements about the team. Dawkins could have just forgotten about the guy who had his fifteen minutes of fame on Facebook that left him without a job. But he didn't. So cheers to Brian Dawkins, and I hope he has a good career at the Broncos (even though I'm not a fan).

Jaclyn Kahn

DONOVAN MCNABB ALWAYS HAS THE LAST LAUGH

Yes, the Philadelphia Eagles lost to the Arizona Cardinals. No, it was not a dream. But this article isn't about the game that took place last Sunday, although it involved a Quarterback and two unruly (and unintelligent) fans.

Apparently 2 Arizona Cardinal fans had too much fun with McNabb's house in Arizona. Not once, not twice, but three times, these two idiots vandalized McNabb's house, trying to be "funny." Well, maybe not funny, but McNabb thought the joke was somewhat funny, until it went too far. The first prank was leaving an Arizona Cardinal's flag in a tree on Donovan McNabb's property. Apparently McNabb thought it was pretty funny, and he even left it in his tree. The second prank was when the two Stooges came back to McNabb's residence, leaving a cardboard box that said "Go Cards" and "Beat Philly." At this point I'm sure McNabb was probably hoping he could back his car out onto these two persistent jerks.

It was the final prank that did them in. Well actually, it was the second. Let me explain: the third prank involved these two Cards fans to burn phrases into McNabb's lawn. Phrases such as "Go Cards", "Go Kurt", and "I <3 AZ" were all burnt into the grass. At this point, these pranks are going too far into property damage. I know that McNabb seems like a nice guy, especially for putting up with 3 pranks instead of blowing steam at the first one, but enough is enough. That and I doubt these two pranksters would be able to take McNabb, I don't doubt his physical toughness. Anyway, these 2 Cards fans might not have been found if it hadn't been for the cardboard box that they left during the second prank, which had one of the pranksters full names and full address on it. Smart. Very Arizona-like. To quote the Sergeant, Joe Favazzo, who worked on the case, he said they “did about a five-second investigation," until the full name and addressed were found. Once they found the first Cards fan, the second one came out into the open as well. Both pranksters are now arrested, and good riddance.

It seems as though Donovan McNabb had the last laugh.

Jaclyn Kahn

EAGLES MUST COMPLETE THE DEAL

The Philadelphia Eagles of the last decade are one of the best teams in sports history that have received so little love from their fans and most NFL fans in general. Now Eagles fans are quite crazy (they booed Santa Claus), but you would think Andy Reid was Matt Millen and Donovan McNabb was Ryan Leaf by the way they treat their team sometimes. Just seven weeks ago it appeared the Reid/McNabb era was coming to an end. The fans would have received their wish and Kevin Kolb and an unproven coordinator would have been called in to run the show next season.

However, when the Eagles square off against the Cardinals in the desert this upcoming Sunday it will be their fifth NFC Championship Game appearance since the 2001 season. They are also 7-0 (McNabb 6-0) in opening playoff games during their run. The tandem of Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid has been highly successful, and despite the rival Giants winning the Super Bowl last year, the Eagles have been the better NFC East team. Just ask Buffalo Bills fans how much success means if you don't complete the deal and cap off your run with a Super Bowl championship. On the flip side, you can ask Peyton Manning just how much different his life is now that he finally won a Super Bowl two years ago.

Now is the time for the Eagles finally to win their Super Bowl. The path has been somewhat paved for them now that they have cleared the Giants hurdle and seen three of the top four teams fall. The Arizona Cardinals took full advantage of six Carolina turnovers to advance, but if the Eagles can't beat the Cards here, they will never win a title. They've already beaten them by four touchdowns this year. The best team in the final four is the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the Eagles beat their offensive line and Ben Roethlisberger like a drum in Week 3. As for the Baltimore Ravens, you don't think that McNabb would love to get back at them for causing him the most embarrassing moment of his career? And that game was only 10-7 Ravens when McNabb was pulled for Kevin Kolb.

If the Eagles can figure out a way to win two more games, this team's decade will be remembered forever in Philadelphia. This franchise is buried in a division where the other three teams have done nothing but win. The Cowboys have five titles and the Giants and Redskins have three. No other division has more combined titles, and that the fact they haven't contributed to that count has been a torn in the Eagles side forever. As for next year, don't think that a very deep Giants team and a very talented Cowboys team won't be back as extreme obstacles. A win here would greatly trump the Phillies championship and would cement Reid and McNabb as a heroic duo in Philly, but should they leave their fans at the alter yet again, the most they've done is bought themselves one more year of fans calling for their heads. I believe Reid is one of the best coaches in the game, and McNabb is much better than he is given credit for. However, it is all about the bling, and for their sake they better close the deal.

Pat Morgan

Fantasy Owners Raging Over Westbrook Play

Most fantasy football leagues entered their playoff semifinals yesterday. Many of those teams included Brian Westbrook, who is the second best running back (behind LT) in the league in my opinion. Westbrook elected to fall at the one-yard line and allow the Philadelphia Eagles to simply run out the clock on a 10-6 upset over the Dallas Cowboys. Westbrook, unselfishly, turned down the touchdown. In an era where players care more about their stats then anything else, Westbrook kept the Cowboys from still having a prayer to win the game.

I have spoken to a few furious fantasy football players, and they feel Westbrook should not have manipulated the game the way he did. The consensus seemed to be that Westbrook should have known what was riding on that touchdown.

To me that is nothing more than...

Sour Grapes!

Westbrook's play was one of the smartest decisions I have seen this season. Westbrook showed he cared more about a win than his own personal stats. Scoring the touchdown would have meant Dallas would have needed a miracle to win, but Westbrook realized a miracle can anytime happen and you seal the game when you can! Great move by Westbrook. I liked him before this play yesterday, but now he climbs way up my list of favorite players.

Pat Morgan

Eagles 23.5 Point Underdog to Patriots

The New England Patriots were installed as 23.5 point favorites today for their matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night.

This is the second largest line in NFL history, and could end up being the highest should the line move past 24 in the next few days. Coupling the fact the Patriots are scoring at will even when the games are blowouts with Donovan McNabb's uncertain status for Sunday it calls for a giant line.

I'm not a gambling man, but how could you bet against the Pats in this situation. They have covered the spread every week except for the game in Indianapolis. I never thought I would see a spread this high. The largest I can remember is San Francisco being 17 point favorites over San Diego in Super Bowl XXIX.

As large as this spead is, just wait for Week 15 vs. the New York Jets. That spread may reach the low 30s.

Pat Morgan