NFL Preview Bonanza: NFC West

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
Last Season: 4-12
This Season: 10-6, NFC #2
Healthy again after a season of injuries, the Seahawks return to their usual perch atop the NFL’s weakest division. T.J. Houshmandzadeh is the best receiver Matt Hasselbeck has ever had in Seattle, and Edgerrin James is still a good enough running back to keep teams honest. I don’t [...]

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NFL Preview Bonanza: NFC South

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
Last Season: 8-8
This Season: 10-6, NFC #3
In a division that’s become tougher and tougher, it’s about time the Saints justified their 2006 breakthrough. Drew Brees is still the best quarterback in the NFC by a wide margin, he has a ton of weapons in the receiving corps, and Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas [...]

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NFL Preview Bonanza: NFC North

GREEN BAY PACKERS
Last Season: 6-10
This Season: 9-7, NFC #4
I’ve vacillated a lot on the Packers already this season, initially having them at 11-5 then down at 7-9 and now splitting the difference. I think Aaron Rodgers is a good quarterback but not the great one many people expect him to be, and the offense will [...]

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NFL Preview Bonanza: NFC East

DISCLAIMER: I will be particularly unfair and subjective in this divisional analysis.
NEW YORK GIANTS
Last Season: 12-4
This Season: 11-5, NFC #1
First of all, let’s chill out about the receiver situation. Steve Smith and Domenik Hixon are tenable NFL receivers. Especially when you complement them with the league’s best rushing attack—as much a product of the offensive [...]

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NFL Preview Bonanza: Ranking the Refs

I’ve always been disproportionately proud of my ability to discern all NFL referees by both sight and voice. It’s a talent developed over years of watching myriad NFL games and unnecessary research on Wikipedia.
The fruit of my toiling is here for you now, a completely personalized and very arbitrary ranking of the NFL referees.
17. Ron [...]

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NFL Preview Bonanza: AFC West

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS
Last Season: 8-8
This Season: 13-3, AFC #1
Everything sets up perfectly for San Diego to cruise to the top seed in the AFC. Shawne Merriman is back, meaning the defense will transform from bad to above-average. LaDainian Tomlinson can’t be as bad as he was last year, and Darren Sproles should spell him more. [...]

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NFL Preview Bonanza: AFC South

TENNESSEE TITANS
Last Season: 13-3
This Season: 11-5, AFC #2
Solid if unspectacular, the Titans’ defense will suffer from the loss of Albert Haynesworth while the offense will benefit from the continued maturation of Chris Johnson and LenDale White and the off-season pick-up of Nate Washington (it doesn’t sound like much, but do you realize who this team’s [...]

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NFL Preview Bonanza: AFC North

PITTSBURGH STEELERS
Last Season: 12-4
This Season: 11-5, AFC #4
The defending Super Bowl champs will suffer a little from the Super Bowl hangover, but not quite to the extent they did when they missed the playoffs three years ago. It’ll be interesting to see if Santonio Holmes uses his incredible performance in Super Bowl XLIII as a [...]

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NFL Preview Bonanza: AFC East

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
Last Season: 11-5
This Season: 11-5, AFC #3
They’re not going to go 16-0, if only because no team has ever gone undefeated without having a running back. At the same time, they get Tom Brady back, and last I checked, that guy’s pretty good. Do I need to keep going? You know this team [...]

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NFL Preview Bonanza: The Coolest Head Coaches

The NFL Season kicks off on Thursday night with the Steelers hosting the Titans. To prepare for what is already being dubbed the most anticipated season since the fifth installment of The Wire, we’ll be doing a full-blown (and probably overwrought) NFL Preview Bonanza, including looks at each division, predictions for every team (that [...]

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