PV’s Upset Specials

I thought it would be more interesting to switch gears from NFL power rankings to PV’s Upset Specials, where I, PV, pick a few upsets in the league every week. Everyone has NFL power rankings; you don’t need me to tell you the Packers are the best team in football. This is far more interesting since you can make fun of me when I’m wrong or even make fun of me now. The Bears and Vikings game is not on the list because who cares, both teams need help!

This weeks upset specials:

49ers over the Lions – Jim Harbaugh has the defense that can slow down the Lions passing game and certainly contain the Lions sporadic running game. While I think the Lions are one of the best and exciting teams in football I think the 49ers are a difficult match-up for the Lions this week.  49ers cover the spread (Lions -4.5) and win game outright by 3.

Eagles over the Redskins – At the beginning of the season the Redskins over the Eagles would have been the upset, now the 1-4 Eagles look to the upset the NFC East leading Redskins (-0.5) this week to hang on to hope. This is a slam-dunk for Philly; they should overmatch the Skins and tighten up the NFC East.

Cowboys over the Patriots – The Cowboys two losses are a combined total of seven points; while both losses can be pinned on Tony Romo for throwing some questionable passes in the second half that lead to interceptions, both wins are also because of Tony Romo. The Cowboys defense will be able to contain the Pats enough, and the iffy Patriots defense will let up a lot against a two week prepared Cowboys. Cowboys are getting no respect this week, as they are 7.5-point underdogs. They will definitely cover and win outright.

Buccaneers over the Saints – My final upset special this week is the Bucs over the Saints. The Bucs will bounce back from a thumping from the 49ers and not allow Drew Brees to pull out another last minute victory this week. The Saints defense is terrible and the Bucs will exploit it. Bucs win by 10 this week, and obviously cover the 4.5-point spread.

Good luck everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PV’s NFL POWER Rankings

1 – Green Bay Packers (2-0)
Packers continue to roll and their defense hasn’t even kicked into full gear, yet. Aaron Rogers and company continues to make teams pay with the big play, and running back Jason Starks is making some noise. They look destined for another solid playoff run.

2 – New England Patriots (2-0)
Tom Brady is putting on a passing clinic and he shows no signs of slowing down. Brady’s near a thousand yards passing after the first two games, which is unheard of. The Patriots defense looks suspect, which could lead to some issues with some teams later in the season.

3 – Detroit Lions (2-0)
This team can score and they can score in a hurry. A Matthew Stafford led offense backed by a defense that should rank in the top 10 by the end of the season this year makes the Lions look like contenders. They face Minnesota this week, which should push them to 3-0. They travel to Dallas for week 4 which should be an intriguing match-up for the Theisman’s Earhole crew.

4 – Houston Texans (2-0)
A great offense backed by a solid defense (Wade Philips back at the roll he should be in, defensive coordinator) could have the Texans working on an undefeated season. They have all the tools in place to make a solid run, especially with the Colts out of the picture.

5 – Atlanta Falcons (1-1)
The Falcons bounced back this week offensively with a solid performance from QB, Matt Ryan, and another 100-yard rushing day for Michael Turner. The Atlanta defense has played inconsistently thus far which leaves them a little suspect.

6 – New Orleans Saints (1-1)
Speaking of suspect defenses, the Saints will not be able to make up for their defensive inconsistencies this season, so eventually expect them to fall out of the top 10. For now I will put them at six because field general, Drew Brees, has delivered the first two weeks of this young season.

7 – New York Jets (2-0)
I like the Jets, but they haven’t been that impressive so far. Mark Sanchez still looks iffy at QB, and their defense has not displayed #1 type play in the first two weeks. They involved Plaxico Burress late in the game in week one, but he did not have any catches in week two, and he should be their big play threat along with Santonio Holmes. It might be a little harder season for the Jets, than I originally expected.

8 – San Diego Chargers (1-1)
I can’t figure these guys out, part of it might be that Norv Turner is not a good head coach, because it seems like they should have won a Superbowl already. The Patriots managed to completely shutdown Antonio Gates and control their running game. The Chargers have been inconsistent on both sides of the ball in the first two weeks of the season.

9 – Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1)
I gave the Steelers the Ravens spot after the Ravens played this week as poorly as the Steelers did in week one. Meanwhile, the Steelers put everything together in week two to look like contenders again. Weapons galore on both sides of the ball make them the favorites to win the AFC North.

10 – Carolina Panthers (0-2)
I know this seem ludicrous, putting an 0-2 team in the top 10, but with a little defense this team can go on a major run. Cam Newton has been let loose and he has delivered two straight games of over 400 yards passing. The only QB who has more impressive numbers is Tom Brady, especially since Brady is avoiding interceptions. Again, a little defense and some production out of D’Angelo Williams and the Panthers could be playoff bound.

NFL Season Predictions

Well, the college football season snuck up on me before I could get my predictions out, so I’m not going to let that happen with NFL kickoff just a few days away. Let’s just say this Bears’ fans, you are really going to hate the Lions this year. On that note let’s start with the NFC North.

NFC North – easily the second most competitive division in football next to the NFC East, but there will only be two contenders this season from the North, the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions. The Lions are young and talented and if they can avoid key player injuries I see a 10-6 season for them, while the Packers return with a solid team to go 12-4 and take the NFC top seed in the playoffs. The Bears made some pretty poor offseason moves and are staring a 7-9 season in the face. The only team worse then the Bears this season in the North is the Vikings even with Adrian Peterson, but not much worse at 6-10. If they beat the Bears twice you might see a record swap.

NFC East – the powerhouse of the NFL with the Eagles, Cowboys, Giants, and Redskins. While everyone is gushing over the Eagles I do not expect Michael Vick to make it through the entire season, which will prevent the Eagles from winning the division, and right there to win it will be the Cowboys with a respectable 11-5 record. The Cowboys already had a very talented team in place and with a new revamped defense they should be in great shape. The Eagles will finish at 10-6 and take the other Wild Card spot with the Detroit Lions. The Giants will offer up more of the same with inconsistent play from their offense and defense. The Redskins just named Rex Grossman their starting quarterback, enough said there. Giants will be 9-7 and the Skins will finish 5-11.

NFC South – This race comes down to two teams and only one will make the playoffs, the New Orleans Saints and the Atlanta Falcons. While the Saints seem like it should be business as usual I think their time has come and gone and the Falcons will emerge as the division winner with a 10-6 record with two wins over the Saints. The Saints will also have a 10-6 record, but one of their losses will come at the hands of the Lions, so they will not make the playoffs. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be 9-7, while the Carolina Panthers will continue their rebuilding process with a 4 -12 record.

NFC West – Why does the West always stink, well since the glory days of the San Francisco 49ers, which isn’t on the horizon anytime soon. The winner of this division will be over .500, but not by much as the St. Louis Rams show the most promise with 9-7 record, and the Arizona Cardinals will be a close second at 8-8. The Seattle Seahawks and 49ers will not be making anything interesting, but I think the 49ers are a little better with a 5-11 finish to the Seahawks 4-12. Yawn.

AFC North – The Steelers and Ravens will he fighting this battle, but the Steelers have a slightly better team, so they will edge out the Ravens with 11-5 record. The Ravens will be right their with a 10-6 record followed by a .500 Cleveland Browns and a horrible Cincinnati Bengals team that might be the worst team in football this season. I’m thinking three wins might be a bit generous, so I’ll go 2-14 with complete turmoil all season.

AFC East – Duh, Patriots, what new? The Pats will win the division easily again despite all the blabbing from Rex Ryan and the New York Jets with a 13–3 record. The Jets will finish with an 11-5 record because of an improved Mark Sanchez this season. The Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins will anchor the division, but the Dolphins will be starting their ascension this season with an 8-8 record. The Bills will suffer another losing season at 6-10.

AFC South – The big question, will Peyton Manning return 100% healthy and ready to perform? It’s such a big question that I’m going to put the Indianapolis Colts at 9-7 this season and give the division win to the Houston Texans with 10-6 record behind a solid year from Arian Foster (despite the MRI tweet) and Matt Schaub. Both the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars will finish with 7-9 records.

AFC West – Who’s the best team in the AFC? That will come down to the Pats and the San Diego Chargers who will win the West without any problems with a 12-4 record. They should come out the shoot ready to go this year behind gunslinger, Philip Rivers. The rest of the division is crap with the Kansas City Chiefs finishing .500, the Oakland Raiders at 7-9, and the Denver Broncos with a 4-12 record.

NFC Playoff Picture

1 – Green Bay Packers
2 – Dallas Cowboys
3 – Atlanta Falcons
4 – St. Louis Rams
5 – Detroit Lions
6 – Philadelphia Eagles

AFC Playoff Picture

1 – New England Patriots
2 – San Diego Chargers
3 – Pittsburgh Steelers
4 – Houston Texans
5 – New York Jets
6 – Baltimore Ravens