2011-12 NFL Predictions

*OFFICIAL*
I made my predictions game by game, included some upsets and here is how i think the upcoming NFL Season is going to shape up. I cannot and will not take any of these picks back.

AFC

New England 14-2
New York 11-5
Miami 7-9
Buffalo 2-14

Pittsburgh 13-3
Baltimore 11-5
Cleveland 6-10
Cincinnati 3-13

Houston 10-6
Indianapolis 9-7
Tennessee 6-10
Jacksonville 4-12

San Diego 13-3
Kansas City 7-9
Denver 6-10
Oakland 3-13

NFC

Philadelphia 13-3
Dallas 12-4
New York 7-9
Washington 4-12

Green Bay 13-3
Minnesota 9-7
Detroit 8-8
Chicago 7-9

Atlanta 12-4
New Orleans 11-5
Tampa Bay 5-11
Carolina 4-12

St. Louis 8-8
Seattle 7-9
San Francisco 6-10
Arizona 5-11



Reasons for the picks broken down by division and each playoff game

AFC EAST- New England will go undefeated for a while until they lose to the Jets in Week 10 in the Meadowlands. They are just too powerful. The jets are going to have a typical Jets season but they find it hard to beat the really good teams in the league(I predict they lose to New England, Philly, Dallas, Baltimore along with Miami). Miami will have a decent season for what they have and cause playoff seeding trouble for the Jets by beating them in Week 17. I think Buffalo will end up getting the #1 overall pick and take Andrew Luck which will revamp the hype in Western New York in their last chance to keep their team.

AFC North - Pittsburgh still has most of their already good team and Baltimore's number to go along with it. It seems as if Baltimore is their little brother waiting for the big brother to finally hit a road block. Baltimore still being a very good team makes the playoffs. Cleveland lands some random no reason, upsets one against Baltimore and finishes at a typical 6-10 for a rebuilding team, and Cincinnati is just awful and honestly I don't know how they will pick up three wins but it'll come because I don't think Luck looks good in black and orange stripes.

AFC South- Yes, I think it's finally Houston's year. They pick up Johnathan Joseph which helps a miserable secondary and they still have a dynamic offensive trio in Schaub, Foster, and Johnson. Mario Williams will be a nice help too. Indy is on it's way down. I think the defense is depleting and finally, yes finally Peyton Manning will be overwhelmed and just doesn't have enough to take this team to the playoffs but does get them over .500. Tennessee doesn't have a good defense and a brand new coach isn't a positive. I think Hasselbeck is hitting up on age and Chris Johnson is about to sign a new contract, (ha) we all know what happens when overrated good players sign new large contracts * cough Joe Mauer *. Jacksonville has nothing to play for, not even fans. Gabbert isn't going to be a good quarterback in my opinion and Garrard isn't bad but isn't great and their defense is bad.

AFC West- I have San Diego as somewhat of a sleeper team and reclaims the top of the division. Ryan Matthews gets too much praise to be so bad so coming off an injury we couldn't tell how good he really was I say he isn't bad but Phillip Rivers leads this team to the playoffs. I think the Chiefs are a one and done but are not bad team for the future. We kind of just got a little taste of last year what they will be down the road. Denver gets some upsets in there with Dumervil back and Oakland falls in the pits and fails to get Luck as Al Davis continues to rot, literally.

NFC East I thought Philadelphia is a really good team before the off season transactions. Now, although I'd hate to say is, are easily Super Bowl contenders. Dallas will be back to being a really good team and give Philly a run for their money (that came out of nowhere). New York is falling and falling quick as rumors to fire Coughlin once again come and go for no reason because he is a good coach that deals with underprivileged players and their weapons seem to be depleting. Washington is just going to be bad, no surprise there.

NFC North- Ahh my division all with teams that are either on the rise or already pretty good and i think this year's best quality division. No I am not biased because my Lions are here but I am a believer that they will be a very good team soon, not this year but soon. Green Bay is going to continue to play great as defending champs and will end up with the NFC'c #1 seed come to playoff time. Minnesota will get whatever McNabb has left which I think still is some gas but nothing better than 9-7 despite a team with A.P. Chicago is the one team i am not a believer is that is on the rise. I think they got extremely fortunate last year and I'm not saying they are going to be a bad team but I think the other 3 are too much for them. I am not a believer in Cutler and Forte running an offense.

NFC South Atlanta is that much of a better team and I think they will remain at the top of the division. New Orleans will still be good but they don't have the same defense they had for the past couple of years. Tampa Bay was a one hit wonder as well, I just don't see them going 10-6 again and Carloina is far away from contending here but they will sneak in some wins here and there.

NFC West- Once again this will be the worst division in football but St. Louis will finish on top with a record not below, but at .500. They are the only balanced team in the division. Seattle pulls out some wins and San Francisco will continue to disappoint do to the loss of Nate Clements and no good Quarterback. Arizona will realize they made a terrible trade with Philly and Kolb is the most overrated player in the league in my opinion and no one realizes how bad their defense now looks.

Wild Card Round

BAL-HOU:Baltimore wins because Houston's inconsistent past comes back to haunts them on offense. Not exactly a clean football game will be played in my opinion by Houston or Baltimore but Houston doesn't have enough on defense and will gain some experience out of the loss. BAL 24 HOU 16

NYJ-PIT: The road ends here for the Jets as they fail to reach the AFC Championship game and more importantly the Super Bowl. They don't have enough on offense to defeat Pittsburgh. The game will be very close and will come down to the final possession with the ball in Sanchez's hands and he fails.(Sorry Sanchie) PIT 17 NYJ 16

DAL-ATL:A real Texas shootout, except for that it's in Atlanta. Somehow, someway, Dallas is kind of flew under with all the hype Philadelphia is getting. They are still a really good team with a good offense and good defense. This defense needs to learn how to defend against the pass in the playoffs, and they didn't do anything to really improve in that. DAL 34 ATL 28

NO-STL: I don't think New Orleans loses to the NFC West division winner again. This is a very young St. Louis team who is on the way up but they only reason they are here is because their division stinks! NO 37 STL 16

Divisional Round

BAL-NE: Baltimore comes close but falls short to a too powerful New England team. Patriots control most of the game while Baltimore makes a late game comeback that falls short. NE 27 BAL 24

PIT-SD: Since I don't have a real upset in the Wild Card Round, I'm going to pick it here. Pittsburgh will probably go into this game as the favorite and I think San Diego gets overlooked as Phillip Rivers has an impressive performance the defeats Pittsburgh giving us a new AFC Champion. SD 20 PIT 16

DAL-GB: Green Bay is too much for Jason Garrett and neither is the Rob Ryan defense. Green Bay is way too good to be one and done. Dallas keeps up for a while but Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay pull away late.GB 35 DAL 20

NO-PHI: Clash of heavy offenses but Philadelphia has a better defense than that of the the Saints who's is significantly depleted. A Pierre Thomas fumble costs New Orleans late in the game. PHI 34 NO 27

Championship Round

SD-NE: New England has too much and San Diego shows it's inconsistency on offense against the Patriots. Brady dominates as Haynesworth blows through a bad San Diego offensive line and bothers Rivers to much and forces a couple of turnovers.NE 27 SD 13

PHI-GB: In a very highly anticipated NFC Championship game, the game will live up to the hype, Philadelphia wins on a game winning field goal and Philadelphia gets revenge on last year's loss to the Pack. PHI 27 GB 24

Super Bowl XLVI
NE-PHI: Yes I am going to pick the preseason favorites. I had Philadelphia before the off season moves and I don't see anyone in the AFC defeating New England. In a very competitive and close game I think Philly's defense does just enough to bother Brady and the Philadelphia Eagles will be claimed as the Super Bowl Champs. PHI 24 NE 20

*A key note that used in my predictions. In the past 7 years, 6 times that a team that has lost in the wild card round has gone on to be in the Superbowl. If that run continues, either Philadelphia, New Orleans, Kansas City, or Indianapolis will be in the Super Bowl. That is mainly why I made Philadelphia my choice.

2011 MLB Individual Awards

Well the main discussions right now in the majors are the individual award races. Yes we have 1/3 of the season left, but here is who I think will end up with each award.



A.L MVP

Adrian Gonzalez: I'd hate to say it but the man is a beast. It's simply a case of being the best player on the best team. He is the Major league leader in rbis and Average. I don't think you can make a better case for anyone more than him. Plus hes a gold glove candidate.

Runner Up
Jose Bautista: Solid batting Average wand will probably be at least top 3 in home runs. He's just on a bad team.

N.L MVP

Prince Fielder:: There is a great amount of competition. Fielder's teammate Braun is putting up fantastic numbers, Kemp has been great as well not to mention Jose Reyes, Brian McCann and along with the runner up I will mention later are all putting up amazing seasons but I think Prince means more to the Brewers' success than anyone else does while putting up great numbers.

Runner Up
Justin Upton: if the D'backs make the postseason expect his name to be in the talks of winning this award. Hitting around .300 with 23 home runs leading the D'Backs that have seemingly came out of nowhere to challenge the defending champs is pretty astonishing.

A.L Cy Young

Justin Verlander: Simply the most dominant pitcher in the A.L this year. The Tigers are looking very much like they are going to win that division as Cleveland seems to be falling and no other teams looks like they want to win it. Constantly flirts with no hitters and in my opinion stands out from the rest.

Runner Up
CC Sabathia: Will probably have another 20 win no Cy young season, but his era isn't Verlander's and yes he does deserve it but just not as much as Justin. I'm not a believer that Weaver is better than CC or Verlander but he and teammate Dan Haren are honorable mentions.

N.L Cy Young

Roy Halladay: Best pitcher in baseball hands down. Consistent year in and year out, future Hall of Famer. Another great year and filthy stuff on his way to another 20 win season in a hitter ballpark and the best of the good Philly rotation end of story.

Runner Up
Clayton Kershaw: It seems like he is flying under the radar and having a terrific season unknowingly. Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Jair Jurrjens not to mention a few are also all having terrific seasons but say Halladay would get hurt(God I hope so, I think Kershaw would win it. This award is not based on team record like MVP, hence King Felix and Greinke be the two recent winners on poor teams.


A.L Rookie of the Year

Jeremy Hellickson: An extremely close race since there is no clear frontrunner. Pineda fell off the table. Nova has a high era. There aren't any standout hitter besides the runner up and Eric Hosmer but neither has wowed me. Walden is another mention but none really prove to me more than Hellickson who is tied for the lead in wins by rookies with Nova with a lower era 3.05.

Runner Up
Mark Trumbo: Leads all rookies in home runs and hits with a .259 batting average. That's all I can really say.

N.L Rookie of the Year

Craig Kimbrel:There is a lot of really good rookies in the National League, but when you are the best at your position as a rookie, there is no doubt that he deserves this award. best closer in baseball this year, I would know since hes on my fantasy team. he is just a simply amazing closer and the braves are fortunate to have him and Venters for a long time. Plus he leads the majors in saves and only has allowed 12 runs this season with an outstanding 1.87 era.

Runner Up
Freddie Freeman: Best rookie National League hitter and leads in home runs with 17 and hits with 123. Great season for a great player but its not enough to touch what his teammate Kimbrel is doing. Very good field yet somehow not competitive.

A.L Manager of the Year

Manny Acta: Yeah, so what if the team is falling slightly? Not many if any had this team anywhere close to where they are now. the fact that they still can very well win the division is amazing and he's done a fantastic job wit ha young team.

N.L manager of the Year:

Kirk Gibson: Even if this team comes close to making the postseason, Gibson has done a terrific job in his first season. If they win the division no doubt would i think he'd deserve the award. Honorable mentions to Clint Hurdle and Ron Roenicke. Hurdle just because hes done a terrific job in rebuilding Pittsburgh so far, and Roenicke for having the crew in first place.

Nassau Referendum

Over the last couple of days, New York Islanders owner Charles Wang held a vote for the citizens of Nassau County to elect on whether they want there to be a new stadium for Islanders to play in through the 2045 season. Sadly for Wang and the Islanders employees, the public referendum elected "no" to the new stadium rejecting the new stadium proposal and immediately questioning the future of the organization's place on Long Island.

Not because I'm a New York Ranger fan, but as a hockey fan, I'm actually happy they elected to not to have the new stadium. Being that I live in Queens, I've easily been to that dump called the Nassau Coliseum a few times, and it is a horrible venue for sports. It's so cramped and small. You're probably saying to yourself "Then why are you happy that they are not building a new arena?". Well simply because i think it would be better for them to completely leave Long Island. From a business perspective, this would be a fabulous move and opportunity for them. The people of Long Island obviously don't like nor care about the crappy Islanders, and for good reason. They have nothing big since winning from '80-'83. The fans don't show up to the games and why should they? The revenue they gross is insignificant and minuscule. I think there is no other option but relocating. Here are some options on where the Islanders should move to:

Brooklyn:Split the brand new arena with the Nets. Way more populated area and a better opportunity to increase revenue and technically they can still keep the name "Islanders" because technically Brooklyn is on Long Island. They wont lose as much fans and will possibly gain some in return. Plus is may increase hockey's popularity in the urban scene.

Seattle: A good economic city who has been wanting another sports organization there since the Sonics left. There is no hockey team in the Pacific Northwest besides Vancouver. A development of a rivalry with the Canucks is a possibility which will increase the dollar. The city is not the reason the Sonics left it was the management of the organization. Plus there are loyal fans over there who care about their sports.

Quebec: I wouldn't really want this but hey, hockey is the main Canadian sport and the fans will show up to the games and they will be loyal. It's not a bad option it's just that they just got Winnipeg a team again (by the way they have a nice logo) and another Canadian team would add to less interest of the sport in the States. (Don't get me started with that)

Connecticut: There used to be a team there.(Whalers had another kick ass logo) Just like Brooklyn it's not that far so no divisional changes plus they have a nice arena in the XL center. A state with a nice economic value and plus, do we really want another team in a southern state? Hockey does not fit in the south!


Feel free to leave comments!!!!!

MLB Trade Deadline: Top 3 Winners and Losers

Well now it is August 1st and the MLB Trade deadline has come and gone. here is who I think were the winners and losers of this year deadline frenzy:

Winners

Rangers: With the bullpen additions of Mike Adams from San Deigo and Koji Uehara from Baltimore, Texas filled some important needs by assuring a better chance of holding down runs late in games. Since I dont think there were any really good starting pitchers available, bolstering that bullpen was the next best thing. It shortens the game for what I think is a very much overrated starting rotation that is although not bad, I think still no where near what it was last year.

Phillies: Adding a bat into that lineup was very key and Hunter Pence should do well in that small ballpark. I dont think he is as good as a lot of people make him but i think he is just a solid player. Their pitching is fine so adding the best bat available was key.

Giants: Adding Beltran and a winner in Orlando Cabrera were good moves because they desperately needed a bat in that lineup with Buster Posey being out for the year. I dont think he's going to be as good as he was in New York this year but he wont be a bust. He goes from one pitchers ballpark to another so thats not much help for him and his numbers but there is a lot of room out there to get extra base hits. They barely beat out the Braves for this spot only because they needed a bat more than Atlanta did although as I said before the Michael Bourne trade wouldve been the best option for Atlanta.

Losers

Astros: Lets just face it. They gave up on the next five years. Pretty much all hope is gone there and I expect 3 more 100 loss seasons upcoming for Houston. Yes they got some good prospects from Philly, but they got virtually nothing from Atlanta and giving up your 2 best players shows that you know you guys have no hope and no chance (which you dont have) and gives the fans a reason to just not show up to your games. Pray those prospects develop. This was too easy.

Reds: Being 6.5 games out of first at this point, to not do anything considering everyone above you made changes by making their team better seems very skeptical. It seems like they are missing something. My guess is pitching because they are a good offensive team. They are still in this race and basically they look like they are just laid back and riding this season through as is. Outside of Cueto, their starting pitching is mediocre at best and are decent end of the rotation pitchers.

Angels: They needed to do something to catch up to what is a now better Texas Rangers. They could've used another starter and another bat in a okay at best lineup. Do they really think doing nothing will help them propel past Texas? Can you really bank on Texas collapsing? "C'mon Son!?!?" - Ed Lover

Dark Horse Winner- Mets: Lets give them some credit. Got rid of expensive pieces they wont keep and got Wheeler who is a good prospect while still giving those Mets fans a reason to attend games by trying to keep Jose Reyes. Good job!

Dark Horse Loser- Rays: Here is the first part of the slow and steady collapse as your key players will eventually leave because you cant afford them. You asked for too much for BJ Upton and when he leaves you're not going to get anything out of it keep in mind your done this year being 8.5 games back of the wild card.