Thanks to my man Brian Windhorst at the Akron-Beacon Journal and most recently ESPN.com(Hope he stays right where he is at the ABJ), LeBron James’ official birth-certificate has been seen, finally putting to rest all of the Danny Almonte stories. You can check it out Here.
Great investigative work, Brian. Now if we could only find out who killed Kennedy!
Projected Record
3-13
Projected Schedule W/L
@ Arizona( L)
St. Louis (W)
Philly (L)
@ KC (L)
Oaklnad (L)
San Diego (L)
@ Chicago(L)
Minnesota(L)
@ Detroit (L)
Seattle (L)
@ St. Louis(L)
@ New Orl(L)
Green Bay (W)
@ Seattle (L)
Arizona (W)
@ Denver (L)
Here they are, my pick to finish dead-last, or to win the NFL Draft Lottery, however you want to look at it. With Brady Quinn getting so much press as the potential #1 pick next year, I love how my choice for team #32 just picked a QB last season. It makes for some more drama, like we had this season with Reggie Bush. It came down to 3 teams in this sport for me, but when I looked at the schedules, I have the 49’ers finishing a stellar 3-13. How did a team so great fall so low?
Team Strengths – If you are going to finish 3-13 chances are you don’t have many. But there is a light at then end of the tunnel for San Fran. In this year’s draft they selected Vernon Davis, who many think will be the next great TE in the League. A good Tight End definitely speeds up the learning curve of last season’s Overall #1 Alex Smith. If Davis can come in a compete immediately, then Smith will have the safety net that all young QB’s need. With no running game to speak of the offense is going to need to rely on the short passing game. They also brought in FA Wide-out Antonio Bryant to attempt to get Smith some weapons down the field. It will be a struggle early for San Fran but I think the offense will improve as the year rolls on.
Team Weaknesses – There are plenty of question marks heading into this season. This defense just doesn’t look very good to me. That coupled with some of the offenses in the division and the AFC West, leads me to believe that keeping opponents off the board is going to be a problem. Getting Manny Lawson with their second 1st Round choice should help the pass rush, but the back 7 is weak.
Best Case Scenario – Seattle decides to forfeit the season in protest of Super Bowl officiating. Then Vernon Davis becomes the 2nd coming of Kellen Winslow Sr. Then, maybe, the 49’ers win 6 games.
Worst Case Scenario – Smith gets hurt and Davis is actually one of those guys that only looks really good in shorts and a T-shirt. Bill Walsh does a Pat Riley, thinking he is the missing piece and comes back to the sidelines. 49’ers go 0-16, can’t get a stadium deal and move to LA.
My Opinion – Mike Nolan has this team headed in the right direction. What they need now is some stability. If the fans and ownership can stay the course and give Nolan the time he is going to need to get this thing back on track I expect the 49’ers to get back. Wins and Losses are not important this year, the progress of Alex Smith and the rest of the younger players is. If they show improvement the results will start to come. 3-13 for this team is realistic, but I could see them stealing a couple from an unsuspecting team or playoff team late in the year.
So, we’ve looked at the individuals who are the best and worst at what they do in the NFL. But pro football is a team game, and it is the best team that usually wins the Super Bowl. Many Bloggers out the look at the Divisions when giving their previews so I decided to do it a little differently. I am going to go team-by-team, starting at #32 and leading up to #1, which will be my pick to win Super Bowl XLI in Miami. With each preview I’ll include the following:
**A look at the strengths and weaknesses
**A Best and Worst case scenario
**My actual prediction on where the team will finish
**Game-by-Game predictions for each team.
Picking games before the preseason starts is not an exact science and I do reserve the right to change my predictions during the season based on injury, natural disaster, etc. We’ll see how I do, and feel free to add you 2-cents worth to this to let me know how crazy I am.
My #32 team is coming later today, so stay tuned, and tell all your friends!!!
As mentioned Here, Here, and even Here, Harold Reynolds has been excused of his duties as a Baseball Analyst for ESPN’s Baseball Tonight. For what is being coined an “Inapporpriate Hug” given to a Production Assistant at an Outback Steakhouse(boy I love their cheese-fries!), sexual harrassment allegations are flying and ESPN felt it had to let him go.
This isn’t the first time that ESPN personalities have had issues staying out of “trouble” –
**There have been reports that Mike Tirico, who will take over ESPN’s coverage of Monday Night Football, was suspended for a time for Sexual Harrassment.
**During the World Series in Cleveland in 1997, Gary Miller was busted for urinating out of a bar window(The Basement as a matter of fact, one of my favorite hangouts at one time).
**While GM for the Mets, current ESPN Analyst Steve Phillips was accused of Sexual Harrassment be a Mets employee.
**Michael Irvin, Football Analyst was arrested for having drug paraphanalia in his car.
**Even Rick Sutcliffe was busted for being a little tipsy on the air.
All of these things happened, with the exception of Phillips, while they were working for ESPN, and none of the others were punished nearly as severely as Reynolds, who has been a mainstay at the network since 1996. According to The Big Lead, Reynolds has had a history of this sort of thing, and the latest “encounter” was simply the straw that broke the camels back.
For his part, Reynolds is saying it was a big misunderstanding and he is looking to get his job back. A slim possibility in my opinion since ESPN has come under fire before for the way they handle these types of things.
Don’t worry, Harold, FOX will always have a place for you….
