The Sports Guru

Projected Record

6-10, 3rd Place AFC East

Projected Schedule W/L
@New England (L)
@Miami           (L)
NY Jets            (W)
Minnesota        (W)
@Chicago         (L)
@Detroit          (W)
New England    (L)
Green Bay       (W)
@Indianaplois  (L)
@Houston        (L)
Jacksonville     (L)
San Diego       (W)
@NY Jets         (L)
Miami             (W)
Tennessee      (L)
@Baltimore    (L)

There are several common denominators with teams that are this far down on the list.  Several have first time Head Coaches.  Others have big questions marks at the quarterback position.  Some have both, and like their division counterparts in New York, the Buffalo Bills come into the season with a new head coach and a quarterback controversy.  How the Bills handle these issues will determine their level of success in 2006.

Team Strengths – Willis McGahee can flat out run.  Before last season McGahee was hearing whispers that he couldn’t run inside and gained weight.  The result was a poor 2005, filled with injuries and frustration.  McGahee has lost the weight this off-season and is back to running fast and free.  The Bills looked at defense in the draft, selecting Donte Whitner from Ohio State at #8.  They have an athletice secondary and the linebacking corp is sold with London Fletcher and return of Takeo Spikes.  Buffalo is always a tough place to play, especially when the weather turns cold.

Team Weaknesses -  Former coach Mike Mularkey made a huge mistake last off-season when he simply handed the starting QB job to J.P. Losman.  The incarnation went directly to Losman’s head and questions of his work ethic and desire came into question.  Losman became unpopular with his teammates and eventually was replaced by back-up Kelly Holcomb.  When Mularkey quit after the season the Bills hired Dick Jauron.  Jauron proceeded to open the #1 quarterback job up to anyone who could earn it.  Report out of Buffalo say this has done wonders for Losman who studied and prepared hard.  Going throigh the pre-season, the job will come down to Losman or Holcomb.  Right now, neither is more than average, with Holcomb showing flashes in spurts that make him more suited for a back-up role.  The defensive line has lost some beef up front and will need to establish the line of scrimmage.  Wide Reciever is a position of concern with the departure of Eric Moulds to Houston, but Peerless Price returns to try and fill the void.
                                

Best Case Scenario – Buffalo coaches have to privately be hoping that Losman turns all the potential into results on the field.  On offense the Bills are more suited to a down field attack that suits Losman’s strong arm.  If Losman and perform and the Bills can run the football with McGahee they can have some success.  Other than the typically tough divisional games the Bills have a cream-puff of a schedule that could lead to some surprises.  A .500 record is attainable, but nothing more.  

Worst Case Scenario –Losman loses the QB battle ad the Bills are forced to go with Holcomb, a journeyman at best.  If this is the case alot of pressure will be put on McGahee and on the defense.  The Bills have some players on defense, but questions remain about the ability of Takeo Spikes to come back from the torn Achilles that ended his 2005 season.  The AFC East is tough, and with two tough road games to start the season(NE and Miami)Jauron and his staff are going to need to be cogniscent of the morale of this team if they get beaten badly Weeks 1 and 2. 

My Opinion –  For some reason the Bills intrigue me.  I have them finishing 6-10, sure, but they have some talent and have the schedule that could allow them to get on a roll.  There is a lot of parody in the League, and like many teams there is little room for error when it comes to the Bills.  Regardless of who wins the QB battle both will probably play at times this season and both are known to be inconsistent.  Jauron and his staff will have to stay on top of this.  If the Bills can survive those first two games without having a major meltdown they may jsut be ok.

Maybe I am a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to sports, maybe I am just a little weird.  Not getting the chance to get to many games I rely on the TV and Radio broadcasts to make me feel like part of the action.  I become nearly as affiliated to the voice I hear everygame as I do to the team itself.  It’s for that reason the the ouster of Cavaliers TV voice Michael Reghi is so disturbing to me.  Reghi brought knowledge and energy to the broadcast, and his energetic calls of everything LeBron James became a nightly occurrence on SportsCenter.

Maybe more disturbing to me is the replacement for Reghi.  Dan Gilbert FSN Ohio is bringing in Fred McLeod, former cable voice of the Detroit Pistons.  We all know Cavs owner Dan Gilbert hails from Michigan and has been a longtime season ticket holder of the Pistons.  He has copied alot of the presentation and gimmick found at a Pistons home game right down to the annoying P.A. guy. 

Fans talk all the time about loyalty, but everyday we see in the real world that the term is just a P.R. statement used when times are tough.  Reghi has been the voice of the Cavs for 12 years.  Those 12 years have been some of the worst years in team history.  Finally, with the team finally breaking out they dump Reghi in favor of a Detroit homer, just what Cleveland needs….

Though no formal statement has been made there is no doubt that the team grew incresingly annoyed with Reghi’s brash commentary, that at times was critical of the Cavs and the organization.  Unfortunitely the team doesn’t realize that most fans WANT that type of coverage from the TV/Radio team.  Sometimes longevity allows those freedoms, similar to what Joe Tait and Tom Hamilton(Cavs and Indians Radio, respectively)enjoy.  I guess a dozen years wasn’t long enough for Reghi.

Looks like I’ll have to turn down the sound and turn up Tait.  This may not affect them on the floor, but the Cavs got a little worse today.

Projected Record

5-11, 2nd Place NFC West

Projected Schedule W/L
Denver         (L)
@San Francisco(L)
@Arizona         (L)
Detroit           (W)
@Green Bay   (L)
Seattle           (L)
@San Diego   (L)
Kansas City   (W)
@Seattle       (L)
@Carolina     (L)
San Francisco(W)
Arizona         (W)
Chicago        (W)
@Oakland     (L)
Washington  (L)
@Minnesota  (L)

Another NFL team starting anew is the St. Louis Rams who said good-bye to self-proclaimed genious Mike martz in the off-season.  There was alot of talk that the Rams would settle on a defensive caoch but instead tabbed Scott Linehan, and offensive guy, to try and turn around a team that seemed to get old in a hurry.  In my mind that might be a tall task.  The Rams are an offensively focused team, and age is beginning to become a factor.
 

Team Weaknesses – When the Rams were playing in Super Bowls the relied on their offense.  Overlooked was the fact that they had a very good defense, consistently ranked in the Top 10.  As the offense has started to sputter the defense has looked less and less formidable.  Coming into this season the defense is going to have to step up if the Rams are going to have any shot at competing.  Age on offense is another down-side to this team.  Marc Bulger is an effective signal caller when he can stay on the field.  The Rams still have Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce, but each is a year older and a year slower.  It appears Marshall Faulk’s storied career is over and that will be a big hit to the Rams in the locker room.  Orlando Pace is another year older as well.  Protecting Bulger will be the key, and it will be interesting to see how quickly the Rams get a grasp of Linehan’s offensive schemes.

Team Strengths - Even though the Rams are getting a little long in the tooth they still have the playmakers on offense to make opposing defensive coordinators sweat.  Torry Holt is still one of the best and Isaac Bruce is still a consistent weapon.  Stephen Jackson is now the featured back and does have the youth on his side that this team primarily lacks.  If Bulger can stay healthy he is a Pro Bowl caliber player, but that is a big if.  They play in the horrendous NFC West, so two games against the Cardinals and 49′ers will help as well.

Best Case Scenario – The offense stays healthy and drinks from the fountain of youth.  If things go the Rams way they still have the firepower to be a playoff team.  But alot has to go right.  The defense will have to step up big time to keep the offense out of come from behind situstions.  If Bulger can get a grasp of Linehan’s systems and stay upright the Rams will not be an easy out for anyone.  If Bulger gets hurt, things could get ugly. 

Worst Case Scenario – One of the big guns gets hurt or the defense can’t stop anyone.  The Rams are going to rely on their veteran leadership to get them where they want to go.  There isn’t alot of depth on this team, and Free Agency has taken it’s toll the past couple of years.
   

My Opinion – Stay Healthy, play smart, don’t give up the big play.  Pretty basic, common sense stuff, but for many teams in the NFL the defference between 10-6 and 6-10 is razor thin.  The Rams are one of these teams.  Anytime a new head coach is hired there is a learning curve.  Similar to many teams at this point on my list I have the Rams struggling early, before going on a run late.  How much they struggle and how many games they can steal will go along way towards how successful they will be.  I think we’ll know Week 1 when the Rams face Denver which direction this team will go.