Deep Thoughts Football Edition by James Doino

Deep Thoughts Football Edition.

To those of you in my age range, let’s say mid-thirties and leave it at that.  You probably remember the old Saturday Night Live skit Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey.  During these tiny skits Jack would offer his thoughts on life.  Some thoughts were deranged, some were totally off the wall but all of them were extremely entertaining, and no matter how outlandish the thought or how disturbing the image it conveyed was,  they were all hilariously funny and they had a splash of genius mixed in with them as well.

So why do I mention this? Well, I like to think that my thoughts and predictions, in a football sense, can conjure up some of the same feelings about my opinions for the people that I’m lucky enough to have reading them. So in these “Deep Thoughts Football Edition” articles I will push the limits and take some chances with some of my outlandish thoughts and predictions around the league, as well as our Giants.  Hopefully, when all is said and done, I got a little genius mixed in as well.

In this piece, I will give you season predictions, some week 1 picks, fantasy players to consider playing this weekend and some thoughts on Big Blue as we head towards Sunday night in Dallas. Here we go…

SEASON PREDICTIONS

AFC DIVISION WINNERS:

AFC EAST – PATRIOTS – Love what the Dolphins did this off season, but Ryan Tannehill might need one more full year under his belt before he can really close the gap on Brady and Belichick. Jets and Bills are non factors.

AFC NORTH – BENGALS – I think this will be a two team race come late November with the Bengals holding off a dangerous surprise contender for the division. In the end, play makers A.J. Green and Giovanni Benard coupled with a nasty D clinch division. Team 2 may surprise you. See Wild Card section.

AFC SOUTH – TEXANS – As long as Foster stays healthy and this defense can duplicate what it has done over the last couple of the years the Texans are the class of the division with Andrew Luck and Indy right around corner.

AFC WEST – BRONCOS – Not to bold of a pick here. Weak division with Chiefs being only other team in division really worth mentioning. Does anyone really think they have enough to keep up with the Mile High gang though? I do not.

WILD CARD WINNERS – COLTS AND BROWNS- I really only considered 3 teams here with the Dolphins being team 3. Nod goes to the team from Cleveland for the final Wild Card spot. I really think Norv Turner the coordinator has a lot more success in his natural role as opposed to head coach.

NFC DIVISION WINNERS:

NFC EAST – GIANTS – Two team race coming down to last week of the season. In the end Giants come on strong and over take Cowboys for the division title.  How’s this for a bold prediction… Giants will not see RGKnee this season at all, as both games against the Skins take place in December.

NFC NORTH – PACKERS – I think this division will be very competitive with the Packers standing at the end, as long as that O Line can keep Rodgers off his back. With Adrian Peterson and Vikings, the Bears revamped offense under Marc Trestman and Reggie Bush joining Stafford and Megatron in Detroit this should be a very exciting division to watch all season long.

NFC SOUTH – SAINTS – How much does a Head Coach mean to a team? Enter Sean Payton. Hate the defense in New Orleans, but Brees and Payton do enough to totally redeem themselves after a ugly year in the Bayou last season. Falcons make it tough, and Tampa and Carolina are coming along but still on the outside looking in.

NFC WEST – 49ERS – First off, the Rams and Cardinals are getting better and will surprise some people this year, but this is a two team race. The Percy Harvin injury will hurt Seattle big time, but those of us who play fantasy football were not really that surprised. If I’m being honest I hope I’m right on this one because no one wants to go into Seattle for a playoff game, Giants included.

WILDCARDS – SEAHAWKS AND FALCONS — Deep NFC this year means some good teams will be on the outside looking in but SEAHAWKS AND FALCONS are the best of the bunch. Cowboys got some consideration here but Romo is still the QB.

SUPER BOWL PICKS — BRONCOS VS GIANTS — Broncos cruise through easy AFC West and clinch home field. Unlike a year ago, they don’t blow it. The G-Men luck out by not having to travel to Seatlle in the playoffs and upset the 49ers again in the NFC Championship.
The Manning Bowl at MetLIfe II. Eli and the Giants make up for a week 2 loss to Denver and Eli beats big brother for the first time when it matter most. Giants 27 Broncos 24

WEEK ONE PICKS…. IF I HAD MONEY TO BET:

BRONCOS -7.5 over the Ravens – Big changes to the D in Baltimore has Peyton drooling for revenge after last years AFC divisional round playoff loss.
BRONCOS 34 – Ravens 21

BUCS -3 over the Jets — Geno Smith vs. Revis Island and a very good front four of the Bucs could be ugly combo for Gang Green.
BUCS 24 – Jets 9

SEAHAWKS -3.5 over the Panthers – Expect a lot of Beast Mode from Marshawn Lynch and the Seahawks D.
SEAHAWKS 27 – Panthers 17

BENGALS +3 over the Bears — A couple of Cutler mistakes against a tough Bengals D and A.J. Green makes 2 big plays to knock off Chicago on the road.
BENGALS 27 – Bears 23

UPSET PICK — PACKERS +4.5 over the 49ers — Rodgers keeps it close and discount double checks his way down field late to win the game out right with a late field goal.
PACKERS 26 – 49ers 24

5 FANTASY MUST STARTS FOR WEEK ONE —

Jordan Cameron – TE – Cleveland Browns — Cameron will be targeted early and often by improving Brandon Weeden. Remember what Norv Turner did with Joy Novacek?? Cameron finds the end zone in week one.

Daryl Richardson – RB – St Louis Rams — The Rams ran for 282 yards against the Cards in their two games last season on a clip of 4.8 yards per carry, which is good for Daryl Richardson.

David Wilson – RB – NY GIANTS – Here is a fun fact….David Wilson averaged 7.5 yards per carry in the preseason and averaged a ridiculous 0.9 Fantasy points per touch as a rookie last year. (Adrian Peterson was at 0.77)

Miles Austin – WR – Dallas Cowboys – With all the talk about Dez being a monster this year you cant forget about Austin who looks great so far this preseason and has a nice rapport with Romo.

Michael Floyd – WR – Arizona Cardinals – My sleeper pick of the year in fantasy. Bruce Arians + Carson Palmer + Double coverage on Larry Fitzgerald = Breakout season for the former Notre Dame big play WR who could put up monster numbers in one on one coverage all year long.

5 BOLD PREDICTIONS FOR OUR GIANTS IN 2013 —

1. DAVID WILSON WILL RUSH FOR 1400 YARDS AND HAVE DOUBLE DIGIT TOUCHDOWNS THIS SEASON.
2. KIWI, MOORE AND TUCK WILL HAVE 8+ SACKS A PIECE.
3. GIANTS DEFENSE RANKS IN TOP TEN OF TOTAL DEFENSE BY YEARS END.
4. COOPER TAYLOR WILL BE IN DEON GRANTS 3RD SAFETY SPOT IN PERRY FEWELLS 3 SAFETY PACKAGE COME MIDSEASON.
5. ELI MANNING THROWS FOR A CAREER HIGH 35 TOUCHDOWNS, BEATING THE 31 HE THREW IN 2010.

Am I crazy?? Probably, but if I’m sparking any conversation and emotion from my readers then that’s all I can ask for. Enjoy the game tonight. Football is back

Please look for my next article this weekend getting you fired up for Sunday Night when our Big Blue army invades Big D.