That game will be on tonight at 8 PM Eastern Time. I guess you can call this the official game thread.

 

Just curious, what do you think about Rodgers? How do you think he will pan out? I know you were a Favre supporter so I'm interested on your opinion of Rodgers.

 

Yeah, I like all opinions as long as they're supported lol.

I think Rodgers will have trouble trying to impress the Green Bay fans because they are such a pain it seems. Rodgers can be a good Quarterback in my opinion, I thought he showed his talents in last years Thanksgiving Day's game against the Cowboys. I don't think the height will be a problem for him though.

I don't think he'll ever follow up in Favre's shoes but I think he will be a good Quarterback for Green Bay if he can withstand the pressure on the field and off the field.

 

Haha, I knew someone would get me for that. Henry makes this struggling core of receivers better. He's a big guy who can be that red zone target and can actually catch the ball. He's all ready suspended four games but one thing to point out in his long rap sheet is that he has not been convicted of any crimes. Give him a one-year deal with minimum salary. I think with the strong leadership that is here in Miami, they can help him shape up his character. If he refuses to, you just simply cut him and move on. :up:

Btw, I really like the Bengals all white uniforms.

 

:lol: :woot:

I hate Kornheiser. I can't understand how he got that job. He doesn't know anything about football. Btw, I love hearing Jaworski talk. I could do without the accent he has or whatever it is but he's so intelligent.

Games starting! :woot:

:woot: they're cheering for Aaron.

 

My god, Donald Driver just trucked a Defensive Back lol. Another amazing play by James Jones. Touchdown Packers. Rodgers looks good out there.

 

Ugh, I can't compare him to another QB lol. I'll say this though, he looked comfortable in the pocket, stepping up from pressure. He can be good on play action because he's got some mobility.

 

I'll just give you a quick summary of the first string offense.

Grant was absent tonight as well as Scott Wells, the starting Center. The offensive line looked good as they were opening up holes for Grant's replacement, Brandon Jackson. Jackson hit the whole hard and looked very good to me. Rodgers looked good out there, looked comfortable in the pocket. He made some nice deep throws and a few curls to Jones and Driver. Driver looked good tonight, was pumped for the game. He completely ran over a defensive back, I believe it was Marvin White. he caught some nice passes and looked like he usually does.

Any other questions lol?

 

Lol. Greg Jennings was out so it was hard to tell with him not being there. James Jones was in his place and got some nice catches in there. Rodgers did seem to look to Driver a lot without Jennings there.

 

For those who didn't watch, the Bengals offense was sloppy the first series or two. Their running game was good especially Chris Perry. He's back from injury and looks really good. Palmer was pretty good, like I said sloppy in the first series but finished up with a touchdown to Ben Utecht I believe it was. He looks like a nice acquisition and looks to be a big part of their offense. Chad Johnson didn't do much or at least I don't recall him doing much. The defense did not look that good. They got picked apart by Rodgers and they had very poor tackling. Their rushing defense was weak as well. I know its only first pre-season game but they did not look too good out there.

 

Well he is coming off of ankle surgery. He'll be fine come season opener. No worries D.

 

Wait till Brandon Jackson wakes up lol.

 

Yeah, that was a good looking touchdown by Jones.

Yeah, you figured that with Lewis there they could do something with that defense. I can't recall who their defensive coordinator is, I think its the former Browns coordinator but whatever he's does is not working. Peko completely missed Brandon Jackson in the backfield on one play. They looked bad out there when attempting to tackle.

Btw, talk is that Ray Lewis gave some advice to Marvin Lewis this off-season and now has Lewis pumped about this season with high expectations. Wonder how it turns out if they win that division lol. They certainly can win it with Pittsburgh's tough schedule. I think Pittsburgh is looking at eight or nine wins. Cincinnati can sneak up on some people and win that division if the Browns have a bad stretch during the season.

 

Interesting, wasn't aware of that.

Yeah, they seem to be the favorites but I think Cincinnati can sneak up on them if they have a running game. I think Rudi is getting back to being healthy and Chris Perry is back now. Perry made some big contributions for them when they won the 11 games a couple years ago and got their playoff birth.

Yeah, that was odd. I didn't expect it. It was something like 101.3 to 92. something and then 86.7 ? He also had a career high 20 INT's last year, the most since his rookie year I think when he had 18.

 

I think they can do it with a okay defense. The running game will be key imo. Without a running game, Palmer is forced to make throws and ends up turning the ball over as it was shown last year with his career high in interceptions.

Pittsburgh plays the toughest schedule I believe and they have some offensive line issues.

Cleveland can be a good team if Anderson can limit his mistakes imo. If he throws a bunch of interceptions then they may have trouble. Also, they have a inexperienced secondary. They have Eric Wright back there who played in a handful of games last year and then they have a second year player in Brandon McDonald starting opposite of Wright. They have been impressive in camp but I don't think they have any depth. Holly went down with an injury earlier this off-season and is out for the season I think.

 

Every team's expectations will have "ifs" and "buts". :yes:

Their defense isn't all that bad to be honest with you. I don't know what happen tonight but if you look toward the end of last season (I want to say the last 4 to 6 games but I'm not sure), they're pass defense got very good. Jonathan Joseph and Leon Hall were good out there. Hall had 5 picks as a rookie, setting the Bengals rookie record. Not only that though, they only allowed one pass over 20 yards. As for their run defense, they do need to work on that. One guy that they will miss bad is Safety Chinedum Ndukwe, who came in last year as a rookie out of Notre Dame and won the starting job. He makes things happen. Keith Rivers was a nice addition through the draft. He's a fast and intelligent player (he went to my high school :D). I expect their pass defense to be good and they're run defense to improve.

 

That's a good point. I don't think they will be as good as "Blitzburgh", Cleveland and Baltimore. But I do think that they will improve.

I wouldn't say that Cleveland has the total package imo. They have the offensive weapons but Anderson has to limit his mistakes. On defense, they got a good front seven but Jenkins, who was acquired from the Packers, is having trouble at the end spot. He is struggling with the new position from what I hear. They still have a lack of depth at the Cornerback spot. I do like their Safeties though.

For the Steelers, I think its up to the offensive line to protect Roethlisberger. If they fail to do that, they may have trouble. On defense, they lost Clark Haggans to Arizona and have replaced him with Lamarr Woodley. I'm interested to see how he does there. Polamalu needs to stay healthy for them. They do have a tough schedule as mentioned before.

Nice predictions, I'll say:

Cleveland - 10-6
Cincinnati - 9-7
Steelers - 8-8
Ravens - 5-11

Cincinnati having a better record than Steelers, that's my surprise pick.