Well, Walter Football, Mike + Mike so far have us at 3 to 4 wins, which makes not a whole lot of sense as we went 7-9 two yrs in row with Henne throwing only safe passes for the most part, and 7 wins with the running game collapse in 10, why would we regress?
Well, we have a tough schedule, and play with the Jets and Pats. Not defending the picks, but someone has to lose... If Henne implodes we could have that record. I think we go 8-8, but of course I am bias.
Well, we have the AFCW on rotation, and we play a 3rd place schedule otherwise, and we play well against the Jets, this is why I'm not buying the idea that trading out Cobbs for Bush or even Bush for Brown and Burnett for Crowder cannot be seen as a downgrade
Say what you will about Chad Henne, but the only way the team finishes 2010 with 3 wins is if he's hurt, along with more rash of injuries. Just based on the defense and the playmakers at WR, and the style of play Tony Sparano plays (keep it close with a chance to win in the 4th) will allow us to win 6-8 games. If we get improved QB play and a running game with a continued staunch defense, we could surprise with a playoff spot.
I don't think these guys will be alone, people here don't seem to realize how badly our offseason is seen in the media. The coaching debacle, a rookie Rb, Henne and basically no one else at the Qb position, Marshall's offseason troubles, really a 10 win season would put Sparano in line for Coach of the Year votes. Most view us as being FAR behind the Pats and Jest, which we may be but we still manage to play well against them for the most part. Most in the media probably view us getting 2 wins in the division and considering our awful home record last year its hard to see this team taking big steps forward. I think we are 8-10 win team depending on how some balls bounce, I think 3 or 4 wins is extreme but our offseason has been very questionable to me and I'm a diehard fan so I'm not surprised there are people in the media that have us winning 3 or 4 games.
True, and I learned from 07 when everyone of these pundit types is picking against a team, chances are good you won't be very good. Difference to me is, our talent level has went up, not down, and "if" we went 7-9 with Henn the last two yrs, why would the wheels come off?
I just don't understand how/why talking to another coach in the offseason is going to make us lose 3-4 more games than we did last year...
lol, people always mention that we have the Jets/Patriots on our schedule like they aren't in our division and we don't play them every year.
Interestingly enough, Liam's mum went with us going 11-5. Anywho, my problem is this: -Where are the reasons? In 07 looking back one could see Qb was going to be a problem we had Green and a Rook Qb and Lemon -Dolfans were watching LJ Shelton to make sure he had lost enough weight to play Tackle -We'd signed Jesse Chatman -Defense was quite old at that point, -JT had come out and basically sabotaged Trent Green Okay, those were reasons. This prediction basically centered around 3 things: -WC didn't work in 2010 -Ross's big adventure -some vague point about Chad Henne, that one was never clarified Does that equal 3-13?
Even I, who does't think we'll be very good, doesn't think we'll be that bad. I have us at, 6-10 to 8-8, but 3 wins or 4 wins ? That is just stoooooopid. Thank God I have stopped listening to those dolts in the mornings. My blood pressure is better too.
Because they comprise one quarter of our schedule, and most think we'll lose all 4, and last year we did lose 3 of them. That puts a team in the hole bigtime.
But the year before that we didn't lose all 3 and the year before that we didn't either. We sweeped the Jets in 09 and 08. We've been splitting with the Pats the past few years cept for the last year. IMHO, its not the Jets/Pats that are keeping us out of the Playoffs. While, it is usually that game that is the dagger....its the other games that we lose that keep us out. I don't see why everyone see Pats/Jets and automatically put up Ls.
I think a lot of that probably has to do with the national perception of Chad Henne, and the fact that Miami didn't bring in another "big name" at quarterback. Most people seem to acknowledge that our defense is pretty good. Chad Henne and the offense...well, not so much. Just what I think about their predictions anyway. And being realistic, you can probably take away a few bounces from last year's team and come up with a 4-12 record the same way you can add a few lucky bounces to last year's team and come up with 10-6.
The only way I see the wheels coming off is if Henne doesn't improve and the team starts in-fighting.
Even then, Henne went 7-6 then went what 6-7? This with throwing the most basic of routes, if push comes to shove it is not that difficult to call for 5 yd curl routes.
Greenie has the jests so far up his butt, he can't see anything but Fireman Ed's feet...I didn't hear the telecast or radio program, but knowing those two (and why I don't listen to them anymore), I'd say the prediction is more an indictment on their opinion than any fact either can muster. Sparano: Ross did go play tiddlewinks with Harbaugh. It was a very public and ugly affair for our team. Sparano wouldn't be human if he didn't have that in the back of his head. Will that affect his coaching style ?? Doubtful. Even Sparano knows, whether you are of the mind that he's a good coach or bad coach, knows that his focus has to be on the job at hand. He's been fired before and he'll likely be fired in the future....even if that time is 4 games, 6 games or 6 seasons from now, it'll happen in his profession. Thomas: We have a rookie RB. We also have a young veteran in Bush and a 3rd yr guy in Hilliard. Even if we have to call on Hilliard, due to injury or poor play, he's not total chopped liver. He'll know the system and be able to take handoffs if needed. Will he be DeAngelo Williams? No. Look, Daboll took a relatively unknown tweener back and made a star out of him last season. It won't be the end of the world. Bush: Bush has never been asked to be the featured back. Not in college or pros. Then again, you have to look at what Daboll did with an unknown entity in Hillis last year. Bush has been injury prone in his career. We can't help that. We can't go into any season thinking what if this guy or that guy gets hurt. Greenies jests may lose Sanchez. Who is behind him ? Brunnell, at what, 50 yrs old ?? If injuries occur, you plug in the next guy and move on...Besides, you never know who might be out there after the final cuts as a FA that could come in for half a season and produce... Back to Bush, he's being asked to fill a different role, but featured back won't necessarily mean he will run strictly between the tackles. It only means he'll be in on 50-70% of the plays or so and be spread out at times, run wide at times and utilize his elusiveness and quickness in the flats and short zones...I don't think, based on how we used him last week, that we'll see him pounding the ball up the middle 20 times a game. Additionally, if we get ahead and they want to pound the ball, that is where Thomas will come in... Even old 3-yrds-and-a-cloud-of-dust Sparano wouldn't make that mistake. Henne: No matter how you feel about him, whether you are a lover or hater, it doesn't follow logic that he'll be worse than the last 1 1/2 yrs for us. If anything, with a fresh OC and more weapons he's likely to improve some and possibly surprise some. He has solid WRs and TE. He has a dynamic resource in Bush that should play to his penchant for checking down, if the OL doesn't come around and improve, as is also expected. AFCE Division: Now we all know there are always teams that surprise during any season, afterall, in 2007 we were that team. That could happen to any of the teams we play that can we may guess as a W in our schedule. Let's not forget that 2007 team had much less talent overall than this one does. Everyone has looked at NE and the jests as the cream of the AFCE with us and barfalo considered red-headed step children and for probably sound reasoning. We have a lot of unanswered questions right now and the final roster isn't even set. We open up with NE and have 4 games against the AFC championship runners up and NE who you can never count out with BB and Brady. But it is a new season and things change for all. We play NE and the jest twice a season every year and it's not often that we are swept by both. While an AFCE championship doesn't seem probable for us, neither does the 'Suck for Luck' club. For us to tank the season with 3 or 4 wins, a lot has to go wrong. If we start off slowly again, Sparano could lose the team (thank you Mr. Ross) and it could happen. For us to surprise most (10-11 wins) a lot of things have to go right (Henne, Bush, OL, Marshall, Misi, Clemens/Culver, JT, etc. That happened in 2007. It's not logical that it'll happen again this year but it can. The logical place for us is somewhere in between. Greenie, Golic...may your predictions be off based as much as your biases are and may your favorite team have a losing season...
We've taken 3-of-4 from Rex Ryan. All four were close. We got better IMO. The Jets didn't get better anywhere. They stayed the same or lost guys. The Patriots, okay I get that.
From my perspective they upgraded WR going from BE to PB! SH and PB can cause havoc...the question is can pressure get to Sanchez and turn his 15 dropped INTs into actual turnovers this year and make the media realize he was beyond LUCKY last season, etc.
3-4 wins is just downright ignorant. I have it written down on a post-it note and taped to my monitor at work right now. As soon as we hit those win totals and every game we win after it I am going to email bomb these turkeys and remind them they don't know squat but their own biases.
One can say that now, wait until the hamstring and calf/ankle issues begin, and they gave up the rock solid Cotchery to land him. The way I see it, the Franchise is in a great position, young core of Vets, even if we do flame out in 2011 then we will be in line to take Barkley/Landry or maybe Luck, the downside is a wasted season and Sparano being fired, the upside is the team has been rebuilt from the garbage that was 2007, just add Qb if Henne fails. FWIW, I suspect Henne will have a good season proving this prediction wrong.
Leon Hall should have victimized him last night, but he dropped it in the rain. I think it was Sanchez's second throw of the game. I don't know that Burress is truly better than Braylon last year. Better locker room guy, sure. But Braylon was pretty darn good (17.1 ypc). They may have upgraded the third receiver spot with Derrick Mason. However they lost Cotchery and Brad Smith as well.
Didn't Henne implode last year? We'll win at least 7, these guys are more off than usual. Heck, we should wear Mike & Mike's disapproval as a badge of honor!!! Especially Greenie, who is usually way off on his picks.
**** these 2. Where did our team get worse? What position on the roster is a downgrade from ladt year?
Losing Brad Smith, I HOPE is the big one that cost them. Yeah, WR IMO, Holmes, Burress, and Mason are a tough combo unit. I dont forsee many FREE drops like Braylon would cough up. Pad's could be correct that an injury to PB could take away the advantage of my perceived upgrade to this unit. And of course, as you say, if DBs would stop dropping INTs Sanchez would be proven to be a less than avg QB.
Greeny is a Jets honk so his opinion means absolutely nothing, I'll also add in that he is an idiot anyway. Golic is fat. We won't be worse. We won ONE ****ing home game last year. ONE! Our offense was putrid and we won 7 games. We are a 7 win team that is a few breaks from 10 wins, basically like half the league. On the bright side, if by some astonishing turn of events these two idiots are right we will get Andrew Luck.
Crap, I had someone in my office and I didn't hear everything Carter had to say. What was his prediction? He thought M&M were low.
I think that basically the media looks at this team like most people around here did before they seen our offense with Henne and without Henning. I dont think people realize the difference in the offense this year. Our defense is going to be really good again, going to be able to do some more exotic stuff now that its the 2nd year for these guys in the defense. We are going to be a team that nobody wants to play, and a team that nobody wants to play twice for sure.
Golic was also cut by Miami in one of those rather heartless ways that reminds everybody it's a business so he has some legit reasons for his dislike as well. The way I see it, Miami finished ranked 6th on defense. This is by all accounts a young, developing defense who is getting back two defensive pieces that missed last season due to injury in Odrick and Edds. They also seem to have upgraded at LB by bringing in Burnett and JT. If they improve to a top 5 D, I see it as very unlikely they're worse than 7-9 even if the offense doesn't improve a lick or even regresses. You'd have to go back to 2006 to find a top 5 D whose team didn't win at least 7 games. Anybody who watched the two preseason games thus far would admit that the offense appears improved. How much is obviously a matter of debate, but they're clearly better. The ones who are predicting the offense will regress, (Greeny for example) are just basing it on the names. ie. Brown and Williams are bigger names than Thomas and Bush. But anybody who watched our running game last year knows that it was pretty poor so we could probably trot out most anybody and match last year's poor performance. Vegas has us at 7 wins and I think that's the logical place where most expectations lie as people wait and see what our offense will look like. I expect that we'll be a bit better than that b/c I believe our offense will be better. And frankly, I think my opinion is based on far more information than any national talking head.
We were also a 7 win team that could have only won 3 or 4 games. The first two games against Bufallo and Minny were one score games, the second Jets game in the muck could have gone either way. We were what we were.
Of course we were, but we could have swept the jets. Yes they are could of and would haves, but the projection of 3 and 4 wins are based o what if s and perception. The team will dtermine what they are, not fans, not media not any prognosticator
Vegas has us at 7.5 wins, and they're the least biased entity out there. 3-4 wins? Please. Even people who dislike the Dolphins know our defense alone can get us that, just like it did last year in the Buffalo, Minnesota and, yes, the Jets game.
Sports radio in generally is a sports bar with a microphone, I generally operate under the assumption that anyone on the air is drunk.
I'm not agreeing or suggesting that we're a 3 or 4 win team. I think we'll be better than that, even though I am skeptical of our playoff prospects. But every year teams rise and fall that you wouldn't expect. Cincinatti went from division champion to 4-12, while seemingly improving by bringing in TO. Arizona likewise went from division champion to 5-11, although they had a massive downgrade at QB. Funny things happen in this game. If Wake gets injured and we can't generate a consistent pass rush all of a sudden our D isn't so great. Henne gets injured and Moore is terrible things could go real bad.