Top 10 Things I Knew I Knew Going into 2011

Cris's honesty is refreshing, and his predictions are as accurate as mine.

However, #6 is kinda up in the air at this point.

If the Bengals want Andrew Luck, they need to stop winning games. 4 wins is about the absolute most you can have and still possibly wind up with the #1 pick.

I still don't buy the Redskins. A Week 1 win against a shaky Giants team, a one-point win against a bad Cardinals team, and a one-touchdown win against a surprisingly awful, incredibly injured Rams team? I still think last place is a real possibility for these guys.

Hey Cris, we're all fallible. At least you found a way to spin it to make yourself look good again!

Even I didn't accurately predict the AFC East. Don't feel badly on that one. I really did expect the Jets to be better than they are. I figured Buffalo would be 3-2 at this point, looking at 5-5 by the end of November. Oops.

I'd have had you on Cutler, though. Hurting because he knows he can't play is different than crying cause he hurts. Dude just happens to have a hung-dog bone structure.

This may be the most upside down, topsy turvy season in the history of the NFL. The Lions and 49ers take a combined 9-1 record to the field on Sunday. Last season through 5 weeks their combined record was 1-9. That sums 2011 up I think.

Oh, and I knew the Chargers would be leading the league in all offensive and defensive categories.

I knew the Eagles and Jets would be top 10 teams.

I also knew the Bengals and 49ers would be bottom 5 teams.

*edit* Check out Dave Lapham's premonition in that thread:

Originally Posted by Dave Lapham

The Colts have all their eggs in Peyton Manning's basket. Are the some of the eggs cracking? .

Nostra-Lapham-us?

I like how Alex Smith is looking better since Harbaugh got in there. Maybe the other coaches weren't working with him enough or the right way; Nonetheless, the current guy is gettin' it done so far.

My Eagles. Forget It. They had a rally of support for Andy Reid today but in the words of one of my All Time Favorites, Bill Parcells, "Show Me On Film".

Originally Posted by mkocs6

I still don't buy the Redskins. A Week 1 win against a shaky Giants team, a one-point win against a bad Cardinals team, and a one-touchdown win against a surprisingly awful, incredibly injured Rams team? I still think last place is a real possibility for these guys.

They're not great. But compared to everyone else in their division, they're at least solid. Last place might be a bit harsh.

In spite of the Bears' overall problems this week, I've never seen Cutler look better. He was making tough, gutsy throws, completing them a big part of the time when he was off-balance, getting hit, under pressure, you name it.

He's never been one of my favorite players, but damn! He showed the talent that has always excited people. If he could keep that up ... but then there's the injury that's just waiting to happen, given the conditions he's playing under.

And secondly, nice list, Cris.

The season is just over 1/4 old. So some of what we expected might come to fruition.

For instance

1) The Bills are not going to win the AFC East. They are a nice story with a nice start, but their schedule is going to get much tougher and I don't even see them making the playoffs. I don't think most Bills' fans, even with this start, expect them to make the playoffs and would gladly take this year as something to build on in the future.

2) The Redskins look okay early on, but I still expect them near the bottom. The thing that they have working for them is that the Eagles have been a nightmare team, Tony Romo is playing like Brett Favre (either winning or losing games by his decisions) and the Giants are just so inconsistent. Great on the road, and then lay an egg agaisnt the Seahawks. Still, when all is said and done I don't see the Redskins winning the NFC East.

3) The Bengals have looked good early on. But honestly, who expects them to even get to .500 at this point? Still, if they can get a decent year, it will be something to build on in the future with Andy Dalton at the helm. Now if they can only get rid of Mike Brown.

4) The 49ers are a nice story, but I just don't see them going far. Still, I give them a lot of credit for going 4-1 at this point. They have a lot of talent. And I think Harbaugh has changed the culture there. I don't think Alex Smith is their future though.

While the Lions at 5-0 are a surprise, I don't think they have snuck up on that many people. I've heard various experts say that the Lions were an up and coming team. Now a 5-0 up and coming team, I don't know if people predicted. But the Lions making the playoffs and even going deep shouldn't be a surprise. Suh looked pretty scary last year to a great defense. If Stafford could stay healthy, the pieces were there.

My biggest no guts stuff of the year is not picking against Philly and Atlanta. I should have seen the similarities of failure. Also, I should have picked the Bengals to have a few more wins. That defense looked good on paper, but I never thought the offense would outscore anybody.

This season is certainly more topsy, turvy than others, it seems.

I wonder what impact the move of teams to stick with their young guys rather than signing the vets still available out there in hopes of getting continuity has had?

Cris & Dave, not sure if they sent copies to you, but the Cincinnati Enquirer ran caricatures today that their artist did of different sports figures.


http://cmsimg.cincinnati.com/apps/pb...&Maxh=465&q=60


Dave's is the 3rd one, Cris' is the 33rd one.

these are the predictions I made in BR's preseason prediction thread:

- the Eagles won't even make it to the NFC Championship game

- the Browns will not win more than 6 games

- the Bengals won't even be the 4th worst team in the league

- Matthew Stafford will take every snap for the Lions offense

- Chad Ochocinco will be cut by New England at some point during the season

- The Jets take a sizeable step back.

- Houston will finally have a winning record, but won't make any noise in the playoffs.

Originally Posted by Bengals1181

these are the predictions I made in BR's preseason prediction thread:

You're looking like a freaking prophet

I accurately predicted Cris posting this (false lol)...gotta say, biggest surprise has to be Cam Newton, doesn't it? He's one of these guys (had to) that just wants to win, and I honestly don't really follow college football, or the scandal with Auburn and his father and stuff, so I have a bit of a different perspective. I'm cheering for this guy, you can tell his attitude in 2 ways: One, he wants to win...Two, maybe he isn't a sore loser, but you can tell he either really doesn't handle it well, or he just is too used to winning. Ron Rivera has something special, and that offense alone is a fantasy team (Williams, Stewart, Smith, Olsen, Shockey? Scary)

You had to mention Olsen!

In the year of the Tight-End, were the moist disruptive presence in most teams are the pass catching Tightends, we got rid of ours... And Mike Martz is a genius?

Originally Posted by hobbes27

The season is just over 1/4 old. So some of what we expected might come to fruition.

4) The 49ers are a nice story, but I just don't see them going far. Still, I give them a lot of credit for going 4-1 at this point. They have a lot of talent. And I think Harbaugh has changed the culture there. I don't think Alex Smith is their future though.

But the thing is - in the NFC West, just how far do they have to go? Seattle may have escaped from the bottom 5 in the league, but Arizona and the Rams are putting down roots in the pit. With 4 games to come against those teams (plus one more against Seattle) .500 seems a lock. And that will put them into the playoffs.

Originally Posted by hobbes27

The season is just over 1/4 old. So some of what we expected might come to fruition.

3) The Bengals have looked good early on. But honestly, who expects them to even get to .500 at this point? Still, if they can get a decent year, it will be something to build on in the future with Andy Dalton at the helm. Now if they can only get rid of Mike Brown.

Have you seen the Bengals schedule? SEA, INDY, STL, ARI, CLE. Those are 5 should win games. Then they have 2 against an inconsistent Steelers team, 2 against a Ravens team they have had great success at in recent years(we will find out if it was Palmer the Ravens couldn't beat or the Bengals in general), and a Houston team that generally falls apart. I can easily see 5 wins to get to 8-8. Not saying they will cause we are the Bengals and we generally find a way to screw this up, but I can really see 8-10 wins.