This is The World According to Buchs - Keepin’ it moving since 2003!

Yes, please. I am ready for some football. Thank you.

The NFL season officially kicks off tonight with Miami at Pittsburgh, a game that I have no vested interested in. But you can bet your ass that my ass will be sitting in front of the TV tonight with a rotisserie chicken watching. The new Thursday-opener somewhat takes the shine off of what used to be the greatest single day in all of sports - NFL Opening Sunday. The Thursday game is like a little teaser now. But, again, see my statement above re: my ass and a TV.

Here’s a few of my observations on the upcoming season. You can take these to the bank, or at least to your bookie.

• Over-rated Rookies. I’m in two fantasy football leagues this year, and there are 4 rookie running backs who were drafted relatively highly in both of them. I’m not going to say that all four will be busts this year, but I would bet that three of them will be. And the winners are: Reggie Bush, Laurence Maroney, DeAngelo Williams, and Greg Jennings. Reggie Bush will be splitting time as long as Duece’s knee holds up, and he won’t have the impact this year that people think he will. Corey Dillon still has plenty in the tank in New England, but everyone is giving Maroney the job by mid-season already; I don’t see that happening. Williams backs up Foster in Carolina, and given Foster’s record, he might see some time sooner than later. Greg Jennings is going to be a great receiver, but not this year. He’s probably the smartest and most polished of the rookie receivers out there, but he’s not physically dominating.
• The Packers Will Be Better Thank You Think. This might be wishful thinking. Yeah, they went 4-12 last year, but the offense was completely decimated by injuries. Their all-pro WR went down in the first game, and by the end of the year they were down to a fourth string RB. Guys were in and out of the OL all year. I know, I know… they’ve not looked good this pre-season. But if the rookies on the OL can get it together, if Ahman Green can be 85% of his old self, and if Jennings *can* play to his potential… this is a 10-6 team. Probably not good enough to make the playoffs, but very respectable.
• Larry Johnson Will Not Rush For 2000 Yards. All the publications have been touting this guy all off-season. He put up great numbers in limited action last year, but this year is different. First, the coaching staff is different. New head coach, new offensive coordinator, new system. Yeah, Herm Edwards likes to run the ball, but Al Saunders was an offensive genius. Is it a coincidence that he shows in up KC and Priest Holmes suddenly goes from a workable starting RB to record-setting RB? And then L.J. takes over and also puts up good numbers? Not to mention that KC’s best OL retired. That just doesn’t add up for me. Of course, I’m sure the Chief’s defense can carry them all year…
• TO Will Behave. Again, more wishful thinking. I have nothing to base this on except for the fact that I drafted him in one of my leagues and I have my fingers crossed.

I might be kicking myself in 5 months when the season is over for actually publishing this, but then again, I am a Football Super Genius.

This entry was posted on September 7, 2006 at 7:29 am, filed under Sports & Games. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Trackbacks are closed, but you can post a comment.