Kyle’s View

The Minnesota Vikings made a splash recently with the signing of Brett Favre. The Vikings have made strides in the past couple season towards being a super bowl contender. Built around a solid defense with the Williams boys up front and Adrian Peterson leading the Vikings offense. The Vikings need to remember this is the way their team was built and to let Favre compliment the run game. This could be a big year for Bernard Berrian to emerge as a big play receiver that will provide excitement for Vikings fans all season. The Vikings go into the season with high expectations and they need to do more than just make the playoffs.

The Green Bay Packers need to make their high-powered offense reflect in the standings. They have one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, as well as top talents at running back, Ryan Grant, and wide receiver, Greg Jennings. They made additions to solidify their defense although they have yet to sign their top pick BJ Raji. The Packers need to make noise in a competitive division.

The Chicago Bears made noise in the offseason aquiring a pro bowl caliber quarterback in Jay Cutler. Cutler is coming off an impressive statistical season. The concern Bears fans should have is whether or not Cutler can put up the same kind of numbers in an offense with less than stellar receivers as opposed to the talent he had in Denver. This looks to be the breakout season for Greg Olsen. He is the best pass catcher on the team and a strong season from Olsen will help Matt Forte see more running room and open up the deep passing game to Devin Hester. Their defense should be strong like in past years led by Lance Briggs, Brian Urlacher, and Tommie Harris.

Lastly we get to the 0-16 Lions who can win one game and improve over last season. The made steps this offseason to help the future of the franchise. They drafted Matthew Stafford number one overall and drafted a solid pass catching tight end Brandon Pettigrew who has serious upside. Add these guys to Kevin Smith and Calvin Johnson who not only have another year under their belt but are emerging as legit offensive studs. The future is surprisingly bright for this team. It wont be this year but in the next two to three years the Lions could be a legitimate force if Stafford progresses and they keep making smart decisions in the draft and within free agency.

Vikings                                    11-5

Packers                                    10-6

Bears                                           7-9

Lions                                          3-13

Breakout Player

Kevin Smith emerges to become a solid back that consistently is counted on by the lions and consistently around 100 yards and a touchdown.

Rookie to watch

Percy Harvin will make his presence known to the NFL. He can impact the game in so many ways; his play can make a huge impact on his team.

Brandon Pettigrew is a big, pass catching tight end that will be a vital piece to the Lions offense, no matter who’s at quarterback

Over the next couple weeks i will be breaking down the NFL as i see it as the season approaches.

The NFC West looks like a division with a lot of question marks. The 49ers need to figure out who their Quarterback will be, can the Seahawks be the team they used to be, what will Steve Spagnuolo bring to the Rams, as well as what version of the Arizona Cardinals will show up.

The quarterback battle in San Francisco seems to be settling it self out. Shaun Hill looks to be the guy with Alex Smith fading into the back up role. Shaun Hill is getting the plays better, making better reads and the receivers seem to react better to him. With the selection of Michael Crabtree and the emergence of Josh Morgan, the 49ers expected with Alex Smiths bigger arm, that he could make strides and open the offense. That didn’t happen, Crabtree is still unsigned, and the offense is going to be a run first, run often team.

The Seattle Seahawks look like they could make a return to perennial playoff team and super bowl contender. The made strides in the offseason to acquire impact players like TJ Houshmandzadeh. They expect Matt Hasselbeck to be back to old form and be able to run the offense. The injury to Walter Jones hurts a offensive line that was already looking very average. They have a interesting defense that can make plays and be aggressive with players like Lofa Tatupu and Marcus Trufant. If they can get any semblance of a running game from Julius Jones and TJ Duckett, the Seahawks could make noise and make a run at Arizona for the division.

The St Louis Rams have all signs pointing to a subpar season and another appearance in the top 5 of the NFL Draft. The Rams are in rebuilding mode, especially with their defense. Injuries to Donnie Avery and Marc Bulger only hurts the ailing franchise. This will be a long season for Rams fans but, they can look forward to a chance at drafting Sam Bradford.

Now to what looks to be the class of the NFC, the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals got Kurt Warner Resigned to throw to the three-headed monster in Fitzgerald, Boldin, and Breaston. The running game looks to get better with the addition of Chris “Beanie” Wells. Although being a Ohio State fan and watching Beanie Wells for three years, I think he’s inline to be the next Kijana Carter or Rashaan Salaam. That said I think the offense will be there and as long as the defense follows suite this could another deep playoff run for the Cardinals. Although the schedule is a tough one for the Cardinals having to play the AFC South, one of the best divisions in football.

That said the Seahawks will win 9 games and the division. The additions they made between the draft and free agency will give them the edge and take them to the division crown.

Seattle Seahawks                                9-7

Arizona Cardinals                              8-8

San Francisco 49ers                           7-9

St. Louis Rams                                    2-14

Breakout  Player

John Carlson will emerge as a dominant tight end and will become a target of Matt Hasselbeck in the red zone.

Rookie to watch

Aaron Maybin will emerge to help the Seahawks defense and make serious noise.

Joe Pa has been in college football for a long time and has his moments of brilliance. Recently he suggested adding another team to the Big 10 giving them 12 teams. This will do a couple things. It gives the Big 10 a chance to have a conference championship. Having a conference championship will give the Big 10 another game to keep the Big 10 teams playing. This will help teams making a run at the National Championship and bowl games. Too often the Big 10 is done two or three weeks before the nest of the NCAA’s. Then with the layoff till the National Championship of the BCS games, the teams haven’t played for a month or more.

It also opens the idea of adding more competition. Some teams suggested were Syracuse, Pittsburgh, and Rutgers. Of the three i like Pitt the best. They have been the most consistent and will add strength. However there is one team that could be very interesting. What if Notre Dame joined the Big 10? This would add a big name to the conference and help Notre Dame make big bowl games.

This is a no brainer for the Big 10. They should make a serious run at getting Notre Dame to join the conference. And if i’m Notre Dame im joining the Big 10.

Its a tough decision for a team to make when they have the first pick in the NFL draft. The team must decide wether they are as a franchise. Are you one or two players away or is there a need to build around a few key players and add more and more talent. The Lions are in need of quarterback, but the same thing can be said for many positions on a team that goes 0-16. There decision seems to have come down to three players Matthew Stafford, Aaron Curry, and Jason Smith.

Matthew Stafford seems to be the quarterback of choice over USC’s Mark Sanchez. Stafford is the clear choice at quarterback. His big arm stands out as well as his intelligence. He can make the correct reads when the pressure is on. He also played in the SEC which has tons strong defensive teams and presents tough matchups each week.

Jason Smith is the next option for the Lions. He is a guy who the Lions can pencil in for the next 10 years at left tackle and be happy. The Lions can do something similar to what the Dolphins did last year. They can take that offensive lineman, then use a veteran at QB and draft another QB later if your feel Rhett Bohmar or Nate Davis can be the answer. The other solution lies in the other first round pick the Lions have. Offensive tackle is deep this year and the chance to draft a Michael Oher or Eben Britton. The Lions should make this move and draft a tackle with the number 20 pick overall.

This leads to the third option for the Lions which is Aaron Curry. He is outstanding athlete that will make strong center piece for the Lions to build their defense around. He was a stand out at Wake Forrest and will continue his progression as he enters the NFL.

The Lions aren’t going to win the Super Bowl this year. They may look at the Dolphins and say “Why not us?” but the Dolphins had talent and added veteran leadership. Aaron Curry is the pick the Lions should make. They can build a solid defense to go with their offense that is building around some really good pieces in Kevin Smith and Calvin Johnson. Daunte Culpepper can hold down the position for the next couple years. He is said to be looking good in mini camp but that could be smoke and mirrors to make teams think they dont want a quarterback.

Dwight Howard is a top five player that has potential to be a top 3 player and is completely underutilized. He continues to put up solid numbers all season long but when its clutch time in a game, either Hedo Turkoglu or Rashard Lewis are jacking up a three pointer or shooting a fade away to try and win a game. Watching the Magic vs Sixers game one tonight, this could not be more apparent. At halftime the game was close and the Magic were blowing opportunity after opportunity to get Howard a shot within two feet of the hoop. The third quarter showed the power of Dwight Howard especially with the weak front line the Sixers have. The had an 18 point lead and by the end of the fourth quarter Andre Igoudala has a chance to hit a shot at the end of the game. Howard should get the ball with the game on the line unless they need a three at the buzzer. Dwight dunked over Theo Ratliff with no issues and can do this against most other NBA front court players. The only reason that seems to be present is the poor free throw percentage. If that’s the case then maybe Orlando should ask the Lakers and Miami for advice. Shaq is a terrible free throw shooter that got the ball in late game situation and no team could stop him. Howard has the same potential to dominate games as Shaq did. The question then becomes wether or not Howard has the killer instinct. If that is the case then the Magic need to make a move to get a end of game scorer that can take over a game.

Maybe its just me, but the NBA doesn’t have the same feeling as it used to. The rivalries have faded and stars are becoming few and far between. It seems like the NBA season has come down to 3 teams and two players. All the sportscasters, writers, and broadcasters talk about a specific niche of NBA. The two main topics are Lakers vs Celtics and Lebron vs Kobe. The Cavs are so overrated i can’t put it into words. Lebron puts up amazing numbers and carries his team on a nightly basis but his supporting cast is the same as last year in which the were swept by the Celtics. They added Mo Williams who is a solid player and plays a important role but is not the sidekick Lebron needs to win the title. Zydrunas Ilgauskas is still decent but hes reaching the end of his career and cant contribute the way he used to. The Cavs also have to rely on Wally Szczerbiak and Daniel Gibson to hit big shots at key moments and i just dont see it.

The Lakers and Celtics rivalry is awesome and can create some new excitement for the NBA, but are we going to have to wait until June every year to watch them play for something meaningful. I feel like there is no reason to watch the 82 game season. Even with this Kobe and Paul Pierce are not young guys who can carry the NBA forever.

Do teams like Utah and Denver matter? Utah has a solid team that has a floor leader in Deron Williams who is vastly underrated. Denver acquired an Chauncey Billups for an past his prime AI which made the Nuggets the second best team in the western conference. But does there play mean anything? Does anyone really care what happens with these teams besides the people in their markets? Maybe being in Sacramento watching the Kings waffle through the season and make moves that make no sense has made me jaded but the NBA just doesn’t have the same allure it used to.

In addition are fans not getting everything they should be getting? Amare’ getting hurt all but eliminated the Suns from contention. Manu’ Ginobili being out for the season made the Spurs an above average team at best. Even if these teams are healthy, can they compete with the Lakers? That said are the Lakers even that good? I think Kobe is an amazing player and has some good peices around him if Andrew Bynum is healthy and Lamar Odom can produce. Maybe the problem is the talent level of the NBA isn’t at the levels of the past. Maybe the late 90’s and early 2000’s spoiled us. I remember growing up with great rivalries with Phoenix and Dallas, as well as Sacramento and the Lakers. The sound bites of Shaq saying Sacramento was a cow town or Mark Cuban running up and down the court in Phoenix after Dirk hits a big shot. The magnitude is the thing that seems to be lost in the new NBA.

The NBA has players to build around with stars like Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, Dwyane Wade and Dwight Howard, but the NBA don’t seem to take full advantage of their potential. These guys should be on TV all the time showcasing the future. Maybe the NBA is too watered down. What if the David Stern took two or four teams out of the NBA? This would make all the teams stronger, keep good but not great players in college for longer and make the brand of basketball more exciting to watch. It would be interesting to see how players would get re-dispersed. Maybe worst record gets first pick. Maybe the Kings then pick Danny Granger if Indiana were no longer a team. Would make teams much stronger and get players out of the NBA when they aren’t NBA caliber players.

Maybe i’m out of my mind and the upcoming NBA playoffs will remind me why i loved the NBA but the NBA does need to do something to improve its product or the end could be here sooner that most people think.

In the drama that is the Broncos offseason, Jay Cutler has received his wish and has been traded. The Broncos asked for 2 first round picks in exchange for Cutler and the Chicago Bears stepped up to the plate. The Broncos will recieve a first round pick this year and next as well as a third round pick and Kyle Orton who made strides last year and was a productive Quarterback. This trade makes both teams better. The Bears desperately need a QB and the Broncos can use the picks and Orton to build with new coach Josh McDaniels.

While listening to sports radio the other day an interesting question was posed. If you start a NBA franchise today, what player do you build your franchise. The hosts decided to take LeBron James out of the equation, both feeling that he was the clear cut favorite. There discussion came down to either Chris Paul or Dwight Howard. Based on these parameters i will start there. The key idea is to decide if you want to build around a guy who will have the ball around 80% of the time on offense vs a guy who can score, rebound and dominate on both ends of the court. Having a guy who controls the pace of the game, make other players better and be a floor leader is much more important to me that a guy who can score, rebound, and block shots. I feel like i can get a Sam Dalembert or Erick Dampier to block shots, rebound and control the paint. To find a Chris Paul is much harder to do. That said starting today i would choose Dwyane Wade over any player including Lebron James. D Wade has already won a championship. Granted it was with Shaq but D Wade carried that team in the finals, and had them one step away the year before with Lamar Odom and Caron Butler as his key weapons. I think Wade can lead a team, make players better and score at will with the game on the line. Wade is a close second to Kobe in key shots at the end of games and is right there with Steve Nash and Chris Paul distributing the ball. Some people may ask why the Heat are so terrible now then. The answer is in his teammates. He is working with some over the hill players, NBDLers, and rookies. If you put Wade in New Orleans or Toronto with Chris Bosh and they would be right there in there respective divisions.

In one of the most interesting and unforeseen match ups in recent History the Arizona Cardinals will be playing the Pittsburgh Steelers. While the Steelers had looked polished, strong and clearly one of the best teams in the NFL the Cardinals are the exact opposite. Every week seemed to produce a different version of the team. The team that showed up for the playoffs has been dominant. Larry Fitzgerald is playing incredible and looking like the most dominant player in the NFL. That said the most impressive part of the Cardinals run is the play of the defense. They have made plays when it matters most.  While everything in my head says to go with the Steelers, I have the strangest feeling the Cardinals are going to win the Super Bowl. In one of the strangest playoffs in recent history, everything that should have happened hasn’t. The Steelers can win if they can keep the running game active and productive, as well as stopping Larry Fitzgerald. It seems like the Eagles would have seen what he did to the Panthers and make an adjustment. The Eagles seemed to make improvements in the second half, and if the Steelers can figure out what they did they might be able to slow him down. Cardinals win 27-24 with Larry Fitzgerlad as the Super Bowl MVP.