Well, I have neglected this blog all year, but I had some free time today, so I figured I'd add a new post. The first two weeks of the NFL season have been pretty good, with the stupid Hail Mary from the Broncos to win week 1 (gosh I hate watching the highlights of that play) to the great game between Dallas and the NYG last week in the Texas palace. But the thing that has me the most excited is the Bengals' defense. They played hard all preseason, did really well agaianst Denver, minus that stupid Hail Mary, and recorded 6 sacks on Aaron Rodgers last week. This defense finished 15th last year and I feel they are well on their way to being a top 10 unit. With Odom healthy, it's easy to see why Cincy shelled out so much money for him last offseason. He has 7 sacks on the season (which leads the NFL) and works really well on third downs with Geathers on one end, Michael Johnson on the other, and Odom inside. This combo causes a lot of problems for the offenses and I feel that it will again this week against Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh's offense seems a little sluggish, and I feel that with Cincinnati's defense playing as well as they are playing and it being a home game, that Cincinnati will pull out the win. It certainly helps that Troy Polamalu isn't playing this week, as he's a beast. Carson should have an efficient game, but I really look for Cedric Benson to have 30+ carries in a 17-14 type game, in which Cincinnati goes to 2-1 and a game up on the Steelers in the division race.
My predictions for this year: Baltimore 12-4 AFC North Champs
Cincinnati 11-5 Wild Card
Pittsburgh 9-7 No Playoffs
Cleveland 3-13 Fighting for the #1 overall pick (please pick Tim Tebow, that would be funny)
WHO DEY!
