Donovan Mcnabb

As football fans across the globe cast their longing eyes in the direction of the April draft, I decided that now might be a good time to reflect on draft classes of the last 10 years. Too often in this business, we rush ahead to the next big event without taking pause to evaluate the past and learn from it. In a way, this study will still be a celebration of the coming 2009 draft as I believe it will shed some light on certain overlooked trends that no one ever stops to consider. I will begin with a class by class showdown of sorts at the quarterback position over the last 10 drafts.  First up, we have the class of 1999 taking on that of 2000:

Continue reading "NFL Quarterback Draft Class Showdown: 2000 vs 1999"

           Each week, I will look into my (never wrong, just misinformed) crystal ball and give my predictions for that weekend’s games.  I will prognosticate on all the playoff games each week.  Keep in mind, that this is for entertainment purposes only, and that I do not endorse any sort of legal or illegal gambling.  That being said…let’s see what’s in my crystal ball!  

Continue reading "Predictions Conference Championships"

Because I may be a bit busy with work the next few days, I would like to quickly give my predictions for both the NFC and AFC Championship games occurring this weekend:

Philadelphia Eagles at Arizona Cardinals: As much as Philly is on a roll right now, I think that (for the umpteenth time) they will be stopped by the Red Birds in the NFC title game.  Brian Westbrook is hurting badly, so the Cards may be able to key their defensive plan around pressuring Donovan McNabb into bad situations.  On the flip side, the Cardinals play very well at home and finally have a fan base behind them that is tantalizing close to the Promised Land, so excitement shouldn't be a problem.  I still think there is a reason why Philly barely made the playoffs this year, and I think we will see it on Sunday.  They barely squeaked by the Vikings, and also probably should have had a much closer game with the Giants if not for all the New York mistakes.  Prediction: Cardinals 21, Eagles 14

Continue reading "The Birds and the "D's""

The crystal ball had a dreadful performance this past week, posting a woeful 1-3 record.  This is playoff time, so that is totally unacceptable!  The crystal ball started off 1-0, but then dropped its last three for the weekend!  Anyway, that puts the crystal ball at 3-5 for the post-season, and 36-31-1 overall.  That’s five games over .500 (.537 to be exact).  Hopefully the crystal ball will perform better this coming week, as the pressure mounts in the Championship games!  Let’s take a look back, and review what happened last week.    

Continue reading "Divisional Round Review"

           Each week I will answer questions submitted by my loyal readers.  I personally read every single email I receive.  I will pick out the best five or so to use for the weekly post, as I won’t be able to answer all of them.  I will also answer one or two questions on my daily posts as well.  Now it’s time to open the mail!  

Continue reading "Reality Mail Bag - 01/08/09"

           Wildcard weekend had an interesting lineup of games this year.  All four road teams (wildcard teams) were favored to win over the home teams (division winners).  That’s unusual, but this year it actually makes a lot of sense.  Many of the wildcard teams had better records than the division winners.  In the end, the underdogs won two of the four games (both 6th seeds defeated the 3rd seeded teams).

Continue reading "Where Are All The Nay Sayers Now?"

When the Vikings/Eagles wild card playoff matchup was finalized last weekend, the Las Vegas betting line had the home Minnesota Vikings as 10-point underdogs to the visiting Philadelphia Eagles.  Personally, I think that a different sort of "line" will be much more important on Sunday, that being the defensive variety...

Continue reading "Vikings/Eagles Preview: "Line" Is ..."

The crystal ball had a mediocre performance this past week, going a mere 2-2.  We’re not sure what happened, but this is not acceptable.  The crystal ball took its lumps on the Cowboys game, but it may have been predicting with its heart rather than its fortune-telling powers?  Either way, that puts the crystal ball at 33-26-1 for the season.  That’s seven games over .500 (.558 to be exact).  Hopefully the crystal ball will perform better in the playoffs!  Let’s take a look back, and review what happened last week.    

Continue reading "Week 17 Review"

           This past Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys traveled to Lincoln Financial Field to play the Philadelphia Eagles in what was a win and you’re in the playoffs game.  This game had a lot of build-up prior kick-off.  The Eagles found out, about 15 minutes before the game started, that the stars had aligned for them; the Bears and Buccaneers had both lost.  This game had everything football fans wanted.  It was the ‘Boys against the Birds, with their playoff destinies on the line. 

Continue reading "Underachievers"

           Each week, on Friday, I will look into my (never wrong, just misinformed) crystal ball and give my predictions for that weekend’s games.  I will always prognosticate on the Eagles and Cowboys games and then pick two or more games of interest (to me, that is, not necessarily to you).  Keep in mind, that this is for entertainment purposes only, and that I do not endorse any sort of legal or illegal gambling.  That being said…let’s see what’s in my crystal ball!  

Continue reading "Predictions Week 17"

           Each week I will answer questions submitted by my loyal readers.  I personally read every single email I receive.  I will pick out the best five or so to use for the weekly post, as I won’t be able to answer all of them.  I will also answer one or two questions on my daily posts as well.  Now it’s time to open the mail!  

Continue reading "Reality Mail Bag - 12/25/08"

The crystal ball had a mediocre performance this past week, going a mere 2-2.  We’re not sure what happened, but we will get to the bottom of this.  The crystal ball took its lumps on the Cowboys game, but it may have been predicting with its heart rather than its fortune-telling powers?  Either way, that puts the crystal ball at 29-22-1 for the season.  That’s seven games over .500 (.563 to be exact).  Let’s take a look back, and review what happened last week.    

Continue reading "Week 16 Review"

           Each week, on Friday, I will look into my (never wrong, just misinformed) crystal ball and give my predictions for that weekend’s games.  I will always prognosticate on the Eagles and Cowboys games and then pick two or more games of interest (to me, that is, not necessarily to you).  Keep in mind, that this is for entertainment purposes only, and that I do not endorse any sort of legal or illegal gambling.  That being said…let’s see what’s in my crystal ball!  

Continue reading "Predictions Week 16"

The crystal ball, once again, had a stellar performance this past week, going undefeated at 4-0.  Truly a tremendous achievement, as many of the games had playoff implications.  That puts the crystal ball at 29-22-1 for the season.  That’s seven games over .500 (.567 to be exact).  Not many prognosticators gave the Cowboys much of a chance against the G-Men, but the crystal ball took a chance on them.  The ‘Boys rewarded the crystal ball, and pulled off the upset.  Let’s review and see what happened last week.    

Continue reading "Week 15 Review"

           Each week, on Friday, I will look into my (never wrong, just misinformed) crystal ball and give my predictions for that weekend’s games.  I will always prognosticate on the Eagles and Cowboys games and then pick two or more games of interest (to me, that is, not necessarily to you).  Keep in mind, that this is for entertainment purposes only, and that I do not endorse any sort of legal or illegal gambling.  That being said…let’s see what’s in my crystal ball!  

Continue reading "Predictions Week 15"

           Each week I will answer questions submitted by my loyal readers.  I personally read every single email I receive.  I will pick out the best five or so to use for the weekly post, as I wont be able to answer all of them.  I will also answer one or two questions on my daily posts as well.  Now it’s time to open the mail!  

Continue reading "Reality Mail Bag - 12/04/08"

The crystal ball had a stellar week by going undefeated at 4-0.  That puts the crystal ball at 23-20-1 for the season.  That’s three games over .500 (.534 to be exact).  The crystal ball has a slightly sore back this week.  You know…with all that patting itself on the back stuff!  Let’s review and see what happened last week.    

Continue reading "Week 13 Review"

           Each week I will answer questions submitted by my loyal readers.  I personally read every single email I receive.  I will pick out the best five or so to use for the weekly post, as I wont be able to answer all of them.  I will also answer one or two questions on my daily posts as well.  Now it’s time to open the mail!  

Continue reading "Reality Mail Bag - 12/01/08"

           Each week, on Friday, I will look into my (never wrong, just misinformed) crystal ball and give my predictions for that weekend games.  I will always prognosticate on the Eagles and Cowboys games and then pick two more games of interest (to me, that is, not necessarily to you).  Keep in mind, that this is for entertainment purposes only, and that I do not endorse any sort of legal or illegal gambling.  That being said…let’s see what’s in my crystal ball!  

Continue reading "Predictions Week 13"

Utopia1dc:  Fred, how did you end up in Amarillo?  I’ve never been to Pottsville, but it’s not too far from me, but I have been through Amarillo on my way to the Texas Grand Canyon.  As for McNabb, he has been given his starting job back for the Turkey Day game.  McNabb was severely disrespected by Andy Reid, in my opinion.  I don’t see D-Mac returning to Philly next season.  The McNabb era is over.  The Reid era is in serious jeopardy, as well!  

Continue reading "Week 12 Review"

           Yesterday, the Cowboys defeated the San Francisco 49ers, at Texas Stadium, by a score of 35-22.  Don’t let the score fool you, the ‘Boys were in cruise control mid-way through the 2nd quarter.  The Cowboys defense started off a little shaky, but they were able to limit the 49ers to field goals.  After the 1st quarter, the boys trailed 6-0, but that’s when it happened…the game changed in an instant! 

Continue reading "Exploding"

           Each week, on Friday, I will look into my (never wrong, just misinformed) crystal ball and give my predictions for that weekend games.  I will always prognosticate on the Eagles and Cowboys games and then pick two more games of interest (to me, that is, not necessarily to you).  Keep in mind, that this is for entertainment purposes only, and that I do not endorse any sort of legal or illegal gambling.  That being said…let’s see what’s in my crystal ball!  

Continue reading "Predictions Week 12"

           Each week I will answer questions submitted by my loyal readers.  I personally read every single email I receive.  I will pick out the best five or so to use for the weekly post, as I wont be able to answer all of them.  I will also answer one or two questions on my daily posts as well.  Now it’s time to open the mail!  

Continue reading "Reality Mail Bag - 11/20/08"

The crystal ball bit off a little more than it could chew this past week.  After all was said and done, the crystal ball was 1-2-1.  That puts me at 17-18-1 for the season, a little under .500 (approx.  .486)…not very good!  I went out on a limb with two major upsets, and I got burned…not to mention the debacle (by Philadelphia) in Cincinnati.  What’s done is done…so let’s move on; but first, let’s see what went wrong.  

Continue reading "Week 11 Review"

Continue reading "2 in a row against the Eagles?"

I will admit that, due to the opening of deer hunting season here in Minnesota, I did not watch the big Vikings/Packers game last Sunday on TV.  However, from listening to most of it on the radio and watching all the postgame shows and highlights, I would like to add a few thoughts on what has (at least so far) been the Vikings' most exciting victory of the season:

Continue reading "Vikings 28, Packers 27...A Few Thoughts"