Well I got the Bengals score right   The Patriots offense and its new weapons looked good, with the running game working and both rookie tight ends showing up.  And Brandon Tate even had a few catches to add on to his 97 yard kickoff return.  The new look defense looked really FAST.  I like the rotation at safety and linebacker (Chung was always on at safety with Meriweather and Sanders rotating, Mayo was at ILB with Spikes and Guyton rotating).  Chung looked great out there, he was really flying around the field.  There’s a chance this defense could really make some plays.

Outside of this game, I thought the Houston upset of the Colts was surprising. Arian Foster put up some ridiculous numbers. And Michael Vick looked like his old self coming in after Kevin Kolb’s injury in Philly. He’s clearly been working hard, you could see how pissed he was at himself after making a terrible decision in the redzone. But he brought them back from 20 down to have a tying chance.

I’m going to attempt to make predictions about the winners of each division. We’ll see how this goes.

• AFC East: I’m still not sold on Mark Sanchez in New York, I think he’s more likely to regress than progress. And I’m optimistic about the Pats young players coming along. So I’m going Patriots, Jets, Dolphins, Bills.
• AFC North: This should be a really competitive division. The Bengals swept it last year, but the Ravens have also added some new weapons. The Steelers start without Ben Roethlisburger, but should be ok without him. Is Jake Delhomme going to turn it over constantly for the Browns? I’m going Ravens, Bengals, Steelers, Browns.
• AFC South: Will Indy finally have a struggle this season? Or will they be the first super bowl loser in 10? years to make it to the playoffs?  Can Houston finally put together a whole season or a whole game?  How will the Titans look with Vince Young?  I’m going to say Titans, Colts, Texans, Jaguars.
• AFC West: This division could go to anybody. The Chargers got worse, everyone else got better. Ryan Matthews should be exciting though. I’m going to say Broncos, Chargers, Raiders, Chiefs but I think it will be really close.
• NFC East: Another tough division. How will Kevin Kolb do in Philly? Donovan McNabb in Washington? Can they G-men recover from their miserable season last year?  I think it will be Eagles, Cowboys, Redskins, Giants.
• NFC North: Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense look insane. Is Brett Favre too old for this game? Can the Bears offense work well with Mike Martz?  How improved are the Lions?  I’m picking the Packers, Lions, Vikings, and Bears.
• NFC South: No one has repeated in this division in ages. The Falcons and Panthers could both compete with the Saints here. However I’m going to say Saints, Falcons, Panthers, Bucs.
• NFC West: No one here looks particularly good. The Seahawks under Pete Carroll? Alex Smith quarterbacking the 49ers? Derek Anderson quarterbacking the Cards? The Rams with Sam Bradford?  I’m going to say it will be the Seahawks, Cardinals, 49ers, and Rams.

Playoffs?! Don’t talk about playoffs! Are you kidding me?

Yes, that’s right, playoffs. So we’ve got the division winners, who are the wildcards? In the AFC, it will be the Jets and Colts.  In the NFC, the Lions and Cowboys. Yes, the Lions!  The Super Bowl?  Probably the Packers over somebody.

The 2010 Patriots Season opener is finally here!  Tomorrow against the Bengals!  The Patriots have lots of questions. Last year on offense, they were extremely predictable, simply throwing to Moss or Welker all the time. This year they have 2nd years WR Brandon Tate and Julian Edelman, along with rookie TEs Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.  Will these new weapons open up the offense more?  Can the Patriots actually run the ball? Can Fred Taylor and Sammy Morris stay healthy? What I’m looking for in this game is to see if they commit to running the ball and if the extra offensive weapons show up.

On defense, there are even more questions. The Patriots will be starting a rookie corner, a rookie middle linebacker, a 2nd year corner, a 2nd year safety, a new free agent on the defensive line, and either a career-long special teamer or a rookie at outside linebacker.  Who will play outside linebacker opposite Tully Banta-Cain? Ninkovich? Murrell? Cunningham? Can rookie Cunningham contribute?  Can the Patriots get any pass rush? Can they stop the run? Will the young defensive backs hold up?  Do they have to keep a vanilla defense or with all these young and new players, can they put their usual disguises and trickery in there?  Lots of questions here as well.

I’d like to see the Patriots win. But more importantly, I’d like to see some balance on offense, with the new weapons involved, and I’d like to see something from the defense to give confidence that the front seven can stop the run and rush the passer, and the young DBs can cover and perhaps create some turnovers. I feel like this is a year where it may take a while for all the new defensive components to gel together but they may be able to get hot in the later part of year.

My prediction: Pats 28, Bengals 24.

The upcoming season is full of questions for the Patriots.  They had one of the oldest teams in the league last year, and they’re trying to infuse some younger players into the team.  They drafted 12 players last year and 12 this year.  On offense, they’re depending on some young players to take up the 3rd receiver spot.  They have 2nd year player Brandon Tate, rookie Taylor price, and new free agent signee Torry Holt.  The tight end position is all new as well, with veteran Alge Crumpler and two rookies: Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.  Last year they were very predictable with their offense, almost always targeting Welker and Moss.  This year, some of these new players have to perform to give Brady more options.

On defense, there are even more young players about to step into big roles.  In the defensive backfield, 2nd year player Darius Butler and rookie Devin McCourty will likely battle it out for right cornerback.  2nd year safety Patrick Chung may see time at safety alongside Brandon Meriweather, or we may see James Sanders or Brandon McGowan.  At linebacker, the only lock is Jerod Mayo on the inside.  The other inside linebacker could be 3rd year player Gary Guyton, 2nd year player Tyrone McKenzie, or promising rookie Brandon Spikes from Florida.  At outside linebacker, we’ll likely see Tully Banta-Cain on one side.  On the other side, it could be perenially injured Shawn Crable, rookie Jermaine Cunningham, or Derrick Burgess.  On the D-Line, Ty Warren and Vince Wilfork are back, but the right end spot is completely open, perhaps for a 2nd year player like Ron Brace, or maybe veteran Mike Wright.  The defense really needs to find more pass rush from some where.  I would say there are 5 players we know will start on D (Warren, Wilfork, Mayo, Meriweather, and Bodden), and 6 spots that are open.  Who plays in those spots and how they perform will have a HUGE effect on the defense and determine the outcome of the Patriots season.