Last night was one of my favorite annual events – our fantasy football draft. Our league started out in 1998 with a bunch of recent college grads who relocated here to work for Boeing. Now, we’re starting up our 10th season. More than half of us are now married, and a few have kids, but we still have one night a year where we revert to shameless bachelorhood, talking trash, drinking cheap beer, and picking the players whose successes or failures our hopes will ride on for the next four months.
In the past, I’ve made pretty elaborate NFL predictions at the beginning of the season, only to debate with myself in November whether I can go back and delete the post. Like fellow Philly-native Goldy, I’m a huge Eagles fan, but I’ve also grown to like the local team here, and really enjoy how much the Seahakws’ recent success has brought some excitement to the games at Qwest Field.
As the Saints and Colts get it all started this evening, what do you expect to see this year? Can the Seahawks make it back to the big game? Were the Saints a fluke last year? Can the Colts win it again? Will Donovan McNabb still be healthy when the Seahawks head into Philly in December? Will Joey Harrington make everyone in Atlanta forget about Michael Vick? Can anything possibly happen this season that’s more embarrassing than what happened to my alma mater last Saturday?
Enjoy the games everyone!
As the Saints and Colts get it all started this evening, what do you expect to see this year?
Far too much of Dan Deirdorf
Can the Seahawks make it back to the big game?
No.
Were the Saints a fluke last year?
A bit, but they’re a good team too.
Can the Colts win it again?
Yes, they can. But they won’t.
Will Donovan McNabb still be healthy when the Seahawks head into Philly in December?
Define healthy.
Will Joey Harrington make everyone in Atlanta forget about Michael Vick?
How? Will he be implicated in a grisly triple-murder?
Can anything possibly happen this season that’s more embarrassing than what happened to my alma mater last Saturday?
Other than Joey Harrington’s triple-murder arrest, no. That’s unpossible.
Matt Millen will inherit the Genius label from Bill Walsh (RIP) for proving that you can draft nothing but wide receivers. It’s a variety of the “Go Vertical” strategy. Quarterbacks and defenses will be relegated to the trash heap as the Lions flirt with .500!
Hasselbeck will leave the NFL to become the VP running mate of Rudy Guiliani. They will be spotted with Dave Reichert wearing #1 uniform jerseys with Bush on the back.
At least 4 marquee players will be suspended for an unfair four games for violating the steroid abuse policy. 90% of NFL players will receive a cortisone shot before a game. Fans will still talk about how clean their team is and make some reference to Barry Bonds.
No player will be suspended for spousal/girlfriend abuse.
The invisible cloud being will be praised for his/her intervention at every score. Failure to do so will be an additional 10 year purgatory.
@1
Define healthy.
Playing. :)
How? Will he be implicated in a grisly triple-murder?
That may be more likely than making the playoffs…D’oh, there I go again making predictions!
The ESPN “experts” appear to believe that McNabb will be healthy enough to strap on a helmet this year. If so, that’ll be, what, two of the last five years?
I don’t follow the NFL much any more, not even the Iggles (do Pete Retzlaff, Tommy McDonald, Tom Brookshier, and Tim Brown still play for them? surely Bill Bergey and Harold Carmichael are still there…). So I have no idea who their
backupactual QB is going to be this year. It isn’t my fellow Big Greener Jay Fiedler, is it?@4
AJ Feeley got hurt, so the backup is Kevin Kolb, the rookie from Univ. of Houston. Yikes.
I’m barely old enough to remember Carmichael. I was a very young Eagles fan when my grandfather got me autographs of Mike Quick and John Spagnola at some charity golf tournament. Speaking of golf, my dad occasionally plays with Merrill Reese, who’s been around for all of those guys.
I got my NFL Channel and my NFL Sunday Ticket(thanks Qwest and Dish Network) so it’s gonna be all football all the time at Casa de Rujax!
My time of year!!!!
Yeah, yeah, Lee, rub in the “N’s an old geezer” thing again. Not that I didn’t set myself up for it with the reference to Retzlaff et al. Originally, I included Chuck Bednarik (yes, I do remember watching him play, on our black-and-white TV) on my list.
FWIW, I remember John Facenda as a WCAU news anchor. And I watched American Bandstand before Dick Clark took it national.
Go Chargers!!!