A wide range of teams are currently being expressed by moderators and members alike. From the Vikings, Packers, and 49ers, to the Bucs, Colts, and Broncos, we're all in for the long haul of the regular season which starts this weekend. How is your team looking this year? Let's get some input on how you're feeling about your team this season.

I think the Bucs are looking better, offensively, than they ever have. With Garner, we have a running back who can actually run, and the combo of Tim Brown and Joey Galloway for wide receivers looks very good as well. And the offensive line is HUGELY upgraded.

But defensively, I think we'll be hurting a bit from losing Lynch and Sapp. I don't think Jermaine Phillips is ready to be a starter, and I'm kind of iffy on Ellis Wyms at nose tackle. It's still one of the top 5 defenses in the NFL, though.

Well, the Colts look good so far; especially the offense. However, they tend to have good years and bad years so we'll just have to wait and see.

where do I begin? we lost most of our offense, our first team defense has loked like crap all pre season long, our kicking game still blows. I think rattay, given enough time, can be a good QB, Barlow is a good back, big and fast with good hands, but he too depends on the line. the line is so-so, a great center with Newberry, a 2nd year first rounder at left tackle who has yet to fully develop, and af ew servicable guards. Our defense is our strenght, but after seeing them in preseason, and seein ghow pourous our run D is I am not so sure. OUr D line was just getting man handled. Our linebackers are good and fast, anchored by julian Peterson who may only be here through this year due to contract issues. our secondary is steadily improving. Mike Rumph has come a long way since his mistake ridden first season, and Tony Parrish is the man at strong safety. A usual our special teams is very shakey.

On paper we are definatly one of the weaker teams in the league, but we have a winning attitude and good chemistry, plus never underestimate the power of the Under Dog label :D

We all now that I'm a broncos fan, but I'm not feeling too good about their upcoming season. Otherwise, I'm not sure what to expect this season. I did watch some pre-season fb but really not sure what to expect. It always takes me a few weeks to find out what teams are worth watching out for.

My Vikings are probly going to rely mostly on the Culpepper/Moss tandem to get this team through their games successfully. Onterrio Smith will probly have another decent year on the ground as well.

As for defense, we'll most likely be hurting again. It was supposed to be our solution throughout the off-season, but I don't think much was done for that. Could be another long season if the D doesn't get on the ball and hold back some strong teams. We'll have to see just what Tice has done to revamp this defense.

The Packer D is gonna blow. Look for Moss to put up big numbers on the Pack as usual. The offense should be rather spectacular, though.

Lionel, I'm assuming you're predicting a high scoring games when our two teams collide?....I know I am.

I got Cullpepper as my fantasy QB, so as long as the vikes arent playing the niners, go vikes! oh, I also have Ahman Green, so go pack!

As far as my favorite team goes.... The Colts are looking good.

What is so great about Peyton Manning is that you cannot prepare for him. He calls the plays at the line of scrimmage...and hurry up offense can keep the same defenders out on the field when we get a matchup we want. The guy has an absolute CANNON for an arm and NEVER restrains from going for the home run.

The defense is testy...we will see how great of a coach Dungy is by how the D does this year. Our cornerbacks are inexperienced and untested, We didn't really lose much, although we did lose a linebacker, but almost everyone is back, and Dwight Freeney is getting better every year.

The offense should be the best in the league this year, despite what Preist Holmes says. Edgerrin james should be all the way back from his ACL injury....and combine that with a great receiving core of Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Brandon Stokely, Aaron Moorehead, and Walters(who broke his leg in the preseason). At tight end we are stacked also...Marcus Pollard and Dallas Clark are key options.

However, we have a TOUGH schedule to start off...New England and Tennessee back to back to start it off...i guess we'll find out right away what this team is made of.

I think we should be in the super bowl this year, anything less would be at the most a disappointment.

Well my beloved Redskins finally have a real coach, and for that alone i am grateful. The additions of Clinton Portis, Sean Taylor, Mark Brunell, Marcus Washington and the likes have me all fired up to get the season started.

I do think the loss of Jon Jansen, our all pro right tackle, will be a big loss. I hope Coach Bugel will be able to provide some of his old time magic and find a servicable replacement.

The 'Skins special teams seem to be a good group. About the only true weakness i see on this team is that they STILL dont have any dominant defensive linemen. Its been about 15 years since Dexter Manley, Charles Mann, and big Dave Butz prowled the defensive front and the team sure has missed their likes.

All in all, i believe this team will be in a lot of games that last year they would have no hope of being competitive in. At season's end i look for their record to be in the 9-7 to 10-6 range and for this team to be competing for a wild card playoff berth.

Originally posted by silverbulletkc
Lionel, I'm assuming you're predicting a high scoring games when our two teams collide?....I know I am.

I think that's a fairly safe assumption.

Oh yeah, i just wanted to apologize to Borghunter for the terrible ass-whuppin his beloved Bucs are about to receive Sunday. :D

Originally posted by HaVoK
Oh yeah, i just wanted to apologize to Borghunter for the terrible ass-whuppin his beloved Bucs are about to receive Sunday. :D
Don't count on it. ;)

Originally posted by BorgHunter
Don't count on it. ;)

The Bucs will suck this year. :p

hey, how about them Titans? i rememer when chris brown handed nebraska's ass to them in college, and then tears miami a new one? i was worried when eddie went, but holy cow. mcnair again has a fallback, someone to go to, who can take the heat... hee hee... hey colts!!!

the colts SHOULD be able to handle the titans....anything less would be a MAJOR disappointment. We owned the titans last year, and this year they really aren't that good on paper. The titans would be Buster Douglas KO'ing Tyson if they could beat the Colts this year.

Originally posted by Medea
The Bucs will suck this year. :p I dont agree with that assessment. The Buc's defense looked pretty darn good today with the exception of giving up one 64 yard TD. They played the Skins tough and i was happy the damn game finally ended. But, a win is a win. :D

Yeah, but the Bucs don't have an offense. Not that that's anything new. How 'bout Culpepper putting up 5 TDs? Anyone see Bettis's rushing numbers for the day? 5 attempts, 1 yard, 3 TDs.

Originally posted by LionelHutz
Yeah, but the Bucs don't have an offense. Not that that's anything new.
::grumbles something about uppity Packers fans who speak the truth no one wants to hear::

Yeah, how 'bout them vikings today?! Hopefully that carries over to next week cause they'll need it against what appears to be an unstopable McNabb/T.O. Combo in Philly.

Originally posted by BorgHunter
::grumbles something about uppity Packers fans who speak the truth no one wants to hear::

Well you can give it right back after tonight . . .

i'll admit T.O. had a good debut, but lets not judge if they are "unstoppable" by one game.

I DO have bias though....i hate Terrell Owens...the guy is arrogant, he isn't team oriented, and he's one ugly dude.

Originally posted by Decka
i'll admit T.O. had a good debut, but lets not judge if they are "unstoppable" by one game.
Yeah, the vikings will prove that next monday night.

Originally posted by Decka
i'll admit T.O. had a good debut, but lets not judge if they are "unstoppable" by one game.

I DO have bias though....i hate Terrell Owens...the guy is arrogant, he isn't team oriented, and he's one ugly dude.

Agreed. Except for the ugly part, because I can't remember what he looks like.

LOL, T.O. is a team cancer, a completly self absorded one man act. Of course, being a niner fan, TO and I go way back. As far as the other replies, Cullpepper is the man, 5 TD's!!! I am so glad I got him as my fantasy QB. I am not the worlds biggest vikings fan, but I am a big cullpepper fan this year, and a big ahman green fan, he is tearing it up for me as well.

the jerome bettis thing is funny, I have never seen a stat of more TD's then yards before, thats got to be a first, LMAO

Who is on your fantasy team Trav?

I have:

QB: Peyton manning , Carson Palmer, Vinny Testeverde
RB: Stephen Davis, Curtis Martin, Ron Dayne
WR: Chad johnson, Reggie Wayne, Dennis Northcutt, Troy Brown, Givens(i originally took Charles Rogers, but he got injured again).
TE: Dallas Clark, Kyle Brady
K: phil Dawson
DEF: Carolina(damn ahmad green lol)

lets see,

QB- Cullpepper

RB- Ahman Green and Correy Dillon

WR- Marty Booker, Drew Bennett and Cedrick Wilson

TE- Bubba Franks and Alge Crumpler

K- Vanderjagt

DEF- New England

and a bunch of guys on the bench who I can swap out, but am not sure off the top of my head who they are, this is just my starting line up. I have a good team I think, a little thin at WR, but cullpepper and Green make up for it. I even got a good game out of Crumpler.

Woo hoo! How 'bout the Pack bowling over the NFC champs?

:snarls: November 14th....it's on, Lionel!:)

Originally posted by silverbulletkc
:snarls: November 14th....it's on, Lionel!:)

Hopefully it will be nice and cold for the Vikes when they have to leave the warm and snuggly confines of that stupid dome and come to Lambeau.

True, the team needs to get into the outside world of extremes where they belong, but at least they're playing on grass now rather than that stupid carpet.

hey Lionel...the pack come to our house in week 3. After we beat Tennessee this week, we'll run ya down on artificial turf!!!

go colts!!!!

All artificial turf should be banned from football. Its just a cost preventive measure that does nothing but cause uneccessary injuries to players. Also, football was meant to be played outdoors. Get rid of domed stadiums!!!!

Originally posted by HaVoK
All artificial turf should be banned from football. Its just a cost preventive measure that does nothing but cause uneccessary injuries to players. Also, football was meant to be played outdoors. Get rid of domed stadiums!!!!
I couldn't agree more! Carpeted playing surfaces cause numerous problems for players, especially if they're worn through throughout the years. It's caused serious injuries in a lot of cases because of what's underneath, which as times can be concrete.

As for the domed stadiums, I agree with that too. This message goes to the vikings specifically.....you are a dome team, but think of how many advantages you would have if you were a cold-weather team like your "enemies" (you know who you are:)). GET OUTSIDE IN THE COLD WHERE YOU BELONG!

Originally posted by Decka
hey Lionel...the pack come to our house in week 3. After we beat Tennessee this week, we'll run ya down on artificial turf!!!

go colts!!!!

If I'd been paying attention to the schedule when it was originally annouced I'd have picked up some tickets and driven up. Oh well. I have a little more hope now that the DB McKenzie has decided to show up and play.

Fins need to clean house and start from scratch. They can start by dumping Bumstead as head coach.

........Silver & Black.

*really long inconsolable & aggravated sigh*


Jaselle

Good Lord the Packers really suck. I'm glad I canceled my NFL Sunday Ticket subscription.

Originally posted by LionelHutz
Good Lord the Packers really suck. I'm glad I canceled my NFL Sunday Ticket subscription.
Maybe instead of worrying about whether Lambeau will be cold enough for the Vikes, you should worry about how cold your team currently is.:D

all I can say is Cullpepper is the man! talk about lighting it up! did I say how happy I was to have him as my fantasy QB?

Originally posted by Travh20
all I can say is Cullpepper is the man! talk about lighting it up! did I say how happy I was to have him as my fantasy QB?

That would be sweet. I've got Bulger as my QB. But hey, I'm leading my league, so I'm not complaining.

now I wish I WOULD have started a fantasy team...culpepper/moss would be on it in a second.

shit man I tried to get an allforums league going but nobody was interested

I was interested, but I got so busy during the last part of my summer I never really had time to sit down and set one up (even if it only takes a few minutes probly)....maybe it's time to start planning for next year on that part.

Originally posted by Travh20
shit man I tried to get an allforums league going but nobody was interested

I thought about it but one's enough for me and the one I'm in pays cash money!

GO DOLPHINS!!!! They suck this year, but at least they have pretty colors and a good mascot!

At least you're not THE worst this year.....consult Trav about that one.

Originally posted by silverbulletkc
Yeah, how 'bout them vikings today?! Hopefully that carries over to next week cause they'll need it against what appears to be an unstopable McNabb/T.O. Combo in Philly.

yep. sorry, but that's a combo most of the teams in the league can't stop. don't be too harsh on your dynamite duo's (culpepper and moss); if i wasn't such an eagles fan, i'd be rooting for them. losing moss for a few weeks showed them that they were a team built around one man; they were forced to get stuff done without him and i think that made them all better players.
sorry guys, but my eagles are taking it this year!

p.s. by the way, trav,tell the niners thanks for t.o. !!

can anyone out there tell me WHY the saints are sucking so bad??? every year, they find something else to get bad at. they want to blame haslett, but it's not entirely his fault. these are grown-ass men that can't get out there and so what they get OVERLY paid to do!!

Originally posted by jennygadling
they want to blame haslett, but it's not entirely his fault. these are grown-ass men that can't get out there and so what they get OVERLY paid to do!!

It's the fault of Haslett for not knowing how to motivate them and it's the fault of the personnel guy for picking up a bunch of slackers. And if Haslett controls personnel too then I think there's only one answer . . .

Originally posted by LionelHutz
It's the fault of Haslett for not knowing how to motivate them and it's the fault of the personnel guy for picking up a bunch of slackers. And if Haslett controls personnel too then I think there's only one answer . . .

yes, that much is haslett's fault. but how about the scout that went after will smith, only to learn WHEN HE GOT HERE that he suffers from asthma. and the players who, obviously, cannot live up to their end of the bargains:playing friggin football. aaron brooks laughs everything off, deuce can't seem to hold onto a ball, and joe horn is too busy making calls on his cellphone and hugging goalposts to play consistently and efficiently.

Originally posted by jennygadling
B]yep. sorry, but that's a combo most of the teams in the league can't stop. don't be too harsh on your dynamite duo's (culpepper and moss); if i wasn't such an eagles fan, i'd be rooting for them. losing moss for a few weeks showed them that they were a team built around one man; they were forced to get stuff done without him and i think that made them all better players.
sorry guys, but my eagles are taking it this year![/B]
Dangerous lesson learned. Better to learn it sooner than later.

Originally posted by silverbulletkc
Dangerous lesson learned. Better to learn it sooner than later.

how very true

Even better that we learned it while Moss had a fairly minor injury (as in nothing season-ending), or else we would have been in deep trouble....and all my rants against packer fans would have been pointless.:)

that's what i say. i told my son (who is a huge vikings fan) that moss' injury came at the right time. it wasn't too early; where it would've put you guys in a very deep hole that would've been hard to crawl out of, and it didn't come too late in the season; where y'all would've watched your hopes of getting into the playoffs go down the toilet.

As a Packer fan, I can't find much sympathy for the hard luck of the Vikings in having Moss injured. In the last few weeks, we have been decimated at running back. Hopefully Ahman Green will be back this week. One reason that Favre has been on fire the last few weeks is that when we get ahead we've had no running game to go to.
We see you Vikings again soon, up in your dome, but first we get the Eagles Sunday. They've changed the kickoff to 3:15 on Sunday so it can be broadcast nationally. It's going to be a tough game, but we owe the Eagles one for their victory in the playoffs last year. It truly hurt when the Eagles converted on 4th and 26.

sorry, imagineer. i like you, but my eagles are going for it this year. i do hope that favre has a good season; he's one heck of a quarterback!!!

I like you too, but I've got to root for the Packers. I really hope we win Sunday. We need the win just to stay even with the Vikings. They play the Bears and I can't imagine that they will lose.

in the second quarter, we're actually down 10-7.....Understanding how last year went with the bears, we better not lose it again!

Well silverbullet, the Vikings lost. It boggles the mind, but they did. On the other hand, Philadelphia is pretty well destroying the Packers. Looks like the race for the North will remain the same unless something really surprising happens in the second half. Remember when I said our pass defense was weak, and an invitation to throw on us; well today has proven that point. Congratulations jennygadling, you must be happy watching this. You'll probably get to watch Philadelphia in the Super Bowl this year.

I've got either Philly or Pitt making it to the Super Bowl....and yes, my Vikings were just horrible today.

Originally posted by silverbulletkc
I've got either Philly or Pitt making it to the Super Bowl....and yes, my Vikings were just horrible today.

my man is a die-hard bears fan, so he was happy. but my son and i couldn't believe how bad they played.

i said in the beginning of the season: eagles and patriots. i'm thinking the steelers may be able to take them; i'd like to see philly and pittsburg play in the superbowl

Originally posted by jennygadling
i said in the beginning of the season: eagles and patriots. i'm thinking the steelers may be able to take them; i'd like to see philly and pittsburg play in the superbowl
I hate Philly with a passion, so I hope the Eagles crash and burn.

Originally posted by BorgHunter
I hate Philly with a passion, so I hope the Eagles crash and burn.

that's way harsh, borg. what did the eagles ever do to you? they're a great team. any team that can go out there and make a team like green bay look like they don't know how to play football is pretty damn impressive.

It's not necessarily what they did to Borg, but what the fans do. They're somf of the worst in sports (no offense to any philly residents).

Originally posted by Imagineer
Well silverbullet, the Vikings lost. It boggles the mind, but they did. On the other hand, Philadelphia is pretty well destroying the Packers. Looks like the race for the North will remain the same unless something really surprising happens in the second half. Remember when I said our pass defense was weak, and an invitation to throw on us; well today has proven that point. Congratulations jennygadling, you must be happy watching this. You'll probably get to watch Philadelphia in the Super Bowl this year.

thank you, for being ever so gracious. i didn't think it'd be that ugly, but hey! my boys came through!!!

Originally posted by silverbulletkc
It's not necessarily what they did to Borg, but what the fans do. They're somf of the worst in sports (no offense to any philly residents).

and yes, philly does have some moronic fans (not near as bad as the pistons fans, though); kind of embarrassing, actually. but andy reid and his team have worked hard; they deserve it!!

You know it's a pretty big beating when the announcers begin telling stories of their days in the NFL...by the way, jennygadling, I noticed you were from New Orleans, yet are an eagles fan...never had much going for the saints, didya? or have you just been an eagles girl since day one?

lol
yes, i'm from new orleans. i root for my saints, but year after year of disappointments gets old.
but i've been an eagles fan for years; BIG fan since randall cunningham was their qb.

I can understand how it feels rooting for a losing team. I have been a Packers fan since Vince Lombardi was hired as the new coach. It was great as a child, the Packers of the 60's were incredible. They won five championships in six years, and it probably would have been six in a row if Paul Hornung hadn't been suspended for a season for making a five dollar bet on a game with an old college team mate Alex Karras. Each bet on his own team to win.
Then came the 1970's and 1980's. In those years, a winning season was a good one. The playoffs were an impossible dream. Beating the Bears and Vikings occasionally was about all one could really hope for. Finally, we got the right team in the front office. Ron Wolf doing the personnel decisions, and Mike Holmgren coaching. It took a couple of years after that, but they built a winning team again.
New Orleans could do that. It starts with the right people at the top. Those people are harder to find than the athletes they draft and coach.

yeah, by starting over from scratch. you're right about the front office thing, though. they all need to go. there's talent on this team; they need the right people to shape it up.

Originally posted by Imagineer
Then came the 1970's and 1980's. In those years, a winning season was a good one. The playoffs were an impossible dream. Beating the Bears and Vikings occasionally was about all one could really hope for.

Ah, I remember the instant replay game as if it were yesterday . . .

Living in Minneapolis in the 1990-1994 football seasons was quite painful. The Vikings fans can be quite cruel. :sniff: The Pack didn't get really good until 1995. I remember seeing one of the last games the Packers played at Country Stadium. These two old hags behind me spent the entire game complaining about the Packer's young QB. "That f*cking Favre threw another f*cking interception! He's terrible!"

As an aside, I was watching the Brett Favre retrospective on ESPN Classic and they showed Mike Tice scoring a TD against the Pack way back when.

The Vikings run a long history in my family. I picked it up from my two uncles whom had been fans since the Fran Tarkenton/Mick Tingelhoff/Fred Zamberletti days. Guess it was just passed down to me, probly since around my middle school years (cause I can remember back in elementary school that I was a HUGE SD Chargers fan.....still kinda am, but for the majority, I'm all about the Vikes).

I remember the instant replay game as well. The fond memory I have is of Chester Marcol running his own blocked field goal in for a touchdown.
Favre was a raw talent when the Packers got him. A great arm, lots of heart, but no maturity. He always threw the ball to a reciever, irregardless of how well they were covered. Do you remember when he got a standing ovation the first time he threw the ball away?

Originally posted by Imagineer
I remember the instant replay game as well. The fond memory I have is of Chester Marcol running his own blocked field goal in for a touchdown.
Favre was a raw talent when the Packers got him. A great arm, lots of heart, but no maturity. He always threw the ball to a reciever, irregardless of how well they were covered. Do you remember when he got a standing ovation the first time he threw the ball away?
"Irregardless" is not a word. :)

It is if people use it. Otherwise we'd be speaking old English.

Originally posted by Imagineer
It is if people use it. Otherwise we'd be speaking old English.
It's in the dictionary as "nonstandard". People are being redundant when they say "irregardless". The word you are looking for is "regardless".

Many uses that are nonstandard become perfectly acceptable later on. I would not use it in a paper for school. In a social context, I hear it often, actually more often than I hear it used "correctly". The standard is changing. I do not hold with language purity.
Many words take on new meanings, or change spelling over time. Consider the word "auld". If you used that word today, people would say that you had spelled "old" incorrectly. Unless you are singing a certain song on New Years Eve, they would be correct.

Well call me a language traditionalist, then, because "irregardless" is a non-word to me. I also use "whom" instead of "who" when I am supposed to. Some things I just view as silly and superfluous, and "irregardless" is one of those things.

I'm with Borg - irregardless goes.

Next on the list: "supposably"

isn't it supposedly?

Originally posted by jennygadling
isn't it supposedly?

Yes.

i would just like to say that it annoys me you refer to this sport as football went quite clearly it is not, I am not clued up on the rules but surely the only time you kick the ball is when you fuck up. Real Football (or soccer as you call it) was created a long time before American Football, Surely the creator of this sport could of thought of a more inventive name than a copy of ours with american at the beginning.

One last thing. I cant believe that you Americans still dont follow soccer on a big scale. It is by far the best sport in the world and is probably the most popular! Football is the only sport i know which bringin throuasands of people from 16 to somtimes 32 coutries together in one city. And when you country does well the whole country celebrates. Name one of other sport that does that, In fact name anything else that does that???

You even did well in the last world cup but still no real country wide surport for the sport!!

Can anybody explain to me Why, With a real reason other than soccer is crap!

Originally posted by Hooligan2004uk
Can anybody explain to me Why, With a real reason other than soccer is crap!
Ok....because American football rocks!

Originally posted by silverbulletkc
Ok....because American football rocks!
Hear hear!

Originally posted by LionelHutz
Yes.

i thought so

soccer just isn't physical enough for us Americans. we like OUR football, where 300 pound men run over each other, trying to knock their heads off their shoulders. we like boxing, where the biggest, burliest men we can find beat eachother into a coma. that's OUR idea of sports

Originally posted by jennygadling
we like boxing, where the biggest, burliest men we can find beat eachother into a coma.
We do?? I don't...

Originally posted by BorgHunter
We do?? I don't...

we, as a nation. not necessarily you.

Originally posted by jennygadling
we, as a nation. not necessarily you.

We as a nation don't like boxing. Not necessarily you.

What's boxing? is that some holiday in Canada? :)

i'm saying that boxing is a sport that is enjoyed by many americans. it was an example of how we enjoy physical sports in this country