What fun is the coming season without putting some bold predictions out on the table. Last year I didn't do so bad, calling Notre Dame's debacle, sort of calling that Kentucky would pull off a huge upset, predicting that Rutgers was going to take a few steps back, and that the Big Ten champ would lose to LSU in the national championship game. Not bad, right?

Since I'm feeling extra confident, we're taking it up a few notches with 10 9 bold predictions and one guaranteed to be right.

10. Lou Holtz Will Be Wrong Every Week, Especially In Predicting 10+ Wins From Notre Dame
In typical Lou Holtz fashion, we'll state the obvious right off the bat in the hopes you'll think we're intelligent. Whenever I'm in doubt picking a game, I wait to hear what Lou has to say and then go the other way. It's as good a bellwether as any other.

Holtz got off to a great start last night by claiming that Notre Dame would win at least 10 games and that his other school, South Carolina would win the SEC East. Neither will happen, particularly the Irish prognostication.

Charlie Weis will have a better team this fall, no doubt, they aren't going to embarrass their fan base on a weekly basis, but they're also not going to light the country on fire. The one huge asset the Irish have in their favor is a schedule that is much more manageable.

A winning record is likely, but lets go ahead and chalk up losses to Michigan State, Pittsburgh, at Boston College and USC just for starters. I'm guessing Holtz wasn't much of a math major, because that's four losses. Anyways, onto some more serious predictions...

9. Pittsburgh will be 9-1 when West Virginia visits November 28th
Hard to believe, but yes a Chicago Bears fan is fully on board the Dave Wannstache bandwagon. LeSean McCoy is a legit Heisman talent, the Panthers get big play receiver Derek Kinder back, and have several quarterback options from which Wannstedt should feel comfortable. The schedule isn't terribly difficult and the defense is good enough for the Big East.

8. Kansas Jayhawks will fall back to 6-6
I realize they have a lot of the same players back, but this time the Jayhawks play the best of the Big XII South. Chalk up losses to Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech, in addition to Nebraska, Kansas State and South Florida. It's not that they're that much worse, but the schedule doesn't help out nearly as much.

7. Fresno State, not BYU is the non-BCS party crasher
Brigham Young is the better football team, but Fresno State has a schedule that sets up a little more favorably. After the Bulldogs upset Wisconsin September 13th, they'll vault into the Top 15 in the country and with an easy stretch during the heart of the season will rack up enough wins to climb them into the Top 10 before they visit Boise State for the deciding game. QB Tom Brandstater might be the quarterback who makes the biggest vault up draft boards this fall.

6. Michigan will go 6-6 in Rich Rodriguez first season
Naturally, I'll be accused of some bias here, but I just don't see this season going any other way. RichRod has said multiple times that his QB situation has kept him up all night. Now I know I shouldn't believe a word he says, but I do trust him on this one. And I don't think he's been up all night because he's thrilled with what he's got. There's no doubt that Michigan will find the perfect QB, someone even better than Pat White at West Virginia... it is Michigan after all. They don't recruit. They select. BUT, this year is going to be a debacle under center. Starting tomorrow against Utah will be former walk-on, former wasn't even good enough to hold a clipboard, Nick Sheridan. It may go well enough to beat Utah tomorrow, but as Big Ten approaches I don't like there odds of finishing any better than 4-4 in conference play. Wait till next year...

5. Kirk Ferentz will be looking, taking a new job after season's end
I'm not going to say he's fired, because he's a good coach, but couple a 3-4 win season with all the other off-the-field issues and I suspect Ferentz will explore other options. The good news though, is that Maine and Florida Int'l are the first two games on the schedule. Enjoy!

4. UCLA beats USC on the final weekend, pushing the Trojans out of the BCS Championship game
BCS madness erupts, again, after the Bruins and Rick Neuheisel stand up to Pete Carroll in their first showdown. It's at home, UCLA will have nothing to lose but another game, and Norm Chow will chew up a defense he knows very, very well. This sends USC behind Ohio State, despite beating them earlier and create a national title game everyone will hate.

3. Terrelle Pryor actually will live up the hype, helping Ohio State reach the BCS Championship
It's rare that a player getting as much hype as he has actually lives up to the hype in year one. Tim Tebow did it, and Jim Tressel will follow his model as far as playing time. He'll put Pryor into situations where he can be successful and slowly take more snaps form Todd Boeckman. In the end, it'll be his mobility that lifts the Buckeyes over Wisconsin and Michigan State on the road in close games, and an easy season ending win over Michigan.

2. Tim Tebow will win the Heisman (again)
Not terribly bold, but then again only one man has ever accomplished this feat previously. Most are predicting that the voters will shy away from voting Tebow simply because of their reverence for Archie Griffin and the Heisman mystique, but he's going to have a more successful season individual, and his team....

1. Florida Gators will defeat Ohio State (again) in the National Championship
Sorry, but it's going to happen. Brace yourself, and start stocking up on booze.

Te city of Los Angeles is about to begin its 14th season without an NFL team. The 2nd largest TV market in the country lost the Rams and the Raiders in 1994, and there hasn't been a replacement ever since.

Now, the NFL is reportedly considering sending a team there, possibly as soon as next season. Ed Roski, Jr. is building a new state of the art stadium, with the expectation that it will house an NFL franchise, and it looks like the NFL is cooperating with that vision.

While Roski and his business partner John Semcken wouldn't mention any particular teams, but back in April, Roski mentioned the New Orleans Saints, Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings, Jacksonville Jaguars, San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers as potential tenants for his new stadium.

I'm not sure that LA even deserves a team. They have had 2 in the past, and that's what Roski would like to see again, but they haven't managed to KEEP those teams. I realize that a lot of that had to do with the ownership, but it does not look good for a city when they have the population that LA does, and can't generate enough revenue to maintain a team.

That being said, LA might be a good move for some of the teams that Roski mentioned. For example, the Saints haven't had great attendance, even with the recent resurgence of their franchise, and they even played half their home games outside their state a couple years ago after Hurrican Katrina. It almost seemed like the rest of the country banded together and supported the Saints more than their own city did.

Roski and his investors are actually anticipating TWO teams eventually residing in LA. Could it really be true? We'll see. Apparently the NFL didn't learn the first time around.

Official: NFL to play in Los Angeles next season [SGV Tribune]

Is there a more non-descript division in any major sport than the NFC South? Even trying to name all the teams at once is difficult, because they’re so forgettable. Given the results they usually put up each year, it’s easy to see why. This year should be at least competitive mediocrity, as three teams could conceivably win the division (only to inevitably lose in round one).  However, we start the team break downs with the team that won’t compete.

4) Atlanta Falcons

The good news for the Falcons is that it’s a new season and no one got arrested for any major felonies in the off-season. I haven’t checked in a few hours though. The bad news is that this team is very much in rebuilding mode, and nothing shows that better than naming Matt Ryan the starting quarterback.  He gets a new toy is Michael Turner, but there’s still no guarantee he’s even better than the incumbent Small Sample All-Star on the team, Jerious Norwood. Ryan will also have Roddy White, who had a very good season for a guy catching balls from Joey Harrington and Chris Redman.  However, Alge Crumpler has left for Tennessee, and the offensive line was atrocious last year. Have fun, Matt.

If the Falcons have a strength, it should be the pass rush, led by John Abraham and Jonathan Babineaux, which the potential of Jamaal Anderson. However, there’s still no indication Atlanta can stop the run, and with DeAngelo Hall departed, the pass defense has taken a step back. All of this translates into another bad season on the field, with the hope that it at least won’t be an embarrassment off.

Prediction: 3-13

3) Carolina Panthers

Priority #1 on offense is to keep Jake Delhomme healthy so there is no temptation to bring back Vinny Testaverde. Priority #2 is to find Delhomme a target other than Steve Smith. For that, the Panthers brought back Mushin Muhammad and added D.J. Hackett. Those two should be serviceable, which is needed with Smith out the first two games and the rest of the receiving core being a bunch of who-dats. Priority #3 is to figure out how to use DeAngelo Williams and first round pick Jonathan Stewart together in the backfield. No matter what, they should be a better tandem than Williams and DeShaun Foster.

Priority #1 on defense is to figure out what caused Julius Peppers to only have 2.5 sacks last year and fix it. Not helping matters is that Peppers’ usual partners-in-crime on the defensive line, Kris Jenkins and Mike Rucker, are gone. Carolina needs to get back the consistent pass rush they used to have.  On the plus side, Jon Beason and rookie Dan Connor form a very tough linebacking duo, while the secondary is led by safety Chris Harris and his eight forced fumbles last year.

Overall though, the Panthers seem just kind of there, like they always are. Maybe their top priority is to get people to care about them.

Prediction: 8-8

2) Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Under Jon Gruden, Tampa Bay has mostly built the team through free agency.  Recently though, the Bucs have finally realized they need the draft too. Slowly, the defense, while still having stalwarts Derrick Brooks and Ronde Barber, has gotten younger.  This is led by Gaines Adams, who has the look of a great pass rusher. This year’s rookie class also has potential, at least when they’re not getting into fights during the rookie symposium.

Youth is starting to reign down offensively too. The Bucs actually have the youngest offensive line in football, filled with solid non-geriatric veterans like Jeff Faine and Davin Joseph. The problem is in the skill players. They are mostly still old. Quarterback Jeff Garcia is 38. #1 receiver Joey Galloway is 36. Ike Hilliard is somehow still the #2 receiver. Earnest Graham is not old, but the Bucs better hope he wasn’t a fluke, since Cadillac Williams’ availability is unknown and unreliable.

With the Bucs, if the skill players stay healthy and productive, they’ll probably win the division. If not, it could get ugly with the drop-off to the other 40 million Tampa quarterbacks and to remains of Michael Clayton and Antonio Bryant’s careers at wide out. This prediction splits the difference.

Prediction: 8-8

1) New Orleans Saints

Lost in Tom Brady’s amazing season was that Drew Brees broke the NFL record for completions in a season with 440. Of course, the reason for that is because the Saints’ running game collapsed when Deuce McAllister went down, and the offensive line was unable to stop anyone all year, forcing Brees to throw quickly all the time.

An offense with a lot of weapons already added Jeremy Shockey to it, which should help if Shockey can stay healthy and quiet. Reggie Bush, however, might be a bigger key. Now in year three, Bush must make progress as a running back with Deuce’s career in doubt. He’ll never be a consistent yard churning back, but the Saints would love a little less bust, even if it means a slightly smaller boom. The line also has to improve if Brees ever wants to take more than a three step drop ever again. However, New Orleans brings back the same line, minus center Jeff Faine who signed with the Bucs.

Defensively, the big problem was that the secondary collapsed, as seen right away in Week 1 against the Colts. Did they fix it? Well, Jason David, who was burnt more than toast last year, remains a starter with Mike McKenzie at corner. They also signed Randall Gay and the ancient Aaron Glenn. I’m gonna have to go with no on that question.  A better pass rush would help though, and that is certainly possible with first round pick Sedrick Ellis joining Will Smith and Charles Grant on the line. The linebackers, led by Scott Fujita and Mark Simoneau, seem solid but not spectacular.

This prediction feels optimistic given what I’ve written. I might be projecting my hope that the more exciting Saints make the playoffs over the duller Panthers and Bucs.

Prediction: 9-7

The Saints will be the only team to make the playoffs, meekly losing in the first round. The Bucs and Panthers, though, we’ll be in the hunt all year, at least in that “oh yeah, them” sense. Once again in the NFC South, mediocrity breeds apathy.

FanIQ Prediction System

Falcons
Panthers
Bucs
Saints

McCain's VP choice was apparently the first Erin Andrews. Well, not really. [Fanhouse]

Mike Conley Jr.'s dad (who was a triple jump gold medalist) dunks from about 5 inches behind the free three line. For some reason, Michelle Obama approves. [NESW Sports]

Eagles fans are definitely ready for the season to start. [Viceland]

Reasons why you should ignore the Big East in college football this year. [Rumors and Rants]

There's only one way to give a proper sendoff to an injured QB. With a one-fingered salute x2. [Loser With Socks]

Yankees fans are idiots. I couldn't agree more. [I'm Writing Sports]

Never do this your teammate. Ever. [Big League Stew]

The New England Patriots have won the AFC East for each of the last 5 years. This year, they aim to move one step closer to the LA Rams' record of 7 straight division titles, which they accomplished from 1973-1979. There's no reason to believe they'll fall short this year, with arguably the easiest schedule in the NFL, and in arguably the weakest conference in the NFL last year.

4th: Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins went a pitiful 1-15 last year. Although they hired the legendary Bill Parcells as "Executive Vice President of Football Operations", the Dolphins didn't do all that much to improve on the field. One key addition was QB Chad Pennington. While he's not exactly elite, he's certainly an upgrade over what they had last year in Cleo Lemon and John Beck. But they also lost future HOF defensive end Jason Taylor via trade. He was their lone bright spot on defense, and will be sorely missed.

Any success that the Dolphins have this year will hinge on the health of Ronnie Brown, the development of Ted Ginn as a legitimate receiving threat, and the ability of #1 overall draft pick OL Jake Long's ability to improve the protection for the quarterback. If all of those things go well for the Dolphins, they might be able to pick up 6 wins. Maybe. If not, Dolphins fans are in for another VERY long season.
Prediction: 4-12

3rd: Buffalo Bills
The Bills showed some signs of life last year, finishing 7-9, good for 2nd in the division. Marshawn Lynch looks like he's the present AND future of their backfield, but their QB situation is shaky, at best. The Bills will need to heavily rely on their defense to step up if they're going to even match last year's win total.

Fortunately for the Bills (and the rest of the AFC East), they play the NFC West and AFC West this year. Each division is full of bad teams. The 49ers, Cardinals, Rams, Raiders and Chiefs were all terrible last year, and have glaring weaknesses. If the Bills can beat up on those teams, and at least split their division games (2-0 against Miami, 1-1 against the Jets, 0-2 against the Patriots), then they have an outside chance at making the playoffs. But everything would need to go right for them for that to happen, and the chances are slim.
Prediction: 6-10

2nd: New York Jets
The Jets made some huge veteran acquisitions this offseason, picking up Alan Faneca, Kris Jenkins and some QB from Green Bay. Brett Favre is a huge upgrade at QB, which was one of their main problems last year. Chad Pennington was certainly not the answer, and the Jets don't think Kellen Clemens is ready to take over yet. So the trade for Favre made a lot of sense.

With the moves that they've made this season, the Jets appear to be in "win-now" mode. This is puzzling for a team that went 4-12 last year, because it appears as though they are still a few more pieces away from completing the playoff puzzle. But Eric Mangini believes that he can lead this team to the postseason. They probably can't win the division, but they certainly have a shot to make some noise in the AFC, especially if Favre plays at the level that he did last year.
Prediction: 9-7

1st: New England Patriots
The Patriots are ready to seek redemption after last year's disappointing Super Bowl loss. Although they lost Asante Samuel, one of the better cover corners in the league, and Donte Stallworth, a speedy 2nd WR, they have retained most of their 16-0 team from last year, and are ready to once again dominate the NFL.

With the assistance of the easiest schedule in the NFL (they only have 4 games against playoff teams from last year), the Patriots have a very legitimate chance to go 16-0 again. The only games that look to be especially challenging are @Indianapolis and @San Diego. The rest of the schedule is full of very winnable games.

The Patriots' most glaring weakness is in their secondary. Samuel is gone, Rodney Harrison is aging, and barely capable anymore, and the Patriots lack depth at CB. But the rest of the defense is as good as any other team in the league, and rookie Jerod Mayo looks to be a huge asset to their linebacking corps. The offense lost an underrated component in Stallworth, but if Chad Jackson and Lamont Jordan can step up, this year's offense can be more balanced, and possibly even better than last year, even if the statistics aren't quite so ridiculous. The Patriots will probably  lose one of the 2 games against the Colts or Chargers, and a lesser team will sneak up on them at some point as well.
Prediction: 14-2

Get ready for one more year of Patriots domination in this division, as the rest of the AFC East struggles to catch up.

What are your predictions for the AFC East this year?