Prediction

After reading Travis Haney's opinion of the Buckeyes, I have a prediction of my own: Ohio State will absolutely not win the national championship.

2013 Projections

Thought everyone might be interested in Accuscore's 2013 projections. They should make you feel hopeful (which might be a bad thing) because they project the Tigers to win the division and the World Series.

"Never tell me the odds."

The Detroit News has a story on the odds of various teams winning the national championship, per Las Vegas Sports Consultants. Florida is the overall favorite at 2-1. Ohio State has the best odds from the Big Ten at 12-1. MSU has 75-1 odds; Michigan checks in at 150-1. Notre Dame is predicted to have 30-1 odds, which just seems silly to me. Eastern Michigan has 3,720-1 odds.*

*I made that up. That number and the title are both references to a particular movie; coolness points to whoever posts the source.

Big Ten Predictions

The Detroit News has a good roundup of preseason Big Ten football predictions. The general consensus: #1 Ohio State, #2 Penn State, #3 Michigan State, #6 Michigan.

9-7?

Mike O'Hara thinks that the Lions will go at least 9-7. Not necessarily playoffs, but enough wins to put them close. Is he crazy? Kitna sounded crazy last year, and just when it looked like the team might be able to deliver, they collapsed. Expectations aren't quite so high this year, but can they manage it?

Third Time's the Charm

A season like the Lions' 2007-2008 season would get some guys down. Not Jon Kitna. He expects to win 10 games this season. Of course. Let's break the Lions down for a bit. Last year, they had no running game, partly because the didn't actual try to run the ball. So they fire Martz and will presumably focus more on the run this year. To help with this they, uh, cut Kevin Jones and let go of T.J. Duckett, leaving them with Tatum Bell, rookie Kevin Smith, Brian Calhoun, and Aveion Cason. Well, that's one approach. Sure, they'll have more yards, but just handing the ball off more than twice a game will guarantee that. Defense? They drafted a LB. I'm guessing pretty much a wash here. Same at offensive line. WRs are about the same, possibly slightly better if Calvin Johnson improves. Kitna should be about the same; decent but making too many important mistakes. The schedule looks relatively favorable, so I'm going to say they'll end up between 6-10 and 8-8. Wildcard: If Drew Stanton comes back strong from injury and shows the spark he had in college, the Lions might just be able to push close to 10 wins. But probably not.

J-E-T-S

I posted earlier that the Lions should think about signing Jehuu Caulcrick as a free agent. Well, a few other teams had the same idea and the Jets actually did it. I'm not sure if he'll make it with the Jets, but I feel pretty certain Jehuu will make an NFL roster this year.

Wokka-Wokka-Wokka-Wokka

So, Pacman Jones has been traded to the Cowboys. Okay, for accuracy's sake, the trade needs to be finalized, but the they're planning on making the trade. The Titans will reportedly receive a 4th-round pick.

Here's a question: What is Dallas THINKING? Does Terrell Owens not give them enough headaches? What has Jones done to deserve a second chance? He's a pretty good player, but he's only had 4 INTs in his career. And his idea of rehabilitating his image during his suspension (which is still ongoing by the way) was to take up professional wrestling. Yeah, he's contrite. Dallas is going to regret this, and they're going to deserve it. Mark it down, I'll stand by this one.

Don't Pack Your Bags

Prediction: MSU will not be going to a bowl game this year. A team that can't win games in OT versus the likes of NU and Iowa isn't going to beat Michigan, Purdue, or Penn State. When you factor in that MSU really needs to win 2 of those games, MSU players better start making other plans for Christmas break.

Revolutionary

Tuesday Morning Quarterback has long decried punting in various situations where going for it would prove more beneficial. Now, with the backup of statistics from 10,000 simulated games, TMQ has unveiled the new sure-fire punting rules that will increase your odds of winning:

• Inside your own 20, punt.

• From your 21 to 35, go for it on fourth-and-2 or less.

• From your 36 to midfield, go for it on fourth-and-3 or less.

• From the opposition 49 to opposition 30, go for it on fourth-and-4 or less.

• From the opposition 29 to opposition 3, go for it on fourth-and-3 or less.

• From the opposition 2 or 1, go for it.

• Exception: inside the opponent's 25, attempt a field goal if it's the fourth quarter and a field goal causes a tie or gives you the lead.

TMQ also saw Michigan's upset loss coming, sort of. Here's a quote from last year:

"It's coming – I can feel it – the Revenge of the Cupcakes is in the air. College football's second echelon is tired of being hired to be clobbered. Sometime this season, a cupcake team is going to stage a major upset of a top 25 school. Thus sayeth the football gods."

There's also the expected TMQ all-haiku NFL season predictions. Read it all here.

Joey's The Man

With Michael Vick suspended, perhaps indefinitely, Joey Harrington is the man in Atlanta, and he's feeling pretty good about it. Harrington says he's much more comfortable in Petrino's offense than Detroit's much-maligned version of the West Coast offense.

I'm going to go out on a limb here: I think Harrington's going to have a successful season. I'm not saying Pro Bowl, but definitely top half of the league (I know, talk about faint praise). Just where would it leave Atlanta if they were successful with Joey and not Vick? This could be interesting to watch.

Wrecked?

Mike O'Hara of the Detroit News is predicting that the Lions will take WR Calvin Johnson of the Ramblin' Wreck with the second pick in the '07 NFL Draft. Says O'Hara:

Teamed with Roy Williams, who made the Pro Bowl last season, and Mike Furrey, who led the NFC with 98 receptions, the Lions would have a formidable group of receivers.

Gee, where have I heard that before?

10-6?

Mike O'Hara of the Detroit News thinks the Lions could go 10-6 this season. He gives a formula for making it to the big one-oh, though "avoid losing streaks" and "win on the road" are pretty obvious for any team. Kitna has mentioned this offseason that he think the team can win 10 too. So what's in the water in Detroit? From here, it smells like crazy.

10

How many wins does Jon Kitna think the Lions will have this coming season? "I really think we should not win any less than 10 games this year, to be honest."
.
..
...
....
Sorry, it took me a moment to recover from a furious fit of laughter. Read more here.