The Official NFL Preview: BSB-Style (Recap)

As our loyal readers know, we here at BSB do our season previews a little bit differently than any old sports blog.  We have a contest, between Doogan and Bry, that is structured around whether we believe a each NFL team is better or worse than they were a year ago, and how confident we are in those predictions.  It is set up like a draft with all 32 teams in the hopper, and we go in order, selecting the teams we have the most (or least) confidence in their level of improvement (or regression).  For a better understanding of the system, feel free to check out either our NBA preview or our MLB preview, complete with midseason updates and, for the NBA, the final standings.  So, without further ado, we will begin our NFL preview.  Since Doogan had first choice for MLB, Bry will start the NFL.  [NOTE: The tiebreaker usually does not come into play in the NBA or MLB, but it is certainly something to watch out for in the NFL.  We do not have “pushes,” so if the team matches their total from last year, the person who selects them loses the bet, regardless of the direction they chose.  For instance, if you select the Eagles and the OVER, they have to win MORE than 8 games for you to get credit for that selection.]

So, now we are finished a pretty exciting NFL season, in which some teams made MONUMENTAL changes from a year ago.  In fact, I cannot remember an NFL season that was so different from the one directly preceding it.  Anyway, here we go with the final scoring of our annual “Preview Game – NFL.”  As usual, the updates will be in italics, directly following the pick itself–that was made before the season started.

BRY 1.  New England Patriots – UNDER 16 wins:  This is not exactly because I believe that the Patriots will take a large step backwards.  Though I do feel that they are not nearly as good as they were a year ago, I still think that they are at least among the best two or three teams in the NFL.  I just do not think they have a chance to go 16-0 again, even if they had the EXACT same team as a year ago.  But, they do not.  There are serious questions in the secondary and not-as-serious questions about the healthy of one Tom Brady.  Lord knows if Brady is hurt, even for one quarter, this will probably be the easiest prediction in the league.

11-5, CORRECT (bry 1 – doogan 0).  As Bry claimed, this was one of the easiest picks on the board–and it was made significantly easier when the forecast came true and Brady went down in Week 1, though I do not think the Pats would have made the “mistake” of going 16-0 again, regardless of Tom Terrific’s health.

DOOGAN 2. Miami Dolphins – OVER 1 win: I don’t think I need much analysis here.  I’d love to know when was the last time a team failed to win more than 1 game in consecutive years (I’m thinking the Bucs in the 70’s?).  An experienced quarterback like Chad Pennington should be good for at least 3 W’s.

11-5, CORRECT (doogan 1 – bry 1).  This actually turned out to be the best pick, as the Dolphins made a TEN-GAME TURNAROUND, with much to do with Chad.  There was little to believe that they wouldn’t win 2 games, but ELEVEN?

DOOGAN 3. New York Jets – OVER 4 wins: Looks like all the gimmies are in the AFC East.  This would be an easy pick even before Mr. Favre came aboard because this team under-achieved last year and has made numerous improvements, including solidifying the O-line with Alan Faneca and Damien Woody.

9-7, CORRECT (doogan 2 – bry 1).  Another very solid pick in the early-going, as the Jets were actually 9-3 at one point.  They had a terrible finish and fired their coach, but certainly improved over last year’s 4-win season.

BRY 4. Green Bay Packers – UNDER 13 wins: Don’t get me wrong, I actually think Aaron Rodgers is going to have a very, very good year.  I think this team is a legit playoff team, probably the favorite in the NFC North again, and maybe even good enough to earn a bye.  I see 10 or 11 wins, even without that other guy (what’s his name again?).  In fact, with their defense and weapons on offense, they are one of the two or three best teams in the NFC, and it wouldn’t be a big surprise to me to see them in the Super Bowl.  However, I think 13 wins is just a really tall order, especially with an improved division.  PS…Doogan, good choices with the AFC East teams, especially since they get a real break on their schedules, playing the two Western divisions.

6-10, CORRECT (bry 2 – doogan 2).  Though a lot of this analysis wasn’t very good, Bry did get the important one right, in that the Packers would win fewer than 13 games.  He was also right about the fact that the quarterback would not be the reason for their downfall.  He was pretty good–the rest of the team was not.

DOOGAN 5. New Orleans Saints – OVER 7 wins: I was going for Green Bay next also, so it looks like we’re thinking alike so far.  The Saints are a popular pick to turn things around this year, so I’m going to jump on that bandwagon.  They definitely should have one of the top offenses in the league and the defense isn’t completely incompetent.  They finished strong last year, they have a healthy Deuce McAllister coming into the year, and they’ve added Jeremy Shockey to the attack.  A pretty easy schedule will also help to give them at least 11 wins this year, I think.

8-8, CORRECT (doogan 3 – bry 2).  While the 11-win prediction feel dangerously short of losing the pick, outright, the Saints did eke out 8 wins and get Doogan the point for this pick.  We are 5-5 so far, but it only gets harder.

BRY 6. Cleveland Browns – UNDER 10 wins:  Last year’s surprise story is probably going to come back to the pack this year.  Not only do I believe that Derek Anderson is going to return to back-up quality starting quarterbacking (so much so that Brady Quinn will probably be in there by Week 9), but I also believe that Jamal Lewis will revert back to his washed-up status and Braylon Edwards will be all alone.  That and a ridiculously difficult schedule (they add easily the two best divisions in football–AFC South and NFC East–to an already pretty difficult divisional schedule).  It sounds, to me, like a 6 or 7 win team this year, and certainly not 10.

4-12, CORRECT (bry 3 – doogan 3).  They were even worse than Bry predicted, and nowhere near their 10-6 season of a year ago.  This is a bad team, with very little on the horizon–unless you believe in The Mighty Quinn.  Six straight, we are on a roll. 

DOOGAN 7. Chicago Bears – UNDER 7 wins: A few days ago, I was actually surprised to see that the Bears are pretty huge underdogs to the Colts for this week’s game.  Then I took a look at the players they’re running out there on the offensive side of the ball, and it became very clear to me that this team will be BAD.  Really, the lack of talent at the skill positions on offense is staggering, unless you really think that Devin Hester can turn into a game-breaking wide out, which is certainly possible, but I have to think there’s a reason he hasn’t played there over the first couple years of his career.  A good defense won’t be enough to offset the completely punchless offense and these guys are headed for 4-5 wins, and Lovie Smith is headed for unemployment.

9-7, WRONG (doogan 3 – bry 4).  First blood is drawn, as Doogan gets his Bears-under pick wrong.  Though, honestly, it seems like they did do it with smoke-and-mirrors, so Doogan’s pick doesn’t look that bad, even though they were two games better than last year.  I don’t really know how they did it, in retrospect.

BRY 8. New York Giants – UNDER 10 wins:  If we were taking an over-under on the season, in general, this would have been my #1 pick.  I think that the Patriots have a better chance of going 16-0 in the regular season than the Giants do of winning another Super Bowl.  In fact, I think this “flash in the pan” team of a year ago may lose double-digits this year.  After all, Eli is still their quarterback.  On a totally unrelated note, I hate the Giants more than North Korea, the Republican party, or even malaria.

WRONG (bry 4 – doogan 4).  And we’re tied again, as karma catches up with Bry and his hatred of the Giants.  Though, he was right about the main point, in that the Giants did not win the Super Bowl again.  Though, the double-figure loss prediction…well…uh…that was, uh, not exactly dead-on.

DOOGAN 9. Philadelphia Eagles – OVER 8 wins: And on that note, I’m pleased to make this completely unbiased pick.  I’ve now seen numerous experts that have picked the Birds to win the NFC, and I’m really not inclined to argue with them about that.  After all, I’m not the expert, they are.  Right?  I’m sure we’ll discuss this team more in the coming days/weeks, but I think 10 wins is well within their reach, and if they stay healthy and get some breaks, they could definitely win more than that.

9-6-1, CORRECT (doogan 5 – bry 4).  The “completely unbiased pick” came through for Doogan, though it wasn’t looking good around Thanksgiving.  The Eagles rallied, won the Wild Card and beat the Giants in the playoffs.  One more time–they beat the Giants in the playoffs.  Awesome!  I think we’re all happy to hear that and to see Doogan win this point.

BRY 10. Oakland Raiders – OVER 4 wins:  Since Doogan took my next “objective” pick, I will go with one that actually is devoid of emotion.  The Raiders have to be better than they were last year, right?  They have a full year with JaMarcus Russell and they have a highly-touted running back, and, as we saw last year in Minnesota, rookie running backs don’t need much time to make an impact.  Plus, to match their four wins of last year, they would only need to avoid losing to Kansas City, Atlanta, and Miami.  I think they will get those 4 and at least one more.

5-11, CORRECT (bry 5 – doogan 5).  Well, it is debatable as to whether the Raiders were “better than they were last year,” but it is a fact that they won one more game this year.  And, that one game?  Well, it just happened to be Week 17, on the road, against the Tampa Bay Bucs, catapulting the Eagles into the most unlikely of playoff appearances.  And, who did they beat in the playoffs, again?  Oh, right the Vikings and then some blue team from up north somewhere.

DOOGAN 11. Minnesota Vikings – OVER 8 wins: This is just a good, solid team.  They have a strong defense, a solid offensive line, a capable head coach, and a budding superstar in the backfield.  They very well might get beat by the Packers on Monday night, but I think at the end of the season they’ll be atop the NFC North with about 11 wins.

10-6, CORRECT (doogan 6 – bry 5).  Excellent pick by Doogan here.  He predicted 11 wins, got 10, and only needed 9.  He was also right on about the Vikings winning the NFC North, behind their “budding star” in the backfield.

BRY 12. Washington Redskins – UNDER 9 wins:  Well, with the Vikings pick, we are officially into the “this-is-getting-difficult-way-earlier-than-I-expected” territory.  So, I am going to go with a team that I don’t think is all that good in one of the two best divisions in football.  I am not sold on Jason Campbell, and I’m even less sold on his wide receiver corps.  I think their defense is average, at best.  And, who the hell is Jim Zorn, anyway?  All of this is a recipe for a sub-.500 team.  Remember, they needed 4 straight at the end of the season last year, just to get to 9-7.

8-8, CORRECT (bry 6 – doogan 6).  By one game, Bry makes a nice pick here.  Jason Campbell proved to be either “not there yet” or “not good” and, as predicted, the receiving corps was rather pedestrian.  Jim Zorn looked like a genius (just ask Mr. Portis) for about a month, and then he remembered that he was Jim Zorn.

DOOGAN 13. Buffalo Bills – OVER 7 wins:  This is a young team with a lot of key players that gained valuable experience last year, namely quarterback Trent Edwards and running back Marshawn Lynch.  With a favorable schedule, they should take second place in the AFC East and challenge for a playoff spot.

7-9, WRONG (doogan 6 – bry 7).  This has got to be a pretty devastating point to lose for Doogan.  He was pretty much right on with how he envisioned this team, but they simply imploded down the stretch, lost a slew of close games, finished 7-9, and cost Doogan a point.  Ouch.

BRY 14. Tennessee Titans – UNDER 10 wins:  If the NFC East is not the best division in football, the AFC South most certainly is.  I don’t have any reasons why the Titans are any worse than they were a year ago, but I don’t think they had 10-win talent last year, and I still don’t.  Vince Young, though the proverbial “winner,” probably won’t get them to double-digits again this year.

13-3, WRONG (bry 7 – doogan 7).  And, we are tied once again, after this simply atrocious pick by Bry.  The only reason he gave for possibly getting this one wrong was the fact that Vince Young is a “winner.”  Well, guess what?  Vince Young is actually a lunatic and the Titans still finished three games BETTER than last year.  Yeah, great pick here, genius.

DOOGAN 15. Detroit Lions – UNDER 7 wins:  I don’t have many reasons for this pick, but I think, in general, it’s a pretty great idea to bet against the Detroit Lions.  Mike Martz is gone from the offense and, say what you want about the guy, his offenses put up points and they don’t necessarily need a running game to do it.  Now he’s gone and Detroit still doesn’t have a running back they can rely on (there’s a reason the Bengals cut Rudi Johnson).  So I expect the Lions to battle it out with the Bears for last place in the NFC North.

0-16, WRONG (doogan 8 – bry 7).  Doogan got this, well, rather comfortably.  Looking back at the picks, it is telling that it took this long for us to go under 7 wins for the WORST TEAM IN NFL HISTORY.  But, I think (and hope) that that says more about just how quickly the Lions went from mediocre to atrocious than it does about how quickly our picks took that same route.  Either way, Doogan gets a pretty easy point and is back on track.

BRY 16. Indianapolis Colts – UNDER 13 wins:  As good of an idea it is to bet against the Lions, it is just as bad of an idea to bet against the Colts, but I’m going to do it anyway.  I still think they will make the playoffs and probably win 11 or 12 games, but I think that they are more likely to win 10 than they are to win 13, so I am going against them.  I don’t really think that pros like Manning and Harrison will be affected by their offseason distractions (much different kinds of adventures, but still distracting nonetheless), but I do think that the strong division and relatively tough schedule has the Colts not winning 13 again.  Yes, I also like to fire up Michael Stockman by picking against the Colts and Cardinals whenever I get the chance.

12-4, CORRECT (bry 8 – doogan 8).  If you had said that the Colts would have a 9-game winning streak and Peyton Manning would win the MVP, I think it would have been safe to say that Bry would have lost this pick, but somehow, he survived it, as the Colts lost the requisite four games in seven weeks.  Oh, and the only thing better than firing up Mr. Stockman with an anti-Colts pick is when that anti-Colts pick turns out to be correct.

DOOGAN 17. San Diego Chargers – OVER 11 wins:  It’s always a little tough to pick a team to hit the over on a big number like 11, but the Chargers have a cake-walk of a schedule and, of course, are definitely a Top-5 team in terms of talent.  The presence of Norv Turner is a concern, but if you look over the Charger schedule, it’s hard to find 5 games on it that they’ll lose, with or without Shawne Merriman.

8-8, WRONG (doogan 8 – bry 9).  It turns out that good ole Norv may have been more of a concern than the talent there could handle.  Though, in Doogan’s defense, the team that ended the season–beating Indy in the playoffs–looked a lot more like a 12-4 team than an 8-8 team.  What a weird season, huh?

BRY 18. St. Louis Rams – OVER 3 wins:  Hopefully, I don’t start being “right” about this one until Week 2, as the Rams open with the Eagles on Sunday, but I am thinking that the Rams have to be better than the awfulness that they put on the field last year.  They still have talent, and they were crushed by injuries last year.  I don’t see this team contending for anything in the near future, but i do think they should pull out 5 or 6 wins after they get crushed on Sunday.

2-14, WRONG (bry 9 – doogan 9).  So far, Doogan has gotten three picks wrong, and each and every time, Bry has followed that up with a wrong pick, himself.  Interesting.  Anyway, the Rams were bad, we both knew they were bad (waiting 17 rounds before picking them against a 3-13 season), and yet Bry still goes over, and pays the price.  We are tied again.

DOOGAN 19. Cincinnati Bengals – UNDER 7 wins:  There’s that old cliche that goes something like, “If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse”.  I don’t see how the Bengals have gotten any better.  I also think it doesn’t bode well for the franchise as a whole that they were willing to bring back Chris Henry after all the things he has done and all things the team has been through with off-the-field issues.  They also have running back issues and the defense has never been fixed.  Add the Chad Ocho Cinco drama/distractions to the mix, and this looks like a 5 win team.  Hopefully we can go back to calling them the Bungles.

4-11-1, CORRECT (doogan 10 – bry 9).  Doogan gets back on track with a solid pick against the “Bungles.”  Calling for five wins, Doogan actually got four plus that fateful tie, so this turned out to be a really good pick.  The only problem here is that we have a tough line for next year because this looks like about a 4-win team for a while.

BRY 20. Houston Texans – UNDER 8 wins:  It is getting pretty tough now, and yes, this is the 3rd team in this division on which I have picked the UNDER, which may all be just about mathematically impossible.  However, I do not see 8 wins in this Texans team.  Yes, they are better than their first 3 or 4 years in the league, but 9-7 is a playoff contender, and they are not a playoff contender.  So, that means that the best they can be is 8-8.  I’m willing to bet that they won’t make it to 8 again this year.

8-8, WRONG (bry 9 – doogan 11).  And Doogan breaks through to take a commanding 2-point lead, as the Texans hit their last year’s total on the number.  This pick was looking good for a while, but then Andre Johnson decided to be the best player in football and carried his team to a .500 season and more “optimism” in Houston.  How many years in a row now have they given their fans “hope” going into a season?  And, yes, those quotation marks are there with a purpose.

DOOGAN 21. Jacksonville Jaguars – OVER 11 wins:  Yes, the toughness level just went up another notch here, and I’m picking another team on over 11 wins.  The Jags are really good and they have a very good shot at ending the Colts reign atop this division.  I’m slightly worried about David Garrard possibly taking a step backwards after a great season last year, but I think he’s legit and that this team is also.

5-11, WRONG (doogan 11 – bry 10).  And, Bry gets right back in the game here with a pretty bad pick by Doogan.  It was a very surprising down-turn for the Jags after such a promising year last year, but they were flat-out bad this year.  Garrard was, well, who we thought he was, and the O-line just never recovered from the rash of injuries early in the season.  It should be really interesting to see where this team goes from here, having already made a major organizational decision to cut the face of the franchise and future Hall-of-Famer, Freddie Taylor.

BRY 22. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – UNDER 9 wins:  Jeff Garcia is a year older, but Jon Gruden is a great coach.  The offense seriously lacks weapons and did not do anything to improve, but the defense is returning to a relative level of dominance.  The division is getting better, but is still not overly difficult.  All of this leads me to think that if I had to pick a number for the Bucs, it would be 8-8.  And, since they won 9 games last year, and the other remaining teams are very difficult to predict, I will go with my 8-8 prediction and take the UNDER.

9-7, WRONG (bry 10 – doogan 12).  If you just think of the Tampa Bay season, you would never, ever think that there was anything positive with the way it finished.  Their fans have to be sick.  But, if there was ever a silver-lining, it is that they did not hit the under in the BSB NFL Preview and, because of that, cost Bry a point.  See, it’s not that bad. 

DOOGAN 23. Dallas Cowboys – UNDER 13 wins:  This is, of course, a pick that I love to make, but the fact that it’s happening at #23 shows that both of us think Dallas is for real.  They have a ton of weapons, on both sides of the ball, and no glaring weaknesses, but 13 is a whole bunch of W’s, so smart money has to be on the Under here.  I see them winning 11 or 12.

9-7, CORRECT (doogan 13 – bry 10).  Wow, this could not have turned out any better for Doogan.  Not only does he take a huge 3-point lead, but it is on the back of predicting one of the more stunning–and personally-fulfilling–disappointments of 2008.  Both of us thought that the Cowboys were for real; both of us were wrong; and, Doogan is the one who profited most.

BRY 24. Baltimore Ravens – OVER 5 wins:  In the effort of full disclosure, I live in Baltimore.  Therefore, I know how awful the fans are and how stupidly optimistic they are about their Ravens.  I am not that way.  I see this team as a 7-win team–at best.  But, this defense is too good–regardless of how bad the offense is (and it is bad)–not to win at least 6 games.  Yes, their schedule is rough, but I believe in Ray Lewis.

11-5, CORRECT (bry 11 – doogan 13).  Sometimes when you’re right, you just take the point and move on.  That is the case here for Bry, as he predicted the Ravens to be “at best” a 7-9 team.  Well, they won 11 regular season games and two playoff games, en route to the AFC Championship game.  In fact, even with a brutal schedule, they finished the season a remarkable 13-3 against NFL teams that do not play their home games in Pittsburgh.

DOOGAN 25. Seattle Seahawks – OVER 10 wins:  This is a pick that probably isn’t that smart on paper, but I basically just have a hunch that the Seahawks are headed for a very strong season.  The defense has a lot of talent and Matt Hasselbeck just gets the job done.  I’ll put them at 11-5 this year.

4-12, WRONG (doogan 13 – bry 12).  Well, Doogan’s hunch was wrong–very wrong.  Though, to be fair, the Seahawks were (along with a couple of Doogan’s other picks–the Jags and Chargers) one of the more surprisingly disappointing teams this year.  The future of the Seahawks is one of the more interesting stories in the NFL, moving forward, as this team still has the talent that won all those NFC West titles and one conference title, but it’s aging.  Do they rebuild after the 4-12 disaster or do they write it off and make one more run at a title with this nucleus?  We shall see.

BRY 26. Pittsburgh Steelers – UNDER 10 wins:  I have a lot of trouble betting against the Steelers, which I believe is one of the best-run organizations in all of sports (probably top 5, but I haven’t really thought about it), but I think they might struggle a bit to reach 10 wins this year.  Though I bet against the Browns, every division game should be a war because these four teams clearly hate one another.  Plus, the Steelers have tough games against 3 major title contenders:  Indy, San Diego, and Dallas.  Not to mention the fact that they had one of the worst offensive lines in football last year AND they lost their best O-lineman in the offseason.  Tough to do, but I’m going UNDER on the Steelers.

12-4, WRONG (bry 12 – doogan 14).  12-4 in the most difficult schedule in the NFL.  Was there any doubt that the best team in the league won the Super Bowl this year?  With all the talk of parity and “crapshoot” tournaments, even in this crazy NFL season that had two #6 seeds in the conference title games and the Arizona freakin’ Cardinals leading the Super Bowl late in the fourth quarter, this NFL tournament produced a champion that was, unquestionably, the best team in the league.  By the way, the under probably wasn’t the best call for the “best team in the league,” regardless of who is on their schedule.

DOOGAN 27. Arizona Cardinals – UNDER 8 wins:  It seems like every season you hear, “Look out for the Cardinals, they’re finally gonna turn it around this year”.  Last year, they finally came through to a certain extent, getting to .500.  I’ve never bought into the Cardinals as a playoff team, and with the unsettled and unencouraging quarterback situation, I have to pick them for a sub-.500 season.

9-7, WRONG (doogan 14 – bry 13).  So, the two Super Bowl teams go back-to-back with under picks.  Yes, it is a lot harder in these later rounds.  Anyway, the Cardinals only went one game over their total last year, but with Doogan thinking they’d be a game or so under, he got this one wrong.

BRY 28. Carolina Panthers – OVER 7 wins:  I feel like we’ve both picked a lot of UNDERs, and someone has to, ya know, win, I guess I’ll pick the team that I overrate EVERY single season.  Last year, I think I picked the Panthers to win the NFC.  I’m not going to go that far this year, but I do think (probably incorrectly) that this team will win at least one-half of their games.  [Interesting Note: Did you know that for FIVE straight seasons the winner of the NFC South finished LAST place the year before?  I don’t think that the Falcons will win it this year, but that is incredible.]

12-4, CORRECT (bry 14 – doogan 14).  Well, Bry finally hit with the Panthers, though they looked really bad in the playoff loss to Arizona.  Will they go get another quarterback?  Is Jake Delhomme really that bad?  Either way, they won 12 regular season games, and that brings us back to even after 28 picks.  The final four picks will decide this one, folks.  It’s a true nail-biter!

DOOGAN 29. Denver Broncos – OVER 7 wins:  Alright, we’re pretty much at coin-flip time.  Of course, I’ll look really dumb for saying that when the Broncos come out of nowhere to win 14 games. Or lose 14.  Who knows, really.  But I think this is a .500 team, so that means 8 wins.  A good franchise, but they don’t have the talent that they used to have on the D-line and at linebacker.

8-8, CORRECT (doogan 15 – bry 14).  What a clutch pick, there, as Doogan absolutely nails this one.  They did struggle mightily on the D-line and at linebacker, and more importantly, they finished at 8-8–exactly as Doogan predicted they would.  Wow!

BRY 30. Kansas City Chiefs – OVER 4 wins:  There are a lot of rookies on this team, and this team is very short on talent.  However, the best home-field advantage in the league (maybe other than Seattle) and an oft-criticized, yet underrated coach, might get this team to 5-11.  Like Doogan said, we’re in coin-flip territory, but 4 wins is very few, so I’ll take this side of the coin.

2-14, WRONG (bry 14 – doogan 16).  And, Doogan’s magic number is down to one, as he clinches at least a tie.  Bry should lose two points for calling Herman Edwards “underrated.”  That is just an awful comment.  By the way, what is the only thing worse than finishing 2-14?  Finishing 2-14 and still only having the THIRD pick in the draft.  Yes, there are two teams picking BEFORE the 2-14 Chiefs this April.

DOOGAN 31. Atlanta Falcons – OVER 4 wins:  This is basically another “hunch” pick, even if it’s a hunch based on the fact that A) there are a bunch of really bad teams headed to the Georgia Dome to play the Falcons this season, and B) to quote Bry, 4 wins is very few.

11-5, CORRECT (doogan 17 – bry 14).  Talk about winning in style!  Doogan comes through with the 31st pick to take one of the biggest surprises of the year.  A 4-12 team a year ago with a rookie QB and a rookie coach, and they go to the playoffs with an 11-5 record.  What a way to win it for Doogan.  Great clutch call.  Doogan just won this one with some big-time performances down the stretch.  That is what champions are all about.  What a thrilling victory for Doogan and a heart-wrenching defeat for Bry.

BRY 32. San Francisco 49ers – OVER 5 wins:  So, you left me the Niners and 5, huh?  I guess I’ll go over for no other reason than their division is really bad and 5 wins is really not very many.  I’m not comfortable with it, but I have to pick a side, and UNDER 5 seems a bit ridiculous, especially since this team does have a little talent.  How did this team go from so well-run to so poorly-run so quickly?

7-9, CORRECT (bry 15 – doogan 17).  Bry at least goes out on a decent note with a nice pick at #32 of the ‘Niners and the over.  Is it crazy to call this team the favorite in the NFC West next year?  Too soon?

Well, that’s that for the 2008 BSB NFL Preview-Recap.  Congrats to Doogan on the 17-15 victory.  Bry has to settle for a nice finish giving his fans completely unwarranted hope for a big year next year (a la the Houston Texans).

We will be back in a couple of weeks with the 2009 MLB edition, so until then, this is the BSB Season Preview Staff, signing off.