So ESPN beat me to it yet again and my top ten won’t be out till tomorrow but here’s my 2008 preseason NFL rankings from teams 32-11:

11. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES: If the Eagles can take all of the pieces (Brian Westbrook’s amazing speed and moves, new acquisition CB Asante Samuel’s confidant playing style, and Donovan McNabb’s natural leadership among others) they have one of the best teams in the NFL.  But that’s a very big ‘if’. 

12. TENNESSEE TITANS: Firing OC Norm Chow because Vince Young’s growth wasn’t going exactly to plan was the WORST decision Tennessee could have made.  The WORST. 

13. CAROLINA PANTHERS: Carolina fans can’t get enough of Jake Delhomme but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  Delhomme’s return, an “easy” schedule, the addition of D.J. Hackett and Muhsin Muhammad to the receiving corp which already features Steve Smith, and a pair of intimidating LBs in Jon Beason and Landon Johnson, are all good signs for Panther’s fans. 

14. CLEVELAND BROWNS: This team lacks excitement.  Not only does it lack the flash that players like T.O. bring for better or worse to the table but it lacks what’s far more important – substance that excites.  That is, a team of playmakers who inspire the best in one another and can pull a win out of thin air. 

15. NY JETS: Eric Mangini is a coach whose talents are finally being appreciated and Brett Favre brings needed star-power and consistency to a very inconsistent team.  Make no doubt, this team is more ‘with-it’ than last year and has finally responded well to Mangini’s complex playbook along with the gregarious new linemens coach, Bill Callahan.  They’ll definitely improve from last season’s 4 wins but it’ll be hard to step out from the Patriot’s long shadow in the AFC North

16. MINNESOTA VIKINGS: Adrian Peterson is well on his way to becoming a superstar.  It’s only his team that’s holding him back and although RB Peterson isn’t bitter, Minnesota fans are increasingly so as they wait impatiently for a better passing game (including a far better QB) to match their ground game. 

17. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS: I think the addition of Jeremy Shockey has been overrated by most commentators and he doesn’t add too much to the team which they didn’t already have (albeit he made it stronger).  I liked the McAllister-Bush tag team RB set up but now I think the way for the Saints to win is by putting all of their eggs in the air-game basket and rest their fate in Drew Brees’ dependable hands.  

18. DETROIT LIONS: Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson are what the Lions have going for them.  Add a little luck and they might get something going. 

19. CINCINNATI BENGALS: Probation jokes aside, this team has some serious issues.  It seems unable to function as a single unified team.  That being said, RB Rudi Johnson, QB Carson Palmer, and others on offense will contribute to the Bengals’ fast and agile offensive strike. 

20. CHICAGO BEARS: Sports commentator Matt Mosley said that the QB position has “held the franchise hostage for years, and nothing will change” and I couldn’t put it better myself.  The Chicago defense will continue to live up to reputation (despite an off year last season) but not much else will get going. 

21. ARIZONA CARDINALS: Their deep pool of talent is beginning to pay off.  Now if only Matt Leinart could live up to his potential. 

22. TAMPA BAY BUCANEERS: Jeff Garcia is all they have.  With at least some sort of a supporting cast and a few years off his age that might be enough.  But that’s not the case here.

23. BALTIMORE RAVENS: Their motto practically is “forget today, think about tomorrow.”  Like the neighboring Orioles, their season is being defined as a building year to develop young talent.  The key is to see if Delawarean (strange word I know), Joe Flacco can make something in the NFL.  Same goes for Troy Smith for that matter although his future is perhaps less in doubt. 

24. HOUSTON TEXANS: They’re still searching for their breakout season and although every year they get successively better this isn’t it.  Although if there was one team in the bottom tier who just might crack the playoffs it would be the Texans. 

25. DENVER BRONCOS: Champ Bailey’s great but don’t expect all of the interceptions in the world to mean much if the rest of your team is fundamentally flawed.  Oh John Elway, where are you when we need you? 

26. KANSAS CITY: Almost everyone on the team is a rookie or showing their age veterans.  The ‘stars’ Larry Johnson and Tony Gonzalez are past their prime and no one looks likely to pick up the torch anytime soon. 

27. OAKLAND RAIDERS: Few bright spots shine here.  Former hokie CB DeAngelo Hall, RB Darren McFadden, and the committed fans are pretty much it.   

28. BUFFALO BILLS: Few who saw it can forget the Bills’ Monday night near win over Dallas last season.  But those who do will do wise to remember the most important part: despite all of Dallas’ uncharacteristic mistakes, Buffalo still could not pull off the win at home.  Seriously.

29. SAN FRANSISCO 49ers: Despite plenty of talent – recognized and otherwise – including RB Frank Gore who ran for over 1,500 yards last year (who was on my fantasy team), the 49ers still can’t put together a coherent strategy for winning games. 

30. ATLANTA FALCONS: The Falcons are becoming desperate.  Nothing epitomizes that more than Coach Mike Smith’s move to place rookie QB Matt Ryan of Boston College infamy (pause, reflect, take a deep breath, and move on Hokies) as the starting quarterback.  In defense of Coach Smith, his other QB options (Chris Redman perhaps the best among them) hardly showed themselves to be of high caliber.  The listless Falcons will likely continue their downward path towards the bottom of the NFL barrel with few offseason moves to be proud of. 

31. MIAMI DOLPHINS: Well…it can’t get worse, right?  At least they don’t have to suffer the indignation of losing in front of British fans this year. 

32. ST. LOUIS RAMS: If your team is in such a bad state that all fans can talk about is how talented Steven Jackson is, over and over again, seek help.   

I will buy a steak for anyone who predicted Kansas and Memphis would be playing each other with the national championship on the line.  For a year when all of the number one seeds made it to the final four, this post regular season has still offered more than it’s share of ups and downs.  Cinderellas like Davidson made serious bids while powerhouses like Georgetown and Duke stumbled.  The most interesting team in season however has been Memphis.  The mid-major which has played like a powerhouse with a long tradition of national champions, has had a remarkable year with a single blemish coming from a single loss (by only four points to a good Tennessee squad). 

Underrated but undeterred, the Tigers have far exceeded everyone’s expectations.  Like most everyone else I bought into the “Memphis doesn’t deserve to be ranked so highly” talk and had them loosing in the elite eight.   Like everyone else, I now realize how talented they are and how playing in Conference USA didn’t artificially inflate their impressive regular season record.  Their coach John Calipari, and their star Chris Douglas Roberts, have established Memphis as a high powered team which excels off the fast break and can over-play any team in the paint. 

Memphis’ success gives fuel to teams like Fresno State who argue that college football needs a similar playoff system so that underrated teams from smaller conferences with less national spotlight will have the opportunity to silence detractors. 

Regardless of their implications for other teams, much less other sports, Memphis is playing like champions right now and have that powerful sports incentive of being the ‘underdog’ in their match up with Kansas.  I for one, will be rooting for Memphis to win - a decision made all the more easier because my bracket has failed so miserably I have no chance of salvaging anything resembling a respectful finish.   

For all of you baseball fans out there, I’m not kidding. My favorite team is now offically the Washington Nationals. No, it isn’t because of their mad baseball skills. It’s because of those charmingly oversized foam-headed presidents that frantically and awkwardly race each other all the time.

My significant other and I were watching the opening day game on Sunday. (By that I mean he was screaming at the Braves and I was rolling my eyes.) Amidst this hubbub, I saw it: The Single Most Beautiful Thing I Have Ever Seen At A Baseball Game.

I know I am a late bloomer; I am sure most of you have been slapping your knees while watching our caricatured forefathers long before my encounter. But it was love at first fall. When Jefferson bit the dust, I was hooked. When Lincoln tripped over him and ate it, I could have died a very happy woman. Lucky for me (and my room mate), we have DVR. So we proceeded to watch it over and over again (and in slow motion)– much to the dismay of my boy-thing.

I decided to YouTube this patriotic phenomena.

For your viewing pleasure:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM5p7fXEL0k

I think that one is even better than the one I saw. I think Washington’s a cheater.

I am a Patriots fan. This has to do partly with the fact that they are a good team, but more to do with the fact that I am from New England originally. I lived in Foxborough briefly, actually. And as a child I used to go to Foxborough to eat at the Foxborough House of Pizza. My family and I always sat at the same table that my parents sat at when they were dating.

Well, that is beside the point. I just want to emphasize right away that I am a Patriots fan. I feel horrible for the team that they lost. However, I’m glad that Tom Brady lost. If he weren’t on the team I’d feel tremendously sorry about the Super Bowl fiasco, but since he on the team a small part of me was rather happy to hear that they lost.

I despise Tom Brady and I’ll be totally honest about that. I think he’s arrogant. Worse, I think he’s a hypocrite and an indecent person. As soon as his long-time girlfriend Bridget Moynahan gets pregnant, he dumps her and runs off with Gisele Bundchen. What an indecent thing to do. The ironic part is that he used to go to events about family values like the President did. Then he starts a family and he sure doesn’t value it.

Yes, I understand that he can’t and shouldn’t be forced to marry Bridget Moynahan and make his kid legitimate. However, if he were a decent human being he wouldn’t have to be made to do the right thing. Tom Brady would have married Bridget Moynahan freely. It isn’t like they weren’t together very long.

That guy has been tremendously lucky in life and makes a lot of money for what he does. I like to know that people who have had that kind of good fortune are good people. This is probably naïve, but to me being able to play football is not enough reason to like someone. If the person in question is an indecent or dishonest person I won’t like them. So I’m glad to see Tom Brady get taken down a peg or two in a sense. If I were Bridget Moynahan I would have been laughing.

Don’t fret college fans. What you simply have yet to learn as just a casual fan is that recruiting is a year-long process. Your favorite team is constantly checking out new prospects, making phone calls, visiting players all over the state and region or even country. The soft sweet underbelly of college football is recruiting and I mean no offense by this, but every real diehard college football fan is aware of this.

These are the guys in your group of friends who follow sports a bit too closely and act like a know-it-all and get under your skin. Well sadly, if you can’t tell me who your team is already recruiting in 2009 (meaning they won’t even be on your team until then, let alone starting a game), I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you’re not as knowledgeable as you may think.

Virginia Tech has one of its best classes of recruits coming in 2008. On February 6th 2008, nearly every player will sign with his preferred team. Players can verbally commit before this, but this is a non-binding agreement and there are countless heartbreaking moments every team has to go through where a player may have verbally committed months in advance but signs elsewhere.

For those of you who miss the ups and downs of the college season, do a search for recruiting. There are dozens of sites to visit and countless guys who you will want desperately to be on your team who end up elsewhere. I’ll be writing a series on the new players who will be Hokies as the Signing Day approaches along with some analysis on their possible impact on the team. If you’re really fiending to know if we’ve got any new big time talent, you can either wait for my update or get on the ball already and get yourself a membership to a recruiting website.

AFC

For all the pre post-season hype of a colts-pats match up for the nfc title, instead we see the chargers suiting up to play the men from New England.  Although I’m a little disappointed – not least of which because Tony Dungy may now be retiring – San Diego has earned their spot and has some curveballs for the perfect Pats.  The season has certainly started off poorly for the Chargers who went 1-3 (including a loss to the Pats) but after overcoming this start they finished strong with 11-5, winning 10 of their final 12 games.  Although Ladanian Tomlinson has struggled throughout the season, showing only brief flashes of his former self, the Charger’s have managed to control the game and despite managing less yards per game than their opponents, the Chargers outscored opponents by a large margin, adhering to the old adage ‘make it count.’             

As far as keys to the game go, look for the QB match-up between Phillip Rivers and Tom Brady.  Brady is in a field of his own and very few other quarterbacks can match what he has managed this year not only in statistics but in strength of leadership (see Manning and Favre below).  On the other hand, Phillip Rivers is a second class quarterback who doesn’t know when to sit down and shut up.  I wouldn’t go as far as saying that he is a liability for the team but the fact remains that while the team supports him, that may not be enough to prevent the Patriots’ secondary from making a key interception or two.            

The second key is in the running game.  If Ladanian Tomlinson has a great day, victory is still far from assured (132 yards and a touchdown meant little against Kansas City), it can’t hurt and even more it brings a positive dynamic to the sidelines.  When LT does well, it inspires others to follow suit and Norv Turner will likely give him a lot of carries – especially if Rivers makes mistakes.  On the other side, Laurence Maroney has become a talented compliment to the Tom Brady show in Massachusetts.  While the running game for Belichick – passing yards outnumber running yards by close to 3-1 – having a decent running game is essential to strong offensive production and Maroney has given the Patriots what they needed most.  While LT will probably be a lot flashier than Maroney, expect Maroney to have a bigger impact.             

The final key is LB Junior Seau.  The multi-talented graduate of USC formerly played for the Chargers and now suits up as a Patriot and at 39, Seau will be one of the oldest active NFL players.  While in general, the motivation of playing against a former team is overrated, Seau wants to end this season – and possibly his career – on a high note by keeping the Pat’s perfect.  Don’t expect him to roll over and play dead; Seau has become a defensive beast for the Pat’s, hauling in 3 interceptions and co-leading the team with 6 tackles for losses. The old guy’s still got it and will showcase this talent on Sunday.   

Final predicted score: Patriots 31, Chargers 20 

NFC

This matchup between the Packers and the Giants looks to be the most interesting game so far this year in the post-season.  Both weren’t expected to make it this far and both have two QB’s who have overcome much to reach this venue.  The keys to the game are simple: Manning and Favre.  While Brett Favre’s place in NFL legend is already assured, he is playing for the love of the game and a chance to possibly immortalize himself even further by a super bowl win over the ‘perfect’ pats.  The best QB in the NFL right now, Favre has believed in his underrated team and after leading his team to the top of the NFC North – the most physical division in the NFC – he guided his team to a comeback victory over the Seahawks in the way that you would expect a legend to do.             

Expect a strong supporting effort by Ryan Bell who embodied the unfaltering expert determination of the Packers by overcoming a sloppy start against Seattle to finish with over 200 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Bell could very well steal the show from Favre but that’s unlikely because, I mean, come on, it’s Brett Favre!             

For the Giants, Eli Manning has had a tumultuous start to his NFL career during his first seasons but he may finally be coming into his own.  A team that lacked a clear leader – and suffered incredibly because of it – the Giants have found one in Manning who has finally stepped up and taken that mantle.  Manning has been consistent for the first time ever and has finally developed into that highly touted franchise QB.             

 Beyond Manning, the Giants will rely on their multi-talented defense which includes the leadership of Michael Strahan and the explosive game-changing ability of Osi Umenyiora.   

In the end though, none of that will matter because what the game boils down to is a big post-season matchup in Lambeau against Brett Favre with fire in his eyes.  It will be a great game but the Packers can just dig deeper and will tough it out 21-17. 

But, “that’s why they play the game”