{"id":427186,"date":"2008-07-20T15:31:29","date_gmt":"2008-07-20T15:31:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vip.local\/2008\/07\/20\/its_gonna_happen_18_bold_visions_of_2007\/"},"modified":"2008-07-20T15:31:29","modified_gmt":"2008-07-20T15:31:29","slug":"its_gonna_happen_18_bold_visions_of_2007","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/its_gonna_happen_18_bold_visions_of_2007\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s Gonna Happen: 18 Bold Visions of 2007"},"content":{"rendered":"

We have made some bold claims
\nbefore the season began.  Let’s take a look back and see how we did
\nat predicting the future. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n\"It's<\/p>\n

1)  Tom Brady will have
\nroughly the same year in 2007 that he has had in every other season. 
\nHis numbers will be roughly 4000 yards, 28 TDs, 15 INTs, and a passer
\nrating of 89. <\/font><\/p>\n

Result:  WRONG.  No,
\nyou see it turns out Randy Moss is still really good.  <\/font><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2)  A<\/font>nonymous
\nRams quarterback Marc Bulger will again throw 25 touchdowns. This will
\nprompt Stephen Jackson to offer his congratulations to “our fearless
\nleader, Mack Folgers.”<\/font><\/p>\n

Result:  WRONG.  Try
\n11 touchdowns and 15 picks on the way to a 3-13 season.<\/font><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3)  Randy Moss will not
\ndouble the production of Anthony Gonzalez.  He will fail to double the
\nyards, catches or TDs of a rookie, number 3 receiver.  <\/font><\/p>\n

Result:  WRONG.  No,
\nyou see it turns out Randy Moss is still really good.  <\/i><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4) <\/font> Desperate
\nfor a change of pace, Detroit Lions fans will trade their grocery bags
\nin favor of handy, dandy, identity-concealing Duct Tape.  (below)<\/font><\/p>\n

Result:  CORRECT. 
\nThe Lions teased us with competence and thus made their inevitable
\nreturn to crappiness all the more painful for their fans.<\/font><\/i><\/p>\n

\n\"It's<\/p>\n

5)  Jason David and Nick
\nHarper will surrender at least 5 combined TDs to Peyton Manning and the
\nIndianapolis Colts.<\/font><\/p>\n

Result:  WRONG.  We
\nthought this was a gimmee after David was burned for 3 scores in the
\nopener.  Manning exploited Harper in Week 2, but not for a score. 
\nHe rested in the final game. <\/font><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

6)  The Colts will not miss
\nCato June.  The run defense will be ranked at least 10 spots higher in
\n2007 and will stiffen by at least 1 yard per carry.<\/font><\/p>\n

Result:  CORRECT. 
\nThe Colts gave up an impossibly bad 173 rushing yards per game in 2006,
\ndead last in the NFL.  They allowed 5.3 yards per carry.  This
\nseason they ranked 15th against the run allowing 106 yards per game. 
\nThey allowed only 3.8 yards per carry, good enough for sixth in the NFL.<\/font><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

7)  Miami’s First round draft
\npick Ted Ginn Jr. will throw for 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns.  No,
\nscratch that.  He’s a punt returner.  <\/font><\/p>\n

Result:  CORRECT. 
\nThis was one of the big mistakes of the NFL draft.  Maybe the
\nbiggest.  Ginn Jr. caught 34 balls and 2 touchdowns on a 1-15 team. 
\nHe did return a punt for a touchdown.<\/font><\/i><\/p>\n

\n\"It's<\/p>\n

8)  The Colts will win the
\nAFC South.<\/font><\/p>\n

Result:  CORRECT. 
\nNearly swept the division.<\/font><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

9)  David Garrard will be an
\nunmitigated disaster:  Garrard was border-line horrible last
\nseason, getting yanked in the middle of the last game of the season; a
\ngame the Jags had to win.  In his favor, is his 60% completion
\npercentage, and acceptable passer rating of 80.  On the other hand, he
\nalso threw 9 Interceptions in just 10 games in which he threw a pass. 
\nHe also fumbled twice.  He was the quarterback as the Jags lost their
\nlast three games and four of their last six.  One of the games the Jags
\nwon in that stretch was the beat down of the Colts, a game in which he
\nonly had to throw 14 passes because Gilbert Gardner and Cato June
\ncouldn’t figure out how to tackle.  When last we saw him, he was melting
\ndown under the pressure of playing a virtual playoff game.  He is not
\nthe answer in Jacksonville, and will sabotage their season. <\/font><\/p>\n

Result:  WRONG. 
\nGarrard couldn’t have been better, throwing 18 touchdowns against only 3
\npicks.<\/font><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

10) 
\nThe Titans won’t win 6 games unless Vince Young shows dramatic
\nimprovement as a passer (i.e. greater than 55% completion percentage). 
\nThe Titans won’t have the same luck they benefited from in 2006.  <\/span>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n


\nResult:
\nRIGHT AND WRONG.  Vince Young regressed from marginal to awful (9
\ntouchdowns and 17 picks in 2007).  At the EXACT SAME TIME, he
\nincreased his completion % from 51.5% to 62.3%, a remarkable
\nimprovement.  His YPA also improved. He also missed a game and
\nparts of two others<\/span><\/font>,
\nyet the Titans managed to win 10 games and make the playoffs. 
\nWeird team led by a great coach.  In the end, Young’s play seems
\nto have nothing to do with the Titans winning or losing.<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

11) 
\nJoe Addai will out perform Fred Taylor:  This sounds obvious,
\nunless your name is Fred Taylor.  <\/font>
\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.jaguars.com\/multimedia\/video.aspx?id=2375<\/font><\/a><\/span>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\nResult:  CORRECT. 
\nIt’s debatable because both played great.  Addai’s stats are skewed
\nbecause he was intentionally rested for most of December.  We’ll
\ngive him the edge because he found the end zone far more often than
\nTaylor, and was named to the Pro Bowl over Taylor.  The playoffs
\nwill provide the true answer to this question.<\/font><\/i><\/p>\n<\/p>\n


\n12)  Del Rio will be fired during the season: 
\nHe’s among the worst in-game coaches in the league and he has screwed up
\nthe QB situation as badly as humanly possible.  His time is up.<\/font><\/span>
\n<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

Result:  WRONG.  Del
\nRio made the call of the year by cutting Byron Leftwich a week before
\nthe season.  Realizing he was coaching for his job, he decided to
\ngo for it on fourth down more than any coach in the league.  Always
\na smart move.  Did we really just say that?<\/font><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\"It's<\/p>\n

13)  As Dwight Freeney helps
\nhimself to his second sack of the game, it will suddenly hit Matt Schaub:
\nbeing the second-best quarterback in the AFC South isn’t anything to
\nwrite home about.<\/font><\/p>\n

Result:  WRONG. 
\nSchaub was the third best quarterback in the AFC South in 2007. 
\nFourth if you count his replacement, Sage Rosenfels.  His season
\nwas derailed by the knee injury to Andre Johnson, and later by his own
\ninjury. <\/i> <\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

14)  The Colts will
\noutperform their Pythagorean win total by more than one win (again): 
\nFor the last several years the Colts have won more games than the
\nnormally reliable Pythagorean win stat would suggest.  This year they
\nare expected to win 9.6 games.  They will win at least 11. <\/font><\/p>\n

Result:  CORRECT. 
\nThe Colts exceeded even our expectations by notching 13 wins.  They
\nmade everyone forget about Cato June, Jason David, and Nick Harper. 
\n<\/font><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

15)  Giants coach Tom
\nCoughlin will be fired for ordering the covert assassination of Tiki
\nBarber.  Backed into a corner, he will interview for his old job in
\nJacksonville, promising to continue the proud Jaguar tradition of .500
\nfootball.<\/font><\/p>\n

Result:  INCOMPLETE. 
\nIf the Giants lose to the Bucs this weekend because of Tiki’s loose lips
\nthen we may see a murder yet.  <\/font><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\"It's<\/p>\n

16)  San Diego will regret
\nthe hire of Norv Turner, despite excellent talent. <\/font><\/p>\n

Result:  CORRECT. 
\nThe Chargers won 3 fewer games this season and Philip Rivers looked
\nsignificantly worse throwing the ball.  Norv needs a playoff win in
\nthe worst way.<\/font><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

17)  Scandal will again rock the NFL as a
\nYoutube video will surface of Peyton Manning engaged in the heinous act
\nof poodle grooming.  <\/font><\/p>\n

Result:  WRONG.  Manning’s dogs,
\nColt and Rookie, are safe and sound as far as we know.<\/font><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\"It's<\/p>\n

18)  None of the departed
\nColts will outperform their replacements. <\/font><\/p>\n