NFL 2009 Season Week 1 Picks

Bwaaa hahaha. It's alive!!! (Let me know if there are any issues, of if game days/times/channels are ever wrong)

Too soon.

Also, my position still remains that we should cut down on the game comments. Perhaps only to Packer and Viking games, with an extra game thrown in for when they play each other, or one team has a bye, or if there is a big match-up that everybody is talking about.

It's exciting to see that people have come back this year and made their picks. Welcome Back!

Well, I did shamelessly spam everyone a reminder this year, like I always say I should have in the past.

With our passwords in plain text...but the reminder was good because I forgot about stupid Thursday night games.

Well, they wouldn't do much good if they were encoded.

Based on last years winning percentages, the Bears, Vikings, and Packers (in that order) have the three easiest schedules in the NFL. In other words, no matter how well any of our teams do, one thing we can't say about the other team (in the Packer-Vikings debates) is that they haven't played anyone good, because neither teams have.

Mainly because those 6 games against the 0-16 loom large. (And the 4 games against the Packers don't help the Vikings and Bears.)

Also, since when does the strength of schedule mean much of anything?

They play the Seahawks, who could easily improve 6+ games and they play both Superbowl teams.

The Packers play Tampa Bay, who are expected to suck, and the Cowboys, who probably won't do as well as last year.

...and the year I'd off to a typical start

Hear, hear

I think Jeremy got it , the fact that they are in the same division as the Lions really inflates that strengh of schedule stat. Plus playing the NFC West which pretty much blew last year also helps.

To finish this point, the Vikings play Carolina and the NY Giants instead, who combined for 6 more wins in 2008 than the Packers 2 opponents. And according to The Mag's predictions, they'll post a combined 5 more wins this year.

Favre wanted to sit last year when hurt

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4462072

Bobby Wade cut

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4462208

Damn, I liked Wade. He was very dependable.

Go Pack go Vikings Go Bucks!!!!!

All told, I think the packers are a much better team than they were last year and they have a seemingly easy schedule to boot. But I'll save my pants-wetting until at least 2 minutes into the first qtr Sunday night.

This game couldn't be more boring.

And the Madden curse strikes again as Troy Polamalu goes down in week one.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4464771

The Williams wall will be intact this season.

Thanks for the e-mail,,I needed it this year, so it was great!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks, Jon and Micah still need to do picks though, and bigbenistheman, your KC @ BAL pick didn't save, or you accidentally skipped it. Unless of course you're abstaining because you're broadcasting that game.

Is it just me, or did we get new logos by our pictures this year?

Also, I'd like to chime in that I think strength of schedule stats are dumb. Especially because the same reporters that reference them do a story 4 weeks into the year about the big turnaround that teams x, y, and z are all doing this year. Which only happens every year in football. We've all witnessed how unpredictable it is, but it never stops anyone from analyzing it all beforehand. The real strength of the schedule is determined after the season, if ever.

By the way, let's all be honest, isn't it just downright weird that Brett Favre is a Viking? Especially since, in some sense, this story is kind of right in our backyard, with most of us being fans of the Packers and Vikings and all that. I never did get around to mentioning it on here, but don't you almost feel like Brett Favre signing with the Vikings is the kind of event this website was made for? I mean, if you were the type to believe in destiny, wouldn't you think that this whole website's existence was basically just all leading up to this season?

OK, so maybe that's a bit much. But still, it's one of those things that's almost too strange to be reality isn't it?

Jon, are you saying that NutCan/Page3 has fulfilled it's purpose? Is it now going to leap to another time to right another wrong?

As for the strength of schedule, I saw it in the Sports Illustrated NFL preview, and it was more of a noteworthy stat that all three teams in the NFC North had the "easiest" schedule than anything else. Although I will say, back before they redistributed the divisions and a team's schedule was based on a cockamamee formula, teams were given schedules based on the previous year's record. So a first place team for the most part played a tougher schedule, and the last place teams theoretically played an easier schedule. Besides, how else am I supposed to make my predictions on how a team will do this year without comparing it to last years schedule? What do you expect me to do, watch the games and see how things play out? What kind of crazy idea is that?

Man leftwitch is getting banged up. Stupid cowboys won. Ugh

Ohhh No, I dont want to be the first last place finisher of the year. lol.

If the bears , pTriots and chargers win it u won't be. Tammy is 2nd to last place so ur in luck.

Ahhhh why me?! You would think the bears would be smart enough to not fall for the play action on 3 and 1. I even called it.
Lol i pronounce my self king turd for week 1 :(

lawlz. hahahahaha Culter deserved it!!!! lolz!!! It was a perfect way to end the game, the same way the MAIN REASON they lost in in the first place, interceptions. :)

Cutler was terrible. It's sort of underselling them just to call them "interceptions" 3 were right to the Packer player, and he threw about 10 balls tonight, 2 for interceptions where you're not even sure what his intention was, because the only Bears were no where near them. The good news for us Viking fans is that both teams looked pretty crappy, save for a couple big plays each. The only thing that seems to have carried over from the Packers "we know the preseason doesn't mean diddily, and say as much, but lets all still suddenly pick the Packers to go to the Superbowl" preseason is that if you throw a ball right to one of their defenders 9 times, they'll catch 4 of them.

I think Rodgers realizes that he's not going to beat many of Favre's records, so he's trying to set the record for times sacked for a safety.

I'm sure you've seen it by now, but for official Nutcan record purposes, Adrian had one of the most ridiculous touchdown runs ever today. It was one of those that was so ridiculous that, even though you know you're watching a replay of it, and have seen said replay 5 times already, you're still pretty sure they're going to get him this time, because there's no way he gets out of this.

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

If the Packers can take anything away from this game, it's these couple of things:
1) their defense was pretty good. The Bears could not run the ball, and Cutler had a guy in his face on almost every play it seemed.
2) While Rodgers was off his game a bit, the Packers on numerous occasions had receivers flatout beating their coverage. Rodgers missed at least 3 wide open receivers who, had he hit them in stride, would have each had lengthy touchdowns. I actually haven't figured out if this is a positive or a negative, but given a week to calm down (and the Bears defense isn't exactly weak either), I think Rodgers will be fine.

Allen Barbre needs to shape up. He did not have a good game. He did a little better in the 2nd half, but he was little more than a tackling dummy in the first half.

I couldn't find the exact comment Leno made last night, but during halftime he made a good joke about how Cutler was the Packers new star QB. I laughed, but then again I was very tired.

Well it was true. For most of the game Cutler was throwing much more accurate passes to Packers players than Rodgers was.

Also, since we haven't talked about it yet: People can snicker all they want about the Lions giving up 6 TDs to Drew Brees and co, but it was really just a symptom of the fact that they hung around long enough with a pretty good team, on the road, to necessitate that New Orleans keep scoring. Late in the 3rd quarter it was 27 to 38, which granted, isn't exactly a nail biter, but I feel like the game is being sold as more of a "laugher" than it was.

it never even occurred to me that Brees was playing the Lions. When I saw 6 TDs, all I thought was, "wow, that's awesome". I don't care who you are playing, 6 TDs is a feat that, like Jeremy said, is probably moreso a product of necessity than it is about the team you're playing being so terrible as to allow it.

Well, I didn't mean that people shouldn't be impressed with 6tds, just that the "LOL There go the hapless lions again!" reaction that most sportscasters are having isn't totally fair. Detroit turned the ball over 3 times, in a rookies' debut, on the road, and still scored more points than they scored all last year.

One of two things has to be true, and neither is getting any play.

1) The Lions are an improved team capable of hanging around with a team with an offense as explosive as New Orleans
2) The Lions really are still the 0-16 group of incompetents that can't find their asses with two hands and a flashlight, in which case the story line has to be that Saints fans should really have mixed feelings about a game in which the worst team ever, with a rookie qb this time, came into your house and gave you a game in which you needed to do most of that scoring. If Detroit really is still the worst team ever assembled, then I think I'd hold off on the rejoicing, because this game doesn't spell great things to come for when the Saints play a better team.

Tisk-tisk, hedging against a week 2 Vikings loss already.

It's inevitable either way.

If the Vikings play the way they did in the first half, Detroit could sneak up on them. They do have some playmakers on offense. But lets not forget New Orleans isn't exactly a defensive powerhouse and I think one of Detroits scores was on defense. They aren't the worst team in the league anymore, I think title now belongs to the Rams.

Kudos to sarah for being Champ of the week :) your an inspiration to all packer fans, at least me anyway :D

btw sarah wtf with ur logo being jets...-.- I demand an answer-.-

Yea I thought about what a great day I was having but then realized I picked the Super Bowl runner ups in a game. Never pick them, they'll always have a bad season after losing the big one.



Yea I should probably change back to the Pack, but I'm too lazy and/or don't know how. J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS!

Does anyone else find it kind of surprising that overall we mostly picked well, considering it was week 1 and all? Speaking of which, can we get an overall record for all pickers? And maybe a fab four vs the other nut canners record battle?

Your so demanding alex, and btw we all had a good weak with th exception of musch. :(

Lol, did you really have to put my name out there and remind everybody again that I had a bad week, JFK? :(

Could have totaled records and then also the record of the consensus picks.

lol soz musch, hey just keep track of all the weeks and when I get a bad week, feel free :D