Looking Ahead to 2009

by TouchdownMonkey on Dec 29, 2008 5:10 PM EST

OK, I don't mean to look ahead when we've got a first round playoff game coming up, but the NFL released the matchups for 2009. We play the AFC East and NFC West, plus Denver and Baltimore (and our division). Here's what it looks like:

Home: NE, NYJ, Denver, SF, Seattle, divisional games

Away: Miami, Buffalo, Arizona, St. Louis, Baltimore, divisional games

I would say it's a so-so schedule. I wouldn't call it hard, but it's by no means easy either. A lot will depend on timing; I'd hate to play in Buffalo at the end of the season with snow and wind.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors.

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Lets them play in Arizona this season, its a 7 hours road trip for me and a chance to get to that stadium.

by oscarx21 on Dec 29, 2008 5:24 PM EST reply actions

Start Buying Your Tickets

The AZ game will be in AZ.

by TouchdownMonkey on Dec 29, 2008 5:36 PM EST up reply actions

Oh I will

As soon as I can.

by oscarx21 on Dec 29, 2008 6:33 PM EST up reply actions

No San Diego next year.

Glad I got to the game this year….

"I throw, you catch. It's NOT that hard!"
Peyton Manning, SNL, 2007

by peytonsthebest on Dec 29, 2008 5:38 PM EST reply actions

Denver's fault

If Denver hadn’t choked away their final 3 games, we’d be playing San Diego again. Oh well. Any plans to make it to the playoff game?

by TouchdownMonkey on Dec 29, 2008 9:42 PM EST up reply actions

Looking into it actually.

Tickets are up there cost wise, so I’m not sure. If I can’t get decent seats, will just stay home and watch. No need to go if I have nose-bleed seats and can’t actually see the game.

Denver is just horrible. They only had to win one of those three games.

"I throw, you catch. It's NOT that hard!"
Peyton Manning, SNL, 2007

by peytonsthebest on Dec 30, 2008 10:32 AM EST up reply actions

Looking at the schedule, I don’t see any especially scary teams that would give the Colts fits.

NE is looking at either another year of Cassel or a gimpy Brady and a rapidly declining defense.
NYJ will be looking for a new QB and coach. I see a reloading year here.
Den needs a defense before I can take them seriously.
SF looks to be awful.
Sea could be good or bad. Even if they’re good, I don’t see them being better than the Colts.

Jax looks to be regressing. Even with a solid draft, they’re still a year away from really contending, but they always give the Colts a game.
Hou is improving, but still needs work.
Ten is iffy. If Big Al comes back, we split the series. If he walks, then all bets are off.

Mia could be tough, but I honestly don’t know.
Buf depends on the weather. Early in the season or in Toronto: Colts win. Late in the season or bad weather: tossup.
Ari has a great passing game, but nothing else. We should smoke these guys.
StL needs help. I wouldn’t expect great things.
Bal gets their seemingly yearly beating from Manning & Co.

Could the Colts go 16-0? Against that schedule, with some good timing, and no major injuries, it’s a possibility. Will we? Probably not. But 13-3 or 14-2 seems like it would be doable. I’m thinking losses at a late season game in Buffalo and a loss at Tennessee and at Houston. Colts go 4-2 in the AFC South and take a 7th AFC South Championship. I’m thinking a #2 seed.

Bob Sanders eats a forest on Friday so he can lay the wood on Sunday.
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by MonkeyBusiness on Dec 29, 2008 11:58 PM EST reply actions

Couple of thoughts

I don’t think San Francisco will be “awful.” Singletary, who took those guys 5-4 after they started 2-5 under Nolan, just locked in as the new head coach for 4 years. He has been portrayed as a"tough love" coach who also knows what it’s like to win (and make awful dance videos but that’s another story). He seems to have rallied the players around him, and as a Bay Area resident, I do like the concept of having at least one winning team (even though I’m a Colts fan first). If they can re-sign Hill, I think they will be better than .500. They might not be able to hang with the Colts, but don’t count them out.

Similarly in Seattle, those guys played a couple of high-profile teams (Pats, Jets) pretty tough this year. They will have to combat the impact of Holmgren’s departure but could parlay it into picking up another HC who propels them to the next level, too.

by LovinBlue on Dec 30, 2008 11:04 AM EST up reply actions

Agreed about SF

I think the biggest thing for the 49ers is getting rid of Mike Martz. His style did not fit the 49ers personnel at all. In fact can we all agree that Mike Martz caught lightning in a bottle in his glory days with the Rams and is really not that good or innovative a coach? Seriously, I think I could design schemes to send every available offensive player out for a pass and have similar results (which would usually end with the QB getting killed). The 49ers have some offensive talent and their defense improved under Singletary. With a more conservative approach and a decent backup/timeshare for Gore the 49ers could be next year’s version of this year’s Bears: not great, but playoff contenders.

As for Seattle, they already have a HC in place, as Nideak mentioned above.

by ctnyc on Dec 30, 2008 6:56 PM EST up reply actions