2010 Week One Bengals at Pats Media Predictions Mega-Thread

[jmt57]

The board is starting to get clogged up with a separate thread by every columnist who has a prediction on Sunday's game. How about we post all the links, quotes from those columns, and our comments on those articles here in this thread.

 

[jmt57]

Five 'experts' from CBS Sports make their predictions on every NFL game against the spread. The Pats are 4.5 point favorites at home against the Bengals. Clark Judge, Will Brinson and Josh Katzowitz are going with the Pats; Clark Judge and Dave Richard thinks Cincinnati will cover.

Elsewhere in the division Miami is favored by three in Buffalo; three of the five think the Bills will cover that spread. The Jets are 2.5 point favorites at home against Baltimore; four out of five pick the Ravens to cover.

NFL Picks, Grades - CBSSports.com Football



CBS Sports also has this preview, with an accompanying video: http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/gametracker/preview/NFL_20100912_CIN@NE

 

[jmt57]

Pete Prisco of CBS Sports predicts the Pats will beat the Bengals 27-26.

NFL Picks, Grades - CBSSports.com Football

This is a great game to start the season. Both teams have the playoff look and both should be in the playoffs, which is why this is a fun game to start. The Patriots have defensive issues, while the Bengals should have one of the NFL's best defenses. Carson Palmer will be much better this season throwing it. The fun battle here will be between New England's pass offense and those Cincinnati corners. In the end, I'll take the home team. But it will be close.

In the other division games Prisco has the Bills upsetting Miami 23-21, and the Ravens edging the Pats 21-20 Monday night.

 

[cstjohn17]

Bruschi breakdown - picks the Bengals

Tedy Bruschi and Mike Reiss preview the New England Patriots' opener against the Cincinnati Bengals - ESPN Boston

No way to sugar coat it, Bruschi thinks the defense is soft. Forget rushing the passer, if the Patriots can't stop the run with the front seven then that leads to 1:1 coverage against either TO or Chad Ochocinco.

It sounds like some double triple reverse phsycology but deep down I think he believes what he says. In 2003 the Patriots went into Pittsburgh and got creamed, the Steelers ran the ball down the Patriots throat. I have never seen Bruschi so mad, he was livid, stating "Stopping the run is a mentality". It is a mentality that we have yet to see with the bold new defense. As much as it was mental the Patriots had Warren, Seymour and Wilfork in their prime plus Bruschi, Ted Johnson, Colvin, McGinest, Vrable and Phifer. That front seven was stacked.

Time to strap a set on and man up boys.

 

[Keyser Söze]

Re: Bruschi breakdown - picks the Bengals

someone make a Bruschi is a moron thread.

 

[Gwedd]

Re: Bruschi breakdown - picks the Bengals

Meh....... Bruschi is no longer a Patriot. He is paid to do analysis, but also to create controversy, because that gets the fans on both sides riled up and creates interest, and interest sells advertising. It's ALWAYS about the Benjamins in TV land. Always.

 

[reflexblue]

Re: Bruschi breakdown - picks the Bengals

Damn traitor, what does he know anyways. :singing:

 

[Deus Irae]

Re: Bruschi breakdown - picks the Bengals

someone make a Bruschi is a moron thread.

Meh....... Bruschi is no longer a Patriot. He is paid to do analysis, but also to create controversy, because that gets the fans on both sides riled up and creates interest, and interest sells advertising. It's ALWAYS about the Benjamins in TV land. Always.

Getting there.... just give it some time.

 

[Ring 6]

Re: Bruschi breakdown - picks the Bengals

Tedy Bruschi and Mike Reiss preview the New England Patriots' opener against the Cincinnati Bengals - ESPN Boston

No way to sugar coat it, Bruschi thinks the defense is soft. Forget rushing the passer, if the Patriots can't stop the run with the front seven then that leads to 1:1 coverage against either TO or Chad Ochocinco.

.

I expected to see something resembling that in the article, but it wasnt there.

 

[goheels22002]

Re: Bruschi breakdown - picks the Bengals

I expected to see something resembling that in the article, but it wasnt there.

The problem with the predictions is that we just don't plain know. Belichick and his assistants sent the D out there in the pre-season with a vanilla 3-4 with little or no scheming for anybody.

Dean Pees is gone and BB is setting the D for the Bengals. Watch out.

This is the architect of the 90s Giants and the 2000s Pats.

41-10 Pats

 

[VectorPrime]

Re: Bruschi breakdown - picks the Bengals

The problem with the predictions is that we just don't plain know. Belichick and his assistants sent the D out there in the pre-season with a vanilla 3-4 with little or no scheming for anybody.

Dean Pees is gone and BB is setting the D for the Bengals. Watch out.

This is the architect of the 90s Giants and the 2000s Pats.

41-10 Pats

I would do terrible, unspeakable, things to make that the real score.

 

[jmt57]

Showtime's Inside the NFL team is split on the Pats' game; former Bengal Chris Collinsworth picks Cincinnati to win, while Warren Sapp picks the Patriots; Phil Simms abstains because he is broadcasting the game.

Insiders' Picks - Showtime Sports


For anyone interested they have a 'Beat the Insiders' game where you get to make your own picks of all NFL games each week - just pick the winners, no point spreads - and see how well you do in comparison to the predictions of Simms, Collinsworth and Sapp.

 

[jmt57]

Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio and Gregg Rosenthal make their picks for every NFL game; both think the Pats will win:

PFT's Week One picks | ProFootballTalk.com

Bengals at Patriots

Florio's take: With Tom Brady reportedly on the brink of a new deal and Randy Moss hoping to lay the foundation for one of his own with a huge year, the Patriots' passing game could look a lot like it did in 2007. The challenges come on defense, where the Patriots have seen injuries and free-agent departures and trades erode a once-powerful unit. It won't be an easy year, but Brady's will to win should be enough to carry the team to victory in a season opener at home.

Florio's pick: Patriots 28, Bengals 20.

Rosenthal's take: Florio probably wrote some smart-ass comment about me being a Patriots homer. And yet I'm still going to play to expectations. The line is too big here, but we don't think the Bengals yet have the passing game chops to take advantage of New England's young secondary. Logic says Cincy, but the quarterback-coach edge weighs too heavily in favor of the home team.

Rosenthal's take: Patriots 24, Bengals 21.

 

[jmt57]

The Sporting News has the Pats winning by a field goal:

Will Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees pass Week 1 tests? - NFL - Sporting News

Cincinnati at New England (-4 1/2), Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

The Bengals won the division last year with defense and running game, but their newfound passing pop still falls short of what Tom Brady brings. That means Randy Moss getting the better of "T.Ochocinco". Patriots 23, Bengals 20.

They also have the Jets over the Ravens and Dolphins over Buffalo by identical 20 - 17 scores.

 

[jmt57]

Joe Reedy follows the Bengals for Cincinnati's primary newspaper, the Cincinnati Enquirer; he has the Pats winning by a field goal.

Bengals Blog 9/10/10: Week 1 NFL picks | Cincinnati Enquirer | Cincinnati.Com

Cincinnati (+4½) at New England: It is a better Bengals team that should be very competitive against the Patriots. Heck, even Ochocinco might get his wish by scoring a touchdown and grabbing one of the rifles to fire off. However, New England is unbeaten in home openers since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002 and we expect that to remain the case.
Patriots 24-21

Elsewhere in the AFC East Reedy predicts the Jets will beat the Ravens 23-16, and Miami will defeat Buffalo 24-13.


Interestingly even though Reedy thinks the Pats will beat Cincinnati in this game, elsewhere he predicts the Bengals will win the AFC North while the Pats will finish third in the AFC East.



Reedy also lists his five things for Bengal fans to watch for in this game:

• Attack the Pats young corners
• Stop Wes Welker
• Get pressure on Brady
• Palmer spreading the ball around
• Bengals return units

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/bengals/2010/09/10/91010-bengals-patriots-five-keys/

 

[jmt57]

Sports Illustrated's Peter King thinks the Bengals will win by a touchdown, 27-20.

Peter King's NFL Week 1 Game-By-Game Predictions - Peter King - SI.com

Cincinnati Bengals at New England Patriots
I'm not even sure I'd call this an upset. Without Leigh Bodden in the secondary, New England goes with a very young Big East alumni corner tandem -- rookie Devin McCourty (Rutgers) and second-year man Darius Butler (UConn) are likely to start -- and Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens should have some schooling in store for them.

There's another thread on this article, which after 70+ comments is mostly a debate on how productive Terrell Owens will be this year: http://www.patsfans.com/new-england-patriots/messageboard/10/589680-peter-king-week-1-picks.html

 

[jmt57]

ESPN's 'NFL Experts' predict the winner of each NFL game. Ron Jaworski, Adam Schefter, Mark Schlereth, Adam Wickersham, Accuscore (their computer-simulation), and Pigskin Pick'em (fans picking the game winners) all go with the Pats to win, while Eric Allen, Mike Golic, Merril Hoge, and Chris Mortensen think the Bengals will win.

NFL Picks and Predictions for Week 1 - National Football League - ESPN

In the other division games it is 6 to 3 in favor of the Ravens beating the Jets while all but Mortensen and Schefter think Miami will beat the Bills.



There's also this preview with stats from twwl: http://espn.go.com/nfl/preview?gameId=300912017

 

[Kontradiction]

Re: Bruschi breakdown - picks the Bengals

Meh....... Bruschi is no longer a Patriot. He is paid to do analysis, but also to create controversy, because that gets the fans on both sides riled up and creates interest, and interest sells advertising. It's ALWAYS about the Benjamins in TV land. Always.

You can't possibly be serious.

 

[jmt57]

Though he doesn't predict a score or a winner, from the sound of it espn's Tim Graham seems to be thinking the Bengals will win:

Final Word: AFC East - AFC East Blog - ESPN

The New England Patriots defense could be in for a long afternoon.
The Patriots better have something up their sleeves for the Cincinnati Bengals. Otherwise, Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens will have plenty to crow about. How will the Patriots contain the Bengals, who have placed an emphasis on their passing game? They added T.O. and drafted tight end Jermaine Gresham in the first round to help quarterback Carson Palmer. The Bengals have a strong enough rushing attack to keep any defense honest. Straight up, the Patriots appear to be at a disadvantage against the pass. The Patriots have the NFL's least experienced cornerbacks in Darius Butler and rookie Devin McCourty. As for a pass rush, the Patriots haven't had an effective one for a couple of years.

 

[jmt57]

More espn predictions; these are from the crew of their NFL Sunday Countdown pregame show.

Mike Ditka, Keyshawn Johnson, Cris Carter and Tom Jackson all think the Pats will win.

Sunday Countdown: Your weekly NFL guide - ESPN

Our favorite, Tom Jackson, previews the game. He says a lot without saying much, other than it is a big game for both teams. He notes that the pats have questions with their pass rush, and also wants to know if Carson Palmer can lead the team to the next level as an elite team.



As of right now 65% of espn fans think the Pats will win: Vote: NFL Week 1 Pick 'Em - SportsNation - ESPN