You Can't Avoid Boyd

Hope and Other Obtuse Thoughts for the 2011 NFL Season

“Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.”

            -Red from “The Shawshank Redemption”

This has been one of the most tumultuous off-seasons in NFL history. There was a four month long lockout, which caused free agency and training camp to be crammed into a four week period. People scrambled to follow their team’s moves. Rookies and other younger players did not have the time to learn their new teams’ systems as they normally would have. Yet, everyone is now breathing a sigh of relief as tonight will be the opening kickoff of the 2011 season. Fans will now be able to forget about the off-season mindfuck and be able to watch the game they all love.

The best thing about Week 1 is your team still has a chance to win it all. Granted, Vegas may think Green Bay has a better chance of holding the Lombardi Trophy than Cincinnati this year, but everyone is still in the hunt come Week 1. It’s all about hope. There is no reason why Dolphins fans shouldn’t be thinking their season is over before it started because the most cheered quarterback in training camp starts for the Broncos. Redskins fans should feel confident that Rex Grossman is predicting a division championship. Cowboys fans shouldn’t let the fact they have won only one playoff game in the last 15 years get in the way of their aspirations for this season. Giants fans shouldn’t let their Greek tragedy of an off-season ruin their thoughts of returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2008. Every fan has hope at the start of the season. But as our friend Red reminds us, hope can be a dangerous thing.

Hope is one thing. Reality is another. All four teams in the NFC East will not make the playoffs this year, meaning myself (Giants), Pat (Eagles), Shawn (Cowboys), or the DC faithful (Redskins) will have their hope shattered. Hope doesn’t mean success. It allows for the possibility of success. It can be a very dangerous thing, but it can also be an unbelievable thing. How do you think Kansas City fans last season felt when nothing was expected from them, then seeing a division title come their way? Only the most devoted fans of the 1999 St. Louis Rams could have been optimistic for their upcoming season, after seeing starter Trent Green tear his knee in the preseason, with unknown QB Kurt Warner leading the team. Their hope was rewarded with a Lombardi trophy and one of the most prolific offenses in NFL history.

“Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”

            -Andy Dufresne from “The Shawshank Redemption”

Predictions for the year:

· AFC playoff teams (Bold teams for the division winners): Jets, Ravens, Texans, San Diego, Patriots, Steelers

· NFC playoff teams: Eagles, Packers, Saints, Cardinals, Falcons, Cowboys

· Super Bowl XLVI prediction: Packers over Ravens

· Giants finish the season 7-9 and Tom Coughlin is fired

· Peyton Manning returns in Week 5, and the Colts finish 2^nd in the AFC South

· Current coaches who won’t be coaching their team after the year (other than Coughlin): Jack Del Rio, Marvin Lewis, Chan Gailey, Tony Sparono, Mike Shanahan

                       -Written by Marcus Boyd