ESPN Fact Checker

This guy looks just like my old boss. No reason to hate on him, my old boss was awesome. Unfortunately, that is where the comparison comes to an abrupt end. I only have a quickie here, barely worth a post, but it's so radically, fundamentally wrong that I had to share it with you. Gene's preview column can be found here, in it he lists 43 predictions, one of which may be the sacred perfect example of wrongness prophecised by our ancestors.

New Orleans Saints -- Anything is possible in this division, including the Saints' marching past the Bucs and the Panthers. But none of it happens unless the New Orleans offensive line (this time without center Jeff Faine, who signed a free-agent deal with Tampa Bay) does a little something we like to call "pass blocking."

last year, the Saints conceded sixteen sacks.

Throwing more than any team in the NFL (62 more than second place Arizona, a huge margin).

They completed 67.5% of their passes, second only to New England (68.8%)

Those sixteen sacks were the fewest in the NFL.

Ergo; New Orleans was literally the best pass blocking team in the NFL. This is all the reason Wojciechowski gives for them being the second worst team in arguably the worst division in the NFL.

Later...

23: Player most likely to break the Madden curse

Favre.

not to ask the dumb question here, but like...who else was on the cover of Madden? I guess this is supposed to be a joke, which means that Gene has no more than 22 legitimate opinions about the NFL season this year.

26: NFC Flop of the Year leading candidate

The Bears.

so all of you picking the Bears to go 12-4 behind steely RB Matt Forte and battle tested, strong armed QB Kyle Orton, Gene thinks you may be in for a nasty little surprise. It may not be popular to say the Bears will finish below .500, it may not be the "cool" thing to say, it may be going out on a wild limb, but at least we have a reporter willing to say what no one else has the courage to - the Bears will not be a good team this year.

Take that mainstream media!