The Freak, on the other hand, is saddened to put the golf clubs aside, but is delighted that in less than a week the sounds of the NFL will be upon us.
Regardless of what off-season, there seems to be an instant replay of the same stupid stunts every year. Here are the top three that continually irk The Freak:
1. Players continue to get in trouble with the law, and it appears to be getting worse. When will these guys learn they are not above the law?
2. The Brett Favre saga is becoming an absolute farce. Brett, you are a great football player and one of the toughest of all time. Don't embarrass yourself anymore as you will soon be remembered for these shenanigans rather than your fine career. We don't need all the drama every August.
3. The league's "prima donnas" who hold out every year for more money. What ever happened to a player honouring his contract? This year, Vincent Jackson, Marcus MacNeil and Darrell Revis are really going to hurt their team's chances because of greed.
Crystal ball
The Freak dusted off his crystal ball to compile his annual pre-season predictions for all NFL teams.
Non-playoff teams
Rams - Rookie quarterback Sam Bradford will be good some day, but is only one part of the puzzle on the way to improvement.
Lions - Slowly putting the pieces together, and will improve to six wins. Tough Matt Stafford looks to be a leader.
Chiefs - Always tough at home, but unfortunately they have to play eight road games.
Browns - GM Mike Holmgrem will slowly build a winner, and by that time The Freak's twins will be in college (2019).
Bills - An organization that goes in circles evaluating talent. Bad drafting means bad team.
Teams whose better
days behind them
Cardinals - Will really miss Captain Kurt. Quarterback Matt Leinhart was overrated coming out of college, and has underachieved in the pros. He's a backup at best.
Eagles - The fans in Philly will finally realize what a great quarterback they had in Donovan McNabb. Kevin Kolb won't be able to handle the Philly pressure.
Chargers - Losing All-Pro wideout Vincent Jackson and left tackle Marcus McNeill will hurt their chances of a deep playoff run.
Seahawks - Pete Carroll is a college coach at best. He proved in the past the pro game is beyond his football intelligence.
Steelers - Losing Big Ben early in the season is something even the strong Pitt D won't be able to overcome.
Broncos - Too many injuries, especially to sack master Elvis Dumervil, means only .500 or worse in Denver.
Panthers - Losing defensive end Julius Peppers will hurt, and there's a big question mark at quarterback.
Jaguars - Love to run with one of the best in MJD and play D, but quarterback Dave Garrard fails to make big plays.
Overrated teams
Jets - If the Jets played like Rex Ryan's big mouth they would be unbeatable. No "Revis Island" means the D will be burnt more times with their aggressive blitzing schemes.
"Ravens - It looks like Baltimore finally has a top-5 offence to go with that strong D, which makes them the AFC's most complete team." - John Turner
Patriots - Can't find many positions where they improved. If anything, they just got older. Pats will need to score over 35 points to win games.
Redskins - Donovan McNabb is already hurt, and the soap opera between Coach Shanahan and Albert Haynesworth is a big distraction.
Cowboys - If this team was in Jacksonville no one would be even talking about them. Since they are from Big D they are believed to be good.
Improved teams
Raiders - Never thought The Freak would say Oakland is improving, but getting rid of quarterback Jamarcus Russell can only help.
Falcons - Quarterback Matt Ryan suffered the dreaded sophomore jinx last season. Look for him to have a much better year.
Giants - The Gmen, with the return of safety Kenny Phillips and the signing of Antrel Rolle, will immediately improve the secondary and allow the pass rush to do its thing.
Dolphins - Quarterback Chad Henne looks like the best they've had since Dan Marino. Solid D and running game will keep them in every game.
Bears - Quarterback Jay Cutler should be better this year, and Julius Peppers will really help the D.
Bucs - A young team that has a good young quarterback, Josh Freeman. The pirate ship might be firing a few more cannons this year.
Titans - After a terrible start last season, Vince Young took over the team and made a great late-season run. Jeff Fisher, the best coach in football, will make sure the run continues.
Cream of the crop
Colts - All you need to know is quarterback Peyton Manning is back.
Saints - Hard to be great back-to-back years, but they should still be one of the elite.
Vikings - Their defence is good enough to keep them in games, and allow the old man to win it late.
49ers - A solid team on both sides of the ball. Coach Singletary will weed out the weak links.
Texans - Great drafting over the years will lead to a great season.
Bengals - A healthy Carson Palmer, solid running game and two shut-down corners. The problem could be those two wide receivers - there is only one ball - and those two think they are open every play.
Super Bowl pick
Ravens - It looks like Baltimore finally has a top-5 offence to go with that strong D, which makes them the AFC's most complete team.
Packers - The secondary is banged up, but Aaron Rodgers and the offence will carry the load until they get healthy on the back end. Rodgers will have the final laugh when he knocks Favre and the Vikes out of the playoffs.
John Turner is a Summerside schoolteacher. His column appears every Saturday during the NFL season. Feel free to e-mail questions and comments to the footballfreak84@yahoo.ca.
