We are now but one week away from the season opener at Foxboro against the evil Patriots and as of today, I am officially worried about this team.

If you read last year's blog you know that I went into the season full of hope and confidence. Right now I just have a sinking feeling that something bad is about to happen and to be honest, a blowout loss to New England would be almost welcome with the thoughts I have been having. Peyton getting hurt, Edge pulling some hare-brained stunt, Marvin, Brandon and Reggie Wayne all going down with injuries and our defense being unable to stop anyone.

Prior to preseason I thought this team had a legitimate chance at 14-2 with bookend losses at New England and Denver. I also realized that was before I had seen any practice or any preseason action. Well after the first three preseason games (the fourth doesn't matter anyway does it?) I am not convinced this team is anywhere near ready to play.

Let's start at the top. Peyton Manning has looked awful in the games. He has hung receivers out to dry, he has thrown interceptions and has simply not looked sharp. After six years this guy out to resemble New York Cheddar with minimal practice. Instead he has looked like a piece of shit on rye. And I like rye!

What little we have seen of Edge has been impressive. He looks quick, fast and powerful. His naysayers are complete and unmitigated morons, but since he is black, he will have his share of detractors. If we are to have major success this year it will be because he has an All-Pro year. Edge's backup however is another story. The oft injured Dominic 'Rocky" Rhodes has looked so-so. He did okay last week as a kick returner, but I don't think he will make anyone forget Edge. I like the Rock, but I am just not, nor have I ever been sold on him. He got 1000+ yards in his rookie year after Edge went down, but I have always felt those numbers were inflated by defenses that showed him no respect and keyed on the passing game.

Beyond Edge and Rock is James "One hit wonder" Mungro. He's hurt all of the time and is still clinging to his game against the Eagles two years ago as his claim to fame.

Our wideouts are superb and even with the loss of Troy Walters we have one of the deepest and most talented crews in the league. Toss in Marcus Pollard, Dallas "Fort Worth" Clark and Bryan Fletcher and we have 8 big time, go to guys. However, each and every one of them, except Marvin is susceptible to injury. Stokely finally came around last season and was a huge addition, but can he remain healthy. Brad "Hubie" Pyatt is an excellent return man AND receiver, but he too is hurt a lot. Same with Aaron "Agnes" Moorehead.

Our front line is solid with continued coaching from Howard Mudd. Year in, year out these guys are the rock that keeps Peyton upright and productive. For some reason we are able to keep plugging guys in there and the job keeps getting done. I will say this though, I understand why it happened, but I think we will all miss Adam Meadows. Lost due to cap concerns, Meadows was a true Colt. He was a backup early in his career, then a starter and then lost his job last fall. However, he didn't piss and moan and he filled in admirably when called upon.

So offensively we seem to be set, but injuries are just nagging at my mind for some reason.

Defensively we are a mess.

Sure Dwight Freeney anchors a young D that has the speed to attack. We even have some big hitters with guys like Mike dose and eventually with a guy I think will be a Pro Bowler in Bob Sanders. However, we still have the moron extraordinaire Rob Morris as our starting MLB.

I have said this before and I will say it again, Rob Morris is the worst MLB in the game. He is slow, he doesn't seem to like to tackle and he usually looks lost. Frankly, it is his position that scares me the most.

We're also beat up badly on D. Joseph Jefferson who was supposed to play corner is hurt. Idrees Bashir is hurt. That is half of our starting D backfield. Scary, scary, scary!

Last year we did seem to make some strides in our kick coverage units, although that asshole Dante Hall lit us up for one during the playoff game at KC. Fucker! Of course Vandy is money and Hunter Smith is one of the tops in the league. The David Kimball experiment came to a conclusion on Tuesday when the rookie kicker from Penn State was cut.

I guess when I write it out, only the D scares me to death, but that is such a huge factor in the NFL. I will make my offical prediciton next week, but right now I see an 11-5 team, but still a playoff and probably an AFC South division Champ!