Salvatore "Greasy Thumb" Billoti Predictions
Straight from his jail cell to your device, Salvatore "Greasy Thumb" Billoti gives us his weekly predictions with great forethought and accuracy.
Sal's predictions are mailed from his Western New York penetentiary each Monday, received by NBL offices on Wednesday, and published each Thursday of the regular season. |
2022 Season preview
Miami Dolphins
Prediction: 5-9
After the move from Arizona last off-season. Owner TJ Luddy made some big time changes which helped propel his team to becoming one of the most improved in the 2022 season. His emphasis was on the defensive side of the ball with the highly touted free agent signing in Lenny Linville, 1st round pick Jabirl Peppers and superstar DT Aaron Donald. Defense is now the strong suit to this team and the question is on the offensive side of the ball. We all know they have star RB Jamaal Charles, but it’s the Quarterback position that we all have some questions about. Will it be veteran Chet Bowens? Who showed some flashes of brilliance, but also some awful performances when the team needed him most. Will Luddy turn the franchise over to last years 2nd round pick Deshaun Watson? Watson has struggled mightily in camp, but the time may be coming for a change. We all know Luddy’s feelings towards Chet. Earlier this offseason Owner TJ Luddy was quoted, outside of his Miami nightclub saying, “Chet is bum and that #4 kid from Albright would do so much better.”
Denver Broncos
Prediction 9-5
Purchased halfway through last season, new Owner Kyle Carney believes he is poised to have a breakout year. With rookie of the year QB Trevor Knight leading the offense, and a completely revamped secondary the Denver Broncos could be a scary team to face. The team brought in 6 new DBs this offseason. Veterans Marqueston Huff, Mitchel Hislop, Pierre Desir, Rob O’hara and then freak rookie athletes in S Troy Apke and CB Avonte Maddox. This complete makeover, Carney hopes to take his team from the worst passing defense to Top 5 in one year. With the Broncos high powered offense this should make for a perfect harmony in Colorado.
Chicago Bears
Prediction 3-11
The Chicago Bears 2022 season outlook is looking a bit bleak, but there are some things to look forward to, from this team. They have a brand-new owner and he hopes to have hit on a few of his teams draft picks before he took over. It looks as though the Erik Powers days are over and rookie QBs Josh Rosen and Josh Allen will battle it out for the starting gig. Luckily for them they have STUD WR Odell Bechham Jr to throw the rock too, and a bunch of good veteran pass catchers. I believe the biggest struggle for the Bears this upcoming season will be on defense. They did not do much in the draft or free agency to help a defense who was bottom 3 in both passing and rushing yards against. In a division with a high octane offense like Detroit, the most well rounded offense in Minnesota, I see the Bears replicating their 2022 season on defense. Unfortunately...
Minnesota Vikings
Prediction: 10-4
When you have a conspiracy theorist as an owner, you must take some things for granted. The Vikings looked to have lost a lot of key talent on the defensive side of the ball, when star linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis, Cornerback Pierre Desir and DE Booth Tyndall were all signed elsewhere in free agency. Owner/GM/Conspiracy Theorist himself Chris Badinger thinks his team will be just fine with the replacements he got. 1st round pick Dane Cruikshank looks to pair himself with veteran Jaquiski Tartt to make a great athletic duo in the backend. The real big news just happened last week when Minny sent their 1st round pick in 2023 to Miami for Superstar CB Eric Rowe. If I had to guess, I would say Badinger is correct and his defense will be just fine without the guys they lost. On offense they are still led by QB Prescott who looks to start off the season hot with his group of speedy pass catchers. The team is hopeful that last years 1st round pick Chris Godwin can make leaps and bounds and help the offense become more explosive.
Detroit Lions
Prediction: 11-3
The greatest show on turf NBL addition may be right here in Detroit. An offense with deep threat Dri Archer, up and coming WR Taywan Taylor and RB Jerry Willis can score from anywhere on the field. They also added to the arsenal with 1st round pick RB Nick Chubb. Chubb’s athletic ability is something Owner Greg Fields will definitely want to utilize as the season unfolds. The real money maker for this team is groups of hogmollys playing on both sides of the ball. The Oline only allowed a league low 13 sacks last season, while the DLine tallied a league high 61 sacks. Losing veteran DT Filli Moala will hurt in the run game, but DEs Carl Lawson, Josh Carroway, and Matt Judon look to break their 61 sack record from a year ago.
New York Jets
Prediction: 3-11
The Jets come into this season as a complete mystery. They have a very solid defense led by superstar S Deone Buccanon who signed a max contract extension this past offseason. The unfortunate circumstance for New York was this cost them half of their entire Free Agent budget. Most teams do not win Superbowls with only a great safety. This did not leave them with a lot of money to upgrade elsewhere. The defense has not been an issue when Buccanon and Lowry have been on the field. The biggest concern comes on the offensive side of the ball. The team traded a 2nd round pick last year and a starting corner for QB Cody Fajardo, who at times looked pedestrian last season. Finishing the season with a 70.9 rating and only 8TDs to 11INTs. Will owner Barry Nagle go back to his old veteran QB Van Egger? The team resigned him to a contract this season, proving to Jets nation they are not sold on the Fajardo experiment. If this team can get some consistent QB play and find a running back, to take load of the work, they could be a sneaky team to play in 2022.
Philadelphia Eagles
Prediction: 9-5
Home of brotherly love and the cheesesteak, The Philadelphia Eagles had a very productive offseason. Some may say they made too many moves in the past 12 months, but owner Sabian Carl is known to not be afraid to gamble. When he was asked about all of his moves in the last year he responded with, “I have 1-800-GAMBLER on speed dial for a reason. I am not afraid to make the moves that I feel this team needs to bring a championship to Philly.” As he was leaving his press conference, he gave us all a wink and said, “If you think I’m done making moves you don’t know me very well…”
Philly comes in with a new HC and OC and looks set to hand the keys to 2 1st round rookies in Baker Mayfield and Saquon Barkley. This new mix of coaches and players make take a few weeks for them to settle in, but once they do I believe they will be a dangerous offense. Look for star WR Curtis Samuel to take the next step at becoming one of the premier deep threats in the league. On defense highly touted free agent signing Kevin Pierre-Louis looks to take the roll of signal caller from long time Eagles great Charles Szott as he retired this past offseason. If this team gets hot at the end of the year be on the lookout for a strong post season run.
Pittsburg Steelers
Prediction: 9-5
Black and Yellow, Black and Yellow… The Steelers look to right the ship after an extremely disappointing 2021 campaign. Owner Jordan Fegley had picks 1 and 6 in the draft and I believe he addressed his 2 biggest issues. First and foremost was the 1st overall pick in the draft QB Lamar Jackson. Lamar’s legs are nothing like the NBL has ever seen. He’s a greater threat running the ball as a quarterback then throwing and Fegley is ecstatic about it. The real concern with Lamar is he has hands the size of a new born Oompa Loompa and this can pose an issue as he moves into the professional league. On defense they attacked their greatest weakness, which was the pass rush, with STUD DE Leon Jacobs. Jacobs just like Lamar was the most athletically gifted player in the draft, and the Steelers hope he can turn the worst pass rushing team a season ago, into a top 5 unit. Rookie CB Jaire Alexander will look to lock down opposing WRs as the year unfolds as well, hopefully making it not a weakness like it was last year. Pittsburgh will turn this thing around quickly and be a threat in a weaker conference.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Prediction: 8-6
Jacksonville comes into the season maybe more setup than they have ever been under owner Josh Volpe. He resigned Jamies this past offseason, and made some hugeee splashes at WR with Kevin Drewery and Eddie Royal. This new duo along with another year of progress from Derrick Henry should set the Jags offense to be something to keep an eye out for. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the offseason was Volpes decision to draft defensive players with many of his picks. 1st round pick Marcus Davenport hopes to take the next step and help a team who was in the bottom 3 of sacks a year ago. Some around the league are still questioning what will happen with Head Coach Urban Meyer as he continues to dance with college girls and call the rest of his coaches’ losers. If Jameis can limit his turnovers, and Urban Meyer controls what’s behind his zipper this team could surprise a lot of us in the 2022 season.
Kansas City Chiefs
Prediction: 4-10
New owner Michael Bowman has his work cut out for him. A team who picked 3rd a year ago may not be picking much farther from that spot again as we move into the 2022 season. They have a plethora of question marks that need be addressed and honestly its an end of an era in KC. It was rumored that both Gambino and Rapid were both on the team’s trade block this past week, meaning Bowman is looking to clean house and turn to the young guys on the roster to see what they got. All of this while he builds for the future. 3rd overall pick Keke Coutee looks to lead the youth movement with QB Bryce Petty as Bowman’s first season takes place.
New Orleans Saints
Prediction: 9-5
Owner Sam Nosoff said this past offseason that he was done with journeymen QBs and wanted someone to build around. Well he did that, selecting Sam Darnold in the 1st round of the draft. Darnold comes into a heavy run scheme but a team that still likes to throw the rock deep. Marcus Musson and Garry Thompson struggled to do this last year making opposing defenses key in on the running game. With the speed the Saints have on the outside I seem to think Darnold will have a field day throwing the deep ball to players like Shepard, Wilson, and Peake. Defensively, the hardest team to run against last year got even better when they traded for Montravius Adams from LV a week ago. The biggest concern for NO will be there medical staff as any team that Mr Nosoff owns just seems to become very brittle. If the team can stay away from the injury bug, New Orleans will have a good chance to make the playoffs this season and get the team back to the conference championship game
Green Bay Packers
Prediction: 10-4
The NBL Champs look to repeat what they did just one season ago. QB Frank Key is back and the offensive line looks to have gotten even better. This is going to be key for the Packers as they lost Keys favorite weapon in FA Kevin Drewery to Jacksonville. They may need to lean more on the running game with sophomore standout Christian McCafrey in the backfield. They hope he can ascend into a top back in the league and help keep the pressure on the rest of the AFC. After the retirement of Lamar Dubois owner Danny Cole knew what he had to do in the 1st round of the 2022 NBL draft and that was find his replacement. He his hopeful Kalambayi can be that guy. However, this team is getting old, and with age comes injuries and retirements. Is this Keys last run? Will this be the last season the Packers have a shot for a while? We will see as the season unfolds and we move into next offseason.
Prediction: 5-9
After the move from Arizona last off-season. Owner TJ Luddy made some big time changes which helped propel his team to becoming one of the most improved in the 2022 season. His emphasis was on the defensive side of the ball with the highly touted free agent signing in Lenny Linville, 1st round pick Jabirl Peppers and superstar DT Aaron Donald. Defense is now the strong suit to this team and the question is on the offensive side of the ball. We all know they have star RB Jamaal Charles, but it’s the Quarterback position that we all have some questions about. Will it be veteran Chet Bowens? Who showed some flashes of brilliance, but also some awful performances when the team needed him most. Will Luddy turn the franchise over to last years 2nd round pick Deshaun Watson? Watson has struggled mightily in camp, but the time may be coming for a change. We all know Luddy’s feelings towards Chet. Earlier this offseason Owner TJ Luddy was quoted, outside of his Miami nightclub saying, “Chet is bum and that #4 kid from Albright would do so much better.”
Denver Broncos
Prediction 9-5
Purchased halfway through last season, new Owner Kyle Carney believes he is poised to have a breakout year. With rookie of the year QB Trevor Knight leading the offense, and a completely revamped secondary the Denver Broncos could be a scary team to face. The team brought in 6 new DBs this offseason. Veterans Marqueston Huff, Mitchel Hislop, Pierre Desir, Rob O’hara and then freak rookie athletes in S Troy Apke and CB Avonte Maddox. This complete makeover, Carney hopes to take his team from the worst passing defense to Top 5 in one year. With the Broncos high powered offense this should make for a perfect harmony in Colorado.
Chicago Bears
Prediction 3-11
The Chicago Bears 2022 season outlook is looking a bit bleak, but there are some things to look forward to, from this team. They have a brand-new owner and he hopes to have hit on a few of his teams draft picks before he took over. It looks as though the Erik Powers days are over and rookie QBs Josh Rosen and Josh Allen will battle it out for the starting gig. Luckily for them they have STUD WR Odell Bechham Jr to throw the rock too, and a bunch of good veteran pass catchers. I believe the biggest struggle for the Bears this upcoming season will be on defense. They did not do much in the draft or free agency to help a defense who was bottom 3 in both passing and rushing yards against. In a division with a high octane offense like Detroit, the most well rounded offense in Minnesota, I see the Bears replicating their 2022 season on defense. Unfortunately...
Minnesota Vikings
Prediction: 10-4
When you have a conspiracy theorist as an owner, you must take some things for granted. The Vikings looked to have lost a lot of key talent on the defensive side of the ball, when star linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis, Cornerback Pierre Desir and DE Booth Tyndall were all signed elsewhere in free agency. Owner/GM/Conspiracy Theorist himself Chris Badinger thinks his team will be just fine with the replacements he got. 1st round pick Dane Cruikshank looks to pair himself with veteran Jaquiski Tartt to make a great athletic duo in the backend. The real big news just happened last week when Minny sent their 1st round pick in 2023 to Miami for Superstar CB Eric Rowe. If I had to guess, I would say Badinger is correct and his defense will be just fine without the guys they lost. On offense they are still led by QB Prescott who looks to start off the season hot with his group of speedy pass catchers. The team is hopeful that last years 1st round pick Chris Godwin can make leaps and bounds and help the offense become more explosive.
Detroit Lions
Prediction: 11-3
The greatest show on turf NBL addition may be right here in Detroit. An offense with deep threat Dri Archer, up and coming WR Taywan Taylor and RB Jerry Willis can score from anywhere on the field. They also added to the arsenal with 1st round pick RB Nick Chubb. Chubb’s athletic ability is something Owner Greg Fields will definitely want to utilize as the season unfolds. The real money maker for this team is groups of hogmollys playing on both sides of the ball. The Oline only allowed a league low 13 sacks last season, while the DLine tallied a league high 61 sacks. Losing veteran DT Filli Moala will hurt in the run game, but DEs Carl Lawson, Josh Carroway, and Matt Judon look to break their 61 sack record from a year ago.
New York Jets
Prediction: 3-11
The Jets come into this season as a complete mystery. They have a very solid defense led by superstar S Deone Buccanon who signed a max contract extension this past offseason. The unfortunate circumstance for New York was this cost them half of their entire Free Agent budget. Most teams do not win Superbowls with only a great safety. This did not leave them with a lot of money to upgrade elsewhere. The defense has not been an issue when Buccanon and Lowry have been on the field. The biggest concern comes on the offensive side of the ball. The team traded a 2nd round pick last year and a starting corner for QB Cody Fajardo, who at times looked pedestrian last season. Finishing the season with a 70.9 rating and only 8TDs to 11INTs. Will owner Barry Nagle go back to his old veteran QB Van Egger? The team resigned him to a contract this season, proving to Jets nation they are not sold on the Fajardo experiment. If this team can get some consistent QB play and find a running back, to take load of the work, they could be a sneaky team to play in 2022.
Philadelphia Eagles
Prediction: 9-5
Home of brotherly love and the cheesesteak, The Philadelphia Eagles had a very productive offseason. Some may say they made too many moves in the past 12 months, but owner Sabian Carl is known to not be afraid to gamble. When he was asked about all of his moves in the last year he responded with, “I have 1-800-GAMBLER on speed dial for a reason. I am not afraid to make the moves that I feel this team needs to bring a championship to Philly.” As he was leaving his press conference, he gave us all a wink and said, “If you think I’m done making moves you don’t know me very well…”
Philly comes in with a new HC and OC and looks set to hand the keys to 2 1st round rookies in Baker Mayfield and Saquon Barkley. This new mix of coaches and players make take a few weeks for them to settle in, but once they do I believe they will be a dangerous offense. Look for star WR Curtis Samuel to take the next step at becoming one of the premier deep threats in the league. On defense highly touted free agent signing Kevin Pierre-Louis looks to take the roll of signal caller from long time Eagles great Charles Szott as he retired this past offseason. If this team gets hot at the end of the year be on the lookout for a strong post season run.
Pittsburg Steelers
Prediction: 9-5
Black and Yellow, Black and Yellow… The Steelers look to right the ship after an extremely disappointing 2021 campaign. Owner Jordan Fegley had picks 1 and 6 in the draft and I believe he addressed his 2 biggest issues. First and foremost was the 1st overall pick in the draft QB Lamar Jackson. Lamar’s legs are nothing like the NBL has ever seen. He’s a greater threat running the ball as a quarterback then throwing and Fegley is ecstatic about it. The real concern with Lamar is he has hands the size of a new born Oompa Loompa and this can pose an issue as he moves into the professional league. On defense they attacked their greatest weakness, which was the pass rush, with STUD DE Leon Jacobs. Jacobs just like Lamar was the most athletically gifted player in the draft, and the Steelers hope he can turn the worst pass rushing team a season ago, into a top 5 unit. Rookie CB Jaire Alexander will look to lock down opposing WRs as the year unfolds as well, hopefully making it not a weakness like it was last year. Pittsburgh will turn this thing around quickly and be a threat in a weaker conference.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Prediction: 8-6
Jacksonville comes into the season maybe more setup than they have ever been under owner Josh Volpe. He resigned Jamies this past offseason, and made some hugeee splashes at WR with Kevin Drewery and Eddie Royal. This new duo along with another year of progress from Derrick Henry should set the Jags offense to be something to keep an eye out for. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the offseason was Volpes decision to draft defensive players with many of his picks. 1st round pick Marcus Davenport hopes to take the next step and help a team who was in the bottom 3 of sacks a year ago. Some around the league are still questioning what will happen with Head Coach Urban Meyer as he continues to dance with college girls and call the rest of his coaches’ losers. If Jameis can limit his turnovers, and Urban Meyer controls what’s behind his zipper this team could surprise a lot of us in the 2022 season.
Kansas City Chiefs
Prediction: 4-10
New owner Michael Bowman has his work cut out for him. A team who picked 3rd a year ago may not be picking much farther from that spot again as we move into the 2022 season. They have a plethora of question marks that need be addressed and honestly its an end of an era in KC. It was rumored that both Gambino and Rapid were both on the team’s trade block this past week, meaning Bowman is looking to clean house and turn to the young guys on the roster to see what they got. All of this while he builds for the future. 3rd overall pick Keke Coutee looks to lead the youth movement with QB Bryce Petty as Bowman’s first season takes place.
New Orleans Saints
Prediction: 9-5
Owner Sam Nosoff said this past offseason that he was done with journeymen QBs and wanted someone to build around. Well he did that, selecting Sam Darnold in the 1st round of the draft. Darnold comes into a heavy run scheme but a team that still likes to throw the rock deep. Marcus Musson and Garry Thompson struggled to do this last year making opposing defenses key in on the running game. With the speed the Saints have on the outside I seem to think Darnold will have a field day throwing the deep ball to players like Shepard, Wilson, and Peake. Defensively, the hardest team to run against last year got even better when they traded for Montravius Adams from LV a week ago. The biggest concern for NO will be there medical staff as any team that Mr Nosoff owns just seems to become very brittle. If the team can stay away from the injury bug, New Orleans will have a good chance to make the playoffs this season and get the team back to the conference championship game
Green Bay Packers
Prediction: 10-4
The NBL Champs look to repeat what they did just one season ago. QB Frank Key is back and the offensive line looks to have gotten even better. This is going to be key for the Packers as they lost Keys favorite weapon in FA Kevin Drewery to Jacksonville. They may need to lean more on the running game with sophomore standout Christian McCafrey in the backfield. They hope he can ascend into a top back in the league and help keep the pressure on the rest of the AFC. After the retirement of Lamar Dubois owner Danny Cole knew what he had to do in the 1st round of the 2022 NBL draft and that was find his replacement. He his hopeful Kalambayi can be that guy. However, this team is getting old, and with age comes injuries and retirements. Is this Keys last run? Will this be the last season the Packers have a shot for a while? We will see as the season unfolds and we move into next offseason.
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