Its that time again!! Time for you to put away those jerseys of all the other sports you like and watch a real American Pastime, the NFL!! Mostly every fan of football has that one team you root for, no matter if it is your hometown or the team you grew up watching, football is the most popular sport. But in the same vein that every snowflake is not the same, neither is every NFL season. And since preseason is no full inclination as to how well a team is going to be, I figured I would give you my take on what teams are going to make noise and possibly have the distinct honor of hoisting a Lombardi Trophy.
First, lets get into the rules of this prediction web I am going to weave:
1. I will NOT be posting what I feel the final records of teams will be
2. I take into account any injuries that have happened before the season has started, which includes anything that happened in training camp or during the off season
3. I will be fair and unbiased in my prediction, meaning you are open to argue against my thoughts in the comments section below
4. Remember that this is all in fun so take it with a grain of salt
So with that all said, lets start with the NFC
NFC North: This division is a 2 horse race between Green Bay and Detroit. I don't care how much Chicago wants to say it has changed, the simple fact is that the team has only gotten worse over the years. I understand that they made some moves in the draft by focusing purely on defense but those are only small plugs in a large gaping hole that defense has. Replacing Julius Peppers with Jared Allen means nothing because the D-Line didn't go from bad to great, it went bad to okay. And in this division, You need a division to make something happen. Minnesota is also a non-factor due to the fact that they think that having Adrian Peterson will win them a division, but it won't without a true number one and two receiver on the team. Now back to Detroit and Green Bay, who will literally be in a fight for the division. Both of these teams have the necessary firepower to win the division or at least make a wild card. Aaron Rodgers and his ability to make the incredible seem ordinary will be in high demand this year, and Detroit's offense will be unstoppable with Reggie Bush, Joqiue Bell, Eric Ebron, Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate. The question that will decide who wins this division will come down to this: between Detroit's secondary and Green Bay's lack of trust in it's defense, who falters first and the most often?
Result: Green Bay or Detroit, loser get into wild card contention.
NFC East: Oh dear god, this division gives me headaches every time I see it on TV. I don't know what's worse: The owner of Washington refusing to change the team name, Eli Manning's deadpan face, The home of the Philly cheese steak has a team that has gone almost vegan, or the Dallas Cowboys. Let me just cut to the chase and say that Washington wins the division over Philadelphia due to Philly giving up Desean Jackson. Washington's new system is akin to the one that Robert Griffin played with at Baylor, and adding a motivated Jackson will be dangerous. The Giants will be the same as last year and the Cowboys will be the walking piece of mediocrity that they always are. And if you don't believe me, look at the amount of yards per game they gave up last year and look at how much they gave up in their first preseason game.
Result: Washington wins, Philly might be a challenge.
NFC South: This is Saints territory no matter what way you slice it. I understand that Atlanta will be healthy this time around, but they took a major step back last year while New Orleans stayed the course if only to come up second to Carolina. And speaking of those Panthers, they might decline a lot this year. I'm not saying they will have a below .500 record, but with the major losses in the receiving corps, along with Greg Hardy possibly getting suspended, this team is on the brink of faltering sooner or later. Tampa Bay can make things interesting, but I don't see them making the jump from worst to first within one whole season.
Result: New Orleans marches away with this one, be surprised if anyone else does.
NFC West: Scary. That's exactly what this division is. Scary, terrifying. Just down right monstrous. From top to bottom this is a division that, if the playoffs had more teams allowed to play( hint hint) they would have 3-4 teams in the playoffs. Don't be surprised if all four of these teams have double digit winning seasons this year. By default, you have to pick Seattle to win the division but I don't doubt the threat the Arizona brings if it can work out its offense, and St. Louis defense is great but it needs Sam Bradford to be big time. While all four teams are good, the one team I have lost faith in is San Fran. I think with the way things ended last year for them, they might be out for more revenge against Seattle than trying to win, which can be their downfall.
Result: Seattle, but any team in this division can win the title.
Now that we have our results for that conference, lets look at the AFC.
AFC East: New England. I have nothing else to add. Okay, since you want more coverage of the division that New England has only lost twice since, I don't know, 2001, I'll say more. When it comes to the Jets, they have a issue on there hands, actually two if you look at things. First, who is going to be there QB: Geno or Vick? You have a issue on your hands because their play styles are different so if one gets injured during the season, you have to either make him convert his style to the playbook or make the whole offense convert to his style. Your second issue is that while you defense is good, how good is that secondary? They made big claims a few weeks ago by saying they are better than the Legion of Boom in Seattle. They will be tested 3 weeks in a row with games against three fourths of the NFC with Green Bay, Chicago and Detroit. Miami might be good this year, they could challenge for the crown but it will be tough because they have to answer are they truly past the Jonathan Martin incident and can that O-line really protect Ryan Tannehill. Buffalo might be in the same boat as Miami, especially after the addition of Sammy Watkins to the team. They might not be a threat to the crown this year but expect them to be a dark horse waking up for the next couple of years
Result: New England. Could see Miami in contention for a wild card spot.
AFC West: This one is more difficult the more I look at it. On paper, it should be easy to say Denver will run away with this division. I mean look at them, great QB, a arsenal with weapons like the Thomas boys , Welker and others. And the defense actually got better. Also Oakland is still in the rebuilding mode and might need more than this year to get on track, and Kansas City will keep thing interesting with new additions and a can't quit attitude. But I'm going to go against the grain and say that San Diego wins the division this year. They are the only team other than Seattle, New England and Indianapolis to beat them, and the divisional loss they gave up. San Diego did nothing to regress from last year in fact they got better, especially after the pickup of Eddie Royal, Tevin Reese and Jason Verrett. Expect a dogfight for the West.
Result: San Diego vs Denver will make things interesting.
AFC North: Cincinnati has no, and I mean NO EXCUSE to mess this up. Baltimore and its new additions might give them issues, but short of that, there isn't anyone else. Cleveland won't play the one player that makes them relevant at QB, and Pittsburgh is a retirement home in terms of players because the roster is mostly filled with veterans. The big question for Cincinnati is can Marvin Lewis get them past the first round of the playoffs with a weak division and a solid offense and defense? Still there division to take.
Result: Cincinnati takes it this year, continuing a streak from last year.
AFC South: For this division, I will sum it up in 15 words:
Clowney exciting. Colts are the best team in south. Jacksonville and Tennessee don't matter.
Don't expect much from any team other than Indy, as Houston will be competitive, but it the most competition they will receive in the whole division.
Result: Indy by a landslide.
To close, lets look at who we have making it to the second season:
NFC
Green Bay
Detroit
Washington
New Orleans
Seattle
Arizona
AFC
New England
Denver
San Diego
Indianapolis
Kansas City
Cincinnati
By my estimation let me tell you now that whoever wins the NFC will win the title. Despite my claims about Denver and New England, no team in the AFC can beat these NFC teams. And that's without having Seattle repeat this year, which I don't think they will. But hey, this is only a theory, and the season is still young. So now that we have gotten the boring stuff out the way, lets go find a big TV, a nice couch, grab some snacks and watch some football.
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