(1) New
England Patriots 12-4
Buffalo
Bills 6-10
New York
Jets 6-10
Miami
Dolphins 6-10
AFC North
(2)
Pittsburgh Steelers 11-5
(5)
Cincinnati Bengals 10-6
Baltimore
Ravens 9-7
Cleveland
Browns 5-11
AFC South
(4) Houston
Texans 11-5
Indianapolis
Colts 8-8
Tennessee
Titans 4-12
Jacksonville
Jaguars 2-14
AFC West
(3) Denver
Broncos 11-5
(6) Kansas
City Chiefs 10-6
San Diego
Chargers 6-10
Oakland
Raiders 3-13
NFC East
(4) New York
Giants 10-6
Washington
Redskins 9-7
Dallas Cowboys
8-8
Philadelphia
Eagles 6-10
NFC North
(2) Green
Bay Packers 11-5
Chicago
Bears 9-7
Detroit
Lions 8-8
Minnesota
Vikings 6-10
NFC South
(3)New
Orleans Saints 10-6
(6) Atlanta
Falcons 9-7
Tampa Bay
Buccaneers 7-9
Carolina
Panthers 6-10
NFC West
(1) Seattle
Seahawks 12-4
(5) San Francisco
49ers 12-4
St. Louis
Rams 7-9
Arizona
Cardinals 6-10
NFC Championship: Seattle Seahawks over
Green Bay Packers
AFC Championship: Pittsburgh Steelers
over New England Patriots
Super Bowl: Seattle Seahawks over
Pittsburgh Steelers
MVP: Aaron Rodgers, QB Green Bay
Packers
Some Notes
about my predictions:
·
I believe the NFC is significantly stronger than
the AFC this season; especially the NFC West which I believe has the two best
teams in football.
·
AFC playoff teams
o
The Patriots are probably as low on talent as
they have been in years, however there are a few reasons I see two main reasons
they will have the best record in the AFC: an improved defense, New England has
invested heavily in their defense recently and I think it pays off this season,
also they play in the AFC East, one of the weakest divisions in football,
allowing them to possibly go 6-0 in division play
o
Many don’t see the Steelers as a playoff team,
but personally I believe the injury ravaged bunch of the past few seasons gives
way to a fairly dominant team, with a team that is beginning to skew younger
o
The Broncos probably won’t be as dominant as
last season’s with a weaker defense, but a Peyton Manning led offense
practically guarantees 11 wins
o
The Texans much like the Broncos probably won’t
be as good as last season but a J.J. Watt led defense and a strong running game
in a weak division probably guarantees at least a division crown
o
The Chiefs are basically everyone’s sleeper
team, I don’t know if that makes them a sleeper though, and I agree improved
coaching and quarterback play, along with a surprisingly strong talent base
should help lead them to a playoff season
o
The Bengals are my final playoff team as a
strong defense and an offense revolving around A. J. Green might not result in
dominance but could definitely result in a playoff berth. If Andy Dalton improves substantially this
team has even more potential.
·
AFC non-playoff teams(I’m just going over a few
notable teams)
o
I see the Ravens taking a step back this season
for a few reasons, the team really isn’t the same as last year’s and the large
roster turnover could result in a team taking some time to gel as a unit.
o
The Colts could end up being a better team than
last year, but end up with a substantially worse record. Last year’s Colts team got outscored last
season, while playing the easiest schedule in football, had an insane 9-1
record in one score games, and they had Chuckstrong going. This team might end up improving but last
year the Colts were basically a 6 or 7 win team that somehow won 11 games, and I
just can’t see that happening again.
o
The AFC East teams I all see getting 6 wins for
a few reasons, the Jets no matter what everyone seems to think aren’t the worst
team in football. They were a 6 win team
last season that had a terrible offense and a very good defense, and honestly I
don’t see how that changed things for them.
The Dolphins seem to be a team many people think is going to improve because
of all their splashy free agent moves.
However this team also lost many important contributors in free agency
and I don’t see them getting much better without them. The Bills have the highest variance of all
those teams, if EJ Manuel impresses and the defense improves then this team
could theoretically sneak into the playoffs, if those things don’t happen this
could be a 3 or 4 win team.
·
NFC Playoff teams
o
The Seahawks and 49ers are the two best teams in
football point blank. These two teams
have elite defenses by any measure, elite running games and impressive young
quarterbacks. If I had to choose I’d give
the Seahawks a slight edge because their passing game will probably be a little
stronger than last years.
o
I am also a strong believer in the Green Bay
Packers this season and I believe Aaron Rodgers is going to have a monster
season. The team was one of the most
injured in football last season and their improved health should help them to
stay strong as a title contender.
o
The Saints are another interesting team after
last year’s disappointing Bounty Gate plagued season. The return of Sean Payton should
automatically improve the team even if the defense is pretty awful again. However a Drew Brees and Sean Payton led
offense should be enough to get this team to 10 wins.
o
I also think the Giants return as winners of the
NFC East. This team has a very good
quarterback and an enigmatic defense that should lead it to about 10 wins and
come playoff time this team could go on a Super Bowl run or lose in the 1st
round who knows.
o
I think the last Wild Card spot ends up going to
the Falcons who are going to stumble after last year’s impressive season. While the offense is still quite dynamic, the
defense will likely become worse this season and the NFC South is going to be
stronger than it was last season.
·
NFC non-playoff teams
o
Really if any team in the NFC made the playoffs
besides maybe the Arizona Cardinals I wouldn’t be that surprised. The NFC is completely loaded this season, not
just top heavy but quite deep as well.
o
The Redskins will probably fall back a little
bit after their surprise season last year and will likely be more conservative
with their use of RGIII, though they still have a lot of talent.
o
The Cowboys are dangerous as always but probably
aren’t deep enough a team to get there.
o
I’m not a huge believe in the Eagles this season
but they could finish almost anywhere depending on how Chip Kelly’s gameplan
works out.
o
The Bears offense should be better than last
season but it will be almost impossible for their defense to be that productive
again.
o
The Lions should improve substantially from last
season with a better record in close games along with an improved defense and
running game, but this team is quite top heavy, I don’t think they are deep
enough to make the playoffs
o
The Vikings were a playoff team last season led
by the otherworldly Adrian Peterson.
However if Peterson’s play drops from otherworldly to simply best in the
league this alone should drop them from playoff team to NFC also ran
o
The Buccaneers are another team that is quite
high variance. The defense is quite
talented and if Josh Freeman improves the team has a chance to be a Super Bowl
contender. However I’m not sold on Josh
Freeman and thus I see them outside looking in
o
Talent wise the Panthers could easily be a
playoff team this season. However I
believe Ron Rivera is one of the worst coaches in football and that their talent
base is slightly overrated.
o
The Rams have a decent talent base and if Sam
Bradford emerges as a solid starter, while unlikely, they have the defensive talent
to break through
Playoffs
·
I think that either the Seahawks or 49ers are
the two teams most likely to win the Super Bowl from a talent perspective;
however they will likely play each other before the NFC Championship even. One of those two teams will win the Super
Bowl but it is going to be interesting to see how it plays out.
·
The AFC is probably just as interesting in that
no team truly looks like that strong a contender. Personally I’d give the edge to the Steelers
because of their balance between offense and defense.
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