Football Monday on Tuesday: Season Predictions

Sorry this wasn't up yesterday, I was preoccupied with a few other things. Anywho, it's the last week of August and football season is just around the corner. We may have one game of preseason left, but that game is usually for the backups and third-stringers to fight to be on that list of 53. However, like everybody else, I'm anxious and excited. Also like everyone else, I'm going to make some predictions. Most of them will be based on what I have seen from each team so far, while others are mostly guesses.

For my predictions, I'll go through each division and predict how each team will finish, including playoff seeding. Then I'll predict individual awards such as MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, etc. Lastly, I'll predict the postseason from the wild card round to the Super Bowl. So, without further ado:



NFC North

1. Green Bay Packers 11-5
2. Chicago Bears 10-6
3. Minnesota Vikings 9-7
4. Detroit Lions 6-10

I have Green Bay winning the NFC North for a couple of reasons. One, Aaron Rodgers with some semblance to a run game. Think about it, a decent run game takes some of the heat from Rodgers, and with those receivers the Packers have, they've got a ton of potential. Two, the defense at least seems improved from last year, and if they stay healthy, they can be at least above average. The Bears have a promising new coach in Marc Trestmann, who is bringing in an offensive oriented philosophy, which will help them in the long run. The downside is the offensive line, which is below average, but anything can happen. I'd have the Vikings higher, but I think the other two teams are just better. Sure, they have Adrian Peterson and something resembling a good receiving corps, but their quarterback, Christian Ponder, is the fourth best QB in the division, so that's why they're third. The Lions, oh boy, they looked good in 2011 when they made the playoffs, but they have sunk since then. The major reason for that: lack of discipline. They have great talent on that team, but without discipline and some sort of direction, they will not go anywhere.


AFC North

1. Cincinnati Bengals 10-6
2. Baltimore Ravens 9-7
3. Pittsburgh Steelers 8-8
4. Cleveland Browns 5-11

Although the Ravens are the reigning champs and might actually be better than last year (at least defensively), I have a hunch about Cincinnati this year. They have both a good offense and defense. The only question mark, however, is the quarterback, Andy Dalton. He's proven to be good throughout the regular season, but hasn't gone anywhere past the wild card round. It's only a hunch, but I will predict he gets past that hump. Pittsburgh has a good offense, but its defense is going downhill, mostly due to age, so I think they'll miss the playoffs for a second year in a row. As for Cleveland, sure they have a new coach in Rob Chudzinski and the offense shows potential in offensive coordinator Norv Turner's system, but they look like a work in progress.


NFC East

1. Philadelphia Eagles 9-7
2. Washington Redskins 9-7
3. New York Giants 7-9
4. Dallas Cowboys 7-9

The NFC East is always a tough division to predict. Each team has enough talent to win the division, but they seem to underachieve. So, I'll pick Philly to win. Quarterback Michael Vick seems poised to have a great to MVP-like season under new coach Chip Kelly. Otherwise, the team as a whole seems unremarkable from what I've seen. Washington has a good team along with a potentially great QB in Robert Griffin III, but he does have risk given his ACL injury last year. I predict that Philadelphia will have a better division record than the Redskins will, which is why the Redskins lose the tiebreaker.  New York is always a dark horse, they can choke mightily, or they can be hot at the right time and make it to the Super Bowl. I haven't seen much of them this preseason, so I can't say anything beyond a hunch. Same goes for the Cowboys, they have talent, but they have to perform in the clutch to go beyond what they have done in recent years.


AFC East

1. New England Patriots 12-4
2. Miami Dolphins 9-7
3. Buffalo Bills 5-11
4. New York Jets3-13

There are two guarantees in life: death and taxes. They may as well add a third, albeit it is only a near-guarantee: the Patriots win the AFC East. That is all. Brady is Brady, Belichick is Belichick, and the Jets still suck. Miami is good, but another season away from being a contender. Buffalo is also improving, but their starting an undrafted rookie as their first round draft choice, E.J. Manuel, is injured; so that leaves a glaring hole. As for the Jets, no QB+talent+overrated coach=sucks.


NFC South

1. Atlanta Falcons 12-4
2. New Orleans Saints 11-5
3. Carolina Panthers 7-9
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5-11

The NFC South is always fascinating to me. Each of them has potential to win their division. Alright, the Falcons are stacked on offense and look improved on defense. As long as they execute and Matt Ryan (QB) plays the way he did last year, the Falcons win the division, but not easily. The Saints are improved, period. Their coach, Sean Payton, is back from his one year suspension; and that alone makes them a better team. Quarterback Drew Brees will look like the Drew Brees from 2011 and break his own passing yardage record. That defense, though, is still suspect, even with Rob Ryan taking over that horrendous unit. Going to Carolina, the Panthers look to improve from the past couple of seasons with Cam Newton as QB. They look good on offense, and their defense is nothing to laugh at, either. I only have them this low because, one, Atlanta and New Orleans are better; and two, the Panthers seem to underachieve despite their talent level. I haven't seen much of the Bucs, so they could surprise; but I'll keep my expectations low for the time being, despite the fact that they signed Darrell Revis; so, they are improved, at least on paper.

AFC South

1. Houston Texans 12-4
2. Indianapolis Colts 10-6
3. Tennessee Titans 3-13
4. Jacksonville Jaguars 3-13

If it weren't for the Colts, this would be easier to predict than the AFC East. Houston is stacked well at the skill positions and on defense. The only weak spot is quarterback Matt Schaub. The test for him is to make it past the divisional round of the playoffs. Indianapolis is building a solid team centered around QB Andrew Luck. But, I see a slight sophomore slump for him, but not that bad of one. Otherwise, they are solid, but not great. Tennessee and Jacksonville...haven't seen much of either, but wasn't impressed with what I did see.

NFC West

1. Seattle Seahawks 13-3
2. San Francisco 49ers 11-5
3. St. Louis Rams8-8
4. Arizona Cardinals 6-10

Now, this is the most exciting division. Every team is good, including the lowly Cardinals, who may have found a solution at quarterback. That being said, the other three teams are simply better. Seattle wins the division with a more complete team than the defending NFC champion 49ers. They are stacked on both sides of the ball. They have a very good quarterback in Russell Wilson, good receivers, a hell of a running game, and a good defense. The 49ers take second only because of injuries to certain players such as Michael Crabtree (WR) among others. The Rams continue to make strides, and they could also win most other divisions in the league. Again, the Seahawks and 49ers are better.

AFC West

1. Denver Broncos 11-5
2. Kansas City Chiefs 7-9
3. San Diego Chargers 5-11
4. Oakland Raiders 3-13

This division is the exact opposite. I have no interest in this division. The only good team is Denver, and that's only because they have Peyton Manning; but the team is dealing with a lot of injuries currently. They'll win the division only because the other teams are just not that good. San Diego has a new coach in Mike McCoy and Kansas City has Andy Reid. Their respective quarterbacks are Phillip Rivers, an underachiever, and Alex Smith, who only became good in San Francisco because of Jim Harbaugh. The Raiders are still rebuilding and won't go too far.

Postseason

NFC

1. Seattle
2. Atlanta
3. Green Bay
4. Philadelphia
5. San Francisco (Head-to-Head tiebreaker over New Orleans)
6. New Orleans

Wild Card

New Orleans (6) at Green Bay (3), Green Bay wins
San Francisco (5) at Philadelphia (4), San Francisco wins

Divisional

Green Bay (3) at Atlanta (2), Atlanta wins
San Francisco (5) at Seattle (1), San Francisco wins

NFC Championship

Atlanta over San Francisco

AFC

1. New England (Head-to-Head tiebreaker over Houston)
2. Houston
3. Denver
4. Cincinnati
5. Indianapolis
6. Baltimore (Head-to-Head over Miami)

Wild Card

Baltimore (6) at Denver (3), Baltimore wins
Indianapolis (5) at Cincinnati (4), Cincinnati wins

Divisional

Baltimore (6) at New England (1), Baltimore wins
Cincinnati(4) at Houston (2), Cincinnati wins

AFC Championship

Baltimore over Cincinnati

Super Bowl XLVIII

Atlanta over Baltimore; Super Bowl MVP- Matt Ryan, QB

Season Awards

MVP- Drew Brees, QB New Orleans

Offensive Player of the Year- Matt Ryan, QB Atlanta

Defensive Player of the Year-  Clay Matthews, OLB Green Bay

Rookie of the Year, Offense- Eddie Lacy, RB Green Bay

Rookie of the Year, Defense- Desmond Trufant

Those are my preseason predictions, I will check back with them at midseason to see if any new ones will be made. Otherwise, this is what stands, but it is one man's opinion. If you have different predictions, and you most likely will, feel free to make you're opinion known.

With all the fun aside, let's welcome the 2013 NFL regular season.

Until next time, God bless.