NFC East
The NFC East is always the most challenging division to predict. Giants, Eagles, and Cowboys are all talented enough teams to make a run in the playoffs. Washington, after starting 3-1, is back to what I thought they were…..horrible…Let’s see how the division will shape up.
I thought Eagles would be the cream of the crop and guess what, I still do. If you learned anything this weekend, their display against the Cowboys should tell you that they are about to turn a corner and take this division back. McCoy is one of the best players in the NFL and he’s finally being utilized that way. I think Eagles finish the season at 6-3, making their final record 9-7. They certainly, with their talent, sneak out a 10-6 record.
Giants may have won two in a row, but there has been nothing convincing in their near losses to Seattle and Miami. Manningham being back certainly helps but their defense isn’t very good so every game is going to be a struggle for them. Giants have a VERY tough schedule ahead and I see them faltering to a 8-8 record.
Dallas is the streakiest team of them all. They had a chance to beat Jets at the beginning of the season and they let one slip against Detroit and New England. But then last week, they got smoked by Giants. Their next six games are certainly winnable as long as the real Cowboys show up. I think they finish the season hot, at 6-3 or 7-2 propelling them into either a tie with Eagles at 9-7 or a 10-6 finish and the division league.
Washington will continue to lose and end up with a top 10 draft pick. This is a team that needs Andrew Luck so it’s too bad they started 3-1. I still them at 5-11, or even 4-12. Especially with Hightower and Moss out and no real quarterback.
NFC North
Well, this was the division I thought would get two teams in the playoffs. However, I picked the wrong two teams. Originally I had Minnesota shocking the world but now it looks like it will be only Green Bay enjoying post season play. This division shows a lot of promise and could be the new NFC East in a few years.
Green Bay is sitting at 7-0. The only three games that a loss is “Possible” the rest of the way is @ San Diego, @ Detroit, and @ New York. This team will finish with 13 or more wins and certainly a shot at 16-0. This is the most talented team in the NFC and they will only beat themselves. Remember, they won the Superbowl when they were “unhealthy.”
Lions are enjoying their Cinderella season. It certainly helps to play two of the worst teams in football (Denver & KC) as well as watch two teams give up 20+ point leads. Lions have a TOUGH schedule coming up. Home against Carolina looks a lot harder than it originally did before the season. All four road games left are certainly losable (Chicago, NO, Oakland, GB) so they are going to need to steal some wins against good teams at home (SD, GB, and Carolina). I predict a 2-6 record for the Lions which will land their season at 8-8. 3-5 is also a possibility to finish 9-7. Their offensive line just isn’t good enough to win the big games and if Calvin gets shut down or hurt, they are in trouble.
Chicago is a good team and Forte is a beast. They remind me of Dallas. Too streaky. If they can get Detroit and SD at home, they certainly could make a play for wild card. I predict 3-6 rest of the way with a possibility of 4-5. This would put them around 8-8.
Minnesota, the team I thought would take the wild card. They lost to SD by 7 on the road, 4 to TB, 3 to Detroit, and 5 to KC. They played like crap in the 2nd half. They’ll finish the season better than started but be hovering around 6-10. Adrian Peterson can’t do it all himself.
NFC South
Nobody appears to want to win this division. Three teams already sit with 3 losses at the top of the standings. The most exciting player in the conference isn’t even on one of them, Cam Newton.
New Orleans was thought to be the cream of the crop but then they get shut down by the Rams??? Lucky for them, their schedule is absolutely easy, but then again, they did just lose to the Rams. I see them ending on a good note at 5-3, to finish 10-6.
Tampa Bay is a hard team to figure out. They don’t get blown out very often and give themselves a chance in every game. Trouble is, they have SIX road games left. I see only two of them as winnable. If they can take care of their last three home games, they can finish 9-7 but I don’t see them beating Dallas at home. They’ll be 8-8.
Atlanta was picked by many to win the NFC. Why? I don’t know. If they win the games they should, Atlanta will be hovering around 9-7 and most likely in tiebreaker mode for wild card spot. If they can beat New Orleans once, they 10-6 is a possibility and the division may be in tiebreak mode. Personally, I see them nabbing a final wild card spot, especially since they beaten Lions, a team they might be tied with when said and done.
NFC West
This certainly is the worst division in the conference. Look for all 3 teams to be starring at a #1 pick for Andrew Luck. Lucky for Seattle, Arizona nor St. Louis doesn’t really need one.
San Francisco has this division wrapped up. Sitting at 6-1, they could LOSE OUT and still possibly win this division. They won’t lose out. In fact, because the division is so weak, they will get a bye in the first round of the playoffs. I’d look for a 7-3 record to end the year and finish 12-4. Not bad from a team crying for Andrew Luck at the beginning of the year after hiring his college coach. Can you imagine if Harbaugh does everything in his power to try and trade for the #1 pick after the season is over?
Last year’s Cinderella, Seattle did everything wrong this offseason. And what I mean by that is getting Tavaris Jackson and not anybody relevant. This is a team that may be in the Andrew Luck hunt if Indy can find themselves a way to lose a couple more games, but then again, would Indy draft Luck? I only see Seattle winning ONE more game (St. Louis at home) but even Steve Jackson could beat Seattle by himself. 3-13.
Arizona isn’t as bad as their record indicates but they certainly aren’t good. They lost 4 games by a total of 11 points. Their schedule has been absolutely brutal. Arizona will get a few wins here and there and finish with 4, maybe 5 wins.
The Rams are 1-6 and just came off a big time win over New Orleans. They’ve only played ONE team that I don’t think finishes season .500 (Washington). Their next four games are winnable and I think they go on a 3-1 streak. Rams won’t get in a situation to draft Luck, thank goodness, as they will finish 6-10.
NFC Playoff Race Prediction
Green Bay 15-1
San Fran 12-4
Philly 10-6
New Orleans 10-6
Dallas 10-6
Atlanta 9-7
AFC East
Well, this is shaping up to be an interesting division. Most had Patriots pegged as easy favorites with Jets as a wild card. Well….not so fast said the Buffalo Bills.
Buffalo is 5-2 and believe it or not, doing it with defense. Getting to play Miami twice is a bonus for Buffalo because they also get Tennessee and Denver at HOME as well. That’s 4 wins and 9-7 record at worse. The big game on the schedule as my “make or break” is this week AT HOME against Jets. If they can beat the Jets this weekend, I believe they are 10-6 and heading to the playoffs. If they don’t beat the Jets, the game they must win is @ San Diego, which will be asking a lot. I don’t think they beat either teams and finish 9-7.
New England has nothing to worry about. This division is theirs. Their schedule is pretty easy the rest of the way and should finish 13-3.
Jets, the Dallas Cowboys of the AFC! 4-3 and heading into a big time match up on the road against Buffalo. If they lose this game, they will most likely succeed the wild card to Buffalo. If they win this game, we could very well see 3 teams in the playoffs from this division if Buffalo could pull one other big win out of its hat. I see Jets finishing 7-2 the rest of the way and finish the season at 11-5.
Miami tried running their chances at Andrew Luck these last few weeks but allowed Tim Tebow and Eli Manning to come back. A showdown at Kansas City next week could be a big battle for the worst. Miami’s defense is actually pretty good so I actually see them pulling off a few games and finishing the season at 3-13. May be close to Andrew Luck.
AFC North
This is the conference that’s going to try and keep both wild cards away from the AFC East.
Pittsburgh just got done reeling off a big win against New England and will be on a quest for home field in playoffs. Their schedule is disgusting. Cincinnati twice. Cleveland twice. St. Louis. Kansas City. San Francisco (although they are Cinderella). They have Baltimore this week and that’s it. I would look for 13-3 and bank on it.
AFC’s Cinderella goes to Cincinnati, lead by the red headed quarterback. Even though this is the league’s worst management, I have to give them props on stealing two first round draft picks from Oakland. Bengals had the benefit of an easy schedule but now they have four games against Baltimore and Pittsburgh. It’s tough to tell if this defense is good or not. The big game on the schedules to look at is this week at Tennessee and home against Houston. If they can take one of them, they are starring at 9-7 and a tie with Buffalo.
So Baltimore almost lost to Arizona and lost to Jacksonville last week. They also had a bad loss to Tennessee. This is NOT the team I thought they were. Nevertheless, I don’t think they lose to neither Cleveland nor Cincinnati. I think they finish 12-4. Ray Rice and this defense are just too good to falter.
Cleveland beat the teams they should beat (Indy, Miami, Seattle) to keep them from the Andrew Luck talks. Their defense isn’t that bad but their offense is hideous. I have them finishing 1-8 the rest of the way. This would put them at 4-12 and just outside of a much needed Andrew Luck pick. But anything on offense would be needed (Blackmon, Richardson)
AFC South
The world’s most interesting conference now the Peyton Manning is out. Sadly, I thought Colt’s defense and their offensive line was good enough to give themselves a chance win this weak conference. This conference could be similar to NFC West last year and send a team with a losing record to the playoffs.
Well, the leader of the conference is Houston but by no means are they running away with it. At 5-3, I see 4 more losses on their schedule and finish 9-7. 8-8 is a good possibility as well because Carolina and Tennessee are potential home losses.
My favorites are the Jacksonville Jaquars. Yes, they are sitting at 2-6 but they just finished out a stretch of hard games (Jets, @ Panthers, Saints, Bengals, Steelers, Ravens, @ Texans). I see them finishing 5-2 or even 6-1 after the bye. When you have their defense and Jones-Drew, anything is possible. They need to root hard for Houston to lose games they shouldn’t and this division may get handed to them.
Indianapolis really surprised me. I thought they could still be competitive in this weak conference. They remind me of San Antonio Spurs in basketball. Remember when Robinson got hurt, and they landed #1 pick to later on be Tim Duncan? I see a De Ja Vu in that. If they are smart, they’ll trade the pick and get a couple of first rounder. No need to get cute with Andrew Luck. Get a stud defensive player and a big time running back because Peyton Manning WILL be back. I don’t know who they’ll beat but they’ll finish 1-15. Maybe Carolina at home after a much needed bye week?
Tennessee is 4-3, amazingly with Chris Johnson non existence and Kenny Britt, really non-existence. They certainly have a chance to finish as the division leaders but I think they fall short or lose to a tiebreaker.
AFC West
Remember when the AFC was an exciting conference and all the teams had a chance to be AFC champs?
Well, the favorites of this conference are San Diego. There is nothing special about their start and Phillip Rivers doesn’t look that special. I see a 5-5 finish for the Chargers, good enough for a 8-8 record.
Some thought Oakland was heading for a promising season but a 28-0 beat down by Kansas City fixed that. Oakland is a streaky team that will win a few games they shouldn’t and finish 3-5 down the stretch to finish 8-8
A win on Monday Night gave Kansas City a 4 game winning streak with home games against Miami and Denver lurking. They will win the next two. However, their schedule after that is brutal (New England, Pittsburgh, @Chicago, NYJ, GB). That’s 5 losses combined so they’ll be sitting at 7-9
If Kyle Orton was the quarterback, I would give Denver a chance to finish better, but he’s not. Tim Tebow is at the helm and it’ll be real interesting to see what the fans say if they have #1 will pick. Will they still want Tebow? I’m predicting 3-13 with a win to finish the season, home against Kansas City that will knock them out of the Andrew Luck sweepstake
AFC Playoff Prediction
Pittsburgh 13-3
New England 13-3
Baltimore 12-4
New York J 11-5
San Diego 9-7
Jacksonville 8-8
Andrew Luck Sweepstake
Colts 1-15
Shouldn’t draft Luck. It’ll be interesting if San Fran or even the Jets pays a heavy price for this pick. Those are definitely two teams a quarterback away from really dominating. I know Rodgers waited behind all those years with Favre but they are saying Manning has 6-7 years left. That’s a LOT of years. There could be Andrew Luck 2 by then. Not sure if these teams below could afford to give up their 1st rounder pick plus other stuff since they are so bad.
Seahawks 3-13
They’d take Luck in a heartbeat but not sure they would pay the price for #1. I think they would be happy with settling with Trent Richardson or Landry Jones.
Broncos 3-13
They just went through ALL the trouble with Tebow this year. Not sure they would pick Luck. This team is horrible all around. The biggest upside is that they can trade Orton to one of these other teams that won’t be able to get Andrew Luck or Landry Jones. Maybe they get another first for Orton and take Barkley later on.
Miami 3-13
Miami’s defense is alright so their offense is what is needed for improvement. Chad Henne wasn’t THAT bad. When you try to run a wildcat with Henne, like you did last year, you hinder his improvement. Miami will regret given up on him. What he did that first game against New England was a good measure of his potential. They need to build the line but they’ll get either Luck or Landry if either is available.
Cleveland 4-12
I don’t see them being in the hunt for #1 pick and I don’t think they are thinking quarterback either. It wouldn’t shock me though.
Panthers 4-12
They have Cam Newton and wouldn’t think twice about Luck. I’m sure they are thinking Claiborne, Blackmon or Richardson.
Cardinals 4-12
Kevin Kolb should be their quarterback for years do getting a QB is out of the question. They are looking to get some better offensive lineman and pass rushers.
So really, Seattle is the only crap team that really “needs” Luck. You can make an argument for Denver but I would just tell you that Orton is fine for them and they got many other things to work on. I’m totally against drafting a quarterback if you have no other puzzles. I wouldn’t hate it if Cleveland got him but would Luck go pro if Browns or Seattle are #1? My sleepers are San Francisco or New York Jets. That’s like plugging Flacco, Matt Ryan, and Big Ben onto their respective teams.
