It's football time again, which means it's time for me to throw out how I think everyone's going to do this season. You might find a surprise or two, let me know what you think's gonna happen!
We'll start off with divisional records and standings.
AFC East
Jets- 12-4
Patriots (WC)- 11-5
Dolphins- 10-6
Bills 5-11
The Revis Holdout ended last night, so the J-E-T-S-JETS-JETS-JETS are going to be your favorites in the division. Watch out for the Pats though, they've still got it. Miami and their Wildcat offense will contend as well. The Bills have a rough rebuilding year ahead of them.
AFC North
Ravens- 12-4
Bengals- 10-6
Steelers- 10-6
Browns- 4-12
The Ochocinco-T.O. marriage works well in Cincy, but not well enough. They miss the playoffs by a tiebreaker, and the Ravens win the division easily. The Steelers struggle early without Roethlisberger, but will make a push as the season progresses. Cleveland has a very tough schedule; they'll play competitively, but will fall short often. I say they're among the best sub-.500 teams in the NFL.
AFC South
Colts- 12-4
Texans (WC)- 10-6
Titans- 10-6
Jaguars- 6-10
The Colts continue dominating this division, as Houston makes its first ever playoff berth. The Titans play well, but fall short against Jacksonville, giving the Texans the tiebreaker they need to claim second in the division. The Jaguars, after another disappointing season, fire Coach Del Rio and begin to think more seriously about relocating.
AFC West
Chargers- 10-6
Broncos- 7-9
Chiefs- 4-12
Raiders- 4-12
There have been some great Chargers, Broncos, and Raiders teams to come out of this division, but as of late, it's been one of the worst divisions in pro football. San Diego gets the top spot in the West, and Denver continues to rebuild (Don't worry, Broncos fans, they'll be back within the next couple of seasons). The Chiefs have another bad year, and the Raiders, trying to regain some dignity, falter in a big way. Cable gets fired, and Al Davis will decide to go back into coaching. Not a good move.
In the AFC playoffs, the standings will look as such.
Colts
Jets
Ravens
Chargers
Patriots
Texans
In the wild card round, Houston will show how inexperienced they are in the postseason as they get clobbered by a very good Ravens team in Baltimore. The Patriots will be just too much for the Chargers, and they come out of SD with another big W.
In the divisional playoffs, the Ravens will take on the Jets in a defensive showdown. Ed Reed will provide scoring for Baltimore as they pull off a 7-6 victory in New York. In what could be the final chapter of a storied rivalry from over the past decade, Peyton Manning will find enough to get past the Pats once more.
The conference championship will feature Baltimore, who lost the game in the 2008 season, and Indianapolis, who made it to the Super Bowl last year. Of course, any time Baltimore faces the Colts, it's the entire city that opposes Indy. Peyton will be retiring within the next five years, and he'll want as many rings to his name as he possibly can. Ray Lewis will most likely call it quits at the end of this season, and he wants to go out on top. What fun those two will be, reliving old memories and making a couple new ones as they try to make it to the biggest stage in sports. The Ravens will prevail and be crowned AFC champions.
Now, to the NFC.
NFC East
Cowboys- 12-4
Redskins (WC)- 11-5
Eagles- 10-6
Giants- 8-8
The NFC East is not just the toughest division in the NFL, it is arguably the best in all of pro sports. Dallas is gearing up for a Super Bowl in its home stadium, while Donovan McNabb, Mike Shanahan, and the Redskins all make a resurgence. The Eagles have a good season, and the Giants struggle, but still do better than many second- and third-place teams in other divisions.
NFC North
Packers- 11-5
Vikings- 10-6
Lions- 4-12
Bears- 2-14
Brett Favre will come back should there be football in 2011. Because he won't even make it to the playoffs. The Pack will get this division, and Aaron Rodgers will win MVP honors. Meanwhile, the Lions will continue their rebuilding, and the Bears will have the most atrocious season in the NFL this year.
NFC South
New Orleans 12-4
Atlanta 12-4
Tampa 5-11
Carolina 3-13
Bye-bye, John Fox! Panthers will have a tough year, but they'll play well through it. Just not well enough to matter. Tampa continues to rebuild, and there's a battle for the top. New Orleans will repeat as division champs.
NFC West
San Francisco- 11-5
Arizona- 8-8
Seattle- 6-10
St. Louis- 3-13
A new group of a familiar team will get to the top of the West for the first time since 2002. The Cardinals will have struggles with a new QB, Seattle will be on the rise, but won't keep Hasselbeck when he becomes a free agent at the end of the season (Look for Mike Holmgren and Cleveland to pick him up). The Rams will struggle, but will do a little better than last year.
And now, my NFC playoff picks.
Homefield throughout, including potentially the Super Bowl, Dallas- 12-4
New Orleans- 12-4
Green Bay- 11-5
San Francisco- 11-5
Atlanta- 12-4
Washington- 11-5
In the wild card round, we see Mike Shanahan and Donovan McNabb traveling to a possibly snowy Lambeau Field to take on NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. I think the Packers will pull out of this one with the insanely close W. It'll be a incredibly fun game to watch.
Atlanta and San Francisco- I am a HUGE Mike Singletary fan, but Matt Ryan and the Falcons have been through the playoff ringer before, and most of Singletary's players have not. So I'm giving the edge to Atlanta on the road in this one.
Divisional round: Green Bay will visit New Orleans, and this year's NFL MVP will face the reigning Super Bowl MVP. This game will also be entertaining. The All-Pro foot of Mason Crosby will send the Packers into the NFC title game.
In Dallas, the top-seeded 'Boys will be put to the test by the 2010 version of the Dirty Birds. Just thinking about this matchup has one remembering (as well as one can remember not actually remembering for him or herself, being quite young at the time) the early 90s when these teams were both in NFC prominence. It'll be fun, but Dallas will advance with not much problem.
The NFC Chamionship game will be magnificent football. I don't think I've been more excited about the NFC ever. I can't even begin to analyze this one, or it'll take me forever to come to a conclusion. So I'll just say Dallas. Get it over with. They'll play the first legitimate home Super Bowl game.
In Super Bowl XLV, the Baltimore Ravens will travel to Dallas to face a blue-and-white washout crowd of 100,000 or more. Oh yeah, and the Cowboys. It will be the most one-sided NFL Championship, spectator-wise, in the history of the Super Bowl. But are you ready for this? The 2010 World Champions will be the Baltimore Ravens who will win by a score of 24-16. Ed Reed will intercept two passes, returning one for a touchdown, and be named the Most Valuable Player of the game. Ray Lewis will retire on top, much like Jerome Bettis five years ago.
This being said, prepare for me to be a HUGE Aaron Rodgers, Packers, Texans, Ravens, and Cowboys fan this year (Although, naturally, not quite as much as I like the Titans)
Comments? Fears, doubts, concerns? Got your own bold predictions? Or maybe you want to join my prognostication mailing list. If any of the aforementioned apply to you, leave me a comment, right down there vvvvv
-c
