2011-2012 NFL Season Predictions

These are my predictions for the upcoming football season.. as you'll notice I don't have any teams winning above 12 games, or losing anymore than 12. I will probably have 2-3 teams prove me wrong but that's just me being more "optimistic" for those shitty teams and not praising the "dream teams." if there's any potential for a 13 win season, I think there's about 3 teams in the NFC that "potentially" could get there. Atlanta, Green Bay, Philadelphia. Green Bay and Atlanta being the likeliest. The Seahawks, Panthers, Browns, Bengals all have a chance to be drafting first next year.

AFC

East

1. New York Jets: 12-4
2. New England Patriots: 10-6
3. Miami Dolphins: 9-7
4. Buffalo Bills: 7-9

I think the Jets passing game starts off slow, so they lean on the run heavily to start the season. Burress and Sanchez don't look like they are on the same page yet. I think Sanchez elevates his role from "game manager" to "Franchise QB" which would mean his completion percentage would have to jump considerably. I'm not sure anyone is convinced the dolphins can win 9 games this year, but I think Marshall is easily a Top 5 receiver, and Henne will find him plenty this year. Reggie Bush will never live up to everyone's expectations, but he will have a coming out party this year, and be a nice security blanket for Henne. If all these things mentioned don't come to Fruition.. Sparano and Henne are taking their talents far away from South Beach. Also, look for Merriman to redeem himself in Buffalo.

North

1. Baltimore Ravens: 11-5
2. Pittsburgh Steelers: 11-5
3. Cincinatti Bengals: 6-10
4. Cleveland Browns: 5-11

I'm about a year off on this, because I thought the Ravens would have leapfrogged the Steelers last year, and were going to knock them out of the playoffs. (which may have happened if Houschmanzadeh (sp?) didn't drop the f***ing ball.) The Steelers will end up having a decent year although they are coming off a Super Bowl LOSS, which most teams seem to flop after. Rashard Mendenhall is the perfect type of RB for their system, and they still have explosive players at WR. Giving the Bengals 6 wins with Dalton in charge is probably 3 games to many, but after they got rid of the "cancers" in the off-season, the character will show up, and they will play hard all year. They'll lean heavily on the run game again and it will steal them a few victories. I don't know how Marvin Lewis still has a job, and it goes to show how big of joke that franchise really is. There's a reason why we will never see Carson Palmer suit up for that franchise again! I'm not sure why I have them ranked above the Browns, I think the Browns have a brighter future, and McCoy has worked hard in the off-season to get better, and showed that in the pre-season. But Hillis on the Madden Cover this year = DOOM! for Browns Fans! Greg Little, a WR from UNC may surprise us all, but I think they are still a year or so away from making any sort of dramatic turnaround.

South

1. Houston Texans: 11-5
2. Tennessee Titans: 9-7
3. Indianapolis Colts: 8-8
4. Jacksonville Jaguars: 6-10

This is the year that Houston lives up to everybody's expectations. Not because they will get considerably better, but cause the rest of their division is weak. I'm still not sold on Houston's defense improving that much, even with Wade Phillips. Mario Williams doesn't look comfortable playing in his new role. If u take Peyton Manning, and Chris Johnson off the Colts and Titans, they are no better than 4 win teams at this point. If Peyton misses even 2 games to start the season, they will not win anymore than 10 games..(and likely miss the playoffs). I hate Kerry Collins and can't believe they find him to be any type of savior.(Jeff Garcia anybody?) Reggie Wayne has to be biting his nails, knowing he's at the start of his contract year, and we will hear grumblings from him b4 too long if he's not happy with the way things are going. If Kerry Collins started every game this year, I wouldn't pick them to win 5 games. I'm not even wasting anymore time to talk about the Jags. All I know is if Del Rio can't reach the playoffs this year, with everything going wrong with the Colts... well YOU'RE FIRED!

West

1. San Diego Chargers: 12-4
2. Oakland Raiders: 9-7
3. Kansas City Chiefs: 8-8
4. Denver Broncos: 6-10

San Diego overcomes their September struggles finally with Norv Turner, and gets off to a quick start, which gives them at least 12 wins. C.J Mathews will be a fantasy Sleeper. As you can see, I'm obviously very optimistic for the Raiders this year with 9 wins. Although, they probably had the worst pre-season of anybody with all the injuries. The Raiders will also get 4 victories from just within their division. Kansas City will disappoint this year. Playing the NFC West last year helped them out a lot, and their schedule looks to be tougher this year, and I'm not liking their chances. As for the Broncos, Kyle Orton is an underrated QB and should get more praise, but their is just to many holes in that team to really be all that confident about them. McDaniels f***ed that team for at least the next 2-3 years. Just take a look at how his draft picks have panned out. (try to find a link for this l8r) and of course running Cutler, and Marshall out of town didn't help.

NFC

East

1. Philadelphia Eagles: 12-4
2. Dallas Cowboys: 11-5
3. New York Giants: 9-7
4. Washington Redskins: 7-9

This is probably the toughest division to figure out. Philadelphia definitely went out in the off-season and got them a few more play makers but I just think with the level of competition in their division its going to be hard for them to win anymore than 12 games, if that. On top of that I don't trust that their O-Line will allow them to beat the upper-echelon teams in the playoffs. I like the receiving corps of the top 3 teams, and it’s hard to argue that one is any better than the other. As for the Cowboys, Dez Bryant will have a HUGE YEAR! Romo if healthy last year, would have had just as good of fantasy year as Aaron Rodgers! He still has a lot of doubters out there, and will have a lot of pressure this year to silence all his critics. I like the hiring of Rob Ryan for the defense, and I think the Defense will play with more attitude and Swagger. (Yes, I said it). They were pushed over the last couple years which reflected all to much of their leader, Wade Phillips. It will be this reason that they are division champs at the end of the year, which I think is very possible. If Eli is a Top 5 QB like he says he is, it won’t be anything that he does. Nicks and Manningham are studs, and I would compare that Duo with any other ones in the league. One thing is for sure, if they don’t make the playoffs, Coughlin is def. OUT! The Redskins, along with the Bengals will play hard most of the season, and steal some unexpected victories, with lesser talent.

North

1. Green Bay Packers: 11-5
2. Minnesota Vikings: 9-7
3. Detroit Lions: 8-8
4. Chicago Bears: 7-9

NFC North is another competitive division, and any of the last 3 teams could be switched around. The Green Bay Packers have distanced themselves quite a bit from the other teams. The Detroit Lions are the so called “up and coming bright spot” of the division. The Chicago Bears have a brutal schedule, and it will be hard for them to match any of the success they had last year. Roy Williams was a terrible pickup and Mike Martz can take 100% of the blame for it. They also have a field that plays to their advantage in the late November/December games. The Detroit Lions have been picked to be a sleeper for the last 4-5 years, and I’m frankly sick of hearing about it. It’s all irrelevant until Stafford is Healthy,(if Stafford remains healthy all year, I expect him to have a huge year statistically) and their secondary can play up to par with the d-line. They still have no real solid option at RB, unless Best can stay healthy. I’m not a Vikings Fan as you can tell, cause they are ranked 2^nd in the division. I think its split 50/50. They are anywhere from a 6-10 win team. It all depends on how their O line performs, but McNabb knows he has to perform well this year, or his years as a starter are over. Leslie Frazier will be a solid head coach, and will be the reason we have any success this year. His Dungy-eque approach is kind of like a breath of fresh air, after all the drama that’s surrounded us the last couple years. Like I said, the last 3 teams are a toss up, but this is just how I feel it’s going to turn out. If Stafford’s hurt again, they can go back home (the bottom), where they belong.

South

1. Atlanta Falcons: 12-4
2. New Orleans Saints: 10-6
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 9-7
4. Carolina Panthers: 4-12

The Falcons are deep enough to compete with Philadelphia and Green Bay, and it wouldn’t surprise me a bit if they were representing the NFC in the Super Bowl. Going aggressively after Julio Jones in the Draft, and sacrificing a lot of draft picks for him, just goes to show they think they aren’t far away from competing in the big game. I have a weird feeling Michael Turner could end up getting injured sometime this year, if that’s the case than, they are going nowhere. I’m frankly sick of hearing about the Saints right now, and I don’t really know what my feeling is towards their team this year, not sure if they really have an identity on offense. If Mark Ingram comes along fast, it could make them a sleeper to challenge the other top NFC teams, but as of right now, I see them being a wild card at best. I think Tampa Bay buckles a bit under the pressure this year, and I think all the hype surrounding them this off season will ultimately affect the youth of their team. It’s no doubt they have a bright future, but it seems like every other week, a coach or player is getting arrested down in Tampa. Cam Newton is def. not going to Wow anyone with his completion percentage or accuracy this year, but I have a better feeling about him, than I did right after the draft, and think he’s mentally prepared to take on the burden of being a franchise QB, and representing himself the right way. He will come along slowly than the other rookie QB’s, but I feel like he will work hard at it, and be the face of the Panthers Franchise for years to come.

West

1. St. Louis Rams: 9-7
2. Arizona Cardinals: 9-7
3. San Francisco 49ers: 7-9
4. Seattle Seahawks: 5-11

I definitely don’t like Seattle coming into the season at all. Jackson and Whitehurst have not separated themselves to show they deserve the starting spot. I think their season could unravel quickly, and that’s a shame considering they play in the worst division in football. I give the Rams the edge over the Cardinals, just because I don’t like the Cardinals RB or secondary very much. I’m not really a big fan of the Niners going into this year either. I think Alex Smith will be a stop-gap QB, until Harbaugh gets a year under his belt, and they just try to stay competitive. Alex Smith may come around, but how many years of mediocrity are you content with. Obviously, the fans are getting a little unsettled in the Bay area. They need to go in a new direction. Kaepernick has had a terrible pre-season, and they just traded away their 2^nd round pick Taylor Mays from a couple years ago for a 7^th round pick. Crabtree hasn’t done much to show that he’s not the Diva receiver that he was labeled before the draft, and has seemed injury prone since he’s been in the league. Harbaugh is def. a good hire, and I’m sure in the next couple years he’ll have the team competing for the playoffs.

Playoff Predictions

AFC:  Division Winners: New York Jets, Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, San Diego Chargers

           Wild Cards: Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots

           Byes: New York Jets, San Diego Chargers

1^st round AFC Playoffs

#6 New England Patriots over #3 Houston Texans

#4 Baltimore Ravens over #5 Pittsburgh Steelers

2^nd round AFC Playoffs

# 4 Baltimore Ravens over #2 San Diego Chargers

#1 New York Jets over #6 New England Patriots

AFC Championship

#1 New York Jets over #4 Baltimore Ravens

NFC:  Division Winners: Green Bay, Philadelphia, Atlanta, St. Louis

           Wild Cards: Cowboys, Saints

           Byes: Green Bay, Philadelphia

1^st round NFC Playoffs

#3 Atlanta over #6 Saints

#5 Dallas over #4 St. Louis

2^nd round NFC Playoffs

#5 Dallas over #1 Green Bay

#3 Atlanta over #2 Philadelphia

NFC Championship

#3 Atlanta over #5 Dallas

Super Bowl:

Jets 27 Falcons 23