Entering the NFL season tonight I have finally decided to halt my blogging boycott. I’ve taken much time into my decisions (some of them anyways) for how teams will finish in their divisions and what teams will make the playoffs. I’ll provide the standings for each division and provide a paragraph for each division explaining my results. Without further ado, here they are…
^ = best record in Conference, * = Wildcard teams
AFC East:
1. ^New England Patriots
2. *New York Jets
3. Miami Dolphines
4. Buffalo Bills
The AFC East has to be the absolute no-brainer for predictions. Is someone going to tell me that the Miami Dolphines with Chad Henne at QB and practically a lame-duck head coach in Tony Sporano, that the Dolphines are going to surprise everyone and finish ahead of the Jets or the Pats? Utter nonsense if I ever heard it. The reason for me placing the Patriots over the Jets in the division is simple, the Pats are out for vengeance over last years playoff loss vs. the Jets in Foxborough. The Pats are out to prove that the AFC East is their neighborhood, and they take lip from no one. I really don’t like giving out team predicted records but I’m going to say that the Patriots could easily go 12-4 or 13-3 and be a much better team than last years 14-2 team. 
AFC North:
1. Pittsburgh Steelers
2. *Baltimore Ravens
3. Cleveland Browns
4. Cincinnati Bengals
I should probably show my cards on this hand, I really don’t enjoy watching any of the teams in this division, it’s sort of like having a conversation in the check out line at the store, just dreadful. Pittsburgh puts me to sleep, unless Tom Brady is embarrassing the Steelers in Pittsburgh. But I do expect Pittsburgh to win the division, as they did last year, but primarily due to the fact that QB Ben Roethlisberger is there from day one of the season. The Baltimore Ravens are just as boring, but getting older on defense which is why I did not picked them for the division crown, they will struggle to get the final AFC Wildcard spot fighting off teams like Jacksonville, Kansas City and Cleveland. Now a surprise is the Cleveland Browns, I expect them to be improved but not playoff worthy.
AFC South:
1. Houston Texans
2. Jacksonville Jaguars
3. Indianapolis Colts
4. Tennessee Titans
Possibly the hardest division to predict, the AFC South. I think it’s pretty easy to conclude that Peyton Manning’s neck is the key to the division. While the Indianapolis Colts are a playoff team with Manning, without him, they are a 6-10 team at best. Houston excites me with their offense, but can their defense be good enough to win the division? I think so.
AFC West:
1. San Diego Chargers
2. Kansas City Chiefs
3. Oakland Raiders
4. Denver Broncos
For the AFC West, I desperately wanted to pick someone, anyone besides the Chargers. But allow me to be clear with me picking the Chargers it is by no means an endorsement that the will be Chargers crushing all before them and going 14-2. This division will be a dog fight for the top spot. I like Kansas City a lot, I feel that they are on the way to knocking off San Diego in the next year or two as the AFC West’s top dog, and being that top dog for some time.
NFC East:
1. ^Philadelphia Eagles
2. *Dallas Cowboys
3. New York Giants
4. Washington Redskins
The Philadelphia Eagles have all the weapons, and should easily rock this division and win it. My only concern with the Eagles is health, can this team with so many lean bodies be able to stay healthy and be able to play at it’s peak level throughout the year? My surprise is the Dallas Cowboys (my Team), last season everyone loved to pick the Cowboys at the start and then loved to kick them when they were down, while it annoyed me, it will make their ascent that much sweeter. New head coach Jason Garrett is poised to have an outstanding first full year as coach of the Cowboys, with Dez Bryant a year older and having a healthy Tony Romo for a full season. Besides with all the talent that the Cowboys have, and after going 6-10 last year, when they went to the playoffs the year before, you’re going to tell me that they won’t bounce back? As for the Giants, nothing says playoffs on this team, especially when QB Eli Manning became delusional by claiming he was just as good as Tom Brady… The Redskins are pretty close to being the definition of a dumpster fire.
NFC North:
1. Green Bay Packers
2. Detroit Lions
3. Chicago Bears
4. Minnesota Vikings
The NFC North is a fascinating division. Detroit has a plethora of talent, the Vikings have Adrian Peterson, the Bears were in the NFC Championship game last year, and oh by the way, the Green Bay Packers are defending Super Bowl Champions. The folks in the Midwest are in for a treat this fall watching these teams battle it out. I like the Packers to win the division, and have Detroit surprise many.
NFC South
1. Atlanta Falcons
2. *New Orleans Saints
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
4. Carolina Panthers
Another division that is loaded with talent (excluding the Panthers) is the NFC South. I struggled with this one as well, but I absolutely loved how the Falcons went out on draft day and drafted WR Julio Jones. Finally WR Rody White has someone else to take some pressure off of him, as does TE Tony Gonzalez, and QB Matt Ryan has another potent weapon to exploit defenses with. Saints and Bucs will battle for the second NFC Wildcard.
NFC West
1. St. Louis Rams
2. Arizona Cardinals
3. Seattle Seahawks
4. San Francisco 49ers
I absolutely love the St. Louis Rams, Sam Bradford, Stephen Jackson, Mike Sims-Walker, it’s going to be an explosive offense that won’t be stopped in the NFC West. Seattle took a step back when it couldn’t re-sign or replace longtime QB Matt Hasselbeck. Arizona managed to get QB Kevin Kolb from Philadelphia, but I still feel as if they need more pieces on defense before they can contend in this division, and the San Francisco 49ers, while I love the Jim Harbaugh hire, they must get Stanford QB Andrew Luck in the next draft, which means they’ll have to finish dead last in the NFL, which sadly is possible.
Well there it is, my NFL Predictions for the upcoming season, enjoy!
