NFL Predictions

Unfortunately, I forgot to post this prior to the start of the season, but I was getting a bit burnt out on sports talk with 3 Fantasy Baseball teams all competing for a championship and 3 Fantasy Football teams starting off the season, plus an NFL Pick 'em League to boot. But coming out 3-0 after the first weekend of the play and winning a Pick 'em League with over 100 people in it by only missing one game, has fired me up again. So, you too can benefit from my apparent NFL picking prowess. And here's where I think the boys are gonna finish this year.

NFC East
1. NY Giants - Too much talent for even an inexperienced Eli to botch things up
2. Washington - Preseasons mean absolutely nothing...look at what the Steelers did last year. They'll start off slow but the easy schedule early on will help them cruise into a Wild Card spot.
3. Dallas - Their QBs will be their downfall. They may have better arms than Mark Brunell, but they don't have better heads.
4. Philadelphia - They're just not as good as they used to be.

NFC North
1. Chicago - This division is crap. They'll coast to the division win and may even get home field as a result.
2. Minnesota - Brad Johnson is underrated, but there is nothing to work with at the skill positions
3. Detroit - Roy Williams is the only bright spot on this miserable bunch.
4. Green Bay - I'm not sure they'll win more than one game, if that.

NFC South
1. Atlanta - The defense took a big step forward and Michael Vick is going to regain the aura he once had
2. Carolina - A great offensive and defensive line, but I'm not sold on the running backs.
3. New Orleans - Reggie Bush and Drew Brees have brought new hope to the Saints
4. Tampa Bay - They really aren't as good as last year would make you think.

NFC West
1. Seattle - Defending NFC Champs didn't really lose much from last year's squad
2. St. Louis - Moving away from Mike Martz was a good call
3. Arizona - The offensive weapons are explosive, but the defense is not so good.
4. San Francisco - They're still too young to be considered even a .500 team

AFC East
1. New England - Brady and Belichik just know how to win
2. Miami - Daunte Culpepper is definitely a step up from Jay Fiedler, but why did Minnesota let him go in the first place?
3. NY Jets - Chad Pennington is a really good quarterback, when he can actually use his arm.
4. Buffalo - JP Losman is not a good quarterback, and he shouldn't use his arm.

AFC North
1. Baltimore - The defense is always one of the best and Steve McNair still has some fire left in him.
2. Pittsburgh - Defending champs only lost the Bus, but their schedule is pretty tough this year.
3. Cincinnati - Another victim of a tough schedule, their team benefitted from a lot of takeaways last year...they won't have the same luxury this year.
4. Cleveland - Doo doo brown.

AFC South
1. Indianapolis - Losing the Edge will keep them out of the Super Bowl again, but they're easily good enough to take the division
2. Jacksonville - They have a strong defense and a growing offense, but I just can't trust Leftwich and Taylor to be healthy all year.
3. Houston - I really didn't think they were as bad as their record indicated last year, so they should bounce back.
4. Tennessee - If they win more than 2 games, I'd be shocked.

AFC West
1. Denver - Mike Shanahan always seems to assemble a good squad, regardless of whose running the ball.
2. Kansas City - I actually had them winning the division in my first draft, but after losing Trent Green yesterday, I'm dropping them down.
3. San Diego - Phillip Rivers and Marty Schottenheimer in the news will ruin the chemistry of this otherwise competitive team.
4. Oakland - Their offensive line is crap.

PLAYOFFS
WILD CARD
Redskins over Giants
Atlanta over Carolina
Denver over Miami
Baltimore over Pittsburgh

DIVISIONAL
Redskins over Bears
Atlanta over Seattle
Baltimore over Indianapolis
New England over Denver

CONFERENCE
Atlanta over Redskins
Baltimore over New England

SUPER BOWL XLI
Baltimore over Atlanta

Yes, an unorthodox pairing but the AFC representative and Super Bowl champion will once again come out of the AFC North.