One of my female coworkers who plays fantasy football asked me today how excited I am for tonight on a scale of 1-10. I said 9.2 based on the fact that it's just tonight. If she would have included the entire weekend of pro football, I explained, I would have been a 9.9 (I'm like the modern olympic judges, 10s are now just an imaginary number that teaches us a life lesson that we aren't perfect). The NFL is the one league where I don't even have to be talked into signing up for a meaningless Cheifs-Raiders game at 3 PM on a Sunday afternoon. Mariners-A's? Ugh.
I'm going to break down the league division by division, then give my record and playoff predictions toward the end. Finally, I'll hand out some preseason award predictions for the NFL and fantasy football. BTW, the records may not all add up to .500. Whatever.
NFC East
Many say it's the best division, but I'd throw the AFC East and AFC North a bone too. All three have at least three teams with solid playoff arguments. To me this is the Giants division. They are strong on both lines, they can run and pass, and they have good coaching. You want Coughlin, Eli and the Giants line of scrimmage or Wade-Romo and the Cowboys line that got trounced in the playoffs? Trust me, people are sleeping on the Giants this year. The Redskins and Eagles are interesting, but not good enough.
Giants 11-5
Cowboys 10-6
Eagles 8-8
Redskins 8-8
NFC North
Why are the Packers better than Minnesota again? Let's all repeat the mantra of early September. Forget the preseason! The Pack was last seen giving up 50 to the Cards. Their o-line is worse than Minnesota's and that's supposedly a weak link for the Vikings. Wouldn't surprise to see the Lions top the Bears.
Vikings 11-5
Packers 10-6
Bears 6-10
Lions 6-10
NFC South
Saints are clearly the team to beat. Not much to talk about here, pretty straightforward to me.
Saints 11-5
Falcons 8-8
Panthers 8-8
Bucs 3-13
NFC West
Shouldn't the western divisions in the two conferences be getting better by now through the succession of high draft picks? Seems like they have been the weakest of their respective conferences for a decade. Derek Anderson is going to murder the Cardinals season, while the Rams rise and Seahawks fall are likely to cross paths. Seattle was brutal last year. This all leads to the improving 49ers walking away here.
49ers 12-4
Cardinals 6-10
Rams 5-11
Seahawks 4-12
AFC East
Probably the toughest division for me to forecast. I like all three teams at the top, but it's likely only one or two are going to make the playoffs. New England seems to be a bit of a paper tiger to me. I believe in Brady-Belichick, but I don't trust that defense or Randy Moss. The Dolphins are going to be fierce and physical, and I like thier passing game more than the Jets. Sanchez needs to be huge for them to even get to January.
Dolphins 10-6
Jets 9-7
Patriots 9-7
Bills 5-11
AFC North
I've seen Ravens Super Bowl picks everywhere, I've seen a smattering of Steelers, but why not the Bengals? I don't even like Carson Palmer that much, and I'm not an Owens guy anymore, but this team ran the ball and played excellent defense a year ago. They are getting back three crucial players on defense (Rivers, Malauga and Odom) and they have Andre Smith to hopefully ship in on the o-line. Remember, the Bengals beat the Ravens and Steelers each twice last year. I don;t trust the back seven in Baltimore, and Flacco hasn't done enough to win me over. Who is going to stretch the field vertically? I think the Roethlisberger thing will kill the Steelers, and I think the Browns are improved in every facet but QB.
Bengals 12-4
Ravens 10-6
Steelers 7-9
Browns 7-9
AFC South
I want to pick the Titans, but Peyton Manning is a machine. I truly believe that this Colts team goes 1-15 without Manning, but I just can't get over how he eviscerates opposing defenses. Tennessee is frisky if Vince can keep them in games, and Houston has the makings of a playoff team too. Jacksonville is certainly the least interesting team in the league, and if you don't believe me, ask their local fanbase if they want a ticket.
Colts 12-4
Titans 10-6
Houston 9-7
Jacksonville 4-12
AFC West
This is truly the shake the bag up and pull out a winner division. I like the Chiefs and Raiders, to be better, and the Broncos and Chargers to be worse, but doesn't that make each team fall somewhere between 9-7 and 6-10?
Kansas City 9-7
San Diego 8-8
Oakland 7-9
Denver 5-11
NFC Playoffs
Giants over Packers
Vikings over Cowboys
Giants over 49ers
Vikings over Saints
Giants over Vikings
AFC Playoffs
Tennesse over Kansas City
Miami over Baltimore
Tennessee over Indy
Cincinnati over Miami
Cincinnati over Tennessee
Super Bowl
Giants over Bengals
NFL MVP: Peyton Manning
Offensive ROY: Ryan Mathews
Defensive ROY: Ndamukong Suh
Coach of the year: Mike Singletary
Offensive POY: Aaron Rodgers
Defensive POY: Darrelle Revis
Fantasy POY (best fantasy player): Chris Johnson
Fantasy MVP (In regards to draft position): Shonn Greene
Fantasy ROY: Ryan Mathews
Fantasy LVP: Kurt Warner (singlehandedly crushed a great offense)
Cheers,
TFAM
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