NFL season predictions

[dhamz]

There will come a day when all the doom and gloom Indy predictions come true but as long as Manning is healthy, it isn't this year. They are still one of the 3 best teams in football.

Even if they fall off some, they still play in a division where 9 or 10 wins is all it will take to win it. Jax still has no QB and Del Rio will have the same poorly coached mentally weak team that consistently loses to teams it shouldn't. Ten is going to be really bad on offense as they have Young who is more hype than substance right now and probably not a single other skill position player who could make the 2 deep for NE or Indy or SD. Houston still stinks on both lines.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Owslek is absolutely right, of course.

Hence my pick of a Houston-Tampa Bay super bowl.

:bricks:

No, but seriously, Owslek is right about that. I predicted last offseason that...

* Pittsburgh would mount a late charge, but would miss the playoffs.
* The Titans would have enough to go 8-8 or 9-7.

Of course, that could be the "blind squirrel" theory in action. Still, I love the Jags' chances this year. I don't think they win the South, but the Colts are vulnerable, if you base it on departures and post-SB disaster theory.

I also wouldn't pick it to happen - you can't take those departures to drop them beneath the Jags going in. Tempting, but irrational.

PFnV

 

[Seven Nation Army]

Does anybody else think Denver is going to have a good season in 2007? I am worried about them far more than San Diego or Indy.

 

[QB12]

Denver did not look particularly sharp against Cleveland. Apparently, the defense is having trouble picking up Bates' scheme.

QB12

 

[TomBrady'sGoat]

I'm not giving any major predictions yet, but I just wanted to remind everyone a few things:

1) There will be at least three new division champs. It happens every year and still people are suprised when the season doesn't play out exactly like the last one.

2) At least one of those three new champs will be a non-playoff team the prior year.

3) At least two playoff teams were non-playoff teams the prior year.

4) At least one prior year division champ will drop off the map - very regularly in disastrous fashion.

These scenarios happen every year, yet despite this, people still get up in arms when they see predictions of 7-9 and 8-8 seasons from a good team from the year before. It *will* happen. It's just a matter of who.

I agree with all of this, but people use this solid reasoning to explain unreasonable predictions. Sometimes you get teams like the '01 Pats and the Jets last year. Oftentimes you don't. For example:

1) This year this could be Pitt or Cinci, Denver, Dallas, Carolina, and StL or SF and no one would really be surprised. Some people would even add NYJ or Jax to that list (though I won't).

2) That removes Dallas from the above list, and NYJ if you think they have a chance to win the division.

3) We're still looking at the list from #2, but now we can add some teams because we lowered it from winning the division to just making the playoffs.

4) That could be Seattle, NO, or Philly more easily than it could be NE, Indy, or Chicago.

Those scenarios you pointed out aren't silly at all. Using them as foundation to predict unreasonable conclusions is.

 

[neuronet]

AFC Division
NE def Jac
SD def Cin

AFCCG
NE def SD

Good job with these predictions. (Well, except Bengals).

 

[neuronet]

Where is this idea that the Chargers are going to have a spectacular season coming from? Is there any evidence to suggest this? PonyExpress, if your predictions come true it will be the first playoff victory for San Diego since about 1995.

*San Diego will not win its division.

Surprising prediction, given how great SD looks on paper.

 

[jcdavey]

AFC East
NE 13-3: most talented Pat team of SB era
NYJ 9-7*: Noodle arm gets his nine wins
Buf 6-10: Old men have too much youth
Mia 5-11: should have kept Culpepper and drafted Quinn

AFC North
Cin 11-5: D earns nickname "The Chaingang"
Bal 10-6*: Ngata great year for McNair
Pitt 7-9: rookie HC takes it on the Chin
Cle 6-10: swan song for Romeo

AFC South
JK 12-4: brawn overcomes lack of brain
Ind 9-7: shaky D sabotages great QB
Hou 6-10: Schaub better than Carr; who isn't?
Ten 6-10: VY gets some Ws, learns his ABCs.

AFC West
SD 13-3: Norv's wrench can't stop the victory machine
Oak 8-8: Surprise: Culpepper is back
Den 7-9: Al Wilson took the heart of Denver D with him
KC 4-12: 3 yards and a cloud of cliches from Herm

AFC Wild Card
Jac def NYJ
Cin def Bal

AFC Division
NE def Jac
SD def Cin

AFCCG
NE def SD

NFC East
Phi 11-5: Better balance on O keeps McNabb upright
Dal 10-6*: D Ware dominates
Was 9-7: Campbell makes leap
NYG 8-8: Eli better off without Barberella

NFC North
GB 9-7: victory lap for Favre
Chi 7-9: lack of leadership on O sinks ship
Det 6-10: Kitna loses all the close games
Min 4-12: weak at HC and QB

NFC South
NO 11-5: Bush breaks out
Car 11-5*: "every other year" trend continues
TB 5-11: Gruden packs it in
Atl 4-12: Petrino gets a reprieve, Vick doesn't

NFC West
StL 9-7: lesser of four evils
Sea 7-9: window closed
Ari 7-9: Chef Whis needs to add more seasoning
SF 6-10: The clothes don't make the man

NFC Wild Card
Dal def StL
Car def GB

NFC Divisional
NO def Car
Phi def Dal

NFCCG
NO def Phi

Super Bowl
NE def NO

wow not bad at all on the denver and kc predictions

and some of the comments were really perfect

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Hey no offense but the first division after ours, AFC North, is picked almost exactly upside down... we all lay eggs, and I think this was an "egg" of a preseason pick sheet.

That said, they're really hard. There are always huge surprises.

PFnV

 

[ctpatsfan77]

I'm not giving any major predictions yet, but I just wanted to remind everyone a few things:

1) There will be at least three new division champs. It happens every year and still people are suprised when the season doesn't play out exactly like the last one.

FOUR new division champs. Check.

2) At least one of those three new champs will be a non-playoff team the prior year.

Squealers and Tampa Meh. Check.

3) At least two playoff teams were non-playoff teams the prior year.

Check.

4) At least one prior year division champ will drop off the map - very regularly in disastrous fashion.

The 'Aints and da Borez. Check.

These scenarios happen every year, yet despite this, people still get up in arms when they see predictions of 7-9 and 8-8 seasons from a good team from the year before. It *will* happen. It's just a matter of who.

As you said, it seems to happen every year.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Hey no offense but the first division after ours, AFC North, is picked almost exactly upside down... we all lay eggs, and I think this was an "egg" of a preseason pick sheet.

That said, they're really hard. There are always huge surprises.

PFnV

whoa, you're a tough audience. he had three of the four afc finalists nailed. that's better than most of the guys who get paid high six figures to make these predictioins. i'll give him a pass on the nfc because he probably doesn't follow it as closely.