Yes folks the 2010-2011 NFL season has arrived and it is time for (cue the Monday Night Football music) my uber-accurate divisional record predictions. Let’s begin by evaluating each team by division. Feel free to share your selections for the top squads this year.
The AFC North is probably the most stacked division in football. Three of its teams are likely to hold winning records by season’s end. In the absence of Big Ben Roethlisberger (yes I am tempted to offer him a nickname announcing his roughhousing of women) the Pittsburgh Steelers will falter. The Cleveland Browns are being rebuilt by the cleverest of football geniuses, the eminent Mike Holmgren. Despite his presence as an overseer the Browns are not yet talented enough to improve their record enough to win the division. The Baltimore Ravens are one of my selections for Super Bowl contenders as they now have Donte Stallworth (recently reinstated after committing vehicular manslaughter), Anquan Boldin (in a trade from the Cardinals) and they have retained veteran wide receiver Derek Mason. If that were not enough they have retained two premier running backs in Willis McGahee and Ray Rice. Having a young quarterback with ice in his veins, Joe Flacco, does not hurt either. As if the Ravens were not enough of a threat, the Bengals now have rebuilt their receiving corps with the addition of the T.O. show. Our heads may explode if T.O. and Ochocinco score touchdowns in the same game. Here are my predictions for what their records will look like this year:
1. Baltimore Ravens: 12-4
2. Cincinnati Bengals: 10-6
3. Pittsburgh Steelers 9-7
4. Cleveland Browns 4-12
The NFC North promises to be the most talked about division in all of football. Aaron Rodgers has become the darling of Fantasy Footballers and he is the most lauded quarterback in the NFL. Some experts rank him above Drew Brees and Tom Brady. To that I say stop smoking the Hobbit’s leaf. Aaron Rodgers has so many talented players around it would be hard to miss them were I the signal caller. Jermichael Finlay, Jordi Nelson, Donald Driver, James Jones and Greg Jennings make up his receiving corps. The Packers have the most depth in the entire NFL at that position. Their defense is being lauded as the fourth best on the depth chart. The Minnesota Vikings have all of their starters returning except for third down back Chester Taylor. Taylor may be thirty but he has seen limited action and is more of a Thomas Jones than a Julius Jones, i.e. he is talented. Replacing him is rookie running back from Stamford Toby Gerhart. Most important to the Vikings’ success is for Brett Favre to concentrate on two objectives: 1. Prodding his offensive lineman to protect his ankle and 2. Throwing as few (7) interceptions as he did in the 2009 season. Barring any major injuries or meltdowns the Vikings will make the postseason again. The Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears will improve significantly but both teams will fall short of their goal. The Bears have an aging defense that rests on its laurels from a Super Bowl run five years ago. They bet the farm on Jay Cutler and lost. He has almost no talent surrounding him. The Bears draft poorly every year. Their one ace-in-the-hole is the acquisition of the best pass rusher in the business, Julius Peppers. The Lions meanwhile will have moments of glory but will ultimately sputter. They are a fascinating team. 25% talent (Suh, Stafford, Johnson, Foote) and 75% imbeciles. They are like a UFL team with a few high paid NFL talents onboard.
1. Green Bay Packers 11-5
2. Minnesota Vikings 10-6
3. Chicago Bears 8-8
4. Detroit Lions 5-11
The AFC South is quite possibly the most boring/uneventful division in football. Every year the Houston Texans are supposed to win the division while the Indianapolis Colts are expected to have a drop-off like every other playoff team. Instead the opposite occurs. The entire team is led by four pro-bowlers (Matt Schaub, Mario Williams, Brian Cushing [who is serving a suspension for PED abuse] and Andre Johnson) and everyone else is pedestrian. Peyton Manning will enjoy another year torching defenses and wide receiver Anthony Gonzales is back from a knee injury to further bolster the Colts’ offensive dominance. The Jacksonville Jaguars have upgraded their pass rush through the draft and the signing of Aaron Kampman, but their quarterback play is weak and in this league that spells D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R. David Garrard needs to be benched, for even the lowly Raider Jason Campbell is better. The Tennessee Titans had one good year with Kerry Collins under center. With Vince Young a debacle is waiting to happen. He is like hurricane season, unpredictable and disaster can strike at any time. The Titans will be average mostly because Chris Johnson much like other featured backs will slow down and will not have another 2000 yard season.
1. Indianapolis Colts 11-5
2. Houston Texans 9-7
3. Tennessee Titans 7-9
4. Jacksonville Jaguars 5-11
The NFC South is expected to be a hotly contested division. The New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl last year but had an awful lot of luck (5 Vikings fumbles during the NFC Championship game) along the way. During the summer they went under the microscope for Vicodin abuse and are poised to suffer key injuries like all other SB teams the following season. With Drew Brees under center the team will remain exciting but to imagine them as anything other than a wild card hopeful is wishful thinking. Meanwhile with Michael Turned and Matt Ryan healthy the Atlanta Falcons are the team to beat in the NFC South. They have a well-rounded team, a great coaching staff and a burgeoning quarterback. This is the beginning of many good seasons to come for the Falcons in the post Michal Vick era. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have nobody at quarterback worthy of playing at this level and they have the worst coach I have ever seen in Raheem Morris. Finally, The Carolina Panthers have shown signs of greatness for years. I am sold on Matt Moore as their starting QB. I think he looks great. Unfortunately other than their running backs he has very little if anything to work with. Steve Smith is one injury away from retiring and the defense without Peppers will be toasted by every halfway decent offense in the league. Look for this season to be John Fox’s going away party.
1. Atlanta Falcons 11-5
2. New Orleans Saints 10-6
3. Carolina Panthers 7-9
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 4-12
The AFC East is one of my favorites. Everywhere you look there is rivalry. With coaches Bill Belicheck, Rex Ryan, Tony Sparano (with the Big Tuna overseeing things) and Chan Gailey (the most irrelevant coach in the league this year) the words, fists and footballs will fly. Last year the Jets despite horrendous quarterback play from the most overrated player in the NFL (Mark Sanchez) went 9-7 and their defense carried them deep into the postseason. Without Derelle Revis signed they are going nowhere near the playoffs. Their offense is not nearly as well-oiled as their defense and without their star corner expect a major drop-off in play and performance. The Patriots are being talked about as if their glory days are behind them. Really? With a contractually-minded Randy Moss, the miraculous return of Wes Welker, a healthy Tom Brady, and a fantastic new tight end in Gronkowski expect the Patriots’ offense to dominate opposing defenses and thus lend a hand to their learning defense. They will have a very successful season even with a few hiccoughs now and again. The Dolphins have Brandon Marshall. What a huge talent! Unfortunately without him they are a 7-9 team with no prayer of making the playoffs. With him they are a game or two better but still sputtering. The Buffalo Bills are the least talented team in the league with the most injuries to star players. Good luck with that.
1. New England Patriots 12-4
2. New York Jets 9-7
3. Miami Dolphins 8-8
4. Buffalo Bills 3-13
The NFC East is the bedrock of the NFL. It sports four rock solid teams with immense talent. This is why they have trouble staying injury free. With 3 of the best teams playing each other twice and possibly in the playoffs bodies will accrue too much wear and tear. The Giants have Eli Manning geysering blood from a head wound, Brandon Jacobs black and blue all over, and a thin receiving corps sans jailbird Plaxico Burress. Their defense is inconsistent despite its obvious talent and Osi Umenyiora is unhappy. Remember he prefers sacks over sex. His marriage must be thrilling! The Philadelphia Eagles are under new management under center. Kevin Kolb may be younger, faster and more accurate than Donovan McNabb but he is not as experienced, as successful or as familiar with the offense yet. Although at times he will impress us, it is more likely the Eagles will spend the season finding their identity as a team than they will crush opponents. Desean Jackson needs to have a pro bowl season for Kolb to keep his job as a starter. The Dallas Cowboys are the best team in the division without question. Their defense makes sacking the quarterback look easy. They have interception masters in the secondary and they have something even more valuable on offense, the high-skilled, lightning quick Tony Romo. Romo will make Dez Bryant and Miles Austin look like studs this season. He scrambles well, plays through injury and leads his team like a true professional. He is a sportsman and a great QB waiting to be introduced as one of the vaunted elite. At the bottom of the division we have the Washington Redskins. Sure Mike Shanahan brings super bowl savvy coaching to the team. However, he also brings a douche bag attitude to coaching players. Albert Haynesworth despite being a nine year veteran and pro bowler had to pass conditioning tests and plays with the backups who might not even make the roster? Is it Haynesworth’s fault the team offered him a gargantuan contract? He is being punished for making the money the team contractually obligated themselves to pay? There is a reason why Shanahan was booted from Denver. He is no longer an elite coach and he appears to disrespect his players. What has he done to guarantee the offense will run well under McNabb? He hired his son as the offensive coordinator. No nepotism there pops! The NFC East has a habit of making games between any of its teams competitive and exciting until the end. Expect this year to be no different.
1. Dallas Cowboys 11-5
2. New York Giants 8-8
3. Philadelphia Eagles 6-10
4. Washington Redskins 5-11
The AFC West has the Oakland Raiders, the Denver Broncos, the San Diego Chargers and the Kansas City Chiefs. The Raiders have played no meaningful games since the John Gruden era. With Jason Campbell at quarterback I predict they will be lucky to win six games if any at all. The Chiefs have Matt Cassell but no offensive line to protect him. Consequently, expect very little in the way of victories at Arrowhead. The Chargers may lose Vincent Jackson to a contract dispute, their offensive line is porous and Shawne Merriman lost a step when he tore his ACL. The team looks to be in distress. Philip Rivers is the entire squad. The Broncos look mediocre but they have two excellent even if wholly different QBs, starter Kyle Orton and Tim Tebow. Say what you want about Tebow, he is a real man and one of the greatest competitors to come around in a long time. Orton may be unspectacular but he is effective. Losing Elvis Dumervil to a torn pectoral muscle cannot help their cause and puts them on an even plane with the Chargers. The real question is does Josh McDaniels truly have what it takes to be a successful head coach in the NFL?
1. Denver Broncos 10-6
2. San Diego Chargers 8-8
3. Oakland Raiders 6-10
4. Kansas City Chiefs 3-13
The NFC West has become the most irrelevant division in football. Pete Carroll’s Seattle Seahawks will flounder for another year with an aging and injury-riddles Matt Hasselbeck and the glory days of the Arizona Cardinals are over and done. Kurt Warner has left the building. Matt Leinart is a joke, no really, it is almost funny. The San Francisco 49ers will win the division easily under Hall of Fame Coach Mike Singletary. Although I am not sold on Singletary as a viable head coach, he brings a gridiron toughness to his team and inspires his players (see Vernon Davis’ turnaround for example). They have talent everywhere except at quarterback which will keep this division closer than it otherwise should be. Finally, the St. Louis Rams look to move forward under the Sam Bradford era. Unfortunately they should have traded for multiple draft picks rather than resting their hopes on a skinny, overmatched quarterback guaranteed at least 40 million against the salary cap. In the preseason Bradford has looked like a bowling pin. He will turn out to be a lynchpin.
1. San Francisco 49ers 10-6
2. Seattle Seahawks 8-8
3. Arizona Cardinals 6-10
4. St. Louis Rams 3-13
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