To come up with these predictions I simply predicted the winner of every game on the 2014 NFL schedule. These are not rankings of how good I think teams are. We all know the schedule plays a huge part with what teams make the playoffs.
Please note: I did these predictions before the pre season started. Injuries and struggles were not taken into factor.
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NFC East
1. Philadelphia Eagles, 10-6
2. Washington Redskins, 10-6
3. Dallas Cowboys, 7-9
4. New York Giants, 7-9
NFC North
1. Chicago Bears, 12-4
2. Green Bay Packers, 12-4
3. Detroit Lions, 10-6
4. Minnesota Vikings, 3-13
NFC South
1. New Orleans Saints, 12-4
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 8-8
3. Atlanta Falcons, 7-9
4. Carolina Panthers, 6-10
NFC West
1. Seattle Seahawks, 13-3
2. San Francisco 49ers, 9-7
3. St. Louis Rams, 8-8
4. Arizona Cardinals, 4-12
1. Seattle Seahawks
2. Chicago Bears
3. New Orleans Saints
4. Philadelphia Eagles
5. Green Bay Packers
6. Detroit Lions
NFC Wild Card
New Orleans over Detroit
Green Bay over Philadelphia
NFC Divisional
Chicago over New Orleans
Seattle over Green Bay
NFC Championship
Seattle over Chicago
Super Bowl
Seattle Seahawks - 26
Pittsburgh Steelers - 10
Please note: I did these predictions before the pre season started. Injuries and struggles were not taken into factor.
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NFC East
1. Philadelphia Eagles, 10-6
2. Washington Redskins, 10-6
3. Dallas Cowboys, 7-9
4. New York Giants, 7-9
Even though I predicted one team to finish in first place
and another in last, this is the only division in football where you could make
a case for these four teams finishing in any order. None of the four are great,
but all four have talent and experience and recent playoff experience (except
Dallas, who stops playing football in December). The Redskins might have the
most balanced roster in the division. DeSean Jackson's non Chip-Kelly-system
performance does not match the headaches, but he is a clear upgrade opposite
Pierre Garcon. Throw in Jordan Reed and Alfred Morris, and it is up to Robert
Griffin III to make a significant improvement in year three. He has quite a bit
of talent around him. Speaking of offense, the Cowboys will only be able to
field a competitive starting lineup on that side of the ball. The defense was
historically bad, and with potential career ending injuries to DeVonte Holloman
and Sean Lee, it could be even worse. Tony Romo catches more flack from media
and fans than any other NFL player, but the Cowboys wouldn't sniff .500 without
him. Few quarterbacks in NFL history have multiple Super Bowl rings on their
resume, but Eli Manning was absolutely terrible in 2013. The Giants ignored
bigger needs to give him more offensive weapons, but the regression may be here
to stay. Everyone thought Michael Vick was a perfect fit for Chip Kelly's new
offense, but Andy Reid draft pick Nick Foles took the job and ran with it.
Regression from Foles should be expected and DeSean Jackson will be missed but
the offense is system based and should continue to operate smoothly, especially
with MVP candidate LeSean McCoy entering his prime.
NFC North
1. Chicago Bears, 12-4
2. Green Bay Packers, 12-4
3. Detroit Lions, 10-6
4. Minnesota Vikings, 3-13
There are going to be quite a bit of points scored in the
NFC North. Aaron Rodgers, Jay Cutler and Matthew Stafford could all finish with
the top five passing attempts in the entire NFL. As we saw last year, the
Packers will go as far as Aaron Rodgers will take them. Eddie Lacy was quite a
find and could already be the best Packer running back since Ahman Green. The
defense will still struggle, as Green Bay has failed to draft well on that side
of the ball. The Bears may have the best pair of wideouts in the league. Alshon
Jeffery has Pro Bowls in his future, and has quickly developed into the player
who was once considered a top ten draft pick. Chicago retooled the defense with
draft picks and veteran free agents. The Lions may throw more than anyone. Detroit
added Eric Ebron and Golden Tate to help take some pressure off Calvin Johnson.
Stafford could shatter the NFL record for passing attempts, especially if the
defense fails to stop opposing offenses again. The Vikings, who are yet again
breaking in a rookie quarterback, are destined for the cellar. Adrian Peterson
could be this generation's Barry Sanders. The best running back for years who
toils away on bad teams.
NFC South
1. New Orleans Saints, 12-4
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 8-8
3. Atlanta Falcons, 7-9
4. Carolina Panthers, 6-10
As long as the Saints have Drew Brees and Sean Payton, they
are a pretty safe bet for double digit wins. With a defense that has become
much improved to the point you can call them "average", the NFC South
is New Orleans to lose. After years of failing to develop a decent defense or
offensive line, the Falcons finally fell off the edge of a cliff. The Falcons
did not have nearly enough draft picks to fill a ton of holes, and this roster
is not much better than the 2013 version. It will be up to Matt Ryan and his
great receiver duo to put up a ton of points. Steven Jackson is toast and Tony
Gonzalez finally had enough. The Greg Schiano era was a disaster in Tampa Bay,
just like the Raheem Era before that. Hopefully respected veteran coach Lovie
Smith can bring some professionalism to Tampa. The Bucs went on a huge free
agent spending spree, but hit up the bargain bin for Josh McCown, who had a
great few games when plugged into Marc Trestman's QB friendly system. Expect
him to become Josh McCown again. The Panthers are the most popular pick to
regress this year, and it is easy to see why. First, Ron Rivera is a bad coach
who had one foot out the door before the Panthers went on a crazy run in 2013.
Second, cap decisions (like spending tens of million dollars on running backs,
the most disposable position in football) has left giant holes at receiver,
offensive line and the secondary. The Panthers have one of the best front
seven's on defense, however, and should remain competitive.
NFC West
1. Seattle Seahawks, 13-3
2. San Francisco 49ers, 9-7
3. St. Louis Rams, 8-8
4. Arizona Cardinals, 4-12
It has been very entertaining to see the evolution of this
current Seahawks team. Since Pete Carroll came in, this team has been built
almost flawlessly. Now they have talent and depth all over the place. It is
hard to see a better team in the NFL than Seattle, who are nearly unbeatable at
home. As long as they have home field advantage in the playoffs, I cannot pick
against them to win their second straight Super Bowl. The 49ers are still very
talented but I could see regression. Hopefully Jim Harbaugh can ignore the off
the field stuff surrounding his relationship with management. On the field,
Colin Kaepernick needs to step up and earn his fat new contract, especially
with Frank Gore nearing the end of a very good career. It seems the Rams have
had 50 first round picks the past five years. Greg Robinson should really help
shore up the offensive line, but I still have trouble seeing this team win more
than 8 games. It is put up or shut up time for Sam Bradford. I have no team
falling off record wise more than the Cardinals. I really like Bruce Arians as
a coach, but he might not have enough magic to get one more decent year out of
Carson Palmer. There is talent on offense, but the defense will have to
overcome the losses of Daryl Washington, Karlos Dansby and Darnell Dockett. In
the brutal NFC West, that may be too much to ask.
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Playoff Predictions
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Playoff Predictions
1. Seattle Seahawks
2. Chicago Bears
3. New Orleans Saints
4. Philadelphia Eagles
5. Green Bay Packers
6. Detroit Lions
NFC Wild Card
New Orleans over Detroit
Green Bay over Philadelphia
NFC Divisional
Chicago over New Orleans
Seattle over Green Bay
NFC Championship
Seattle over Chicago
Super Bowl
Seattle Seahawks - 26
Pittsburgh Steelers - 10
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