NFL Predictions & Projections

I can't believe the NFL season starts tomorrow. Time flies when your favorite baseball team is actually good. Imagine living in Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore this year? Anyway we've finally made it to the first week of the season. Every team starts with a fresh slate and every team has a chance for the playoffs (except the Seahawks). So here's my (inaccurate) predictions for the season.

Before the predictions, a little Haiku to start the season.
Football is back, yeah
The lockout is looming, yikes
Enjoy the season

NFC
NFC East: My pick for the most overrated division in football. All four of the teams in this division have problems. The Washington Redskins are a mess right now due to the Albert Haynesworth situation. Donovan McNabb improves the team at quarterback, but his receivers are Joey Galloway and Santana Moss. His running backs are Clinton Portis and Larry Johnson. Old, old, old. 6 wins for the Redskins this season. The Philadelphia Eagles look like they'll be a good team this season, until we forget Kevin Kolb is their new starting quarterback and Michael Vick is the backup. How do we know how good Kevin Kolb is? If Kolb keeps his mistakes down though, the Eagles are a wild card team. The New York Giants have an improved secondary, but their offense is a mess. Brandon Jacobs has morphed into Ron Dayne and the receivers are Stevie Hakeem Nicks and the other Steve Smith. That offense will be lucky if they score 17-points a game. That's why by attrition I'm picking the Dallas Cowboys to win the division. The Cowboys have offensive line problems, but their defense is outstanding. Division Winner: Dallas Cowboys



NFC North: My pick for the most interesting division in football. The Chicago Bears are a hot mess with Jay Cutler and Mike Martz leading the offense. The Detroit Lions could actually (gasp) be improved this season. The defense drastically improved with the additions of Suh and Kyle Vanden Bosch. The Minnesota Vikings have questions on offense despite Brett Favre lasting a full season. Is Percy Harvin healthy enough to play? Who replaces Sidney Rice for the first six games? The Vikings in my opinion are still a wild card team. The Green Bay Packers are this year's trendy pick to go to the Super Bowl. The offense will be explosive but the defense has injury issues to work out for the beginning of the season. Division Winner: Green Bay Packers

NFC South: My pick for the most intriguing division. We know the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a hot mess that probably won't improve this season. The other teams though are intriguing. Did the Atlanta Falcons just suffer through a Sophomore slump with their quarterback Matt Ryan? Will the Carolina Panthers score more than 10 points a game? Will the New Orleans Saints suffer from a Super Bowl hangover? Division Winner: New Orleans Saints

NFC West: My pick for the worst division in football. A seven win team could win this division. The St. Louis Rams are starting all over again with Sam Bradford at quarterback. Alex Smith is still the San Francisco 49ers quarterback and that's not a good thing. The Arizona Cardinals have quarterback problems of their own. That's why I'm picking the Seattle Seahawks to win the division. Matt Hasselbeck my be injury prone, but if can stay healthy for more than eight games then Seattle should win this terrible division. Division Winner: Seattle Seahawks

AFC
AFC East: Can the New York Jets back up all the trash talk from the preseason? Are the New England Patriots too old? Can the Miami Dolphins actually be a surprise team? Will Buffalo Bills win more than five games? Division Winner: New York Jets

AFC North: Is the Baltimore Ravens offense actually better than the defense? Can OchoCinco and T.O. survive the season long enough to lead the Cincinnati Bengals to the playoffs? Can the Pittsburgh Steelers survive the offseason distractions? Can Jake Delhomme actually throw more touchdowns than interceptions for the Cleveland Browns? Division Winner: Cincinnati Bengals

AFC South: Are the Indianapolis Colts over their Super Bowl loss and ready to make another run? Can Chris Johnson gain over 2,500 yards and lead the Tennessee Titans to the division tittle? Can the Houston Texans finally make the playoffs after being so close last season? Can Jack Del Rio survive another year as the Jacksonville Jaguars coach if the Jaguars have another bad season? Division Winner: Indianapolis Colts

AFC West:  Will the San Diego Chargers ever reach the Super Bowl? Will Todd Haley implode as the Kansas City Chiefs coach? Could the Oakland Raiders actually make the playoffs now that the Purple Drank drinker is gone? How long will it take Tim Tebow to replace Kyle Orton as the Denver Broncos quarterback? Division Winner: San Diego Chargers

Wild Card Teams: Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles, New England Patriots, Tennessee Titans

Conference Champions: Green Bay Packers, Tennessee Titans

Super Bowl Winner: Green Bay Packers