My Annual 2015 Predictions and Final AFC North Standings

[January J]

I already did this once well before training camp so let me do an updated prediction. May do another one right before the season based on our final 53 man roster and any additions we might add.

Week 1 at Denver - WIN. 37-23

Week 2 at Oakland - WIN. 28-12

Week 3 Cincinnati. - WIN. 23-17

Week 4 At Pittsburgh - LOSS. 31-28

Week 5 Cleveland -WIN. 22-10

Week 6 At Niners -WIN. 35-21

Week 7 at Phoenix -LOSS. 24-12

Week 8 San Diego -WIN. 27-20

Week 9 Bye

Week 10 Jacksonville - WIN 45-9

Week 11 St. Louis -LOSS. 16-14

Week 12 at Cleveland -WIN. 29-13

Week 13 at Miami -WIN. 35-22

Week 14 Seattle. -WIN. 23-17

Week 15 Kansas City - LOSS. 17-14

Week 16 Pittsburgh - WIN. 42-21

Week 17 at Cincinnati. -LOSS. 24-23 (afc north already locked up so we rest our starters)

11-5 ; win afc north ; #3 seed

[beanfigger]

Ravens 10-6

Steelers 7-9

Bengals 7-9

Browns 3-13

[rmcjacket23]

Special teams is highly underrated. San Diego had the number one defense and offense in 2010, I believe, but lost out on the playoffs at 8-8 due to poor special teams

I wouldn't say its underrated, but its one of the things in the NFL where you can't suck at it.

 

You don't have to have great ST to win a lot of games or even a SB, but you can't be as horrible at it as SD was that season.

 

A mediocre ST unit is really just fine for most teams that can move the ball and stop other teams from moving the ball.

[52520Andrew]

The team I'm really scared of Is honestly the Chiefs....They look reallyyy good right now.

Stout Defense, secondary could be much improved, Defensive Line is rediculously dangerous and offensively, they have weapons. Travis Kelce is breaking into the mold of a top 10 TE, could be top 5 soon and Jeremy Maclin fits in so well with them. And you can't forget about Jamaal Charles. I actually think they make the playoffs. I'm pretty scared of that matchup.

I don't see us losing to San Diego and honestly Im not impressed by them. Their defense doesn't look threatning and Philip Rivers won't be able to carve up this secondary like he did to last years. I'm confident we take that one. I feel that its more likely to drop against K.C than San Diego.

Chiefs O-line is their biggest question mark for me

[izvoodoo]

I wouldn't say its underrated, but its one of the things in the NFL where you can't suck at it.

 

You don't have to have great ST to win a lot of games or even a SB, but you can't be as horrible at it as SD was that season.

 

A mediocre ST unit is really just fine for most teams that can move the ball and stop other teams from moving the ball.

Well how often do you hear about Special teams.  And yes, that chargers team was strong, but their special teams (IIRC) is so bad it kept them out of the playoffs.  Turnovers and field position was abysmal.  

[Sami84]

TJ ward is out for the broncos. Suspended for a game for violating SP

 

 

THats a huge deal.

[RayRocks]

Just saw the TJ Ward suspension as well.  That certainly weakens their secondary quite a bit.

[rmcjacket23]

Just saw the TJ Ward suspension as well.  That certainly weakens their secondary quite a bit.

Depends. He wasn't very good last season, and they do have Darian Stewart who is an adequate replacement. 

 

More of run stopping safeties than coverage safeties. Still a brutally tough secondary.

[PurpleCity5]

Chiefs O-line is their biggest question mark for me

Same here, but who's to say their Dline won't give the Ravens trouble.

[52520Andrew]

Same here, but who's to say their Dline won't give the Ravens trouble.

 

They have a deadly D-line themselves, Hali and Houston is one of the best tandems in the league. Shame Poe had to go down for them but they should be interesting, our O-line is a good unit though as well so it could make for a nice matchup. 

[PurpleCity5]

They have a deadly D-line themselves, Hali and Houston is one of the best tandems in the league. Shame Poe had to go down for them but they should be interesting, our O-line is a good unit though as well so it could make for a nice matchup. 

Yeah, they have a deadly pass rush duo. But correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Poe only supposed to miss the start of the season? We play them Dec.20 so thats plenty of time for him to return, though his return to form can be legitimately questioned. 

[52520Andrew]

Yeah, they have a deadly pass rush duo. But correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Poe only supposed to miss the start of the season? We play them Dec.20 so thats plenty of time for him to return, though his return to form can be legitimately questioned. 

 

Ah, haven't looked at it much recently, according to rotoworld he is coming along very well so yeah I would imagine we see him by December. Still though, our O-line(assuming everyone is healthy(knock on wood)) is much better than what they have and our front 7s(again assuming health(again knocking on wood)) aren't too different.

[PurpleCity5]

Ah, haven't looked at it much recently, according to rotoworld he is coming along very well so yeah I would imagine we see him by December. Still though, our O-line(assuming everyone is healthy(knock on wood)) is much better than what they have and our front 7s(again assuming health(again knocking on wood)) aren't too different.

Hopefully....I'm truly worried about that matchup. 

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

Joe will not go down without a fight but Joe can't wage war if he has no long range missles. Every great team throughout history has had at least one deep threat. Believe me Breshard Perriman is not that guy!

Good I feel better then that we passed on Breshard Perriman and took the better receiver Breshad*.

Btw who was New England's deep threat last year?

For your claim of "every team in history" I didn't really have to go back that far.

[wizard1]

Good I feel better then that we passed on Breshard Perriman and took the better receiver Breshad*.

Btw who was New England's deep threat last year?

For your claim of "every team in history" I didn't really have to go back that far.

Of all the information in all those posts are you going to focus on one typo? For all my hopes about Perriman I think it's safe to say he's he is way behind and that is exactly what this offense doesn't need.

 

And as the football world knows New England has Edleman and Gronk who both caught deep balls against us last year.

 

Aren't you the same guy that insisted we couldn't cut Ray Rice because of salary cap issues and that he was just too good of player? Of course that was 2 years ago that I stated Rice had to go and well before his case and video hit the news maybe you have forgotten....

 

Aren't you also the same guy that said letting Jacoby Jones, Haloti Ngata and Torrey Smith go was fine even tho we are well under the salary cap and could have re-signed them to structured deals with plenty of room to spare.

 

How about just staying on the topic of this thread. Do you have any relevant predictions?

[wizard1]

They have a deadly D-line themselves, Hali and Houston is one of the best tandems in the league. Shame Poe had to go down for them but they should be interesting, our O-line is a good unit though as well so it could make for a nice matchup. 

Gonna be hard to compete in Denver with no deep threat. Remember who is coaching in Denver and who could possibly know this offense better than Gary Kubiak. Without Taliferro our run game has huge problems. Forsette is not a 3 down guy and that makes Buck Allen a very scary back-up.

[FoxRox75]

Mine:

 

@ Denver = L

@ Oakland = W

vs. Cincinnati = W

@ Pittsburgh = L

vs. Cleveland = W

@ San Francisco = W

@ Arizona = L

vs. San Diego = W

vs. Jacksonville = W

vs. St. Louis = W

@ Cleveland = W

@ Miami = L

vs. Seattle = L

vs. Chiefs = W

vs. Pittsburgh = W

@ Cincinnati = L

 

Hoping we can reach 11-5 to improve, but 10-6 is probably most realistic. I could see the Rams surprising us, or us winning again in Miami; otherwise I'm fairly confident with the other picks. 

[wizard1]

Thats it sir think positive!

[Bryden88]

Everyone assumes we lose to Denver despite Manning looking absolutely out of place in Kubiak's system in the preseason. I think that continues.

 

My predictions:

 

Week 1 at Denver will be a win.

Week 2 at Oakland will be a win.

Week 3 Home Opener with Cincinnati will be a win

Week 4 At Pittsburgh will be a loss

Week 5 Cleveland at home will be a win.

Week 6 At Niners will be a win

Week 7 at Phoenix will be a loss

Week 8 San Diego at home will be a win

Week 9 Bye

Week 10 Jacksonville at home will be a win.

Week 11 St. Louis at home will be a win.

Week 12 at Cleveland will be a win

Week 13 at Miami will be a win

Week 14 Seattle at home will be a win

Week 15 Kansas City at home will be a loss

Week 16 Pittsburgh at home will be a win.

Week 17 at Cincinnati will be a loss

 

12-4. MAYBE a loss in Arizona putting as at 11-5.

 

I think we win the Division (We sweep the Browns, Steelers sweep the Bengals and split with the Browns, Bengals split the Browns, and we have the best overall record between them)

 

And I think we have two home playoff games, because I feel like the usual suspects (Broncos and Patriots) will have their usual momentum deflated (see what I did there) by tougher competition: Kansas, San Diego, and yes Oakland will steal games from Denver, and the Bills and Dolphins will be nagging thorns in Brady's side. And thus I think we get number 2 seed - 12-4 will be the highest record in the AFC.

[Ravenseconbeast]

We are a 11-5 team this year. At worst I'd say 9-7 for a race @wildcard

[January J]

Everyone assumes we lose to Denver despite Manning looking absolutely out of place in Kubiak's system in the preseason. I think that continues.

My predictions:

Week 1 at Denver will be a win.

Week 2 at Oakland will be a win.

Week 3 Home Opener with Cincinnati will be a win

Week 4 At Pittsburgh will be a loss

Week 5 Cleveland at home will be a win.

Week 6 At Niners will be a win

Week 7 at Phoenix will be a loss

Week 8 San Diego at home will be a win

Week 9 Bye

Week 10 Jacksonville at home will be a win.

Week 11 St. Louis at home will be a win.

Week 12 at Cleveland will be a win

Week 13 at Miami will be a win

Week 14 Seattle at home will be a win

Week 15 Kansas City at home will be a loss

Week 16 Pittsburgh at home will be a win.

Week 17 at Cincinnati will be a loss

12-4. MAYBE a loss in Arizona putting as at 11-5.

I think we win the Division (We sweep the Browns, Steelers sweep the Bengals and split with the Browns, Bengals split the Browns, and we have the best overall record between them)

And I think we have two home playoff games, because I feel like the usual suspects (Broncos and Patriots) will have their usual momentum deflated (see what I did there) by tougher competition: Kansas, San Diego, and yes Oakland will steal games from Denver, and the Bills and Dolphins will be nagging thorns in Brady's side. And thus I think we get number 2 seed - 12-4 will be the highest record in the AFC.

very similar to my predictions. I think it's funny that everyone just assumes were goin to lose to Denver. That openin day a few years ago where he torched us for 7 Tds is stil fresh on their minds. diffrent team, older manning , and clean slate. Also everyone usually stays conservative with their predictions and typically say we"ll end up Around 10-6 or 9-7 just bc that's where we've finished over the last few years on average. Once again, new year, new team. 12-4. Edited September 4, 2015 by January J

[BmoreBird22]

I wouldn't say its underrated, but its one of the things in the NFL where you can't suck at it.

 

You don't have to have great ST to win a lot of games or even a SB, but you can't be as horrible at it as SD was that season.

 

A mediocre ST unit is really just fine for most teams that can move the ball and stop other teams from moving the ball.

Special teams were pretty integral in the Ravens winning their second Super Bowl and even making it to the playoffs.. 

[wizard1]

No wild card from the AFC North this year. The AFC wild cards this year will be San Diego and Buffalo. I stand by my predictions.

[January J]

No wild card from the AFC North this year. The AFC wild cards this year will be San Diego and Buffalo. I stand by my predictions.

#1 seed -Indy

#2 seed- New England

#3 seed- Baltimore

#4 seed - Kansas City

Denver and buffalo will be the wild cards.

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

Of all the information in all those posts are you going to focus on one typo? For all my hopes about Perriman I think it's safe to say he's he is way behind and that is exactly what this offense doesn't need.

And as the football world knows New England has Edleman and Gronk who both caught deep balls against us last year.

Aren't you the same guy that insisted we couldn't cut Ray Rice because of salary cap issues and that he was just too good of player? Of course that was 2 years ago that I stated Rice had to go and well before his case and video hit the news maybe you have forgotten....

Aren't you also the same guy that said letting Jacoby Jones, Haloti Ngata and Torrey Smith go was fine even tho we are well under the salary cap and could have re-signed them to structured deals with plenty of room to spare.

How about just staying on the topic of this thread. Do you have any relevant predictions?

Well you just put a lot of words in my mouth. I wanted Torrey back, knew we'd have questions at returner without Jacoby but it wasn't a huge loss, and Ngata isn't even healthy enough to play so that remains to be seen - so regardless of opinions on those topics - those are all unanswered questions right now.

Edelman is a possession receiver through and through. Catching a deep ball once doesn't make you a deep threat. Most of his long receptions on us were less than 5 yd catches that he broke for 15-20. Gronk is Gronk. He's a threat up the seam but that's not a deep threat. The value of a deep threat is to stretch the field both wide and deep to open the middle of the field.

A single safety can stay in the middle of the field and still give support on a seam route.

And if I said we couldn't or wouldn't cut rice, that was true until his actions forced our hand. They were keeping him even with initial suspension attached... So I'm not even sure what any of the points you made have to do with anything?

Prediction is we go 10-6 winning the division. we go at least to the AFCCG bc there really aren't any AFC powers. Peyton is old and can't run Kubes offense. Patriots defense is a shell of last years version and haven't improved anywhere else. Cinci is cinci all the talent but still Dalton. Indy is the main threat but I still don't think they have the defense to win January football.

Harbaugh runs his team to be ready and rolling come playoff time. Worrying about anything at this juncture is silly. Besides our starters, other than the Philly game, have looked really good and that's been with a lot of backups acting as starters.

Once were healthy were the team to beat.

[CalvinSmoke]

And this... Is how ESPN makes a living

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

@ Denver = W

@ Oakland = L

vs. Cincinnati = L

@ Pittsburgh = W

vs. Cleveland = W

@ San Francisco = W

@ Arizona = L

vs. San Diego = L

vs. Jacksonville = W

vs. St. Louis = W

@ Cleveland = W

@ Miami = W

vs. Seattle = W

vs. Chiefs = L

vs. Pittsburgh = L

@ Cincinnati = W

The Cinci game will decide the division and set us up for another win streak straight to the big dance.

Edited September 4, 2015 by BOLDnPurPnBlacK

[January J]

Well you just put a lot of words in my mouth. I wanted Torrey back, knew we'd have questions at returner without Jacoby but it wasn't a huge loss, and Ngata isn't even healthy enough to play so that remains to be seen - so regardless of opinions on those topics - those are all unanswered questions right now.

Edelman is a possession receiver through and through. Catching a deep ball once doesn't make you a deep threat. Most of his long receptions on us were less than 5 yd catches that he broke for 15-20. Gronk is Gronk. He's a threat up the seam but that's not a deep threat. The value of a deep threat is to stretch the field both wide and deep to open the middle of the field.

A single safety can stay in the middle of the field and still give support on a seam route.

And if I said we couldn't or wouldn't cut rice, that was true until his actions forced our hand. They were keeping him even with initial suspension attached... So I'm not even sure what any of the points you made have to do with anything?

Prediction is we go 10-6 winning the division. we go at least to the AFCCG bc there really aren't any AFC powers. Peyton is old and can't run Kubes offense. Patriots defense is a shell of last years version and haven't improved anywhere else. Cinci is cinci all the talent but still Dalton. Indy is the main threat but I still don't think they have the defense to win January football.

Harbaugh runs his team to be ready and rolling come playoff time. Worrying about anything at this juncture is silly. Besides our starters, other than the Philly game, have looked really good and that's been with a lot of backups acting as starters.

Once were healthy were the team to beat.

good post but your schedule predictions are a little out there. Anything can happen I suppose.

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

good post but your schedule predictions are a little out there. Anything can happen I suppose.

It may look like it on the surface but Oakland will be the 2nd game of a west coast trip after a slug Fest and emotional win against the Broncos. We always lay a stinker against a bad team every year, and they're much improved on D with a good young QB and Cooper is legit.

I think were exhausted and lose a close game.

After that long road trip coming home to play cinci is goin to be tough but after that loss we kick it into gear....

That is up until another 2 week trip out west which we lose the 2nd matchup of. We never seem to beat SD so we lose that and then go on a complete tear culminating in a real SB test against the Seahawks at home.

After winning that were way ahead and lay off the gas and lose to a really tough KC at home who we always struggle with, complete our Steeler split and then have to play our hearts out for the division against Cinci.

There's logic to it - whether you agree with it or not - I tried to account for the travel/mental/emotional state of the team week-to-week.

[beanfigger]

No wild card from the AFC North this year. The AFC wild cards this year will be San Diego and Buffalo. I stand by my predictions.

I can agree with this. I also think Miami will be in the mix. Could have three from AFC East.