Predictions!

[ravensdan]

Time to lay out annual predictions and hopefully spark some debate. Funny I got the most heat for my Carolina dominating the south pick but was most wrong about our Ravens. 

AFC East

1. Jets - I really like how this team is built and how they play. Finally beat the Pats out for. The division

2. Pats - Brady misses 4 games and I think the undefeated Father Time wins and there's a drop off. Still win one wild card

3.  Bills - unceremonious end to Rex. 

4.  Dolphins - another top 10 pick

AFC West

1. Chiefs - Andy Reid just always gets his teams to the postseason

2.  Raiders - the overall team shows its better but Carr holds them back. He's been way overrated. 

3.  Broncos - Their offense has nothing going for it. 

4.  Chargers - still thin all over and bad mojo. 

AFC South - 

1. Colts - they have the best coach and QB combo in the division and have done enough to keep him on the field. 

2.  Jaguars - the team makes it to a 9-7 winning record finally but no playoffs. 

3.  Titans - surprisingly decent team but Matiota to fragile to complete the year.

Texans - not a believer in Brock or much of anything on this squad. 

AFC North

Bengals -  I don't know why they are being underrated. They own the Ravens and I say finally get over the Steeler hump. 

Ravens - start out slow but narrowly beat out the Steelers in tie breakers for the last WC. Strong passing attack carried the rest of the team. 

Steelers - difference is their finally swept by Cincy. 

Browns - first overall draft pick. 

 

Playoffs - 6 seed Ravens upset Colts but lose to Cincy for the third time. 

Pats turn it up and blow out the Jets who get by the Chiefs in a defensive thriller

 

Bengals finally get over their hex and take out the Pats. 

[ravensdan]

NFC East

1.  Redskins - underrated on both sides again. 

2.  Cowboys - lead by Zeke but Romo can't make it through again. 

3.  Eagles - just mediocre

4.  Giants - the will miss Couglin and have no cohesion. 

 

NFC West 

Cardinals- best record in the NFC

Seahawks - significantly worse Oline really holds this team back. 

49ers - Kelly gets more out of them than expected. Like a 7-9 finish. 

Rams - Fisher gets less than expected. Despite the wrecking ball Aaron Donald. 

 

NFC South - 

1. Panthers- they aren't as good but the rest of the teams just haven't closed the gap.

2.  Falcons - earn the first WC despite Ryan. Good running game and D carry them

3. Buccaneers- Winston impresses. 

4.  Saints - Brees wills this team to victories. But their D still worse  

 

NFC North

1.  Bears - My surprise upstart team here  they have had a couple of great off seasons  

2.  Vikings - barely win a tie breaker with the Pack  their aweful OC continues to hold them back  

3.  Packers - very up and down again  similar issues to last year  

4.  Lions - just not good  

 

Playoffs - 

Cardinals and Panthers meet up as the 1 v 2. Cards come out on top 

 

Bengaks magically season comes to an end at the hands of Carson Palmer. Ouch!

[ludy51]

After everything that's happened this offseason you have the Bengals going to the SB?

Edited August 9, 2016 by ludy51

[ravensdan]

20 minutes ago, ludy51 said:

After everything that's happened this offseason you have the Bengals going to the SB?

Yes. I have been thinking this myself but also heard Daniel Jeremiah talking about the same thing. This Hue Jackson loss is way overrated. I mean it's not like their losing Bill Belichick here. They lost a couple of receivers but this roster is very talented and very deep and Dalton was really playing well before being injured. 

[Steve0x]

Bengals -  will go 13-3 But only to be defeated in AFC Championship game 

Ravens - 10-6 Will go to the wild card win the first round 

Steelers -10-6 Will go to the wild card lose the first round 

Browns - 0-16 -No QB nothing will be a total embarrassment for their fans.

[ravensdan]

Who would you have beat the Bengals?

browns 0-16 I love but then 1-15 is better. They can't even lose right. 

[Steve0x]

7 minutes ago, ravensdan said:

Who would you have beat the Bengals?

browns 0-16 I love but then 1-15 is better. They can't even lose right. 

Dallas-Pats and maybe Denver

[ravensdan]

26 minutes ago, Steve0x said:

Dallas-Pats and maybe Denver

Dallas?  What. Afc?  I'm pretty confident about Denver not sniffing the playoffs. 

[BmoreBird22]

46 minutes ago, ravensdan said:

Yes. I have been thinking this myself but also heard Daniel Jeremiah talking about the same thing. This Hue Jackson loss is way overrated. I mean it's not like their losing Bill Belichick here. They lost a couple of receivers but this roster is very talented and very deep and Dalton was really playing well before being injured. 

I think you're really underrating the impact that Jackson has as an offensive coordinator and for quarterbacks.

[ravensdan]

2 minutes ago, BmoreBird22 said:

I think you're really underrating the impact that Jackson has as an offensive coordinator and for quarterbacks.

I think Zimmer was a far better coach and there was no drop off. Coaches matter but this team is one of the best in the league and just losing Hue isn't going to drastically knock them down. 

Edited August 9, 2016 by ravensdan

[BmoreBird22]

11 minutes ago, ravensdan said:

I think Zimmer was a far better coach and there was no drop off. Coaches matter but this team is one of the best in the league and just losing Hue isn't going to drastically knock them down. 

I think it could have a fairly drastic impact on the play of Dalton

[allblackraven]

4 minutes ago, BmoreBird22 said:

I think it could have a fairly drastic impact on the play of Dalton

Yep, maybe he won't suck now.

[BmoreBird22]

1 minute ago, allblackraven said:

Yep, maybe he won't suck now.

Or he won't have another MVP caliber season.

[ravensdan]

22 minutes ago, BmoreBird22 said:

Or he won't have another MVP caliber season.

We'll see but I bet Dalton comes back and plays close to where he was last year. The only question is how he will fare when the pressure is on in the playoffs. On both Dalton and Lewis. 

Edited August 9, 2016 by ravensdan

[BmoreBird22]

32 minutes ago, ravensdan said:

We'll see but I bet Dalton comes back and plays close to where he was last year. The only question is how he will fare when the pressure is on in the playoffs. On both Dalton and Lewis. 

Last year was unprecedented. His YPA and TD% rose by one and his INT% fell by like two. We'd seen good seasons, but it'd always had some bad mixed in. This was better than any season he'd had before and took away all the bad.

[Steve0x]

The only way Pats go undefeated again is refs fix it for them. Remember this game about 10 years ago 

Scroll to 1:57:45 and watch the game rest if way see how refs helped the pats keep their undefeated streak going.

[52520Andrew]

1 hour ago, allblackraven said:

Yep, maybe he won't suck now.

#shotsfired

Between Jackson going and his WRs being more of a question mark, he could regress. I still see that being a very good team in the regular season at least though.

[Inqui]

2 hours ago, ravensdan said:

Who would you have beat the Bengals?

browns 0-16 I love but then 1-15 is better. They can't even lose right. 

I could see the Bengals losing in the play-offs, if only to themselves. On paper they should have beaten the Chargers, Steelers and arguably the Colts but they just seem to find ways to choke in the postseason and I think that'll keep compounding until they somehow win a game. Dunno if you saw ESPN's The Four Falls of Buffalo, but Troy Aikman was saying that come the Bills' fourth Super Bowl they looked competitive enough in the first half but the players just looked defeated come halftime and they fell apart in the second half. I can see something similar happening to the Bengals.

[ravensdan]

8 hours ago, Inqui said:

I could see the Bengals losing in the play-offs, if only to themselves. On paper they should have beaten the Chargers, Steelers and arguably the Colts but they just seem to find ways to choke in the postseason and I think that'll keep compounding until they somehow win a game. Dunno if you saw ESPN's The Four Falls of Buffalo, but Troy Aikman was saying that come the Bills' fourth Super Bowl they looked competitive enough in the first half but the players just looked defeated come halftime and they fell apart in the second half. I can see something similar happening to the Bengals.

It's possible sure. But if there was ever going to be a year they are focused enough to kick the door in this would be it. A bit reminiscent of the Ravens 011 season. 

[Steve0x]

If everything goes right Ravens could have a good season and go in the playoffs. Their schedule isnt that tough. 

[52520Andrew]

NFC East:

Washington - I think they take a weak division this year. Solid on both sides of the ball, not sold on Cousins but I think the team around him is good enough to win this division

Giants - I don't think they will be particularly good but I think they aren't going to be a trainwreck either. Pretty much par for the course with how they have been these past few years

Dallas - They could win the east if Romo stays healthy but I don't see that happening. As much as I don't like Elliott, he is the favorite for ROY by a large margin for me due to that O-line

Eagles - Tough to tell how they do with a lot of young talent, I see a transition year

Overall I see this as a fairly weak division with 3 of the 4 teams going through at least some transition this year. The other team is solid but unproven.

 

NFC South:

Panthers - I don't think they are better than last year but they have enough talent to win this division, I think they regress a bit but still should be very good

Atlanta - I think their O-line is a bit underrated with Mack coming to town. Will depend on how Ryan does as he was pretty bad last year but I think the offense can be decent and I think the defense will look better with another year with Quinn in town. Don't see them making the playoffs but they should be decent.

Tampa Bay - I think the offense should be decent although the defense has a lot of new additions that may need time to gel. Should be better than last year.

New Orleans - I think things are going to go a bit south for this team. The defense has been a mess and I don't think Brees will be good enough to carry this team to a decent record. I think they will start focusing on the future after this year.

Overall this is a decent division with a couple teams on the rise and while I have the Saints last, I don't think they are among the worst in the league but more like 5-6 wins.

 

NFC North:

Packers - I think Rodgers and the offense bounce back this year and the defense does well for itself too with some nice young talent in the secondary. They could be a big contender for the #1 seed.

Vikings - I like the direction this team has been going for the most part and I think they continue to get better but I don't know if they do quite as well as Green Bay. Could be fun to watch though

Bears - I don't see anything huge from the Bears yet and the offense should be more of the same but I see the defense improving and leading them to some respectability. Fox may not be the best cook but he has been a solid grocery shopper in the NFL.

Lions - I think the offense will miss Calvin Johnson a bit but they should still be respectable. Golden Tate did well without Johnson a couple years back so it will be interesting to see what he can do. I don't see this team falling off the way some people seem to.

Overall this may be one of the best divisions in the NFL and I don't think any team is going to be an easy out. Lions are in last but I see 6-7 wins for them.

 

NFC West:

Cardinals - I think the key for this team is to stay healthy but if they do, they should be the favorites in this division. A lot of really good players

Seattle - I don't know if this team will be making the playoffs to be honest. I think their O-line is even worse than last year and that is saying something. While they have talent everywhere else, I think the line will be an anchor to their hopes to a deep run.

49ers - I think Chip will help the offense a decent amount and the defense should be solid but I don't think the team is good enough to do anything serious.

Rams - I think the defense should be alright after losing a couple good players in FA and the O-line is better than it was last year but they still have a couple holes and are a young team that may need time to gel. 

I don't think this division will be as good as it has been in years past but it should still be solid from top to bottom.

 

Playoff seeding

1. Packers

2. Cardinals

3. Panthers

4. Washington

5. Vikings

6. Toss up but I think Seattle will sneak in

[52520Andrew]

AFC East:

Patriots - I think they get off to a slow start without Brady but their defense looks good and the offense should be their usual self if everyone stays healthy

Jets - I don't know how good they will be but they should be decent. Hard for me to trust Fitzpatrick to do anything for them however.

Dolphins - I think having Gase will be a great fit for their offense but I think the defense has too many holes for them to do anything of note this year.

Bills - The defense is already starting to lose a few players and they failed to meet expectations as is last year. Need a lot to go right at this point if they want to do anything.

I see a good division overall but outside the Patriots, none of the teams pose a significant threat

 

AFC South:

Jaguars - I think the offense has a lot of talent and having Beachum at LT should be big for the O-line. Defense has a couple question marks but should be good enough to win the division

Colts - I think Luck bounces back and the offense should be better but the defense has some big holes and will hold them back.

Texans - They made a lot of moves in the offseason and it may take some time for the pieces to all gel but they should be respectable this year. They don't need Brock to be anything special but can he be mediocre?

Titans - They are starting to build talent but Rome wasn't built in a day and these guys aren't ready to make noise yet.

I see this being one of the weaker divisions again but it isn't as bad as it has been.

 

AFC North:

Steelers - Really tough team to get a gauge on as they are among the best in pure talent but struggle with injuries and discipline. Still, with all those injuries last year they still put up a fight in Denver. I expect more of what we have been seeing from these guys.

Bengals - They lost a couple guys and it will be curious to see what Dalton can do this year. They should still be good but how good depends on the receivers and QB.

Ravens - I don't know if we are quite good enough to win the division but we are solid across the board outside of CB and maybe ILB. How we do really depends on how people come back from injury and how our new young core develops. I'll guess that some players come back and do well while others fail to meet expectations. I think we have bottomed out after last year though and should be back on the upswing. I think people are focusing too much on our old players and not realizing the changing of the guard is happening before our eyes to a much younger and deeper core. 

Browns - They are playing the long game. What should be their catch phrase for getting Watson next year? 

One of the better divisions in the league. If the Browns were any threat they would have a great case for being the toughest.

 

AFC West:

Raiders - Big fan of what they have been able to do the past couple years and I think they take that next step to being a good team. May or may not win the division but I think they have the best chance out of any of these teams. 

Chiefs - Should be about what we have been seeing from these guys. Good but they always seem to crumble when things matter most.

Broncos - I don't doubt Kubiak's skill developing an O-line but I think it will take time to fix this team after the amount of talent they lost this year. The defense is good enough for them to still be respectable but this is a transition year.

Chargers - A lot of question marks and I don't see them competing with the teams above. At least they have that weather

Overall this division is probably the most up for grabs with 3 teams I wouldn't be surprised to see win it.

 

Playoff Seeding

1. Patriots

2. Steelers

3. Raiders

4. Jaguars

5. Bengals

6. Chiefs

Overall I see the AFC being the deeper and more fun conference to watch this year. I have the Steelers getting that second seed but it could go to any of the other 4 teams below as well. For once we don't have a top heavy conference and the playoff race should be a lot of fun to watch.

[Steve0x]

Some of you guys are wrong. For those who say Ravens wont make playoffs. John Harbaugh never had 2 straight seasons without going in playoffs.

[usmccharles]

1 hour ago, Steve0x said:

Some of you guys are wrong. For those who say Ravens wont make playoffs. John Harbaugh never had 2 straight seasons without going in playoffs.

The whole point of a prediction is that its just that...no one knows for sure so no one is technically wrong.  Somehow your lack of logic still astounds me. 

[JoeyFlex5]

AN: Bengals, steelers, ravens, browns. 

AS: jags, texans, titans, Colts.

AW: chiefs, raiders, broncos, chargers.

AE: patriots, jets, bills, dolphins.

NN: Vikings, packers, lions, bears.

NS: panthers, bucs, falcons, saints.

NW: cardinals, hawks, rams, 9ers.

NE: giants, skins, eggles, girls. 

 

Not too many bold picks aside from the afc south 

[JoeyFlex5]

1 hour ago, Steve0x said:

Some of you guys are wrong. For those who say Ravens wont make playoffs. John Harbaugh never had 2 straight seasons without going in playoffs.

We know. But our team is very different, much younger and less experienced. 

And predictions can't be wrong until it's played out.

[Willbacker]

Very startled to see everybody picking the SB champs to finish 3rd. Wade Phillips is the best DC out there and he lost very little. Jacson got way overpaid and Trevathan was just average at MLB. Who knows Trevor Simien could be the next Tom Brady.

[usmccharles]

1 hour ago, Willbacker said:

Very startled to see everybody picking the SB champs to finish 3rd. Wade Phillips is the best DC out there and he lost very little. Jacson got way overpaid and Trevathan was just average at MLB. Who knows Trevor Simien could be the next Tom Brady.

Whats more likely to happen? An all time great defense takes a step back after losing some players and having Manning retire (leadership lost) and their offense to struggle again, like it already did.      OR       The defense doesn't miss a beat and performs at all time level again and Simien/Lynch become a stud?  Law of average will take place imo

 

AFC North - Steelers- Such an explosive offense, assuming Ben stays healthy

AFC South - Jags- I think they take the next step

AFC East - Pats- Tom Brady.....Gronk.....Bill....

AFC West - Raiders- they have built something great there, its on Carr now...

Wild Card

Jets - Repeat of last year without the failure, Fitz will play for his last contract

Chargers- I will hedge this one on Bosa, they need him.  They are just a darkhorse team of mine, no reason other than my gut feeling, maybe bad seafood

NFC North - Green Bay- Rodgers comes back with vengence

NFC South - Carolina- Defense will still be stout

NFC East - Cowboys- Hinges on Romo's health but run game should be dominant, defense worries me

NFC West- Arizona- One of, if not the best balanced team in the league

Wild Card

Seahawks- Wilson is going to sling it a lot this year, Lynch will be missed but not as much as some think

Atlanta- They built their OL up and they have too much talent to continue sucking...in theory. 

[Willbacker]

32 minutes ago, usmccharles said:

Whats more likely to happen? An all time great defense takes a step back after losing some players and having Manning retire (leadership lost) and their offense to struggle again, like it already did.      OR       The defense doesn't miss a beat and performs at all time level again and Simien/Lynch become a stud?  Law of average will take place imo

 

Another hater.

[usmccharles]

13 minutes ago, Willbacker said:

Another hater.

Na, just a realist