Early Predictions (NFL)

GURU ANT · 08-11-2006, 11:36 PM

I just wanna hear everyone's predictions about who's gonna win what division. This is premature, I know, but it's always nice to look back and say that you were right.

I won't go in depth right now, but I'll post who I think will win each division, and a quick summary of the confrence.

NFC North: Chicago
NFC South: Carolina
NFC East: Washington
NFC West: Seattle
Wildcard Contenders: Atlanta, Giants, Tampa, Arizona, St. Louis, New Orleans, Dallas
Quick rundown:
Arizona won't make the playoffs, they'll be good, but I don't think they'll beat out Atlanta or New York for the Wildcard, plain and simple.
South will be the toughest division in this confrence, and even though my team is in there, I have to say that Carolina is the most talented team in that division. Keyshawn may not be what he was some years ago, but you can't deny that he is a nice acquisition to this team.
As far as the playoffs, it's a toss-up, so I'll just say that someoen will have to unseat the reigning confrence champs.

AFC North: Toss Up: Pit/Bal
AFC South: Jacksonville
AFC East: Patriots
AFC West: Kansas City
Wildcard: Either Indy, DEN, CIN, BAL, PIT
This one is a bit harder because of the overall better talent of the AFC. Normally, I would say that in this kind of situation, the champ has to be unseated. But the thing is, Baltimore actually has someone that can make things happen on offense, a dependable QB that they can actually trust to be consistant. Jacksonville will take over the south, Colts will take a bigger hit from losing James than they or the media are letting onto. Johnson and co. take over the West, will be close, Shannahan must have a lot of confidence in Bell if he's putting him as the #1, their placement depends on Plummer and Bell's play. Bengals still a question for me, I want to see how Carson plays these first couple of games before I put them any higher.
AFC Prediction: Patriots will benefit from an easy division, but I don't expect them to go deep in the playoffs. I want to say that the AFC North will be the major factor in the AFC playoffs. It's just too stacked

I'll go in depth with each team later.

shelty87 · 08-12-2006, 03:00 AM

NFC EAST: NY Giants
NFC NORTH: CHI Bears
NFC SOUTH: CAR Panthers
NFC WEST: SEA Seahawks
NFC Wildcard winners: WAS Redskins, ATL Falcons
possible NFC WC contenders: ARI Cardinals, DAL Cowboys, TB Buccaneers, MINN Vikings

AFC EAST: MIA Dolphins
AFC NORTH: BAL Ravens
AFC SOUTH: IND Colts
AFC WEST: DEN Broncos
AFC Wildcard winners: NE Patriots, PIT Steelers
possible AFC WC contenders: CIN Bengals, JAC Jaguars, KC Chiefs, SD Chargers

following based on my picks:

NFC
WC round
Giants over Falcons
Redskins over Bears

round 2
Panthers over Redskins
Seahawks over Giants

conference championship
Panthers over Seahawks

AFC
WC round
Dolphins over Patriots
Ravens over Steelers

round 2
Colts over Dolphins
Broncos over Ravens

conference championship
Broncos over Colts

Super Bowl XLI: Panthers over Broncos

Damon King · 08-12-2006, 08:20 AM

All I can call right now is Chicago in the north.

Everything else is too close....that and I don't feel like doin this right now.

Damon King · 08-12-2006, 01:30 PM

Alright, sorry about the double post, but here I go:

NFC North:
The north is a mediocre division at best.

Chicago is the only standout team, and they still have some room to build. Rex Grossman's career will probably be determined by these next two seasons, if he can't stay off injured reserve or win games for Chicago, then he'll probably be riding the bench for a good little while.

Everyone is hyping up Detroit, but in all truth, they won't go too far. I understand choosing Kitna because of his veteran leadership, but if I were Marinelli or Martz, I would have selected McCown. BAsed on what he did in Arizona with a lousy run game.

Minnesota is probably the only other team that can compete with Chicago, I still want to see their running game. I predict Brad Johnson will lead the Vikes to a max of 9 wins.

If you think that the Packers are gonna go far because they have potential, you're dead wrong. Potential means nothing, there are a lot of talented individuals that need to gel together to create something good. If the Pack gets a team feeling going on, they could be on Chicago's heels.

Chicago
Minnesota
Detroit
Green Bay

NFC South:
The most competitive division in the NFC, and possibly the NFL

Carolina is everyone's favorite to win the division, and as much as this hurts me, I agree. DeAngelo Williams will hopefully be the first RB that Carolina has stuck with in years, not that it was always their fault, it's just that their guys weren't durable. Now they have two great receivers, one is just a little up there in years played. Peppers is a beast on that defense, he scares pretty much any QB that he's up against.

Atlanta is next in line, I do see Vick improving this year, although I said that last year, but either way, I see him improving slightly. His preseason performance showed that he was progressing, but then again, that's preseason. Warrick Dunn will be back to balance the offense, and is it me, or has TJ Duckett dropped off? Roddy White and Jenkins look like they've gotten a few steps closer to becoming the primary targets for Vick. Finneran getting injured is a major blow though, he's one of the most underrated receivers in the NFL. As far as the defense goes, Jimmy Williams absolutely looked like a rookie last night, making silly mistakes that are avoidable, however, I'm still confident he'll become a shutdown corner like Hall is on his way to being. John Abraham creates hell for offensive lines, as Abraham/Kerney is a better combination of Older Brady Smith/Kerney. Let's not forget Lawyer Milloy.

Tampa Bay, they still are the division champs, Cadillac was impressive last year, as was Chris Simms, he didn't have a breakout year so to speak, but he did a great job of carrying Tampa as if Griese never got hurt. Their defense will never be what it was in 01-02, mainly because of the age factor, but it's decent enough to get the job done.

New Orleans, we'll have to see, they're loaded with talent offensively, Brees, Bush, McAllister (who people are forgetting), Horn and Stallworth. I'm still going to say that their placement depends on Drew Brees.

More later.

BrandonTragedy · 08-12-2006, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shelty87

conference championship
Broncos over Colts

booooo!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Super Andre

AFC South: Jacksonville

Double Boooooo!

Im to lazy to fill out a hole thing of predictions so heres my pic for super bowl.

Colts over Giants or Panthers.

Damon King · 08-12-2006, 05:41 PM

The loss of Edgerrin James is too great for the Colts. Anyone who saw the opening drives of STL/IND can tell you that it's just not the same.

Edgerrin was not just a 1500 yard back, he was the reason Peyton Manning was able to get so much done. You can get as many yards as you want on 1st and 2nd down, but on 3rd and etc., do you know who to block? How to get em? That's the most important part.

Dominic Rhodes is not on the level of Edgerrin James, I don't think that Rhodes has proven himself enough to be on the same field as Edge's sh*t, that's just how much he meant to this franchise.

Jacksonville went 12-4 with a backup QB (David Garrard will be a starter somewhere next season, I believe that's when his contract is up), Leftwhich is back, and should stay 100% this year, do you know what they can do if he remains healthy? I have the upmost respect for Dungy, but he just needs to get out of Indy, take off, go back to being a D-Co for a little while......Atlanta could use you........

ShyGuy727 · 08-12-2006, 07:31 PM

Will probably be revised at some point.

NFC North: Chicago
NFC South: Carolina
NFC East: Dallas
NFC West: Arizona
Wildcard: Seattle, Atlanta

AFC North: Cleveland (ya rly)
AFC South: Indy
AFC East: New England
AFC West: Denver
Wildcard: Kansas City, Pittsburgh

NFC
WC Round
Chicago over Seattle
Arizona over Atlanta

Round 2
Chicago over Dallas
Carolina over Atlanta

NFC Championship
Carolina over Chicago

AFC
WC round
Cleveland over Pittsburgh
New England over Kansas City

Round 2
Cleveland over Indy
Denver over New England

AFC Championship
Cleveland over Denver (revenge- finally)

Super Bowl XLI:

Cleveland over Carolina

Damon King · 08-12-2006, 08:46 PM

SG, I think your being you know....biased?

Cleveland will be back eventually, they've got a nice squad of young players ready to play, but to say that they'll win the AFC North this season, and win XLI is insane. They don't have enough chemistry together to just go in and do it. They have all the tools, it's a matter of how well Frye is able to run the offense this season. I wouldn't see them getting any farther than 3rd in the AFC north, which'll probably be a 9-7 team.

NFC East
Despite the Giants winning it last season, I believe that this is Dallas's division to lose. Washington made a few upgrades this offseason, but I think they'll be outdone by Dallas this season.

Owens will work out the first year, but inevitably become TO again by Spring of 2007, this guy constantly tears apart teams that he goes to, you see what he did to McNabb, imagine what he would've done to poor Kyle Boller had he went to Baltimore instead of Philly. Aside from getting Owens, Julius Jones, or whatever Jones is in Dallas should have a good year, not a standout season, but good enough to get Dallas in the playoffs. Their defense is solid too.

Washington made a few offensive upgrades, and if Gibbs didn't stick his head up his ass on Lavar Arrington, they'd still have one of the best LBs in the league. Now Lavar is somewhere that appreciates his style of play, and will capitalize upon it. Anyway, staying on topic, Brandon Lloyd, RAndle El, and Moss should be a nice little tandem that Brunell can't go wrong with. And two words to close this out: Clinton Portis.

I believe this will be the last opportunity for Tiki to win a superbowl, I wouldn't be surprised if he retired at the end of this season and Eli was without a strong back to support him. Which is why this season needs to be when Eli steps up as a top QB, because losing Tiki will only hinder his development. Despite what you may think, Eli still has learning to do, let's just hope he doesn't gain the choking skill of his brother.

The Eagles will shock many, but not enough to get themselves into the playoffs. Look, people don't believe that the Eagles will be the same without TO, but the truth is, they're back to the way they were in the pre-TO era. McNabb led the Eagles with a mediocre WR core to the NFCCG for 3 straight seasons, and even when TO was there, he managed to get the Eagles in the playoffs despite Owens's injury. Don't forget what McNabb is, a damn good QB.

NFC West
It's Seattle's division to lose, but also Arizona's division to win. The Seahawks lost Hutchinson, one of the best guards in the leauge (personally, I don't know, I've never watched a football game to study the guards and tackles), I don't think that Seattle will be phased, Shaun Alexander will run over defenses once again, and Hasselbeck will lead the team to wins.

Arizona got the final piece of the puzzle in Edgerrin James, the only problem is that one of their puzzle pieces constantly gets hurt (Warner). If Warner can stay healthy, then the 2nd best Quarterback of our era should lead Arizona to a playoff appearance and then some. Fitz and Boldin are gonna be scary with a running game to support them.

St. Louis might be in the running, I'm interested about seeing Steven Jackson this season, I believe he'll have a breakout year, but I don't think the Rams defense will be able to carry their share of the load, and that could be the ultimate downfall of St. Louis.

San Francisco, I'll be surprised if they muster up more than 6 wins. Smith is still learning, and Vernon Davis won't immediately make him better, remember, he's still a rookie (Davis), and while he won't turn the quarterback with the most generic name ever into Joe Montana, he will speed up his learning process, and become Smith's answer to Vick's Crumpler, and foremerly Brees's Gates.

Seattle
Arizona
St. Louis
San Fran

ShyGuy727 · 08-12-2006, 10:59 PM

I prefer "optimistic".

While anything past the WC playoffs is a stretch, making the playoffs certainly isn't. People forget how bad the Brownies weren't last year- ESPN.com even featured them on the front page towards the end of the season as a team to look out for as a season spoiler. Except center, almost every position has improved.

08-12-2006, 03:00 AM	#2
shelty87 Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Gender: Posts: 88 Thanks: 4 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Points: 2,662.00 Bank: 3,562.25 Total Points: 6,224.25 Donate	NFC EAST: NY Giants NFC NORTH: CHI Bears NFC SOUTH: CAR Panthers NFC WEST: SEA Seahawks NFC Wildcard winners: WAS Redskins, ATL Falcons possible NFC WC contenders: ARI Cardinals, DAL Cowboys, TB Buccaneers, MINN Vikings AFC EAST: MIA Dolphins AFC NORTH: BAL Ravens AFC SOUTH: IND Colts AFC WEST: DEN Broncos AFC Wildcard winners: NE Patriots, PIT Steelers possible AFC WC contenders: CIN Bengals, JAC Jaguars, KC Chiefs, SD Chargers following based on my picks: NFC WC round Giants over Falcons Redskins over Bears round 2 Panthers over Redskins Seahawks over Giants conference championship Panthers over Seahawks AFC WC round Dolphins over Patriots Ravens over Steelers round 2 Colts over Dolphins Broncos over Ravens conference championship Broncos over Colts Super Bowl XLI: Panthers over Broncos Last edited by shelty87; 08-12-2006 at 11:57 AM.

08-11-2006, 11:36 PM	#1
GURU ANT What's this what's this a trick with a twist? Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Shhhh, it's a secret right now Gender: Posts: 13,619 Thanks: 1,146 Thanked 757 Times in 438 Posts Points: 25,854.80 Bank: 1,348,323.25 Total Points: 1,374,178.05 Donate	Early Predictions (NFL) I just wanna hear everyone's predictions about who's gonna win what division. This is premature, I know, but it's always nice to look back and say that you were right. I won't go in depth right now, but I'll post who I think will win each division, and a quick summary of the confrence. NFC North: Chicago NFC South: Carolina NFC East: Washington NFC West: Seattle Wildcard Contenders: Atlanta, Giants, Tampa, Arizona, St. Louis, New Orleans, Dallas Quick rundown: Arizona won't make the playoffs, they'll be good, but I don't think they'll beat out Atlanta or New York for the Wildcard, plain and simple. South will be the toughest division in this confrence, and even though my team is in there, I have to say that Carolina is the most talented team in that division. Keyshawn may not be what he was some years ago, but you can't deny that he is a nice acquisition to this team. As far as the playoffs, it's a toss-up, so I'll just say that someoen will have to unseat the reigning confrence champs. AFC North: Toss Up: Pit/Bal AFC South: Jacksonville AFC East: Patriots AFC West: Kansas City Wildcard: Either Indy, DEN, CIN, BAL, PIT This one is a bit harder because of the overall better talent of the AFC. Normally, I would say that in this kind of situation, the champ has to be unseated. But the thing is, Baltimore actually has someone that can make things happen on offense, a dependable QB that they can actually trust to be consistant. Jacksonville will take over the south, Colts will take a bigger hit from losing James than they or the media are letting onto. Johnson and co. take over the West, will be close, Shannahan must have a lot of confidence in Bell if he's putting him as the #1, their placement depends on Plummer and Bell's play. Bengals still a question for me, I want to see how Carson plays these first couple of games before I put them any higher. AFC Prediction: Patriots will benefit from an easy division, but I don't expect them to go deep in the playoffs. I want to say that the AFC North will be the major factor in the AFC playoffs. It's just too stacked I'll go in depth with each team later.

08-12-2006, 08:20 AM	#3
Damon King Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: US Posts: 862 Thanks: 2 Thanked 6 Times in 3 Posts Points: 8,792.89 Bank: 0.00 Total Points: 8,792.89 Donate	All I can call right now is Chicago in the north. Everything else is too close....that and I don't feel like doin this right now.

08-12-2006, 01:30 PM	#4
Damon King Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: US Posts: 862 Thanks: 2 Thanked 6 Times in 3 Posts Points: 8,792.89 Bank: 0.00 Total Points: 8,792.89 Donate	Alright, sorry about the double post, but here I go: NFC North: The north is a mediocre division at best. Chicago is the only standout team, and they still have some room to build. Rex Grossman's career will probably be determined by these next two seasons, if he can't stay off injured reserve or win games for Chicago, then he'll probably be riding the bench for a good little while. Everyone is hyping up Detroit, but in all truth, they won't go too far. I understand choosing Kitna because of his veteran leadership, but if I were Marinelli or Martz, I would have selected McCown. BAsed on what he did in Arizona with a lousy run game. Minnesota is probably the only other team that can compete with Chicago, I still want to see their running game. I predict Brad Johnson will lead the Vikes to a max of 9 wins. If you think that the Packers are gonna go far because they have potential, you're dead wrong. Potential means nothing, there are a lot of talented individuals that need to gel together to create something good. If the Pack gets a team feeling going on, they could be on Chicago's heels. Chicago Minnesota Detroit Green Bay NFC South: The most competitive division in the NFC, and possibly the NFL Carolina is everyone's favorite to win the division, and as much as this hurts me, I agree. DeAngelo Williams will hopefully be the first RB that Carolina has stuck with in years, not that it was always their fault, it's just that their guys weren't durable. Now they have two great receivers, one is just a little up there in years played. Peppers is a beast on that defense, he scares pretty much any QB that he's up against. Atlanta is next in line, I do see Vick improving this year, although I said that last year, but either way, I see him improving slightly. His preseason performance showed that he was progressing, but then again, that's preseason. Warrick Dunn will be back to balance the offense, and is it me, or has TJ Duckett dropped off? Roddy White and Jenkins look like they've gotten a few steps closer to becoming the primary targets for Vick. Finneran getting injured is a major blow though, he's one of the most underrated receivers in the NFL. As far as the defense goes, Jimmy Williams absolutely looked like a rookie last night, making silly mistakes that are avoidable, however, I'm still confident he'll become a shutdown corner like Hall is on his way to being. John Abraham creates hell for offensive lines, as Abraham/Kerney is a better combination of Older Brady Smith/Kerney. Let's not forget Lawyer Milloy. Tampa Bay, they still are the division champs, Cadillac was impressive last year, as was Chris Simms, he didn't have a breakout year so to speak, but he did a great job of carrying Tampa as if Griese never got hurt. Their defense will never be what it was in 01-02, mainly because of the age factor, but it's decent enough to get the job done. New Orleans, we'll have to see, they're loaded with talent offensively, Brees, Bush, McAllister (who people are forgetting), Horn and Stallworth. I'm still going to say that their placement depends on Drew Brees. More later.

08-12-2006, 05:41 PM	#6
Damon King Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: US Posts: 862 Thanks: 2 Thanked 6 Times in 3 Posts Points: 8,792.89 Bank: 0.00 Total Points: 8,792.89 Donate	The loss of Edgerrin James is too great for the Colts. Anyone who saw the opening drives of STL/IND can tell you that it's just not the same. Edgerrin was not just a 1500 yard back, he was the reason Peyton Manning was able to get so much done. You can get as many yards as you want on 1st and 2nd down, but on 3rd and etc., do you know who to block? How to get em? That's the most important part. Dominic Rhodes is not on the level of Edgerrin James, I don't think that Rhodes has proven himself enough to be on the same field as Edge's sh*t, that's just how much he meant to this franchise. Jacksonville went 12-4 with a backup QB (David Garrard will be a starter somewhere next season, I believe that's when his contract is up), Leftwhich is back, and should stay 100% this year, do you know what they can do if he remains healthy? I have the upmost respect for Dungy, but he just needs to get out of Indy, take off, go back to being a D-Co for a little while......Atlanta could use you........

08-12-2006, 07:31 PM	#7
ShyGuy727 Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: O-H! I-O! Gender: Posts: 10,061 Thanks: 37 Thanked 62 Times in 46 Posts Points: 32,220.98 Bank: 25,651.08 Total Points: 57,872.06 Donate	Will probably be revised at some point. NFC North: Chicago NFC South: Carolina NFC East: Dallas NFC West: Arizona Wildcard: Seattle, Atlanta AFC North: Cleveland (ya rly) AFC South: Indy AFC East: New England AFC West: Denver Wildcard: Kansas City, Pittsburgh NFC WC Round Chicago over Seattle Arizona over Atlanta Round 2 Chicago over Dallas Carolina over Atlanta NFC Championship Carolina over Chicago AFC WC round Cleveland over Pittsburgh New England over Kansas City Round 2 Cleveland over Indy Denver over New England AFC Championship Cleveland over Denver (revenge- finally) Super Bowl XLI: Cleveland over Carolina

08-12-2006, 08:46 PM	#8
Damon King Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: US Posts: 862 Thanks: 2 Thanked 6 Times in 3 Posts Points: 8,792.89 Bank: 0.00 Total Points: 8,792.89 Donate	SG, I think your being you know....biased? Cleveland will be back eventually, they've got a nice squad of young players ready to play, but to say that they'll win the AFC North this season, and win XLI is insane. They don't have enough chemistry together to just go in and do it. They have all the tools, it's a matter of how well Frye is able to run the offense this season. I wouldn't see them getting any farther than 3rd in the AFC north, which'll probably be a 9-7 team. NFC East Despite the Giants winning it last season, I believe that this is Dallas's division to lose. Washington made a few upgrades this offseason, but I think they'll be outdone by Dallas this season. Owens will work out the first year, but inevitably become TO again by Spring of 2007, this guy constantly tears apart teams that he goes to, you see what he did to McNabb, imagine what he would've done to poor Kyle Boller had he went to Baltimore instead of Philly. Aside from getting Owens, Julius Jones, or whatever Jones is in Dallas should have a good year, not a standout season, but good enough to get Dallas in the playoffs. Their defense is solid too. Washington made a few offensive upgrades, and if Gibbs didn't stick his head up his ass on Lavar Arrington, they'd still have one of the best LBs in the league. Now Lavar is somewhere that appreciates his style of play, and will capitalize upon it. Anyway, staying on topic, Brandon Lloyd, RAndle El, and Moss should be a nice little tandem that Brunell can't go wrong with. And two words to close this out: Clinton Portis. I believe this will be the last opportunity for Tiki to win a superbowl, I wouldn't be surprised if he retired at the end of this season and Eli was without a strong back to support him. Which is why this season needs to be when Eli steps up as a top QB, because losing Tiki will only hinder his development. Despite what you may think, Eli still has learning to do, let's just hope he doesn't gain the choking skill of his brother. The Eagles will shock many, but not enough to get themselves into the playoffs. Look, people don't believe that the Eagles will be the same without TO, but the truth is, they're back to the way they were in the pre-TO era. McNabb led the Eagles with a mediocre WR core to the NFCCG for 3 straight seasons, and even when TO was there, he managed to get the Eagles in the playoffs despite Owens's injury. Don't forget what McNabb is, a damn good QB. NFC West It's Seattle's division to lose, but also Arizona's division to win. The Seahawks lost Hutchinson, one of the best guards in the leauge (personally, I don't know, I've never watched a football game to study the guards and tackles), I don't think that Seattle will be phased, Shaun Alexander will run over defenses once again, and Hasselbeck will lead the team to wins. Arizona got the final piece of the puzzle in Edgerrin James, the only problem is that one of their puzzle pieces constantly gets hurt (Warner). If Warner can stay healthy, then the 2nd best Quarterback of our era should lead Arizona to a playoff appearance and then some. Fitz and Boldin are gonna be scary with a running game to support them. St. Louis might be in the running, I'm interested about seeing Steven Jackson this season, I believe he'll have a breakout year, but I don't think the Rams defense will be able to carry their share of the load, and that could be the ultimate downfall of St. Louis. San Francisco, I'll be surprised if they muster up more than 6 wins. Smith is still learning, and Vernon Davis won't immediately make him better, remember, he's still a rookie (Davis), and while he won't turn the quarterback with the most generic name ever into Joe Montana, he will speed up his learning process, and become Smith's answer to Vick's Crumpler, and foremerly Brees's Gates. Seattle Arizona St. Louis San Fran

08-12-2006, 10:59 PM	#9
ShyGuy727 Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: O-H! I-O! Gender: Posts: 10,061 Thanks: 37 Thanked 62 Times in 46 Posts Points: 32,220.98 Bank: 25,651.08 Total Points: 57,872.06 Donate	I prefer "optimistic". While anything past the WC playoffs is a stretch, making the playoffs certainly isn't. People forget how bad the Brownies weren't last year- ESPN.com even featured them on the front page towards the end of the season as a team to look out for as a season spoiler. Except center, almost every position has improved.