ROTB's Official NFL Prediction Thread

by cgolden on Sep 5, 2008 7:01 AM MDT in News Comment 4 comments

I meant to get this up before the first game started but if you're anything like me, it doesn't really feel like football season until the Cardinals take the field. I also live by the adage of "it's better late than never" so we'll go ahead get this kicked off. With only one game in the books, here's my five bold predictions that you can take to the bank. My division by division predictions and playoff predictions are after the jump.

Also if you haven't submitted your game picks for week 1, click here, get your picks in and Hawk is going to keep tabs on the standings for us.

1. Brett Favre's 2008 stats will look much more like his 2005 numbers (20 TDs, 29 INTs) than his 2007 numbers (28 TDs, 15 INTs).

2. LaDainian Tomlinson will miss at least two games with injuries for the first time in his career and the tremendous workload of the past seven years will decrease his effectiveness even when healthy.

3. Brady Quinn will start at least four games in Cleveland this year and Romeo Crennel will name him the 2009 starter shortly after the final game.

4. Jared Allen will lead the league in sacks by at least five full sacks. No team can run on that defensive front meaning they'll all have to drop back to pass way too many times.

5. One year after leading the league in completion percentage, yards, touchdowns, yards per attempt and QB rating, Tom Brady will not lead the league in any statistical category in 2008.

NFC North:

Minnesota - 10-6 - I don't like the QB but every other unit is solid.
Green Bay - 7-9 - Eh, not a single QB with a career start?
Detroit - 5-11 - Better than Chicago but not by much
Chicago - 3 -13 - Hester can't do it all.

NFC East:

Dallas - 12-4 - On paper, they're the best team.
*Philly - 10-6 - If McNabb is healthy (big IF), they'll contend.
Giants - 9-7 - Eli regresses and too many injuries to repeat.
Redskins - 7-9 - Young QB learning a new system, sound familiar.

NFC South:

New Orleans 11-5 - Brees is awesome and the D is improved.
Carolina - 9-7 - I like the RB combo and Jake is healthy again.
Tampa Bay - 7-9 - Do they have any young playmakers?
Atlanta - 5-11 - Better than expected but they're still rebuilding.

NFC West:

Arizona - 10-6 - Call me homer, I don't care.
*Seattle - 10-6 - They lose the last game and hand us the crown.
St. Louis - 6-10 - Moving in the right direction but not there yet.
San Francisco - 5-11 - I like Martz but JT O'Sullivan? Come on.

AFC North:

Pittsburgh - 10-6 - Brutal schedule but Big Ben is a stud.
Cleveland - 8-8 - I don't buy the hype, sue me.
Cincy - 6-10 - The O will score but the D is a joke.
Baltimore - 4-12 - A bad mix of youth and experience

AFC East:

New England - 11-5 - They're not as good but the division is bad.
Buffalo - 9-7 - Moving in the right direction but not there yet.
Jets - 7-9 - Favre isn't the answer and the team's awful old.
Miami - 4 -12 - Anything is an improvement right?

AFC South:

Indy - 11-5 - Getting old but they're still the class of the division
*Jags - 10-6 - Closing the gap fast.
Texans - 9-7 - Continue to improve but division is too good.
Titans - 6-10 - Young simply isn't a good NFL QB, simple as that.

AFC West:

Chargers - 11-5 - They're good and the division is bad.
*Broncos - 11-5 - Cutler's getting better and the team is heading up.
Raiders - 6-10 - Young offensive stars and decent D beat KC.
Chiefs - 5-11 - Too many holes to fill and not enough time.

NFC Wild Card: Minnesota Over Philly & Arizona Over Seattle

NFC Divisional: New Orleans over Minnesota & Dallas over Arizona

NFC Championship: New Orleans over Dallas

AFC Wild Card: Broncos over Pats & Steelers over Jags

AFC Divisional: Steelers over Colts & Broncos over Chargers

AFC Championship: Steelers over Broncos

Super Bowl: New Orleans over Steelers

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That's what I have for the season. What do you think? Crazyness? Put your predictions out there and you can be as detailed or general as you want.

1 recs | Comment 4 comments

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Comments

Go ahead and laugh

I offered these predictions to my extended family/friends back on July 14th, before training camp and all the associated drama it brings. Looking at some of these picks, I can stick with them. Others, like the AFC West, I’m wondering what I was thinking back in July. Oh well, I’ll stick with these if for nothing other than the humour of it all.

2008/09 Predictions:

AFC East
1. Pats
2. Bills
3. Jets
4. Fins

AFC North
1. Browns
2. Steelers
3. Bengals
4. Ravens

AFC South
1. Colts
2. Jags
3. Titans
4. Texans

AFC West
1. Chargers
2. Raiders
3. Chiefs
4. Broncos

NFC East
1. Cowboys
2. Eagles
3. Redskins
4. Giants

NFC North
1. Vikings
2. Lions
3. Packers
4. Bears

NFC South
1. Saints
2. Bucs
3. Panthers
4. Falcons

NFC West
1. Seahawks
2. Cardinals
3. Rams
4. Niners

I didn’t make any playoff predictions back then. Let me mull that over.

We all leave footprints in the sands of time, just watch out for the discarded fish hooks!

by Hawkwind on Sep 5, 2008 7:40 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

here we go

AFC East
1. Pats – Jarrod Mayo will be a beast, but he can’t play all 4 spots when they retire.
2. Bills – I gotta good feeling about these guys. Not as good as my Cards though.
3. Jets – B-R-E-T, Bret, Bret, Bret should retire, for real.
4. Dolphins – Ricky Williams is the starter. This will be very interesting. He looks good.

AFC North
1. Browns – Aging D will be their only obstacle.
2. Steelers – Big Ben can’t operate with a terrible O-line. Alen Feneca was the glue.
3. Bengals – What if Ocho Cinco got traded and had to change jersey numbers?
4. Ravens – Dante’s available.

AFC South
1. Colts – Too old to keep it up, after this year.
2. Jaguars – I still think Matt Jones should go back to qb. Their gonna run it anyway.
3. Texans – Will the oft injured Matt Shaub emerge?
4. Titans – I watched Chris Johnson in high school. He’s got the right stuff.

AFC West
1. Chargers – LT will come back down to earth, after winning the division.
2. Broncos – Another alumn Brandon Marshall.
3. Raiders – Not that he cares, but Lane’s job is on the line.
4. Chiefs – Almost all of their draft class is starting. That’s not a good thing, is it?

NFC East
1. Cowboys – They signed Keith Davis back. Now they have a safety who can cover.
2. Giants – After Eli’s first incompletion last night he started sulking. He’s baaack.
3. Eagles – Its time for Donovan to move on.
4. Redskins – Cambel can’t stay healthy.

NFC North
1. Vikings – Who needs a QB with a defense like this.
2. Lions – Like I said, I’m a homer from Orlando. Go Kevin Smith UCF.
3. Packers – You should signed Dante and opened the competition up.
4. Bears – ’nough said.

NFC South
1. Bucs – My wife made me do it.
2. Saints – Great weapons, not enough chemistry yet.
3. Panthers – Will lose their QB, again
4. Falcons – See Bears.

NFC West
1. Cards – So sue me.
2. Seahawks – Just can’t rank them higher.
3. 49ers – This was a toss up.
4. Rams – See above.

by hevchv on Sep 5, 2008 8:17 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs