“NFL Overall Predictions”

TheSportsKraze has the Jets and Packers facing off in Super Bowl 45 on February 6th. Who do you have?

 Since Monday, I have been giving a somewhat in-depth (but not too in-depth) division by division breakdown for this upcoming year in the NFL.  It is never easy to pick the always unpredictable and parity filled League. But I am pretty confident in my picks and very excited for the first game come September.  

In summary, here are my NFL overall predictions: 

AFC East:  New York Jets, New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills (in order of predicted finish) 

AFC East Champion:  New York Jets 

The Jets have had the best off-season of any team in the League.  They made a phenomenal run last year all the way to the AFC Championship game.  This team is better than last year’s squad and hungry to go all the way.  It all starts with capturing the AFC East Crown.  This team will be very fun to watch on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” television series. 

AFC West:  San Diego Chargers, Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders (in order of predicted finish) 

AFC West Champion:  San Diego Chargers 

The Chargers have been holding court in the AFC West for well over 4 years now.  And why would it change this year?  Sure they need to figure out what the deal is with star receiver Vincent Jackson, but there is no reason why these guys should not capture a 5th straight West title.  The loss of LT may sting locker room morale, but look for the Chargers to possibly meet up with their old franchise player come playoff time. 

AFC South:  Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars (in order of predicted finish) 

AFC South Champion:  Indianapolis Colts 

Peyton Manning and the Colts have owned the AFC South for nearly a decade now.  This team is not only talented, but they are mentally tough, led by the game’s best quarterback.  Expect the Indy boys to make another deep run as they ride their star for yet another year. 

AFC North:  Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns (in order of predicted finish) 

AFC North Champion:  Cincinnati Bengals 

It is TO Mania at Georgetown College where the Bengals are holding training camp.  This team has both a strong offense and defense.  The Bengals possess the deepest and most talented team of the Marvin Lewis era.  Can they repeat as AFC North champs for the first time in my lifetime?  You better believe it as America gets to witness the “Ocho/TO Show,” aka  the  “Carson Palmer Show.” 

Wildcards:  Baltimore Ravens, New England Patriots 

The Ravens in my opinion are one of the top few teams in the entire AFC.  They just unfortunately share a division with another one of the top couple of teams, the Bengals.  Finally, the Ravens have a receiving corps that makes this team have a solid offensive attack to go along with their always scary defense.  The Patriots are the Patriots.  They are not the most talented team this year, but they are led by the best coach in the game and the best big game quarterback in the game.  Expect these guys to have a solid year, but an early exit from the playoffs. 

AFC Championship:  New York Jets defeating the Cincinnati Bengals 

The Jets will knock the Bengals out of the playoffs for the second year in a row.  Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie, and the Jet’s secondary will be up to the challenge of stifling the Bengal’s very talented receiving corps. 

NFC East:  Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Washington Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles (in order of predicted finish) 

NFC East Champion:  Dallas Cowboys 

So what if Dez Bryant does not want to be hazed by his teammates?  The guy has big time potential to help out an already strong passing attack led by Miles Austin, Jason Witten, and Tony Romo.  Could the Cowboys make this Super Bowl a home game?  We will find out come February 6th. 

NFC West:  San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams (in order of predicted finish) 

NFC West Champion: San Francisco 49ers 

Okay, so this is one of the weakest conferences in the entire NFL.  But the 49ers look to finally be somewhat back.  Joe Montana, Steve Young, Jerry Rice, and the entire San Francisco Bay area will be very proud to see these guys make the playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade (8 years). 

NFC South:  New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (in order of predicted finish) 

NFC South Champion:  New Orleans Saints 

The party on Bourbon Street is still going on from last year’s Super Bowl Championship.  Luckily for the Saints, most of the team has been kept intact.  Expect Drew Brees to lead these guys to another outstanding season. 

NFC North:  Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions (in order of predicted finish) 

NFC North Champion:  Minnesota Vikings 

This division has two of football’s best at the top.  Brett Favre (if he returns), will get the better of his former team in the regular season.  All eyes should be on the dates of October 24th and November 21st as these two powerhouses go head to head.  But watch out for the Packers come postseason time as they steamroll their former franchise player. 

Wildcards:  Green Bay Packers, New York Giants 

The Green Bay Packers are in my opinion the best team in the NFC.  They just have to deal with the second best team, the Minnesota Vikings, before their quarterback gets tired.  So these guys will be ready to roll come playoff time.  The Giants participate in football’s best conference top to bottom.  I just feel like they are the team who will find their way out of the 3 team battle between Philly, Washington, and themselves for 2nd place in the East, and the 2nd Wild Card spot. 

NFC Championship:  Green Bay Packers defeating the New Orleans Saints 

Revenge will be sweet for the Cheeseheads as they see Brett once again come up short of making his first appearance in a Super Bowl since 1997.  Will Brett go for it again in 2011-2012?  This game though will be an absolute aerial assualt, but the Packer’s ability to defend will help them come out victorious in a nail biter over the defending champion Saints. 

Super Bowl Prediction:  New York Jets defeating the Green Bay Packers 31 to 28. 

This will just be an absolutely outstanding game in all aspects, as football’s two best teams battle it out in Cowboys Stadium.  Expect Darrelle Revis to come up with some big time plays and help stifle the Packer’s amazing aerial attack.  Rex Ryan will make the whole media aspect of this game quite entertaining.  New York will go nuts. 

So there you have it.  Those are the predictions from TheSportsKraze for the upcoming NFL Season/Postseason. 

Let me hear your thoughts on what should be an outstanding year in the NFL. 

Stay tuned for the next edition of TheSportsKraze. 

-TheSportsKraze

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“NFC East Preview”

Tony Romo should be all smiles. He has girls, the looks, and a great team. Look for the Cowboys to repeat as NFC East Champions.

This is probably the most intriguing division in my eyes year in and year out.  You have the most heated rivalries.  You have big cities.  Large media outlets.  Very exciting divisional battles.  Plus at least one of the NFC Wild Card spots has come out of this division each of the past 5 years (both wildcards in 2007).  This division is rugged.  This division is tough.  And I could go on and on.  The saddest part is none of these teams are ones that I religiously root for and actively follow.  You just got to love the intensity and rivalries that continue to get better every year. 

I feel this is probably the hardest division to predict in the NFL.

NFC East:  Cowboys, Eagles, Giants, Redskins (alphabetical order)

Philadelphia Eagles (4th):  Boy did the city of brotherly love forget to show the love this offseason.  The loss of Donovan McNabb will really sting.  And it will not only hurt their team, but you better believe he will be ready to show Philly what they lost when the Eagles take on the Redskins.  Philadelphia always took Donovan for granted.  That was a big mistake.  This team had a solid offensive attack to go along with a solid defensive attack.  But they are investing a lot of faith into Kevin Kolb, who has the weight of the world on his shoulders.  Andy Reid is a great coach though, and I have faith in his judgment.  Also the rushing game has never been all that great in Philly, but now without Brian Westbrook, there is a lot of faith being placed in the former Pittsburgh Panther, LeSean McCoy.  Now I do not think this team will have a horrible season.  I am guessing anywhere between 6 and 8 wins.  But in this division, 6 to 8 wins will help you find your way to the cellar.  I think the Eagles would be better off playing Vick.  And honestly, if things do not go well the first month, Michael Vick might be an NFL starting quarterback again.  Wouldn’t that be fun?   

Washington Redskins (3rd):  The sad thing is this team dramatically improved this offseason.  Donovan McNabb might have been the best pickup made in the entire League since the end of last year. Also Mike Shanahan is a decent coach, though I do think he is overrated and has been nothing since the retirement of John Elway.  Just sadly, this franchise has suffered from inner turmoil due to their highest paid player Albert Haynesworth being unhappy with the defensive scheme.  Not to mention, that they are led by probably the most incompetent owner in the League other than Mike Brown (Dan Snyder).  For a team that went 4 and 12, it is very surprising that they had such a solid defense.  And this all comes back to the outstanding play of super linebacker, London Fletcher.  This guy is one of the League’s best at his craft.  I feel Snyder has a syndrome that cannot be fixed in just one year.  I do see this team winning 8 games, which would be a 4 game improvement, but this will not be good enough to make the playoffs.

New York Giants (3rd):  I got the G Men finishing in 2nd.  I do think they will nab a Wildcard.  So it will not be all that bad of a year for the Giants in their new stadium.  This team has really demonstrated a strong passing attack, a solid rushing attack, and confidence in their quarterback Eli Manning.  Winning the Super Bowl in 2007 really got fans off of Eli’s back.  Other quarterbacks should take note.  This team does not have the defense that they once had, but they still have a decent group.  They have become a middle of the road defensive team in defending both the run and the pass.  I expect them to improve on this and bring back a defense that is reminiscent of the team in 2007.  Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora will need to become the bash brothers of old.  They have not been able to depend on Michael Strahan, the man with the most well-known gap in sports for the past couple of years.  Now Strahan does fitness and Subway commercials for a living.  I feel like there is something about this team that will help them find their way into the playoffs.  Because on paper, they are no better than either the Eagles or the Redskins.

Dallas Cowboys (1st):  America’s team is going to repeat as NFC East Champions.  They got the best stadium, the hottest girls (thanks to Tony Romo and the Cowboy Cheerleaders), and one of the most well-known owners in all of professional sports (Jerry Jones).  Dallas has a great defense, led by Demarcus Ware, that is one of the best at stopping the run in the entire League.  They also have one of the most high-powered offenses in the League.  They ranked 2nd last year just behind the Super Bowl Champion Saints.  This team possesses a 2 headed monster at running back in Marion Barber and Felix Jones.  If these guys stay healthy, teams will not be able to keen in on Tony Romo and the outstanding Cowboy aerial attack.  They also have Miles Austin, who came out of nowhere to turn into one of the best receivers in the League.  They have arguably the best receiving tight end in the game today in Jason Witten.  Witten and Romo have a fantastic chemistry, and who cares if TO doesn’t like it.  But this team is tough.  I expect them to make a deep run in the playoffs. They do have a prayer of getting to play a Super Bowl at home come February (if they are lucky).

So there you have it.  Those are my NFC East picks.  I have both the Cowboys and Giants making the playoffs out of this always rugged division.  This is the hardest division for me to predict by far.  Great rivalries and great teams every year.

Should be another wild year in the NFC East.  I would not be surprised if all of the teams finish within 3 games of each other.

Stay tuned for the next edition of TheSportsKraze.

-TheSportsKraze

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