With each team having played at least 8 games, I thought I would go back and look at my predictions this summer.  I must say that I had a lot of fun discussing how each team was going to fare in 2007.  Most of the fans that posted on the board thought their teams were headed for greatness.  With 32 teams, that is pretty hard to do. 

I am not too humble to pat myself on the back.  Some of these picks were pretty good.  However, I am also not afraid to throw a little egg on my face.  Some of these picks clearly going to show that I had no clue what I was talking about.  However, I'm not going down alone.  In addition to my commentary, I will show my favorite good and bad comment from the people that posted to the board.  

Don't be offended if I picked your comment as the worst comment.  I appreciate those of you that have been following the blog regularly, whether we agreed or not.  I put 8 bad comments that I made as opposed to one of yours.  My goal is not to cast shame upon you.  Take it for what it is; a good laugh about how we thought the season would play out.  Thank you again and this should bring back some memories from some fun discussions over the summer:

I split the picks up by conference, as the post would have been way too long with both of them.  Make sure you check out the AFC section as well.  Here is a look back from the summer picks:

NFC East - posted date:  05/29/2007

1) Dallas (10-6) - Divisional Title NFC #3 Seed
2) Philadelphia (8-8) No playoffs
3) Washington (7-9) No Playoffs
4) NY Giants (6-10) No Playoffs

Street Cred's Best Analysis:  "This is one of the more balanced offensive attacks in the NFL.  The defense has a very intimidating front 7.  Ware and Spears are excellent pass rushers.  Rookie Anthony Spencer should be able to help in that area as well.  Also, the defense was 10th against the run.  The main weakness is the pass defense.  While Terrance Newman is a great cover corner and Roy Williams helps stop the run as well as any safety in the league, the Cowboys gave up too many big plays last year."

True:  Cowboys have had great balance on offense, ranking in the top 10 in both categories.  The run defense has been spectacular.  The NY Giants and Patriots exposed the weak part of the Cowboys so far, which is the pass defense.

Street Cred's Worst Analysis:  "In the end, I think that Tiki Barber is going to be a too huge of a void to fill.  With all the talent on offense, it was still evident from the Redskins game to close the season that he was the go to guy in the offense.  If they struggle against the Eagles, Jets, Falcons, and 49ers at the beginning part of the season, it could be over quickly.  I don't think Coughlin will be able to keep control of the team if they hit a rough patch early in the season." 

False:  Giants started 0-2, gave up 80 points, and were down 17-3 at the half against the Redskins.  Their demise was imminent.  They rebounded to win their next 6 games and are currently ranked 5th in my power rankings.    

Best Fan Comment: KDXR - "If I had to sum up the Eagles team I would have to say they are a team with average talent and good coaching. I mean aside from Westbrook who do they have? Shaky at QB. No Dominant Receiver. A decent offensive line. They do have Javon on the DL. They brought in a few LBs in free agency, but they are old. They have some good DBs I really like Dawkins." 

True:  His argument was that the Eagles would not make the playoffs.  Pretty fair assessment of where the Eagles are that this season.  Calling McNabb shaky would be the only thing I would dispute, although it would be accurate in the 3 divisional games, where the Eagles are 0-3. 

Worst Fan Comment:  Philly Boy - "McNabb's injury proved 1 thing last year..., the EAGLES are still the best TEAM in the NFC East. You forgot to mention the pick-up of Kelly Holcombe from Buffalo as well. Why? He has had success in the past coming off the bench, and probably didn't get a fair shake because the Bills had invested alot of money on a 1st round draft pick in JP Losman. The Cowboys are good, but NOT good enough to dethrone the EAGLES!"

False:  Holcombe didn't even make the opening day roster and can't start in Minnesota.  The Cowboys have handled their business the first half of the season and are 7-1.  They just beat the Eagles 38-17.  The Eagles are in last place half way through the season at 3-5. 

Summary of NFC East:  Looks like my Dallas pick is going to pan out.  Eagles and Washington I had missing the playoffs.  That could still happen.  Everything looks fine there.  The pick I really messed up was the Giants.  They look like the 3rd best team in the NFC, not the 4th team in the NFC East.  The thing that I really missed is they were able to do exactly what I thought they couldn't.  They did get off to a 0-2 start, but so far have rebounded nicely.

NFC South - posted date:  06/03/2007

1) New Orleans (12-4) Division Title NFC #1 Seed
2) Carolina (9-7) No playoffs
3) Tampa Bay (7-9) No playoffs
4) Atlanta (5-11) No playoffs

Street Cred's Best Analysis:  "Michael Vick's offseason cannot be good for this team.  It is hard to prepare for a season, when you don't know if the star quarterback and face of the franchise is going to be suspended or in jail.  The reports I have been reading say there is enough evidence to warrant and indictment, but probably not enough for a conviction.  That's not a good sign, seeing the story broke just a month ago, and the season doesn't start for over three months.  If the investigation makes as much progress in the next three months, as it has since it broke, Michael Vick might not be the quarterback to start the season." 

True:  Remember, this was written over a month before Michael Vick was arrested.  Michael Vick has not played a down for the Falcons.  The Falcons have two wins on the season. 

Street Cred's Worst Analysis:  "I like the direction the Saints are headed.  I think the Panthers are the only team in the division that has a realistic chance of challenging the Saints.  In the end, I look for the Saints to comfortably win this division."

False:  Saints lost their first 4 games of the season and trail both the Bucs and Panthers at the halfway point.  At 4-4 they may rally to win the division, but it is not going to be with the record or ease that I thought in the offseason.     

Best Fan Comment:  VickandCrump - "South is all messed up, every team will have major difficulties, they will probably all end up around .500. Panthers need to be consistent playmakers and they could easily be the top team. Saints' Reggie Bush will have a similar second year like Bucs Cadillac Williams and this year they might not have as many lucky breaks. Bucs were not clicking at all, but they might surprise people (like Saints last year) for few games. Falcons situation depends on Vick's fate and ability to not give up 1-2 long touchdowns per game. South is all marginal BUT exciting." 

True:  The Panthers, Bucs, and Saints are all around .500.  I'll give him a pass on the Falcons and Vick, because he had not been charged yet.  He said that would determine the Falcons season, which it has.  Bush did struggle out of the gate, but has played better as of late.  South could very likely have no 10 win teams.  Most of the divisional games have been very competitive. 

Worst Fan Comment: RLE68 - "Has this guy even looked at the nfl schedule this year? Obviously not as the panthers have by far the easiest road to the super bowl than of any team in the division. Does this guy not know that half the o line was hurt last year hard to run or pass well when your getting chased and sacked.. this @#$# needs to go back to school and get off the Bush bandwagon panthers 13-3 win division out right based on ease of schedule. David carr will be just fine sitting on the bench waiting." 

False:  Everything in here was wrong.  Panthers face the toughest division in the AFC South and face the Packers and Cowboys who are atop the NFC.  At points this season Carr has been sitting on the bench waiting behind Vinny.  The Panthers stand at 4-4 and have some brutal games waiting for them. 

Summary of NFC South: My division pick may still work out in the Saints, as they are only one game back.  Will probably not be 12-4 or the #1 seed.  I was pretty close on everything else.  Falcons will be happy to get 5 wins.  I had the Panthers playing a game over .500 and the Bucs a game under .500.   Bucs will probably get a little higher than 7 wins.  The overall order is still feasible.  The second half of the season will determine how good or bad these picks will be.   

NFC North - posted date:  06/11/2007

1) Chicago (11-5) Division Title NFC #2 seed
2) Green Bay (9-7) Wild Card #6 seed
3) Detroit (6-10) No playoffs
4) Minnesota (4-12) No playoffs

Street Cred's Best Analysis:  "Even though free agency was a non factor, this was the youngest team in the league last season.  The NFC is down and the Packers finished the season on such a strong note, that it isn't that unrealistic to think that the Packers improve just one game.  If they can, they should be able to sneak into the playoffs." 

True:  Packers sit in first place in the division and have built on that late season winning streak in 06.

Street Cred's Worst Analysis: "The Lions get a nice start to the season.  Unlike last season, where they opened up against Seattle and Chicago, they open up against the Raiders and Vikings.  I don't see them doing much against the rest of the AFC West or the NFC North.  The Bucs and Cardinals might offer a chance for some victories.  While the offense should be exciting, the defense is still a ways away.  6-10 is a three game improvement over a year ago, and is about as high as I see the Lions going this season." 

False:  Lions have a 3-0 record in the division and appear poised to blow past 6 victories this weekend."      

Best Fan Comment:  Gonate -"will call you on your ideas and go one better. The Green Bay Packers will go 10 and 6 and take their division and make the playoffs and be in the super bowl.  Why, you think Im nuts no not at all. Ted Thompson is much better than most give him credit for.  He knows how to find good players that "fly under the radar" but have talent and heart like Farve." 

True:  While I'm not calling the Super Bowl pick yet, the comment about 10-6 and the division was not a bad pick after all.  If it were just a homer pick, I wouldn't have included it.  The analysis of why they would do that is right on point.

Worst Fan Comment: Bakerj1 "Da Bears go 12-4, win the Super Bowl and good ole Rex throws 29 td's with only 9 pics!!! He's young and he is a winner, he will bounce back in an amazing way!!! Packers Schmackers!!!!!!!!!!"

False: I'm not going to harp on the Bears record, but the Grossman analysis is priceless.  At least he got close on the interception part.

Summary of NFC North:  Like most people, I really missed on the Bears.  While I wasn't picking Grossman to have 29 Tds and 9 picks, I thought he would have an above average season.  The Packers pick looks good to happen.  I won't take a ton of credit for that, because I am a Packer fan.  I never saw a 7-1 start to the season.  I would have been estatic with 5-3 at this point.  Minnesota looks poised to compete with the Bears for last place, although they may win more than 4 games.  I also missed on the Lions.  Should have taken Kitna's prediction more seriously.  With both games they have lost being to the bottom of the NFC East and their tough upcoming schedule; the pick to miss the playoffs is still in play.  If the Packers win the division the Lions will either need to play well or the Skins to struggle to avoid losing a tiebreaker.

NFC West - posted date: 06/16/2007

1) St Louis (10-6) Division Title NFC #4 seed
2) Seattle (9-7) Wild Card #5 seed
3) San Francisco (7-9) No playoffs
4) Arizona (6-10) No playoffs

Street Cred's Best Analysis:  "This is probably Seattle's last stand in the NFC West.  This team has made the playoffs for four consecutive years.  They made the Super Bowl in 2005.  They have won the division 3 years in a row.  In today's NFL, you usually have about a 5-year window.  That said, Alexander turns 30 this year and Walter Jones is 33 years old. As they start to get older and the Cardinals and 49ers youth gains experience, you will probably see a changing of the guard." 

True:  Seattle does look like the default divisional winner, but Alexander's lack of production, among other things has prevented them from having a dominant record.   The team is starting to look old rather than veteran.  Regardless of how Seattle finishes, I don't think many people will be picking them for the Super Bowl  this season or to return to the playoffs next season if this roster stays as is.

Street Cred's Worst Analysis:  "I look for the Rams to take a highly contested division, based on the fact that they have the best offense in the division, and that other than San Fran, no one appears to have a defense capable of stopping them. Furthermore, while the 49ers signed some nice pieces this offseason, it remains to be seen what that translates to on the field."

False:  The Rams are the only team in the league that is still under 100 points scored at 99 points.  

Best Fan Comment:  QSisco - "No team will break double digit wins because they have to play the AFC north and NFC south, two of the better divisions. The best team Seattle will have to play the Bears at home and Philly away, they will win 9 games and the division. St. Louis and SF will be around .500 with 8 wins(just like last year). Arizona will be bad(what a schock) and be last with 5 wins (StreetCred has 6). Only one team goes into the playoffs, the division winner." 

True:  Except for the part about the Rams and the 49ers having around 8 wins, the NFC West best team is Seattle and this is probably a one bid division with the winner being around 8 to 9 wins.  Furthermore, he broke down the scheduling issues to a tee.

Worst Fan Comment: 24LA7holt81jackson39 - "there could be an upset, by my offense is way too stacked for any nfc team to beat us. Rams nfc champs, and you will see a 2001 rematch between the rams and the patriots." 

False:  I think the Patriots would rejoice at the idea of playing the Rams in the Super Bowl.

Summary of NFC West:  I really dropped the ball with the Rams.  However, I never saw the line having that many big injuries, Jackson missing that much time, and Bulger being hurt.  Had I known that, I obviously wouldn't have picked them very high.  I was right about the 49ers offense not doing well.  Had the Seahawks picked about right.  Cardinals may exceed 6 wins.  This was a very tough division to pick, as all the teams were bunched together last season and there were a lot of changes in the offseason.  Other than the Rams, I don't think I did too terribly bad with it.  I definitely didn't buy into the 49ers like a lot of people did. 

So what are your thoughts?  What was your favorite pick from the offseason that came to fruition?  What pick has you scratching your head?  I would like to know your thoughts.