For the past two weeks, I have been doing a series, documenting each division and where everyone will finish in that division. Here are my final predictions for each division!
AFC East z-New England (15-1) x-New York (10-6) Buffalo (9-7) Miami (3-13)
AFC North y-Pittsburgh (12-4) Cleveland (10-6) Cincinnati (8-8) Baltimore (2-14)
AFC South y-Indianapolis (12-4) x-Jacksonville (10-6) Tennessee (9-7) Houston (8-8)
AFC West y-San Diego (9-7) Denver (8-8) Oakland (6-10) Kansas City (2-14)
NFC East z-Dallas (13-3) x-Philadelphia (9-7) New York (8-8) Washington (5-11)
NFC North y-Minnesota (10-6) x-Detroit (10-6) Green Bay (7-9) Chicago (4-12)
NFC South y-New Orleans (11-5) Tampa Bay (9-7) Atlanta (6-10) Carolina (5-11)
NFC West y-Seattle (10-6) Arizona (9-7) San Francisco (5-11) St. Louis (2-14)
*z = Clinched Home-Field Advantage, y = Clinched Division, x = Clinched Wild Card Spot
Well, here are my division winners and wild cards for each conference: (In parentheses next to each team is their seeding in the post-season)
So, here are my playoff predictions for the 2008 season!
Wild Card
AFC Jaguars at Colts = Colts Jets at Chargers = Jets
NFC Eagles at Vikings = Vikings Lions at Seahawks = Seahawks
Divisional
AFC Colts at Steelers = Steelers Jets at Patriots = Patriots
NFC Vikings at Saints = Saints Seahawks at Cowboys = Cowboys
Conference Championships
AFC Steelers at Patriots = Patriots
NFC Saints at Cowboys = Cowboys
Super Bowl XLIII Cowboys vs. Patriots (from Tampa, FL) = New England Patriots
So, the way I see it, the Patriots will be the Super Bowl 43 Champions.
Any disagreements? Who do you pick to be champ? Lemme hear what you guys and gals have to say! Have a great weekend, everyone, and enjoy the first Sunday of the season!
This is the fifth post of a two-week series I will be doing, discussing every team by division and how I see their 2008 NFL season playing out. Today, we are discussing the NFC East division, which is populated by the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants and Washington Redskins. Let’s get started!
Dallas Cowboys Tony Romo now has enormous pressure to win his first playoff game this year. Quite possibly, the biggest amount of pressure in the entire NFL right now. Romo has some incredible weapons that he’s had before, as well as a new one in the backfield. Marion Barber and Felix Jones will be a more dominant RB tandem than that of Julius/Marion of these past few seasons. Felix had the second most rushing yards in Razorback school history, behind of course, Darren McFadden. Felix will not be a downgrade from either Julius or McFadden at all. TO and Romo will more than likely be the second-best QB-WR duo in the league, next to Brady-Moss in New England, and I expect the two (Romo-TO) to have an extremely large amount of production in the offense, even more so than last year’s numbers. I can easily see Romo throwing 40 TDs and Terrell Owens catching 20 of them. Tony Romo had all that production minus Terry Glenn last year, why can’t he do even more in 2008? The defense will be one of the toughest in the league, and nobody, probably not even New England would be able to march all over them. The long-awaited re-instatement of Adam “Pac-Man” Jones finally happened, and within twenty seconds, that defense’s toughness and force went up big-time. The Cowboys should run straight back to the playoffs, winning the NFC East by a sizeable margin.
Regular Season Prediction: 13-3, 1st in NFC East, #1 seed in NFC playoffs
Philadelphia Eagles The main problem with Philadelphia right now is the injury to Pro Bowl DB, Brian Dawkins. Last season, he was the only guy on that defense that kept them going, and even with the addition of Asante Samuel, another Pro Bowl DB, they still won’t be able to fully make up this guy’s presence in the huddle. Sure, Samuel will do good, but with Dawkins back there as well, the Eagles would do that much better. If Dawkins is ready by the 7th, I’ll be extremely confident in this team making at least a push for the playoffs. However, another big injury concern, this one, perennial, however, is Donovan McNabb. He always goes for too much and tries to make plays where there isn’t one. I know he’s an extremely capable veteran, but he still needs to learn that he’s not the only playmaker on the offense. If McNabb stays in the pocket, and doesn’t try to make too many plays with his feet, the Eagles should be set. If he does get hurt, which is always a likeliness by about week 8 or 9, someone else has to step up big time or they are done.
Regular Season Prediction: 9-7, 2nd in NFC East, #6 seed in NFC playoffs
New York Giants The Giants from the outside look quite a mess. The defense lost 50% of it’s sacks from last season and some of it’s most talented players. Make no mistake, those group of guys that are either with another team, retired, or out with an injury, were the core of this defense. Without them, the Giants can’t even hope to make it back to the post-season. Eli Manning and the offense had a great run for 6 weeks last season, and that was it. They are not some greatest team of the century, they are just good and lucky. Lucky that they started getting hot at exactly the right time, and good because of the players they had. Now, they look unlucky and average at best. Plaxico Burress is still ####ed up, whether people believe it or not. The running backs were great last season, but they need to step up this year. If Manning can’t set his feet in the pocket, which was the case last year in certain games, the running backs need to be reliable targets out of the backfield on draws, play action and screens. They’re the key now with the whole defense out. I don’t think the Giants will do as good as last season, and they have a tough second-half schedule to be wary of. .500 is about all I can expect from the injury-depleted champs this year.
Regular Season Prediction: 8-8, 3rd in NFC East, no playoffs
Washington Redskins The Redskins went on that run last season with Todd Collins at the helm of the offense. Jason Campbell has still not proven me anything, and I really wouldn’t be surprised if he got benched to make room for Jim Zorn’s ideal Wes Coast QB, Colt Brennan. Zorn doesn’t seem like the guy to wait around, so if he does want Brennan to be the leader of the team, expect a move to come as early as Week 8 or 9. Santana Moss and Devin Thomas will be the keys to making the offense work. I know how well both of them can stretch the defense, and it’ll be exciting to see whether or not Jason Campbell can turn his career around and become a Pro-Bowl like player, which the Redskins have been waiting for. If he can’t, it may be Brennan’s job come August 2009, or they might go after a QB in the draft. Clinton Portis and LaDell Betts had a pretty good combined season last year. However, I really see the both of them dropping off the charts this year, as in their production decreases. I just don’t like the set-up of the offense right now, and with Campbell as the QB, I doubt they’ll ever be serious contenders. The defense was boring in the playoff game against Seattle, and they didn’t show me much competence. I know they have a strong core, but they can’t utilize it correctly in the tougher game situations. If they can do that this year, and Portis/Betts have solid seasons, they may make up for what the offense lacks in explosiveness.
Regular Season Prediction: 5-11, 4th in NFC East, no playoffs
Let me hear what you think! Check back in tomorrow for my NFC North Preview!
These are my predictions on each NFC team’s 2008 campaign. I will say below each team their record, whether or not they make the playoffs, and what seed they are if they do make it. Here are my predictions for the 2008 NFL regular season! (If two teams in the same division finish with the same record in my predictions, the team higher in the standings wins the tie-breaker)
NFC North Minnesota 10-6, NFC North Champs, No. 4 seed Detroit 10-6, NFC Wild Card, No. 6 seed Green Bay 7-9, no playoffs Chicago 4-12, no playoffs
NFC South Tampa Bay 11-5, NFC South Champs, No. 3 seed New Orleans 11-5, NFC Wild Card, No. 5 seed Carolina 6-10, no playoffs Atlanta 5-11, no playoffs
NFC East Dallas 15-1, NFC East Champs, No. 1 seed New York Giants 9-7, no playoffs Philadelphia 8-8, no playoffs Washington 5-11, no playoffs
NFC West Seattle 12-4, NFC West Champs, No. 2 seed Arizona 6-10, no playoffs St. Louis 4-12, no playoffs San Francisco 2-14, no playoffs
Let me hear your thoughts! Don’t forget to check out the AFC post as well!
The NFC is a question mark as of right now, and as I see it, is completely up for grabs. So, I have decided to take the task of deciding the NFC’s team to beat this year. For the next week, I will be looking at each NFC team in alphabetical order to find out who really is the NFC favorite heading into the 2008 season.
I will rank each team’s chances on a 1-10 scale, 1 being the worst chance of winning the conference, 10 being the best chance of winning the conference. The team with the worst chance will get a 1, while the team with the best chance will get a 10.
Today, I will be discussing the Chicago Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arizona Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys.
Bears The Bears have some huge question marks heading into the season. The biggest in my mind is the decision to flip a coin for the starting QB job. Rex Grossman won the toss, making bad even worse. Rex had 4 TDs and 7 INTs in 2007, as well as a 66.4 and only a 54.2% completion percentage.
To make things worse, they lost the only QB that actually did okay on their team, Brian Griese, who threw 10 TDs and 11 INTs. Kyle Orton had 3 TDs and 2 INTs. That’s stellar for a Bears QB, apparently.
The RB situation has been bad for years. Kevin Jones was a late off-season signing to fill the void left by Cedric Benson. Matt Forte was also taken in the draft, so the Bears have seemingly taken care of their running problem.
The wideout core is one of the weakest in the league. When you are forced to say that Marty Booker is your strongest wide receiver, there’s a problem. The offense will not do good without a young, break-free receiver.
The defense has to be th highlight of the Bears at this point because they are so poor in everything else. Brian Urlacher got a nice shiny new contract, and I expect him to play like he earned, like he always does. I think that this Bears D could well be one of the Top 10 in the nation this year.
So, now that I have covered the Bears, it’s time to give out my first ranking of Super Bowl berth possibility.
Scale: 4
Buccaneers The Buccaneers are a good team on the rise, but Garcia has more than likely this one year left in him before he has to call it quits. Chris Simms hasn’t had the highlight-like career many expected of him, but I think if they gave him a chance to start with as good of a team the Bucs have assembled, he’ll do good. Better than 13 TDs at least, which is how many Garcia had last year.
The offense did better without star RB, Cadillac Williams last year, but I think that they will do much better this year with him. They also can apply that envied one-two punch that very few offensive systems have in the league. Williams, followed by breakout player, Earnest Graham, can definitely tear apart opposing defenses, which would take a lot of pressure off of the Tampa Bay QB. The addition of Warrick Dunn should help them out as well. The retirement of FB, Mike Alstott is bound to hurt their yards per carry.
The wideout core as some question marks in my mind. Joey Galloway isn’t getting any younger. Jerramy Stevens has always been a solid tight end, and you can trust throwing to him in a pinch. Ike Hilliard is starting to age, but is still a good wideout to throw way downfield to if need be.
The defense was ranked 2nd overall last year behind the Steelers. Finishing second to Pittsburgh’s D is nothing to be ashamed about, either. The Bucs could have picked up Jared Allen from the Chiefs, but decided not to, probably because of his alcoholic history. No matter, the defense is still one of the toughest in the NFL, and opposing offensive coordinators will be hard-pressed to beat them.
Scale: 6
Cardinals The Cardinals QBs are both quite good, but apparently Matt Leinart is the starter. Now we will see what he is made of at the pro level. I think he has all the weapons to turn this team into a serious contender.
Larry Fitzgerald is an incredible receiver. I’m not totally sure what is going on right now with Anquan Bolden, but if he were to return, that would make the Cardinals a team to watch out for in the NFC.
Edge James is losing strength it seems, but I think it’s safe to expect another 1,000+ yard season from him.
The defense is still questionable, but if the Cards’ offense does enough, the defense won’t have to worry about being stellar.
Scale: 5
Cowboys Dallas is probably the best team in the NFC, but the only thing holding them back is Tony Romo’s lack of concentration on football. Don’t anyone try to deny it or argue with it, he has too much focus on being a celebrity. He is dating Jessica Simpson, he tries out for the US Open Golf Championship, and he can’t seem to stay off TMZ during the season. If he gets his head where it should be, the Cowboys will win a playoff game.
The loss of Julius Jones will hurt the overall production of the offense, but not the morale in the locker room. He seemed like he would be a bad presence, and I’m sure that Seattle is glad to take another whiny overpaid baby onto their team (stab. LOL). Marion Barber is the best breakout running back in the league, except maybe Adrian Peterson, so don’t expect little form him this year. If the Cowboys get the #1 playoff seed, keep in mind, it’s because this guy ran hard all year. If they lost him and kept Jones, we’d be talking about whether or not Dallas would even win their division.
Terry Glenn was finally cut from the team last week after failing to come up with an agreed-upon contract that would cut his salary in three if he got injured, and he would only take one third. No matter, the Cowboys went 13-3 without him most of the year, this will not hurt them in the long run. As long as T.O. is on that team, they will be contenders.
Scale: 9
Lemme hear your thoughts. Keep your comments clean, please. I don't like having to listen to things like "Nice prediction, dumb ####..."
I read a post by jaguarjoe72 that gave me the idea to throw out my picks for the 2008 NFL season. We are all bored, and most of us have to put up with our teams losing all summer in baseball (unless you're a D-Backs or Rays fan. Lucky dogs!), so here they are as of right now!
AFC East New England---------13-3 Buffalo------------------6-10 New York Jets--------5-11 Miami-------------------4-12
AFC North Pittsburgh--------------11-5 Cleveland---------------7-9 Baltimore---------------5-11 Cincinnati--------------4-12
AFC South Jacksonville-----------12-4 Indianapolis-----------11-5 Tennessee------------10-6 Houston----------------6-10
AFC West San Diego-------------13-3 Oakland----------------10-6 Denver------------------7-9 Kansas City-----------3-13
NFC East Dallas------------------12-4 New York Giants----11-5 Philadelphia----------10-6 Washington-----------7-9
NFC North Minnesota------------11-5 Green Bay------------9-7 Chicago---------------7-9 Detroit-----------------6-10
NFC South New Orleans--------10-6 Atlanta-----------------9-7 Tampa Bay-----------9-7 Carolina---------------8-8
NFC West Seattle-----------------12-4 San Francisco--------10-6 Arizona------------------9-7 St. Louis---------------2-14
So here are the standings after the regular season in playoff contention:
AFC 1. San Diego 2. New England 3. Jacksonville 4. Pittsburgh 5. Indianapolis 6. Oakland
NFC 1. Dallas 2. Seattle 3. Minnesota 4. New Orleans 5. New York Giants 6. San Francisco
Super Bowl XLIII Dallas Cowboys vs. San Diego Chargers
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I am Mike Greenspire and I am a sports blogger for FOX Sports and I love the NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA, and NASCAR! I was born and raised in the city of Pittsburgh, PA, so naturally I am a die-hard fan of the Pens, Buccos, and Steelers. Since Pittsburgh basketball is long gone, my favorite team in the NBA is the Orlando Magic. Please leave a comment on my blog, I love feedback. My blog is fun, and I enjoy writing it, and I hope that you will enjoy reading it! Thanks!
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