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 eighth and final 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 West division, which is populated by the Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Rams. Let’s get started!
Seattle Seahawks Matt Hasselbeck has always played solid in the regular season, and I don’t expect that to change in 2008. He seems to be battling a back injury, but is scheduled to start the season opener at Buffalo. The Seahawks lost Shaun Alexander, who’s production slowly deteriorated in ‘06 and ‘07 after an MVP season in 2005. They did, however, acquire Julius Jones from the Dallas Cowboys. He will have an immediate impact on the offense’s production, and can easily take some of the pressure off of Matt Hasselbeck so he’s not getting hit hard as often. The defense will be one of the best in the league in 2008. Patrick Kerney was easily the best defensive lineman in 2007, passing even Jared Allen of the Chiefs (now Vikings). I expect the secondary to have a strong year, but the linebackers and D-Lineman will be the ones who win or lose the division for the Seahawks. Lofa Tatupu and Patrick Kerney should both have extraordinary seasons. As far as the regular season goes, the Seahawks are a team to watch out for.
Regular Season Prediction: 10-6, 1st in NFC West, #4 seed in NFC playoffs
Arizona Cardinals The Cardinals are going old school and starting The Fossil, Kurt Warner, on opening day rather than Matt Leinart. I’m only gonna say one thing about Matt Leinart right now: trade him. The Cards have not been good with Leinart at the helm, but when the Hermit comes on out of the hills, they seem to do excellent. Warner threw more touchdowns in the final 8 games last season than any other QB, including Tom Brady. Edgerrin James is getting older, but is still a solid contributor to the offense, and you can safely bet on him rushing for 1,000+ yards this season, and 10-12 touchdowns. He is also one of the best catching backs in the league, and an pop moves on any defender on any day. If the offense stays in rhythm with him, and vice-versa, watch out for the Cardinals. Larry Fitzgerald will have himself another sensational year, and I still haven’t heard much on the Boldin situation. If he does come back, the Cardinals will be the ones who win the NFC West, guaranteed. As long as Warner stays healthy, that is. If Boldin doesn’t come back, the Cards will still be in contention close to the end, and may even sneak out a few more wins than I’m giving them. But for now, I think Anquan Boldin is gonna get traded, which will hurt the offense, and cause them to miss the post-season.
Regular Season Prediction: 9-7, 2nd in NFC West, no playoffs
San Francisco 49ers More and more people are jumping on the bandwagon of this team, and for the life of me, I can’t figure out why. One guy who hasn’t proven himself at the pro level (JT O’Sullivan) is expected to turn things around and win the division or a wild card berth. This makes absolutely no sense to me, if a former number 1 picks can’t get it done, what makes you think a guy who hasn’t proven anyone anything can? I may be wrong, but the chances of that on this particular topic are slim. Frank Gore will be the offensive leader, and if they are going to finish above .500, his offensive teammates need to play at the level he’s played at the past two seasons. The wideouts are that offense are weak, and Isaac Bruce is the best one there. There were better options out there, but they neglected to be active in the off-season, and did nothing. Now, they are giving a brand new quarterback, who’s never played in San Fran before, no offensive receiving weapons, besides that of TE Vernon Davis. How he is expected to get them 10 wins again? Get real. Try half that.
Regular Season Prediction: 5-11, 3rd in NFC West, no playoffs
St. Louis Rams The Rams are probably the most under-achieving team in the league. All the money they’re shelling out to the offense of Marc Bulger, Torry Holt, Steven Jackson, Orlando Pace, and they can only give them three wins?! That’s absolutely unacceptable. Bulger signed a six-year deal prior to the 2007 season that would pay him bookoo bucks, and all he did was either get hurt or throw interceptions. I think Steven Jackson was hoping the Rams cut him so he could sign elsewhere with a team that is in a position to win sometime in the next decade. He doesn’t deserve to be on a team that does nothing but stink up the joint. He’s too good of a player. The defense has nobody on it, and if they don’t do something in the next 3 days, they have no chance, because even if their offense does give the Rams the lead, the defense will give the lead up twice as fast. It’s really disappointing to watch, and I hope they get their #### figured out, but I just don’t see it happening. In fact, I see them digressing from last year’s dismal 3-13 record. That’s hard to do.
Regular Season Prediction: 2-14, 4th in NFC West, no playoffs
Let me hear what you think! That’s a wrap on the previews, thanks for stopping by and reading what I have to say! Enjoy opening night tonight with Redskins versus Giants!
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 Washington Redskins, New Orleans Saints, Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings.
Redskins The Redskins have some problems heading into the season. The major one being that they made their big run without current starting QB, Jason Campbell.
Campbell, despite what experts say, has not impressed me yet. I honestly don’t think he’s THAT good of a QB. He was only 5-7 as a starter this year, and that’s not impressive. I don’t see one element of his gameplay that is impressive enough for me to pick them to win.
Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts make for a good 1-2 running back punch. That kind of efficiency is hard to come by. I see their production dwindling off, however, because that division they play in is too tough for them too win it. I would be surprised if they were able to pull of a winning record.
Santana Moss has always been an extremely solid go-to wide receiver. That fact will not change until he retires, and no matter who’s throwing too him, you can expect him to be invited to the Pro Bowl. His success will depend on how well Campbell does after returning from his injury.
Scale: 4
Saints The Saints have by far had the best off-season in the NFL. Drew Brees now doesn’t just have one offensive weapon to work with in Marques Colston. You may ask me why I say he only had one; well, that’s’ because Colston is the only one who stayed healthy all last year. Reggie Bush and Deuce McAlister were injured for portions of last year, which probably is the reason why the missed the playoffs.
Now that Deuce and Reggie are healthy and better than ever, this team will be a full-on, in-your-face force. Not to mention the offensive addition of Pro Bowl TE, Jeremy Shockey, which will undoubtedly make the offense’s yards per game shoot up and Brees will have one more target to throw to if he is being hurried.
The defense has been seriously upgraded with the addition of LB Jonathan Vilma. He is a physical beast, and will lead the team in tackles, and probably sacks as well. Do not underestimate the Saints. As of now, that is a warning, but before long, they are going to turn that into a dominant threat.
Scale: 8
Seahawks The Seahawks have always been in contention with Matt Hasselbeck as the starter, and things don’t seem to be changing just yet, so keep the Hawks in mind.
Hasselbeck’s “title window” is closing, and fast. He is 31 years old at still without that Super Bowl title. He needs that one running back that will stay healthy all year long and keep them in contention once the post-season arrives. Hasselbeck has a history of under-performing in big games, but that could all change this year if Julius Jones stays healthy.
Jones was a fine addition by the Seahawks, and if him and Maurice Morris can team up and make a 1-2 punch running system, that will be a backfield to be afraid of if you are a defensive coordinator.
Patrick Kerney, Lofa Tatupu, Marcus Trufant, Julian Peterson and Leroy Hill have already made that defensive unit an incredibly strong and fearsome one. Don’t expect any of that to change this year. I see Kerney being in the running for MVP at the end of the season.
Scale: 7
Vikings The Vikings have a battle for starting QB as it seems between John David Booty and Tarvaris Jackson. I don’t know what is going on in their camp right now, so I can’t give an edge to either one. However, I would rather have JDB starting, just for the fact that he has won at the college level and has proven himself worthy of a starting role in that offense.
Adrian Peterson is undeniably the key to the offense. If they didn’t have him, they would have half as many wins as the did with him. Peterson will have another electrifying year, and quite possible set the single-season rushing record.
The biggest addition in the off-season has to be Jared Allen, the Pro Bowl DE. Kansas City thought that he would be a problem in terms of crime, but Allen has said over and over that he is past those days. I believe him. If you don’t, he’ll sack you! (HAHA)
The defensive and offensive lines are incredibly bulked with guys who can steamroll the best of them. Watch out for the Vikes.
Scale: 7
So, after a week’s worth of discussing the NFC, I have come to a conclusion on who the favorite in the National Football Conference is.
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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