2013 NFL Predictions

[Ref]

NFL Season Predictions

AFC

East
1. NE
2. Bills
3. Dolphins
4. Jets
Aside from the Bills making a lot of changes, the rest of the division did not do much. It’s the Pats division to lose.

North
1. Bengals
2. Ravens
3. Steelers
4. Browns
Will the Ravens have the same drive as last year? Tough to repeat and Cincy has been consistent. The Steelers are too old and the Browns, well they are the Browns.

South
1. Houston
2. Titans
3. Colts
4. Jags
The Texans are the cream of the crop and the rest of these teams will not make the play-offs and likely not break .500

West
1. Broncos
2. Chiefs
3. Chargers
4. Raiders
Tough call for the division as the Chiefs could very well take it with Von Miller being suspended for 6 games. The Chargers and Raiders are for entertainment/stat producing purposes only.

Play-offs: NE, Cincy, Houston, Denver, KC & the Ravens


NFC

East
1. Dallas
2. Washington
3. Philly
4. Giants
Tough division to call. Will the Cowboys play better D under w new coordinator? Will the Redskins change the approach of RGIII? Will Manning somehow lead the Giants yet again? Will Vick’s bite be worse than his bark?

North
1. Detroit
2. GB
3. Chicago
4. Minny
With all that talent the Lions need to be able to get it all together for at least one season. GB can score, but can also be scored upon. Minny will go back to where they were.

South
1. Atlanta
2. Saints
3. Panthers
4. Bucs
The Saints could surprise with Payton back on the sidelines, but the Falcons have added Jackson to their arsenal. Panthers and Bucs will provide the odd regular season upset to provide hope for their fan base

West
1. Seattle
2. SF
3. Rams
4. Cards
Seattle-SF, SF-Seattle…flip a coin. Both teams are dominant and will walk away with the division.

Play-offs: Dallas, Detroit, Atlanta, Seattle, SF & NO

SB: SF will beat Houston

Worst to First: KC or Detroit

First Coach Canned: Rex Ryan

 

[shack]

NFL Season Predictions

AFC

East
1. NE
2. Bills
3. Dolphins
4. Jets
Aside from the Bills making a lot of changes, the rest of the division did not do much. It’s the Pats division to lose.

North
1. Bengals
2. Ravens
3. Steelers
4. Browns
Will the Ravens have the same drive as last year? Tough to repeat and Cincy has been consistent. The Steelers are too old and the Browns, well they are the Browns.

South
1. Houston
2. Titans
3. Colts
4. Jags
The Texans are the cream of the crop and the rest of these teams will not make the play-offs and likely not break .500

West
1. Broncos
2. Chiefs
3. Chargers
4. Raiders
Tough call for the division as the Chiefs could very well take it with Von Miller being suspended for 6 games. The Chargers and Raiders are for entertainment/stat producing purposes only.

Play-offs: NE, Cincy, Houston, Denver, KC & the Ravens


NFC

East
1. Dallas
2. Washington
3. Philly
4. Giants
Tough division to call. Will the Cowboys play better D under w new coordinator? Will the Redskins change the approach of RGIII? Will Manning somehow lead the Giants yet again? Will Vick’s bite be worse than his bark?

North
1. Detroit
2. GB
3. Chicago
4. Minny
With all that talent the Lions need to be able to get it all together for at least one season. GB can score, but can also be scored upon. Minny will go back to where they were.

South
1. Atlanta
2. Saints
3. Panthers
4. Bucs
The Saints could surprise with Payton back on the sidelines, but the Falcons have added Jackson to their arsenal. Panthers and Bucs will provide the odd regular season upset to provide hope for their fan base

West
1. Seattle
2. SF
3. Rams
4. Cards
Seattle-SF, SF-Seattle…flip a coin. Both teams are dominant and will walk away with the division.

Play-offs: Dallas, Detroit, Atlanta, Seattle, SF & NO

SB: SF will beat Houston

Worst to First: KC or Detroit

First Coach Canned: Rex Ryan

Loaded with this info, do you recommend that I now call my bookie?

 

[Ref]

Loaded with this info, do you recommend that I now call my bookie?

Hehehehe, only if you spend some of your winnings on me....

 

[mjg1]

Nice breakdown of the league. A little surprised you have Detroit winning the North. As a Lion fan, I like it, hope they can out do Green Bay. If they don't beat Minn at home on the 1st game, it's going to another long season!

I have S.F. over Seattle, they have a better defense.

 

[Smash]

Go 9'ers

 

[shack]

Hehehehe, only if you spend some of your winnings on me....

I'd be willing to give you the same percentage of my winnings that you are prepared to cover of my losses. Sounds fair, no?

 

[starzero4]

NFL Season Predictions

AFC

East
1. NE
2. Bills
3. Dolphins
4. Jets
Aside from the Bills making a lot of changes, the rest of the division did not do much. It’s the Pats division to lose.

North
1. Bengals
2. Ravens
3. Steelers
4. Browns
Will the Ravens have the same drive as last year? Tough to repeat and Cincy has been consistent. The Steelers are too old and the Browns, well they are the Browns.

South
1. Houston
2. Titans
3. Colts
4. Jags
The Texans are the cream of the crop and the rest of these teams will not make the play-offs and likely not break .500

West
1. Broncos
2. Chiefs
3. Chargers
4. Raiders
Tough call for the division as the Chiefs could very well take it with Von Miller being suspended for 6 games. The Chargers and Raiders are for entertainment/stat producing purposes only.

Play-offs: NE, Cincy, Houston, Denver, KC & the Ravens


NFC

East
1. Dallas
2. Washington
3. Philly
4. Giants
Tough division to call. Will the Cowboys play better D under w new coordinator? Will the Redskins change the approach of RGIII? Will Manning somehow lead the Giants yet again? Will Vick’s bite be worse than his bark?

North
1. Detroit
2. GB
3. Chicago
4. Minny
With all that talent the Lions need to be able to get it all together for at least one season. GB can score, but can also be scored upon. Minny will go back to where they were.

South
1. Atlanta
2. Saints
3. Panthers
4. Bucs
The Saints could surprise with Payton back on the sidelines, but the Falcons have added Jackson to their arsenal. Panthers and Bucs will provide the odd regular season upset to provide hope for their fan base

West
1. Seattle
2. SF
3. Rams
4. Cards
Seattle-SF, SF-Seattle…flip a coin. Both teams are dominant and will walk away with the division.

Play-offs: Dallas, Detroit, Atlanta, Seattle, SF & NO

SB: SF will beat Houston

Worst to First: KC or Detroit

First Coach Canned: Rex Ryan

ATL may have added Jackson to the backfield and he does bring an added dimension in that he is a good receiver out of the backfield (Turner wasn't that type of back). So Matt Ryan will now have more checkdown options. However, as you well know EVERYTHING begins upfront in football. I don't care how good the talent is at the skill-positions for Atlanta if you cannot block up front that will be a problem and the right side of the offensive line is a major concern. I was surprised they let Clabo go to Miami. RT is a major question mark. McClure the veteran retired as well at a key position @ center b/c the center is the one responsible for the C/QB exchange, identifying the def front and most importantly making all the line calls. Defensively, I have concerns about the lack of stud play makers. They have some very good players like Babs, Biermann, Spoon, Samuel. One of the better safety tandems in the league in Moore & Decoud. And Robert McClain really impressed last year in the nickel packages. He will have a bigger role this year. But the great defenses have at least one stud at each level of the defense. Atlanta does not have enough stud playmakers on defense especially in the front 7. Also, if you have watched any Falcons games at all in recent years you know that even when they had Abe their pass-rush was non-existent especially in big games. That speaks volumes especially when you play half your games at home in a dome. In a loud dome it should help the get-off of your pass-rushers. Even with that advantage Atlanta's pass-rush was weak. And replacing Abe with Osi ? WEll I don't care about the age I don't see that as an upgrade at all. It might even be a downgrade. Wouldn't surprise me to see Abe have a more productive year down in Arizona than Osi will have in the ATL. A lot of Falcons games look like 7-on-7 drills when Atlanta's defense is on the field if you know what I am saying

As for SEA & SF. I think SEA defense improved a LOT. They added Avril and Bennett and now have a solid 6-man rotation on the defensive line. Excellent edge guys with Clemons, IRvin, AVril and Bennett and you got Bryant and Mebane inside. Recall last year after Clemons injury in the playoffs their pass-rush was not that good against Atlanta in the playoffs. THeir defensive line is arguably one of the top 2 in the league now along with the Bengals who have a very scary defensive line. SEA also got Antoine Winfield. Yeah, I know Winfield's prime years may be behind him but remember Winfield is not gonna be asked to play a starting role. The LEgion of Boom was the best secondary in the league BEFORE Winfield got there. When you got Optimus Prime and Browner manning the corners it is likely that WInfield will be on the field more in nickel situations. And SEA is a defense that has playmakers on all 3 levels. Already talked about the defensive line but you got Wright and Wagner @ LB and if there is a better secondary in the league than SEA I don't know who it is. Some might argue Tampa with the additions they made to the defensive backfield via FA and draft but I disagree. The secondary is a unit that takes time to build chemistry because COMMUNICATION is so vital to success back there. Communication breakdowns lead to blown-coverages . THe reason why you don't see many broken coverages when SEA defense is on the field is because that unit has played a lot of games together.

As far as the Texans go I am not the biggest Texans fan. Schaub is a great play-action passer but NOT a good drop-back passer. Also, they played way too much man-coverage defensively last year and when you play against teams with talent at the skill-positions the opposing QBs can find the mismatches whether it be TEs on safeties or RBs on LBs etc. Remember the NE and GB games last year? Houston playing so much man-coverage killed them in those games. They don't play in the strongest division though obviously so they may still win the division but I don't look at them as a legit contender.

Just curious how was your prediction record last year?

I personally stay away from the type of predictions that you made because that is not my forte. I am pretty damn lousy at predictions. I just watch a lot of football games and I can tell you what I have seen in games I have watched but as for predicting division winners and wildcard teams and superbowl winners - I am pretty bad at that. So take my opinions with a grain of salt. I'm just a guy that watches a lot of games, but I am definitely not a guy that knows how to make GOOD predictions. BAD predictions I can make . GOOD ones I cant LOL.

 

[saxon]

I'm afraid my Packers are not going to be up to snuff this year. They will score a lot of points this year if they can figure out a way to keep Rodgers from getting sacked 10 times a game, can't afford to have him get hurt because we can't protect him. Also our defense has been weak the last few years. As a part owner I'm afraid we might not make the playoffs this year.

 

[starzero4]

I'm afraid my Packers are not going to be up to snuff this year. They will score a lot of points this year if they can figure out a way to keep Rodgers from getting sacked 10 times a game, can't afford to have him get hurt because we can't protect him. Also our defense has been weak the last few years. As a part owner I'm afraid we might not make the playoffs this year.

I think you are spot-on with your analysis about the Green Bay pass-pro. Bulaga is out for the season (ACL) and he was pencilled in to be Rodgers blind-side protector. And GB had trouble keeping Rodgers up-right last season. The other concern I have with the O-line is are they built to run-block? Because that is a point of emphasis this year for GB and it is another way to protect Rodgers but I am not sure that the line is built to run-block. Also, lets remember it is not completely on the O-line. Rodgers I think needs to get the ball out a tad quicker too, receivers need to be in the right place at the right time and know when to cut off a route when they are the hot-receiver. All that helps with pass-pro too.

As far as the defense goes I think the formula for winning when you have a high octane offense is different these days. Remember when the Saints won the SB their defense was by no means stout. It was a turnover driven defense. To me when you have a high-octane offense as long as your defense can create turnovers and stiffen in the red zone then even if you rank low in total yards you can still win a superbowl.

 

[starzero4]

I have S.F. over Seattle, they have a better defense.

I think SEA has definitely closed the gap on defense and if I could have either of those defenses I think I might take SEA. a) SEA has the best secondary in the league bar none. No secondary is better than the Legion of Boom. And they added depth to that secondary too with Winfield. And Winfield aint just a cover-corner, he can tackle too and support the run. b) I think Justin Smith is the straw that stirs the drink on SF. Yes they have Willis and Bowman and Aldon Smith but I have always thought Aldon was overrated. How he was ranked higher than Von Miller on the NFL Network top 100 of 2012 is inexplicable to me. Reason I say Aldon is overrated is because he is a one-trick pony (he rushes the passer but he aint that good against the run and aint that good in pass-coverage). Also, Aldon benefits from playing beside Justin Smith. Justin demands a double-team and that gives Aldon more one-on-one matchups and also those games (stunts/twists) they play up front helps Aldon gets some sacks too. SEA's defense doesn't depend as much on a few players. I think the talent on SEA's defense is a little more balance in its distribution if that makes any sense. c) the 12th man is an advantage for SEA's defense because it certainly helps the pass-rush and can induce false-starts especially by those visiting OTs.

Overall SF might have the better (non pass-rusher) LBs. I will take Willis & Bowman over Wright and Wagner. However, I am taking SEA secondary over SF secondary and the additions SEA made to their defensive line might give them an edge in that department I think.

Your thoughts?

 

[saxon]

462 yards and 7 TD passes, not a bad way to start the season for Manning.

 

[thumper18474]

Guess the Ravens need to do some tweeking on the defence
yup Flacco is an elite QB alright...

 

[K Douglas]

I'm afraid my Packers are not going to be up to snuff this year. They will score a lot of points this year if they can figure out a way to keep Rodgers from getting sacked 10 times a game, can't afford to have him get hurt because we can't protect him. Also our defense has been weak the last few years. As a part owner I'm afraid we might not make the playoffs this year.

As a fellow Pack fan my sentiments more or less. Our O Line scares me to death.

 

[starzero4]

As far as the Texans go I am not the biggest Texans fan. Schaub is a great play-action passer but NOT a good drop-back passer. Also, they played way too much man-coverage defensively last year and when you play against teams with talent at the skill-positions the opposing QBs can find the mismatches whether it be TEs on safeties or RBs on LBs etc. Remember the NE and GB games last year? Houston playing so much man-coverage killed them in those games. They don't play in the strongest division though obviously so they may still win the division but I don't look at them as a legit contender.

.

I wonder if Trent Dilfer is a terb member. He has been harping all half long on how the Texans are playing a LOT of man-coverage and Rivers is finding the mismatches all over the field. Basically saying what I said in my post several days ago.

 

[starzero4]

Guess the Ravens need to do some tweeking on the defence
yup Flacco is an elite QB alright...

In fairness to the Ravens defense lets remember the following....

a) It is a re-made defense with a lot of changes

b) 1st game of the year

c) DEN uses that no-huddle attack and that can wear out a defense especially in the 1st game of the year where conditioning may not be up to par

d) Altitude

It definitely looked like the Ravens defense was fatigued in the 2nd half of the game physically and mentally. Combination of the above things may have contributed to that.

I'll tell you what they need to tweak - their special teams. Ravens special-teams was awful in that game!!

 

[Ironhead]

AFC

East
1. NE
2. Bills
3. Dolphins
4. Jets

I cannot make any changes, agree Pats win by default.



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

Cincy and the Ravens. Maybe the Browns will surprise.



South
1. Houston
2. Titans
3. Colts
4. Jags

"The Texans are the cream of the crop". OK, but I think the Colts will at least finish over .500.



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

I will go with Broncos as solid #1 and KC second. SD and Oakland ... who cares.



Playoffs
Denver, Cincy, Houston, NE
KC, Baltimore








NFC

East
1. Giants
2. Dallas
3. Philly
4. Washington

I hope the 'Boys win, but I do not have faith in the coaching staff(although improved) or Romo.
I think Washington will be sunk by an injury to RG III.
I do not know what to make of 'Dog Killer'.



North
1. GB
2. Detroit
3. Chicago
4. Minny

I still have to go with the Pack for the division. Lions second, Bears third.



South
1. Saints
2. Atlanta
3. Panthers
4. Bucs

I see this division as NO to lose. The Falcons will press and may surprise.



West
1. Seattle
2. SF
3. Rams
4. Cards

Seattle first, San Fran close second.



Playoffs
NYG, NOS, GB, Seattle
SF, Atlanta








Final Four
AFC; Broncos over Houston
NFC; Saints over Seattle


SB XLVIII(48)
Broncos edge Saints

 

[Ironhead]

Had to add ...

Cannot have an NFL season thread without the officially unofficial theme music.

 

[starzero4]

I am surprised that there are people that think HOU will go the AFC title game, some even have them in the superbowl or winning it. HOU plays a lot of man-coverage and against the teams with premier passers and talent at the skill-positions that hurts them because the QBs are able to find the mismatches. They don't have enough great cover guys in their back 7 to play as much man-coverage as they do. A team with a great QB and talent at the skill-positions as long as they can block Watt they can score a lot of points on Houston.

Moreover, what happened in the SD game notwithstanding HOU isn't gonna win many games coming from behind. Schaub is a great play-action passer but not a great drop-back passer.

 

[Ironhead]

Denver at Dallas.

I will be surprised, pleasantly, if my Cowboys are 3-2 next week.
Dallas will still be leading the NFC East next week, they just may be tied with the Eagles at 2-3.


A slew of good games coming in week five.

 

[Ref]

I am surprised that there are people that think HOU will go the AFC title game, some even have them in the superbowl or winning it. HOU plays a lot of man-coverage and against the teams with premier passers and talent at the skill-positions that hurts them because the QBs are able to find the mismatches. They don't have enough great cover guys in their back 7 to play as much man-coverage as they do. A team with a great QB and talent at the skill-positions as long as they can block Watt they can score a lot of points on Houston.

Moreover, what happened in the SD game notwithstanding HOU isn't gonna win many games coming from behind. Schaub is a great play-action passer but not a great drop-back passer.

Good post.

The Texans defense has surprised me...Mind you, Schaub blew Sundays game with that ill fated pass attempt late in the fourth quarter!

Some other surprises...

* NE: perhaps Brady has been under-rated. Still plenty of games to play....
* Cleveland: I thought the trade was a sure sign of throwing in the towel. As said above, still lot's of games to play...
* Titans: Have been playing consistent and inspiring ball. We'll see if Locker can play on
* Colts: I thought last year was a season for the coach - Turns out they are a good all round team
* Manning: A gazillion TD's and no IT's...When he crashes to Earth, hopefully he times it right (Probably once the deep cold weather hits)
* Falcons: Did not think they would stumble out of the gate this bad. Mind you, a couple of games could have gone either way...
* SF: Mainly surprised that Seattle spanked them so hard. The rematch should be a great game!
* Rex Ryan: Hey, Coughlin may be the first HC fired!

As mentioned, still early in the season. Aside from teams dominating, a team peaking at the end of the season can win it all.