AFC
Playoffs
NE
Hou
SD
Bal
Cin
Buf
In the Hunt
Pitt
Ten
Jax
Cle
Next Year
NYJ
Oak
Ind
Den
Mia
KC
NFC
Playoffs
NYG
Chi
NO
SFO
Was
GB
In the Hunt
Phi
Car
Dal
Sea
Next Year
Min
Ari
Det
Atl
TB
Stl
What's Special About this year?
1. The Houston Texans make the next step. This is the year that Houston becomes the team to beat in the AFC South- not just an underdog that belongs, but the team to beat. Don't be surprised if the Texans win the division and maybe even snag a first round bye.
2. The Indianapolis Colts will not finish above .500. The glory days of Peyton's record-setting seasons have come and gone. I would not be surprised if the Colts finish 4th in the AFC South. They don't have the coaching, offensive line, and sure hands of Marvin Harrison that made this team so dominant for so long.
3. The most competitive division race in football will be the AFC North. Each team has just enough going for them to be competitive every week. The worst team on paper (Cleveland) will beat the best team in the division (Baltimore). Final standings seperate the top from the bottom by three games. Maybe fewer.
4. The most competitive division will continue to be the NFC East. The Dallas Cowboys are one of the twelve best teams in the league, despite being doomed to miss the playoffs again. Six games against the class of the NFL plus one against San Diego is an incredibly difficult season. The NFC East will win at least 38 games collectively, and excel in the postseason.
5. The NFC South will take a step back to mediocrity. I'm not a believer in either Tampa Bay or Atlanta, even though I think Leftwich is going to have a good year. Michael Turner is due for a down year. He will demonstrate that he is not equipped and durable enough to carry the same load. The Panthers and Saints will battle for the division.
6. The Detroit Lions will look like a playoff team on a few weeks this year. They will also look as bad as last year on most weeks. Besides a couple shocking wins against playoff teams, the Lions will have another rebuilding season in Mo-Town.
7. The NFC West is awful. There's not much else to say here. The Rams are a miserable franchise even though I really like Spagnuolo. The Cardinals are dangerous downfield- exactly what you need to excel in a division like the West. Seattle is the only team that can be dangerous in January... but I still don't see it. Look for San Francisco to win the division- at 9-7 or worse.
8. The Eagles made a good decision by signing Michael Vick- but it's not enough. McNabb is not capable of taking this team all the way, especially at this point in his career. Vick adds so much flexibility to the offense and makes Marty Mornhinweg's job probably the most fun in the NFL.
9. The Bears were the winners of the Cutler trade. Rex Grossman would have been a better fit than Orton on over 70% of NFL offenses the past few years. The Bears were in the minority. Cutler will make the Bears very dangerous. The Bears will have one of the best records at midseason, and may even finish with a bye. Denver will struggle against a cupcake schedule and finish behind the Raiders for third in the AFC West. Chris Simms will start a couple games. If Brandon Marshall remains healthy, he will not finish the season with Denver.
10. The teams who play their home games in Missouri will combine to win a single digit number of games.
11. Wade Phillips, Brad Childress, and Raheem Morris will be gone by the end of the season.
12. Carson Palmer is going to be good. Really good. This goes back to a part of the third point I listed. The Bengals are going to have a good season. They started off the '08 campaign with a career backup against a vicious schedule. This year they are back in a situation where they can start off competitively and be a threat to take the AFC North.
13. LaDainian Tomlinson will carry San Diego to the easiest division title since the '07 AFC East. He will do this while commentators refer to him as Tomlinson, not "LT".
14. One player from each division who will quantifiably outperform expectations: Trent Edwards, Braylon Edwards, Steve Slaton, Darren McFadden, Jason Campbell, Kevin Smith, Jeremy Shockey, Josh Morgan (pending Michael Crabtree's holdout)
15. Players from each division who will quantifiably underperform against expectations: New England Patriots Linebackers, Ben Roethlisberger, Reggie Wayne, Matt Cassel, Donovan McNabb, Steve Hutchinson, Michael Turner, and Chris (Beanie) Wells
16. Commentators will still be struggling to understand technicalities of coach's challenge, even after Week 9.
17. We, as viewers, will be rolling our eyes at the newest line of Bud Light, Miller Lite, and Coors Lite commercials.
18. QBs facing pressure from their backups: T. Edwards (will succeed) M. Sanchez (won't succeed but will keep job) C. Pennington (won't hold job) B. Quinn (will survive when Anderson gets traded... maybe to Denver) K. Collins (won't start every game) K. Orton (won't hold job) M. Cassel (won't hold job) T. Romo (won't succeed but will keep job... at least this year) McNabb (see previous) Favre (will survive while throwing the ball a fraction as often as he's accustomed) Warner (won't hold job)
19. I will consistently pick against the spread at better than 52.5% for the season... and even better in the Playoffs.
20. I will beat ESPN's Bill Simmons with margin for error.
21. On February 7, 2010- my 21st birthday- my New York Giants will win the franchise's fourth Super Bowl, beating Baltimore 24- 10.
