The 2010 National Football League Season is now upon us.
Before getting to the Week 1 predictions, below are my predictions for the entire season.
Last year I had the Cowboys and Vikings in the NFC Title Game. I was not far off. They met a week earlier in the divisionals. Of course, I had the Titans winning it all, and they started 0-6 to miss the playoffs.
“Often wrong, but never in doubt.”
NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys: 13-3. Forget the preseason. This team is loaded. Jerry Jones will blow up the team if they do not go deep into the playoffs. The Super Bowl is in Dallas this year, and the home team could be there.
New York Giants: 9-7. The Giants are simply not the team they were 3 years ago. Few teams ever are. By running and playing defense, which has always been Giant football, they can make the playoffs.
Washington Redskins: 8-8. Mike Shanahan will install his discipline and his offense. Donovan McNabb will thrive. The Albert Hayneworth distraction will not go away. Shanahan needs 2 years to make this his team.
Philadelphia Eagles: 6-10. The ghost of McNabb will haunt them. Kevin Kolb could be good, but a drop-off is inevitable.
NFC North:
Minnesota Vikings: 10-6. This is not the same team as last year. Losing Chester Taylor hurts, and the injury to Sidney Rice is critical. Favre will not have a season as magical as last year.
Green Bay Packers: 10-6. This team is picked to be a Super Bowl contender, but only their offense under Aaron Rodgers is worthy. The defense is not much better than the team that gave up 51 points in the playoffs last year.
Chicago Bears: 6-10. This is a make or break year for this team, and they will break. Mike Martz will improve Jay Cutler, but the defense has injuries, Urlacher is getting old, Devon Hester is better as a returner thana receiver, and the division is too tough. Lovie Smith finally goes down with the ship.
Detroit Lions: 4-12. This team will be better. Matthew Stafford will become a winner, and Ndamokung Suh will lead the defense. Next year they could have a winning record. Give them time.
NFC South:
New Orleans Saints: 11-5. Their offense will still be potent but I see them as a one year team, not a dynasty. They play in a pathetic division, which will help.
Atlanta Falcons: 9-7. They are also a trendy pick to go far, but last year was the very first time they had consecutive winning seasons in their entire history. Three winning seasons in a row will not come easy.
Carolina Panthers: 7-9. Jon Fox is a good coach, but the talent he coached to success a few years ago is gone. Steve Smith is still all world, but nobody knows anything about Matt Moore. The team has too many holes on both sides of the ball. Fox might be gone at the end of the year.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 2-14 Raheem Morris is not building anything. The Glazers may be begging Jon Gruden to come back. Without Monte Kiffin, this defense is dead. This team is awful.
NFC West:
San Francisco 49ers: 9-7. Mike Singletary had better deliver results or he will be seen as the next Ray Rhodes, all scowl and not enough wins. This division is awful, and Alex Smith just needs the hand the ball off for this team to back into the division championship.
Arizona Cardinals: 5-11. This team was done they day Kurt Warner retired. Matt Leinart has been cut, which was absolutely the right thing to do. Derek Anderson will have offensive weapons, but chemistry takes time.
Seattle Seahawks: 4-12. Pete Carroll will turn the team around, but Matt Hasselbeck is getting ready to collect Social Security. They are a disaster.
St. Louis Rams: 4-12. Sam Bradford looks like a leader. He throws an accurate ball. It will take a couple years, but the Rams will be back…just not this year.
AFC East:
New England Patriots: 10-6. Until they are knocked off, they are still the division champs. They have a ton of holes on defense, but can still put points on the board.
New York Jets: 9-7. The Jets are talking Super Bowl. They were only 9-7 last year. This team does have talent on defense, including Revis Island. Mark Sanchez has to be more than a game manager for this team to get to the next level. Losing Thomas Jones and Alan Faneca will hurt them. Plus, the entire league wants to shut them up because of “Hard Knocks.”
Miami Dolphins: 6-10. This team is falling apart. Bill Parcells builds winners, but leaves before the roof caves in. He just left. Chad Henne is a good quarterback, and Chad Pennington could be resurrected. That is not enough. This tea is overmatched in their division.
Buffalo Bills: 4-12. This team has played games in Toronto, which had people mistaking them for the CFL Argonauts. They could beat the Montreal Allouettes, but not much more.
AFC North:
Baltimore Ravens: 12-4. This team could get back to the Super Bowl. The defense is as nasty as ever, Joe Flacco has matured, and they can run. They have every piece of the puzzle.
Cincinnati Bengals: 9-7. The Bengals just do not have consecutive positive seasons. Forget the lovefest between Terrell Owens and Ochocinco. This tea has too many egos. Marvin Lewis let’s his players run wild. This team will blow up, and Carson Palmer will regret supporting T.O. as everyone else eventually does.
Pittsburgh Steelers: 8-8. The Roethlisberger suspension will hang over the team the entire year, as they will be out of sync upon his return. Mike Tomlin won with Bill Cowher’s team. Time will tell if he can get back there again. This year he won’t.
Cleveland Browns: 6-10. Jake Delhomme will be revitalized at quarterback, but despite ending last year on 4 straight wins, the division is too tough. Walrus Holmgren will fire Mangini and rebuild.
AFC South:
Indianapolis Colts: 14-2. Can a 14-2 team be angry and just as hungry. If you’re led by Bill Polian and Peyton Manning, absolutely. They have all of the talent, and want to be a dynasty bad enough. This year they atone for last year.
Tennessee Titans: 11-5. Jeff Fisher will see his team rise or fall on the mental state of Vince Young. They should hope Kerry Collins is ready in case another meltdown occurs. This team finished strong last year after a horrid 0-6 start. They are ready to rebound.
Houston Texans: 8-8. Their first winning season last year saved Gary Kubiak from the firing line, but the Texans do not have the talent on defense to support the offensive brilliance of Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson. Bob McNair demands the playoffs this year. He won’t get them.
Jacksonville Jaguars: 7-9. Jack Del Rio is on the hot seat, and Wayne Weaver will have to fire him after this year. The division is too tough, and the Jaguars have too many question marks. The players fight hard for Del Rio, but it won’t be enough.
AFC West:
San Diego Chargers: 10-6. This team is overrated as a Super Bowl contender. Norv Turner has never won anything significant as a head coach. LaDanian Tomlinson was old but provided emotional leadership. The Vincent Jackson situation is bad. Philip Rivers will pass all over this awful division, but the playoffs will again be a reality check.
Oakland Raiders: 8-8. Getting rid of JaMarcus Russell automatically improved this team. Jason Campbell can play, but the real diamond in the rough is Bruce Gradkowski. Darren McFadden and Michael Bush need to stay healthy, but the biggest upgrade was rookie 1st round draft pick Rolando McClain. This team is finally moving in the right direction, and Hue Jackson will be a good addition for Tom Cable. Next year could be a playoff year.
Denver Broncos: 7-9. This team has been devastated by injuries, especially Elvis Dumervil. Josh McDaniels has the Belichick ego but a 6-0 start to an 8-8 finish will test the character of the team. This team could be special next year, but this year the body count is too high, too early.
Kansas City Chiefs: 3-13. This team is a trendy pick for being much improved, but the justification for that is mystifying. Matt Cassel has not proven anything since he left New England. Neither has Todd Haley. Not every New England associate is a genius. Just ask Charlie Weis. Actually, ask others about him. This team has little talent.
NFC Playoffs:
1) Cowboys 2) Saints 3) Vikings 4) 49ers 5) Packers 6) Giants (winning tie-breaker over Falcons)
Wildcards: Packers over 49ers, Vikings over Giants.
Divisionals: Cowboys over Packers, Vikings over Saints.
NFC Title Game: Cowboys over Vikings
AFC Playoffs:
1) Colts 2) Ravens 3) Chargers 4) Patriots 5) Titans 6) Jets (winning tie-breaker over Bengals)
Wildcards: Jets over Chargers (again! poor Nate Kaeding and Norvelous Norv), Titans over Patriots (that could go either way)
Divisionals: Colts over Jets (again. Sorry Rex Ryan, Peyton Manning is that good), Ravens over Titans (in another classic head-knocker between these teams. Bring your bandages)
AFC Title Game: Colts over Ravens
SUPER BOWL XLV: Colts over Cowboys, 31-27.
Now that the entire season has been dissected, here is Week 1.
Minnesota Vikings @ New Orleans Saints was the Thursday night game.
(Saints by 5.5, they win but fail to cover)
Cleveland Browns @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
(Buccaneers by 3, Browns win outright)
Miami Dolphins @ Buffalo Bills
(Dolphins by 3, Bills win outright)
Cincinnati Bengals @ New England Patriots
(Patriots by 4.5, htey win but fail to cover)
Indianapolis Colts @ Houston Texans
(Colts by 2.5, they cover)
Denver Broncos @ Jacksonville Jaguars
(Jaguars by 2.5, Broncos win outright)
Atlanta Falcons @ Pittsburgh Steelers
(Falcons by 2, Steelers win outright)
Oakland Raiders @ Tennessee Titans
(Titans by 6.5, they win but fail to cover)
Carolina Panthers @ New York Giants
(Giants by 6.5, they cover)
Detroit Lions @ Chicago Bears
(Bears by 6.5, they win but fail to cover)
Arizona Cardinals @ St. Louis Rams
(Cardinals by 4, they win but fail to cover)
Green Bay Packers @ Philadelphia Eagles
(Packers by 3, they cover)
San Francisco 49ers @ Seattle Seahawks
(49ers by 3, they cover)
Dallas Cowboys @ Washington Redskins is the Sunday night game.
(Cowboys by 3.5, they cover)
Baltimore Ravens @ New York Jets is the first Monday night game.
(Jets by 2, Ravens win outright)
San Diego Chargers @ Kansas City Chiefs is the second Monday night game.
(Chargers by 4.5, they cover)
eric