Before any non HOF games start here is my top 10 going into the preseason. I don’t care what happened last year, this is a list based on who I think the favorites are based on offseason moves and who is more likely going to start the season off strong.
10. Steelers (ended the season on a 6-2 run and with their young talent I think they have a bounce back year and win the AFC North)
9. Chiefs (while they won’t have the same hot start they did last year, they still have one of the best D’s in football and with Andy Reid as their coach)
8. Colts (Andrew luck + easy schedule)
7. Saints (lost some players on d plus a tough schedule but with the dome and drew breese they will be there til the end)
6. Eagles (ended the season 7-1 and chip Kelly year 2 this could be a top 5 team by years end)
5. Packers (with Rodgers back for the whole year 11 wins is the minimum for them)
4. Patriots (brady plus a revamped D almost guarantees an AFC championship game)
3. 49ers (most consistent team in the NFC for the past 3 years and don’t see things changing)
2. Seattle (super bowl champs but lost some players on d. still loaded tho)
1. Broncos (manning wants revenge and with the additional of ware, talib, ward and the return of cliff harris and von miller (plus the AFC is easier to get through) makes them the favorites in my mind).
anyone got any? division winners? i'll go first so i can brag about how good i was only for nobody to read it or give me any credit later in the year (this for me tho *drake from trophies voice*), so here we go:
- i don't have too many surprise division winners. I'm pretty align with all the "experts" i think eagles, saints, packers, seattle in the nfc are all really safe bets and the afc pats/colts/broncos are all pretty close to locks unless a major injury(s) occurs. the only division i am struggling with is the AFC north where i could see all 3 teams potentially winning it. but since this is the bold prediction section i must make a pick, and that pick will be... STEELERS! they ended the season really well and with bell going into his 2nd year, plus healthy to start the year, that gives them a much better running offense which obviously will help big ben and the passing game. however, the real key here is i think the bengals take a minor step back with the loss of both coordinators and it only takes a game or 2 for a team to be a division champ vs missing the playoffs so that's the difference in my mind. also, danny has been pissing me off today all on his high horse about his "stacked" fantasy team so here's to hoping they struggle even more!
- this is all over the internet but i had these same feelings before reading all that from the end of the season as well, but the biggest fall off team is easily the panthers. idk how they went 13-3 last year but i definitely don't think they come close to the playoffs this year and i even think they go 6-10 or worse. they got lucky in a lot of close games last year and there is no way their d is gonna perform like they did last year. on offense their line is worse, their wr's are young and worse, and newton is already hurt. they might finish last in the nfc south.
- call me crazy, but is the NFC west now overrated? while i still think seattle is a great team, the 49ers are not gonna be as dominate as they were last year with missing aldon smith for 9 games, bowman for 6 and now maybe McDonald. while they still have great coaching its hard for me to see them missing the playoffs but I'm not as high on kaep as a lot of people and i wouldn't be surprised if they went 8-8 or 9-7. the cardinals are gonna struggle this year. the were carried by their d and now lose 3 of their best 4 defenders for various reasons (Washington, dansby, and docket). a team doesn't lose 3 key players up the middle and get better. and oh yeah carson palmer is still carson palmer. and the rams just lost Bradford and who again do they have at skill players? while these teams might have decent records due to playing the NFC East it wouldn't surprise me at all to see the eagles go 3-1 against them this year.
- biggest sleeper team in the nfc is the bucs. the past 2 years they have been better than their record has suggested and they had terrible coaching. now they have a veteran coach who has won a ton of games to go along with one of the best defenses in the NFC. having 2 huge wr and the return of doug martin makes them have a decent offense, so as long as mccown doesn't revert back into old form this team reminds me a lot of the chiefs from last year.
love the steelers pick. theyre actually gaining some steam as a playoff team going into week 1
this is a bold prediction thread so here we go... cowboys will have the #1 overall pick next year. their defense was awful last season and lost sean lee, jason hatcher, demarcus ware and scandrick for 4. yes their offense isnt bad but with romo already nursing a bad back (an injury that will never fully go away) they are one romo hit away from having one of the least talented rosters in the nfl.
i can see some playoff turnover. i see the cheifs, chargers and panthers out. in are steelers (i think bengals still make it) and either the dolphins or jets (bold!) plus the bucs. this may also be the year that we see the pats miss out for the first time in a long time.
i think the colts have the best record in the NFL at seasons end. not only will the nfc beat the hell out of each other but the colts will beat the broncos this weekend to start a game ahead.
i like it, esp the cowboys pick although i don't think they're gonna be that bad with their o still being really strong, but you're right, one bad romo hit and they would be the worst team in football.
i agree the chiefs and panthers will miss the playoffs but I'm actually high on the chargers. I'm high on rivers, allen, and they're only gonna get better in year 2. i think their d is gonna be a lot better with freeney and Melvin ingram coming back from injury. remember, this team gave the broncos all they could handle last year and even beat them at the end of the regular season. i think they make a big improvements from last year even tho they went 9-7 and made the playoffs.
totally disagree with the pats. they are like the spurs and will always win 11-12 games with brady and belichick. last year was about as bad as it gets for them with injuries both on offense (gronk, the wr's) plus losing guys (welker, hernadez) and even worse on d with mayo, wilfork, etc and they still went 12-4 and the AFCC. With all of them back and the addition of revis and browner i don't see how they miss the playoffs and in fact, i could see them winning the AFC.
Nah, I think we're looking at the end of the Eli/Coughlin era.
Massive hole in the TE position. A rotation at TE? Where does that happen?
OL is still in shambles. Granted this was exacerbated by the retirement of Snee and the injury to Schwartz. But still Beatty looks miserable. Between Richburg and Pugh we at least have 2/5 of a promising future OL.
Eli just doesn't look right, he's scared. He does not trust his OL whatsoever, and that speaks volumes to me.
They just signed Adam Snyder off the street and he's expected to start Monday... thats a huge red flag to me. WEEK ONE OFF THE STREET SIGNING STARTING
I actually really like the defense, but I feel it'll be wasted with the offensive inability.
My prediction, a 4 win season and Marcus Mariota as your future NYG QB.
Needless to say I hope I'm wrong and we see Giants Patriots 3.0
