Mikey D

I always like to make my predictions before the season, and with our vacation to the Outer Banks coming up, school starting, and Adam's bachelor party, I want to make sure I get them out there.

Last year before the season I said Steelers-Giants in the Super Bowl, with the Steelers winning it all. Not a bad prediction. I'm looking to get both Super Bowl teams this year...

NFC
NFC East
1. Philadelphia Eagles (1 seed)
2. Dallas Cowboys (5 seed)
3. New York Giants
4. Washington Redskins
Rationale: Love the Eagles this year. Great weapons on offense (Maclin and DeShaun Jackson together? Jesus!), and they have depth at RB with the addition of McCoy. They are better than last year's NFC Championship game team...I'm buying the Cowboys being better with less drama, and while Romo will get the focus, the running game they have with Jones-Barber-Choice is outstanding...The Giants are on the downhill, with a less potent running attack and no receiving threats. They're good, just not great...Until the Redskins get a QB, I'm not buying them. Portis can only shoulder the offensive load for so long, too.

NFC North
1. Green Bay Packers (2 seed)
2. Minnesota Vikings (6 seed)
3. Chicago Bears
4. Detroit Lions
Rationale: Go, Pack, go! Look, this team was hit hard by injuries last year and had a brutal schedule. The offense is great, Grant is healthy and in camp, and the defense is reloaded. I'm thinking close to a 13-3 season they had two years ago...The Vikings are an AP injury away from being a non-contender. If they can sort their QBs out, I'll believe in them more...Everyone loves the addition of Cutler, but nobody points out his high INT total last year and the fact he has less weapons to throw too. And last year the offense wasn't the problem with the Bears, it was the defense...I predict the Lions win at least four games this year. I can't decide if that's me being optimistic.

NFC South
1. New Orleans Saints (3 seed)
2. Atlanta Falcons
3. Carolina Panthers
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Rationale: New Orleans is going to score points, but I think their secondary is going to be better and hold up against teams. When they get ahead, they'll stay ahead this year...Atlanta's schedule was very easy last year, and they had an extremely poor defense. Like, but don't love them...Carolina has a really hard schedule this year, and while I love the running attack, I don't think you can be one-dimensional against the really good teams...Tampa Bay is a mess on both sides of the ball. Top-five pick next year.

NFC West
1. San Francisco 49ers (4 seed)
2. Arizona Cardinals
3. Seattle Seahawks
4. St. Louis Rams
Rationale: I like the 49ers. Of course with Crabtree they will be amazing =). Most of all, I think a commitment to Gore and the leadership of Singletary will make this a dangerous team...I still don't like Arizona's defense and I'm worried about a Super Bowl hangover...Seattle could challenge for the division with TJ Houshmanzadeh and Hasselbeck healthy, but I worry about their defense and lack of a running game (Julius Jones and TJ Duckett...um, no)...I think St. Louis will be better if Steven Jackson can carry the offense. Otherwise, another long year.

AFC
AFC East
1. New England Patriots (1 seed)
2. Miami Dolphins (5 seed)
3. New York Jets
4. Buffalo Bills
Rationale: How can you not pick the Patriots? All their weapons back, with the addition of Fred Taylor and Joey Galloway? It's just not fair...Everybody thinks Miami was a flash in the pan last year, but newsflash, they didn't get worse- they got better this offseason...The Jets lost Favre and Coles, and have two unhappy RBs. While I expect the defense to keep them in games, I don't think their offense is capable of keeping up with opponents...Everyone loves the Bills! You throw an unproven QB, a troubled RB, a loud-mouth receiver together, and a depleted offensive line with a quiet head coach, and you have a recipe for disaster in my opinion. It's great on paper, but it looks like a ticking time bomb to me. Not buying.

AFC North
1. Pittsburgh Steelers (3 seed)
2. Baltimore Ravens
3. Cincinnati Bengals
4. Cleveland Browns
Rationale: I don't need to say anything about the Steelers; they are the cream of the crop in this division...Baltimore should be identical to last year because their team is exactly the same as last year's...With Palmer back and more stability at RB (can I say that with Cedric Benson in the backfield?), the offense should be more improved. Yes they lost TJ, but they brought in Coles. Their defense still sucks, but they should win more games than last year just because of their offense...Cleveland is one of those teams that could surprise and make me look like a fool, but for now I'm betting against them. They are unstable at every position on the field practically. Could they put it all together? Sure. Chances are not good, though...

AFC South
1. Indianapolis Colts (4 seed)
2. Houston Texans (6 seed)
3. Tennessee Titans
4. Jacksonville Jaguars
Rationale: Peyton is healthy at the start of the year and they addressed their need at RB through the draft. The Colts shouldn't miss a beat and I expect them to continue their winning ways...I am excited to watch the Texans this year (did I just say that?). Schaub, Slaton, Johnson, Walter, Owens- their offense is good! They were very competitive last year, so I expect them to take that next step. Of course they have to avoid injuries, as this is a very fragile team...Look, Tennessee's schedule is tough this year and they're not going to surprise anyone. They are going to run it with Johnson and White, and that's their offense. They lost their big run stopper in Haynesworth, so look for a division full of great RBs to take full advantage. And excuse me for not trusting in a Collins-Young QB combo...Jacksonville is one of those teams I could be dead wrong on. I'm nervous that MJD won't be able to take the brunt of the workload at RB (like Marion Barber wasn't able to last year), and Garrard still doesn't have receivers that scare you (Holt is past his prime). The offensive line is better...but what about the defense?

AFC West
1. San Diego Chargers (2 seed)
2. Denver Broncos
3. Kansas City Chiefs
4. Oakland Raiders
Rationale: The Chargers will be good. Their defense is going to be great with Merriman back, and LT is as healthy as he's been in two years. With Gates back healthy as well, and the emergence of Rivers and Vincent Jackson, this team should win this division easily...The Broncos also will be better on defense with Bailey back and healthy (they couldn't be much worse...), and I actually like Orton at QB playing the New England-style offense, and Moreno is the perfect fit at RB for the offense...Kansas City will be competitive, but there are just too many question marks, especially on the defensive end. And why did they trade Tony Gonzalez again? That's going to be a huge loss...Oakland. Bleah. The only thing I like is their running game.

PLAYOFFS
Wild Card
Minnesota at New Orleans (New Orleans 27, Minnesota 14)
Dallas at San Francisco (San Francisco 20, Dallas 17)

Houston at Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh 34, Houston 21)
Miami at Indianapolis (Indianapolis 24, Miami 10)

Divisional
San Francisco at Philadelphia (Philadelphia 23, San Francisco 9)
New Orleans at Green Bay (Green Bay 34, New Orleans 31)

Indianapolis at New England (New England 35, Indianapolis 27)
Pittsburgh at San Diego (San Diego 24, Pittsburgh 23)

Conference Championship
Green Bay at Philadelphia (Philadelphia 27, Green Bay 21)
San Diego at New England (New England 21, San Diego 20)

Super Bowl
Philadelphia Eagles versus New England Patriots
I'm pretty sure I had these two teams in the Super Bowl a couple years ago, and I'm sure this will be a predicted Super Bowl by many- and for good reason. I'll give the obvious nod to the Pats, 41-20 in a Super Bowl blowout.

Champion: New England Patriots

How boring and not fun of a final prediction =).

~Mikey D