Early Summer Predictions

[Hawk Sista]

OK, as I alluded to in another thread, this exercise is worthless at this point....rosters aren't set, contracts are not inked, ACLs are snapping.................. but, for ishes and giggles, I invite you to predict the play-off picture for next year, including seeding.

NFC
1. Hawks (NFCW champs)
2. Green Bay (NFCN champs)
3. Dallas (NFCE champs)
4. Atlanta (NFCS champs)
5. Panthers - wild card
6. Cards - wild card

AFC
1. Baltimore (AFCN champs)
2. Colts (AFCS champs)
3. San Diego(AFCW champs)
4. Buffalo (AFCE champs)
5. Broncos- wild card
6. New England - wild card

[burrrton]

Buffalo beating New England- interesting. Let's hear the Sis rationale...

[edit- And Philly *out*. I like it.]

[burrrton]

For some content:

I'm not sold on the Cards. I thought 90% of their success *before Palmer went down* was smoke and mirrors- I guess we'll see.

In their place I'll put...

[RiverDog]

As OJ once said, I'll take a stab at it:

NFC West: Seahawks
NFC North: Packers
NFC South: Panthers
NFC East: Cowpukes
Wild Card: Rams
Wild Card: Eagles

AFC West: Chiefs
AFC East: Pats
AFC Central: Stealers
AFC South: Colts
Wild Card: Bengals
Wild Card: Raiders

[Hawk Sista]

Burrrrrrton -

The Pats make me sick is part of the answer if I am honest. The other part is that they lost a lot in FA and did not make as many gains. They lost both starting corners, Wilfork, and others + their QB is out for the first 4 games of the season (we think). I also think they will have super bowl and deflate gate hangovers that will drop a still solid team to around the 9 or 10 win mark. Is that enough to win that crappy division? It's the question for AFC East followers. The Pats have fed off the mediocrity of their division FOR YEARS, just like the Colts have... but, I see the Bills taking about a two game leap forward.

The Bills were 9 and 7 last year with the majority of their losses being decided by a TD or less. Their D was ranked #4 in points allowed and yards allowed and I doubt they slip on that side of the ball under Rex in his first year (it usually takes a few years to get sick of him...it's kinda the Harbaugh effect). The question mark at QB is a big question for sure, but with their improving line, I think Matt Cassel, Shady McCoy, Sammy Watkins and co. can improve on their 18th place finish on offense last year. Harvin is a giant question mark too. If all he did was return kicks and punts and keep his yap shut, that could help.
He could help on offense too, or he could be a stubborn cancer that tears at the fabric of the team and my prognostications.

So.... I predict that both QBs will be improved over last year and I actually think that Matt Cassel will win the starting job over Emanuel. Whoever wins, it will be enough to best the cheatingest franchise in the NFL. MY .02.

RiverDog.... very funny opening - tip' o the tam for the OJ reference.

I'm curious what has you intrigued about the Raiders??

PS - thank you for spelling Stealers correctly. Their omission in my list shows my weakness. It's early, and I'm just trying to start a discussion.

[HumanCockroach]

My prediction is simple. Boys miss playoffs. No D, injury prone RB's, equals Romo or bust again, 8-8 or9-7 again.

[RiverDog]

My prediction is simple. Boys miss playoffs. No D, injury prone RB's, equals Romo or bust again, 8-8 or9-7 again.

I agree, but if not the Cowpukes, then who? The Eagles with Sam Bradford? Tim Tebow?

[HumanCockroach]

I kind of think there will be a churn, and the Giants will win the division over there. But at this point I am not entirely sure. Honestly, my feeling is all four teams have poor defenses, so IMHO it is going to be a lot of shoot outs, and the G men seem to have the best receivers as a group, I suppose the Eagles could pull it off as they have the best RBS, but both are again injury prone much like the boys, and I don't see the offensive philosophy allowing for a slowed game that keeps the defense off the field.

[RiverDog]

I kind of think there will be a churn, and the Giants will win the division over there. But at this point I am not entirely sure. Honestly, my feeling is all four teams have poor defenses, so IMHO it is going to be a lot of shoot outs, and the G men seem to have the best receivers as a group, I suppose the Eagles could pull it off as they have the best RBS, but both are again injury prone much like the boys, and I don't see the offensive philosophy allowing for a slowed game that keeps the defense off the field.

IMO the NFC East is the hardest division to figure out. I do think that the Cowboys slide back a bit, but I have a hard time visualizing who will step up and fill the void. I have a similar dilemma with the NFC South.

[NorthHawk]

I see the Cowboys being even better this year.
Their OL should improve with adding Collins and the second year for last years 1st round pick Martin having a full year of experience. With that, I don't see their run game suffering too much and maybe being even better albeit with the carries spread amongst their RBs.
On Defense, they should be better in the last half of the year with woman beater Hardy adding big pressure.
If Gregory is half as good as he was touted prior to the draft, their Defense will be tough as well.

In the mean time, our OL has lost 40% of its starters from last year, so it wouldn't be much of a surprise if we had some big problems at least early. The Packers should be challenging us for HFA and a loss to them can be the difference between HFA and not. Losses against both the Packers and Cowboys would probably end our hopes of HFA.

Lots of things can happen, so these are just guesses on my part but our key on Offense as usual is our OL, and I don't have much hope for improvement there this year.
The one factor that could really help is the addition of Jimmy Graham. Let's hope he stays healthy and takes a lot of pressure off of the blockers.

[Hawk Sista]

I mentioned in the other thread that the loss of Murray will impact the Cowboys. While they have that great O-line, I just cannot get too excited about Darren McFadden - though it is not far-fetched to assume he could have a breakout year. He's talented and has been anchored down by a mediocre team. I actually wish him well. I just do not think the Cowboys running game will be near what it was last year... and if it isn't, that will obviously put more pressure on Tony and the defense. IMHO, a lot of defensive mediocrity was camouflaged by that running game of theirs (ball control/TOP etc...). Without a decent ground game, the symbiosis will be thrown and I think they will take a few steps back.

BUT, who else in the NFC East is ready and able to take a few steps forward? If Bradford can stay healthy (which I doubt he can, but let's just say he can), I think Philly offers the best chance followed closely by the gnats (maybe even a tie) and a distant 4th in Washington. RGIII just does not look like the same dude - I think he is fragile and scared (rightfully so as he dislocated his ankle with absolutely zero contact). Furthermore, his teammates don't like him and neither do I (still think DandeRuss should have won ROY that year.) Bradford scared me his rookie year as I really thought he was the future of the Rams and he showed significant upside. The last year he went down, he was 6 or 7 games in to the season and while the team was not on a big winning streak, it seemed like he had turned a corner. His quarterback rating was in the low 90's which isn't half bad. I just think, kinda like RGIII, that he isn't glued together all that well. He's tall and lanky and his knees pop too easily. I do, however, cut against conventional wisdom on the subject and maintain that he could be a top 10 QB if he were healthy. Rounding out the division, I just ain't feelin' the Giants either. I have not paid much attention to them in the off-season, but they look like a 500 team waiting to happen from over here.

I see the division's win totals like this:
Dallas 11
Philly 10
Giants 8
Washington 5

We shall see.

#gohawks

[c_hawkbob]

I wish I could jump in on this one Sis, but I've been in my spring outage undermanned and just don't have the time to reasearch anything ... I'm kinda relegated to commenting on things about which I already know a thing or two for a while ...

[Hawk Sista]

HA!!! You think I researched anything?? I am guessing out of my ass. You can do it.

Hope things slow down for you, Bob.

[RiverDog]

RiverDog.... very funny opening - tip' o the tam for the OJ reference.

I'm curious what has you intrigued about the Raiders??

PS - thank you for spelling Stealers correctly. Their omission in my list shows my weakness. It's early, and I'm just tryinragg to start a discussion.

Sorry I overlooked your question/comments. What intrigued me about the Raiders? Nothing more than how you described your own predictions: I pulled it out of my azz. But seriously, I think they have a winner in Derrick Carr, and they went out and got him a big weapon in Amari Cooper. The Crabtree addition should help him, too. The AFC in general seems a little weak, creating a vacuum through which a rags-to-riches team can emerge.

[NorthHawk]

I think of them as a dark horse, but it's more because I think Coach Norton will do pretty well as a DC and get some of their younger players to focus - unlike last year when they were celebrating behind the LoS after a sack and the ball was about to be snapped. They have some talent, but need to get it all going in the same direction.

[Hawk Sista]

Sorry I overlooked your question/comments. What intrigued me about the Raiders? Nothing more than how you described your own predictions: I pulled it out of my azz. But seriously, I think they have a winner in Derrick Carr, and they went out and got him a big weapon in Amari Cooper. The Crabtree addition should help him, too. The AFC in general seems a little weak, creating a vacuum through which a rags-to-riches team can emerge. RiverDog

Glad to see Derek getting some love. My Bulldogs SURE missed him last year. I thought they shoulda done more to help on D than with a skill player, but I do agree, Amari should help. If Crabtree is not too much of a head-case, which rumor has it he is, he could help too.