Yay, it's NFL time! There's a whole bunch of non-football stuff going on that I should probably be talking about, but dammit, I love the game, so I'm going to talk about that.
I'm going to start with my team picks, and I'm going all out on this. I've printed off the entire NFL schedule, and I've gone through it picking every single game this season to compile my predicted records for each team. I've never done this before, so let's see what happens! I'll start by breaking down each division and explaining my thoughts on each team and what they're going to struggle with. Bring it on!
Fun note, I wrote down my thoughts on each division, then went through the season schedule. You may notice some discrepancies between my opinion and the win/loss total.
Except the end. That's been my champ for a while.
AFC East
Quite possibly the worst division in football - the AFC South is also in the running - New England is going to run away with this division *again* because everybody else sucks.
NE - 9-7
BUFF - 7-9
NYJ - 4-12
MIA - 2-14
AFC North
Hopefully this winds up being the most interesting division in football this year, as I really hope the hype around Cleveland getting better is real. I'm not expecting the Browns to make the playoffs, but I am expecting them to at least be competitive. The Bengals are in free fall, Baltimore may possibly be in rebuild mode, and Pittsburgh could be without Le'veon Bell for who knows how long.
PITT - 11-5
CLE - 11-5
CIN - 8-8
BAL - 7-9
AFC South
Another dumpster fire division! If Deshaun Watson stays healthy, Houston runs away with this division. I know Jacksonville turned a big corner last year, but they still have Bortles behind center, and that's not good. I have no faith in Tennessee, and Indy is still going to be bad, no matter what Luck does.
HOU - 12-4
TENN - 11-5
JAX - 10-6
IND - 3-13
AFC West
This division is intriguing. If the Chargers decide to not give away games in the last two minutes of games, they should run away with this. Denver is in full rebuild mode, and I think KC is going to take a step back. Oakland... oh man, I already wrote about how bad I think the Gruden hire is, and every sign is pointing it to being even WORSE then I thought! The Chargers should have a solid stranglehold on this division barring my thoughts on KC being wrong.
LAC - 10-6
OAK - 7-9
DEN - 7-9
KC - 5-11
NFC East
I really expect Philly to remain strong, stronger then every other team in the division, and they should have no major problems in division regardless of Foles or Wentz starting. I really think the Barkley pick for the Giants will pay immediate dividends, but they'll still struggle. Washington with Alex Smith is going to be a very stable franchise if not exciting. Dallas is going to be BAD this year. Garrett is NOT a good coach, and they have no good weapons other then Elliot.
PHI - 10-6
WAS - 7-9
DAL - 6-10
NYG - 6-10
NFC North
This might be the best division in football. I think Minnesota is in a good position to repeat, but Green Bay will give them competition. Detroit is going to be ok, I'm not a Stafford believer. Chicago is the great wild card. They're going to win games they shouldn't, and lose games they shouldn't. And I thought this before the Khalil Mack trade.
MINN - 13-3
GB - 11-5
CHI - 11-5
DET - 9-7
NFC South
New Orleans is going to be a monster this year. Atlanta is close - so close - but they're not on the same level as New Orleans. Carolina is going to be mediocre - I'm not a Newton believer - and Tampa is a dumpster fire.
NO - 12-4
ATL - 8-8
CAR - 6-10
TB - 1-15
NFC West
Rams. Holy crap the Rams. My poor Seahawks. San Francisco is a wild card, I'm not a Jimmy G believer yet - he did look great in games that didn't matter last year - and they have some interesting story lines. Arizona is in full rebuild, they want to get Rosen on the field ASAP. And Seattle is... I have no idea. They have a chance to survive and get a wild card, but the more I look into it, the slimmer that chance seems.
LAR - 13-3
SEA - 8-8
ARZ - 5-10
SF - 5-10
Playoff seeding!
AFC
1. Houston
2. Pittsburgh
3. LA Chargers
4. New England
5. Tennessee
6. Cleveland
NFC
1. LA Rams
2. Minnesota
3. New Orleans
4. Philadelphia
5. Green Bay
6. Chicago
Wild Card Round
Cleveland at LA Chargers - LAC
Tennessee at New England - NE
Chicago at New Orleans - NO
Green Bay at Philadelphia - PHIL
Huh, I never pick every home team to win in the wild card round. If it does play out this way, I would be shocked.
Divisional Round
LA Chargers at Pittsburgh - LAC
New England at Houston - HOU
Philadelphia at LA Rams - LAR
New Orleans at Minnesota (ha!) - NO
Championship Round
LA Chargers at Houston - LAC
New Orleans at LA Rams - NO
Super Bowl!
LA Chargers at New Orleans - NO
Geaux Saints!
So this was an interesting practice.
