NFC 1. Bucs (12-4): One of, if not the, toughest divisions in football. However Bucs have shown that when they excute they have a solution for Vick and Steve Smith. These four games will be the most critical in taking the South. 2. Giants (11-5): This division is tough. They can all beat themselves up silly. No team seems to have the upper hand on anyone else anymore. Eli will really need to step up, and Barber will need to run, but this team can do it. 3. Seahawks (11-5): I'm a believer, and I believe Madden 07 will effect Alexander. But even with that, this division is still theres. They can run over the Rams and the Cardinals just aren't there yet either. 9ers.... eh.... 4. Bears (11-5): I believe Benson will show up this year, but even with out my prediction this teams defense will dominate it's division. Favre and Johnson won't be able to get things done with the targets they have. The lions... well they are the lions for atleast one more year. The wild cards are just too crazy to jump on. The 4 contenders are in the two toughest divisions in football. Panthers, Falcons, Redskins, and Cowboys will all be duking it out for these spots. Likely to have beaten each other up inside and outside their division this can go either way. Any combo is just as good as the next, I'm going with Cowboys and Falcons. AFC 1. Colts (14-2): Addai will fill in for James a lot sooner and better than people expect. With the best triangular pass attack (Manning, Marvin, Wayne) in the league and a solid defense this team will have no problem taking the division. 2. Patriots (13-3): Brady got a few more weapons in the draft and that's great. He will take the reins of this team and will them into 13 wins. Bills, Jets, and unsure Fins will help them there. 3. Steelers (11-5): Losses of the Bus and Randel El will be heavier felt then expected. Willie Parker and Big Ben will be asked to carry this team. With the Bengals and the Ravens (especially if they land McNair) going all out on the steelers, this team will have it tough. 4. Chiefs (11-5): Herm will have the league lead rusher once again with LJ getting 2000. He walked into his perfect team. The D, especially DBs, will be his focus on shaping up. With the Raiders and the short on weapons SD Rivers in that division, they set their sights on the Broncos. 5. Bengals (10-6): They will have the toughest time with the Ravens. Steelers don't any explaination. Palmers recovery time will factor into maybe a couple of losses, however the Johnsons will pick up the slack. The last wild card is open for grabs, imo, by the Jaguars and the Broncos. Hopefully the Broncos won't have an itching finger on Jake, even though its easy to when he starts slipping. However this team should be very competitive. The Jaguars are ofcourse everyone under rated/sleeper pick. Losing Jimmy Smith is bigger then they realize, however with health on their side they can really stay on the Colts behind.
Cowboys, Redskins, Panthers, Seahawks, Lions, Cardinals Patriots, Bengals, Browns, Steelers, Broncos, Jaguars
Love the thread, but I think we should wait until right before the preseason or right before the season. I tried to do this last year, but forgot to bump it and it fell off TGG.com cliff before the season ended. I think we should have a running "bet" (friendly of course) to see who can predict the teams the closest. Which means ranking them from 1-6 seeds in addition to just picking them. You wouldn't have to pick records or anything else? Hell, it could even be a continuation of this thread. Just wondering what everyone else thinks!
Doing something in August makes better sense. I am unwilling to put anything on my picks of above. I do like the Browns, though. I kind of like the Lions chiefly due to the new coaching staff. I kind of like the Cards to make a rare playoff appearance by default. I just don't like many NFC teams. The other teams I picked were very chalky. Except I don't have the Colts makin' the playoffs.
I don't think so. Pats D over Miamis, and Brady over Pep no contest. Dillan and their #1 pick over a still not fully proven Brown. Pep injury concerns still leave him up in their air, and nobody seems to be worried abou their secondary. I think Fins are unsure of at this point at best. Sure it make sense to do it in August, we probably will again. But the point is I'm bored now. :lol:
I think ur NFC Picks are pretty accurtate...I also like the bucs to win the NFC South..the NFC Division winners i agree with..wild card teams Eagles and Rams..in the AFC I disagree with you Miami will win the AFC East..the rest of the AFC South Jaguars Win, AFC North Steelers AFC West I like the Chargers chances to win...Wild card teams are Cinci depending on health of Palmer could be the AFC #1 seed the other wild card team Indy
It's still early but as of now I see: AFC East- New England AFC North- Pittsburgh AFC South- Indy AFC West- SD WC's- Cle, KC NFC East- Philly NFC North- Minny NFC South- Atlanta NFC West- Seattle WC's- Dallas, Carolina
:lol: I remember last year. We were coming off a 10-6 year, made it to within a kikc of the AFC Title Game. So most of us had the Jets for sure penciled in as a playoff team. That's what you're reminding me of...12-4:breakdance:. Tampa did pretty much nothing to improve their team in the offseason, unless you want to count Jamie Winborn, and Toniu Fonoti, who are good backups...Resigning Hovan was good...But that's pretty much it, I do like Davin Joseph to start from week 1 though. While Carolina goes and gets Keyshawn Johnson, Maaeke Kemoeatu, Damione Lewis, drafting DeAngelo Williams, getting back Kris Jenkins who is one of the best DTs in the game. Steve Smith as we all know is a game-breaker, and Carolina has owned the Bucs the last few years, in terms of wins, close one at times...Atlanta goes and makes their pass-rush lethal adding 3-time Pro Bowler John Abraham to go with Patrick Kerney and Rod Coleman, they get back a healthy Ed Hartwell, who will bolster their LB corps, getting a veteran such as Lawyer Milloy, who despite his age, is an upgrade over Bryan Scott...Getting 1st round talent Jimmy Williams in the 2nd round, who will contribute quickly...This will be Vick's 3rd year with Mora Jr., not sure if he'll be good, but he should be a little better. New Orleans is OK. I like the Brees move, getting back Deuce Mac, who won't be great since he's coming off a torn ACL, but added Reggie Bush, who's accolades speak for themself. Horn and Stallworth make a nice combo...Their defense though is pretty average, so that will hurt... But to predict 12-4, and not mention the moves the rest of your division has made while Tampa has sone pretty much nothing... Well, it reminds me of myself last season, when I was still in my optimistic phase, which has been shaded away...But, have fun going 12-4:lol:
The Jags might be worse than people think this year. It's not going to be a terrible record, but I'm, thinking at best: 8-8. No running game, and a tough division leading Colts team. They barely won every game they won last year and I just don't see a team that can make the playoffs this year
I have a projected draft order in my 2007 Mock Draft (see below... it is in progress though) and I had this: 1. Pittsburgh 2. Indy 3. Miami 4. Denver 5. New England 6. Cincy 1. Carolina 2. Seattle 3. New York (I'm loving their offseason additions... especially Arrington) 4. Detroit (surprise team of the year with a good QB in Kitna, that receiving core, and an improved defense under Marenelli and Henderson) 5. Dallas 6. Washington (3 NFC East teams in the playoffs... that looks like a division that they will be all 10-6 at the end of the year except the Eagles)
Agreed. The loss of Smith and the failure to address OLB this offseason hurts as well. I projected them at 12 and one of the teams taking a huge step back this season.
My rough guess list (obviously still too early to tell) : AFC 1 Indianapolis - Still going to dominate the division and lead the AFC. Manning at the helm...that's enough said, but with the loss of James, they could lack a bit at RB. Luckily, they brought in Addai from LSU, so maybe he can show some signs of early talent. The defense still needs to show that it can stop the run. Freeney continues to be a force up front against the pass. 2 Pittsburgh - Roethlisberger is going to have another good year. He's finally got the hang of the NFL, IMO. He'll still have a decent WR core even though they lost Randle El. Ward is going to have to keep showing the fans that he can still carry the load as the top receiver. Pittsburgh will continue to be a tough place to play. Hopefully, they can win on the road as well as they could do last year. If Big Ben gets hurt, they are fucked. 3 New England - This is a team that is lead by the smartest HC in football. The guy knows how to coach a team and it shows. I think if the entire offense gets injured, similar to last year's incident with the secondary, that Belicheck could get them to the playoffs. We'll have to see how that plays out. Brady will have another good year, but the running game could suck yet again, but unfortunately they brought in Maroney. He may or may not get a lot of touches this year. This is a team that I think could be great or could be 7-9. I just seem to think that Bill will get this team in the playoffs yet again. 4 Denver - Every single position on this team looks threatening....well, almost. The offensive position that I have concerns with is simply put, Quarterback. Yes, that's right. Jake is still a joke in my mind. Until I see him produce on a consistant basis and not just show up big in games against bad teams like Oakland and us last year, I will believe in him. Basically, I'm telling you that he's got to stop being Jake Plummer. Maybe it's just easier to say that I just hate him. I can't deal with Plummer being good..something about it just doesn't seem right. Anyway, he'll have help with producing by having J-Walk and Lelie with Rod. Powerful offense projected out of the Broncos. Champ will shut people up and the D-Line will get after you. 5 San Diego - Rivers is going to step up and lead the offense, of course he'll get an assload of help from LT. The good defense continues to improve. Merriman is a workhorse and will probably be one of the best LBs next year. He will have his work cut out for him, playing against backs like Larry Johnson and Tatum Bell in the wild, wild west. 6 Cincinnati - Will Palmer recover from injury and be the same? Will the defense show up constistantly? Too many questions on this team. I can't picture them having the kind of success that they had last year. I just hope Chad Johnson comes up with some cool endzone celebrations, regardless of whether or not he gets a suspension. But really, Carson will have to show that he's back at his old self. I'm not high on the defense at all, and they will need to show me something brilliant for me to jump on that bandwaggon. The only guy that really stood out last year was Thurman. That's why they are a bubble team. NFC 1 Who cares? 2 I'll 3 Leave this to 4 Someone that 5 Actually 6 Thinks the NFC is important
AFC Patriots, Steelers, Bengals, Colts, Broncos, Chiefs NFC Giants, Cowboys, Bears, Panthers, Falcons, Seahawks
How can you be worried about Palmer yet not be worried about Pepper? The worry for Pepper is the main reason why he isn't there. Even before he got hurt he was stinking it up nasty. Atleast Palmer was tearing it up (no pun intended). Miami's D is a shell of the great D it use to be. I really doubt they take the East. Everyone has made their comments on the Jags, I'm not as skeptical but close. Chargers: So they got LT. They've had him for awhile now, and regardless of the highlight reel he isn't pushing that team as well as he should. He hasn't been in the top 5 of rushing yards since 2003. Not to mention they now have Rivers fresh and out of the box. And unlike Big Ben, he doesn't have a tough grinding Defense and great WRs to bail him out. And Ecko, you are totally right. We haven't made many moves, but theres a reason. We made it a priority to get back the team we had. Our biggest weakness last year was ourselves, mainly lack of experience all around. The other teams were big players in FA and all becuase they WANT to be division champs. They are trying to get to OUR level. We made the moves needed. Our D was #1 last year and the unit is the same with a little more youthful depth. Our O was what was slow, mostly poor OL and inexperience at QB. We addressed OL with Fonuti, Joseph, and Trueblood. Our scouts are great at OL, our best lineman last year was rookie Dan Beunning. I'm sure our OL will be better. All in all the improvement the Bucs need is not that much personal but performance. We upted the OL, and we just need to count on Simms.
My very early prediction (subject to change): AFC East - New England Patriots AFC South - Indianapolis Colts AFC North - Baltimore Ravens I'm assuming they aquire Steve Mcnair AFC West - Kansas City Chiefs Wild Cards: Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver Broncos NFC East - Washington Redskins NFC South - Carolina Panthers NFC North - Green Bay Packers NFC West - Seattle Seahawks Wild Cards: Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants Super Bowl XLI: Washington Redskins vs New England Patriots
AFC WEST : Broncos SOUTH : Colts NORTH : Bengals EAST : Dolphins WILD CARD: Steelers, Patriots NFC WEST : Seahawks SOUTH : Panthers NORTH : Bears EAST: Cowboys WILDCARD : Cardinals, Eagles
I'm not gunna get all in detail about it ... but my current 12 goes as follows: AFC- Patriots, Dolphins, Colts, Broncos, Bengals, Steelers NFC- Bears, Seahawks, Giants, Cowboys, Panthers, Cardinals Ok nevermind, I'll order them afterall... 1.Colts 2.Broncos 3.Steelers 4.Dolphins 5.Bengals 6.Patriots 1.Seahawks 2.Panthers 3.Giants 4.Bears 5.Cowboys 6.Cardinals
Right now I'm seeing the AFC as a fairly closed playoff picture and the NFC as much more wide-open. AFC 1. Denver 2. Indy 3. Pittsburgh 4. New England 5. Baltimore 6. Open Baltimore just has too much talent on the defensive side of the ball not to have a strong season this year. The addition of Ngata was the last piece in reassembling a dominant defense. And the Ravens usually get their defensive picks rolling early on (the players selected in the first round by them are: Peter Boulware, Duane Starks, Chris McAlister, Ed Reed and Terrell Suggs. That's a who's-who of impact first year players on defense.) I see the Dolphins, Chargers, Bengals and Jaguars all on the prowl for that 6th spot. I'd have had the Jaguars higher if Jimmy Smith hadn't retired. That's going to really hurt them on offense. NFC 1. Seattle 2. Chicago 3. Carolina 4. Open 5. Open 6. Open Seattle has the best overall talent in the NFC right now, maybe in the league as a whole. Holmgren is not a great coach, but when you let him stock a team over a period of years he will assemble a strong winner and this is a strong winner. Chicago has the best defense in football right now. They won 11 games last year and nearly beat Carolina in the playoffs with no QB and a very inconsistent main running back. I'm betting Lovie Smith figures out an option that works at QB and the Bears win 13-14 games this year. Carolina is the third strong team in the conference. After that it's a crapshoot with only New Orleans, San Francisco and Detroit out of the picture. You can make a reasonably strong case for any of the NFC East teams making the playoffs, and we might even see them take the 3 open spots by the time it's all over.
Same thing with the Jets last offseason except for Ty Law, who was supposed to be that "missing piece", and we all saw the outcome. Trying to get to "your level"...It isn't like Tampa has won 4 straight division titles man, and you only won the division by a tie-break over Carolina who should of went 12-4 since Pepper's blocked the Billy Cundiff kick for the Cowboys, but I think offsides was called when it wasn't, you make it sound like Tampa is New England, in terms of trying to get to "your level." I don't see how the Bucs raised the bar soooo much to label yourself that, it was your 1st division title since your Super Bowl year, 2002. You have a QB who has a grand total of what? 10 starts? And teams in the division are trying to get to "your level?" Your D was #1 due to Chicago benching their entire team Week 16 which Minnesota tore up the 2nd stringers, but the more important thing is Chicago gave up the least points, 202, which is all that matters. Your O wasn't THAT slow, Joey Galloway is still running as if he's 26, and Carnell showed plenty of burst and speed. But I agree, for the most part it was slow...Tampa did adress the OLine, you mention Fonoti who hasn't been good in 3 years, solid depth/goal-line lineman, since you mentioned Tampa has Dan Buenning at LG...I like Joseph, don't know much about Trueblood... In closing...The FA moves all 3 other teams made is not trying to get to "our level" for the Bucs...No way.
