Storyline: Some people may have an hour of church on Sunday, but I get an entire day of football games to worship. So here are my selections for NFL 2016. Let’s see how they look in January.
Finally, real NFL 2016 games are set to kickoff this week.
No more awful preseason games. No more Deflategate to argue about. No more Fantasy drafts to prepare for.
Real NFL football starts tonight with a rematch of last year’s Super Bowl. I can’t wait!
Courtesy: mudpreacher.org
The NFL may have a myriad of issues and it may overhype everything, but the games are still an addiction I can’t quit. Some people may have an hour of church on Sunday, but I get an entire day of football games to worship. The Almighty has nothing on The League.
For 30+ years I’ve approached each NFL season with thoughts about how the season may play out. I study the divisions and look at each team’s offseason. I analyze final rosters. Then I try to give the professional prognosticators a run for their money.
I know it’s hard to be an expert when the sport is as unpredictable as football, but here’s my attempt at channeling my inner NFL Nostradamus.
NFC
I see the Green Bay Packers winning the division and taking the #1-seed in the conference. After reviewing the Packers’ schedule it’s hard to see them losing any more than four games. Eddy Lacy looks to be on a mission to redeem himself from a poor 2015. Plus a healthy Jordy Nelson should bring Aaron Rodgers back to MVP form. I don’t believe GB is the best team in the conference, but I think they will win the division easily — now that Teddy Bridgewater is out for Minnesota. The GB organization is solid and the team has no major weakness, if the team remains healthy.
Courtesy: classicalite.com
I don’t think the Carolina Panthers will go 15-1 again, but this team isn’t going to suffer a hangover from losing the Super Bowl last year. They should settle in as the #2-seed with 11-13 wins. The defense is the best in the conference and they still have the reigning MVP in Cam Newton. Kelvin Benjamin will return from injury to give Cam a legit weapon on the outside. This team is still young and I think last year’s Super defeat will only help them moving forward. As long as they move on from ‘The Dap’ (it was fine at first, but it’s now so overdone) and don’t discover something to replace it, the Panthers should contend once again.
I believe the Seattle Seahawks will regain the NFC West crown. Marshawn Lynch may be gone, but I think you’re going to see the best of Russell Wilson moving forward. The passing offense at the end of last year was almost unstoppable and that should continue in 2016. I see the Seahawks moving forward like the Steelers did with Ben Roethlisberger–a defensive squad once led by a game manager at QB morphing into a team that relies mostly on the QB to carry them. Plus, it’s not like the Seattle defense has gone anywhere; it’s still quite legit. It may not have the depth it once did, but it’s still one of the league’s best.
In the overhyped NFC East, I don’t see any team on the level of those top three, but someone has to win it. I’m going with the Washington Redskins because the offense should continue to score points. Kirk Cousins and that multi-faceted receiving group is a threat. Their defense is good enough, which is why I went with the ‘Skins over the New York Giants.
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Philadelphia and Dallas are both going with rookie QBs, which is never a good playoff bet, and that’s why I’m picking Arizona Cardinals and Atlanta Falcons as my Wild Card teams. Arizona is seen by some as a Super Bowl contender and I do like their team and HC Bruce Arians. I’m just not sold on QB Carson Palmer winning multiple playoff games. At the end of the day I always see Palmer tossing a crucial INT when it matters most. I went with the Falcons over Minnesota mainly because of the Bridgewater injury.
Playoffs: Even though I have Green Bay as the #1-seed I think Carolina will stroll into Lambeau Field and knock the cheese out of the Pack in the NFC Championship game. I’m a bit more confident in the defense slowing down Rodgers then in the Pack stopping Cam. The Mike McCarthy era Packers have lost some true heartbreakers in the playoffs, so why not one more? Carolina ruled the NFC in 2015 and I predict a repeat of that in 2016.
AFC
Since New England won the Super Bowl in 2001 (thanks to Walt Coleman and The Tuck Rule) the AFC has been dominated by three QBs: Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Ben Roethlisberger. For over a decade only Rich Gannon (2002) and Joe Flacco (2012) have kept one of those three QBs from representing the AFC in the Super Bowl. Peyton retired after Denver’s championship run last year, so only Tom and Ben remain. Want to guess who the favorites are in the AFC?
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I predict the Pittsburgh Steelers will grab the top spot in the AFC with what could be the best offense in football. Antonio Brown is arguably the best receiver in the league and Le’Veon Bell might be the best running back. We know Big Ben is a top-five QB and the offensive line is solid. If this squad can just stay healthy it should dominate opposing defenses. The defense is pretty mediocre, but if the O can rack up big play after big play an average defense should be enough.
The New England Patriots just won’t go away–not with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady still in charge. They might suffer a slight drop off with Brady suspended for the first four games, but I still see at least 11 wins on the horizon. The Patriot’s defense should still be stingy (as always) under Belichick. Rob Gronkowski is a force of nature at TE. Maybe Brady starts slipping at age 39, like his rival Manning did, but I’ll still have to see it to believe it.
Courtesy: withthefirstpick.com
The AFC West in 2016 will be ‘Back in Black,’ The Oakland Raiders. Sorry, Denver, but legendary defenses rarely repeat their all-time Super Bowl runs. The Raiders are young, talented, hungry and will dethrone the Broncos in the division. Derek Carr and Amari Cooper should take it up a notch in their third and second years, respectively, and those two will be operating behind one the league’s best O lines. Throw in an improved defense led by Khalil Mack–the only two-position All-Pro in league history–and these Raiders look ready to climb out of their decade-long abyss. I may be a year early here, but the Raiders are trending upward.
The Houston Texans had horrible QB play in 2015, but still won the AFC South. I’m not a huge believer in Brock Osweiler, but he should at least offer stability to the position. Besides, this team will win with defense led by J.J. Watt and the emergence (finally!) of Jadeveon Clowney. This pair will live up its promise in 2016. I also love the pickup of Lamar Miller, a player that was always underused in Miami. HC Bill O’Brian won’t make the same mistake.
I see the Cincinnati Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars as the AFC Wild Card teams. I like the Bengals because they still have a very talented roster. HC Marvin Lewis seems destined to forever make the playoffs, but not actually win a playoff game. (He ‘s the new Jim Mora Sr.) I picked the Jags because they’re littered with young talent and just may not realize they shouldn’t be there yet. Someone unusual always makes it, so why not the Jags? I don’t think anybody will be able to stop Pittsburgh’s multiple threats on offense, though. They should be able to outscore any team in the field.
Super Bowl
Courtesy: Getty Images
I see a Carolina-Pittsburgh match-up in Super Bowl LI in Houston.
I’ll take Carolina to redeem themselves from last year and topple the mighty Steelers. They’re a more well-rounded team and Cam won’t be up against a legendary defense this time.
Those are my selections. Let’s see how they look in January.
