The crystal ball is kind of foggy when looking at this NFL season but some things have really cleared up as of late. As key injuries fall to the wayside, and the season approaches it becomes more clear how this season should shake out. Some things to keep in mind is that the last time a team repeated as NFC Champions was Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers in 1997 and 1998. Also, on average, 5 new teams make the NFL Playoffs every year. I considered offseason improvements in my grades as well as the number of returning players and offseason activities given the lockout situation.
Two key offseason injuries were Peyton Manning (Colts) and Tony Moeaki (Chiefs).
Without further ado, my NFL predictions -
* denotes playoff teams
NFC North -
1. Green Bay Packers*
2. Detroit Lions*
3. Minnesota Vikings
4. Chicago Bears
NFC East -
1. Philadelphia Eagles*
2. Dallas Cowboys
3. New York Giants
4. Washington Redskins
NFC South -
1. New Orleans Saints*
2. Atlanta Falcons*
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
4. Carolina Panthers
NFC West -
1. St. Louis Rams*
2. Arizona Cardinals
3. Seattle Seahawks
4. San Francisco 49ers
AFC North -
1. Baltimore Ravens*
2. Pittsburgh Steelers
3. Cleveland Browns
4. Cincinnati Bengals
AFC East -
1. New England Patriots*
2. New York Jets*
3. Miami Dolphins
4. Buffalo Bills
AFC South -
1. Houston Texans*
2. Indianapolis Colts
3. Tennessee Titans
4. Jacksonville Jaguars
AFC West -
1. Oakland Raiders*
2. Kansas City Chiefs*
3. San Diego Chargers
4. Denver Broncos
NFL MVP -
1. Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers
2. Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots
3. Phillip Rivers, QB, San Diego Chargers
4. Michael Vick, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
5. Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings
Defensive Player of the Year -
1. Ndamukong Suh, DT, Detroit Lions
2. DeMarcus Ware, LB, Dallas Cowboys
3. Clay Mathews, LB, Green Bay Packers
4. Albert Haynesworth, DT, New England Patriots
5. Darelle Revis, CB, New York Jets
Comeback Player of the Year -
1. Matthew Stafford, QB, Detroit Lions
2. Albert Haynesworth, DT, New England Patriots
3. Tony Romo, QB, Dallas Cowboys
4. Cedric Griffin, CB, Minnesota Vikings
5. Sidney Rice, WR, Seattle Seahawks
Offensive Rookie of the Year -
1. Mark Ingram, RB, New Orleans Saints
2. Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons
3. Andy Dalton, QB, Cincinnati Bengals
4. Lance Kendricks, TE, St. Louis Rams
5. Torrey Smith, WR Baltimore Ravens
Defensive Rookie of the Year -
1. Von Miller, LB, Denver Broncos
2. Patrick Peterson, CB, Arizona Cardinals
3. Marcell Dareus, DE, Buffalo Bills
4. J.J. Watt, DE, Houston Texans
5. Phil Taylor, DT, Cleveland Browns
Coach of the Year -
1. Gary Kubiak, Houston Texans
2. Bill Bellichick, New England Patriots
3. Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles
4. Steve Spagnuolo, St. Louis Rams
5. Mike McCarthy, Green Bay Packers
PLAYOFFS -
Wild Card Round -
(3) Philadelphia Eagles vs. (6) Detroit Lions
(4) St. Louis Rams vs. (5) Atlanta Falcons
(3) Oakland Raiders vs. (6) Kansas City Chiefs
(4) Houston Texans vs. (5) New York Jets
Divisional Playoffs -
(1) Green Bay Packers vs. (5) Atlanta Falcons
(2) New Orleans Saints vs. (3) Philadelphia Eagles
(1) New England Patriots vs. (6) Kansas City Chiefs
(2) Baltimore Ravens vs. (5) New York Jets
NFC Championship -
(1) Green Bay Packers vs. (2) New Orleans Saints
AFC Championship -
(1) New England Patriots vs. (2) Baltimore Ravens
Super Bowl -
New Orleans Saints vs. New England Patriots
Champion -
New Orleans Saints
Super Bowl MVP: Drew Brees
