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Every year, fans and analysts make bold predictions about how well teams will perform. The great thing about the NFL is the sure fire predictions usually don’t pan out. Of course, the Patriots, Steelers, and Giants are easy picks to go to the playoffs. But who would’ve guessed the Arizona Cardinals would be in a Super Bowl? It’s occurrences like that that say to me, my team has a shot! That said, I tried to tone down my fanaticism a bit and make realistic predictions based off what I saw in preseason and strength of schedule. I went down the schedule of all 32 teams and predicted the winner and loser. However some games were too close to call, so in a few instances, say Cardinals vs. the Seahawks, when I went down Arizona’s schedule I may have picked them to win, but when I got to Seattle’s schedule, I reconsidered it and said they could win too. Therefore, my predictions may not equal .500, but hey, there’s nothing wrong with having some wiggle room! I hope you enjoy, and I’m curious to see what others think!

Without further ado...

NFL 2009 Predictions

AFC East should be a fun division to watch. Division games will be very exciting to watch with Tom Brady back, local hero Mark Sanchez, T.O., and the Wildcat Offense

Buffalo Bills: 6 – 10. Tough break with the schedule. This is a bit generous because I personally don’t think the Falcons and Texans will be as golden as many expect. I think they’ll take only one division game vs. the Dolphins.

Miami Dolphins: 8-8. Let’s face it, a healthy Tom Brady would’ve knocked the Dolphins out of the division crown last year. The Wildcat matures, but is not enough to win the games that matter down the stretch.

New England Patriots: 12-4. With a healthy Tom Brady, this team is tough team to beat. They’ll have trouble with Indy, Baltimore, Carolina, and Jacksonville

New York Jets: 10-6. I have a lot of faith in Mark Sanchez. He’ll win week 1, and learn 3 harsh lessons the following weeks. The Jets have a top notch O-Line, three excellent RBs and the second coming of Todd Heap in Dustin Keller. One thing everyone forgets: Gang Green will have one of the league’s top defenses this year.

AFC North will be a runaway division with the Ravens and Steelers stealing the show. The Fierce Steelers/Ravens rivalry will be the one of the more entertaining storylines this year.

Baltimore Ravens: 12-4. Punishing D, arguably the best RB core in the NFL, solid QB plus a favorable schedule equals success this year.

Cincinnati Bengals: 6-10. Chad Ochocinco thinks they are going 12-4 this year, I beg to differ. I think most of the games will be close and they’ll put up decent numbers, but not enough for the W.

Cleveland Browns: 3-13. Mangini is going to learn once and for all that Belichick tactics only work when teams are afraid of you. His team will not be prepared for most games because of silly gimmicks, conservative play calling, and a not-so-talented core group of players.

Pittsburg Steelers: 14-2. They will be the best team in the NFL this year. Considering their caliber, they have an easy schedule with no threats save one loss to Baltimore and one loss to San Diego in a close matchup decided by a FG.

AFC South will easily be second most competitive this year. The Texans will start slow and build momentum as the season progresses. The other three will be in for the battle of a lifetime

Houston Texans: 8-8. For a third year in a row, their chance of winning is 50/50. They’ll lose the first three, win the next 5, and lose a bunch to their division and finish strong.

Indianapolis Colts: 10-6. Indy will lose one win a few, lose one, win a few. They’re a solid team who will win the games they’re supposed to win, and lose the tough ones in close matches.

Jacksonville Jaguars: 11-5. One of the toughest teams in the league this year. I have a feeling they will lose a heartbreaker or too however.

Tennessee Titans: 12-4. They emerge as the champs of the South. They are also my pick to get deep into the playoffs. The Titans should be able to steamroll their way through the season with only a handful of speed bumps.

AFC West is gonna suck. Yet another “rebuilding year” from KC, bad chemistry with the Broncos, and the most dysfunctional team in sports history with the Raiders, means San Diego has no excuse to not blow this division out of the water.

Denver Broncos: 4-12. Bad luck with the schedule. Disgruntled players and a new coach equals many a missed opportunity, lot games that should’ve been won, and lots of finger pointing.

Oakland Raiders: 4-12. Jamarcus Russell’s gunslinger arm is going to cause more interceptions than touchdowns. Bad management, political infighting, and depressed players will do the rest.

Kansas City Chiefs: 2-14. The Chiefs are a bad team with a hard schedule. There is little hope for success.

San Diego Chargers: 10-6. They’ll be strong on D, fast on O, and unfortunately, they play the 6 best teams in the NFL with the Ravens, Steelers, Giants, Eagles, Titans, and Redskins. They may be a wildcard spoiler for the Eagles however, taking them from division champs to #1 wildcard.

AFC Division Leaders
New England Patriots #2, Pittsburg Steelers #1, Tennessee Titans #3, San Diego Chargers #4

AFC Wild Cards
Baltimore Ravens #5, Jacksonville Jaguars #6

On the Bubble - if fate twists in their direction, they have a shot
New York Jets, Indianapolis Colts

Wildcard Weekend
Chargers vs. Ravens – Ravens
Titans vs. Jaguars – Titans

Divisional Playoffs
Ravens vs. Patriots – Patriots
Steelers vs. Titans – Steelers

Conference Championships
Patriots vs. Steelers

AFC Super Bowl Representative
Steelers


NFC East is by far the toughest division. No team here is a slouch. I think they’re tougher than AFC South mainly because Dallas is a better team than Houston.

Dallas Cowboys: 7-9. Dallas will have their first losing season in quite some time, suck in December again, and Wade Phillips will be blacklisted from the NFL coach directory at the end of the year. One of the most talented teams with a crappy coach means America’s team will not win, but it seems fans have come to terms with it. But if the pieces come together, they could make a wildcard spot.

New York Giants: 13-3. It is my humble opinion that Plaxico cost the G-Men the Super Bowl. With the first or second best defense in the league, great RBs, Consistent QB, the only thing that can beat the Giants is the Giants. And maybe the Eagles…

Philadelphia Eagles: 14-2. It pains me to say it because I’m a Jets and Giants fan, but the Eagles have a ton of Super Bowl potential. They have a schedule that, if they play 100%, could go 16-0. Still, Vick is VERY rusty and New York and Carolina may give them some troubles. They’ll split a division game with the Giants, and there may be an upset against San Diego.

Washington Redskins: 10-6. I like Jason Campbell and my man, the former Jet, Santana Moss. I also like their D. They will win a fair share of games this year, but probably not enough for the wildcard.

NFC North is unquestionably the drama division. Will Favre stay or will he go? Can Aaron Rodgers continue he Packer’s legacy? Is Jay Cuttler a crybaby home wrecker? Will the Lions actually win a game with an untested QB? Find out the answer to this and more on the next episode of NFL Survivor!

Chicago Bears: 8-8. Good D. Good WRs. Questionable QB performance. The Bears QB curse will continue when Cutler is facing full strength defenses because he has an awful attitude.

Detroit Lions: 5-11. Matthew Stafford is in for a rude awakening. The Lions will lose every game going into their bye week. They will keep him in though, and Stafford will win 5 of the next 10.

Green Bay Packers: 11-5. Aaron Rodgers is going to validate the front office’s decision to let Favre go this year. They’ll win the first four, with the last game of that series against the Vikings in Monday Night Football. Never will a team be so motivated to win.

Minnesota Vikings: 9-7. If the coach is smart, he’ll let Peterson run his way into the playoffs, if they get that far. Favre will crap out at the end of the year, but Peterson provides Favre an easy exit from poor performace.

NFC South should be an interesting division. A lot of people think the Falcons will have a repeat performance. I think they’ll do well, but they won’t make the playoffs. The Saints and Panthers steal the show.

Atlanta Falcons: 7-9. I think they lose the first three of the season. An early bye week means stamina will wear down the stretch. Could go as high as 9-7 if the winds blow their way, but I doubt it.

Carolina Panthers: 11-5. These guys will be fun to watch. With a lot of speed, they will be flying all over the field. I think the close games break their way this season.

New Orleans Saints: 10-6. Great team with one of the best QBs in the NFL. Not crazy about their secondary, and Reggie Bush will help, but not make the difference when it counts. Wildcard contender.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 2-14. I’m being generous, as it’s (now) near impossible to go 0-16. They have a chance against the Bills and perhaps may take the last game against the Falcons, but again I’m being generous. I’m a Byron Leftwich fan, mostly because he’s the unluckiest player in the NFL, but I have my doubts they’ll go anywhere with his injury prone body.

NFC West can you say snore? As much as I love Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald, they are not a playoff caliber team. They simply rose to the occasion last year when their HORRIBLE division tanked. There will be a battle for mediocrity as Seattle and Arizona will tie the division, tie the division wins (4-2), and come down to a point spread to decide the winner.

Arizona Cardinals: 8-8. They will have one less win than last year. They have a lot of fight, but their defense is going to lose the critical matchups this year. They’ll go 4-2 in their division though and make the playoffs again only because the rest of the division is lackluster.

Seattle Seahawks: 8-8. I have never been impressed with this team, even when they went to the Super Bowl. They’ll win most of the games they should win and lose all the games they should lose.

San Francisco 49ners: 7-9. Mike Singletary is going to be the only excitement in this division. I bet in anger over a missed field goal he’ll strip to his boxers and explain how that’s the way the season will look if they play like this, hairy and bad. Some kind of crazy shenanigans is in store.

St. Louis Rams: 3-13. I think that this team is just about as bad as the Bucs. However, with tad bit more talent, I’m a bit more confident about this prediction.

NFC Division Leaders
Philadelphia Eagles #1, Green Bay Packers #3, Carolina Panthers #2, Arizona Cardinals #4

NFC Wild Card: – The Giants will cruise into the wild card spot, and the Saints get in only because the Redskins play in a harder division
New York Giants #5, New Orleans Saints #6

On the Bubble: If the winds shift in their direction, they could make the #6 spot, but it’ll have to be a pretty strong wind.
Washington Redskins, Minnesota Vikings

Wild Card Weekend
Cardinals vs. Giants – Giants
Packers vs. Saints – Packers

Divisional Playoffs
Giants vs. Panthers – Giants (in a nail biter)
Eagles vs. Packers – Eagles

Conference Championship
Eagles vs. Giants – Giants (Giants will lose to them twice in regular season, and comeback to win the game that counts in the most exciting game of the year)

NFC Super Bowl Representative
Giants

2010 Super Bowl
Giants vs. Steelers – Giants

And what a game will that be! The 2008 champs vs. the 2009 champs will battle in what will be an instant classic. Giants win 34-31.

Honors
MVP – Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles
Offensive Player of the Year – Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
Defensive Player of the Year – Justin Tuck, New York Giants
Rookie of the Year – Mark Sanchez - New York Jets
Comeback Player of the Year – Tom Brady - New England Patriots
Coach of the Year – Andy Reid – Philadelphia Eagles

Follies
Terrell Owens will not be a Bill next year because his high output will not match the team’s record. Trent Edwards will want him gone too.

Chad Ochocinco will actually have good numbers this year. Carson Palmer and Chad Ochocinco will get along.

Wade Phillips will be blacklisted from the NFL Coach’s directory, and Tony Romo’s stock will plummet.

Mangini will go back to being a coordinator at the end of the season, but no team will want him.

Mark Sanchez won’t let being a local hero go to his head.

Brett Favre will get injured in Week 6 that will cause his game play to rapidly deteriorate. Tavaris Jackson will step in as QB in Week 13. Brett Favre, having been dissed by the Packers, hated in the media capital of the world, and dissed by the Vikings will finally retire for good with his reputation in shreds.

Mike Vick is gonna suck when he returns in Week 6. He will be a non-factor and wind up seeing very little playing time. Andy Reid will test the waters and immediately reverse course to preserve the undefeated streak

McNabb will have a tremendous year that will shut up all the reporters, even the brutal Philadelphia media. He’ll make my alma mater Syracuse proud!

I had the 49ners as 7-9. However, if Crabtree finally signs in a reasonable amount of time, Shaun Hill will have a field day with him and Isaac Bruce, while Frank Gore will have a 1000 yard+ season. If this happens, they’ll go 9-7 and beat out the Cardinals. The Giants will not repeat the 2003 playoff upset.
And last, though I had the Cowboys at 7-9, they could very well turn it around if they don’t suck in December. They are my pick, for if there was a surprise entrant in the playoffs, they would be it. Still, they’ll lose in the Wild Card Weekend.