Predicting the 2016 NFL Playoff Field

Predicting the 2016 NFL Playoff Field

Well, friends ... it's been a while since you've seen anything new on the 'ole MTSS blog, say like 18 months. We are back just like football, and it is time to get after some playoff predictions.

It’s that time of the year when all the so-called national experts and football pundits take their shot at predicting the field of NFL playoff teams for the upcoming season. It’s a pretty mixed bag, with most of the ”predictions sure to go wrong” as some have labeled it. That’s pretty much the case here, too.

So with all the know-it-alls giving it a shot here in the opening days of the pre-season, I thought I’d throw my hat into the ring. I spend a lot of brainpower thinking about it anyway, so I just as well share it  and make a jerk out of myself like everybody else.

*Division winners

~Wildcard teams

AFC North – Pittsburgh*, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Cleveland

            The Steelers finally ride their offense to the post-season despite the Bell suspension.

AFC South – Houston,* Indianapolis~, Jacksonville, Tennessee

Texans are too talented to not take advantage of a weak division; Colts rebound.

AFC East – New England*, Buffalo, NY Jets, Miami

Despite injuries and suspensions, the Pats ride to another division title.

AFC West – Kansas City*, Oakland~, Denver, San Diego

The Chiefs ACL crew returns with a vengeance; Raiders resurgence gets the playoff berth.

AFC playoff teams – Steelers, Texans, Colts, Patriots, Chiefs, Raiders

NFC North – Green Bay*, Minnesota~, Chicago, Detroit

Packers rebound from a down year to retake the division;  Vikes squeak into playoffs.

NFC South – Carolina*, New Orleans, Atlanta, Tampa Bay

The Panthers take a step back but still rule the weak NFC South easily.

NFC East – Dallas*, Washington, NY Giants, Philadelphia

A healthy Romo/Dez combo plus a dynamic rookie at RB equals big Ws in Dallas.

NFC West – Arizona*, Seattle~, San Francisco, St. Louis

Arians leads the Cards to a division title and Seattle is right there, too.

NFC playoff teams – ­Packers, Vikings, Panthers, Cowboys, Cardinals, Seahawks

 

Super Bowl prediction: Kansas City v Seattle

The Chiefs ride their ball-hawking defense and opportunistic offense into the playoffs and run the table in the AFC. Seattle plays its typical ground and pound, smashmouth style, pounding the NFC to powder. These mirror image teams face off for the Lombardi with the hardware returning to KC after a 47-year absence and giving Head Coach Andy Reid his first ring.

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come on … give it a shot. Who do you think will be the surprise and potential flop teams this season?

Until next time, thanks for reading.

Steve

NFL Playoff Predictions: Divisional Round

Well, I was 4-0 for last weekend's Wildcard Round (sorry, Kenny Merrill and other 'Skins fans). As far as the picks for the upcoming Divisional Round, I'm not as confident. Other than the Seattle-Washington game, last week's games appeared to be men v boys. Starting with the divisional round, it gets much tougher.

 

Here are my picks.

 

RAVENS @ BRONCOS

Baltimore has been struggling the past month or so and the energy generated by Ray Lewis' retirement announcement won't be a factor this week as the game is in Denver. Peyton struggles in sub-40 degree temps, but it won't be enough. Broncos win.
 

TEXANS @ PATRIOTS

Houston just hasn't looked like the same team since getting their butts handed to them by New England at a game late in the season. I don't see anything changing that trend (particularly how they barely beat the Ben-Gals at home last week). Patriots win it big.

 

 

PACKERS @ NINERS

This may be the game of the weekend. This is a match-up between two of the NFC's best and is a rematch of the Week 1 game in San Francisco when the Niners won handily. Much has changed since then, and I see the outcome changing, too. Packers win a close one on the road.

SEAHAWKS @ FALCONS

Atlanta is the NFC's No. 1 seed, but it is the team that nobody seems to have any confidence in. Add that to the fact that Seattle's strengths seem to be where the Falcons have weaknesses. I'm throwing all that aside and picking the Falcons. I think Ryan and Gonzalez get it done at home.

So that sets up my Conference Championship match-ups of Patriots at Broncos and Packers at Falcons for next Sunday. Let me know what you think. Are your picks any better?

As always, thanks for reading.

Steve

NFL Power Rankings: Week 5

The NFL regular season has passed the quarter pole, and we are beginning to see which teams are for real (Packers, Patriots, Lions), which ones are still pretending (Dolphins, Vikings, Rams) and which ones we aren’t sure about just yet (Bears, Raiders, Cowboys). 

The NFL Power Rankings are published bi-weekly here on MTSS, being updated every odd-numbered week based on team results to date. Our rankings are our best (kind-of) educated guess at which team would beat the ones listed below it in the rankings. You get the idea. The biggest movers were Tennessee (+12) and Philadelphia (-14). If you have been paying attention, those should make sense.

(Week 3 rankings are in parenthesis.)

1.  (1) Green Bay (4-0) – Aaron Rodgers is the early season MVP. Brett who?
2.  (7) Baltimore (3-1) – Dominating defense; struggling offense.
3.  (2) New England (3-1) – Tom Terrific breaking records every week.
4.  (8) Detroit (4-0) – Unbelievable back-to-back comebacks in Weeks 3-4.
5.  (3) New Orleans (3-1) – Hitting on all cylinders since the Week 1 loss to Packers.
6.  (11) Houston (3-1) – The new 3-4 defense is definitely improved.
7.  (16) Buffalo (3-1) – A great start, then the trap game against the Bungles.
8.  (9) San Diego (3-1) – Chargers haven’t beaten anybody good as of yet.
9.  (15) New York Giants (3-1) – The G-Men not expected to be 3-1 at this point.
10. (22) Tennessee (3-1) – One of the few teams playing solid D this year.
11. (20) Washington (3-1) – Still not sure how good they are or aren’t.
12. (21) San Francisco (3-1) – One of this season’s early season surprises.
13. (14) Tampa Bay (3-1) – Haven’t really beat anybody yet, but appear strong.
14. (4) New York Jets (2-2) – Offense is struggling mightily. Sanchize stinks.
15. (13) Chicago (2-2) – Devin Hester is great. The O line is another story. Porous.
16. (10) Pittsburgh (2-2) – Ben is hurt. The defense is getting old. Struggling.
17. (17) Oakland (2-2) – Hue says they will win the division. Maybe.
18. (5) Atlanta (2-2) – Not as good as expected. Offensive identity is unclear.
19. (12) Dallas (2-2) – Who really knows what this team is. Rough so far.
20. (6) Philadelphia (1-3) – The Dream Team is having a nightmare season.
21. (25) Cincinnati (2-2) – They lose easy ones and win tough ones.
22. (24) Cleveland (2-2) – One of the least threatening offenses in the league.
23. (27) Carolina (1-3) – Cam continues to light it up. Team is competitive now.
24. (19) Arizona (1-3) – Kolb struggling. Defense improving. Cards have hope.
25. (26) Jacksonville (1-3) – Gabbert at the controls now; needs WR help badly.
26. (31) Kansas City (1-3) – Finally in the win column. Now beat somebody with a win.
27. (23) Denver (1-3) – John Fox still figuring out what he has. Should use Tebow more.
28. (32) Seattle (1-3) – The Hawks are actually improving, but headed for division cellar.
29. (28) Indianapolis (0-4) – Reggie Wayne was right. Painter should be starting.
30. (18) St. Louis (0-4) – The Rams get worse every week. Spags may be in trouble.
31. (29) Minnesota (0-4) – Donovan is terrible. Time to see what Ponder can do.
32. (30) Miami (0-4) – Too many holes to plug in this sinking ship.

So what do you think? Sound off. Let us know where you think we’ve got it right, and for sure where you know we have it wrong. Join the conversation.

As always, thanks for reading.

Steve

NFL Power Rankings: Week 3

We have had two full weeks of NFL action since our initial regular season Power Rankings were released on Sept. 9. We certainly have learned a lot since then. So let’s take a look at the teams’ pecking order as things stand right now as we head into Week 3.

The NFL Power Rankings will be a standing MTSS feature during the season, being updated every other week based on team results to date. Our rankings are our best (kind-of) educated guess at which team would beat the ones listed below it in the rankings. You get the idea.

The biggest movers were Buffalo and Washington on the positive side and Kansas City on the negative. If you have been paying attention, those should make sense.

(Week 1 rankings are in parenthesis.)

1.  (1) Green Bay (2-0) – Undefeated champions will stay No. 1 until they lose.

2.  (2) New England (2-0) – Brady and the offense have been impressive.
3.  (6) New Orleans (1-1) – Great bounce-back game against Chicago.
4.  (4) New York Jets (2-0) – Team has looked rough but continues winning.
5.  (9) Atlanta (1-1) – Statement game pounding Philly and beating Vick.
6.  (3) Philadelphia (1-1) – One rough win, one rough loss. Now Vick is hurt.
7.  (7) Baltimore (1-1) – The Ravens finally whip the Steelers, and then fall flat.
8.  (12) Detroit (2-0) – This team looks dangerous on so many levels.
9.  (8) San Diego (1-1) – Not really sure yet what this year’s Chargers are.
10. (5) Pittsburgh (1-1) – Questions about the age of the defense surfacing.
11. (10) Houston (2-0) – Undefeated, but the Texans haven’t been tested yet.
12. (11) Dallas (1-1) – Romo’s courageous comeback saved the season.
13. (14) Chicago (1-1) – The Bears are a mystery. Which team shows up?
14. (16) Tampa Bay (1-1) – The young Bucs are struggling.
15. (17) New York Giants – Two very rough games. Probably ranked too high.
16. (25) Buffalo (2-0) – Are they for real? New England will tell us this week.
17. (20) Oakland (1-1) – Hue has the fellas fighting hard. Unusual for this team.
18. (13) St. Louis (0-2) – A pretty good winless team. How will they respond?
19. (21) Arizona (1-1) – Kolb has looked good, but the defense if getting gashed.
20. (29) Washington (2-0) – Rex has performed so far. Weak opponents have helped.
21. (28) San Francisco (1-1) – Harbaugh and Alex Smith both shaky so far.
22. (24) Tennessee (1-1) – Surprising victory over the Ravens last week.
23. (26) Denver (1-1) – Tied for AFC West lead. Enjoy it now.
24. (19) Cleveland (1-1) – Loss to Bengals at home hurts.
25. (30) Cincinnati (1-1) – Impressive start by Andy Dalton. Better than advertised.
26. (31) Jacksonville (1-1) – Garrard and McNown out; it’s now Gabbert’s show.
27. (32) Carolina (0-2) – Cam Newton looks like the real deal.
28. (18) Indianapolis (0-2) – It’s going to be a very long year in Indy.
29. (22) Minnesota (0-2) – So much for that “one last run at the playoffs.”
30. (27) Miami (0-2) – Sparano: “I have no idea …” Us, either, Tony.
31. (15) Kansas City (0-2) – Massive fall from division title in a hurry. Ugly.
32. (23) Seattle (0-2) – Not sure what the heck Pete Carroll is doing.

So what do you think? Sound off. Let us know where you think we’ve got it right, and for sure where you know we have it wrong. Join the conversation. 

Thanks for reading.

Steve

Predicting the 2011 NFL Playoff Teams

It’s that time of the year when all the so-called national experts and football pundits take their shot at predicting the field of NFL playoff teams for the upcoming season. It’s a pretty mixed bag, with most of the ”predictions sure to go wrong” as ESPN’s Mike & Mike have labeled it. Pretty funny actually.

So with all the know-it-alls giving it a shot here in the last few days of the pre-season, I thought I’d jump into the fray. I spend a lot of brainpower thinking about it anyway, so I just as well share it with the sporting world and make a jerk out of myself like everybody else.  So here goes …

*Division winner

**Wildcard team

AFC North – Pittsburgh*, Baltimore**, Cleveland, Cincinnati

Steelers continue their dominance of the Ravens. Both make the playoffs, again.

AFC South – Houston*, Indianapolis, Tennessee, Jacksonville

Texans take advantage of Peyton’s neck and finally break through.

AFC East – New England*, NY Jets**, Buffalo, Miami

The hoodie does it again; Jets continue to back up Rex’s big talk.

AFC West – San Diego*, Kansas City, Oakland, Denver

Chargers get the special teams figured out; Chiefs can’t overcome the tougher schedule.

NFC North – Green Bay*, Detroit**, Chicago, Minnesota

Packers win the division this year while the Lions are the NFC surprise.

NFC South – New Orleans*, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Carolina

Saints O and D are tough all season while the rest of the division takes a step back.

NFC East – Philadelphia*, Dallas**, NY Giants, Washington

Eagles aren’t as dreamy as everyone expects and Romo leads the ‘Boys back to the playoffs.

NFC West – St. Louis*, Arizona, Seattle, San Francisco

Rams are the class of this weak division; Kolb and Co. are better but not quite there yet.

Super Bowl prediction: Packers v Chargers.

Titletown USA celebrates again because (as a Chiefs fan) I just can’t make myself predict the Chargers winning the championship. I don't see it happening with Norv Turner as coach.

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come on … give it a shot. Who do you think will be the surprise and potential flop teams this season?

Until next time, thanks for reading.

Steve