Predicting the 2012 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. That’s pretty much the case here.

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 throw my hat into the ring. 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.  Here goes …

*Division winners

~Wildcard teams

AFC North – Baltimore*, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati

The Ravens finally ride their offense to the post-season as Flacco blossoms.

AFC South – Houston,* Tennessee, Jacksonville, Indianapolis

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

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

New England reloads on D finally. Buffalo takes a step forward.

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

The Chiefs ACL crew returns with a vengeance. Peyton leads Broncos to a wildcard.

AFC playoff teams – Baltimore, Buffalo, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, New England

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

Packers repeat at division champs, but the Bears are much improved.

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

The Falcons finally put it all together. The Saints are distracted. Carolina continues to climb.

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

Can the Eagles play finally equal its talent? It all hinges on Vick’s health.

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

Harbaugh and gang fall back to the pack slightly, but still manhandle a weak division.

NFC playoff teams – ­Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Green Bay, Philadelphia, San Francisco

Super Bowl prediction: Baltimore v Chicago

The Ravens offense and defense put it all together in 2012, thanks to the arm of Flacco and Ray Rice’s all-around play. The D isn’t bad, either. Ray Lewis goes out on top.

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

The NFL's Top 10 QBs for 2012

MTSS is continuing with the latest installment in a series of “Top 10” blogs, today highlighting the best quarterbacks for the upcoming season. As a reminder, these players are being ranked based on what each one is expected to contribute this season versus what they have done in the past. Here goes.

1. Aaron Rodgers – Mobile. Accurate. Steady. The coolest since Montana.
2. Drew Brees – Continues to prove the doubters wrong. Single-season passing king.
3. Tom Brady – Proving to be the best draft pick in Patriots history.
4. Eli Manning – He may not look the part, but he just wins when it counts.
5. Ben Roethlisberger – Expect Big Ben’s production to increase with Haley’s pass-happy offense.
6. Matthew Stafford – Finally played a full season and lived up to expectations. More to come.
7. Tony Romo – The most over-analyzed player in the league. He’s solid. Must prove he’s clutch.
8. Philip Rivers – A down year in 2011, but expect him to bounce back with new weapons in tow.
9. Michael Vick – If the dude could only stay healthy … sick numbers when he’s on the field.
10. Peyton Manning – Hall of Fame worthy, but can he stay healthy? Hold your breath, Bronco fans.

Best of the Rest – (listed alphabetically) Jay Cutler, Joe Flacco, Cam Newton, Matt Ryan, Matt Schaub. These five quarterbacks are ascending in the QB ranks, but just haven’t done it well enough or long enough to crack the top tier.

So who am I missing? Where do I have the order all messed up? Sound off; give me your list.

Thanks for reading.

Steve

The NFL’s Top 10 RBs for 2012

As the first installment in a series of blogs I’ll be doing over the next two weeks leading up to NFL Kickoff Weekend … here are my thoughts on the best running backs in the NFL, right now. Not what they’ve done in the past, but rather what we can expect from them this season.

1. Arian Foster – Two-time defending rushing champion. Hard to argue with that.
2. Ray Rice – The bowling ball from Rutgers. Who wants to tackle that thing.
3. LeSean McCoy – Has been called the nearest thing we’ve seen to Barry Sanders.
4. Chris Johnson – CJ2K had a down year last year, but looks electric in the pre-season.
5. Maurice Jones-Drew – Now the man in Jax, he’s holding out. That hurts his ranking.
6. Adrian Peterson – Would be No. 1 except for that December knee injury.
7. Matt Forte – Mr. Do It All with no fanfare. Forte is solid in all phases.
8. Jamaal Charles – He’s a virtual carbon copy of Johnson, but with less baggage.
9. Steven Jackson – Rams all-time leading rusher. Five straight 1,000-yard seasons.
10. Michael Turner – He’s carried the ball a ton. May be set for a down year.

Best of the Rest – (listed alphabetically) Ahmad Bradshaw, Frank Gore, Fred Jackson, Ryan Mathews, Darren McFadden. These guys are all great backs, but each of them have yet to put in all together on a consistent basis either due to injury, opportunity or production.

Who am I missing? And how would you list them?

Thanks for reading.

Steve