Football fans, it’s that time of year again where Sunday afternoons are filled with excitement, anticipation and NFL Football! After a long, tumultuous offseason, its time for the experts and I to make our early season predictions for this upcoming season.
Teams that will upset – These are a couple teams that I believe will underachieve, or disappoint this year.
Philadelphia Eagles: After the lockout ended, before the 2011 season, the Eagles made their historic signings and trades and they were labeled as “The Dream Team.” That season they failed to make the playoffs with an 8-8 record. In the season opener, against a mediocre Cleveland Browns team, the Eagles quarterback Michael Vick threw 4 interceptions. For the record, I am not one those people who buy-in too much on the first game of the season and even Eagles coach Andy Reid said Vick was a little “rusty.” I still think this Eagles team will make the playoffs as a wildcard in the tough NFC East, but with as much talent as this team has – they’ll underachieve this season.
New York Giants: Or the “GEEEE MEN”`, as Chris Berman ESPN analyst would say, have made this year’s list of disappointing teams. The “G Men” recorded barely two-preseason wins and then a loss to the Cowboys in week one. Might I mention, these are the defending Super Bowl Champions. I’m a big believer in the statistics and the stats say no defending Super Bowl champion has advanced past the second round of the playoffs since the Patriots in 2006. The Giants are also in a VERY tough NFC East and only a maximum of two teams can make the playoffs from that conference. I don’t believe the Giants will be one, as I don’t see them advancing too much past .500 for this season.
Sleeper Teams – These are a couple teams that I believe will have a chance to advance deep in the playoffs or maybe even hoist the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the season.
Denver Broncos: We can pretty much define the Bronco’s offseason into two words: Peyton Manning. One of the biggest free agent accusations in NFL history landed in Denver and everybody’s question was: Can Peyton possibly stay healthy for the whole season after his number of neck surgeries? Peyton and the Broncos answered in week one against the Steelers after Peyton threw for 253 yards and no interceptions against a good Steelers defense. The Broncos also acquired former Jaguars coach and defensive guru Jack Del Rio as the defensive coordinator who will bring a good spark to this defense. Surprisingly, a lot of experts pick Denver to make it to the playoffs, but not to advance much past that. However, I believe this is a legitimate Super Bowl team that could win 12 to 13 games this season.
Carolina Panthers: The Carolina Panthers are another one of my underrated, sleeper teams. The Panthers are lead by second-year quarterback Cam Newton, who had an impressive 4,051 yards and 21 touchdowns last season, and outstanding receiver Steve Smith and Greg Olson. Newton passed for 303 yards against a good Saints defense which leads me to believe that Newton and the Panthers will have nothing short of a great season.
Playoffs – Here are my picks of who will make the playoffs.
AFC: Broncos (13-3), Patriots (13-3), Texans (11-5), Ravens (10-6), Pittsburgh (9-7), Jets (8-8)
NFC: Packers (11-5), Cowboys (9-7), 49ers (12-4), Falcons (13-3), Eagles (8-8), Panthers (9-7)
Super Bowl XLVII: Ravens vs. 49ers – 49ers 28 – 17
