Give me your playoff teams

[Smelly McUgly]

I admit to just basically guessing when it comes to the NFCE. I'm not real inspired by any of those teams.

I like Kansas City as a dark horse for a couple reasons:

1. The rest of the AFCW, outside of Denver, isn't very good.
2. The AFCS is a train wreck. I think the Colts are about to fall back to earth and I don't see the Jags or Titans being much better this year.
3. The AFCE isn't very good either. Nor is the AFCN. In other words, there is a lot of room for a dark horse to rise up and snag a wild card in the AFC this year.
4. The Chiefs have a pythag of 2.5 wins for last year that they hit almost exactly (WOW, I had to do the math three times to make sure that was true), but I submit that upgrading from Cassel/Quinn to Alex Smith and from Romeo Crennel to Andy Reid will help them outplay their pythag, especially if they have a healthy Bowe and Charles to go with on offense. Plus it will help to play the Raiders and Chargers twice PLUS a fourth-place schedule. They can get to nine, I think, which should be enough in the weak AFC.

 

[rjdriver]

I did some trend analysis on division winners, playoff outcomes, etc, since division realignment in 2002. Based on my analysis, I came up with the following guidelines to predict a season.

1. There are, on average, 6 new playoff teams each year.
2. A team with a first round bye will miss the playoffs the next year.
3. A team with a top 5 draft pick will make the playoffs the next year.
4. Teams that improve enough from top 5 pick to playoffs usually either have a new QB or new coach, or both.
5. The NFC South hasn't had a repeat winner. Its certainly possible this trend ends this year.
6. One or two of the new playoff teams is back after a one year hiatus.
7. A 1 vs 1 seed matchup in the Super Bowl is rare. Its only happened once since realignment (2009).

Remember, these are just trends, not saying they have to continue. So with that said, here are my predictions.

NFC

1. Seahawks
2. Packers
3. Cowboys
4. Buccaneers
5. 49ers
6. Saints

AFC

1. Broncos
2. Texans
3. Bengals
4. Patriots
5. Chiefs
6. Browns (yes, the Browns)

The new playoff teams are TB, NO, DAL, KC, and CLE. I only went with 5. 6 is just an average. The lowest number I've seen is 4. CLE and KC are in because of new coaches (and KC's new QB). CLE actually has a decent team around Weeden; they just need him to develop. I'm predicting he will.

ATL is that team with a first round bye that misses the playoffs the next year. They overachieved a little (should've been 11-5 last year based on points for/against), winning a lot of close games against questionable opponents. I believe their defense takes a step back this year after losing Abraham and relying on a rookie starting CB. And their competition in the NFC South improved. I think all four teams could be within a game of each other at 9-7 to 10-6. New Orleans returns to the playoffs after a one year hiatus now that they have Sean Payton back, so they are one of my wild card teams.

The NFC East is a big mystery to me. I don't know how well RG3 will play if he can't run well. He could still be great, but I don't know. I want to pick Philly as a team to go from worst to first. I like Chip Kelly, and I think he'll do great things in Philly, but I think year one is an adjustment period for the team. And the Giants are so hard to figure out because of how inconsistent Eli Manning is. They could be anywhere from 6-10 to 11-5. Lately the NFC East winner has been rotating between all four teams, so its Dallas's turn. They have a lot of talent and are just as capable as any other team to win the division.

My Super Bowl prediction is Seahawks vs Texans.

Huevos taking the Browns. I like it, I have a feeling they will be better than most anticipate. Not sure they find a way into the playoffs though.

 

[mr.stlouis]

Dang, this is a confident bunch. No one believes there is even the slightest chance Seattle slips... alright. I find that interesting. All I know is Atlanta and the Broncos are my Super Bowl picks.

 

[rjdriver]

Dang, this is a confident bunch. No one believes there is even the slightest chance Seattle slips... alright. I find that interesting. All I know is Atlanta and the Broncos are my Super Bowl picks.

I see a number of guys here predicting SF winning the division, with us as a wildcard. What is surprising to me is that with all the Duck fans here, I haven't seen one pick of PHI even making the playoffs ( unless I missed it).

 

[cockeyhawk]

I live right out side of Eugene and am a ducks fan that doesn't mean were going to ride the philly train very far. Apparently im a 9ers fan too but I still picked the Hawks to win the division. Cause any hometown fan with a good team will believe there team will win it all.

 

[JSeahawks]

I've got:

NDC Division winners:

Seattle
Green Bay
New York Giants
Atlanta

Wildcard:

San Francisco
Chicago

AFC Division Winners:

Buffalo (my upset special with a 7-9 record)
Denver
Houston
Pittsburgh

Wildcards:

Baltimore
Cincinatti

Bumping from the preseason: I had the Giants, Falcons, Steelers, Texans and Bills winning divisions :lol: . I appear to be an idiot.

 

[MizzouHawkGal]

After tonight?

NFC
1. Seattle
2. New Orleans
3. Chicago
4. Dallas
5. San Francisco
6. Carolina

AFC
1. Denver
2. Cincinnati
3. New England
4. Indianapolis
5. Kansas City
6. San Diego

 

[Bigpumpkin]

After tonight?

NFC
1. Seattle
2. New Orleans
3. Chicago
4. Dallas
5. San Francisco
6. Carolina

AFC
1. Denver
2. Indianapolis
3. New England
4. Cincinnati
5. Kansas City
6. San Diego

What??? You don't give Green Bay a chance with our former back-up QB Senneca Wallace? :roll:

 

[jhawk91]

I don't be the love for the rams or the falcons

 

[MizzouHawkGal]

After tonight?

NFC
1. Seattle
2. New Orleans
3. Chicago
4. Dallas
5. San Francisco
6. Carolina

AFC
1. Denver
2. Indianapolis
3. New England
4. Cincinnati
5. Kansas City
6. San Diego

What??? You don't give Green Bay a chance with our former back-up QB Senneca Wallace? :roll:

It's close for that 6th slot. I believe NFCS is weaker than the NFCN so give Carolina the nod over Green Bay by a hair.

 

[Bigpumpkin]

After tonight?

NFC
1. Seattle
2. New Orleans
3. Chicago
4. Dallas
5. San Francisco
6. Carolina

AFC
1. Denver
2. Indianapolis
3. New England
4. Cincinnati
5. Kansas City
6. San Diego

What??? You don't give Green Bay a chance with our former back-up QB Senneca Wallace? :roll:

It's close for that 6th slot. I believe NFCS is weaker than the NFCN so give Carolina the nod over Green Bay by a hair.

Not even if Brett Farve would come back to Green Bay? :roll:

 

[rsm650]

Bumping from the preseason: I had the Giants, Falcons, Steelers, Texans and Bills winning divisions :lol: . I appear to be an idiot.

Actually, you're not a total idiot. If the Giants had a decent running game (aka Wilson lived up to the hype/Brown didn't get injured) they would have space for Eli to throw completions instead of picks. The Falcons are a different team had they not lost Julio, Roddy, and SJax. Texans still look very strong with their D and were a favorite pick in the offseason, but I don't think anyone would've predicted that Schaub would recede.

Steelers and Bills though, hehe ...

 

[MizzouHawkGal]

After tonight?

NFC
1. Seattle
2. New Orleans
3. Chicago
4. Dallas
5. San Francisco
6. Carolina

AFC
1. Denver
2. Indianapolis
3. New England
4. Cincinnati
5. Kansas City
6. San Diego

What??? You don't give Green Bay a chance with our former back-up QB Senneca Wallace? :roll:

It's close for that 6th slot. I believe NFCS is weaker than the NFCN so give Carolina the nod over Green Bay by a hair.

Not even if Brett Farve would come back to Green Bay? :roll:

All depends on the seriousness of Rodgers's injury.

 

[MizzouHawkGal]

You need to stop messin' with me BP phone posting is hard!

 

[mistaowen]

NFC:
1. Seattle - Winning ugly football, if we can get it together that's scary
2. New Orleans - Tough loss at NYJ but they should cruise to a solid record
3. Detroit - I see them finishing strong with Cutler gone and who knows about Rodgers, their O can put up points on anyone
4. Cowboys? Who knows, that division will likely have a 7 or 8 win team. Romo can throw for 400 yards and 4 TDs and that team still loses
5. SF - Will most likely have the second highest record in NFC, can see us and them in either spot
6. Carolina - Playing good football, scary front 7, if they can beat the 49ers they have a legit playoff shot

Detroit over Carolina, SF over Cowboys.
Seattle over 49ers, NO over Detroit
Seattle over NO

AFC:
1. Denver - They'll beat the Chiefs
2. New England - Conference is getting better but still not great
3. Indy - conference is a joke
4. Cincinnati - Andy Dalton will never get that team far
5. KC - same as us and 49ers
6. Ravens - even though they were gutted from last year, team is still talented

Ravens over Indy, KC over Cincy.
Denver over Ravens, New England over KC
New England over Denver, Peyton just sucks in cold weather for whatever reason and Belichick has his number

 

[Polaris]

Aftertonight I too am revising my playoff predictions. With Aaron Rodgers likely missing most of the rest of the season, and Culter being suspect (although he's supposed to be coming back this coming week), I think the Lions (yes the Lions) are in the driver's seat for the NFC North. This is bad news for the Cardinals since they are relaying on tie-breaks against the Lions and Panthers to get a wildcard spot.

NFC:

#1 Seed: NFCW Champion, Seattle with a 14-2 record (dropping a late game after the playoffs are set)
#2 Seed: NFCS Champion, New Orleans with a 12-4 record (after a cat-fight with the Panthers for the division)
#3 Seed: NFCN Champion, Detriot Lions with a 10-6 record
#4 Seed: NFCE Champion, Dallas Cowboys with a 7-9 record
#5 Seed: NFCW Runner Up, San Fran with a 12-4 record
#6 Seed: NFCN Runner Up, Chicago with a 9-7 record

That's right. Without Aaron Rodgers I have the Packers missing the playoffs (prob losing a tiebreak with the Bears)

AFC:

Even though Denver is without it's head coach for a few weeks, I still say Denver is the class of the AFC and the Chief's schedule will bite them the second half of the season. However, KC is a bad match-up for Denver in a lot of ways, so I could see a split here. Tenn might give Indy a run for the south, but I think Indy is better, and I don't see anyone else here. As boring as it sounds, I don't think the Jets are consistant enough to dethrone the patriots in the east, and Miami is having a dumpster fire at exactly the wrong time. As for the North, even with that ugly game in Miami, Cincy has played the best ball of the bunch, and neither Baltimore nor Pitsburg impress....and in the end Cleveland will be Cleveland and just miss out.

#1 Seed: AFCW Champions, Denver Broncos, 13-3 record
#2 Seed: AFCS Champions, Indianapolis Colts, 12-4 record
#3 Seed: AFCE Champions, NE Patriots, 11-5 record
#4 Seed: AFCN Champions, Cincy Bengals, 10-6 record
#5 Seed: AFCW Runner Up, KC Chiefs, 12-4 record
#6 Seed: AFCE Runner Up, NY Jets, 9-7 record (maybe 8-8)*

*This last one is the one I am least sure about. It depends on the Jets continuing to be predictably bi-polar.

 

[rsm650]

NFC:Seattle over NO

My goodness...please remind me to watch TV under a table in case Beastquake 2.0 causes the buildings all the way in Pennsylvania to collapse.

 

[davidonmi]

^^Buffalo and Chicago in the Playoffs? Chicago, maybe...Buffalo. Not a chance.

Div Winners NFC

Washington
Greenbay
Atlanta
SF

Wild Cards

Seattle
New York


Div Winners AFC

New England
Pittsburg
Houston
Denver

Wild Cards

Kansas City
Cincinatti

2-6 new york as a WC? and I'm not sure about pittsburgh over Cincy either. Just seems a little farfetched

 

[davidonmi]

#1 SEA 14-2
#2 NO 12-4
#3 GB 11-5 (if rodgers isn't badly hurt) if he is det at 10-6
#4 Dal 8-8
#5 SF 13-3
#6 Det 10-6 (if rodgers isn't badly hurt, if he is Det win div and panthers sneak in at 10-6)
AFC
#1 Den 14-2
#2 NE 12-4
#3 Cin 10-6
#4 IND 9-7 (mostly cause I hate them)
#5 KC 12-4
#6 TEN (owning the tiebreak over NYJ 9-7)

 

[rsm650]

2-6 new york as a WC? and I'm not sure about pittsburgh over Cincy either. Just seems a little farfetched

Thanks Captain Hindsight :sarcasm_off: