Top Six in the AFC

[Tolstoy]

Who do you think will finish in the top five of the AFC and NFC at the end of this year?

 

Here are my picks (in no particular order--they are just top five material):

 

AFC:

 

New England (until proven otherwise, but they will struggle this year with new coordinators)

Indianapolis (still have an explosive offense)

Pittsburgh (how can you argue against 15-1 last year)

San Diego (a solid team all around)

Jacksonville (on the rise)

Buffalo (hey, I think they will be good this year)

 

NFC:

 

Philadelphia (still very good)

Minnesota (I think they are better without Moss)

Atlanta

Seattle

Dallas (the Drew Bledsoe first-year effect)

Green Bay (they still have Brett)

 

What do the rest of you think? What elite teams will fall? What average teams last year will rise to the top?

[Robert Paulson]

Buffalo

New England

Indianapolis

Pittsburgh

Houston

Baltimore

 

But San Diego will make the playoffs over Houston by winning their division

 

Philadelphia

Minnesota

Detroit

Carolina

Seattle

Atlanta

 

Philadelphia and Minnsota are the cream. the other 4 are just filler. Gree Bay and Dallas won't win 10 games between them: G.B no defense; Dallas no offence

[1billsfan]

Minnesota got rid of the best offensive player in the league. No way do they get become contenders doing this.

[JimBob2232]

Here are my predictions...I suspect Pittsburgh and San Diego were flukes.

 

AFC East : Buffalo (Gotta Dream)

AFC North: Baltimore

AFC South: Indianapolis

AFC West: Kansas City

WC1: New England

WC2: Jacksonville

 

NFC East: Philadelphia

NFC North: Minnesota

NFC South: Atlanta

NFC West: Arizona

 

WC1: Green Bay

WC2: Detroit

[coltrane34]

Here are my predictions...I suspect Pittsburgh and San Diego were flukes.

 

AFC East : Buffalo (Gotta Dream)

AFC North: Baltimore

AFC South: Indianapolis

AFC West: Kansas City

WC1: New England

WC2: Jacksonville

 

NFC East: Philadelphia

NFC North: Minnesota

NFC South: Atlanta

NFC West: Arizona

 

WC1: Green Bay

WC2: Detroit

361602[/snapback]

 

I agree with this scenario. Except switch buffalo and new england, baltimore and jacksonville, and fully remove detriot for dallas.

[drnykterstein]

AFC

Buffalo - 16-0!

Indy - Easy

Denver - finally they click

San Diego - Solid Team

Pittsburgh - Because the other 3 teams in that division will suck

Jests - Solid enough to make playoffs

 

NFC

Iggles - Easy

Panthers - Easy

Vikes - Culpepper + a Defense = Success

Giants - Eli will turn heads, plus they have a good D

Arizona - Someone had to win that sad division (they'll still be only 8-8)

Bears - Rex Who??

[stevestojan]

AFC

East - Jets

North - Cinnci

South - Indi

West - San Diego

 

WC1 - NE

WC2 - Pitts

 

 

 

NFC

East - Philly

North - Minn

South - Carolina

West - Seattle

 

WC1 - Detroit

WC2 - Atl

[ganesh]

Minnesota got rid of the best offensive player in the league. No way do they get become contenders doing this.

361597[/snapback]

They boosted their defense pretty good...They signed

Pat Williams, Fred Smoot and got Napoleon Kaufman from the raiders.

 

They also got a 1st rd WR to go with....I think people are exagerrating

the effect of lack of Moss in the Vikes lineup

[BillsGuyInMalta]

AFC East: Patriots (Duh...)

AFC North: Ravens (Steelers will fall a bit, Ravens will rise a bit)

AFC South: Colts (Manning & Company still feared)

AFC West: Chiefs (FINALLY...some defensive additions to put em over the top)

AFC WC: Steelers, Bills (Steelers still good enough, Losman will be better much earlier than people think)

 

NFC East: Eagles (Ugh...the rest of the NFC East blows)

NFC North: Packers (Count me in the group that thinks the Vikes offense tanks)

NFC South: Falcons (Only competition is the Panthers)

NFC West: Cards (They have the least amount of apathy in that division)

NFC WC: Panthers, Lions (I really like the Lions this year...Kevin Jones will make up for Harrington's craptacular play).

[Thurman's Helmet]

Who do you think will finish in the top five of the AFC and NFC at the end of this year?

 

Here are my picks (in no particular order--they are just top five material):

 

AFC:

 

New England (until proven otherwise, but they will struggle this year with new coordinators)

Indianapolis (still have an explosive offense)

Pittsburgh (how can you argue against 15-1 last year)

San Diego (a solid team all around)

Jacksonville (on the rise)

Buffalo (hey, I think they will be good this year)

 

NFC:

 

Philadelphia (still very good)

Minnesota (I think they are better without Moss)

Atlanta

Seattle

Dallas (the Drew Bledsoe first-year effect)

Green Bay (they still have Brett)

 

What do the rest of you think?  What elite teams will fall?  What average teams last year will rise to the top?

361575[/snapback]

 

 

AFC

 

1. New England - They were 14-2 last year and most likely will NOT repeat that mark as it is VERY hard to do in the NFL. They will probably go something like 12-4 or so. A natural decline as the rest of the league "catches up". Would that be viewed as struggling due to the absence of the coordinators?

 

2. Pittsburgh - Big Ben is the real deal, Pittsburgh always plays D and can run the ball no matter who they have. Getting rid of that turd Plexiglass will only help (Addition by subtraction)

 

3. Indianapolis - That offense is too good to discount but again, they're just good enough for the 2nd round of the playoffs or AFC Title game at best.

 

4. San Diego - Brees is coming into his own, Tomlinson is possibly the best RB in the NFL and they've had some good drafts the last couple of years.

 

5. Jacksonville - Leftwich is maturing and that defense is tremendous. Fred Taylor's health will be crucial.

 

6. Take your pick between NY Jets/Denver/Baltimore with Houston as a dark horse. I would have taken Buffalo here but I'm not sold on JP Losman just yet. They'll have the defense and the running game along with a tremendous home field (especially in Nov/Dec) that will win them some games but I need to see more big plays from the QB.

 

 

 

NFC

 

1. Philadelphia - The tallest midget so to speak

 

2. Carolina - Delhomme has some Brady-like qualities in him and they should be healthy this year.

 

3. Minnesota - See Pittsburgh, Losing Moss will be the best thing to happen to them.

 

4. Seattle - the strongest in a weak NFC West

 

5. Atlanta - Vick is feast or famine. If you let him run, he'll kill you.

 

6. Green Bay - Favre's last stand.

 

Dark horses; Arizona & Detroit

[The_Real]

Top 6:

 

Patriots- Until proven otherwise.

 

Colts- Didn't do enough on defense to be Superbowl bound, but that offense is stellar. You never know with Peyton, he could throw 10 touchdowns in a playoff game and be the difference in a 70-69 shootout.

 

Steelers- Great defense, decent offense. Question is what Rothlesburger does now.

 

Ravens- Jamal Lewis is out of jail. He's good for 2000 if he stays healthy. Losing Bouleware will hurt, but you still have the best defensive player in the game in Ray Lewis. McCallister, Rolle and Ed Reed are all playmakers. They'll be good.

 

Raiders- Randy Moss and Joey Porter is scary. Also, picked up a solid rb with Lamont Jordan. Big Ted and Warren Sapp will anchor a solid defensive line. Also, they drafted a db along with a not to shabby Charles Woodson.

 

Kansas City- Adding Kendrell Bell and Sammy Knight to their defense should really help. Also took an awesome LB in the first round. Their offense shouldn't be to shabby. A healthy Tony Gonzalez is the best TE in football. Trent Green gets the job done. Not to mention Priest Holmes who's pretty good too. Averaging over 20 touchdowns his last three years in the league.

 

 

I think that San Diego just got lucky last year. Every year you have one of those. Someone who catches some breaks and gets into the playoffs only to be dismantled. By the Jets no less.

 

Buffalo could go 16-0 and could go 0-16. So many questions out there I don't want to guess either way. I hope they prove me wrong, but I still think they are a year or two away.

 

t-r

[MartyBall4Buffalo]

AFC EAST- NE. While they did lose Crenell and Weis and I believe that will lead to some early season struggles. Their qb is too good, their defense is great (It's all about the front 7) and Belichick is a defensive mastermind. Until someone knocks em off they stay here

 

 

AFC North- The Natty. I'm not sold on Roethlisberger. Especially the 2nd half of last season he just seemed lost and confused. Say what you want about Burress, but Big Ben put up his better #'s when burress was healthy. He was the bread and butter. Not sold on Randle El as a #2 and well generally not sold on their receiving core. I believe they also lost 2 or 3 members of their starting oline from last year. Baltimore has Kyle Boller so I'm just gonna disqualify them. Their lb's outside of lewis are ehh. and gotta see how suggs takes the move from olb to de. If Palmer comes on strong like he was before he got hurt I believe he'll win enough games for cincy to win the north.

 

 

AFC South- The Colts. Like Ne in the east until someone in this division knocks em down they're king of the mountain. The Jags gave them fits last year, but they should steamroll over the texans and titans. I won't pick the jags because of their inabilty to beat the texans 0 td's in the 2 games last year against Houston.

 

 

AFC West- The Chiefs. The #1 scoring offense in the league, and some key cogs to help improve their defense in kendrell bell, pat surtain, sammy knight and draftee derrick johnson to go along with the de they drafted last year jared allen who recorded 9 sacks. Their Defense doesn't have to be dominating for this team to win games just get the ball to their offense. They can be real dangerous if the defense is able to do this. Unlike the colts finese offense, the chiefs with their oline and 1-2 punch of Holmes/Johnson can jam it down your throats and play physical with the best of em.

 

AFC WC- Jets/Jags. Solid defenses, good running games, if pennington stays healthy the jets will be there. The jags brought in reggie haywar and marcellus wiley. While wiley has basically sucked the past few years next to the dt combo of Stroud/Henderson I wouldn't be shocked to see a bounce back year from him.

 

NFC EAST- The Philly Birds- That division is brutal outside of philly. Who just seems so much better than the rest of this division.

 

NFC North- Chicago Bears. Yeah Thats right da bears. If their d stays healthy it's a pretty damn good defense, and well I like what they're trying to do on offense, and well Mike Tice disqualifies me from picking the vikings.

 

NFC South- The Carolina Panthers- Good Rb's, good qb, good wr's, great dline, good lb's, potentially great secondary. When Healthy I think they're the best team in the nfc.

 

NFC West- The St. Louis Rams- WORST DIVISION IN FOOTBALL..... Yeah that's all I have to say here.

 

 

NFC WC- Vikings, Saints. The Saints may field the best skill position players in the nfc in Brooks/Mcallister/Joe Horn. They ended the season strong I look for that to continue with some slight improvement in their defense. I would've picked the Vikings to win the North but I just can't pick a Mike Tice team to live up to potential.

[Chalkie Gerzowski]

AFC Home Field Advantage: Baltimore Ravens

AFC 2nd Seed: Indianapolis Colts

AFC 3rd Seed: New England Patriots

AFC 4th Seed: San Diego Chargers

AFC 5th Seed: Pittsburgh Steelers

AFC 6th Seed: Buffalo Bills

 

 

NFC Home Field Advantage: Philadelphia Eagles

NFC 2nd Seed: Carolina Panthers

NFC 3rd Seed: Minnesota Vikings

NFC 4th Seed: Seattle Seahawks

NFC 5th Seed: Atlanta Falcons

NFC 6th Seed: Detroit Lions

 

 

[MrLocke]

AFCE- NE- Bye (Homefield throughout the playoffs)

AFCN-Bal- (Roethlisberger has the sophmore jinx and the Ravens Pounce, Also Kyle Boller comes of age)

AFCS-INDY- Bye #2 seed(Terriffic Offense)

AFCW- Kansas City- (Defense finally improoves and they win 11 or so games)

 

WildCards

 

Buf- I see the Bills as the reverse of KC and Indy (I know Buffalo put up 395 points last year however I attribute this mostly to turnovers created by the defense giving the offense short fields) If Mularkey and Clements can make the offense average and the D and Special Teams stay the same LOOK OUT!

 

SD- Roster pretty much in tact from last year. I think.

 

I see the AFC as having it ALL OVER the NFC again this year. Other then Cleveland and Miami I think every team is atleast OK. Where as in the NFC I see many teams that Suck!

 

NFCE- Philly- 1st seed Bye (Class of the NFC again. The only trouble they may run into is if TO holds out. IMO Donovan McNabb = One of the most overrated players he lacks accuracy in a big way. I think TO made him look good last year as he NEVER completed more than 60% of his passes in a season untill he had TO They Will be incredibly thin at WR if TO holds out. Who is going to step up Todd Pinkston .

NFCN- Minn- I see this division as weak. I think they just win it by default. I think the Pack's D sucks and their o-line took some big hits losing Riverra and Wahle and I think this will finnally be the year you see a big deterioration in Favre's skills. The Lions could be tough If Harrington steps up.

NFC South- Car- I think if this team stays healthy especially at RB they win 10-11 games.

NFCW- Sea- Bye I think this team is immensily tallented and if they get their stuff together they could be tough.

 

Wild Cards-

ATL- They win about 10 games just because of Michael Vick.

Det- Harrington is surrounded with weapons. Roy Williams, Mike Williams, Charles Rogers, Marcus Pollrad and Kevin Jones. No more excuses for Joey.

[BILLS4LIFE]

Heres my random top 6 for each conference:

 

AFC

 

Buffalo

NE

Pittsburgh

Indy

Baltimore

JAX

 

NFC

 

Philly

Minnesota

Atlanta

Carolina

Detroit

GB

[MrLocke]

They boosted their defense pretty good...They signed

Pat Williams, Fred Smoot and got Napoleon Kaufman from the raiders.

 

They also got a 1st rd WR to go with....I think people are exagerrating

the effect of lack of Moss in the Vikes lineup

361696[/snapback]

 

I think you mean Napoleon Harris not Napoleon Kaufman. Kaufman was a running back the Raiders had a few years back who has retired and has become a minister.

[jarthur31]

Here are my predictions...I suspect Pittsburgh and San Diego were flukes.

 

AFC East : Buffalo (Gotta Dream)

AFC North: Baltimore

AFC South: Indianapolis

AFC West: Kansas City

WC1: New England

WC2: Jacksonville

 

NFC East: Philadelphia

NFC North: Minnesota

NFC South: Atlanta

NFC West: Arizona

 

WC1: Green Bay

WC2: Detroit

361602[/snapback]

 

When is great defense, stud O-line and great running game a fluke? The Jags, as they proved last year, are over-hyped. They should've crushed us amongst other teams.

[KRT88]

AFC East : New England (Gotta Be Realistic)

AFC North: Pittsburgh

AFC South: Indianapolis

AFC West: San Diego

WC1: Baltimore

WC2: Jacksonville

 

NFC East: Philadelphia

NFC North: Chicago (I'm insane)

NFC South: Atlanta

NFC West: Seattle

 

WC1: Arizona

WC2: Detroit

 

Buffalo 7 - 9 (JP will take his lumps)

 

Super Bowl prediction:

Indy vs Atlanta (two dome teams - yikes I must be insane)

[NYGPopgun10]

It's still a little early but I'll take a shot:

 

 

AFC East- Patriots- can't pick against them until proven otherwise.

AFC North- Ravens- adding Mason will make them balanced and D is real stingy.

AFC South- Colts- like Pats, hard to pick against them till someone steps up.

AFC West- Chiefs- offense is great and improved D should be enough to win division.

 

WC1- Jets- D will continue to improve but it depends on Pennington.

WC2- Jaguars- Almost unseated Colts last year. Leftwich will continue to improve.

 

 

AFC sleepers: Bengals, Bills, Raiders, Texans

 

 

 

NFC East- Eagles- how can ya pick against them in that division?

NFC North- Lions- offense will be unstoppable. They'll win a lot of shootouts.

NFC South- Falcons- nice balance as long as Vick stays healthy.

NFC West- Rams- can't pick against them till someone else unseats them.

 

WC1- Panthers- most dangerous team in NFC if healthy.

WC2- Packers- somehow, they'll find a way in. Can't bet against Favre.

 

 

NFC sleepers: Bucs, Cowboys, Redskins, Saints

[BuffOrange]

They boosted their defense pretty good...They signed

Pat Williams, Fred Smoot and got Napoleon Kaufman from the raiders.

 

They also got a 1st rd WR to go with....I think people are exagerrating

the effect of lack of Moss in the Vikes lineup

361696[/snapback]

 

As soon as they got rid of Moss I thought "Ewing Theory". The only problem is that too many people are picking them to be good, which worries me. Still, I look for them and the Eagles to be the class of the conference.

 

AFC

Pats - duh

Colts - semi-duh

Ravens - still too soon to call Boehler a bust IMO. He's got a proven WR this year, and with a healthy Lewis/Heap I'd be surprised if they don't win the North.

Jets - If Martin doesn't get old overnight, they're going to be a tough out. I thought their defense overachieved last year and I kept waiting for them to come down to earth at the end of the year, but it never happened. The fact that they're relatively young doesn't give me any reason to believe they won't be good again.

 

That's my top 4. There are probably a half dozen other teams that I could make a case to be included in the next 2 spots. I think Houston & Cincy could be legitimate "up & comers". Jax & KC I think will disapoint those who consider them "sleepers".