In the preseason of the National Football League everybody is a contender, or at least has hope. The league has a reputation as a Not For Long league, and it only takes a couple weeks for players and coaches who are full of hope and confidence at the beginning of the year to be benched or fired.
Looking back at my own predictions, my Super Bowl matchup isn’t looking so super with Houston and Atlanta fighting it out for the most disappointing team in the league, oops! Individual awards and the rest of the playoff field look better in hindsight, so here we go with more predictions that probably won’t happen.
Preseason playoff predictions:
AFC:
East - Patriots. Looking like the right call despite a weak offensive season and injuries to the defense. They pulled out division wins versus Buffalo and the Jets early on and haven’t looked back.
West - Broncos. They are behind the surprising Chiefs but have time to recover and overtake a more luck than good squad with their own good over luck strength. Just need to fix that pass D and things are looking good for a long playoff run.
North - Cincinnati. They go as their quarterback goes. Andy Dalton can look great against the Jets and give away games like against the Dolphins. The defense suffered a crucial blow losing DT Geno Atkins for the season and will need D coordinator Mike Zimmer to be creative in scheme to cover up for the loss.
South - Houston. U-G-L-Y. Just plain out didn’t see Matt “Pick 6” Schaub crash and burning like this. Injuries to Arian Foster and Ben Tate have limited their ability to cover up for Schaub and the defense hasn’t won them games like last year. Head coach Gary Kubiak suffering a mild stroke during their game against Indianapolis may be the nail in the coffin. This is Indy’s division to give away, (they won’t).
Wildcards - Kansas City. Good call here as new coach Andy Reid’s offense, centered around Jamaal Charles’s athletic ability and Alex Smith’s ability not to turn the ball over, has been the recipe for a 9-0 start heading into a showdown with the Broncos. The pass offense is atrocious and there is no reason for it. The defense has been stifling teams with pressure forcing turnovers at a seemingly unsustainable rate.
Baltimore - Looking lost on offense without Anquan Bolden and Dennis Pitta as underneath weapons. The defense has not come around with free agent losses and Ray Lewis retiring. Right now the Jets are the 6th seed with Tennessee, Miami, and San Diego all a game behind with their bye week in the rear view mirror. Wide open race.
NFC:
East - Dallas. Looks like the right call in a weak division. This is a flawed team as well and could win the division at 8-8. Playing like a one and done in the playoffs right now.
West - San Francisco. They look like the Miami Heat in basketball. They know they are making the playoffs and are just hoping to get there without major injuries before they turn on the afterburners. Seattle leads the division and beat them handily in their matchup earlier in the year. They get the ‘Hawks again in week 14.
North - Green Bay. Before Monday night’s game against the Bears this looked about right. After the game the question was is Aaron Rodgers out for the season or can he come back in time to salvage at least a wild card berth?
South - Atlanta. Not what Tony Gonzalez had in mind when management convinced him to come back for one more run at a title. Injuries, not poor play are to blame here. New Orleans is holding off a Carolina team making a push with wins against lesser opponents.
Wildcards - Seattle. Wild card? Pift!! They are eyeing up home field advantage to the Super Bowl.
Chicago - They are in a dogfight with the suddenly vulnerable Packers and upstart Lions for the final spot. Josh McCown got them a division win, which should allow the coaching staff to keep Jay Cutler on the sideline healing for week 10’s home game vs. Detroit.
Individual awards:
MVP - Peyton Manning. No change at the top although Jamal Charles is making a case for himself.
Offensive POY - Matt Forte RB Chicago. While Forte has been solid for the Bears Kansas City’s Charles is the pick at midseason with 725 yards and 6 td’s. Jimmy Graham is also in the conversation with 10 receiving touchdowns but an injured foot could cause him to be limited the rest of the season.
Defensive POY - James Harrison LB Cincinnati. Harrison is being used correctly as a situational pass rusher and edge defender at this stage of his career. The pick in a very debatable category is Dallas’s LB Sean Lee. He leads the league in tackles and has 4 INT’s. If Dallas wins the division he in the top three. If they fall off sack artists Justin Houston, Robert Mathis, and Mario Williams will be in the discussion.
Offensive ROY - Eddie Lacy RB Green Bay. Pat on the back here as he has been great for the Pack despite a concussion early in the year.
Defensive ROY - Jarvis Jones LB Pittsburgh. He hasn’t generated the pass rush the team was hoping when it drafted him in the first round. The pick is Buffalo’s 2nd round LB Kiko Alonso. He has been all over the field holding down the middle of Buffalo’s defense ranking 3rd in the league with 89 tackles, 2 sacks, 4 interceptions, 4 passes defended, 1 forced fumble, and 1 fumble recovery.
Most Underrated player - Chris Long DE STL. He has 5.5 sacks this year but it’s his counterpart DE Robert Quinn who has 11 sacks for the Rams.
Poised for a breakout season - Jordan Cameron TE Cleveland. Nailed it. Cameron has been lone bright spot for Cleveland’s offense the first half of this season, and is a pro bowl candidate.
There we have it. Just like the sharps some picks were home runs and some were doomed before mid-season rolled around. There are certain categories that are still up for grabs along with the second wild cards in both conferences. Bring on the second half!
