New England - If I ever go to a Fantasy Football Draft and have to wear an NFL Jersey I’m either going to wear an Oakland 21 Cliff Branch jersey, a Minnesota 28 Ahmad Rashad jersey, or a New England 12 Tom Brady jersey. The guy is nails. If their defense is o.k., they are again a super bowl contender.
Miami - Could make playoffs but I wouldn’t expect them to win their division. Tom Brady is better than Daunte. Nuff said.
NY Jets - Chad Pennington without any great receivers or running backs puts their offense in a hole. Even if their defense is decent, it won’t be strong enough to handle the pressure they will be under. They’ll be a bottom feeder.
Buffalo - They will give the Jets competition for the cellar position in the East. There are some talented skill guys on the team but Lohsman is going to be inconsistent and I don’t think they’ve addressed their poor run defense from last year. And Dick Jauron? Give me a break. Who’s going to play hard for that dud?
Indianapolis - I’m getting tired of Payton Manning in every frickin’ TV commercial. I can’t help but root for Dungy but I think the Colts will be in the same position as they were last year. If they come up against another hot defense in the playoffs they’ll go down in flames.
Jacksonville - This is a weird unorthodox team. Their offense can stink for 3 quarters and then put up 2 touchdowns in the 4th. They don’t have any speed receivers but should be good in the red zone. Their defense was pretty good last season and if it holds up they will be in all of their games. I just don’t see as many breaks falling their way this year and I think they will take a step back.
Houston - A building year - they should win 5 or 6 games.
Tennessee - Vince Young is at least a year away from being their savior. Fisher’s in trouble cuz this team is going to stink.
Pittsburgh - The thing that concerns me most about this team is Ben Roethlisberger’s face. Doesn’t it look totally different? I’m not sure it’s the same guy. I think the Steelers will be about as good as they were last year which makes them a super bowl contender.
Cincinnati - Far and away the best set of wide receivers in the league. Palmer will be back in form at some point. Their achilles heel still is their run defense. This will hold them back.
Baltimore - With McNair they could have a competent offense finally, but is the defense still as strong as before? I think not. Playoff contender but not a super bowl contender.
Cleveland - Going with the young quarterback. Give them 5 or 6 wins tops.
San Diego - Me likey.
Denver - Good all-around team but the Jake Plummer factor keeps me from expecting them to be a serious super bowl contender.
Oakland - This Jeff George business is seriously disconcerting. I was just beginning to believe they were heading in the right direction and then they do something as unbelievably desperate as this. I wonder if they asked Moss who he thought threw the best deep ball and he answered Jeff George so they went out and got him. Did they forget to consider all of his miserably crappy plays?
Kansas City - No Willie Roaf and Larry Johnson isn’t going to catch anyone by surprise this year. This team could fall hard if their offense doesn’t stay up to the level of production they’ve had over the past few seasons.
NYGiants - Awesome defensive line and a well-balanced offense. I don’t think Eli Manning is all that great but he’s part of a good offense and will be productive. They should win this division.
Dallas - They’ve got a lot of pieces in place that would give them a shot at beating the Giants, especially now that it seems as though Bill Parcells has finally pounded it into Drew Bledsoe’s head that getting rid of the ball quickly is a good idea.
Philadelphia & Washington - A lot of prognosticators are giving these squads equal chances of winning the division along with Dallas and New York but I clearly see them as a notch below. Philly has not been able to hold onto enough healthy talent even with the return of McNabb to be excellent. When Washington went on their free agent shopping spree a lot of people automatically assumed they would improve. I disagree. I don’t see how they improved in the areas of blocking and tackling and therefore I predict that they will stink.
Chicago - Boy Lovie Smith has painted himself into a corner with this Rex Grossman thing. By being adamant that he’s the starter instead of moving Brian Griese into the position he’s going to get his team off to a slow start. In this division they should be able to recover but I think the best thing that could happen to the Bears would be if Grossman gets injured in the 1st quarter of the 1st game.
Minnesota - If Chicago slips at all the Vikings will pass them. The D line is improved to the point where the Vikes will no longer be pushovers on defense. And they’ve got a nice balanced offense. Minnesota could be the surprise team this year.
Green Bay - As bad as they will be on defense they still have Brett Favre and that’s good for 4 wins mimimum. If the rest of the team improves they will move up.
Detroit - This team is almost as bad as Green Bay and it’s got Jon Kitna, not Brett Favre. I see 4 wins as a maximum.
Carolina - Good or great players at evey position makes them a serious super bowl contender.
Tampa Bay - I’m not sold on the idea that the NFC south is one of the “strongest” divisions in football. That’s predicated on the idea that the Bucs are strong. I think they are just o.k and that the NFC was weak last year.
Atlanta - Now here’s a team that’s not worth making any predictions about. They are too weird having the very unorthodox Vick as QB. One thing to keep in mind is that they make the playoffs every other year which means this is their year to make it.
New Orleans - I like some of the moves they’ve made, especially acquiring Drew Brees. Problem is, I don’t think Brees is 100% back from his injury and it shows. This will be an up and down team this year.
Seattle - They still have the best defense in this division which they should win again.
Arizona - The O line is a question mark but they still should be able to score. Statistically the defense is improving and if that trend continues they could actually contend for a playoff spot.
St. Louis - The disarray in which the team has fallen into is not going to be corrected this year.
San Francisco - Just lacking talent.
My Super Bowl 41 prediction: Carolina over San Diego.