Just a good ole NFL prediction attempt

Rather than saying "I thought the Titans would be awesome this year," in December, I decided I put would my predictions for the upcoming NFL season on my blog. So that you can make fun of me if I pick to Oakland to win the division (they won't) or the Lions to go 0-16 again (they won't).

AFC East
1. New England 11-5
2. Buffalo 7-9
3. Miami 7-9
4. NY Jets 4-12

AFC North
1. Pittsburgh 12-4
2. Baltimore 11-5
3. Cincinnati 8-8
4. Cleveland 3-13

AFC South
1. Houston 10-6
2. Indianpolis 10-6
3. Jacksonville 7-9
4. Tennessee 6-10

AFC West
1. San Diego 11-5
2. Kansas City 8-8
3. Oakland 6-10
4. Denver 5-11

AFC Prognosis

New England is back, but their defense is getting older and the loss of Seymour hurts them a ton on the line. Brady will be back, but not enough to get back to the Super Bowl.

I am high on San Diego this year b/c I think Rivers proved himself last year as an elite quarterback (it pains me to say as a Tar Heel fan, that but its true).

My sleeper pick is Houston to win the South via a tiebreaker. I am a huge fan of Matt Schuab if he can stay healthy, and with Mario Williams' 12 sacks last year, he's proving that the Texans D is no slouch (what is this a Wolfpack shoutout day?)

Nevertheless, I like San Diego and New England to meet again in the AFC title game and SD to take the title.

NFC East
1. NY Giants
2. Philly
3. Dallas
4. Washington

NFC North
1. Minnesota
2. Chicago
3. Green Bay
4. Detroit

NFC South
1. New Orleans
2. Atlanta
3. Tampa Bay
4. Carolina

NFC West
1. Seattle
2. San Fransisco
3. Arizona
4. St. Louis

As a rule of thumb, I am a huge fan of the Super Bowl appearance let down. Arizona had a great run last year, but teams will be gunning for them next year. I think teams overlooked them last year when New England killed them right before the playoffs, which led to their improbable run. (Did I mention Larry Fitz is on the cover of Madden?) SF is my pick to surprise teams this season. Nobody is talking about QB Sean Hill, but I think he could be this year's version of Chad Pennington. This team will just miss the playoffs, but watch out for them next year with Michael Crabtree.

The same is true of Carolina. The South always has a new division winner each year, and the Saints will be back this year. I like Atlanta, but I think teams just overlooked them last year. They'll have a harder schedule, but should still be a wild card team.

The Bears should contend in the North, but their defense is overrated. Cutler will help a ton, but their D got shredded by AP, and more importantly through the air. I think they will just miss out on the playoffs again.

The Giants haven't done anything to lose ground in the NFC East, although I really like McNabb and the Eagles if he stays healthy.

I'll take the Saints this year against SD, b/c there are rarely any patterns in Super Bowl picks. I like the Chargers to win it all b/c they will have an easy road.