2016 NFL Football

[Papa Zito]

JAX (4)

uh

[Bella]

Fuck, I really like Teddy B and the Vikings too.

Though this now raises the potential of a Bears dark horse run which I'd be interested to see as well.

Based on their preseason performances, this is about as likely as the Browns winning their division. The Lions are far more likely to be the team that benefits most from Bridgewater going down. Also the NFC South.

The Lions went 4-0 in the preseason in their 0-16 season. I don't trust preseason performances.

Pre-season records don't matter, but the awful performance of the starters does.

[Bella]

AFC East

New England Patriots (1)
Miami Dolphins
Buffalo Bills
New York Jets

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens (3)
Cincinatti Bengals (5)
Pittsburgh Steelers
Cleveland Browns

AFC South

Houston Texans (4)
Jacksonville Jaguars (6)
Indianapolis Colts
Tennessee Titans

AFC West

Kansas City Chiefs (2)
Oakland Raiders
Denver Broncos
San Diego Chargers

NFC East

#Six Seed
New York Giants (4)
Washington Redskins
Philadelphia Eagles
Dallas Cowboys

NFC North

Green Bay Packers (2)
Detroit Lions (5)
Minnesota Vikings
Chicago Bears

NFC South

Carolina Panthers (1)
Atlanta Falcons (6)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
New Orleans Saints

NFC West

Arizona Cardinals (3)
Seattle Seahawks
Los Angeles Rams
San Francisco 49ers

Wildcard Round:

Texans def Bengals
Ravens def Jaguars

Falcons def Giants
Cardinals def Lions

Divisional Round

Chiefs def Ravens
Patriots def Texans

Cardinals def Packers
Panthers def Falcons

Championship round:

Patriots def Chiefs

Panthers def Cardinals

Super Bowl

Patriots def Panthers

[PokerFace]

I prefer calling them jax over jac as they have a ks sound

Do I think they are 4th best team in AFC, No. Do I think that division is worst divison in afc and jax will be the ones to get out alive? Yes

[xRECKONERx]

im a panthers homer but we're not going to the super bowl this year

[Kmd4390]

Patriots (3)
Jets
Dolphins
Bills

Steelers (1)
Bengals
Ravens
Browns

Texans (4)
Colts (5)
Jags
Titans

Chiefs (2)
Raiders (6)
Broncos
Chargers

Redskins (4)
Giants
Cowboys
Eagles

Packers (3)
Vikings
Bears
Lions

Panthers (1)
Bucs (6)
Saints
Falcons

Seahawks (2)
Cardinals (5)
Rams
49ers

Patriots over Raiders
Texans over Colts
Packers over Bucs
Cardinals over Redskins

Patriots over Chiefs
Steelers over Texans
Seahawks over Packers
Panthers over Cardinals

Steelers over Patriots
Panthers over Seahawks

Steelers over Panthers

[Papa Zito]

Do I think that division is worst divison in afc and jax will be the ones to get out alive? Yes

You see the cool kids picking the Texans to win the division?

Those kids know what's up.

[PokerFace]

Tennessee has a run game now but that's it.

Colts passing will be good but their run game and defense will be poor.

I think Brock is not going to work out. They gave him too much money. Their defense and run game will still be good

Jacksonville has passing, running, and a defense thanks to the draft. They look most complete

[racefan12]

I have a friend who's a big Jags fan and he's been saying that they're going to be a surprise contender for 2 years now.

I'll believe it when I see it.

[Papa Zito]

so your logic is

- Texans won't win cuz of their one unproven QB
- Jacksonville will win cuz of their multiple unproven draft picks

ok I'm sold

[D3f3nd3r]

If they were as good as they are this year, in a division like theirs from last year, they'd have a shot.

Texans win that division with a roster that doesn't really have any holes. Doesn't have many big strengths but no real holes.

[PJ.]

AFC East
Patriots(1)
Jets (6)
Bills
Dolphins

AFC North
Bengals(3)
Steelers
Browns
Ravens

AFC South
Colts(4) (Luck is back and I have faith he will bounce backfrom a very bad/weird year)
Titans
Texans
Jaguars

AFC West
Chiefs (2)
Broncos(5)
Raiders
Chargers

NFC East
Washington (4)
Giants
Eagles
Cowboys

NFC North
Packers (3)
Lions (5)
Vikings
Bears

NFC South
Panthers (1)
Saints
Bucs
Falcons

NFC Best
Cardinals (2)
Seahawks (6)
Rams
49ers

AFC
Bengals>Jets
Colts<Broncos

Pats>Broncos
Chiefs<Bengals

Pats>Bengals

NFC
Packers<Seahawks
Washington<Lions

Panthers>Seahawks
Cardinals>Lions

Panthers<Cardinals

Cardinals>Pats

[PJ.]

Do I think that division is worst divison in afc and jax will be the ones to get out alive? Yes

You see the cool kids picking the Texans to win the division?

Those kids know what's up.

Get Lucked.

[AGar]

man seeing QBs get injured potentially for the year... with the new stadium... and it being non contact.

I just feel bad for Minnesota who would be definite contenders this year but if Bridgewater is gone then uh...

goodbye potentially really good season...hello maybe playoffs maybe still? dunno.

Somebody call Joe Webb!

[pablito]

The stadium is great. The mood content but not yet somber. The stadium alone makes everyone happy.

[pablito]

Way too many bridgewater jerseys

[Wraith]

Start-of-season predictions are rather useless so far in advance TBH but fuck it.

AFCN

(confident)

PIT:

Obviously a homer pick, but our defense is on the rise and I believe our offense can stay top-10 easily even with all the suspensions, provided we don't suffer from the injury bug again. This is a "Super Bowl or Bust" year due to Bell's likely departure in the offseason, and it's probably our best shot considering the Pats (our kryptonite) can potentially miss the playoff against all expectations. My pick for #1 seed this year.

CIN:

I badly underestimated the Bengals last season, largely because I failed to take their huge number of injuries in 2014 into account for their decline that season. Andy Dalton really came into his own, and I don't think the departure of Jones and Sanu are

that

big of losses. My #5 seed, and a team that can easily go #1 if the Steelers slip due to injuries/suspensions.

BAL:

I might be overestimating the Ravens, but despite their poor season last year the Ratbirds are a team that rarely stays on the ground for long. They caught the biggest injury bug in the league last year and I expect them to bounce back to at least a 9-7. I would not be surprised if they snuck into the playoffs.

CLE:

The Browns are going to have a rough season as they try this newfangled "have patience with the rebuild" strategy they've been hearing about from the Vikings, Raiders, and Jaguars. Top-5 draft pick once again this year.

AFCE

(i don't even fucking know)

MIA:

This division is so unpredictable this year I really don't know who to pick to win it. I'm really high on Adam Gase and have a "lolJets" bias, so I'm going bold here and picking the Dolphins to barely edge out the Pats and steal the #4 seed. They have a defense with high potential and I'm a fan of Tannehill, he's super underrated IMO.

NE:

I could easily be dead wrong about this of course, but with injuries and suspensions I think the Pats might get bumped out of the playoffs this year a la 2008. If so, get used to seeing the Steelers in the Super Bowl IMO.

BUF:

The Bills are another very tough team to judge. I've been getting lower on Rex Ryan as a coach every year, and I still think the Bills have some changes to make and young players to pick in order to make their new 3-4 scheme work properly. They had an excellent defense in 2014 that utterly collapsed with the scheme change in 2015. I expect them to hover around .500 again provided Tyrod Taylor doesn't suddenly return to mediocrity, which I hoenstly don't think will happen.

NYJ:

I have a "lolJets" bias as said, meaning I don't think much of this team. They're not favored in any of their first six games, and Fitzpatrick is one of the least consistent QBs in the league, alternating between Fitzmagic and Fitztragic on a weekly basis. I think Fitz will regress this season as Brandon Marshall gets older. I also think Christian Hackenberg will work out great for the Jets as their future franchise QB. Somehow that has become a controversial opinion on the internet.

AFCS

(can vary)

IND:

Luck returns to form this year. It's been absolutely ridiculous how the prevailing circlejerk has turned him from "best young franchise QB in the league hands down" to "literally the new Jay Cutler." Idiots. But the Colts aren't breaking that ceiling to reach the Super Bowl until they fire their GM and/or actually get a defense. My pick for #2 seed.

HOU:

The Texans could easily leap the Colts for the division if Osweiler pays off (I think he'll be fine) simply due to their vastly superior defense. Their floor is 8-8 unless Osweiler implodes, which IMO is highly unlikely. My pick for #6 seed, but they could definitely compete with the Pats and Chiefs for it.

JAX:

One of my dark horse picks despite statistics being against them on the defensive side. I picked them as a potential wild card months ago but I've since walked back on that due to rumors of injury to Jalen Ramsey. Their ceiling is 9-7, their floor is 6-10 IMO. That young offense is dangerous and they have quite a few interesting pieces on defense as well.

TEN:

It's a stereotypical thing to say, but the Titans remain just forgettable. Mariota should continue to do fine, but they don't have many exciting pieces on offense. Despite this, their defense is better than I gave them credit for last year, and in a few years, with continued steady drafting, they should be a contender once again.

AFCW

(confident)

OAK:

Winning this division is a toss-up between the Raiders and Chiefs, but I'm really high on the Raiders this year. They were a surprisingly dangerous team last year, and I expect that offense and defense will continue to develop into explosive units. They can definitely win head-to-head against the Chiefs, if only because the Chiefs coaches misuse Marcus Peters badly against Amari Cooper

KC:

The Chiefs still have a very scary defense, but could definitely take a step back due to Justin Houston's injury. I'm also low on Andy Reid due to his clock management (seriously that last quarter of the KC-NE playoff game was physically painful to watch) and think Carr is developing to become better than Alex Smith at QB. Still, I wouldn't count them out - I did last year when they started 1-5 and regretted it. They'll definitely compete for the division, and at the very least make a mean case for a wild card berth.

DEN:

Amazingly, the Broncos are still being overrated due to their defense. Yeah, it's still scary as hell, and will still compete for being top 5 in the league, but this offense was slow and geriatric under Manning and Osweiler and I don't expect it to improve an inch under some unproven UDFA. Their ceiling is 9-7 and that's a hard cap IMO. I expect them to hover around .500, as I will for the similarly headless defense-heavy Vikings below.

SD:

I think the Chargers are still in disarray, horribly managed, and I get lower on their coach every year. In the past they've made something out of a collection of mediocre talent, but the rise of the Chiefs and Raiders has rendered them largely impotent compared to their glory days. Bosa was drafted into a scheme that doesn't fit what he was in at college as well, I don't think he'll make a big splash early on in his career.

NFCN

(confident)

GB:

With Teddy B going down, the Packers should return to being kings in the north. They underachieved last year compared to expectations though, so this division can still vary even though I'm low on both the Bears and Lions. My #2 seed.

CHI:

Probably a break from the norm here, but I think John Fox is a great fit for the talent level of the Bears - he tends to elevate the average and mediocre and hold back the exceptional. If Cutler can actually stay consistent for one season in his career with the Bears, don't be surprised if these guys sneak into the playoffs on the back of a revamped defense and solid offense - I'm high on Jeremy Langford, and think they made some interesting FA signings at linebacker.

MIN:

Poor Vikings. With a stacked defense and slowly improving offense, this was really their year. But alas, the injury gods that spared them last year have struck with a vengeance early in this one. Like the Broncos, I expect the defense to keep this team hovering near .500.

DET:

At first I was more realistic about the Lions having a dark horse run instead of the Bears, but then I remembered they no longer have Megatron. This defense took a big step back with the departure of Suh last year, and I'm really low on Stafford as a QB and Jim Caldwell as a coach. While they surprised me by ending 7-9 after their god-awful start, I still don't expect this team to do better than 6-10, with Caldwell fired at season end and Teryl Austin promoted in his place.

NFCE

(confident)

NYG:

The Giants were better last year than their record indicates. There's like an insane stat our there that's something like the Giants would have been 12-4 if games were only 58 minutes. Eli Manning has excelled in McAdoo's offense, and I'm eager to see if that will remain the same with him in the head coach's chair. All their defense needs to do is take a slight step forward and they should move past their division rivals. My #4 seed.

WAS:

Personally I feel the Skins overachieved last season due to their division rivals being in disarray. I don't think they'll repeat it, especially in the Giants get their act together defensively. Nevertheless, with the Cowboys headless and Eagles...being the Eagles, I'm loathe to count them out completely.

DAL:

The Cowboys demonstrated last season that they are very, very headless without healthy Romo at the helm. Pity he didn't get the appreciation he deserved until they destroyed his body. They'll probably try to rush him back and he'll take another back injury that ends his career abruptly and for good. Unless, of course, Dak Prescott becomes a new rookie sensation in the regular season - I expect he'll do well as a placeholder and rookie QB, but not amazingly. I'm pretty high about him being their future franchise man, though.

PHI:

The Eagles are a team in transition, that was shockingly butchered and castrated by Chip Kelly's tenure. I was fully behind Kelly's experiment and thought they killed it far too early to see real results, but considering that's what they did...it means Kelly did do lasting, awful damage to this team without a payoff. I definitely see them having another top-10 draft pick as the defense is average and the offense continues to struggle trying to find its new feet.

NFCS

(can vary)

CAR:

Definitely underestimated the Panthers based off their mediocre 2014 season. That's fixed now. While the departure of Norman will certainly be a blow to their defense, there's no reason to believe it won't remain stout. It's actually really shocking how well the offense did last year without Kelvin Benjamin - I don't expect that to change now that he's returned. My #1 seed.

TB:

Definitely a dark horse candidate, and a very tough team to predict. If Doug Martin stays consistent, Mike Evans rebounds from a down year, and Winston continues to improve on a great rookie showing, this is easily a wild card contender. My pick for #6 seed, which I expect to be a battle between the Bears, Bucs, and Skins.

ATL:

The Falcons are just such a disappointing team. They started off so well and had a rather unprecedented collapse to miss the playoffs. The defense

could

continue to improve and the offense could rebound...but Kyle Shanahan is a terrible OC with a terrible scheme that isn't working for Matt Ryan and he has shown no sign that that's going to change. Shanahan will likely end up fired shortly past mid-season as the Falcons hover around .500. They can sneak into a wild card berth but I'm not holding my breath.

NO:

The Saints will stay in the division cellar until they actually get a defense. They're like the Colts in this regard, but with an aging quarterback and in a much tougher division.

NFCW

(can vary)

ARI:

This is the Cardinals "Super Bowl or Bust" year. Their window is rapidly closing with an aging defense and Fitz and Palmer hitting the twilight of their careers. I've been super high on the Cards the past three years (they were my original pick for NFC champ in both 2014 and 2015), but Palmer just choked so, so badly in the NFCCG last year that I don't think they'll make it. The Panthers, Packers, and Seahawks are just better bets in big games. My #3 seed.

SEA:

The Seahawks are somewhat in decline, but still a force to be reckoned with. I really hate the Seahawks these days and root for them to miss the playoffs every year, but with the Vikings fallout out of my playoff picture I've resigned myself to the certainty that the Seahawks will return to the postseason in a wild card berth once again. My #5 seed.

STL:

The Rams ain't going to the postseason until they get of Jeff Fisher, or a meteor strikes either the Seahawks or Cardinals as they practice.

SF:

Yeah...when your team is already in absolute disarray and full of aging former stars, Chip Kelly is probably the worst possible HC hire you could make. This team is headless and apparently without direction, with someone who has come out of nowhere to be a consistent competitor with Dan Snyder and Dean Spanos for the coveted "worst owner in the league" title. They'll compete with Cleveland for the #1 overall pick.

Recap

AFC

1. PIT
2. IND
3. OAK
4. MIA
5. CIN
6. HOU

On The Bubble: BAL, NE, KC

NFC

1. CAR
2. GB
3. ARI
4. NYG
5. SEA
6. TB

On The Bubble: ATL, WAS, CHI, MIN

[AGar]

Spoiler: A Bunch of Bullshit Picks that are Wrong

AFC East

New England (2)
New York
Buffalo
Miami

AFC North

Pittsburgh (1)
Cincinnati
Baltimore
Cleveland

AFC South
Indianapolis (3)
Houston (5)
Jacksonville
Tennessee

AFC West

Oakland (4)
Denver (6)
Kansas City
San Diego

====

NFC Least

New York (4)
Washington
Philadelphia
Dallas

NFC North

Green Bay (1)
Minnesota (6)
Detroit
Chicago

NFC South

Carolina (3)
Atlanta
Tampa Bay
New Orleans

NFC West
Seattle (2)
Arizona (5)
Los Angeles
San Francisco

--

Wild Card Round

Houston > Oakland
Denver > Indianapolis
Carolina > Minnesota
Arizona > New York

Divisional Round

Pittsburgh > Denver
New England > Houston
Green Bay > Arizona
Seattle > Carolina

Conference Championship

New England > Pittsburgh
Seattle > Green Bay

Super Bowl

New England > Seattle

New England is the best team in the AFC, but will be behind the 8-ball because their first four weeks are going to be brutal on a guy playing his first four career starts. Arizona, Houston on short rest, and then a Buffalo team that can mask their blitzes and not worry about the best QB in the game dissecting things at the line of scrimmage. 3-1 is possible, 2-2 is likely, 1-3 is in play. Patriots fans cry like the world is ending, while Jets fans realize the world IS ending for them as they pay $12 million to a 7th round pick out of known quarterback factory Harvard who had one magical season and CAA as his agency. Turmoil besets Buffalo as everyone except the Ryan brothers realize how bad of an idea it was, wasting another year of Buffalo's miserable collective. Miami finds that even Adam Gase can't coax a passing attack out of Ryan Tannehill. Pittsburgh has a fuckton of firepower. If Ben and AB stay healthy, the sky's the limit. Also, Ben has to stay out of jail. The Red Rider BB-Gun's deal with the Devil gets voided when the Devil realizes Dalton died his hair for the meeting and was never going to deliver the soul he doesn't have. The AFC West and South are piles of dogshit, but Denver's D will carry them to a wild card as they beat up on teams that just don't have a competent QB, while Oakland gets six of it's eight road games against bad teams, and a generally soft schedule. 10 wins is the cap on that division, but it could realistically be 9 to take it. Indy gets in the range of four to six freebies in division games, plus they get to beat on the 3 non-GB NFC North teams now that Bridgewater is out. Division is theirs easily. Giants run away with the East, while Philly riots at Wentz in street clothes after one game. He's immediately inserted into the starting role Week 2, and throws three errant picks. Philadelphia burns to the ground. Romo doesn't play this year and Admiral Dakbar has 5 repeats of Miss St/Bama from 2015 before he gets benched for a jock strap with arms. Kirk Cousins does not, in fact, like that this year, as he snaps from his Manchurian Candidate mindset now that Shanahan and RG3 are out of town and suddenly can't play football anymore. Green Bay takes care of its business en route to a 12 or 13 win season, and Aaron is asked fifty seven times about why his brother Jordan never comes to his games. Minnesota rides the baby knees of AP into a wild card berth because of course they do. Carolina regresses, Cam doesn't have an MVP caliber season, the talking heads make up some story lines about Cam's maturity, and then Carolina reminds everyone that the South is still their division and no one else can step up right now. The West is it's typical bloodbath. Arizona and Seattle go at each others throats and Los Angeles rides their defense to at least one absolute thumping of each before the wheels come off and Goff forgets everything he learned this summer while asking a girl to enjoy the California sunrise with him. San Francisco decides that if Kaepernick won't stand for the anthem, they won't play it, embroiling the team in more controversy, all part of Chip Kelly's grand scheme to burn another NFL franchise to the ground before leaving.

[Bella]

Roethlisberger's played all 16 games 3 times in his 12 seasons, is 34 and behind a mediocre at best line. Their star running back is suspended for 3 games, and their #2 wideout is suspended for the season. They lost their experienced, star tight end, and replaced him with whatever's left of Ladarius Green. They didn't significantly improve a below average defence from last season. They're still coached by Mike Tomlin. Tell me again why people are picking them to win their division?

[PJ.]

Because this thread is filled with people around my age, meaning people too young to see boomer esiason but old enough to remember years and years of hilarious futility and the ability to snatch defeat from the jaws. In short: the Bungles.

[PJ.]

Do people actually think the Texans D is good or is that just code for "have JJ Watt and that's enough"

[PokerFace]

so your logic is

- Texans won't win cuz of their one unproven QB

(Which is the most important position in football)

- Jacksonville will win cuz of their multiple unproven draft picks

ok I'm sold

Jags defense is not all draft picks
http://www.jaguars.com/team/roster/Paul ... cfa00f54bf)

[PJ.]

Castoffs, role players, and Davon House

[xRECKONERx]

Cam is going to be Carolina's downfall this season, then we'll have a couple years of him growing up a bit and not going on tilt so easily, then we'll win a Super Bowl.

[Wraith]

Roethlisberger's played all 16 games 3 times in his 12 seasons, is 34 and behind a mediocre at best line. Their star running back is suspended for 3 games, and their #2 wideout is suspended for the season. They lost their experienced, star tight end, and replaced him with whatever's left of Ladarius Green. They didn't significantly improve a below average defence from last season. They're still coached by Mike Tomlin. Tell me again why people are picking them to win their division?

Mate, I'm sorry but you haven't been following us or watching our games enough, because most of what you're saying here is very wrong.

1. Ben's injuries are indeed a high concern, but he's been playing the best football of his career these past two seasons. His age doesn't matter here.
2. Our line is most decidedly

not

"mediocre." Since Mike Munchak came to Pittsburgh to be our OL coach in 2014, our OL has been one of the

best

in the league. David DeCastro just came off a Pro Bowl season. Our line was riddled with injuries last season (Beachum tore his ACL six games in and Pouncey was out from the start) and took a step back from 2014, but not by much. Firstly, Pouncey came back from a far more severe injury in 2014 and looked just like his old All-Pro self - I expect him to repeat that here. While Beachum's departure is a significant loss, he was gone most of last season and Alejandro Villanueva filled in admirably though not excellently. While I have heard he struggled in preseason I don't expect that to last during the regular season. With Pouncey, Foster, and DeCastro, we arguably have the league's best interior line and run blocking and I expect that to continue.
3. Bell being suspended 3 games is no big deal at all. D-Will was amazing in his place most of last season. This isn't the 2014 WC game against Baltimore where losing Bell left us to rely on a washed-up, sign-a-week-ago Ben Tate.
4. Bryant being suspended is significant but should not cripple the offense. So soon people forget that Brown can single-handedly burn

any

secondary in the league, save for the Seahawks. Coates stepped up well during the playoff game against the Broncos, and was specifically drafted as a Bryant clone. The passing attack should be fine.
5. Miller was old and not a very big factor in the passing attack last season. While his blocking will certainly be missed, Miller was no longer a "star" tight end in the receiving sense and was not a big loss. Green's absence is concerning, however.
6. Our defense was not "below average" by any stretch of the word last season, and this common talking point among non-Steelers fans is a pet peeve of mine. Statistically, we were #11 in Points Allowed (the key defensive stat), #3 in Sacks, and #3 in Takeaways. While our secondary continues to need improvement, our pass rush has gradually improved every season - Cam Heyward and Stephon Tuitt (who has been criminally overlooked) are a mean tag-team of interior linemen, Bud Dupree had a very promising rookie showing, Timmons remains an elite inside linebacker, and Shazier is a fearsome force to be reckoned with so long as he avoids injury (see his monstrous contribution in the WC game vs the Bengals). The only area we were below average in defensively was Yards Allowed, which is not surprising considering the state of the secondary and also rather meaningless compared to Points Allowed.
7. I don't know why you apparently have a problem with Tomlin. He's never had a losing season. Arguably his biggest flaw as a coach is that he takes too many gambles for extra points.

I've been picking us over Cincy because of homerism (and we have a very easy schedule at a glance - our most dangerous opponents are largely division rivals), so I'm surprised many in this thread share that opinion. Cincy and Baltimore will give us mean competition and the race for the division win will be tight, but make no mistake, we are easily a Super Bowl contender.