NFC East
Predicted results Actual results
Philadelphia 11-5 N.Y. Giants 9-7
N.Y. Giants 11-5 Philadelphia 8-8
Dallas 10-6 Dallas 8-8
Washington 4-12 Washington 5-11
For future reference, I think I'll wait a year on teams that are put together to be championship caliber teams, aka the Miami Heat, the Miami Marlins, and the Philadelphia Eagles. I'll say I get a C- for this division.
N.Y. Giants
 |
| Manning had a 92.9 QB rating and helped lead the Giants in a 4th quarter comeback, 6 times. |
Well, the Giants obviously had a successful season. They started the season off well, then became very shaky mid season, but they had just enough near the end to beat the Cowboys twice. Then they dominated Atlanta in the playoffs, beat Green Bay at their own game, and had a toss up game against the 49ers. Then they faced the Pats in the SB and had another toss up game. Idk about everyone else, but as soon as they beat the Falcons I thought they would win the SB. Last season felt quite a bit like the 2007 Giants run.
The Giants could have had a better regular season, they almost missed the playoffs, and their record is technically two games worse then what I predicted. So I kind of want to give them just an A or A-, however when you win the Super Bowl that pretty much has to be an automatic A+.
Dallas
I wonder how last years NFL would have been different if Romo had just connected with a wide open Miles Austin (I think it was) in their first game against the Giants. Then who knows who the SB champ would be.. The Cowboys were close to the playoffs and if they had just swept Washington they probably would have won the division. Not a complete disappointment, but it was yet another year in which the Cowboys didn’t win a playoff game, C-.
Philadelphia
Well their team was probably the most blessed with talent this year, but their team chemistry/cohesiveness wasn’t there until the end of the year. They had the 9th best pt differential in the NFL and at the end of the year they were the 3rd hottest team, but all of that only led to an 8-8 record, D.
Washington They were a thorn in the side of some teams and were somewhat competitive, but overall it was not exactly a stellar year in Washington, in more than one regard, D+.
NFC North
My predictions Actual results
Green Bay 11-5 Green Bay 15-1
Minnesota 11-5 Detroit 10-6
Chicago 10-6 Chicago 8-8
Detroit 9-7 Minnesota 3-13
Injuries messed up my Chicago pick, GB I was just wrong on, don't get me started on Minnesota, and Detroit was a game luckier than I thought they would be. All that adds up to a D-.
Green Bay
 |
| A-Rodge and company were all smiles in the regular season. |
I thought it was somewhat interesting how people kind of ignored them throughout the year (relatively speaking) even though they were the defending champs.. And while I can kind of understand and agree with that, I thought it was a little extreme. Just because GB is killing some teams doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t breakdown their game at least a little. Maybe people were expecting them to repeat, Idk. Imho, their schedule was actually pretty soft (Not that any schedule in the NFL is easy, or that that the Packers can just schedule tougher teams) and as soon as they lost to the Chiefs, I expected them to lose either their first game in the playoffs or lose in the NFC championship.
And now for the Rust vs Rest argument. I understand that there are advantages and disadvantages to both sides, but I personally think that the Packers definitely should not have rested their players. (While the Steelers, should have rested their players vs the Browns) (and imho, both of those decisions cost each team at least one playoff win) Anyways.., unless the player is injured, I see no benefit to giving your players 3 weeks of rest. Aaron Rodgers had not played since Christmas Eve before the Giants playoff game. Also a shout out to Rodgers for breaking the all-time NFL QB rating record.. Unreal. I didn’t think the Pack-attack could walk through their schedule so easily, but I was one of the few who thought they wouldn't do anything in the playoffs, so B-.
Detroit
Even with some line injuries, they still had the best defensive line in the NFL. Nice season by Detroit, I thought they’d be a year away from the playoffs, but they ended up getting the sixth seed and making it this year, hope Detroit enjoyed their playoff appearance. B+
Chicago
For those who did not think Jay Cutler was at least a fair quarterback I would say they were proven wrong. Either that or Caleb Hanie isn’t very good. (Okay apparently he’s probably not… However, I don’t think Hanie is the worst QB in the league right now either.) Chicago was cruising along at 7-3 and then Cutler went down, and they finished 1-5. C-
Minnesota
A rebuilding season for the Vikings to say the least. Throughout the season they perpetually got the lead, then gave it away in the second half. They set a franchise record for losses, but at least, on the bright side, they have a couple decent looking prospects for QB, F+.
NFC South
My predictions Actual Results
Atlanta 12-4 New Orleans 13-3
New Orleans 11-5 Atlanta 10-6
Tampa Bay 6-10 Carolina 6-10
Carolina 5-11 Tampa Bay 4-12
 |
| Brees threw for the most yards in the NFL EVER. |
Two minor swaps and I would have been amazingly accurate.. But, I don't think that's allowed so, B.
New Orleans
Drew Brees and company marched through the regular season with only a few bumps. B+
Atlanta
Matty Ice helped lead them to another playoff appearance. B-
Carolina
Cam Newton started out stronger then I expected, but by the end of the season he cooled down to about the level I expected him to play. While the defense was somewhat horrendous, there is hope in Carolina B+
Tampa Bay
After their 2-1 start their season imploded. I don’t really understand the last two years of the Bucs, one year they win 10 games and the next they’re a lottery pick. I guess it's mostly just a combination of NFL parity and the young players on Tampa Bay. D
NFC West
My predicted record Actual record
St. Louis 7-9 San Francisco 13-3
Seattle 6-10 Seattle 8-8
Arizona 5-11 Arizona 8-8
San Francisco 4-12 St. Louis 2-14
When the best part of my NFC West prediction is Seattle finishing within two games... I didn't do very well. San Francisco finished 9 games ahead of where I projected them.. Ouch. F-
 |
| Alex Smith can manage a game.. Who knew? |
San Francisco
Well, Coach Harbaugh proved just about everyone wrong, definitely including myself. To turn the 49ers from a middling team, to a toss up NFC championship game, is ridiculously impressive. Alex Smith finally got his 2nd year of some continuity, and turned in some very decent performances. Defense was extremely good. I'll give them the only other A+ in the league.
Arizona
I thought they kind of overachieved, and even without a consistent starter they ended up managing a decent 8-8 season. They also won 5 overtime games. Five. That's insane. B+
Seattle
Coach Pete Carroll led them to another 7-9 season, but since their division wasn’t quite as putrid this year, they sat home for the playoffs. C-
St. Louis
Ha, so much for winning the division. The Rams managed a grand total of 2 wins. Even if the Rams had played 30 games, I don't know if they would have reached 7 wins. F-
My overall AFC grade, I'll be a little lenient, A-, but on the other side in the NFC it was a relative disaster D+.
Overall NFL grade C+. All of that and all I get is a C+. Woo-hoo.
No comments:
Post a Comment