The preseason is finally over and the regular season official starts tomorrow with the Dallas Cowboys taking on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Now that the dust is settled on injuries, rosters and practice squads it’s time to predict the standings for each division and playoff teams for each conference.
AFC North – this is the best division in the AFC
Cleveland – The Browns seem like a boom or bust team and I’m going with boom because they are loaded with talent on both sides of the ball and Kevin Stefanski proved last year he can coach. The Browns not only have the best roster top to bottom in the division, but one of the best rosters in the NFL and PFF ranks the Browns offensive line #1 in the NFL. The Browns will break in some new talent on defense so they may go through some growing pains early in the season starting with the first game against the Chiefs. I said last year the Browns would make the playoffs, this year I have them winning the division.
Pittsburgh – Steelers fans are looking for Najee Harris to save their running game but the main issue with the Steelers isn’t running back, it’s the offensive line. PFF ranks the Steelers offensive line the second worst in the NFL coming into this season. The Steelers are thinking Super Bowl and I don’t know how you can be successful in the playoffs with a bad o-line.
Baltimore – It seems like the Ravens are content with a throwback offense emphasizing running as much as possible instead of a more modern offense. The Ravens lose games when Lamar Jackson has to throw for the team to be successful. The Steelers beat them twice last season and didn’t look good in either game, in fact they should’ve lost both but they forced Lamar Jackson to make completions to keep the chains moving and he didn’t get it done. The best thing for Baltimore to do is open up the offense like Buffalo did with Josh Allen and see if Lamar can handle it. I believe the Ravens will break the bank and pay Lamar in the off-season because he saved a lot of jobs included coach John Harbaugh but I would have reservations paying a QB top dollar that can’t consistently make timing throws or doesn’t look comfortable in the pocket.
Cincinnati – Bad coaching staff, bad owner, bad offensive line and has to play the defenses of Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Baltimore twice this year. They also see the Packers and 49ers defenses as well. A lot of people like Joe Burrow but I don’t trust his offensive line to keep him upright nor any QB for that matter playing for the worst coaching staff in football in an incompetent organization like the Cincinnati Bengals.
AFC East – this is Buffalo’s division to lose
Buffalo – Easily the class of this division. Sean McDermott should be a favorite in the Coach of the Year race. All eyes will be on Josh Allen to see if he can take that next step in the QB maturation process.
New England – A lot of people were shocked when Cam Newton was released but it didn’t surprise me. Cam always seemed like a 1-year rental for the Patriots as they planned to draft his successor the following season which they did in Mac Jones. The Patriots offense for 2 decades is based on rhythmic, timing, precision ball placement throws which Cam was never good at in his career so the shock of his release is mind-boggling. The Patriots defense, running game and timely throws to move the chains will carry the Patriots this season.
Miami – Very good coach, talent on both sides of the ball and more talent was brought in this season but the success of this team is on Tua Tagovailoa. In the NFL it doesn’t matter what your roster looks like, if you don’t have a capable QB it means nothing. I expanded on my thoughts on Tua in my last article.
New York Jets – Too many question marks and roster holes. I expanded on my thoughts on Zach Wilson in my last article.
AFC West – this division got more interesting
Kansas City – The Chiefs had 1 issue last season, offensive line. They fixed it and are still the class of the AFC.
Los Angeles Chargers – Justin Herbert broke just about every rookie record from the QB position but they still went 7-9 last season. Though you might want to root for the Chargers, there’s always something with them that makes you not want to be all-in but they should be better this year with ex-Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley taking over as head coach
Denver – Teddy Bridgewater will take over as starting QB for the Broncos replacing Drew Lock. Teddy will put up pedestrian stats and not lose games but he also won’t win games for the Broncos either. The Broncos have talent all over the field but this still feels like a .500 team give or take a game.
Las Vegas – If people were honest with themselves it would be easy to admit the Jon Gruden experiment grade is an F especially on the defensive side of the ball. Players like Rodney Hudson and Nelson Agholor couldn’t wait to get away from this team and Derek Carr seems to be the scapegoat for Raider fans when the blame should be on Mark Davis for giving the worst contract in sports to Jon Gruden. This team’s draft strategy is all over the map if they have a strategy at all and the Raiders have no clear direction on offense or defense. Also, Derek Carr is the most underrated QB in the NFL. He has the tools to get the job done and played well under former head coach Jack Del Rio, the wheels fell off when Jon Gruden arrived.
AFC South – the most uninteresting and boring division in football
Indianapolis – This season hasn’t started and they already have injury issues including Carson Wentz, T.Y. Hilton and Quenton Nelson. The Colts will rely on defense and RB Jonathan Taylor to start the season but should still win this division. If head coach Frank Reich can fix Carson Wentz, he gets my vote for Coach of the Year.
Tennessee – The Titans defense is below average and I don’t know how long you can keep running Derrick Henry 300 times per season which is why I don’t have the Titans winning the division. Julio Jones to the Titans has the same hype as DeAndre Hopkins to the Cardinals a couple of seasons ago but trading for a big-name WR doesn’t guarantee team success.
Jacksonville – Not much to work with on offense or defense. Trevor Lawrence is the only reason to watch this team and to be honest there isn’t much separation between the Jaguars and the next team below. Only reason I don’t have them in last place is because of head coach Urban Meyer. I’m giving Urban the benefit of the doubt right now based on his success in college at the University of Utah, University of Florida and Ohio State University.
Houston – I can’t lie I don’t know who the head coach is for this team, I think it’s someone from the Baltimore Ravens but in all honesty it doesn’t matter. This team and organization is a mess. Deshaun Watson will never play another down for the Texans and I’ll be shocked if this team gets to 4 wins.
AFC PLAYOFF TEAMS: Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Buffalo, New England, Kansas City, Indianapolis
NFC North – not a good division but it’s interesting
Green Bay – As long as Aaron Rodgers is manning the controls and Devante Adams is on the team, the Packers should roll to another division title.
Minnesota – This isn’t a great team overall but I trust the Vikings head coach and offense over the rest of the teams below them in this division.
Detroit – I’m not a fan of the culture of the Lions and I’m very surprised Dan Campbell got another coaching opportunity because he doesn’t seem like a head coach to me but more like a career assistant. I don’t have the Lions in last place because I don’t trust the team below them.
Chicago – The Bears have QB issues, were 1-7 last season against teams that were better than .500 and went to the playoffs last season, and their GM Ryan Pace is not good at his job. I expanded on my thoughts on Justin Fields in my last article.
NFC East – this used to be a really good division
Washington – Who is the only coach in this division I trust, Ron Rivera. Which team has the only defense I trust, The Football Team. Which team has the offense I trust, none of them. Therefore I’m going with the Football Team to be the first NFC East repeat division winner since 2004 though I know Ryan Fitzpatrick will be inconsistent. There’s more to trust and less questions with this team than the others teams in this division.
Dallas – Dak Prescott has a big shoulder issue and the Cowboys are acting like it’s not a big deal though it really is. A lot of people are saying the Cowboys defense should be better which isn’t saying much compared to last year’s defense. A lot of people think Dak Prescott is an upper level QB, he’s not. Since the start of 2019 Dak has 1 win over a playoff team, the Philadelphia Eagles. He played them again at the end of the season when everybody on the Eagles was hurt except Wentz and not only did the Cowboys lose, Dak performed terribly. A lot of people have the Cowboys winning this division, they won’t. I didn’t have the Cowboys in the playoffs last year and don’t have them in the playoffs this year.
New York Giants – I never bought into the Daniel Jones hype despite his cool nickname “Danny Dimes”. Saquon Barkley isn’t enough to get this team to be respectable. The Giants offensive line couldn’t block 2nd and 3rd string players in preseason, that’s a problem.
Philadelphia – Only thing interesting about this team is to see how Jalen Hurts progresses as a QB. It will be easy to tell if he’s the long-term solution at QB when this season is over or at least worth bringing back the following season as starting QB.
NFC West – best division in football
Initial NFC West rankings in my article below on 8/13/21.
Seattle – Brought in some nice additions and re-signed some key players. The Seahawks are flying way under the radar for a team that went 12-4 last season.
San Francisco – A possible QB switch mid-season may cause the 49ers a loss or two. The schedule outside of the division is very manageable and the only position unit with a question mark is the secondary. If the secondary holds up and Trey Lance improves throughout the season, this could be a team no one wants to play in the playoffs.
Los Angeles Rams – Matt Stafford is an upgrade over Jared Goff talent wise but I don’t think this translates to more than 1 extra win if that. It’s laughable Matt Stafford doesn’t get any blame for not having success during his 12-year career with the Detroit Lions though he played with Calvin Johnson, Kenny Golladay, Marvin James and Golden Tate. Stafford couldn’t win 1 playoff game and his record against teams with winning records…..8-68. Let that sink in, 76 games, 68 of those were losses. Knowing this information I’m not on the bandwagon that Matt Stafford will transform the Rams into an almost unstoppable juggernaut not do I believe Stafford will be a top MVP candidate. The Rams brought in Sony Michel from the Patriots to help with the running game since Cam Akers is out for the season and they have a new defensive coordinator. The running game and defense will determine how far this team can go this season.
Arizona – The Cardinals brought in DeAndre Hopkins last season and didn’t make the playoffs. This season they brought in J.J. Watt and A. J. Green and still won’t make the playoffs.
NFC South – 3 teams fighting for 2nd place
Tampa Bay – Brought every starter back from last year’s Super Bowl team and will win this division easily.
Carolina – The young players on defense should improve in year 2 and I believe in the coaching staff Carolina has put together. The offense should be better as well because Sam Darnold is willing to throw the ball downfield whereas Teddy Bridgewater wasn’t. The Panthers offensive line scares me though and 3 of their last 4 games of the season are against the Buccaneers twice and the Buffalo Bills. The rest of the schedule is manageable for Carolina to be a surprise team.
Atlanta – I’ve learned years ago when you think you can trust the Falcons, you can’t. Some people have this team in the playoffs, I don’t.
New Orleans – I never thought this team had good depth because they put themselves in salary cap hell going all in to win a Super Bowl and it didn’t work. In addition I’m not sure how the Saints generate offense in the passing game with their best WR Michael Thomas out at least the first 5 games of the season with an ankle injury.
NFC PLAYOFF TEAMS: Green Bay, Washington, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles Rams
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