my nfl playoff predictions

It's less than a month away from the start of the NFL and I am feeling a lot like Bart Scott getting ready to play the Steelers....I CAN'T WAIT!!! There are few things in life that get me as excited as football. That excitement has led me to making my first (and probably last) "doug's official nfl playoff prediction". I tried finding a way to make a fancy, easy to read version of this but I suck with Excel and couldn't get the stupid file to embed correctly and I just gave up.

In case there is any confusion in the picture below, here are my pick in order of playoff seeds. AFC - New England (13-3), Baltimore (11-5), San Diego (9-7), Tennessee (9-7)(Division Winners), Buffalo (9-7) and Denver (8-8)(Wild Cards). NFC - Philadelphia (12-4), Green Bay (11-5), Seattle (10-6), Atlanta (11-5)(Division Winners), Dallas (10-6) and Chicago (9-7)(Wild Cards). Yes I know the Saints, Steelers, Texans, Lions, Giants and 49ers are not in there. And yes I know a 3 seed for Seattle seems a bit high. There are a lot of good teams in the NFC so I think there might be some surprises due to good teams with tough schedules getting left out.

So why the Bears and Ravens? People have been saying it for awhile, but I think Joe Flacco is ready for a breakout season. Ray Rice is the best RB in the NFL in my opinion, and they were a pathetic dropped TD away from being in the Superbowl last year. I think their offensive improvements (and hopefully Cam Cameron's play calling) will make up for the loss of Terrell Suggs and Ray Lewis and Ed Reed will carry the defense once again, knowing it may be their last shot at a Super Bowl. They might even get the Jerome Bettis treatment from a few years ago.

As far as Chicago goes, to me they remind me a lot of the Giants. They aren't the most consistent but I think they will come through when it counts. In my opinion Brandon Marshall was the best acquisition any team made this offseason and I've always been a big Cutler fan. He has been able to put up numbers with average WR's and below average OL. If they give him any kind of time, I expect a big season from him.

So who does everyone else have winning it all this year?



click to embiggen