Here is something new I'm trying this season (picking where each NFL team will finish in their respective division). I'm sure this will look embarrassingly bad by, say, early November, but here are my predictions for the final 2011 regular season standings, including playoff teams and seedings. (If you're interested in my reasoning, check out my Week One Picks for brief evaluations of each team.)
AFC EAST
New England Patriots (#1 Bye)
New York Jets (#5 Wild Card)
Buffalo Bills
Miami Dolphins
Not much change from last year, except the Dolphins got a bit worse and the Bills got a bit better.
AFC NORTH
Baltimore Ravens (#3 Seed)
Pittsburgh Steelers (#6 Wild Card)
Cleveland Browns
Cincinnati Bengals
The Ravens haven't won the division since 2006, but I believe they will edge out the Steelers this year. The Bengals are going to be really bad.
AFC SOUTH
Houston Texans (#4 Seed)
Indianapolis Colts
Tennessee Titans
Jacksonville Jaguars
Starting the season without Peyton Manning (which seems likely) means no division title for the Colts. The Texans should be fun to watch this season.
AFC WEST
San Diego Chargers (#2 Bye)
Kansas City Chiefs
Denver Broncos
Oakland Raiders
The Chargers should own this division in 2011. I expect the Raiders to be fairly awful.
NFC EAST
Dallas Cowboys (#3 Seed)
Philadelphia Eagles (#5 Wild Card)
New York Giants
Washington Redskins
It seems that nearly everyone else believes that Michael Vick and the Eagles will win the division, but I like the Cowboys with a healthy Tony Romo.
NFC NORTH
Green Bay Packers (#1 Bye)
Detroit Lions (#6 Wild Card)
Chicago Bears
Minnesota Vikings
The Packers will be extremely difficult to beat this year as the defending Super Bowl champs. The Lions should sneak into the postseason with 9 or 10 wins with its core of young talent on both sides of the ball.
NFC SOUTH
Atlanta Falcons (#2 Bye)
New Orleans Saints
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Carolina Panthers
This division will have the same standings as last season, but with the Saints missing the playoffs this time around. The Panthers should be improved, but they are still the weakest team in the division.
NFC WEST
St. Louis Rams (#4 Seed)
Arizona Cardinals
San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks were mediocre last season with Matt Hasselbeck at quarterback. They will be terrible without him. The Rams are clearly the best team in the division, although the Cardinals could surprise the football world.
Article comments
1 - RJ
Well, we are now halfway through the NFL's regular season, so let's take a look at how my preseason predictions compare to the midseason reality:
AFC EAST
NE 5-3
Jets 5-3
Bills 5-3
Miami 1-7
I'm looking pretty solid here, except the Patriots are unlikely to be the #1 seed in the AFC this year.
AFC NORTH
Bengals 6-2
Pittsburgh 6-2
Ravens 5-2
Browns 3-5
I was completely wrong about Cincinnati, but otherwise I wasn't too far off.
AFC SOUTH
Texans 6-3
Titans 4-4
Jaguars 2-6
Colts 0-9
I did not realize the Colts would be the worst team in the NFL without Peyton Manning, but otherwise I was pretty close.
AFC WEST
KC 4-4
SD 4-4
Oakland 4-4
Denver 3-5
In thought the Chargers would be better and the Raiders would be worse. Also, the Chargers are unlikely to be the #2 seed in the AFC even if they manage to win the division.
2 - RJ
NFC EAST
Giants 6-2
Dallas 4-4
Eagles 3-4
Redskins 3-5
I overestimated the Cowboys (and Tony Romo) while underestimating the Giants.
NFC NORTH
GB 8-0
Lions 6-2
Bears 4-3
Vikings 2-6
I pretty much nailed it.
NFC SOUTH
NO 6-3
Atlanta 5-3
TB 4-4
Carolina 2-6
Pretty close, though I expected the Falcons to be a bit better and the Saints to be a little worse.
NFC WEST
SF 7-1
Seattle 2-6
Arizona 2-6
Rams 1-7
I was wrong about every team in this division except the Seahawks. The Rams are very bad, not pretty good; the 49ers are very good, not pretty bad; and the Cardinals just plain stink.
3 - RJ
Final Regular Season Standings:
AFC East
Pats
Jets
Dolphins (tie)
Bills (tie)
I was very close in my prediction, except the Jets narrowly missed the playoffs.
AFC North
Ravens
Steelers
Bengals
Browns
I was very close, except picking the Ravens as a 3 seed instead of 2, and Steelers a 6 seed instead of 5. Also, I did not expect the Bengals to do better than the Browns, and certainly did not expect them to make the playoffs.
AFC South
Texans
Titans
Jags
Colts
I was right about the Texans (although I had them as a 4 seed instead of a 3). I did not think the Colts would be so horrible without Peyton Manning, nor did I expect him to miss the entire season when I made these predictions. Otherwise, I was pretty good with this division (I knew the Jaguars would be awful and the Titans would be mediocre).
AFC West
Broncos
SD (tie)
Oakland (tie)
KC
I was totally wrong about this division. I completely overestimated the Chargers and underestimated the Raiders. I did (in another column) predict that Tebow would end up as the starter in Denver, however.
4 - RJ
Final Regular Season Standings:
NFC East
Giants
Eagles (tie)
Dallas (tie)
Washington
I got the Redskins right. I thought the Eagles would be a little bit better (most people thought they would be a lot better). I overestimated the Cowboys and underestimated the Giants.
NFC North
Packers
Lions
Bears
Vikings
I got this division perfect.
NFC South
Saints
Falcons
Panthers
TB
I was pretty far off here. I thought the Falcons would be a bit better, thought the Saints would be significantly worse, thought the Panthers would be a little worse, and thought the Buccaneers would be somewhat better.
NFC West
SF
Arizona
Seattle
Rams
I was right about Arizona...and nothing else. The Seahawks were better than I expected, the Rams were much worse than I expected, and the 49ers were much better than I expected.