HOW THEY’LL FINISH

Our Annual Pre Season Look at the NFL

NFC NORTH

GREEN BAY PACKERS

This year’s Green Bay Packers team is as deep a roster as Mike McCarthy has had in his tenure in Green Bay. Another bounty from the draft has yielded Ha Ha Clinton- Dix (S/ Alabama), WR’s Davante Adams (Fresno St.) and Jeff Janis (Saginaw St.) and TE Richard Rodgers (Cal). Each of these draftees (along with LB Carl Bradford) figures to see the field this year.

They join a team that has had a great run of success and now look to push it to the next level. Aaron Rodgers is fully healed from a broken collarbone and has been scintillating in pre-season. Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and Jarrett Boykin are a formidable top 3 in WR’s and as if that wasn’t enough the Pack boasts maybe the best stable of RB’s in the NFL. Eddie Lacey enters his second year and has rocketed up the fantasy boards and rightly so. With a year under his belt and nothing to prove in camp he enters the regular season primed to go. His running mates James Starks and DuJuan Harris each has a differing style but will be no less effective coming off the bench. The Packers offense is a Top 3 offense easily and will put points up on the board. A ton of points on the board.

But for this year’s team to have any shot the defense has to keep them off the board. For the Pack to move on in January the run stop defense has to get better. Losing NT B.J. Raji will hurt so the load now falls to FA Letroy Guion and UDFA Mike Pennel to man the middle. 2 year player DE Datone Jones has looked impressive and needs to carry that momentum into the year. He and Mike Daniels have been swallowing up runners at the point in the exhibitions and with the addition of Julius Peppers it should be fun to see exactly how Dom Capers utilizes the talent on the defense.

Last year’s Safety ills were addressed in two key moves – Clinton- Dix was taken in the 1^st round and playmaking CB Micah Hyde was moved to the S slot. Hyde has size, good hands and is a sure tackler. That should take the load off Morgan Burnett. Sean Richardson has rebounded completely from neck fusion surgery and brings some thump to the back end of the D.

The CB’s welcome the return of ball hawking Casey Hayward, lost last year to a hamstring injury. He rejoins Sam Shields and Tramon Williams, and with Davon House along with rookie Demetri Goodson this is one of the Packers deepest positions on the roster.

There is no need to discuss the Super Bowl – yet. The Pack opens on Thursday against the defending champs in Seattle, the home of the infamous Fail Mary. While the outcome of the game is far from critical, the Packers get the chance to make a statement early. This team is built on youth and is built to last.

Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy have cobbled together an impressive lineup. Injuries to the key elements will play a role but on paper this team can and will go a very long way.

PREDICTION –

11-5/ 1^st PLACE NFC NORTH/ PLAYOFFS

Chicago Bears

Marc Trestman enters year 2 without Brian Urlacher and Julius Peppers. As Peppers went to Green

Bay in another intra-divisional move DE Jared Allen jumps from Minnesota to the Windy City. The Bears also passed on Clinton- Dix to take CB Kyle Fuller ahead of Green Bay in the draft. The Bears have concerns at both the CB and S position and the gutting wrenching last minute crushing defeat at the hands on the Packers in last year’s finale will be hard to shake.

Big armed but temperamental and sometimes very inaccurate QB Jay Cutler is back along with Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall. With their size they make an imposing pair of WR’s and with RB Matt Forte the give the Bears a good offense. FA signings Santonio Holmes and Josh Morgan give Cutler plenty of targets, but also plenty of opportunities to throw another untimely pick. Forte will have to shoulder a large load to keep the Bears in the hunt.

Lance Briggs and Shea McClellin lead a defense that has more question marks in the backfield than answers. Gone is the aging Julius Peppers whose contract hit was too stiff for the Bears to absorb and the Bears brought in the aging Jared Allen from Minnesota to replace him. CB Kyle Fuller was the Bears top draft pick but that will do little at the S slot with the likes of Ryan Mundy and Danny McCray in the middle. The Bears will put up points and get after the QB. Their hopes ride on a defense that will have to get after the QB to make things work.

PREDICTION –

9-5 2^nd Place NFC NORTH Out of Playoffs

DETROIT LIONS

Fear the Lion. That has become the beaten-to-death battle cry in the Motor City for the past 5 years. Gunslinging QB Matthew Stafford will be a fantasy owner’s prize but he alos throws some ugly picks. With an unusual sidearm slinging motion Stafford can miss the mark wildly at times. His main target remains Calvin Johnson, a giant among the little people. Big TE Eric Ebron (#10 overall/ North Carolina) gives Stafford a big target in the middle and the Lions can put Brandon Pettigrew out with Joseph Fauria to give the Lions a very deep TE position. Neither Golden Tate nor Jeremy Ross complements Johnson well so Megatron will see a lot of double and triple covers.

The biggest addition is the replacing of volatile coach Jim Schwartz with Jim Caldwell who hopes to bring some discipline to a Lions team with a penchant for penalties. The Lions have a history of breaking form the gate early only to fade down the stretch. Ndamukong Suh will be Caldwell’s biggest challenge if the Lions hope to get back to the playoffs. Gone is Cliff Avril and Ziggy Ansah has to make improvements to help the Lions line. The Motor City Kitties are suspect at the CB and S positions and in the pass-happy NFC North may have difficulty with the Likes of Rodgers and Cutler throwing on them.

Caldwell will help but it won’t be enough. He simply doesn’t have enough weapons.

PREDICTION –

8-8 3^rd Place NFC NORTH Out of Playoffs

MINNESOTA VIKINGS

The Vikings are at it again. 2 years removed from drafting the savior-of-the-month Christian Ponder

they have drafted their next savior-of-the-month Teddy Bridgewater on their ongoing quest to find a QB. Matt Cassell was brought in and couldn’t win the job. Ponder is on thin ice. Things have gotten so bad that Joe Kapp and Tommy Kramer were invited to camp to compete for the QB job.

All of this is sad as the talents of sure fire Hall of Famer Adrian Peterson are wasting languishing in a moribund Viking offense. Things won’t get much better this year. T Matt Kalil is a stud and WR Cordarelle Patterson is a potential star with breakout possibilities. He teams with former Packer Greg Jennings but little else is to be feared from the Vikings offense this year.

The loss of DE Jared Allen to Da Bears will hurt the Vikes defense. There is such a paucity of defenders in Minnesota the Vikes could be making tee times by the time the snow flies in Minneapolis sometime around October 1.

The Vikings do have a chance however. If Aaron Rodgers, Eddie Lacey, Jordy Nelson, Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, Matt Forte, Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson should all simultaneously come down with the same flu the Vikings have a slim chance. Barring that it will be yet another long and frustrating season in Minnesota.

But they should get decent tee times and a pretty good place in the draft where they can search for their next savior-of-the-month.

PREDICTION –

5 – 11 4^th Place NFC NORTH Sofaroutoftheplayoffsitain’tevenfunny

As for the rest of the NFL:

NFC EAST

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES –

We’re believers. Chip Kelly has gassed DeSean Jackson and did a masterful job in keeping the Birds offense running high all year. LeSean McCoy will be atop the headache charts for defensive coordinators again. Can Nick Foles go through another 2 INT season? Doubtful. Can the Eagles soar again? Definitely.

11-5/ 1^st Place NFC EAST/ Playoffs

WASHINGTON REDSKINS –

How long will it be before Kirk Cousins will become the object of the fans desires? Will RG3 come back from knee surgery? Is he for real? Question marks abound in DC as they muddle thru the campaign. Alfred Morris is durable but when a team has as many holes defensively the future isn’t bright. Odds are great that Washington finally changes its’ team name before they make the playoffs.

9 – 7/ 2^nd Place NFC EAST

NEW YORK GIANTS

You know that sad, pouty face Eli Manning makes when things aren’t going his way? The New York Post should be able to make quite a collage of them by the end of this season. The once staunch defense is in tatters. The running game is zilch and the O line was awful. The Giants dove deep into free agency but in the immortal words of Jim Mora that doesn’t mean diddly- poo

7 – 9/ 3^rd Place NFC EAST

DALLAS COWBOYS –

Jerry didn’t take Johnny Football? With his man-love for Tony Romo Jones is betting on a guy who has never won a playoff game and has not proven he is worthy of his megabucks deal. The D is decimated with the loss of LB Sean Lee and the Cowboys explore new depths under Jones’ stewardship. The best move Jones could make is to fire the team’s GM – himself. That isn’t gonna happen.

6 – 8/ 4^th Place NFC EAST

NFC SOUTH

New Orleans Saints

Drew Brees ignites a potent Saints offense yet again. His eye popping fantasy numbers will carry the

Saints a very long way. Can it cover a defense that hasn’t been the same since Bountygate was exposed? Offensively the Saints are all world. Their defense has to keep the other team off the board to have a shot.

10 – 6/ 1^st Place NFC SOUTH/ PLAYOFFS

CAROLINA PANTHERS

What was that blue blur that stormed thru the second half of the NFL season last year? It was a Panther express led by QB Cam Newton and LB Luke Kuechly. The defense is for real but the offense has to find some targets for Newton.

9 – 5/ 2^nd Place NFC SOUTH/ PLAYOFFS

ATLANTA FALCONS

What to make of the Dirty Birds. Are they a high flying prolific offense or vastly overrated? Is the defense enough to win an inter-divisional game? Is Mike Smith on the hot seat? Is Matt Ryan The Man? Was the king’s ransom they paid for Julio Jones too much and they’re just finding out? These plot lines make for a compelling story line in HBO’s “Hard Knocks” but are the things that they need to sort out in Atlanta.

8 – 8/ 3^rd Place NFC SOUTH

 

TAMPA BAY BUCANEERS

Rah Rah Greg Schiano and his high school shenanigans have been booted in place of Lovie Smith. Quick – name the Bucs starting QB. If you said Josh McCown who outplayed Jay Cutler in Chicago last year you’d be right. Michael Johnson (DL) comes from Cincy but the Bucs are still mediocre.

7 – 9/ 4^th Place NFC SOUTH

NFC WEST

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

Give ‘em credit. Not only did Russell Wilson shut everyone up and prove he could play Richard Sherman backed up his mouth with his game. So good was the ‘Hawks defense that the NFL stepped in once again after Sherman and Co. beat the snot out of Peyton Manning’s receivers and put skirts on all WR’s making it virtually impossible to play defense anymore. With CB Marshawn Lynch, S Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor the ‘Hawks are still formidable on defense. But no one repeats in the Super Bowl. Or do they?

12 – 4 / 1^st Place NFC WEST/ PLAYOFFS

SAN FRANCISCO 49ers

Have the Niners peaked? Now that Colin Kaepernick has been locked into a long term deal has the future become now because come next year they won’t be able to afford anyone else? Frank Gore is showing signs of not being the back he once was. For all his accolades Kaepernick has not yet proven he can win a game with is arm. Add Jim Harbaugh’s disputes with the front office into the mix and it looks a lot like Dallas – West. But with a far better lineup. Just watch out for Arizona.

10 – 6/ 2^nd Place NFC WEST/ PLAYOFFS

ARIZONA CARDINALS

Pity the poor birds. Last year they went 10 – 6, knocked off Seattle AND San Francisco and still didn’t qualify for the playoffs, a bitter pill considering the Packers mark of 8-7-1 got them in. The D is becoming a true force in what has become the toughest division in the NFL. But to be successful QB Carson Palmer has to cut down the picks. Close… but no cigar.

9 – 7/ 3rd Place NFC WEST

St. LOUIS RAMS

Such high hopes after a good draft year. The front four on D is tough- everyone is a first round pick. But that became moot when QB Sam Bradford was lost for the season to a knee injury. The sacks will come; the points will be more difficult. Time to draft and groom a replacement QB.

8 – 8/ 4^th Place NFC WEST

AFC –

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

The only things certain in life are death, taxes, and Bill Belichick leading the Pats to the playoffs. QB

Tom Terrific (Brady) is at the helm but for how much longer? There is improvement in the division but not enough to unseat the Patriots. CB Darelle Revis makes Bah-ston his latest stop on his world tour. They make the dance but how long will it last?

11 – 5/ 1^st Place/ AFC EAST PLAYOFFS

MIAMI DOLPHINS

Just when it looked as if Joe Philbin had the Dolphins going in the right direction Richie Incognito and Jonathon Martin took the team into a new realm of bullying in the work place. Ryan Tannehill continues to grow but Philbin is feeling the heat of having to deliver a winner. Close… but not there yet.

9 – 7/ 2^nd Place AFC EAST

BUFFALO BILLS

The Bills vastly overpaid to trade up for WR Sammy Watkins in the hopes he would develop instant chemistry with QB E.J. Manuel. The pre-season was hardly pretty. The Bills have a good but not great D and have given away more than they could afford to land Watkins who may, in time, become a good receiver in the NFL. He isn’t there yet and neither are the Bills.

7 – 9/ 3^rd Place AFC EAST

NEW YORK JETS

There’s a lot of noise coming from the Big Apple and as usual it’s being made by Rex Ryan and not by the team on the field. Ryan has to do something this year to get the Jets back. It is not happening. QB Geno Smith was good, at times, but most often he was maddeningly inconsistent. Gang Green may be what ultimately does Ryan in.

6 – 10/ 4^th Place AFC EAST

AFC SOUTH

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

The Colts will need a lot of Luck to become one on the big boys of the AFC. In a conference that is suddenly pale in comparison to the NFC the Colts could be the big breakthrough team this year. Yes, they got hosed on the deal with Cleveland for Trent Richardson but with Andrew Luck at the helm the ship is pointed in the right direction.

10 - 6/ 1^st Place AFC SOUTH/ PLAYOFFS

TENNESSEE TITANS

No more Chris Johnson. The blazing RB got the big bucks and coasted his way out of Memphis to the Jets. QB Jake Locker looked good in pre-season, but that is just pre-season. He needs to keep the Titans shaky D off the field. Mediocrity rules!

8 – 8/ 2^nd Place AFC SOUTH

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

The Blake Bortles watch has officially begun. How long will it take for the #3 pick overall to take over a team mired in woefulness? The Jags brass says he’ll sit all year and learn. Harrumph. A few losses in and the fans will be clamoring for him.

6 -10 3^rd Place AFC SOUTH

HOUSTON TEXANS

J.J. Watt. Jadaveon Clowney. Okay, they have a decent pass rush. But who can throw the ball? RB Arian Foster looks more beat up each season and that will happen when he’s been forced to carry the franchise on his shoulders. The Texans will get another high pick this year. Maybe it’s time for a real franchise QB?

5 – 11 4^th Place AFC SOUTH

AFC NORTH

CINCINNATI BENGALS

If any QB in the NFL will benefit more from the new rule changes than Andy Dalton please raise

 

your hand. Dalton’s lack of a big arm will be offset by his short game accuracy. Now Dalton doesn’t need to hit A.J. Green on a bomb; he can dink and dunk with the best of them. RB Giovanni Bernard had a breakout year and will head the running game. Marvin Lewis has carved out a tough defense and the Bengals are out to prove they can win a playoff game.

10 – 6/ 1^st Place AFC NORTH/ PLAYOFFS

BALTIMORE RAVENS

The D has been revamped. Joe Flacco returns. Ozzie Newsome still heads one of football’s savviest front offices. Ray Rice has a two game hiatus for spousal battery. Torrey Smith is still fast and John Harbaugh is the better of the two brothers as a coach. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

9 – 7/ 2^nd Place AFC NORTH/ PLAYOFFS

PITTSBURGH STEELERS

Any hope the Steelers had of returning to the playoffs went up in smoke when #’s 1 & 2 RB’s Le’Veon Bell and LaGarrette Blount were pulled over for blazing up on the way to a preseason game. Bell’s words to the cop citing him were “I didn’t know you could get a DUI for being high.” Well… you can. And he did. And you can also be suspended by Roger Goodell. And he will. Mike Tomlin has a long year in front of him even with a revamped D.

7 – 9/ 3^rd Place AFC NORTH

CLEVELAND BROWNS

Johnny Football? Try Johnny Bench. The Johnny Manziel watch is on and it is as scintillating as watching water freeze and the Brownies implode. We’re not buying the Manziel hype. He’ll need to show more than some after-hours parties, an annoying money rub of the fingers and a middle finger to prove he belongs in the show.

4 – 12/ 4^th Place AFC NORTH

AFC WEST

DENVER BRONCOS

The Broncos and John Elway have mortgaged the future to give Peyton Manning one last shot. The uber-physical Seahawks showed Manning’s magnificent arm is no longer what it used to be. His hyper active tippy-toeing masks the fact that Manning can no longer hit the out route back shoulder throw with authority. The NFL, ever so accommodating to Sir Peyton, has once again altered their rules after Manning’s receivers were manhandled in a Super Bowl. It’ll be a good regular season and an early exit this year.

11 – 5/ 1st Place AFC WEST/ PLAYOFFS

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

This team has been coming on and will soon pass the Broncos. QB Alex Smith has found a home and mentor with offensive minded Andy Reid. The Chiefs D played well above their heads last year but with the number of All Pros don’t overlook the Chiefs. Jamal Charles, Tamba Hali and Justin Houston who is still negotiating make KC imposing. But the O Line needs to plug the leaks and the WR’s need to show up.

10 – 6/ 2^nd Place AFC WEST PLAYOFFS

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS

Philip Rivers is still the QB. Vincent Jackson has been cut. Antonio Gates star is setting. Time to go into rebuild mode in SoCal.

8 – 8/ 3^rd Place AFC WEST

OAKLAND RAIDERS

James Jones has joined Charles Woodson and GM Reggie McKenzie as imports from Green Bay. McKenzie has a good foundation but is forced to start young Derek Carr at QB. The hope is he doesn’t get crushed the way his brother David did in Houston when he was rushed into service too soon.

6 – 10/ 4^th Place AFC WEST

NEXT: THE SEASON OPENER