2012 NFL Preview

It is time. The 2012 NFL season is upon us, and I shall share with you my predictions, which I expect will be way off by the middle of the season. I feel like every year I pick the New England Patriots to win it all. SPOILER ALERT: Expect more of that in 2012. One of these years I'll get it right.

DIVISION PREDICTIONS

AFC East
1. New England Patriots (13-3)
2. Buffalo Bills (8-8)
3. New York Jets (7-9)
4. Miami Dolphins (4-12)

The 2011 Chad Ochocinco/Albert Haynesworth experiment went all wrong, yet still, the Patriots found themselves in the Super Bowl again. It seems like their defense should be improved, and who gives a shit about your ground game when you have two ridiculously athletic tight ends and Tom Brady can make a viable weapon out of anyone. I firmly believe New England is the real deal this year. Adding Mario Williams to the defensive line has certainly improved Buffalo's defense, and their offense can actually be sort of formidable at times, but they will still fall short of playoff contention. The New York Jets are going to be the laughing stock of the NFL thanks to the Rex Ryan/Mark Sanchez/Tim Tebow Show, and it's gonna be a blast to watch. The Dolphins lost a lot of very close games last year, but in a lot of ways, I feel like they've gotten worse.

AFC North
1. Baltimore Ravens (11-5)
2. Pittsburgh Steelers (11-5)
3. Cincinnati Bengals (8-8)
4. Cleveland Browns (3-13)

I don't think this division is quite as scary as it once was. The race between the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers should always be a close and entertaining one, but they have glaring weaknesses that need to be addressed soon. Both of their defenses can still be top notch, but they are getting way too old. Everyone knows Joe Flacco is mediocre, or at best simply decent, and he is still overrated. Thanks to the immense talents of Ray Rice, Baltimore gets the edge, but Pittsburgh's passing attack is far superior at this point, and Ben Roethlisberger can win games in the most ridiculous of circumstances. The Cincinnati Bengals are definitely an up-and-coming team, with a young, quality defense along with the Andy Daulton/A.J. Green combo that could be lights out in a couple of years. Adding Benjarvus Green-Ellis is huge, in my opinion, as he will be the workhorse that Cedric Benson was, but is capable of scoring a lot more often. However, the inexperience will be the team's downfall, and I see them missing the playoffs. Trent Richardson could be the future perennial running back for the Cleveland Browns, but they are completely doomed otherwise.

AFC South
1. Houston Texans (11-5)
2. Tennessee Titans (7-9)
3. Indianapolis Colts (5-11)
4. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-13)

It's hard to say which is weaker between the AFC South and West divisions. I would argue for the South, but not very confidently. I am sort of a believer in the Houston Texans. There defense was surprisingly good last year, considering Mario Williams was out for a healthy portion of the season. That the team lost him and DeMeco Ryans makes it hard for me to believe that they're going to be as good in 2012. However, if Andre Johnson, who really is in a three-way tie with Calvin Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald as the best wide receiver in the NFL, and Matt Schaub, who is somewhat underrated, can remain healthy for the entire year, this Houston offense should be among the best in the NFL in every way. The Tennessee Titans will win less games than they did in 2011, but somehow will seem better thanks to a probable resurgence in running back Chris Johnson, who should be the best in the league, and sophomore QB Jake Locker's increase in confidence. I will not deny being one of the believers in Andrew Luck being the second coming of Peyton Manning, and with Donald Brown and Reggie Wayne being the number one guys at their positions (and potentially outright studs), the Colts should be better than everyone thinks they will be. The MJD holdout just ended in Jacksonville, but he is literally the only bright spot on that team at this point in time. The Jaguars are probably the worst team in the NFL, or at least the AFC.

AFC West
1. Denver Broncos (11-5)
2. San Diego Chargers (9-7)
3. Oakland Raiders (7-9)
4. Kansas City Chiefs (5-11)

I believe that it will take a couple of weeks for Peyton Manning to readjust to playing in the big game and getting back to the level of play that we're used to seeing from him, but it will definitely happen, and the Denver Broncos will win the AFC West because of it. In fact, with such a young, impressionable passing game to work with, and the reemergence of Willis McGahee, the Broncos could be the hottest team in the AFC when heading into the playoffs. The San Diego Chargers are barely good, and it's only because Philip Rivers is such a good quarterback, even if he is a douchebag and an asshole. This is said every year, but if San Diego can't make it past the first round of the playoffs this year, Norv Turner is finally done as head coach. The Raiders could compete if Darren McFadden can remain healthy and Carson Palmer can properly ease into such a young and potentially dangerous offense in a full season. But, none of that will probably happen. The Kansas City Chiefs are going to run with the ball like hell, and Dwayne Bowe will have good numbers, but that does not make this a quality team. I am rooting for QB Matt Cassel, though.

NFC East
1. New York Giants (11-5)
2. Philadelphia Eagles (11-5)
3. Dallas Cowboys (8-8)
4. Washington Redskins (6-10)

The NFC East is always competitive in a very entertaining way, but I don't see any of these teams getting to the Super Bowl. Even the reigning SB champion New York Giants, who didn't change much. Yes, they will fare much better than they did in the 2011 regular season, but their second Cinderella story in the past five years is over, despite the fact that Eli Manning should finally be considered a good quarterback. The Philadelphia Eagles are actually the most terrifying team here. If they get a full season out of Michael Vick, watch out. If his accuracy isn't the greatest, they still have an intimidating number of offensive weapons including LeSean McCoy, who is about to become the absolute greatest all-purpose back since Marshall Faulk. The Dallas Cowboys COULD be great. They have the stars both on offense and defense. There are too many big egos here, though, and like they have the past seasons, they will implode and fall well short of the post-season. I will be cheering on Robert Griffin, III big time due to having him in one of my keeper fantasy football leagues, but my interest in this Washington Redskins team ends there. RGIII does not have the weapons that Cam Newton had last year to replicate that kind of performance.

NFC North
1. Green Bay Packers (13-3)
2. Chicago Bears (10-6)
3. Detroit Lions (9-7)
4. Minnesota Vikings (6-10)

I don't need to say much about the Green Bay Packers. They will again be the best team in the NFC and maybe the entire NFL because of Aaron Rodgers and his plethora of receivers. All Cedric Benson has to do to make them better on offense is run at 75% of the way he did in Cincinnati. I'm going to assume that the way the defense performed last year is an anomaly, because usually the Green Bay defense is of the highest quality, and they do have some studs. If that is indeed the case, then Green Bay wins it all in 2012. Chicago's acquisitions of wide receiver Brandon Marshall and running back Michael Bush do not instantly make them Super Bowl contenders, but unfortunately they DO make them better than our Detroit Lions. They will both miss the playoffs though, as the NFC in general is quite stacked, at least compared to the AFC. I look forward to another incredible season of Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson hooking up, and Detroit should still finish with a winning record (like, 9-7), but I'm much more excited about this team and their slightly more distant future. Even if Adrian Peterson is back and healthy, the Minnesota Vikings are screwed, because this really is going to be one tough division.

NFC South
1. Atlanta Falcons (12-4)
2. New Orleans Saints (10-6)
3. Carolina Panthers (8-8)
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-12)

The NFC South is another division that should be very competitive in 2012. After the Packers, the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints are really the teams to beat. I don't understand why everyone doesn't love Matt Ryan. True, he did not throw for 5,000 yards and 35 touchdowns last year. However, he did throw for almost 4,200 yards and tossed 29 TDs, and that's more than enough when you have a running back like Michael Turner (as long as he can avoid injury or overworking himself). Thing is, Ryan's stats should blossom to those of Brady, Brees, Rodgers and Stafford as Julio Jones is probably the next great receiver of our time. Thanks to the repercussions of Bountygate, the New Orleans Saints aren't going to breeze through the regular season like they did last year. Even so, their defense isn't very good anyway, and Sean Payton or not, Drew Brees is really the guy who runs this offense. That being the case, they will still make the playoffs, and Brees will take home the NFL MVP award for it. If Cam Newton really is the real deal, and it feels like he is, then the Panthers are going to the playoffs in 2013. Until then, they still have some growing to do, particularly on defense and in the receiving game beyond Steve Smith. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers did a lot of things to get better (like draft running back Doug Martin and sign former Chargers wide receiver Vincent Jackson), but they are destined to be terrible again this year. Trust me. They're another team with too many egos (namely Jackson, who will not put up with the spotty QB play of Josh Freeman).

NFC West
1. San Francisco 49ers (10-6)
2. Arizona Cardinals (6-10)
3. Seattle Seahawks (6-10)
4. St. Louis Rams (3-13)

It was kind of nice to see the San Francisco 49ers be good again. It's just not the same as those classic late-80s/early-90s teams though. Alex Smith is not the answer, nor is anybody else on this team. I believe their defense will lead them to a second straight NFL West title, but this team will be nowhere near as good as its 2011 version. If the Arizona Cardinals could one day land an actual quarterback in these post-Kurt Warner days, then that automatically puts them at the top of the division, because this defense ain't half bad. And, it sure is terrifying to think of what Larry Fitzgerald could do with an elite QB now-a-days if he can catch 80 balls for 1,400+ yards and eight TDs with Kevin Kolb and John Skelton tossing him the rock. It's hilarious to me that the Seattle Seahawks payed so much money for former Aaron Rodgers backup Matt Flynn (I was actually into this considering how successful Seattle was with former Brett Favre backup Matt Hasselbeck in the early 2000s) and it turns out their starting third round draft pick Russell Wilson out of the gates. If what Wilson has shown us in the preseason is legit (probably not), that combined with running back Marshawn Lynch and a half-way decent defense could mean competition for the 49ers. I'm not banking on it though. If the Jacksonville Jaguars aren't the worst team in the NFL, the St. Louis Rams are.

POSTSEASON AWARDS

Coach of the Year: Gary Kubiak (Houston)
Comeback Player of the Year: Peyton Manning (QB, Denver)
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Morris Claiborne (CB, Dallas)
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Andrew Luck (QB, Indianapolis)
Defensive Player of the Year: Patrick Willis (LB, San Francisco)
Offensive Player of the Year: LeSean McCoy (RB, Philadelphia)
Most Valuable Player: Drew Brees (QB, New Orleans)

PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS

AFC
1. New England Patriots
2. Houston Texans
3. Denver Broncos
4. Baltimore Ravens
5. Pittsburgh Steelers
6. San Diego Chargers

NFC
1. Green Bay Packers
2. Atlanta Falcons
3. New York Giants
4. San Francisco 49ers
5. Philadelphia Eagles
6. New Orleans Saints

AFC Wild Card Round
Denver Broncos over San Diego Chargers
Pittsburgh Steelers over Baltimore Ravens

NFC Wild Card Round
New Orleans Saints over New York Giants
Philadelphia Eagles over San Francisco 49ers

AFC Divisional Round
New England Patriots over Pittsburgh Steelers
Denver Broncos over Houston Texans

NFC Divisional Round
Green Bay Packers over New Orleans Saints
Atlanta Falcons over Philadelphia Eagles

AFC Championship
New England Patriots over Denver Broncos

NFC Championship
Atlanta Falcons over Green Bay Packers

Super Bowl XLVII
New England Patriots over Atlanta Falcons

Super Bowl XLVII MVP
Tom Brady (QB, New England)