For those of you that listen to me every Tuesday Night on “The Captain Lou Extravaganza” 8 to 10 pm ET on 12ozsportsradio, you know I’ve previewed each division. Well, here are my final predictions and who will hoist The Lombardi Trophy.
AFC East NFC East
New England 11-5 Philadelphia 12-4
New York 10-6 Dallas 10-6
Buffalo 8-8 Washington 6-10
Miami 3-13 New York 5-11
New England is like Ric Flair. To be the man, you have to beat the man. and they have the pleasure of playing in one of the weakest divisions. They will run roughshod over this division, and now with a solid running game, they are golden. The ONLY reason the Jets win 10 games is because Miami is tanking, and they got a gift of a schedule of not playing any games outside of their time zone. Buffalo has a great defense, but tell me how they are going to score more than 10 points a game? Miami, they are an embarrassment with what they are doing.
Philadelphia, they are the class of the division, by far!! Love their balance, and aslong as Carson Wentz stays healthy, they are golden. Dallas, again benefits with playing in a WEAK division. They can go 5-1 in this division. But it depends obviously, on how long Zeke is out. Dak Prescott is slightly above average, on the verge of being vastly overpaid. Without Zak, he will be exposed. Washington and New York, both in flux at the QB position, both aging teams. Both looking for next year and beyond.
AFC North NFC North
Pittsburgh 11-5 Chicago 11-5
Cleveland 9-7 Detroit 10-6
Baltimore 8-8 Minnesota 9-7
Cincinnati 6-10 Green Bay 7-9
There is a breath of fresh air in Pittsburgh. No more AB, no more LeVeon Bell. Two big distractions, gone!! The cupboard is not exactly bare. Love Connor, Smith Schuster. Big Ben will quietly pass for 5000 yards again. And their defense is underrated. Cleveland is close, but prove to me they can win when it counts. They’ve got the weapons, but can they put it all together. Great defense could surprise and finally get them back to playoffs. I think they are one year away. Baltimore will always be close, but their offense does not scare me one bit.. Cincinnati is stale. What else can you say?
This could be the toughest division. Is Mitch Trubisky the real deal? Love the Montgomery pick on offense. He could be a stud. Defense, of course is great. Can they keep up the torrid pace? Detroit is my sleeper pick. call me a homer, but I like theri defense this year. Got some big pick ups. And they have the makings of a solid running game, which will take the heat off Stafford. Minnesota’s Kurt Cousins has not won when it counts. If he proves he can, then they can overtake Detroit. Everybody says Green Bay is great again! What do they have besides Rodgers. Defense is below average, not much of a running game. Chemistry is always an issue as long as you have Rodgers. His losing will not mask it anymore.
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AFC South NFC South
Houston 9-7 Atlanta 12-4
Jacksonville 9-7 New Orleans 11-5
Indianapolis 9-7 Carolina 9-7
Tennessee 7-9 Tampa Bay 6-10
Ok, grab your darts, or throw all four teams in the AFC South and throw them against the wall and see who sticks first. you talk about a crapshoot division, now. I thought with Luck, Indy had a great shot. They have improved, and with Brissett, they wont be as bad as you may think. But he is not Andrew Luck. Houston then was my choice, but interesting trades, I’m not so sure, now. I’ve never been a Tunsil fan, he always seems disinterested. Can Nick Foles do it for a whole year. They have a great defense, and can Fournette give you a full year, or Dede Westbrook. I hope so for my fantasy team. And in Tennessee, quarterback spot is a huge worry. Give tiebreaker to Houston
NFC South I struggled with. Love Atlanta’s weapons. I think on offense, they are a hair better. Let me say that again a hair better. They have an improving defense. Matt Ryan may be underrated. They have an easier schedule than New Orleans. The Saints, on the other hand, will be playing as if they got robbed last year. And I think they did. But that will only take them so far. Cam Newton is a stud, no doubt, and Christian McCaffrey will get his stats and be huge, but they are in the wrong division. If they were in East or West, they could win it. Tampa Bay, well……..Jameis has to show me he can win and stay healthy, not to mention keep his head on straight. Not sold on their game plan on offense, and losing McCoy will hurt them.
AFC West NFC West
Kansas City 13-3 Los Angeles 12-4
Los Angeles 11-5 Seattle 9-7
Oakland 7-9 San Francisco 8-8
Denver 5-11 Arizona 4-12
Wow, on my show I said Chargers were going to Super Bowl and had the complete team. As long as Melvin Gordon was in camp. And I didn’t know Shady McCoy would be on Kansas City. Huge pick up for the Chiefs! I cannot put LA ahead of Kansas City with a clean conscious after that. They are both still playoff teams, but I cannot do it. Oakland, do not believe the hype. 7 and 9 is a stretch. Next year Jordan Herbert or Jalen Hurts will be QB in Oakland. Denver, they are a mess. Flacco is not the answer. Aging defense. Playing in a division with two elite teams. Time to start over in Denver.
Well ok, there you go! My division predictions, take them to the bank. As far as playoffs, here we go:
AFC,
Los Angeles Chargers over Houston Pittsburgh over New York
Kansas City over Los Angeles New England over Pittsburgh
Kansas City over New England
NFC,
Atlanta over Detroit Chicago over New Orleans
Los Angeles over Atlanta Philadelphia over Chicago
Philadelphia over Los Angeles
SUPER BOWL WINNER:
Kansas City over Philadelphia
Andy Reid finally gets the Super Bowl Trophy that has eluded him!
Carson Wentz wins NFL MVP and my Detroit Lions still cannot win a playoff game.
Now that was a tough thing for me to say! Follow me on twitter @realcaptainlou, and like my facebook page, The Captain Lou Extravaganza!
