My Preseason Predictions

Every year, I like to pick my favorites for the playoffs while the preseason is still going on. This year, I did just that. However, two weeks of football have been played since those picks were created. I would like to post the picks I made during the week before the final preseason game. I sent them to a friend online, so I have just pulled the message up and I will post it below.


Christopher's Official 2010 Preseason Playoff Predicitons

AFC:
Division Winners:
North: Ravens
South: Texans
East: Jets
West: Chargers

*I've been picking the Ravens for years... well, at least the last two. Last year I predicted Ravens over Vikings, and this year I like the way they look (Well, at least I did in the preseason).
*The Texans are the team to beat in the South this year. I figured all offseason that it was their time to shine over the dominant Colts. The Colts are slowly reverting into a meaningless franchise, and in a few years I think they will be just that. The Texans' reign begins now.
*The Jets seemed to be everyone's AFC honey this year, and I like them to win the division, but the Dolphins and the Pats are knockin' on the door. I still foresaw it this way before any games had been played (and they have since beaten the Pats once).
*The Chargers are kind of the default team in the West. They are in a division with no one spectacular, and it's hard to choose any of those teams to take over. But I like what I saw from the Raiders last year, and the Broncos aren't that bad either. KC was my sleeper team last year, but they proved me wrong. The bottom line for the AFC West is that no one is great, everyone is at least a little decent).

Wild Cards:
Bengals
Colts

*The Bengals look to be overtaken by the Ravens this year, like I said, more or less. The Steelers don't seem to have the advantage after losing Roethlisberger for four weeks and Holmes forever (At least that is what I thought... the defense is proving to be fantastic and the offense might spark up when Ben is back. They are currently undefeated, 2-0, and on top of the division).
*The Colts are still semi-relevant, and they play two games against the Jags and two against the Titans every year. Let's face it, the Titans are just Chris Johnson. And Chris Johnson doesn't beat Manning, Clark, Wayne, Garcon, Sanders, Freeney and company. The Texans will win the division and the Colts will barely make the playoffs thanks to their talent and a few cushion games.

Sleepers:
Raiders
Dolphins

*My preseason thought was, "Hey, the Raiders have a half-decent QB now. They can have Campbell throw it to their fine selection of young receivers, and the defense isn't really all that bad. It's a long shot, but in their weak division, they could make the playoffs." And that's why they were on of my sleepers. Since then, Campbell has been benched, the receivers have suffered, and they haven't seemed to be the team I have talked them up to be. But they've only played two games, and after all, they're just sleepers anyway.
*The Dolphins are also what I thought to be a good pick. Henne was better than I expected, Pat White was a great Wildcat QB (He's fast and he has an arm on him) and Brandon Marshall was now receiving passes for the Fins. Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams are a good backfield, and the defense is very underestimated. Since then, Henne has been called out by his team's management for not progressing the way they thought he would, but they're currently 2-0 and have a better record than everyone else in the division. So I like this pick even now. The defense played a great game against Minnesota, and they have allowed only 20 points through two games. Not too shabby.


NFC:
Division Champs:

North: Packers
South: Saints
East: Cowboys
West: 49ers

*I fell on to the boat of people (A very large boat) that said that the Packers were going to win it all this year. But they really did look like the team with the makings of a championship. Aaron Rodgers has wiped away all thoughts of Favre, and his receivers all can make some noise and do damage. Their linebackers are fantastic, and they have the reigning Defensive MVP in Charles Woodson. And to put it simply, Ryan Grant is the most underrated RB in the league (but in today's times, he is down and out, placed on IR due to an injury caused in the first week). The Packers will stomp this division, where the only real competetion is with Minnesota. I had them going all the way, and to be honest, it's still a pretty good decision.
*The Saints pick hurt me inside. I had no reason to pick them the year before and I don't like picking them this year. But really, how could I not? They play 6 games against Tampa Bay, Atlanta, and the Panthers. They also play Arizona, Cleveland, Seattle, and St. Louis. They have it good. Of those ten games, they could go 10-0. And no one other than possibly Atlanta has the potential to dethrone them as division champions. So that's why I had them winning again.
*The Cowboys pick hurts me, as I am an Eagles fan. It seemed very logical, as they looked impressive last year and figured to only add to their team's talent this year. But today, they sit 0-2, in last place in the NFC East. That pleases me. I hated this pick, but they seemingly had what it takes. Here's to seeing if they turn it around.
*The 49ers are also one of those teams that has had a steadily increasing bandwagon. But they have done a lot of things right, and Frank Gore is still amazing. Their defense looks stacked on paper, and Patrick Willis is arguably the best in the league at his position. Michael Crabtree should be a good WR, and Ted Ginn Jr. probably wants to prove himself. Also, Brian Westbrook is not a backup RB, but in San Fransisco, he is. That's a good situation to be in. This whole NFC West division is impressive, and as a whole, the division is improving. But the Cards lost Kurt Warner and Anquan Boldin, the offense will not shine under Leinart (now a Texan backup) or Anderson. Beanie Wells is not a back to get excited about yet, and let's face it, the Cardinals best defense was indeed their offense. Darnell Dockett can't stop 11 offensive players himself. I expect the 49ers to win this division.

Wild Cards:Vikings
Falcons

*I hate myself picking the Vikings, but it's hard not to, even with Sidney Rice out for half of the season. If Favre goes down then it is a different story. But he won't. They still have Adrian Peterson in the backfield though, and a decent set of Wide Receivers to compliment a great defense. Besides, the Vikings play in a pretty easy division. Other than the Packers, of course. I think they can make it to the playoffs given the right circumstances.
*I picked the Falcons to win the division and go to the NFC Championship last year. I still like them. I knew Michael Turner was going to become a great running back somewhere, and the Falcons make sure they give him enough carries to make me correct. If he can stay healthy, he's an important role to this team making the playoffs. Matt Ryan is also somewhat underrated, and he just needs to get his head on straight and he could make a real name for himself. Roddy White is an excellent receiver, and this team is decent overall. However, the defense could be better, and the NFC has a ton of potential Wild Cards, so anything could happen. This was a tough choice but I like it.

Sleepers:
It is hard to pick two sleepers for this conference, because almost every other team falls here. But the two you need to look for to creep up and cause ruckus are:

St. Louis Rams
Washington Redskins

*This is a risky, risky call. But remember, they still have Steven Jackson. He was once a great running back, and I seem to recall him once going for over 2300 all-purpose yards in a season. Sam Bradford is the best-valued number 1 pick in the last decade. This team is very underrated and even though they lost their number one receiver (Donnie Avery, and they have since traded for Mark Clayton and he has been doing a lot of work for the team) I think they can still do some serious damage. NOTE: The rest of their division also could be sleepers... the Seahawks are poised to become a threat like they were back in '05. That might take a few years, but it might happen now. They are making good moves, and don't underestimate Pete Carroll as a coach in the NFL.
*Picking the Redskins screws with me. I liked 'em because they have (scratch that, had) three good RBs, although Willie Parker probably won't make the regular season roster (correct. He did not. And yesterday, they cut Larry Johnson, although they said there is a possibility he'll be back). They have a great QB who I wish was still in Philly (although with the return of Vick, I may wish to retract that statement), which is probably the reason the Eagles aren't on my lists. Anyway, McNabb, Portis, Larry Johnson (if he returns, remember, I wrote this a while ago), Fletcher, a disgruntled Haynesworth, Cooley, Devin Thomas (who hasn't done much at all), Santana Moss, and Coach Shanahan are ready to make noise in the NFC East. The Giants aren't great, the Cowboys always seem to blow their excessive potential, and the Eagles lost a good group of football players. So if the Redskins at least make the playoffs, I won't be surprised.


That being said, all tons of it, here's the Playoffs:
NFC Championship:
Green Bay over Dallas

AFC Championship:
Ravens over Texans

Super Bowl:
Packers over Ravens
*Probably crazy to have the Texans going that far, but it is what it is. I like the way they look. This is only a preseason prediction anyway, so I have nothing to be ashamed of if I'm terribly, terribly, wrong. Which will probably be the case.