AFC North
Steelers (11-5)
The Steelers are primed for an amazing season. Offensively, there is no other team in the league that can match this team personnel-wise. They’ve surrounded two time Superbowl champion Ben Roethlisberger with RB Le’veon Bell, and WRs Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant. They may have lost two key defensive players (one being future hall of famer Troy Polamalu) but their offense will be able to carry them far into the playoffs.
Ravens (11-5)
I believe it’ll be a dogfight between the Steelers and Ravens for the division title. The Ravens are coming off another stellar offseason. RB Justin Forsett is back after a rather surprising season and I do not expect him to slow down. WR Steve Smith is back for one last season and he’ll be giving it his all to go out on a winning note. I think elite QB Joe Flacco will have the best season of his career. Defensively, Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil will be back in the nightmares of QBs this season. Look forward to seeing this team on your tv screen in February.
Bengals (10-6)
Andy Dalton is yet to win a playoff game, but that may change this year. He still has top five WR AJ Green and two excellent RBs in Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill. But it’s not the offense that will determine this team’s success. If this team was in any other division they would win more than 10 games but that sadly isn’t the case.
Browns (6-10)
With this division the Browns, once again, have no shot at making the playoffs. Johnny Manziel has yet to prove himself. This team hasn’t changed for the better, they’ve changed for the worse. If that was even possible of course.
AFC South
Colts (12-4)
This team has had a great offense for a solid amount of time. The only reason they haven’t been to the Super Bowl yet is due to their weak defense. If Andrew Luck can keep being Andrew Luck and their defense steps it up, you might see this team go far this year.
Texans (9-7)
QB troubles after QB troubles lead me to believe the Texans won’t have as good of a season as everyone expects them to have. With Brian Hoyer starting over Ryan Mallet you can already see they don’t have much depth at the position. Maybe they’ll be able to pull it off but I certainly don’t think so.
Jaguars (3-13)
The Jacksonville Jaguars have only won 14 games in the past 4 seasons. They may have added Julius Thomas but that won’t make a too big of a difference. The defense is still the same which was a major flaw in their game last year.
Titans (2-14)
After finishing at 2-14 last season I don’t think they’ll improve at all. Marcus Mariota hasn’t been too great so far in the preseason. He’ll continue struggling throughout the season which will lead to an expected disappointing season for the Titans.
AFC West
Broncos (11-5)
Everything that happens to the Broncos will be because of Peyton Manning. Their season is in his hands. With news that he has no sensation in his fingertips, fans were unsettled but that shouldn’t be a problem. The Broncos will be able to pull off another impressive season. Who knows? If Manning plays like November 2014 then you may see this team playing in February.
Chiefs (9-7)
The Chiefs will be a disappointment from last season but may have a shot at the wild card spot. If their defense can continue carrying this mediocre offense they’ll be able to pull off at best a 10-6 season. The return of Eric Berry will be a huge factor in this team’s success.
Chargers (9-7)
The Chargers are a solid team with a decent roster. If Philip Rivers can play well, and Melvin Gordon can prove himself, then this team will go far. Sadly the Chiefs, and the Broncos can both beat this team. They have much better rosters and much better depth at all positions.
Raiders (7-9)
The signing of Jack Del Rio will help this team quite a lot this season. But certainly not enough in a division where three of the four teams are playoff contenders. Derek Carr had a decent season last year, and he’ll have a similar one this year. This team will not make the playoffs.
AFC East
Patriots (12-4)
The Patriots have had a weak offseason. They lost many key players and have dodged a bullet with Tom Brady not being suspened 4 weeks. The Patriots offense looked good a few nights ago against the Steelers. They picked up where they left off. The defense looked questionable at times throughout the night. Belichick + Brady = legitimate chance.
Dolphins (10-6)
Ryan Tannehill is a great QB. They signed Jordan Cameron to replace Charles Clay which in my perspective is a win for them. The Dolphins will be playing for a wildcard spot once again this season.
Bills (10-6)
The Buffalo Bills drafted Sammy Watkins last year. Now they have Percy Harvin, Charles Clay, and not to mention LeSean McCoy. They may not have a solid qb, but I believe in Tyrod Taylor. He didn’t spend all this time backing up Joe Flacco for nothing. The signing of Rex Ryan will boost their defense to extreme proportions. You may see this team playing in the playoffs.
Jets (4-12)
The New York Jets seem to have nothing working for them. They signed Darrelle Revis, but lost Percy Harvin and are stuck with Geno Smith and Chris Ivory. Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker will have to hope for a QB change if they want to win.
NFC North
Packers (11-5)
Aaron Rodgers. That is all. As long as the green and gold have him, they're going win the division. Jordy Nelson going down is going to sting but is not going to hurt this team's chance of winning the division. Rodgers makes the players around him great regardless of who it is. The defense should be good enough for the NFC North.
Lions (10-6)
Losing Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley is a major blow to the defense. However, they replaced Suh with Haloti Ngata, who is a monster DT in his own right. The offense is beyond stacked and Calvin Johnson should be 100% for the start of the season. The Lions will only go as far as Matthew Stafford will take them.
Vikings (9-7)
This one of the more intriguing teams in the NFC. The Vikings are getting AP back, Teddy Bridgewater has emerged and they have tons of raw talent on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. If they can put it all together, a wild card isn't out of the realm of possibility. The Vikings have drafted very well the last few years and it's going to show. Watch out for this team going forward.
Bears (6-10)
The Bears have assembled one of the best coaching staffs in the NFL this off-season. Which is a major upgrade over Marc Trestman and his coaching staff the past two years. That alone should be good enough for a 2-3 game improvement. However, there are a lot of questions surrounding the roster. Ryan Pace has begun his rebuild and is off to a good start. It will take some time and patience but do not expect anything from the 2015 Chicago Bears.
NFC South
Falcons (10-6)
The Falcons went 2-14 last year. Don't expect that again. They've made some big changes over the off-season. It started with the coaching staff. Mike Smith was shown the door and Seahawks DC, Dan Quinn was brought it. The rest of the group isn't too shabby either. Atlanta did a nice job during the draft and everyone you look they've been graded well. Vic Beasley will bolster that defense and Tevin Coleman will most likely be the starting RB. Already equipped with Jones, White, Hester and Ryan, the offense should so some good things
Buccaneers (8-8)
Call me crazy but I believe the Buccaneers are going to be a decent team this year. Year two under Lovie's schemes showed a great improvement (i.e 2005 Bears). The Bucs had a decent draft headlined by Jameis Winston. Winston was the most NFL ready QB in the draft and if he can stop his off the field shenanigans should be a good QB in this league. They're not there yet but will take a big step forward in 2015.
Panthers (7-9)
Losing Kelvin Benjamin is going to be a bigger blow than originally thought. The Panthers may struggle scoring points. Cam Newton does his superman schtick but we all know that he can't do it alone. Luckily, they have enough (Olsen, Stewart) to win some games. This team's success will be predicated on the defense. Luke Kuechly and now Charles Tillman. Should be fun to watch.
Saints (7-9)
I don't have much faith in the Saints anymore. Brees is getting older and there isn't much there in terms of talent that "wows" you. They had their run and won a Super Bowl in 2009. It's time for the Saints to build for the future. They traded Jimmy Graham to the Seahawks. That should tell you all you need to know about their plans.
NFC West
Seahawks (12-4)
Despite losing a couple big pieces on defense (including Chancellor holding out), they're still the team to beat in the NFC. They added Jimmy Graham to their offense that already consists of Lynch and Wilson. It's going to be extremely frustrating and annoying for defenses to stop them.
Cardinals (10-6)
Arizona already was a good team with their defense. If Carson Palmer didn't go down last year, they'd be right there again. This off-season they picked up Chris Johnson to pair with Andre Ellington and upgraded their weakness. It doesn't hurt that they drafted very, very well. They graded out extremely well. Despite this, still going to be tough winning the division in the NFC West.
Rams (9-7)
Much like the Vikings, this is a young up and coming team. The defensive line is tremendous and there is depth there too. Offensively, they traded for Nick Foles and shipped out Sam Bradford. They drafted Todd Gurley (who once he's healthy, will be a monster). Are the Rams still a under the radar team? Probably. Which bodes well for them and badly for the NFL. They're coming.
49ers (5-11)
This is the team that has incurred the biggest loss and will drop off the most. It's a been a rough off-season for the 49ers. Jim Harbaugh went to Michigan, Aldon Smith and Ray McDonald just couldn't stay out of trouble, Frank Gore and Mike Iupati left and went elsewhere and four key players retired early into their careers. There aren't enough moves they could make in one season to get over the losses they suffered. It's going to be rough season for them.
NFC East
Eagles (11-5)
I'm high on the Eagles this year. They've made some big changes and shocked the world this off-season. Chip Kelly doesn't give a damn what anyone thinks and he's doing his thing. They lost Maclin, McCoy, Foles and got Murray, Bradford and Byron Maxwell. Philly did well in the draft grabbing WR Nelson Agholor and CB Eric Rowe. In what seemed like an odd off-season, the Eagles have actually gotten better. Surprisingly.
Cowboys (11-5)
It was a catch! It was disappointing end to their season but fear not. The Cowboys are returning to the playoffs. They've upgraded their defense and acquired players that Rod Marinelli loves. Greg Hardy and rookie Randy Gregory should bolster that defensive line. They even signed undrafted FA, OT La'el Collins. Collins was poised to be a high 1st round pick but got red flagged for something he had nothing to do with. The biggest loss this off-season was DeMarco Murray but if what everyone is saying is true. The offensive line should yield another 1000 yard runner no matter who the RB is. Joseph Randle, Darren McFadden....you're up.
Giants (8-8)
The team locked up Eli Manning to a brand new deal. This will most likely allow him to retire a Giant. The G-men added Shane Vereen to the mix this off-season allowing them to be three deep at RB. They also drafted S Landon Collins from Alabama. Collins should solidify the position and replace Antrel Rolle. The biggest story of the off-season, though, was JPP losing a finger or two in a fireworks accident. JPP should be back at some point in the season and still be effective. The Giants are a .500 team.
Redskins (4-12)
No words to express the Redskins. But a picture is worth a thousand words....so here are 2000 of them.
Super Bowl 50
Give me the Steelers and the Seahawks this year in the biggest game of them all. The Steelers will take this one and win their 7th championship in franchise history.
I'd like to thank my cousin, Kunaal, for helping out and splitting the work load on this prediction blog. Just like two running backs, it'll keep the starter fresh throughout the season. Also, I'd like it be known that the Super Bowl prediction does not reflect his opinion and was 100% mine.
