|
Jim's
Picks |
Cyd's
Picks |
|
AFC EAST |
|
1.
New
England Patriots:
If
the Patriots win their third consecutive Super Bowl
they will be a team for the ages. But I think they
have lost too many key people, including both
coordinators and the heart of their defense, Tedy
Bruschi, to take it all again. A tough early
schedule means no home-field advantage. |
1.
Buffalo Bills:
I
love teams that employ smart men who take big risks.
Coach Mike Mularkey is one of those guys. In the
offseason, he jettisoned QB Drew Bledsoe and RB
Travis Henry and opted to go with a quarterback who
has never started an NFL game and a running back
who, two years ago, physically could not run. This
team looks so much like last year's Steelers, it's
scary. |
|
2.
New York Jets: How long before Chad Pennington's
arm falls off, or wears out? It's hard to see him
lasting 16 games, which means it's hard to see the
Jets making the playoffs. |
2.
New
England Patriots:
I
remember a couple years ago, after the Ravens won
the Super Bowl. The lost Jamal Lewis in the
preseason, and I just thought they were too good to
be affected. I was wrong. This Patriots team has
lost about four Jamal Lewises; it's just too much. |
|
3.
Buffalo Bills: Meet Mr. Happy Feet, J.P. Losman,
the new quarterback. He is a run-first,
throw-second kind of quarterback. The Bills may
have the best defense in football, but Losman's
inexperience will hamper them. |
3.
New
York Jets:
This team is being hyped because of the signing of
CB Ty Law. But, when the head coach is saying that
QB Chad Pennington is going to have to ease into the
season, that's not a good sign. |
|
4.
Miami Dolphins: This figures to be a long season
for new coach Nick Saban. He may hit up Ricky
Williams for a bit of weed to try and stay mellow. |
4. Miami Dolphins:
I
am actually totally intrigued by this team, and I
don't think they're going to be as bad as last year.
They still have a good defense, and they still have
a good running attack. The problem is, Gus Frerotte
is no Jay Fielder (and that's not a good thing). |
|
AFC NORTH |
|
1.
Cincinnati Bengals: I'm taking a flyer here.
The Bengals have the best offense not in
Indianapolis and a terrific coach in Marvin Lewis.
A little defense and the Kitties will make the
playoffs for the first time since 1990. |
1.
Cincinnati Bengals:
Don't worry, Jim - this is no flyer. The Bengals are
the real deal like they haven't been since the
early 1990s. Carson Palmer is finally going to pay off
that #1-pick status, the two Johnsons (Rudi and
Chad) are going to have monster years, and you're
finally going to see the defense that hiring Marvin
Lewis was supposed to bring to this team. |
|
2.
Pittsburgh Steelers: No way the Steelers go 15-1
again. In the Bill Cowher era, the Steelers have
always stumbled a bit after a terrific season. The
defense will be excellent, but rookie phenom Ben
Roethlisberger has looked terrible in the
preseason. |
2.
Baltimore Ravens:
Luckily for the Ravens, you don't need a good offense to win in
this division. I think Kyle Boller will be better
this season than last season; and that's all he has
to be. This just might be the most talented team in
the NFL, top-to-bottom. The problem is, their weak
link is the most important position on the field. |
|
3.
Baltimore Ravens: I'm not as high on this team
as many others. Their defense will be solid, but
quarterback Kyle Boller has not progressed much
since his rookie year. The Ravens narrowly miss the
playoffs. |
3.
Pittsburgh Steelers:
Everything just seems to have gone terribly wrong
for this team since beating the Jets in the
divisional round of last year's playoffs. QB
Ben
Roethlisberger looks terrible, they lost WR Plaxico
Burress, both starting running backs may be out
until almost October, and the fans are getting
restless with coach Bill Cowher. If they start cold,
expect them to just be thankful that the Browns are
in their division. |
|
4.
Cleveland Browns: The Browns have been a mistake
by the lake since their reentry into the NFL. New
coach Romeo Crennell will right the ship, but the
first has to bail out all the water first. |
4.
Cleveland Browns:
The
good thing for the Browns this season is that there
is absolutely no expectation for them to win more
than two games. A new coach, a stud TE who's dumber
than he looks, running back by committee and a
quarterback no one wants - this is not the recipe
for success. |
|
AFC SOUTH |
|
1.
Indianapolis Colts: This may be the Colts best
shot at the Super Bowl. An easy early part of the
schedule should give them a leg up on AFC
home-field. Peyton Manning and the offense will be
spectacular again, and new blood in the secondary
will help the defense. But woe to the Ponies if
they have to play in New England again in January. |
1.
Jacksonville Jaguars:
According to my best estimates, the Jaguars have the
easiest schedule against pass defenses and the
easiest schedule against run defenses this season.
Enter an offense full of potential, and a defense
that won games for them last year, and you've got
the making of a return to glory. |
|
2.
Jacksonville Jaguars: This is a bland team
playing in a bland city. Quarterback Byron Leftwich
is steadily improving and the defense of front is
solid, so expect the Jags to be in a lot of close
games. A wild card berth is possible if everything
falls into place. |
2.
Indianapolis Colts: In 2003, the Kansas City
Chiefs had an unstoppable offense but a poor
defense. Before 2004, they refused to hire new
defensive talent. They went 7-9 the next year. The Colts did the
same thing before this year: one of the League's
worst defenses, and coach Tony Dungy simply focused
on building the offense. The injury bug already hit WR Brandon Stokley. I have a baaaaad feeling about
this. |
|
3.
Houston Texans: Will David Carr ever live up to
his billing? He gets more attention for his
haircuts than for his play. The Texans will be lucky
if they can go 8-8. |
3. Houston Texans:
I expect this team to improve for the third straight
season. The problem is, an even 8-8 would only be
good enough for third place here. David Carr is the
hottest man in football (sports? does anyone say
sports?), but TE Billy Miller
. . . not so much. |
|
4.
Tennessee Titans: Once NFL royalty, the Titans
are now among the paupers. Quarterback Steve McNair
is healthy so the Titans will be explosive on
offense. But the defense is way too shaky for
Tennessee to do much this season. |
4.
Tennessee Titans: Too many people are taking
this team too lightly. They still have some talent
and still have guys who know how to win. A 7-9
record would be an achievement; but, they're going
to play spoiler to a couple of teams that take them
lightly. |
|
AFC WEST |
|
1.
Kansas City Chiefs: The Chiefs spent a lot of
money on revamping their terrible defense. If it
pays off, this will be a playoff team. The
offensive line is football's best and helps
compensate for fairly mediocre wide receivers. |
1.
Kansas City Chiefs: What I love about the Chiefs
is what I love about the Vikings this year: they've
learned. 1) Build an offensive line (check); 2) Have
a solid backup RB (check); 3) Have a serviceable
passing game (check check); 4) Improve your defense
(check check check). Anything short of the Super
Bowl for this team would be a serious
disappointment. |
|
2.
San Diego Chargers: Show me your lightning
bolt! The Chargers surprised everyone in 2004 and
it looks like it was not a mirage. In LaDainian
Tomlinson, they have the games best running back,
and quarterback Drew Bees looks entrenched as the
starter. But the key question is can Marty
Schottenheimer ever win another playoff game? |
2.
Oakland Raiders: What a guy like Randy Moss
brings you is swagger. It's what Raiders coach Norv
Turner had when he was with Dallas, but it's what he
was lacking in San Diego, Washington and Miami. This
offense is going to be explosive; all the defense
has to do is hang in there. |
|
3.
Denver Broncos: It amuses me that every year the
Broncos retool and every year the experts go ga-ga.
It's happening again this year as the Broncos signed
pretty much anyone who has ever played defensive
line for the Cleveland Browns. It may look good on
paper but 2005 will mark the seventh consecutive
year the Broncos will not win a playoff game. |
3.
Denver Broncos: The Broncos didn't get better
and didn't get worse in the offseason; the problem
is, much of the rest of the AFC got better. In the
toughest division in football, running in place and
hoping to get better just isn't going to cut it. I'm
predicting a career year for Jake Plummer; but,
importing the Browns' offensive line just doesn't
make any sense. |
|
4.
Oakland Raiders: Randy Moss is the perfect
Raider, so his antics may not draw near the amount
of attention they did in white-bread Minnesota. New
running back Lamont Jordan may be the next Priest
Holmes, but with a leaky defense look for a lot of
31-27 scores. There may be no more fun team to
watch this year than Oakland. |
4.
San Diego Chargers:
Again, this is the toughest division in football;
and the Chargers just didn't get better in the
offseason. They could be 8-8, or even 9-7, and
finish dead last in this division. I just think that
Philip Rivers is going to get his shot at some point
soon; and that this will probably be the year. |
|
PLAYOFFS |
Wild card round
New England over Pittsburgh
Cincinnati over San Diego
Divisional Round
Indianapolis over Cincinnati
Kansas City over New England
AFC Championship
Indianapolis over Kansas City
Super Bowl XL
Indianapolis over Carolina |
Wild card round
New England over Jacksonville
Buffalo over Baltimore
Divisional Round
Kansas City over New England
Cincinnati over Buffalo
AFC Championship
Kansas City over Cincinnati
Super Bowl XL
Kansas City over St. Louis |
|
Related:
2005
NFC Preview |
