NFL Recap

Congratulations to the Baltimore Ravens on winning the Super Bowl over the San Francisco 49ers.  Whether you doubt the legality of having injured superstars Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs back so soon or not, the Ravens will go down in history as champions.  The 49ers franchise suffered their first ever loss in the Super Bowl after five victories, but Colin Kaepernick looks to give them a shot at getting back there again.

I did my 2nd annual NFL Crystal Ball right before the season and now it is time to see how I did.

1st prediction was that RGIII would play in 16 games.  Correct!!  Yeah, yeah he missed a game, but played in a playoff game so 16 games it was.

2nd prediction that Norv Turner wouldn't make it as head coach of the Chargers past their Bye Week in Week 7.  1/2 points! He was dead coach walking by that time and was finally fired after the season.

Standings Predictions: (actual records in parenthesis)

NFC East

Philadelphia Eagles 12-4 (4-12)
Dallas Cowboys 10-6 (8-8)
New York Giants 9-7 (9-7)
Washington Redskins 6-10 (10-6)

NFC North

Green Bay Packers 14-2 (11-5)
Chicago Bears 11-5 (10-6)
Detroit Lions 8-8 (4-12)
Minnesota Vikings 4-12 (10-6)

NFC South

Atlanta Falcons 13-3 (13-3)
New Orleans Saints 10-6 (7-9)
Carolina Panthers 7-9 (7-9)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3-13 (7-9)

NFC West

San Francisco 49ers 11-5 (11-4-1)
Seattle Seahawks 5-11 (11-5)
St. Louis Rams 5-11 (7-8-1)
Arizona Cardinals 4-12 (5-11)

AFC East

New England Patriots 13-3  (12-4)
New York Jets 10-6 (6-10)
Buffalo Bills 6-10 (6-10)
Miami Dolphins 6-10 (7-9)

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens 12-4 (10-6)
Pittsburgh Steelers 9-7 (8-8)
Cincinnati Bengals 9-7 (10-6)
Cleveland Browns 2-14 (5-11)

AFC South

Houston Texans 12-4 (12-4)
Tennessee Titans 7-9 (6-10)
Indianapolis Colts 6-10 (11-5)
Jacksonville Jaguars 2-14 (2-14)

AFC West

Denver Broncos 11-5 (13-3)
Oakland Raiders 8-8 (4-12)
Kansas City Chiefs 7-9 (2-14)
San Diego Chargers 4-12 (7-9)

Hit and miss obviously.  I did get 7 of the 8 division winners correct missing only my Washington Redskins.  Biggest misses were the Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks in the NFC and Kansas City Chiefs and both the New York Jets and Indianapolis Colts in the AFC.

I predicted Tom Brady to win the MVP over Matt Ryan and while they both had good seasons it was Adrian Peterson who won the award over Peyton Manning.  Two huge injury risks heading into the season somehow not only managed to stay healthy, but perform well beyond expectations.  Deer antler spray for everyone!!!

In my Suprises/Breakouts section I chose:

Jake Locker- 2/10 Locker played in just 11 games and totaled 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.  A mid-season injury derailed any possibility at building upon a promising finish to the 2011 season.
Jeremy Maclin- 6/10 A good bounce back season for Maclin who still produced as the city of Philadelphia was burning down around him.  He still didn't match the 2010 season though.
Donald Brown- 0/10 Ugh.  I hitched my ride to him this season and was burnt badly.  After 3 years of steady progression, Brown took a major step backwards in his now fledgling career.
Torrey Smith- 4/10 Even with 15 more targets than last season, Smith's numbers were practically identical to 2011.  He continues to be high risk/high reward for fantasy owners.
Vernon Davis- 1/10 It took until the playoffs to see the 49ers finally use Davis properly, but he was a major fantasy disappointment all regular season.

In my Disappointments section I chose:

Maurice Jones-Drew- 10/10 When will RB's learn not to hold out.  MJD suffered through a terrible season all stemming back to not being at practice.
Ryan Mathews- 9/10 He started injured, ended injured and didn't do much in between scoring just once in a forgettable season.
Vincent Jackson- 0/10 A new team rejuvenated Jackson who had a career high in receiving yardage and caught 8 touchdowns...oops!
Victor Cruz- 4/10 His receiving yardage dropped by nearly 500 yards, but he still hauled in 10 touchdowns which was one more than last year.
Matthew Stafford-  8/10 His TD's were cut in half while throwing one more INT than last year.  He still threw for nearly 5,000 useless yards.

The Playoffs:

I went 7/12 (all division winners) and missed both Super Bowl participants (Houston over Atlanta in mine).

Not horrible, but not great.

The emergence of Colin Kaepernick, RGIII and Russell Wilson to how the quarterback position is played is what I will take away from this season.  All three did things that I didn't think were possible while pocket passers like Brady, Brees and Manning still produced big numbers.  It's a special era we're witnessing for quarterback play.  The quarterback position will be DEEP in fantasy football next season...wait, wait and wait for one to fall.

Early prediction for Super Bowl 48 that will probably change by September: Denver over Seattle as Manning pulls off a Ray Lewis and rides off into the sunset on top.

NFL Crystal Ball 2012

I'm back with another year of fearless predictions of the upcoming NFL season.  Last year I had Green Bay defeating New England so I was halfway home, but since I didn't have the New York Giants even making the playoffs I feel I failed.

I did correctly predict that Aaron Rodgers would win the MVP award and that Jamaal Charles would be a disappointment, so not everything was a loss.

Once again I played out every game 10,000 times on my XBOX (what a long weekend it was) and I have seen surprises and disappointments and everything in between.  Just to let you all know, RGIII will play in all 16 games.  It won't help the success of the Redskins, but it was still amazing to see him stay upright.

My predictions only had 4 teams not make the playoffs that were in it last year which would actually be lower than the minimum of 5 that the NFL has seen over recent years.  The biggest surprise was that the Philadelphia Eagles were able to keep it together and win the NFC East, but of course I thought the same last year too.  Out west Norv Turner doesn't last as Chargers head coach through their Bye Week in Week 7.

Here are how the standings will shape up this season:

NFC EAST:

Philadelphia 12-4
Dallas 10-6
New York 9-7
Washington 6-10

NFC NORTH:

Green Bay 14-2
Chicago 11-5
Detroit 8-8
Minnesota 4-12

NFC SOUTH:

Atlanta 13-3
New Orleans 10-6
Carolina 7-9
Tampa Bay 3-13

NFC WEST:

San Francisco 11-5
Seattle 5-11
St. Louis 5-11
Arizona 4-12

AFC EAST:

New England 13-3
New York 10-6
Buffalo 6-10
Miami 6-10

AFC NORTH:

Baltimore 12-4
Pittsburgh 9-7
Cincinnati 9-7
Cleveland 2-14

AFC SOUTH:

Houston 12-4
Tennessee 7-9
Indianapolis 6-10
Jacksonville 2-14

AFC WEST:

Denver 11-5
Oakland 8-8
Kansas City 7-9
San Diego 4-12

MVP: Tom Brady 2nd: Matt Ryan

Surprises/Breakouts: Jake Locker, Jeremy Maclin (2nd year in a row for this pick), Donald Brown, Torrey Smith, Vernon Davis

Disappointments: Maurice Jones-Drew (hamstring issues due to holdout), Ryan Mathews, Vincent Jackson, Victor Cruz (freak salsa dance injury in Week 4), Matthew Stafford (11 games played which saddens me)

Playoffs:

 NFC:

1. Green Bay 14-2
2. Atlanta 13-3
3. Philadelphia 12-4
4. San Francisco 11-5
5. Chicago 11-5
6. Dallas 10-6

Wild Card:

Philadelphia over Dallas
Chicago over San Francisco

Semifinals:

Green Bay over Chicago
Atlanta over Philadelphia

Conference Championship:

Atlanta over Green Bay

AFC:

1. New England 13-3
2. Baltimore 12-4
3. Houston 12-4
4. Denver 11-5
5. New York 10-6
6. Pittsburgh 9-7

Wild Card:

Houston over Pittsburgh
Denver over New York Jets

Semifinals:

New England over Denver
Houston over Baltimore
 

Conference Championship:

Houston over New England

SUPER BOWL:

Houston over Atlanta 24-20 Arian Foster Super Bowl MVP 115 yards rushing, 2 TD's