2010 NFL Season Predictions

2010 NFL Season Predictions (Along with extensive Seahawks predictions)

Italics indicate changes made since this was first posted. So far, I've just changed the NFC West and primarily, how the Seahawks will do this year.

Well, the 2010 NFL Season is almost upon us and so it is time for me to pick how I think each team will do. I will go team-by-team, giving them what I predict their record to be and a short one or two sentence reasoning for it. I will also go more in depth for my favorite team, the Seahawks, and predict each of their games as well as my three areas of concerns and three areas of confidence with the team. And last but not least, I predict the NFL postseason and the winners of the NFL awards. Enjoy!

AFC East
Jets: 11-5 – Sure, Revis is still holding out, but I think Sanchez only gets better and the addition of L.T. will help.
Patriots 10-6 (Wild Card) – Not a thrilling year for the Pats, who are aging. Randy Moss is 33.
Dolphins: 7-9 – Very average and slightly boring team will fall out of the playoffs in the last few weeks. Brandon Marshall won’t be much help, I’m afraid.
Bills: 4-12 – A team that will show it is in rebuilding mode, maybe looking to grab Jake Locker in next year’s draft.

AFC North
Ravens: 12-4 – I see a stellar year for the Ravens. Sure, some of their players are aging, like Ray Lewis, but they have a lot of young talent like Flacco, Rice, Oher, and Ngata to power this team.
Bengals: 9-7 – Decent team will just barely miss the playoffs. T.O. will prove to be a distraction.
Steelers: 8-8 – They will struggle without Big Ben and he will only be so-so when he gets back.
Browns: 5-11 – Seneca sees some snaps in the Holmgren era, but they can’t avoid last place.

AFC South
Colts: 11-5 – Another good season for Manning and co. on their way to another playoff berth.
Texans: 9-7 (Wild card) – This young team will barely squeak into the playoffs for the first time.
Jaguars: 8-8 – I see a surprising year out of these young cats. They aren’t getting much respect anymore.
Titans: 7-9 – I see Vince Young having his issues again and/or a Chris Johnson injury.

AFC West
Chargers: 9-7 – The AFC’s worst division will be won again by the slowly declining Chargers.
Broncos: 7-9 – It will be a while before McDaniels and co. turn this team into a consistent contender again.
Raiders: 7-9 – The Raiders will have their best season in a while, but nothing to jump up and down for.
Chiefs: 6-10 – Cassel and co. will show some signs of greatness, but this team is still young and rebuilding.

NFC East
Cowboys: 11-5 – Romo and his ‘Boys will have a great regular season, but again will struggle in the playoffs.
Giants: 10-6 (Wild Card) – The Giants are still a good team and since they are they will continue to make the playoffs.
Redskins: 8-8 – The Redskins will have an up and down year, that’s for sure.
Eagles: 7-9 – I can’t see the Eagles having too much success with a new QB and RB, especially with an inexperienced Kolb at QB.

NFC North
Packers: 12-4 – Rodgers will have a great year, but their defense will be the shining spot.
Vikings: 10-6 (Wild Card) – Favre will lead the Vikes to the playoffs again.
Bears: 7-9 – They will be inconsistent and neither their offense nor their defense will be spectacular.
Lions: 5-11 – A young team on the rebound will make a slight improvement.

NFC South
Saints: 10-6 – Brees and the offense will shine, but the defense will falter at times.
Falcons: 9-7 – Yet another near miss from the playoffs. But Matt Ryan’s time will come some day.
Panthers: 7-9 – Matt Moore proves to be only ok, perhaps not good enough to lead them to the playoffs.
Buccaneers: 4-12 – The Bucs will have a hard time winning games with such a young core of players.

NFC West
49ers: 8-8 - The 49ers will win the weakest division. They will, however, not win a playoff game.
Cardinals: 7-9 – The Cardinals are in transition mode, and Derek Anderson might not start every game.
Rams: 5-11 – Sam Bradford will prove to be the quarterback of the future for the Rams, as they make some progress this season.
Seahawks: 4-12 - The Seahawks have made too many moves of late to really compete. They will have too many players that aren't used to our team yet.

SEAHAWKS
2010 Schedule:
vs. San Francisco (Loss, 0-1), @ Denver (Loss, 0-2), vs. San Diego (Loss, 0-3), @ St. Louis (Loss, 0-4), @ Chicago (Loss, 0-5), vs. Arizona (Win, 1-5), @ Oakland (Win, 2-5), vs. New York Giants (Loss, 2-6), @ Arizona (Loss, 2-7), @ New Orleans (Loss, 2-8), vs. Kansas City (Loss, 2-9), vs. Carolina (Win, 3-9), @ San Francisco (Loss, 3-10), vs. Atlanta (Loss, 3-11), @ Tampa Bay (Loss 3-12), vs. St. Louis (Win, 4-12).
Home record: 3-5
Away record: 1-7

The Seahawks will struggle mightily this year, starting out 0-5 and three different losing streaks of 5, 4, and 3 in the season and finish 4-12. I have realized that we are definitely in rebuilding mode, and I can't expect much from a team that is changing so many players. Pete Carroll will remain coach, but of course, there will be a few fans who will want him fired. The Seahawks will be eligible for one of the top picks in the draft, and I think a quarterback might be what they'd take (Jake Locker, anyone?)

Three areas of concern:
1) Running game – This team needs a running game to win. They cannot be one dimensional. They showed nothing in the preseason, and Forsett will show his lack of experience this year.
2) Big plays allowed – I’m worried with an aging Lawyer Milloy and an inexperienced Earl Thomas that they might allow a lot of big plays. And they probably will with that bad combination. The loss of Josh Wilson will hurt them, as Kelly Jennings would not start on most teams.
3) Scoring early – The Seahawks have been plagued the past two years by not being able to score early in ball games, especially on their first few possessions. The offensive line being shaken up (Losing Gibbs, Okung being hurt) will hurt the offense mightily. Hasselbeck will have just as much pressure as the past two years, and the running game won't be any better, either.

Three areas of confidence:
1) Passing game/Wide receivers – I really think the passing game will do not too badly this year. Mike Williams will have a solid, but not great year, and will be in the running for comeback player of the year. Tate and Butler will make strides.
2) Stopping the run – I’m still fully confident in our ability to stop the run. I don’t see us allowing many 100 yard rushers this year.
3) Special teams – Mare and Ryan are an excellent pair of kickers. We’ll have a good return game, too, I expect.

NFL Playoffs

AFC Wild Card
Patriots (5) at Chargers (4) – Patriots
Texans (6) at Jets (3) – Jets

AFC Divisional
Patriots (5) at Ravens (1) – Ravens
Jets (3) at Colts (2) – Colts

AFC Championship
Colts (2) at Ravens (1) – Ravens

NFC Wild Card
Vikings (5) at Cardinals (4) – Vikings
Giants (6) at Saints (3) – Saints

NFC Divisional
Vikings (5) at Packers (1) – Vikings
Saints (3) at Cowboys (2) – Cowboys

NFC Championship
Vikings (5) at Cowboys (2) – Vikings

Super Bowl XLV
Ravens at Vikings – Vikings

So, there you have it. The All Purple Super Bowl goes to The Minnesota Brett Favres. After his 2^nd Super Bowl win, Favre finally decides to retire for good.

Awards:
Coach of the Year: John Harbaugh
MVP: Peyton Manning
Offensive Player of the Year: Aaron Rodgers
Defensive Player of the Year: DeMarcus Ware
Offensive ROY: Ryan Mathews
Defensive ROY: Ndamukong Suh
Comeback player of the Year: Mike Williams