Real Football Predictions for 2013

I thought I had one last overall rankings update in me before my "fun league" draft this weekend, but it's not happening.  This other league has PPR, bonus points, and all sorts of other stuff going on.  As I started to shuffle players around, I quickly realized it wasn't worth it.  So I'm just going to shoot from the hip at my draft this Sunday.  Next week, my rankings will have a different look to them.  They will be sorted by position, be highly matchup based, and like I said in an earlier article, I'm going to try to be a little more bold this year.  We'll see how that works out.

Since I'm not giving a final overall rankings update, I thought I'd jump into some real football predictions for this season.  Last year before week one, I sat down and tried to predict the winner of every game with a highly sophisticated system that involved eeny, meeny, miny, and moe.  Let's be real: even if I had a computer program to crunch a bunch of numbers, it would still be a pretty silly activity.  But it was fun, so I'm going to do it again.

Hang in there, Bills fans.  It can't get worse...right?

I didn't predict that the Ravens would take down the 49ers in the Superbowl.  In fact, I wasn't even close (I had New England over Chicago).  I was also pretty wrong about teams like the Bills and the Chargers (what was I thinking?!?).  But I did get 6 of the 8 division winners right, so I guess that's something.  I mean, who saw my Redskins finishing the season with a 7-game winning streak to win the division?  Oh I saw it alright, but I definitely wouldn't have predicted it!

This year, I did my own personal simulation again, and here's what I'm left with:

NE	BUF	NYJ	MIA
9-7	5-11	4-12	7-9
BAL	PIT	CIN	CLE
10-6	8-8	11-5	4-12
HOU	TEN	JAC	IND
13-3	6-10	3-13	9-7
SD	KC	DEN	OAK
6-10	7-9	13-3	4-12
NYG	PHI	DAL	WAS
9-7	6-10	8-8	9-7
GB	CHI	DET	MIN
10-6	10-6	8-8	8-8
ATL	NO	CAR	TB
12-4	8-8	5-11	7-9
SF	SEA	STL	ARI
12-4	10-6	8-8	6-10

Once again, I won't get all of them right, but if I'm close then these could be the division storylines:

AFC East: Miami closes the gap on New England, and I could even see them winning that division if they can somehow get to 9-7 themselves.  I'm not sure the Patriots even win 10 games this year.

AFC North: Cincinnati will dethrone the Ravens in this division, and the Steelers will remain in mediocrity.  Lots of people are saying three teams will come out of this division, but I don't see it with Pittsburgh.

AFC South: Houston should continue to roll, but can they get to a Superbowl?  I don't see Indy winning this division for at least another season in the new Andrew Luck Era.

AFC West: There's a lot of hype around Kansas City with Andy Reid in town, but I still think Denver is the only playoff team in this division.

NFC East: Another year with a division up for grabs.  I'm obviously rooting for the Skins to get it in back-to-back seasons, but I think anyone could end up with the division title (yes, even Philly).

NFC North: Will it be Green Bay or Chicago?  I think Minnesota overachieved last season, and I don't see them as a playoff team again with Ponder as the ring leader.  I don't think 8-8 will get it done in the NFC.

NFC South: I think if the Saints can get to 9 wins then they have a chance at a wild card, but this division now belongs to the Falcons.

NFC West: San Fran stays on top yet again, and Seattle most likely gets another wild card spot.  Keep an eye on the Rams though.  I could see them and Seattle both at 9-7 and maybe St. Louis sneaks in there with a tiebreaker (I'm not going to pick that to happen though.  I think the Rams may still be a year away from the playoffs.)

Using my simulation as a guide, here's what I'm predicting for 2013:

AFC East: New England Patriots

AFC North: Cincinnati Bengals

AFC South: Houston Texans

AFC West: Denver Broncos

AFC Wild Card1: Baltimore Ravens

AFC Wild Card2: Miami Dolphins

[Denver over Houston in AFC Championship Game]

NFC East: New York Giants

NFC North: Green Bay Packers

NFC South: Atlanta Falcons

NFC West: San Francisco 49ers

NFC Wild Card1: Chicago Bears

NFC Wild Card2: Seattle Seahawks

[Atlanta over New York in NFC Championship Game]

Super Bowl Prediction: Atlanta over Denver

Cheers,

Bart