Bold Predictions for 2017

   The 2017 football season officially started with a runaway game for the Chiefs over the World Champ Patriots. Like any other season, there are many headlines heading into the season. Will the Falcons be the top of the NFC again? Who will contend with the Patriots in the AFC? Will we have any repeat division winners? Who will be worse Jets or Browns? These are just some of the questions and headlines going into this season. Let's break it down some more.
    After a historic collapse in the Super Bowl, what will happen with Falcons? They have the reigning MVP with Matt Ryan. They have a dynamic receiver in Julio Jones. Two pretty good running backs in Freeman and Coleman. Their defense also stands out. The Falcons will be ok this season and make it back to the playoffs. Do they make it back to the promised land? They will not make it to the Super Bowl again. They have an above average team, but the NFC is overcrowded with talent and I will not be shocked if another NFC makes it to the Super Bowl. Prediction: 12-4, division winners.
   Speaking of collapses, lets talk about the other "C" word, "comeback". The Patriots had a historic comeback in the Super Bowl last season. They did something no one else had done and came back from down 25 points. Even after last nights debacle of a lose to the Chiefs, I still believe the Patriots are going to be ok this season. Many people thought they would be undefeated, it looks like that won't happen. They have a coach, quarterback, and a decent defense(except last night). The question is what do they have around their quarterback. Julian Edelman is out. Gronk is always an injury riddle. They do have Brandon Cooks, but lets see how adjusts going from Drew Bress to Tom Brady. Prediction: 13-3, division winner.
     There are so many things to talk about with the season. Let's talk about other division winners. First we have the NFC. The East is up for grabs. Dallas came out of no where and had a great season thanks to the offensive line. Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott both had outstanding rookie seasons. Will they have another great season, yes they will both play great(granted Elliott will only play 10 games), but that defense will be exposed. They will be a playoff team, but as a Wild Card team. The Giants will be division winners.
   Granted the Giants have issues of their own, they are an overall better team than the Cowboys. They have a better defense, experienced Quaterback, a top 3 receiving core and a young coach who seems to know what he is doing on the sidelines. Their only real issue is Offensive Line Tackle positions. They cover the Eli’s “blind spot”. The NFC East will produce 2 playoff teams.
   The NFC North is an obvious choice with the Green Bay Packers. Why do you think I am saying Green Bay is obious? The Lions took a step back with the retirement of Megatron, the Bears are rebuilding, and the Vikings just have no identity with Bridgewater out for the season. Aaron Rodgers could be the MVP of the league again. Prediction: Green Bay wins NFC North.
  The AFC South is a bit harder to predict. Andrew Luck is still recovering from surgery and Jacksonville still has no clue where to start. It really comes between the Titans and Texans. Houston has solid defense, some good offensive weapsons(see Hopkins and Miller), but they have no quarterback(lets see if DeShaune Watson develops into something). The Titans are a team on the rise with Marcos Marriotta at quarterback and DeMarco Murray at runningback. They have a developing defense. The team appears to be growing together. Prediction: Titans, 10-6, Division winners.
   The AFC North is really a tough one this year. It always was 3 team race(do we really count the Browns here?) Baltimore is effectively injured with their quarterback injured. It really comes down to Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. The Bengals have a nice core of players, but they are always hit and miss. They can get to the playoffs but can’t do anything when they are there. Andy Dalton is solid at quarterback with a stud receiver in AJ Green. The question for them is that offensive line and their running game. Marvin Lewis knows how to get creative, but lets be real the Bengals have only been really good on one side of the ball(offense). Pittsburgh has 2 of the best players in the league, Antonio Brown and LaVean Bell. Even though Big Ben is banged up, he’s smart at what he does. The Steelers have been known for building up on defense. Prediction: Pittsburgh, 11-5 Division winners.
  We come to the NFC West. The NFC West is pretty much a 1 ½ team race. You must be thinking, what does he man by that? It’s easy. Arizona can be a dominate team IF they stay healthy. If they stay healthy, they can easily win the division. With that said, I truly believe that the Seahawks will win the division. They recently added Sheldon Richardson to their defense. The Seahawks defense will be one of tops in the league. Russel Wilson, if healthy which he is, could be dominate with his arm and legs. Seattle has enough to pull it off all around. Prediction: Seahawks, 12-4 division winners.
  Last, but not least, we have the AFC West. We have 3 teams from this division that could potentially win the division(Raiders, Chiefs, Broncos). I believe the Chiefs and Broncos will be playing in the postseason, but as wild cards. That leaves us with the Raiders. The Raiders will repeat as division winners this year. With a MVP caliber quarterback and receiver(Derek Carr and Amari Cooper) and really good supporting offensive staff, they can really exceed expectations. Their defense may still growing, but it will certainly help them out this season.  Predicition: Raiders, 11-5 Division Winners.