NFL Divisional Preview

AFC East:  Who Wins the Division: Patriots  We were both praying that by some miracle the Jets, Dolphins or Bills would make some off-season trade, or look great in the pre-season and have a chance at knocking the Pats off their throne atop the AFC East. Sadly, the Jets don’t have a quarterback, all the money the Dolphins spent on off-season accusations seems to have gone to waste and the Bills are just too inexperienced to make a difference this year. So, once again (the last time the Patriots did not win the division, we were in grade school), the Patriots will win their division. Even with loss of Wes Welker and the question mark surrounding the rest of the receiving, look for a huge year out of Steven Ridley.  The Dolphins will come in second, Bills in third, and the lowly Jets will finish out the season in last.  AFC West:  Who Wins the Division: Bengals  This division is really a toss up, because in all honesty, the Bengals, Steelers or Ravens could win the series. We picked the Bengals in the end, though, as Andy Dalton has really hit his stride and he has a strong set of wide receivers to back his powerful arm. Also, one can look for the Ravens to flop this year.  There is no way Joe Flacco gets back into his playoff form, and there is no way the six new starters on defense have the chemistry to reproduce Lewis-Reed caliber dominance. Harbough has a lot to prove as a coach this year to back his Super Bowl title, but he doesn’t have the personnel after losing almost his entire starting defense, key receivers and lineman that led to him to a Super Bowl. Bengals win, Steelers come second, Ravens in third, the Browns in last. AFC South:  Who Wins the Division: Texans  Even though Matt Schaub is a question mark, Andre Johnson and Arian Foster aren’t. The addition of Ed Reed also makes the Texans defense the strongest it’s ever been. Some may speculate that the Colts could make a run for the AFC South title, but Reggie Wayne is only getting older and Andrew Luck really just got lucky last year, no pun intended (ok, slight pun intended). They had a miraculous season last year that only garnered nine wins, and their challenging 2013-14 opponents (San Francisco, Cincinnati, Denver, Houston, and Seattle) will make it hard to make the playoffs again. Look for the Jaguars to be much better than last year but still come in third, and the Titans to come in last.AFC North:  Who Wins the Division: Denver Just like the AFC East, this one is really a no-brainer. Denver wins it handily. The Raiders are still not cohesive and do not have enough playmakers to make a difference, the Chargers are shaky on both sides of the ball, especially in their run game and secondary, and the Chiefs, even with the upgrades to their quarterback, offensive line, and coaching, will need a year or two to get to the Broncos level. Peyton Manning and the rest of the Denver squad will be playing with a chip on their shoulder after a devastating loss in the playoffs last year, and the addition of Wes Welker will add a new dimension to the Broncos air attack. Broncos win, Chiefs come in Second, Chargers come in third, and the Raiders most definitely come in last. NFC East:  Who Wins the Division: Washington We’re not saying this because one of us is a diehard Skins fan, but rather because Washington has upgraded their defense with a healthy Brian Orakpo and Brandon Merriweather, a healthy Pierre Garcon, the same line as last year that led Alfred Morris to 1600+ yards and a reconstructed RGIII. Just like last year, though, this division will be close. We both think Chip Kelly’s offense in Philly will work, but that cannot make up for the poor Eagles defense. We’ll get a great NFC East preview week one when the Giants play the Cowboys Sunday Night, and the Redskins play the Eagels Monday night. Redskins 1, Eagles 2, Giants 3, Cowboys 4. NFC North:  Who Wins the Division: Green Bay Unlike most people, I think this is the toughest division of the NFL. While Green Bay is the clear winner, the other three teams in the division, the Bears, Lions, and Vikings could all make a run for the wildcard spot. The Bears have the arm of Jay Cutler, and a Top-5 reciever in Brandon Marshall, who played with Cutler in Denver. In addition, the Bears have a strong running back in Matt Forte. The Lions had so much potential last year and lost it all, winning four games. This year, they’ll play with a chip on their shoulder, and win 8 or 9 games. The Vikings, who I think will come in last this year, still have AP, and a Christian Ponder who looked great during the pre-season. We’re really looking forward to watching these four teams go head to head this year. NFC North:  Who Wins the Division: Saints With the return of Sean Payton, the New Orleans Saints should gain a competitive edge. Although the division is not lacking in talent, Drew Brees remains one of the strongest QB’s in the NFL throwing to, arguably, the best tight end in the league.  Coming in a close second, Matt Ryan leads the Falcons well, but the thing with the Falcons is they can never finish. We know they have Julio, we know they have Michael Turner, but they won’t be able to finish with Saints. The Panthers will be stronger than usual this year, finishing near .500. The Buccaneers and Josh Freeman hit their peak two season go, and are going down hill from there. They’ll finish in last this year. NFC West:  Who Wins the Division: Seattle This is another toss up, but in the end we think Seattle will pull out on top. There is no arguing that Seattle has the best defense in the league, and even if Russell Wilson has a Sophomore Slump, he has enough offensive weapons to win out the division. The 49ers will take one of the wild card spots, but their defense is a big question. They had a tremendous season last year, but there is no way they continue that success into this season. This division also includes the Rams, the most underrated in football.  Sam Bradford is really developing nicely, and the departure of Steven Jackson won’t affect the team that much.