I think the lockout will have a major effect on the quality of play this year. In my opinion, despite the excitement of seeing the Packers win the Super Bowl, I thought the play on the field in 2010 was poor (tackling, QB play), the officiating was bad, and the overall product was sometimes unwatchable. Expect to see more of that this year, especially early in the season. With that being said, I'm still excited for the season to start. Take these predictions with a grain of salt (don't know what that means), but I've only seen about 20 minutes of pre-season football this season.
NFC East
1) Eagles
2) Cowboys
3) Giants
4) Redskins
Expecting another big year from Vick (and no, not just because I own him in the Fugazzi). The Cowboys and Giants will be competitive, and the Redskins have maroon and yellow uniforms.
NFC North
1) Packers
2) Lions
3) Vikings
4) Bears
I think the lockout will have minimal effect on the teams that made few changes in the offseason, and keep in mind, the Packers have a 2nd place schedule. They may win 13 games. The Lions are on their way up, and Vikings won't be as bad as last year, and the Bears won't be as good as last year. Still will be a good division.
NFC South
1) Falcons
2) Saints
3) Bucs
4) Panthers
The Falcons will be solid, the Saints will be solid, I can't figure out the Bucs, and the Panthers will be terrible.
NFC West
1) Rams
2) Cardinals
3) 49ers
4) Seahawks
This division will be bad again, but I'm predicting the division winner will have 9 wins, instead of last year's 7.
AFC East
1) Jets
2) Patriots
3) Dolphins
4) Bills
The Jets and Patriots will be atop this division for awhile.
AFC North
1) Ravens
2) Steelers
3) Browns
4) Bengals
I think my Browns will be competitive, but I'm not ready to have them pass up the Steelers and/or Ravens yet. The Bengals will be the worst team in the league.
AFC South
1) Texans
2) Colts
3) Titans
4) Jaguars
I have absolutely no feel for this division whatsoever.
AFC West
1) Chargers
2) Chiefs
3) Broncos
4) Raiders
Chargers ..... and everyone else.
So .... the eight division winners will be the Eagles, Packers, Falcons, Rams, Jets, Ravens, Texans and Chargers. My pick for the four wild cards will be the Lions, Saints, Patriots and Steelers. You heard it here first. Lions, and no Colts.
NFC Playoff predictions
#3 seed Falcons over #6 seed Saints
#4 seed Rams over #5 seed Lions
#1 seed Packers over #4 seed Rams
#3 seed Falcons over #2 seed Eagles
#1 seed Packers over #3 seed Falcons for NFC Championship
AFC Playoff predictions
#6 seed Steelers over #3 seed Texans
#5 seed Patriots over #4 seed Chargers
#1 seed Ravens over #6 seed Steelers
#2 seed Jets over #5 seed Patriots
#2 seed Jets over #1 seed Ravens for AFC Championship
My Super Bowl Prediction
Packers over Jets, 27-17
