Greetings and Salutations everyone,

We are roughly half way through the Pre-season, and with the regular season just a few short weeks away I have watched ESPN and read many articles intensely to come up with my predictions for the year. I know this is a little early, we still have two weeks of pre-season to go, but I feel I have seen enough to put my predictions together, so without further adu, here are this years predictions.

AFC EAST:
1. New York Jets- 2 years they have made it to the AFC Championship, and beat the Patriots 2 out of 3 times last year, This is the year Ryan finally brings it all together.

2. New England Patriots- Still a power house in the NFL, but will the addition of Haynsworth and Ocho Cinco get them back to the Superbowl? A bit of a gamble in my eyes.

3. Buffalo Bills- A solid team with good talent that seems to fly under the radar, but I suppose any team in their situation would in the same division as the Jets and Pats.

4. Miami Dolphins- I look at Miami, and all I see is a mess. Reggie Bush will add some excitement for the team, but it will get lost in a season with a loosing record.

AFC SOUTH:
1. Jacksonville Jaguars- People seem to forget this team had the Colts on the ropes and controlled the AFC South til the last minute before Indianapolis took it. This year Jack Del Rio and the Jags will finally get over the hump.

2. Indianapolis Colts- Lots of injuries has me concerned, especially to Peyton Manning, and the Colts signing Terry Collins to play back up isn't a good sign telling me that this team is healthy and ready to win another division title.

3. Houston Texans- I've bought into their hype one too many times, they have the talent, but can't seem to put it all together and make it into the playoffs. Until they actually do, I won't give in to the temptation that this year they will actually do it.

4. Tennessee Titans- When John Gruden left the Buccaneers a few years ago, we saw how much he was holding that team together as they finished dead last the first year he was gone. I see a similar fate brewing for the now Fisher-less Titans.

AFC NORTH
1. Pittsburgh Steelers- Recent history has shown that the loosing team in last years Superbowl usually has a poor next season, usually leading to them not making it back to the playoffs. But I feel the Steelers are good enough to win their division yet again.

2. Baltimore Ravens- Joe Flacco is a good QB, but with all the weapons he had last year in the receiving corp he wasn't able to pull it all together. This is the year Flacco shows us whether if he's a championship winning QB, or just a good QB.

3. Cleveland Browns- Colt McCoy will continue to develop, Peyton Hillis will continue to dazzle, (I bite my thumb at the Madden curse this year), They will continue to get better, but still finish third.

4. Cincinnati Bengals- What a Mess, I see nothing from this past off season/pre-season convincing me that this team is capable of beating out Cleveland for 3rd in the division.

AFC WEST:
1. San Diego Chargers- #1 in offense last year, #2 in defense, why did they fail to make it to the playoffs, their special teams were that bad. To me that's an easy fix for the Chargers to make, and they will be on top of the AFC West once again.

2. Kansas City Chiefs- A good/solid team, but a team that if the Chargers are on all cylinders, and I believe they will be, then they will finish 2nd in the division pretty much by default.

3. Oakland Raiders- Give the Raiders credit, they were the only team last year to sweep their division opponents, and though they are talking playoffs down in Oakland, I just don't see it happening this year.

4. Denver Broncos- Sure John Fox once took the Panthers to the Superbowl, but do the Broncos feel the best way to fix their team is by bringing in the coach of last years worst team? If he turns this team around it will take time.

NFC EAST:
1. Philadelphia Eagles- With very little time to build good chemistry between players this off season due to the lock out, the Eagles have gone all in with a very expensive team filled with lots of good/experienced players.

2. Dallas Cowboys- After Garrett took over this team they made one of the biggest turn arounds I've seen a team make in the middle of a season. And they will continue to do well under Coach Garrett as they try to return to the playoffs.

3. New York Giants- A good solid team that is more than capable of making a playoff run, but the Cowboys are looking really dangerous and could be the team that keeps Eli Manning and Co. out of the post season yet again.

4. Washington Redskins- Even if Washington makes strides of improvement this year and are on their way to being a better team, in a really tough NFC East I don't see enough fire power on this roster for them to keep up.

NFC SOUTH:
1. Atlanta Falcons- Very dangerous in the regular season, but just can't quite pull it together in the playoffs. They will continue to ride high as an elite team in the NFC and return to the playoffs.

2. New Orleans Saints- Last years lost to Seattle in the playoffs stung, this team is out for redemption, and their play in the pre-season shows just how serious they are about avenging last season's early departure.

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Like the Giants, this team has the fire power to make it into the playoffs, but behind two tough teams in N.O. and Atl, it won't be as easy as it looks for them to do so.

4. Carolina Panthers- THEY HAVE CAM NEWTON!!! Sorry Carolina fans, he is not the messiah that will instantly make this team a competitor, I have my doubts about Newton even succeeding in the NFL.

NFC NORTH:
1. Green Bay Packers- Nothing drastic has really changed for the defending Superbowl Champions from last year to this year in my eyes. I don't see them repeating as Supebowl Champions, but I do see them at least winning their division.

2. Detroit Lions- This Is Not A Typo! My upset prediction of the season is Detroit actually finishing second in the North. This team played with a lot of heart and has some great young talent, their record last year wasn't a fair representation of how good this team can be this year. Still far from a playoff team, but I see a surprise 2nd place finish by the Lions in division play!

3. Chicago Bears- They looked good last year, but boy did they look like a shell of a team that they should have been in the NFC Championship game. After they lost to Indianapolis in the Superbowl a few years back they struggled the following year, I have a gut feeling the same will happen this time around.

4. Minnesota Vikings- I'm really not sure what direction this team is going in. And I'm not convinced young QB Christian Ponder is the right man to get them there. I see this team struggling and finishing last.

NFC WEST:
1. St. Louis Rams- This team was 1 win away from winning their division last year, and winning it without having a loosing record. Bradford is looking sharp and more focused moving on. This year I see the Rams edging the Seahawks for the Western division... And they will win it with a winning record.

2. Seattle Seahawks- Quite a bit of shaking up going on in Seattle, Tavaris Jackson has lots of talent and can play, but I'm still not convinced that he's starting QB material. They will compete with the Rams neck to neck all season long, but will come up just short in the end.

3. San Francisco 49ers- Remember 49er fans, it took Jim Harbaugh 4 years to turn lowly Stanford into a championship team. Don't expect a miracle his first season, especially with a mediocre Alex Smith and unproven Colin Kaepernick at QB.

4. Arizona Cardinals- This team is putting a lot on the shoulders of Kolb to succeed. Though he is already an improvement at QB over last season's roster, there are still plenty of question marks around this guy as to whether he really does have starting QB potential.

PLAYOFF RANKING
AFC:
1. San Diego Chargers
2. New York Jets
3. Pittsburgh Steelers
4. Jacksonville Jaguars
5. New England Patriots
6. Baltimore Ravens

NFC:
1. Atlanta Falcons
2. Philadelphia Eagles
3. Green Bay Packers
4. St. Louis Rams
5. New Orleans Saints
6. Dallas Cowboys

SUPERBOWL- PHILADELPHIA EAGLES over New York Jets

The Eagles aren't a team that was built, it was a team that was bought, but they bought the right players to get the job done. They really dove into their pocket books to put this team together, and if they fail to win it all, this team will be hurting for years to come with no championship to show for it.

And that's my prediction, What do you think? What are your predictions? Please place them and your comments below.