Early W/L offseason predictions (any team)...

[dutch111]

I think the Skins are going to surprise a lot of people this year. Zorn, will want to make an impressive debute, and the players are very happy with what they see in him. Yes alot of old players, wanting a shot at ring. Young players wanting to make a statement. Most of all, an owner who is drooling for a championship. Giants vrs. Skins, will be very interesting, being the first game of the season. A loss for the Giants, could boost the confidence in all players, and I'll bet Zorn knows that as well. 28/16 Skins!

[Cowell]

Originally Posted by dutch111

I think the Skins are going to surprise a lot of people this year. Zorn, will want to make an impressive debute, and the players are very happy with what they see in him. Yes alot of old players, wanting a shot at ring. Young players wanting to make a statement. Most of all, an owner who is drooling for a championship. Giants vrs. Skins, will be very interesting, being the first game of the season. A loss for the Giants, could boost the confidence in all players, and I'll bet Zorn knows that as well. 28/16 Skins!

Wow we already have a score prediction, and we don't even know the starting lineups!

[Monkeydad]

Dallas 0-16


Sure it probably won't happen, but you can bet I and any other real Redskins fan will be rooting for them to lose 16 times.

[GTripp0012]

If Pennington starts the whole season, the Jets get a lot better: 8-9 wins. They should be improved defensively, and the Passing game always is above average with Chad in there.

The Browns are a 5-6 win team. Their offensive backfield play may not have been a complete mirage -- but that schedule is difficult on them, and their offensive talent at Quarterback and Runningback is clearly inferior to both Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. Don't forget that they were the 30th ranked D last year and are counting on two veteran D Linemen to switch schemes and fill holes in the same offseason. Oh yeah, their top TWO corners last year -- one was traded to Detroit and one just got a season ending knee injury.

The Bengals are a 9-10 win team with that offense, but with the toughness of that division's schedule, that could take the AFC North, assuming they don't get swept by Pittsburgh. Their defense is likely to rebound from horrible to merely bad, and could improve past that depending on how the young corners develop.

Not sure if it's a surprise, but the Texans should be good for 9-10 wins.

The Cardinals figure to be a 10-11 win team. Leinart should stay healthy this year, and even if he doesn't, Kurt Warner can still handle his spot. That defense projects to be top notch, behind super safety Adrian Wilson (who missed most of last year's 8-8 effort) and franchise player Karlos Dansby. They've also done a great job building the defensive line there, which is both strong and deep.

The Rams should rebound nicely to 7-8 wins, and if Marc Bulger stays healthy, he should be pro bowl bound again.

I think the Bears will win 11 games and take the NFC North. There's no reason to think the defense can't be every bit as good as it was in 05-and-06, and they replaced two giant gaping holes on their offensive line, which should give the whole offense a fighting chance. It should be their best offense of the decade--which really isn't saying that much.

[Daseal]

I think the Houston Texans will make strides this year. Due to their division they won't make the playoffs, but in a few years these guys could be a really formidable team.

Everyone seems high on the Ravens, I see another mediocre season for an aging squad under new leadership.

I also think the Bills make strides, but miss the playoffs. It's just so hard to get a playoff spot in the AFC. If Trent Edwards really shines then they may be good for years.

I totally disagree about the Panthers. I'm not sold on Delhomme. He's coming off Tommy John surgery, and I just don't value him very high as a QB. I think TB takes that division easily. That said, the Saints prove that 2006 was the fluke, not 2007. Where are all those people dogging the Texans for taking Mario Williams now?

I expect the Lions to be improved. They're coming with a more balanced attack which will help their two stud WRs. They won't be competing for a playoff spot -- but will be improved.

Finally, I don't get the Eagles hype myself. They have a good secondary, but I'm not really scared of their LBs or Dline. They have no WRs. They have a very solid Oline, the best back in the division in Westbrook, and a solid QB in McNabb.

As far as the Redskins, I agree. Too many maybes to give them any sort of rankings.

[That Guy]

i'll buy the cards being a bit better, but i don't think they'll hit 10-11 wins.
the jets might win 7, but i doubt they have a real shot at the playoffs.
i agree on the browns. 9 wins may be impossible with their schedule (pit/cin twice, nfc east, jax, etc)

panthers, again, depend entirely on delhomme's health (he was absolutely on fire pre-injury).

see, strength of schedule is like the giant unseen hand... that's the ONLY reason i'd bet on the raiders winning 3 more games. the talent is definitely better, but the contracts are horrible, and the long term prospects aren't great for post season wins.


i also think miami will be better than expected and better than the falcons. parcells has done a great job on the quick fix, and they'll still be bad, but they should be competitive in most games if not for having a rookie qb. i love the henne pick and think he should be their day 1 starter.

[GTripp0012]

Both Miami and Atlanta could rely heavily on their running games this year -- and be quite successful at it.

Remember with the Cards: 8 wins last year -- without their best defensive player for two thirds of the season. Unless you feel they were lucky to get 8, a two win improvement almost seems expected right now.

[That Guy]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

Both Miami and Atlanta could rely heavily on their running games this year -- and be quite successful at it.

Remember with the Cards: 8 wins last year -- without their best defensive player for two thirds of the season. Unless you feel they were lucky to get 8, a two win improvement almost seems expected right now.

i think their schedule was easy last year and they'll have a much harder time vs the nfc east this year.

and on the skins, a completely new offense, a bunch of new players (though mainly as depth) and a new head coach means that winning 10 games will be a bit harder this year.

but, our schedule only has two sure losses (well, nothing's 100%, but seattle and pittsburg have very good rosters right now) and the rest seem pretty winnable. I'm not concerned with STL, NO, ARI, SF, DET, or BAL. CLE or CIN could go either way, but i do think we can win those at least 6/10 times.

so even with the new parts, i'll guess 9-7 +/- 1 (though i think we could cap at 11). the problem is if we can't even split in the NFC east, which is crazy competitive, but i'd tend to think we can.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by That Guy

i think their schedule was easy last year and they'll have a much harder time vs the nfc east this year.

Good point right there, but I do think they will handle their division pretty easily.

Although the Rams could be a darkhorse. They haven't had a defense since 2001, but their last three first round picks have been Tye Hill, Adam Carriker, and Chris Long, and every one of those guys could be a defensive cornerstone.

If that defense becomes a top half defense, the Rams could certainly ruin the Cards' playoff chances.

I really like Arizona's defense this year, and I've liked their offense for quite some time now.

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

Good point right there, but I do think they will handle their division pretty easily.

Although the Rams could be a darkhorse. They haven't had a defense since 2001, but their last three first round picks have been Tye Hill, Adam Carriker, and Chris Long, and every one of those guys could be a defensive cornerstone.

If that defense becomes a top half defense, the Rams could certainly ruin the Cards' playoff chances.

I really like Arizona's defense this year, and I've liked their offense for quite some time now.

Provided their O-line is relatively healthy, I definitely think the Rams are going to be playoff contenders. I am a bit surprised though that you like the Jets' chances. Pennington is efficient, but he can't stretch the field. I used to think he was a very good QB, but not anymore.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Sheriff Gonna Getcha

Provided their O-line is relatively healthy, I definitely think the Rams are going to be playoff contenders. I am a bit surprised though that you like the Jets' chances. Pennington is efficient, but he can't stretch the field. I used to think he was a very good QB, but not anymore.

Pennington did have a rough year last season, but it didn't seem to be arm strength related. Rather, it seemed like he was making uncharacteristically poor decisions in October last season.

I think we know from the career year phenomenon (that even poor players can be good for half-3/4 of a season) that decision-making can be spotty. Tom Brady had an awful half year to start 2006. Kordell Stewart went to the Pro Bowl in 2001. Derek Anderson was one of the 5 best QB's in the NFL through the first 8 games last year -- and most metrics don't even have him in the top half last year. Joey Harrington was really good last year too, and we know Harrington is an awful career passer.

I don't think there's any reason to think that Pennington wouldn't return to form next year and fill a pretty big void on the Jets roster. It looks like Mangini is going to give him the chance.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by That Guy

but, our schedule only has two sure losses (well, nothing's 100%, but seattle and pittsburg have very good rosters right now) and the rest seem pretty winnable. I'm not concerned with STL, NO, ARI, SF, DET, or BAL. CLE or CIN could go either way, but i do think we can win those at least 6/10 times.

Well, we have Pittsburgh at home this year, and though it would be foolish to take Campbell over Big Ben at this point, Pittsburgh's roster is lacking in the exact same places ours is: They are elderly on defense, and have little of a running game to back up their passing game. The difference, of course, being that we have an established running back, and they have a one two punch of fantasy back Willie Parker, and rookie will-be-stud-two-years-from-now Mendenhall. I'm taking the Skins in that game, at least right now.

Seattle of course, is always a tough road game, but that team isn't impressive to me. Sure, they jettisoned Alexander, but a combination of Julius Jones and TJ Duckett doesn't strike all that much fear into anyone in the running game, and we know that Hasselbeck had his career year in 2005 -- three years ago. I don't want to say that we have the advantage at QB, but Campbell IS improving, and Hasselbeck is hanging around the above average tier for the next few years, so we might have the advantage at QB in that game. Seattle's defense is much younger than ours, but they are definately in transition at a few positions, such as DE or Safety, and that might give us the advantage around the middle of the season.

The non-conference opponents we really have to be careful about: St. Louis, Arizona, Cincinnati, and to an extent, New Orleans. New Orleans has a crappy roster right now on paper, but I can't sleep on Drew Brees. Cincinnati is just a top offensive team from top to bottom, and they have two young corners and two young linebackers, so I can't count their defense out either. Still, I already know I'm picking the Skins over the Saints in the home opener, especially with 10 days to gameplan for it.

Anyway, the toughest part of the schedule is right at the beginning -- the first 5 games, so we will know right off the bat how good this team is going to be.

[MTK]

The Cardinals have been everyone's sexy pick for years now. I'll believe it when I see it.

[MTK]

Why is 10 wins so out of the question?

At this point there are so many unknowns I don't think anything can be ruled out. Let's see how this team looks in camp before we start throwing around rock solid predictions.

[Giantone]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

Why is 10 wins so out of the question?

At this point there are so many unknowns I don't think anything can be ruled out. Let's see how this team looks in camp before we start throwing around rock solid predictions.

I feel the same way(different team).So noone respects NY....good laugh us off like last year.We will lose games ,none of this 16-0 crap,10-6 maybe better,definitely playoffs.