Revisiting My NFL Picks

The NFL regular season has officially ended, so I figured I'd look back at the predictions I made before the season started  As it turns out, of the 32 teams, I only predicted 12 correctly in the positions they would eventually occupy, but when you consider that one team out of place can completely upset an entire division, it's not that bad.  Here is a rundown

AFC East

I correctly predicted that the New England Patriots would win the division (no surprise), followed by Miami, which I predicted would benefit from having Knowshon Merino at RB; little did I know he would be injured early and miss the season.  I thought that Chris Johnson's running would propel the Jets ahead of Buffalo, but Johnson was a bust, as well as the rest of the Jets' offense.  Buffalo was the surprise to me, finishing second in the division, pushing Miami back to third and the Jets to fourth.

AFC North

I was almost right on this whole division, until Pittsburgh beat Cincinnati yesterday, finishing first by 1/2 game (the Bengals tied with the Panthers early in the season).  Other than that, I had Baltimore third and Cleveland fourth, which is where they finished.

AFC South

I correctly put Indy and Houston in the top two spots in the division, but thought that having Ken Wisenhunt as coach would tilt third place toward Tennessee.  As it turns out, Jacksonville finished a game ahead of the Titans.

AFC West

Maybe it was wishful thinking, but I thought that offensive defections would cause Denver to slip to third place.  I was wrong as the Broncos captured the division.  With that, Kansas City slipped from first to second and San Diego from second to third.  Oakland finished last, as I (and everyone else) predicted.

NFC East

I had Philly in first ahead of Dallas--they switched.  And I had Washington ahead of New York (who figured on Odell Beckham?).  I did, however, criticize Philly coach Chip Kelly's "infantile approach to clock management," which I believe strongly hurt the Eagles by season's end.

NFC North

It was with regard to this division that I wrote, "I wouldn't be surprised to see any team end up on top," while I correctly predicted that Green Bay would occupy that position.  I also correctly put Minnesota in third, but I had Chicago in second, where Detroit ended up, and I had Detroit in fourth, where Chicago finished.

NFC South

This was my biggest barf--who figured that New Orleans would lose nine games?  Even with that, they finished second, behind Carolina by only 1/2 game.  I was correct putting Atlanta in third and Tampa Bay in fourth.

NFC West

I thought that Seattle's defense would find it hard to adjust to the new rules protecting offensive players, and for half a season, I was right.  Then, they turned it on, going from third (where I had picked them) to first, and they now look like the best team in the NFC.  San Francisco, which I had placed in first, actually finished in third.  I was right about Arizona (second) and St. Louis (fourth).

Finally

In the final assessment, I thought the New Orleans Saints would defeat the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, but New Orleans didn't even make the playoffs.  However, I could (hopefully) end up half right.