Tomorrow

It's go time.

No more waiting around, thinking about last year.

Get your towels in hand and throw on your jersey. Put on your lucky socks and get ready.

Football season is here.

Enough for the dramatics, here's some fluff...

I know the season has already started, but here's my predictions for the coming year. I actually wrote these on a piece of paper (not that you have any incentive to believe me about that) on Thursday before the game.

AFC EAST
New England- they're still the class of the division. Yes they have some questions, but they also have more solid veterans than anyone else in this division.


New York- this prediction is predicated on Chad Pennington's success. With the addition of Thomas Jones, I think they'll finish better than Buffalo and Miami.


Buffalo- Questions on offense revolve around Losman and Lynch. The Defense lost some key players but will have the Defensive Rookie of the Year in Paul Posluszny.


Miami- The addition of Joey Porter won't help them.



AFC NORTH
Pittsburgh- Yes, I'm biased. But I also know that no AFC North team has won the division in back-to-back seasons.


Baltimore- Everyone thinks that the defense is the heart and soul of this team. They lose the division title on the last game of the year in Pittsburgh.


Cincinnati- The offense can score, but so can other teams. The O-line had a big loss and that's not helpful when you're relying heavily on your offense. Offense wins games, Defense wins championships. Period.


Cleveland- They have young talent, but they don't have a winning attitude. Crennell doesn't make it through the season. Quinn starts Week 2.



AFC SOUTH
Indianapolis- The class of the division. No one is close to challenging them yet.


Tennessee- Vince Young is a winner, thta's about all there is to it. They're a season or two away from challenging Indy for the Division.


Jacksonville- One of the better running back tandems in the AFC, with a strong defense, but what will happen when the need arises to throw the ball?


Houston- The addition of Matt Schaub was nice, but they still don't have a line to block for him.



AFC WEST
San Diego- Like Indy and New England, they're the class of this division. They should be able to run away with it.


Denver- Honestly, this is a default pick. I'm not sold on Denver being a competitor, but the other two options are worse.


Kansas City- Tough year ahead for LJ as teams will probably stack the box against him. Not much to fear from KC's passing game.


Oakland- Even if they get Russell signed, it's basically a lost season for him.



AFC Playoffs
1. New England
2. Indianapolis
3. Pittsburgh
4. San Diego
5. Baltimore
6. New York



AFC Championship: New England over Pittsburgh
I know it's the trendy pick to go with New England here, but they've got the best all-around team in the conference. Pittsburgh pulls a suprise upset in Indianapolis again.



NFC EAST
Philadelphia- Experts are picking Dallas, but let's not forget about McNabb, Wesbrook and the Eagles.

Dallas- For the time being, they're better than Washington. Is Tony Romo the future of Dallas? We'll find out this year. He made the Pro Bowl after a set of good games and a set of bad games.


Washington- Give them a year or two to sure up their O-Line and front 7 on defense and they're a competitor. They've already got players at skill positions to win the division, just not the trench players. LaRon Landry wins NFC Defensive Rookie of the Year.


New York- Coughlin joins the ex-Giants head coaches club and Eli has his worst season yet. Failure to have a consistent running attack hurts. Big time.



NFC NORTH
Chicago- More or less the default winners of the division. Grossman does enough to keep his job and blow it in the playoffs.


Detroit- This is a stretch pick, but I need to take a few risks in my predictions. The second place team in this division (whoever it ends up being) might not need more than 6 wins.


Green Bay- Green Bay is the trendy pick for #2 in this division, but I don't believe it. Favre tries to force too much and they don't really have a running back. This team wins this division when Aaron Rodgers starts playing.


Minnesota- Of all the teams out there that need a QB, Minnesota's situation might be the most dire. The Defense played great against the run last year under Tomlin, but let's not forget the fact that they were last in the league in Passing Defense. The Vikings will be drafting first in April.



NFC SOUTH
Carolina- Watch out for the Panthers. Steve Smith is still the best reciever in the game and they have Carr in place if Delhomme falters.


New Orleans- Last season was an overachievement. The Saints drop back in the division, partially due to the fact that they have to play a 1st place schedule this year.


Atlanta- They lose the Brian Brohm sweepstakes by having a better year than people expect. Vick was a playmaker, but he wasn't consistent. People seem to forget that there were 52 other professional athletes on this team besides Micheal Vick. Dunn and Norwood are solid backs and the addition of Joe Horn to the recieving core gives them a go-to reciever. Like Baltimore of two years ago, they're just "a quarterback away"


Tampa Bay- They're being written off by a lot of people, but they could pull an upset during the year. All in all, look for Tampa to be drafting in the Top 10 come April. Gruden may go, but there are players in place to turn this team into a competitor.



NFC WEST
Seattle- They're not as good as the team that went to the Super Bowl, but they're good enough to win this division...this year.


San Francisco- They're a year away from winning this division.


St. Louis- Stephen Jackson is a stellar athlete. The Defense doesn't quite hold up in this division.


Arizona- Whiz and Grimm find out things aren't so easy. The tools are there on offense...for the most part. The line still has some holes.



NFC Playoffs
1. Chicago
2. Carolina
3. Seattle
4. Philadelphia
5. New Orleans
6. Dallas

NFC Championship: Carolina over Philadelphia
Everyone is picking New Orleans, but I've got my eyes on another team from the NFC South. Carolina has depth at almost every position and has a solid backup QB should Jake Delhomme falter.


SUPER BOWL
New England over Carolina
Carolina is good, but New England is better. Assuming Brady stays heathly, we'll see him hoisting Lombardi's Trophy again in February.

Let's get pumped.

Don't forget your towel.