Autumn - When A Young Man's Fancy Turns To Football

So, here we are (finally): After months of doldrums (yeah, yeah, the Olympics. What else you got? Nothing? Exactly), we finally arrive at the best season for sports - autumn. Of course, autumn kicks off with the NFL season, and with that, my pathetic attempt at predicting the upcoming campaign. So, on that positive note...

AFC

East
New England (12-4)
Buffalo (9-7)
New York (6-10)
Miami (4-12)

It's hard to imagine a team other than the Patriots winning this division, but the rest of the division will make strides this year. Just not enough to catch the Evil Empire.

North
Cleveland (10-6)
Pittsburgh (10-6)
Cincinnati (7-9)
Baltimore (3-13)

Remember when Baltimore and Cincinnati were contenders? Me too. The battle between the Browns and the Steelers should come right down to the wire, and I have a sense Pittsburgh will fall just short of the division and the wild card.

South
Indianapolis (12-4)
Jacksonville (10-6)*
Houston (10-6)*
Tennessee (6-10)

Easily the conference's strongest division, the South should produce both wild card teams; but, unlike most people, I'm not sold on Tennessee. Instead, the Texans will finally break through and squeak past Pittsburgh for the last playoff spot.

West
San Diego (14-2)
Oakland (7-9)
Denver (5-11)
Kansas City (2-14)

What is there to say about this horrendous division? The downside for the Chargers is they won't have any games with playoff implications and may be flat in the post-season. Besides that, they have it quite easy this year.

Playoffs:

(3) Indianapolis over (6) Houston; (5) Jacksonville over (4) Cleveland
(1) San Diego over (5) Jacksonville; (3) Indianapolis over (2) New England
(1) San Diego over (3) Indianapolis

The Colts victory over the Patriots will produce an empty feeling as the Chargers ride home field to victory and a berth in the Super Bowl.

NFC

East
Dallas (12-4)
New York (10-6)*
Washington (7-9)
Philadelphia (6-10)

It's hard to imagine the Giants repeating this year, since it took everything falling into place perfectly last year for it to happen. But the Cowboys are unpredictable, and the Skins and Eagles aren't at the Giants level.

North
Green Bay (10-6)
Minnesota (10-6)*
Detroit (5-11)
Chicago (3-13)

This division is a toss-up between two mediocre teams, the Packers and the Vikings. Both squads have inexperienced pivots, so in the end, it comes down to the Vikes running game against the Pack's balance and experience from last year. Slight edge to the cheeseheads for one simple reason: If Minnesota wanted Brett Favre so badly, just how bad is Tarvaris Jackson anyway?

South
Tampa Bay (11-5)
New Orleans (9-7)
Carolina (5-11)
Atlanta (2-14)

The Saints, after an amazing season two years ago, are coming off a sub-par campaign, and as a result, are stocked up for this year. The only problem is, they aren't stacked up enough. Look for the Bucs to hold them off for the division title.

West
Seattle (11-5)
Arizona (6-10)
San Francisco (4-12)
St. Louis (3-13)

It's hard to imagine a division worse than the NFC West. So, once again, the Seahawks will walk away with the title.

Playoffs:

(6) Minnesota over (3) Tampa Bay; (5) New York over (4) Green Bay
(1) Dallas over (6) Minnesota; (5) New York over (2) Seattle
(1) Dallas over (5) New York

Dallas gets their revenge on their division rivals by knocking off the Giants at home to advance to the Super Bowl.

Super Bowl: San Diego over Dallas. The Chargers balanced attack and defence prove too much for the Cowboys, who are worn down after a tough division race and punishing NFC Championship game to handle San Diego.