Video by Ankit Dua, Aditya Krishnan and Pranav Iyer. Editing by Ankit Dua.
The old football cliche “any given Sunday” might as well be switched to “any given year.” Out of the 12 teams that made the playoffs during the 2013-2014 season, five of them missed the playoffs last year. After eight seasons in which defending Super Bowl champions have failed to win a playoff game the following year, the Seattle Seahawks made it to the Superbowl as reigning champions last year. The Cowboys, once thought to be the epitome of mediocrity, surprisingly took home the NFC East division crown last year. No one predicted or even attempted to predict that such madness would occur— except Skip Bayless. Something tells me that all those years of predicting success for America’s team finally paid off. Speaking of predictions, they’re pretty farfetched, at least when the season starts. Once the ref blows his whistle, actions on the playing field truly do speak louder than words on paper. Yet, like any sports columnist, I’m still giving you guys my bold predictions because that’s what us columnists do. Let’s just hope that I get at least one right.
1. NFC South will have two playoff teams.
Two years ago it was the NFC North, the year before that it was the NFC East and just last year it was the NFC South’s turn to be the worst division in pro football. But that’s not the case this year. Instead of sending a sub-.500 team to the playoffs, like they did last year, the South will manage to get two ten plus win teams into the postseason. Not bold enough? Well, I’ll tell you that the Panthers, repeating division champs, aren’t one of them.
That means the two ten plus win teams I speak of are the Falcons and Saints. Let’s be honest here, the Buccaneers would be lucky to win six games. Nevertheless, the Falcons, with the likes of Julio Jones, Matt Ryan and backs Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman carrying the offense should present a huge threat to opposing defenses. In other words, the offense will perform. The problems lie within the defense. However, the additions of former Clemson stars Vic Beasley and Grady Jarrett and improvements to a severely underrated secondary should prove vital to the defensive overhaul taking place. Not to mention, Head Coach Dan Quinn was the defensive coordinator in Seattle, which boasted one of the best defensive units in football under his tenure.
The Saints, on the other hand, will have a little more work to do if they are to reach January with at least 10 wins. Having said that, I do believe that the Saints will make the playoffs, just not as division champions because I see Atlanta earning those honors. With a newly found, ground and pound offensive approach, running backs Mark Ingram and CJ Spiller should make things a lot easier for Drew Brees, who is getting up there in age. Like the Falcons, however, defense is the main issue with the Florida Lee. Injuries and a lack of leadership plagued Rob Ryan’s unit last year. In fact, without such mishaps the team had a top five defense. Assuming everything runs smoothly on the defensive side, the Saints should be back in business and so will the NFC South.
2. New York will finally host a playoff game again.
The last playoff game held in the Big Apple took place two years ago when the Pro Bowl was apparently far more entertaining than the Super Bowl. All I really need to say is “43-8” and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. I’ll give you a hint—think back to the last Super Bowl you saw that really sucked. Now, when I tell you that the Jets will reach the playoffs, on the other hand, you absolutely won’t know what I’m talking about. You guys are probably saying “The Jets? You must be out of your mind!” Well, I have to admit that the Jets are a hard team to trust, especially when you have defensive linemen KO’ing the “future” of your franchise and driving at 143 mph on the highway. Yet, despite all the chaos, the men in green boast arguably the league’s best defensive unit. Remember back in 2009 and 2010, when the Jets made it to the AFC championship two consecutive years with Mark Sanchez at QB? The formula of success was to force turnovers on defense and run the football. With Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie, rookie Leonard Williams and Muhammad Wilkerson anchoring the defense, half of that formula looks complete. Now, it’s up to Chris Ivory, Brandon Marshall and the rest of the offense to complete the other half.
3. The Detroit Lions will win the NFC North and earn a first round bye.
You would have to go back 22 years ago to witness the last time the Detroit Lions won their division. Good news fans and supporters of the Motor City Simbas, your team can finally say that they will be better than Green Bay. With Jordy Nelson out for the year and Green Bay’s defense having question marks everywhere, the Lions’ only competition for the division title is themselves. On Detroit’s side of things, one of the NFL’s best defenses paired with a dynamic offense consisting of promising talent Joique Bell and Ameer Abdullah should wreak some havoc. Not to mention, Matthew Stafford and Golden Tate will carry over their success from last season. Tate, who was not much of a factor early in his career with Seattle, really made significant strides last year finishing seventh for most receiving yards. In addition, the Lions will get back arguably the most dynamic player in the NFL, Calvin Johnson. Well, that’s assuming he’s healthy of course. If Johnson can regain his form from two years ago, Ford Field’s dome is the limit for this offensive group. On the defensive side of the ball, Detroit will look for another great year from Pro Bowl safety Glover Quin and the emergence of young corners. The loss of premier defensive anchor Ndamukong Suh severely hurt this franchise. However, the front office quickly responded with the acquisition of defensive powerhouse Haloti Ngata. Ngata not only replaces the void left by Suh’s departure, but also literally costs nada, at least compared to Suh who’s taking home $23,485,000 in 2016. Regardless, if all of what I just mentioned is not enough to win the division and earn a first round bye, then might as well stick with the cheeseheads.
4. The league MVP will not be a quarterback.
Quarterbacks always get all the credit. They always get all the blame. They always win MVP. And this year will be no different. Just kidding. You probably saw that coming considering that these are bold predictions. Hopefully you’ve been getting the memo. Anyhow, I believe that JJ Watt got robbed of MVP honors last year. Just because the NFL is a passing league it doesn’t mean that Quarterbacks are the only ones deserving of being league MVP. Why not give it to a guy who hunts down QBs instead? Let me better that statement. Why not give the MVP award to a guy that hunts down opposing quarterbacks and catches touchdown passes from his own quarterback. You can’t beat that. No one in the NFL can beat that. Except for JJ Watt. That’s right, he’s my MVP pick. After all, the award does stand for most valuable player.
5. JJ Watt will break Michael Strahan’s record
If my MVP pick was any indicator, JJ Watt will have a tremendous season. In fact, I think he has what it takes to surpass the 22.5 sack record set by Michael Strahan in 2001. Watt, by himself, should be able to care of possible double teams. But, Watt is anything but by himself with a defense in the top half of the NFL alongside him. It won’t be easy chasing down a record that has stood for 14 years, but for JJ Watt it surely will be easy chasing down opposing quarterbacks.
