The CAT's 2017 NFL Season Predictions

[Cruzincat]

The Ravens still have one of the best field goal kickers in the league, and everything on the defense is looking like the 2000 season where they won the Super Bowl. Keep an eye on them this year.

Big Ben is getting older, and in the last few years has missed a lot of games. They have not done well when is doesn't play.

[7express]

Alright, here are my 2017 predictions. I'm too tired and it's too late to see if the win totals add up to 256, so I don't care!

AFC East:
1) Patriots 13-3
2) Bills 10-6
3) Dolphins 7-9
4) Jets 1-15.
Pats weren't going 16-0 anyways, and probably not 15-1 or 14-2 either. They'll still be fine. Bills will be a wildcard contender, Dolphins should be ok since Cutler knows the offense, and the Jets?? They'll get some pity win against some bad/injured team sometime after week 11 for their lone win.

AFC North:
1) Steelers 11-5
2) Ravens 9-7
3) Bengals 8-8
4) Browns 5-11.
Still think the Steelers should be the favorites in the division. Still, the Ravens second best player on offense is their kicker, and the 3rd is their defense. Like last year Tucker will keep them close, but unfortunately they don't have enough horses on offense to pass the Steelers. How is Marvin Lewis STILL employed as the head coach of the Bengals?? Does he have incriminating photos of the GM/owner?? I said this in the week 1 thread don't be surprised by the Browns. They have a good o-line and the running game is pretty good to keep the pressure off of Kizer. If the o-line can give Kizer time, and the running game can control the clock they could be semi decent. 5 or 6 wins shouldn't be "semi decent" to most teams, but with the Browns you may as well throw a parade! That defense isn't that bad either with Jamie Collins & Myles Garrett (when healthy). I'd actually be more surprised if the Browns finished with less than 3 wins then if they ended up finishing 8-8.

AFC South:
1) Texans 11-5
2) Titans 10-6*
3) Colts 7-9
4) Jaguars 4-12
Texans aren't great, and the Titans are a very improved team, but the Texans should still be division favorites. Titans should be a playoff team this year. The Colts are the biggest mystery team in football: if Luck only misses 2 or 3 weeks and is relatively efficient when he returns they could be a legitimate threat to the Texans and Titans. The problem is we don't know when he is due back, and how effective he is when he is back (plus he'll likely get hurt again anyways ) so keep them in the middle of those 2 scenario's. Jaguars are improving, but definitely not there yet.

AFC West:
1) Raiders 13-3
2) Chiefs 11-5*
3) Broncos 9-7
4) Chargers 3-13.
If Carr doesn't get hurt last year they may have well won the division (but still lost the tiebreaker to the Chiefs anyways), but I think they definitely beat Houston in the Wildcard round, and definitely give New England a game whether it be in the divisional round or championship game. Chiefs win Thursday night proved that the Chiefs can win an "important" game in Foxboro. Not sold on Trevor Simien leading the Broncos to the playoffs. Hopefully for LA fans, the Dodgers make a decent run in the MLB playoffs and USC/UCLA do well, because the 2 NFL teams (Chargers/Rams) certainly won't do well, and even with those young kids the Lakers drafted, that isn't a playoff team.

AFC seeds:
1) New England
2) Raiders
3) Steelers
4) Texans
5) Chiefs
6) Titans
AFC Wildcard round:
Chiefs over Texans, Steelers over Titans
AFC Divisional round:
Patriots over Chiefs, Raiders over Steelers
AFC Championship game:
#2 Raiders 34 @ #1 Patriots 28

NFC West:
1) Seattle 13-3
2) Cardinals 9-7
3) Niners 4-12
3) Rams 4-12.
Seahawks looks like one of the best teams in football, especially with the Richardson trade. Not sure how good the Cardinals are, but they usually play well at home, and they should have 4 free wins against the Niners & Rams which bumps the win total. I just talked about the Rams above in the AFC West (won't be good), and while the Niners will be up there with the Bears & Jets for worst in football, unlike the Jets who are tanking for Rosen/Darnold, and the Bears who I don't think have a plan for what they are doing, at least the new regime in San Francisco looks like they have somewhat of an idea of what direction they want to go in.

NFC South:
1) Panthers 10-6
1) Falcons 10-6
3) Saints 8-8
4) Bucs 7-9.
Probably could be the most competitive division in football. Falcons will have a huge hangover, that's difficult for a team to come back from what the Falcons went through in the Super Bowl. I have the Panthers sweeping the Falcons, so they'll win the division and the divisions lone playoff spot. Saints defense is still bad, but I think the AP signing can have a double effect on the Saints: will give the Saints a new dimension on offense and won't cause Brees to throw 75 times a game, and controlling the clock may keep that defense off the field. Both factors could be key, especially late in the season if the Saints are in the race which I think they will be. Brees will have less stress on his arm due to the fewer number of throws per game, and the defense will be more fresh due to less time being spent on the field.

NFC North:
1) Green Bay 12-4
2) Minnesota 10-6*
3) Detroit 9-7
4) Bears 2-14.
NFC South & AFC North is a tough schedule which could cause the Pack to drop in the NFC playoff pecking order. Detroit & Minnesota SHOULD have 4 free wins against the Bears, but I have a feeling Detroit loses one of those games and will not be in the playoffs. Bears will be for a rough season regardless of who ends up as the QB.

NFC East:
1) Redskins 10-6
1) Giants 10-6*
1) Cowboys 10-6
4) Eagles 7-9.
The NFC South maybe the most competitive division, but this maybe the best division. You could make the case all 4 teams are pretty evenly matched and tough to differentiate between the 3 teams. Think the sophomore slump is upcoming for Prescott and Elliot is going to miss a month and a half, can the Cowboys recover from that?? Eli looks like he is on borrowed time, what do the Giants do if he goes down?? Cousins is good, but I'm not sure about the defense. I have the Redskins ultimately winning the division on a tiebreaker with the Giants getting a wildcard. Eagles are a little bit below the rest as I look for Wentz to keep improving and looking forward to another good year from him.

NFC playoff seeds:
1) Seattle
2) Green Bay
3) Washington
4) Panthers
5) Giants
6) Minnesota
NFC Wildcard:
Washington over Minnesota, Panthers over Giants
NFC Divisional round:
Seattle over Carolina, Green Bay over Washington
NFC championship game:
#2 Green Bay 21 @ #1 Seattle 24

Super Bowl 52:
#2 AFC Oakland 17 vs. #1 NFC Seattle 28. Lets call it the Marshawn Lynch bowl. Hard to pick against Seattle in this spot. They have been here, done that, and have the experience. This will be a good learning experience for Oakland, but unfortunately it's the Seahawks walking out of Minnesota with the Lombardi Trophy.

[Chevalier de Saint-George]

As a Falcons' fan, I'm slightly disturbed that anyone would use the Panthers (or anyone else) as an example of what will supposedly happen with the Falcons. Carolina's regressed because they lost some pieces on defense while ATL gained 2 important pieces in addition to having their young defense feel more comfortable in their knowledge of the scheme. ATL has added depth on defense. Quinn went 8-8 in his first season as HC and went to the SB in year 2...Atlanta will be fine.

The hangover talk is just superstition. It isn't automatic. It's a lazy person's explanation as to why a good team ain't so hot anymore...Usually, that team lost key players in free agency (O Line, D Line, Secondary pieces). What happens when a team improves?