2012 NFL Predictions: Other picks sure look a lot like 2011

Judging from initial predictions I've seen elsewhere, the Patriots and the Packers are once again predominant favorites to play one another in Super Bowl XLVII. It felt like I was oh-so-close last season when I also went with New England to win it all, albeit I had them playing a Saints team that certainly looked like a contender before falling to the upstart Niners in something of an instant classic.

Anyway, my gut tells me that there will almost certainly be a surprise or seven this year. Once again, it appears I will not be participating in a confidence pool, but I will be giving the bro-in-law's fantasy league another whirl. So commentary throughout the season is almost certainly going to be limited to the quarterly updates for a Bears team that many fans in Chicago have some understandably high hopes for.

How high are my hopes for that team? Well, seeing as many of the same predictions I've already seen have effectively declared the Bears to be a Wild Card team, I'm definitely optimistic. I made some improvement in predictions last year, but since I'm saying how other picks look remarkably similar, I'll try to take a chance or two with my own picks—probably not so much with division picks, but more so with playoff games.

I apologize (as I almost always do with any of these predictions) for the layout looking rather shitty, but I have neither the time nor patience for this shit. I'll figure out a newer, more hassle-free way of attractively posting predictions in the near future—seeing as we've got the NBA (and maybe [?] the NHL) starting within the next couple months too:

AFC East

New England Patriots

Buffalo Bills

New York Jets 

Miami Dolphins

OK, no surprises here—unless you count the new placement for Buffalo that many others seem to have as well. The Pats remain the class of the division and are deserving favorites, but no doubt here that the Jets will still garner a lot of attention from ESPN crews, thanks to a certain Tim Tebow. Miami's something of a mess, making me believe that unless New York exceeds expectations and Buffalo falters (both of which are entirely possible), this finish is a pretty safe bet.

AFC North
Baltimore Ravens

Pittsburgh Steelers

Cincinnati Bengals 

Cleveland Browns

Again, this is pretty much what everybody else has. I believe the logic elsewhere is correct that Joe Flacco could have a pretty strong season in a contract year, but I toyed with the idea of moving the Bengals up. Cincy never fails to do pretty much the opposite of whatever I'm expecting. And as for Cleveland, well ... they'll have their moment one day. It just won't be this season.

AFC South
Houston Texans

Tennessee Titans

 
Jacksonville Jaguars

Indianapolis Colts

Third consensus favorite in a row here, and it's the three teams after the Texans that I'd wonder about. Houston's already taken its first step toward contending after a very strong showing in the playoffs last year despite being down not one, but two quarterbacks. That was remarkable, and the departure of Mario Williams would really be painful if he hadn't been hurt as often as he was last year for the Texans. Everything after Houston is debatable: Tennessee's still going to have learning pains, but Jacksonville gets a new head coach and Indianapolis is starting from scratch following many years with Peyton Manning at the helm. I think Andrew Luck will have many moments of brilliance, but the rebuilding is going to take some time.

AFC West
Denver Broncos

Kansas City Chiefs

San Diego Chargers

Oakland Raiders

Your guess is as good as mine here. The layout's already frustrating me, so I'll just say the Broncos defense looked quite scary at times last season and now that Peyton will be working with John Fox, I expect big things out of Denver. Kansas City has a lot to like too, but neither the Chargers nor the Raiders can be entirely discounted. This could be a very competitive division that once again comes down to the final week of the regular season.

NFC East
Philadelphia Eagles

New York Giants

Dallas Cowboys

Washington Redskins

I tremendously discounted the Giants last year (one year after I picked them to go to the Super Bowl, mind you), and while I can understand why many are picking New York to show last season was no fluke, Andy Reid is already on the hot seat. As a result, I'm fairly confident that the Eagles do not limp out of the starting gate this season. In the end, it should be a two-team race for the division with Dallas suffering from a lack of depth and Washington taking joy in the occasional RGIII highlight.

NFC North
Chicago Bears

Green Bay Packers

Detroit Lions

Minnesota Vikings

First upset pick. Green Bay deserves to be the favorite, but Lovie Smith is in a contract year and Jay Cutler (and Chicago in general) finally has real, live wide receiver options. The offense is poised to be explosive, and while I'm still skeptical about how the defense will hold up, it just feels as though the Bears will get the lucky breaks they need after having such an unlucky campaign in 2011. Detroit should not be ruled out either, making this a pretty competitive division. Vikings fans may be in for a long season.

NFC South
Atlanta Falcons

New Orleans Saints

Carolina Panthers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
   

I've been alternating the Falcons and Saints for a couple years now, despite this division's habits of having teams routinely rise up from the bottom. While New Orleans is still sort of reeling from Roger Goodell benching their head coach for an entire year and other suspensions, the Saints should still be able to compete. Atlanta, however, has high hopes offensively that I'm expecting them to live up to. Cam Newton is going to be hard-pressed to follow up his marvelous rookie campaign, but will still have his moments, no doubt. And while I wouldn't be terribly surprised if the Bucs finished in third, I'm still guessing they'll struggle for a majority of the year.

NFC West
Seattle Seahawks

San Francisco 49ers

Arizona Cardinals

St. Louis Rams

The Niners are certainly the universal favorites everywhere else you look, and I could very well regret not giving them more credit, but this is another division where I'll take a chance. Seattle's an even more risky bet than the Bears, in my mind, but I think they've got tremendous potential to surprise a lot of people and could benefit from a bit of a softer schedule than San Fran. Arizona and St. Louis are both works-in-progress, and I'll be surprised if either can finish higher than third.

Wild Card Playoffs
#3 Ravens over #6 Chiefs

#4 Broncos over #5 Steelers

#3 Falcons over #6 Giants

#5 Packers over #4 Seahawks

Divisional Playoffs
#4 Broncos over #1 Patriots

#2 Texans over #3 Ravens

#5 Packers over #1 Eagles

#2 Bears over #3 Falcons

Conference Championship
#2 Texans over #4 Broncos

#2 Bears over #5 Packers

Super Bowl XLVII
Texans over Bears