I don't think these predictions and rankings are typical. I'm starting off with what I think _will_ happen. I think the AFC will be a bit muddled. I think the NFC has a lot of weak teams, and the solid teams will pile up a suprising amount of wins. And I think Carolina, Seattle, Tampa, and Chicago will all be for real. And I think the NFL playoffs will continue to be about match-ups, meaning regular season records will be out the window.
1. Carolina 12-4. The most solid team to start the year. Doesn't mean they will win it all.
2. Cincinnati 12-4. Palmer playing and looking good means a lot. Plenty of talent.
3. Tampa Bay 12-4. No glaring weakness, favorable division.
4. Seattle 12-4. No glaring weakness, favorable division.
5. Chicago 12-4. How are they not better than 2005? And look at that terrible division.
6. Pittsburgh 11-5. Defending champs still look very tough.
7. Indianapolis 11-5. When the only position you've improved at is kicker, you didn't get better.
8. Jacksonville 11-5. Not sold on Leftwich, but it's hard to see them regressing.
9. Philadelphia 11-5. Easy schedule, will win in trenches, and people are healthy. Best team in that division.
10. New England 10-6. Weaknesses abound, but Brady is at his peak.
11. Miami 10-6. Could go either way, but right now things look good.
12. Denver 10-6. Eventually things are going to go south in Denver, but not yet.
13. NY Giants 10-6. The post-season quitting is alarming, but lots of offensive players around their prime.
14. St. Louis 9-7. There's still a lot of talent here and division is a joke.
15. San Diego 8-8. As Rivers goes...
16. Dallas 8-8. Bledsoe is as worrisome as TO. Hard to believe it will be a smooth ride.
17. Minnesota 7-9. No names, but last year's good finish was no joke. Will be competitive.
18. Kansas City 7-9. Herm Edwards scares me.
19. Atlanta 7-9. Should be better.
20. Washington 7-9. Should be worse.
21. Cleveland 6-10. Will be much improved, but hard to see a lot of wins on the schedule.
22. Arizona 6-10. Might as well start Lienert.
23. Baltimore 6-10. Did not improve roster at all, though maybe with better health they can improve.
24. Tennessee 6-10. Won't be that bad.
25. Houston 6-10. Still won't be that good.
26. Detroit 5-11. Some tools, but still an air of incompetence.
27. New Orleans 5-11. You have believe Bush is Superman for Saints to really improve.
28. Buffalo 4-12. No excuse for team to be this bad.
29. Green Bay 4-12. Favre should either retire or designate himself the backup.
30. San Francisco 4-12. Could be a lot better, but Alex Smith will have to figure it out.
31. Oakland 4-12. Randy Moss will be responsible for all 4 wins.
32. NY Jets 3-13. Lucky to win three.
AFC Championship: New England over Pittsburgh.
NFC Championship: Tampa over Chicago.
Super Bowl: Tampa over New England. The Bucs still very good defense and straight-forward but effective offense will well in the post-season.