Early NFL Season Predictions

Welcome back to My Take. This week I will give my take on the NFL regular season:

•              The team that will surprise 
•              The team that will be horrible
•              My take on the Detroit Lions
•              My Super Bowl Predictions

The Team That Will Surprise: Tennessee Titans

I really like the Tennessee Titans with their brand new quarterback Marcus Mariota. In his first NFL game, he threw for 209 yards and four touchdowns leading his team to a 42-14 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Granted, Tampa Bay may not be a great team. But, the Titans didn’t only show a great offense against Tampa Bay, they also showed a great defense. So, I think Tennessee will still go through some growing-pains this year. I predict that they will make it to the playoffs as a wildcard with a record of 10 wins and six losses. 

The Team That Will Be Horrible: Cleveland Browns

I didn’t have to put much thought into this one -- the Cleveland Browns will be really bad, again. Because they haven’t been able to pick the right quarterback, they are reaping the consequences.  When the Browns drafted Johnny Manziel two years ago, they believed in him because of college success and Heisman Trophy. However, Johnny has a slight build and he relies on his athletic ability to make plays happen. You just can’t do that in the pro game. You need your quarterback to stand in the pocket and throw darts – especially in the cold windy AFC North. So with Johnny at quarterback, even if he stays healthy, I don’t see the Browns winning more than four games this year.

My Take on The Lions: Average Year Again

In their opening game, Detroit suffered a loss in typical Lions fashion to the San Diego Chargers 33-28. Even though they lost, I still expect them to do okay in the NFC North. But if they play like they did in week one, they will not beat the Green Bay Packers. We know we have the right quarterback in Matt Stafford and the right wide receiver in Calvin Johnson.  I believe the Lions will stay stuck in the same spot as the last two years if they don’t get more talent around Matt Stafford. We keep having the same problem every week-- Calvin Johnson gets double teamed and is never open during a game. We need to have a wide receiver that can take pressure off the double team on Calvin. Unfortunately, they probably can’t make the change this year, so I’m predicting the Lions to have another average year with eight wins and eight losses.

My Super Bowl Predictions

My AFC Championship game prediction is the Baltimore Ravens vs. the Indianapolis Colts. I really like the Colts quarterback, Andrew Luck, but Baltimore’s strong defense will carry them to win the AFC Championship game. In the NFC Championship game, I have the Green Bay Packers vs. the Arizona Cardinals. I believe the Cardinals have the most under-rated defense in the NFL that could carry them to the championship. But I also think Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is just too good. The Packers will win the NFC Championship game. So in Super Bowl 50, I have the Ravens vs. the Packers. The Ravens are my favorite to win, and Joe Flacco will win his second Super Bowl MVP.

Thanks for reading My Take. I’ll continue to write about football and other sports in the coming weeks.