NFL predictions: AFC Rankings

By Jeff

The preseason is done. Finally NFL football games that mean something. After months of uncertainty about the season, and another month of analysts reaching for stories regarding the preseason that were not stories, we have real NFL football! Wooooo!

It's going to be a fun season. It always is. So who's going to be the best and the worst? Well, those answers are pretty obvious. The ones inbetween might be harder to predict.

16. Buffalo Bills - This team is terrible. Steve Johnson and Fred Jackson are pretty good, but that's pretty much it. Ryan Fitzpatrick had some good weeks last season, but then stunk down the stretch and C.J. Spiller had a very disappointing rookie campaign and the offensive line has nothing but a bunch of cast offs that couldn't even be the 8th men on other teams' lines. Chan Gailey will be fired.

15. Cincinnati Bengals - There are few things in sports that make me happier than the Bengals and their lack of success: the New England Patriots haven't won a playoff game since that Super Bowl loss to the New York Giants, the Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals being unable to take the next step and the pain it causes their fans, and when the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox miss out on the playoffs. The Bengals are going to suck again this season. A 3-13 season would be a surprise.

14. Cleveland Browns - Can Colt McCoy throw the ball farther than 30 yards?

13. Denver Broncos - There is so much that needs to be done to undo what Josh McDaniels did to this franchise. They have cut second-round draft picks and Tim Tebow is not the future. This team is gonna struggle for at least another year.

12. Oakland Raiders - Darren McFadden was great last year. He had been mediocre every year prior to that. I'm not sure he can hold up for the season. Other than McFadden's potential, what does this team have going for them? They lost their best defensive player and they are starting a quarterback who has never taken the next step in Jason Campbell. He was benched for Bruce Gradkowski last year at times.

11. Miami Dolphins - Rememeber last year when people were excited about what Chad Henne was going to do for the Dolphins? It might be hard because Henne was terrible last season and these people seem to have completely forgotten how much they praised him. Also, Reggie Bush is not the answer.

10. Jacksonville Jaguars - A long time ago the Jaguars were my second favorite team in the league. I loved Freddy Taylor, Mark Brunell (He used to scramble!) and Jimmy Smith. Then in their second season of existence they upset the Denver Broncos in the playoffs and I liked them ever since. Then all of those guys went away and the team didn't replace them with similarly loved players. Well, except for Maurice Jones-Drew. He is cool and I respect him. The rest of the team is meh and does nothing for me. It will also do nothing exciting this year. This will be Jack Del Rio's last year as coach. I may have said that two or three times before, but this time I mean it.

9. Kansas City Chiefs - No reason for this ranking, I just think last year was a fluke.

8. Tennessee Titans - OK, this team should be around No. 11 or 12, but there is always a team in each league that is surprising and makes more waves than you expect. The Titans are that team this year, at least if Jake Locker takes over by Week 6.

7. Baltimore Ravens - I have two Ravens on one of a fantasy roster, yet I don't think this team makes the playoffs. Why? Once again, not a lot of valid reasons here. I want to say the team won't cut it on defense. But they kind of prove me wrong every time I think they're done.

6. Indianapolis Colts - They'll be up to three if Peyton doesn't miss significant time. But no one really knows when he will be back. So I'm saying they sneak into the playoffs with Peyton making a triumphant return and winning six straight to finish the season.

5. Houston Texans - Andre Johnson deserves to make the playoffs. It made me so happy to see him punch Cortland Finnegan in the head last year. But that last part is beside the point. The point is Johnson is an elite talent that deserves better and I think he is going to push his team over the top this year. The defense might not suck, which will help as well.

4. New England Patriots - They're good, but they haven't won the most important game of their season since February of 2005. I'm sorry, but Albert Haynesworth is not the answer on defense and Chad Ochocinco is not the second coming of the third coming of Randy Moss. But they still have Tom Brady. He is the best pure passer in the league. If he has time to throw the ball, he is practically unstoppable. I can't tell you how much I hate saying this and praising him, but he's that good and can carry a blah team to 11-5 or 12-4. Damn him.

3. San Diego Chargers - No, Phillip Rivers won't win a Super Bowl. The football Gods or God do not approve of his cocky attitude, especially considering he hasn't even won an AFC Championship. But the AFC West is weak and they will go 6-0 in the division. Then they will lose in the playoffs.

2. New York Jets - I don't really believe this. Just seems like the popular thing to do.

1. Pittsburgh Steelers - Unlike the past two times the Steelers were coming off a Super Bowl appearance, the Steelers have something to prove this season. They need to show that their defense really is something to be feared, not the shell Aaron Rodgers picked apart in the Super Bowl. Ben Roethlisberger needs to prove that he is still the guy who ca take a team down the length of the field in the final two minutes when they need him. Not the guy who gained one first down in a similar situation in the Super Bowl. This team is mostly made up of the same guys who got them to a Super Bowl last year and felt the disappointment of losing a winnable game. Oh, I'm also a huge homer and will always put the Steelers at No. 1 in one of these rankings.

The Doobie Brothers - Listen to the Music