As I did with the end of season wrap-up last season, I will revisit some of
my earlier blurbs and predictions for each team. I'm not going to hide from
anything I've said, and in keeping with our site's theme of "things change
quickly around here", you'll notice several occasions where it took me,
oh, about five minutes to contradict something I had said a week earlier.
I included each team's opening week rank for sort of a "grade" on
how I did in my initial assessment. Before you judge me too harshly, remember
that these predictions were made back in August. OK fine, so there's no justification
for ranking the Giants #1. What can I say - they were my Super Bowl pick so
I had to put them first. The opening week rankings weren't necessarily where
those teams would've ranked at the time; moreso, they were a prediction of how
I expected the final season rankings to work themselves out. As you'll find
when you read on, that wasn't entirely the case.
I also revisited my preseason predictions within each division and tried to
remember what those awesome drugs were that I was on when I picked Miami, Detroit,
and Arizona to win their respective divisions.
There's some good, some bad, some fun, most of it corny, and I hope you were
entertained. That is, after all, the purpose of these rankings. They can help
(I guess) but it's mostly a fun way for me to give and take with some of the
readers of our site, and I know I had a lot of fun doing that this season.
Disagree with anything you see here? Feel free to send all questions/comments/complaints/death
threats (not real ones please) to: brown@footballguys.com.
- San Diego Chargers 14-2 (1)
Opening Rank: 7
Week 1: They were one of the league's elite teams for quite some time last
year before fading down the stretch. This offseason, they upgraded from
Drew Brees to Philip Rivers so I see no reason to downgrade them whatsoever.
Week 5: If I don't see Marty Schottenheimer place a little more trust in
Philip Rivers soon, I'm going to drop them to 25th out of spite even though
they're probably the most talented team in the entire league.
Week 13: You know, the late-game heroics and comebacks are nice and all…but
sooner or later, they're going to have to start burying teams. You don't
win in the playoffs by always falling behind early.
- Baltimore Ravens 13-3 (2)
Opening Rank: 20
Week 2: Of all the surprising results from this week, none was bigger than
this. Count me impressed.
Week 8: Thank goodness Brian Billick has finally taken over the play-calling
duties. Now he can REALLY show his genius! (That last statement was sarcastic,
though it wouldn't be unprecedented for a coach to take over play-calling
for his coordinator and see the offense drastically improve. Or did no one
remember when Jim Fassel did this very thing with Sean Payton a few years
back?)
Week 10: You know, the more I see of this team the more I realize how no
one wants to see them in the postseason at all. There's always something
frightening about a team that always seems to do "just enough"
to win.
- Chicago Bears 13-3 (3)
Opening Rank: 19
Week 1: I know the Bears are everyone's team to take the division and no
one else has even a remote chance to overtake them. Right, and we all remember
that this is the NFL and not WWE right?
Week 10: Those turnovers weren't a case of lucky tipped passes or accidental
fumbles. Those were pretty much awful turnovers, and it's got to worry a
Bears fan about seeing Rex Grossman in a big spot. After all, the Bears
have beaten exactly one good team so far.
Week 14: This has been brought up, but since the Week 7 bye, this vaunted
defense has given up the following rushing yardage totals: Frank Gore (111),
Ronnie Brown (157), Tiki Barber (141), and now Chester Taylor (99). Now
they did hold down the Jets and Patriots, but it looks like there's not
quite as much fear to start stud RBs against these guys.
- New England Patriots 12-4 (4)
Opening Rank: 9
Week 4: What's missing here? I can't put my finger on what it is, but there's
something that used to be there and it's not now. Maybe talented wide receivers?
Just a guess.
Week 8: Perhaps the sneakiest team in the top-6. They aren't crushing teams
enough for everyone to really take notice yet, but they just keep winning.
You know, just like the Super Bowl teams. Uh-oh.
Week 17: Wow, early in the season I called them overrated as my #10 team.
And now, I'm pretty sure they're underrated at #4.
- Indianapolis Colts 12-4 (5)
Opening Rank: 3
Week 4: That 800-pound gorilla is the Colts complete inability to sustain
a run game, and it's going to cost them.
Week 8: Why would've guessed that the first round rookie draft pick that
got all the money would be doing better than the guy who averaged three
yards per carry a year ago?
Week 11: What a weird season they're having. They've beaten everyone they've
played. They've beaten a bunch of really really good teams. They've got
arguably the best player in the league. And yet everyone knows they aren't
going to win the Super Bowl.
- New Orleans Saints 10-6 (6)
Opening Rank: 24
Week 5: Deuce McAllister is currently on a 1029 yard, 12 TD pace. Is this
about the quietest 1029 yard, 12 TD pace you've ever seen?
Week 6: Don't ask why I won't give the Saints more love. They're talented,
they're fun to watch, they've got crazy fan support. I'm probably just being
prejudiced against the name of the team for no good reason. Just a fear
of trusting the Saints, I suppose.
Week 16: I had thought that even though the Saints backed into a division
crown, we'd see some joy and jubilation coming from the locker room after
clinching the division with everything the city has been through. Instead,
the players were angry and embarrassed by the way they played. And I was
glad to see that. This is a focused and dangerous team, make no mistake
about it.
- Philadelphia Eagles 10-6 (9)
Opening Rank: 15
Week 9: I've been hard on the Eagles all season long, and to be honest
a win last week wouldn't have been the most impressive thing in the world.
So that's what makes it so baffling that they just didn't show up. It was
a gimme, an easy win, something positive to take to the bye week. And they
just didn't show up. When does any of this get pinned on Andy Reid again?
Week 10: Here's only how big this week is: if they lose, they will not
make the playoffs.
Week 15: Repeat after me: the Eagles will not make the playoffs, the Eagles
will not make the playoffs…
- Cincinnati Bengals 8-8 (7)
Opening Rank: 4
Week 5: I think we may have found someone who can stop #85. And his name
is #84. Anyone else worried yet?
Week 10: I suppose I'm compelled to make some sort of comment regarding
Chad Johnson's complaints. OK, how's this one? He's right.
Week 14: Don't look now, but the Bengals have allowed 16, 0, and 7 points
the past three games. I know two of the teams don't feature very prolific
offenses, but still…
- Denver Broncos 9-7 (8)
Opening Rank: 13
Week 5: Ladies and gentlemen, meet your 2006 rushing champ - Mr. Tatum
Bell.
Week 8: Does anyone believe Jake Plummer will be this team's quarterback
in the playoffs? I mean seriously.
Week 13: The loss last week wasn't awful in and of itself. But now we've
got two straight division losses and a rookie QB at the helm from this point
forward. Not a recipe for greatness usually.
- New York Jets 10-6 (10)
Opening Rank: 27
Week 3: Most shocking development of 2006: Chad Pennington no longer throws
like my grandma. He has at least moved up into "aunt" territory,
and by season's end we're potentially looking at little brother-type arm
strength.
Week 7: Just good enough to not be bad, but just bad enough to not be good.
Week 15: Alright, that was the wake-up call. At this point, there's no
excuse to not go out and win these last three. It still might not be enough
to get in, but at least go down fighting.
- Kansas City Chiefs 9-7 (14)
Opening Rank: 21
Week 1: Pssst - hey listen up, I got a secret for you. The Chiefs offense
this summer has looked an awful lot like what the Jets used to run under
Herm Edwards. Just sayin.
Week 7: Who would've guessed that Damon Huard wouldn't excel when pressed
into duty? You don't ask Justin Timberlake to act or sound like a man, and
you don't ask Damon Huard to play QB - it's that simple.
Week 13: Meet the Chiefs - the worst good team in football.
- Jacksonville Jaguars 8-8 (11)
Opening Rank: 14
Week 5: It appears the Jags have gotten an early start to the, "Are
we a great team who sometimes looks bad, or are we a bad team who sometimes
looks great?" thing.
Week 8: From this point forward, I have to remember that no matter how
good they look, they'll always be the team that got blitzed by the Texans.
Week 9: I think I should make a rule that the Jags are not allowed to move
any higher than 12 or any lower than 18, no matter what. This team is about
as stable as Mariah Carey's weight.
- Seattle Seahawks 9-7 (13)
Opening Rank: 17
Week 3: Well on their way towards proving me completely and utterly wrong
about them.
Week 7: So I know I'm not the only one who's concerned that the Alexander
is more serious than they're letting on, right?
Week 15: Why do I get the feeling like this team is coasting through the
season far too easily to suddenly get themselves ready for the playoffs?
And it's through no fault of their own, either.
- Dallas Cowboys 9-7 (12)
Opening Rank: 10
Week 1: Hey, I hope you guys still have Billy Cundiff's number. Because
even though it's preseason, Mike Vanderjagt really looks like football's
version of Brad Lidge.
Week 10: I know I'm not breaking any news here, but Bill Parcells has seemed
like much less of a genius without Bill Belichick these past few years,
huh? The quote about blindly using the two-point conversion chart is expected
from someone like Mike Tice or Denny Green - but Bill freakin' Parcells???
Week 13: Alright, let's just say it now. Tony Romo may well be Tom Brady.
And if you want to call me crazy, that's fine. Because you know who Tom
Brady was before he became Tom Brady? He was Tony Romo.
- Pittsburgh Steelers 8-8 (15)
Opening Rank: 5
Week 2: A commanding performance against a quality opponent is one thing.
Doing it with Charlie Batch playing flawlessly is off-the-charts outstanding.
Week 10: There comes a point where you've just got to concede that a team
is not very good.
Week 17: Hey Steelers, I'd like to introduce you guys to my friend Reality.
- Tennessee Titans 8-8 (16)
Opening Rank: 30
Week 3: Ladies and gentlemen, I present your historically bad team for
2006.
Week 7: So how come Vince Young doesn't look completely lost out there
like everyone said?
Week 13: Hey, where are all those people now who said that Vince Young
was going to take a few years to develop into a real QB? Well, I can tell
you where one of those people is. He's writing this article.
- New York Giants 8-8 (19)
Opening Rank: 1
Week 5: Yes, they were my Super Bowl pick so I've given them more leeway.
Yes, they've underachieved badly and I think they'll come around. No, I'm
not very confident in my preseason pick here. And yes, this weekend's game
could very well break them.
Week 8: Wow, would you just look at that! Look who's being touted as a
Super Bowl contender again…
Week 16: I still say no one wants to face these guys in the playoffs. But
you know what? They may very well keep choking the season away anyway, making
it all moot.
- Carolina Panthers 8-8 (17)
Opening Rank: 2
Week 4: Seriously, just the fact that it took as much as it did against
a spleenless QB is not a good sign of future events. And is anyone else
annoyed at how DeShaun Foster is just good enough to hold onto his job,
but not good enough to actually be any good? Cause I am.
Week 10: Bad news of those of you who got in your early bets on a Panthers
Super Bowl trip - looking at the remaining schedule, I see the potential
for 9 losses. Not likely at all, but potential.
Week 13: You can't call any of these last five games a 'lock' win. Sooner
or later, the fact that John Fox has the look of a great coach is going
to be overshadowed by the fact that his teams consistently have come up
small over the past three years.
- Atlanta Falcons 7-9 (18)
Opening Rank: 11
Week 1: If Michael Vick doesn't "get it" this year, my belief
in him long-term will definitely wane. But I have a feeling he will get
it. And he will run. And he will win many a fantasy team's league.
Week 7: Ho-hum, another overhyped, underperforming Falcons squad. I've
seen this movie before.
Week 9: Lost in the euphoria of Michael Vick's renaissance is the tiny
issue of the defense having given up 65 points the last two games combined.
- Buffalo Bills 7-9 (20)
Opening Rank: 32
Week 5: I shouldn't rip them as much as I do. Their two losses are by a
combined ten points, and have beaten Miami and Minnesota.
Week 9: Apparently, the Bills used the bye week to make wholesale changes
to their offensive line, moving this guy over here and putting this guy
in there and rotating these guys over there. You know, you could try and
have the Backstreet Boys sing Weezer songs. But at the end of the day, it's
still the Backstreet Boys.
Week 16: I have to apologize to Buffalo fans everywhere. For some reason,
I've been giving Miami plenty of credit all season long and dogged the Bills
every chance I got. It's foolish on my part, because the Bills were supposed
to be garbage and have played above expectations, while the Dolphins…
- Saint Louis Rams 8-8 (21)
Opening Rank: 22
Week 1: Linehan may not throw the ball as much as Martz, but he'll throw
it just as effectively.
Week 10: Just so we're all clear, everyone knows this team is the picture
of 8-8 and has no shot at winning the division, right?
Week 13: If the loss of Orlando Pace is the main thing bothering Marc Bulger
and Torry Holt, then Steven Jackson must be the greatest running back in
the history of football.
- Green Bay Packers 8-8 (22)
Opening Rank: 29
Week 5: One of my favorite subplots of 2006 is the wild fluctuation between
opinions on Brett Favre. One week he's all the way back, the next week he
needs to retire. Hey everyone, newsflash: Favre has always been inconsistent,
just that now he drops to a worse extreme than before.
Week 7: Take a look at the remaining schedule and try telling me it's impossible
for the Packers to finish 8-8. And if they do, they might be about the worst
.500 team in the history of the league.
Week 11: Don't panic when the Packers fall to 4-7. The mediocrity express
is running full-steam ahead starting in Week 13.
- San Francisco 49ers 7-9 (27)
Opening Rank: 28
Week 2: Norv Turner: reason #178 why you never discount fantasy prospects
who play for brilliant offensive coordinators.
Week 13: While I'm one of the ones who expected big things out of Gore
this year, I can't claim to have foreseen a possible top-5 finish and rushing
title. And the more I keep waiting for his production to drop off, the better
he gets.
Week 17: Sweeping Seattle while getting swept by Arizona is the football
equivalent of marrying Jessica Alba but having an affair with Joan Rivers.
- Houston Texans 6-10 (25)
Opening Rank: 26
Week 3: Stop me if you've heard this one before: So this team drafts Mario
Williams…
(and yes, they deserve to be beaten over the head about it so many times
that it creates a verbal concussion for everyone in the front office)
Week 16: Anybody who didn't realize Ron Dayne was going to play a pivotal
role in fantasy football championships this year is just plain foolish.
It was obvious to everyone, and if you didn't know it then you're just stupid.
Week 17: Here's something I sort of stumbled upon this week. Since Week
4, does anyone realize just how competitive the Texans have been? They were
beaten soundly by Dallas, the Jets, and New England - all playoff teams.
They've also either won or been "in" the other nine games they've
played. Could these be - GASP - strides!
- Miami Dolphins 6-10 (23)
Opening Rank: 6
Week 1: The only thing that bothers me about Miami is that everyone seems
to be on their bandwagon. That's usually scary.
Week 3: I'm gonna put this out there…if you like it you can take it,
if you don't you can throw it right back. It might be time to cut your losses
with Daunte Culpepper. I'm not saying to drop him outright (duh), and you
can't get anything for him. But start making other plans, if you haven't
done so already. He is SO not ready to play. I know, nothing groundbreaking
here for you sharks out there, but some people might still be waiting for
him to turn it around. Stop waiting.
Week 17: I think it'll be an all-time great upset if Nick Saban is coaching
the Dolphins in 2007.
- Washington Redskins 5-11 (24)
Opening Rank: 8
Week 1: All of the people panicking because of the Redskins poor showing
offensively this preseason need to go back and watch the tape of their first
preseason under Steve Spurrier. Now I'm not one of those who believe preseason
means nothing, but I'm going to put my faith in the system over a couple
of scrimmage games. The Redskins will not only be fine, they'll be excellent.
Week 6: OK, for all of my preseason hyping of the Redskins, I'm officially
"out".
Week 11: I don't know if Jason Campbell will be any better than Mark Brunell,
but…wait a minute. Yes I do, he'll be much better.
- Minnesota Vikings 6-10 (26)
Opening Rank: 23
Week 3: Brad Johnson is quietly putting up a monster year in leagues that
reward the QB for putting up worse passing stats than the kicker.
Week 5: Do yourself a favor and make this the week you trade for Chester
Taylor. I am.
Week 16: I guess the only question now is this: WHY DID YOU THINK YOU COULD
WIN WITH BRAD JOHNSON IN THE FIRST PLACE?!? And before you go on about the
Bucs winning the Super Bowl with Johnson, let me remind you that the 2006
Minnesota defense isn't quite the 2002 Tampa Bay defense.
- Arizona Cardinals 5-11 (28)
Opening Rank: 16
Week 4: For all of the years of football he's played, Kurt Warner sure
treats the football like it's a pile of burning llama feces covered in uranium.
Week 5: Going from Kurt Warner to Matt Leinart is going to hurt? Really?
Because you see, I was under the impression that Kurt Warner kind of stunk.
Huh, learn something new every day.
Week 10: Y-you uh, um, re-remem, remember when the Cardinals beat the Niners?
And then they almost beat the Rams? And then they almost beat the Chiefs?
And, and then they um, almost beat the Bears? You remember that? That was
awesome.
- Tampa Bay Bucs 4-12 (29)
Opening Rank: 12
Week 4: I'm not trying to kick anyone while they're down, but does anyone
else around here feel the Bucs don't lose much (if anything) going from
Simms to Gradkowski? I'm telling you, I think this dude will play some ball.
Week 8: Wins against two quality teams (Cincinnati, Philadelphia), and
they were right there the two previous games against quality teams (Carolina,
New Orleans). I'm thinking this low ranking won't last. They probably won't
make the playoffs, but they certainly are on the upswing.
Week 11: Amazing how close this team is to being 0-9. But what an absolutely
brutal schedule they've had to deal with. Every one of their losses is against
a team with a winning record.
- Cleveland Browns 4-12 (30)
Opening Rank: 31
Week 7: I know he doesn't have a ton of weapons, and I know the offensive
line stinks…but is there just a teeny tiny chance that maybe Charlie
Frye is miscast as a franchise QB? Maybe?
Week 13: Yes last week was a huge setback. But remember that they lost
to New Orleans, Baltimore, Carolina, Denver, San Diego, and Pittsburgh (6
losses) by a combined 35 points. So don't be shocked when this team makes
great strides in 2007, and is contending by 2008.
Week 16: I'm thinking now might be a smart time to stop talking up the
Browns, seeing as how they are going to lose a million games and all.
- Detroit Lions 3-13 (31)
Opening Rank: 18
Week 1: Yes, I'm a believer in the Lions. Not a huge believer in them winning
the division, but this is basically by default.
Week 7: May I take this opportunity to remind you that a certain FBG staffer
had Jon Kitna, Kevin Jones, and Roy Williams top-10 at each of their respective
positions entering the year? What's that, I can't do that yet? OK then I
won't.
Week 10: Amazingly, Detroit could easily get to 5-6 considering who the
next three games are against. And when you consider that five of their current
losses were very winnable games, this is certainly a team on the rise for
2007. Course, I picked them to win the division in 2006 so I'm either stupid
or ahead of my time, I haven't figured out which one yet.
- Oakland Raiders 2-14 (32)
Opening Rank: 25
Week 2: Very few people are aware of this, but Jerry Porter actually murdered
Art Shell prior to the Monday night game. That's why Oakland was forced
to use an expressionless, emotionless Art Shell Fat Head on the sidelines.
Week 8: As a Notre Dame fan, I'm REALLY hoping Brady Quinn manages to avoid
playing for the silver and black.
Week 17: When questioned about the possibility of being fired after such
a tough season, head coach Art Shell responded by saying, "I'm a fighter."
So I looked up the definition of the word 'fighter', and sure enough it
means "a fat guy who just stands there and doesn't do anything".
And finally, here were my official preseason predictions. Go back to the Week
1 article to check out my commentary. It's plain to see that I'm a genius.
Fantasy Football Info For Serious Players
