NFL 2008 Preview and Predictions AFC East New England finished last regular season a perfect 16-0, but in their rematch in the Super Bowl with the New York Giants they fell short losing 17-4. For 2008 New England will look to once again reach the Super Bowl and win it this time, expect a 14-2 record. New York Jets had a rough year last year with injuries and tough losses winning just 4 while losing 12. In the offseason the Jets retooled with additions to the offensive line that will aid the running game and take the pressure off the passing game, expect an 11-5 record. Miami had just one win last season as they are in major rebuilding mode which led to the hiring of Bill Parcells who traded away Jason Taylor to get younger. For 2008 Miami will look to win multiple games and take a small step to get better and compete in a few years, expect a 5-11 mark. Buffalo finished 2007 at 7-9 and were in the playoff hunt in the AFC until the last couple weeks of the season as some of their young players like Marshawn Lynch put up good numbers. With some distractions and guys not having the same season as last year look for Buffalo to once again hover around the .500 mark, expect a 7-9 record. AFC North Pittsburgh went 10-6 winning the division once again, but played a strong Jacksonville team in the opening round of the playoffs and fell a few points shy. Pittsburgh will once again look for that hunger which they had a couple a years ago that got the franchise their 5th Super Bowl title, expect an 11-5 record. Cincinnati has had a solid offense for some years now and it always seemed that they couldn’t get enough from the defense to make it stand up. With all the distractions of Chad Johnson and the number of weaknesses on defense look for another disappointing year out of the Bengals, expect a 7-9 record. Baltimore has always had a great defense which won them a ring, but they never have had a solid quarterback to lead the offense. Once again for 2008 the running game will be there, but without a threat in the passing game look for teams to stack the box and Baltimore to lose a good amount of close games, expect a 6-10 record. Cleveland had a break out 2007 winning 10 games and losing a tie breaker to Pittsburgh for the division and Tennessee for the final wild card spot. Look for the league to catch up with Derek Anderson and Cleveland as no one will take them lightly again, expect a 6-10 record. AFC South Indianapolis had another solid regular season winning 13 games and losing just 3, however injuries hurt as Marvin Harrison was banged up all year they leading to San Diego picking the Colts off in the post season. With Peyton Manning rehabbing nicely after knee surgery look for the Colts to come back with a vengeance and have another good campaign deep into the post season, expect a 13-3 record. Jacksonville went 11-5 and did it by running the ball with the two-headed monster of Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor and playing great swarming defense. Look for David Garrard, who will be another year wiser, to take some of the load on his shoulders as the Jaguars make it to the post season once again, expect a 12-4 record. Tennessee edged out Cleveland on the last day of the year by winning up in Indianapolis and finishing 10-6. Look for Vince Young to finally start to put up the passing numbers and do a little less running as the Titians contend for another playoff birth in 2008, expect a 10-6 record. Houston showed signs of promises in 2007 finishing with an 8-8 record and finally proved that taking Mario Williams over Reggie Bush was the right call. For this season look for Houston in a very tough division to fight hard and not be an easy win, expect an 8-8 record. AFC West San Diego in a weak division still won 11 games and made it all the way to the AFC Championship game in New England, but injuries slowed them in that game as they fell short of their goal of reaching the Super Bowl. With everyone coming back healthy in 2008 look for the offense, defense and special teams to be running on all cylinders, expect and 13-3 record. Kansas City had just a horrible year with a quarterback situation that was wrong no matter who played and Larry Johnson holding out then getting hurt. With everyone healthy and the offense situated look for the Chiefs to have a great bounce back year as their home field advantage is one of the greatest in the league, expect a 10-6 record. Denver with Jay Cutler at the helm looked good at times but floundered on the road. Jay Cutler is showing signs of Denver finally getting a solid reliable quarterback with a big arm since number 7 retired look for a winning year, expect a 9-7 record. Oakland had a hard time on offense as JaMarcus Russell held out after being drafted which slowed his progress. With everyone in camp and ready to go look for the two young guns in JaMarcus Russell and Darran McFadden to lead the Raiders to more wins than last year, expect a 6-10 record. NFC East Dallas had everything going for them last year great young quarterback dating a movie star, Terrell Owens playing and not talking and Jerry Jones letting Wade Phillips coach. Then they ran into the Giants who hadn’t lost a road game since week one at Dallas and Romo and the Cowboys fell apart losing at home sending TO to cry in his post game conference. Look for the Cowboys to once again have a great regular season as they will be efficient on offense and have enough defense to win, expect an 11-5 record. New York Giants had the best 2007 season of all 32 teams as they won the Super Bowl beating the 18-0 New England Patriots 17-14, after starting 0-2 no less. Look for the Giants who will have a big bulls eye on their back as defending champs to come out with the same desire to win as they did last year, expect a 13-3 record. Washington rallied around the tragic loss of Sean Taylor to win their last 4 games and make the playoffs finishing 9-7. For 2008 the Redskins added a new Taylor as they traded for Jason Taylor to revamp their defense to go with a healthy potent offense, expect a 10-6 record. Philadelphia in this division with three teams going to the playoffs didn’t do all that badly finishing 8-8 with all the struggles they had both on and off the field. Look for Donovan McNabb to have his offense rounded into shape and the defense who added Asante Samuel from New England to be as tough as ever, expect a 10-6 record. NFC North Green Bay went 13-3 last season as Brett Favre had one of his best years outside his 3 MVP season and got the Packers all the way to the NFC Championship game in their building. Alas the gun slinger in Favre forced one into tight coverage that was intercepted in overtime costing the Packers the game. For 2008 it looked like an era was over and then Favre came back only to have the rumors that he will be dealt to Tampa Bay. Regardless of all the Favre drama the defense will once again be tough to deal with as the Packers will look to win another division crown, expect a 12-4 record. Chicago had a disappointing season after reaching the Super Bowl after the 2006 regular season as they went 7-9 despite the best efforts from return man extraordinare Devin Hester. Rex Grossman only seems to play as well as the defense allows him too if they play well and allow the Bears to play from ahead the Bears are ok, but they seem to have lost a step, expect a 4-11 record. Minnesota fell one game short of making the playoffs as hey were 8-8 on the year behind rookie feenom running back Adrian Peterson. Minnesota will once again look for Peterson to shoulder most of the load, but after Peterson set the record for most rushing yards in a game with 296 look for teams to stack the box, expect a 9-7 record. Detroit started 6-2 in their first 8 games and Jon Kitna said the Lions would win 10 games, however the second half of their schedule was very tough, with 5 games against playoff teams, as they went 1-7 finishing 7-9. Look for the Lions to do more playing then talking and come close to wining 10 games, expect a 9-7 record. NFC South New Orleans got to the NFC Championship game following the 2006 regular season, but they could not duplicate the success in 2007 as they went 7-9. Look for Drew Brees to get back to his 2006 form and Reggie Bush and Deuce McAlister to be a solid 1-2 punch in the back field, expect a 12-4 record. Tampa Bay won the division last year with a 9-7 record and a playoff home game, but had a quick exit losing to the Champion NY Giants. There are some problems in Tampa Bay as they have 5 quarterbacks on the roster as well as looking to trade for Brett Favre, but should still be right their for a playoff spot, expect a 10-6 record. Carolina was under .500 last season at 7-9 as Jake Delhomme went down early with an injury and Steve Smith could only do so much on his own. It is going to a hard early part of the season as Steve Smith is going to miss the first two games of the season after a fight in practice, expect a 9-7 record. Atlanta has moved on past the Michael Vick era and has begun the rebuilding time going 4-12 last year. This year they look to move up and have a competitive team as they took Matt Ryan out of Boston College to be their quarterback of the future, expect a 4-12 record. NFC West St. Louis couldn’t get out of their own way going just 3-13 in an extremely disappointing season despite all the talent they have on offense. The 2008 bounce back is off to a bad start as Stephen Jackson is holding out and that will put the pressure on the defense and 1st round draft pick Chris Young, expect a 6-10 record. Seattle, almost by default, won the NFC West going 10-6, but after winning their opening game in the post season lost at Green Bay. For 2008 the Seahawks will look to once again dominate the division and at home where they feed off the crowd noise, expect an 11-5 record. Arizona went 8-8 last year as Matt Leinart went down and Kurt Warner couldn’t get the Cardinals over the hump and into the playoffs. With Matt Leinart back healthy look for the Cardinals to have a winning record and move closer to getting to the playoffs, expect a 9-7 record. San Francisco showed signs of life early in the season last year, but that was a product of their schedule and once things got tough they crumbled like a house of cards finishing 5-11. After a solid 2006 season playing all 16 games Alex Smith had an injury plagued 2007 playing just 7 games. Look for Alex Smith to come back strong and play all year leading San Francisco to a few more wins than last year, expect an 8-8 record. Playoff Teams AFC East: New England North: Pittsburgh South: Indianapolis West: San Diego Wild Card: Jacksonville Wild Card: NY Jets NFC East: NY Giants North: Green Bay South: New Orleans West: Seattle Wild Card: Dallas Wild Card: Washington
 

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