We are merely hours away from kickoff for the 2016 NFL Season! I wrote last year how parity had been escaping the NFL over the years, and no worries, that once again was the case. The Denver Broncos, a top 8 team for five straight years now (meaning they lost in the Divisional Round or better), took home a SuperBowl ring behind a vaunted defense. The Carolina Panthers, who I selected to win the NFC South (but I didn’t have the guts to pick them for the SuperBowl), continued to improve after winning their third straight division title. The Patriots were a top 4 team once again for the fifth straight year. Roger Goodell though, seems to be doing everything in his power to make sure that doesn’t happen again.

With that being said…RDT’s 2016 NFL Predictions.

NFC East
Giants: 9-7 (4^th)
Eagles: 8-8
Redskins: 5-11
Cowboys: 5-11

I feel like I pick the Giants every year for this division. I couldn’t even remember who won it last year (Washington). The Giants still have the steadiest presence as Quarterback in Eli Manning. Eli’s a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde QB at this point, either he’s great or he’s wildly inconsistent. He has Odell Beckham Jr. to throw to, so I’m sure he’ll be fine. I’m sure there are a lot of Kirk Cousins fans out there and he did play well last season. He’s not someone I’m willing to back and their defense is pretty bad. The Eagles have a rookie at QB and nothing else truly inspiring as they recover from the Chip Kelly era. Dallas just dropped lost Tony Romo again for half the season and I think we’re finished with Romo being a difference making QB. What a bad division overall.

NFC North
Packers: 12-4 (1^st)
Lions: 9-7 (6^th)
Vikings: 8-8
Bears: 3-13

Kind of a shame for the Vikings. Teddy Bridgewater seemed poised to break out after improving in most statistical categories last season but now he’s done for 2016 and probably part of 2017 too. Adrian Peterson should be regressing, but who knows really as he’s a physical freak. Unfortunately now the Vikings are going to have Sam Bradford at the helm, who’s pretty much known for winning 7 games in a season. The Packers should take the division with ease this year, although Detroit might be able to make it interesting as that’s a team that underperforms year in and year out. The Chicago Bears meanwhile just need to start over.

NFC South
Panthers: 12-4 (2^nd)
Falcons: 8-8
Buccaneers: 7-9
Saints: 7-9

The NFC South is full of incomplete teams. I still need to see an improved Saints defense (now that Ryan is gone it should happen) before I believe it. Buccaneers can be one year away if Winston develops. Matt Ryan continues to be perhaps the most overrated quarterback in football, posting big yardage with big attempts, a meager TD:INT ratio and a below average passer rating despite having Julio Jones to throw to. The only team to believe in here is The Panthers. I’m all in on “Riverboat” Ron and Cam Newton. I feel like I somehow doubted them last year when I made them 10-6 to win the South even though I was the only one it seemed who actually picked them to do so.

NFC West
Cardinals: 11-5 (3^rd)
Seahawks: 10-6 (5^th)
Rams: 4-12
49ers: 4-12

Seattle did regress last year, and they may again this year but they are still in the Superbowl hunt. A lot will bank on if Thomas Rawls can make the plays Marshawn Lynch made for Seattle in their peak years. I totally counted out the Cardinals as a fluke last year and was wrong…but their record here is more indicative of playing in the same division as the Rams and 49ers than my confidence in them. I wouldn’t be surprised if they fell off. I don’t think Los Angeles cares about football and while the Rams have been on that outside looking in level for years now, I don’t think they are breaking in unless Goff plays and is the real deal immediately. The 49ers have been a disaster since Harbaugh left and their biggest story is Kaepernick and the National Anthem, which isn’t a great sign.

AFC East
Patriots: 10-6 (4^th)
Bills: 9-7
Dolphins: 6-10
Jets: 5-11

I still have New England winning the AFC East although it should be a bit of a competition with Buffalo. A lot depends on how New England starts without Brady. The Bills will hang around…but there isn’t much to indicate that this year will be much different than the past two. Miami’s also a “just there” team and their running situation might make Tannenhill someone who has to throw a lot, which isn’t good. The Jets had a really easy schedule to start last year and did nothing with that, this year is a lot worse. Jets need to get past Ryan Fitzpatrick ASAP.

AFC North
Steelers: 11-5 (2nd)
Bengals: 11-5 (5^th)
Ravens: 9-7
Browns: 3-13

The Steelers were a few plays away from perhaps making their own Super Bowl run last season and as long as Ben Roethlisberger is around they will usually be 8-8 or better. The Bengals may have been robbed of their own Super Bowl run thanks to Pacman Jones and Vontaze Burfict giving Landry Jones an easy 30 years. While I have no faith in Marvin Lewis as a head coach, there is no reason to think a healthy Andy Dalton won’t at least guarantee them another playoff berth. The Ravens should be better than last year too…although there are a lot of depth problems there (which really showed on offense last year). The Browns are just a mess.

AFC South
Colts: 10-6 (3^rd)
Jaguars: 9-7
Titans: 8-8
Texans: 6-10

The AFC South should be quite a fun division to follow. Will Andrew the Giant reclaim his throne as the best young passer in football? Probably depends what his team can do around him. The Jaguars look improved all around and they may steal the division. There is a lot of Blake Bortles hype out there. Speaking of hype, if Marcus Mariota continues to develop and DeMarco Murray regains his form the Titans could storm through the division too. I’m not a fan of Brock Osweiler though. The fact he couldn’t keep his job over probably the worst starting QB in the league in Peyton Manning last year is a bad sign all around.  Kudos for the Texans for taking a shot as their QB situation was a disaster last year though. I’m worried about J.J. Watt’s injuries too.

AFC West
Chiefs: 12-4 (1^st)
Broncos: 9-7 (6^th)
Raiders: 9-7
Chargers: 7-9

The Chiefs still rank as a stereotypical Andy Reid team to me. So once again they should lose early in the playoffs despite giving them the #1 seed here. I’d rather have Denver’s amazing defense with no quarterback than Oakland’s young, high upside offense. San Diego probably needs to hit the reset button at this point.

Superbowl feels wide open to me. Let’s go with Green Bay finally getting back there against a returning to form Pittsburgh Steeler team, with the Packers beating them once again.