The 2009 NFL season starts Thursday, Sept. 10, with an evening game between defending Super Bowl champions Pittsburgh Steelers and the Tennessee Titans. The 2008 season held many surprises: the Dolphins won the AFC East, the Cardinals won the NFC Championship despite posting a mediocre 9-7 record, and the Eagles won four out of their last five to make the playoffs and, eventually, the NFC Championship Game. Of course, there was the not so surprising- the Lions win-less season and the Dallas Cowboys internal collapse despite fielding one of the best teams in the league. A lot of teams revamped their rosters in the offseason, so this year should be very interesting.
Here are my predictions for the 2009 NFL season.
NFC East: Dallas Cowboys. I recognize that the fact I’m a Cowboys fan may color my perception here a bit, but bear with me. The Giants lost 1,000-yard rusher Derrick Ward and lack an experienced wideout. The Redskins always manage to underachieve, and their lack of confidence in quarterback Jason Campbell does not bode well for them. The Philadelphia Eagles added Michael Vick, but whether or not his contribution will actually affect the win/loss column is doubtful. Dallas wins in a close race.
NFC South: Atlanta Falcons. The NFC South is always a hard division to predict. Since the NFL went to it’s current division format in 2002, no NFC South team has won the division two years in a row. With the continued maturation of second year quarterback Matt Ryan and the addition of future hall of fame tight end Tony Gonzalez, the Falcons should have enough offensive weapons to beat out the rest of the division.
NFC West: Arizona Cardinals. The NFC West is perhaps the weakest division in the NFL, and the Cardinals are the defending NFC champions, returning almost all of their key starters from last year’s team. Enough said.
NFC North: Green Bay Packers. It’s hard to not pick the Minnesota Vikings to win this division, but the Packers have shown this preseason that they are a powerful team. The Chicago Bears are a decent squad, but not strong enough to compete for the division title. The Detroit Lions might actually win a game or two, which would be fantastic, seeing as they haven’t won a game in almost two years.
AFC East: New England Patriots. Even though the New York Jets drafted QB Mark Sanchez, even though the Miami Dolphins won this division last season, and even though the Buffalo Bills added wide receiver Terrell Owens, a healthy Tom Brady, Randy Moss and Wes Welker means the Pats run away with the division title.
AFC North: Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s always hard to root against the defending Super Bowl champions, so I won’t. The Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals will be playing catch-up all season.
AFC South: Indianapolis Colts. Peyton Manning might have lost his favorite wide receiver in Marvin Harrison and his longtime head coach Tony Dungy, but the Colts return an excellent supporting cast that should be enough to stave off any attempt by the Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans or Jacksonville Jaguars to take the division crown.
AFC West: San Diego Chargers. The Denver Broncos lost their star quarterback, and may be losing their second-best player in wide receiver Brandon Marshall. The Oakland Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs have been wallowing in misery for a long time now, so expect the talented Chargers, led by Pro Bowl QB Philip Rivers, to win this division.
AFC Championship: San Diego Chargers def. New England PatriotsNFC Championship: Green Bay Packers def. Atlanta FalconsSuper Bowl: San Diego Chargers def. Green Bay Packers