I know that this may be a bit early, but I want to post my predictions for the 2009 NFL season including final standings, playoffs, Super Bowl 44, and season awards. So let us begin.

AFC North

Pittsburgh Steelers: 14-2.  The Super Bowl champions for the '08-'09 season will remain strong and be a contender earning the #1 seed in the AFC with their great defense.

Baltimore Ravens: 12-4. The Ravens have a great defense with Ed Reed and Ray Lewis, who keep it great even though it lost Bart Scott to the Jets. With the good Raven defense, and Joe Flacco at QB leading the offense, this team earns the #5 seed in the AFC.

Cincinnati Bengals: 7-9. The return of Carson Palmer will improve the Bengals, but the loss of T.J. Houschmenzadeh will hurt the Bengals Offense. Chad Ochocinco is an alright WR, but he isn't great, plus the defense isn't that great, so the Bengals miss the playoffs.

Cleveland Browns: 2-14. The Browns Lost a lot of their best players to free agency, their draft was okay, and Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn aren't the greatest QBs in the league.

AFC South

Indianapolis Colts: 12-4. Despite the losses of Tony Dungy and Marvin Harrison, the Colts still have one more 12-win season in them and they make the playoffs as the AFC's #3 seed, but won't go very far in the playoffs.

Houston Texans: 10-6. The Texans will make their first playoff appearance in their franchise history as the AFC's #6 seed. This happens because of the Texans' high powered offense led by Matt Schuab and Andre Johnson. Plus, they drafted Brian Cushing and drafting Mario Williams instead of Reggie Bush helped.

Tennessee Titans: 9-7. The loss of Albert Haynesworth is the main reason the Titans miss the playoffs. The Titans do have talent on their roster, but Kerry Collins is getting older, Vince Young isn't mentally stable, and Haynesworth was the glue that held the defense together, so to speak.

Jacksonville Jaguars: 7-9. The Jaguars are rebuilding after a 5-11 season. But their drafting of Eugene Monroe is a good start to help that offensive line. What keeps the Jags from improving even more is the loss of Fred Taylor to New England. AFC East

New England Patriots: 13-3. The Patriots are the AFC's #2 seed. The return of Tom Brady and the offseason additions of Joey Galloway and Fred Taylor improve the Patriot offense. The Patriot fans will eat that up.

Buffalo Bills: 9-7. The addition of Terrel Owens will improve the Bills, but T.O. doesn't have a great history with his quarterbacks, so he may start his diva drama with Trent Edwards. That is what holds the Bills back from the playoffs.

Miami Dolphins: 8-8. The Dolphins have a talented team, but they have a difficult schedule facing the AFC and NFC south divisions. Also, the Wildcat offense is known to many teams and won't be suprising.

New York Jets: 6-10. Mark Sanchez helps this team not fall on its head after losing Brett Favre. But Sanchez isn't a Favre or a Joe Namath yet, and not every rookie can be like Joe Flacco or Matt Ryan. Give Sanchez a couple years and he'll be good. Also, Bart Scott drastically improves this defense. 

AFC West

San Diego Chargers: 10-6. The return of Shawne Merriman improves the Chargers and the offense of Phillip Rivers, LT, and Darren Sproles gets the Chargers a #4 seed and another division crown.

Kansas City Chiefs: 8-8. New head coach Todd Haley, QB Matt Cassel, and LBs Mike Vrabel and Zach Thomas improve the Chiefs, but the loss of Tony Gonzales and the fact that this team is young hold them back from the postseason.

Denver Broncos: 7-9. The Loss of Jay Cutler hurts this team along with the loss of Mike Shannahan and the problems with Brandon Marshall. Kyle Orton was good for the Bears, but he won't be that good for the Broncos.

Oakland Raiders: 6-10. Even though the Raiders had a good draft and have a new QB in Jeff Garcia, they are still owned by Al Davis, which is why the Raiders franchise is the way it is. Don't expect a playoff run from the Raiders for a year or two.

NFC North

Chicago Bears: 11-5. The addition of Jay Cutler gives the Bears a franchise QB for the first time in years. With Greg Olsen at TE and Devin Hester at WR, the offense will compliment the defense and the Bears will get the #3 seed in the NFC.

Green Bay Packers: 9-7. The horrible 2008 the Packers had was not the fault of Aaron Rodgers, but the fault of the defense. With the good draft the Packers had, they improve themselves to a winning record.

Minnesota Vikings: 8-8. The Vikings' Main Problem is their QB position and even if they sign Brett Favre, they still won't make the playoffs because Favre is old and makes too many mistakes. 2010 will be a great year for Minnesota if they draft a good QB like Tim Tebow.

Detroit Lions: 4-12.  Detroit will not see its Lions go 0-16 again because they made good decisions in the offseason by drafting Matthew Stafford, for example, and they won't be thee worst NFL team, a suprise to most experts.

NFC South

Atlanta Falcons: 12-4. Matt Ryan will not suffer from sophomore slump and with the addition of Tony Gonzales, this team will get the NFC's #2 seed.

New Orleans Saints: 11-5. The Saints have a top 5 offense led by one of the leagues best QBs in Drew Brees. Their draft improved the defense to set the stage for the Saints' return to the playoffs as the #5 seed in the NFC.

Carolina Panthers: 9-7. The Panthers suffer from a playoff hangover after losing to the NFC champion Cardinals. Also, head coach John Foxx has never had two straight playoff seasons.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 8-8. The defense of the Bucs can no longer carry it by themselves and the losses of Jeff Garcia and Joey Galloway hurt this team, plus there are too many QBs on the roster to be consistent.

NFC East

Philadelphia Eagles: 13-3. The Eagles had a great draft and were active in free agency. Jeremy Maclin will have a great rookie season and the Eagles will get the #1 seed in the NFC.

New York Giants: 10-6. The Giants have a rookie replacement for Plaxico Buress and Eli Manning will continue to lead this Giants' offense. They will make the playoffs for the 5th straight time and be the NFC's #6 seed.

Dallas Cowboys: 8-8. The Cowboys have a new stadium to play in. Unfortuneately, they lost many offensive weapons such as Adam "Pacman" Jones and T.O., plus they didn't pick in the first two rounds in the draft. The Cowboys miss the playoffs for a second year in a row.

Washington Redskins: 7-9. I don't see the Redskins as having very many weapons other than Clinton Portis, but I think that they will go to the playoffs in 2010. It's admirable that they retired Sean Taylor's #21 jersey.

NFC West

San Francisco 49ers: 10-6. With the addition of Michael Crabtree, the 49ers make a run to the playoffs as the NFC's #4 seed, but it will take Alex Smith another year to make it deep into the playoffs, but the Niners are moving in the right direction.

Arizona Cardinals: 8-8. The Cardinals made a smart move by re-signing Kurt Warner, but they won't go back to the playoffs because of Anquan Boldin's problems.

Seattle Seahawks: 7-9. The Seahawks come back after a bad 2008 season with Matt Hasselback back and with new LB Aaron Curry, but it will take another year for Jim Mora Jr. to adjust so they can go back to the playoffs.

St. Louis Rams: 5-11. The Rams are still rebuilding, but after 2007's 3-13 season, the Rams got worse in 2008 finishing 2-14. What the Rams should do is either start a different QB or draft another because Marc Bulger isn't that great of a QB. Now its finally time for the  playoff predictions.  Here are the seedings:

AFC: 1. Steelers 2. Patriots 3. Colts 4. Chargers 5. Ravens 6. Texans

NFC: 1. Eagles 2. Falcons 3. Bears 4. 49ers 5. Saints 6. Giants

The Wildcard Round (Byes: Steelers, Patriots, Eagles, Falcons)

Texans: 21  @Colts: 30

Ravens: 19  @Chargers: 13 (OT)

Giants: 14  @Bears: 21

Saints: 25  @49ers: 30

The Divisional Round

Ravens: 10  @Steelers: 17

Colts: 31    @Patriots: 38

49ers: 17   @Eagles:21

Bears: 13   @Falcons: 20

Championships

Patriots: 17   @Steelers: 14  (OT)

Falcons: 27   @Eagles: 13So the Super Bowl 44 matchup is New England Patriots vs. Atlanta Falcons

I Predict

Patriots: 27   Falcons:20

The Patriots will become the team of the 2000's by winning their 4 Super Bowls. 

Here is how I see the Awards

Super Bowl MVP: Tom Brady

Offensive Player of the year: Adrian Peterson

Defensive Player of the Year: Brian Urlacher

NFL MVP: Phillip Rivers

Offensive Rookie of the year: Michael Crabtree

Defensive Rookie of the year: Aaron Curry

Comeback Player of the year: Jay Cutler

Coach of the year: Mike Singletary.

I hope that you enjoyed reading this article and I would like to see your comments and feedback.