NFL Playoff Prediction Guide

(Photo by Scott Boehm/Getty Images)

I wrote this before I realized that a Fox Sports columnist wrote a similar article, and in his article he went through all of the teams to find a sleeper and came up with the Bears.

Really? A 9-7 team from last year that traded for a big name quarterback seems to me to be a team that plenty of people expect to make the playoffs.

Peter Schrager even understands the rules of picking playoffs teams and will probably be one of the few columnists to pick five or six new playoff teams, yet his sleeper should be the favorite to win the division.

A sleeper is an Atlanta or Miami from last year, a nobody.

This is the famed annual predictions column, where I strive for perfection, 12 for 12. This goal is almost impossible with the NFL because of the playoff turnover that takes place every year.

Since the NFL went to 12 teams in the playoffs in 1990, this has been the number of new teams in the playoffs every year.

5-6-5-5-4-5-5-5-7-6-6-5-8-5-7-7-6-7

Only once in 18 years have eight of the previous year’s playoff teams made it the next year. In the last 10 years, the average is over six new teams. This knowledge is helpful in predicting teams and very easy for football experts to understand.

There will be a follow-up column where I analyze the picks of the football experts. This article is my best attempt at predicting the playoff teams and give you a good guide to help with your predictions.

Playoff Teams Last Year

Tennessee, Pittsburgh, Miami, San Diego, Indianapolis, Baltimore, NY Giants, Carolina, Minnesota, Arizona, Atlanta, Philadelphia

Teams that Will Struggle to Make the Playoffs Again

Arizona: The only Super Bowl loser to make the playoffs the next year in the last nine years were the Seahawks, and that was probably more of the sports Gods proclaiming that they got a raw deal.

Carolina: Since 2002, the NFC South Winner has not made the playoffs the next season.

Minnesota:  If Brett Favre is the answer, what is possibly the question?

Philadelphia: Michael Vick is a side note for this team, but remember that the Eagles needed a Cowboys no-show vs. the Ravens and a Bucs choke job to even make the playoffs. The Eagles are already having a lot of injuries, and McNabb has Jason Peters watching his blind side. Good luck to you, Donovan.

Miami: They came so far out of nowhere last year, and benefited from a really easy schedule. They won’t be bad but they will have a fall back to around .500 this year.

In your predictions, make sure that you exclude at least four of those teams (one may surprise).

I think Pittsburgh and San Diego are pretty solid to make the playoffs again this year. Pittsburgh’s schedule looks to be very easy this year, and San Diego is still better than any team in the division and will not have the Gary Player travel schedule nightmare this year. That means I need to find one or two more teams from the remaining five from last year.

Playoff Teams from Last Year That Could Go Either Way

Tennessee: The Titans had a fantastic regular season last year. Can Kerry Collins lead the team to the playoffs again? With a really good coach and a strong defense, they would have to miss with a 10-6 record.

New York Giants: I think the Plaxico Burress

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