Predicting Next Year's NFL Playoff Field

This season's NFL playoffs aren't over yet, but that doesn't mean we cannot look ahead to the 2012 season and make a few predictions about which teams will make the playoffs next year.

Teams change significantly in the offseason. One year's powerhouse is the next year's disappointment and vice versa. While I believe there will be some familiar teams reaching the playoffs yet again, there will also be some surprising additions to the top tier of the league.

Here are my picks for the playoff teams of the 2012 season.

NFC East Champions: Washington Redskins

The Washington Redskins desperately need a good season, after three straight sub-.500 years and four straight last place divisional finishes.

However, I see that misfortune turning around in a big way for the team in 2012 with a few major caveats.

First, the Redskins would need to use their first round draft pick on Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III. Then, head coach Mike Shanahan would have to allow Griffin to use his considerable arm and back off from their run-heavy offensive approach.

A team's success is becoming ever-increasingly reliant on the skills of its quarterback. From Griffin will flow many riches for the long-suffering Redskins fanbase, ultimately resulting in a divisional title and a playoff appearance.

NFC North: Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears would have likely made the playoffs in 2011 if it weren't for season-ending injuries suffered by quarterback Jay Cutler and running back Matt Forte.

In 2012, they should be even stronger. With general manager Jerry Angelo out of the front office, the team is in a better position to pick smartly in the draft, and the fact that they've ditched offensive coordinator Mike Martz means that Cutler should have more freedom to make decisions on the field.

The NFC North is one of the toughest divisions in the NFL. However, I don't see the Green Bay Packers repeating their 15-1 2011 season, nor do I see the Lions putting up enough wins to make the playoffs.

As long as the Bears can make upgrades at wide receiver and bring in new blood to assist their aging defense, I see the team earning 11 or 12 wins and the divisional title.

NFC South: New Orleans Saints

Regardless of how this year's postseason plays out for the New Orleans Saints, they aren't likely to regress in 2012.

As long as Drew Brees is under center and they have enough talented weapons for him to throw to, they'll be a powerhouse in the ever-strengthening NFC South.

The only significant weakness the Saints have is in the secondary. If they can improve in that area, via the draft and free agency, they should only be stronger next year and will handily win the NFC South for the second consecutive year.

NFC West: San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers came from seemingly nowhere in 2011 to emerge as one of the NFL's most dominant teams, and they will likely only improve in 2012.

With new head coach Jim Harbaugh, the Niners have finally matched the talent of their strong defense with an effective, if conservative, offensive approach that led the team onto 13 regular season wins and a first-round bye in the playoffs this year.

The offense should only improve with another year under Harbaugh and a full offseason in which they can work. The defense doesn't need much help, and as long as they're as strong as they've been this year, they will have the same amount of success next season.

The Niners, in their current iteration, may be one of the best teams in the league for years to come.

NFC Wild Card Teams: Green Bay Packers, Carolina Panthers

The Green Bay Packers may not win the NFC North next year, but there's little chance they'll dip so much that they won't make the playoffs.

However, I see the Chicago Bears finishing the season with a better record than the Packers, thus making Green Bay a wild card playoff entrant next year.

The Packers will continue to struggle on defense, to the point where opponents exploit that glaring weakness with relative ease. And though quarterback Aaron Rodgers seemed unstoppable through most of the 2011 season, opposing defenses will be better prepared to control him next season.

The other NFC wild card team, the Carolina Panthers, have a lot to do in the offseason if they are to fulfill this prediction.

On offense, they're extremely strong. Quarterback Cam Newton put up the best season a rookie passer could ever dream of having in 2011, and with an offseason's worth of preparation, should look just as good in his sophomore year.

However, the Panthers defense and special teams cost them a winning season in 2011, and both will need improving if the team is to compete in the NFC South next year.

Injuries were a major reason the defense underperformed this season; at full health, they're already a better team. But they'll need to build depth in this year's draft, in hopes that should they find themselves as injury-plagued in the future, they won't be in so much trouble.

A complete Panthers team is a scary thought indeed. If they make the playoffs next season, they'll be dark horse Super Bowl contenders.

AFC East: New England Patriots

Though the Miami Dolphins are likely to improve in 2012 and the New York Jets are already taking steps to make sure they do, it's going to be a lot for either of those teams, or the unpredictable Buffalo Bills, to catch up to the New England Patriots next season.

The Patriots simply have too many offensive weapons next season, barring serious injuries to key starters. They'll need to shore up their struggling defense—especially their league-worst secondary—in the offseason, but that's not too tall of an order for the Patriots to tackle.

There have been very few years in recent memory when the Patriots weren't a top contender in the AFC. It shouldn't be hard for them to return to the playoffs in 2012.

AFC North: Cincinnati Bengals

In a division featuring the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers, it seems almost heretic to state that neither of those teams will win the AFC North in 2012, but I see the Cincinnati Bengals proving to be even better than those two perennial powerhouses next season.

The Bengals had their most fruitful draft in recent memory in 2011, selecting wide receiver A.J. Green and quarterback Andy Dalton with their first two picks.

Those pickups proved more than smart in 2011, with the rookie quarterback-wide receiver tandem making up many of the reasons the team entered the playoffs as a wild card team.

In 2012, if they repeat their draft success, they'll only get stronger. Add into that the glut of picks they received in trading quarterback Carson Palmer to the Oakland Raiders, and they can easily make additions in all areas they're lacking.

If that is the case, then the Bengals will be hard to beat in 2012 and beyond.

AFC South: Houston Texans

Even if Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning is healthy enough to play in 2012, or if their likely No. 1 draft pick Andrew Luck is more than capable of filling his significant role, I still don't believe they'll return to the dominant form we've come to expect in the past 10 years.

Instead, the AFC South will again belong to the Houston Texans.

The Texans were excellent in 2011, reaching the playoffs despite a number of serious injuries to key players, including linebacker Mario Williams, quarterbacks Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart and a hamstring issue that kept wide receiver Andre Johnson at below 100 percent for most of the season.

At full strength, the Texans are an extremely dangerous team. With a strong run game behind Arian Foster and Ben Tate, a solid passing game when Schaub and Johnson are both healthy and a brutal defense that's gotten better with Wade Phillips as defensive coordinator, they'll easily win the AFC South in 2012 and perhaps emerge as Super Bowl favorites.

AFC West: Oakland Raiders

The Oakland Raiders showed flashes of the team they could be in 2011, and with a new coaching staff and likely an entirely new approach to the game, the team should be a serious contender in 2012.

The key will be to see what the Raiders do in the 2012 draft. Without many picks, they will have to select wisely to shore up the areas in which they are most weak, especially in the secondary and the offensive line.

However, the rest of the team's components are highly talented. Quarterback Carson Palmer should have less pressure to perform next season with running back Darren McFadden likely at full strength and he will have time to really gel with his cadre of fast, young receivers in the offseason.

As long as they can become a more disciplined team, divesting themselves of their very serious penalty problems, they will have a great chance to take over a wide-open AFC West next season.

AFC Wild Card Teams: Baltimore Ravens, San Diego Chargers

To assume that the Baltimore Ravens won't make the playoffs in 2012 would be insane. Their league-leading defense doesn't seem to suffer from the effects of aging, and running back Ray Rice has only gotten better with time.

Quarterback Joe Flacco has been his usual, inconsistent self, but that hasn't cost the team a playoff spot since he joined the team. In 2012, even if he doesn't improve, there's little reason to believe the Ravens will drop off enough to be out of the postseason entirely.

The San Diego Chargers, on the other hand, have been Super Bowl favorites nearly every year of the last 10 but have yet to make the big game. Their 8-8 2011 season was the worst of quarterback Philip Rivers' career, but he's likely to pull things together well enough next season to not be such a glaring liability.

The Chargers need to improve their defense and be overall more consistent. They also need a spark, something that will make them play with greater intensity. Perhaps this 8-8 season will be the thing that does it, or perhaps it's a player they add in the draft or via free agency.

It's hard to count the Chargers out when you look at the wealth of talent on their roster. While they won't be AFC West champions, I see them performing well enough next year to warrant them winning a wild card playoff berth.