NFL Week 1: Power Rankings by Division and Win Loss Predictions for Every Game

I don't know about you, but i'm feeling like a seventeen year-old girl on prom night. I keep flipping on the Television, just in case they start the game before 8:30 EST. 

So here it is, another season kicking off. Everybody's 0-0 and has a chance to win the Super Bowl. That's right Panthers, 49ers and Bengals fans!

Well it wouldn't truly feel like the kick off of the season without all of the smarter-than-you, know-it-all writers making crazy predictions about who's going to win the Super Bowl and why this teams better than that team, etc.  

While i'm not ready to go that far, it's a long season, and I would like to take a step back and look at how each team/division ended the year last year, and yes, make a few predictions, but we'll start slow, with Week 1.

So here's how it works: we'll rank each division 1-8, using last years stats and conference/non conference win totals, then predict the winners for Week 1 and rank each team within the division based on their Week 1 prediction plus last year's final standings. 

Make sense? Okay, so here we go:

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Division 8 out of 8: NFC West

Move along, nothing to see here people. 

We've all heard about the worst division in Football and how dare they let a 7-9 team into the playoffs, etc.  But what we havn't heard is that this division has made some significant upgrades, with the addition of Kevin Kolb, Braylon Edwards, Jim Harbaugh (yes, I know he's a coach), and the emergence of Sam Bradford, this division is looking to climb out of the cellar, but for now they're still in eighth place.

With all teams except Seattle tied at 6-10, it's tough to rank them based on last year's performances, so I took a look at what each team has done to get better. So far, it looks that by addressing its quarterback problem Arizona has made the most significant offseason move.

Will it pay off?  We think so, at least in Week 1:

Bitmap Bitmap 2010 Regular Season			Division Rank: #8 / 8
NFC West Team	W	L	Week: 1 2011, Vs.	W/L Prediction:	Week One Power Rankings by Division:
Arizona Cardinals	5	11	Vs: Carolina	W	1
San Francisco 49ers	6	10	Vs: Seattle	W	2
St. Louis Rams	7	9	Vs. Philadelphia	L	3
z- Seattle Seahawks	7	9	At: San Francisco	L	4

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Division 7 out of 8: AFC South

I know what your thinking, how can the division with Peyton Manning be ranked below the AFC West?  Well for starters, that's all they had last year, as the Colts were the only team in the division with a winning record. Couple that with their 7-9 non-conference record and, well, you have the worst division in the AFC.

Looking ahead to 2011, things don't look much better for the Division overall. Peyton Manning looks to miss perhaps significant time due to ongoing complications with his neck surgery, and Jacksonville just released their starting quarterback of the last five-and-a-half seasons, less than five days before their season opener. 

This leaves Houston, who has looked impressive in the offseason, and Tennessee, who looks to be improved with the addition of Matt Hasslebeck, as the front runners in the division.

Here's how we see Week 1 shaking out:

Bitmap Bitmap 2010 Regular Season			Division Rank: #7 / 8
AFC South Team	W	L	Week: 1 2011, Vs.	W/L Prediction:	Week One Power Rankings by Division:
Houston Texans	6	10	Vs: Indianapolis	W	1
z- Indianapolis Colts	10	6	At: Houston	L	2
Tennessee Titans	6	10	At: Jacksonville	W	3
Jacksonville Jaguars	8	8	Vs: Tennessee	L	4

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Division 6 out of 8: AFC West

For all of it's woes, this division managed to produce three teams with records of .500 or better, and it appears to be getting better with Kansas City looking serious and San Diego looking much-improved over last year. 

I don't see Oakland besting last year's record with their wacky (typical for Al Davis) offseason, and if Denver can improve with John Fox's new Defensive scheme they should be much better than last year as well.

2010 Regular Season			Division Rank: #6 / 8
AFC West Team	W	L	Week: 1 2011, Vs.	W/L Prediction:	Week One Power Rankings by Division:
San Diego Chargers	9	7	Vs: Minnesota	W	1
z- Kansas City Chiefs	10	6	Vs: Buffalo	W	2
Denver Broncos	4	12	Vs. Oakland	W	3
Oakland Raiders	8	8	At: Denver	L	4

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Division 5 out of 8: NFC East

Dream team or not, the NFC East has had a reputation of being one of the best of the last decade, and while they took a step back last year, you can never underestimate a division boasting the Eagles, Giants, and Cowboys.

I'm still not quite sure what the Redskins are doing.

Barring any David Copperfield-like magic tricks from Mike Shanahan, the Redskins look to be bringing up the rear once again, and while the Cowboys look like they could make an impact in this once-great division, they may come up short against the Jets in Week 1.

2010 Regular Season			Division Rank: #5 / 8
NFC East Team	W	L	Week: 1 2011, Vs.	W/L Prediction:	Week One Power Rankings by Division:
z- Philadelphia Eagles	10	6	At: St. Louis	W	1
New York Giants	10	6	At: Washington	W	2
Dallas Cowboys	6	10	At: New York J	L	3
Washington Redskins	6	10	Vs. New York G	L	4

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Division 4 out of 8: AFC North

How doe's the division with the reigning AFC Champs and the nasty Baltimore Ravens wind up in the middle of the pack? 

Well, that's just it. After those two teams, you have perennial bottom-dwellers in Cincinnati and Cleveland. I'm not going to lie, I was surprised to see the AFC North this low, but when you look at the combined division stats of 24-24 in the Conference, that puts them behind three other divisions.

While deciding the better team between Baltimore and Pittsburgh is about as tough as a one-legged butt-kicking contest, we had to give the reigning champs the edge.

Cleveland looks to be improving and may surprise some folks with Colt McCoy's offseason improvements:

2010 Regular Season			Division Rank: #4 / 8
AFC North Team	W	L	Week: 1 2011, Vs.	W/L Prediction:	Week One Power Rankings by Division:
z- Pittsburgh Steelers	12	4	At: Baltimore	W	1
y- Baltimore Ravens	12	4	Vs. Pittsburgh	L	2
Cleveland Browns	5	11	Vs. Cincinnati	W	3
Cincinnati Bengals	4	12	At: Cleveland	L	4

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Division 3 out of 8: NFC North

Yes, the division boasting the Super Bowl Champions and an 11-5 Bears team is only ranked third. While their conference record of 26-22 is impressive, it's not nearly as impressive as the number one team. Keep clicking to see who was better.

It shocks me how much disrespect the Chicago Bears get in the NFL. They had an 11-win season, but also went 5-1 and won a division that produced the Super Bowl champions. While the glare from the Packers trophy is certainly enough to overshadow their division rivals, I wouldn't count this team out entirely.

2010 Regular Season			Division Rank: #3 / 8
NFC North Team	W	L	Week: 1 2011, Vs.	W/L Prediction:	Week One Power Rankings by Division:
y- Green Bay Packers	10	6	Vs: New Orleans	W	1
z- Chicago Bears	11	5	Vs: Atlanta	W	2
Minnesota Vikings	6	10	At: San Diego	L	3
Detroit Lions	6	10	At: Tampa Bay	L	4

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Division 2 out of 8: AFC East

The mighty AFC East. New England, New England, New England, and, oh yeah, there are three other teams in here as well. 

As Sexy Rexy puts it, "we'd be happy if someone else could beat em." Yes Rex, I'm sure you would. The only reason this division isn't number one is that they only have two good teams and then go downhill pretty quickly from there.

Any guesses at number one?

While the Jets have proven that they're worthy in this division, the Patriots just seem to get better and better all the time. I couldn't imagine having to coach in this division. 

Speaking of other coaches, both Chan Gailey and Tony Sporano need all the help they can get in this division.

2010 Regular Season			Division Rank: #2 / 8
AFC East Team	W	L	Week: 1 2011, Vs.	W/L Prediction:	Week One Power Rankings by Division:
y- New York Jets	11	5	Vs: Dallas	W	1
*- New England Patriots	14	2	At: Miami	W	2
Miami Dolphins	7	9	Vs: New England	L	3
Buffalo Bills	4	12	At: Kansas City	L	4

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Division 1 out of 8: NFC South

Well, if you guessed that the number one division in the NFL is the one boasting three teams with 10 wins or more, and 29 conference wins while carrying a lowly 4-12 team, then you would've guessed the NFC South and you would be correct! This is the division to beat, and they're getting better.

The Bucs, Saints and Falcons all look primed to have great years again, and we'll see what Cam Newton and the Panthers can do with the first overall draft pick again:

2010 Regular Season			Division Rank: #1 / 8
NFC South Team	W	L	Week: 1 2011, Vs.	W/L Prediction:	Week One Power Rankings by Division:
*- Atlanta Falcons	13	3	At: Chicago	L	1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	10	6	Vs: Detroit	W	2
y- New Orleans Saints	11	5	At: Green Bay	L	3
Carolina Panthers	2	14	At: Arizona	L	4

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