It's the time of year. Time for SFL season predictions. JK, that was actually a month ago, but I started an article and didn't finish it. So here it is, 4 weeks into the season. To be fair, I've been super busy and couldn't tell you who is winning any division outside of my own, and that the Jags are undefeated. So I didn't make much changes based off of the preseason when I started. Also, I'm pretty bad at this, full disclosure, but here we go. I figured the Predictions are a nice way to get a few AP without taking 4 hours. It's for fun. The moral of the story?
If I don't rank your team where you think you belong, please don't take it personal! Ok, AFC goes first, because alphabet.
AFC East
1.
New York Jets
2.
New England Patriots
3.
Miami Dolphins
4.
Buffalo Bills
The Jets have a great team - but their QB position still is a little shaky for a deep playoff run. Thankfully for them, the entire division is basically in the same boat. It's a race to see who can develop their young QB first, and I just have the most faith in Kevin. That said, this division is PACKED with outstanding GMs. Daren is one of the most successful GMs in our history, Wade is a Madden legend, and Briston
refused to trade me Tom Brady so eff him is putting together one of the best young offensives in the league. Should be a fun division to watch, not just this year, but for years to come. I think the Easts feature outstanding rivalries, GMs and talent, perhaps moreso than any set of AFC/NFC divisions in SFL.
AFC North
1.
Cincinnati Bengals
2.
Cleveland Browns
3.
Baltimore Ravens
4.
Pittsburgh Steelers
I had the Browns and Bengals 1st Round Picks, so I picked them to go 1st and 2nd in the division, cause that's my luck. But now that I've traded those, maybe they'll fall into the Top 10 and bless Justin. For me, I love Brady and Ian and I just didn't want to root against them. So we had the chance to add an (on-paper) elite talent in Frank Clark, so we took the chance. I still like the Ohio squads to finish at the top, but the Ravens are also VERY talented. The Steelers have been bit hard by the injury bug, and are in a semi rebuild.
AFC South
1.
Tennessee Titans
2.
Jacksonville Jaguars
3.
Houston Texans
4.
Indianapolis Colts
Breck has got to be tired of rebuilding. Will freaking loves rebuilding. The Texans looked like legends last year, but have come to Earth. What a confusing division. The only thing for certain is that my good buddy Apolo / bitter RZL rival Tyler Richardson is no longer in Tennessee, he has assumed a new stage name and now plagues me in Washington. He's laying in the weeds waiting to pounce and kick my ass and feature me in one of those highlight articles like Jay Z used to put people on the Summer Jam shows. I am so ready to be bullied by this man, haha. Unfortunately for the rest of the division, he left behind one hell of a team. I think they win it all, but the JAGS... who'd have thunk. That's a quick rebuild. There can't be more than 5 starters on that team that started last year. And easily one of the most questionable starting HB choices I've ever seen. But somehow... it's working. Don't sleep on them. Perhaps the only thing that can stop them from winning this division is NCAA25? I hope I'm wrong about the Colts. This league is so much more fun when Breck is kicking ass.
AFC West
1.
Kansas City Chiefs
2.
San Diego "Super" Chargers
3.
Oakland Raiders
4.
Denver Broncos
Rod the God will run this division. The Chargers are still very good, and Cohen will win a SB in his time there, but not this year. The Raiders are in good hands, but are developing a new QB. The Broncos I think are much better than this, but the TC informed me they are a Bottom 5 team and are a lock for the #1 pick because they are starting Lamar every game this year.
(Checks Notes) Tannehill has starts? They have a win, and almost two more? Hmm, yea, I think they probably do better than 4th place, and I also don't think they finish in the Top 10 picks. But it's fine, we saved some cap space in the trade.
AFC Playoff Seedings
1.
Tennessee Titans
2.
Kansas City Chiefs
3.
Cincinnati Bengals
4.
New York Jets
5.
New England Patriots
6.
San Diego Chargers
So I had the Bengals narrowly missing a 1st Round BYE, before I saw all their injuries. That said, I still think they pull it together, so I didn't move them off this. It's been a rough start for sure, but I think they'll win a playoff game. My
good buddy Apolo (checks notes) Nate's Brother-in-law is a favorite to win a Super Bowl. His team is so good he has decided to not submit lineups or gameplans to give us all a chance. What a guy! Jets and Patriots couldn't decide the division in the regular season, so they'll battle it out in post. The Chad Henne-era ends with a thud - Chargers make another postseason appearance. Rod and his Chiefs burned me the last time I picked them to make the Super Bowl, so I think another tough AFC Championship loss is what I'm predicting.
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NFC East
1.
Dallas Cowboys
2.
Washington Redskins
3.
New York Giants
4.
Philadelphia Eagles
Hey, I could be wrong about this. A month in and I'm locked into last place. It looks like all three of these teams have amazing GMs who know what they're doing... which is good for a challenge. But I still think I'm the most talented team in the division. I'm frankly pissed off we didn't go undefeated two years ago, and even more pissed off we can't this year. The revenge tour is upon us, and that gets a little gas this week against the team who ended our season last year.
NFC North
1.
Minnesota Vikings
2.
Detroit Lions
3.
Chicago Bears
4.
Green Bay Packers
Super Bowl hangover? Nah, the Vikings will start revving their engines once the postseason arrives. Frankly, we were robbed of Glennon-Wilson Playoff Pt2 last year, but hopefully we get it this year. I'm a firm believer that if we hadn't upset the Vikes in Minnesota in 2016 that Neal would have had won his Super Bowl Banner a couple years earlier. The Lions are still a great team. They are selling me more studs for crazy high prices... but they'll use those to add a stud by the deadline... maybe WR Mike Williams, if Tennessee wakes up and answers the call. Da Bears? No. Go Pack Go, but this time it's not me picking them to almost make the Super Bowl. Going in the right direction, however.
NFC South
1.
New Orleans Saints
2.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
3.
Atlanta Falcons
4.
Carolina Panthers
Nate, under a ton of pressure, has built one hell of a team. They've got some lucky breaks so far this year, and it's a BIG year for them... but I think they make the playoffs and lock that contract down. Don't overlook the Bucs though, as they are one of the best managed teams in the league. The things they do with their DL generates serious envy from me. So impressive. Falcons are legit, but aren't playing very competitively right now. Bortles looked bad, and now he's hurt. Panthers are rebuilding. Rookie QBs are tough, but they pay off in the end if you can take the pounding. And I think Brad is committed to #KeepPounding. Bad news for the NFC South in a few years.
NFC West
1.
Arizona Cardinals
2.
St. Louis Rams
3.
San Francisco 49ers
4.
Seattle Seahawks
Cardinals looked AMAZING towards the end of last season. I'm notorious for latching on to stupid stats. My Cowboys are running on something dumb like 50+ straight games without losing two games in a row. That's a pretty crazy streak. I don't know if it's ever been done before, but I'd bet a LOT of money that it's the longest active streak, and one of the longest streaks in the history of SFL. We just don't lose often, and when we do, we don't lose the next week. And while the Cardinals didn't do that to us last year... they came pretty damn close. They kicked our ass twice in a month... once in Week 16, and then again in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. That means 2 out of 3 consecutive games to end our season were Cardinals ass kickings. Very impressive. I know that they have had some bad injuries so far this year, and lots of folks are counting them out... but Scott is easily one of my favorite GMs in the league, and I have a ton of faith in him to land this plane, even with the adversity. We've had the rematch with them circled on the calendar for a while. They may kick our ass again, but I need to see how we match up. The Rams are good... they will stick around, maybe just miss the playoffs because the NFC East is so good. 49ers and Seahawks are in rebuild mode while they develop a QB.
NFC Playoff Seedings
1.
Dallas Cowboys
2.
Minnesota Vikings
3.
New Orleans Saints
4.
Arizona Cardinals
5.
Washington Redskins
6.
New York Giants
Our division is just better than yours. And there are some good divisions... but we are sending three squads. Giants travel to New Orleans in what should be an exciting game of young QBs. Washington goes into Arizona and plays the Replacement players for the Cardinals. Jordan Palmer v. the Giants would be a fun playoff game... just missed that. Cowboys and Vikes, the last two SB Champs are still on top in this prediction. They clash in the NFC Championship.
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Award Winners
SFL MVP QB Mike Glennon
OPOTY QB Mike Glennon
DPOTY DE Daeshon Hall
OROTY HB Tony Pollard
DROTY DT Justin Tillery
More hardware for Glennon, who has been the OPOTY the last two years. He already has one MVP award (2017) and a Super Bowl MVP award. He was 2nd in MVP voting last year, after a freak CB season that crowned a defensive League MVP for the 2nd time ever. Glennon has 2.5 years before he even begins regression, 97 THP 99 THA 99 AWR and a bunch of points banked to assure he stays competitive well into regression, and is on pace to break all of Peyton Manning's records. Glennon is also such a TEAM GUY that he only charges Jerry Jones $2.35 million this year, and only has a little under $15 million in CAREER earnings (YP6). He will get a huge payday after NEXT season where the Cowboys plan to offer him a 5 year $100+ million contract to assure he retires in Big D.
