Smashmouth Football League Articles

AFC East
1. New York Jets
2. Miami Dolphins
3. Buffalo Bills
4. New England Patriots

Analysis: This has to be one of the toughest divisions in the entire league talent wise, and when you consider the number of veteran GMs here it could be the toughest division in the league. While the Dolphins have an outstanding defense, I have to give the advantage to the Jets here given the improvements that they made and the amount of success that GM Mullendore sees at every stop he makes. They've already made significant improvements to several skill positions, and should field one of the better offenses in the entire league. Interestingly enough I picked the two best quarterbacks to finish last in the division, but their rosters simply don't have the kind of talent that you see in Miami and New York. With that said, I wouldn't be all that surprised to see this division finish opposite from my predictions, which speaks to its strength.

AFC North


1. Baltimore Ravens
2. Pittsburgh Steelers
3. Cincinnati Bengals
4. Cleveland Browns

Analysis: The Ravens have a stout defense, a hall of fame offensive tackle, a bruising running back, an all-pro TE, and a quarterback who's just good enough to bring the whole thing together. They have the talent advantage over the rest of the team's in this division, and it will be up to GM Norbert Huszti to make sure they live up to their billing. The Steelers come in second in my rankings. They have their fair share of talent as well, but just aren't on the same level as the Ravens. WR Plaxico Burress and HB Jerome Bettis will be two fun stories to follow this story, however. Looking at the Bengals roster, they are better than I expected. WRs Chad Johnson and TJ something will combine to form a formidable duo catching passes, but the question is who are they going to catch passes from? Neither Gus Frerotte or Jon Kitna instill much fear in opponents' eyes. What will be a bigger concern, though, is that the defense seems to have little talent outside of RE Justin Smith. Coming in last is the Cleveland Browns, as many of you probably expected. They have some talent on their roster, I won't deny that, but the overall mediocrity seems to just bleed off of the paper. What will the identity of this team be? I can't find any one particular strength that they will be able to hang their hat on at the end of the day.

AFC South

1. Indianapolis Colts
2. Tennessee Titans
3. Jacksonville Jaguars
4. Houston Texans

Analysis: The Colts are prepared to lay waste to the rest of this league with this roster. A pair of hall of fame WRs? Check. Hall of fame QB? Check. One of the most physically gifted HBs in the league? Check. The offensive line is solid enough to keep Manning upright, and that's all they are going to need. The secondary is a concern, for sure, but that front seven is talented enough to keep it from being a big issue. With teams playing from behind as often as they will be, they will be able to put pressure on the quarterback and force turnovers. They are surefire favorites to make it to the Superbowl. The Jaguars have the most important ingredient you need to have a successful passing attack - a quarterback. The problem? They don't have anything else, including a single talented wide receiver or tackle. I'm going with the Titans to finish second in the division. They made the bold move of trading all their draft picks and hall of fame DE Jevon Kearse for a young Drew Brees, but there's no doubt that move is going to pay off for them. I'm going to go ahead and say that it's going to be hard for anyone to beat the career numbers Brees is going to put up by the time he is all said and done. They also have tons of pieces around him including WRs Derrick Mason and Kevin Dyson, on top of a defense that should be on of the better ones in the league. The Titans are my clear-cut favorites to finish second in this division, which makes the Jaguars third by default because, you guessed it, the Houston Texans are going to finish last. They made the questionable move of trading a top 2nd round pick for the extremely raw Patrick Ramsey, which all but seals their fate as a bottom feeder for at least 2-3 seasons, despite making the move to upgrade the RB position by bringing in the young and talented HB Thomas Jones. Other than Jones on offense and Glenn on defense (who also happens to be 5'9"), the Texans are another team that simply isn't going to have an identity in year one. It's safe to say they will be picking near the top of the draft come April.

AFC West

1. Oakland Raiders
2. San Diego Chargers
3. Kansas City Chiefs
4. Denver Broncos

Analysis: Here's another division full of veteran GMs, and, like the AFC East, it also happens to be full of talent. The clear-cut favorites to take the division crown are the Oakland Raiders, as their roster is simply stacked. While quarterback is going to be a bit of a question mark for the Chargers, especially after this season, they have a ton of talent surrounding Flutie at just about every other position. The additions of wide receivers David Boston and Herman Moore gives them two legitimate options catching the ball, while LaDanian Tomlinson is, well, LaDanian Tomlinson. On defense they have an elite front seven and experience spread across their defensive backfield. They will pose a legitimate threat to the Raiders to win the division, but I think ultimately Gannon will overmatch Flutie. At third place GM Tim Miller is saying "But what about me?", and it's hard to blame him. QB Trent Green, HB Preist Holmes, and TE Tony Gonzalez, by far the best TE in the league, have a hall of fame caliber offensive line to work behind. The Chiefs should be able to establish the ground game and move the ball methodically against most opponents. The problem for the Chiefs is that they simply aren't that explosive on offense, which is problem when your defense has as many glaring holes as theirs does. It's a shame because you don't build Rome (or a defense) in a day, and that offense isn't getting any younger. Unfortunately for the Chiefs, they already, in true Tim Miller fashion, traded their first round pick for a 30 year old 5'10" outside linebacker. I hate to rain on their parade, but they're going to need a lot more help than that on defense to make this thing work in a loaded division. Bringing up the rear is Tom Riddell and the Broncos. I know Tom always believes in himself, which is a good trait to have, but it's hard to see the Broncos finishing much better than 3rd (or maybe even 4th) here. They don't have a bad roster by any stretch of the imagination, but quarterback, offensive line, and the secondary are all big question marks for this team, and, frankly, those are some of the worst spots to have big question marks. This team will need either significant improvements or a lot of luck to finish on top, and I just don't see them coming close. Which probably means that you can go ahead and start talking to your travel agents about a trip to the Superbowl, Broncos fans.

AFC Playoff Seedings

1. Indianapolis Colts
2. Oakland Raiders
3. New York Jets
4. Baltimore Ravens
5. San Diego Chargers
6. Miami Dolphins



NFC East

1. Philadelphia Eagles
2. Washington Redskins
3. New York Giants
4. Dallas Cowboys

Analysis: Sorry, Will - you can't will yourself on top of this division. Or, well, even out of last place to be honest. I'd put a lot of money on that one. Where I'm less confident is who will actually come away as NFC East champs. The Eagles and Redskins both have very talented rosters, but at the end of the day I simply have to give the nod to the Eagles. And while it's kind of unbelievable I'm saying this - I think I actually have to go ahead and give the same reason Leo has been spouting on Discord for the past week - his wide receivers. Both the Eagles and the Redskins have a great defense, offensive line, running back, quarterback, tight end, etc. etc. The Eagles, however, have multiple wide receivers who can beat you over the top and they are going to be able to stretch the field to their advantage. Either way, this is going to be a close race to the very end, and I don't think the Cowboys or Giants will even enter the conversation. On that note, I have the Giants finishing 3rd and the Cowboys finishing 4th. The Giants have a pretty good roster, but Plummer is still underwhelming overall as a QB. They aren't quite ready to compete with the big boys. The Cowboys? Quincy Carter. Enough said.

NFC North

1. Green Bay Packers
2. Chicago Bears
3. Minnesota Vikings
4. Detroit Lions

Analysis: This has to be the most obvious division in the whole league. I don't understand - did the rest of the division see Brett Favre and decide it wasn't even worth fielding a competent secondary. The defensive backs on these teams are atrocious. The Packers have a ton of talent on offense, and they have enough on defense to outscore opponents regularly. If I was a betting man, I would put a lot of money down that the Packers will be NFC North champs. Second place was a tough decision, as the Bears have a good defense but lack offense, and that Vikings have...Randy Moss. The Culpepper to Moss connection is going to have to be the saving grace for the Vikings this season, because they don't have much else. In the end, I like the Bears, because I think that defense, outside of the weak secondary, will be able to do some damage. In last place, you have the Lions. I don't feel the need to justify this with any sort of reasoning. Just use your eyes.

NFC South

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2. Carolina Panthers
3. New Orleans Saints
4. Atlanta Falcons

Analysis: The Panthers have a pretty good offense, but a questionable defense. The Buccs have a great defense, but some serious question marks on offense. In the end, I'm going with the Buccs. The Problem for me with the panthers is that other than the defensive line, which is pretty stacked, there's little talent elsewhere, and the secondary in particular looks ripe to get steamrolled. The Buccs, meanwhile have an absolutely elite defense, including an actual secondary, which looks to be just the right recipe to slow down that Panthers team. Their offense, while isn't great, should be able to move the ball well enough to put positive points on the board, which might be all this team needs. In a bit of a surprise, I'm going with the Saints to finish third here. There's no one spot on this team that will wow you, and they could certainly use better quarterback play, but overall this team is just good enough to not suck. In last place we have the Falcons. I put them in last place partly because of the absolutely absurd decision to cave into pressure and keep Vick a scrambler. Why? You are now tied to an insanely expensive developing quarterback who is going to take sack after sack and not only blow games, but rack up terrible stats for your offensive lineman. Vick was an absolute stud QB prospect as a non-scrambler, and now he is forever tainted. You had your chance to have an elite QB, and it has been squandered. That's what you get for giving into peer pressure. As for the team - meh.


NFC West

1. St. Louis Rams
2. San Francisco 49ers
3. Seattle Seahawks
4. Arizona Cardinals

Analysis: Here's how this is going to work: Kurt Warner to Torry Holt. Rinse. Repeat. Victory. Trust me, I ran a sim or two - I know. Welcome to the greatest show on turf. It's here, it's real, and it's going to dominate your computer screen. Defense? Who needs defense? Certainly not the 2002 Rams in this division. St. Louis will go as far as their offense can take them, and by estimation that is pretty damn far. The Rams win this division hands down. In second I have the 49ers. The 49ers have just enough talent across the board to allow QB Jeff Garcia and WR Terrell Owens to do their thing. The Seahawks are certainly a team on the rise, and their ground game should be pretty potent, but I just don't think the pieces are there for them this season. I do think it will be a close race for second place, however. In the basement I have myself, the clear-cut worst team in this division. We maybe had a chance to finish better than this before I traded WR David Boston, HB Thomas Jones, RT Leonard Davis, TE Freddie Jones, QB Jake Plummer, and WR Frank Sanders, but I really don't think so. The defense needs a lot of work, and it sure as hell wasn't going to slow down Kurt Warner, Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce, and Marshall Faulk. We will likely stay at the bottom for another season or two, until we have the time to get back on our feet.

NFC Playoff Seedings

1. St. Louis Rams
2. Green Bay Packers
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
4. Philadelphia Eagles
5. Washington Redskins
6. Carolina Panthers

Playoff Predictions

AFC Championship Game: Colts over Jets
NFC Championship Game: Rams over Packers

Super Bowl XXXVII: Indianapolis Colts over the St. Louis Rams