2010 Season Prediction

Hey everyone, So unable to contain my excitement for the upcoming 2010 season, and with my friends and family growing tired of it, I thought I would create a blog to serve as an outlet for my thoughts on the Philadelphia Eagles and the National Football League. My hopes are that people will stumble across it and my ideas will not go to waste. Either way, I am excited to pick up this new hobby of mine, so let's get started!

With the first ever post, I thought I’d do some analysis to try to ease our way into Eagles training camp. I decided to come up with my prediction for how the 2010 season is likely to unfold in terms of the final standings going into the postseason.

Training camp almost here!

I realize that not even so-called "experts" can predict an NFL season. But based on how the league currently looks, this is how I would expect the NFC to shape up.

NFC

NFC North: Vikings. This is assuming Brett Favre returns of course. With Favre in the picture, the Vikings have enough talent on both sides of the ball to again beat out the Packers for this division. Of couse, there is always the possibility that Favre’s body will begin to show some age during the season, or that he will play through an injury and not play to maximum capacity. But granted this team avoids any misfortune, the ol’ gunslinger is in a good position to make one more shot (at least) at the Lombardi Trophy.

NFC South: Saints. I am a superstitious person, and the Madden curse is telling me Drew Brees will tear his ACL or something and end his season, which would change everything. But on paper, if he stays healthy, the Saints will be poised to once again win this division. However, if the Madden curse holds true, look for Atlanta to have a comeback season.

NFC West: 49ers. The short-lived reign of the Cardinals is over. Without Kurt Warner, Anquan Boldin, and Antrelle Rolle, the team will be hard-pressed to win even 8 games this season. And this is without factoring in the question mark that is Matt Leinart. On top of that, I like the 49ers. They have a good coach in Mike Singletary, a talented QB waiting to take his game to the next level in Alex Smith, and a strong running game led by Frank Gore. If Michael Crabtree also ends up being everything he’s cracked up to be, then the 49ers will snatch this division easily.

A breakout season for Crabtree would do wonders for the 49ers franchise

NFC East: Cowboys. As much as it pains me to say this as an Eagles fan, Dallas is poised to repeat as NFC East champions. Tony Romo has shown more maturity and he has a plethora of young playmakers to work with, particularly Miles Austin, who has done a spectacular job filling in for Terrell Owens. On paper, Dallas is as talented as any team in the league. Of course, there is always the chance that they will choke, especially in December. No one would be surprised if history repeated itself next season. But if not, it looks like Dallas will take this division again, much to my dismay.

Wildcards:

Packers. While Favre may lead the Vikings on top in the NFC North, the Packers are definitely in a great position to take the 5th seed again with 11 wins. In only his 2nd season as a starter, Aaron Rodgers is a top 5 quarterback in this league. He is only going to get better too and still has plenty of weapons to work with. As the defense adjusts to a second year in the 3-4 system, the team will grow as Rodgers grows. While they are listed as the wild-card here, it will be more due to the great deal of talent on Minnesota, as opposed to the lack of it in Green Bay. And if anything were to happen, such as costly injuries, particularly to a 40 year old Favre, Green Bay will have an even greater chance of coming out on top in their division.

Eagles/Redskins. I have this listed as a tie, as we do not know enough about Kevin Kolb to factor in his impact. I personally believe he will be great, and with help from perhaps the most talented collection of receivers the Andy Reid era has ever seen and one of the most successful coaching staffs of the decade, don’t be surprised if he manages to throw for 4,000 yards next season. We should also keep in mind that, similar to Aaron Rodgers, he’s had 3 seasons to learn from the greatest quarterback in Eagles history and a potential Hall of Famer. If I am correct in this assumption, the Eagles will take the 6^th seed again, and have the potential to turn some heads in the postseason.

However, if I am wrong and Kolb struggles, then the Redskins are my pick to secure this final playoff spot. While the Skins have many question marks on their team, particularly their O-line, we must remember that they had one of the league’s best defenses last season. Donovan McNabb also changes the whole mentality of that team. His weapons are not phenomenal, but they are adequate. Three aging veteran runningbacks in decline will be interesting, but Mike Shanahan is a great coach and an offensive mastermind. Therefore, if Kolb fails to deliver, the Redskins may be ready to finally become contenders once again.

So again, this is all my opinion, but based on my knowledge of the NFC, I would not be surprised to see the postseason standings look like this come January.

Although, what makes the National Football League so great is that any team can beat any team on any given Sunday, so we shall have to wait and see.

AFC postseason seeding will follow on this blog in the near future.