This is all for fun. I did spend a little time trying to figure out my final results, including looking into strength of schedule, home games versus road, overall team age, DVOA and Pythagorean wins, but, ultimately, this is done out of fun and shouldn't be taken too seriously.
AFC East
New England 12-4
NY Jets 9-7
Buffalo Bills 6-10
Miami Dolphins 2-14
The Patriots will be one of the best teams in football, once again, in 2007, but they face an insanely tough schedule. Yes, I think the Dolphins will really be that bad this year.
AFC North
Cincinnati Bengals 13-3
Pittsburgh Steelers 11-5
Cleveland Browns 6-10
Baltimore Ravens 5-11
The Steelers, that good? Pittsburgh was the eleventh ranked defense on first downs, the 3rd ranked defense on 2nd downs but the 24 ranked defense on 3rd downs. That implies that in some part the Steelers were unlucky on third downs, that will not likely persist. I think Joey Porter's loss hurts more than many who hate Porter think it will, but that Roethlisberger bounces back and the (hated) Steelers make the playoffs. Oh, and everything falls apart for the Ravens, including a season ending injury for McNair.
AFC South
Indianapolis Colts 13-3
Jacksonville Jaguars 11-5
Houston Texans 7-9
Tennessee Titans 4-12
AFC West
San Diego 13-3
Oakland Raiders 7-9
Denver Broncos 7-9
Kansas City Chiefs 5-11
San Diego roles over a weak division; JeMarcus Russell seems like the second coming after the Raiders have suffered the likes of Aaron Brooks and Andrew Walter; Jay Cutler's cockiness costs the Broncos a couple close games and the Chiefs offense completely collapses.
NFC East
Philadelphia Eagles 12-4
Dallas Cowboys 10-6
Washington Redskins 8-8
New York Giants 6-10
The Uglies are the most complete team in the conference. I like the Cowboys' talent, but Wade Phillips is a terrible coach and the teams' ouster in the first round (in decisive fashion) will signal his firing. Redskins put together a promising second half run, aided, in no small part, by a weak schedule. How good was Tiki Barber? How much of a drop-off is it from Barber to Jacobs? I guess my prediction tells you what I think. The Giants win an ugly contest in London over a terrible Dolphins team.
NFC North
Green Bay Packers 10-6
Detroit Lions 7-9
Chicago Bears 7-9
Minnesota 1-15
The Pack fatten up on a weak division. The Lions show some life with a big play offense, but the o-line betrays Martz and Kitna gets battered like a Chinese crast test dummy. Crappy Offense + Disgruntled Defense = A long winter in Soldier Field. Minnesota really is this bad, the one win comes against a reeling Bears team in week 15.
NFC South
New Orleans Saints 11-5
Caroline Panthers 9-7
Atlanta Falcons 8-8
Tampa Bay 0-16
Jammal Brown is one of, if not the, best young tackles in the NFL. I would rate Carolina higher if David Carr were starting. The Falcons will once again be mediocre. I know it looks absurd, but I don't see a game on their schedule I think the Bucs will win.
NFC West
Seattle Seahawks 12-4
St. Louis Rams 10-6
Arizona Cardinals 7-9
San Francisco 49ers 7-9
Looking over some of the other divisions, I have grown more optimistic about the Hawks and Rams. I know the 49ers are a vogue pick right about now, but when you consider they played like a 5-11 team last year, without any major injuries, they would have to improve quite a bit to even be 7-9.
MVP: Steven Jackson, 2nd Peyton Manning, 3rd Matt Hasselbeck
Defensive Player of the Year: Julius Peppers, 2nd A.J. Hawk, 3rd Madieu Williams
Offensive ROY: Brandon Jackson, 2nd Anthony Gonzalez, 3rd Zach Miller
Defensive ROY: Laron Landry, 2nd Brandon Merriweather, 3rd Justin Harrell
AFC WC
NE over NY
Pitt over SD
NFC WC
Stl over Dal
GB over NO
AFC Div
NE over Ind
Cin over Pitt
NFC Div
Sea over GB
Phi over Stl
AFC Champ
Cin over NE
NFC Champ
Sea over Phi
Super Bowl
Sea over Cin