Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

And here we now have ourselves, the era of the seventeen-game regular season! Sure-enough it'll be real short-lived, perhaps as long as Capitol/Century/Coastal/Central, due to the practically inevitable...18 (along with eight playoff teams per conference)!

So with just over a week until Dallas at Banner-unrolling Tampa Bay, what are all your prophetic takes for '21?

I'm going to have the Pats regaining the division this year after a just one-year break (but as you Bills-fans will see below...). Or at least the Pats will make the playoffs. And, no, not a single-digit-win 7th-seed either. Mac Jones will be 'Rookie of the Year'. There will be plenty of "the next Brady" talk, perhaps comparing this very campaign with 20 seasons ago. No Super Bowl, but should be enough to award Hoodie 'Coach of the Year'. He or Joe Judge who I think will lead G-men atop the other conference's East division - and, yes, they'll have a winning record.

That early Bucs@NE match, Week #4?? It'll live up to the hype and be a dandy, but Brady will leave town a winner. However, despite having a top-seed finish this time (13-3, I think it'll be; oops! make that 14-3), they'll already have lost their first game going into that very Brady-vs-Belichick affair - the week prior, at Rams!

Chiefs? At least 13 wins for them as well! They'll start 6-0, I think, before Titans hand them their first defeat!

The Urban/Lawrence era in north Florida at least won't be a last-place finish. Trevor should show some promise and poise amidst his team's inevitable growing pains.

Anyways, that's all else I got to guess of for now. Here are my entire standings/playoffs forecast FWIW...

(Home playoff teams in CAPS)

AFC
East: New England (3), Buffalo (5), Miami, New York
North: Baltimore (2), Pittsburgh (6), Cleveland (7), Cincinnati
South: Tennessee (4), Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Houston
West: Kansas City (1), Denver, Los Angeles, Las Vegas

1st-Rd: Browns over RAVENS, PATRIOTS over Steelers, Bills over TITANS
Divisional: Browns over CHIEFS, Bills over PATRIOTS
Conference Championship: BILLS over Browns

NFC
East: New York (4), Washington, Dallas, Philadelphia
North: Green Bay (2), Minnesota (7), Chicago, Detriot
South: Tampa Bay (1), New Orleans, Atlanta, Carolina
West: Seattle (3), Los Angeles (5), San Francisco (6), Arizona

1st-Rd: PACKERS over Vikings, SEAHAWKS over Forty Niners, Rams over GIANTS
Divisional: BUCCANEERS over Rams, PACKERS over Seahawks
Conference Championship: BUCCANEERS over Packers

SUPER BOWL LVI: Tampa Bay over Buffalo, Tom Brady MVP

Wow - that's pretty in-depth! I'm not willing to go quite as far as you are in making predictions for the upcoming season but I'll give a few:

A.F.C. West - Gotta go with the Chiefs. I really don't see any other team in that division (seriously) challenging the Chiefs for the division title this season.
A.F.C. North - No idea which team is going to win that division. The only thing that I am sure of is that Cincinnati won't.
A.F.C. East - Gotta go with the Bills. I'm not convinced that Mac Jones is Tom Brady 2.0. I wouldn't be surprised, though, if N.E. makes it back to the playoffs this season.
A.F.C. South - It's gonna have two of the worst teams in the league in 2021. Gotta go with the Titans to win the division.

N.F.C. West - As much as I hate to I'm picking the Rams to win the division. AZ to finish last (as usual). SFO and SEA to battle it out for 2nd place.
N.F.C. North - Thanks to Aaron Rodgers staying there I have to go with the Packers to win the division. No idea what's going to happen with the other three teams in that division but I won't be the least bit surprised if DET finishes last (as usual).
N.F.C. East - Much as with the A.F.C. North I have no idea which team is going to win that division but I have a pretty strong feeling that it won't be Philly.
N.F.C. South - Gotta go with the Buccaneers but I don't think they'll repeat as S.B. champions.

The N.F.C. championship game will have two of these three teams in it: Tampa Bay, Green Bay, Los Angeles.
The A.F.C. championship game will have two of these three teams in it: Kansas City, Buffalo, Tennessee.

Several teams will struggle with their QB situation this season. Among them: Chicago, Philadelphia, CAR, "Nawlins," Denver, Miami, Indy, and possibly HOU.
I'd be surprised if the Texans win more than about 2 games this upcoming season. I think their counterpart in the N.F.C. (for "worst team in the conference") will be the "Iggles."
JAX will be improved but not enough to make it to the playoffs.
The N.F.C. entry based in TX will, for the 26th straight season, not make it past the conference semis in the playoffs.

Due to gambling, I dont think the NFL will ever have another back-to-back champion. TB will have injuries and barely make the playoffs ...

I predict the Lions will either (a) suck or (b) blow. I haven't quite made up my mind.

Will be interesting to see what Stafford and the Rams do.
Like Andy Piascik said, football teams win football games but a team championship would go a long way in helping Stafford's chances of the HOF, though some people believe he should get in strictly as a talented passer. Team success or not, if a QB isnt elevating the play of his teammates or inspiring them to do whatever it takes to play together and win football games, is he really doing his job ?

Brian wolf wrote:Will be interesting to see what Stafford and the Rams do.
Like Andy Piascik said, football teams win football games but a team championship would go a long way in helping Stafford's chances of the HOF, though some people believe he should get in strictly as a talented passer. Team success or not, if a QB isnt elevating the play of his teammates or inspiring them to do whatever it takes to play together and win football games, is he really doing his job ?

Wow, it never occurred to me to use "Matthew Stafford" and "HOF" in the same sentence.

rhickok1109 wrote:

Brian wolf wrote:Will be interesting to see what Stafford and the Rams do.
Like Andy Piascik said, football teams win football games but a team championship would go a long way in helping Stafford's chances of the HOF, though some people believe he should get in strictly as a talented passer. Team success or not, if a QB isnt elevating the play of his teammates or inspiring them to do whatever it takes to play together and win football games, is he really doing his job ?

Wow, it never occurred to me to use "Matthew Stafford" and "HOF" in the same sentence.

To be honest, the same could be said of dozens of guys already in Canton. Cooperstown is even worse.

Stafford's building up the numbers. If he could win a Super Bowl I figure he'd have as much right as a lot of other guys. As a long-suffering Lions fan (are there any other kind??), it'll be very interesting to see what he can do in new surroundings. Wishing him luck. He's a good guy and, even though this part doesn't get much mention, he's one tough sumbitch.

Thats my position. QBs are judged by throwing the football and executing the offense to score enough points to win ballgames. If a QB is inspiring or elevating the play of all of his teammates, usually the team will find a way to win. Stafford has never done that ... he is strictly a talented passer, though he has battled through injury as well. Some people believe he is a HOF QB. I dont but leading a team to a championship could at least alter his career more upward.

I think Bills will beat the Browns in the AFC Title game.

That's all I know.

Sleeper teams ... NFC: Atlanta AFC: SD

Both teams blew leads every week last year. This year they will be underestimated and have decent seasons.