Predictions? I know, I know, every Insider in America is asked to dish out a prognosis for the upcoming season, promising the town folks that our crystal ball is in no way defective.
Rubbish.
How many people predicted the Rams would win the Super Bowl three years ago? How about the Pats last year? Tom Brady? His own family would not have called that one.
With that said, here's to taking a crack at the upcoming season provided with the information and observations accumulated during the past six months.
So without further adieu, let's pretend my crystal ball isn't on the fritz.
It's the NFC West all over again, but with a much different twist.
Sure, the Rams will once again be the Greatest Show on Turf as long as the country's most talked about thumb doesn't get banged around too much. But everything old is new again. The 49ers' Garcia-to-Owens connection will be the greatest combo since Mickey D's introduced the Big Mac value meal.
Team predictions
Surprise team: Dallas. The Dallas defense should be one of the league's best this year, meaning all they need is for Quincy Carter to provide a small spark and not screw up.Biggest disappointment: Baltimore.
Team that will have the first pick of the 2003 draft: Houston Texans. Every team in the NFL, aside from Houston, enters the season with some cohesion from a year ago. The NFL is about cohesion.
Team with the easiest path/schedule to the postseason: Jets -- They've got Buffalo twice, Jacksonville, the Chiefs, Vikings, Browns, Chargers and Lions in their first 11 games.
Team with the most difficult path/schedule to the postseason: Rams -- Denver, Tampa, Dallas, the 49ers and Raiders within first six weeks will certainly test the Rams' vaunted offense. Plus, in Week 2 the Rams find out if they found a viable right tackle when they face Michael Strahan and the Giants. Last year, Strahan haunted QB Kurt Warner, sacking him four times.
Playoff teams
- AFC division winners: Jets (East), Steelers (North), Titans (South), Denver (West)
- NFC division winners: Eagles (East), Green Bay (North), Tampa Bay (South), San Francisco (West)
- AFC wild card teams: Indy, Miami
- NFC wild card teams: Rams, Cowboys
Washington gets consideration for a wild card in the NFC because of its defense, but the jury is out on Spurrier's offense until he shows what he can do on the fly with in-game adjustments.
NFC, AFC champions: San Francisco over Philadelphia; Titans over Jets
Love Tampa Bay except for its personnel on the offensive line, so Donovan McNabb gets the nod in that championship contest. Still, the 49ers are too balanced for the rest of the conference.
The only thing Indy needs to do is improve its defense by 50 percent, a viable goal with Tony Dungy in place. However, the Jets' offense will give teams fits this year, and Tennessee's Steve McNair and Eddie George will get this team back to where it belongs.
Super Bowl winner: San Francisco
Individual predictions
MVP (Which player means the most to his team): Jeff Garcia
Offensive, defensive players of the year: Curtis Martin, LaVar Arrington
Offensive, defensive rookies of the year: Jeremy Shockey, Roy Williams
Most improved player: Deuce McAllister
Coach of the year: Jeff Fisher
Front office whiz: Kevin Colbert, for locking up the Steelers solid roster for the next few years. The Steelers are usually raided of their talent each season. They could get a short reprieve.
First coach to get fired: Bengals' Dick LeBeau
First starting QB to get benched: Ravens' Chris Redman
Surprise player of the year: Bucs' DT Anthony McFarland; this year should be his first of many Pro Bowls.
Most disappointing player: Edgerrin James. The "Edge" is still one of the game's best but nearly every running back coming off a torn ACL does not immediately bounce back to pre-injury form. Next year he might be the "Edge" of old, but this year he will likely be faced with obstacles.
Biggest first-round bust of 2002 Draft: Cardinals DT Wendell Bryant. This kid has simply missed too much time by holding out. He also sat out the offseason due to concerns over terms of compensation in case of injury. The NFL is tough enough for these kids upon entrance, they don't need to bring more problems on themselves.
