My 2012 NFL Predictions

Pads are on and all 32 NFL teams have taken the field for training camp as we are quickly approaching the 2012 kickoff.

Amazing enough, in less than five days the preseason kicks off and coaches will be able to evaluate their players in real game situations. While there are some players that are certain to be on the teams' roster after the final cut day, there are many more that are vying to find a slot on a team.

Teams have made changes since last year's season came to a close. Several teams have new coaches, quarterbacks have found new landing spots and key free agents have been picked up all in hopes of finding the right pieces to complete the puzzle. There are even several top draft picks that teams are hoping will step in and deliver to give them a competitive shot in their goal of raising the Lombardi trophy at the end of the season.

While each team comes off a certain level of play from last year, everyone has the same record and hasn't lost a game this season giving the hopes of reaching the team goals an acceptable level of realism at this point.

I am not, nor do I claim to be an NFL expert. I'm a fan that looks at the teams, the moves, and forms my opinions based on the factors that each and everyone of us use to make the same types of predictions. After looking at what I know, here is what I project for this season. Some will agree, some will say I am totally off, but it sparks conversation and debate and leaves us yearning a little more to fulfill that void that has been missing since January.

In just a few short weeks, NFL Sundays will once again fill stadiums and rule the airwaves.

AFC East

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

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

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

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

AFC Wild Card Teams: Pittsburgh and San Diego

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

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

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

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

NFC Wild Card Teams: Philadelphia and Detroit

Super Bowl: Baltimore vs. San Francisco
Champion: San Francisco

If you haven't noticed: This team is for real!!

If you haven't noticed, maybe you're hiding under a rock.

Heading into the final 1/3 of the 2012 regular season, the Washington Nationals have the second best record in Major League baseball and currently are leading the NL East by four games over second place Atlanta creating a stir in the nation's capital.

A city that has always regarded the Redskins as their first love is finding a mistress in the Nationals.  After spending 33 years without a Major League team, the city found baseball once again when the Expos moved to town in 2005.

The excitement of acquiring a team slowly was silenced as the team struggled during its early existence which was to be expected since Montreal struggled more often than not.  Despite on the field struggles early, it appears that the development and plan of building from the ground up initiated by Stan Kasten is now showing dividends.

While acquiring standouts Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper in the first round of consecutive MLB drafts created a huge buzz, the team has also quietly worked to develop its players in the farm system. Ryan Zimmerman, Jordan Zimmerman, and Drew Storen are just a few names that have went through the Nats system and are making a splash for the team. Being able to develop players in the minors and combining with acquisitions of Adam LaRoche and Gio Gonzalez has helped the team combine young with old, experienced with not so much, all to come together for the "perfect storm" so to speak.



When the season started, the question was if the Nationals could compete this season or if they were still a year away.  Now it seems that we will not be relegated to waiting until next season as DC fans often find themselves having to do.

The winning has helped to garner a following of new fans to go along with the baseball purists and is helping to make Washington more of a baseball town.  Sure, it is unlikely that the team will ever take the lead away from the Skins but they certainly are giving fans in the area something to cheer for.

I, myself, have always been an avid fan of the Oakland A's but I can't help myself from falling in love with the Nats.  They are on a tear and adversity to this point of the season has not effected the teams overall performance.  Just when a tough loss or a mini losing streak appears to have taken the wind out of the sails, the team responds in a positive manner.

Led by Davey Johnson, Washington is instilled with a no nonsense, blue collar attitude and it is fun and exciting to watch as a baseball fan.  While there are still many games left to play, it appears that this team may be headed to an appearance in the postseason, a first since they have moved to Washington.



If that is the case, Washington fans may be overwhelmed come October when they will not only have football but also baseball to follow, something I'm sure most DC sports fans would relish!!

The Dream Team can't lose

Recently, I've been hearing the debate that this years USA Olympic basketball team could beat the first ever Olympic team formed of professional basketball players in 1992.

That team was deemed the "Dream Team" and even Kobe Bryant has come out and said his team could win against that '92 squad.  My question to Kobe is, "Are you seriously crazy?"

Before you ask, yes I was a youngster when the team led by Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird...etc was rocking the world but that doesn't mean that I no longer follow basketball.  It doesn't even mean that I don't like today's players. Quite the contrary, I am a fan of Kobe and a fan of Lebron James among others.

And now after the team has played in some exhibition games, I can't fathom that this squad which has struggled against the likes of Argentina and Spain could overcome a team that's smallest margin of victory was 32 points which came in the gold medal game against Croatia in Barcelona.

The average margin of victory for the team was almost 44 points and with 14 combined victories between the Olympic games and the Tournament of the Americas, which was an exhibition warmup, there is no doubt in my mind that the original Dream Team would blister the team led by Bryant on both ends of the court.

Nearly all of the 1992 teams' players were at or near their prime and the post presence of Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Karl Malone, and Charles Barkley cannot be rivaled by today's squad.

Sure, their is the existence of the so-called hybrid players of the present game but the lack of post play on offense or even a big man to shut down the paint on defense will leave this years' squad searching for answers.

I am rooting for our 2012 Olympic team and I am hoping that at the end of the London games they are standing in the center receiving their gold medals but regardless, in my mind they will always settle for silver when they face the Dream Team!!

Today unprecedented steps were taken against the Penn State football program shortly after the Freeh report was released following an investigation into what was and was not known regarding the horrific acts of  Jerry Sandusky, former defensive coordinator at the university.

The question that seems to be running in conversations abound is if the moves were adequate and proper given the circumstances.  While the consequences were tough and outweigh those enforced recently during NCAA reprimands of other universities such as Ohio State and USC, for example, I'm not so sure they were the right ones.

Certainly what took place during those years from the acts of Sandusky to the cover up imposed by top officials in Happy Valley far surpass the acts of illegal benefits or "Tattoo Gate", this issue is one of morality and a failure of leadership.

It seems to me that by reducing scholarships and banning bowls, the consequences are falling on those who had little if anything to do with the awful events that occured.  I think the focus has been too much on football and too little on the issue of leaders failing to be leaders.

In the Freeh reports, suggestions were made to Penn State to change it's approach to be more transparent in the way issues are to be reported and handled so that these terrible happenings do not occur again.  Top officials at the university agreed that the changes were needed and vowed to begin implementing actions to change the culture.

It seems to me that a temporary "death penalty" would have been more beneficial to take the proper time to review what need to happen and then implement the changes and show that sincerity to change is valid.  Actions speak louder than words and while not making changes would only hurt even more the image that these horrible human beings wanted to maintain at the sacrifice of innocent young children, the focus appears to have shifted to football and not what is most important at this point.

Taking the focus from football and working diligently to bring change would show what is most important  to everyone.

There will be opposing views and a concise answer to handle all that has occurred may not be clear but one thing that is certain is that by not temporarily suspending the program and taking what has now been issued by the NCAA has, in my opinion, set a football program back even further.

It will take years to get back on the recruiting trail to get top notch athletes to draw to the storied football program.  With no ability to get the national spotlight on their team for the next four years, many that seek to move to the next level will go elsewhere to attempt to be noticed when all of America is watching rather than go to a school that the country is watching for all the wrong reasons.

Will Penn State ever return?  I think they will.  The school will rebound, the football program will rebound and things will get better.  But time is needed for that to happen.  It is not something that will change overnight.  Many years of doing the right things will be needed to change the overall perception that has been tarnished by a select few.  Good luck in your endeavors. 


For all the victims that suffered at the hands of Sandusky, their lives have been affected in a way that is hard to understand unless you have been a victim yourself.  I hope only the best for those individuals and that with each day, their lives rebound in a positive manner.