With the 2012 NFL Season upon us I decided to take a look at the teams and make some pre-season predictions.  The records you see below were actually compiled by me going through the week-by-week schedule and issuing a team a win or a loss.

Then I assigned the playoff teams by seed, any tiebreakers were done using the NFL tiebreaker rules.  I then picked the winners for the Wild Card games, Division games, Conference Championship games and finally Super Bowl XLVII at the Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday February 3, 2013.

Before we get into the teams I have a few awards to predict.

NFL Coach of the Year

Chan Gailey, Buffalo Bills

NFL MVP

RB Fred Jackson, Buffalo Bills

NFL Offensive Player of the Year

QB Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers

NFL Defensive Player of the Year

DE Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions

NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year

QB Robert Griffin III, Washington Redskins

NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year

DT Fletcher Cox, Philadelphia Eagles

To see Steve’s team predictions for the 2012 NFL season, please click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Here are my team predictions for the 2012 NFL Season:

AFC EAST	WON	LOSS	HOME	AWAY	DIVISION	CONF	NFC
Buffalo	12	4	7-1	5-3	5-1	10-2	2-2
New England	12	4	6-2	6-2	5-1	9-3	3-1
New York	10	6	5-3	5-3	2-4	8-4	2-2
Miami	2	14	1-7	1-7	0-6	2-10	0-4
–
AFC NORTH	WON	LOSS	HOME	AWAY	DIVISION	CONF	NFC
Baltimore	11	5	6-2	5-3	5-1	8-4	3-1
Pittsburgh	10	6	5-3	5-3	4-2	7-5	3-1
Cincinnati	6	10	3-5	3-5	2-4	4-8	2-2
Cleveland	3	13	2-6	1-7	1-5	2-10	1-3
–
AFC SOUTH	WON	LOSS	HOME	AWAY	DIVISION	CONF	NFC
Houston	12	4	7-1	5-3	6-0	9-3	3-1
Tennessee	6	10	3-5	3-5	4-2	4-8	2-2
Indianapolis	3	13	2-6	1-7	2-4	3-9	0-4
Jacksonville	3	13	1-7	2-6	0-6	1-11	2-2
–
AFC WEST	WON	LOSS	HOME	AWAY	DIVISION	CONF	NFC
Denver	10	6	7-1	3-5	4-2	8-4	2-2
San Diego	9	7	6-2	3-5	1-5	5-7	4-0
Kansas City	8	8	3-5	5-3	3-3	7-5	1-3
Oakland	7	9	4-4	3-5	4-2	7-5	0-4
–
NFC EAST	WON	LOSS	HOME	AWAY	DIVISION	CONF	AFC
Philadelphia	12	4	7-1	5-3	4-2	10-2	2-2
New York	9	7	6-2	3-5	3-3	6-6	3-1
Dallas	8	8	7-1	1-7	2-4	6-6	2-2
Washington	7	9	4-4	3-5	3-3	5-7	2-2
–
NFC NORTH	WON	LOSS	HOME	AWAY	DIVISION	CONF	AFC
Green Bay	12	4	7-1	5-3	5-1	9-3	3-1
Detroit	10	6	7-1	3-5	4-2	7-5	3-1
Chicago	6	10	5-3	1-7	2-4	4-8	2-2
Minnesota	4	12	2-6	2-6	1-5	3-9	1-3
–
NFC SOUTH	WON	LOSS	HOME	AWAY	DIVISION	CONF	AFC
Carolina	10	6	7-1	3-5	5-1	7-5	3-1
Atlanta	10	6	7-1	3-5	4-2	7-5	3-1
New Orleans	8	8	5-3	3-5	2-4	6-6	2-2
Tampa Bay	3	13	2-6	1-7	1-5	2-10	1-3
–
NFC WEST	WON	LOSS	HOME	AWAY	DIVISION	CONF	AFC
San Francisco	11	5	6-2	5-3	5-1	8-4	3-1
Seattle	10	6	6-2	4-4	4-2	7-5	3-1
Arizona	9	7	6-2	3-5	2-4	7-5	2-2
St Louis	3	13	2-6	1-7	1-5	3-9	0-4

AFC Playoff Seeds

1- Buffalo – East Champs

2- Houston – South Champs

3- Baltimore – North Champs

4- Denver – West Champs

5- New England – Wild Card

6- New York – Wild Card

NFC Playoff Seeds

1- Philadelphia – East Champs

2- Green Bay – North Champs

3- San Francisco – West Champs

4- Carolina – South Champs

5- Seattle – Wild Card

6- Detroit – Wild Card

Wild Card Weekend

AFC

New England (12-4) at Denver (10-6)…New England wins

New York (10-6) at Baltimore (11-5)…Baltimore wins

Byes: Buffalo and Houston

NFC

Seattle (10-6) at Carolina (10-6)…Carolina wins

Detroit (10-6) at San Francisco (11-5)…San Francisco wins

Byes: Philadelphia and Green Bay

Divisional Weekend

AFC

New England (13-4) at Buffalo (12-4)…Buffalo wins

Baltimore (12-5) at Houston (12-4)…Houston wins

NFC

Carolina (11-6) at Philadelphia (12-4)…Philadelphia wins

San Francisco (12-5) at Green Bay (12-4)…Green Bay wins

Conference Championship Weekend

AFC

Houston (13-4) at Buffalo (13-4)…Buffalo wins

NFC

Green Bay (13-4) at Philadelphia (13-4)…Philadelphia wins

Super Bowl XLVII – New Orleans, LA

Buffalo Bills (14-4) vs Philadelphia Eagles (14-4)

Super Bowl XLVII Champions

Philadelphia Eagles

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NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell officially opened the NFL Draft at 8:04 p.m. ET when he put Indianapolis on the clock.  In the first round each team is given 10 minutes to make their selection.

For the 12th time in the last 15 years a quarterback was the top pick in the NFL Draft when the Indianapolis Colts selected Andrew Luck of Stanford.  Luck is the third Stanford QB taken first overall behind Hall of Famer John Elway (1983, Baltimore Colts) and Heisman Trophy winner and Super Bowl XV MVP Jim Plunkett (1971, New England Patriots).

When Robert Griffin III of Baylor went to Washington with the second pick it was just the seventh time in draft history that quarterbacks went 1-2.

And when Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill went 8th overall to the Miami Dolphins it was the second year in a row and just the fourth time three quarterbacks were taken in the Top 10 selections of the draft.

The first round saw a lot of trades, in fact, it seemed like there were more first round trades than I can ever recall.  Teams that got involved in the wheeling and dealing trying to get a better position or hoard more picks for later on were Minnesota and Cleveland.  They flipped the 3rd and 4th picks overall in first round and the Vikings also got three additional later round picks in the swap. Cleveland used that 3rd pick to take Alabama RB Trent Richardson, while Minnesota took T Matt Kalil from USC.

Tampa Bay and Jacksonville then swapped picks #5 and #7 overall.  Jacksonville moved up to fifth and only had to give up a 4th rounder to move up two spots.  The Jags used the fifth pick to select Justin Blackmon WR from Oklahoma State, while the Buccaneers took S Mark Barron from national champion Alabama.

To continue reading, please click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

St. Louis traded the 6th pick overall that they got from Washington to Dallas for the 14th pick and a second rounder.  The Cowboys used the 6th pick to strengthen their secondary by taking CB Morris Claiborne of LSU.  The Rams used their selection to take DT Michael Brockers of LSU at 14.

Seattle sent the 12th pick overall to Philadelphia in exchange for #15 overall and a fourth and sixth rounder selections.  With the 12th pick the Eagles then took Mississippi State DT Fletcher Cox.  The Seahawks grabbed West Virginia LB Bruce Irvin, a major potential problem child, with the 15th pick a few moments later.  Irvin, a former high school drop out has spent time in jail and had several run ins with the police.  Many teams felt he had colossal bust written all over him and said they would stay away from him.  Seattle takes a chance and him at 15th overall.

The New England Patriots got active late in the round when they traded the 27th pick and their 3rd round pick (#93) for the 21st pick from Cincinnati.  The Patriots took Syracuse DE Chandler Jones while the Bengals grabbed Wisconsin G Kevin Zeitler.

The Patriots weren’t done trading up either as moments later they send the 31st overall pick and their 4th round selection (#126) to Denver for #25 overall.  With that pick they grabbed LB Dont’a Hightower from the national champion Crimson Tide while Denver used the 31st pick to make a trade with Tampa Bay who in turn selected Doug Martin a running back from Boise State.

Minnesota had the final trade of the night when they moved back into the first round when they were able to make a deal with Baltimore and came away with a top safety in Harrison Smith from Notre Dame.

The final pick of the round clocked in at 11:06 p.m. ET when the New York Giants selected Virginia Tech RB David Wilson ending the round in just over three hours.

Once again the SEC lead all conferences in players selected with 9, followed by the Big 12 with 5, the Big Ten and PAC 12 both had 4, the ACC had 3 and the Big East had 2 while independents and smaller conferences combined for five selections.

Of those 9 SEC selections the national champion Alabama Crimson Tide had four first round picks, while LSU and South Carolina each had two and Mississippi State had one.

Rounds two and three are tomorrow evening and you can watch on ESPN or the NFL Network.

Here is the complete first round of the NFL Draft selection by selection:

Pick	Team	Position/Player/College	Notes
1	Indianapolis	QB Andrew Luck/Stanford	–
2	Washington	QB Robert Griffin III/Baylor	from St. Louis
3	Cleveland	RB Trent Richardson/Alabama	from Minnesota
4	Minnesota	T Matt Kalil/Southern California	from Cleveland
5	Jacksonville	WR Justin Blackmon/Oklahoma St	from Tampa Bay
6	Dallas	CB Morris Claiborne/LSU	from St. Louis via Wash
7	Tampa Bay	S Mark Barron/Alabama	–
8	Miami	QB Ryan Tannehill/Texas A&M	–
9	Carolina	LB Luke Kuechly/Boston College	–
10	Buffalo	CB Stephon Gilmore/South Carolina	–
11	Kansas City	NT Dontari Poe/Memphis	–
12	Philadelphia	DT Fletcher Cox/Mississippi St	from Seattle
13	Arizona	WR Michael Floyd/Notre Dame	–
14	St. Louis	DT Michael Brockers/LSU	from Dallas
15	Seattle	OLB Bruce Irvin/West Virginia	from Philadelphia
16	NY Jets	DE Quinton Coples/North Carolina	–
17	Cincinnati	DB Dre Kirkpatrick/Alabama	from Oakland
18	San Diego	LB Melvin Ingram/South Carolina	–
19	Chicago	DE Shea McClellin/Boise State	–
20	Tennessee	WR Kendall Wright/Baylor	–
21	New England	DE Chandler Jones/Syracuse	from Cincinnati
22	Cleveland	QB Brandon Weedon/Oklahoma St	from Atlanta
23	Detroit	T Riley Reiff/Iowa	–
24	Pittsburgh	G David DeCastro/Stanford	–
25	New England	LB Dont’a Hightower/Alabama	from Denver
26	Houston	LB Whitney Mercilus/Illinois	–
27	Cincinnati	G Kevin Zeitler/Wisconsin	from NE via NO
28	Green Bay	LB Nick Perry/Southern California	–
29	Minnesota	S Harrison Smith/Notre Dame	from Baltimore
30	San Francisco	WR A.J. Jenkins/Illinois	–
31	Tampa Bay	RB Doug Martin/Boise State	from Denver via NE
32	NY Giants	RB David Wilson/Virginia Tech	–

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The NFL announced today that 15 teams will receive a total of 32 compensatory draft picks in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Under the rules a team losing more or better compensatory free agents that it acquired in the previous year will receive a compensatory draft pick.  A team can receive as man as 4 compensatory draft picks.

Teams receiving compensatory picks will get them at the end of Round 3-7. Teams with additional picks in the draft are:

• Oakland – #95 (3), #129 (4), #168 (5)
• Minnesota – #128 (4), #134 (4)
• Baltimore – #130 (4), #169 (5)
• NY Giants – #131 (4)
• Green Bay – #132 (4), #133 (4), #241 (7), #243 (7)
• Dallas – #135 (4)
• Indianapolis – #170 (5), #206 (60, #253 (7)
• NY Jets – #202 (6), #203 (6), #242 (7), #244 (7)
• Cleveland – #204 (6), #205 (6), #245 (7), #247 (7)
• Carolina – #207 (6)
• Pittsburgh – #240 (7), #246 (7), #248 (7)
• Atlanta – #249 (7)
• San Diego – #250 (7)
• Buffalo – #251 (7)
• St. Louis – #252 (7)

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The NFL required all 32 teams to make their franchise tag declarations as of 4 p.m. eastern time on Monday afternoon.  Teams are not required to use the franchise tag but this season 21 of the 32 teams did tag a player.  In previous seasons, fewer teams have tagged players, like 2008 only 12 teams decided to employ the franchise tag.

There are two types of franchise tags, an exclusive franchise tag and a non-exclusive franchise tag.  The exclusive tag limits the player to only negotiate with his current team and if no long-term contract is reached the team has to pay him the average of the Top 5 salaries for the current year for the position.

The non-exclusive tag allows the player to negotiate with any team but the price is steep for the new team.  They have to give up 2 number one draft picks by signing another teams franchise player.  If the player can not reach an agreement with another team he can opt to sign the franchise tender giving him a one-year contract at the average of the Top 5 salaries of the previous year for the position.

Players who have received the franchise tag from their teams can continue to negotiate a long-term contract with their team until July 15.

Here are the 21 players who have been given the franchise tag by their current team heading into free agency.

• WR Wes Welker – New England
• K Josh Scobee – Jacksonville
• K Connor Barth – Tampa Bay
• LB Anthony Spencer – Dallas
• K Matt Prater – Denver
• QB Drew Brees – New Orleans
• K Phil Dawson – Cleveland
• K Mike Nugent – Cincinnati
• DE Calais Campbell – Arizona
• RB Matt Forte – Chicago
• RB Ray Rice – Baltimore
• TE Fred Davis – Washington
• CB Brent Grimes – Atlanta
• S Tyvon Branch – Oakland
• WR DeSean Jackson – Philadelphia
• S Dashon Goldson – San Francisco
• S Michael Griffin – Tennessee
• WR Dwayne Bowe – Kansas City
• DE Robert Mathis – Indianapolis
• DE Cliff Avril – Detroit
• P Steve Weatherford – New York Giants

At this time only Brees and Branch are believed to have been given the exclusive franchise player tag.

It is expected that the Patriots will continue to negotiate a long-term deal with Welker.  By giving him the non-exclusive tag it allows Welker to see how other teams view him financially as compared to New England.  As a slot receiver pushing 31 years of age it is not expected to have many teams willing to give him big dollars over a long period.  The Patriots would probably be willing to do 3 years for around $20 million with $12-$14 million in guarantees.

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Photo credit: Getty Images

With the 2011 NFL Season over I decided to take a look at the pre-season predictions I made back in August.

In the beginning we have the award predictions and actual winners followed by my team and playoff predictions and the actual outcomes.

Some I did pretty well with, some not so much.  Take a look, have a laugh and we will do it again next year.

NFL Coach of the Year

Predicted: Mike Munchak, Tennessee Titans

Actual: Jim Harbaugh, San Francisco 49ers

NFL MVP

Predicted: Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons

Actual: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

NFL Offensive Player of the Year

Predicted: Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers

Actual: Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints

NFL Defensive Player of the Year

Predicted: Jerod Mayo, New England Patriots

Actual: Terrell Suggs, Baltimore Ravens

NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year

Predicted: A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals

Actual: Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers

NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year

Predicted: Nick Fairley, Detroit Lions

Actual: Von Miller, Denver Broncos

To continue reading, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Here are my predictions on the left actual outcome on the right:

AFC	Prediction	–	AFC	Actual
East	W-L		East	W-L
New England	12-4		New England	13-3
New York	11-5		New York	8-8
Buffalo	3-13		Miami	6-10
Miami	3-13		Buffalo	6-10
North	W-L		North	W-L
Pittsburgh	12-4		Baltimore	12-4
Baltimore	12-4		Pittsburgh	12-4
Cleveland	5-11		Cincinnati	9-7
Cincinnati	4-12		Cleveland	4-12
South	W-L		South	W-L
Indianapolis	11-5		Houston	10-6
Tennessee	11-5		Tennessee	9-7
Houston	7-9		Jacksonville	5-11
Jacksonville	5-11		Indianapolis	2-14
West	W-L		West	W-L
San Diego	11-5		Denver	8-8
Kansas City	8-8		San Diego	8-8
Denver	8-8		Oakland	8-8
Oakland	7-9		Kansas City	7-9
AFC Playoff Seeds			Actual Seeds
1- New England			1. New England
2- Pittsburgh			2. Baltimore
3- San Diego			3. Houston
4- Indianapolis			4. Denver
5- Baltimore			5. Pittsburgh
6- Tennessee			6. Cincinnati

Predicted AFC Wild Card Weekend

Tennessee at San Diego – Chargers win

Baltimore at Indianapolis – Ravens Win

Byes: New England and Pittsburgh

Actual AFC Wild Card Weekend

Cincinnati at Houston – Texans won

Pittsburgh at Denver – Broncos won

Byes: New England and Baltimore

Predicted AFC Division Weekend

Baltimore at New England – Patriots win

San Diego at Pittsburgh – Chargers win

Actual AFC Division Weekend

Denver at New England – Patriots won

Houston at Baltimore – Ravens won

Predicted AFC Conference Championship

San Diego at New England – Patriots win

Actual AFC Conference Championship

Baltimore at New England- Patriots win

NFC	Prediction		NFC	Actual
East	W-L		East	W-L
Philadelphia	12-4		New York	9-7
Dallas	7-9		Philadelphia	8-8
New York	6-10		Dallas	8-8
Washington	3-13		Washington	5-11
North	W-L		North	W-L
Green Bay	11-5		Green Bay	15-1
Chicago	8-8		Detroit	10-6
Minnesota	7-9		Chicago	8-8
Detroit	6-10		Minnesota	3-13
South	W-L		South	W-L
Atlanta	13-3		New Orleans	13-3
New Orleans	11-5		Atlanta	10-6
Tampa Bay	8-8		Carolina	6-10
Carolina	5-11		Tampa Bay	4-12
West	W-L		West	W-L
Arizona	9-7		San Francisco	13-3
St. Louis	8-8		Arizona	8-8
Seattle	7-9		Seattle	7-9
San Francisco	4-12		St. Louis	2-14
NFC Playoff Seeds			Actual Seeds
1- Atlanta			1. Green Bay
2- Philadelphia			2. San Francisco
3- Green Bay			3. New Orleans
4- Arizona			4. New York
5- New Orleans			5. Atlanta
6- Tampa Bay			6. Detroit

Predicted NFC Wildcard Weekend

Tampa Bay at Green Bay – Packers win

New Orleans at Arizona – Saints win

Byes: Atlanta and Philadelphia

Actual NFC Wild Card Weekend

Detroit at New Orleans – Saints won

Atlanta at New York – Giants won

Byes: Green Bay and San Francisco

Predicted NFC Division Weekend

New Orleans at Atlanta – Falcons win

Green Bay at Philadelphia – Eagles win

Actual NFC Division Weekend

New York at Green Bay – Giants won

New Orleans at San Francisco – Niners won

Predicted NFC Conference Championship

Philadelphia at Atlanta – Falcons win

Actual NFC Conference Championship

New York at San Francisco – Giants won

Predicted Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis IN

Atlanta Falcons vs. New England Patriots

Actual Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis IN

New York Giants vs. New England Patriots

Predicted Super Bowl XLVI Champions

New England Patriots

Actual Super Bowl XLVI Champions

New York Giants

Be sure to get your NY Giants Super Bowl XLVI championship merchandise.

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Photo credit: Reuters Pictures

Congratulations to the New York Giants and it’s fans on their Super Bowl XLVI win over the New England Patriots.

Be sure to get your NY Giants Super Bowl XLVI championship merchandise.

The matchup for Super Bowl XLVI is all set.

The New England Patriots will face the New York Giants in a rematch of Super Bowl XLII. Unfortunately as Patriots fans, we all know what happened that day.

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Here are our picks for who we think will win the 2012 NFL Conference Championships in the AFC and NFC that will be held today.

AFC Championship

Ian – New England Patriots 23 Baltimore Ravens 17

Steve – New England Patriots 31 Baltimore Ravens 21

NFC Championship

Ian – San Francisco 49ers 27 NY Giants 24

Steve – San Francisco 49ers 30 NY Giants 24

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well. Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII.

Here are our predictions for what we think will happen in the 2012 NFL Divisional Playoffs taking place on Saturday and Sunday.

AFC Divisional Games

Ian – New England Patriots 27 Denver Broncos 17

Steve – New England Patriots 35 Denver Broncos 24

Ian – Baltimore Ravens 24 Houston Texans 21

Steve – Houston Texans 24 Baltimore Ravens 20

NFC Divisional Games

Ian – San Francisco 49ers 24 New Orleans Saints 21

Steve – San Francisco 49ers 28 New Orleans Saints 24

Ian – Green Bay Packers 37 NY Giants 27

Steve – NY Giants 34 Green Bay Packers 28 in OT

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well. Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII.

Here are our predictions for what we will think will happen in the NFL Wildcard games that will be played on Saturday and Sunday.

AFC Wildcard games:

Ian – Houston Texans 24 Cincinnati Bengals 17

Steve – Cincinnati Bengals 31 Houston Texans 20

Ian – Denver Broncos 17 Pittsburgh Steelers 13

Steve – Pittsburgh Steelers 27 Denver Broncos 21

NFC Wildcard games:

Ian – New Orleans Saints 45 Detroit Lions 31

Steve – New Orleans Saints 38 Detroit Lions 28

Ian – New York Giants 24 Atlanta Falcons 21

Steve – Atlanta Falcons 27 New York Giants 10

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well. Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem.