With just over a week left until Super Bowl, I think this is a good time to not only look back at the preseason predictions of all the "experts," but look back at mine as well. I will provide you with some Super Bowl perspective soon, but since the NFL loves to delay its biggest game forever and ever, I first want to see how I did at projecting what would happen this season.
AFC East
Over the past decade, this has been pretty much the easiest division to predict, and while I may have gotten it wrong on the bottom, it is almost impossible to get it wrong at the top.
New England Patriots - I said that once Tom Brady returns, the Patriots should be fine, and they will be playing in Super Bowl 51, so that looks pretty good right now. The fact that they went 3-1 in the first four games without Brady just proves how great Bill Belichick and his staff really are, but if you know anything about the NFL, you would have picked the Patriots to win this division, and once again, you would have been correct.
Miami Dolphins - I said that 8-8 was the best they could expect, and the team ended up going 10-6 and making the playoffs. Jay Ajayi went from someone no one knew to an up and coming star, and their receiving corps was very impressive. The defense was better than expected, and they were probably the most surprising playoff team in the league. The quarterback situation is still not exactly stellar though, as Matt Moore ended up starting their lone playoff game instead of Ryan Tannehill. Ajayi looks like he could be a stud at running back, and they have a few other very nice pieces, but I still question whoever they have at QB going forward.
Buffalo Bills - At best, I had them sneaking into the playoffs, and they ended up finishing 7-9. I had serious questions about Tyrod Taylor at quarterback, and I still have serious questions about that position going forward. Head coach Rex Ryan has been fired, and while I understand the perspective of some people saying that a head coach should be given a few years to install his own system, I also think that we have seen enough from Ryan (as head coach of the Bills and Jets) to learn that he is nothing more than a very good defensive coordinator.
They lost Shaq Lawson and Reggie Ragland to injury, so the defense was not as good as expected, but until this team finds a quarterback, they will have a very tough time competing for a playoff spot in the AFC.
New York Jets - Maybe it is because I live in New York, maybe it is because of the relative success Ryan Fitzpatrick had last year, or maybe it is just because I am crazy, but I expected far too much from the Jets this past season.
The quarterback position was absolutely awful, the offensive weapons did not live up to the success of last season, and the defense came nowhere close to meeting the lofty expectations. Ryan Fitzpatrick was arguably the worst quarterback in the NFL this past season, while Geno Smith and Bryce Petty were not much better. I would still give Petty a shot to start next season, but I think they should already be looking at Christian Hackenberg as a potential starter. It was a mess of a season for the Jets, as they finished 5-11, and they have a whole lot of rebuilding to do.
AFC North
Much like the AFC East, the AFC North has been somewhat predictable over the past few seasons. It might be trendy to pick the Ravens or the Bengals, and they have certainly had some success in recent years, but the best team in this division has been, is, and likely will continue to be the Pittsburgh Steelers. The other team? The Cleveland Browns? Well, they are absolutely dreadful.
Pittsburgh Steelers - I had this team winning one playoff game, and I hit it right on the head with that one! I also said the strength of the team was the offense and the weakness was the defense, and while I hit it on the head again there, I don't think that saying that prior to the season was actually any kind of outrageous suggestion, because it was pretty obvious where this team stood.
Pittsburgh won the division and then lost to New England in the AFC Championship game, and the reason why was just what myself and pretty much everyone else predicted. The offensive line is very good, but obviously the stars of the team are Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and Le'Veon Bell.
The front seven on the defensive side of the ball is pretty good, as Ryan Shazier and Bud Dupree made their names known over the course of this season, but they still need help in the secondary. We are still a few months away from the draft and the offseason officially starting, but Pittsburgh was on everyone's radar this year, and that should be no different when training camp opens next season.
Baltimore Ravens - I said at best this team could be 8-8, and that is exactly how they finished. Baltimore had multiple aging veterans that I was unsure about, and they also had a lot of other spots that were being filled by unproven young players. That mixture brought in a mixed bag of results, but I think they did find a few nice pieces for the future. Ronnie Stanley did a pretty nice job stepping in to a role on the offensive line, and Kenneth Dixon came in as a fourth round pick and seems like he will be a nice piece coming out of the backfield going into the 2017 season.
In what was most likely a completely under the radar move though, young linebacker Zachary Orr announced his retirement only about a week ago. He had a spectacular season, and was the best player on Baltimore's defense, so that is going to be a big blow to the team. They have a lot of other young options at that position, but when Orr announced his retirement, it certainly must have been a huge blow for the team.
Going forward, I think the Ravens do have some good things on the horizon, but they do definitely have some areas that need serious improvement as well.
Cleveland Browns - I had this team finishing last in the division before the season began, and I honestly don't know how anyone could have figured differently. I said at worst, they will be picking first overall in the upcoming draft, and that is exactly what is going to happen.
Pretty much everything was a mess on this roster this season, and it began at the quarterback position. It seems as though Robert Griffin III has locked himself into the slot of shooting star quarterback, as he got hurt early in the season once again, and I do not think he has a starting job anywhere in the NFL coming any time soon. Cody Kessler started a bunch of games, and the man I believe to be the most worthless backup QB in the entire NFL, Josh McCown, once again failed miserably just like he always does.
The Browns have endless amounts of needs, and with the first pick in this draft, I think they should take Myles Garrett because he is the best player available and they could use any talent they can get, no matter the position. Without a quarterback, and without a whole lot of other things, the Browns are still a long way from getting anywhere close to the playoffs, but if they can even have a mediocre draft this April, it will be a good start.
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