2014-2015 NFL Season Predictions

AFC

East

1.	New England Patriots	12-4
2.	New York Jets	8-8
3.	Miami Dolphins	8-8
4.	Buffalo Bills	4-12

Everyone knows the Pats are winning this division; it’s been near inevitable each of the last 11 seasons.. Their defense has gotten significantly better over the last couple years, despite their slowly diminishing air attack. The run game has picked up as well, which in turn has taken pressure off of Brady to carry the team. IF the Pats can stay healthy I think they can challenge the Broncos for the AFC title. However, staying healthy has been New England’s biggest concern over the past few seasons.

The rest of the division is still in a rebuilding phase, and I doubt the Jets, Dolphins, or Bills can make a run at a wild card bid.

West

1.	Denver Broncos	13-3
2.	San Diego Chargers	10-6
3.	Kansas City Chiefs	9-7
4.	Oakland Raiders	3-13

The Broncos are still the best team in the AFC, and should easily be crowned AFC West champion for the fourth consecutive season (barring any bizarre setbacks). Oakland will presumably finish last as they’ve made little to no improvements in the offseason. Although the top and bottom spots of the West are nearly set in stone, the future for San Diego and Kansas City is foggy. San Diego has the better offense but Kansas City has the better defense. Anything can happen throughout the course of the year, but I’m giving the edge to San Diego. Rivers is coming off of a strong year and his receiving core is fully healthy for the first time in a long time. The Chiefs have a lot of question marks on offense and I don’t have faith in them to put up points. But anything can happen, and both teams have a chance of ending up with a wild card spot again.

North

1.	Cincinnati Bengals	11-5
2.	Pittsburgh Steelers	7-9
3.	Baltimore Ravens	7-9
4.	Cleveland Browns	4-12

I have confidence that Andy Dalton will lead Cincy to their fourth straight playoff appearance, including their second straight division title. I’m expecting another great season from the Bengals for multiple reasons. They have a great defense, a great passing game and a potentially dangerous ground game. Gio Bernard will carry the load with Jeremy Hill as his backup. They have a chance to be a lethal 1-2 punch and I’m excited to watch them play together. For some reason there are still doubters of Andy Dalton’s ability to lead a team. He clearly has room to improve, but he has already made great strides. I have a good feeling that he’ll win double digit games again, and I’ll even go as far as to say that Cincy has a chance to challenge New England and Denver for a first round bye, although that’s unlikely.

I’m not sold on the Steelers, although some people think they can nab a wild card spot. Their defense hasn’t gotten any better, and they certainly aren’t getting younger. Their run game will basically be put on hold until Le’Veon Bell is eligible to play again, and it will be Big Ben trying to win by himself. Youth, suspensions and injuries hinder the Browns and the Ravens are entering the prime of their rebuilding years. I just don’t see anyone other then the Bengals putting up much of a fight in the North division this year.

South

1.	Indianapolis Colts	11-5
2.	Houston Texans	9-7
3.	Tennessee Titans	6-10
4.	Jacksonville Jaguars	4-12

I have to start by saying that I’m still utterly baffled by Houston’s season last year. They possessed one of the best running backs, one of the best receivers, and one of the best defensive players in the NFL (Foster, Johnson, Watt). And they went 2-14?? Plus they had Matt Schaub who was once a respected quarterback. Everything just fell apart and they all lost confidence in each other. I think they’ll put together a few pieces this year and regain a small portion of their former glory.

Even if the Texans can win some games this year, the Colts will come out on top. They’re clearly the best team in the division and Andrew Luck will only continue to get better. Don’t expect the Titans or Jaguars to come with any surprises either; the South division is Indy all the way.

NFC

East

1.	Philadelphia Eagles	10-6
2.	Dallas Cowboys	8-8
3.	New York Giants	8-8
4.	Washington Redskins	6-10

Once again, anything can happen in the NFC East… The Eagles are definitely the front-runners, but as we’ve seen in years past nothing in this division is guaranteed. The Cowboys probably won’t win the division because they’re the Cowboys and their defense is horrific, however they’ll win enough games to compete. The Redskins are unpredictable due to the fact that their success will revolve around RG3. And the Giants? Well, if the legend is true then the Giants are winning the Super Bowl since they missed the playoffs last year. But if history fails to repeat itself then the Eagles should walk away with the division title this year.

West

1.	Seattle Seahawks	14-2
2.	San Francisco 49ers	11-5
3.	Arizona Cardinals	9-7
4.	St. Louis Rams	4-12

The defending Super Bowl champs will win the West this year, especially since the 49ers are without Navarro Bowman, Aldon Smith and Ray McDonald for significant portions of the season. The defense has definitely taken a hit with the suspensions and injuries but they have enough depth to survive. The Cardinals have gotten significantly better since Carson Palmer arrived. They’ve added receiving talents, a decent run game, and of course their lethal secondary headed by Patrick Peterson. Both the Cardinals and 49ers will be pushing for a wild card spot and it will certainly be interesting to watch the head-to-head matchups unfold.

North

1.	Green Bay Packers	12-4
2.	Chicago Bears	9-7
3.	Detroit Lions	8-8
4.	Minnesota Vikings	6-10

Green Bay should easily win this division. The Bears have a poor defense, the Lions screw themselves over, and the Vikings have nothing going in the right direction except Adrian Peterson. The Bears have a shot to win double-digit games thanks to their prolific offense, but it comes down to whether or not they can get stops. Usually their defense is their downfall, but Captain Cutler is known to shatter his own dreams as well. I’d say the Lions could win 10 games but I know better than that; they’ll find a way to lose at least three close ones, resulting in them missing the playoffs. With that being said I’ll be shocked if the Packers don’t win the North.

South

1.	New Orleans Saints	12-4
2.	Carolina Panthers	10-6
3.	Atlanta Falcons	6-10
4.	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	4-12

Obviously the Saints are the best team in the South with the Panthers trailing close behind them. Carolina has the ability to give any team a run for their money, but Drew Brees proves time and time again that he runs an offense that is difficult to put down. The Saints are contenders nearly every year, and I don’t expect that to change. The one thing I’ll add is that the Falcons, like the Texans, are rather unpredictable. They recorded a worse record than anyone could have imagined last year, and there was no excuse for it. Again, like Houston, they could win as many as 10 games and as few as 2 games. I have no idea what kind of Atlanta team we’ll see this year, but they certainly won’t be able to top New Orleans.

FIFA World Cup 2014: Group Round Predictions

Group A

1) Brazil - 9 points

2) Cameroon - 4 points

3) Croatia – 2 points

4) Mexico – 1 point

Brazil obviously is winning this group, and most likely winning each game with ease. After Brazil, there’s not really a clear second team. Mexico looked awful in the World Cup qualifying, but have potential to make it out of group play. Croatia is not very promising in my eyes. They have a basic attack and a weak back line, with the only consistent position being midfield. Cameroon has the best chance to advance (excluding Brazil) despite having a rather weak roster. They have some impressive results as of late, such as their 2-2 draw with Germany and 1-0 win over Moldova. They’re playing their best football right now and I have them winning over Mexico to advance.

Group B

1) Spain – 7 points

2) Netherlands – 5 points

3) Chile – 4 points

4) Australia – 0 points

First off let’s all realize that Australia will not win a game. I don’t think they have a chance with these teams. I have Spain beating Chile in addition to Australia, and drawing with Netherlands to take the top spot. There’s way too much talent on that roster to not come out with at least a couple victories. I also think the Netherlands will be able to hold off Chile in the final game of their group play to advance. I doubt Chile will be able to hold off Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben for 90 minutes.

Group C

1) Colombia – 7 points

2) Ivory Coast – 5 points

3) Japan – 4 points

4) Greece – 0 points

This is one of my most anticipated groups since there’s no clarity as to what will happen. Colombia is going to be the best team, and Greece is the weakest of the bunch. But anything can happen… Japan has a strong midfield and a decent attack and defense. If they get their chances they’ll capitalize, and they can just as easily come out of group play as Ivory Coast. However I have Ivory Coast moving on alongside Colombia due to their speed and athleticism. Their defense is lacking but one thing is for sure, they will get their scoring chances. Lastly, don’t sleep on Greece; they may be able to scrounge out a win and give themselves a chance of advancing.

Group D

1) Uruguay – 7 points

2) Italy – 6 points

3) England – 4 points

4) Costa Rica – 0 points

I feel bad for Costa Rica; they face such a tough draw. Anything can happen with the other three teams, so no prediction is safe. I have all 3 teams beating Costa Rica. Other than that, I have Italy beating England and losing to Uruguay, and Uruguay drawing with England. Now, this is all assuming that Louis Suarez is healthy. If he isn’t healthy, I’ll take Italy and England to advance in this ridiculously competitive group.

Group E

1) France – 9 points

2) Ecuador – 4 points

3) Switzerland – 2 points

4) Honduras – 1 point

France is going to cruise, drawing perhaps the weakest pool in the tournament. Honduras will prove limited competition to even Switzerland, and Ecuador is the next best team with Manchester United’s Antonio Valencia on their side. I think Ecuador will squeak their way through group play, but don’t expect much more after that, since they don't play nearly as well away from home.

Group F

1) Argentina – 9 points

2) Nigeria – 6 points

3) Bosnia-Herzegovina – 3 points

4) Iran – 0 points

Iran doesn’t exactly pose a big threat to these three teams, and no one poses much of a threat to Argentina. They should easily walk their way to 9 points and a bid to the knockout round. Now the one game in this group that should be interesting is Nigeria and Bosnia-Herzegovina. I’m really looking forward to this matchup. Both teams are dangerous, despite being inconsistent. Both squads have a handful of exciting players, and I feel as if this will be one of the more exciting matches in all of group play. These two play on June 21, at 6:00 pm. I suggest you all tune in, and I think Nigeria will come out on top in a tight contest.

Group G

1) Germany – 7 points

2) Ghana – 4 points

3) Portugal – 2 points

4) United States – 1 point

Well folks, here it is. This is one of the most competitive groups I’ve ever been around to see, with 4 quality clubs, and a few are even capable of dealing severe damage in the knockout round. Unfortunately, the United States got the toughest draw in the tournament. Germany is a team that’s capable of winning it all. Portugal has Ronaldo, and if you have Ronaldo you have a great chance of going far. Then there’s Ghana, who’s beaten the US quite frequently. I think Germany will come out on top, with wins over the US and Ghana, and a draw with Portugal. I think Ghana will beat the US once again, and draw with Portugal. With all things considered, I’m not sure of these picks at all. Any of these teams can win on any given day, even the US (although I highly doubt it). Anything can happen with this group. I do believe that Germany and Ghana will advance, but how they do so is unclear to me. Now I’ll admit, there’s a slight bias in my belief that Ghana will advance rather than Portugal, I just really like them, and I think they should have advanced even further in 2010. With that being said, Ghana has a loaded roster, headed by Asamoah Gyan up front, with an excellent supporting cast of Michal Essien and Sully Muntari in the midfield. Also look for a monster performance from Kevin Prince-Boateng. As long as they capitalize on chances (and not miss penalty kicks, cough-cough Asamoah Gyan, cough-cough) they will be fine.

Group H

1) Belgium – 7 points

2) South Korea – 6 points

3) Russia – 4 points

4) Algeria – 0 points

Finally, Group H. I honestly don’t know a whole lot here. I’m not familiar with many of these teams. However I enough to say that Belgium will come out on top, and Algeria has the smallest chance of advancing. Vincent Kompany is sick, and I think he and Eden Hazard is what separates Belgium from the rest of the group. I think they’ll beat South Korea and Algeria. Another thing that I know is that whenever I see South Korea play, they gut it out. They just stick around and wait for their chances, and have a well-balanced squad. They are also coached well, which is big for them since they aren’t the most skilled squad that you’ll find. Even with a loss to Belgium, I think they’ll advance a huge win over Russia to start their tournament, and a win over Algeria as well.  Russia will pick up a win over Algeria, but that will be it for them. I really like South Korea advancing for the second straight world cup.

NBA Finals: Game 2 Recap

Miami Heat fans need to be scared, along with the team itself. The San Antonio Spurs played bad basketball for the final 3 quarters of that game, and still should have won. Even with LeBron’s dominating performance, and a stellar game coming from Chris Bosh, the Heat only won by 2. For anyone who was watching, the Heat weren’t making many mistakes. The Spurs were making a lot of them, and I’m not talking about turnovers. The Spurs shot 44% from the field and 60% from the line, compared to Miami shooting 53% from the field and 76% from the line.

First issue with game 2 was the Spurs offense. In the first and third quarters they were doing what they do best; move the ball. Tony Parker found every opening there was to find in the first quarter, and all 5 players were playing smart. They were staying spaced, dumping it into the post, and displaying that unbelievable interior passing of theirs. When the post wasn’t open, they would kick it out for a jumper. For the second and fourth quarter, they were forcing mid-range jumpers with 15 seconds left on the shot clock. They weren’t running through their motions, and it allowed LeBron to get going. You cannot play your game for 24 minutes and hope to beat the Heat. Not with LeBron playing like he was last night.

He went off in the third quarter. After relentlessly pounding the paint in the first half, he started burying jumpers on every possession. It was at that “Give LeBron the ball and let him do whatever he wants” point. And when LeBron gets in those grooves, you can’t hope to prevent it, or even contain it. You kind of just have to wait until he cools off, and do your best to match it on the other end. You can’t double because the other four players are perfectly spaced on the court, and LeBron would find the open man for a wide-open three.

Now let’s talk about Chris Bosh. He was the key to success, in my mind, for Miami last night. He started off shooting 3-3 from the field; all on drives to the basket. No jumpers. He was being assertive, rather than waiting for a kick-out pass from Wade or LeBron for a jump shot, which is what he did all game 1. He was still staying spaced, allowing for Wade and LeBron to drive, but he wasn’t taking stupid shots. He didn’t take a jumper until late in the second half, and he eventually hit that huge 3 to give the Heat a two point lead with 1:17 to go. Then he sealed the deal on a beautiful bounce pass to Wade with 9 seconds to go to put them up 5. He finished with 18 points, 3 boards, 2 dimes, a steal and a block. His numbers weren’t all that impressive, but as we all know numbers don’t mean everything.

So the Heat outplayed the Spurs, we know that. But what I also know is that the officiating was horrific. All game it was brutal, and it showed down the stretch. I’m honestly tempted to go back and watch the game and document how many bad calls there were, for both sides. I’m fine with letting it be physical early on, to get the game going. But for God sakes the refs were still calling it the same way in the third quarter! Duncan and Splitter were getting beaten up down low, and LeBron actually got fouled on a handful of shots and it wasn’t called. And even though each team recorded 20 fouls, there should have been a whole lot more on Miami, and a little bit less on San Antonio.

The foul on a three point shot has been called over 60 times in these playoffs, an NBA record. Danny Green wasn’t allowed to land on two of his threes last night, yet nothing was called. It would only be two free throws, but it would have meant Rashard Lewis would have finished with 5 fouls rather than 3. Another play that stuck out to me was the Kawhi Leonard “charge” on LeBron. First off, Lewis got Leonard on the arm before the charging call. Basically, Lewis shouldn’t have been on the court for nearly as long, and that would have hurt. Now to the charging part. Leonard was already airborne before LeBron slid in and got set. Therefore it’s impossible for that to have been a charge, and either the officials somehow didn’t see it, or they were being generous to LeBron. Either way, it kept Lewis on the court and it took Kawhi Leonard off, and it was in the third quarter. Here’s yet another example of how the refs helped the Heat. Danny Green was straight up defending Dwyane Wade. He jumped. Wade pump faked. Green came down, still straight as could be. He landed, and Wade threw his body sideways. Green, still straight up, absorbed the contact, stumbled backwards, and Wade threw a wild shot up. It resulted in two made free throws. The fact that Wade, who’s such a great player, needs to resort to cheap plays like this makes me sick, especially since he could have easily dribbled through to the paint.

Another Dwyane Wade call that I freaked out about was the Ginobili “foul.” Wade caught the ball 5 feet outside the arc and Ginobili took a swipe at the ball. He missed completely, yet Dwyane Wade jolted his head back and stumbled a bit. Those damn invisible force fields… The refs called a foul on Ginobili, and it forced Ginobili to sit down with 3 fouls. Ginobili, by the way, just scored 7 points prior to that foul.

All of those calls were pivotal, but they don’t compare to the one play that changed the game. This play, oddly enough was called correctly. The play I’m referring to is the Mario Chalmers baseline drive, where he elbowed Tony Parker in the ribs (Just for the record, I have always strongly disliked Chalmers). I am still baffled as to how a player can be dribbling full speed, looking for an outlet, and stop to think to throw an intentional elbow into the side of another player. Like seriously? People wonder why I don’t respect Chalmers game; it’s because of plays like these (I applaud the refs for originally calling it a flagrant just so they could review it, in order to get the call right). What made me even angrier was watching Chalmers run his foolish mouth to the official after the review! They made the right call at first, reviewed it, saw you throw a clear elbow that wasn’t even close to being a basketball move, and you’re still talking? It’s just unbelievable to me. Anyways, Tony Parker clearly wasn’t right after that. For the final 6 minutes he was slower, and settled for jumpers rather than attacking the basket like he normally does. Once he missed those free throws short I knew he was still feeling it, and so did Pop as he took him out. Trust me from experience; blows to the ribs are crippling, and tough to take your mind off.

Duncan missed two free throws after Parker, and that led to a LeBron three-pointer, and the Spurs didn’t look the same since, getting outscored 13-9 from that point on, and that includes the garbage three from Ginobili at the very end of the game.

Basically, that series of events with Chalmers and Parker is what turned the game around, and I give credit to the Heat for capitalizing. And I’m not going to be ignorant and say the Spurs lost because of officiating, because there were bad calls both ways, and because I know more than enough to say with confidence that the Spurs didn’t play well enough to win. The Heat played a great game, but they need to be wary. Only winning by two points is scary considering that the Spurs only played 24 minutes of quality basketball.

Mark my words; the Spurs will not play that bad again, and Heat will have to play a whole lot better if they want to win this series.