NFL (2024 Season)

[JayhawkCO]

I hope Love has a good season as the Packers starting quarterback. I'd sure hate for him to turn out to be a bust.

As a Vikings fan, my feelings could not be more opposite.

Same goes for Bears and Lions fans.  Love so far shows me that he's the Second Coming of Dak Prescott, not Brett Favre or Aaron Rodgers.

Honestly, I think you're being quite generous. I'm thinking second coming of Akili Smith.

[thspfc]

I hope Love has a good season as the Packers starting quarterback. I'd sure hate for him to turn out to be a bust.

As a Vikings fan, my feelings could not be more opposite.

Same goes for Bears and Lions fans.  Love so far shows me that he's the Second Coming of Dak Prescott, not Brett Favre or Aaron Rodgers.

Second coming of Dak Prescott would be an excellent outcome considering Prescott is the longest-tenured starting quarterback in the league.

It's silly how people try to insult QBs by comparing them to Dak (actually, Kirk Cousins is an even more commonly used one). Green Bay would be elated to have a decade or so of stable, above-average QB play ahead of them, because at least 60% of the teams are at best unsure about what they have, and at worst know for sure they don't have it.

[Alps]

I hope Love has a good season as the Packers starting quarterback. I'd sure hate for him to turn out to be a bust.

As a Vikings fan, my feelings could not be more opposite.

Same goes for Bears and Lions fans.  Love so far shows me that he's the Second Coming of Dak Prescott, not Brett Favre or Aaron Rodgers.

Second coming of Dak Prescott would be an excellent outcome considering Prescott is the longest-tenured starting quarterback in the league.

It's silly how people try to insult QBs by comparing them to Dak (actually, Kirk Cousins is an even more commonly used one). Green Bay would be elated to have a decade or so of stable, above-average QB play ahead of them, because at least 60% of the teams are at best unsure about what they have, and at worst know for sure they don't have it.

Green Bay was really lucky to have a great QB follow a great QB. I'm glad that didn't happen to the cheaters out east.

[ET21]

I hope Love has a good season as the Packers starting quarterback. I'd sure hate for him to turn out to be a bust.

Nah its time for another team to own the division for a few years

[jgb191]

I guess I'll go ahead and take a stab at guessing the playoff teams this January:


AFC East:  Buffalo
AFC North:  Baltimore
AFC South: Jacksonville
AFC West:  Kansas City

NFC East:  Philadelphia
NFC North:  Detroit
NFC South:  New Orleans
NFC West:  San Francsico

AFC Wild Cards:  Cincinnati, San Diego, Miami
NFC Wild Cards:  Seattle, Minnesota, NY Giants

Conference Championship (anticipated results):
San Francisco over Philadelphia
Jacksonville at Kansas City:  hard to predict this one -- too close to call.  Maybe KC by a field-goal I guess

I'll stand by my original prediction of doubling up from last year with six or seven wins for my Houston Texans this year.

[webny99]

I'm noticing a lot of chalk amongst those projecting division winners, especially in the AFC, where the Chiefs, Bengals, Bills and Jaguars are all expected to roll to division titles. But I expect at least one of the non-Jaguars heavyweights will not win their division, and I would pick the Chiefs first if forced to pick. There's just a little too much consensus around the Chiefs, even for how good they've been, and that has me wary, especially with the Broncos as a candidate for major improvement (remember, minor improvement would have easily been enough to sweep the Chiefs last season, even with how disastrous they were), and the Chargers lying in the weeds if they could ever stay healthy for a full season.

The NFC seems like a coin-flip or better to have no repeat division winners. The South will very likely have a new champion, the North seems probable (Lions or Packers>Vikings), and East and West have clear favorites in the Eagles and 49ers but not overwhelmingly so; I could certainly see the Cowboys or Seahawks taking their respective division, and I would even put the Commanders and Giants on the fringe of division contention (but not the Rams, and certainly not the Cardinals).

Overall, my sense of which teams should be "forked" pre-season have not changed much. It's the Rams, Cardinals, and non-Jaguars AFC South teams, with the Bears, Bucs, and Panthers right on the fringe. The other 24 teams have a realistic shot at a playoff berth.

[thspfc]

I'll fork the Texans, Colts, Raiders, Commanders, Bears, Falcons, Buccaneers, Cardinals, and Giants. Tempted to get rid of the Titans and Panthers as well, but only leaving one unforked team in a division makes me nervous.

[Henry]

I see the forking has begun before the first snap is played!

For me, it'll be the Bears, Broncos, Browns, Buccaneers, Cardinals, Colts, Commanders, Cowboys, Falcons, Jets, Panthers, Patriots, Raiders, Rams, Ravens and Texans.

Tempted to get rid of the Titans and Panthers as well, but only leaving one unforked team in a division makes me nervous.

I know what you mean, but sometimes it can be an unavoidable fate.

[jlam]

Playoff time

NFC North:
y - Vikings (12-5)
x - Lions (10-7)
Packers (6-11)
Bears (5-12)

NFC East:
z - Eagles (13-4)
x - Cowboys (11-6)
x - Giants (9-8)
Commanders (8-9)

NFC South:
y - Saints (10-7)
Falcons (8-9)
Panthers (5-12)
Buccaneers (4-13)

NFC West:
y - 49ers (13-4)
Seahawks (8-9)
Rams (7-10)
Cardinals (3-14)

AFC North:
y - Bengals (13-4)
x - Ravens (11-6)
Steelers (7-10)
Browns (5-12)

AFC East:
y - Bills (12-5)
x - Jets (10-7)
Dolphins (8-9)
Patriots (7-10)

AFC South:
x - Jaguars (12-5)
Titans (7-10)
Texans (6-11)
Colts (4-13)

AFC West:
z - Chiefs (14-3)
x - Chargers (10-7)
Broncos (9-8)
Raiders (5-12)

NFC

• Eagles
• 49ers
• Vikings
• Saints
• Cowboys
• Lions
• Giants

Wild Card

2. 49ers over 7. Giants
3. Vikings over 6. Lions
5. Cowboys over 4. Saints

Divisional

5. Cowboys over 1. Eagles
2. 49ers over 3. Vikings

Conference

2. 49ers over 5. Cowboys

AFC

• Chiefs
• Bengals
• Bills
• Jaguars
• Ravens
• Chargers
• Jets

Wild Card

2. Bengals over 7. Jets
3. Bills over 6. Chargers
4. Jaguars over 5. Ravens

Divisional

4. Jaguars over 1. Chiefs (there, I said it)
2. Bengals over 3. Bills

Conference

2. Bengals over 4. Jaguars

Super Bowl

2. Bengals over 2. 49ers

Forks

Cardinals
Colts
Buccaneers
Texans
Raiders
Panthers
Bears
Packers

Of course, everything rests on Ja'Marr's health and how the refs treat the Chiefs in the playoffs.

[jakeroot]

Dolphins kickoff is at 5:25am Monday morning, Sep 11, where I am. While I have the day off, I will certainly not be sleeping in.

[NWI_Irish96]

NFL Predictions and Forks:

AFC:
1 - Chiefs
2 - Bengals
3 - Bills
4 - Jaguars
5 - Ravens
6 - Jets
7 - Chargers

NFC:
1 - Eagles
2 - 49ers
3 - Vikings
4 - Saints
5 - Cowboys
6 - Lions
7 - Seahawks

Forks: Patriots, Colts, Texans, Raiders, Commanders, Packers, Bucs, Cardinals

[JayhawkCO]

If we're still doing the forking competition, I'll submit mine:

Cardinals, Packers, Texans. Yeah, that's it. AFC is too strong and NFC is so weak that anyone could make it.

[Hunty2022]

I'll put my 6 forks in:

Bears
Bucs
Cardinals
Colts
Packers
Texans

[thspfc]

Everyone get your first forks in before kickoff tomorrow night.

To review, to "fork"  a team is to say that they're not going to make the playoffs. The amount of points you get from forking a team decreases as the season goes on. There's a 30-point penalty for an incorrect fork (as in, one of your forked teams made the playoffs). Last year the point values were as follows:

Before week 1: 20
Weeks 1-4: 15
Weeks 5-8: 13
Weeks 9-13: 10
Weeks 14-16: 5

We could keep that the same or we could change it. I'll propose two other options:

Weeks 1-2: 18
3-4: 16
5-6: 14
7-8: 12
9-10: 10
11-12: 8
13-14: 6
15-16: 4

Weeks 1-3: 18
4-6: 15
7-9: 12
10-12: 9
13-16: 6

The official cutoff for each period being the following Thursday night game (for example, for the list above, week 3, and therefore the 18-point period, would end with the kickoff of the week 4 Thursday game).

Also last year we didn't clearly establish how the 30 points would be deducted - would it replace the points gained from the fork (making an incorrect 20-pt fork worth -30), or just subtracted from them (making an incorrect 20-pt fork worth -10?) We ended up choosing the latter.

[Hunty2022]

I'll also put in my season standings predictions and playoff spots:

NFC East:

z Eagles - 13-4
x Cowboys - 12-5
x Giants - 10-7
Commanders - 7-10

NFC West:

y 49ers - 13-4
Seahawks - 10-7
Rams - 6-11
Cardinals - 3-14

NFC North:

y Vikings - 11-6
x Lions - 10-7
Packers - 5-12
Bears - 4-13

NFC South:

y Saints - 10-7
Falcons - 8-9
Panthers - 6-11
Buccaneers- 4-13

AFC East:

y Bills - 14-3
x Jets - 10-7
Dolphins - 8-9
Patriots - 8-9

AFC West:

z Chiefs - 14-3
x Chargers - 9-8
Raiders - 7-10
Broncos - 6-11

AFC North:

y Bengals - 12-5
x Ravens - 11-6
Steelers - 7-10
Browns - 6-11

AFC South:

y Jaguars - 12-5
Titans - 8-9
Texans - 5-12
Colts - 3-14

PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS:

Seeding:

AFC

1. Chiefs
2. Bills
3. Bengals
4. Jaguars
5. Ravens
6. Jets
7. Chargers

NFC

1. Eagles
2. 49ers
3. Vikings
4. Saints
5. Cowboys
6. Giants
7. Lions

Wild Cards:

2. Bills over 7. Chargers
3. Bengals over 6. Jets
5. Ravens over 4. Jaguars

2. 49ers over 7. Lions
6. Giants over 3. Vikings
5. Cowboys over 4. Saints

Divisional Rounds:

1. Chiefs over 5. Ravens
2. Bills over 3. Bengals

1. Eagles over 6. Giants
5. Cowboys over 2. 49ers

Conference Championships;

2. Bills over 1. Chiefs
5. Cowboys over 1. Eagles

SUPER BOWL LVIII:

Bills over Cowboys.

Finally getting their first Super Bowl win after 4 straight losses, against the team that gave them 2 of them.

[NWI_Irish96]

Everyone get your first forks in before kickoff tomorrow night.

To review, to "fork"  a team is to say that they're not going to make the playoffs. The amount of points you get from forking a team decreases as the season goes on. There's a 30-point penalty for an incorrect fork (as in, one of your forked teams made the playoffs). Last year the point values were as follows:

Before week 1: 20
Weeks 1-4: 15
Weeks 5-8: 13
Weeks 9-13: 10
Weeks 14-16: 5

We could keep that the same or we could change it. I'll propose two other options:

Weeks 1-2: 18
3-4: 16
5-6: 14
7-8: 12
9-10: 10
11-12: 8
13-14: 6
15-16: 4

Weeks 1-3: 18
4-6: 15
7-9: 12
10-12: 9
13-16: 6

The official cutoff for each period being the following Thursday night game (for example, for the list above, week 3, and therefore the 18-point period, would end with the kickoff of the week 4 Thursday game).

Also last year we didn't clearly establish how the 30 points would be deducted - would it replace the points gained from the fork (making an incorrect 20-pt fork worth -30), or just subtracted from them (making an incorrect 20-pt fork worth -10?) We ended up choosing the latter.

We need to decide soon. I made my picks based on using last year's system. If we change it, I may remove a team or two from my preseason list.

[JayhawkCO]

I also think we should make the incorrect forking penalty harsher.

[thspfc]

Chiefs
Browns
Ravens
Vikings
Panthers
Commanders
Jaguars
49ers
Titans
Raiders
Eagles
Seahawks
Chargers
Packers
Cowboys
Bills

[webny99]

I would support having the -30 points replace the points earned from the fork. This creates a better balance IMO, with higher upside and downside for forking early.

I don't have strong feelings on the point values, but would not be opposed to smoothing out last year's tiers, either using thespfc's suggestion in increments of 3 points, or in increments of 5 points as follows:

Preseason: 25
Wks 1-4: 20
Wks 5-8: 15
Wks 9-12: 10
Wks 13-16: 5

[thspfc]

I would support having the -30 points replace the points earned from the fork. This creates a better balance IMO, with higher upside and downside for forking early.

I don't have strong feelings on the point values, but would not be opposed to smoothing out last year's tiers, either using thespfc's suggestion in increments of 3 pts, or in increments of 5 pts as follows:

Preseason: 25
Wks 1-4: 20
Wks 5-8: 15
Wks 9-12: 10
Wks 13-16: 5

All of that works for me.

[02 Park Ave]

Hey everyone, the 506 is back!

https://506sports.com/

[NWI_Irish96]

Hey everyone, the 506 is back!

https://506sports.com/

I got NFL Sunday Ticket this year.

[JayhawkCO]

So if we're increasing the points you get for forking a team in the preseason, then I have to get riskier with the higher payoff.

I'll take Arizona, Carolina, Green Bay, and Tampa Bay in the NFC.
I'll take Cleveland, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, and New England in the AFC.

[thspfc]

So if we're increasing the points you get for forking a team in the preseason, then I have to get riskier with the higher payoff.

I'll take Arizona, Carolina, Green Bay, and Tampa Bay in the NFC.
I'll take Cleveland, Houston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, and New England in the AFC.

Noted, I'll make the list later. I'm adding the Patriots and Steelers to mine.

[jlam]

Here are my Week 1 score predictions:

Lions 29 @ Chiefs 35

Panthers 17 @ Falcons 19

Texans 20 @ Ravens 33

Bengals 24 @ Browns 23

Jaguars 27 @ Colts 16

Buccaneers 14 @ Vikings 26

Titans 23 @ Saints 21

49ers 28 @ Steelers 23

Cardinals 9 @ Commanders 27

Packers 19 @ Bears 21

Raiders 16 @ Broncos 21

Dolphins 28 @ Chargers 34

Eagles 27 @ Patriots 22

Rams 20 @ Seahawks 27

Cowboys 24 @ Giants 26

Bills 23 @ Jets 20