What makes the NFL so special? Do people just like watching others violently attack each other in the name of sports? Is is the “tough guy” nature of the sport?
What makes the NFL so special to me is the element of surprise. Every season, something happens that nobody could have predicted. Whether that means a team nobody thought was good performs at a high level, a highly touted team crumbles or a star player gets in trouble, you can expect tons of drama every season in this league.
This year has been extremely surprising. Not just with teams, but with players missing.
Start with superstars like Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, Josh Gordon and Greg Hardy missing from play this year due to the trouble each of them got into off the field.
Then there are the surprise teams. Who would have seen the Dallas Cowboys as one of the top teams in the NFC (besides me since I am an avid Cowboys fan)?
Who would have thought that it wouldn’t be the Seattle Seahawks on top of the NFC West, or the San Francisco 49ers?
Who is leading the NFL in rushing? Adrian Peterson? Nope. Jamaal Charles? Nope. Arian Foster? Nope. Lesean McCoy? Nope. Demarco Murray leads the NFL in rushing and is on pace to surpass Eric Dickerson for most rushing yards in a season.
All of this taken into consideration, lets get into some predictions.
1. Arizona Cardinals
2. Green Bay Packers
3. Dallas Cowboys
4. New Orleans Saints
5. Detroit Lions
6. Seattle Seahawks
This was so hard to predict. This NFL season has so many teams sitting around .500. How could I not include one of the power houses between Seattle and San Francisco? One of these teams most likely will not make the playoffs. The Philadelphia Eagles are a dangerous team as well and they will push to make sure neither Seattle or San Francisco makes the playoffs.
With Nick Foles getting hurt, I can’t see the Eagles beating out the Cowboys for the NFC East. Foles will be out for at least six weeks and this is a major blow for the team. Equally as damaging is losing DeMeco Ryans, who served as their quarterback of the defense. The Eagles also have a very tough schedule to end their season.
1. New England Patriots
2. Denver Broncos
3. Indianapolis Colts
4. Cincinnati Bengals
5. Pittsburgh Steelers
6. San Diego Chargers
The AFC is a lot easier to predict. I struggled picking between the Chargers and the Chiefs for that last spot in the playoffs, but the Chiefs suffered a bunch of crucial injuries and I had the Chargers as a dark horse team for the Super Bowl. The Dolphins and Bills seem like teams that are knocking on the playoff door, but I don’t think they’re ready to make it into the promised land.
NFL Season Awards
Comeback Player of the Year
Rolando McClain – LB, Dallas Cowboys
No, this is not my Cowboys bias. Rolando McClain has to be one of the best stories of this NFL season. When Sean Lee, arguably the best player on the Dallas Cowboys and without a doubt best player on their defense, went down for the season early in OTAs, a lot of people considered that the day the Cowboys season as a whole ended. In came McClain. This was a former top 10 pick from Alabama that got into a lot of personal problems and continued to retire from the NFL. McClain was a player with a ton of demons that has found new life with the Dallas Cowboys and seems happy again. He is the heart beat of this defense and the reason why they have improved from their historically bad season last year. McClain is performing as well as any linebacker in the year and seems the favorite for this award.
Offensive Rookie of the Year
Sammy Watkins – WR, Buffalo Bills
Watkins has been everything we thought he’d be already. If you read my NFL draft articles last year, I saw Watkins as an elite level WR talent and someone comparable to highly touted WRs Julio Jones and A.J. Green. Watkins saw his play increase when Kyle Orton stepped in as the starting QB for the Bills. Orton possesses the arm strength to extend the field and Watkins has that type of speed and ability to chase down deep balls. Watkins has been really fun to watch being able to catch deep passes as well as taking short slants to the house.
Defensive Rookie of the Year
C.J. Mosley – LB, Baltimore Ravens
I really wanted to go with Anthony Barr or Khalil Mack with this pick, but Mosley has been too consistent. This guy doesn’t play like a rookie. There are hardly ever any mistakes by this kid. A lot of rookies tend to make more good plays than bad but still have their blunders. Mosley looks the part of a veteran. He’s always in the right spot, helps his teammates line up in the right spots and ranks toward the top of the league in tackles. The Ravens really got a stud here.
Coach of the Year
Bruce Arians – Arizona Cardinals
This one is a landslide. Bruce Arians deserves this award more than anyone in recent history. What this guy did for the Colts stepping in for Chuck Pagano when he was fighting cancer, and now what he is doing as a head coach for the Arizona Cardinals makes me wonder if there are many coaches in this league that are better than him. Arians has the Cardinals playing as one of the top teams of the NFL. He brings a nastiness to the team and has the respect of each and every player in that locker room. What he really does best is diagnose what every player’s strength is and cater to their strength. The Cardinals are looking like a potential Super Bowl team and a lot of that lands on Arians’ shoulders.
Defensive Player of the Year
J.J. Watt – OLB, Houston Texans
Go ahead and try to pick a different player. This is literally impossible to argue any other way. Watt is playing out of his mind. He is the entire Houston Texans defense, maybe even the entire Houston Texans team. Watt is disruptive on almost every single play. He is constantly around the quarterback and not only gets sacks but huge plays. Watt has a knack for forcing fumbles, batting passes down at the line of scrimmage and jumping screens to get interceptions. When Watt does get his hands on the ball…look out. Watt is explosive enough to get touchdowns off of turnovers. The Texans have even used Watt on offense at times.
Offensive Player of the Year
Demarco Murray – RB, Dallas Cowboys
If Murray goes on to break Eric Dickerson’s record, we may see him win the MVP. However, I think he will fall just short just like Adrian Peterson did in his MVP season. Murray deserves one of the two awards between MVP and Offensive Player of the Year. What he has done this year for the Dallas Cowboys has been amazing. He has been a true workhorse running back and is constantly controlling the clock for the Cowboys and fighting for key yardage. One could argue that the extremely talented Cowboys offensive line is responsible for Murray’s success, but the numbers are there so he deserves to be praised for those numbers.
Most Valuable Player
Andrew Luck – QB, Indianapolis Colts
There is a good chance that my MVP and OPOY are swapped in reality. Luck has been such an outstanding player this year. He is throwing the ball all over the field and putting up the gaudiest of statistics. Luck has a good shot at passing Peyton Manning’s single season passing record this year. The one thing that makes me think Murray and Luck could be swapped is that Luck does throw his interceptions. The Colts are playing some great football and the arm of Andrew Luck should carry this team right into the playoffs which makes it very likely to say that this man is the most valuable player in the NFL.
Super Bowl Prediction
I predicted the Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots would be the Super Bowl teams before this season has started. Half-way into the season, I haven’t seen enough to change my prediction. The Patriots suffered some key injuries which make me worry, but I am not going to count this team out. Brady is playing angry after some though he should be benched. Rob Gronkowski is back to his best tight end in the league form. The Patriot defense is much improved. The Green Bay Packers have an improved defense and some contributing rookies. When Aaron Rodgers is throwing the ball you always have a chance and with those receivers and Eddie Lacy carrying the ball, that offense is deadly. The poor offensive line of the Packers is the only thing that makes me worry about them. I think these are two powerhouse teams with outstanding quarterbacks and improved defenses that put them over the top.
