Week 4 Predictions

By: Eric Brill

Last Week: 7-9

Season: 25-23

Cleveland Browns @ Baltimore Ravens: I'll hope against hope that the Browns will win, but I doubt it.

Ravens: 34

Browns: 17

Carolina Panthers @ Atlanta Falcons: This has the makings of a trap game for Atlanta.

Falcons: 27

Panthers: 24

New England Patriots @ Buffalo Bills: Wouldn't it be wonderful if New England somehow dropped three straight?

Patriots: 41

Bills: 24

Minnesota Vikings @ Detroit Lions: Starting to really like Minnesota as a sleeper team.

Vikings: 24

Lions: 20

Tennessee Titans @ Houston Texans: Every team that was ranked #1 in the power rankings, has gone on to lose their next game. (Packers, Patriots, 49ers, now the Texans?)

Titans: 30

Texans: 16

San Diego Chargers @ Kansas City Chiefs: Whatta ya know? Jamaal Charles is still incredible.

Chiefs: 26

Chargers: 23

San Francisco 49ers @ New York Jets: Moment of truth. I've been predicting this as the week Tebow takes over as the Jets starter since the schedule came out. The questions is, will there be Tebow magic?

49ers: 20

Jets: 17

Seattle Seahawks @ St. Louis Rams: Seattle all but affirmed my opinion that they have the best defense in football.

Seahawks: 24

Rams: 10

Miami Dolphins @ Arizona Cardinals: Absolutely love Ray Horton's defense. 

Cardinals: 17

Dolphins: 13

Oakland Raiders @ Denver Broncos: Do you honestly think that Peyton is going to start 1-3?

Broncos: 28

Raiders: 19

Cincinnati Bengals @ Jacksonville Jaguars: Closer call than the analysts will give it credit for.

Bengals: 23

Jaguars: 22

New Orleans Saints @ Green Bay Packers: This is the toughest call of the week. Could the Saints honestly start 0-4? Could the Packers honestly start 1-3? I've picked both to win every week but somehow the thought of Drew Brees letting New Orleans fall this far is impossible to me.

Saints: 34

Packers: 31

Washington Redskins @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers: I love RG3, not the Redskins.

Buccaneers: 30

Redskins: 24

New York Giants @ Philadelphia Eagles: Philadelphia should be 0-3. Their offense is a disaster and they're starting to realize that 2010 was the fluke, not 2011.

Giants: 38

Eagles: 24

Chicago Bears @ Dallas Cowboys: The Bears offense has played poorly the last two weeks. Hopefully the return of Forte will remedy the situation but it depends on whether Romo plays like week one or the last two.

Bears: 31

Cowboys: 23

Week 3 Predictions

By: Eric Brill

Last Week: 7-9
Season: 18-14

New York Giants (1-1) @ Carolina Panthers (1-1): Should be a nice duel between the ultimate in overrated and underrated quarterbacks.

Giants: 28
Panthers: 27

St. Louis Rams (1-1) @ Chicago Bears (1-1): Is it news to anyone that Jay Cutler is kind of a dick?

Bears: 24
Rams: 19

Buffalo Bills (1-1) @ Cleveland Browns (0-2): Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me... Oh wait, that applies to both teams...crap.

Bills: 23
Browns: 20

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-1) @Dallas Cowboys (1-1): I love what Greg Schiano is doing with this team whereas there is no team more sporadic than the Cowboys. Uhh...

Cowboys: 23
Buccaneers: 22

Jacksonville Jaguars (0-2) @ Indianapolis Colts (1-1): Colts are going to make the playoffs. I'm hoping that if I keep saying it, it'll come true.

Colts: 24
Jaguars: 10

New York Jets (1-1) @ Miami Dolphins (1-1): Meltdown in Miami part two?

Dolphins: 26
Jets: 13

San Francisco 49ers (2-0) @Minnesota Vikings (1-1): You just know Randy Moss is going to score a touchdown against his former team.

49ers: 30
Vikings: 17

Kansas City Chiefs (0-2) @ New Orleans Saints (0-2): I still have both making the playoffs.

Saints: 31
Chiefs: 30

Detroit Lions (1-1) @ Tennessee Titans (0-2): We have our upset pick. I say CJ0.021K goes for 150 and two touchdowns.

Titans: 24
Lions: 20

Cincinnati Bengals (1-1) @ Washington Redskins (1-1): I thought Cleveland would beat Cincinnati last week... so of course I'm taking RG3.

Redskins: 23
Bengals: 13

Philadelphia Eagles (2-0) @ Arizona Cardinals (2-0): Ray Horton's defense has played great since mid way through last season and the Eagles have already turned the ball over nine times in two games.

Cardinals: 29
Eagles: 24

Atlanta Falcons (2-0) @ San Diego Chargers (2-0): The difference here is that I expect Atlanta to actually maintain their level of play.

Falcons: 37
Chargers: 24

Houston Texans (2-0) @ Denver Broncos (1-1): Toss up but I like Peyton today. The Broncos defense is far stingier than the two Houston has faced thus far.

Broncos: 27
Texans: 24

Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1) @ Oakland Raiders (0-2): C'mon. Oakland's front seven couldn't stop a thing last week (against the Dolphins of all teams) and now they've lost both their starting corners. Oh, and the running game is nowhere to be found.

Steelers: 34
Raiders: 16

New England Patriots (1-1) @ Baltimore Ravens (1-1): Going with the lesser of two evils here.

Patriots: 20
Ravens: 17

Green Bay Packers (1-1) @ Seattle Seahawks (1-1): This is an easy prediction on paper but you never know with Seattle's 12th man and an improved offensive attack. Not to mention Green Bay has shown they're capable of falling asleep at the wheel against lesser competition. I'm still going with them... I just wanted to point it out.

Packers: 38
Seahawks: 20

Week 2 Predictions

By: Eric Brill

Last Week: 11-5

Season: 11-5

Chicago Bears (1-0) @ Green Bay Packers (1-0): As much as I like the Bears this season, I can't imagine the Packers dropping two (well technically three) in a row.

Packers: 34 Bears: 24

Kansas City Chiefs (0-1) @ Buffalo Bills (0-1): Two teams I have high hopes for who fell short in bad ways in week one. The difference is that one lost to a team I consider a major contender (Falcons) while the other fell to what I think of as blatantly terrible (Jets). Not to mention, they lost their best offensive weapon for at least a month.

Chiefs: 27 Bills: 17

New Orleans Saints (0-1) @ Carolina Panthers (0-1): Both lost last week, the difference is that the Saints losing was a fluke and the Panthers losing was an expectance.

Saints: 38 Panthers: 24

Cleveland Browns (0-1) @ Cincinnati Bengals (0-1): This game just screams upset... or it could be a complete blowout. I like upset-it's more fun.

Browns: 20 Bengals: 13

Minnesota Vikings (1-0) @ Indianapolis Colts (0-1): I have Indianapolis making the playoffs, so they have to win the "easy" ones, right? Besides, Luck should have a good time facing such a weak Minnesota secondary.

Colts: 23 Vikings: 17

Houston Texans (1-0) @ Jacksonville Jaguars (0-1): Miami basically handed Houston that win with all those turnovers, but still, they're a very talented team who has a potent an offense as you'll find. The Jaguars on the other hand...

Texans: 31 Jaguars: 16

Oakland Raiders (0-1) @ Miami Dolphins (0-1): Darren McFadden should not be catching 13 passes in a game. I mean its cool for my fantasy team, but if the Raiders are going to push for a division crown, they need to get the run game going first. Miami is still Miami. 

Raiders: 30 Dolphins: 10

Arizona Cardinals (1-0) @ New England Patriots (1-0): Kevin Kolb got his starting job back and already led their game winning drive last week. This week, I don't see him having similar success.

Patriots: 37 Cardinals: 20

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0) @ New York Giants (0-1): My gut says Tampa, but my brain says New York. Hmmmm...

Giants: 31 Buccaneers: 27

Baltimore Ravens (1-0) @ Philadelphia Eagles (1-0): Michael Vick played especially bad in his 2012 debut and that came against the lowly Brownies. Now he gets Baltimore, fresh off a 44 point outburst.

Ravens: 26 Eagles: 24

Dallas Cowboys (1-0) @ Seattle Seahawks (0-1): Loved what Dallas did last week after no one in the media gave them much of a chance. Must admit I was disappointed in Seattle who laid an egg against Arizona.

Cowboys: 33 Seahawks: 19

Washington Redskins (1-0) @ St. Louis Rams (0-1): I liked what I saw out of both these teams in week one. Clearly no amount of pressure is too much for RG3 to handle and after dismantling the Saints, I expect him to find similar success against a team with far less offensive firepower.

Redskins: 24 Rams: 13

New York Jets (1-0) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (0-1): I still can't rap my head around how in the hell Mark Sanchez managed to lead that team to 48 points. Point is, it wont happen two weeks in a row.

Steelers: 38 Jets: 13

Tennessee Titans (0-1) @ San Diego Chargers (1-0): Call me crazy but Tennessee is better than what they played against New England last week, right?

Titans: 26 Chargers: 20

Detroit Lions (1-0) @ San Francisco (1-0): The only team to perform worse than Philadelphia in a win last week was Detroit. While perhaps no winner looked more impressive than San Francisco.

49ers: 29 Lions: 23

Denver Broncos (1-0) @ Atlanta Falcons (1-0): I love Atlanta's new look offense, and the combination of Ryan/Jones/White is going to be scary no matter who they face. Give me Manning's first loss as a Bronco.

Falcons: 34 Broncos: 31

Final Predictions for the 2012 Season

You'll notice some of these predictions don't match up with my my more ridiculous ones from the other week. Those were based on my gut, whereas with these I considered schedule and tried to think logically rather than hopefully.

So while I actually believe Cleveland has the talent to win seven games, their schedule is ridiculously difficult. In Houston's case, they've been overhyped all offseason and my gut says they should fall short. Unfortunately for my gut, they have a very easy schedule and shouldn't have much trouble winning the AFC South for the second year in a row.

You'll get it:

AFC EAST
New England Patriots: 14-2
Buffalo Bills: 9-7
New York Jets: 4-12
Miami Dolphins: 1-15

AFC NORTH
Pittsburgh Steelers: 11-5
Baltimore Ravens: 9-7
Cincinnati Bengals: 5-11
Cleveland Browns: 3-13

AFC SOUTH
Houston Texans: 12-4

Indianapolis Colts: 9-7

Tennessee Titans: 8-8
Jacksonville Jaguars: 5-11

AFC WEST
Kansas City Chiefs: 10-6
San Diego Chargers: 9-7
Denver Broncos: 8-8
Oakland Raiders: 5-11

NFC EAST
Dallas Cowboys: 10-6
New York Giants: 9-7
Philadelphia Eagles: 7-9
Washington Redskins: 5-11

NFC NORTH
Green Bay Packers: 14-2
Chicago Bears: 11-5
Detroit Lions: 8-8
Minnesota Vikings: 6-10

NFC SOUTH
Atlanta Falcons: 13-3
New Orleans Saints: 12-4
Carolina Panthers: 7-9
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 7-9

NFC WEST
Seattle Seahawks: 9-7
San Francisco 49ers: 8-8
St. Louis Rams: 6-10
Arizona Cardinals: 2-14

Wild Card Round
6) Indianapolis Colts: 17                      6) New Orleans Saints: 38
3) Pittsburgh Steelers: 27                      3) Seattle Seahawks: 17

5) Buffalo Bills: 24                               5) Chicago Bears: 20
4) Kansas City: 23                                4) Dallas Cowboys: 30

Divisional Round
4) Buffalo Bills: 26                               6) New Orleans Saints: 34
1) New England Patriots: 24               1) Green Bay Packers: 31

3) Pittsburgh Steelers: 33                     4) Dallas Cowboys: 24
2) Houston Texans: 14                         2) Atlanta Falcons: 27

Conference Championships
4) Buffalo Bills: 16                              6) New Orleans Saints: 31
3) Pittsburgh Steelers: 19                    2) Atlanta Falcons: 30

Super Bowl XLVII
New Orleans Saints: 24
Pittsburgh Steelers: 34

Awards
MVP: Tom Brady
Offensive Player of the Year: Brandon Marshall
Defensive Player of the Year: Lamarr Woodley
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Russell Wilson
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Chandler Jones
Comeback Player of the Year: Peyton Manning
Coach of the Year: Pete Carroll

Leaders
Passing Yardage: Tom Brady (5600)
Passing Touchdowns: Aaron Rodgers (54)
Rushing Yards: Chris Johnson (1700)
Rushing Touchdowns: Darren McFadden (17)
Receptions: Brandon Marshall (134)
Receiving Yards: Brandon Marshall (1750)
Receiving Touchdowns: Jimmy Graham (20)
Tackles: Luke Kuechly (200)
Sacks: DeMarcus Ware (25)
Interceptions: Joe Haden (9)

Coaches Who Will Get Fired
Norv Turner
Pat Shurmur
Ken Whisenhunt
Leslie Frazier
Andy Reid
Marvin Lewis

Week 1 Predictions

By: Eric Brill

Dallas Cowboys @ New York Giants: The defending champ has never lost the opener since the NFL starting kicking off the season with a Thursday game (or Wednesday as the case may be). That streak ends tonight.

Cowboys: 34 Giants : 24

Indianapolis Colts @ Chicago Bears: I can't wait to see Brandon Marshall catching some meaningful passes for the first time in Chicago. Love Luck, but the Bears are the better team.

Bears: 31 Colts: 20

Philadelphia Eagles @ Cleveland Browns: I actually think this is a tougher call than most might think. We know how good the Eagles can be, but they flopped enough last season to know that no game is a sure thing.

Eagles: 24 Browns: 10

St. Louis Rams @ Detroit Lions: Megatron should be good for three touchdowns in this one.

Lions: 31 Rams: 13

Dolphins @Texans: Two teams headed in opposite directions. This should be the first of many losses for those poor Miami fans.

Texans: 27 Dolphins: 10

Atlanta Falcons @ Kansas City Chiefs: I'm excited to see the passing game in Atlanta and the running game in Kansas City. Could go either way but I see a big game for Matt Ryan to start the season.

Falcons: 31 Chiefs: 24

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Minnesota Vikings: In a battle of over-drafted 2011 quarterbacks, give me the guy taken 12th.

Vikings: 19 Jaguars: 13

Washington Redskins @ New Orleans Saints: Drew Brees will remind Bob Griffin just how inexperienced he is.

Saints: 41 Redskins: 20

Buffalo Bills @ New York Jets: How much Tebow will we see? Doesn't matter. I'll take the team with a functional... well everything in Buffalo is more functional than New York.

Bills: 24 Jets: 7

New England Patriots @ Tennessee Titans: I like the Titans this year but starting the year with a visit from the Patriots is unfortunate.

Patriots: 38 Titans: 23

Seattle Seahawks @ Arizona Cardinals: Poor Larry Fitzgerald, is a quarterback so much to ask for? Russell Wilson starts his career with a win.

Seahawks: 17 Cardinals: 10

San Francisco 49ers @ Green Bay Packers: Maybe Alex Smith can keep up with Aaron Rodgers... or not.

Packers: 34 49ers: 16

Panthers @ Buccaneers: I really like the additions Tampa made this offseason, the most important of which may prove to be rookie head coach, Greg Schiano. Most of all though, I just don't trust Cam.

Buccaneers: 27 Panthers: 24

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Denver Broncos: It won't be a pleasant return for Peyton who I have throwing two picks and getting sacked six times in his first game back.

Steelers: 24 Broncos: 16

Cincinnati Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens: I expect down years for both teams but give me the Ravens at home.

Ravens: 20 Bengals: 10

San Diego Chargers @ Oakland Raiders: I like McFadden to go off in this one but at the end of the day I still prefer Rivers' arm.

Chargers: 34 Raiders: 17

Post Preseason Power Rankings

By: Eric Brill

These are my first power rankings of the 2012 regular season and first since my post draft rankings in May.

Remember this isn't a prediction, just a way of ordering which teams I think are "better" at the time I wrote this. In its simplest form, I would think that the tenth best team would beat the 22 behind them and lose to the nine in front. I do my best to apply it to all situations but obviously its not an exact science. Disagree with something? Let me know where I screwed up on twitter @TheBurghReport.

1) New England Patriots: Could end up being the most talented offense ever. Seriously. (PR: 1)

2) Green Bay Packers: Best offensive system in football and as good a bet for a Super Bowl run as anyone. (PR: 2)

3) New Orleans Saints: Bounty scandal; schmounty schmandal. As long as they've got Drew Brees under center, New Orleans will always be a Super Bowl contender. (PR: 3)

4) Houston Texans: I worry about that defense overachieving last year, but a healthy Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson certainly help quell those concerns. (PR: 8)

5) Pittsburgh Steelers: I don't care how old the defense is because as long as Ben Roethlisberger is still out their making plays, this team will contend. (PR: 4)

6) New York Giants: Winning the Super Bowl doesn't mean you're the best team seven months after the fact. (PR: 6)

7) Atlanta Falcons: I don't have Matt Ryan throwing for 5000 yards for nothing. (PR: 14)

8) Dallas Cowboys: In Romo we trust. (PR: 13)

9) San Francisco 49ers: An overachieving defense masked a mediocre offense in 2011. Their legitimacy as a contender will be tested early and often against Green Bay this weekend. (PR: 5)

10) Chicago Bears: After a decade of waiting, Chicago fans finally got that number one receiver they've been praying for. (PR: 11)

11) Baltimore Ravens: If anything were to happen to Ray Rice, this team would struggle to win even six games. (PR: 7)

12) Denver Broncos: If Peyton is Peyton, this is a playoff team. But that's a big "if." (PR: 10)

13) Philadelphia Eagles: They'll live and die by Michael Vick's health. (PR: 9)

14) Detroit Lions: Until that defense proves it can stop someone, it wont matter how talented Megatron is. (PR: 12)

15) Buffalo Bills: Will this finally be the year the Bills end their 21st century playoff drought? (PR: 16)

16) Kansas City Chiefs: Love the defense. Love the backfield. If the passing game is any kind of decent, this team will surprise people in 2012. (PR: 19)

17) San Diego Chargers: As long as Rivers is there, they'll compete, but that can only take them so far. (PR: 17)

18) Tennessee Titans: I'm excited about what's going on in Tennessee. Chris Johnson is determined and Jake Locker is starting. (PR: 18)

19) Seattle Seahawks: Best secondary in football on a team with a lot of good pieces in place. Now its up to Russell Wilson to prove he's worthy of the starting job. (PR: 24)

20) Carolina Panthers: I just can't bring myself to trust Cam Newton. (PR: 21)

21) Tampa Bay Buccaneers: I like the additions they made this offseason; now its just a matter of bringing it all together. (PR: 20)

22) Cincinnati Bengals: Andy Dalton just screams "sophomore slump" to me. (PR: 15)

23) Oakland Raiders: I love McFadden but that's about it... (PR: 25)

24) Washington Redskins: I love RG3, I just don't love him competing in the NFC East as a rookie. (PR: 29)

25) New York Jets: Tebow will be starting by week 4 but there will be no magic in 2012. (PR: 22)

26) Jacksonville Jaguars: Blaine Gabbert looked surprisingly good in preseason. Too bad Maurice Jones-Drew wasn't there to enjoy it... (PR: 28)

27) Indianapolis Colts: I have them making the playoffs, but for now they'll need to fight their way up these rankings. (PR: 31)

28) Cleveland Browns: This is a tough team to predict given the influx of rookies on that offense. (PR: 27)

29) St. Louis Rams: People forget just how hurt St. Louis was last year. (PR: 30)

30) Arizona Cardinals: I'll give the Jets this much: at least their QB controversy is entertaining. Arizona's is just sad. (PR: 23)

31) Minnesota Vikings: Even if Peterson returns soon, this will be a long year for Minnesota fans. (PR: 26)

32) Miami Dolphins: Why a struggling organization with a rookie quarterback and new head coach would want to be on Hard Knocks is beyond me. (PR: 32)

Biggest jump: Falcons (Up 7)

Biggest fall: Cardinals and Bengals (Down 7)