NFL Season Wrap-Up: NFC East and NFC North

NFC East
My Pre-Season Predictions
1.Dallas Cowboys(12-4)
2.Philladelphia Eagles(9-7)
3.New York Giants(8-8)
4.Washington Redskins(6-10)

Final Standings
1.Philadelphia Eagles(10-6)
2.New York Giants(10-6)
3.Dallas Cowboys(6-10)
4.Washington Redskins(6-10)

Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles success this year can be attributed to the resurgence of Michael Vick. Vick's play was dominant for most of the season and he had the best season of his career. In addition to Vick's comeback, the Eagles young stars really emerged as a force. Desean Jackson,Lesean McCoy, and Jermey Maclin all had excellent years and should continue to get better. The Eagles collapse at the end of the season really hurt their momentum and their defense was up and down all year. A good year for The Eagles and their young team should get better next year.

New York Giants: As usual, The Giants showed flashes of brilliance and had a great stretch in the middle of the season after a slow start, followed by the typical New York Giants late-season decline. Eli Manning's inconsistent play is the root of the offense problems. He led the league in interceptions this year and that cost his team a lot of games. The defense also started off great and ended up playing terrible in the last few games. On the plus side, the Giants have a dangerous 1-2 running back punch with Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw. They both had great years and shredded most defense in their paths. Hakeem Nicks also proved himself has a great option in the passing game, he is a playmaker that should continue to thrive in this offense. The Giants still have huge issues. They don't know how to a finish a season and their play needs to improve if they want to make the playoffs.

Dallas Cowboys: Probably the biggest disappointment of the season. The whole beginning of the year was a string of miscues which was capped off my Tony Romo's season-ending injury. The team did play better when Jason Garrett took over at head coach. The Cowboys should have a better year next year, their team still has a ton of talent, it's just a matter of playing up to their potential.

Washington Redskins: Mike Shanahan clearly lost his marbles when he took that year off from coaching. The choices he made this season were complete head-scratches. Benching Donovan McNabb for Rex "Sexy Rexy" Grossman is flat out dumb, even with McNabb having an off year. The whole team collapsed in the second half of the season. This is a team that is not going to be leaving the basement of the NFL for a while, they are an absolute mess.

NFC North
My Pre-Season Predictions
1.Green Bay Packers(11-5)
2.Minnesota Vikings(10-6)
3.Chicago Bears(8-8)
4.Detroit Lions(6-10

Final Standings
1.Chicago Bears(11-5)
2.Green Bay Packers(10-6)
3.Detroit Lions(6-10)
4.Minnesota Vikings(6-10)

Chicago Bears: My favorite team in the league really surprised me this year, they exceeded my expectations tremendously. Julius Peppers was such a big addition to the defense, his presence makes this defense 10x better and he makes everyone better, an absolutely key offseason move. Jay Cutler also had a great year, he has greatly improved and finally lived up to his potential. Mike Martz turned out to be just what Cutler needed in an offensive coordinator. Brian Urlacher bounced back from injury seamlessly and had one hell of a year. Their is still a few flaws here mainly with offensive line, but still A great year for the Bears overall.

Green Bay Packers: The Packers overcome a ton of injuries to key players, including Ryan Grant and Jemichael Finley and still made the playoffs. Aaron Rodgers was lights out all year, he is one of the best quarterbacks in the league and his leadership is a key part of what makes the Packers so good. Their defense was also great, Clay Matthews is one of the best pass rushers in the league and the young players including B.J Raji are making a big impact. A damn good team that could make a deep run in the playoffs.

Detroit Lions: This is a team on the rise. Their offense is dangerous, Calvin Johnson still flys under the radar as a wide receiver. Shaun Hill is actually a pretty decent quarterback and had a pretty good year. The defense is improving too. If Matthew Stafford can stay healthy and they keep getting better, we could be looking at a playoff team.

Minnesota Vikings: Brett Favre should have stay retired, it's an embarrassing way to go out and I am not going to lie, I was pretty excited to see him plays this poorly. The Vikings need a quarterback now, I don't think Joe Webb or Tavaris Jackson is the answer. They should have a better year next year with a healthy Sidney Rice, Percy Harvin and Adrian Peterson back. I don't expect them to finish in last place again next year.

NFL Wrap Up: AFC South and AFC West

AFC South

My Pre-Season Predictions
1.Indianapolis Colts(12-4)
2.Houston Texans(10-6)
3.Tennessee Titans(9-7)
4.Jacksonville Jaguars(7-9)

Final Standings
1.Indianapolis Colts(10-6)
2.Jacksonville Jaguars(8-8)
3.Houston Texans(6-10)
4.Tennessee Titans(6-10)

Indianapolis Colts: The Colts weren't their usual dominant selves this season. Even with the rough patches, they still overcame these issues. Peyton Manning ran the show and carried this team on his back. The team had key injuries to Dallas Clark and Austin Collie that took away two of Manning's favorite targets. Reggie Wayne and Pierre Garcon have been great and have been the only two constants in the offense all season long. The Colts have been playing excellent the last few weeks and this should carry over the playoffs.

Jacksonville Jaguars: The Jaguars came on strong this year, but their season slipped away in the last 3 games. David Garrard had the best season of his career and proved to be a solid quarterback. Maurice Jones-Drew, as usual, was a monster. He proved why he is one of the finest running backs in the league. The defense was pretty good too. Aaron Kampman payed off big time for the Jacksonville defense. If it wasn't for the late collapse, we could been looking at a playoff team.

Houston Texans: Nobody chokes like the Houston Texans. In so many games this season, they blew a lead or dropped the ball. On the positive side, Arian Foster is the next superstar running back. He led the league in rushing and shredded every defense in his path. Matt Schaub was up and down all year. The biggest issue with Houston, is clearly their defense. Their defense is absolute horse shit. They can't stop anyone. Their defense cost them a ton of games and really needs to be worked on. Still, the Texans are top choke artists in the NFL and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

Tennessee Titans: 2010 was the opposite of the 2009 season for the Titans. In 2009, The Titans started off terrible and finished strong. This year, they started off great and finished awfully. The big issues for Tennessee is their distractions at quarterback. Vince Young gets injured and started a scene with Jeff Fisher. Kerry Collins played alright, but he is not a game changer. Chris Johnson had a disappointing year, he was still explosive at times, but he was held in check. Kenny Britt's injury also caused the downfall of the Titans. He is the only productive wideout they have. Randy Moss was horribly ineffective in his time with team. Tennessee's inconsistency is what killed them this season.

AFC West
My Pre-Season Predictions
1.San Diego Chargers(11-5)
2.Kansas City Chiefs(9-7)
3.Denver Broncos(6-10)
4.Oakland Raiders(3-13)

Final Standings
1.Kansas City Chiefs(10-6)
2.San Diego Chargers(9-7)
3.Oakland Raiders(8-8)
4.Denver Broncos(4-12)

Kansas City Chiefs: I was big on the Chiefs in the pre-season and they delivered. Jammal Charles is the most underrated running back in the league. Charles and Thomas Jones were the most potent 1-2 running back punch in the league. They are an absolute force to be reckoned with. The Chiefs also have the most underrated wideout in Dwayne Bowe. Bowe flew under the radar all year and put up insane stats. The Chiefs are the underdog team in the NFL, that being said their odds in the playoffs aren't that good. They are still a year off from making a run.

San Diego Chargers: It's about time the Chargers late-season run didn't get a playoff spot. In typical Chargers fashion, they started off with a thud, but by the time they picked it up this season it was too late. Phillip Rivers tryed his hardest and had an MVP-caliber season. There really wasn't that many bright spots outside of Rivers, he is pretty much the reason they won every game that they did.

Oakland Raiders: The Raiders went 6-0 in the AFC West, that is one hell of an accomplishment. This team shocked me with how well they played (at times). Their offense was explosive and their defense got a ton of takeaways. In their losses, they were a completely different team. They played like dog shit in most of them and looked like one of the worst teams in the league. This is a hard team to figure out. The only thing that is harder to figure out is their senile owner Al Davis, who just fired coach Tom Cable. Cable turned the team around and his firing makes zero sense, yet another stupid mistake by Al Davis.

Denver Broncos:There really isn't much to say about Denver. They are an absolute mess. The lone bright spots this year were Kyle Orton and Brandon Lloyd. A serious work in progress and their new coach needs to more experienced than Josh McDaniels was in order to turn this team around.