Bold Predictions for the 2013 NFL Season
By Tim Dillon
Sept 11, 2011; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles (25) runs in for a touchdown in the second quarter against the Buffalo Bills at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
The best part about the off-season is the ability to speculate about the coming season! I took to Facebook and Twitter and got some bold predictions from fans of all different teams for this upcoming year. Some will shock you, others could be expected. At the end of the year, I will revisit these people’s predictions and see who did well and who missed the mark. Fair warning, some of these are my own predictions! Let’s take a look:
Tim Dillon (@omfsmtim): “The Chiefs will make the playoffs and the Saints will miss again.”
I was shocked the Chiefs missed the playoffs with all the talent they have on their roster. Alex Smith should thrive under Andy Reid which will boost the rest of the team to perform well. It helps that they reside in an incredibly weak division aside from the Broncos. They have one of the easiest schedules this season, so if they take advantage of that weakness, they could potentially take a wild card spot. As for the Saints, last year was a mess without Sean Payton on the sidelines. Drew Brees pulled a Brett Favre last season when he led the league in TDs thrown but also INTs. Yes, he threw more picks than Mark Sanchez. Despite the picks, he is still one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Unfortunately for him, he has one of the league’s worst defenses to back him up. In a very competitive NFC South, and NFC in general, their road back to the playoffs will be difficult. They statistically have the third hardest schedule in the league this season, which will be hard on their incredibly weak defense. If the Falcons can claim the division title again (which I believe they will), then the Saints will have tough competition for a wild card spot. The NFC North is filled with potential playoff contenders (besides the Lions) and the NFC West has two incredibly strong teams in the 49ers and Seahawks with two teams on the rise in Arizona and St. Louis. To wrap it up, I think this prediction has a good chance of coming true.