Gridiron Picks

(SPOILER ALERT): 

For those readers who don't like football, AVOID THIS POST.  (Check back in w/me tomorrow.)  This is football and only football.    

What follows are my yearly NFL predictions.   

NFC EAST

1. Philadelphia
2. N.Y. Giants
3. Dallas
4. Washington

NFC NORTH

1. Green Bay
2. Chicago
3. Detroit
4. Minnesota

NFC SOUTH

1. New Orleans
2. Atlanta
3. Carolina
4. Tampa Bay

NFC WEST

1. San Francisco
2. Seattle
3. St. Louis
4. Arizona

AFC EAST

1. New England
2. Buffalo
3. N.Y. Jets
4. Miami

AFC NORTH

1. Baltimore
2. Pittsburgh
3. Cincinnati
4. Cleveland

AFC SOUTH

1. Houston
2. Tennessee
3. Indianapolis
4. Jacksonville

AFC WEST

1. Denver
2. Kansas City
3. San Diego
4. Oakland 


NFC Wildcards : Chicago, Atlanta
AFC Wildcards: Buffalo, Kansas City 

Playoffs, 1st round:

NFC: New Orleans over Atlanta
          Chicago over Philadelphia

AFC: Baltimore over Kansas City  
          Denver over Buffalo

Playoffs, 2nd round: 

NFC: Green Bay over Chicago   
          New Orleans over San Francisco 

AFC: New England over Denver
          Houston over Baltimore 

Conference Championships: 

NFC: Green Bay over New Orleans
AFC: Houston over New England

Super Bowl: 

Green Bay 31
Houston 20 

Super Bowl MVP:  Aaron Rodgers


NFL MVP:  Drew Brees
Offensive Player of the year: Aaron Rodgers
Defensive Player of the year: DeMarcus Ware   
Offensive Rookie of the year: Andrew Luck 
Defensive Rookie of the year: Chandler Jones, New England 
Coach of the year: Romeo Crennel, Kansas City


Tonight's prediction:

Now, because the home team/defending SB champ never loses on these Wednesday-Thursday night season openers and because Dallas' offensive weapons are bruised and battered, a natural response would be to say the Giants will win easy, say 27-13.  But sooner or later, one of these openers isn't going to go as planned.  There's no way Dallas should win this game.  Which is why I'm going to go ahead and predict them:
Dallas 23, Giants 20