Last season, the New York Giants, who utterly flattened the opposition in 12 of 16 games and made the Vikings look like an Arena League team, except with less offense, in the conference championship, made a lot of people look stupid. Specifically, the ones who crowed/bellyached/screamed about how the NFC Totally Outclassed The AFC In Every Way Imaginable. It says something when a team that goes all the way to the Super Bowl before losing can still draw flack for being “weak” and “undeserving” and “blah blah blah”, despite just about owning the other teams in the conference.
Don’t expect this to change much. There are plenty of good teams, they’re just not Super Bowl-caliber. Expect a letdown from the Giants, who will have the burden of an entire offseason’s worth of “I told you so” garbage as well as a tougher schedule and the pressure of defending NFC champs. The Lions could not make it to the Super Bowl with Barry Sanders, Dan Marino, Shannon Sharpe, Junior Seau, Charles Woodson, and Matt Stover. The Eagles have High Expectations, which translates to Meltdown By Week 6. (And c’mon, a team doesn’t just shoot to the top after 3+ absolutely horrendous seasons.) Washington has a new coach, and since when has this EVER improved a team? (Don’t say Bill Parcells; it’s hard to see how he couldn’t have improved the 1-15 Jets.) The Rams have been figured out, the Saints aren’t quite there yet, and actual improvement for the Vikings and Cardinals happens about as fast as continental drift.
That said, I expect the Buccaneers to win the conference. They’ve steadily improved and worked out the flaws in the offense (to complement the formidable defense), a sure formula for success. They definitely had a chance against the Giants last season; don’t expect them to lose again. The Vikings will make a lot of noise before flopping, per usual, and the NFC West will beat each other up before getting collectively bounced before the conference championships.
I like the Titans in the AFC. Their biggest challenger, Baltimore, isn’t the same team; their offense, which wasn’t great to begin with, suffered a terrible blow with the loss of Jamal Lewis, and this will hurt them. Plus the other teams have an entire season’s worth of tapes to find a way to beat the Ravens’ defense. The Titans will dominate an overloaded division that lacks a decent rival and has two complete doormats. 8-10 wins in the division, easy. For some reason, the entire AFC East, despite plenty of talent, always seems to choke at some point, so they’re not a threat. As for the AFC West: The Broncos, whether they admit it or not, just haven’t been the same since John Elway retired (what does it say about an organization when they can’t give one of the greatest quarterbacks ever even halfway decent run support until the very end of his career?). The Chiefs are stuck with the albatross of High Expectations…sheesh, when will these people ever learn? Mike Holmgren is in a must-win situation in Seattle; expect him to crack when his team, as always, fails to live up to their talent.
So there you have it. Titans vs. Buccaneers, the two teams that deserve it the most. The Titans will recapture their magic of two seasons ago, take home field advantage, and ride it all the way to the Super Bowl, while the Bucs will be challenged, but put it together when it really counts and win a down-to-the-wire NFC Championship.
Super Bowl prediction: Titans 24, Buccaneers 14. Or 6. Or 10. It doesn’t matter, because Tennessee is a tougher, more complete team and will make their second chance count.
All predictions subject to change pending how the actual season turns out, of course…
