2008 Phanatic Season Predictions

By Jeff Glauser
The Phanatic Magazine

Okay, I’m a little late. And perhaps there’s a slight benefit of foresight here. Slight. One week head starts do not lessen the abilities of true soothsayers. Of which I’m not. But if I was, it wouldn’t.

Anyhow, here are my predictions (oh, and no need to look at my Super Bowl picks last year. Really. No point. Please don’t.):

NFC Division Winners:
Cowboys (Yes, this pains me, but a team this stacked coached by Wade Phillips is built for the regular season. The postseason? That’s left to be determined)

Packers (Last I checked, the only key offseason loss for them was a 38 year-old QB who threw a lot of picks. Yes, a Hall of Famer at that, but there must be a reason they’ve held on to his successor for this long)

Saints (Bounceback year. Should prove that last year was the fluke, not two years ago. Fairly solid – if not spectacular - across the board.)

Cardinals (Simply because one of these years I have to be right on this sleeper pick and the Seahawks don’t impress me at all)

Wild Card:
Eagles (10-6 seems about right. Like the Saints, no true superstars other than B-West, and a young defense filled with potential. But can they create turnovers?)

Vikings (Tarvaris Jackson scares me, but if the Bears could ride a Rex Grossman to the Super Bowl... There’s some impressive talent here.)

AFC Division Winners:
Patriots (No explanation necessary. Though the rest of the division improved, not by nine games.

Steelers (By process of elimination. This might be the weakest division this year.)

Colts: (See Patriots. Older and not as dominant, but still enough weapons to cause damage.)

Chargers (Another usual suspect. Older is better in this case – and so is a chip on their shoulder. Even with a banged-up Merriman, the defense is downright scary, and plenty of weapons remain on offense.)

Wild Card:
Jets (Yes, Favre helps, but moreso the upgrades at defense and O-Line)

Titans (Every year, they simply find ways to win just enough to be respectable. Fisher is one of the best in the business of getting the most out of his players.)

Conference Championships: Saints over Cowboys; Chargers over Patriots

Super Bowl: Chargers over Saints

Thoughts? Praises? Insults? Send a comment!