2006 NFL Preview: Division by Division Rankings
The AFC
AFC East
1. New England Patriots- The Patriots will continue to dominate one of the weakest divisions in the NFL, but the Miami Dolphins will start to push them for the lead in two to three years. Brady will have a solid season and the defense should remain off the injured reserve list long enough for New England to be a factor.
2. Miami Dolphins- Nick Saban’s second season as an NFL head coach will see some improvement for Miami, though the addition of quarterbacks Daunte Culpepper and Joey Harrington will not provide as much help on offense as one would think.
3. New York Jets- The addition of D’Brickshaw Ferguson in the 2006 NFL Draft will help anchor the Jets line for another decade, but questions at quarterback, running back, and receiver mean that Eric Mangini will have a tough season in 2006.
4. Buffalo Bills- Even the addition of former Bills coach Marv Levy in the Buffalo front office does not promise Bills fans much hope for 2006. The NFL draft was largely a bust and the Bills are not talented enough to push themselves past weak competition in the division.
AFC North
1. Pittsburgh Steelers- Pittsburgh will push to repeat their 2005 NFL championship and will beat out the Bengals for the AFC North title.
2. Cincinnati Bengals- Marvin Lewis’ work ethic and coaching style means that 2006 will be another good season for the Bengals. In 2007 or 2008, Cincinnati may push the Steelers for the division title and for dominance of the AFC at large.
3. Cleveland Browns- Romeo Crennel will see improvement in his Browns team in 2006, though the quarterback situation has not been totally resolved and Charlie Frye has to prove that he is an NFL quarterback.
4. Baltimore Ravens- The Ravens did not improve their quarterback situation much with the addition of Steve McNair and Brian Billick will get fired by the end of 2006. The defense’s efforts will go to waste as the running game gets stalled by aggressive opposing defenses and the passing game never gets off the ground.
AFC South
1. Indianapolis Colts- The Colts are too dominant a team to not be in contention in 2006 and the addition of Adam Vinatieri answers the question about the reliability of their kicking game.
2. Jacksonville Jaguars- The Jaguars will get a rejuvenated Byron Leftwich and a more mature team in 2006, though they have the misfortune of being in the same division as the Indianapolis Colts. Look for the Jaguars to get into the playoffs and to make headway on their team goals under Jack del Rio.
3. Tennessee Titans- Vince Young is the wave of the future, but Billy Volek will do just fine for 2006. Jeff Fisher’s resiliency as one of the longer tenured coaches in the NFL will shine through this season as he takes a young team to an improved record and an exciting season for Titans fans.
4. Houston Texans- Gary Kubiak finally took the leap into the head coaching profession and the Texans are a big project for the former offensive coordinator. The Texans got a playmaker in defensive end Mario Williams, but they need help at the offensive line and need David Carr to stay off the turf.
AFC West
1. San Diego Chargers- The Chargers had a down season in 2005 but their talent and maturity as a unit will start to come together in 2006 and Marty Schottenheimer will start to see results from his team.
2. Oakland Raiders- The Raiders under Art Shell will be an improved group, though they will not live up to their lofty talent level. Aaron Brooks needs to step up and prove his ability as an NFL quarterback and the defense needs to show that they can live up to the Raiders reputation as a hard working, blue collar bunch.
3. Denver Broncos- The Broncos had a chance last season to get to the Super Bowl but were unable to do enough to get themselves over the top. That was perhaps Jake Plummer’s last chance in Denver to win a conference championship or a Super Bowl and Mike Shanahan will see diminished returns from his aging group.
4. Kansas City Chiefs- Herman Edwards is a good coach but he is no miracle worker; the Chiefs are an aging team with a few good pieces that needs some work. The Chiefs always compete in close games with their divisional opponents but that will be as close as they get to winning most of their games.
Wild Card Teams: Cincinnati Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars- The two wildcard teams, the Bengals and the Jaguars, are two teams on the rise and will hold their own in the wildcard round of the AFC playoffs. The Bengals have the best chance of moving on, while the Jaguars have a lot to learn about playoff football and will learn a lot from their 2006 playoff run.
AFC Championship: Indianapolis Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers- Don’t look for a repeat of last year’s match-up between these two teams, as Adam Vinatieri rarely kicks the ball to the sidelines in the clutch. Peyton Manning will be able to put together another great regular season and get his team into the Super Bowl.
AFC Champion: Indianapolis Colts
The NFC
NFC East
1. New York Giants- The Giants had a tough 2005 playoff loss, where their offense just couldn’t get off the ground. However, Tom Coughlin is a perfectionist and Eli Manning is turning into a bona fide Pro Bowl quarterback. The defense will be the most important aspect to the Giants’ success and the Strahan/Umenyiora combination will be one of the more prolific end tandems in the league in recent history.
2. Dallas Cowboys- Terrell Owens has been a team killer in San Francisco and Philadelphia but Bill Parcells is a different kind of coach. If Owens flies right and plays well, the Cowboys will contend for the NFC East title. However, without Owens in their lineup regularly, this team is good enough to get into the NFC wildcard round where anything is possible.
3. Washington Redskins- The Redskins were able to get into the second round of the playoffs in 2005 but the rest of the division is improving. The receiving corps is outstanding but Mark Brunell is aging and Jason Campbell may not be ready yet to take over the reigns of the Redskins.
4. Philadelphia Eagles- The Eagles will be bad in the 2006 NFL season, with Donovan McNabb struggling to get back to Pro Bowl form and the rest of the Eagles struggling against better teams in the NFC East.
NFC North
1. Chicago Bears- The Bears look like they are poised to dominate the NFC North for several years and in 2006 they will be leaps and bounds better than their nearest competitors.
2. Green Bay Packers- The Packers got a new coach in Mike McCarthy and a new shut down corner in Charles Woodson, but there is not enough talent on this squad to make much of a dent in Chicago’s hold over the division. Brett Favre is in his last season and he doesn’t have the ability anymore to carry this team on his shoulders.
3. Detroit Lions- Rod Marinelli’s blue collar mentality on the sidelines will be infectious in 2006 and the Lions will improve drastically over the Mariucci era. However, without a solid number one quarterback and questions about how good the receiving corps really is, the Lions won’t be able to break out of the bottom of the conference and the division.
4. Minnesota Vikings- The Vikings might have thought the loss of Culpepper and Moss over the last couple of seasons is addition by subtraction, but the team just doesn’t seem to fit together as a unit. Both sides have some good individual talent, in particular the defense, but rookie head coach Brad Childress and the rest of his staff won’t be able to make this team better in 2006.
NFC South
1. Carolina Panthers- The Panthers are outstanding and their best move in the offseason was not messing too much with their formula from 2005. John Fox is a savvy coach and in 2006, Carolina will be a factor on the road to the Super Bowl.
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- The Buccaneers will play well enough to get a wild card spot in 2006, with Chris Simms showing more flashes of being the caliber quarterback of his father Phil and the defense playing well enough to keep Tampa Bay in most games.
3. Atlanta Falcons- The Falcons will have a tough battle with the Buccaneers for second in the NFC South, with the Buccaneers holding the advantage in playoff experience.
4. New Orleans Saints- Reggie Bush and Drew Brees were two key personnel additions in the 2006 offseason and new head coach Sean Payton will make a great NFL coach in a few seasons. However, New Orleans has known nothing but losing throughout much of its franchise’s history and Payton needs to change the mentality along with the offensive scheme in order to make it work out in the long term.
NFC West
1. Seattle Seahawks- The Seahawks paid a fortune to keep Shaun Alexander, but their rushing game is in good hands, Matt Hasselbeck has a good handle on the offense, and the young defense will only get better a year after getting to the Super Bowl.
2. Arizona Cardinals- The Cardinals will do very well in 2006 and push for one of the NFC’s wild card spots. Dennis Green has a team loaded with talent and the offense will be very impressive with three top flight receivers and an heir apparent in Matt Leinart behind veteran Kurt Warner.
3. St. Louis Rams- The Rams get a new coach in Scott Linehan and some new pieces, but for the most part they remain the same type of team. The Rams will try to undo some of the damage done by Mike Martz (i.e. bringing some reasonable play calling to St. Louis) and the defense will improve a little bit. But the Rams aren’t good enough to get back into the playoffs yet and Mark Bulger needs to prove that last season’s injuries won’t influence his play this season.
4. San Francisco 49ers- The 49ers have a lot of work to do to become a decent NFL team and in 2006 they will make small strides towards improving. Alex Smith will throw a few touchdowns (unlike last season) and the defense will perform well. But there are too many questions to consider the Niners anything but a bottom feeder again in the NFL.
Wild Card Teams: Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Dallas had a down season in 2005, as they lost a lot of close contests and were unable to make it back to the playoffs. Tampa Bay has a good young team and a great defense, giving them the best chance of the two teams to advance into the second round.
NFC Championship: Carolina Panthers and New York Giants- While Carolina has a well rounded team, something tells me that the Giants will do well in the 2006 playoffs after a disappointing 2005 run and a Peyton-Eli Super Bowl is something the NFL wouldn’t mind seeing.
NFC Champion: New York Giants
Super Bowl: Indianapolis Colts and New York Giants- Indianapolis defeats the New York Giants, with Peyton Manning quieting his critics who say he can’t win the big game. He will win a lot of them in 2006 and the biggest one in early 2007. Eli Manning will probably have a tough outing, but he has a long career ahead of him to get to the Super Bowl again.
