2011 NFL Season prediction thread

NFC West Champ - 49ers
NFC East Champ - Cowboys
NFC North Champ - Packers
NFC South Champ - Saints
NFC Wild Card - Falcons
NFC Wild Card - Buccaneers

AFC West Champ - Chargers
AFC East Champ - Patriots
AFC North Champ - Steelers
AFC South Champ - Colts
AFC Wild Card - Texans
AFC Wild Card - Ravens

Super Bowl pick - Saints over Patriots

MVP - Drew Brees
Defensive Player of the year - N. Suh
Rookie of the year - Mark Ingram
Coach of the Year - Jason Garrett
First coach fired - Lovie Smith

OK, I'll admit it, I'm a Saints' homer. Sue me

 

Curious why you think Lovie Smith will be fired at all, much less the first coach to go?

I've been his biggest critic for a while, but he did a pretty good job last year and the Bears are not the type of organization to jettison a coach in mid-season.

 

I'm waiting for Lovie Smith to adopt a sideline face other than "I smell a fart."

 

Well, that's not happening.

 

NFC West Champ - St. Louis Rams
NFC East Champ - Philadelphia Eagles
NFC North Champ - Chicago Bears
NFC South Champ - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
NFC Wild Card - Green Bay Packers
NFC Wild Card - Atlanta Falcons

AFC West Champ -Oakland Raiders
AFC East Champ - New England Patriots
AFC North Champ - Pittsburgh Steelers
AFC South Champ - Indianapolis Colts
AFC Wild Card - New York Jets
AFC Wild Card - Baltimore Ravens

Super Bowl pick - New England Patriots (and this sickens me) over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

MVP - Josh Freeman, Buccaneers
Defensive Player of the year - Julius Peppers, Bears
Rookie of the year - Von Miller, Broncos
Coach of the Year - Raheem Morris, Buccaneers
First coach fired - Norv Turner, San Diego CHargers

 

The Bears will never fire a coach mid-season. If Lovie is in the final year of his contract (I don't think this is the case...) it would be a possibility, but the Bears don't like to fire coaches who have years left on their contracts. It's the reason they stuck with Jauron for so long. But as you point out, the Bears just aren't the type of team to make a mid-season move.

 

That's actually a decent call on Del Rio. I didn't even think of him.

 

Del Rio isn't getting fired. He is on the Jeff Fisher plan. Bunch of .500 seasons, a playoff run here and there and an owner that is cheap and likes him.

If the Jaguars suck this year he will get canned at end of year but not during.

 

I tend to agree, but for a season like this one, it's really tough to find a coach who could get fired during the season. The easiest bet would usually be the Raiders, but they have a new head coach. Dallas has a new head coach. The Redskins have a coach who even Dan Snyder probably doesn't want to have to pay to go away.

If the Bengals were a respectable franchise, the easy answer this year would be Marvin Lewis. Since the Bengals franchise is nowhere close to being respectable, it's a lot tougher... There's no Josh McDaniels or Tom Cable this season...

 

NFC West Champ -Rams
NFC East Champ - Giants
NFC North Champ - Packers
NFC South Champ - Falcons
NFC Wild Card - Eagles
NFC Wild Card - Bucs

AFC West Champ -Chargers
AFC East Champ - Patriots
AFC North Champ - Ravens
AFC South Champ - Colts
AFC Wild Card - Steelers
AFC Wild Card - Jets

Super Bowl pick - Ravens over Falcons

MVP - Wacko for Flacco!!!
Defensive Player of the year - Awesome-Whaaaa
Rookie of the year - Julio Jones
Coach of the Year - Whichever Harbaugh coaches the Ravens
First coach fired - SHANAHAN!!!! Or whoever is coaching the Bills

 

It is rarely, if ever, a good idea to fire a coach in midseason.

First, it almost has to be a coordinator who takes over, since installing a new system in midseason is next to impossible. So, what is the new guy bringing that the old one didn't? Playcalling is basically the same, so the only difference is in the halftime speeches.

Also, by the time most coaches get fired, their team is too far out of the running for a playoff spot, so even if the new guy lights a fire under his guys asses and they have a surge to make it to .500 or whatever, they just end up with a shitty mid-round draft position. And they have to pay two coaches to not make the playoffs.

At least if your team absolutely quits on a shitty coach, you might get a top draft pick that can have a big impact on your squad next season.