It's that time again. Don't bother adding up the wins and losses, I didn't use math lol. Should be close but not exact.
AFC EAST
Bills: I think it’s the Year of the Bills, at least out of the AFC. Its just hard to point to a weak spot on the roster, and their biggest problem is the Ravens are just as good. That defensive line should be vastly improved, which should help with the shootouts the Bills always seem to find themselves in in the playoffs, and if Bosa can stay on the field the skies the limit for this team. The patriots and Jets might give them some fits in the first round of games (week five and two respectively) which might make them start a little slow, because new coaches on division rivals can do that, But don’t be surprised if the word elite is being tossed around for that defense by mid season.
Will fall between 12 and 15 wins
Bruno’s Pick 13-4
Dolphins: the Phins are strange, because on paper they look worse, and the team has been trending in the wrong direction under “Stoned Shula” after a strong start to his tenure. I’m going to go out on a limb though and say they finish better than they did last year, just because I think they are tougher up the middle than they have ever been. This could be a flop of a prediction though.
Will fall between 7-10 wins
Bruno’s pick 9 -8
Jets: Jets have a lot of questions, but I am sure I will be talking about them ad nauseum come Sunday and beyond. Besides, the only real question is how much number 8 gets booed when he walks out in a Pittsburgh uniform. Booo.
Will fall between 6-9 wins
Bruno’s pick 7-10
Patriots: It’s hard not to like what’s going on in new England if you are a fan. Got a good coach, got a qb that looked good last year, and people are excited. But barring a crazy miracle (which does happen from time to time) I think they are still a year away.
Will fall between 5-8 wins
Bruno’s pick 6-11
AFC Central
Ravens: I can’t say you are wrong if you think it’s the year of the Raven. They certainly have the roster to go all the way, just like the Bills. The big difference between Josh and Lamar at this point for me is that Josh has shown he can play great even in a shootout in the playoffs. Lamar, as great as he is, hasn’t yet.
Will Fall between 11-14 wins
Brunos pick 12-5
Bengals: Bengals will be good, but they are at best the fifth best team in the AFC, and even that might be pushing it. They already have proven they can get hot at the right time though, and Joe Burrow is amazing, so you never know.
Will fall between 10-13 wins
Brunos Pick 10-7
Steelers: Fuck you, Arod! …..Ok, listen. I think the steelers may finish strong, even pushing for a playoff spot. But I think they start slow with so many new pieces, and there’s a non- zero chance they never recover and bomb out. I’m leading toward it starting to look pretty good by mid-season though.
Will fall between 6-9 wins
Bruno’s Pick 9-8
Browns: Who’s their qb again? Myles garret is too good not to steal a win or two they shouldn’t, and he even has help now with a high draft pick DT. But unless one of the young guys on the roster at qb start to shine earlier than expected, it’s going to be a long season in Cleveland.
Will fall between 3 and 6 wins
Bruno’s pick 5-12
AFC South
Texans: “So what you are saying is, you had protection issues that plagued you last year and your solution was to trade away your premium LT?”. I mean, these guys get paid to do this stuff, so hopefully there’s a plan. If the protection holds up though they are neck and neck with the Bengals for the 5th best team in the conference with the potential to be even better with that young but star-studded defense.
Will Fall between 9-12 wins
Bruno’s pick 11-6
Jaguars: Brother Golden hair has to show out sooner or later, am I right? Baker credits Liam Cohen with turning around his career, and turn around it has, so I’m going to go out on a limb and say Trevor starts to show what we all thought he could be, and the jaguars have a solid roster around him if he does.
Will fall between 8-10 wins
Bruno’s Pick 10-7
Colts: “What a laughing stock! They are starting Daniel Jones over Anthony Richardson.” Yeah, I get the joke, but the colts have a good back with a good oline and a respectable defense, as well as decent wrs. Daniel jones is at his best with the play action. They may surprise people.
Will fall between 6-9 wins
Bruno’s pick 8-9
Titans: There are some dudes on this team. And there’s some dudes on tv who get paid to make predictions that have them winning this division. Cam Ward May be a good qb in this league someday, but he’s going to have a rough year one and I don’t see him as a potential game changing star personally. I could see this getting ugly hard and fast.
Will fall between 2-5 wins
Bruno’s pick 3-14
AFC West
Broncos: I think the Broncos are the third best team on paper going into this season. I could ramble on about that, but instead I’m going to take the time to give Sean Payton his flowers, because he deserves it. You will hear people say, “Payton is an offensive guy, and they are good because of defense” and while there is some truth to that based on last season (I personally think they are much better on offense this year) it doesn’t really grasp what a Head Coach’s role is. A Head Coach’s job one is to get people to buy in. And there’s no doubt that despite where they were two seasons ago when he was hired, the Broncos organization is trending up.
Will fall between 11-14 wins
Bruno’s pick 12-5
Chiefs: I know. Never count the chiefs out, Chiefs are the new patriots, ect ect. And yeah, patriots only lost the division once I think the entire time brady was their qb, the year he got hurt and gave Cassiel a brief career….with the Chiefs. But I think we finally have the AFC west that has been promised, and I think they are behind the broncos this year. It’s close enough where they may ultimately take it, but either way I expect a fight the whole way.
Will fall between 10-13 wins
Bruno’s Pick 11-6
Chargers: They will be solid, and in another division, I might have higher expectations. But at this point it’s hard to see them keeping up with the Broncos and Chiefs.
Will fall between 8-10 wins
Bruno’s pick 8-9
Raiders: I really like that the raiders brought in Pete to turn the nonsense around. He may retire before fruition, but they have some nice pieces already and Mr. Carrol is a future HoF coach. They should be back to solid as soon as next season, and I think Jentry is going to have a monster year as a rookie, but it’s year one in an extremely strong division.
Will fall between 6-8 wins
Bruno’s Pick 6-11
NFC East
Eagles: Best Team in the NFL. They have a new OC (again) but how hard can it be to hand the ball off to saquan, hit aj brown off play action, and tush push your way to back-to-back?
Will fall between 12-15 wins
Bruno’s pick 15-2
Cowboys: The Cowboys must rebuild their defense, that much is obvious, and that will take a year or two. They also need a back. But I think they have enough talent to bounce back nicely this year and will shut up a lot of the Parsons trade haters.
Will fall between 8-11 wins
Bruno’s pick 10-7
Giants: I think the giants will be fine with Russ. I really like Jaxon Dart, and have since I sat down and watched his, Ward’s, and Sander’s highlights. He has the capacity to make special throws all over the field, and under duress like Mahomes and Allen do. I personally think they need to let him simmer for a year, but he showed enough this preseason where I mind it less than I might have a few months ago if they put him in early if Russ looks bad.
Will fall between 6-9 wins
Bruno’s pick 8-9
Commanders: I think that the Commies Cinderella run last year was a curse. Jayden is Amazing, and the roster is improved from last year, but last year they got lucky a lot. I think Dan Quinn is a good HC, and by next season they may be back in the mix of contenders, but its going to be hard to duplicate that level of success again being on everyone’s radar now with what they have this season.
Will fall between 8-10 wins
Bruno’s Pick 8-9
NFC Central
Lions: No, I’m not confused on which NFC north team traded for Parsons. And yes, I know the lions staff got cannibalized this offseason. Good teams lose assistants all the time though and keep on going, so while I think this is another tight race like the Broncos/Chiefs I’m giving the edge to the team that has done it the last few years.
Will fall between 11-13 wins
Bruno’s pick 12-5
Packers: There’s no doubt that Parsons makes them better. I personally don’t think it makes them good enough to get past the better teams in the division, and there are still giant questions at WR, but like I said in the lions blip this race should be fun to watch.
Will fall between 10-12 wins
Bruno’s pick 11-6
Bears: Ben Johnson has a great offensive mind, so the only real question is did he learn how to be a team CEO from Dan Cambell, and will his brand work. If it does, the bears should be trending up by the end of the season.
Will fall between 6-9 wins
Bruno’s pick: 8-9
Vikings: I’m going to date myself and say the Vikings had Sophies Choice this offseason. They wanted to keep Darnold, but with no commitment, and Darnold of course wanted to get paid off a career year. Now they are tossing an untested kid coming off a big injury into the fire and hoping for the best. They solidified their oline a little, and tossing the ball to Justin Jefferson can make any qb look good. I just worry that if the kid struggles, there will be tough questions all around. Luckily, Minnesota is known for its friendly folk.
Will fall between 6-9 wins
Bruno’s pick 7-10
NFC South
Bucs: Not much to say here, the Bucs are still head and shoulders above the rest of the division and have an easy route to the show. They also have enough talent to make some noise once they get there.
Will fall between 9-12 wins
Bruno’s Pick 11-6
Panthers: It’s a Bryce day for a Young man to walk out and show the world what he’s made of. I really liked the way this kid looked coming out of college three years ago, and he’s gotten better as time has gone on. Not everyone can be a year one surprise, lest it stop being a surprise.
Will fall between 6-9 wins
Bruno’s pick 9-8
Falcons: Now that no one is hyping them anymore, maybe they can come out to play? I dunno, they certainly have enough talent but never seem to get it right.
Will fall between 6-9 wins
Bruno’s Pick 6-11
Saints: Arguably the worst team in the league right now, and I don’t see any hope for improvement this season.
Will fall between 2-5 wins
Bruno’s pick 4-13
NFC West
49ers: Yeah, I did it. There’s no doubt that they have lost some talent, and the talent they do have is starting to get a little old. But as an old man, I know that old is not always a bad thing, and I think they have more than enough talent to quietly rack up wins all season. Assuming they can stay healthy at least. Saleh can make a gourmet meal on defense with just about anyone, so don’t be surprised if that unit way overperforms.
Will fall between 9-12 wins
Bruno’s pick 12-5
Rams: This is the best team in this division, possibly the second best in the conference. So why do I have them second to the 9ers? Because they start slow, and the 9ers usually don’t.
Will fall between 9-12 wins
Bruno’s pick 11-6
Seahawks: I’m rooting for you Sam, I really am. I’m just not sure that line can keep Casper away. This team had a decent overhaul this year, as MacDonald is clearly starting to do things his way. That’s a good thing, but if there is a real future in it I don’t think it shows up in a big way until next year.
Will fall between 7-10 wins
Bruno’s pick 8-9
Cardinals: Last year I bought into the Cardinals hype preseason. This year I am taking a “Fool me once” position on them. Its not like they don’t have enough dudes to overperform expectations still, they do, I just have a hard time buying in two years in a row.
Will fall between 5-8 wins
Bruno’s pick 6-11
Playoffs!?!
Bills, Ravens, Texans, Broncos the AFC division winners.
Chiefs, Bengals, Jaguars the wildcards
Eagles, Lions, Bucs, 49ers NFC division winners.
Packers, Rams, Cowboys the wildcards.
Superbowl, I have the Eagles beating the Bills.
