Come and Blog It Annual Prediction of How the NFL Season Will Play Out

This year, a simple pattern has already told us who the Super Bowl Champion will be. But first a quick story.

We went to see a play this weekend with some new friends. It was called "We Live Here" and it followed the stories of eight Chicagoans as they described life in the Windy City. It was pretty fantastic, but one key phrase stuck out, possibly because it was repeated with much frequency at one point in the show.

You don't move into Chicago. Chicago moves into you.

I liked that. It's true for the most part, but I also liked it because it reminded me of something I once heard back in college at Texas A&M.

Today, you're a student at Texas A&M, but at some point it'll hit you that you're an Aggie.

I remember that moment for me. It happened early on in my college career. After several tryout sessions of varying degree, I walked up to the locker room door underneath the Kyle Field stands and saw my name listed among the nine students selected to be a part of the Fightin' Texas Aggie football team. I remember walking a little taller that day as I crossed the campus. I felt like anything was possible, and I felt that the next four years of my life were going to be pretty great. I was an Aggie after all.

But there was something else that was said in the play that stuck out to:

At first, Chicago tries to kick you out...

Ah, right. So, it does. So did Texas A&M. That first year wasn't all sunshine and football collisions as I had anticipated. A lot of it was tough. Quitting crossed my mind more than once. Not just football, either. The whole thing - quitting football, quitting a class, quitting every class and just going home.

But after that passed, after Texas A&M and/or Chicago learns that it can't kick you out. It puts its arm around you and brings you into a community that you hoped existed, but had no idea what it would really mean to you.

If I had to guess, we all have similar experiences of standing firm through tough times and being rewarded for doing so.

So, in that honor I'm going to give you my annual predictions a little differently this year. The league will be broken down into categories and each team placed in their right position. The first category is:

TOUGH TIMES AHEAD

For various reasons, the teams will struggle this year and most likely for the foreseeable future. Anything resembling a winning season should be heralded as a victory against all odds.

Cincinnati Bengals
Miami Dolphins
Oakland Raiders
Jacksonville Jaguars
Carolina Panthers
San Francisco 49ers
Washington Redskins

THERE IS A LIGHT AT THE END OF THIS TUNNEL

These teams have hope of some sort. Maybe it's not their year, but anything can happen right? There's a bounce in their steps and it will be there for a good three or four weeks before they realize that they still have some work to do before climbing that mountain. But at least they can imagine climbing it.

Buffalo Bills
Cleveland Browns
Tennessee Titans
Denver Broncos
Minnesota Vikings
Seattle Seahawks
Arizona Cardinals

HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL

Who knows, right? I mean, who knows? Maybe these teams have a shot at glory. Maybe, just maybe, they're on that right path and if they catch a break or two, maybe they'll even be playing in the post season. That'd be pretty cool, huh?

Houston Texans
Kansas City Chiefs
Dallas Cowboys
NY Giants
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Detroit Lions
Chicago Bears
St. Louis Rams

YOU ARE AN NFL TEAM and YOU KNOW IT

It's official. The moment happened. Maybe it was when Drew Bledsoe got hurt and Tom Brady took over for you and led you to a Super Bowl win. Maybe it was when Miami couldn't get a deal done to bring in some QB from San Diego, but you did and he led you to the promised land. Or perhaps it's always been that way - forever. At least it feels like forever. Losing is not something you do. And how could you with the ghosts of Mean Joe Greene and Terry Bradshaw and Franco Harris watching your every move? Whenever it was, something clicked. The NFL couldn't kick you out, so instead it put it's arm around and offered you glory. And you're poised to take it.

New England Patriots
Pittsburgh Steelers
Green Bay Packers
Baltimore Ravens
San Diego Chargers
New Orleans Saints
Atlanta Falcons
New York Jets
Indianapolis Colts
Philadelphia Eagles

Now for my playoff predictions. From among these 32, only 1 shall remain standing at the end. As a twist, I must pick at least one team from each group to go to the playoffs. You didn't see that coming did you!?!

AFC PLAYOFF ENTRANTS:

Oakland Raiders - many predict a step back; I boldly predict a step forward
New England Patriots - don't pick against the king until someone knocks his crown off
Pittsburgh Steelers - ugh
Baltimore Ravens - ditto the ugh
Tennessee Titans - out of nowhere to win a weakened AFC South on the legs of Chris Johnson
San Diego Chargers - holding off the Raiders just enough to take the division

NFC PLAYOFF ENTRANTS:

Philadelphia Eagles - will all of the free agent signings amount to anything? Probably a playoff berth at least
New Orleans Saints - add Mark Ingram to this mix and these guys are dangerous
Atlanta Falcons - add Julio Jones opposite Roddy White and these guys are also dangerous
Green Bay Packers - the Champs; and have a chance to do it again
St. Louis Rams - winners of the weak NFC West on the strong arm of Sam Bradford
Detroit Lions - if Stafford is healthy, why not?

SUPER BOWL PARTICIPANTS:

New England Patriots - they get back to the big game; it's not as pretty this time, but they get the job done in the AFC
Green Bay Packers - get this, math says the Green Bay Packers repeat as World Champions.

Hear me out. Let's start looking in the modern, modern era of the NFL. Anything before the release of back to the future is tough to analyze, so we'll start with the first of the modern, modern dynasties.

The following lists the year the Super Bowl was played and the winner. Can you catch the pattern?

1989 - SF
1990 - SF

skip 2 years

1993 - Dallas
1994 - Dallas

skip 3 years

1998 - Denver
1999 - Denver

skip 4 years

2004 - New England
2005 - New England

skip 5 years

2011 - Green Bay Packers
2012 - Green Bay Packers....?

So, whether we like it or not, the future has become known already. The Green Bay Packers will repeat as World Champions.