Not a Stellar Season of Prophesy
Shepherd and pastor of Patriots Pulpit, I am clearly no prophet. Not this year. I preach and proselytize, but (in 2006) mine was not to predict.
After a half season of mediocre weeks, I finished strong with an 11-5 record in Week 17. For the season, it left me at 149-107, an uncharacteristically pedestrian 57.4 percent. If I lamely discount the five games I missed picking, I climb to a still second-rate 59.4 percent.
The end of the 2005 regular season saw me 165-89 (missed two games), a solid 65.0 percent. I aim for 70.0 percent. So last year was subpar and this was, to my standards, pretty poor.
My preseason predictions are pretty awful. But not as bad as Dr. Z's. I don't know if that's supposed to make me feel better.
Preseason Predictions
* denotes Wild Card
AFC
Prediction
| East | North | South | West |
|---|---|---|---|
| New England Miami * N.Y. Jets Buffalo |
Pittsburgh Cincinnati Baltimore Cleveland |
Indianapolis Jacksonville * Houston Tennessee |
Denver San Diego Kansas City Oakland |
Result
| East | North | South | West |
|---|---|---|---|
| New England N.Y. Jets * Buffalo Miami |
Baltimore Cincinnati Pittsburgh Cleveland |
Indianapolis Tennessee Jacksonville Houston |
San Deigo Kansas City * Denver Oakland |
NFC
Prediction
| East | North | South | West |
|---|---|---|---|
| N.Y. Giants Dallas * Philadelphia Washington |
Minnesota Chicago Green Bay Detroit |
Carolina Atlanta * Tampa Bay New Orleans |
Seattle Arizona St. Louis San Francisco |
Result
| East | North | South | West |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Dallas * N.Y. Giants * Washington |
Chicago Green Bay Minnesota Detroit |
New Orleans Carolina Atlanta Tampa Bay |
Seattle St. Louis San Francisco Arizona |
I will pick the playoff games week-by-week. Pre-season, I made just one more prediction, and this is the only one that matters:
Super Bowl XLI
New England vs. N.Y. Giants
Winner: New England