I bet you thought I was just going to let it go, didn’t you?
You thought that I would just throw out a bunch of BOLD PREDICTIONS and wouldn’t hold myself accountable, huh?
Oh that’s not me my friend!
After an epic Super Bowl, the 2014 NFL season has come to a conclusion. This brings us to the first part of every season – looking back at last season. For all but one team, it means figuring out where things went wrong (being a Raiders fan, that would take way too long to do here). So instead, let’s take a look back at the BOLD PREDICTIONS made this season and see where we went wrong!
OR…hopefully more times than not…where we went right!
BOLD PREDICTIONS … HERE WE GO!!!
Week 1 – BOLD PREDICTION OF THE WEEK – THE COWBOYS WILL WIN THE NFC EAST THIS SEASON - Well the prediction didn’t start off as planned as the Cowboys fell to the 49ers in week 1. Dallas would then go on to win their next six games, finish 12-4, and yes WIN the NFC East…as was boldly predicted right here!
Week 2 – BOLD PREDICTION is that Andy Dalton will throw for over 400 yards for the first time in his career – While the Bengals ended up beating the Falcons here, Andy Dalton disappointed and only managed 252 yards. An Andy Dalton disappointing performance…stop me if you’ve heard that one before.
Week 3 – BOLD PREDICTION is that with the AFC as wide open as it seems now, THE BILL WILL MAKE THE PLAYOFFS THIS SEASON – Fell just short of this one as well, but for a team that finished with one of the worst records in the league in 2013, staying playoff eligible through up until week 16 is a huge step in the right direction.
Week 4 – BOLD PREDICTION is that Kirk Cousins will be a starting quarterback in week 1 of 2015 … and that will be with the Redskins – There very well could be a quarterback change in Washington next year as the RGIII project seems to have fizzled out. However, Cousins’ five turnover game in week 4 may have been the start of proving that he won’t be a part of the change. We’ll count this one as a loss.
Week 5 – BOLD PREDICTION … the SAINTS WILL WIN THE NFC SOUTH – All they had to do was win HALF of their games and they would have won the division! What is going on in New Orleans?
Week 6 – BOLD PREDICTION is that Devin Hester WILL return a kick against his former team – Well he didn’t return a kick but his team did manage to lay an egg against the Bears. So there’s that.
Week 7 – BOLD PREDICTION will be that the Raiders will win their first game of the season this week – The Raiders weren’t able to get their first win this week, but it came soon after. For how bad the season started, Oakland at least looked a little more respectable in the second half of the season and have given fans a glimmer of hope for the future.
Week 8 – BOLD PREDICTION is that Arian Foster will have a 200 yard game – Well he came pretty close with an impressive 151 yards on the ground helping the Texas to a two touchdown win over division rival Tennessee.
Week 9 – BOLD PREDICTION that the winner of the NFC South will NOT have a record above .500 – Nailed it!
Week 10 – BOLD PREDICTION is that the 49ers will not make the playoffs this season – Two in a row! After three consecutive NFC title game appearances, the wheels fell off in the Bay leading to the end of the Jim Harbaugh era.
Week 11 – BOLD PREDICTION is that the Seahawks will NOT make the playoffs this year – Close! OK, so they made the Super Bowl instead. I’d like to think that it was MY prediction that motivated the Seahawks to show me up. You’re welcome Seattle!
Week 12 – BOLD PREDICTION for this week is that AJ Green will have a 200 yard receiving day – 12 catches for 121 yards isn’t a horrible game, but it was enough to make me out to be a liar.
Week 13 – BOLD PREDICTION is that this game (Packers vs Patriots) will be this year’s Super Bowl matchup – Oh so close here! I was one Green Bay collapse away from a correct prediction. But hey, if the Packers make the right decisions with some of their key free agents, it could still very well be the matchup for Super Bowl 50.
Week 14 – BOLD PREDICTION this week is that Geno Smith will have a second consecutive sub-100 yard passing day – Smith finished with a respectable 254 yards and was almost able to pull off the minor upset in Minnesota, but it still doesn’t look like it was enough to save his job.
Week 15 – BOLD PREDICTION for this week is that Johnny Manziel will NOT be the starting quarterback for the Browns week 1 of next season – The guy is in rehab right now – you do the math.
Week 16 – BOLD PREDICTION is that Jay Cutler will NOT be the quarterback of the Chicago Bears week 1 next season – With a new GM/coach combo, the Bears could very well be looking to make some changes. For their sake, hopefully it will mean getting rid of the most overpaid player in the league!
Week 17 – BOLD PREDICTION to end 2014 is that the Raiders will have a .500 or better record in 2015 – Obviously not something that we’ll know now, but with Derek Carr’s progression, another high draft pick, a boatload of money to spend in free agency and a last place team’s schedule for 2015, the stars could very well align for the silver and black.
