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September 9, 2010

It's time for preseason prognostictions

By Jim Rueda Free Press Sports Editor

MANKATO — The NFL season begins tonight with the Vikings playing at New Orleans in a rematch of last year’s NFC championship game. With that in mind, here are my predictions for the 2010 season.

We’ll start with division winners:

In the AFC East it will be New England that wins the title. A lot of armchair quarterbacks like the Jets, but I’m still not a believer in Mark Sanchez.

The AFC West goes to San Diego by default. Oakland and Kansas City still have a lot of work to do and Denver isn’t quite in the same class as the Chargers just yet.

The AFC South belongs to Indianapolis simply because the Colts are the most balanced team in the division. Houston has great offense but a suspect defense, Tennessee still has some defensive problems and

Jacksonville is mediocre on both sides of the ball.

In the AFC North the winner will be Baltimore. The Ravens’ defense is not what it once was, but the offense has improved enough that it no longer has to be carried by Ray Lewis and Co. Pittsburgh could sneak in if it survives its Roethlisberger-less start, but I still like the Ravens.

In the NFC, I’ll go with Dallas to win the East. The Cowboys offense may be a bit over hyped but the defense is for real.

The NFC West title goes to San Francisco, again by default. Seattle is average, the Rams are ... well the Rams ... and Arizona no longer has Kurt Warner. Derek Anderson will surprise some people in Arizona, but not enough to catch Frisco.

In the NFC South, the team to beat is again New Orleans. Atlanta may give the Saints all they can handle but the Falcons are still a year away.

Green Bay is the popular pick in the NFC North and it should be. The Packers are better on defense than last year and boast perhaps the premier passing attack in the NFL. Look for Green Bay to reverse its fortunes from a year ago and to beat Minnesota twice during the regular season.

The AFC championship game will come down Baltimore vs. Indianapolis with the Colts prevailing.

The NFC champiionship will feature Green Bay against Dallas with the Cowboys coming out on top.

In the Super Bowl, the pick is Dallas 28, Baltimore 24 in another tight title game.



Jim Rueda is the Free Press sports editor. To contact him, call 344-6381 or e-mail him at jrueda@mankatofreepress.com

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