2019 NFL Wild Card Preview

Even in a year where my team isn't in the playoffs once again... I just can't quit the NFL.

While Jen won the 2018 Pigskin Pick 'Em contest with me finishing just one game back, Adam clearly can't quit the NFL either even after a last place finish. He texted me Wednesday evening asking if we were doing anything for the playoffs. And because I can't help myself along with the fact that I've been doing this for years, we are going to go through the NFL playoff slate once again.

Last year it was just me, and I didn't track how I did against the spread. This year we're going to track that information, with Adam grabbing lines Thursday morning off of Bovada.

In a few weeks we will do our usual feature of Super Bowl prop bets, but this year we're doing the appetizer leading up to the main course. Here's a look at Wild Card Weekend.

2018 AFC South Preview

Happy Friday! We're onto the second half of my series of NFL previews and beginning the second thousand posts here at Confessions of a Sportscaster!

So far I've covered the North and West divisions in my circle around the country, and we're working through the South now before finishing up out east.

Continuing with my pattern of alternating conferences, we're back in the AFC today as we look at its South division.

2017 AFC South Preview

Happy Labor Day! Come celebrate with another NFL division preview!

I took a break over the weekend, and in the interim I'll be back with a look at college football in the morning, but for now, we're continuing our trip around the country going division by division to preview the entire league. So far, one wild card in each conference has been claimed. We'll see if the second AFC one goes today or not.

With three days until the season starts, you're almost out of time to join in the fun of picking games against the spread. Adam Quinn and I will be doing this weekly, and you can compete against us here.

Without further ado, here are today's predictions.

2017 NFL Divisional Preview

We're fast approaching another weekend, and the NFL playoffs are in full swing. Just eight teams remain in the quest for the Lombardi Trophy, and the four best teams from this past season are back in action this weekend.

All in all, last weekend was relatively uneventful unless you're one of the idiots who's blowing the whole Giants-On-The-Boat thing out of proportion. Them spending the off day with their families back home or whatever probably wouldn't have changed their defense getting torched by Aaron Rodgers in the final 35 minutes of the game.

So with that out of the way, let's take a look at the four games on tap this weekend.

2017 NFL Wild Card Preview

For some reason, I've been getting a ton of hits lately on my 2015 Wild Card post. I guess I hit the sweet spot on SEO-related stuff without even meaning to, because most of those hits have come in the past few months. Whatever the case, we're onto the playoffs for the 2016 season, and I need to get a new post up.

In years past, I have also done an awards post, but I opted to skip that this year given the timing of everything and my lack of really paying super close attention to the NFL this year (contrary to my finally getting a winning record in the Pigskin Pick 'Em this season). But this is something I can't pass up.

12 teams have survived the past four months, and it's time to take a look at the road to Houston for Super Bowl LI.

2016 AFC South Preview

Happy Labor Day! I don't take a ton of holidays when it comes to previews and posts like this, just because sports continue on on holidays. The NFL season is also just three days away. Good thing I only have three more division previews to get to.

I've almost made my way around the country to this point, with tomorrow being the final region of the country I have to focus on. Today, meanwhile, I'm moving on to the AFC South.

As another reminder with just three days left, you still have time to get in on the action of picking NFL games against the spread. Adam Quinn and I return our weekly feature of picking games on here, and Adam seeks to defend his 2015 title. You can join us in this endeavor at our ESPN Pigskin Pick 'Em group.

Let's get to the predictions.

2015 AFC South Preview

Another day, another NFL preview. Today we're on to the AFC South. This is probably a better division than the NFC version, but there are some bad teams in the mix in this one.

If you want to read some more in-depth previews for the NFL, you can go check out UKEndZone, where I will once again be contributing this season in addition to my duties here. You can also pick the results of NFL games against the spread with me and Adam in our annual ESPN Pigskin Pick 'Em contest. It's free to join, and while I can't offer anything tangible in the way of reward, bragging rights are fun, too.

Let's take a look at the AFC South.

AFC South

Common opponents on schedule: AFC East, NFC South

1. Indianapolis Colts
2014: 11-5 (1st), lost in AFC Championship Game
The Colts have just gotten better and better since Andrew Luck came to town. In each of the last three seasons, they have improved their position and gotten a step further than the year before. This year, Luck has a definite #2 receiver in Andre Johnson to take pressure off of last year's breakout star in T.Y. Hilton. Adding Frank Gore is a definite improvement on the ground as well, so the Colts will score plenty of points. I think their defense is good enough as well to hold their own. We're looking at a team on the verge of elite status if not already there, and one who will be in contention to play in February.
2015 Prediction: 12-4

2. Houston Texans
2014: 9-7 (2nd), missed playoffs 
Houston's offense is a bit of a question mark. Brian Hoyer is who he is at this point: an average quarterback, though he's got some decent weapons. DeAndre Hopkins and Cecil Shorts are okay at wideout, and I'm not sure what's going to happen at running back with Arian Foster rehabbing from surgery. This defense though... holy crap. I'm interested to see what will happen with Jadeveon Clowney now that he's healthy again, Vince Wilfork is a phenomenal nose tackle, the secondary is pretty good... and they have the best defensive player in the game in J.J. Watt. We'll see this team in January, and they might surprise some people if Hoyer can play well enough.
2015 Prediction: 10-6, Wild Card

3. Tennessee Titans
2014: 2-14 (4th), missed playoffs 
Full disclosure: I think I like Marcus Mariota more than I do Jameis Winston. Winston has the better weapons, but I think I prefer Mariota's raw talent. He's going to have a rough go of it during his rookie year, though. His best weapon might be Bishop Sankey, and when that's the case, it's not good. Their defense is decent though, with a healthy Brian Orakpo leading the way. I just don't think they have enough talent yet to compete, though Mariota is a good start.
2015 Prediction: 4-12

4. Jacksonville Jaguars
2014:3-13 (3rd), missed playoffs
I think Blake Bortles will probably be a decent long-term answer at quarterback for the struggling Jaguars, but he's only going into his sophomore season and doesn't have the best of weapons. The run game is decent, but not great, and even if he's healthy, Julius Thomas will see a downgrade after catching passes from Peyton Manning the last couple years. I'm also not really sold on their defense as a whole. This is a team that has been in flux and near the bottom for quite a while, and I really don't see anything that will change that for 2015.
2015 Prediction: 3-13

This is it for NFL previews for a day or so. Tuesday is the designated day to look at college football schedules, so I will take a break for a day to look at those, and I will be back on Wednesday with a look at the NFC West.

AFC South Preview

We're almost here! I've been kind of anxious for the NFL season to get underway for a while now. I've been wanting to get to preparing for another college football playoff, a process that starts Tuesday, but I'm just as excited for the pro level to begin.

Like in previous years, I'm going division by division to preview how I think teams are going to finish the 2014 campaign. Like last year, I'm ending with the division of the defending champ, so the NFC West will pop up next week.

Also this year, I will be renewing the COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em, and I will be re-instituting picking with a guest writer. He's been excited to join in on this since during the season last year, and I'm excited to have him.

So without further ado, let's dive into the previews, starting with the AFC South.

Common opponents: AFC North, NFC East

1.  Indianapolis Colts
2013: 11-5 (1st), lost in AFC Divisional Round
The schedule gets tougher for this year's Colts after they reclaimed ownership of the division last year. To me for this year, the bigger issue is the offensive line, and how well they do protecting third-year star Andrew Luck. Luck has good weapons at receiver again this year, but I wonder about his running game too. Will Trent Richardson bounce back from an awful year last year? And what about the defense? They've gotten away with it the past couple years in terms of getting to the postseason, but will they hold up against the attacks of teams like Philly, Denver and New England? I think given their overall schedule, they'll be fine.
2014 Prediction: 11-5

2. Houston Texans
2013: 2-14 (4th), missed playoffs
One of the biggest goofs I made last year? Picking the Texans to repeat as division champs. For whatever reason, Matt Schaub turned into a pick-6 machine and Houston couldn't really stop anything. They shored up their defense in the offseason, including drafting Jadeveon Clowney to line up opposite JJ Watt, which is terrifying. Facing a last place schedule, they have some very winnable games. Bill O'Brien proved he's a good coach during his stint at Penn State. But can he get Ryan Fitzpatrick back to the level he was at a few years ago when he got that big contract from Buffalo? If he does, the Texans might contend for a wild card.
2014 Prediction: 7-9

3. Tennessee Titans
2013: 7-9 (2nd), missed playoffs
The keys to the Titan offense have officially been passed to Jake Locker. Looking at his stats, he's actually been a bit better than I would have thought. They made a change at running back too, with Shonn Greene taking over the starting running back role with the departure of Chris Johnson. I'm not too sold on their receiving corps, with Nate Washington as the #1 guy. Defensively, I'm not really sold on these guys either. And Tennessee isn't playing New England, so the Bernard Karmell Pollard curse isn't a factor.
2014 Prediction: 5-11

4. Jacksonville Jaguars
2013: 4-12 (3rd), missed playoffs
This team was bad last year (remember, they were 27.5 point dogs at Denver last year). The advantage of being so bad? They potentially have their franchise quarterback now in Blake Bortles, though we said that about Blaine Gabbert too. Problem is, their starting running back is Toby Gerhart, though he was a good backup to Adrian Peterson in Minnesota. Meanwhile, this is a bad defense that really didn't do a lot to improve. They're on the right track as long as Bortles develops well, but they're not going anywhere this year.
2014 Prediction: 4-12

I'm back to work tomorrow, and I'll switch conferences over to the NFC South.