2017 Season Predictions

This entry was posted by on Friday, 25 August, 2017 at

The lure of the Steel Balls Trophy beckons you!

It’s that time of year where Steel Ballers put their reputations on the line to make their season predictions. Let me remind you of the rules of engagement:

Rules:

  1. Lowest score wins.
  2. Points are based on accuracy. An exact prediction yields zero points.
  3. Categories include:
    • Final regular season record for each AFCN team.
    • Divisional positioning of AFCN teams.
    • Number of Steelers playoff wins.
  4. Tie breaker: accuracy of game-by-game predictions

If you are too lazy to provide predictions in any of the above categories, you will get maximum points for that category.

Predictions will be accepted until Midnight ET September 9. You may change your predictions up until that time without penalty.

Good luck!

31 Responses to “2017 Season Predictions”

  1. Avatar photo copanut

    As usual, I’ll stick my neck out first. This year I’m really sticking it out.

    W – Week 01, Sep 10 1:00, at Browns
    W – Week 02, Sep 17 1:00, Vikings
    W – Week 03, Sep 24 1:00, at Bears
    W – Week 04, Oct 01 1:00, at Ravens
    W – Week 05, Oct 08 1:00, Jaguars
    W – Week 06, Oct 15 4:25, at Chiefs
    W – Week 07, Oct 22 1:00, Bengals
    W – Week 08, Oct 29 8:30, at Lions
    Week 09, Bye
    W – Week 10, Nov 12 1:00, at Colts
    W – Week 11, Nov 16 8:25, Titans (Thursday)
    L – Week 12, Nov 26 8:30, Packers (Monday)
    L – Week 13, Dec 04 8:30, at Bengals
    W – Week 14, Dec 10 8:30, Ravens
    W – Week 15, Dec 17 4:25, Patriots
    W – Week 16, Dec 25 4:30, at Texans (Christmas)
    W – Week 17, Dec 31 1:00, Browns

    Divisional Records
    Steelers 14 – 2
    Bengals 6 – 10
    Browns 6 – 10
    Ravens 5 – 11

    Steelers win 3 playoff games and take the trophy.

    The Steelers will finally exorcise the Patriot / Brady demon, and take the top seed. The Browns will surprise the league and get out of the AFCN cellar, finishing in a tie for second place. The Ravens will be exposed with an anemic offense and an aging defense. Harbaugh will be fired.

    • Avatar photo Tuskegee_Brown

      Sometimes I feel like Adrian in Rocky IV. After she witnesses the devastation Drago places on Apollo, she screams out to “You Can’t Win!” To Rocky after he announces his revenge fight with Drago. Well after seeing the Pats come back from a 25 point deficient to win a SB (without Gronk), stop the Seahawks with a SB winning INT, lose everyone but Brady and stay excellent for 17 yrs and of course continue to beat us like a running mule I feel like Adrian. “Steelers you can’t win!” against Brady. I hate that I feel that way; however, logic gives me no other option. Luckily, this year we won’t have to because the Texans will do our dirty work for us in the divisional playoff round. Therefore, mirroring our 40 and 43 SB paths we will make it to, and win, the SB without going through the Pats. NFC Champs: Packers

      Steelers: 12-4
      Bengals: 9-7
      Ravens: 7-9
      Browns: 2-14

      Week 01, at Browns – W
      Week 02, Vikings – W
      Week 03, at Bears – W
      Week 04, at Ravens – L
      Week 05, Jaguars – W
      Week 06, at Chiefs – W
      Week 07, Bengals – W
      Week 08, at Lions -W
      Week 09, Bye
      Week 10, at Colts -W
      Week 11, Titans – W
      Week 12, Packers – L
      Week 13, at Bengals – L
      Week 14, Ravens – W
      Week 15, Patriots – L
      Week 16, at Texans – W
      Week 17, Browns – W

      • Avatar photo Tuskegee_Brown

        If not completely inferred they go 3-0 in the playoffs.

  2. Avatar photo TomPaulBillyBob

    Week 1 — @ FOS, W
    Week 2 — MIN W
    Week 3 — @ CHI W
    Week 4 — @ Rats W
    Week 5 — JAX W
    Week 6 — @ KC L
    Week 7 — BUNGS W
    Week 8 — @ DET W
    BYE
    Week 10 — @ IND L
    Week 11 — TEN W
    Week 12 — GB W
    Week 13 — @ Bungs L
    Week 14 — Rats W
    Week 15 — Pretty Boy and his merry men L
    Week 16 — @ HOU W
    Week 17 — FOS W

    Final Prediction 12 – 4 … I wanted to give win in Week 15, but until they prove it …..

    Divisional Records:
    Steelers: 12 – 4
    Bungholes: 9 – 7
    FOS: 7 – 9
    RATS: 5 – 11

    Steelers will win 3 playoff games

  3. Avatar photo Army01

    W – Week 01, Sep 10 1:00, at Browns
    W – Week 02, Sep 17 1:00, Vikings
    W – Week 03, Sep 24 1:00, at Bears
    W – Week 04, Oct 01 1:00, at Ravens
    W – Week 05, Oct 08 1:00, Jaguars
    L– Week 06, Oct 15 4:25, at Chiefs
    W– Week 07, Oct 22 1:00, Bengals
    W – Week 08, Oct 29 8:30, at Lions
    Week 09, Bye
    W – Week 10, Nov 12 1:00, at Colts
    L – Week 11, Nov 16 8:25, Titans (Thursday)
    L – Week 12, Nov 26 8:30, Packers (Monday)
    W – Week 13, Dec 04 8:30, at Bengals
    W – Week 14, Dec 10 8:30, Ravens
    L – Week 15, Dec 17 4:25, Patriots
    W – Week 16, Dec 25 4:30, at Texans (Christmas)
    W – Week 17, Dec 31 1:00, Browns. M ,,

    Divisional Records
    Steelers 12 – 4
    Ratbirds 9 – 7
    Bengals 7 – 9
    Browns 4 – 12

    Steelers win 2 playoff games

  4. Avatar photo Army01

    COPA……..nice to see that the trophy is not X rated this year.

    • Avatar photo copanut

      Maybe I’m growing up in my old age, who knows?

      In honor of your 2016 victory and your service to your country, I humbly present you with a revised trophy.

      • Avatar photo Army01

        Thank you for your kind gesture. BTW…..it is so much more difficult to repeat!

  5. Avatar photo Earl

    (L) Week 01, Sep 10 1:00, at Browns
    (L) Week 02, Sep 17 1:00, Vikings
    (W) Week 03, Sep 24 1:00, at Bears
    (L) Week 04, Oct 01 1:00, at Ravens
    (W) Week 05, Oct 08 1:00, Jaguars
    (L) Week 06, Oct 15 4:25, at Chiefs
    (W) Week 07, Oct 22 1:00, Bengals
    (W) Week 08, Oct 29 8:30, at Lions
    Week 09, Bye
    (W) Week 10, Nov 12 1:00, at Colts
    (W) Week 11, Nov 16 8:25, Titans (Thursday)
    (L) Week 12, Nov 26 8:30, Packers (Monday)
    (W) Week 13, Dec 04 8:30, at Bengals
    (W) Week 14, Dec 10 8:30, Ravens
    (L) Week 15, Dec 17 4:25, Patriots
    (W) Week 16, Dec 25 4:30, at Texans (Christmas)
    (W) Week 17, Dec 31 1:00, Browns

    Divisional Records
    Steelers 10-6
    Rats 9-7
    Bengals 8-8
    Browns 6-10

    Steelers win one playoff game
    Close the bridges

    • Avatar photo J A M E S H

      Damn, Earl. (You’re probably not used to hearing a comma between those two words) If your pattern keeps up, the Steelers are going to finish 6-10.

      • Avatar photo J A M E S H

        You’re now 0-6 after the Chiefs game but I feel you’re about to go on a win streak.

  6. Avatar photo malsor

    W week 01, Sep 10 1:00, at Browns
    W Week 02, Sep 17 1:00, Vikings
    W Week 03, Sep 24 1:00, at Bears
    L Week 04, Oct 01 1:00, at Ravens
    W Week 05, Oct 08 1:00, Jaguars
    L Week 06, Oct 15 4:25, at Chiefs
    W Week 07, Oct 22 1:00, Bengals
    W Week 08, Oct 29 8:30, at Lions
    Week 09, Bye
    W Week 10, Nov 12 1:00, at Colts
    L Week 11, Nov 16 8:25, Titans (Thursday)
    L Week 12, Nov 26 8:30, Packers (Monday)
    W Week 13, Dec 04 8:30, at Bengals
    W Week 14, Dec 10 8:30, Ravens
    L Week 15, Dec 17 4:25, Patriots
    W Week 16, Dec 25 4:30, at Texans (Christmas)
    W Week 17, Dec 31 1:00, Browns

    Divisional Records:
    Steelers 11-5
    Ravens 9-7
    Bengals 8-8
    Browns 4-12

    Steelers win one playoff game then get the living daylights beat out of them by NE thanks to keeping the same secondary personnel/scheme and the great dirty red as top backup ILB

    • Avatar photo malsor

      EDIT: after the haden acquisition they win 2 playoff games (im assuming they get a bye) that includes NE and win the SB..

  7. Avatar photo abennihana

    So, the game by game predictions are being used for tie breaker purposes only?
    Or are we getting zero or one point per game each week?

    • Avatar photo abennihana

      And what if we said the Steelers will advance as far as the AFC CG?
      Does our answer need to assume exactly how many games they win, which assumes the do or do not get a bye, or not?
      If they get a bye, they only have to win one. If not, gotta win two.

      • Avatar photo copanut

        Game by game results mean nothing except in the case of a tie breaker. So for example, if two people predict 11-5 plus two playoff wins, and that’s the exact result plus they both correctly guessed the AFCN order of finish, I’d look at the accuracy of the week to week predictions as a tiebreaker. If you correctly guessed all 16 game winners that would be more impressive than someone who got the total right but got a half dozen game results reversed.

        As far as the playoff bye, it doesn’t really matter. What matters is the number of playoff wins, so if the team plays the wild card week and loses the SB, that would count for three playoff wins, as would a first round bye along with a SB victory.

        Any additional predictions you want to make work in your favor for tie breakers, so if you predict three playoff wins and also predict a Super Bowl win, the latter is a tie breaker against someone who predicted three playoff wins and a SB loss. If you don’t predict at that level of detail, you don’t get the potential of that tie breaker.

        So, the more predictions you throw in, the better your chances of gaining tie breaker points. You can guess things like MVP, DPOY, number of interceptions thrown by Flacco, whatever you want, and that would be taken into consideration. On the other hand if you make 100 goofy predictions and only 1 is accurate, you would lose against someone who made only 1 extra prediction (or 99) with 1 being accurate, so you shouldn’t be completely arbitrary. Also, I have the discretion to disregard spurious predictions such as the day on which Christmas will fall, so being goofy only aggravates the moderator and does not enhance your chances. Indeed since he has full discretion, it might have the opposite effect.

        All that said, my advice is to not worry about any of this detail and just have fun with it and let your humble moderator worry about the details when it comes to scoring the results.

        Oh yeah, there is one other tiebreaker – date of submission. An earlier submission has a tiebreaker over later submissions. If you edit your predictions after it has already been submitted (e.g., an adjustment after a major injury), the date of edit is what counts.

        • Avatar photo abennihana

          My submission will be late as usual. There will be less effort involved than most years.

          • Avatar photo copanut

            “Whatever gets you through the night, it’s all right, it’s all right” – John Lennon

            “How many minutes do you kindly offer?” – Khan Noonien Singh

  8. Avatar photo kalel1199

    W – Week 01, Sep 10 1:00, at Browns
    W – Week 02, Sep 17 1:00, Vikings
    W – Week 03, Sep 24 1:00, at Bears
    L – Week 04, Oct 01 1:00, at Ravens
    W – Week 05, Oct 08 1:00, Jaguars
    W – Week 06, Oct 15 4:25, at Chiefs
    W – Week 07, Oct 22 1:00, Bengals
    W – Week 08, Oct 29 8:30, at Lions
    Week 09, Bye
    W – Week 10, Nov 12 1:00, at Colts
    W – Week 11, Nov 16 8:25, Titans (Thursday)
    L – Week 12, Nov 26 8:30, Packers (Monday)
    W – Week 13, Dec 04 8:30, at Bengals
    W – Week 14, Dec 10 8:30, Ravens
    L – Week 15, Dec 17 4:25, Patriots
    W – Week 16, Dec 25 4:30, at Texans (Christmas)
    W – Week 17, Dec 31 1:00, Browns

    stillers 13-3, bungles 8-8, ratbirds 6-10, browns 1-15

    3 playoff wins, 7th Lombardi….

  9. Avatar photo MWalsh26

    W – Week 01, Sep 10 1:00, at Browns
    W – Week 02, Sep 17 1:00, Vikings
    L – Week 03, Sep 24 1:00, at Bears
    W – Week 04, Oct 01 1:00, at Ravens
    W – Week 05, Oct 08 1:00, Jaguars
    L – Week 06, Oct 15 4:25, at Chiefs
    W – Week 07, Oct 22 1:00, Bengals
    W – Week 08, Oct 29 8:30, at Lions
    Week 09, Bye
    W – Week 10, Nov 12 1:00, at Colts
    W – Week 11, Nov 16 8:25, Titans (Thursday)
    W – Week 12, Nov 26 8:30, Packers (Monday)
    L – Week 13, Dec 04 8:30, at Bengals
    W – Week 14, Dec 10 8:30, Ravens
    W – Week 15, Dec 17 4:25, Patriots
    W – Week 16, Dec 25 4:30, at Texans (Christmas)
    W – Week 17, Dec 31 1:00, Browns

    Divisional Records
    Steelers 13– 3
    Bengals 9 – 7
    Ravens 7 – 9
    Browns 4 – 12

    3 Wins and #7!

    • Avatar photo J A M E S H

      Good call on the Bears game, Mike. Down right prescient.

      • Avatar photo MWalsh26

        Not happy about it!

  10. Avatar photo EstimatedProphet

    W week 01, Sep 10 1:00, at Browns
    W Week 02, Sep 17 1:00, Vikings
    W Week 03, Sep 24 1:00, at Bears
    L Week 04, Oct 01 1:00, at Ravens
    W Week 05, Oct 08 1:00, Jaguars
    L Week 06, Oct 15 4:25, at Chiefs
    W Week 07, Oct 22 1:00, Bengals
    W Week 08, Oct 29 8:30, at Lions
    Week 09, Bye
    W Week 10, Nov 12 1:00, at Colts
    W Week 11, Nov 16 8:25, Titans (Thursday)
    W Week 12, Nov 26 8:30, Packers (Monday)
    L Week 13, Dec 04 8:30, at Bengals
    W Week 14, Dec 10 8:30, Ravens
    L Week 15, Dec 17 4:25, Patriots
    W Week 16, Dec 25 4:30, at Texans (Christmas)
    W Week 17, Dec 31 1:00, Browns

    Divisional Records:
    Steelers 12-4
    Bengals 8-8
    Browns 8-8
    Ravens 7-9

    Steelers win one playoff game and lose to the Pats in the AFC Championship game again. This time though the Pats lose to the NFC team in the SB.

  11. Avatar photo tennbob

    Week 1 v. Browns W
    Week 2 v. Bears W
    Week 3 v. Rats W
    Week 4 v. Jags W
    Week 5 v. Chiefs L
    Week 6 v. Bungles W
    Week 7 v. Lions W
    Week 8 v. Colts W
    Week 9 Bye
    Week 10 v. Titans W
    Week 11 v. Packers L
    Week 12 v. Bungles W
    Week 13 v. Rats W
    Week 14 v. Pats L
    Week 15 v. Texans L
    Week 16 v. Browns W

    Division records
    Steelers 12-4
    Bungles 8-8
    Rats 7-9
    Browns 6-10

    Steelers get 2nd Bye and win over Pats in AFCCG
    Get Lombardi #7 and Big Ben Retires along with Deebo.

    • Avatar photo Army01

      Where is the Viking game?

      • Avatar photo J A M E S H

        I believe it was in Pittsburgh………..

        • Avatar photo J A M E S H

          nyuk nyuk nyuk

        • Avatar photo Army01

          That would have been where “was” the Vikings game……..but still a good one.

          • Avatar photo J A M E S H

            Looking at tennbob’s final record for the Steelers of 12-4, we can infer he called it a WIN against the Six Kings.

  12. Avatar photo J A M E S H

    19-0, Baby!

    Steelers 16-0
    Bengals 9-7
    Ravens 8-8
    Browns 4-12

    And we obnoxious Steelers fans eternally remind everyone that the ’72 Dolphins were only 14-0.
    SPIT (Special Teams, Penalties, Injuries, Turnovers) influences 80% of the game 90% of the time in half the games. For the season, it will be injuries that have the greatest influence. (duh)

    For the record, I could kiss Andy Reid on the lips after Thursday night’s opener.

    • Avatar photo J A M E S H

      Well, I failed to predict the correct outcome of only 3 regular season games. Shame that wasn’t a category.


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