7 Bold Predictions for the 2014 NFL Season

It’s always fun to come up with some whacky, bold predictions prior to the start of the NFL season. It’s not for the fact that you actually have some secret inside information, but what if the statement you so boldly made actually comes true? At the least, you’ve earned some cool bragging rights and the right to talk trash with your sports buddies after they doubted you.

Here are some bold thoughts and predictions made via Twitter that I thought would be fun to explore, analyze and maybe provide a good laugh. I’ll tackle this first one since we are just days away from the 2014 NFL Draft.

1. San Francisco 49ers make a trade with the Oakland Raiders in order to attempt to select Sammy Watkins.

https://twitter.com/Sheapeso/statuses/459792116269334529

This would indeed be a gutsy move by the 49ers, and an intelligent one in my opinion. If the 49ers could get their hands on Watkins, he would provide extra enhancement at wide receiver in addition to Anquan Boldin, Michael Crabtree, and Vernon Davis. The question is what would the 49ers trade, and how can they be sure that the teams with picks one through four will not snag Watkins first? The St. Louis Rams have the second draft pick and could be eying Watkins themselves to beef up their offense.

2. The Washington Redskins could win The Super Bowl Now with DeSean Jackson on the team.

This is quite bold, especially if you think the bulk of the ability of advancing the 3-13 Redskins to Super Bowl all lies upon DeSean Jackson. I do believe Jackson gives Robert Griffin III another amazing option paired up opposite Pierre Garcon. Add this double-threat to to tight end Jordan Reed and RGIII’s weapons do look quite impressive. Without coach Mike Shanahan and RGIII contradicting each other, the team should see a boost in morale, and hopefully they’ll improve their stats.

How many times did we see RGIII and Shanahan at a press conference and they were totally on a different page?

3. Matt Schaub will be the most productive quarterback in five years.

https://twitter.com/snowdenlit/statuses/451528076980412416

This is the point where we insert that laughter that I mentioned above. Even newly signed running back Maurice Jones-Drew is on the never-never land bandwagon here. I would like to know what exactly is in the California air near Oakland that is creating such delusional thoughts.

The Raiders haven’t appeared in a Super Bowl since 2002 and I don’t see that happening this season. Nor would I trust Schaub with his predicted productivity boost to lead my fantasy football team to a championship title.

4. The Detroit Lions will go 11-5 in 2014.

I don’t think this is totally outrageous, so, I will back this bold prediction myself. The Lions will win every game in 2014 except their matchups in Weeks 2, 11, 12, 16 and 17. I selected their away games against stiffer opponents along with weather conditions to weed out the five games they will potentially lose. The major caveat here is the Matthew Stafford keeps his interceptions under control, which I’m sure we can all agree upon, otherwise the Lions will fall into their predictable 7-9 type of record.

5. Mark Sanchez will bring you a fantasy football title.

I wholeheartedly do not back this bold statement. Insert more laughter.

Unless Nick Foles, who had a 119.2 quarterback passer rating in 2013, flops or gets injured, Sanchez will be on the sidelines pretending to look important with his clipboard or pestering his teammates. Should he step up to fill in for Foles during 2014, I really can’t imagine him ranking any higher than 20th among his fellow quarterbacks in fantasy points.

http://youtu.be/EHtttx6P7kg

6. The Cleveland Browns will go 10-6 with a wild card performance.

https://twitter.com/DawgPound_Des/statuses/459514495086256128

The Browns schedule isn’t too daunting in my opinion, so I could see them go 10-6 in 2014. With the fourth pick in the 2014 draft and some solid moves in free agency, I could see this happening. Brian Hoyer at quarterback isn’t exactly elite material, but if the Browns decide to select a rookie quarterback and it plays out well for them, they could be a team for their opponents to worry about.

Remember the Browns have Josh Gordon and Jordan Cameron both in their prime. Plus, if Sammy Watkins is still available, providing the 49ers don’t do magic to secure pick one, two or three, he would be an awesome compliment to Gordon.

7. Comeback player of the year will be Denver Broncos Von Miller.

https://twitter.com/clmjunior/statuses/459533502447226880

So Von Miller did get off to a horrible start in 2013 by serving a six-game suspension at the beginning of the season for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. If the 25- year-old linebacker, first-round draft pick by the Broncos in 2011 can stay clean and out of trouble, he could have a comeback in 2014. As far as comeback player of the year, that’s a stretch, but Miller, with a career 132 solo tackles and 35 sacks, has quite the potential for a better 2014 season.

Already off to creating a better image of himself the Denver Post reports..

Von Miller’s dream of helping kids is a vision. He provided 104 pairs of glasses for underprivileged kids Monday, spending two hours posing for selfies and signing autographs at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

We all know Von Miller for his nerdy, but ever-so stylish glasses he loves to wear.

This wraps it up for some bold and brave predictions NFL fans and writers are sharing for the 2014 season. Some are seriously farfetched, and others could happen. The madness will begin starting with the 2014 NFL Draft.

Photo: Geoff Burke, USA Today Sports