Tag: Predictions

2019 Pac-12 Football Predictions: Can Oregon, Utah, or Washington make a run to the CFB Playoff Semifinals?

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With Fall camp right around the corner and with it the BEST time of the year approaching, it’s time to break down how I believe the Pac-12 conference will shape up in 2019.

I went game-by-game and tried to predict my share of upsets – yes, some of them are a bit surprising (i.e. Oregon State over ASU)…but to me for example, OSU is better than a 1-11 team and ASU historically doesn’t play well in Corvallis in the cold of November. I also had trouble picking middling teams winning road games. I’m sure I’ll be proven incorrect but as of now on paper, this is what I chose to go with.

Below you’ll see the schedule matrix along with a brief synopsis as I see it for each team this Fall.

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Predicting Every Game of the 2019 NFL Schedule (June Edition)

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Cohen’s Corner is back for the first time in a month. I may not write as often these days (being on the radio every weekday for three hours is the culprit) but rest assured, I’ll be delivering plenty of NFL & CFB predictions this Fall as per usual.

For today’s column, this is an exercise I’ve enjoyed doing the last several seasons – picking every game throughout the season well in advance. Some of my game picks are a bit crazy but remember, the NFL is the most difficult sport to predict week-in, week-out in terms of surprising upsets. Heck, there’s a reason why NFL Survivor Pools are so difficult.
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Predicting the NFL’s 2019-20 Playoff Teams + My Super Early Power Rankings

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I won’t pull any punches with this statement: Not only was Super Bowl LIII a big letdown, it was the most poorly played “big game” I’ve ever watched in the NFL. With the exception of the 2012 BCS Championship Game (in college football), Alabama 19-0 over LSU, I can’t remember watching two more incompetent offenses in a meaningful game. It was brutal.

The biggest takeaway for the long term from the boring and uneventful Super Bowl was how poorly Rams QB Jared Goff looked. His Super Bowl performance was reminiscent of 2016, Goff’s rookie season when he was coached by the lackluster Jeff Fisher. While the Rams should have a hell of a team in future years, will they be held back by Goff? I think that question will be on plenty of Rams’ fans minds going forward.

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The Cohen’s Corner 2018 NFL Predictions

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My grandfather always used to say: “I may not always be right…but I’m never wrong.” In the case of my season-long (and weekly football picks), unfortunately that isn’t the case. Last year I picked the Patriots to run the table at 19-0…and then they lost Week 1 to the Chiefs. This year I’ll hold off on the bold predictions but below you’ll find my picks for every NFL game during the 2018-19 season. My Super Bowl champion is somewhat under the radar at 11-1 odds…can I actually get it right this year? Continue reading “The Cohen’s Corner 2018 NFL Predictions” →

2018 Pac-12 Football Predictions: Washington runs away with the North but the South should be fun

Published on by Eric CohenLeave a comment

Since Fall camp is right around the corner and with it the best time of the year approaching, it’s time to break down how I believe the Pac-12 conference will shape up in 2018.

Below I’ll project each team’s record (overall and in-conference) and give a bold prediction (at least I hope so) for each team.

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Continue reading “2018 Pac-12 Football Predictions: Washington runs away with the North but the South should be fun” →

NFL Schedule Release – Projecting Realistic Records for Each Team

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It’s April 20th…and the first weekend of football is 21 Sundays away but it’s still fun to project how teams might far based on how their schedule shapes up. Obviously these projections will likely be affected by draft picks, free agency moves, trades, and injuries come Labor Day Weekend but here’s my first crack at how I could see things playing out this Fall.

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Three Post-Super Bowl Thoughts + Predicting the NFL’s 2018-19 Playoff Teams

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Is it wrong to admit that I believe Super Bowl LII was the most entertaining in my lifetime? Off the top of my head it was one of the most compelling games from start-to-finish that I can remember. Here are three leftover (and probably somewhat crazy) thoughts from the day after the game:

1. Doug Pederson coached circles around Bill Belichick.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Philadelphia deserved to win this game. On offense, the Eagles’ play-calling was superior from beginning to end. I figured that Belichick, a defensive genius and the best-NFL coach I might ever see in my lifetime, would find a way to slow down Nick Foles, especially with two weeks of prep time. Didn’t happen. In fact Foles arguably played just as well as he did against the Vikings two weeks ago in the NFC Championship Game. I’m a firm believer that defense wins championships – however in this case, coaching and game-planning were significant factors in Philadelphia’s first ever Super Bowl championship. Pederson, in only two seasons as an NFL head coach, now belongs among the current NFL coaching greats.

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Recapping my 2017-18 NFL & CFB Predictions: How did I do?

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I think it’s well-documented on this blog that I like to make predictions. While I may not be entirely accurate all-the-time, they’re fun to write and hopefully to read. With only one meaningful game left in the NFL season (sorry, Pro Bowl), here’s a recap as to how I did making picks and predictions from last Summer through last weekend. Enjoy!

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Labor Day Special: My 2017 NFL Predictions & Reacting to CFB’s CRAZY Week 1

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In honor of Labor Day…here’s a super-sized column highlighting my (official) NFL predictions for 2017 and plenty of thoughts on college football’s awesome first weekend.

What did I really think of UofA’s 62-24 win on Saturday night? Is my national championship pick toast after Week 1? And why didn’t I include Liberty or Howard in my Best Bets from last Friday? Those topics and more in the second half of the blog.

But first let’s talk NFL. Remember my pre-preseason predictions? Time to revise those in a major way. No more Jaguars winning the AFC South. Downgrade the Bills after their preseason sell-off. And I’m adding a surprise playoff team in the NFC.

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You might be watching these two QBs in Super Bowl LII come February.

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Four Downs – July 31st: Making some early NFL predictions

Published on by Eric Cohen6 Comments

Training camps are underway which means the NFL preseason is almost here! Before the Cardinals and Cowboys get things started on Thursday night, here’s a four-pack of what I think will happen in 2017-18. I’ve probably mentioned at few of these in previous blogs but here I’ll go in-depth:

FIRST DOWN: The New England Patriots will once again go undefeated in the regular season.

Hey they did it in 2008, why not again this season? After battling back from a 28-3 third quarter deficit to win Super Bowl LI in overtime, I have to believe the Pats’ momentum will continue into the regular season. In the offseason they made some key personnel changes:
RB: Mike Gillislee (from Buffalo) and Rex Burkhead (from Cincinnati) for LaGarrette Blount (went to Philadelphia)
WR: Brandin Cooks (from New Orleans)
TE: Dwayne Allen (from Indianapolis) for Martellus Bennett (went to Green Bay)
DE: Kony Ealy (from Carolina)
CB: Stephon Gilmore (from Buffalo) for Logan Ryan (went to Tennessee)

To sum it up, they acquired more running back depth, an elite wide receiver, a very solid backup tight end, an underrated defensive end, and a shutdown cornerback.

Oh yeah…and New England gets the best tight end in the league, (former UofA standout) Rob Gronkowski, back after missing the last half of the 2016 regular season and playoffs.

Rob Gronkowski

This roster is EASILY the best in the league and I’m not sure anyone else’s is close.

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