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The NFL regular season is upon us, as tonight things get kicked off with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots facing off. It's an exciting time of year for football fans, and hope is abundant for many franchises and their fans.
As we prepare to start the regular season, we thought it would be cool to gather some of the opinions of various Stampede Blue writers and feature that as a season preview piece. A group consisting of Josh Wilson, Matt Grecco, Stephen Reed, Ben Lamers, and Andrew Aziz contributed their selections for various league awards, the division winners and wild card teams, the Colts' final record, AFC and NFC champions, and Super Bowl champion.
We'll break it down into several sections to make it easier for you to navigate our season preview:
Awards:
| Josh Wilson | Matt Grecco | Stephen Reed | Ben Lamers | Andrew Aziz | |
| NFL MVP | Andrew Luck | Andrew Luck | Aaron Rodgers | Andrew Luck | Andrew Luck |
| Offensive Player of the Year | Aaron Rodgers | Antonio Brown | Andrew Luck | Aaron Rodgers | Julio Jones |
| Defensive Player of the Year | J.J. Watt | J.J. Watt | J.J. Watt | J.J. Watt | C.J. Mosley* |
| Offensive Rookie of the Year | Amari Cooper | Melvin Gordon | Amari Cooper | Marcus Mariota | Nelson Agholar |
| Defensive Rookie of the Year | Vic Beasley | Stephone Anthony | Eric Kendricks | Denzel Perryman | Randy Gregory |
| Comeback Player of the Year | Adrian Peterson | Adrian Peterson | Eric Berry | Sam Bradford | NaVorro Bowman |
| Coach of the Year | Mike Zimmer | Ron Rivera | Mike Zimmer | Mike McCoy | Mike Zimmer |
* Note from Andrew on defensive player of the year: Watt is definitely the favorite and will probably win but I wanted to be different in this pick
Clearly, our writers think a big season is in store for Colts quarterback Andrew Luck. He led the NFL in passing touchdowns last year with 40 and broke Peyton Manning's franchise record for most passing yards in a single-season, and the team added veterans Frank Gore and Andre Johnson to the mix offensively this season. Luck will likely have stiff competition with Aaron Rodgers for the award, but the sky is the limit for the Colts' quarterback this year and that is reflected in our preseason awards voting.
As for offensive player of the year, there was slightly more variation there, though the majority seemed to take the quarterback who didn't win the MVP award, whether that be Rodgers or Luck. At defensive player of the year was J.J. Watt, which makes sense considering he's arguably the best football player on the planet.
The other awards were pretty varied, as there was not much consensus on who the offensive and defensive rookies of the year will be, while the comeback player of the year also garnered a variety of names. At coach of the year, three coaches received votes, with Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer receiving the most.
Division Winners:
| Josh Wilson | Matt Grecco | Stephen Reed | Ben Lamers | Andrew Aziz | |
| AFC North | Steelers | Bengals | Steelers | Ravens | Steelers |
| AFC South | Colts | Colts | Colts | Colts | Colts |
| AFC East | Patriots | Patriots | Patriots | Patriots | Patriots |
| AFC West | Broncos | Broncos | Chiefs | Chargers | Broncos |
| AFC Wild Cards | Ravens, Bengals | Texans, Bills | Broncos, Dolphins | Broncos, Steelers | Ravens, Dolphins |
| NFC North | Packers | Packers | Vikings | Packers | Packers |
| NFC South | Panthers | Panthers | Falcons | Saints | Falcons |
| NFC East | Cowboys | Cowboys | Eagles | Eagles | Cowboys |
| NFC West | Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks |
| NFC Wild Cards | Cardinals, Vikings | Giants, Lions | Cardinals, Packers | Cardinals, Cowboys | Vikings, Giants |
There were four divisions that emerged pretty clear, with one team getting at least 80% of the votes: the AFC South (Colts), AFC East (Patriots), NFC North (Packers), and NFC West (Seahawks). The only team besides those four that all five writers had making the playoffs was the Denver Broncos - three had them winning the division and two had them as a wild card.
The division that was split the most was the NFC South, with the Panthers getting two votes, the Falcons getting two votes, and the Saints getting one. Sorry, Buccaneers fans.
Playoff Results:
| Josh Wilson | Matt Grecco | Stephen Reed | Ben Lamers | Andrew Aziz | |
| AFC Champion | Colts | Colts | Colts | Colts | Colts |
| NFC Champion | Packers | Seahawks | Eagles | Cowboys | Packers |
| Super Bowl Champion | Packers | Seahawks | Eagles | Colts | Packers |
Interestingly, each of our five writers picked the Colts to make the Super Bowl but only one picked them to win it. It seems like the general opinion is that this team is good enough (thanks to Andrew Luck) to make the next step to the Super Bowl this year but for it to end poorly on the biggest stage. The Packers were the most popular Super Bowl pick, while the Seahawks, Eagles, and Colts were all also picked.
Colts Record:
| Josh Wilson | Matt Grecco | Stephen Reed | Ben Lamers | Andrew Aziz | |
| Colts Record | 12-4 | 12-4 | 13-3 | 12-4 | 13-3 |
We now come to the Indianapolis Colts' regular season record, and it's clear that our writers think a big year could be in store for the team with each one of them picking Indy to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. Similarly, each writer picked the Colts to break the trend of 11-5 seasons (which they've done the past three years) and get at least 12 wins, with two writers even thinking 13 is more likely.