Oh how it’s painful to admit when you’re wrong!

But you know what else? It’s great to brag when you’re correct too!

The SCU Team got together before the start of the 2016 regular season to make our picks, and for the most part, we got quite a bit right (and yes, a few wrong as well).

We revisit our attempt to predict the future nearly six months ago, starting with each division.

AFC East

View our original picks and commentary here.

Our entire panel picked the Patriots to win this division.

None of us picked the Dolphins to make the playoffs, however, and the majority thought the Jets would do far better than they did!

Best quote (Joe):

“It pains me to say this, but the Pats won’t be any worse than 2-2 during this stretch and may go 3-1. Arizona will be their toughest opponent during this stretch, and they could very well win that game, as the early weeks of the NFL season are full of growing pains.”

The Patriots beat the Cardinals, and in fact went 3-1, losing the last of those four Brady-less games, against the Bills.

AFC North

View our original picks and commentary here.

No surprise here, everyone picked the Steelers to win the division, and chose the Browns to be in the basement.

Only Terry picked the Ravens to wind up in second.

Best quote (Terry):

“Baltimore will be tough this season. A healthy Flacco and a newly acquired Mike Wallace should be able to find 9 wins, but they are thin at RB so it’s a crap shoot.

Cincy will implode as they always do, but it will be earlier this year.”

The Ravens finished 8-8, after losing the final two games of the season, while the Bengals ended up 6-9-1.

AFC South

View our original picks and commentary here.

There was a wild split picking who would win this division. Brian and myself took Houston, the eventual winner, while Ron had Jacksonville and Terry too Indianapolis.

Everyone thought that these teams would do better than they did, except for the Titans, who finished 9-7.

Best quote (Joe):

“I can’t believe Terry has one of the weakest divisions in the NFL having each team playing .500 or better ball.”

Houston, Tennesee and Indy all finished .500 or better… so well said Terry!

AFC West

View our original picks and commentary here.

Terry and myself nailed this division too: we both had the eventual finish in order of Kansas City, Oakland, Denver and San Diego, which is exactly how it ended up.

Best quote (Josh):

“The Raiders finish the season with a winning record, and secure a wild card spot in the playoffs.”

Best quote (Joe):

“This year’s top defense in the AFC West will be the Kansas City Chiefs, with a game manager in Alex Smith, they could easily take top billing in the division. The Raiders are a young team on the rise, and could compete for a Wildcard spot.”

The Chiefs overtook the Raiders for the AFC West crown in the final week of the season; Oakland ended up with a Wild Card playoff spot, while Denver failed to make the postseason.

NFC East

View our original picks and commentary here.

Well, Team SCU strikes again, thinking the New York Giants would bounce back this season, while slamming the basement door on the Eagles.

Best quote (Terry):

“Dak Prescott will stay healthy so that Mark Sanchez never has to see the field.”

And that’s about the only thing we really got right, as the Cowboys ran away with the division and a 13-3 record.

The Giants, however, made the playoffs, so we weren’t too far off.

NFC North

View our original picks and commentary here.

Our picks were a clean sweep across the top for Green Bay, with Minnesota finishing second…

Best quote (Brian):

“As long as Aaron Rodgers is the quarterback, you can expect the Packers to get mad respect… The Packers aren’t perfect, but I think they’ll be more than good enough to take the division.”

Green Bay made a late season run to win their division, as Minnesota fell to third and an 8-8 record behind the Detroit Lions, whom no one thought would make the playoffs.

NFC South

View our original picks and commentary here.

So much for picking Carolina to win this division… but several of us felt the Falcons could still get a Wild Card spot.

Best quote (Joe):

“Atlanta is rebounding nicely after several years of languishing. They started hot last year, then fell apart, mostly due to a poor defense. They’re loaded offensively… Their defense has pieces in place to improve, which is more than I can say for the Bucs or Saints…

Best quote (Terry):

“If Matt Ryan can get past his 2015 struggles, and this stronger defense can add some points with takeaways this season, the Falcons can possibly default into the playoffs with a 9-7 season.”

The Panthers fell apart badly after having the best record in football a season earlier. They ended up 6-10, while Tampa Bay leaped over them, and the Saints, with a 9-7 record.

NFC West

View our original picks and commentary here.

A split between the Cardinals and Seahawks happened here, with everyone correctly picking Los Angeles third and San Francisco fourth.

Best quote (Brian):

“Everybody and their cousin thinks Arizona wins, and I wonder if maybe Carson Palmer plays like 47 rather than 37, his age finally catching up to him? So I’m going to give the ever so slight edge to Seattle.”

Brian said it best, as the Cardinals dropped out of playoff contention at 7-8-1, leaving the Seahawks alone on top of the division.

Playoffs

View our original picks and commentary here.

Tooting my own horn, I got 5 of the 6 playoff spots in the AFC correct. Everyone had the the Steelers, Patriots and Raiders in the postseason, with the Steelers as the one seed… which didn’t happen.

In the NFC, our picks were worse: everyone had the Packers atop the conference, but it ended up as the Cowboys (who no one chose to make the playoffs).

Seattle was picked, as were the Giants (as a division winner and not a Wild Card).

Detroit and Atlanta were not considered by any of the panelists for the postseason.

Sadly, none of us publicly printed a preseason Super Bowl favorite, though you could probably guess who our AFC pick was!