Walkthrough: Revisiting Packers, NFL picks
Each Wednesday, Weston Hodkiewicz provides an inside look at the Green Bay Packers in his Walkthrough blog.
It’s that magical time of the year when the Packers beat writers here at USA Today Network-Wisconsin sit back, put their feet up and revisit their NFL predictions for 2015.
And boy, it wasn’t pretty.
None of the five individuals surveyed at the beginning of the season – myself, reporter Ryan Wood, columnist Pete Dougherty, Packers editor Stu Courtney and executive editor Robert Zizzo – picked either Super Bowl representative correctly.
In fact, the closest anyone came to picking a champion was Wood, Courtney and me picking New England to advance to the AFC title game. Courtney and I picked them to advance to the Super Bowl, while Wood accurately predicted them to lose – only to Indianapolis, not Denver.
Glancing back at the previous season always provides a lesson in how unpredictable the NFL really is. All five of us had Indianapolis winning the AFC South, Seattle winning the NFC West and Green Bay winning the NFC North. No one picked Washington to triumph in the NFC East or Minnesota to dethrone the Packers at the top of the NFC North.
Dougherty put a lot of elbow grease into his pick, conferring with several experts to make the right choice. When asked about his selections Tuesday, he was incredulous.
“Why do we even do this?” exclaimed Dougherty, a veteran scribe who has been covering the team since 1993. “We’re clueless.”
In a case of the blind leading the blind, Dougherty and I led our motley crew in 2015. I accurately picked Carolina, New England, Cincinnati and Denver to win their respective divisions. That helped make up for my wild-card picks: St. Louis, Dallas, Baltimore and Miami.
Dougherty picked three division winners correctly (New England, Carolina and Denver) and also got Kansas City right as a wild-card team.
The biggest whiff probably was a tie between Zizzo (San Diego making the AFC title game) and Courtney (Philadelphia winning the Super Bowl). Both editors took their mistakes in stride, with Courtney playfully referencing his misstep throughout the course of the season.
To Zizzo's credit, he was the only one who had Minnesota in the playoffs. Wood also was the only writer to have Pittsburgh making the playoffs as a wild-card team.
Without further ado, here’s a look back at our predictions for the 2015 season. Bolded predictions denote a bull's-eye. An asterisk acknowledges the prediction was wrong, but the team still made the playoffs.
Stu Courtney (Packers prediction: 12-4)
Hot take: “If quarterback Sam Bradford stays healthy, Chip Kelly’s Eagles will soar.”
NFC East: Philadelphia
NFC North: Green Bay*
NFC South: Atlanta
NFC West: Seattle*
Wild cards: Arizona*, St. Louis
AFC East: New England
AFC North: Baltimore
AFC South: Indianapolis
AFC West: San Diego
Wild cards: Denver*, Miami
NFC championship: Philadelphia over Green Bay
AFC championship: New England over Baltimore
Super Bowl: Philadelphia over New England
Pete Dougherty (Packers prediction: 12-4)
Hot take: “Losing Jordy Nelson was big, no doubt. But if his season-ending knee injury made the Packers’ road to the Super Bowl tougher, it’s hardly a deal breaker.”
NFC East: Philadelphia
NFC North: Green Bay*
NFC South: Carolina
NFC West: Seattle*
Wild cards: Arizona*, St. Louis
AFC East: New England
AFC North: Baltimore
AFC South: Indianapolis
AFC West: Denver
Wild cards: Kansas City, Cincinnati*
NFC championship: Green Bay over Seattle
AFC championship: Indianapolis over Baltimore
Super Bowl: Indianapolis over Green Bay
Wes Hodkiewicz (Packers prediction: 11-5)
Hot take: “Rodgers’ receiving weapons are ample, his offensive line is intact and Eddie Lacy is going to make defenses pick their poison.”
NFC East: Philadelphia
NFC North: Green Bay*
NFC South: Carolina
NFC West: Seattle*
Wild cards: Dallas, St. Louis
AFC East: New England
AFC North: Cincinnati
AFC South: Indianapolis
AFC West: Denver
Wild cards: Baltimore, Miami
NFC championship: Green Bay over Seattle
AFC championship: New England over Cincinnati
Super Bowl: Green Bay over New England
Ryan Wood (Packers prediction 11-5)
Hot take: “Somewhere on the schedule, Jordy Nelson’s season-ending ACL injury is bound to cost the Packers a win.”
NFC East: Philadelphia
NFC North: Green Bay*
NFC South: New Orleans
NFC West: Seattle*
Wild cards: Arizona*, Dallas
AFC East: New England
AFC North: Baltimore
AFC South: Indianapolis
AFC West: Denver
Wild cards: Pittsburgh, San Diego
NFC championship: Green Bay over Philadelphia
AFC championship: Indianapolis over New England
Super Bowl: Green Bay over Indianapolis
Robert Zizzo (Packers prediction 12-4)
Hot take: “If there are no other significant injuries (besides Nelson) … the offense has a good chance to lead the league in scoring again.”
NFC East: Dallas
NFC North: Green Bay*
NFC South: Atlanta
NFC West: Seattle*
Wild cards: Arizona*, Minnesota*
AFC East: New England
AFC North: Baltimore
AFC South: Indianapolis
AFC West: San Diego
Wild cards: Denver*, Miami
NFC championship: Green Bay over Seattle
AFC championship: Indianapolis over San Diego
Super Bowl: Green Bay over Indianapolis
Finally, a tip of the cap to Dougherty for posting the best record in our game-by-game Packers predictions. He went 14-4 through the regular season and playoffs. I placed second at 13-5, Courtney went 12-6 and Wood and Zizzo both finished 11-7 (as did the Packers).