As I did a couple times last year, I went through the upcoming NFL schedule, week by week, decided who was going to win and lose and added up the standings. I wasn’t that accurate last year, but it was fun to compile, so I’m repeating the process this year. I’ll probably go through this two more times, once in July and once in early September, and see if my convictions change. And I’m not even attempting playoff predictions yet.

Looking at what I came up with, there are too many extremes in my picks and not much middle ground. I have little faith in the Giants, the AFC North and Aaron Rodgers, and too much confidence in the Eagles, Panthers and Lions. But, I’ll be the first to admit this is inexact, I’m sure I’ll have some different opinions come July.

NFC North
Lions 8-8
Vikings 7-9
Packers 6-10
Bears 6-10

NFC East
Cowboys 10-6
Redskins 10-6
Eagles 10-6
Giants 9-7

NFC West
Seahawks 11-5
Cardinals 9-7
Rams 5-11
49ers 3-13

NFC South
Saints 10-6
Buccaneers 10-6
Panthers 10-6
Falcons 4-12

AFC North
Steelers 9-7
Browns 7-9
Bengals 6-10
Ravens 2-14

AFC East
Patriots 14-2
Bills 7-9
Jets 7-9
Dolphins 4-12

AFC West
Chargers 11-5
Broncos 5-11
Chiefs 5-11
Raiders 2-14

AFC South
Jaguars 12-4
Titans 11-5
Colts 11-5
Texans 9-7

I went 8-7 last week, again missing another game in my list. Next season, I promise I’ll actually count each week that I typed in the right number of games. I would have picked New Orleans, thus losing that matchup and going 8-8. That puts me at 162-109-1, the 1 being a game I missed sometime in October which I’m declaring a tie. That means I picked 59.7 percent of this year’s games right. Though that I think that was an OK percentage, I’m hoping to get that up to about 65 percent next year. Of course, maybe I was lucky to be above 50 percent in the first place. Either way, it was fun to make these picks every week and keep track.

Now the fun really begins …

JACKSONVILLE AT PITTSBURGH
The Jaguars won at Heinz Field last month, and that was against a team with Willie Parker, who’s out for the season. The Jags have quietly been one of the hottest teams this side of New England, while Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers know what it takes come playoff time, even though they lost three of their last four and four of their last seven. This might be the weekend’s best game, and the winner gets a trip to Foxborough.
Prediction: Jaguars 24, Steelers 21

TENNESSEE AT SAN DIEGO
The Chargers also have been playing well, winning six straight and could challenge the Colts, who they beat in November, in the second round. The Titans made the playoffs because of a Cleveland misstep in Week 16 and Indy taking it easy in Week 17. Tennessee won’t take advantage of its good fortune, particularly if Vince Young isn’t 100 percent.
Prediction: Chargers 30, Titans 13

N.Y. GIANTS AT TAMPA BAY
The Bucs limped into the playoffs, losing their last two games and three of their last four. And even though they’ll be playing at home, I don’t think they’ll recover against a confident Giants team that almost took out the Patriots. New York is the third-best team in the NFC, period. The Giants will advance to Texas Stadium.
Prediction: Giants 24, Buccaneers 20

WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE
Just when it looked like the Seahawks were getting it together and could possibly be a serious NFC contender, they gave up 44 points to Atlanta, mostly with their starting defense. The Redskins have enjoyed a nice run to get to the playoffs, but without the Vikings and Saints collapsing, they would likely have been home this month. I don’t think Washington is a playoff-caliber team, and the run ends in Seattle, which better regroup soon.
Prediction: Seahawks 27, Redskins 21

Though I’ll make playoff picks, they won’t go toward the overall record. For the last weeK:

WEEK 17
New England over N.Y. GIANTS
Seattle over ATLANTA
CLEVELAND over San Francisco
GREEN BAY over Detroit
INDIANAPOLIS over Tennessee
MIAMI over Cincinnati
PHILADELPHIA over Buffalo
Carolina over TAMPA BAY
WASHINGTON over Dallas
Pittsburgh over BALTIMORE
Jacksonville over HOUSTON
ARIZONA over St. Louis
San Diego over OAKLAND
Minnesota over DENVER
N.Y. JETS over Kansas City
Last week: 10-6 Season: 154-101

Last Thursday game of the year this week, thank god, these odd weeks have been throwing me off …

WEEK 16
Pittsburgh over ST. LOUIS
Dallas over CAROLINA
BUFFALO over N.Y. Giants
Green Bay over CHICAGO
Cleveland over CINCINNATI
DETROIT over Kansas City
INDIANAPOLIS over Houston
MINNESOTA over Washington
NEW ENGLAND over Miami
NEW ORLEANS over Philadelphia
JACKSONVILLE over Oakland
ARIZONA over Atlanta
TENNESSEE over N.Y. Jets
SEATTLE over Baltimore
Tampa Bay over SAN FRANCISCO
SAN DIEGO over Denver
Last week: 10-6 Season: 144-95

I rebounded last week, just three more of these left!

WEEK 15
HOUSTON over Denver
CINCINNATI over San Francisco
CLEVELAND over Buffalo
Tennessee over KANSAS CITY
TAMPA BAY over Atlanta
Seattle over CAROLINA
Green Bay over ST. LOUIS
Baltimore over MIAMI
NEW ENGLAND over N.Y. Jets
NEW ORLEANS over Atlanta
PITTSBURGH over Jacksonville
Indianapolis over OAKLAND
DALLAS over Philadelphia
SAN DIEGO over Detroit
N.Y. GIANTS over Washington
MINNESOTA over Chicago
Last week: 13-3 Season: 134-89

Another short week, make sure you get your picks picked and your fantasy teams set early. I missed another game last week on my picks last week — I never claimed to be a mental giant — but would have picked Indy over Jacksonville correctly. Still took a minor beating in Week 13.

WEEK 14
WASHINGTON over Chicago
BUFFALO over Miami
CINCINNATI over St. Louis
PHILADELPHIA over N.Y. Giants
Dallas over DETROIT
GREEN BAY over Oakland
TENNESSEE over San Diego
NEW ENGLAND over Pittsburgh
Tampa Bay over HOUSTON
JACKSONVILLE over Carolina
Minnesota over SAN FRANCISCO
SEATTLE over Arizona
Cleveland over N.Y. JETS
DENVER over Kansas City
Indianapolis over BALTIMORE
New Orleans over ATLANTA
Last week: 8-8 Season: 121-86

I hope if your pick’em league uses point spreads you took the Eagles last week. Don’t feel bad, I didn’t either. By the way, my season record is a game off, and I can’t figure out where. Assume a nonexistent tie until I get it figured out.

WEEK 13
DALLAS over Green Bay
TENNESSEE over Houston
San Diego over KANSAS CITY
ST. LOUIS over Atlanta
MIAMI over N.Y. Jets
MINNESOTA over Detroit
NEW ORLEANS over Tampa Bay
PHILADELPHIA over Seattle
WASHINGTON over Buffalo
San Francisco over CAROLINA
Cleveland over ARIZONA
Denver over OAKLAND
CHICAGO over N.Y. Giants
PITTSBURGH over Cincinnati
New England over BALTIMORE
Last week: 10-6 Season: 113-78

Set your picks early, remember, there are three games now on Thanksgiving, not two.

WEEK 12
Green Bay over DETROIT
DALLAS over N.Y. Jets
Indianapolis over ATLANTA
Denver over CHICAGO
Tennessee over CINCINNATI
CLEVELAND over Houston
KANSAS CITY over Oakland
Seattle over ST. LOUIS
TAMPA BAY over Washington
CAROLINA over New Orleans
JACKSONVILLE over Buffalo
N.Y. GIANTS over Minnesota
ARIZONA over San Francisco
SAN DIEGO over Buffalo
NEW ENGLAND over Philadelphia
PITTSBURGH over Miami
Last week: 13-3 Season: 103-72

Back to a full slate, meaning a greater chance of success … and a greater chance of abysmal failure. Kind of like last week’s picks.

WEEK 11
Tampa Bay over ATLANTA
New England over BUFFALO
CINCINNATI over Arizona
DALLAS over Washington
GREEN BAY over Carolina
INDIANAPOLIS over Kansas City
MINNESOTA over Oakland
Pittsburgh over N.Y. JETS
PHILADELPHIA over Miami
JACKSONVILLE over San Diego
Cleveland over BALTIMORE
HOUSTON over New Orleans
St. Louis over SAN FRANCISCO
DETROIT over N.Y. Giants
SEATTLE over Chicago
DENVER over Tennessee
Last week: 6-8 Season: 90-59