With the NFL season about to start, The Post’s Justin Terranova and Anthony Sulla-Heffinger pick the NFL over/unders “Mike & the Mad Dog” style. But thanks to a lack of advertising, no time constraints, and very little ego, we went straight through the league.
Last year Sulla-Heffinger dominated the competition by going 11-5, compared to Terranova’s 7-9.
This year the over/unders were taken from thegreek.com.
JT: Giants over 9
The Super Bowl champs went 9-7 last year despite a myriad of injuries coming out of their strike-shortened training camp. The defense struggled with big plays until late in the season when they made their run to a title, and I expect that, along with Eli Manning’s improvement, to continue this season.
ASH: Jets under 9
Have you seen this offense? Unless Tony Sparano is going to unveil the 2012 version of the Greatest Show on Turf, the Jets are going to have a hard time scoring against ANY defense. The Jets have had 35 drives in three games and have not scored a touchdown. They were an 8-8 team last season and they have improved only on one position offensively: backup QB.
JT: Dolphins under 7 1/2
We’ve watched this debacle unfold on HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” and the Dolphins’ reality seems like five wins. They have a rookie quarterback, Ryan Tannehill, and few threats for him to work with.
ASH: Patriots over 12
I’ve learned not to bet against Belichick and Brady (unless it’s the Super Bowl and they are playing the Giants). New England will have an improved defense with rookies Chandler Jones and Dont’a Hightower stepping into the front seven and it has improved its receiving corps by adding Brandon Lloyd. I see this as a 14-win team that should coast to a No. 1 seed in the AFC.
JT: Steelers over 10
Always a solid bet to reach 10-6, and Pittsburgh is usually better than that with Ben Roethlisberger behind center and Mike Tomlin stalking the sidelines. There are some red flags: Rashard Mendenhall will miss at least the first few weeks of the season, Mike Wallace is unhappy with his contract and first-round pick David DeCastro will miss significant time, too. But I feel this team has overcome worse in the past, and will do so again this year.
ASH: Buccaneers over 6
Tampa Bay took a major step backward last season, with Josh Freeman and LeGarrette Blount both regressing after strong rookie campaigns. Freeman finally has a legitimate No. 1 receiver in Vincent Jackson and a running back who can catch passes and block in Doug Martin. Tampa Bay also improved its secondary by drafting safety Mark Barron, who can learn from one of the best in Ronde Barber.
JT: Saints over 9 1/2
Bounty-gate will take a toll, but that not much of one. What has been glossed over is that the Saints have a done decent job of filling in some of the holes they lost on defense with Curtis Lofton, Rodrick Bunkley, David Hawthrone and Chris Chamberlain. The offense may be affected by the loss of head coach and mastermind Sean Payton, but Drew Brees is enough off of a leader to offset most of that damage.
ASH: Colts over 5 1/2
Thanks to Andrew Luck, life will go on in Indianapolis without Peyton Manning. Luck has been very impressive in the preseason and the Colts added a potential Pro Bowler in Vontae Davis to bolster the defense. The Colts also have a favorable schedule, matching up with Jacksonville and Tennessee twice, Cleveland and Miami. I wouldn’t be surprised if Indianapolis overachieved and won eight games this season.
JT: Vikings under 6
Not a lot has changed since last year’s 3-13 team, except Adrian Peterson is coming off a massive knee injury. That will only make things more difficult in the loaded NFC North with the Bears and Lions likely to be better than last year and the Packers remaining the favorites.
ASH: Broncos over 8 1/2
Denver won eight games last season with Tim Tebow playing a below-average quarterback so the notion that Peyton Manning only adds half a win makes this one of the locks of the 2012 season. The Broncos are clearly the best team in the AFC West and looking at their schedule, there’s no team that would shock me if they lost to Manning and Denver.
JT: Titans over 7
There are wins to be had in the NFC North with the Colts breaking in a rookie QB and the Jaguars being the Jaguars. The Titans were a surprising 9-7 last year and this season will come devoid of the contract controversy that led to a sub-par year for Chris Johnson. The offense should be more explosive overall with second-year QB Jake Locker having Kenny Britt (just suspended one game) and rookie Kendall Wright at his disposal. If Locker falters, Tennessee has a trusted veteran in Matt Hasselbeck to turn to.
ASH: Browns over 5 1/2
I may be the only person in the US, including Cleveland, who likes what the Browns have done with their offense. Between Brandon Weeden, Trent Richardson and Greg Little, the Browns have a nice, young group of talent on the offensive side of the ball. Cleveland’s not-so-secret weapon, Josh Cribbs, is a dynamic playmaker who can swing a game or two by himself. Think about it, Cleveland can be awful, lose 10 games and I still come out on top here.
JT: Texans under 10
Can “I just have a feeling” serve as a good enough explanation? They lost their top defensive player in Mario Williams, but the defensive end did miss all but five games last season. More than that is the idea that the Texans play with a ground-and-pound approach that seems destined to fall behind the pass-happy attacks that are becoming the new trend in the league. Outside of Andre Johnson, they don’t have a significant threat in the passing game.
ASH: Cardinals under 7
Despite how great it would be for our alma mater, the pride of Fordham, John Skelton, is not going to lead this team to more than seven wins. Arizona is a team that essentially has the pieces in place to challenge for a wild card spot, but without a sure-fire QB they will never make that jump. I count six-to-seven winnable games on Arizona’s schedule and even that may be generous.
JT: 49ers over 10
The Cardinals, Rams and Seahawks should all be better, but they are still looking up at the 49ers in the NFC West. San Francisco’s dominant defense did not lose any critical parts and the offense has more weapons with Randy Moss added to Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis.
ASH: Bears under 9 1/2
It’s always difficult when a team has a 9.5 O/U because I think there is a huge difference between a 9-7 team and a 10-6 team. The Bears are in the second or third toughest division in the NFL and count Dallas, Houston and San Francisco as part of their non-divisional schedule. Yes, they have improved with the addition of Brandon Marshall and Michael Bush, but I just don’t see them having enough offensive firepower to keep up with the elite teams in this league.
JT: Seahawks over 7
I am going to take a leap of faith with Russell Wilson. My feeling is they would not have chosen the rookie out of Wisconsin over Matt Flynn, who they spent big money on as a free agent, unless Wilson had the goods. He also has a mostly-healthy Sidney Rice and Braylon Edwards to work with, something Seattle did not have last year to accompany their stellar defense.
ASH: Chargers under 9
Is there anything more certain in football than a disappointing San Diego team? Ryan Mathews is already dealing with the injury bug and Rivers has lost his best big play target in Vincent Jackson this offseason. The offense should be okay, but not great and the defense, while rebuilding, is not as strong as it needs to be.
JT: Chiefs under 8
I am not a Matt Cassel believer and I am not convinced Jamaal Charles will be the same back he was before the injury. And 8-8 seems a little optimistic for this team.
ASH: Rams under 6
St. Louis is probably the worst team in the NFC West, which is an accomplishment in itself. Sam Bradford should make a nice jump this season, but he has little-to-no other offensive weapons around him. It’ll be another long season in St. Louis.
JT: Bills under 8
That’s a high number for a team that finished last season losing eight of their final nine games. Yes, they dealt with a lot of injuries and added Mario Williams but I don’t see them going over .500 this season.
ASH: Eagles under 10
They aren’t calling themselves the Dream Team this season, which lowers expectations, but 10 wins is still a lot for a team that has six games against the Giants, Cowboys and Redskins. So much of this team’s success hinges on Michael Vick’s ability to stay healthy and if this preseason is any indication, that’s not likely.
JT: Ravens over 10
The loss of Terrell Suggs hurts, but not enough for a significant dropoff for a team whose offense is improving under Joe Flacco and Ray Rice. One play away from the Super Bowl last year, Baltimore will be motivated to return to that point and will take the first step with a solid regular season.
ASH: Packers over 12
It may be unorthodox, but I’m going to take both of the 12-win teams and go with the over. Green Bay won 15 games last season and is bringing back almost the same team. Cedric Benson’s signing gives the Packers a good rushing threat as the former Bengal has rushed for over 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons. The offense is too good for this team not to win 13 games and it easily overshadows the flaws in the secondary.
JT: Redskins under 6 1/2
Next year I expect to be talking playoffs for the Redskins, but that’s next year. For this year, Heisman winner Robert Griffin III will have to deal with the toughest division in football and three teams — Giants, Cowboys, Eagles — who are all expected to be playoff cotenders.
ASH: Panthers under 7 1/2
This might be the most deceiving over/under because of how much discussion and hype is surrounding the Panthers. Yes, Cam Newton is incredible and the team did win six games last season, but Carolina is still not ready to make a jump to 8-8. Looking at their schedule, there is not a single game that stands out to me as one that is a gimme. Atlanta and New Orleans are still the teams to beat in the NFC South and Tampa Bay is improved enough to win both games against the Panthers.
JT: Bengals under 8
I’ve been avoiding this one like the plague because this team burned me at every turn last year. I had their under last year and they obliterated it. But here I am again going against them because, despite another year of experience for Andy Dalton and A.J. Green and what should be an improved running game with BenJarvus Green-Ellis. Their division is tough and I don’t expect them to win EVERY close game this year.
ASH: Raiders over 7
Full seasons from Carson Palmer and Darren McFadden should be enough to get Oakland to at least 8-8, if not 9-7. The Raiders’ front seven is still among one of the best in the league and there isn’t any team in the AFC West that they aren’t capable of sweeping.
JT: Lions over 9
There were three teams remaning with an O/U of 9 and the Lions are the best of the bunch. Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson should be just as dominant as last year and there are enough weapons aside from Megatron to make Detroit dangerous.
ASH: Falcons over 9
Atlanta seems to be the sexy pick in the NFC South and I’m going to buy in on them winning at least 10 games this season. Matt Ryan has a plethora of weapons on the offensive side of the ball with Roddy White, Julio Jones, Michael Turner and Tony Gonzalez. The Falcons also added Asante Samuel to bolster their secondary. The South will be better this year than it was last season, but it’s Atlanta’s division to lose.
JT: Jaguars over 5
If Blaine Gabbert is even slightly improved, if Maurice Jones-Drew doesn’t pull his hamstring because of a long holdout, if Justin Blackmon is worth the off-the-field trouble, then six wins should happen. Their defense was not the issue last year and hopefully new coach Mike Mularkey can inject some life into the offense.
ASH: Cowboys over 9
Dallas was a game away from making the playoffs last season and ending the Giants’ Super Bowl run before it even started, so this is a good team, when healthy that is. Should Miles Austin, Dez Bryant and Jason Witten all get on the field and stay there, any secondary will be hard-pressed to defense them. The defense should be much better with Morris Claiborne as well. I don’t think 11-12 wins is out of the realm of possibility, even in the NFC East.