How to Pick NFL Playoff Teams

The popularity of office pools for the NCAA basketball tournament each spring has spread to other sports. Many football fans and people who want to participate in a competitive environment have begun football pools to predict the NFL playoffs. You can gain an edge on your colleagues by learning to pick the right NFL playoff teams.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Pick NFL Playoff Teams Before the Season Starts

1. Study the draft picks of an NFL team before determining its ability to make the playoffs. Successful teams are able to fill immediate weaknesses with their first-day picks while rounding out their roster with late-round picks.
2. Review the free agent moves that a team made in the off-season to determine its playoff chances. Free agency has become a key for teams looking to turn around a losing franchise. You should look at free agent losses or player releases made by a team that has been to the playoffs recently.
3. Pay attention to coaching changes or shifts within a coaching staff when you pick NFL playoff teams. The move of a veteran coach from one team to another can drastically change the mentality of both teams. You should also review promotions or demotions as a sign of confidence in the locker room.
4. Read each team's upcoming schedule to determine how difficult a path each team faces. You need to look at each opponent's record for the previous year, along with significant changes that can affect its play.
5. Find teams with a high number of players in their "contract" year. These players are in the final years of their current contract. They often work harder in each game to get a better contract in the off-season.
6. Investigate potential ownership issues in teams that you think may be heading to the NFL playoffs. Teams that have a potential turnover in ownership or high-level positions can cause a distraction for players throughout the regular season.
7. Lean toward NFL teams with balanced offensive and defensive schemes when making your playoff picks. Teams like the Houston Oilers in the early 1990s and the Chargers of the late 1970s were exciting for fans, but focused too much on one aspect of their offense to succeed in the playoffs.

Tips & Warnings

• Compare the strength of teams within each division before you pick NFL playoff teams. One error that football fans make in selecting playoff teams is looking at individual team strength without considering the team's opposition.
• Divisional opponents play each other twice, which means that over a third of their schedule involves just three teams.