Longtime readers know we have often cited the projections of AccuScore, which uses digital profiles of NFL players and coaches to predict outcomes based on game and season simulations. ESPN.com includes AccuScore in our panel of weekly experts, and we also incorporated its work in the 2012 NFL season preview.
AccuScore predicted the regular-season record of all 32 teams, and as you saw in the headline, its projection for the Green Bay Packers is as bold as possible. That's right, AccuScore has the Packers following their 15-1 regular season with a perfect 16-0 mark.
The closest games on the Packers' schedule, according to AccuScore, will be a Week 6 game at the Houston Texans (a predicted 30-29 victory) and a Week 12 game at the New York Giants (29-27 final).
For what it's worth, AccuScore has the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions each finishing 11-5, while the Minnesota Vikings check in at 3-13.
What to make of this? Here's what I'll say: Everyone is stabbing in the dark when it comes to preseason NFL predictions, whether you're a computer like AccuScore or a television analyst or even a two-bit blogger. So enjoy it. Embrace it. Discuss it. And hold on tight for what surely will be a wild 2012 season.