With a huge news day today in the NFL and all the dust starting to settle on the big free agent signings, I thought I would post my top predictions for the upcomimg 2012 NFL season. These predictions are for the whole NFL, not only for the Panthers. So lets dive right in.

1. Blaine Gabbert will have a breakout year; Blaine Gabbert had a terrible rookie season. But despite all the negative aspects of his game, I still see something special there that I cant quite explain, its just there. I know this might come as a suprise since I was always so down on Gabbert all the way back during the draft, but I have a feeling he will suprise a lot of people this season. Not all rookie QBs can be Cam Newton. Sometimes believe it or not, some rookies have to start out like Troy Aikman before they can become, well before they can become Troy Aikman.

2. Matt Flynn will be 2012's Kevin Kolb; Some teams just never learn. In my opinion Matt Flynn is a system QB, he looked good in the Packer's offense but I see nothing about him that screams franchise QB. He will have a bad year and take the Seahawks with him.

3. New York Jets go 6-10, Rex Ryan will be fired; This might be a very bold prediction but the writing is on the wall. Mark Sanchez sucks and already lost the locker room, he will be benched mid season and Tebow's magic wont show up in the big apple and the whole debacle gives the Jets just 6 wins this season and after the constant dramatics and unfulfilled super bowl guarantees from Rex Ryan and the Tebow debacle, Ryan will be fired and Jets go into rebuild mode the followimg season.

4. Both RG3 and Andrew Luck will have disappointing rookie seasons; I actually feel bad for Andrew Luck. He will be going to the Colts with the pressure of filling Manning's shoes shoes and oh btw no weapons at WR, TE or RB and a weakened offensive line. As for RG3, he will have an average rookie year but not quite to the point where heads will roll, but still disappointing nonetheless.

5. Carolina Panthers draft Luke Kuechly; His Intangibles off the charts, fills a big need, excellent tackling ability, football IQ and extremely high character. Definitley seems like a Ron Rivera pick and his flawless character factor will be just what Hurney wants.

6. Miami Dolphins finish with the worst record and finally get their franchise QB in Matt Barkley. The time is now for Miami. They missed out on the Suck For Luck sweepstakes, they missed out on Peyton Manning, Matt Flynn didnt want the Fins and they didnt even get Tebow. They lost their only good WR, they have no choice but to tank the season and draft their first franchise QB since Dan Marino.

7. Philadelphia Eagles go 13-3, play the Ravens in the Super Bowl. Thats right, keep in mind I am not a fan of this nor do I hope it happens, this is strickly a unbias prediction. Eagles will have a banner year and get the last laugh as they go 13-3 and play the Ravens in one of the best Super Bowl matchups in history. The writing is on the wall, Eagles for the most part have all the pieces, what they lacked last year was chemistry. Well with a full off season, expect them to fix that and come back with a vengenance.

8. Carolina Panthers win the NFC south, lose NFC championship game to the Eagles in overtime. Yes my fellow Panther fans, our beloved Panthers will have a great run in 2012. They go 10-6 and win the NFC south. Saints go 8-8, Bucs and Falcons go 7-9. In a classic NFC championship matchup between the Panthers and the Eagles, Panthers come so close to the Super Bowl but fall short in overtime as the Eagles win and face the Ravens in the Super Bowl. Cam Newton has an even better year with 4350 passing yds and 570 rushing yds, over 25 passing TDs and less than 12 interceptions, he leads us to the NFC championship game where the Eagles come out on top in a heartbreakimg overtime loss.