AFC
North
Baltimore Ravens- (9-7) What an offseason for the Ravens and Ray Rice. John Harbaugh will definitely have his work cut out for him this year, but I have a feeling that he will get his team back to where it needs to be to get back into the playoffs. They need to revert to the smash mouth football that we are so accustomed to seeing from the Ravens. With Ray Rice suspended for the first 2 games this season and everything that has happened to him, I could see that being a huge motivating factor for him getting back to the Ray Rice we were so accustomed to, excluding last season. Hopefully they don’t let Joe Flacco air it out all over the place, but at least they added Steve Smith and Owen Daniels on offense and added the beast that is C.J. Mosely on D. That defense will be just as good as it has been and with the influx of youth that is so desperately needed, but it will once again come to that inept offense and Average Joe Flacco.
Cincinnati Bengals- (11-5) What a deal for Andy Dalton! But let’s be serious, what a boneheaded move by the Bengals. What exactly did they pay Dalton for? To be an average quarterback? Luckily, looking closer at the contract, they can move on from Dalton if they so choose because the majority of the guaranteed money is in the first two seasons. But let’s get back to the team. You still have A.J. Green and as long as he remains an elite wide receiver, this offense will have to run through him. They also added a stud cornerback in Darqueze Dennard to improve that already staunch defense. But we cannot forget about one of my guys to watch this year: Giovanni Bernard. This kid is going to be a stud, especially in a division when the Steelers and Ravens did not get better and the Browns have not proven anything. Bernard had a pretty decent rookie season last year and is now the guy after Cincinnati released Benjarvus Green-Ellis. It is the Bengals division to lose this year.
Cleveland Browns- (8-8) Manziel or Hoyer? What a team to watch this year and what a reality show it could turn out to be. Head coach Mike Pettine will have his media rooms full everyday asking when “Johnny Cleveland” will be thrust into the starting lineup. Either way, it’s going to be fun and the entire football universe is going to be paying close attention to the team from Cleveland, which is definitely a change from the norm for them. With all of the talk about this offense this offseason, we have completely forgotten about how great that defense is and how much better it can get. They added Donte Whitner to add some more POP to that defense as well as Justin Gilbert to be that playmaker on the opposite side of Joe Haden. This secondary could rival what the Seahawks have, but lets talk about that offense. Brian Hoyer will start for the first three games this year. Then after they head into the bye week with a record of 1-2, in comes Johnny Football to add a little spark into that Josh Gordon-less offense. The Browns will definitely be a team to keep an eye on this year, especially if Manziel takes the game seriously and works on improving his mechanics and not taking off and running if the first pass option isn’t there.
Pittsburgh Steelers- (8-8)
This team has been in need of a youth movement for years and now that they
let Ryan Clark and LaMarr Woodley walk, they can now get to it. The additions of Ryan Shazier and Stephon
Tuitt will add a nice mix of speed and power to get the Steelers back into their
old ways of grinding football. The main
thing holding the defense back will be their secondary. The once great Troy Polamalu is now a
liability in the backfield as his cover skills have deteriorated and he is
still as injury prone as ever. Le’Veon
Bell and LeGarrette Blount should pair up nicely, as per their arrest record,
and be a nice 1-2 punch. But, Big Ben
has this air around him that always reassures Steelers fans that everything
will be okay and they usually are but I cannot see them making the playoffs
this year. It is a steep hill they will
have to climb but if anybody can do it, Big Ben can.
South
Houston Texans-
(10-6) Was Ryan Fitzpatrick really an upgrade over Matt Schaub? I tend to think not but despite that the
Texans will be the team with the quickest turnaround. This defense was stout AND then they added
Jadeveon Clowney. With J.J. Watt
tutoring Clowney and staying on him, Clowney could become the next perennial
superstar in a very short amount of time.
Both defensive players could have double-digit sacks, and then add
Whitney Mercillus and Brian Cushing to the mix and it makes a recipe for
disaster for opposing quarterbacks this season.
Houston’s season is going to come down to their offense. Andre Johnson is not happy and Arian Foster
can’t stay healthy. Luckily enough, the
defense will be great enough to win them games and keep them close in the
others. Bill O’ Brian is also a hell of
a coach and knows how to get the most from his offensive players so maybe he
can figure out what to do with Fitzpatrick and get those Texans back into the
playoffs.
Indianapolis Colts-
(12-4) The Colts are bringing out the big guns this year. They are a team on a mission to absolutely
crush anybody in their path. Don’t
believe me? That offense is going to be
even better in Andrew Luck’s third year.
The team added Hakeem Nicks to an already damn good receiving core,
which includes a healthy Reggie Wayne and a T.Y. Hilton, who came on very
strong last year and still produced despite being covered like a number one
wide out. Trent Richardson is going to
improve, especially after addressing the offensive line in the draft with Jake
Mewhort. The Colts also added one of my
favorite players to watch: D’Qwell Jackson.
Jackson is an absolute stud at the linebacker position and has played in
every single game in the last three seasons.
This team will go through Andrew Luck and he is going to take them deep
into the playoffs this year.
Jacksonville Jaguars-
(7-9) Be forewarned, I am a Jaguars fan.
So this may be a little biased but I truly believe this team is on the
up and up. While the team is not very
deep, it can definitely remain competitive in every game they play in this
year. Led by head coach Gus Bradley,
this team is motivated and will do whatever it takes to win, and you have to
love a team like that. The Blake Bortles
debate is on. He looks like a very good
quarterback with tremendous upside and if worked into the lineup at the right
time, this team could be one to watch out for.
The defense will make large strides again this year. Young and fiery, the defense plays with a
swagger that stems directly from Bradley.
The interior offensive line will hold the team back as it is apparent
that they cannot block anybody. The wide
receivers are young and need to stay healthy so as to practice together and be
ready for next year when Bortles will be the starting quarterback. But until then, this team will go with Chad
Henne as the starter for at least the first five games and depending on the record,
everything will probably be reevaluated.
I am actually excited to be a Jaguars fan this year.
Tennessee Titans-
(4-12) The definition of mediocrity for the last few seasons has been the
Tennessee Titans. Since 2009, they have
won 8, 6, 9, 6, 7 games respectively.
The team needed to change something around to get over that hump and
they hope that head coach Ken Wisenhunt will get them there. Jake Locker’s career has been full of
injuries and I don’t expect that to change.
Thankfully they drafted Zach Mettenberger who has actually looked quite
good. If the season starts going south
early, I expect Mettenberger to get thrust into the starting lineup to give the
team a little spark with his big arm and Justin Hunter’s playmaking ability. With the addition of Bishop Sankey, this team
has a bunch of young, talented and exciting players for some years to come.
East
Buffalo Bills- (6-10)
Sammy Watkins is an absolute animal, but there is only so much a rookie wide
receiver can do. I really liked how E.J.
Manuel looked last year before getting hurt.
He showed some good poise and good pocket presence as a rookie so we
will see how much he has progressed going into his second season. The defense would probably be improved had it
not lost one of the best young linebackers in the game, Kiko Alonso, to a
season ending ACL injury. They added
Brandon Spikes but lost Stevie Johnson and Jairus Byrd, so it seems to me that
they will be roughly in the same position as they were last year, minus a first
round draft pick. They still have the
two headed, injury riddled monsters at the running back position, C.J. Spiller
and Fred Jackson. Both running backs
have top ten talent but they cannot seem to stay healthy. Maybe this is the year that actually happens
but it’s such a tough sport to play with a soft body.
Miami Dolphins- (7-9)
Now is the time for Ryan Tannehill to take that step forward and become an
elite quarterback that he has the potential to be. The Dolphins made improvements to a
horrendous offensive line that allowed Tannehill to get sacked 58 times. They signed big offensive tackle Branden
Albert to help solidify the line but the loss of Mike Pouncey is a huge
detriment. They also picked up free
agent running back Knowshon Moreno, who is also pretty good at pass protection,
but I cannot see him duplicating what he did in an offense with Peyton Manning
at the helm. The team is still young and
has a pretty consistent defense in a sub par division this year. Miami could easily take my projected 7-9
record and win 9 games, making them a borderline playoff team but a lot of
those wins will be dependent on the Tannehill to Mike Wallace downfield
exchange.
New England Patriots-
(10-6) Besides wide receiver, this team addressed the majority of their
needs. But they went ahead and let Aqib Talib go and then instantly filled and
upgraded the position by signing Darrelle Revis. This move makes the defense that much better
because Revis’s Island is still a sure thing.
The other defensive back positions were filled with the signings of Brandon
Flowers and Patrick Chung. Although for
some reason, the Patriots seem reluctant to draft a marquee wide receiver,
which is probably their greatest need, and decided to stick it out with Danny
Amendola and Aaron Dobson. Enjoy that
again this year, Brady. The Patriots
absolutely need Rob Gronkowski to stay healthy this year as his presence on the
field demands the extra attention that these young wide receivers need in order
to be matched up and win their one on one matches. The defense will be vastly better with all of
their players back from injury (notably Vince Wilfork and Jerod Mayo) and by
drafting Dominique Easley. Tom Brady is
still leading that team and if he can get down the timing with his receivers,
they could absolutely make another run deep into the playoffs.
New York Jets- (8-8) This
is just another mediocre team that Rex Ryan and John Idzik has assembled. Maybe Chris Johnson has a little bit left in
the tank after taking the last few seasons off with the Titans but that remains
to be seen. Eric Decker, while valuable
with the Broncos because of his ability to win his one on one matchups, is going
to be one of the center points for defensive coordinators to key on. That could be a tough hill for him to climb,
especially without Peyton Manning throwing him the ball now. Mike Vick comes in to help Geno Smith with
his development but he may end up being the better option halfway into the
season, as Rex will be trying to keep his job.
They lost their top cornerback in Antonio Cromartie and in to try and
fill his shoes are Kyle Wilson and Dee Milliner. Rex Ryan is a great defensive mind but I just
do not believe he has what it takes to be the Super Bowl winning head coach he
has so often predicted he would be. If
this team doesn’t make the playoffs, Ryan has to be canned and the rebuilding
process will begin.
West
Denver Broncos-
(13-3) The Broncos were absolutely embarrassed in the Super Bowl. The offense got dominated at every position
by that tough Seattle defense and the Denver defense was manhandled at the
line. So what does John Elway do to make
sure that doesn’t happen again? Make the
team better at every position. The
Broncos went out and signed Aqib Talib and T.J. Ward and also drafted Bradley
Roby in the first round to shore up that secondary, picked up DeMarcus Ware to
find another way to rattle the quarterback, and also let an aging liability
that is Champ Bailey go. The Broncos are
even better than they were before and oh, by the way, they still have Peyton
throwing anywhere and everywhere he wants to.
Eric Decker may have been allowed to walk but they still signed Emmanuel
Sanders and still have their top receivers coming back from last season, with
the exception of Wes Welker for 4 games (who took whatever is it that he took). Although their schedule is way tougher than
last year, I actually see that as a good thing.
They play against the NFC West, which means they will be up against
great defenses like the Seahawks, Rams, Cardinals, and 49ers. This team will be challenged week in and week
out and we will know by the end of the season if this will be another Super Bowl
contender. The Broncos are my pick to
win the Super Bowl this year. The team
got better and is more motivated to kick the crap out of everybody who lines up
against them. That is a scary thought.
Kansas City Chiefs-
(8-8) The Chiefs will live and die by Jamaal Charles again this year. It is always so incredibly hard to let it
ride on just one guy but I believe Charles can handle it again this year. The biggest obstacle they have to overcome is
losing three starters on the offensive line through free agency. Three guys that were integral to Charles’s
1980 yards from scrimmage last season.
That is a big void to fill.
Kansas City will also be up against a much more brutal schedule this
year and if anything happens to Charles, the team could be staring into the
face of a less than .500 record. Dwayne
Bowe has taken the last few years off and has killed fantasy teams in the
process. If only he could find some
motivation but it will be another lackluster year from him, especially with
Alex Smith only throwing 10 yard out and in passes. Special teams could be a big upgrade for this
team. Everybody is gushing over
De’Anthony Thomas and his electrifying speed.
We will see if everything he has done in the preseason translates over
to the regular season. Playing against
the teams in the NFC West, I do not anticipate the Chiefs making the playoffs
this year.
Oakland Raiders-
(4-12) The RAAAIIIDERSSSSSS will once again be the Raiders. Another year, another losing record, and
another chance at a complete overhaul in the front office. It seems like everything this team does,
works against them and I have a hunch that the same will happen again in the
upcoming season. This year they signed a
bunch of “wiley ole veterans” and hope that they mesh well with the influx of
rookies and young players on the team. They
do have quite a bit of talent on the roster and signed some big names like
James Jones to help with the receivers, Justin Tuck to help with the defensive
line, and LaMarr Woodley to help with the linebackers. Also, if (and when) Darren McFadden goes down
this year, Maurice Jones-Drew may have a chance at a little revitalization in a
new uniform. Khalil Mack may prove to be
a lone bright spot on this team as he could become the next stud pass rushing
linebacker and Derek Carr has a shot at reclaiming the family name by playing
well this year and proving he can stare into the face of blitzes. But everything this team and head coach
Dennis Allen does backfires, so it will be interesting to see how it all blows
up in Oakland this year.
San Diego Chargers- (9-7)
This could be a huge year for Philip Rivers and the San Diego
Chargers. They hit big time on their
rookie wide out selection in Keenan Allen, who is primed to have an even bigger
year this year, and the team did not really lose any key players through free
agency. They drafted one of my favorite
players to watch last year in Jason Verrett and are getting back players who
had injury issues and trouble staying on the field last year in Dwight Freeney
and Manti Te’o. There is also a player
to watch on offense who is primed for a breakout season, the tight end Ladarius
Green. He is big, fast, and strong and
stands at 6 foot 6, 240 pounds with 4.4 speed.
Those numbers are Calvin Johnson-esque, but he just needed to take some
time to sit behind Antonio Gates and develop.
Especially with Gates nearing the end of his Hall of Fame career, it is
setting up nicely for Green to breakout.
Rivers’ pass happy offense will help put Green and Allen on the map of
fantasy football and real football as they look to scratch and crawl their way
into the playoffs.
NFC
North
Chicago Bears- (11-5)
Defense, defense, defense. The epitome
of the Bears and their tough-nosed, smash mouth way of doing things went completely
awry last year. It was historically bad
for a team that is consistently known for their suffocating defense. The Bears were smart in letting Julius
Peppers leave and in to fill his shoes, and in my opinion surpass them, is
Jared Allen. Allen is of the best
players in the league to watch. His
energy and work ethic is unmatched by anybody and he gives it all he can on
every single play. Not exactly what you
would say about Julius Peppers. They
also added Lamarr Houston, Willie Young, and Ryan Mundy to the defense while
adding Kyle Fuller and Will Sutton through the draft. That defense is going to be very much
improved, which is necessary considering Aaron Rodgers is back and ready for
another season. This team will run
through that offense though. Jay Cutler will
be throwing to Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery, in another year of Marc
Trestman’s offense. Matt Forte is ready
to handle his usual workload again. Look
for the Bears to be a Super Bowl contender as they try to have teams travel to
Soldier Field in the cold of January.
Detroit Lions- (8-8) I
honestly feel bad for Calvin Johnson. He
is our generations Barry Sanders in the fact that he may never win a Super Bowl
despite being by far the best player at his position in the league. And the Lions do not get any better annually. Matthew Stafford has great stats because he
can throw to Calvin Johnson but that is because Johnson created his own separation. Thankfully, the Lions went out and signed
Golden Tate to take away some of the triple coverage away from Megatron. Eric Ebron could be a very nice addition to
the offense next year but he will have a steep learning curve, as do most
rookie tight ends, this year. That
defense is going to once again bring down the team. The secondary is atrocious and they get to go
up against Aaron Rodgers and Jay Cutler twice a year. That alone could be four losses because of
that group. Rashean Mathis was a good
corner in his tenure with Jacksonville but he has lost a step on his relied
upon speed and ballhawking ability. That
just screams, “Throw at me”. But all in
all, Detroit will be average once again and in a division with Rodgers and
Cutler, it will be very tough for them to see the playoffs unless drastic
changes are made to improve that secondary.
Green Bay Packers-
(12-4) Look out NFL defenses! Aaron
Rodgers is back and looking better than ever. He is making all his throws and
is looking as if he is in mid-season form already. Especially with him having Jordy Nelson,
getting Randall Cobb back, and drafting Davante Adams, the offense should be firing
on all cylinders. Eddie Lacey is that
big stud running back that Green Bay has been missing so now instead of Rodgers
throwing fade routes to the back of the end zone, Lacey can pound it inside for
the touchdown once they are in the red zone.
Green Bay also upgraded their defense quite significantly as long as
they can motivate Julius Peppers and get him yearning to get that Super Bowl
Championship he should so desperately desire.
Especially paired with Clay Matthews rushing off the edge, Peppers could
be in line for a huge season with the one on one match ups he should get. They also drafted Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to shore
up that secondary. Expect this Packers
team to go deep into the playoffs. That
week one matchup vs. Seattle keeps looking better and better (Editor’s Note:
lol, maybe not).
Minnesota Vikings- (6-10)
Just like every year since 2007, this team’s overall win/ loss record will be
on the shoulders of Adrian Peterson.
There is no denying his greatness, but it is a large task to overcome
especially in the NFC North where they have to play the Packers and the Bears
twice. They could very easily start the
season 0 and 5 and then put in Teddy Bridgewater to see what they have for
their future. Cordarrelle Patterson
could turn out to be an absolute beast at wide receiver. Big, strong, and moves extremely well with
very sure hands. If Bridgewater ends up
panning out, these two could become a nice, young tandem for years to come. Mike Zimmer takes over a team that has finished
in last place three out of the last four years and Aaron Rodgers is not going
anywhere. So to be competitive in this
division the Vikings will have to play fantastic defense, which happens to be
Zimmer’s specialty. Every year he put
out top-notch defenses and I expect him to do that with this Minnesota
unit. I was not the biggest fan of
Anthony Barr coming out of college, but if anybody can make him into the player
that he could become, it’s Zimmer.
South
Atlanta Falcons-
(6-10) This may be the year that Mike Smith gets fired. In addition to switching from a 4-3 defense
to a 3-4 defense, they lost their top playmaking linebacker in Sean Witherspoon
for the year. At a position of weakness
for the team, losing their top player at that position can only mean bad things
to come. They signed former first
rounder Tyson Jackson who had a pretty decent year last year but the defense
still needs plenty more help. The
offense could make a nice rebound this year after they get star wide receivers
Roddy White and Julio Jones back from injury.
Those two players could make a world of a difference, especially with
Harry Douglass coming off a career year last year and Matt Ryan still slinging
the ball around. The run game leaves a
lot to be determined. Steven Jackson did
not play much last year after being hampered by a slew of injuries and early
round pick Devonta Freeman could overtake the starting job. The offensive line play was shaky last year
and then they signed big time prospect Jake Matthews out of Texas A&M. Matthews is now on the verge of switching
from right tackle to left tackle after Sam Baker went down. All in all, the team is mediocre at best and
will need career years from both star wideouts if Mike Smith aims to keep his
job.
Carolina Panthers- (7-9)
What is this team doing? Does Juan
Rivera not understand how continuity works on offense? Cam Newton had a great year last year and
then in the blink of an eye, his entire receiving core is gone. Steve Smith, Brandon LaFell, and Ted Ginn Jr.
are all gone. Insert first round pick
Kelvin Benjamin and former Philadelphia Eagle Jason Avant. Greg Olsen is still an option and he could be
in line for a huge year as being the only receiver Newton has any continuity
with. This team could very easily be 3-8
heading into their bye week because of the degree of difficulty of their
schedule. From September 21st
to November 16th, the Panthers play the Steelers, Ravens, Bears,
Bengals, Packers, Seahawks, Saints, Eagles, and Falcons. What a stretch of quality teams but hey
that’s football. The defense looks to
build off of last year where they were one of the top defensive units. Luke Kuechly is an absolute beast and should
lead the team in tackles again this year.
They still have Charles Johnson and Greg Hardy rushing off the edge,
even though Hardy is still waiting to hear about his potential multi game
suspension. This could be a major blow
to the team as Hardy has a combined 26 sacks in the last two seasons. This team faces an uphill battle as they have
a rough schedule and a brand new look on offense.
New Orleans Saints-
(13-3) The Saints have one of the friendliest schedules of any team this
year. Two of their most difficult games
are against the Packers and the 49ers and will be played at home in the Superdome. And as we all know, the Saints have a 12th
man of their own in that stadium, not to the extent of the Seahawks but it’s
still pretty damn impressive. Drew Brees
and Sean Payton are back to lead this prolific offense and the tandem between
Brees and Jimmy Graham look to build on from last years record setting
numbers. Insert Brandin Cooks, the
speedster from Oregon State who has 195 receptions for 2,881 yards and 21
touchdowns in the last two years. Now
Cooks has Brees throwing him the rock. On
the other side of the ball, New Orleans instantly upgraded with the signing of
Jairus Byrd to cover the free safety position.
The Saints now have one of the best one-two punches with Byrd and strong
safety Kenny Vaccaro. Thankfully they cut
the downtrodden Champ Bailey as to let Keenan Lewis and Patrick Robinson cover
the outside corner spots. Cameron Jordan
looks to step up into the elite level at the defensive end position as he is
going to explode for even more sacks than he got last year. I look for the Saints to go deep into the
playoffs as long as they have home field advantage and their defense builds off
of last year.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers-
(7-9) Greg Schiano took this team and pummeled it into the ground. Players didn’t respect him and there were a
slew of other mishaps that kept him from keeping his job. In comes former Chicago Bears coach Lovie
Smith. His smashmouth way of playing the
game is something the Buccaneers could transition to and become competitive
very quickly and easily. He has his
running back in Doug Martin but at quarterback he has journeyman Josh
McCown. McCown had a great year last
year in Marc Trestman’s offense. In
Trestman’s offense, McCown was throwing to three targets that were over 6 foot
4 in Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, and Martellus Bennett and now in Tampa
Bay, McCown has tall targets yet again in Vincent Jackson, Mike Evans, and
Austin Seferian-Jenkins. He could have a
very good season if his rookie wide out and tight end transition seamlessly
from college to the pros. On the
defensive side of the ball, through free agency, the main piece that the Bucs
lost was Darrelle Revis. Revis, while
having a very productive career, demanded way too much money for a team that
was looking to rebuild quickly. The
money the team saved from cutting Revis allowed them to sign McCown, Michael
Johnson, Alterraun Verner, and Evan Dietrich-Smith. I think any team would take
that trade off. This team will be on the
outside looking in, especially in the NFC.
East
Dallas Cowboys-
(6-10) Well here we go Dallas fans.
I believe this is Jason Garrett’s last year coaching “America’s
Team”. The team is pretty lackluster all
around. The defense was horrible last
year and to make matters worse, they released DeMarcus Ware and lost Sean Lee
to a torn ACL. What a great start. Then they lost Demarcus Lawrence, the guy
they planned on replacing Ware, for at least 8 weeks. The Cowboys are on fast track to being a very
mediocre team, which is something they have traditionally been good at the past
few years. This offense is still led by
Tony Romo, Jason Witten, and Dez Bryant.
I expect Bryant to take another step forward this year, and hopefully
another step forward in maturity. Maybe
Romo can stay fully healthy this for the entire season. I do not see this team being able to win more
than 8 games this year. Jerry Jones
NEEDS to give up control of the team.
Sure he won plenty back in the 1990s but he won those Super Bowls with
teams created by Jimmy Johnson. Jerry
Jones will continue to ruin this team until somebody steps in and does
something
New York Giants- (5-11)
There is big trouble for Big Blue.
The Giants are in the middle of transitioning from experienced veteran
leaders to a younger team attempting to conform to Tom Coughlin’s no nonsense
dictatorship coaching style. I believe
this could implode in his face, as players do not respect the authoritative coaching
style as much anymore. Along with that
little issue, Eli Manning is now working with a new offensive coordinator in a
new system for the first time since he came into the league. And he was mediocre at best in that system. In the preseason, Eli and his receivers had
pretty bad timing. The routes looked
like they were ran too short or Eli missed something. It is a new system and there is usually an
adjustment period so maybe they will get it together in time to try and make a
run for the NFC East title. Rashad
Jennings could have a nice little breakthrough year with the Giants. He was a pretty serviceable back whenever
Darren McFadden would go down with whatever injury decided to pop up. One thing going against Jennings is the new
look at offensive line. The last
remaining member of the 2007 Super Bowl line just retired so it is time to
start over on that front. The defense will
be just okay this year. The secondary
looks to be pretty solid but the linebacking core does not seem to be up to
snuff for those bold Giants defenses of the past.
Philadelphia Eagles-
(11-5) Round 2: Chip Kelly vs. NFL defenses. Kelly “changed” the way offenses are
ran. Bold statement by some
experts. I wouldn’t go that far but he has
definitely sped it up and with another year gone by, the offense looks to be
even faster and more efficient. Nick
Foles blew up last year. He came from
relative obscurity to a superstar in the matter of a season. His touchdown to interception ratio was
unreal: 27 touchdowns to only 2 interceptions.
There is also this little running back named LeSean McCoy who led the
league in rushing last year and looks to build off of that. The team lost DeSean Jackson to free agency but
Jeremy Maclin is back to help shore up the receiving core. The defense needs some of their former high
draft picks to step up and make some plays.
Guys like Vinny Curry and Brandon Graham were drafted because they had
the ability to make plays but they have not done enough of that. Maybe this year is the year. The Eagles are the scariest team in the NFC
East and that offense will role over all the defenses in their division.
Washington Redskins-
(6-10) Robert Griffin III has to do a better job this year at many
things. The main thing is he has to
protect his body. There were way too
many instances in preseason, yes PRESEASON, of him trying to gain extra yards
by staying in bounds and forcing a couple extra hits. Don’t be a hero Robert. He also has to stop turning the ball over as
noted by his 16 turnovers last year.
This team is not comprised of just one player. They also signed big time free agent DeSean
Jackson to give RG3 another weapon in addition to Pierre Garcon and the up and
coming tight end Jordan Reed. The
defense looks to be pretty stout on the front 7. Ryan Kerrigan and Brian Orakpo could both
produce double-digit sack seasons, along with Jason Hatcher who had 11 sacks
last year. The pass rush could be there
and good enough to help out the somewhat bland secondary led by DeAngelo Hall
and Ryan Clark. The Redskins could swing
more wins their way if RG3 plays like he did his rookie season and stays
healthy but that’s why we play the game.
West
Arizona Cardinals- (6-10)
Poor Darnell Dockett and poor Cardinals.
The Cardinals just lost one of the best and most disruptive defensive
tackles in the game. This comes as a
massive blow to a very good defense with such great players like Calais
Campbell and Patrick Peterson, two of the premier players at their position. This proves to be tough for Arizona as they
are looking to make the playoffs in the NFC but that would be a difficult task
even if they were not in a division with the 49ers, Seahawks, and the up and
coming Rams. To try and replace Dockett,
the Cardinals signed Tommy Kelly but I don’t believe that will be enough to get
them over the hump in the division they are in.
The offense, for as much as I trust Bruce Arians and his way of
operating an efficient offense, is just not there. The offensive line play is shaky at best and
Carson Palmer is just a mediocre quarterback, even with the future hall of
famer Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd catching his poor throws.
San Francisco 49ers-
(12-4) Is it just me or is Jim Harbaugh having a tough time controlling his
team? There always seems to be some type
of dysfunction that goes on but that will always be an issue with player
coaches (something Bill Belichick rarely has to deal with). But this team will once again be in the thick
of things in the toughest division in all of the NFL. Colin Kaepernick will be leading an offense
that looks to be better than it was before with the addition of Stevie Johnson
and a young Carlos Hyde (with a potential reemergence of Marcus
Lattimore). The defense will be just as
good as last year, even while missing NaVarro Bowman for half the year and
losing three cornerbacks and Donte Whitner.
This roster is full of talent and depth at the majority of positions and
will once again have Seattle in their way to impede the season and make it
extremely difficult to win the division.
Although, once Colin Kaepernick is in the playoffs, he turns on the jets
and reaches a whole other level of quarterback.
Seattle Seahawks
(13-3) This team is definitely a dynasty in the making. No other team in the NFL may have more
talent, depth, and a great energy that stems from the coaches on down to the
players and the fans. There are
perennial superstars at almost every position on the team and they are mainly
young players. Although they did lose
quite a bit of quality players through free agency, there is depth behind those
players so they really didn’t lose a whole lot.
They are also getting Percy Harvin back this year, and maybe he will
actually stay healthy for a season. They
also drafted Paul Richardson out of Colorado to give Russell Wilson even more
weapons to work with. Marshawn Lynch
looks to build off of last season where beast mode was fully into effect. And lets talk about that defense: Sherman,
Thomas, Avril, Bennet, Wright, Wagner.
You can go on and on and on.
Russell Wilson and that offense doesn’t have to do much to put up points
when the defense is forcing three and outs and giving the offense great field
position. Pete Carroll is in charge of
an amazingly talented and young team and so far he is doing all the right
things to make sure this team is in position to win week in and week out. As long as everybody is as hungry as they
were last year, this team will be in the Super Bowl again. The road to the playoffs runs through
Seattle.
St. Louis Rams- (7-9)
Well, Sam Bradford went down along with the Rams’ hopes of reaching the
playoffs. Don’t let my projected 7 and 9
record fool you. This is a damn good
team with plenty of depth on defense.
The offense is a little shaky, even when Bradford is healthy. Zac Stacy is a pretty good running back and
it does not seem like he will have much competition as Tre Mason has not looked
good so far in camp. The receivers are
young and unproven. Tavon Austin will
need to have a monster year if this team has any hopes of being in the running
for a wild card spot, as long as he has learned the playbook by now. Kenny Britt is definitely an interesting
signing. The former first round pick
could ignite a nice spark for the team being that big bodied red zone
threat. Chris Long and Robert Quinn lead
that fearsome defense along with James Laurinaitis, Janoris Jenkins, and Alec
Ogletree. All young, premier players at
their respective positions. This team
has a great nucleus of players that desperately need a quarterback to lead
them. Sam Bradford is not the answer and
neither is him tearing his ACL… AGAIN.
It is time the Rams go in a different direction at that position and
Shaun Hill is definitely not the answer.
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