They are the most complete team in the league. They are skilled at every single position and had the best offseason out of anyone. Shonn Green is now in his second year and he is looking to be a pro-bowl caliber back. Ladanian Tomlinson will get a lot of touches. They picked up former Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes and Pro-Bowler Antonio Cromartie from the Chargers. They already had the best defense but when you add Cromartie, put in a helathy Kris Jenkins who was hurt all of last year, and factor in the improvement on the offense this team is scary. It's all on Sanchez's shoulders.
The Ravens had a great off-season picking up big time receiver Anquan Boldin from Arizona. Receiver was really their only weakness and now they are the favorites in that division. A strong running game mixed with Joe Flacco's new receiver and a great defense with new pickup Terrence Cody from Alabama, they could be looking at a Super Bowl.
The Colts are going to be hungry after losing in the Super Bowl at the very end of the game. They didn't lose anyone of note and if they can stay healthy they always have a shot at a Super Bowl.
The Saints won their first ever championship last season, but after a few players left the team they are a little weak in some positions, particularly at safety where they lost Darren Sharper. If they can re-sign Sharper that would help a lot. The thing that worries me the most is the hangover from winning. Can they regain that focus after a crazy emotional offseason?
The Cowboys look great on paper. They are, on paper, the best team in the NFC East, they made in my opinion the best pick in the draft in getting Dez Bryant, and they will look to be explosive. However, we are talking about the Cowboys and we all know just because they are the best on paper, doesn't mean they are the best on the field.
Aaron Rodgers was a good offensive line away from being a serious MVP candidate last season. After a decent draft where they got a very good tackle in the first round the Packers are set to be the most explosive offense next season. Couple that with a full offseason of learning the 3-4 defense when they were already ranked 2nd in defense last season, they are poised to make a championship run.
The Vikings lost in a heartbreaker in the NFC championship game when Brett Favre turned into Brett Favre and threw another season-ending interception. If Favre comes back, which he will, the Vikings will be great again, but they did lose Chester Taylor who is a great running back. Draft pick Toby Gerhart from Stanford could be good, but time will tell. Favre is also a year older, the division will come down to the final 2 weeks.
They had an interesting draft in which they traded all their picks away until next year. Tom Brady is healthy again and that will help. You can't ever count this team out, but I don't see another Super Bowl run for them this year.
The Dolphins made a stellar offseason move getting Brandon Marshall from Denver for next to nothing. They now have a reliable receiver who they can depend on late in games. Add that to a pretty good defense, a great rushing attack, and Chad Henne getting another year under his belt and it's hard to believe that just a few years ago this team won one game.
The Giants are an interesting team to me. They have a lot of things in place to be a very good team, but they could also finish in 4th in the NFC East. The defense needs to get better and I think they will. Jason Pierre-Paul could be an amazing pick or a wasted pick, they will need to do better in the passing game which I think they can. If they can do that they should be a very good team.
The 'Niners got a lot better in the off-season. They have a pretty good defense, an elite running back, a group of talented young receivers, a great tight-end, a great draft class, and new comer Ted Ginn from Miami. The only thing that can hold this team back is Alex Smith. This is his last chance to prove he's not a bust, and with this team he has no excuses.
The Bengals will have a great offense next year. They will continue to pound the ball on the ground and with new receiver Antonio Bryant their passing game will look like it did with Chad Ochocinco and TJ Whosyourmama.
The Texans could have a very good year. They have a very good quarterback, the second best receiver, and a very good defensive line. They do have issues in the secondary and running game, but they could easily be a playoff team for the first time.
The Falcons are another interesting team. They have a lot of things in place to be very good, but I think they will underachieve simply because there are so many other better teams. They are better than every team below them here but I don't see them competing with any team ranked above them.
We all know about their offseason issues. Big Ben could have a very down year not only because of his off the field troubles, but because he lost his big play target in Santonio Holmes to the Jets. They are a good team, but with Baltimore and Cincinnati in their division they will most likely have a down year.
A lot of people expect me to put the Redskins above the Eagles and here's why I won't. They are still a very capable defensive team, and their offense is still going to be explosive. They are so young and energetic, if Kolb can stay healthy and protected in the pocket they should not have a big drop off. I put them at 15 because I feel the Giants and Cowboys are just better than them.
They lost quite a bit this offseason in Ladanian Tomlinson and Antonio Cromartie, but they got a great draft pick in Ryan Matthews. Matthews will compete for time right away and Darren Sproles is still explosive. They could be very good because their division, while better than last year, is still very weak.
The Broncos lost their best player to Miami and wasted a draft pick on Tim Tebow who will not be able to play much this year. I put them behind the Chargers because I think even though they both lost a lot, San Diego kept more and drafted much better.
The Cardinals lost a lot as well. Kurt Warner retired, Anquan Boldin went to Baltimore, and Antrel Rolle went to the Giants. They still have Larry Fitzgerald, and Matt Leinart could be decent. They also play in a fairly easy division. They could be really bad or pretty decent.
A lot of people might be surprised they are this far down. They hired one of the best coaches in NFL history and got a hall-of-fame quarterback who can still play. I do think they will be much better but I don't think it's going to be this year. I think McNabb does the opposite of Favre and struggles in the two games versus Philly this year and they still don't have very good receivers. Their defense is good but they need another good draft class to compete for the division crown.
They didn't get much better in the offseason. They really are the same team as last year and that doesn't bode well for them. Chris Johnson however, may break the single-season rushing mark.
The Bears didn't get any better either, they stayed relatively the same. They still have a lot of issues on defense and Cutler doesn't have much to work with on offense. He will be an interception machine next year again. Julius Peppers will help their pass rush some but thats not where their weaknesses are.
The Panthers still have a great running game and they still have Steve Smith. What they don't have is a proven quarterback. Jimmy Clausen will be very good one day, you can save this and look back on it in 5 years and I guarantee I'm right. However, he won't do much this year and they have quite a few issues on defense, it is another rebuilding year, but they will be good again soon if they draft well.
They got Aaron Kampman in the offseason and that will help their pass-rush a lot. They have a lot of issues but I do see them getting better in a few years. They were very smart not to take Tebow like they said they wanted to.
They didn't have a bad draft, but I don't think anyone they got will help them this year. Their biggest loss was a backup. Seneca Wallace left and with Hasselbeck's injury problems they could have a very, very bad year.
The Bills drafted Spiller, why? Beats me. He isn't going to help them at all. They had so many needs and running back was pretty much they only position they were set at. So what do they do? Take a running back. That's why they're the Bills.
The Chiefs are going in the right direction. They had a very good draft and Eric Berry is going to be a great in this league in a few years. Charlie Weiss is back at his natural position at offensive coordinator. They will be pretty good soon but they still don't have a lot in place this year to compete.
They have a lot of pieces in place to start competing again, but they don't have the defense to do it this year. It will be another rough season, but one filled with close losses, fans should be mildly happy with the direction of the team.
They didn't make a terrible pick this year! However, the pick isn't one that's going to help this year. They still have a lot of work to do if they want to stop picking in the top 10 every year.
They have a lot of work to do as well but they are going to be getting better in the next few years. They have a very capable quarterback and Gerald McCoy will be a stud in the next few years.
They also have a lot of work to do but Mike Holmgren will make some good picks in the next few years and Colt McCoy could be pretty decent. A few more good drafts and they will start competing again, but too many holes this year.
They made the right pick in Sam Bradford, but they have so, so many needs that need to be filled. I'm not sure if this coaching staff will see this team really improve, but I feel they will eventually.
2010-11 Offensive Rookie of the Year-Dez Bryant(DAL)
2010-11 Defensive Rookie of the Year-Gerald McCoy(TB)
2010-11 Offensive player of the Year-Chris Johnson(TEN)
2010-11 Defensive player of the Year-Darelle Revis(NYJ)
2010-11 MVP-Aaron Rodgers(GB)
Super Bowl-New York Jets Vs. Green Bay Packers
2010-11 Champions-New York Jets
I only disagree with your ranking of the Titans. Even if they are the same team as last year, Vince Young took over and they went on a 7 game win streak. It's obvious that they will be able to run the ball, now with some pressure off Vince Young's back he can settle down and make the correct reads. The run will also set up nice for the play action and Vince Young already shown throughout his career at Texas what he can do off of the play action. Tim Tebow will not be a bust, he's to determined and self motivated. Even if he's not the best player in the NFL, he practices like he is. Give him a few years to learn the system and let the Broncos see how they can utilize his talents in the most effective way.
ReplyDeleteI don't think they have the receivers to compete in the division. I think if they were in a different division they might be okay, but they pay with the Colts and Texans, who I think are both just better than them. In terms of Tebow I don't think he will be a complete bust but the rankings are for this year, so he will not make a huge impact and I think the pick was a stretch only because he traded up to pick him when there was almost a 0% chance one of the teams in front of the Broncos would take him. He could be a very successful player but I don't see him making much noise and the Broncos had many other needs, particularly at receiver.
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