Baltimore Ravens – Jimmy Smith was a good pick, and he will be a terror on the field if he can stay on the field. Can Flacco take another step forward when his QB coach has been fired? Nothing hampers growth more than hitting the reset button on the coaching system.
Buffalo Bills – They made the decision to have another losing season by keeping Ryan Fitzpatrick as their starter. Perhaps they are shooting for Andrew Luck next year.
Cincinnati Bengals – Palmer’s retirement is the best thing that could have possibly happened. His elbow has been shot ever since he greedily decided against IR so that he could continue to collect a fat game check. I see him going the Jake Plummer way and heading off into obscurity.
Cleveland Browns – They start rebuilding along the defensive line with Taylor and Sheard, and they have a real gamer in McCoy. They are taking a page out of the rival Pittsburgh Steelers book. First get the talent. Then get the system. Then you win big. Things are looking up for the Brownies.
Denver Broncos – Dropping McDaniels prematurely is the Broncos loss and the Rams gain. Fortunately, new HC John Fox will rebuild the defense and kick start the running game. Tebow is better than many think he is, and worse than others make him up to be. The teams decidedly rush heavy attack should help provide Tebow with a more downfield opportunities.
Houston Texans – It is amazing how much money they continue to dump into an underwhelming defense. If they actually focused on making their already talented offense better who know how many games they win.
Indianapolis Colts – They have Peyton Manning. See ya in the playoffs.
Jacksonville Jaguars – The sooner Gabbert gets to play the better. It’s going to be tough sledding for the young QB with Mercedes Lewis as his only legit receiving talent. Mojo is starting to break down; he has seen a lot of reps for a 26 year old.
Kansas City Chiefs – With Weis gone and a Haley left to his own devices, this team is a lock to miss the playoffs. The talent is there and the system is there, but when it comes to strategy execution this team is far from a finished product. Calling Haley a “wildcard” is a modest label.
Miami Dolphins – They passed on Heismann running back Mark Ingram for a center and passed on drafting a signal caller to capitalize on another season of starting Chad Henne. They clearly have a game plan, but what it is exactly remains a mystery.
New England Patriots – The dynasty is dead but they remain a serious opponent. Belichick’s stigma with paying rookies may end up being the franchise’s undoing over the long haul. Unless they start to add serious talent they will continue to flame out in the playoffs. Maybe they should go back to cheating.
New York Jets – They missed their window to win, but remain an intriguing sleeper. Sanchez is going to have to really step it up to keep this team moving forward. This is team is getting older, more expensive, and more difficult to manage each year due to their incredibly aggressive free agency strategy.
Oakland Raiders – Without a first round pick and no free agency they haven’t had the opportunity to hang themselves yet. They showed a lot of progress last year but I remain convinced that Al Davis’ insanity will continue to hamper the team’s progress.
Pittsburgh Steelers – If they didn’t trade away Holmes in a knee jerk maneuver for a 5th rounder last year they may have actually had a shot at beating Greenbay. All said, little has changed and you should expect to see them in the playoff again next year.
San Diego Chargers – this team has a lot going on. Few things are certain other than Norv Turner will continue to mismanage the team’s immense talent.
Tennessee Titans – Locker is the future starter and he increasingly becoming their only option at QB. And even if they bring Hasselbeck into the fold it’s going to be rough sledding in Nashville. It doesn’t appear as if CJ will hesitate to holdout unless he starts to get a proper paycheck.
Arizona Cardinals – With Kolb in the fold this team has playoff potential once again. They need to vastly improve their offensive line but they boast a complete team. With a solid mix of veteran and young talent, this will be the most interesting team to watch in the coming season.
Carolina Panthers – There are few reason to get excited about the Panther’s prospects. Unless Newton quickly becomes the second coming of Steve McNair (minus the adultery murder) this team is destined for another top ten pick.
Chicago Bears – In retrospect, no one can blame Cutler for the playoff debacle. The Packers got hot and no one was going to beat them. They remain talented and a playoff contender. Admittedly, Cutler needs to show more poise and touch, but the talent is there. Martz just needs to connect the dots.
Dallas Cowboys – After a lost season Romo and the Cowboys will look to climb back into the spotlight this year. Their roster is teeming with talent and a healthy Cowboys team is a near lock for the playoffs. They won’t win any playoff games of course, but they’ll see the post season.
Detroit Lions – Some say that the NFL is turning into a pass first league. That’s the cue for the Lions to tie up over 100m in the defensive tackle spot with back to back first round picks. Matt Stafford remains highly likely to end up on IR.
Green Bay Packers – Likely to repeat. They have only gotten better this offseason.
Minnesota Vikings – Ponder was a reach at 12 overall, but a necessary pick. The rest of the team is still structured in a win now mode and the team thus far seems intent on keeping things as is. Ponder won’t get them to the playoffs despite the teams immense talent, but could McNabb?
New Orleans Saints – After an embarrassing loss to the Seahawks last year, this team should have a “revenge season – take no prisoners” attitude. Ingram will immediately become the starter and provides a 100 total yards a game presence. Currently, they are my NFC pick for the Superbowl in the coming year.
New York Giants – After an oddly underwhelming season, expect this team to get healthy and come out swinging. If they can start getting more consistency out of their players they have a great shot at a deep playoff run. Look for JPP to break out this year with a 10 sack campaign.
Philadelphia Eagles – Can Vick be slowed down? After last year’s dominance, it sure doesn’t look like it. Perhaps teams didn’t gameplan for him enough because they were expecting Kolb to start. They still need to find someone to play opposite of Asante Samuel.
San Francisco 49ers – Firing Singletary was the best move possible; a maniac like that can really tank a team for the long haul. Keeping Alex Smith, in contrast, is one of the worst moves possible. I fully appreciate that Kaepernick is still a project and not ready to start, but after far too many disappointing years with Smith at the helm it’s saddening to see that its business as usual in San Fran.
Seattle Seahawks – Let’s give credit where credit is due, they beat the Saints in the playoffs. And while the team is showing progress and it has added young talent, serious questions about the coaching staff and their “strategy” remain.
St. Louis Rams – Bradford is worth his weight in gold. Few rookie QBs have shown such poise or precision behind an unproven line. Fortunately for Bradford and the Rams, the tackle positions are shored up with young, high draft picks. With Atogwe leaving for the ‘Skins, their secondary has become a point of concern and their receiving corps may be the worst in the league.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – This team is getting dangerous quickly. Freeman has a major, pro bowl level breakout coming and the rest of the team is composed to primarily young talent. Perhaps not this year, or the next, but sooner than later a deep playoff run is coming.
Washington Redskins – The moment they decided to start Grossman over McNabb they revealed a complete disconnect between the owner, the GM, and the coaches. Unless they get on the same page, and by that I mean Snyder takes a chill pill, this team is going nowhere fast.
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