Power Wankings

[NYGIANTSFLYHIGH 1]

And sorry Raz for going

 

Stop thread jacking KempBolt! Start your own Topic so I can yell at you there,lol

Edited August 29, 2013 by NYGIANTSFLYHIGH

[BC 331]

I'm not done yelling at him. The Ravens lost their top two pass-catchers from last season, Pitta and Boldin, along with their top two defensive players, Ed Reed and Ray Lewis. Flacco did well given the supporting cast around him is good, but when exposed, he's average to below average. They're an 8-8 team.

[OSUViking 505]

I've come to accept the hate the Vikings get, to the point where I don't label it as hate so much as healthy skepticism. I love my Vikes, but they played their hearts last year and ended up average in just about every aspect. If Ponder and the defense can make great strides, then we can do something; however, I just don't see the former happening.

[BwareDWare94 723]

@NYGFH: There aren't question marks all over Dallas' defense. With Ware, Spencer, and Hatcher, that's 3 out of 4 very good players on the 4 person D line. Sean Lee is a great talent--Bruce Carter might be even better (I refer to the two as Bruce Lee or to Bruce simply as Beast Carter, that's how good he is), and Justin Durant is no slouch. Also, as long as Barry Church is back on form, we have one very good safety and I think Will Allen will do just fine.

 

Dallas has a great kicker, and while people like to think that doesn't matter much, it more than likely will. Blair Walsh helped Minnesota out to a great degree last year.

 

Romo has more than three weapons. Dwayne Harris is underrated, Cole Beasley is decent, Terrance Williams will be pretty good in his role. Even if Murray gets hurt, Dunbar looked great in his limited time, and I don't expect his minor injury to linger, and even if it does, I really think Joseph Randle could be very good in this league.

 

People are high on Dallas because so many others aren't.

[KempBolt 498]

No hostility. The ones I wrote one or 2 words about are just a brush off because Id be here all day writing the reasons I think youre wrong. Youd be hard pressed to find many people ranking the pats #1 after the offseason they had, the Vikings at 27 with the best player at any position in the sport, or the Colts as high as 8 with all the issues they have, though that one is more plausible then any of the others I disagree with.

 

To your counter points...

 

1. Cardinals, as I stated before I dont know how good they will be but with one move, of adding Carson Palmer vs Lindley, Skeleton etc. and having a pretty good D theres no way they finish worse then last year.

 

2. Bucs, The Jets of 09 and 10' never had an overwhelming pass rush with 4 guys...they sent the house. rolled coverage to the WRs being covered by guys not named Darelle Revis because especially with very little time to throw, no one was making a quick pass in the direction of Revis. The Bucs in my opinion will emply the same strategy. Help out whoever starts at CB on the other side of Revis and blitz A LOT. A guy like Revis drastically changes your defense, even if hes not 100% healthy, most QBs are not going to test him especially when theyre under pressure. They also have one of the up and coming backs in this league and a pretty good OL. Yes the jury is still out on Freeman, but I see him more as the 6-2 start guy then the 1-7 finish guy. Again, how good theyll be? Who knows, but I definitely dont think they belong on the fringe of the bottom 1/4 of the league.

 

3. Giants, dont get me wrong, Im not too high on them either until I see how some of the guys who had down years and how some new guys fill in. I just dont see you ranking some of the teams with similar, or more, questions then they do. Even if the D is suspect, with Nicks being back healthy Rueben Randle locked in as the #3, the addition of Brandon Myers, and David Wilsons play making ability out of the backfield, this is a very difficult offense to match up with.

 

4. Chargers, I get how many close games they lost. But i dont know how many of them had points scored in garbage time or what. I do know that of their 7 wins they had one win against a quality opponent. They beat up on the chiefs x2, raiders x2, Titans, Jets, then beat the Steelers. So basically, they lost every game they played vs a decent team...With their entire receiving corp hurt, questions on the OL. I get that all their WR will be playing, but their all banged up before the season even kicks off...not a good sign.

 

5. Cowboys, I think Lee is a great talent, well see if he stays healthy. Murray has played well.....when he has actually played. The guys durability is terrible, too this point its only a matter of time before he gets banged up. They have talent on offense, yes. But there are big questions almost everywhere on Defense. The safeties are, for lack of a better word, bad. Will Claiborne stay healthy? Thats 2/2 on significat time missed in training camps, will he have his legs under him and be in game shape for the opener in 10 days? Will Spencer be fully recovered from the knee surgery just a month ago? No preseason action for him either, is he ready to roll for 60 minutes? Ratliff is on PUP, the guy starting in his place was a 6th round pick from Carolina 2 years ago, was let go and couldnt even latch on to anyones practice squad last season. Not too mention they have NO depth, on offense or defense. And the OL has been a problem there for years, does moving the laughable Doug Free to OG work out? How do we know.....Way too many questions for me to put them as high as 12.

 

6. Ravens, maybe I put more stock in to losing 2 iconic players to a franchise, despite their diminished skill sets. I did forget about Dumervil, that will certainly help. Maybe I knocked them a bit too hard, but even still I cant seem them as the #2 overall team.

 

7. Patriots, Tom Brady is without his favorite targets from the last 4-5 years, at least to start with Gronk, and Welker. I know I know, hes done it with no names before. The Aaron Hernandez ordeal all going down, that skeptical defense, and lets also not forget that Tom Terrific is 36 freakin years old lol, hes not a young man anymore. How long can he sustain this god like status when you continue to let his favorite targets walk, or send them to jail, or they get injured. Dont get me wrong, the Pats will still win 10-12 games and win the AFCE, and probably get a first round bye because their division cant hold a candle to them. But I would easily rank 5 maybe 6 teams ahead of them at this point.

 

It's totally your call if you don't want to explain why you think I'm wrong here or there. But I do enjoy discussing football so I'd rather see your points than just get told that I'm off.

 

1. My opinion on the Cardinals (and actually, thereby the Colts) is heavily influenced by my total lack of faith in Arians as a head coach or offensive coordinator. In the past he's shown a rigid commitment to his system, and if he isn't more flexible in AZ then I think things could be close to as bad on offense as they were a year ago. What I also didn't mention is the loss of Ray Horton, which I believe will negatively impact that defense. So we'll just have to wait and see if I'm right on that one. We've seen good examples recently of talented rosters producing terrible seasons under misguided coaching. I realize it's against the grain, but I'm fine with being wrong in the end so I'll just call it how I think it will go. Plus I don't know if there are any active Cards fans around to neg my posts .

 

2. The scenario you put forth for the Bucs is plausible and if they pull that off then it's a different story. They would still have to get consistent play out of Freeman in one of the league's toughest divisions, but it would go a long way in addressing their weaknesses. But I'll take a "believe it when I see it" approach to them employing that strategy, because a big part of the reason why that style of defense worked in New York (besides Revis) was Rex Ryan. The buffoonery aside, he's one of the best in the league at blitz design. Nowadays it's not enough to just send the extra rushers, you have to disguise how you're doing it exceedingly well or else veteran QB's are going to burn you.

 

3. I don't disagree about the Giants (except to say that Myers is far from an upgrade to Bennett). They could be potent on offense. I just never know how to predict the offense because Eli is a wild card. At least with Rivers' issues I can see over his past play that they're tied to personnel/scheme problems. So it's a simpler solution- fix the line and scheme and Rivers should be alright again. With Manning it never seems that simple. He has amazing stretches (which have yielded rings, so hats off) and terrible ones that perhaps you understand the reasons behind as a fan, but I don't. And again, if you put them at the top (or bottom as I listed them) of that grouping of teams I wouldn't argue.

 

4. All I'm saying about SD is that statistically they lost an abnormally high number of tight contests and games that they led at the half. That sort of negative trend just doesn't sustain in this league. Or hasn't historically. And a bunch of garbage time points would be one thing, but that wasn't the case- 4 of the 5 one score losses were games we were leading at halftime. We just choked away leads because we couldn't (and didn't try) to run the ball so teams could tee off on Rivers when Norv had him dropping 7 steps behind Mike Harris and Jeromey Clary, causing turnovers. So IF the personnel is better (not calling it great, but understanding how bad it was a year ago- better), the running game is viable (which it has been so far), and the scheme gets the ball out faster (which, again, it has) then I think you see that trend reverse some and we could see a 2-3 game improvement record wise. And this schedule isn't a cake walk in 2013, but it's not a gauntlet either. I keep repeating this, but I swear if I missed last season and all I ever did was read what bloggers had to say about the Chargers' chances in 2013 I would think they finished 3-13 last year. We also allowed exactly as many points as we scored, so point differential wise we were an 8-8 team.

 

5. The Cowboys are just one of those teams with a lot of talent, but a lot has to work out for them to make noise. That's the story for everyone in that grouping. Looks like I tend to think things will go alright and you lean the other way. If you put them closer to 20 I wouldn't think that was all too strange.

 

6. That's fine on the Ravens. The one thing I'll reiterate that I think is getting overlooked by the media is the return of two players who missed all or most of 2012 (Suggs and Webb) and a guy who played hurt for basically the entire season (Ngata). That's huge.

 

7. I think the Pat's D is on the rise. Chandler Jones and Dont'a Hightower were two of my favorite prospects to come out in 2012 and they flashed as rookies. I love their linebackers, they have some other nice pieces up front and their secondary is finally in some semblance of order. I think their D last year had the rep of being terrible because they were 25th in yards, but that comes with the territory when opposing teams are always playing from behind. Their scoring D was 9th, and that's what counts. And on offense, that line is legitimately great and they have two good running backs. And Brady has already looked pretty good throwing to Amendola and Thompkins. I'll believe it when I see it as far as a decline from him. They're my favorite to win it all in 2013 (that's what happened the last time they had a great running game and played good defense) and that's coming from a guy who really kind of hates them.

[housemd 338]

I'm not done yelling at him. The Ravens lost their top two pass-catchers from last season, Pitta and Boldin, along with their top two defensive players, Ed Reed and Ray Lewis. Flacco did well given the supporting cast around him is good, but when exposed, he's average to below average. They're an 8-8 team.

I agree with you on pass catchers, it might hurt Ravens offense a bit but I totally disagree on defense. They might have lost Ray and Reed but they've done a great job replacing them. Daryl Smith looks like a new leader of their defense, they signed Elvis Dumervil who will improve their pass rush plus Suggs is back on track. Michael Huff returning to his natural position is going to be great for their secondary, which also has Lardarius Webb back. They're certainly not an 8-8 team.

 

Damn, I need to stop defending the Ravens.

[Omerta+ 1,206]

I'm not done yelling at him. The Ravens lost their top two pass-catchers from last season, Pitta and Boldin, along with their top two defensive players, Ed Reed and Ray Lewis. Flacco did well given the supporting cast around him is good, but when exposed, he's average to below average. They're an 8-8 team.

 

So.Much.Stupid.

[RazorStar 4,025]

15. St Louis Rams

 

Don't look now, but Jeff Fisher is building a real team of dominant players here. They just have to deal with two oppressive powerhouses in their division. Now the Rams did well at that last year, but didn't play up to the competition otherwise, and you think with that sort of frustrating inconsistency they wouldn't be so high. But frustratingly inconsistent is almost synonymous with middle of the pack. Look at what kind of talent the Rams bring, a shutdown corner in Finnegan, a defensive end who is the definition of relentless in Chris Long. Other talented players like Janoris Jenkins, James Laurinaitis, Robert Quinn and Michael Brockers... the talent is there. The big question is can the offense take the next step. Tavon Austin, Studman Bailey, Jake Long and Jared Cook were all big additions to this offense, and they needed it after losing Amendola, Gibson and Steven Jackson. Daryl Richardson needs to continue playing better than his brother Trent (are they brothers? I NEED TO KNOW!) and Sam Bradford need to prove to the Rams that he was worthy of being the first overall pick. Otherwise, a long season of mediocrity is sure to follow.

[KempBolt 498]

I'm not done yelling at him. The Ravens lost their top two pass-catchers from last season, Pitta and Boldin, along with their top two defensive players, Ed Reed and Ray Lewis. Flacco did well given the supporting cast around him is good, but when exposed, he's average to below average. They're an 8-8 team.

 

If you think that Ray Lewis and Ed Reed were anything close to the two top defensive players on that team in 2012, then I'm going to go ahead and assume that you didn't watch the Ravens play football last year. If you're going to get on your high horse, then get a clue.

 

Also, I'll go ahead and yell back since this isn't getting through to you: they're going to have to run a conservative offensive with the power running game but they have the personnel to do that. Their offensive line can run block with just about anyone and they have two very good running backs. They're going to get back to Baltimore Ravens style football- run the ball and play great D.

[KempBolt 498]

I've come to accept the hate the Vikings get, to the point where I don't label it as hate so much as healthy skepticism. I love my Vikes, but they played their hearts last year and ended up average in just about every aspect. If Ponder and the defense can make great strides, then we can do something; however, I just don't see the former happening.

 

You handle is way better than I would. For your sake I hope I am very wrong and Ponder steps up and they have a good year.

 

The nice thing is that the foundation is pretty much there to drop a great QB into. So if you DO struggle, then there should be a solution high in the 2014 draft and then the tide will change.

[Thanatos 2,847]

Carolina at 26? Uh oh Razor. You better run before Dave finds this thread.

 

I don't have them at 26, but I agree with your reasoning. I do find it a bit odd that you say "flukes regress to the mean" but then say the reason the Panthers are as low as they are is because of one-score games, which historically regress to the mean....

 

I guess it's because I don't trust them to close out games either that I don't have much of a problem with those two statements, lol.

[DonovanMcnabb for H.O.F 2,241]

You can rank your top defenses by yards all you want. Im going to rank them based on points against. Granted some of those were pick 6s, fumble recoveries for TDs etc etc. But if you take those out at best it bumps them up from 20th to maybe 15th-16th, if you do that for them you have to do it for all the teams in front of them too.

 

There pass defense numbers look way better then they actually should becuase in 7/10 losses they were down by more then 10 points (down by 17 in 6 of those 10 losses) teams were running out the clock sometimes as early as mid 3rd quarter. And it should be noted that the QBs they played last year include the likes of Ryan Fitzpatrick x2, Jake Locker, Blaine Gabbert, Ryan Lindley, Alex Smith (pre Kap era), and rookie Tannehill twice the first being in the kids 3rd career game...Thats 8 games right there, half their season! So take that top 5 pass defense with a pound of salt, not just a grain.

 

The Jets, in addition to Revis, also lost Laron Landry at safety, Quinton Coples is out for an unknown amount of time, which will cut down on the pressure their getting on opposing QBs. And they have a rookie who has been abused in the preseason starting at CB with the added pressure of trying to fill the shoes of arguably a top 3 all time corner in Revis.

 

They werent a top 10 defense last year, and they probably wont be this year either.

 

Landry sucked last year. Losing him makes no difference whatsoever. It's not just bulk stats like passing yards that projected the Jets as having a great pass defense. They were top 10 in every passing category defensively outside of INTs and sacks. You can use the excuse of the QB they played against all you want but it means very little because the Jets under Rex Ryan with or without Revis have always had one of the best pass defenses in the league.

 

And all that doesn't take into account the fact that they lost 18 fumbles lost year to go along with the 19 INTs which resulted in terrible field position for the defense. And probably gave up more non-defensive touchdowns to the opposing teams then any other last year.

 

They were top 10 in yards per play, top 10 in first downs allowed per games, top 10 in TDs/1st downs allowed per drives. And all this doesn't take into account the up and comers on that defense. All things considered that 23.4 PPG does not accurately portray how well they played as a squad.

 

Everything that could go wrong last year, went wrong. And they still ended up as a middle of the pack team. They are notorious for overachieving.

[RazorStar 4,025]

14. New Orleans Saints

 

Not surprising that the Saints would be in the top half of the league, they have a lot of reasons to be high on this list. Drew Brees and that offense can make any game competitive, and with Sean Payton back the best couple in the world is reunited. You can also safely expect the defense not to get worse, the question is how much does Rob Ryan and the 3-4 improve it? Cameron Jordan is moving back to his natural position, and Bunkley might make a good Nose Tackle, but it's hard to say how the rest of these guys will perform. I expect the Saints to be reasonably competitive, but I think they just miss out on the playoffs this year. Lots of tough competition in their division and tight games out of conference mean they just fall short of the mark.

[RazorStar 4,025]

13. Houston Texans

 

This would be the first playoff team on the list. The Texans are good enough to make the playoffs, but the window seems to be closing fast, the big three of Schaub, Foster and Andre the Giant aren't gonna last at this high level of play forever, and the pass defense hit a serious snag in the second half of the season. The defense is still young so there is hope there, but Brooks Reed or Whitney Mercilus need to turn the corner and become threats in the rush game. Brian Cushing needs to stay healthy to provide that thumper in the middle and that should keep the Texans competitive. Let's slot them in as as the 4th seed, the AFC West will provide some easy wins, but the NFC West won't, and a first place schedule means the Ravens and Patriots instead of the Bengals and Dolphins. Big difference there.

 

12. New York Giants

 

Now the Giants are the last team on the list, and that's because I think their shot of making the playoffs is approximately 40%. If they're in, they've shown time and time again that they're the team to beat. They just haven't been there consistently, and I don't expect it to be an easy road. The division always play them tough, and they always go to sleep in November. Still there is a lot to be optimistic about, Eli is still a valuable QB in this league, the skill position players are deadly, and that defense can still provide a pass rush. Blocking might be a struggle though, if I remember correctly, David Diehl still has a starting job which means someone will be on Eli like white on a Manning brother. It's a competitive division though, and I think the last NFC East team just barely nudges them out.

[NYGIANTSFLYHIGH 1]

13. Houston Texans

 

This would be the first playoff team on the list. The Texans are good enough to make the playoffs, but the window seems to be closing fast, the big three of Schaub, Foster and Andre the Giant aren't gonna last at this high level of play forever, and the pass defense hit a serious snag in the second half of the season. The defense is still young so there is hope there, but Brooks Reed or Whitney Mercilus need to turn the corner and become threats in the rush game. Brian Cushing needs to stay healthy to provide that thumper in the middle and that should keep the Texans competitive. Let's slot them in as as the 4th seed, the AFC West will provide some easy wins, but the NFC West won't, and a first place schedule means the Ravens and Patriots instead of the Bengals and Dolphins. Big difference there.

 

12. New York Giants

 

Now the Giants are the last team on the list, and that's because I think their shot of making the playoffs is approximately 40%. If they're in, they've shown time and time again that they're the team to beat. They just haven't been there consistently, and I don't expect it to be an easy road. The division always play them tough, and they always go to sleep in November. Still there is a lot to be optimistic about, Eli is still a valuable QB in this league, the skill position players are deadly, and that defense can still provide a pass rush. Blocking might be a struggle though, if I remember correctly, David Diehl still has a starting job which means someone will be on Eli like white on a Manning brother. It's a competitive division though, and I think the last NFC East team just barely nudges them out.

 

 

LUCKILY, Diehl is on the shelf for 6 weeks. The rookie Pugh has played the last 3 pre season games and has looked way better then I thought he would at this point in his career. Losing Diehl, even if we were to start you Raz, would be a major upgrade

[NYGIANTSFLYHIGH 1]

@NYGFH: There aren't question marks all over Dallas' defense. With Ware, Spencer, and Hatcher, that's 3 out of 4 very good players on the 4 person D line. Sean Lee is a great talent--Bruce Carter might be even better (I refer to the two as Bruce Lee or to Bruce simply as Beast Carter, that's how good he is), and Justin Durant is no slouch. Also, as long as Barry Church is back on form, we have one very good safety and I think Will Allen will do just fine.

 

Dallas has a great kicker, and while people like to think that doesn't matter much, it more than likely will. Blair Walsh helped Minnesota out to a great degree last year.

 

Romo has more than three weapons. Dwayne Harris is underrated, Cole Beasley is decent, Terrance Williams will be pretty good in his role. Even if Murray gets hurt, Dunbar looked great in his limited time, and I don't expect his minor injury to linger, and even if it does, I really think Joseph Randle could be very good in this league.

 

People are high on Dallas because so many others aren't.

 

You have no idea what to expect from Spencer early on in the season. Just had a knee scope, hasnt had any practice time or contact....there's no way to pencil him in as the Spencer of years past....hence he is a question mark.

 

Ratliff to PUP hurts, his replacement was out of the NFL last year and couldnt even latch on to a practice squad.

 

Church tore his achilles' last year, and wasnt very good to begin with. How can you pencil him in as "back to form"? The guy has 29 career tackles, so theres really no way to tell what he is. At best you have an inexperienced starter, coming off a torn achilles, manning the back line of your defense.

 

More of the same with Bruce Carter, a young player with an ass tone of potential, but very little experience.

 

Claiborne missed a majority of camp, has no preseason action under his belt (he may have played a few snaps in game 1 but i dont remember), is he in game shape? Possibly, but who knows?

 

That leaves you with question marks at every level of the defense....I never said I thought Dallas was bad, I said they have way to many question marks to rank them at 12 at this point IMO.

 

As far as the offense, stop it. No one is scared of Dwayne Harris, Cole Beasley, or Terrance Williams. Just because you have other players on the field outside of the big 3 does not dub them as a "weapon". Especially ones who have proven nothing in the league.

 

Which could wind up being a moot point if they cant protect Romo. Sending multiple guards to IR, signing guards and having them immediately retire for some strange reason, moving overpaid tackles to guard, starting a 1st round center who no one in the league valued as a first round pick. Granted all of this could work out, but to not admit these moves are at best an unknown is naive.

Edited August 30, 2013 by NYGIANTSFLYHIGH

[seanbrock 1,684]

21. Philadelphia Eagles

 

Another new coach in a new place, Chip Kelly does have a good group of talented players to work with. Injuries and poor QB play derailed the Eagles last season, along with awful situational football. While Chip won't be able to fix all of these problems, there is a faint glimmer of hope. That offensive line is healthy and that spells trouble for the rest of the NFC East. Shady can run the ball, Vick (and I'm assuming Vick has the job locked up now) will have time to throw, and he's a different beast when that happens. Another big question mark for the Eagles is their defense, a lot of their guys are good in the 4-3, but unknowns or just bad in the 3-4. I have a feeling the Eagles will be playing a lot of shootout games, because it's gonna be hard to imagine this defense doing well against the run or pass. Still, if that offense is healthy, there are only a few teams I'd reliably take over them. I like the potential here, but it's gonna take another year or two to fill that defense in.

I like your take on the Eagles, but I think they might be closer on defense than you think. I could see them really struggling early and trying to find the best fits at OLB. It's not looking like Trent Cole will be able to play in the 3-4, but as far as defensive line depth goes the Eagles are looking pretty set. The secondary hasn't really looked good but Fletcher is an upgrade at CB over anyone we had last year and I think at worst Boykin will have a better second year but Kendricks, our OLB situation and our safety situation is awful. The Eagles need to be able to tackle. Cutting Phillip Hunt and Kenny Phillips might prove to be very costly.

[RazorStar 4,025]

Well you're gonna love this.

 

11. Detroit Lions

 

The first team I'm projecting to make the playoffs in the NFC, the Lions have a lot going for them, and that's because they finally have a running back that they can keep in consistently. The Lions were a lot better than their record indicated last year, losing a variety of close games. They were like the anti-colts, a team that should have been 7-9 but did much worse. They lost to the Vikings without allowing a touchdown on offense or defense, they gave up a defensive and special teams touchdown to the Titans in a loss, they got screwed by the refs in a loss to the Texans, The Colts pulled off a miracle victory the week after that. You put all those things together and you have a team that outplayed their record. Then you add Ziggy Ansah who is already looking ready for the pros, Jason Jones who has always been a good defender, and Glover Quin gives their safety spot some legitimacy. You have the makings of a competitive team here, one who could make the playoffs. And that's not even mentioning the Stafford to Calvin connection. Pencil in the Lions for a 6th seed, and a tough loss in the first round to... well that's a secret.

[RazorStar 4,025]

10. Dallas Cowboys

 

Surprise surprise? The paper champs are probably gonna be paper champs again, but this time I'm predicting them to take the NFC East... possibly. It's about a 40% chance, I just have to believe with the season on the line, Romo is not gonna fuck it up for a third time in a row, it's inconceivable. Dumping Rob Ryan represents an improvement to your defense, he's always been a mediocre at best coordinator, so it's hard to get worse, even if the Tampa 2's day is done. A lot of what happens depends on how the defense transfers to the 4-3, but I think they flourish. The secondary is well positioned, DeMarcus Ware is a stud no matter where you put him and Sean Lee is a good Mike Linebacker for Kiffin's scheme. So let the chips fall where they may.

 

9. Denver Broncos

 

Weird, how does the highest seed in the AFC last year only make 9th on this list? Winning a playoff game with Peyton represents a statistical anomaly, so there's that. Second, attrition has really hit us hard, our best player is out 6 weeks and injuries are popping up all over the place, another hit to our offensive line and it will be hell for any offense to get going. I still think we do well enough to make the playoffs, and we should take the division again as the three other teams are retooling for the future, we just aren't well equipped to make a big playoff push against the juggernauts in the AFC. 3rd seed and a one and out exit might be the name of the game this year.

[housemd 338]

Steelers above Broncos

[RazorStar 4,025]

Yes and by a fair amount. Er, spoilers.

 

NUMBER 8!

 

Cincinnati Bengals

 

What happens when you join a monster defensive line with relentless linebackers, a tough as nail secondary, an impressive offensive line across the board with decent skill position players and one of the most solid QB's to come out in the past three years? The Bengals of course, who are poised to take that next step. Naturally I expect them to lose to Houston in the playoffs for a third time in a row but things change, and I really think the Bengals can win enough games to take their division, though it'll be hard fought. The team they have is just incredible, the only things holding them back are Andy Dalton not hitting that next level as a pro. He's the guy who can get you to the dance, but you won't be sleeping with the prom queen. Even if she is a total slut.... er anyway... the youth on this team needs to grow together and take the next step, or they'll be beaten by the more experienced teams on this list. And I'm giving the edge to experience here.

[RazorStar 4,025]

7. Green Bay Packers

 

6. Pittsburgh Steelers

 

I'm putting these two writeups together because they have a lot of similarities, I'm just putting the Steelers ahead because I think their road is a bit easier, but not by much. The Steelers have a few question marks as they rotate out their old guys for the new, whether Steve McClendon can become Casey Hampton 2.0, Cortez Allen can replace what Keenan Lewis brought last year, and if Mike Wallace can be replaced. The Packers have their own stalwarts on defense to replace, middle linebacker is awfully scarce with Desmond Bishop gone, Charles Woodson may have been over the hill, but can the Packers replace his leadership or playmaking ability with their guys (they can, I'm just being dramatic, Sam Shields is the truth). And as for the things they share, I'd be excited to go into a sudden death game with either of these QB's, because they just make the plays, do whatever they have to do to ensure victory and it is glorious. They also have lines that don't know the meaning of the word block, so they have to have more flair to succeed. When it comes down to it, it's hard not to want either guy in your corner, over almost any guy in the league. Maybe an exception for Tim Tebow. >_> <_>

 

Steelers finish with the second wildcard spot, and trounce Denver on the road, getting revenge for Tim Tebow slaughtering them, and the Packers take seed number 3 in the NFC, beating up Detroit at home.

[RazorStar 4,025]

Moving on to the last team of the second tier

 

5. Atlanta Falcons

 

The only concern I have for these guys is how they replace the pass rush John Abraham gave them. Even as an old man, he was doing work for the Falcons pass rush. Aside from that, they keep the sickest pass weapons in football, with Gonzo another year, and they add an underrated running back in Steven Jackson who can keep the 1000 yard seasons going. Osi is gonna have to become that number 1 pass rusher that he never go to be in new York thanks to Tuck and Strahan doing the hard work. I like Matt Ryan, but he's totally the second coming of Peyton Manning, great in the regular season, subpar in the postseason, and that will lead them to a loss in a big game. However, a second seed ain't bad.

[RazorStar 4,025]

4. San Francisco 49ers

 

The first of the the top tier teams on this list, so keep in mind, I feel like the top 4 could go anyway. So what's to like? Their coach is a psychopath and completely destroyed Alex Smith, so props to that. They're setting up to be the next villains in the league, evil coach with a douchebag QB, and an impossibly tough defense to crack. So why only number 4? A whim? Perhaps I don't trust Kaepernick against a certain defense in his division. Let's go with that. But seriously? What weak point are you going to exploit on this time? Playmaker QB, incredible depth at running back, solid receivers, Great offensive and defensive fronts, and a young secondary with a couple of wily cornerbacks. They don't even have David Akers missing kicks for them this year. Seattle and San Fran is gonna be one hell of a game to watch, and we just might get it three times this year.

[Glanvilles Grits 142]

Alright, I can agree with you on the Falcons. I was worried with their offensive line after the first two preseason games, but the first team line looked great in 3 and 4. Hopefully they keep meshing. I think that if Osi can just produce what Abe did or even close, we should be fine.