After a long and turbulent summer, months of preparation was skimmed down to less then two weeks of off-season moves. Once the lockout was removed on July.22.2011 energy was revitalized back into the NFL, and pundits could now begin to ponder, who would hoist the Lombardi Trophy in Indianapolis at the end of this year? While the question of who will win the Superbowl is the main plot of this year, there are many sub-plots that are intriguing to take a look at. The following are the TOP 5 1) Can Peyton Manning return from injury and come back to form? 2) How will the “Cam-Affect” work in Carolina? 3) Are the Philadelphia Eagles the “Dream-Team?” 4) Who is this year’s sleeper? 5) How will injured quarterbacks respond to the time-off?
(Answers at the bottom of the Article)
AFC/NFC Breakdowns
AFC East Skinny: There is a saying that when you add fuel to the fire, the fire grows. This is the case in what may have become the most intriguing division in all of football. This division is filled with personalities and egos that Vince McMahon and the WWE cant even compare too; Rex Ryan and his loud mouth vs. the articulate and calculated Bill Belichick. The Pats have not one a playoff game in 3 years, which can’t sit well with “Cat and Jerry” (Bill and Tom Brady). In an effort to change the tides they went out and brought in Albert Haynesworth and Chad Johnson (OchoCinco) during the off-season. The Jets lost out on Nnamdi Asomugha (more to come later), and saw veteran wide-outs Braylon Edwards (SF), Brad Smith (BUF) and Jericho Cotchery (PIT) leave to different teams, but did manage to re-sign Santonio Holmes. This division is a two-horse race and the Dolphins and the Bills are just too far behind. Fins traded for Reggie Bush but have no one at Quarterback. For the Bills it’s simple, they just don’t have the talent to compare with other teams, losing Lee Evans not only hurts the team on the field but off it as well.
2011 Predictions (*denotes Wild-Card Berth)
1. New England (13-3)
2. NY Jets (11-5) *
3. Buffalo (7-9)
4. Miami (2-14)
AFC North Skinny: Similar to the East this too is also a two-horse division race. The Steelers and the Ravens are not only powerhouses in this division but in the entire league. Ray Lewis returns in what may be his final year, so you know he will want to go out with a bang. As for the Steelers there are coming off a heartbreak loss in Dallas to the Packers, in what has felt like a century ago. The Browns lose the energy of Rob Ryan on defense, but it will be interesting to see how Colt McCoy matures. The Bengals are the circus of the league with Andy Dalton replacing Palmer and rookie wide receiver A.J. Green replacing Johnson, the Bengals will try once again to right the ship.
1. Baltimore (12-4)
2. Pittsburgh (10-6) *
3. Cincinnati (6-10)
4. Cleveland (3-13)
AFC South Skinny: For the last decade this division has been revolved around Peyton Manning, but coming off an injury there are a lot of people who doubt his capabilities. I for one believe that he remains one of the best to ever play and still has a Superbowl still left in him. The rest of the division has been trying to play catch-up and it seems that there are closer then ever. The Houston Texans have all the right pieces in place it’s just a matter of putting it all together. The Jaguars went defense in the off-season, no shocker under head coach Jack Del Rio, bolstering the line-backing core with additions of Clint Session and Paul Posluszny and bringing in Strong Safety Dawan Landry. The Jags drafted Quarterback Blaine Gabbert with the 10th overall pick to compete with long-time starter David Garrard. The Titans with the 8th overall pick drafted a QB of their own, taking Jack Lockear out of the University of Washington. The Titans had one of the toughest off-season’s losing beloved coach Jeff Fisher, star QB Vince Young (PHI) and unable to sign Chris Johnson long-term. However, they did bring in veteran QB Matt Hasselback.
1. Houston (10-6)
2. Tennessee (8-8)
3. Jacksonville (5-11)
4. Indianoopolis (2-14)
AFC West Skinny: Last year the San Diego Chargers finished with the top Offense as well as the top Defense but didn’t manage to make it to the playoffs. According to ESPN it was the first time a team that is tops in both categories did not make the playoffs. The Chargers look to rebound, as QB Phillip Rivers is primed for a long-playoff run. Expectations have always been high on the Chargers, but this year there is reason for optimism. They will have Vincent Jackson for an entire year, which is big, because he has the ability to be a top-3 wide receiver in the game, and Antonio Gates returns from injury. The Chiefs are hurt with the loss of Offensive Co-Ordinater Charlie Weis leaving to Florida. Matt Cassel hopes that the chemistry between him and Dwayne Bowe that resulted in 13 touchdowns over the last seven-weeks of the season can continue. In addition Jamal Charles will look to build on his 2009-2010 campaign. The Raiders and Broncos have QB problems. The Broncos did a few things right in bringing John Elway and John Fox for Management and Coach respectively and drafting Von Miller out of Texas A&M. If Tim Tebow is indeed the Quarterback of the future there is no need to rush him.
1. San Diego (11-5)
2. Oakland (9-7)
3. Kansas City (7-9)
4. Denver (5-11)
NFC East Skinny: The NFC East used to be the division not to mess around with, now there is just a mess in the division. The Philadelphia Eagles are the perennial powerhouse team in the NFC. The additions of Cullen Jenkins, Nnamdi Asomugha, Steve Smith, Vince Young, Jason Babin and acquiring Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie in a trade, let’s just say that Eagles management wasted no time during the off season. The Dallas Cowboys will look for a bounce back year. The Cowboys go as far as Tony Romo goes, he has the tools, the question is; Can it produce to wins? Rob Ryan impacts the defensively and Jason Garrett begins his first full tenure as a coach. The Giants seem to have not been able to buy a break since winning the Super Bowl. Eli Manning is a reliable Quarterback but he threw a league leading 23 interceptions last year, which is concerning. Losing Steve Smith and mistreating Osi Umeniyora, is not a good step for the team, add in the fact that 1st Round pick Cornerback Prince Awakamura is injured for the first few months of the season. Mike Shannhan was supposed to revitalize football in Washington instead the drama has only intensified. The Redskins were once again big spenders during the off-season, even though they did not bring in any marquee player. John Beck or Rex Grossman as Quarterback smells trouble, and some are questioning the play calling of Shannahan’s kid as the Offensive Co-Ordinater.
1. Philadelphia (13-3)
2. Dallas (10-6) *
3. NY Giants (8-8)
4. Washington (5-11)
NFC North Skinny: The most important thing during this off-season for the Green Bay Packers was continuity. The defending champions lose the likes of Nick Burnett (BUF) and Jenkins (PHI) but the returns of Running Back Ryan Grant and Tight End Jermichael Finley add more weapons to the most potent offense in the league. The Chicago Bears will try to return on top of the division, but the O-Line is one of the worst in the NFL and I’m not sure how many more sacks Jay Cutler can take. Roy Williams and Marion Barber will not have the impact Bears fans hope for. One of the teams to look for this season is the Detroit Lions. Since they’re abysmal (0-16)season, the Lions are beginning to put things together. Calvin Johnson is among the best at the Wide Receiver position , but it all flows through the health of Matt Stafford. Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairly will do a strong job shutting down oppositions running game. The Minnesota Vikings have not publicly said they are in a “rebuilding year,” however most fans know they are. They lose Sidney Rice who may or may not have been made from the cloth of Brett Favre. Donovan McNabb is an interesting story line to see if he has anything left in the tank. Expect to see Christian Ponder sit on the sidelines unless things get way out of hand.
1. Green Bay (12-4)
2. Detroit (9-7)
3. Chicago (7-9)
4. Minnesota (5-11)
NFC South Skinny: The South has become a hot and tough place to play in. All four of the teams are on the upside and three of them are playoff possibilities. The New Orleans Saints lose playmaker Reggie Bush, but plug in Darren Sproles and rookie Mark Ingram. Ingram will add another component to a lethal offense that has lacked a running game in the past. The Atlanta Falcons traded up high in the draft for Julio Jones who is a nice compliment to Roddy White. There are many questions surrounding the Falcons. Can Matt Ryan rebound from last year’s horrendous playoff game and how many more good years are we going to see out of Tony Gonzalez and Michael Turner? The Buccaneers stunned everyone with strong play last year, the question is can they build on it? Cam Newton wanted to be in the NFL and now he is and will be under the microscope on every play.
1. New Orleans Saints (12-4)
2. Atlanta (10-6) *
3. Tampa Bay (9-7)
4. Carolina (4-12)
NFC West Skinny: When you look around the league at Quarterbacks you most certainly do NOT look at this division. Alex Smith in San Francisco, Kevin Kolb in Arizona, Tavaris Jackson coming from Minnesota to Seattle and the most comforting choice Sam Bradford in St.Louis. The Rams were a game away from winning the division and have the most promise to make it to the playoffs. Head coach Steve Spagnuolo is a bolt of energy and runs a strong and tight nit group on defense and the addition of Offensive Co-Ordinater Josh McDaniels, who despite not having the best head-coaching career in Denver is still a good offensive minded coach. If Jim Harbaugh is anything like his brother John in Baltimore then the 49ers could be looking up, however Daunte Caulpepper coming in for a try-out does not. The Seahawks are this division reigning champs but with the losses of Lofa Tatupu, Matt Hasselback and the decline of 2nd year Russell Okung there is a cloud of uncertainty around this team. The Cardinals went big or went home with the trade of Kevin Kolb, Ken Wisenhunt and the Cardinals management obviously saw enough in him to trade away Rodgers-Cromartie.
1. St.Louis (8-8)
2. Arizona (7-9)
3. Seattle (6-10)
4. San Francisco (6-10)
1) Can Peyton Manning return from injury and come back to form?
I wonder what the Indianapolis Colts will do when Peyton Manning retires? I mean I’ve never seen a guy more important to a franchise then Manning is for the Colts. The long off-season didn’t help Manning who was suffering from his second neck injury in over a year but is expected to be ready for the season. Without any reps in Pre-season it will be tough out of the gates, I presume he will struggle throwing more interceptions then touchdowns in the first few weeks but we will once again see him regain form.
2) How will the “Cam-Affect” work in Carolina?
When the Panthers selected Newton with the 1st overall pick out of Auburn, it was a statement from management that there are going in a different direction. With Clausen not panning out the prior year the Panthers did not want to make the same mistake twice. Early on we are seeing the dividends of the so-called “Cam-Affect.” Re-signing key players in Deangelo Williams and Charles Johnson, trading for Tight End Greg Olsen and Steve Smith stating he wants to remain with the organization. Although Ron Rivera comes in for John Fox, I believe that the Panthers will be more exciting this year . My Cam predication is that he throws for 1,650 yards 16-14 touchdown to interception ratio and 14 rushing touchdowns
3) Are the Philadelphia Eagles the “Dream-Team”?
On paper what the Eagles were able to accomplish during this off-season, and going into camp for the 1st time with Mike Vick at the helm leads to very high expectations. Vegas has their odds at winning the Superbowl at 5-1. With the East being a toss-up I see the Eagles cruising to a division win. I predict they finish with the best record in the NFC, but I’m not quite sure if I like the Eagles to come out of the NFC. The Eagles like the Miami Heat they will have a good run but as far as a “Dream Team” to win the Super bowl I don’t believe they will win it this year.
4) Who is this year’s sleeper?
It all depends if Matt Stafford stays healthy, I like the Detroit Lions as a wild-card team. I still think they are a year off but if they make a run and could manage to stay healthy they will be a tough out. The Houston Texans are another team to look at as a sleeper. While they are playing better ball over the last few years, this is a still a team who in their entire franchise’s history has never made the playoffs. The reason why no one knew of Texans Quarterback Matt Schaub was because he was Mike Vick’s backup in Atlanta. Schaub is a great QB and with last years breakout performer Arian Foster and stud Wide-Out Andre Johnson they will defiantly be in the mix.
5) How does injured quarterbacks respond to the time-off?
Matt Stafford and Tony Romo both sat out most of the 2009/2010 season and both are looking for strong years. Stafford is looking to get through his first full season in the NFL, with injuries being a problem in the past. In Romo’s case the time off plus getting married has changed his attitude. Many people say a big issue is that the Cowboys have no leaders but I think that things will change and Romo will put on great numbers en route to a playoff berth.
Super Bowl Prediction:
From the AFC I think the San Diego Chargers finally live up to expectations and win this year’s Super bowl.
From the NFC the easy pick would be the Eagles but I think the Saints return to the Super bowl.
SAN DIEGO 35 NEW ORLEANS 32
