Teams on the Rise/Fall

I think the Vikings will have a strong run this year. I know Jackson was a poor QB last year but this will be his 3rd year and he will make some nice strides. The Oline and Dline are both in the top 5 in my opinion. And of coarse they have the biggest play maker in the game. Adrian Peterson.

I also have the feeling that Alex Smith will have a good year with the 9ers. I think they will surprise some teams this year.

Teams on the decline:
Titans. They just lost too many good players on the offensive and defensive line. No new weapons for Vince Young. I just don't see them continuing to improve.

Dware I agree a lot of what you said about Cleveland. I will be watching Saun Rodgers alot this year to see how he does as a nose tackle. In my opinion he was the better fit over Jenkins, but we'll see. Hopefully not. I think it will be interesting to compare those two players.

 

I can't tell if your serious or not.

 

I'd definitely put the Broncos as a team on the rise. I agree Cutler's going to be great, and unless you have a plethora of felons and selfish players like the Bengals, it's not too hard to win once you have that top of the line QB.

 

I'm going to go out on a limb and say the Bills are on the rise. I want to be wrong, but i got a bad feeling about them. They get one of those QBs that can consistently play 16 games, they could surprise a few people- i think the west coast teams coming to them late in the year may help them.

 

jets are on the rise.

won't take much for a team that lost several close games and finished 4-12 to win a few close games and finish 19-0.

'going up. going up. next stop, women's apperal'.

 

Are we talking about teams other than the Jets? obviously we'll be better this year than last year, whether tha's enough for another postseason berht I don't know but we are clearly headed up at least in the short term.


Fall:

-I think Cleveland will take a step back this year, I still don't love Crennell and Anderson struggled late, I think he'll struggle a bit this year and they'll win about 7-8 games and miss the playoffs again.
-NE. They won't fall far as they'l still be a SB favorite but they aren't going 16-0 again.
-Jacksonville. They shouldn't fall but this team is pretty much the opposite of the Jets, they struggle in even # years.
-NYG. They aren't repeating(at least I hope not) so they will fall a bit.
-Dallas. I think they had their shot last year.
-Washington. Couldn't be anything more than a WC team w/ Gibbs so in year one I cannot expect Zorn to do better.
-GB. It's hard to replace a legend.



On the rise:

-Miami. They have to be better than 1-15, right?
-Houston. Finidhed '07 strong, mario Williams and DeMeco Ryans are great building blocks for that D.
-Philly. I think they win the NFC east this year.
-Minny. If Peterson stays healthy and they get improved QB play they could be playing deep into january/Feb.
-Tampa Bay. They put it in cruise control too early last yera after they clinched. They won't make that mistake this year.
-SF. Just a hunch, I think they will battle for a playoff spot.

 

Rising

Bills-Edwards is solid and should improve with a year under his belt. Added another weapon on offense (Hardy) to go with Evans, Parrish, Reed, and Lynch. On defense, Posluzny comes off IR, and they traded for Stroud and drafted McKelvin. Explosive return game with Parrish and McGee.

Ravens-Key players are aging (Lewis, McAlister, Ogden), but they have a solid drafting history so the transition shouldn't be too painful. They've always been just a QB away, and now that they've stopped screwing around with the Bollers and Grbacs and 50 year-old McNairs, their offense should improve. Unless Flacco is a bust and they continue to tread water at the QB spot.

Rams-No Jackson, No Bulger for too many games last year. Added another chip (Long) on defense. Should be back up to .500. No way they lose 13 games again.

 

Isn't that what everyone and their mother said about the Niners last year?

I don't know about Philly winning the NFC East this year, but they definitely move up over Washington.

I say Cleveland and the Chiefs improve as well. I know the latter will be unpopular in here, but I see them middle of the road this season.

 

Falling

Giants-With all the egos on this team (Strahan, Shockey, Burress, Jacobs) it's easy to see a championship breeding complacency. In their minds, they've proved themselves. Dallas, Washington, and Philly will all be tough. Only won 10 last year, so even if they're as good as last year, they might still win only 8 or 9 games and miss the playoffs.

Titans-Inconsistent QB plus garbage at wideout=dismal passing game. I just don't believe in VY or LenDale. Shaky secondary. Very tough division. Won't win ten games again.

Bears-No QB, No recievers, No Running Backs. Everyone wants a new contract. Seems like no one wants to play there. Devin Hester can only return so many kicks. They won 7 last year, they might not win that many again for a few years

 

I think alot of people felt that way but I didn't. I have a friend who is a Niners fan and I told him I thought they'd take a step back last year and compete for the postseason in '08. I could be wrong b/c they took more than a step back last year but there is too much talent on that team to be as bad as they were a year ago.

 

Can't argue with that. I like Mike Nolan as a person, but I'm not sold on him as a coach right now. I went to college in the Bay Area during the streak of Jets games in Oakland, so I went to a lot of Niners games to balance out the bad taste from having to set foot in the Coliseum. I'd like to see them do well again. Their fans tend to be great people and love their team, even if they're a bit quiet for my tastes.

 

Steelers are a team that MIGHT take a small step back after going 1-5 down the stretch and losing a close match in the playoffs.

However....the talent they drafted could pan out and make the Steelers O damn formidable.

Given their schedule they can be really good or really bad. No margin for error.

 

I saw that schedule, i feel for you guys. Especially when compared to other teams, like the Pats and Giants, the Steelers don't catch a break until a few weeks mid-season. Hope for some teams to collapse to make things easier, but you guys are good enough to run with any team. Hows the O-Line looking after Faneca's departure? Can Ben and the running game be fine with the replacement?

 

We haven't missed the playoffs in an even year since the Kotite years. 2008 is a gimme.

 

Except for 2000.

 

The Panthers and Seahawks will both be even worse than they were last year.

 

Who is your sleeper playoff pick??

Mine is Cards.

 

well duh! everyone knows leap year throws the whole even/odd equation out the window!

 

Greatest thing would be The Cheatriots after finishing last season 16-0 Finish this season 0-16 after Tom Brady breaks his neck on a Close Line by Vernon Gholston.