By Jacob Sanders
Training Camps are just starting.
Preseason tickets are being bought and regular season tickets are selling out
already. Yep. The NFL season is close and coming but we still have 43 days to
go. In the meantime while everything else is happening, I would like to take an
early look at what teams are going to make the playoffs (as of now barring
major injuries), who has got a shot at the playoffs, and which ones are going
to see some growing pains for the future.
As usual, these are NOT
professional opinions and simply my own. I conducted my own research and time
to write this. Feel free to share your opinions or any criticism is welcome.
Enjoy!
*Teams are not in any specific order
The Instant Locks
Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay
Packers
Both teams have the best rosters,
if not in the NFL, in the NFC hands down.
When both of these rosters are fully healthy, both are unstoppable and
neither is really beatable thus why the NFC Division game last year between the
Packers and Cardinals was one of the most explosive playoff games we have seen
in years. When a team has Aaron Rodgers, Jordy Nelson, Julius Peppers, and Clay
Matthews or when a team has Carson Palmer, Larry Fitzgerald, Tyrann Mathieu,
and Patrick Peterson, you can’t count either out as both teams have savvy
veteran players with the knack for game changing (or game ending) plays.
Seattle Seahawks and Pittsburgh
Steelers
The Seahawks and Steelers are
equals but in very different ways. Seattle will win through a dominant defense
with good offensive play while Pittsburgh will do the exact opposite and win
through an explosive offense with solid defensive plays. What really makes
these teams good is that their coaches are smart and are great at rallying
their players to max out their potential. They’ll both be tough teams this
year.
New England Patriots
There isn’t much to say about the
Patriots. They haven’t changed at all from last year’s roster and injuries are
a big reason they didn’t go undefeated.
If not for a historic Denver defense, the Patriots would probably have
been the ones in the Super Bowl and had a real chance of beating the Panthers
as well. Until Brady and Bellichick retire from the NFL, the Patriots will
never be out of the playoffs. Period.
Carolina Panthers
This team won’t go 15-1 again.
Believe it or not, their schedule wasn’t the hardest last year. If anything,
the Panthers will have a harder schedule than last year and regress. This team
still has talent though and Kelvin Benjamin will be returning to make the
offense multi-dimensional. In a division such as the NFC South right now, the
Panthers can rack up 10 wins to take the division.
The Playoff fighters
Cincinnati Bengals and the Baltimore
Ravens
As a Ravens fan, I must admit that
the Steelers look like the best team in the AFC North but with the Leveon Bell
suspension, it’s anyone’s guess as to who will really take the division but I’m
still thinking they will. Anyway, the Bengals and Baltimore teams are in the
same division as the Steelers. Two years ago, the AFC North brought all 3 of
these aforementioned teams to the playoffs. The Bengals roster is loaded. The
Ravens roster is loaded. If Andy Dalton can prove he can play without Hue
Jackson and the Ravens can stay healthy, methinks that both teams take the AFC
Wildcards this year and the AFC North will repeat their “3 playoff team” feat
again.
The NY Jets
Fitzmagic is back! The Jets look
very exciting. They have the best WR duo in the NFL right now and Matt Forte
will now be leading the backfield. The Jets are tied with the Rams for the best
defensive line in the NFL and if Revis can keep up his production, this team
can improve on their 10 win campaign last season. BUT, there is one caveat.
Fitzpatrick must remember he is Fitzpatrick and can’t force plays or make
stupid mistakes like he did in the last game of last season…..yikes. That’s
something we can’t count on and the Jets front office knew that thus why his
contract took so long to get completed.
Buffalo Bills
I like the Bills. They are
definitely a competitive team but probably one of the weaker playoff fighters.
Their roster is fine. The major issue is that the defense doesn’t synergize
well and the offense is hit or miss (usually hit). If the players can develop
more synergy and have some major faith in each other, we could see the next AFC
East champi…. I mean an AFC East team not named the Patriots take a playoff
spot.
Detroit Lions
This may sound ridiculous, but the
Lions are fighters. They finished last season 6-2 after starting 2-6! That is
nothing to sneeze at. Stafford made major steps to being less of a gambler and
more of a decisive quarterback and that should continue this year. I don’t
believe the Lions can compete for the division but I do believe they can give
the Vikings a run for their money on that second wildcard spot.
Minnesota Vikings
What can you say? They are the
defending champions of the NFC North. The thing is, they won the NFC North
against a Packers team that was considered to have a “disappointing” season.
Really? 10-6 is disappointing? For the Packers, yes. I don’t believe the
Vikings will have the fireworks that the Packers will have but they have a very
solid team led by Bridgewater, Peterson, and Mike Zimmer’s defense. 10 wins
again is an EXPECTATION for this team. Anything less would be a disappointment.
The ENTIRE NFC East (excluding the
Eagles)
It’s very hard to predict who will
win this division. The Redskins are the defenders but were they just
beneficiaries of a bad division last year? The Cowboys are probably the best
team in the division when Romo is healthy but when is he ever healthy? And the
Giants just loaded their defense in free agency and Eli Manning has quietly
played his best football the past two years. Who wins this division is anyone’s
guess right now.
The ENTIRE AFC West (excluding the
Chargers)
The Broncos are defending champions
who don’t know what their QB will look like week 1. But they still have their
core offensive playmakers and almost their entire historic defense that won
them a Super Bowl. This team will win games despite many naysayers who believe
otherwise. The Chiefs made an incredible 9-0 run after starting 1-5 last
season. Alex Smith is very under-rated and Jamaal Charles will be back. The
Chiefs are primed to grab the division. The Raiders are on the same boat as the
chiefs. A heavily improved defense and more experience on offense will make
them contenders for their division.
The ENTIRE AFC South (excluding the
Titans)
Very similar to the NFC East,
nobody can really guess who will win this division. The Colts are always in
because Andrew Luck is the best quarterback below the age of 30 but the rest of
the roster is rather bland and unimpressive. The hype train around the Jaguars
improving is real. The offense is explosive but the defense really lacked last
year and needs to stop opponents from scoring. Fun fact: The Jaguars had 24.3
points per game average. Their defense gave away 31 points per game away. Let’s
not forget about the Texans. They were one good quarterback away from making a
run in the playoffs. Enter Brock Osweiler. Laregly untested, this was the best
case scenario for Osweiler. He may not be spectacular, but a great receiving core
and defense will make up for some of his mistakes he will make early on in the
season. My guess is the Texans take this division.
The In-Betweener
New Orleans Saints
I’m giving a special spot for New
Orleans.I love the Saints. In fact, I am a believer in Sean Payton and Drew
Brees every year despite the fact they have not had much success the past
couple years. They aren’t the problem. The defense has always been the issue.
If you look back at the past two years, the Saints always score a ton of points
but their defense always gives up a ton of points. This team is on the brink of
being a playoff spot fighter. But the defense really needs to show improvement
before they are considered playoff fighters
The Growing Pain Teams
Miami Dolphins
On paper, the Dolphins look like a
10 win team. The thing is, they have looked like a 10 win team for a 3rd
consecutive season incoming and have been mediocre in their games. Till
Tannehill shows more growth, a running game appears to support Tannehill, and
Ndamukong Suh shows he is worth the money, this team is stuck in mediocrity of
7 to 9 wins.
Atlanta Falcons
Matt Ryan is good. Julio Jones is
great. There is a running game. But the defense is still a huge question mark
and in a division with the Panthers, the Falcons would need a wildcard to make
the playoffs. Now answer this question for me. Are the Falcons really good
enough to take a wildcard away from the Vikings, or the Seahawks? I need to see
it to believe it.
Philadelphia Eagles
I’m not buying the hype around
Wentz. I don’t think he is bad. I am rooting for the guy to do well as he comes
from a Division II school just like Joe Flacco did (I’m a Ravens fan for those
who still don’t know). But the Eagles just got a brand new coach. They’ll
probably start Bradford and unless Bradford shows the entire NFL he has been
worth all of the drama and talk of potential the past 6 years, I’ll pass on the
Eagles. The Eagles are a talented group but are hindered by the ever ending QB
mystery. 7-9 looks like this team’s destination.
Tamp Bay Buccaneers
I’ll keep this short. The offense
is budding and can become great after one more year of gelling and we’ll see it
by the end of this season. The defense is good on paper but really hasn’t shown
any sort of synergy in the last two years. Buc’s goals with a new head coach?
Win some games through offense and work on synergizing the defense to become a
dominant team in the future. Their ceiling looks roughly like 8 wins. Okay, 9
wins if you want to be generous (I am not being generous though).
St. Lou….I mean L.A. Rams (sorry, I
had to)
Damn their defense is so good. But
damn their offense is so bad (excluding Todd Gurley of course). The WR group is
still pretty mediocre and Jared Goff needs to have an RG3 or Andrew Luck-esque
rookie season if this team wants to go anywhere this year. This team is
building for the future like the Raiders were 3 years ago. Give them and Jared
Goff a couple years to get started especially in a tough NFC West.
San Francisco 49ers
Where to begin? I really don’t know
to be honest with you. The 49ers have a ceiling as high as 7 wins but have a
floor as low as 1 win. The defense isn’t terrible but the offense lacks
playmakers. The biggest issue from last year was that the 49ers didn’t have a
coach to light a fire under them and seek maximum production. Chip Kelly can
light that fire. The question is whether the fire makes them run in a positive
or negative direction. I’ll be safe and say they grab some wins here and there.
Just enough to look improved from last years awful season but not enough to be
playoff bound.
San Diego Chargers
The Chargers are a very under-rated
team. In fact, Philip Rivers makes this team a fighter every game they play.
It’s too bad the Chargers never have a defense to back up Rivers and his
dynamic offense. The defense for years has been holding Rivers back from
joining Manning and Roethlisberger as Super Bowl winners. I don’t expect that
to change this year with a few rookies being starters on the defensive side of
the ball. They need some NFL experience.
Tennessee Titans
This is a team who started its
growing pains last year but is still recovering from the soreness. I’ll bet
that this team doubles their win total from last year (3-13) at minimum. I like
the Mariota and Murray combo. Plus Mariota feels like one of those QBs who will
grow to make talent around him better. Patience Titans fans. Patience.
Chicago Bears
Not being in the playoffs really
isn’t the Bears fault. They are just in a division with the Packers, Lions, and
Vikings. Compare them to the Rams. There are just too many competitive teams to
beat out for a wildcard. On the plus side, let’s see if Cutler can capitalize
on his growth from last year.
Cleveland Browns
Let’s keep this simple. The Browns
are in rebuilding years. So let them take a couple years to rebuild. But Josh
Gordon back on the field and RG3 getting one of his old college receivers
should boost on offense that lacked playmakers last year. This team will get
exciting over the coming years.
