The weakest 2 divisions in the NFL this season will be the AFC South and the NFC West. Both of these divisions have one super team and three other teams trying to find themselves. The 49ers and Texans have super aspirations based what they accomplished last year and what they did in the off season to prove that last year was not a fluke. The Niners made it to the championship game and played the Giants as tough as any team could. The weather and an unfortunate fumble in overtime ended their dreams of a super bowl. They have added Randy Moss, Brandon Jacobs, LeMicheal james to give weapons to Alex Smith which should compliment their stellar defense. Houston played the second half of the seaon with an injured Andre Johnson, Matt Schaub, Mario Williams, and even Arian Foster. They lost backup quarterback Matt Leinart and used T.J. Yates as quarterback who guided them to the playoffs. Leinart and Williams are no longer on the team but Schaub and Johnson are ready to lead this team back to the post season. Theyhave a lot of nobody's on this extremely talented defense and if the run the ball like they have over the past 2 seasons with Foster, this team could be in New Orleans come Super sunday. The Texans could end up with home field advantage because of a weak schedule and soft division. The Niners will have Green Bay, New York,and New Orleans to fight for home field. Lets look at the other teams in the two divisions.
The AFC south is trying to look to the future. The Jags, Colts and Titans are all staring first or second year quarterbacks. The Colts have Andrew Luck and he looks amazing. He has poise, confidence, and ability that I have never seen in a rookie qb. The problem they have is that they are going to waste the first half of the season learning how to protect him and developing a running game. The Colts gutted the franchise. They have quality players, including Reggie Wayne, but the running game has to become a priority until Luck can lead them to victories. The Defense will be new and on the field alot. I think they will surprise a few teams.
Tennessee has the running back, a star receiver in the making, but the defense, and quarterback position could be a liability. I liked Locker in college but he would be great against USC, but then go 4/20 against Nebraska. He is not consistent yet. Chris Johnson went from a 2,000 yard back to almost out of the league in two years. He has to carry thi team like Barry Sanders and I dont think he can. The defense can stop the run. They get passed on a lot. Coach Munchak has to address this or they will have a tough season ahead.
Jacksonville needs to give Blaine Gabbert his courage pills before each game. He looked brave in his first two preseason games so maybe he is ready to shake off the "soft" label he has. They need Maurice Jones Drew in camp asap. I like Justin Blackmon as a receiver and thought he was the best prospect in the draft. He has freakish speed and size. Just throw him the ball and he will deliver. This team will improve from last year when in tact but that remains to be seen if that will actually happen.
The NFC west is only slightly better. Seattle is enbroiled in quarterback battle. Matt Flynn just signed a big deal to be the guy but he is getting challenged big time by Russell Wilson who isnt your typical rookie. He is just"short". They signed T.O. and he can still play the game and get open. Lynch can run as well. Their problem is inconsistency on offense and defensively they do not cover well or tackle. This team last year played a lot of close games but could not get off the field in third down situations. They were so tired probably because the offense struggled at times in all games and then got hot and had to stage comebacks. Pete Carrill must have a strong heart to put up with style of football.
Arizona has weapons everywhere. They can score with anyone but like Seattle they play the game in stretches and not consistnt football. They have 2 quarterbacks which means they have none. Jon Skelton is going to win the job because Kevin Kolb is either hurt or trying to force the ball somewhere. Hand the ball off to oft injured Beany Wells and maybe they can eliminate their mistakes. Their defense is fast and aggressive. They just don't have size to stop most running teams. They can cover and their special teams will snipe you if you allow them. Patrick Petersen is the real deal. Need stability at the qb position to compete with niners.
St.Louis has a quarterback with confidence issues. If Sam Bradford can play like he did during his rookie season, the Rams could be fun to watch. Steven Jackson is the most feared back in the league, but teams are willing to let him run because they the Rams will bog down somehow. This year is a big one Bradford. He needs to legitimize being a 60 million dollar man. They have a decent core of receivers. I think they should have made a play for Blackmon but they chose who they did. Defensively, the Rams get aftre the quarterback as good as anyone. They just don't cover very well. The way you hide your deficiency in your secondary is by putting the opposing quarterback on his back. In that stadium, with that noise, they should be able to do that with more consistency. We shall see..
The outlook for the teams: San Fran: 12-4, Seattle: 7-9, Arizona:6-10, St.Louis: 5-11
The outlook for the teams: Houston: 14-2, Indy: 5-11, Jacksonville: 4-12, Tennesse: 2-14.
Player to watch in NFC west: Alex Smith..( was last year a fluke?)
Player to watch in AFC south: Andrew Luck.. The future starts now..
Both divisions will be great in 2 years.
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