Recently I've seen a trend from a few of my friends where they write a short soliloquy on each professional team in their favorite sports league and expectations on the upcoming season for each team. With training camp underway for most NFL teams I felt it fitting too give my two sense on the upcoming season for each team.
Arizona Cardinals: Most might not realize it but last year was the first year under Bruce Arian’s Cardinals, expectations were high and were not met with a 7-8-1 season. Despite that they still stayed in playoff contention until a week 15 loss. There first two draft picks in Haason Reddick and Budda Baker will do great things for their defense and with David Johnson their offense will always have a formidable weapon. But similar to the year they went to NFC title game the destination will lie with the production of Carson Palmer. If he is healthy and effective they can make a deep run, if not they could still make the playoffs but won’t do much else.
Atlanta Falcons: Oh Atlanta so close, so close. On paper Atlanta has the tools to redeem themselves, as adding Dontari Poe, Tak McKinley and the return of Desmond Trufant should only make them stronger. There may be a chink in the armor however as they will have to replace retired veteran guard Chris Chester and will be facing an extremely more difficult NFC South this year. You could make an argument for each team in the division to win or at least get a wild card spot with New Orleans, Carolina and Tampa Bay all gunning for Atlanta this year.
Baltimore Ravens: Baltimore has gone 32-34 overall since winning their last Superbowl and in my opinion will likely miss the playoffs for the third consecutive year. Flacco in my opinion just does not have enough to work with here. Ronnie Stanley and Marshal Yanda will give him time , everything else around him is rather unproven, with a backfield that was 28th last year in rushing and a receiving core led by an okay Mike Wallace and a Jeremy Maclin who is looking to return to form.
Buffalo Bills: Bills fans you know the truth. As long as Belichick and Brady are there your time is going to be awfully difficult. It comes down to what direction this team wants to go. Do you want to rebuild or do you want to retool to make a run at a wild card spot. The latter of which may be harder now with the rise of the Miami Dolphins. While the Bills have a good D-line and got new starters in the secondary like Tre’Davious White and Micah Hyde, there are just far too many question marks at QB, and the futures surrounding their best offensive weapons in McCoy and Watkins.
Carolina Panthers: Man what a hangover the panthers had last year. But these Carolina Panthers on paper are a playoff team. Offensively they will go as Newton will go and the addition of Christian McCaffrey and Curtis Samuel will be a big help. The biggest question marks remain though in the O-Line and secondary as well as Newton’s consistency.
Chicago Bears: The move the Chicago Bears made in trading up for Trubisky after spending a good sum of money on Mike Glennon is the type of move that I think will define their season. At least players like Jordan Howard and Leonard Floyd will be interesting to watch.
Cincy Bengals: I don’t see how its possible Marvin Lewis could have a job this season if this team does not make the playoffs at the most. As usual this team is talented maybe even more so this year as they gained many players in the draft like Joe Mixon, Carl Lawson, and John Ross , who could all contribute right away. Well see how the health and consistency of an Andy Dalton turns out though.
Cleveland Browns: While I do like that the Browns seem to have a plan I wonder exactly how long they have that plan set for. They will win more than one game this year but not by much. While the defense will certainly be improved with two first round picks spent on it anyone not named Haden in the secondary is average at best, and Jamie Collins is all alone in the LB core. QB wise they are in between a rock and a hard place and well see how much the lost of Pryor and Hawkins will hurt them in the passing game.
Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys could’ve been in the NFC championship game, and then Aaron Rodgers happened. Things wont be so easy this time however, while even though I don’t expect Prescott and Elliot to decline , it is only their second year. While they did go heavy defense early in the draft nobody really knows yet if the likes of Charlton and Awuzie will be sure things.
Denver Broncos: The signings of Jamaal Charles and Ronald Leary could add some big elements for this team but they ultimately still need to decide, will it be Lynch or Siemian. If one of them shows up, it puts this team back in the playoff picture.
Detroit Lions: It would really help Matthew Stafford to get a RB to compliment his passing game. Probably won’t win the division with the Packers in front of them, but a very good defensive line and improving secondary could help them get a wild card spot.
Green Bay Packers: I would say that the lack of much running game and average defense would really hold this team down but even with a lot of injuries last year they still got themselves to the NFC title game. So really this team could go anywhere from wild card to even the super bowl.
Houston Texans: I've said it once and I will say it again if the Texans had a QB they would’ve beaten the Patriots last year in the playoffs. I believe their defense will be even better this year with JJ Watt returning. But is Deshaun Watson the guy? Can the Texans scheme their game to make something similar to the Broncos run two years ago? Let the defense control the game and have the offense manage their game while not turning the ball over. Time will tell.
That’s part one of my teams previews check back next week for a whole new set.
