For Part 2 of my power rankings I’m going to be ranking teams that I
consider to me mediocre. These are teams
that I don’t see contending for playoff spots but I don’t see having an awful
season either.
1.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Last season everything that could go wrong for the Buccaneers did last
season. They fought of injuries, kept
turning the ball over, had an extremely difficult schedule and quit on their
coach. This season however I see a
dramatic change in a team that actually could end up contending for a playoff
spot. They have a brand new coach, they
signed a boatload of valuable free agents, and I see a bounce back season from
Josh Freeman. Actually the only reason I
don’t see them as a playoff contender is that last season I’m not sure if the
team had any talent whatsoever. While I see
significant improvements coming for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers I don’t think that
they will be quite enough to take the team into playoff contention.
2.
Oakland Raiders
Who knows maybe I am dead wrong about this Raiders team, to me they
have the possibilities of being a top playoff seed or could even be a train
wreck, really anything is possible with them.
To me everything comes down to two things, the health of Darren McFadden
and the play of Carson Palmer. When
healthy Darren McFadden might be the most talented back in football who can
take over games whenever he wants, but in 4 NFL season McFadden is yet to play
a full season so I think banking on that happening is unlikely. This then puts the bulk of the load on Carson
Palmer’s right arm. I think Palmer is
going to be a strikingly mediocre quarterback this season who makes big plays but
for every play he makes gives up 1 or 2.
This defense is awful though and with questions about McFadden’s health
then Palmer will have to be a lot better than mediocre to contend for a playoff
spot.
3.
Indianapolis Colts
I know I know the Colts were a team that last season almost went winless
after losing Peyton Manning and this season they don’t have Peyton
Manning. Personally though I think that
this is the wrong way to look at the Colts.
To me you have to look at the Colts as a team that was replacing a Pro
Bowl quarterback in 2010 with in 2011 was probably the worst quarterback play
in the league. If Andrew Luck is as good
as everyone believes him to be then considering the recent track record of
rookie quarterbacks being successful right away then Luck this season will
probably be closer to 2010 Peyton, who wasn’t at his best, then most people
realize. I still don’t believe Luck will
match that level, and considering I think the talent on these past 3 teams is
probably about equal the Colts could easily improve substantially next
season.
4.
Seattle Seahawks
I was so disappointed by the Seahawks decision to start Russell Wilson
over Matt Flynn this season. To me the
Seahawks were a sleeper team that I thought was going to win the NFC West and
shock everybody. This is a team that
last season while going 7-9 with its only weakness being average play from the
quarterback position. This team is above
average at every other aspect of the game except for quarterback play now I
believe. Who knows maybe Russell Wilson
will prove me wrong but I don’t think as a small rookie quarterback that Wilson
will be successful right away.
5.
Cincinnati Bengals
To me last year’s Bengals team was a team that utilized an easy
schedule to sneak into the playoffs when they didn’t really belong there. They are average at just about everything and
went 9-7 last season, with a tougher schedule I see them as an above .500
team. While Dalton might progress a
little I don’t think it will be enough to offset their tougher schedule. If there is any team destined to have a
Buccaneers like fall, who dropped from 10-6 to 4-12 then I think it will be the
Bengals.
6.
New York Jets
There is a good chance that I am mitigating the Jets too much do to the
fact that I’m a Bills fan and don’t like the team that much. On the other hand to me there are a lot of
reasons to think that the Jets won’t be that good next season. They have a coach and quarterback who seem to
be wearing out their welcome, playing with the New York media surrounding you
this is always dangerous. They have a
defense that isn’t getting any younger and declined last season. The Jets also have a running game that while
pretty good is not at the level that it used to be. There is also the issue of the whole
Tebowmania. While I like Tebow and think
that at some point he can be successful in this league I think this year it
hurts the Jets and most notably Mark Sanchez as the season progresses.
7.
Washington Redskins
For me I could easily see the Redskins season developing very similarly
to Carolina’s from last season. I think
RGIII will probably have some success out of the gate as teams adjust to his
playing style and his ability to run.
However as the season progresses he will probably slow down a bit and
forced to make adjustments after the season.
This team was a 5 win team with John Beck and Sexy Rexy last year so I think
that the team will probably be about that good if not better next season with
RGIII at the helm.
8.
Tennessee Titans
Last year’s Titans were 1 game away from making the playoffs with Matt
Haselbeck at the helm. This season I don’t
see them being as successful with Jake Locker at the helm. The defense is good and the running game is
good, but from everything I have heard Locker is not NFL ready. He will struggle throughout the season and I
don’t believe that Tennessee is a talented enough team outside of the
quarterback position to recover.
9.
Carolina Panthers
To me this is a classic opportunity for a team to regress. The team improved substantially from the
season before with great strides in the quarterback position. Cam Newton though I think is in for a bit of
a sophomore slump. He started the season
unbelievably well, playing like a top 10 quarterback. As the season progressed however teams became
more and more effective at playing against Newton and he began to
struggle. While I like Newton and
believe at some point he will be a star in this league I think he is going to
be in for a tough 2nd season.
Also the defense is very bad and I don’t see it improving over its
efforts from last year.
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