Next year's NFL season looks chaotic

The Game Room
1

I know they haven’t yet played the Super Bowl, but I started thinking about next year, since I am a Giants fan.

Next year seems like it will be extra hard to figure out how many teams might do. Sure the Colts/Saints/Eagles will be good, and the Rams/Bucs/Lions/Chiefs will stink, but how many other teams seem like they will be easy to predict? I have no idea what to expect from the following teams:

Giants (will we get the 5-0 team, or the end-of-year stinkers?)
Bears (Cutler can’t be that bad again - can he?)
Vikings (sans Favre, which may not be a good way to think)
Cardinals (sans Warner)
49ers (could jump way up - depends on their QB situation)
Patriots (huge holes - entirely dependent on draft/trade moves)
Dolphins (can beat, or lose to, anyone)
Panthers (ditto)
Texans (finally a winning year; now what?)
Titans (do we get the 0-6 team or the 8-2 team?)
Broncos (mirror image of the Titans)
Chargers (how will they be with an even older- or no - LT?)
Jets (was the playoff push a true bill, or just a hot team?)
Steelers (that was quite a late season collapse)
Bengals (the team that finished the season sure wouldn’t have gone 10-6)
Browns (big finish, but it’s the Browns)

Do people agree that next year looks less predictable than usual at this point?

2

Jumping the gun much? Can’t we get though with the draft (let alone the big game at the end of this season) before we start analyzing the 2010 regular season?

3

Predicting the next NFL season in January is always going to be a crapshoot. Factor in that this coming season will have no salary cap, and all bets are off. The Lions or the Rams could buy their way to being contenders with some high-dollar free agents. A couple of key injuries could reduce the Saints and Colts to non-factors.

That said, I think the Jets are poised to be serious contenders next year. I like Sanchez, and see him being better next year, hopefully with more help from his receivers. The Steelers coulda/woulda/shoulda been good this year, but Polamau (i can’t spell his name–the guy with all the hair, DB) got hurt and that was the end of their dominant defense. Patriots, I think, are beginning a downward spiral, and good riddance to them.

4

If Warner retires, the NFC West is wide open, and an even marginally improved 49ers team could go to the playoffs. It really depends on improved O-line play.

5

No opiinion o n the Packers? And I am surprised you lumped the Eagles in with the Colts/Saints.

6

I think the 2010 season will actually be much more predicable than most. The uncapped year will mean that there are very few free agents to be signed. The lack of change in the coaching ranks compounds the issue. For better or worse, teams will return more similar this year than in any year since the advent of free agency.

Looking it over:

Giants (will we get the 5-0 team, or the end-of-year stinkers?)
Will be almost the same exact roster. They added a new DC, I’m betting a healthy Eli and more consistent defense make for another 9 or 10 win season.

Bears (Cutler can’t be that bad again - can he?)
It’s a fallacy that Cutler was the issue on this team, the interceptions hurt but were only decisive in a couple games. The issue is the rest of the roster compounded by injuries. With very few draft picks and a small free agent market this team will be largely identical. New OC and DC could lead to changes but I expect a very similar finish, maybe 8-8 at best unless Minnesota and Green Bay implode.

Vikings (sans Favre, which may not be a good way to think)
This team too will be identical. They probably won’t even lose their DC with so few coaching vacancies. Yeah, Favre might be gone but he might be back, and this team did get to the playoffs last year under a more inexperienced Tavaris.

Cardinals (sans Warner)
Boldin’s probably gone, and so is Warner, but it’s still a loaded offense if Leinart develops at all. The defense will be up and down and the NFC West will still suck royally. I see little reason to think they won’t win it again.

49ers (could jump way up - depends on their QB situation)
Where is a major improvement at QB going to come from? Expect things to remain identical here too, though a full season of Crabtree could offer marginal improvement but an aging Gore could offset that.

Patriots (huge holes - entirely dependent on draft/trade moves)
Huge holes for sure. The same holes they had this season with little chance to fill them with the FA shortage. More of the same really.

Dolphins (can beat, or lose to, anyone)
Again, more of the same. They aren’t going to have any major changes on offense, same QB, same RBs, maybe a new WR but he’ll be a rookie who’ll develop slowly. The defense gets a little older, for both good and bad.

Panthers (ditto)
The loss of Delhomme will probably mean an improvement and more consistency but not notably so. Peppers is probably gone making the defense a little worse against the pass but maybe better against the run. They aren’t adding a game changer anywhere, though Boldin might be interesting here if they can find the money, I bet they can’t.

Texans (finally a winning year; now what?)
Lemme guess…they’ll be 8-8.

Titans (do we get the 0-6 team or the 8-2 team?)
Collins is done. Defenses scheme better for Johnson and Young, the offense falters, but there’s no 0-6 start. 9-7, maybe 8-8 again.

Broncos (mirror image of the Titans)
Mirror image meaning exact opposite I suppose. Leadfooted QB and inconsistent running game, unlikable head coach and alienated stars. Lost a key defensive coach though, if anyone’s ripe for a major fall it’s probably these guys.

Chargers (how will they be with an even older- or no - LT?)
LT is gone and Sproles isn’t an every down back. Guess what, the running game will suck in 2010. Just like it did in 2009. Rivers, Gates and Jackson are still tall and fast though and Turner will still choke in the playoffs they’ll start slow.

Jets (was the playoff push a true bill, or just a hot team?)
They run the ball and play defense. Thomas Jones is put to pasture and Leon Washington comes back. The O line stays good and Revis stays Revis. Jets and Pats fight for the division again and the Jets falter when forced to pass, again.

Steelers (that was quite a late season collapse)
That happens when your O line sucks. I’m pretty sure they won’t be able to find 5 new ones this offseason. The defense bounces back with Polamalu and they contend for the division, as usual.

Bengals (the team that finished the season sure wouldn’t have gone 10-6)
They were paper tigers all along and they’ll continue to be this season. Housh and Henry aren’t coming back and without WRs the passing game will struggle. Playing a 1st place schedule and not sweeping the division leads to an 8-8 season.

Browns (big finish, but it’s the Browns)
Still the Browns. Still the AFC North. Still in the Cellar.

7

I predict that Airman Doors will start a thread predicting the Steelers will win the Super Bowl.

8

You’re downright clairvoyant!

9

Gee…you think? I mean, I know they sometimes refer to Marvin Lewis as “Black Jesus” and all, but I’m guessing resurrection of the dead is beyond his purview.

We’ll be better next season with more consistency along the oline, defense will improve because we’ll get Antwan Odom, Rey Maualuga, Pat Sims and Roy Williams all back from their season-ending injuries, we’ll add playmakers at WR and oline and safety in the draft and in FA, etc.

My biggest concern is the struggles of Carson Palmer. I can’t really get a good feel for why he played so poorly down the stretch, and most notably in the playoff game against the Jets.

10

If the Eagles keep McNabb, they’ll be very dangerous. Gangster Octopus, there should be no surprise about them being safely considered to be good next season. The Eagles suffered a lot of significant injuries (Westbrook, Bradley, both Andrews), and were a really young team at the skill positions. They’re going to be dangerous as a more seasoned unit. If they don’t keep McNabb (unlikely), they’ll be more erratic with a lower ceiling, and probably just short of a playoff team in 2010.

11

A not to be named player will be held every single play.

Also, Cowboys will win the Super Bowl.

12

And actually, I’m not convinced the Chiefs will be automatically terrible next season. In fact, I think they’ll fight for a wild card.

13

… at home.

14

Tell me how Madden 2011 is so I know whether to buy it or not.

15

Not particularly. The final four teams in the playoffs have been a different four teams three years running with no repeats. That’s 12 different teams filling 12 different spots at the top.

2007: Giants, Packers, Patriots, Chargers
2008: Steelers, Ravens, Cardinals, Eagles
2009: Colts, Jets, Saints, Vikings

The only thing certain in the NFL is that things change.

16

Not in Detroit.

17

There will be equally significant injuries on the defense next season. That’s the way football works. I don’t know where you think you’ll be getting playmakers at WR. There aren’t any in free agency except Boldin, and I think Cincy is near the bottom of the list for him assuming he’s a hot commodity. Are rookies going to make an immediate impact? History tells us that that is very, very unlikely.

Palmer struggled largely because of the problems at WR and that won’t be changing. He struggled a bit of his own accord too, so he might be even worse this year since he won’t have Henry for even part of the year, but I like the guy and am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. But without WRs and with few likely candidates on the roster now they’ll go only as far as Benson and the defense can take them. That’s not half bad, look at the Jets after all, but I think their schedule will get much tougher.

18

I wouldn’t put us out of the Boldin sweepstakes so quickly, although I (as GM of the Bengals) would be reluctant to sign him to anything huge (that he is surely seeking) because he cannot stay healthy.

Coles is a mystery, our TE situation will improve, seeing as how our #1 and #2 starters at that position were ALSO both lost to season-ending injuries before the season even started.

I resent the “paper tiger” label, especially from a Bears fan who’s team absolutely fucking blows. The Bengals made the playoffs in the same way the Jets did, by mauling motherfuckers. We just peaked early and had significant injuries that mounted along the way, along with some puzzlingly bad play by our so-called franchise QB, as well as the rest of the team. Too many dropped balls, penalties, missed passes, defensive injuries, etc to keep up the surge.

We resigned Mike Zimmer for 3 years, so on that note, the rest of you take notice: the Bengals will finally field a competitive and effective defense for a few more years. The question is how we get our offense balanced out to be a mixture of the Palmer glory years of 2005/2006 and our new emphasis on being a run-first team.

19

The Pats will win between 10 and 12 games and be knocked out in either the first or second round of the playoffs because of gaping holes in their defense. The only way this could have changed is if the offense went back to its 2007 form - even when Brady was good and everyone was healthy this year, he wasn’t that on, whether from the injury or just getting a bit older - and that is particularly unlikely with Welker either out or below full strength for the entire year.

Business as usual. shrugs

20

Agreed. 8 wins would be a failure, 11 wins is possible only if they stay remarkably healthy.