As some of you may remember, last year I made a post about my shocking predictions for the NFL season. While some were right on the mark, other's were way off. When the season is over, I will do a recap of my predictions to see how they played out. So now it's time to look in my crystal ball for my shocking predictions this upcoming football season.
1. Steve Slaton will win the rushing title: Most people would say that Adrian Peterson is a lock to win this honor but don't sleep on Slaton. Slaton ran for 1282 yards in his rookie season and that should only be the beginning. He is a perfect fit for the Texans zone blocking scheme and is going to get the ball even more this year. Don't be surprised if by the end of the year Slaton is regarded as one of the elite backs in the league.
2. The New Orleans Saints will win the NFC South: Since the division reallignment in 2002, up until last year the team that finishes last in the NFC South has always won the division the next year. With their explosive offense and improved defense, the Saints should continue the trend this year. Depending on the job Gregg Williams does as defensive coordinator, the team could be one of the last ones standing in the NFC.
3. Joe Flacco will be a victim of the "Sophomore Slump": Last year Flacco and Matt Ryan took the league by storm leading their teams as rookies into the playoffs. Both of these guys played so well because of their supporting cast. For Ryan, it consisted of playmakers like Michael Turner and Roddy White. In Flacco's case, it was the Ravens defense that is arguably the best in football. Due to the sudden retirement of Derrick Mason, Flacco has now lost his go to receiver and after Mason there is a big dropoff. If the season started today, the Ravens starting receivers would most likely be Mark Clayton and Demetrius Williams. Both guys have lots of potential but neither of them have shown many glimpses of being a number one receiver. With the defense, the Ravens still have a very good chance at making the playoffs but it could be another rough year at quarterback in Baltimore after last year's breath of fresh air.
4. The Miami Dolphins won't win 8 games: Going into the 2008 season, the Cleveland Browns were a trendy pick to win the AFC North. After going 10-6 the previous year many people including myself thought they were ready to take the next step. The same thing that stopped the Browns last year is what is going to hurt the Dolphins: strength of schedule. Since they went 1-15 in 2007, the Dolphins had one of the easier schedules in the league. This year, they have the hardest. Other factors play into consideration as well. The "Wildcat" or with the addition of Pat White through the draft "Wildpat" will now be something that defenses prepare for and it progressively got less effective last season as the year went on. Chad Pennington was one of the great comeback stories last season but the playoff game against the Ravens showed that while he is a very accurate passer, he doesn't have the arm strength to scare defenses. Look for the Chad Henne era to begin in Miami by the end of this year.
5. The Houston Texans will make the playoffs: For what seemed like forever, the Cardinals were everybody's trend pick to make the playoffs. Now that they have actually been there and ended up making the Super Bowl, a new team has to fill the void. That team is the Texans. The Texans are a young team with potential the only thing that could stop them is the quarterback position. Matt Schaub has showed signs of potential but has had a hard time staying on the field. After losing one of the best backups in the league in Sage Rosenfels, the Texans signed Rex Grossman to be the backup. Depending on what Grossman shows up, this could either be an excellent move or one that gives Texans fans nightmares. The defense is improving as well as they added Antonio Smith to rush the passer alongside Mario Williams and added Brian Cushing through the draft who should get a chance to start right away. If Schaub can play a full 16 game season alongside offensive weapons such as Steve Slaton and Andre Johnson, the Texans will be a very dangerous team come playoff time.
6. The Detroit Lions will win at least four games: In most cases, predicting four wins isn't much. But for a team, that went 0-16 last year, it's a very big first step. Jim Schwartz is bringing a new state of identity to a team that for the past 50 years has had a losing culture. Schwartz has already started building through the draft and it wouldn't be surprising if his first three picks Matthew Stafford, Brandon Pettigrew and Louis Delmas were all opening day starters. As hard as it is to believe, not all of Matt Millen's draft picks were failures as Calvin Johnson, Kevin Smith and Ernie Sims are all worth building around. Johnson is arguably the most talented receiver in the league and put up pro bowl type numbers with a very messy quarterback situation. The second half of Smith's rookie year was very impressive as he improved when his workload increased. Sims will be looked upon as the leader of the defense and has been one of the game's most consistent linebackers in his three year career. The offensive line is still a very weak spot but if Schwartz and new GM Martin Mayhew make good picks in the trenches, the team could be contending in the next three years.
7. The Seattle Seahawks will make the playoffs: Due to injuries at many key positions, the Seahawks were one of the league's biggest dissapointments last year. This year should be different. Matt Hasselbeck is fully healthy and has a new weapon in T.J. Houshmandzadeh along with John Carlson who proved last year to be one of the best young tight ends in the game. The defense should be strong as well with one of the league's top pass rushers in Patrick Kearney along with two very good young linebackers in Lofa Tatupu and Aaron Curry. If there are two things to remember about the Seahawks this season here they are: the NFC West is still extremely weak and they have the Broncos 1st round pick next year and considering how the Josh McDaniels era is going so far, it could be a very high one. Even though Hasselbeck is 34, it wouldn't be surprising if the Seahawks were contenders for two or three more years.
8. Three rookie quarterbacks will be starting by week 12: Last year two rookie quarterbacks took the league by storm. This year, it wouldn't be surprising if there were three. Matthew Stafford, Mark Sanchez and Josh Freeman will all be starting by the end of this year. It is very possible that all three of these guys will be their team's opening day starters as Stafford and Sanchez are already signed. While Sanchez could be starting to give his team the best chance to win, Stafford and Freeman will most likely be starting to show their team's what's in store for the future as they both have veterans with years of starting experience ahead of them.
9. Mark Sanchez will win offensive rookie of the year: While running backs usually transition the fastest to the NFL, it is always a huge story when a rookie quarterback suceeds right away. With Sanchez being in New York, that story will be even bigger. Sanchez is in the best situation out of any rookie quarterback as he has an established offensive line, a very good defense and a rookie quarterback's best friend a good running game. It wouldn't be surprising if Sanchez put up big numbers in the big apple and if does expect him to ride the New York media train on the way to rookie of the year honors.
10. Louis Delmas will win defensive rookie of the year: Most people would have guys like Aaron Curry, Brian Cushing or Brian Orakpo here but none of them will be on the field as much as Delmas. Even though the Lions will improve this year, the offense will still struggle behind the poor offensive line and Delmas will have every opportunity to prove he is a tackling machine. The Lions are in love with him and there is a very good chance that he will be the starting safety when the year begins. Delmas is also very strong in run support and even if the defense continues to struggle, he will certainly be one of the bright spots.
No comments:
Post a Comment