So what have we all learned from the NFL preseason thus far? In the past, aside from catastrophic injuries that changed the courses of a team’s season usually not much. Take the Indianapolis Colts for instance. Historically during Peyton Manning’s tenure as quarterback, the colts have lost a great majority of their preseason games. Yet, once the regular season is in full swing, few teams if any have equaled the Colts success. Then you could reference the reverse effect. The Detroit Lions a couple of years back went undefeated in the preseason, only to loose every game during the regular season and finish 0-16. Such is the unpredictability of exhibition football, until however now. If you’re wondering, yes, I am going out on a limb and am ready to claim that this year’s preseason does matter. And here are my early preseason predictions;
-Aaron Rodgers will breakout to the upper echelon of the leagues elite quarterbacks and lead the Packers to the postseason. OK, so it is not like I am alone on the Rodgers bandwagon, but as good as he looked a year ago he maybe even better this season. Aaron Rodgers is accurate, athletic and skilled to the point that the Green Bay Packers saw his star shining so brightly, they broke ties with future hall of famer Brett Favre. Rodgers should be in the MVP discussion by seasons end, and the only question remaining with no.12 is his ability to win come playoff time.
-And speaking of Favre, it would be hard to imagine the soon to be 41 year old having as good a season as he did a year ago. Now with the Minnesota Vikings battling some early adversity with Sidney Rice undergoing hip surgery and Percy Harvin batting migraines, I do not expect the Vikings to start out the season hot. To the contrary, I see the Vikings starting slow then finishing strong and making a hard push in to the post season. Adrian Peterson will be the key to keeping the Vikings heads above water, but ultimately it will be Favre and the passing game that will push them over the top. We could all be looking at a Saints/Vikings rematch for the NFC title game with all things considered, which would make for even better TV than it did a year ago.
-Tom Brady is fully recovered from his 2008 knee injury and is ready to be the leagues MVP this season. The New England Patriots are not the dynasty they once were, but they still have Tom Brady and more weapons than he has ever possessed at one time. With Wes Welker seemingly back and healthy, Randy Moss stretching defenses, Julian Edelmen doing his best Welker impersonations and the additions of tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, Tom Brady is in for a monster season. The vaunted Patriots defense is still a question mark which is all the more reason to believe the offense will feel the need to pick up the slack. The Pats passing game should be well protected with interchangeable running backs Sammy Morris, Fred Taylor, Laurence Maroney and the ever reliable Kevin Faulk.
-Mark Sanchez still a question mark with his erratic play and this on the heels of a productive off season that has added star power such as defensive back Antonio Cromartie, former Miami Dolphin Jason Taylor, receiver Santonio Holmes and running back Ladanian Tomlinson to the AFC championship runner up New York Jets. This year’s hard knocks version of the Jets is deeper and more talented than last years on paper, but how far they go will depend on the growth and development of Sanchez. If teams can stay in the box and focus on the run with no fear of being beat by the Jets quarterback, the offense will be stagnant. The Jets defense even without corner back Darrell Revis is the best in football, but that unit simply cannot win it all alone. There is much hype in New York, full of expectations for Jets football to return to prominence, but perhaps not enough substance when it comes to the bottom line. That bottom line: Mark Sanchez.
-Now that I have covered my most intriguing quarterback stories this preseason thus far, let me dive in to teams to watch; The New Orleans Saints are the defending Super Bowl champions and are getting zero respect. That could ultimately serve as motivation to a team that is still as hungry as they were a year ago in winning it all. The Saints are returning 20 of 22 starters from a year ago and last time I checked they still have a guy named Drew Brees. Brees is phenomenal to watch and is equaled in stature among the best at his position by only Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Combine that with arguably the best play calling head coach in football Sean Payton, and you have all the ingredients you need offensively to repeat. The Saints defense a year ago were at the top of the heap when it came to forcing turn over’s and converting them in to points. Darren Sharper and Super Bowl hero Tracy Porter anchor the secondary while others like defensive end Will Smith and line backer Jonathon Vilma helped lead the Saints to those takeaway opportunities. That is not a learned behavior, rather a product of the type of talent that has been meshed together. For those reasons alone, I am picking the “who dat” nation to be partying it up again in February 2011.
-The Dallas Cowboys are a franchise full of talent, but in my opinion are more on the side of full of baloney. Defensively there is no question they are stout, but the Cowboy offensive line is average at best. Tony Romo has the most intense case of happy feet since Chad Ochocinco on dancing with the stars. Let’s be honest here, Marion Barber and Felix Jones are injury prone and Roy E. Williams and Miles Austin do not scare the elite defensive teams in the NFC. Dez Bryant is good but is a rookie. The boys will flop this year and Wade Philips will be out as head coach as well.
-Cincinnati Bengals front office had a busy off season with regard to there wide receiver search and eventual signings of Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens. Those two talents join Chad Ochocinco, rookies Jermaine Gresham and Jordan Shipley on the edges, and with Cedric Benson in the backfield the Bengals are now the best offensive team in the AFC north. Quarterback Carson Palmer now has an array of weapons to unleash against the rest of the NFL and combine that with a very talented defensive unit, the Bengals could be the last team standing come the AFC postseason. Palmer’s ability to get the ball down field is still a question mark, but he can no longer blame it on lack of talent. The Bengals have set themselves up for success, but will only go as far as Palmer can throw it, literally.
With that being said and a week plus still remaining in the preseason, I will continue to look for more headlines and stories heading in to opening kickoff of the regular season. Look for my division by division predictions all the way to my Super Bowl picks and much more. As always thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed!
By Ephraim Vega
Blog or Bust News
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