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July 13th 2007
There were lots of trades and re-signings in the offseason. This year’sNFL season will prove to be very exciting because there are many teamswho have a legitimate chance to compete for The SuperBowl XLII.
My top 5 to watch for in the NFC are:
Dallas Cowboys
Dallas will be a serious contender this year. Tony Romo had a good startlast year and he will get the start this season. A healthy Terrell Owensis a good Owens. He played hurt towards the end of the season and playoffs.He’s all healthy now. Dallas has also improved their kicking, sothat shouldn’t be a problem. Dallas had a good defense last yearso they kept the same defensive line and improved secondary. Definitecontenders
Chicago Bears
Da Bears will be relying heavily on their veteran offensive linesman thisyear. The idea is that the longer they stay together, they work as a whole.Da Bears got a good start from quarterback Rex Grossman last year andis expected to do the same this season. Chicago added more depth to theirrunning game. Look for Da Bears to make it as a definite SuperBowl contender.
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals are going to be the sleeper team of 2007. The way Matt Leinhartplayed last season he is sure to get the starting quarterback job. Matt’spass attack was ranked 10th best in the NFL. Now with having said that,the Cards went on a hunt for runningbacks and wide receivers. They endedup with three Pro Bowlers (RB)Edgerrin James,(WR) A.Boldin and L.Fitzgerald.Arizona’s been working hard on their defense by bringing in playerswith experience to help. If all goes well watch the Cards to be the talkof the NFL.
Carolina Panthers
Carolina was supposed to be the team to win the Super Bowl last year.They got great offense and have improved their defense. They feel theydidn’t need to revamp the whole team, so they’re staying withall but two players. The Panthers also found a veteran quarterback toback up Jake Delhomme. Look for the Panthers to win their division andmaybe even NFC Champions
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles chances lie with Donovan McNabb’s health. If somethinghappens with McNabb then A.J. Feely will take the helm, which isn’ta bad thing. The Eagles revamped their defensive line. Their goal is tostop the running game, which cost them in the playoffs. Philadelphia improvedoffensively by picking up a couple of wide receivers. Like I said earlierif McNabb is health they will be top in their division.
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Other Notables
Seattle Seahawks
Not a lot of changes going on here. Mike Holmgren has decided to keepthe team together unless a rookie or free agent completely impresses him.The word is that there’s a wide receiver that played college basketball,football and track that’s impressing Holmgren. He’s fast andtall. Let’s hope that Jordon Kent can be the Hawks secret weaponto get them back to the SuperBowl. The Hawks had a good defensive year,as well as a great offensive year. Let’s hope Shawn Alexander goesthe season without an injury. Expect to see them in the playoffs.
New Orleans Saints
The Saints finished the 2006 season, in the Playoffs. So in the offseason,they know what they had to build on. They have a good running game thatdoesn’t need fixing. The Saints got some star wide receivers, fromEurope, to help with their passing game. New Orleans’s toughenedup their second string of defense. Look for Reggie Bush to do a lot ofrunning and passing plays.
New York Giants
The Giants can be contenders this season if they can keep their runninggame going. While Tiki Barber has retired, Rueben Droughns has filledhis spot. Their passing game was good last year and they’ve keptthe same receivers. Eli Manning has been working hard with his receiversover the offseason. The Giants have a new defensive coordinator, and theplayers are excited about the style of defense. If they can have a goodstart to the season, with no player bickering, they might take their division.
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings have taken on the popular one-two punch running game. TheVikings runningback Chester Taylor had a great season last year and nowthe Vikings have taken a second runningback to help their offense. Manyteams have taken on this type of running scheme that has proven to bevery successful. Minnesota didn’t do a lot of trading this offseasonbut managed to pick up some talented players, which should be a good thing.Quarterback Tavaris Jackson needs to have a good start if the Vikingswant to compete; he’s got the receivers and runningbacks. Make itwork.
Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta has had some troubles with Michael Vick last year and in the offseason.Whether this will distract his attention away from football we will haveto wait and see. As for Vick, if he can’t produce quarterback JoeyHarrington could replace him. Atlanta has always had a good running game,so no new news there. The Falcons are hoping heavily on their rookiesthis season, due to the loss of veterans. If they can get over Vicks B.S.and get good passing results they might make it to playoffs.
St.Louis Rams
The Rams revamped their wide receivers over the offseason hoping to gettheir passing game back. The Rams are letting Steven Jackson take thestarting runningback position. This guys going to have a great year, he’sa record breaker! Marc Bulger had a good season in 2006 also expect abetter year with new runners and catchers. They have a good chance ofbeing in the top of their division if they can win during the midseason,which they didn’t do last year.
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San Francisco 49ers
San Fran has completely rearranged their team after a horrible seasonlast year. They’re offense and defense was rated 26th in 2006 season.They added a more experienced defense along with a new defensive coordinator.The 49ers are sticking with the same offensive scheme which should behelpful because they’ve been able to improve on it and practicecertain scenarios. If they can get offense and defense to click they maybe able to compete for top spot in their division, but that means Seattleand St.Louis have to have a bad year. Not likely.
Green Bay Packers
The Packers didn’t do enough to make this team a contender. Theygot rid of their best runningback and ended up with a younger offense.As much as I like Bret Favre, he needs to retire and let someone elsetake the reins. Packers don’t have a chance because the other teamsin their division are too dominant.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bucs had an incredibly crappy season in 2006.Coach Gruden had to figuresomething out fast so he went and got a new quarterback, linebackers andcornerbacks. These guys are the most important part to rebuilding a team.The Bucs have a good running game, but need to improve their passing.Hopefully with a new quarterback the receivers can start catching theball. It’s going to be a tough go for Tampa still because they’rejust not up to caliber as the other teams in their division.
Washington Redskins
The Redskins made lots of moves in the offseason. They’re tryingto improve on defense by completely revamping their cornerbacks. Unfortunatelycoach doesn’t think he needed a quarterback. The Skin’s aregetting average skills from Mark Brunnell and runningback Clinton Portisalso needs to step up. The Redskins will still be out of contention thisyear because other teams in their division have quality quarterbacks withSKILLS!
Detroit Lions
The Lions revamped their offense in the offseason. I swear they must havegotten rid of every offensive player they had. They have three new experiencedrunningbacks which should help their ground game. Although when you haveso many new players, it takes time to click with each other. Detroit hada solid defensive year in 2006 and is looking to improve their secondaryby finding players who fit their system.
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