San Francisco 49ers - My preseason pick to come out of the West last year, the 49ers fell flat on their face. After some well publicized disagreements between head coach Mike Singletary and many players on the roster, he was let go at seasons end. After the disastrous 0-5 start, that was pretty much expected. Even though the team did go 6-5 the rest of the way. Enter Jim Harbaugh; the biggest college-to-NFL free agent coach available. Harbaugh surprised a lot of people in the draft by not selecting a quarterback in the first round, instead trading up in the 2nd to select NC State QB Colin Kaepernick as the signal-caller of the future. This team has several pieces in place and I think the coaching change combined with playing in a weak division will get them back to the playoffs for the first time since 2002.
St. Louis Rams - Sticking with the West, I have to go with the Rams here over the Seahawks. Yes, I know Seattle had a Cinderella moment in last years playoffs when they knocked off the defending Super Bowl champs, but I’d go with the team with the better QB going forward and it is clear to me that Sam Bradford is the real deal. As a rookie, he made some mistakes that would be expected of a 22 year old making the transition from college to the pros. But he also exceeded a ton of expectations from both his fans and detractors. Throwing for 3,500 yards and 18 touchdowns were good enough to earn him rookie of the year honors and I see no reason why he won’t improve in year two. I’ve got the Rams winning the West with the Niners coming in as a wild card.
Houston Texans - Ah, yes. Them again. It seems that the Texans makes these kinds of preseason lists every year. Yet much like the pre-2008 Arizona Cardinals, they seem to always find a way to not fulfill those expectations. But this year may be different. Their historically bad defense from 2010 HAS to be better this year under a real defensive coordinator in Wade Phillips instead of one of Gary Kubiak’s buds (Frank Bush) that he decided to give a chance to. They had a good draft and many expect them to be big players once free agency begins, depending on the new cap. With two of the teams in their division rebuilding and their offense being one of the best in the game, the defense only needs to be middle of the road for Houston to finally make the playoffs in their tenth year of existence. If for nothing else, they’re due.
Detroit Lions - Could it really be? A season where both the Texans and the Lions make the playoffs? Perhaps the rapture really is nigh. Detroit proved last season that they are finally shaking off the remnants left behind by former GM boob Matt Millen. In fact, if Matthew Stafford had been able to stay on the field and they hadn’t gotten screwed in Week 1 by a horrible officiating call, they could have finished with at least a .500 record last year. That may not seem like much to other teams fans, but for a team that went winless just a couple years ago, that would have been cause to celebrate. Like the Texans, many expect the Lions to be players in free agency once it begins. A Nnamdi Asomugha could help a defense that was already pretty good become great. The nucleus is there and adding Nick Fairley alongside Ndamukong Suh only made their front line that much more fearsome. This team has wild card written all over it.
I’m sure I’ll look back at this list in a few months and laugh at myself, but I’m confident at least three of these teams will make the leap this year. As to which ones…well the good news is that we’ll get to find out soon enough.
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[ Edited by VDSF on Jul 21, 2011 at 4:17 PM ]