Five Under-the-Radar Potential Playoff Teams

Eagles scare me more than any other team this year in the NFC. Great HC, deeply talented...they have all the weapons to be SB contenders this year! However, in the end, the smash mouth 49ers should win it ALL!

Originally posted by theninermaniac:

The panthers are gonna be good with cam newton in his second year. They could have a great offense this year. They had a solid draft too with keuchly and silatolu.

I had added more teams, the Panthers would be in that list. One thing they didn't really improve was the interior of their defensive line. If their young guys don't improve, they might be terrible stopping the run again. Hopefully the rest of the defense can step up in run support -- Kuechly definitely helps -- but we'll see. On offense I think it'll be interesting to see if someone really emerges as the #2. LaFell could be the guy.

I say the Browns.

The Browns???

**falls off bar stool laughing**

I don't know if you could call the Bears a surprise team. I think they are a playoff team from the get go who just experienced some bad breaks. Along with a good draft and some solid backups this year, I expect them to make the playoffs.

The eagles are also a talented team that I would not consider a surprise if they make the playoffs.

A surprise team would be like the Panthers and the Redskins. Even the Cowpokes are considered asurprise as they always shoot themselves in the foot. I also would consider the Hawks and Cards possible surprise playoff teams.

Not sure about the Bears OTC. Really don't trust their OL. Also think their LB group is old and slow. Think their defense is over-rated

i honestly think the raiders will make a push...... considering how many injuries they had last year.

I see so much potential in the panthers its not even funny...Newton on his second year, along with that run game, and they just picked up that chargers free agent too?? defense is nice, theyd be a tough team to face

Colts
Vikings
Raiders
Bills
Cardinals ( )

Originally posted by theninermaniac:
The panthers are gonna be good with cam newton in his second year. They could have a great offense this year. They had a solid draft too with keuchly and silatolu.

I have a feeling that Newton will have a sophomore slump.

I'm really not sure why the Bears would be considered under the radar. they were playing some of the best ball in the NFL before Cutler was hurt. Bills will be everybodies sleeper team.

The problem with most of these teams is their players are not consistent, and that's what keeps them out of the playoffs.

The Cardinals and the Titans have good weapons on paper, but on gameday they lay down. It's a huuuuge "IF" when you say "If they play well", because guys like Kolb, CJ2K, and Hasselbeck have all proved they are inconsistent. I'm not banking on the Cardinals OL getting that much better either.

Good post.

With a few lucky breaks like no injuries, The Bills could win the division. Jets are WAY over-rated.

Both Seattle & AZ have good defenses and can keep games close. I just don't feel they have enough offensive fire power to make the playoffs.

The Bears OLine is weakness #1 and will really hurt them as the season progresses.

I don't know how under the radar Bengals are but they will be a factor this year. Ravens are getting long in the tooth and I'm not a believer in Flacco.

Originally posted by Vasco49er:
I fully expect the Bears to be a serious Super Bowl contender this season. If Cutler can stay healthy and with the improvements they have made it would be very unwise to overlook that team. The Cheifs are another team I expect to surprise a lot of people this year.

For the last two years, I've been expecting the aging Bears defense to completely regress. Their Julius Peppers signing last year helped to off-set their decline, but they are not as good as people think. On offense, with Brandon Marshall, Cutler might blow up. Then again, he might not...he could start throwing a ton of INT's again. He's kind of hard to predict.

Arizona or SEA will make the wildcard.