5 teams on the way up, 5 on way out of playoff picture

[blindseyed]

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/...way-up-five-on-way-out-of-playoff-picture/rss

We're on the way up...Pittsburgh on the way down according to this article

 

[mojorizen7]

I disagree with the KC Chiefs being on the downslide. I think they win the division.

Not mentioned in the article but IMO the TB Bucs might be ready to leapfrog N.O. and challenge the Falcons.

Of course i agree w/the St Lou pick, but AZ will get better simply because they have a QB this year.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I disagree with the KC Chiefs being on the downslide. I think they win the division.

Not mentioned in the article but IMO the TB Bucs might be ready to leapfrog N.O. and challenge the Falcons.

Of course i agree w/the St Lou pick, but AZ will get better simply because they have a QB this year.

I think the Chiefs will be fighting Denver for the bottom spot in their division. Tampa Bay will NOT take the next step, last year was a bit of a mirage. They'll finish 8 - 8 at best. They may challenge the Falcons but it will be for second in that division. This Saints team might be better than the Super Bowl version.

Steve

 

[TJ]

Where's San Francisco on the list of those going down? Unless they are already considered bottom feeders, but along with Seattle, they are going to be horrible.

 

[BurqueCardFan]

As for SF, other than the coach, what has really change since this time last year? Last year everyone was picking them to run away with the division and this year they are considered bottom feeders. What's different, other than the fact that they were overated last year?

 

[TJ]

As for SF, other than the coach, what has really change since this time last year? Last year everyone was picking them to run away with the division and this year they are considered bottom feeders. What's different, other than the fact that they were overated last year?

College coach making the jump to the pros who is trying to overhaul the system without an offseason to do so. Key losses on defense, which has been the backbone of that team for the last couple of years. Not adding receivers and simply not keeping up with St. Louis and Arizona in their efforts to improve the team.

Those factors are going to make for a really bad team. They won 6 last season. They'll be lucky to win 5

 

[Shane]

As for SF, other than the coach, what has really change since this time last year? Last year everyone was picking them to run away with the division and this year they are considered bottom feeders. What's different, other than the fact that they were overated last year?

Nate Clements, Aubrayo Franklin, Manny Lawson, Travis LaBoy, Takeo Spikes and Taylor Mays

Thats a lot of defensive turnover! And again they still have Alex Smith.

 

[Krangodnzr]

I think the Chiefs will be fighting Denver for the bottom spot in their division. Tampa Bay will NOT take the next step, last year was a bit of a mirage. They'll finish 8 - 8 at best. They may challenge the Falcons but it will be for second in that division. This Saints team might be better than the Super Bowl version.

Steve

Agreed. TB will beat out Carolina for the 3rd spot. IMO TB is significantly worse than NO and Atlanta. NO is going to come back with a vengeance, and I wouldn't be shocked to see Atlanta finish behind them.

The Chiefs have made some moves, but the Chargers will pass them up and take their rightful spot as the best in the AFC West.

 

[chickenhead]

In order for TB to overtake NO and ATL, they are going to have to beat NO and ATL. There's no sneaking around them to win the division, perhaps not even with a split. Same goes for the Chiefs and Chargers--although as we all know, SD has the history of starting slow.

 

[Sunryze88]

NFC West will be between the Rams and Cardinals. At this point I'm saying Rams because I don't know how Kolb or our defense is going to turn out. Tampa will land third in their division, they haven't filled any holes from last year. I'm not even sure if they signed anybody in the offseason. I think the team you have to look out for this year is the Lions. I think they will have a great year if Stafford can stay healthy.

 

[chickenhead]

It should be fun to watch Detroit's season unfold. The AZ fan in me is psyched for the Lions fans getting to read all this positive press. They definitely could surprise, but I think they may have entered their Bengals/Cardinals "sleeper pick" phase where there's a year around .500 if not more before they make a charge.

 

[NJCardFan]

And once again they're jumping on the Texans bandwagon. Houston is the 49ers of the AFC. Every year they're picked to contend for the playoffs or even the division and every year they disappoint. Yes they have a pretty potent offense, however, their defense is suspect at best. Outside of Mario Williams, who do they have on defense? They had the 30th ranked defense last season and they did little to improve on that in the off season. The only thing they have going for them is that they play in a very weak division but even with Manning's problems, the Texans still don't have enough to overtake them for the division.

 

[TJ]

And once again they're jumping on the Texans bandwagon. Houston is the 49ers of the AFC. Every year they're picked to contend for the playoffs or even the division and every year they disappoint. Yes they have a pretty potent offense, however, their defense is suspect at best. Outside of Mario Williams, who do they have on defense? They had the 30th ranked defense last season and they did little to improve on that in the off season. The only thing they have going for them is that they play in a very weak division but even with Manning's problems, the Texans still don't have enough to overtake them for the division.

I agree in years past, but I think this season is legit. The Texans have always had a quality offense. As a matter of fact, I think they have the best QB/WR/RB/TE combination in the league (Shaub, AJ, Foster, Daniels). The Texans have always been a defense short of relevancy since their inception.

The addition of Wade Phillips as a coordinator will be monumental. He has always been a shoddy head coach, but a good DC. They have quality pieces on defense, but have never been used appropriately (sounds like the Cards!).

The thorn in their side has always been Peyton Manning and the one year the Titans were stellar. With Peyton struggling with a neck injury and the possibility of him sitting out week 1, the Texans have the opportunity to take an early advantage.

I would bet the farm that they make the playoffs.

 

[AzStevenCal]

And once again they're jumping on the Texans bandwagon. Houston is the 49ers of the AFC. Every year they're picked to contend for the playoffs or even the division and every year they disappoint. Yes they have a pretty potent offense, however, their defense is suspect at best. Outside of Mario Williams, who do they have on defense? They had the 30th ranked defense last season and they did little to improve on that in the off season. The only thing they have going for them is that they play in a very weak division but even with Manning's problems, the Texans still don't have enough to overtake them for the division.

-1. Houston WILL win their division. I think Williams will be just as effective in a 3-4 defense and regardless of Wade's problems in Dallas, he's one of the better coordinators. Their biggest weakness last year was their secondary and they upgraded at safety and cornerback. Much improved defense, IMO. They'll be a top 3 offense and a top 15 defense and that will be more than enough to beat out a damaged Colts team.

Steve

 

[Duckjake]

And once again they're jumping on the Texans bandwagon. Houston is the 49ers of the AFC. Every year they're picked to contend for the playoffs or even the division and every year they disappoint. Yes they have a pretty potent offense, however, their defense is suspect at best. Outside of Mario Williams, who do they have on defense? They had the 30th ranked defense last season and they did little to improve on that in the off season. The only thing they have going for them is that they play in a very weak division but even with Manning's problems, the Texans still don't have enough to overtake them for the division.

Sounds a lot like the Cardinals from 2005-7. Then just when everyone jumped off the bandwagon they win the Division two years in a row.

 

[splitsecond]

And once again they're jumping on the Texans bandwagon. Houston is the 49ers of the AFC. Every year they're picked to contend for the playoffs or even the division and every year they disappoint. Yes they have a pretty potent offense, however, their defense is suspect at best. Outside of Mario Williams, who do they have on defense? They had the 30th ranked defense last season and they did little to improve on that in the off season. The only thing they have going for them is that they play in a very weak division but even with Manning's problems, the Texans still don't have enough to overtake them for the division.

They have Wade Phillips and the ability to put Brooks Reed and Mario Williams on the same side of the ball. That is absolutely frightening IMO. I would have killed to get Reed in the draft and put him on Docket's side of the ball in a 3-4 lineup or as the 4th down lineman next to Dockett when we run a 4 man front.

 

[kerouac9]

And once again they're jumping on the Texans bandwagon. Houston is the 49ers of the AFC. Every year they're picked to contend for the playoffs or even the division and every year they disappoint. Yes they have a pretty potent offense, however, their defense is suspect at best. Outside of Mario Williams, who do they have on defense? They had the 30th ranked defense last season and they did little to improve on that in the off season. The only thing they have going for them is that they play in a very weak division but even with Manning's problems, the Texans still don't have enough to overtake them for the division.

Demeco Ryans and Brian Cushing are both pretty good defensive players. Antonio Smith is a quality starter in the NFL. Jonathan Joseph is solidly in the second tier of non-elite cornerbacks. I loved J.J. Watt in the draft.

The problem with the Texans isn't about talent, it's about toughness. The offense is mentally soft and breaks down when the game is on the line.

 

[Cheesebeef]

the Steelers may be getting long in the tooth defensively, but they still have 3 major building blocks on D with Timmons, Woodley and Polamalu all still in the prime of their career to build around and their offense with Big Ben, Mendenhall, Mike Wallace and Heath Miller are all solid building blocks forward.

they'll probably take a little bit of a dip in two years, but this is one team that has seemingly been good for 2 decades because they know how to reload on the fly.

man... they've literally been contenders for 20 straight years. can you imagine what type of bliss that would be?!

 

[BillsCarnage]

NFC West will be between the Rams and Cardinals. At this point I'm saying Rams because I don't know how Kolb or our defense is going to turn out.

I'd tend to agree w/ that until you look at the Rams schedule the first half of the season. It's pretty brutal and I'm still not convinced they've solved their scoring woes..

If the Cards can take care of biz the first half of the season, they could be in a good spot come Dec.

 

[THESMEL]

Hell i don't know? All teams did better than I expected after the lockout, Massive movement, massive injuries, I think it will be mid season before division battles will even be lined up. that is what I think.

 

[NJCardFan]

Sounds a lot like the Cardinals from 2005-7. Then just when everyone jumped off the bandwagon they win the Division two years in a row.

But the pre SB Cards had major problems at QB in those years. Green badly misused Warner and IMO had Whiz just gone with Warner from jump street in '07 we could have been a playoff team. Injuries didn't help either. Especially in that stretch where we had Tim Rattay starting.