Which Team Will Completely Fall Apart This Year?

[Heucrazy]

I'm going to be cynical and say the Cards.

Besides the last few years I've said they'll be good and look what happened. I would love for my streak of being wrong to continue.

 

[Gambit]

I also put the Titans. Travis Henry was the offense last year. The only reason that Young ever had time to get rid of the ball was because defenses had to respect Henry. He is gone now and they have not replaced him at all. LenDale White does not impress me.

Even though he was a douche off the field, Pac Man was a beast and a leader on it. Their defense and special teams will suffer greatly w/ out him.

All in all, I think the pressure will be solely on Young this year. This year, not last year will be the true test of him.

Yeah, I forgot that they lost Henry too. That's even more for them to overcome.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

First let me say. Good post ! Very enjoyable reading. I only have disagreements about two of the teams you mentioned

Pats--No chance. They are the best-coached team in the league by far. They lost no significant players in the offseason but added many. With Dillon gone, Maroney will have a real breakout year. The Pats will have the best offense in football and one of the top 5 defenses and are easily the preseason favorite to win the Super Bowl.

Adailius Thomas was the #1 FA on the market and his presence alone drastically improves the D. The addition of Merriweather who was talent-wise the second-best S in the draft wont hurt either.

With the additions of Moss, Stallworth, Welker and Washington, the Pats went form having one of the worst WR corps in the game to being in the consensus top 5.

The first thing is Maroney still has questions about his durability. After Maroney you are left with who ? Sammy Morris? Kevin Faulk ? I think the loss of Dillon will be felt.

As far as free agent aquisitions go, the only addition I think will be that big of a factor is Adalius Thomas. Unfortunately, he instantly become the best LB on the team. The rest of the LB's on this team are really old and are starting to show it. Brushci, Vrabel, Seau ? Those are some old men.

Going onto the secondary, Merriweather better be really good as a rookie. Asante Samuel is holding out, and threatening to do so for as long as needed. Rodney Harrison is getting older, and less durable. What is left is a questionable secondary.

So far it is a lot of question marks, but when it comes to the WR core I do not see this "all-star" receiving team. Moss, Stallworth, and Welker all have names that hold more wieght than there actual talent. Truth be told I think if you are going to look for a threat it will be Kelly Washington. But just because this team has house hold names doesn't mean these guys are automatically all-stars.

49ers-- As much as we dont like it, they have improved dramitically since the end of last season.They gained the defensive rookie of the year in Patrick Willis and the best corner in FA in Nate Clements Banta-Cain is an experienced tough and disciplined LB who knows Nolan's 3-4 scheme.

Nolan is a great defensive mind and a good coach.

Darrell Jackson doesn't impress me much execpt when he burns the Cards. Vernon Davis will earn himself a spot in the "who's the best TE outside of Antonio Gates" talks this year. Gore is still a monster. The jury is still out on Alex Smith, but who cares? How hard can it be to hand off to Gore 30x's a game, dump to Davis10-15x's and throw a few bombs in Jackson's direction?

The 49'ers still have to put it all together. Being a Cardinals fan you should know that the talent has to play well as a team. You can't just say "These guys are great" and give them a Superbowl trophey.

I agree Clements is a huge score for the niners. But who else is in that secondary that strikes fear into opponents eyes. That being said when you look at the defensive line there are the same questionable players, playing at the same positions.

The offense and more so the entire team's success will be centered around Alex Smith. He has the offensive line to protect him, and the tools around him to succeed. The question is, will he be up to the challenge, especially without his QB coach Norn Turner.


But to be fair, both my counter points are not exactly cases for "completely falling apart". But both these teams are way overhyped.

 

[cardsfanmd]

First let me say. Good post ! Very enjoyable reading. I only have disagreements about two of the teams you mentioned




The first thing is Maroney still has questions about his durability. After Maroney you are left with who ? Sammy Morris? Kevin Faulk ? I think the loss of Dillon will be felt.

As far as free agent aquisitions go, the only addition I think will be that big of a factor is Adalius Thomas. Unfortunately, he instantly become the best LB on the team. The rest of the LB's on this team are really old and are starting to show it. Brushci, Vrabel, Seau ? Those are some old men.

Going onto the secondary, Merriweather better be really good as a rookie. Asante Samuel is holding out, and threatening to do so for as long as needed. Rodney Harrison is getting older, and less durable. What is left is a questionable secondary.

So far it is a lot of question marks, but when it comes to the WR core I do not see this "all-star" receiving team. Moss, Stallworth, and Welker all have names that hold more wieght than there actual talent. Truth be told I think if you are going to look for a threat it will be Kelly Washington. But just because this team has house hold names doesn't mean these guys are automatically all-stars.




The 49'ers still have to put it all together. Being a Cardinals fan you should know that the talent has to play well as a team. You can't just say "These guys are great" and give them a Superbowl trophey.

I agree Clements is a huge score for the niners. But who else is in that secondary that strikes fear into opponents eyes. That being said when you look at the defensive line there are the same questionable players, playing at the same positions.

The offense and more so the entire team's success will be centered around Alex Smith. He has the offensive line to protect him, and the tools around him to succeed. The question is, will he be up to the challenge, especially without his QB coach Norn Turner.


But to be fair, both my counter points are not exactly cases for "completely falling apart". But both these teams are way overhyped.

Yeah, I see what you are saying, I just want to stress that I was only saying that these teams will not be worse than they were last year. The niners sucked and simply rode Gore's back all season. Their defense was putrid. I expect it to be a lot better. They have many good new players there and a few very good ones. I think Willis will be an absolute stud. Gore has already shown he can carry the offense, so instead of looking for ways to move the chains, they just need to find some ways to take the load off him a little. It is about time A. Smith learns to do that. Vernon Davis is as talented a person as there is in this league, and if Smith can't put up real numbers with him, Jackson and Gore toi help this should be his last year as the starter.

As far as NE goes, I just cant root against Belicheck, history has taught me that. However, I do think that the Jets are a real team on the rise (especially since they drafted my buddy in the 5th round this year) and the duels between Bill and Mangini will be great to watch for years to come.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[Skkorpion]

Good thread.

1. Atlanta will completely collapse.
2. Denver won't collapse but will underachieve again because they invested a lot in defensive free agents who are proven failures.
3. New England will fall back a little.

Those are my best guesses.

 

[PoolBoy]

seahawks....they are soooooo old!

 

[Redsz]

I just dont understand the votes for the Pats, Colts, Broncos, Bears or 49ers. The thread is who you THINK will bomb, not who you hope will.

49ers-- As much as we dont like it, they have improved dramitically since the end of last season.They gained the defensive rookie of the year in Patrick Willis and the best corner in FA in Nate Clements Banta-Cain is an experienced tough and disciplined LB who knows Nolan's 3-4 scheme.

Nolan is a great defensive mind and a good coach.

No matter who they added on paper, they still lack two VERY crucial things: A pass rush and a good NT. Those are two things that the 3-4 lives and dies by. And right now they don't have them.

 

[Rams4evah]

San Deigo. New coaches.

 

[BigRedRage]

San Deigo. New coaches.

forgot about them

 

[Duckjake]

Titans, Falcons and Cardinals can't really go below predicted expectations because their problems will lead to lower predictions.

Dallas and Denver on the other hand could very well fall below predicted levels.

BTW: It was defenses having to pay attention to Vince Young that resulted in Travis Henry's surprise season. Not the other way around.

 

[Cheesebeef]

San Diego - they have nowhere to go but down and Norv Turner's sorry ass coaching will certianly lead the way towards mediocrity.

 

[cardsfanmd]

Titans, Falcons and Cardinals can't really go below predicted expectations because their problems will lead to lower predictions.

Dallas and Denver on the other hand could very well fall below predicted levels.

BTW: It was defenses having to pay attention to Vince Young that resulted in Travis Henry's surprise season. Not the other way around.

Somehow I have a hard time believing that the QB with the lowest completion % in the league really did that much for the running game.

 

[Duckjake]

Somehow I have a hard time believing that the QB with the lowest completion % in the league really did that much for the running game.

What does completion percentage have to do with complementing the Titans running game?

Defenses had to make sure Young didn't RUN 80 yards for a TD and while they were doing that they left holes for Henry to exploit.

I got to watch every game Young started for the Titans because the Texans were so bad the local TV network dropped Houston and aired the Titans and Young instead.

 

[Mulli]

What does completion percentage have to do with complementing the Titans running game?

Defenses had to make sure Young didn't RUN 80 yards for a TD and while they were doing that they left holes for Henry to exploit.

I got to watch every game Young started for the Titans because the Texans were so bad the local TV network dropped Houston and aired the Titans and Young instead.

That is awesome. For some reason, that happening to a team in Texas, that is called the Texans makes it seem ever worse for Houston.

 

[Jersey Girl]

Giants, for all the reasons already mentioned.

 

[BigRedRage]

That is awesome. For some reason, that happening to a team in Texas, that is called the Texans makes it seem ever worse for Houston.

For some reason, I can't figure out what you are trying to say.

 

[Mulli]

For some reason, I can't figure out what you are trying to say.

Just seems drastic for a team in Texas named the Texans, no less, to have their games dropped in favor of a team in Memphis. I dunno.

 

[Gambit]

Just seems drastic for a team in Texas named the Texans, no less, to have their games dropped in favor of a team in Memphis. I dunno.

Titans are in Nashville. And the Texans are a bad joke. They aren't even fun to watch when bad like the Cards (no way they've ever had an entertaining a game as the Monday Night Meltdown).

 

[Mulli]

Titans are in Nashville. And the Texans are a bad joke. They aren't even fun to watch when bad like the Cards (no way they've ever had an entertaining a game as the Monday Night Meltdown).

Oh yeah Nashville.

 

[cardsfanmd]

What does completion percentage have to do with complementing the Titans running game?

Defenses had to make sure Young didn't RUN 80 yards for a TD and while they were doing that they left holes for Henry to exploit.

I got to watch every game Young started for the Titans because the Texans were so bad the local TV network dropped Houston and aired the Titans and Young instead.

I am sorry but that doesn't even make sense. If the defenses were blocking the holes so that Young couldn't escape then how did Henry break through. The guy ran for 1,200 yds in a horrible offense. Give credit where credit is due.

 

[Duckjake]

I am sorry but that doesn't even make sense. If the defenses were blocking the holes so that Young couldn't escape then how did Henry break through. The guy ran for 1,200 yds in a horrible offense. Give credit where credit is due.

Here's a perfect example: On one play that I've saved Young was getting ready to hand off to Henry when the DT had a clear shot at blowing up the play but the DT hesitated, to make sure that Young didn't keep the ball and run with it, just long enough for Henry to slip by the DT and pick up several yards.

Plus anytime the defense has to "spy" a QB or keep guys outside in contain mode they naturally don't have as many guys available for close pursuit on the RB. Unlike all but probably one other QB in the NFL Young is a threat to take it to the house on every play. Teams don't have to worry about that with guys like Leinart.

Therefore I don't think the loss of Henry will hurt the Titans that much because White will simply step in and put up the same numbers. PacMan on the other hand was a playmaker and not having him will seriously impact that defense but most of the prognosticators will have already have taken that into account and preseason expectations for the Titans will be lowered.

 

[cardsfanmd]

Here's a perfect example: On one play that I've saved Young was getting ready to hand off to Henry when the DT had a clear shot at blowing up the play but the DT hesitated, to make sure that Young didn't keep the ball and run with it, just long enough for Henry to slip by the DT and pick up several yards.

Plus anytime the defense has to "spy" a QB or keep guys outside in contain mode they naturally don't have as many guys available for close pursuit on the RB. Unlike all but probably one other QB in the NFL Young is a threat to take it to the house on every play. Teams don't have to worry about that with guys like Leinart.

Therefore I don't think the loss of Henry will hurt the Titans that much because White will simply step in and put up the same numbers. PacMan on the other hand was a playmaker and not having him will seriously impact that defense but most of the prognosticators will have already have taken that into account and preseason expectations for the Titans will be lowered.

I see your point and can agree w/ it to some extent, but there is just no way you can give all of the credit to Young. Since you watch them and I guess keep up with the team a bit then you must remember last year when the veterans of the team had to make a meeting w/ Fisher to beg for him to play Henry. He started the season in Fisher's doghouse and if you remember, all the carries were going to the team's other two backs in the first few games. There had to be some reasoning behind the fact that his teamates felt he was the best man for the job.

My point in the beginning was that Henry is a good fit for the Bronco offense and will improve their rushing attack over last year. I still firmly believe that and look for him to hit 1,500 yards this year barrring injury.

 

[BigRedRage]

Just seems drastic for a team in Texas named the Texans, no less, to have their games dropped in favor of a team in Memphis. I dunno.

Gotcha. VY is big in Texas tho