The 2010 NFL season is set to get underway on Thursday night as the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints get set to begin their title defense against Brett Farve, Adrian Peterson, and the rest of the Minnesota Vikings. As we get set for another season of football, it’s time to take a look around the league and evaluate how your favorite team will fare in 2010:
Buffalo Bills
The Good: The defense returns several young players highlighted by LB Paul Posluszny and FS Jairus Byrd. Posluszny enters the season looking for his third straight 100 tackle year. The Bills also have a lot of depth at RB including CJ Spiller, Marshawn Lynch, and Fred Jackson.
The Bad: The loss of DE Aaron Schobel will hurt an already poor pass rush. QB Trent Edwards has yet to show that he can be a competent starter in the NFL. The WR corps is very poor behind Lee Evans. Although Gailey has a great offensive mind, several question his ability to be a good head coach. The loss of Special Teams coach Bobby April could be a big blow.
Bold Prediction: Rookie RB CJ Spiller will hit the ground running in 2010 and will be the best RB to grace a Bills jersey since Thurman Thomas.
The Verdict: Gailey will bring a much stronger offensive formula to Buffalo but there simply isn’t enough talent on the roster to realistically compete in the tough AFC East. The Bills will be lucky to reach 5 wins on the season.
Miami Dolphins
The Good: The Dolphins have an outstanding rushing attack led by Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. They also went out and added star WR Brandon Marshall to their receiving corps. Chad Henne will be the full time starter and he has a ton of weapons at his disposal. Karlos Dansby will be a major upgrade over Joey Porter at linebacker. Second year corners Sean Smith and Vontae Davis should be better after getting a ton of experience during their rookie years.
The Bad: The Dolphins rush defense was very poor last year. While the newly acquired Dansby should help against the run it is still an area in question for Miami. The secondary is a big issue and although their corners are more experienced, neither seems game changing. Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams are another year older and both have had injury issues in the past. Henne has shown promise but is he capable of being an elite QB at the NFL level?
Bold Prediction: Chad Henne will throw for over 3,200 and 20 TDs on the season.
The Verdict: Tony Sparano and Bill Parcells have done an outstanding job putting this roster together but there is simply too much talent in their division. Henne and the rest of the offense should be improved from their 2009 stint, but the defense still has too many question marks. While Miami will be in the thick of things throughout the year, they will ultimately fall short of the playoffs.
New England Patriots
The Good: Tom Brady is still one of the best QBs in the NFL and now that he is two years removed from his ACL injury, the rest of the league better watch out. The combination of both Brady and WR Randy Moss playing in their contract years is a very scary thought to opposing defenses. NT Vince Wilfork is an absolute star in the middle of the defensive line. The Patriots have a very good special teams unit highlighted by K Stephen Gostkowski. New England also has outstanding coaching.
The Bad: The Patriots have several question marks on the defensive side of the ball due to age and lack of experience. DE Ty Warren is out for the season with a hip injury. New England will be starting an extremely young secondary including 2nd year CB Darius Butler and S Pat Chung. Behind Moss, there are question marks at WR with Wes Welker just 7 months removed from tearing an ACL and veteran Torry Holt out for the season.
Bold Prediction: Rookie TE Rob Gronkowski will have a big year and quickly become one of Brady’s favorite targets.
The Verdict: While many people are talking about the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins in the AFC East, I still feel it is the Patriots division to lose. With Brady returning to health New England will be right in the thick of things deep into the playoffs.
New York Jets
The Good: Arguably the best defense in the entire NFL made significant improvements this offseason which is a very scary thought. The Jets went out and added CB Antonio Cromartie and first round pick Kyle Wilson to their secondary as well as long time Miami Dolphin Jason Taylor to their front seven. CB Darrelle Revis has signed a long term extension and is arguably the best corner in football. Kris Jenkins returns to the lineup after tearing his ACL last October. Bart Scott and David Harris form an outstanding duo at inside linebacker and Jim Leonhard is a great coverage safety. Offensively, the Jets significantly upgraded their receiving corps by bringing in former Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes and all-time great RB LaDainian Tomlinson. 2nd year RB Shonn Greene seems poised for a breakout season. The offensive line is an elite group featuring pro bowlers D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold. The Jets even have great fullbacks in long time veteran Tony Richardson and rookie John Conner out of Kentucky. Rex Ryan is one of the top defensive minds and young head coaches in football.
The Bad: The Jets lost a lot of leadership from last year’s team including G Alan Faneca, RB Thomas Jones, and RB Leon Washington. 2nd year G Matt Slauson has big shoes to fill in Faneca’s footsteps. New York has a lot of big personalities in their locker room and they will need new players to step up as leaders to keep it in check. QB Mark Sanchez has a tremendous amount of expectation on his shoulders. The Jets are expected to compete for a Super Bowl and it is assumed that Sanchez is ready to hit the ground running. Let’s not forget that this was a team that was 7-7 last season before the Indianapolis Colts and Cincinnati Bengals rested their starters the final two weeks of the season. Sanchez finished his rookie season with a 53.8% completion rate, 12 TDs and 20 interceptions. The Jets are going to need him to be a lot better in 2010 if they want to win a Super Bowl. Additionally, while the Jets have a tremendous amount of talent in their starting lineups, there is not a lot of depth on the roster. If a couple of key players get hurt, they could be in trouble.
Bold Prediction: LaDainian Tomlinson will have a bounce back season and will look like the LT of old.
The Verdict: Rex Ryan’s unit will have the best defense in all of football and an offense with a ton of talent but ultimately the Jets season will come down to Sanchez. People can argue that the Jets need him to simply manage the game but at some point down the line, he is going to have to make a big play. Is he capable of doing it? I think so. However, it is a lot different being the team that everyone is coming after rather than running under the radar. The Jets deserve to be in the discussion for the Super Bowl but in the end, I don’t think 2010 is their year.
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