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:
Houston Texans
The Good: The Texans have a vaunted passing attack highlighted by the Matt Schaub – Andre Johnson connection. Owen Daniels provides Schaub with a strong pass catching tight end. Houston also has a lot of talent on defense including DE Mario Williams, MLB DeMeco Ryans, WLB Zac Diles, and Bernard Pollard.
The Bad: SLB Brian Cushing is suspended for the first four games of the season. Losing CB Dunta Robinson will hurt the secondary. The Texans have several question marks on the defensive line and need Amobi Okoye to step up. With the season ending injury to RB Ben Tate, Houston has some uncertainty at running back. The offensive line needs to show it can improve in run blocking. The kicking game remains a question mark and Houston brought in former Cardinal Neil Rackers to try and sure up the situation.
Bold Prediction: Arian Foster will have a breakout season as the #1 RB for the Texans.
The Verdict: Houston took a huge step in 2009 posting their first winning season in franchise history. The Texans will take the next step in 2010 as they will make it to the postseason for the first time ever.
Indianapolis Colts
The Good: Peyton Manning remains one of the best QBs in all of football. The Colts have a great offensive attack highlighted by Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, and Joseph Addai. They also have great depth at WR with Pierre Garcon, Austin Collie, and a returning Anthony Gonzalez. Defensively Dwight Freeney is one of the top defensive ends in all of football.
The Bad: The defense still has issues. Besides Freeney, the defensive line has not done much but rookie Jerry Hughes out of TCU should provide a solid boost. The Colts run defense is poor and there remain several questions in the secondary.
Bold Prediction: WR Anthony Gonzalez will have a big year coming back from a torn ACL and will once again become one of Manning’s favorite targets.
The Verdict: There will be no Super Bowl losing hangover for this squad. Peyton Manning will lead the Colts to a 12+ win season for the 8th straight year and the playoffs for the 9th time in a row. Indy will be in the discussion to win it all once again.
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Good: Maurice Jones-Drew is one of the top all purpose running backs in football and Jacksonville has good talent and depth at cornerback.
The Bad: The offensive line has several question marks and is very young. The WR corps does not pose much of a threat to opposing defenses. The front four on defense was abysmal in 2009 but should be slightly improved with the additions of Aaron Kampman and rookie Tyson Alualu. The Jaguars have major question marks and a lack of depth at LB and S.
Bold Prediction: Jones Drew will not make it through the season due to his injured knee.
The Verdict: It is going to be a very rough year for the Jaguars. They have a lot of young players on their squad but there is just simply not enough talent. This will be David Garrard’s last season as a starter and head coach Jack Del Rio might be served his walking papers by the end of 2010.
Tennessee Titans
The Good: After starting 0-6 in 2009 the Titans finished their final ten games with an 8-2 record. Chris Johnson comes back motivated for a new contract after his record breaking season and Vince Young will be the starter at QB from day one. The Titans have the best rushing attack in football behind a strong offensive line.
The Bad: Tennessee has a pedestrian group of WRs led by Kenny Britt, Nate Washington, and Justin Gage. While they can certainly run the ball the options on the outside for Young are limited. Defensively the Titans allowed more yards than any team in the AFC last season and lost LB Keith Bulluck and DE Kyle Vanden Bosch in the offseason. Even if Tennessee is able to reacquire DT Albert Haynesworth from Washington, they are still going to have to rely on a ton of youth on defense. Chris Johnson had 408 touches last season and the history for running backs the year after they have 400 touches is not good.
Bold Prediction: Johnson comes way down to earth and doesn’t come close to his 2,500 yard prediction.
The Verdict: Jeff Fisher’s team will surprise a lot of people this year and Tennessee will be in playoff contention until the very end of the season. However their defense and lack of an aerial threat will be their ultimate downfall.
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