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:
Arizona Cardinals
The Good: The two time defending NFC West Champions return a lot of talented players headlined by WR Larry Fitzgerald. The Cardinals will likely rely on their running game more this season and have a solid young tandem of backs including Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower. Russ Grimm’s squad has a very strong offensive line that includes recently acquired G Alan Faneca. Defensively the Cardinals signed Pro Bowl DT Darnell Dockett to a 4-year extension and also acquired S Kerry Rhodes and LB Joey Porter to help bolster their defense.
The Bad: The Cardinals are a mess at the quarterback position. After losing Kurt Warner to retirement, Arizona fans hoped former 1st round pick Matt Leinart would be able to mature into a starting NFL quarterback. It didn’t even take a full offseason to realize that was not the case as the Cardinals cut the former USC star late last week. Arizona will rely on veteran QB Derek Anderson to regain his form from the 2007 season in which he threw for 3,787 yards and 29 TDs. If Anderson plays like he has the past two seasons, the Cardinals are in a lot of trouble. Rookies Max Hall and John Skeleton will back up Anderson. The Cardinals also lost several players in free agency including S Antrel Rolle and LB Karlos Dansby.
Bold Prediction: The loss of WR Anquan Boldin to the Ravens won’t be a big issue for the Cardinals as WR Steve Breaston and Early Doucet will help to replace Boldin’s production.
The Verdict: The Cardinals lost a lot of talent in the offseason and ultimately the downgrade from Kurt Warner to Derek Anderson will be too much to overcome. Rhodes and Porter are both slight downgrades from Rolle and Dansby. Arizona will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2007.
San Francisco 49ers
The Good: Patrick Willis is the best MLB in football today. The 49ers run defense is one of the top units in the game and will continue to get after the opposing QB. RB Frank Gore is a horse that San Francisco can count on for major production. TE Vernon Davis is coming off of a breakout season and WR Michael Crabtree should have a much better year after holding out for most of the 2009 preseason.
Bold Prediction: Michael Crabtree will have a breakout season and make his first bowl appearance. The 49ers will win their first division title in nearly a decade.
The Verdict: Head coach Mike Singletary has done a good job evaluating talent and changing the culture in SanFrancisco. In the weak NFC West, I expect the 49ers to win the division and have double digits in victories.
Seattle Seahawks
The Good: Seattle had a great draft back in April acquiring LT Russell Okung, FS Earl Thomas, and WR Golden Tate in the first two rounds. Additionally they traded for RB Leon Washington. Washington and RB Justin Forsett should provide Seattle with a strong rushing attack. TE John Carlson is a strong weapon on weapon. 2nd year LB Aaron Curry and returning LB Lofa Tatupu provide strong play on defense.
The Bad: Where to start? Head coach Pete Carroll proved he can be an elite college coach but can he handle it in the NFL? His first stint in New England would indicate that Carroll should stick to the collegiate level. Matt Hasselbeck is past his prime at this point and has trouble remaining healthy. Offensive line coach Alex Gibbs quit this past Saturday. The WRs have several question marks including former USC reclamation project Mike Williams. Defensively the Seahawks struggle mightily against the pass and did little to address the situation in the offseason.
Bold Prediction: QB Charlie Whitehurst will become the starter by midseason as Carroll panics due to early seasons struggles.
The Verdict: The NFC West is so poor that Seattle could win more games than they should but ultimately this is not a playoff team. Look for the Seahawks to finish in the 6-10 to 7-9 range in Carroll’s first year as coach.
St. Louis Rams
The Good: Rookie QB Sam Bradford is the new face of the franchise and has been named the starter for Week 1. Bradford has all the raw tools to become a great QB but will suffer through some growing pains this season. RB Stephen Jackson is one of the top runners in the game on a yearly basis. The LB corps should be improved with James Laurinaitis going into his 2nd season and Ba’il Diggs and Bobby Carpenter signing in the offseason.
The Bad: The season ending injury to WR Donnie Avery was a huge blow for the Rams passing attack. They will try to rely on players such as Brandon Graham and Danny Amendola but ultimately their is not a lot of talent in the receiving corps. St. Louis’s offensive line is very young and they will rely on rookie RT Roger Saffold and 2nd year LT Jason Smith to protect Bradford. The Rams secondary is also weak and they have to greatly improve upon their tackling from last season. St. Louis ranked 27th in the NFL a year ago in run defense. Head coach Steve Spagnuolo has his work cut out for him on the defensive side of the ball.
Bold Prediction: Shifty WR Danny Amendola will quickly become Bradford’s favorite target.
The Verdict: The Rams have won a COMBINED 6 games since the start of the 2007 season. They have a chance to reach that total this year. Bradford will struggle throughout the year but if he remains healthy, he will show flashes as to why he is the highest paid player in NFL history.
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