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:
Atlanta Falcons
The Good: At the start of the 2010 season, the Atlanta Falcons are healthy. Coming off of an injury plagued 2009, Atlanta looks to build upon the progress the team made two seasons ago. QB Matt Ryan is entering his third NFL season and seems poised to take the next step in his career. RB Michael Turner is healthy once again and WR Roddy White and TE Tony Gonzalez give the Falcons several weapons on offense. The Falcons bolstered their defense by adding rookie LB Sean Weatherspoon and prized free agent CB Dunta Robinson should greatly help the secondary.
The Bad: Behind Roddy White the Falcons have very little depth at WR. Rookie WR Kerry Meier went down with a season ending knee injury during training camp. Additionally, the defensive line has several question marks. The Falcons will need John Abraham to have a bounce back season and former 1st rounder Jamaal Anderson to elevate his play if they want to get any push up front. A defense that ranked towards the bottom of the league last year will need several young players to have breakout years in order to have a successful year.
Bold Prediction: Matt Ryan will make his first pro bowl appearance and Michael Turner will be a top five fantasy player this season.
The Verdict: If the Falcons remain healthy they will improve upon their 9-7 record last season and be back in the playoffs.
Carolina Panthers
The Good: Carolina returns an absolutely outstanding rushing attack highlighted by the combination of Deangelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. LB Jon Beason will lead a young and hungry defense into the season. The Panthers also have good depth on their offensive line and in their secondary. Most importantly Jake Delhomme is no longer wearing a Panthers uniform.
The Bad: The Panthers lost star DE Julius Peppers to the Chicago Bears during free agency. The defensive line enters the season with major question marks. Young QB Matt Moore has yet to prove he can be a long term solution at QB and rookie Jimmy Claussen is not ready for the bright lights of Sunday. Carolina has little depth at WR and TE.
Bold Prediction: Jonathan Stewart will finish the 2010 season as the primary RB ahead of Deangelo Williams.
The Verdict: Many people forget that the Panthers are just one season removed from a 12-4 year in which they went 8-0 at home. Ultimately Carolina is somewhere in between their records over the past two season. Look for the Panthers to be right in the playoff hunt at the end of 2010.
New Orleans Saints
The Good: The defending Super Bowl Champions return almost all of the firepower that made them one of the top offenses in football last season. QB Drew Brees is a star and he has a tremendous amount of talent around him at the skill positions including WR Marques Colston, WR Robert Meachem, TE Jeremy Shockey, RB Pierre Thomas, and RB Reggie Bush. The secondary is very strong with Jabari Greer and Tracy Porter manning the corner positions. K Garrett Harley has one of the strongest legs in all of football. Head coach Sean Payton and Defensive Coordinator Greg Williams highlight one of the best coaching staffs in football.
The Bad: The Saints lost LB Scott Fujita to free agency which will slightly hurt their LB corps. There is also a belief among many in sports that you should never come back with the same team you had in place from the year before. 21 of the 22 starters on the Super Bowl team will be on the field Week 1 for the Saints. Will there be a Super Bowl hangover for New Orleans?
Bold Prediction: WR Marques Colston will atop 1,200 receiving yards and score over 10 touchdowns on the season.
The Verdict: The Saints come marching into 2010 looking to become the first back to back Super Bowl Champion since the 2004-2005 New England Patriots and the first in the NFC since the 1993-1994 Dallas Cowboys. The firepower and talent is in place but there is a big difference between being the hunter and the hunted. While the Saints will have a very successful season, it will not end with Brees hoisting his second Lombardi trophy.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Good: First round pick DT Gerald McCoy should become the face of the Bucs defense. McCoy will be teamed with fellow rookie DT Brian Price to form a young tandem that the Bucs hope is dominant for years to come. QB Josh Freeman is heading into his second NFL season and should improve upon his rookie year.
The Bad: The Bucs have no starting caliber WRs on their roster and a shaky running game at best. The offensive line is still work in progress and there is no guarantee that Freeman is the long term answer at QB. Tampa’s defensive ends are among the worst in football and their secondary is among the worst in the game. Their special teams are awful as well. It is still uncertain whether second year head coach Raheem Morris is qualified to be running an NFL team.
Bold Prediction: The Bucs will finish with the worst record in the NFL.
The Verdict: The Bucs will be one of the worst teams in the NFL and should have a high enough draft pick in 2011 to add another franchise type player.
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