Apr 25, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Miami Dolphins fans cheer after Deon Jordan (Oregon) is introduced as the number three overall pick to the Dolphins during the 2013 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
***WARNING*** I MAY NOT COVER EVERY TEAM IN THE LEAGUE! BUT IF YOU WISH TO COMMENT IN THE SECTION BELOW EITHER ON YOUR OPINION ABOUT TEAMS I MENTION OR HAVEN’T MENTIONED OR STANDINGS/WILD CARD PREDICTIONS. PLEASE DO SO. THANK YOU.
I remember constantly asking myself at least 100 times the Monday after the Super Bowl, “Has the season started yet?” and staring at the calendar counting down the days til the draft. Now, we are just a month away from Pre-Season and the regular season is just in reach.
Ladies and Gentlemen! Around 60 or so days til the 2013 NFL Season begins! Who’s excited? Now. last season to me was a pretty exciting year, my Chicago Bears didn’t make the playoffs but as a fan of the league itself it, the year was pretty entertaining. We seen the return of Peyton Manning, but in a Broncos uniform and the debut of Peyton’s replacement in Indy, being Andrew Luck.
The Indianapolis Colts last season totally took me by surprise. After they were manhandled in the opening week by my Chicago Bears (Bear Down!), I thought they were going to have another 2-14 season. But as time went on, they had come from behind victory after come from behind victory and really showed this league that this team was for real. They did pretty awesome considering they had a bunch of new guys on their roster and for the first time in a long time, a new starting quarterback. The team pulled together and what seemed to be movie like, with head coach Chuck Pagano being diagnosed with Leukemia and reaching the playoffs after a terrible season last year and fresh faces.
Speaking of new quarterbacks, 3 possible future elite quarterbacks emerged in the NFC last season. One being drafted, pretty much having the starting spot in his pocket, the other 2 pretty much coming out of no where and putting themselves in the spotlight. Robert Griffin III had an amazing season, a guy who I watched in his last year in college, I knew he was going to do big things in the league where ever he may have landed.
RG3 is exactly what this Washington Redskins franchise needed, a fresh young mobile quarterback who had the ability and speed to get away from defenders if the pocket collapsed. Of course he had help with fellow rookie running back Alfred Morris who rushed for over 1,000 yards and having 13 touchdowns his first year, really gave this team a 1-2 punch. A team with the right pieces, should be a top free agent destination for players who want to win Super Bowls, that’s right I said it, Super Bowls. If this team can stay together and continue their play from last year, improve on some things, not only will this team remain a favorite in the NFC East and or NFC for a long time.
The other two quarterbacks of course are Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson. Two guys who have a lot on their plate this year as their teams are in the same division, should have a tight close race for that division crown. In pretty much a lop sided division, the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers look to be the only ones as of right now, to be the favorites to win the NFC West and lock up 1 of the 2 Wild Card spots.
Both squads added some new talent, Percy Harvin being a key addition in Seattle and Super Bowl Champion Anquan Boldin being in San Francisco. The 2 times these teams will match up should be classic smash mouth football, that could have tons of stats depending on how their defenses perform. With having 2 of the top defenses and offenses in the league, both teams could easily reach 10+ wins this season. We just have to remember that injuries do happen in this league and no one and I mean no one is safe from an injury. Unless you roll around in a bubble or have bullet proof glass protection like the Pope.
Now there are a few teams in this league who look as if they are on their way to being consistent playoff contenders. Of course the Washington Redskins, Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers, but I’m talking about teams like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Minnesota Vikings, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs and last but not least the Cincinnati Bengals. Now if you haven’t seen any of my post draft articles, I am pretty high on the Bengals right now.
I just think they have the right quarterback in Andy Dalton and have their star wide receiver in A.J. Green, both guys who are young pro bowl caliber players who are the future of this team. They added veteran linebacker James Harrison to their mix of athletic defensive players and drafted a solid tight end in Tyler Eifert who I think could be a pro bowl player in his first few seasons.
I am breaking down this subject into two articles, so if you wish to continue to Part 2, please click here and continue on reading.