Hello World,
We are now going through the teams that are on the precipice of the playoffs. If things fall right for them they will in the postseason, but a bad bounce of a ball or a wrong call not challenged, they will be at home watching from their bedrooms. As these teams could be surprising us this season in a good way or a bad way, this will make it very exciting for us fans.
The Mirage
15.New York Jets 9-7
This was an unbalanced offseason for the Jets this year. On one hand they brought in Todd Bowles from Arizona, Brandon Marshall from Chicago, Derelle Revis from New England and drafted very well getting Leonard Williams in the 1st round as well as Bryce Petty. But on the other hand firstly Sheldon Richardson got suspended recently, then seemingly with that behind them Geno Smith their starting quarterback gets his jaw broken by a teammate and is being replaced by Ryan Fitzpatrick to start the season. Ultimately I have the Jets this high due to my hope that their defence will be top 3 in the NFL and will be able to generate points when the offence can’t, leading them to a few victories but I don’t think the Jets will be reaching the postseason just yet.
14. Baltimore Ravens 9-7
This season the Ravens will finish with a winning record again. But unfortunately not make it into the playoffs due to the strength of their division with the Steelers and the Bengals. This is going to happen as they don’t possess a tight end of any caliber as security blanket over the middle for Joe Flacco as Dennis Pitta is on IR at the moment. Also on defence their best players from last season Suggs and Dumervil are getting older so their performance might drop off a bit leaving you to think where are the sacks going to come from this season. But having young performing players such as Timmy Jernigan, CJ Mosley and Breshad Perriman should give Ravens fans plenty of hope for years to come.
13. Detroit Lions 10-6
The Lions this year as recent years are loaded with weapons on both sides of the ball, such as Calvin Johnson, Deandre Levey and Golden Tate. So they will reach double digit wins this year as their defence which was in the top 2 overall last year has kept the majority of the players that made it great at wrecking havoc all last season. But it rests on Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson who apart from the 5000 yard and 1900 yard season in 2012 haven’t I believe been on the same wave length since then with one either injured or inconsistent as the other isn’t and then visa versa. I see it being extremely tight in the NFC NORTH apart from “da bears” so it could fall either way for the men in Detroit.
12. Cincinnati Bengals 10-6
It’s been the same old story for the Bengals for the last four seasons; they reach the playoffs and lose in the wildcard game. This season I see it being no different, even if they have a healthy AJ Green, Geno Atkins and Jeremy Hill who are all exceptional talents and Pro Bowl caliber. It’s because they have Andy Dalton at quarterback, the Red Rifle is known for melting in big games watched by millions so when this season they reach the playoffs with one of the most creative offensives in football this season because of such players as Jeremy Hill, AJ Green, Marvin Jones, Gio Bernard, Mohamed Sanu and Tyler Efiert. Don’t expect anything different from a Hugh Jackson led team, just warning you people!
11. Minnesota Vikings 10-6
The Vikings this offseason have been the media darling with many people and experts generating speed on their hype train. I agree with the experts. When you have Adrian Peterson on your team anything is possible, but to have him along with Charles Johnson, Mike Wallace, Kyle Rudolph and Teddy Bridgewater in his second year. You suddenly realise the upside this team has and why it could go far. But this year I have them improving their record and being at the door of the playoffs but not being able to break it down. As injuries hit a team at any point in the season, I don’t believe the Vikings have a deep enough roster to cope when it will hit them. So I in my eyes this organisation needs another year to fully get into character before becoming a team that can run into the playoffs and succeed.
10. Miami Dolphins 10-6
The Dolphins this offseason have brought in names such as Ndamukong Suh, Kenny Stills and Jordan Cameron. As the Dolphins already have a quarterback in Ryan Tannehill that has been steadily improving each of his seasons as a starter in this league with up and coming second year players such as Lamar Miller and Jarvis Landry and they have names on defence such as Cameron Wake and Brent Grimes. As Tom Brady will be suspended for four games leaving the Patriots probably behind Miami it seems like the time Dolphins fans have waiting for and a chance to get back into the playoffs.They will need Bill Lazor to stoke up a fiery, productive offence for Miami to prosper this year and just restrain Joe Philban from much work at all to help Miami this year.
9. Dallas Cowboys 10-6
As with every offseason, every year the Cowboys have been the talk of the town whether it’s been Dez and his contract, Romo and his back surgery, Jerry Jones in the draft or their running back situation. As Offensive Player of the year last season Demarco Murrary left to join the Philadelphia Eagles, the Cowboys using all of their wit and knowledge, decided to bring in Darren McFadden to battle it out with Joseph Randle and Lance Dunbar, for the starting role. Now these names don’t strike fear into a defensive coordinator’s mind like an Adrian Peterson or a LeSean McCoy. This now takes away the one element that made Dallas a contender, a solid running game to take the pressure of Tony Romo in the passing game, so he doesn’t have to force throws late in games to get Dallas the win. As they have the best offensive line and one of the top 5 wide receivers, Dallas will go far this season and who knows how it will finish!
rileynfl 