The Saints have Drew Brees back in the fold after signing him to a massive contract in the off-season, but can they get over the Bountygate scandal? Head coach Sean Payton is suspended for the season, as is one of the leaders on defense in Jonathan Vilma.
The Bucs were a mess last season and one of the main reasons they were 4-12 is that production of QB Josh Freeman. After the 2010 season he established himself as a future star with 25 TD and only 6 INT, but last season he only had 16 TD and a whopping 22 INT.
The Panthers landed the QB they have been looking for in Cam Newton, who had a great rookie season passing for over 4,000 yards. DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart are a great RB duo and Newton is already a star, but can the Panthers’ defense, which ranked 24th against the pass and 25th against the run, improve?
Once again the Falcons made the playoffs last season, but flamed out in the playoffs. Matt Ryan leads a great pass offense and the rushing offense is solid, but the defense may be an issue again this season in Atlanta.
2012 Atlanta Falcons Team Preview /Predictions
2011 Record: 10-6
ATS Record: 7-8-1
2012 Falcons Futures
Super Bowl Odds: 25-1
Conference Odds: 12-1
NFC South Odds: +140
2012-2013 NFL Regular Season Wins: 9.5 wins
Ryan had a great campaign last season throwing for a career high in yards and he has one of the most explosive WR’s in the game in Julio Jones and Roddy White, who has 215 catches in the last 2 seasons. Jones had some injuries last season and with White no spring chicken Jones has to step up this season. On top of that White led all WR’s last season in drops (15).
Ryan still has the ageless Tony Gonzalez at TE and the Falcons’ pass offense may be on of the best in the league this upcoming season.
Michael Turner had 1,340 rushing yards last season, but struggled down the stretch with only 1 game in his last 7 averaging more than 3.6 yards per carry. Jacquizz Rodgers has to help him out and these guys are the only legit rushers for the Falcons. The offensive line is a good one and they drafted OT Peter Konz in the 2nd round and he was a projected first round pick.
The Falcons’ defense got a big shot in the off-season when Atlanta landed free agent Asante Samuel and he will be counted on to anchor a pass defense that only ranked 20th in the league last season. William Moore is a solid SS, but he has missed 18 games in his 3 years in the league.
While Samuel was a big free name addition this season last season’s addition in Ray Edwards was a bust. He only had 3.5 sacks last season and he has to put more pressure on the QB this season, especially if the secondary struggles again. John Abraham had 9.5 sacks last season, but he is 34 and can he repeat that performance?
Overall, the Falcons’ run defense was pretty solid last season ranking 8th in the league. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The one big loss for Atlanta was Curtis Lofton, who led the team in tackles last season and he left in free agency. He will be missed and to throw salt in the wound he signed with NFC South rival New Orleans.
As a Falcons’ starter Matt Ryan is 26-5 in the Georgia Dome, but he needs to get it done in the playoffs, which he has not been able to do.
Besides the Saints and the Giants the Falcons do not have a tough home schedule, but they have a tough away schedule, obviously, facing the Saints in the Big Easy as well as the Chiefs, Chargers, Redskins, Eagles, and Lions.
Since the Falcons gave up so much a little over a year ago to get Jones they did not have a first round pick and they used their 2nd and 3rd round picks to upgrade their offensive line.
Atlanta has the pass offense and Turner is a solid back, but there are still questions for the Falcons. Can Samuel and Edwards play up to potential and help the defense? Can the Falcons’ pass defense keep legit opposing legit QB’s from shredding them? And the big question is can Ryan finally lead the Falcons to any post-season success?
Place they’ll finish in NFC South 2nd
Place they’ll finish in NFC Conference: 6th
Over/Under Wins Prediction: Over
The Kansas City Chiefs were the only team in the AFC West last year that failed to finish 8-8, due in large part to several key injuries that saw them slide all the way from playoff contenders to basement dwellers.
The San Diego Chargers were a tale of two teams a year ago, and unlike in recent years, actually won four of their first five games. That lead to three separate streaks during their season, and after a six game mid season slide, the Bolts ended the season with a 3-1 run.
The Oakland Raiders should have been a playoff team a year ago. They were in a great spot with a 7-4 record with five games left in the season, and then they just collapsed. Losing four of their last five, including the season finale at home versus the Chargers, and missing the postseason once again.
Seattle looked like a budding playoff team for the last eight games in 2011. They went 5-3 during that span, and did not lose a game by more than six points. They also picked up a win over a very strong Baltimore team during that stretch, so this team has the talent needed to make a run.
The Rams had a forgettable 2011. The team won just two games, and the only thing that can make that worse, is the fact that things don’t look a whole lot better for the 2012 season either.
The 49ers finally got it right last year, and because of that, many people (including their biggest critics) will be expecting them to be back in the hunt again this coming season.
The Cardinals had a pretty up and down season a year ago, and a little more consistency under center could do wonders for this team’s playoff aspirations in the 2012-2013 season.
You won’t see many playoff teams make as big of a change as the Broncos made this past off-season.
They traded the quarterback that seemingly orchestrated their playoff run a season ago, and signed a guy that didn’t take a single snap in the 2011 season.
I love this time of year. The NFL training camps are kicking off, and football is right around the corner. One of the most exciting aspects to being an NFL fan is predicting how the upcoming season will unfold.
Everyone has an opinion, and most are willing to share them.
The Cincinnati Bengals surprised a ton of people by getting to the playoffs last season. In fact, almost everyone expected the Bengals to be one of the worst teams in the NFL.
The Baltimore Ravens had a very successful season last year, but the 2012 NFL playoffs couldn’t have ended in more disappointing fashion. Lee Evans dropped a touchdown pass that would have won the game for the Ravens, and then Billy Cundiff shanked a 32-yard field goal. The Ravens ended up falling 23-20 to the New England Patriots.
The Cleveland Browns fans are as dedicated of a bunch as you will find. Unfortunately, the Dawg Pound hasn’t had anything to cheer about in quite some time. When Mike Holmgren came over to run the team a couple years ago, the expectations rose for this team.
