OT: Most Improved Team, Fastest Falling Team?

bostonia3333 said:

Most overhyped and overrated team: Philadelphia Eagles--Disagree. The D is wicked, Westbrook and McNabb (before Vick) were formidable. They might not be my favorite to win the Conference, but they are not overrated.

Most improved teams: 1. Minnesota--this is pretty obvious. Obvious maybe until early November. After that, I doubt it after Favre does his predictable swoon and drags the vikings with him for the last five or six weeks of the season because Childress doesn't have the cojones to bench him.
2. New England--- The Pats were not the best TEAM in 2007, they had the best offense of all time--the defense was bailed out in several games and was often overlooked. I'm not getting into your 2007 comments here. But any team that didn't make the Playoffs in 2008 and wins the next SB, as the Pats will, is "Most Improved" by default.

The team that no one wants to play in the playoffs: Dallas Cowboys--they have nothing to lose--not many are predicting a playoff berth for this squad. Let's not put the Boys in the Playoffs yet. And I think once the Pats get into the Playoffs, they are the team that no one wants to play, whether they got there 16--0 or 9--7 as a Wildcard.

The team that concerns me most as a Pats fan: Indianapolis--Nah, it's the Steelers now until proven otherwise, unless you're talking about the "game" that most concerns you.

Worst team in NFL: Denver Broncos Too early to agree, but they're working on it. Right now I'd give the honor to the Lions or Rams...maybe the Raiders.
Best team in NFL: Patriots Well, duh!
MVP of NFL: Adrian Peterson Hard to argue except I think Tommy might be in the mix by the end of the year.
Defensive player of Year: Jerod Mayo A little homer there, I think. Maybe in a year or two, but hope you're right.
Coach of the Year: Sean Payton I'm going to default at all times to Belichick on this one before a season begins, as he is the greatest Coach in the league.
Super Bowl: Pats over Saints

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Pats over Giants or Eagles.


Please see underlined above

borg said:

Most improved:
+ 8 games
From 11 wins last year to 19 wins this year
Your New England Patriots

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I don't know if this year's squad will do better than a 18-1 record in 2007, but I do think this year's team may be even better, more balanced, and have more depth at each spot than we did in 2007.

maverick4 said:

I don't know if this year's squad will do better than a 18-1 record in 2007, but I do think this year's team may be even better, more balanced, and have more depth at each spot than we did in 2007.

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Same here. It's like the old Dolphins fans (and some players) that say that the 1972 season was the best season, but the 1973 squad was better. If that makes any sense (remember that it IS coming from Dolphin fans).

maverick4 said:

I don't know if this year's squad will do better than a 18-1 record in 2007, but I do think this year's team may be even better, more balanced, and have more depth at each spot than we did in 2007.

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I would agree with you. I've always considered the 2007 team flawed - supremely talented in the passing game, but unbalanced offensively and defensively. The 2003 team had the best defense, 2004 the most balanced offense. I'm hoping this year's team will have nearly as potent a passing game as 2007, nearly as good a running game as 2004, and nearly as good a defense as 2003.

mayoclinic said:

I would agree with you. I've always considered the 2007 team flawed - supremely talented in the passing game, but unbalanced offensively and defensively. The 2003 team had the best defense, 2004 the most balanced offense. I'm hoping this year's team will have nearly as potent a passing game as 2007, nearly as good a running game as 2004, and nearly as good a defense as 2003.

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Wow, that's asking a lot. However, if that happens, they're unstoppable.

Most Improved Team

New England Patriots by default. Other than the Eagles, they're the only team that has made the most moves this off season to improve their team. The reason why I didn't give it too the Eagles is because the Pats did a lot more on both sides of the ball. While picking up 2 second rounders for 2010, not only did the Pats add two CB's in free agency, but drafted a safety, CB and NT/DE in the early rounds of the draft. Also, the addition of Fred Taylor, Chris Baker, Joey Gallaway and Alex Smith tremendously improves the depth at RB, WR and TE. Last but not least, the Pats made a big trade for Derrick Burgess to improve the pass rush.

Fastest Falling Team

I've said it before and I will say it again, it's the Indianapolis Colts. How the hell did they win 12 games last season? Maverick4 said it best, they pulled 3 of those wins out of their a** and would've lost to New England if it weren't for David Thomas. In addition, they have done pretty much the exact opposite of what New England has done in the off season. Because players continue to get bigger and stronger, the Colts philosophy is quickly becoming outdated (small but fast players flying to the ball). Historically, the Colts have struggled against power running teams and get gashed on occasion against the run. Also, who knows if Bob Sanders can stay healthy? His kamikaze style of play has caught up to him. Other than Freeny, Mathis and Sanders (when he actually plays), their defense shouldn't scare anybody.

Offensively, the Colts can't run block for s*** and Wayne can't stretch the field. While they have a great trio of receivers (Wayne, Gonzalez and Clark), it will take forever for them to score. Did you notice how difficult it was for the Colts to score last season? Expect the same this season. The Colts are the Atlanta Braves of the NFL - Always win the division and get bounced early in the playoffs. The window has shut!

Re: OT Most Improved Team, Fastest Falling Team?

BradyFTW! said:

Biggest step up: could very well be the Pats. Could be the Packers. I could see Houston turning some heads too if Schaub can stay healthy.

Biggest fall: Cardinals, Chargers, and Dolphins will all be significantly worse than they were last year, IMO. I also don't buy that the Titans will be fine without Haynesworth. They might be, but saying that that isn't a huge loss is dumb.

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What are you on? - The Chargers will be significantly worse than last year?

Who do you think will win that division,the Chiefs?

Chargers will EASILY win 10 games and probably more

Re: OT Most Improved Team, Fastest Falling Team?

Synovia said:

I'm unconvinced. Cutler is better than Favre in pretty much every possible rate stat.
YPA Comp% Int% Sack% Rate
Cutler: 7.4 62.5 3.03% 4.18% 87.1
Favre: 7.0 61.6 3.40% 5.05% 85.4

And for those of you advanced stats guys, Cutler has a career DVOA of +16.9%.



He's better in pretty much every category I check, and he hasn't even hit his prime yet. And if you compare it to just Favre's first 3 years, Cutler absolutely destroys him.

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Cutler is a turd in a toiletbowl... Kyle Orton will put up better stats.

Synovia said:

This really aggravates me, and I think casts light on the Fantasy Football Generation of fans.


Adrian Peterson may be the best pure runner in the NFL, but hes not even close to being the best RB, and won't be until he can learn to pass block and can catch more consistently.

If I were a GM, and was allowed to pick one running back, for one year (so age is not a concern), there are a handful of guys I would pick before AP:

Clinton Portis
Ladanian Thomlinson
Matt Forte
Thomas Jones
Deangelo Williams
Marion Barber
Steven Jackson


Theres probably a couple more. All can block. All can catch. All run well. None of them run as well as Peterson, but the overall package is better.

That, and none of them fumble 10 times a year.

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This is ridiculous. LT at this point? Thomas Jones, seriously? Forte has had one good year, and even then wasn't anywhere in AP's universe. Jackson is an injury prone baby. Has Barber ever played 16 games (and let's not act like he's better than AP in the receiving game). Williams, maybe, and Portis, well at least I see the case but still no.

Rising teams: Green Bay and Cincinnati.

The Packers finished 6-10 last year despite having a point differential of +39. Rodgers has a full year under his belt as starter and the defense has, IMO, done a very nice job installing some key parts in order to run a 3-4. I think the Pack will take advantage of a weak division that hasn't necessarily gotten stronger despite bringing in some big names.

The Bengals finished last season something like 4-1-1 despite lining up Ryan Fitzpatrick at center. They have Palmer back and throwing to Ochocinco, Coles and Henry. They've quitely built a very strong defense. I don't see Cincy as a playoff team, but I think they outperform some of the more hyped wildcard contenders like Houston and the Jets.

Falling teams: Denver and Tampa

The Broncos offseason has been a total trainwreck. They have a bottom 5 quarterback and failed to add some necessary pieces to run their 3-4 (unless you think LeKevin Smith is starting potential). If you look at the Broncos roster, they have very few pieces to build around. This team's at risk of finishing with a top 5 draft pick (which of course they traded to Seattle, D'oh).

Tampa just looks to me to be one of the weakest rosters going. They kept too many guys around too long and their recent draft picks have not been world beaters. We have Leftwich throwing to Bryant, handing off to Ernest Graham, behind a line that has just lost a starting tackle. A defense that generates zero pass rush. A coach who seems in over his head. This team sucks.

Falling:
Colts had a lot of turnover and Manning is already throwing his team under the bus even before the season starts. They will start slow, and maybe able to pick it up the pieces at the end of the season. They are in a strong division so they may not even make the playoffs this year.

Honorable mention: Giants, Dolphins

Rising:
Bills seem to have all the pieces to make the playoffs. They just need to get their OL in order.

Honorable Mention: Lions (getting just one win will be the biggest improvement of any team all year)

Tampa Bay is definitely falling fast. They should go with McCown but it looks like they aren't going to.

I like Cincy just based on Palmer being back. They need RB play though... Benson isn't it. Maybe B.Leonard steps it up.

Also, I have liked the Saints' chances for years now and I can't mention us in an "OT" thread

Most improved: Detroit (Nowhere but up)

Fastest falling: Cincinnati (Remember when they were looked at as an SB contender a few years back)

most improved over last year; fastest falling compared to last year

Minny and Indy

What's the over/under on games when Manning starts taking shots at his own team? I say 3.

Seels said:

This is ridiculous. LT at this point? Thomas Jones, seriously? Forte has had one good year, and even then wasn't anywhere in AP's universe. Jackson is an injury prone baby. Has Barber ever played 16 games (and let's not act like he's better than AP in the receiving game). Williams, maybe, and Portis, well at least I see the case but still no.

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Again, I'm not saying any of them run better than Peterson, they don't. But none of those guys need to be taken out of the game on passing downs.