The NFL season has arrived. Games that actually matter will be starting soon. I would like to share my analysis of the five teams that I think are going to make the most noise this NFL season. New England Patriots The Patriots have arguably the best quarterback and coach in the league. With those two things in place the Patriots will always be in contention. The thing that makes the Patriots so dangerous is their offense. The combination of Gronkowski and Hernandez at TE causes an absolute nightmare for opposing defenses. Both can catch and block. Heck, Hernandez even ran for 61 yards against Denver last year in the playoffs. New England has one of the deepest WR corps in the league and added Brandon Lloyd in the off season. At running back the combination of Woodhead, Ridley, and Vereen will be getting the action in place of Green-Ellis who has moved on. The offensive line is more finesse than maulers but the running game is still effective. The achilles heel last year for the Patriots was their defense and that will be the main concern again going into this season. New England traded up twice in this past draft to land two players that they hope can pressure QB’s in Chandler Jones and Dont’a Hightower. The D-Line will have Vince Wilfork clogging up the middle making it tough for opposing teams to run against. The bottom line is the Patriots will again need to outscore the opposition. They still have a questionable pass rush and corners. But if the defense can come up with a big play here and there, they once again will be tough to beat. Green Bay Packers The Packers had an amazing 15-1 regular season last year but that was meaningless as they didn’t win a playoff game. The Pack will again have a dynamite offense lead by last year’s MVP, Aaron Rodgers. Cedric Benson and Jeff Saturday have been added in the off season to help bolster their running game. The wide receiving corps is deep and fast and lead by Greg Jennings. Much like the Patriots the Packers will need the defense to step up this year. The Packers D allowed 411.6 yards per game and 299.8 of that came through the air, which are both near the bottom of the league. The Pack also looked to the draft for help to help bolster their defense. Rookies Nick Perry, Jerel Worthy, and Casey Hayward will all be counted on this year. The Packers do have some big names on defense in Matthews and Woodson but will need more help. The bottom line is the Packers chose to play their worst game of the year last season in the NFC playoffs. If the defense can get back to their 2010 form they once again will be title contenders. Houston Texans The Texans come into this season as the favorites to win the NFC south. If the Texans had stayed healthy last season there is no telling how far they could have gone. An admirable job by 3rd string quarterback TJ Yates, forced to play due to injuries, lead them to a playoff victory and a close defeat to the Ravens in their next playoff game. If the offense can stay healthy this year, particularly QB Schaub, WR Johnson, and RB Foster they will be tough to beat. Johnson and Foster could be the best at their respective positions. As good as their offense looks their defense may be even better. The D finished last year 2nd in Total D and 4th in points allowed. They were 3rd against the pass and 4th against the rush and had 44 sacks. The defense did lose Mario Williams and DeMeco Ryans this past off season but I think too much is being made of this. Williams played only 5 games last year and Ryans is coming off of an Achilles’ tear. The linebackers are this team’s biggest strength with Cushing and Barwin (11.5 sacks last year) the anchors. The bottom line is the Texans are a very complete team offensively and defensively. If they stay healthy a title run is not out of the question. Philadelphia Eagles The Eagles struggled last season and this could be the make or break year for coach Andy Reid. This team has a lot of talent and this will be the first full offseason with Vick as the starting QB. The offseason should also help the defense get a better grasp of what D coordinator Juan Castillo wants from them as they struggled in the beginning of last season. The offense is loaded with speed at the skill positions and lead by all pro running back LeSean McCoy. Scoring points should not be a problem for this team. The big question mark on offense is who can replace Jason Peters along the O-line and can Vick stay healthy. Defensively the Eagles should be better. As I mentioned before this is the first full offseason they have to learn Castillo’s wide nine defensive approach. They also have added DeMeco Ryans even though he has struggled early. The bottom line with this team is they have talent on both sides of the ball. They had both a top 10 offense and defense last year. The big question for them is can they keep their quarterback healthy. If they can, it should be a good year. If they can’t, it could be another long season for Philly fans with major changes not far behind. San Francisco 49ers After nearly a decade of rough times for San Francisco they proved last year that they should be a power for years to come. Alex Smith had a breakthrough season for the 49ers last season as they finished the regular season at 13-3 under first year head coach Jim Harbaugh. The offense is lead by RB Frank Gore and TE Vernon Davis. The 49ers were busy this offseason as they added Brandon Jacobs, Mario Manningham, and Randy Moss in free agency. One thing they lacked last year was that explosive player that could take it all the way. They hope Moss can help in that area along with rookies AJ Jenkins and LaMichael James. The offensive line is very physical and look to keep their physical ground game going again this year. The 49ers might have the best defense in the league. The D-Line was first against the run last year and only gave up 77.3 yards per game on the ground and 3.5 yards per rush attempt. They are anchored by Justin Smith. The linebacking corps is the best in the league. Patrick Willis (former defensive player of the year), NaVarro Bowman (143 tackles), Aldon Smith (14 sacks), and Ahmad Brooks are all back. The secondary also returns intact lead by Carlos Rogers and Dashon Goldson. This unit finished 2nd in picks (23) and 5th in pass efficiency last season. The bottom line for the NFC West favorites this season is this: They need to improve their red zone offense. David Akers made 44 field goals last year but some of those will need to be touchdowns this season. The 49ers will not be catching anybody by surprise this season and play a tough schedule with road games at Green Bay, New Orleans, and New England. However, with another year under Harbaugh and an improving offense they should be included in the Super Bowl talk.
 

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