Top six teams to watch for this upcoming season

by Ryan Ebert

Every offseason teams do quite a few things to make their team better.  While the playoff teams such as New England, New Orleans, San Francisco and the Super Bowl champions New York Giants have made some noticeable signings, we'll be looking at teams that have the talent to advance into the playoffs, and teams that can elevate their game from last year.  The teams listed below look forward to an improved season and maybe get them to that next level.

#6 Carolina Panthers

Besides the X-factor in Cam Newton and the dynamic play he brings to that offense, Carolina will be getting a few players back this season.  Their leader on defense and one of the best at middle linebacker, Jon Beason will be healthy after playing in only one game last season, and fellow linebacker Thomas Davis will be back after playing in just two games last year.  With those two coming back the Panthers have five solid linebackers that include the two listed above with James Anderson, Jordan Senn (who put up 71 tackles in the injured linebackers absence) and rookie Luke Kuechly.  That defense could be a tough one if everyone stays healthy.

On the offensive side, Carolina added running back Mike Tolbert from San Diego who's likely to be used in short yardage situations, guard Mike Pollak, and tackle Bruce Campbell.  Pollak signed with the Panthers after playing four seasons in Indianapolis, and Campbell was traded over from Oakland for running back Mike Goodson.

I look for them to have a 9-7 season.

#5 Jacksonville Jaguars

Maurice Jones-Drew counted for just under 50% of the Jaguars offense last season, but let's take a look at what Jacksonville did this offseason.  They signed wide receiver Laurent Robinson, who exploded onto the scene when he caught 54 passes for 854 yards and hauled in 11 touchdowns for Dallas last year, Lee Evans, and Chad Henne.   While the latter two may not do much, Robinson and rookie Justin Blackmon should help out Gabbert and bring Mike Thomas to the slot where he is most effective.  The passing game was last in the NFL last year even behind the Tim Tebow led Broncos.  This time around they should have more than 136.2 passing yards a game.

The defense gets back defensive end Aaron Kampman who missed thirteen games in 2011.  He should be the favorite over second-round pick Andre Branch from Clemson for the starting job opposite Jeremy Mincey who had 8 sacks in 2011.  Branch showed his pass rush ability his last two years at Clemson while pilling up 10.5 sacks in 2011 improving from 6 in 2010.  If Kampman and the rest of the defensive line can stay healthy, the sack total of 31 from last season should increase.  The Jaguars were sixth in total defense last year and shouldn't fall far from that this year with Mel Tucker leading that defense.

I can see them going 8-8 this season.

#4 Buffalo Bills

The Bills started off the season last year looking like a playoff team, but then things fell apart with Fred Jackson's season-ending injury and the horrific play of Ryan Fitzpatrick after he signed his seven-year $62 million contract.  Buffalo gets back Fred Jackson this year and Fitzpatrick has shown some improvement in OTAs this offseason.  If things go the way they were going the first six games of 2011, the Bills offense can be one of the most explosive in the NFL.

Where else to start on the defense but with the signing of pass rusher Mario Williams and his mega-contract of $100 million over six years!  He and fellow pass rusher Mark Anderson, who came over from rival team New England, can help bring a fearsome pass rush with the help of defensive tackle Kyle Williams and linebacker Shawne Merriman.  Merriman only had one sack last year, but vowed he will work harder this year and bring back a glimpse of his "Lights out" self from his time in San Diego.  The Bills were already one of the best teams to create turnovers from last season, and with a better pass rush and rookie cornerback Stephon Gilmore, more turnovers might come from it!

If Fitzpatrick plays the way he did the first six games of 2011 I believe the team will be 10-6.

#3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Bucs had one of the biggest offseasons out of all the teams in the NFL.  On offense they signed Vincent Jackson, Carl Nicks, and Dallas Clark.  While this should improve the pass game overall, it all depends on how well quarterback Josh Freeman plays.  Freeman two years ago in 2010 looked like a franchise quarterback throwing for 25 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions.  While his completion percentage and yardage increased in 2011 his touchdowns decreased down to 16 and was second in the NFL in interceptions with 22 behind Fitzpatrick.  LeGarrette Blount will likely be seeing less time in 2012 with the addition of rookie running back from Boise St. Doug Martin.  Martin was brought in to give Freeman an option out of the backfield since Blount only has 20 receptions total the past two seasons.  If we see the Freeman of a couple seasons ago the offense could be a top ten offense!

The Bucs added cornerback Eric Wright and defensive tackle Amobi Okoye on defense.  This brings much depth to both positions.  Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy comes back from missing 10 games in 2010 and should anchor the line with Brian Price who also comes back after missing 11 games.  Those two should be able to help the run defense that was ranked dead last in the NFL.  First-round draft pick Mark Barron out of Alabama should help solidify the secondary with their revolving door at safety with players like Cody Grimm, Ahmad Black, Larry Asante, and Corey Lynch.  The Buccaneers still need to improve their linebackers, but they can be a good enough defense if the offense carries the team.

The team needs to see Freeman return to his 2010 self, and if he does the team can be 10-6

#2 Chicago Bears

The Bears got one of the biggest names in a trade for just two second-round picks in wide receiver Brandon Marshall.  This fills a big hole at wide receiver, since the only receiver that produced day in and day out was Johnny Knox.  This season though, Knox is likely to miss most of the season if not the entire season because of a severe back injury he suffered Week 15 against the Seahawks.  Chicago is to miss the explosiveness of Knox, last year he was second in the NFL with 19.6 yards a catch.

While they will be missing Knox, they will be seeing plenty of second-round pick Alshon Jeffery who is projected to be lined up on the other side of Marshall.  Jeffery has the same body as Marshall (6'4" 230 lbs.) and has great jumping ability with huge hands.

A couple other names they signed are quarterback Jason Campbell and running back Michael Bush.  With Forte's contract situation, if it goes into the season the Bears can count on Bush after what they've seen from him in OTAs.  Bush has shown versatility and impressed coaches with his catching ability out of the backfield.  Chicago's offense can be one of the best with Jay Cutler reunited with his old target, and the electrifying play of Matt Forte.

The Bears drafted Shea McClellan out of Boise St. who can play defensive end and outside linebacker.  Chicago added more depth to the defensive line to have backup behind Julius Peppers and Israel Idonije.  While the team did lose cornerback Corey Graham (who had a career high 3 picks in 2011) to Baltimore the secondary should still hold up with the acquisitions of cornerbacks Kelvin Hayden and Jonathan Wilhite.  Hayden had 2 picks in eight games starting one with Atlanta last year, and Wilhite had 2 picks in fourteen games starting in 2 with Denver.

Third-round pick Brandon Hardin may not be much, but he may get some playing time with the Bears having a few quality players in Chris Conte, Craig Steltz, and Major Wright.  The 6'4" Hardin will be looking too help improve a pass defense that was 28th in the league last year.  I believe the pass defense will be better in 2012 and that the defense overall will be better than 17th from where they were ranked last year.

Jay Cutler and Matt Forte need to be able to stay healthy, and assuming that happens the Bears can be 11-5

#1 Denver Broncos

Everything in Denver will revolve around what Peyton Manning does.  He was the biggest signing this offseason and possibly in NFL history.  Manning has taught the receivers in Denver things they never knew, and a former Bronco who helped in acquiring Manning and just signed with the team, Brandon Stokley, will be helping the receivers too.

Denver signed a number of targets for Manning which include: tight ends Jacob Tamme (Colts) and Joel Dreessen (Texans), and wide receivers Andre Caldwell (Bengals), and Jason Hill (Jaguars).  The receiving corps for the Broncos this year should be stronger from last year, when at times it was so thin and Tim Tebow would  practice at receiver.  Caldwell can also return kicks and punts, and the Broncos need one after losing Eddie Royal to San Diego in March.  Though Caldwell will be fighting for that job with third-round pick running back Ronnie Hillman from San Diego St. and fourth-round pick cornerback Omar Bolden from Arizona St.  Hillman was drafted for his speed and catch ability.  He broke some records at San Diego St. that were previously held by Marshall Faulk.  He might in fact make Knowshon Moreno ,who has similar talents, the odd man in the backfield.

Due to Manning's age (36) and the four recent surgeries he had on his neck the Broncos drafted quarterback Brock Osweiler from Arizona St.  Other than Osweiler's immense size for a quarterback at 6'7" he is still a project, but won't be required to do much early in his career as long as Manning stays healthy.  Manning will also have a nice element of a running game which he did not have in Indianapolis.

Willis McGahee had 1,199 yards for Denver in 2011 and was the second player in NFL history to have a 1,000 yard season for three teams (Ricky Watters was the first), and was one yard short of becoming the first player to rush for 1,200 yards for three teams.  McGahee wants to reach that feat.  Denver's offense is capable of becoming a top five or even a top three offense in 2012.

The Bronco's defense carried Denver through much of their six-game win streak when Tebow was performing his fourth quarter miracles, and while they may not need to carry the team this time around they mostly need to about keep the opposing team's offense to 17 points (the average score the opposing team had during Denver's six-game win streak) which should be low enough for Manning and the offense he brings.

The team did cut veteran Andre Goodman, but signed the younger more talented Tracy Porter in his place. While only signed for a year, Porter will make for a formidable cornerback duo alongside future Hall of Famer Champ Bailey.

Ten-year veteran Drayton Florence was signed by the Broncos and could be fighting for the nickel spot with Syd'Quan Thompson and Omar Bolden.  The team did lose a valuable piece in safety Brian Dawkins when he retired, but did sign quality veteran Mike Adams who came over from Cleveland.  Adams may surprise some in Denver and can help and mentor a secondary that is very young with second year safeties Rahim Moore, and Quinton Carter, and four year player David Bruton.

The Broncos starting linebacker corps is solid, but is facing some trouble with weak side linebacker D.J. Williams facing a six-game suspension for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances.  While his solid tackling and savvy play will be hard to replace, linebacker Wesley Woodyard will likely be there ready to take Williams' place while he is gone.  Williams' is expected to file a lawsuit and might have hope with the success baseball star Ryan Braun had in his case.

On the defensive line the Broncos will have veteran Ty Warren, and Kevin Vickerson back from injuries, and Justin Bannan signed back with the team after a year in St. Louis.  First-round pick Derek Wolf from Cincinnati can stuff the run, but also has a good pass rush skill to his game.  Those four definitely have the talent to upgrade Denver's run defense which allowed 126.3 yards a game and was 22nd in the league.   Denver has the talent to be a top ten defense this upcoming year.

Denver has the ability to go 11-5 if Peyton Manning holds up.



So there it is.  My list of teams look out for in 2012.  Sure I could have added a few more teams, but these I felt were most noticeable.  Teams that nearly made the list were Seattle, St. Louis, Kansas City, Cincinnati, and the Jets.  If you break it down there are two teams that can improve, but not make the playoffs; two teams that are able to make the playoffs; and two teams that are likely to be in the playoffs.

What do you think?  Leave a comment below and get a conversation going!