The Still As Yet Undecided Named Football Article

AFC

We'll start in the AFC which, it pains me to say, is the stronger of the two conferences in the NFL. The AFC Had the best team in the NFL last year(New England), as well as the most dangerous team(San Diego) in the NFL. It also managed to produce the Super Bowl Champions for the 8th time since they snapped the NFC 13 game win streak 10 years ago.

West

Most people like to start on the East. Well there's no East Coast Bias in TSAYUNFA, so I'm starting in the West.

San Diego

The last day anything good happened for San Diego was early on in there Divisional round match up against the Patriots. Since that point, they managed to have the real Marty Schottenheimer return to their sidelines as they choked the game and wasted the league best 14-2 record. They then spent the first week of the offseason in a will they or won't they fire Schottenheimer, in which they decided to keep the coach, only to wait till after all the good candidates were snatched up and fire him anyways. His replacement is great Offensive Coordinator, lousy Head Coach Norv Turner. The good news for the Chargers is that they still have the best football player on the planet in Tomlinson. And they are still packed both on offense with Michael Turner, Antonio Gates, and Philip Rivers, as well as Defense with the Cheat Shawn Merriman, Luis Castillo, and the player who will be the steal of the 2007 NFL Draft Eric Weddle. Sadly they didn't have enough to get over the hump last year, and they probably won't have enough this year.

Kansas City

After a good job filling in for Trent Green last year, Damon Huard was rewarded by becoming the starter this season. Kansas City traded Green to Miami and are now firmly in the Damon Huard bandwagon. Yea those seats can't be that comfortable. Kansas City's main workhorse last season was RB Larry Johnson. However Kansas City really worked him. Giving Johnson 416 carries. Almost 100 hundred more carries than the next closest RB. History shows that RB's who exceed 370 carries in the season get worn down and have a bad season the following. But at least Johnson didn't work too hard during training camp during which he held out for 25 days. Wait this sounds familiar. Star RB, 400+ Carries, Training Camp Holdout. Just as Jamal Anderson how that turns out.

Denver

Last year Denver decided to shed the snake and begin the Jay Cutler era. While it produced rocky results last season, it's payoff could begin this season. Denver also acquired RB Travis Henry in the offseason. If Denver can make an average runner good, it'll be interesting to see what they can do with an actual good RB. Problematic though is Defense where the leftovers from the Denver Browns defensive line from a couple years ago are starting to show why they weren't that good in Cleveland originally, with DT Gerard Warren already having been shipped out of town.

Oakland

Not surprisingly Oakland was terrible last year. Though their defense was a surprising 4th in the league, which is even more surprising when you think about how often the defense was on the field. To help fix their failing offense the Raiders drafted QB Jamarcus Russell #1 overall in the 2007 draft. They are still waiting for him to sign. In the meantime Oakland, as is Oakland tradition, is trying another rebuilding project. Having tried out Randy Moss for a few years, they have decided to try the other half of the potent Minnesota duo by signing Daunte Culpepper.

South

Indianapolis

Indianapolis proved last year you don't have to be the best team all year long, just the best team at the right time. Despite having a very porous run defense all season, the defense managed to plug the leaks just enough for a playoff run that ended up with Manning slaying a monkey that was about as big as King Kong. 2007 However could go many ways for the Colts. You can guarantee they'll be in the playoffs but how good they'll be is up for grabs. A Defense that was pretty bad last year took some major hits in the offseason with the loss of a couple DB's. And the recent season long injury to McFarland doesn't help matters. They also lost Dominic Rhodes in the offseason and now 2nd year RB Joseph Addai must prove he can shoulder the load alone. On the other hand, the Colts still do have Manning, Harrison, and Wayne. They are also comforted by a pretty easy looking schedule. The biggest wild card though is how Manning reacts being about 1000 pounds ligther with the monkey finally gone.

Tennessee

Tennessee rode a surprising second half of the season highlighted by Vince Young having some heart attack victories for the Titans. Hopes are soaring for 2008. However not much was done to really bolster the Titans. They lost their RB Travis Henry to Denver, and their best WR Drew Bennett to the Rams in Free agency. The Titans will be carried solely on the back of Sophomore QB Vince Young. My bet is Young struggles a bit in the early half of his Sophomore year. Also one must not discount the Madden Cover Curse. When will teams just start refusing to let their star players be on the cover?

Jacksonville

Jax has been one of those frustrating teams the last couple years. They have the talent and the pieces to be a playoff threat, but their play has not added up. The same can also be said for QB Byron Leftwich, who's injuries and sometimes not so stellar play has caused the Jags to enter 2007 with the 3 year QB Controversy between him and David Gerrard in full swing. This season is very important for Leftwich and Head Coach Del Rio, if either of them want to be in Jacksonville for 2008.

Houston

David Carr was brutalized in his career with the Texans. This offseason the Texans decided to cut ties with him and traded for Atlanta backup Matt Schaub. While Schaub is a good qb, there won't be any difference if the Texans don't do something about the true weak link on the offense, the OL. The Texans are also hoping that 3 headed monster of Ron Dayne, Samkon Gado, and Ahman Green will be enough to help WR Andre Johnson regain his Pro Bowl Form.

North

Baltimore

Head Coach Brian Billick removed himself from the hot seat with a 13-3 season. Unfortunately he wasn't able to muster Any offense in the Playoffs. This offseason they shipped jailbird Jamal Lewis off and replaced him with Willis McGahee from Buffalo. We all know the Baltimore Defense will be stellar but can the Offense get it together?

Cincinnati

Cincinnati had more player arrests than win last year. Is it any wonder that they truly look disjointed all season long. One good thing though was QB Carson Palmer proved he'd be okay after the devastating knee injury in 2005. But as normally been the case during Marvin Lewis' tenure as head coach the defense was once again very bad. Only in 2006 they weren't able to generate the turnovers that saved them in 2005. But this brings up a question. Why is it that an star Offensive Coordinator in Brian Billick has such an anemic offense and studly defense, while a star Defensive Coordinator in Lewis has such a porous Defense and High powered Offense. In the offseason the Bengals made a point to eliminate Off Field distractions, and contrary to what Bengals players say, the off field distractions from last year were a major reason for on field sucktitude.

Pittsburgh

The reason for Pittsburgh's abysmal title defense season all comes down to one thing. QB Ben Roethlisberger began to think he was invincible. It started with his life threatening motorcycle accident. Then his insistence he was okay and able to play. Roethlisberger was never okay last season. He never looked right, and the question still remains whether he'll be okay this season. Something unusual is happening in Pittsburgh this season. For only the second time in my lifetime the Steelers have a new Head Coach this season in Mike Tomlin. What changes will Tomlin bring and how will the players react? Tomlin kept defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, so the defense should be okay. If the players react well to Tomlin, and Roethlisberger can become the QB he was early in his career the Steel Curtain will be just fine in Pitt.


Cleveland

The return to the NFL has not been good for Cleveland. Things weren't much better last season. This offseason though things started to look up. They went out and solidified their Offensive line by signing Eric Steinbach on the first day of the offseason. Then with the #3 overall pick in the draft they bypassed Brady Quinn and selected Tackle Joe Thomas (which was the right move). About 4 or 5 hours later Brady Quinn's slide was still continuing so the Browns made a trade with Dallas and gave up their #1 pick next year for Brady Quinn. The question now remains can their offseason moves turn into on field success, or will Dallas be holding the #1 overall pick as many predict.

East

New England

The winner of the biggest offseason overreaction award goes to the New England Patriots. The Patriots were one bad half away from winning their 4th Super Bowl in 6 years. All this despite a pretty crummy WR corps. So to compensate the Patriots went out and got some WR's. While picking up Wes Welker was a wise move, the Patriots went overboard picking up Welker, Donte Stallworth, Jabar Gaffney, Kelley Washington, and finally Randy Moss. Granted the Patriots WR's were bad last year, but making it so you have to go 6 deep on a depth chart to find a returning WR from last year might be jumping the gun. On Defense the Patriots went out and splurged for former Baltimore Raven Adaleus Thomas. Patriots better hope that previous free agency trends don't continue because History tells us you can take the player out of Baltimore, but when they are no longer surrounded by Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and company they don't do so well.

New York Jets

The Jets were the surprise team of the AFC thanks largely to New Head Coach Eric Mangini, and a resurgence of QB Chad Pennington. In the offseason the Jets signed RB Thomas Jones to replace future Hall of Famer Curtis Martin. RB Was the one really weak link for the Jets Last years. 2007 comes down to two things. Can Pennington continue like he did in 2006 and prior to his shoulder injuries. And can the Mangenius continue or was he a fluke first year head coach.

Buffalo

Bills dealt disgruntled RB Willis McGahee in the offseason, and are hoping rookie Marshawn Lynch will be able to fill his shoes. Meanwhile disgruntled LB London Fletcher is now gone leaving a hole at Middle Linebacker. The J.P. Losman experiment is now entering year 3. While Losman started to show some signs at the end of the '06 season, his continued development is the key for the Bills in '07

Miami

Former Head Coach Nick Saban became the 2nd Former SEC Head Coach in the last 5 years to turn tail and run back to the Feared SEC after a failed stint in the NFL. Saban definitely did more bad than good during his brief stay. Miami never performed on the field. RB Ricky Williams failed to get re-instated for the '07 season and his career seems likely over. New Head Coach Cam Cameron has his work cut out for him. While he will probably help turn around the Dolphins it could be hard in '07. The Dolphins brought in two QB's last season in Culpepper and Harrington, both of whom are now playing for new teams.

Come back next week

Next week my rundown of the NFL Continues as we look at the lesser of the two conferences.

One More Thing

Challenge my haiku?
I'm not Mister Easterbrook.
Sometimes just as long.