NFL Preview: Middle of the Pack

Middle Of the Pack

11) San Francisco 49ers- Coach Mike Singletary has seemingly transformed the 49ers into a hard nosed, smash mouth football team in the mold of the Bears teams he played on in the 80’s. With a more than effective running game, developing passing game, and blistering defense, the 49ers have the make up of a playoff team. Running back Frank Gore is, in my opinion, the most underrated backs in the league. Gorehas finished each of the past four seasons with more than 1,000 yards and rushed for 10 TDs last season. He has also shown he is a complete back by averaging 52 receptions since becoming the 49ers feature back in 2006. Throwing passes to Gore this year will be resurrected QB Alex Smith. Smith was largely considered a bust after losing his starting job to Shaun Hill two seasons ago, but last season he seemed to turn a corner in his development. Smith posted career bests in TDs (18), passer rating (81.5), and completion percentage (60.5%). If Smith’s improvement continues, look for TE Vernon Davis and second year WR Micheal Crabtree to be the primary benefactors. With 48 receptions last year, Crabtree had a fairly successful rookie season. Look for his production to increase in 2010 due to the fact that he’ll have 11 games and this years training camp under his belt come week 1. As for Davis, 2009 appeared to be validate the praise heaped on him coming out of college. With 78 catches and 13 TDs, Davis was one of the NFL’s most prolific TEs last season. If Smith takes another step in his development, look for those numbers to increase as well.

On defense, the 49ers possess the personality of their coach. They’re a hard hitting, in your face, no nonsense unit that takes pride in shutting the other team down. The leader of the unit and the player who most resembles Singletary is Pat Willis. Willis is an unadulterated monster who does nothing but make plays. Willis has 467 tackles, 6 forced fumbles, and 23 pass deflections in 3 seasons which makes him one of the most productive ILBs in the league. While Willis is considered the only stud on the 49ers defense, they have a plethora of quality players. While OLB Manny Lawson may not be the caliber of his NC State teammate Mario Williams, he did tally 6.5 sacks and 3 forced fumbles last season. The 49ers are also lucky to have the services of DE Justin Smith. Smith is a persistent rusher who has averaged more than 6 sacks per season over his career. Newcomer Taylor Mays adds another intimidator to the defense, but he must become a better coverage safety to be an efficient player in the league.

12) Miami Dolphins- The Dolphins are quite possibly the most interesting team heading into this season. Front office guru Bill Parcells appears to have turned around yet another NFL franchise and which should only get better this season. At times, QB Chad Henne appeared to achieve the clarity need to be a successful NFL QB. Other times however, he struggled mightily. Look for the successes to far outweigh the struggles this season now that he’ll have another year of experience reading NFL defenses under his belt. Another reason Henne may take a significant leap in his development this season is the arrival of elite receiver Brandon Marshall. While Marshall’s humility may be in question at times, his talent never has been. Marshall has grabbed more than 100 catches in every season following his rookie one in 2006, and accounted for at least 6 TDs in every season in the same span. Miami has lacked a receive threat of this caliber since seemingly forever, so Marshall’s presence will be more than welcome. The Dolphins’ season ultimately hinges on the health of RB Ronnie Brown. When healthy, Brown is arguably one of the top 5 backs in the league and his presence will keep defenses honest enough for Marshal to flourish on the outside.


For Miami to have a successful season, their defense must develop into a more efficient unit. Last season the Dolphins were ranked 22nd in total defense as teams decimated them both on the ground (114.7 ypg) and in the air (234.6 ypg). The arrival of impressive LB Karlos Dansby should shore up the run defense and the maturation of young CBs Sean Smith and Vontae Davis should help improve the passing defense. Dansby has been a run stopper for the better part of a decade and is equally adept at roaming free and shedding blockers which will prove useful in the Dolphins’ 3-4 alignment. Davis and Smith should benefit from Marshall’s presence in practice as it will allow them to gain a wealth of experience defending top flight receivers. The Dolphins are without question a team on the rise. The only problem is that they play the Jets (also on the rise) and Patriots (steadily stellar) in divisional play which could temper their success in terms of their record.


13) Atlanta Falcons- While the Falcons finished last season with a record of 9-7, they were undoubtedly disappointed that they did not reach the playoffs for a second consecutive season. QB Matt Ryan threw for 22 TDs in 2009 as opposed to 16 in 2008 which would lead one to think that he was better in 2009 than in 2008. However, that stat is misleading as Ryan actually took a step back in his sophomore season. Ryan amassed 524 fewer yards in 2009 and his passer rating dropped from 87.7 (2008) to 80.9 (2009). Ryan must return to form or improve upon it for the Falcons to win the division this season. Ryan’s struggles in 2009 can be partially attributed to the struggles of RB Micheal Turner. While the Falcons lost 7 games last year, Turner was only active for 3 of them. In those games, Turner only surpassed the century mark once (151 yds against New Orleans). In the other two, Turner ran for 106 yards TOTAL (53 ypg) which is unacceptable for a premier running back. Turner also carried the ball 198 fewer times in 200(178 carries) than 2008 (376 carries) due to injury and fatigue problems. However, reports indicate that Turner has returned to his 2008 playing weight which should alleviate some of the issues he encountered last season.


The Falcons defense was nothing short of abysmal in 2009. They were the 21st ranked defense and were particularly impotent in regards to their passing defense as they finished the season at No. 28 (241 ypg). Former pro bowler John Abraham must improve drastically from the 5.5 sacks he posted in 2009. While 5.5 may be an adequate number for many players, they are deplorable for a player who is known as a pass rush specialist. Before last season, Abraham had never failed to post at least triple digit sacks in any season in which he played at least 13 games so 5.5 sacks in 15 starts isn’t going to cut it. MLB Curtis Lofton was one of the few bright spots for the Falcon defense last year. He amassed 133 tackles with 105 of those being solo stops.



14) New York Giants- The New York Giants were arguably the most disappointing team in the NFL last season. Many projected them to win their division and possibly even represent the NFC in the Super Bowl before a rash of injuries to the defense and horrid running game on offense derailed those ambitions. The injuries on the defensive side of the ball have healed for the most part. Safety Kenny Phillips will return this year after suffering a serious knee injury in 2009 which should bolster the Giants’ 15th ranked pass defense. Also imperative to that effort will the introduction of Antrell Rolle to the Giants’ defense. Rolle, is one of the better safeties and leagues and has a knack for making big plays which will undoubtedly be a welcome sight to Coach Coughlin. Unfortunately for the Giants and football in general, former LB Antonio Pierce will not be making a return to the gridiron. Pierce’s neck injury has led to his retirement and he will be sorely missed my teammates and fans alike.


While the Giants’ offense finished the season ranked No. 8 in the league last year, they didn’t match the identity the Giants like to project. Coach Coughlin would like for his troops to be a power football team driven by a strong running game and last year that was simply not the case. While QB Eli Manning had his best statistical season to date, that can be mostly attributed to the Giants’ inability to run the football as well as the fact that they frequently played from behind forcing Manning to throw more than usual. The Giants averaged 114 ypg on the ground which was 43 ypg worse than their 2008 average. If RB Brandon Jacobs doesn’t return to the form he showed in 2008 the Giants will likely struggle yet again. However, a more open offense may not be as terrible as the Giants think due to the young receivers they have stockpiled. WR Steve Smith is quickly becoming one of the better possession receivers in the league and WR Hakeem Nicks had a more than respectable rookie season (47 receptions, 6 TDs).





Sorry about the delay but I've been having some computer issues as well as being busy with work. I should be able to get the rest of this list knocked out this week though. Thanks for reading!!!