Teams

Preseason Lowdown : San Francisco 49ers

What’s the story?

The 49ers were good in the first half of 2012. Then starting quarterback Alex Smith sat out for several weeks with a concussion, and the wonder that is current starting QB Colin Kaepernick hit the field with gusto, leading to an appearance in Super Bowl 47. Kaepernick would be the first to tell you not to count your chickens before they hatch – he still hasn’t even played a full season in the NFL yet – but with 9 Pro Bowlers on the roster and no slowing down in sight, it’s hard to imagine the Niners having anything but another competitive season.

Leader and commander:

Jim Harbaugh. He does things like this.

New kid on the block:

Wide receiver Anquan Boldin, who was acquired by the Niners in a fast and strange trade from the Ravens, and who didn’t deserve to be shipped out on a midnight trade to San Francisco. Boldin is an all-around class act as well as being a big-play making machine. He will undoubtedly make a huge impact in the passing game for San Francisco this year, especially with Michael Crabtree being out with a torn achilles.

Last year was…

…the year of (slightly) unexpected surprises: the breakout season of Colin Kaepernick and a trip to the Harbowl, Super Bowl 47. It’s not the same level of surprise if, say, the Jaguars shocked the world and made a Super Bowl run – the Niners were slated to be pretty good at the start of the season – but I don’t know that anyone saw Kaepernick and a near-win at Super Bowl 47 coming.

Survey says:

If the Niners can overcome the competition within their own division, they have a good chance to land right back where they ended last season, hopefully this time with a different outcome. (I would contest that the Packers present a challenge for the Niners to win the NFC title…but we all know how that transpired last season.) The bevy of talent and momentum in San Fran is good enough for the 2nd spot in ESPN’s preseason power rankings.

Preseason Lowdown : St. Louis Rams

What’s the story?

When it comes down to it, the regular season record is what determines a team’s fate. But those numbers rarely tell the whole story, and that’s certainly the case with the St. Louis Rams. They ended the season 7-8-1 in 2012 – but that 1 at the end? A tie with the 49ers, who would go on to play in the Super Bowl, who they would go on to beat in their second match up. But the Rams didn’t just beat the 49ers once. They also beat the Seahawks once and the Cardinals twice. Those in-division games are worth more than any others, and the fact that the Rams are competitive with the highly talented NFC West speaks volumes.

Leader and commander:

Jeff Fisher, former long-time Titans head coach, who will lead this team to the playoffs and potentially beyond one day. Mark it down. This guy’s a winner.

New kid on the block:

The Rams kill it in the draft every year, and this year was no different. They moved up in the first round to take Tavon Austin, wide receiver out of West Virginia, who has the potential to be the next great Rams receiver in a long line of all-time great Rams receivers.

Last year was…

…a great first year under a new head coach. To be that successful in the division was a huge accomplishment for Jeff Fisher and the Rams.

Survey says:

The Rams have so many pieces of the puzzle – a franchise QB, a lot of offensive and defensive talent, potentially the best kicker in the league, and a legendary head coach. Now they just need to get all of those pieces to work together cohesively. If they can, there’s no reason why they can’t be a major threat to the rest of the teams in the NFC West. They are currently ranked 15th.

Preseason Lowdown : Arizona Cardinals

What’s the story?

The Cardinals are starting to show some signs of life again. They hired Bruce Arians on the cusp of his Coach of the Year performance as an interim head coach with the Colts and brought in Carson Palmer to resolve their woes at quarterback. Cardinals fans may want to get more excited about the former than they do the latter, but either way, it’s good to see the Cardinals making their way back into contention again.

Leader and commander:

Bruce Arians, who, as mentioned above, earned Coach of the Year status with his outstanding job of coaching the Indianapolis Colts while Chuck Pagano underwent treatment for cancer. This isn’t BA’s first trip to the rodeo – he’s been coaching in the NFL, off and on, since 1989 – but it is his first head coaching job. Many believe he should have been hired as a head coach years ago, so it’ll be great to see what he does with this Cardinals team now that he is leading the charge.

New kid on the block:

Carson Palmer, of Bengals fame and Raiders semi-bust. Having Palmer behind center is a definite step up from the Cardinals other quarterback options, but he will need to return the Carson Palmer of days gone by to lead this team to a winning record.

Last year was…

…a fast start and a painfully slow finish. After winning their first 4 games, the Cardinals lost 11 of their next 12 to finish the season at 5-11. The only thing I remember from their 2012 season was that gauge-your-eyes-out-in-self-preservation Week 13 game against the Jets, which they lost, but really, both teams should have lost due to Crimes Against Football.

Survey says:

Any improvement would be a gain over the train wreck that was 2012, and the Cardinals look like they could make several. However, no matter how many advances are made, it might not be enough to contend with the NFC West, which has literally gone from worst to first as a division over the past few years. The Rams, Seahawks, and Niners have all had semi-recent head coaching changes and are all over the adjustment stage and moving onto the prospering stage. The Cardinals have the potential to emulate the same story as their fellow NFC West rivals. But for now they are still back at the start line, adjusting to new leadership, which is why they are currently ranked 26th in the preseason power rankings.

Preseason Lowdown : Tampa Bay Buccaneers

What’s the story?

The Bucs have a dynamic head coach (Schiano), a shiny new free agent (Revis), and a guy nicknamed “the muscle hamster” (Martin). What could go wrong? A few things, if last season is to judge. The Bucs have great potential but have yet to capitalize on that potential, most notably at the quarterback position. They need Josh Freeman to make the leap from good to great this year. (They also need to stop wearing the creamsicle throwbacks, especially since the Steelers have already announced their intention to don the vertigo suits again. Really, whose retinas can take that kind of abuse multiple times per season?)

Leader and commander:

Greg Schiano, who certainly made a splash early on in his first year as an NFL head coach in 2012. He’ll be looking to make more of an impact and less of a controversy in 2013 (although, for the record, I like his style).

New kid on the block:

Darrelle Revis, the shutdown corner who was ousted by the Jets in what still feels like one of the weirdest moves of the offseason. Why trade your best player at half-value? But the Jets loss is absolutely the Bucs gain. If Revis is anything like he was pre-injury, he’ll be a rock solid addition to Tampa’s defense.

Last year was…

…the same as it was for three other teams in the NFC South, but worse. The Bucs landed at the bottom of a three-way 7-9 tie and wound up fourth in the division due to having the highest number of in-division losses.

Survey says:

The Bucs are going to be as good as their starting quarterback, Josh Freeman, lets them be. Similarly, stars being stars – whether it’s Vincent Jackson on offense or Darrelle Revis on defense – will need to step up and play like stars for the Bucs to reach their full potential this year. Where’s the ceiling on that potential? The preseason power ranking projects it at 19, which makes sense given the fierce competition in the NFC. However, if the Bucs can get all of the pieces of the puzzle to fit together, they could certainly do battle with New Orleans for second place in the NFC South (in the more than likely event that the Falcons take first place unchallenged).

Preseason Lowdown : New Orleans Saints

What’s the story?

Let the 2012 season serve as a reminder lest anyone think that the head coach of an NFL team is nothing more than a figure-head. The Saints lost their first four games sans Sean Payton, who was serving a year-long suspension for his involvement in the bounty drama. Not only did the Saints not have their own head coach in place for the 2012 season, they didn’t even have their interim coach, Joe Vitt, until week 7 due to his own suspension. The coaches weren’t the only ones to sustain a blow from bounty gate – several players were suspended, as was the GM. The Saints will have everyone back in action in 2013 and will certainly be looking to put the past as far behind them as possible.

Leader and commander:

The aforementioned, Sean Payton, who couldn’t have been missed more.

New kid on the block:

Lots of new defensive pieces for the Saints this year. The Saints hired former Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan (if that name sounds familiar it’s because his similarly-wired brother, Rex, is the Jets head coach) and picked up several keys defensive players through free agency and the draft.

Last year was…

…bad for the Saints at 7-9 and missing the playoffs; good for Drew Brees who broke Johnny Unitas’ record for number of consecutive games with a passing touchdown. The new record now stands at 54.

Survey says:

The NFC South is a weird division. Each team is poised to have a breakout season at one point or another – the Bucs have Schiano, the Panthers have Newton, the Falcons have everyone, and the Saints have their lives back – but which team will make the most of their potential? It has yet to be seen if the return of normalcy will be enough to elevate the Saints back to their status as perennial contenders. They are currently hanging out near the middle, ranked 14th overall.

Preseason Lowdown : Carolina Panthers

What’s the story?

Chances are good that you might remember the story from this past year (a worse-than-it-sounds 7-9 season) less clearly than you remember the story from season prior (a better-than-it-sounds 6-10 season). The reason? Cam Newton was on fire in 2011. He was the league’s RGIII/Russell Wilson/Colin Kaepernick. He even made the Pro Bowl! This past season was a definitive sophomore slump. The Panthers might have won an extra game in 2011, but it was a far cry from what they had anticipated at the start of the season.

Leader and commander:

Ron Rivera, who is in a make-it-or-break-it third year as the Panthers head coach.

New kid on the block:

The Panthers tried to shore up their defense with two defensive tackles high in the draft, Star Lotuleli and Kawann Short. Also, long-time Panther WR Steve Smith got some free agent friends this season. Former Giant Domenik Hixon and former Niner Ted Ginn Jr. were both signed in the offseason in an effort to alleviate Carolina’s receiving corp woes.

Last year was…

…good enough for 2nd in the NFC South, bad enough to lose 8 of the first 10 games and get the GM fired. And it wasn’t just that they lost a lot early on, it was the way that they lost that made it such a downer of a season.

Survey says:

It’s easier to repair leaks in a ship than it is to get the captain to steer differently. The Panthers have the defensive rookie of the year in Luke Kuechly, drafted well on defense, acquired tools that they need to have a great offense this season, but they’ll also need Cam Newton to take charge as a mature leader to prove that they’re better than 21st overall.