Preseason Lowdown : Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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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

football, preseason, teams, 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

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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.

Preseason Lowdown : Atlanta Falcons

football, preseason, teams, atlanta

What’s the story? 

A bunch of quarterbacks got paid this offseason. Falcons QB Matt Ryan was one of them. He will continue on in his role as the franchise quarterback for the next 5 years, and he’s not the only talented player the on the Falcons roster this season. Atlanta made a big splash in the offseason, moving up in the draft to get corner Desmond Trufant, signing former Rams running back Steven Jackson, resigning many of their most talented players, and perhaps most importantly, getting future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez to come back for one more season. The Falcons have a dynamite roster in a division which is liable to explode from potential for greatness.

Leader and commander:

Mike Smith, brother-in-law of Brian Billick.

New kid on the block:

Steven Jackson is the one who is likely to make the most impact, but Brian Banks is by far the most inspirational new player on the Falcons roster. He spent 5 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit and is on his way to making the Falcons roster as a linebacker. Amazing.

Last year was…

…second verse, slightly different than the first. The all of the verses beforehand, too. The Falcons have been the same ever since Matt Ryan came into the league in 2008: they start really strong, look like the team to beat, and then can’t win a playoff game. That changed a little in 2012 when the Falcons won their first playoff game of the Ryan era.

Survey says:

One playoff win wasn’t good enough. The Falcons are going for it all with gusto this year, and it’s reflected in their current 4th place ranking.

Preseason Lowdown Roundup : NFC East and North

NFC East and North Text

Better late than never! Here’s this week’s roundup of Preseason Lowdown posts:

Preseason Lowdown : Dallas Cowboys

Preseason Lowdown : New York Giants

Preseason Lowdown : Philadelphia Eagles

Preseason Lowdown : Washington Redskins

Preseason Lowdown : Chicago Bears

Preseason Lowdown : Detroit Lions

Preseason Lowdown : Green Bay Packers

Preseason Lowdown : Minnesota Vikings

See you all tomorrow morning for our final week of Preseason Lowdowns AND the final week of preseason football! The regular season is almost here!!!

Preseason Lowdown : Minnesota Vikings

preseason, football, teams, vikings

What’s the story? 

Can we skip this post? I know as a Packers fan, I’m supposed to hate the Bears. It’s the rivalry to end all rivalries. But honestly, if I had to pick my least favorite team in all of football, the team that makes my blood boil, it would be the Vikings. If for no other reason than because they can never seem to find their own players.

However…I’ll put that aside for a few minutes to write this post, if for no other reason than a deep appreciation for Leslie Frazier and Adrian Peterson. Who, speaking of, is pretty much the story this season. AP came back from injury last season like no player we’ve ever seen before. He literally ran the Vikings into the playoffs and nearly beat Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record. His jaw-dropping post-injury performance earned him an onslaught of offseason awards, including league MVP, and it’s his goal to have an even better season this year with his sights set on breaking the Dickerson record. He is the key to the Vikings success in 2013.

Leader and commander:

Leslie Frazier. I can’t not like him just because he’s the Vikings coach because he seems like the greatest guy. Unfortunately, rumor has it that he might be coaching for his life this year. (Prediction that I don’t want to make but will make anyway because I keep thinking about it: If the Vikings have a bad year and Frazier is let go, I could see the Vikings hiring former Bears head coach Lovie Smith to take his place. Just something to ponder (or Ponder).)

New kid on the block:

Former Packer (wait…what? the Vikings hire former Packers???) Greg Jennings, who will have a lot of catching up to do on the field to match all the talking he’s done off the field. He was brought in to fill the hole at wide receiver left by Percy Harvin, who was traded to Seattle. To his credit, Jennings is a talented receiver. But he’ll have to get out of the bitter barn to make anything happen in purple this season.

Last year was…

…All About Adrian. 10-6 and a playoff appearance all thanks to #28.

Survey says:

Are the Vikings going to compete with the Packers for the top spot in the NFC North? Probably not. But are they talented enough to have a winning record that leads to another playoff appearance? Probably so, as long as AP stays on his otherworldly track and Christian Ponder holds down the fort at quarterback. The Vikes are currently hanging out in the middle of the NFL pack at 17th.