Matt Ryan to lead the Falcons in 2010 Season
With the hope of shocking the world, the Atlanta Falcons will enter the 2010 season. The Falcons believe that they have what it takes to dethrone them from their spot atop the division, although last season the Saints had their magical season.
Matt Ryan leads the Falcons. Young quarterback, Matt Ryan show poise past his years. In the league, he has the accuracy and arm strength necessary to be one of the top quarterbacks. One concern is that from last year his performance was actually a step back from his play the year before. For a first year quarterback, Ryan had an amazing year, but was not able to duplicate such success in 2009.
To say the least, the Falcons have a rushing attack that is powerful. As a running back, Michael Turner is a horse. The combination of his power and speed makes him a hammer up the middle. He had one of the best seasons in the NFL, two seasons ago. He still managed a solid season despite missing 5 games, although last year he was plagued by injuries.
The Falcons will just need to sure up their defense a bit and they have the tools on offense. They do have work to do if they expect to be a dominant team in the league, although their defense is solid.
The Falcons will be one of the favorites to compete for a wild card spot in the playoffs in 2010, barring any issues of injuries. The Falcons are also popular in the NFL football odds.
Chicago Bears – NFL Season – Preview
Managing only a 7-9 record, the Chicago Bears struggled last season. The NFL football odds for the team were also low. The team will be expected to play at a high level following the additions of two of the biggest free agents on the market this offseason, despite their struggles in 2009.
Julius Peppers was the biggest name in the free agent market this season. Peppers are known for his freakish combination of strength, speed and size. The problem with Julius Peppers is that he does not have the same reputation for his work ethic, despite his reputation for talent. There are knocks on Peppers, often times for taking downs off and not putting in his all. If the Bears hope to turn things around, they will need him to give everything.
Putting Peppers alongside Tommie Harris and Brian Urlacher will breed unreal expectations for this defense. The team surrendered 375 points, last year. For that, number to decrease dramatically, the simple addition of Peppers will cause expectations.
The team added Chester Taylor, offensively. As the team already had Matt Forte, this was an interesting move. That being said, as starting running backs, Mike Martz has already stated that he intends to use both of them. Martz he is known for his use for running backs out of the backfield, although he is also known for his wide-open offensive style. He used Marhsall Faulk frequently out of the backfield, when he had Faulk and it is expected that Cutler look to these running backs frequently.
The Bears very well could meet them with these key additions to the squad and they will have high expectations.
Sources: Shawne Merriman to report to San Diego’s camp
In the hopes of landing a lucrative new contract , missing the first part of training camp, Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman is planning to report to San Diego’s camp this weekend and will sign his $3.269 million tender, according to league sources.
According to sources, Merriman misses the work too much and his teammates to stay away any longer. Once he reports, San Diego will be left with two holdouts offensive tackle Marcus McNeill and wide receiver Vincent Jackson. The ones who also want long-term extensions are Jackson and McNeill and do not plan to report until they get them.
Last season, the Chargers won the AFC West and they finished 13-3, tendered Merriman, a restricted free agent, at a first- and a third-round pick in March.
To try to resume a career that got off to a tremendous start, he is now willing to report to the Chargers but has fallen off since. From 2005 through 2007, Merriman totaled 39½ sacks, but posting only four sacks after sitting out almost the entire 2008 season because of two torn ligaments in his knee. Merriman has also dealt with off-field problems, the three-time Pro Bowl linebacker struggled last year.
In 2009, Merriman’s then-girlfriend, reality TV personality Tila Tequila, accused Merriman of domestic violence and she eventually sued him for damages after the San Diego district attorney declined to file charges against him. Merriman countersued Tequila and the two settled out of court in February.
Also, in the media multiple times last season, Merriman publicly clashed with Chargers general manager A.J. Smith and was suspended for the first four games of the 2006 season for violating the NFL’s steroid and related substances policy. With 17 sacks, Merriman finished that year.
Dallas Cowboys: NFL Season Preview
To take on the new season, the Dallas Cowboys are geared up and ready. For the Cowboys and the state of Texas, this season will have a special significance. This year, the Super Bowl will be taking place in Texas and the Cowboys seek to take the opportunity to make this Super Bowl a home game.
In the NFL, the Cowboys are without doubt bound to be one of the top passing teams. At quarterback, the Cowboys are led by Tony Romo. With the tools, Tony Romo is a pro bowl caliber quarterback around him to put up huge numbers. In the game, the Cowboys sport one of the best groups of receivers.
The Cowboys will draw a lot of the attention of the opponent’s defense and they have three receivers. Last year in Dallas, Roy Williams is a great athlete and Miles Austin produced big numbers.
In the draft, this year the Cowboys picked up Dez Bryant. He slipped to the Cowboys in the draft because of his character issues and he is known for his top end talent. In the NFL, they will have a trio of receivers that will be unrivaled by any team, if the Cowboys can keep him under control.
Marion Barber did a decent job of keeping balance in the attack last season for the Cowboys, although the running game could stand to improve. The Cowboys will have a balanced attack that may be unstoppable in 2010, if Barber is able to step up to the next level this season. To take the NFC East Division, the Cowboys will surely be the favorites.
NFL Season Preview: Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos shocked the world in the NFL Draft this year by choosing Tim Tebow out of Florida. The team already had two solid young quarterbacks competing for the starting job in Kyle Orton and Brady Quinn, but they made the choice of Tebow anyway.
The move of drafting Tebow will at minimum bring a large fan base to the team. Tebow is already one of the most popular players in the NFL and he has still never played in a game. He will start the season at the 3rd spot in the depth chart, but is expected to play in situations where the team plays out of a wildcat style of offense.
One clear question for the Broncos will be at wide receiver. The Broncos have thrown the ball to Brandon Marshall so much over the last three years that he will be difficult to replace. Marshall has caught a minimum of 100 balls each of the past three years. Last year he was also a solid red zone option and caught 10 touchdown passes.
Correll Buckhalter and Knowshon Moreno will start the season as the running backs for the Broncos. Buckhalter is an interesting choice at running back for many reasons. To this point in his career he has never rushed for more than 650 yards. His best season was his last season, but he is 31 years old. There is a tradition in the NFL that after age 30 running backs tend to slow down and fade away.
Meanwhile Moreno struggled last year, rushing for just 3.8 yards a carry. He is the younger back, but has not produced in the way the Broncos would have liked. Time will tell if Buckhalter and Moreno can carry the load for the Broncos.
Oakland Raiders: NFL Season Preview
The Oakland Raiders in 2009 suffered yet another disappointing season and desperately needed to make some changes in hopes of a different outcome in 2010. For the number one pick in the draft, the Raiders have been perennial contenders. They have not been able to win games once the season rolls around, despite their constant additions of talent from the top end of the draft.
The subtraction of Jamarcus Russell was one of the key moves of the offseason for the Raiders. By getting rid of a piece that simply wasn’t working out, is a story where the team gets better. The good news for the Raiders is that, they replaced him with Jason Campbell, thereby getting rid of a bad piece.
Campbell, over the course of his career has been a solid quarterback playing behind an awful offensive line in Washington. To allow the Raiders to develop a passing game that hasn’t been present in years, he will have a strong arm and sufficient mobility. Heyward-Bey did not give the Raiders the type of number one option they were hoping for , although by drafting Darrius Heyward-Bey last season over Michael Crabtree, the shocked the world.
What the Raiders will be able to do in the future; this season will tell a lot about them. In the passing game, they have a lot of pieces falling into place and to get the job done, their young running backs are solid enough.
The Raiders have a chance to be a team that makes a turnaround in 2010, if they can play this season with discipline.
NFL Season Preview: Cleveland Browns
To bring success to Cleveland, the Cleveland Browns are trying desperately to find something. Last year, they were only able to win 4 games and changes need to be made. Unfortunately, the addition of Jake Delhomme may have been less productive than desperate.
For the Panthers, football betting star, Delhomme was once a solid quarterback. He was good enough to win games if the right pieces were around him, although he was never seen as a guy that would carry the squad through the season. In the recent past in Carolina, he was not able to continue on in the pattern. His signing might have been a bit of a stretch, although the Browns signed him in hopes that he would bring some veteran leadership to Cleveland.
Jerome Harrison will lead the Running game out of Washington State. For several years now, Harrison has been in the league, but previous to last season he had only compiled a little more than 400 rushing yards in his career. For almost 900 yards last year, he did manage to rush, but he is far from a franchise back at this point.
Rather than a season to make a run at the playoffs, the Browns will probably be looking to use this year as a rebuilding year. To compete in a division with so many strong teams, they simply do not have the necessary talent.
For the Cleveland Browns, 2010 will probably result in another draft pick in the first several picks of the NFL Draft.
NFL Season Preview: Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves in a tough spot entering the 2010 season. The team has a top end franchise quarterback to rely on, but he will not be leading the team for the first several games of the season.
Ben Roethlisberger has made some mistakes and finds himself suspended to start the season. Depending on his behavior and the decisions of Roger Goodell the quarterback could be back on the field long before the halfway point of the season.
The Steelers will rely on the arms Dennis Dixon and Byron Leftwich until Roethlisberger returns. Dixon is an interesting choice at quarterback for the Steelers. He has the speed and agility to get yards on the run and may be able to sneak away a few victories while Roethlisberger is away. He cannot be expected to take over games week in and week out though. The team will need their running game to carry a lot of the load in the mean time.
football-betting star, Rashard Mendenhall is a young back out of Illinois. He is a promising talent that could carry the load early in the season for the Steelers. He wore down as the season progressed in 2009, but he will not be required to have the same amount of pressure on him after Roethlisberger returns to the lineup. Expect Mendenhall to carry the ball 30 times per game until Roethlisberger returns.
The Steelers have an outside shot at the playoffs in 2010, they’ll just need to start solid without Roethlisberger on the field.
Buffalo Bills: NFL mini camps
The Buffalo Bills at their recent minicamps have made big news, as some surprising announcements concerning one of the major positions was made by their head coach.
The head coach for the Buffalo Bills, Chan Gailey has announced that for the starting quarterback position for the Buffalo Bills, there will be a wide open battle. This sort of news is surprising and exciting too. It is not very often that a coach starts the quarterbacks on level ground and closes all past doors entering into the season. Coming into the off season for the starting job, Gailey has reiterated that there will be no favorite, although experts feel that some of the candidates will have the upper hand on others.
Quarterback controversy is not all of the hype going into the offseason, though it is a big deal. the play of first round draft pick C.J. Spiller was one of the biggest things that brought attention during minicamps. Spiller is known for his tremendous speed on the field and he is a running back out of Clemson.
This offseason, Spiller has not disappointed with his speed. Many experts feel that he is even faster in relation to his competition on the field, although among running backs, his 40 yard dash time for the NFL Draft was the fastest
At minicamp, he has really displayed that speed and for whatever quarterback ends up winning the battle, he will be a big help. He is also an option out of the backfield as a receiver and he can carry the ball. New quarterback will be benefitted by this versatility.
Seattle Seahawks: NFL Mini Camps
A minicamp was held by the Seattle Seahawks for all players from April 30 to May 2. In mid-April and mid-June, to voluntary training camps, the minicamp was sandwiched between. As many people were interested, the event was highly anticipated to see how new coach Pete Carroll would operate in the NFL.
The decision by Seattle to not to allow linebacker Leroy Hill to attend was a notable event related to the April 30 minicamp. For investigation of domestic violence in the Seattle suburb of Issaquah, the troubled player was arrested in early April, on a marijuana charge in Georgia, just days after reaching a plea deal.
Rookie wide receiver Golden Tate’s performance left Seattle’s coaching staff very impressed. Seahawks offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates said about Tate, “I know one thing, over the past two days he’s been very impressive. His work ethic has been unbelievable.” with the performance of defensive lineman Red Bryant, Coach Carroll mentioned that he was impressed, a fourth-round selection heading into his third year out of Texas A&M. In a Sunday scrimmage, he blocked a pass from the defensive end position.
For the Seahawks, the camp provided an opportunity learn to play in adverse weather conditions. They had to play through windy and cold weather. With Coach Carroll’s emphasis on “finishing strong”, it coincided well. The significance of finishing strong and how was mentioned by Matt Hasselbeck, quarterback when the team really put their effort into doing it, the weather issues was all but negated.