This off season a lot of teams have been making a lot of
moves but they haven’t necessarily been great moves and there have also been a
multitude of big injuries with big stars. For example the San Francisco 49ers
added Anquan Boldin which is a good pick up, unfortunately they also lost star
receiver Michael Crabtree who was the number one target for new starter Collin
Kaepernick last season. The loss of Crabtreee on the end is going to be tough
to replace, the receiving core was weak in the first place this makes it even
weaker. Do not get me wrong this offense will be plenty dangerous with the dual
threat of Kaepernick, Frank Gore who still has some gas left in the tank, and
the leader Vernon Davis in the middle. But they will be nowhere near as scary
as they good have been. That offense with that monster defense could have
spelled disaster for any team that had to play them.
Let’s stay in that division and take a look at the Seattle
Seahawks a surprising team last year led by rookie sensation Russel Wilson will
not sneak up on any teams this year. In fact, they were one of the favorites
going into the season especially with the addition of Percy Harvin. That’s where
the problem comes in Harvin has been very injury prone his entire career and it
already looks like he is going to miss some time heading into this season. Again
not a devastating blow but one that definitely hurts. Having Sidney Rice and
Harvin opposite of each other on the field would have made opposing secondary’s
think twice before committing a back to stop that devastating running game led
by Marshawn Lynch.
Now that we have looked at how the top teams in the NFC have
changed this off-season let’s look at the AFC.
The Super Bowl champs are not the same team that won a title
6 months ago. They lost countless veterans on both sides of the ball many of
these guys’ staples in a very consistent organization. It will be impossible to
replace what Ray Lewis brought to the field if it is his leadership, his
presence, and his overall skill of the game he will be greatly missed. Now
throw in you lost safety Ed Reed to the Houston Texans and Anquan Boldin to the
49ers. There will be a lot of question marks on this team and will be very
interesting to see how they answer them and if they answer them correctly.
Another team always in the conversation for a Super Bowl the
New England Patriots. Everybody, no matter if you are sports fan or not you have
heard what has happened to this organization this summer with Aaron Hernandez.
Along with this Robert Gronkowski looks to be missing more time with forearm
and back problems. Losing tight ends is one thing but losing the go-to receiver
in Wes Welker is another thing. Without the help on the edge it will be very
interesting to see where Brady delivers that ball this season.
This season is going to be wide open expect a lot of 9-7 and
8-8 win teams to make the playoffs this year with no clear cut favorite. There
is no super team this year just a lot of good teams fighting for a chance to
play for that trophy.
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