Who's In Your Five? Teams to Miss the Playoffs
by John B on May 15, 2010 10:58 AM EDT
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PrintEvery year pundits make predictions before the season. They in most cases look a lot like the previous season's standings. This makes them very wrong in a league where so much changes year to year. In fact, since 1996 at least five Playoff teams from one year have missed the next year. I'll probably revise this as the offseason progresses, but here are my five current favorites to miss this year.
1. Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals are probably the easiest pick of the bunch. Their success was built mainly around their high octane passing game. They're replacing Kurt Warner at quarterback with Matt Leinart, Derek Anderson, or John Skelton. Yikes. The new quarterback will also not have Anquan Boldin, an excellent target. I liked some of the moves they made over the offseason (Alan Faneca, Kerry Rhodes, Dan Williams), but such a major drop off at the most important position on the field seems like too much for them to overcome. Can a run game anchored by Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower make up for what they are losing in the passing game? My bet is no.
I know it sounds crazy, but we are coming off a decade where every year a team from the previous Super Bowl missed the Playoffs the next year. I think the term hangover is appropriate for a team from New Orleans. The Saints are coming off one of the most emotional triumphs in sports history. Can they return with the same fire? Everybody will be gunning for them this year. It's tough for me to pick against a coach-quarterback combination like Payton and Brees, but the last time the duo made the Playoffs, they missed them the next year.
Last year everything fell into place for them. Can they count on another year like that out of a quarterback in his 40's? There isn't even a guarantee he'll be back, which would leave them with Tavaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels. They also could be without the Williams Wall for games against the Dolphins and Jets, two of the best rushing attacks in the league.
You spend a decade giving your franchise quarterback no weapons. He still carries you to the cusp on the promised land on his back. Then when you finally get him some weapons, you dump him for a total unknown. I don't get it.
I don't have a good feeling about them. I don't think they'll go 6-0 in the division again. They played a bunch of tight games that went their way last year. Things like that tend to even out over the long haul. They finished the season terribly, and Carson Palmer is officially a major question mark. With the additions the Ravens have made, I think the North is Baltimore's for the taking.
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I agree with the Cards, Vikes, and Eagles.
Its tough to count out Brees. And the Bengals really gave Palmer some weapons. I think I would have to look to the Pats before either of those teams, Welker’s injury is huge and I think Moss is ready for his production to take a hit.
I thought about the Pats, but they always bang out 10-11 wins no matter how grim things look. Belichick-Brady are at the point, I think you have to expect good things until it doesn’t happen.
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New Orleans will win the division by defualt.
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by Ryan Alfieri on May 15, 2010 12:55 PM EDT up reply actions
100% agree with Cards, Eagles and Bengals. Could see the Vikings missing.
But the Saints?
“I know it sounds crazy…”
That’s because it sort of is.
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And yet every year some team misses that would have seemed crazy to pick in May. That’s a really tough division they’re in.
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No doubt, and no one saw that happening to the Steelers last year, and I like that you’re going for the unconventional pick, but I just don’t see it. The NFC South ought to be a two team division between the Saints and the Falcons, although the Panthers may be capable of taking some divisional games (but they won’t be contending for the playoffs).
If I had to go out on a limb, I’d go with the Vikings, which you did, or the Patriots, which isn’t as crazy as it once was. The Chargers could miss if their division weren’t so weak.
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I Agree
all except the bengals they have a solid defense which ranked 4th & there offense got more weapons and if palmer can stay healthy they should be able to make the playoff plus they have 4 automatic wins (browns x2, bills, bucs) i know nothing is guaranteed be c’mon lol
Guess I'm the only one that doesn't think the Vikes is a fluke
I expect the Saints to return as well. Although many years their super unleaded high octane offense seems to fade out the next season so I wouldn’t be totally shocked if they missed.
Every other team I agree with. I just think the Vikings are a playoff capable team even if Favre retires. They dominated most of the league last year and ran neck and neck with the Saints offense machine in the conference finale. I could see their record taking a big slide, but I think they’ll at least Wild Card it.
I don’t know. Favre had an incredible year last year. Not sure he can repeat that performance, especially with the picks being down for him. Not so sure he can hold up anymore either. Without him that offense is average at best. The division is getting better. Rogers is the real deal. The Bears will be a little better. The Lions will win some games. I could them splitting with everybody in the division. If thats the case, they could easily find themselves on the outside looking in.
I really think the Pats are not going to make it...
I think they did a horrible job with their last two drafts, and the team is getting old everywhere, the magic is gone. Vikings are not making it without Favre, Philly has no shot with out McNabb. After that I’d say AZ, and then its a toss-up between Cincy and SD (although SD probably squeaks it out because their division just sucks.
To be fair...
…our team is really only getting old on offense, where we have 10 players over the age of 30 (Moss, Holt, Brady, Taylor, Morris, Faulk, Light, Koppen, Neal, Crumpler) who could all start at some point in time. Our defense is really young.
by Richard Hill on May 15, 2010 1:42 PM EDT up reply actions
Thats not 100% true the D-line is not young...
yes you’ve brought some youth in to the rest of the D, but aside from Mayo, every player has been a significant step down from the one they replaced.
Bangles are a shoe-in
They added 4 good players in the draft to an already good D..And i really think their O is gonna be real nice . They had nothing over the middle last year .Adding shipley and Jermaine Gresham immediately changes that…
Saints u need to look know further then there div. 5 or 6 wins easy. Plus BREES.
VIKINGS ""Can they count on another year like that out of a quarterback in his 40’s?"" Why not? I didnt see any signs of slowing down.They didnt get much better or worse, in draft or FA..But Favre will be back .Still have a sick pass rush.And big weapons on O.
Im thinking the Eagles are gonna surprise as well but hoping not..
Cards, i think we all know the answer to that…
1.Arizona, they’ll be drafting a QB next year.
2. Philly, whether or not Kolb had two 300 yd passing games, I think the young secondary aside from Samuel, and Kolb’s “rookie” mistakes will be too much for them to overcome.
3. Pats, yes they have brady and Belichik, but with our upgrades, and I think the Fins getting at least ONE quiet year from B. Marshall (personality wise) due to Parcells. I think they NARROWLY miss the playoffs.
4. Bengals, yes they have made upgrades, but I think Baltimore wins the divison, and despite my distaste for Big Ben and the Steelers, I think Big Ben is gonna play like a mad possessed when he does come back and sneak into a wildcard spot.
5. My Sleeper pick will be the Colts, now I know you guys will kill me for this, but I think it will go down like this. The Titans have to deal with the flood, I think they turn that adversity into wins, ala New Orleans, and I think it is the Texan’s year to get the wildcard spot. I’m not saying the Texans are going to be great, but the Titans will shock the Colts. The Colts success pretty much rides on Manning, if it wasn’t for his amazing QB play I don’t think they would’ve been 14-2, I think they would have struggled to make the playoffs. It is VERY difficult to keep up that level of greatness in the NFL, and I don’t think they can ride him all the way to the playoffs again. Especially with the Titans and Texans upgrading their Secondary and Defense overall. I also think this might finally be the year that Manning gets hurt, not that I’m wishing he does, I just think its inevitable that the colts fall off. At least for a year
btw
Vikings have a better overall team than the colts, IMO, if you take away Favre, they can still get to the playoffs, they won the division with Jackson. If you take Peyton away from the Colts they are 8-8 at best.
Ya but you aint taking P Manning away.soooooooooo....... i can see a 6-0 or 5-1 start.11-5...
TENN ? no real standouts in there draft, no FA, weak D , V Young.i think ill take Manning that pass rush with a infusion of Jerry Hughes and a healthy B Sanders.Though that could be an oxymoron….
Don’t underestimate the B Cushing suspension .
my 5
1 zona 2 ciny 3 philly 4 no maybe 5 nyj maybe like my new pic
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Hmm that gets me thinking...
I don’t think any single injury aside from Sanchez would really hurt the team that much (yes maybe Revis, but we have two solid corners behind him), that being said Sanchez is also our biggest question mark, the season very much rests on his shoulder to some extent.
An injury to Revis would be hard to deal with. Revis allows Rex to go crazy Because the #1 WR is definitely contained. Wilson and Cro may be good but its not just how good Revis is its what he allows us to do on D.
If Sanchez goes down we could do just like we did last year. I love The ‘Chise but if our Backup can’t do what Sanchez did last year he needs to quit football. We went to the playoffs with sub par QB play, ( I know he was a rookie). In the playoffs he was great but during the year he didn’t have one game that Kellen could not have had. A blind monkey could have done the same. Any one short of JaMarcus Russell could have done the same thing. No one can do what Revis did, maybe Nnamdi.
by george JETson on May 15, 2010 10:40 PM EDT up reply actions
very true ..cro was never a shut down and a rook is a rook..
The D would take a big hit without revis
clemens is horrible evrytime he get a shot he screws up and u can blame that on lack up practice with the starters but we’ve seen other back ups come in and not self destruct lol & nnamdi would be #2 to revis because he doesnt take the best rec. he plays one side of the field but still a great corner
The Vikes made the playoffs without Favre
That team is talented, The Saints could be considered one of the weakest champions of all time, they don’t put fear in any team, however, they are champions. I’m a firm believer that sh_t happens, so you can’t predict who will not make it or not make it to the playoffs. Yet, I will predict. Dallas will not make it, if the Redskins are improve and the Giants get back to form. Dallas is talented as much as the Vikes, but I don’t trust their coaching staff. The Pats wont make it, (OK that pick was made with a lot of bias), I agree with the Bengals and Eagles and my last pick is the Chargers, (coaching staff).
The Cardinals will have a hard time making the playoffs.
New England would be a biased but justifiable choice on my part. As for Philadelphia, while they are switching to a new quarterback, they do have a lot of weapons on offense. What is more a cause for concern is that the renewal of their LB corps and secondary might take a while to settle in.
San Diego would be less likely if they were not in a weak division – I don’t think they’ll always be able to outscore everyone. Realistically, though, I don’t see the Raiders, Broncos, or Kansas City beating them out.
The Saints and Colts, now, I believe neither team will be quite as good as it was last year but they won’t drop as far as missing the playoffs. Same for Minnesota – I think Green Bay will win the division and Minnesota will be wild cards.
My predictions: AFC division winners: San Diego, Baltimore, Indianapolis, Jets
Wild cards: Dolphins and Bengals.
NFC division winners: San Francisco, Green Bay, New Orleans, Dallas (unfortunately)
Wild cards: Philadelphia and Minnesota, although Carolina and Arizona are possibilities.
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like most your picks but Carolina lost there best D player and dont have a QB.Arizona with the end of there schd.
go 8-8 And um this guy is there QB Matt Leinart . And im bias but i can find a handful of reasons the G-Men take out the Eagles..maybe more. funny how the world hates Dallas
Matt Moore > Jake Delhomme by miles
You’re right, the Giants could make it in as wild cards but they seem to me to be essentially the same team as last year, with Antrel Rolle as their only major addition.
If I’d had the time on my hands I would have tried to make predictions based on actual schedules, but that was beyond my possibilities.
"Verde que te quiero verde..."
Το πράσινο είναι ζωή!
That's right, I bleed green multiculturally
"if you shut someone down with class, it's more effective" - Udalango
you are correct M Moore is an upgrade
and they have a great run game.But Peppers is a big hit for the panthers .
Yes they only added Rolle & Deon Grant at the safety spot coupled with the return of Kenny Phillips.
Osi comming back from an injury that takes 2 years to fully heal.Tuck recovering from his shoulder…Eli’s foot .Bradshaws bad feet , Alford,BJ and i could go on, but for fear of boring u i wont..The Giants were the most injured team in the NFL just ahead of the eagles …Another reason i think the Eagles may do well.
We're healthy
and have a real DC.
That’s worth probably two games at the least.
Against all odds, against all circumstance were you don't have a shot, you succeed
-Michael Strahan
All you hear about is the past, the past... the past is the !@#$ing past, this is the present.
THIS IS TEMPORARY! A CHAMPIONSHIP IS PERMANENT
-Same as above
In the Bengals defense
When the Jets played them last year, they were a shell of the team that swept the North.
Lots of good players on their defense were hurt, and while Palmer wasn’t playing like palmer, he didn’t have anyone to really throw it to.
Against all odds, against all circumstance were you don't have a shot, you succeed
-Michael Strahan
All you hear about is the past, the past... the past is the !@#$ing past, this is the present.
THIS IS TEMPORARY! A CHAMPIONSHIP IS PERMANENT
-Same as above
A possibly better question...
What 5 teams do you think would replace these?
Against all odds, against all circumstance were you don't have a shot, you succeed
-Michael Strahan
All you hear about is the past, the past... the past is the !@#$ing past, this is the present.
THIS IS TEMPORARY! A CHAMPIONSHIP IS PERMANENT
-Same as above
My five to miss:
1. New England
2. Indiannapolis
3. Philadelphia
4. Minnesota
5. Arizona
My five to replace:
1. Houston
2. Tennessee
3. San Francisco
4. Atlanta
5. New York
"212 degrees"
Brownie Points for picking the giants
But I can’t see the Colts missing the playoffs.
Everything else I pretty much agree with you on, or at least think highly probable.
Against all odds, against all circumstance were you don't have a shot, you succeed
-Michael Strahan
All you hear about is the past, the past... the past is the !@#$ing past, this is the present.
THIS IS TEMPORARY! A CHAMPIONSHIP IS PERMANENT
-Same as above
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