Your 2014 Pretenders

[kearly]

I want to say Arizona and SF, but the coaching is just too good.

Carolina's defense is elite, it's going to take more than a Cam Newton rib injury for that team to go 8-8.

I don't know if I see a real pretender in the NFC, unless you count the Redskins.

On the AFC side, the Chargers look crappy and slow on defense and will probably fall back to orbit on offense after Rivers and Matthews had outlier-ish seasons last year. The loss of Wisenhunt at OC will hurt them too.

I suspect the Chiefs are semi-legit, but they are injury prone at a couple of critical areas, so it's not hard to see their season derailed by injuries.

I don't think it happens this year, but the Patriots feel like a team that is teetering on the edge of collapsing into a pile of suck. If Gronk stays healthy they'll be fine, but without him they will be easy to overtake in the division if any other team decides to finally stop sucking. The Jets sucked but they should have swept the Pats last year.

 

[Sherman4Prez]

Chiefs, Niners, Carolina, aaannnd... the Bears.

Lions, too

 

[Fudwamper]

I agree with Rich, everyone keeps saying how great the niners depth is. The big problem with that is no one has ever seen their depth play. If the niners took the the onslaught that the hawks took last year at o-line, they would have been 8-8 or worse.

 

[Smelly McUgly]

I really can't tell about the 49ers. I think they have less talent than in past years, but I also think Harbaugh can coax 10-6 out of the pieces that he has. Like, after seeing Pete Carroll coax 7-9 out of that 2010 team, which was hot garbage by the way, I believe that Carroll can take less and make more out of it. I feel the same way about Harbaugh, and we might be getting to the point where he proves me right in the next year or two.

I think the Cardinals are too talent poor to do much this year. I think the Chiefs had a great year playing a bunch of bad teams last year, but they'll fall back to earth this year. I think the Colts might not win their division either, especially if Jacksonville decides to roll the dice with Bortles at some point during the year and Bortles is actually good.

I think Denver and New England would be in danger of significant drop-offs if they didn't play in cupcake divisions.

 

[hawkfan68]

AFC
East
Dolphins : Pretender
Jets : Challenger
Patriots : Favorite
Bills : Pretender
North
Ravens : Challenger
Steelers : Pretender
Browns : Pretender
Bengals : Favorite
South
Colts : Favorite
Jaguars : Pretender
Texans : Pretender
Titans : Challenger
West
Chargers : Pretender
Raiders : Challenger
Chiefs : Pretender
Broncos : Favorite
NFC
East
Eagles : Favorite
Redskins : Pretender
Cowboys : Pretender
Giants : Challenger
North
Bears : Pretender
Vikings : Pretender
Packers : Challenger
Lions : Favorite
South
Buccaneers : Challenger
Panthers : Pretender
Saints : Favorite
Falcons : Pretender
West
Rams : Pretender
Seahawks : Favorite
49ers : Challenger
Cardinals : Pretender



This isn't saying everyone will be bad, just who will win a division and who will push them at the end to come closest to unseating them.

Jets challengers in the AFC East? IMO, the only thing they will challenge is the Bills and the Fins for last place in the division. Pats have the easiest track to twinning their division by a mile over everyone.

 

[RichNhansom]

I think the Pats in any other division would be pretenders but until someone steps up in that division they will continue to win and probably with home field in the playoffs. That's pretty much it though.

Colts were the beneficiary of officiating all last year and someone put up a stat that proved it. I doubt they will suddenly get hammered by officiating but I can't see the NFL pushing them as hard as they did last year either. Houston is a better team but like Tennessee they just seem to find ways to lose. Even so I envision them struggling a little more this year but the question is will any team step up and take the division away from them. Put the Colts in the NFC west and they finish close to the Rams.

 

[HawkAroundTheClock]

Santa Clara has too many issues going against that team, teams are going to figure out "captain one read".....

Speaking of, what's the deal with Papaki's forearm play sheet? He's going into his 4th year with the team and he still doesn't have the plays memorized? Or is their offense's verbiage unnecessarily complex?

I don't notice a lot of veteran QB's using the ol' cheat sheet much these days.

 

[chris98251]

Santa Clara has too many issues going against that team, teams are going to figure out "captain one read".....

Speaking of, what's the deal with Papaki's forearm play sheet? He's going into his 4th year with the team and he still doesn't have the plays memorized? Or is their offense's verbiage unnecessarily complex?

I don't notice a lot of veteran QB's using the ol' cheat sheet much these days.

He needs it for the name of his first read, it's hard when they keep changing his receivers to know who he is suppose to throw to. :stirthepot:

 

[hawksfansinceday1]

Santa Clara has too many issues going against that team, teams are going to figure out "captain one read".....

Speaking of, what's the deal with Papaki's forearm play sheet? He's going into his 4th year with the team and he still doesn't have the plays memorized? Or is their offense's verbiage unnecessarily complex?

I don't notice a lot of veteran QB's using the ol' cheat sheet much these days.

He needs it for the name of his first read, it's hard when they keep changing his receivers to know who he is suppose to throw to. :stirthepot:

LMAO, good one Chris.



RE:Carolina: Yes, their defense was really good and they'll be in most games. But at some point you have to score some points to win games and I just don't see them averaging more than like 18 a game. Not enough to win more than 9, even with that defense. Also remember what Frisco did to them in their last game......whipped 'em easily in their building in the divisional round.

 

[TXHawk]

The Niners are my top candidate to take a fall. Three years of heartbreaking losses in the playoffs eventually have to have an effect on the team psyche and I think there's some fire to go along with the smoke regarding Harbaugh and the tension within the team headquarters and front office. Then you've got their aging vets (Boldin, Gore, J.Smith), looming suspensions (A.Smith), holdouts (Boone), and injuries (Bowman, Lattimore, Martin, Dorsey). When you combine that with how bad they have looked in preseason it just feels like a team in disarray right now.

In the AFC I think the Chiefs become the 8-8 team they probably would have been last year if they had played a tougher schedule.

 

[ctrcat]

Santa Clara has too many issues going against that team, teams are going to figure out "captain one read".....

Speaking of, what's the deal with Papaki's forearm play sheet? He's going into his 4th year with the team and he still doesn't have the plays memorized? Or is their offense's verbiage unnecessarily complex?

I don't notice a lot of veteran QB's using the ol' cheat sheet much these days.

He needs it for the name of his first read, it's hard when they keep changing his receivers to know who he is suppose to throw to. :stirthepot:

LMAO, good one Chris.



RE:Carolina: Yes, their defense was really good and they'll be in most games. But at some point you have to score some points to win games and I just don't see them averaging more than like 18 a game. Not enough to win more than 9, even with that defense. Also remember what Frisco did to them in their last game......whipped 'em easily in their building in the divisional round.

I would say they got whipped in the 2nd half by a more experienced postseason team who also got some favorable calls. In the first half they were stopped twice on the goal line, but due to injuries and the draft are significantly better now at the guard position (and RB if Stewart stays healthy), as well as added some red zone pass catchers-in other words less likely they get stonewalled in a similar scenario which may have changed the complexion of the game. Surprisingly they actually out gained the 9ers in that game.

12 wins may be lofty with a tough schedule but a modest glass half full could easily and objectively say 10.

 

[hawkfan68]

Back on the Chain Gang - The Pretenders....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pretenders

Back on topic,

Redskins, Raiders, Panthers, Browns, Steelers, Jets, Bills, Dolphins, Texans are all pretenders
Contenders - Saints, Seahawks, 49ers, Cards, Packers, Eagles, Broncos, Pats, Colts, Ravens