As soon as time ran out on New England’s comeback attempt in Super Bowl XLVI, the fans of 31 teams immediately turned their attentions to 2012. For if we’ve learned anything over the past two seasons, it’s that parity is alive and well in the NFL. Everybody has a chance – except Cleveland and Buffalo.
Here is PPI’s pre-draft glance at the contenders and pretenders for 2012. Stay tuned to www.proplayerinsiders.com/ to view updated rankings throughout the offseason.
1. New York Giants
Sure, the G-men only won nine regular season games. They also had one of the most difficult schedules in recent memory and beat the AFC’s and NFC’s top seeds on their way to a second Super Bowl in four years. Eli, Nicks, Cruz, JPP and Tuck are in their primes. Yikes.
2. Green Bay Packers
Barring injury, Aaron Rodgers will go down as the greatest quarterback in Packers history, no small accomplishment given the team’s storied history. However, Green Bay must balance the offense with some semblance of a running game. On the other side of the ball, opponents were clearly focusing their efforts on keeping Clay Matthews from beating them, so finding a complementary pass rusher must be atop the team’s offseason shopping list.
3. San Francisco 49ers
It’s strange to think that the 49ers, traditionally a team known for offense, boast a potentially historic defense that may only be held back by its quarterbacking. Alex Smith made great strides in his first year under Jim Harbaugh but he needs another weapon on the outside to continue the maturation process.
4. New England Patriots
Even in a weak AFC, the Patriots greatly overachieved to notch 13 wins in 2011. Yet with Brady and Belichick in the fold, New England is going to be in the conversation for at least a few more years. Will “The Hoodie” consider making a bold move for Desean Jackson or Mario Williams if they’re available?
5. New Orleans Saints
The Saints will certainly retain Drew Brees, but what happens with fellow free agents Marques Colston and Carl Nicks? There are a lot of questions to answer in New Orleans, the most important of which is, can this team win a playoff game outside of the Superdome?
6. Houston Texans
The Texans got a sneak preview of what life after Mario Williams will be like when the stud DE/LB went down for the season in Week 5. They were able to weather that storm but cannot afford for Matt Schaub to return to his injury-prone ways.
7. Baltimore Ravens
Joe Flacco is not the problem. Re-signing Ray Rice will clearly be the offseason’s top priority. The window on Baltimore’s aging defense is closing fast. Can the Ravens take the next step before its slams shut?
8. Philadelphia Eagles
Bringing back Andy Reid was a smart move. Overhauling the coaching staff would have significantly added to the instability in Philly. The Eagles need an offseason without distractions if they ever hope to regain “dream team” status. I’m not sure giving Desean Jackson (58/961/4) franchise money is wise.
9. Atlanta Falcons
We know Matt Ryan can put up numbers and make the Falcons annual playoff entrants. Now he has to take the next step. Adding a pass rusher to complement John Abraham wouldn’t hurt the cause.
10. Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers are going to be in the mix year in and year out. They have the coach, the quarterback and the pass rush – what seems to be missing is that clock-controlling running game that the yellow-and-black has become known for. And with rumors that Rashard Mendenhall will miss the 2012 season with a knee injury, Pittsburgh will likely have to look elsewhere.
11. Detroit Lions
Aside from a couple of on-field and one postgame fiasco, everything broke right for the Lions in 2011, leading to the team’s first playoff berth in a dozen years. If Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson stay healthy and Jahvid Best returns to pre-injury form, Detroit has an impressive array of offensive weapons and the defense, led by the enigmatic Ndamukong Suh, is emerging. The Lions have room to move – up or down.
12. San Diego Chargers
Norv Turner. Explosive but inconsistent offense. Ditto on defense. We know how this one ends.
13. Dallas Cowboys
I’ve always been a Tony Romo supporter but some doubts started to creep in about Jessica Simpson’s ex during the 2011 campaign. The stats were there once again (4,184 yards, 31 TDs, 10 INTs) but late game meltdowns against the Jets and Lions cost the ‘Boys a spot in the playoffs. The defense, aside from DeMarcus Ware’s 19.5 sacks, regressed as well without Wade Phillips.
14. New York Jets
The Rex Ryan act will wear thin quickly with another underachieving season in the Big Apple, er, Jersey. It’s also a make-or-break season for Mark Sanchez and the team absolutely must increase its speed on defense. Aaron Maybin is a story but the Bills castoff shouldn’t lead the once-touted Jets unit in sacks.
15. Carolina Panthers
The Panthers went from an unwatchable team in 2010 to appointment TV in year one with Cam Newton at the helm. Newton’s rookie season was one for the ages; if Carolina can get a repeat from its young signalcaller and a reasonable improvement from the league’s 28th ranked defense, Carolina could make some noise in a tough NFC South.
16. Chicago Bears
The Bears may be the toughest team in the league to slot at this point in the offseason. We know the defense will be stout with Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs and Julius Peppers. If the offense returns a healthy Jay Cutler and a happy (and healthy) Matt Forte, Chicago could easily move into the Top 10.
17. Cincinnati Bengals
Truth be told, there’s more promise in Cincinnati than there’s been in recent years. The Bengals were in the thick of the playoff hunt before losing back-to-back games against Baltimore and Houston. Andy Dalton and A.J. Green appear to be the real deal but Rey Maualuga needs to get his off-the-field issues sorted out and the team has to decide on what to do with free agents Reggie Nelson and Cedric Benson
18. Tennessee Titans
Any team with Mike Munchak in charge is going to be good in the trenches. The keys for the Titans will be the development of Jake Locker, the rehab of Kenny Britt and the location of a consistent pass rush.
19. St. Louis Rams
As good as Sam Bradford was as a rookie, it’s hard to believe that he won’t bounce back from a subpar sophomore season as long as he has someone to throw to (Brandon Lloyd is a free agent). The defense has a core group of up-and-comers and you know Jeff Fisher will coach them up.
20. Denver Broncos
Rookie Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil are playing their part in creating Orange Crush 2.0, but Champ Bailey and Brian Dawkins are another year older on the back end of the defense. And as much as I hope I’m wrong, it feels like a blueprint is out on how to stop Tim Tebow. Coach John Fox will have his work cut out for him if he hopes to catch lightning in a bottle twice.
21. Arizona Cardinals
Kevin Kolb’s first year in the desert was not a good one but another offseason of preparation could go a long way in his development (throwing to Larry Fitzgerald doesn’t hurt either). Ken Whisenhunt is one of the best in the business at getting his guys ready.
22. Oakland Raiders
The Raiders have some intriguing questions to answer this offseason, especially in their offensive backfield. With the hefty ransom the team paid for Carson Palmer, what does Oakland do with Jason Campbell? Do they franchise Michael Bush, which, alongside Darren McFadden, would be quite an investment in two running backs?
23. Miami Dolphins
Whether it’s Robert Griffin, Peyton Manning or someone else that makes it happen, this ranking is sure to change substantially by mid-March. Miami was vastly improved over the latter half of the season and could even carry that momentum forward with Matt Moore at the helm and an effective draft class.
24. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa regressed badly after a 10-win campaign in 2010. Part of that was that teams got a book on Josh Freeman and part of it was that the Bucs didn’t get some of the breaks that they did a year ago. Many of the pieces are in place for a return to competitiveness. Don’t be surprised if Greg Schiano is in the mix for Coach of the Year honors.
25. Kansas City Chiefs
Two steps forward, two steps back for the Chiefs. Kansas City appeared to be a team on the rise entering 2011 but injuries to Matt Cassell and Jamaal Charles quickly derailed playoff aspirations. The team now has to find a way to re-sign arguably its best offensive (Dwayne Bowe) and defensive (Brandon Carr) players this offseason.
26. Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks won the same amount of regular season games last year, 7, as they did in 2010. The big difference was that they weren’t able to squeak into the playoffs with a sub-.500 record this time. Still, there were bright spots: Marshawn Lynch was a monster over the second half, the defense finished in the Top 10 and Tarvaris Jackson again showed that he can be serviceable at quarterback.
27. Buffalo Bills
The Bills have been stuck in neutral for over a decade and not much changed in 2011. Buffalo unearthed a couple of young gems in C.J. Spiller and Marcell Dareus, but the Bills really don’t know what they have in Ryan Fitzpatrick – other than a $60 million investment. Despite his sometimes childish behavior, the team must re-sign Stevie Johnson, its only true gamebreaker.
28. Jacksonville Jaguars
What can you say about Maurice Jones-Drew? The guy paced the league in rushing despite any threat of a passing game and the Jaguars rarely in possession of a lead. On the plus side for new coach Mike Mularkey is that Jacksonville’s young defense finished the season sixth in total defense.
29. Minnesota Vikings
AP’s injured. Donovan’s done. Anyone hear from the ol’ gunslinger lately?
30. Indianapolis Colts
We’ve gotten used to ranking the Colts much higher over the last 15 years, but we’ve also gotten used to Peyton Manning wearing a horseshoe on his helmet. Things change quickly in the NFL.
31. Washington Redskins
The ‘Skins appear to have the right defensive pieces in place with pass rushers Brian Orakpo (9 sacks) and Ryan Kerrigan (7.5) but the bloom is quickly wearing off of Mike Shanahan’s rose. Would Washington entertain the idea of bringing in a Manning-Reggie Wayne battery to reinvigorate the offense?
32. Cleveland Browns
Poor Cleveland.
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