The NFL hasn't seen a repeat champion since the New England Patriots six years ago. Since then we've seen teams win the Super Bowl and either miss the playoffs altogether or exited early in the playoffs. Will the New Orleans Saints be any different?
We see this a lot of the NFL. When a team wins a Super Bowl, they usually lose a lot of coaches or players. I remember the 94 Niners after they won their Super Bowl. They lost both coordinators (Mike Shanahan and Ray Rhodes) and lost key players like Deion Sanders and Ricky "For Who? For What?" Watters. Loses like that were catastrophic for the Niners. The Saints don't face that problem heading into the 2010 season.
I love when people make "sleeper" picks. Doesn't matter what sport, there are always experts predicting what team or teams are sleepers and could surprise people down the line. Some people love that stuff and others hated. I'm the former. I love knowing who people are picking to be the surprise team of the year. In the NFL the Houston Texans have been the "sleeper" team for about five years. Once again they're picked to be a surprise team this season. I'm going in a different direction, I'm going with the Oakland Raiders are my surprise team.
Yes the Oakland Raiders are my surprise team heading into the 2010 NFL season. You might be asking yourself this, are you crazy Keith? Maybe I am. Maybe I've been too inundated with Raiders coverage because I live near Oakland. I have my reasons though why I think the Raiders are the sleeper team of the 2010 NFL season.
With Brett Favre allegedly announcing his retirement this morning, this changes the complete complexion of the Vikings, NFC North, and NFC in general. I'm with Mike Florio on this one, I believe Favre will still play this season. Until then though, the Vikings must move on.
Who Will Be the Vikings Quarterback?: Without Favre the Vikings are down to Tarvaris Jackson, Sage Rosenfels, and rookie Joe Webb as their quarterbacks. In two years as the Vikings starter Jackson has thrown 21 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. And who can forget Jackson getting destroyed by Chris Clemons against the Eagles in the playoffs? Jackson isn't a terrible quarterback, but he isn't elite.
Sage Rosenfels isn't much better than Jackson. Rosenfels has thrown 30 touchdowns and 29 interceptions in his career. And who can forget his little brainfart against the Indianapolis Colts a couple of years ago? The Vikings take a huge step back in the quarterback department but are still loaded on offense.
How Will This Affect The Vikings Offense?: Even without Favre the Vikings are still loaded on offense. The Vikings made the playoffs a couple of years ago with Jackson as their quarterback based solely on their offensive line and Adrian Peterson. Peterson is still in the backfield with that great offensive line in front of him. The Vikings also drafted Stanford running back Toby Gerhart to add some depth in the backfield. Visanthe Shiancoe and his unit is a solid tight end. The Vikings also have depth at receiver with Percy Harvin, Sidney Rice, and Bernard Berrian. So while Favre may have retired and Jackson may not be competent, but that offensive line and depth at running back and receiver still makes the Vikings a solid team.
How Will Favre's Retirment Affect the NFC North?: Vegas odds-makers were picking the Vikings to win the NFC North at the beginning of training camp. With Favre retiring, the odds-makers are already changing their picks. While the Vikings are still a loaded team on offense and defense, they're no longer my pick to win the NFC North. I'm going with Green Bay simply because I trust Aaron Rodgers to make right decisions on the field instead of Jay Cutler.
Will the Vikings Still Make the Playoffs?: I'm still going to pick the Vikings to make the playoffs as a Wild Card. Their defense is too loaded to fall off a cliff. A great defense can still take a team far. Also the Vikings probably have the best offensive line in the NFL, they'll protect Jackson. The Vikings also have depth at running back and receivers. If Jackson can limit his mistakes, Minnesota is still a playoff team.
How Will This Affect The Rest of the NFL?: The NFL loses one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time. We forget now, but Favre won three MVP trophy's in row, played in two Super Bowls and won one. He's the Cal Ripken of football playing in 285 straight games an amazing feat when you think about it because Peyton Manning is second and is almost 100 games behind Favre. Favre also broke several passing records including the most yards, touchdowns, and interceptions thrown. Forget about his drama surrounding his retirement decisions, Favre was an all-time best quarterback. I surely won't miss him though playing against the 49ers because he always killed them.
(I begin the 2010 NFL Preview's with my San Francisco 49ers. I'm beginning with the 49ers because I'm having a hard time coming up with information for other teams, so I'll start with the easiest team for me, the Niners. Enjoy.)
The good folks over at Niners Nation are flat out giddy for the start of the NFL season. I can't say I'm that giddy for the start of the NFL season. Maybe it's because it's still July and the Niners haven't even reported to camp yet? Maybe it's because the San Francisco Giants are in the middle of a pennant race and they have my attention at the moment? Maybe it's because the first Niners preseason game isn't until August 15th and their first regular season game isn't until September 12th? Maybe it's a combination of both? One thing I'm certain about, I'm not giddy about the 49ers season.
I'm not giddy about the Niners because everyone else is. The 49ers are expected to win the NFC West this year and that what scares me. Since 2006 the 49ers have expected to at least compete for a playoff spot but have ultimately fallen short. This year though everything sets up perfectly for the Niners. Kurt Warner retired (I don't know why this is a big deal. The Niners beat the Cardinals twice last season.) the Seahawks are transitioning to the Pete Carroll era and the Rams are rebuilding. The NFC West is basically up for the taking, but I'm still not confident in the Niners and here's why.
