CBS Sportsline Power Rankings

I am, of course, just guessing. After the draft, I will reassess my opinion and I'll bet my decission. Year in and year out I make some pretty good money on the future props, but still it's just a guess.

In looking at those power rankings, I think he has us playing 8 teams with a power ranking above 15th. To me that's fair. I think we could go 5-3 with those teams. The teams on the lower 15 rankings, I think we could do 6-2.

If we are truly # 4 in the rankings, then my assessment would be reasonable. I am a homer + this year, I think #4 is accurate. IMDO I think we added the perfect pieces to the puzzle, thus my extreme homerism.

The Saints are not going to come together fast enuff to beat very good teams this year with so many new pieces in their organization. I simply don't think that the Falcons have improved their O. Vick is not getting better in the "he only wins" department the Falc fans keep repeating. In fact, his stats show improvement but now he only wins half. Adding a rusher on the end that didn't do much aganst us last year is no biggy. Lawyer might help but I'll wait to see how he plays on that team.

Anyway, I was thinking I was pretty smart when I started cashing in my silver futures the other day so I needed Collin to bring me back to earth.

IMDO-- 'in my dumb opinion" is the way Collin should read this.

IMDO-- "in my damn opinion" is the way poster should read this who think everybody has a right to an opinion.

 

I dont know if ATL and NO have improved enough to be extremely worried about. I mean, i bet they're more concerned about the moves weve made.

ATL brought in Abraham, but it cost them their #1 pick. And he's a pass rusher not a run stopper. I dont see how they've solved their problems yet. I dont recall them bringing in anybody else worth noting but i could be wrong. They lost their overrated LT, and i dont know if they have a replacement for that or not. I guess if Hartwell's healthy again they'll be better than when we faced them in the front 7. But they'll still have run stopping problems.

I do like what NO did, especially when you consider what it must have took to get ANYONE to go there. Brees, Fujita and Bennett, but two of those have injury concerns and Bennets obviously a backup. If NO draft Brick or Hawk ill be more concerned than if they add Leinert or Williams.
They do have potential to be very dangerous.

Are Tampa relying on last years record or what?

 

Lawyer Milloy

 

Good points. Much can and will change between now and September. However, an analysis now can still be enjoyable. As of this date the Panthers will have a brutal schedule.

I am hoping they can win 4 of their 6 division games. If they can do that they would need win 50 % of their other games to reach 10 wins.

I do think New Orleans is improved. However, I do not think Brees is a savior. He will be more consistent than Brooks.

Atlanta seems a bit of a mystery. Two years ago they had the benefit of an easy schedule. Last year they had a tougher schedule and fell back to earth. While Abraham is a very good pass rusher I wonder about his ability to stop the run and history of injuries.

Of all teams in the division Tampa has had the least major activity in FA. Might they be similar to Atlanta 2 years ago? They will have a tougher (1rst place) schedule this year.


We shall see...............

 

10 wins next season, tops. that schedule is brutal.

 

I am NOT a Tampa supporter (I hate them!) but I really think they are relying on their "We are the NFCS Champs and we don't have to do a damn thing" mantra. They are the only ones in our div. that have not tried to improve. It's going to be funny when they are at the bottom of the the div. this year because they didn't go out and try to improve in the off season.

 

Dude, take another look at their roster. With Culpepper on board now, that 9-7 team from last year (many people still don't realize that they finished the season with a winning record) could definitely be one of the better teams in the AFC. I wouldn't want to play them, as the Culpepper to Chambers connection will be fierce if Daunte can just get healthy.


Sackem:
They were already pretty tight in cap space, although they had enough room to do something once the new CBA was signed. I am a little suprised that they haven't done anything, but honestly I can't think of any holes they needed to fill anyway. O-line help probably would have been good, but there wasn't a lot of that out there this off-season, and what was went for premium prices.

 

Yes, they did finish the season with a winning record, winning their last six games. One was against San Diego, four were against bad football teams, and they edged New England's JV squad. Don't get me wrong - winning six straight in the NFL is damn good work, but we should consider the competition.

I've seen the roster. They still have a hole a guard, no back-up quarterback, an average #2 option at wideout, and question marks in the secondary. It's not a complete roster. They could certainly solidify it in the coming months, but as it is now, I don't see them as the fifth best team in the NFL.

 

It does make for good conversation. It's just that, historically, our perception of what teams are good or bad changes significantly over the course of the year. Prior to '04, I didn't think we would lose to San Diego, and I figured that the Chiefs would beat us in their backyard. So I try to reserve judgement these days, but we can still chat about it.

The schedules aren't based on that anymore. I haven't seen their full list of opponents yet, but Tampa is still a good team. I wouldn't consider the the 'ugly step-sister' of anything.

 

Passing game is going to be a million times better with Johnson. If teams double Smith then we can just dump it off to Keyshawn Johnson