This year's surprise teams

[msgkings322]

I would say of the teams that have been a surprise so far the 3 that I see having staying power would be the Chiefs, Saints, and Miami. I honestly think all 3 make the playoffs with Miami and the Chiefs being Wild Cards for the AFC and the Saints winning the NFC South. Now from those teams I think the Saints are the only real threat for being a Superbowl contender. The defense has played out of their minds so far and I trust that Brees and that offense will get things going soon enough. They are one of only a handful of teams at least at this moment that I think could give the Seahawks some major trouble come playoff time. They have enough offensive weapons to make it hard to cover them all, a good HC, a great quarterback, and an opportunistic defense.

All good takes.

Any guesses on who the negative surprises will be come year end?

 

[cdumler7]

All good takes.

Any guesses on who the negative surprises will be come year end?

I think San Fran is too talented not to bounce back at some point this season so I think they will be fine.

I don't think the Giants will be able to right the ship and neither will Washington. The only saving grace they have is the NFC East is horrible this year but even then I think both will be fortunate to finish with anything above 6 wins this season. I also think for once the Cowboys have some staying power to hold the division this year.

Now a team with a winning record that I think could fall off is Baltimore. The last 2 games have been won because of defense and special teams. That offense now especially with Ray Rice injured is just lacking in talent. If teams don't turn the ball over and keep the Special Teams in check the Ravens could be in for a long season. I do think their defense is better this year and should keep them in quite a few games but they just don't have the fire power if they get down early at all to come back. I think Cincinnati ends up winning that division by 2 or more games by seasons end with the Chiefs and Dolphins taking the two Wild Card spots at 10-6 with Baltimore ending at 9-7 missing the playoffs.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Even if you're not a fan of Alex Smith, he's a huge upgrade over what they had and it shows. I agree with the poster who said he's kind of Flacco-ish that way.

As far as the Steelers going 9-4 the rest of the way? Hey, you're a solid fan but that's probably not the way to bet...

To your other point...understood. Here's one I missed big time...I thought the Bucs were going to be a playoff team with the players they added and all those high draft picks getting experience...so I'm surprised they're 0-3.

Smith...that goes w/o saying...my brother-in-law is a huge KC fan and we debated the trade...its the playoffs that would concern me.

Steelers...yea, the fan in me was posting that...not the wagerer
But here's my thinking...hear me out. New LT, C, LG so I thought the OL would struggle out the gate and they have. I figured they will have this sorted out by the bye, time will tell there. The turnovers have killed us, that is almost unNFL like and can't continue at that rate. The DEF has't played that bad.

MIN - W
bye
@NYJ - W
BAL - W
@OAK - W
@NE - L
BUF - W
DET - W, OFC will have to be in top form
@CLE - W
@BAL - L
MIA - W
CIN - W, yes, I'm concerned about a sweep
@GB - L
CLE - W

I'm counting 10 wins here, so a small buffer for a slip up somewhere.

 

[Southieinnc]

I think San Fran is too talented not to bounce back at some point this season so I think they will be fine.

I don't think the Giants will be able to right the ship and neither will Washington. The only saving grace they have is the NFC East is horrible this year but even then I think both will be fortunate to finish with anything above 6 wins this season. I also think for once the Cowboys have some staying power to hold the division this year.

Now a team with a winning record that I think could fall off is Baltimore. The last 2 games have been won because of defense and special teams. That offense now especially with Ray Rice injured is just lacking in talent. If teams don't turn the ball over and keep the Special Teams in check the Ravens could be in for a long season. I do think their defense is better this year and should keep them in quite a few games but they just don't have the fire power if they get down early at all to come back. I think Cincinnati ends up winning that division by 2 or more games by seasons end with the Chiefs and Dolphins taking the two Wild Card spots at 10-6 with Baltimore ending at 9-7 missing the playoffs.

I agree with Baltimore going 9-7 but I believe they take the division with that record.
Is it possible that the NFC East division will be won by a 6-10 team? Somebody will get 7-9, no?

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I think San Fran is too talented not to bounce back at some point this season so I think they will be fine.

I don't think the Giants will be able to right the ship and neither will Washington. The only saving grace they have is the NFC East is horrible this year but even then I think both will be fortunate to finish with anything above 6 wins this season. I also think for once the Cowboys have some staying power to hold the division this year.

Now a team with a winning record that I think could fall off is Baltimore. The last 2 games have been won because of defense and special teams. That offense now especially with Ray Rice injured is just lacking in talent. If teams don't turn the ball over and keep the Special Teams in check the Ravens could be in for a long season. I do think their defense is better this year and should keep them in quite a few games but they just don't have the fire power if they get down early at all to come back. I think Cincinnati ends up winning that division by 2 or more games by seasons end with the Chiefs and Dolphins taking the two Wild Card spots at 10-6 with Baltimore ending at 9-7 missing the playoffs.

I called 9-7 from the outset for the Ravens...primarily due to the loss of their best WR/TE. I did figure the DEF would miss Ray Lewis on the road, but would ultimately be okay because the DL is still one of the best in the game. Statistically they really had nowhere to go but up.

Rice is a huge factor, but Pierce is a player to be respected. I think in DIV they are going to struggle on OFC...if they do better than 9-7...Harbaugh will have done a pretty good job following the SB win.

 

[Ties5o11]

I think its too early to consider teams a surprise yet. I mean think of a league like the NHL or MLB, even the worst teams will win 3 in a row at some points.

I will say though, Miami has NO, Bal, NE, and Cincy in their next 5 games. If they go 2-2 or 3-1 in those games, then I will consider them the biggest surprise. I actually also thought Chicago would not be that good, but they have started out well so we will see.

 

[Tacoma_canuck]

I think my only surprise is on the negative side. I thought the Steelers were better then they have looked so far and if they end up a 5 or 6 win team, that would be a shock to me. The Giants have been atrocious. I can't believe they have looked this bad. They are always slow starters but this is ridiculous. I'm starting to think they are a 4 win team. Never would have imagined that from a Coughlin/ Eli team.

I honestly never thought KC was really a 2-14 team. That defense is ligit and the running of Charles is ligit. They needed a guy like Alex Smith to just keep things going in the right direction. Unlike all the hype machine and all the fans, being a game manager is not a bad thing to me. You can't argue with the results and Andy Reed is a good HC. It's better that he is not the play caller though, imo.
NO doesn't surprise me at all. The defense a little maybe but I expect them to be a play-off team with their HC back at the helm.
Miami might be a slight surprise but I like their defense and Tannehill seems to be doing just what he needs to do. That could change but I could see them as a 9-10 win team if they just don't buy the hype and play good hard football.