It's a new week, so that means we are back to my NFL countdown. I started last week with the worst and worked my way all the way to 4 teams that have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs this year by the end of the week. Starting today, I have 12 total teams left, so we are near the cream of the crop of the NFL. Today, I even have some division winners. I also have a few surprise teams, based on where I have them ranked. This is the good part of the NFL. These last 12 teams are all hyper competitive, and they have full fledged stars, and up and coming super talents. Okay, on with the countdown.
Coming in at number 12, I have the Indianapolis Colts. This team was ravaged by injuries last year, namely to Andrew Luck. I really think Luck is a great NFL QB. He is going to take that next step to the upper level, and I think it will happen this season, if he stays healthy. He had a ruptured spleen last year, and you could tell just by watching that he was in some serious pain. The fact that he even played as many games as he did was remarkable. The problem with Luck though, he does take way too many chances and that causes costly errors. The Colts also don't really have a running game. Yeah, they signed Frank Gore last year, but he was past his prime a few years back. He is still serviceable, but not the threat he once was. He still grinds out tough yards, but he has no break away speed anymore, not that he ever really had any at all. Gore also doesn't have that great of a line to run behind either. They also don't protect Luck all that well, he was sacked a lot last season, when he played. What the Colts do have, besides Luck, is a decent group of wideouts. T.Y. Hilton has become a household name for NFL fans. He is a deep threat, but he is also a very good possession receiver. They also have Donte Moncrief, who is a taller version of Hilton, just not as polished yet. They also have the ageless wonder, Deion Branch at receiver. He is old, but he is still good. The Colts have names on defense, but the results are not there yet. The defense has guys like Robert Mathis, Vontae Davis and D'Qwell Jackson, who are all good, but they still give up a lot of points. If the defense can shore it up, they have the talent to be in the top 10 of the league. They do also have the best kicker, maybe in the history of the NFL, in Adam Vinateiri. He is as automatic as they come. The Colts should win their division. As I said last week, the Texans and Jaguars are coming, but the Colts still have Andrew Luck. I say they rebound from last year, go 11-5 and win the division.
At number 11, I have the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs may be the most milquetoast team in all of football, but they win games. Andy Reid is a very good regular season head coach, so this team can always put together a very competitive team, they just don't win playoff games. Alex Smith may be the best game manager QB in the NFL. He makes the check down play a bit too much, but he usually makes the right throw. He very rarely gets picked off, which is huge for this team. Jamaal Charles, when he is healthy, is one of the best backs in the league. He's fast, he's shifty and when he is the open field, forget about trying to catch him, he's gone. But, he does get injured a ton. He has torn ACL's, suffered multiple concussions and gets nicks and bruises all the time. They have a good tight end in Travis Kelce, but he is a very poor man's version of Gronk. He doesn't have the size and speed or the hands of Gronk, but he is a reliable tight end. The Chiefs finally have a good receiver in Jeremy Maclin. He is very fast and has good hands. But, much like Charles, Maclin gets hurt a lot. He also alligator arms passes sometimes, leading me to believe that he doesn't like contact. But, he is still a very good receiver. Other than Maclin though, the Chiefs are thin at receiver. On the other side of the ball, the Chiefs are very stout. They have great players on defense with guys like Derrick Williams, Donatari Poe, Eric Berry, Justin Houston, Marcus Peters and Tamba Hali, amongst others. The Chiefs defense can get pressure, stop the run and cover the pass. The Chiefs are good, but they are the third best defense in their own conference, that's the problem. The Chiefs division is very, very good. I say they finish 10-6, but that will only good enough for third and they will miss out on the playoffs.
Coming in at number 10, I have my biggest mover from last season, the Oakland Raiders. Now, before you laugh this team off, they have gotten really good the past couple of seasons, and they have done most of it through the draft. First off, I think Derek Carr is a very serviceable QB right now, but I believe that he will become one of the better QB's in the league very soon. He has a great arm, makes good choices most of the time, and finally has some threats at the skill positions. Derek Carr is one of the better draft choices that the Raiders have made in a long, long time. Another great draft pick they made happened last year when they took Amari Cooper. Cooper proved in his rookie year that he was as advertised. He does the dirty work, i.e., going over the middle and jumping up for poorly thrown balls. Cooper also has speed, runs great routes and finds open spaces all over the field. Amari Cooper is awesome. They also have Michael Crabtree, who is still a very viable receiver, when he has a good QB. At running back, they looked thin, but Latavius Murray really showed up last year when they needed a good running back. He runs hard and grinds out yards. Their offensive line is also very, quietly, good. But, this Raiders defense is on the verge of being one of the top defenses in the NFL. They are so good, so fast, attack the other team, and they aren't dirty about it anymore. The defense is led by another great draft pick, Khalil Mack. Mack is so, so good. He is a dominant linebacker. He can tackle, he can cover and he is the leader of this unit when they are on the field, and he excels at all these things. They also signed Bruce Irvin this offseason away from Seattle, and now he is teaming up with Mack. Oof, that is a devastating duo at linebacker. They also have a good defensive line and secondary, but this defense is led by the linebackers, as defenses should be. I really like what the Raiders have done, I hope they don't move to Las Vegas, and they've done most of it through the draft. This team is good, and they should win 11 games this year, and compete for a playoff spot, but it will be from the wild card. I really enjoy this Raiders team.
At number 9, which is a fall for them, I have the Seattle Seahawks. I kind of feel that the shine is off this Seahawks team. They don't seem to be as dominant as they were 2 years ago. I feel that some people on their team, Russell Wilson, have let their ego get in the way of their game. Wilson was a fine game manager, but when he was the QB of a Super Bowl championship, I feel like he got way too much credit, and he let that get to his head. you could see it in his play last year. He tried to make throws that he can't possibly make. He also started to blame everyone else on the team for his short comings. Wilson is a slightly better version of Colin Kaepernick, he just happened to be on a team with one of the greatest defenses of all time. Then, they let Marshawn Lynch essentially walk away for nothing because he and Wilson couldn't coexist. They chose the QB over, at the time, the best running back in the league. I know Lynch was hurt a lot last year, but when he was in, he was great. Then, they struck gold with Thomas Rawls, who was a revelation, but he broke his ankle. The running back position is a big, big problem for this team, and they rely on the run more than any other NFL team. At receiver, they have just okay players. Tyler Lockett and Doug Baldwin are fine, but they are just kind of blah to me. They have Jimmy Graham, but they use him more for blocking than receiving, and that is not his strength. He is not a good blocker at all, but he is an all world receiver. They need to figure out how to use him properly. Their o line stinks as well. They simply cannot protect anyone. The defense is still good, but people have figured out how to neutralize their weapons. They lost Bruce Irvin, but they still have Bobby Wagner and KJ Wright. They are fine, but they are not Bruce Irvin. They do have a good d line, with guys like Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril. They can stop the run, but their days of pressuring the QB seem to be gone. The secondary is the best part of their defense, but it is not the "Legion of Boom"(what a stupid, self proclaimed nickname) anymore. Richard Sherman is great, but not like he was a few years ago. He gets beat deep more now, and he doesn't put fear in opposing QB's like he used to. Earl Thomas is a very good safety, but he also has lost a step or two over the past couple of years. Brandon Browner, in my opinion, has become a better over all cornerback than Richard Sherman, but no one talks about him. But, the cream of the crop in the secondary is Kam Chancellor. He is a great hitter and ball hawk. Chancellor may be one of the best secondary players in all the NFL. The Seahawks can still win this porous division, but they will probably only win 10 games. They still have a very stout defense, which will keep them in games, but the offense is not as good as some will lead you to believe, and they will continue to regress. Also, Pete Carroll is not as good a coach as some writers think he is.
Come back tomorrow for the next four teams.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. His dislike for the Seahawks is legendary, but he will still give credit where it is due. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.
