The return of Michael Vick, Tom Brady, and Brett Favre. The trade of Jay Cutler. The promise and potential of first-round picks Matthew Stafford and Mark Sanchez. The battle in Cleveland: Quinn or Anderson?
The 2009 NFL preseason uncovered a cornucopia of interesting developments, from the multitude of quarterback stories to five teams that headed into the final preseason game unbeaten. But preseason, traditionally, has been a difficult standard to gauge regular-season performance by. To illustrate, the hapless-of-late Detroit Lions are 7-1 in preseason since 2007, but have lost 17 regular-season games over that same period.
The undefeated teams were whittled down to three after preseason closed—Seattle from the NFC; Miami and Baltimore in the AFC—but only the two AFC teams appear to be serious contenders for high power rankings during the regular season. Baltimore presents the most intriguing possibility. A member of the tough AFC North division, the Ravens took league champion Pittsburgh to the limit last year, losing two regular-season contests and the AFC title game to the Steelers by a total of 16 points. But for a few plays, it could’ve been the Ravens in the Super Bowl against Arizona. The renewal of the Pittsburgh-Baltimore division battle will be a 2009 highlight.
Three teams went winless in the preseason: Carolina, Kansas City, and Arizona, with the most disturbing of these being the Cardinals. Last year’s Super Bowl finalist with the high-octane offense was shutout by Denver in its final tune-up. Only two teams in the NFC scored fewer points than the Cardinals in preseason, an ominous sign.
Among the quarterbacks generating headlines, the Cutler and Favre stories are likely to carry on well into the regular season. Favre’s continuing resurrection saga should give a true boost to the Vikings’ quest to down Green Bay and Chicago in the NFC North, a march that should see them go deep into the postseason. Vick gets his chance at redemption, though it’s evident he’s still rusty, and Brady’s return from injury, now including slight shoulder damage, will be watched closely. The highly touted rookies Stafford and Sanchez should start slowly, with Sanchez’s Jets giving him better operating room. In Cleveland, it probably won’t matter which QB starts. The Browns, after a basement-wallowing 4-12 campaign in ’08, have nowhere to go but up.
Super Bowl pick? Strictly for crystal-ball gazers, and we’re a long way out, but: Minnesota vs. Baltimore, with the Ravens taking home the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Alan Ross is the author of 32 books, including Away from the Ball: The NFL’s Off-the-Field Heroes. E-mail him at: alanross_sports@yahoo.com© Sportland 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment