The NFL Elite of 2014 (NFC Edition)
By Editorial Staff
This article is a chance to look in the crystal ball (football?) and make a guess as to the state of the league. There are several teams that currently flounder in relative mediocrity whose stock is on the uptick. They will take the place of a few teams teams who are currently dominant but who we may see swiftly drop from their perch of power.
Detroit Lions
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
St. Louis Rams
Detroit Lions
Stafford, Megatron, Titus Young and the Best/Leshoure combo at RB on offense. Suh and Fairley at tackle, Vanden Bosch at DE and Louis Delmas at safety. That is a fiercely talented young (minus KVB) corps of players to build around. They play the same division as the always tough Bears and Packers but if they plug the holes they have on the OL, at linebacker and at CB, they will be very tough to beat.
First Round Draft Strategy
-2012: OT
-2013: LB/CB
-2014: LB/CB
Current Free Agent Targets
-Nnamdi Asomugha, CB
-Tyson Clabo, OT
-Doug Free, OT
Playoff spot: 5th seed
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Josh Freeman is a few years from joining the upper echelon of NFL quarterbacks, and look at the rest of their offense:
-RB: LaGarrette Blount
-WR: Mike Williams, Arrelious Benn,
-TE: Kellen Winslow Jr, Luke Stocker
This is ridiculous how many good players they have acquired recently. They also have Gerald McCoy, Adrian Clayborn and Da’Quan Bowers on the defensive line. Similar to the Lions, they play in a division with two established powers and they also have problems in their cornerbacks and linebacking corps. Resigning Barrett Ruud would help, as would figuring out a way to make Aqib Talib less inclined to be a criminal.
First Round Draft Strategy
-2012: CB
-2013: OLB
-2014: OL
Current Free Agent Targets
-Resign Quincy Black to a short deal
-Manny Lawson, OLB
-Eric Wright, CB
Playoff spot: 2nd seed, win NFC South
St. Louis Rams
Sam Bradford is a star in the making. The Rams have two young tight ends in Michael Hoomanawanui and Lance Kendricks to help him out while one or two players distinguish themselves from the herd at wide receiver. My bets for the future are on Denario Alexander, Austin Pettis and Danny Amendola as 1, 2 and slot respectively. They have decent depth in the trenches, but will need help in the secondary, as they have a very low level of talent there, and at outside linebacker to complement James Laurinaitis (seems like a theme). They will be helped by their divisions low level of competition which will allow them to rack up wins.
First Round Draft Strategy
-2012: DB
-2013: OLB
-2014 : DB/DT
Current Free Agent Targets
-Nnamdi Asomugha
-Eric Weddle
-Dawan Landry
Playoff spot: 3rd seed, win NFC West