11 AFC Teams Having Winning Records but Only 6 Playoff Spots are Available

It’s going to be a soul-crushing experience in January for much of the AFC.  At the current moment 11 of the conference’s 16 NFL teams have winning records, but just 6 of them will reach the playoffs.  That means that nearly half of the teams that are currently feeling quite good about their season won’t even get to watch their teams compete in a playoff game!  Let’s take a look at who will be figuring to come out of this mess with a postseason berth and who will be looking back at the month of December and wondering what happened.

First, let’s take a look at how this strange scenario has come to be.  One thing odd about the AFC (and the entire NFL) this year is that no team has dominated up until this point.  The best teams stand at 9-3, which is only a 75% winning record.  While good, when we realize that these are the league’s current strongest teams we have great parity.  But at the other end of the standings lies the dark truth.  4 AFC teams have become the dreaded whipping boys of the conference.  The New York Jets, Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Oakland Raiders all sit poorly placed at 2-10 or worse.  Their overall atrociousness has been gifting all the other teams easy victories, which is in large part responsible for the current situation.  However, while some of these AFC teams’ wins may be unjustified, the fact that so many are winning will set up for an enthralling December!

What’s truly astounding about these records is that typically strong teams like the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos have very little wiggle room in the upcoming weeks.  Tom Brady and the Patriots are just 2 games ahead of both the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins (both at 7-5).  With games against both teams, New England could possibly lose their division lead and perhaps even a playoff spot!  While I certainly doubt that will happen, the very possibility of it this late in the season speaks to the conference’s strength and equality.

It’s also worth noting that many of these 7-5 teams are going to be playing one another and their records will balance out.  An intriguing situation has developed in the AFC North, where the Cincinnati Bengals hold a 1.5 game lead over the 7-5 Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers.  Each team could conceivably win the division or finish in 4^th!  While a Browns surprise would be delightful, I suspect the Bengals should hold onto the lead.

Elsewhere, I expect the Broncos, Patriots, and Indianapolis Colts to hold onto their division leads while the San Diego Chargers and the Baltimore Ravens should claim the wildcard sports.

However, with these wildcard opportunities still hotly contested, the final weeks of the year will be extremely entertaining as the stakes continue to grow.  For all the contending teams of the AFC, the playoffs are basically starting right now.  No one can afford to slip up and it’s all up to play for.  While the current mass of 11 winning teams lopped in the conference will certainly change in the next month, those who do reach the NFL playoffs will have earned their tickets!

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Will Aaron Rodgers Win the 2014 NFL MVP Award?

There are a lot of factors that go into determining the MVP of the National Football League.  Yards, touchdowns, ratings, wins, and sometimes even popularity figure in to the award.  And while the MVP title is rather pointless in such a team sport as football, it does still carry a lot of merit and often helps label who the most impressive player has been in the league.  And while we still have a ways to go before anointing a true NFL MVP, my early vote (as well as my long term assumption) is for Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers to claim the award.

Rodgers has long been among the elite players and quarterbacks in professional football, and has already won the award in 2011.  That season he threw 45 touchdown passes and led the Packers to a 14-1 record before sitting out the finale.  This year he is playing at that same level.

His current QB rating of 119.3 is tops in the NFL, and so is his yards per attempt statistic at 8.65.  That value is often a reflection of just how potent a passer is.  His 30 touchdown passes are second in the league behind Peyton Manning.  The only areas of concern would be his 7^th ranked completion percentage and total yards ranking.  Some would argue that makes him the 7^th best quarterback in the NFL, hardly worthy of the MVP.

But such insight is terribly misguided.  Rodgers ranks just 16^th in the league in passing attempts!  Again looking at his remarkable touchdown and yards/attempt figures paints the more accurate picture.  He is doing more with fewer throws.  In fact, his 342 pass attempts is exactly 100 fewer than Manning.  The reason for this anomaly has been that the Packers have been winning a lot of their games early, and with blowouts.  Against the Carolina Panthers, Minnesota Vikings (first game), Chicago Bears, and Philadelphia Eagles, Rodgers tore apart defenses and had the win wrapped up by halftime.  By the 3^rd quarter he’d largely be handing the ball off to Eddie Lacy and by the 4^th quarter backup Matt Flynn would be in.  His incredible play has actually put the Packers so far ahead that Rodgers hardly has to play.

Additionally, in tighter games Aaron Rodgers has been exceptional as well.  His memorable drive to win late in the game against the Miami Dolphins was exactly the type of stuff that MVP’s produce.  There is really no stopping this guy.  And while he has benefitted from an improved run game and a stronger defense in recent weeks, it just goes to show how strong a player Rodgers is when his team is clicking.

Lastly, I feel that the statistic that ends all the MVP discussion is his 3 interceptions.  This is by far the lowest of any starting QB and is the main reason his rating is so high.  To get a clear picture of the significance of this mark, Tom Brady has 6 and Peyton Manning has 9.  The only player who manages games close to Rodgers’ level is Alex Smith, who has just 4 interceptions.  But while that number is very solid, his 13 TD’s pale in comparison to the 30 thrown by Rodgers.

And so if the season ended today, I would fully expect the MVP to be awarded to Aaron Rodgers.  And based on how he and the Packers typically finish seasons, I would anticipate those great numbers to continue.  The only player who really has a good shot of beating him would be DeMarco Murray of the Dallas Cowboys, a running back.  But this is where the name factor comes into play and would largely lean in Rodgers’ favor.  It’s also worth noting that 6 of the last 7 MVP awards have been handed to quarterbacks.  But if Murray breaks 2,000 rushing yards he may take the award.  However, I think that Rodgers’ season has been more impressive and is likely to capture the 2014 NFL MVP!

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Ranking the Top 10 NFL Teams Right Now

Though the Super Bowl is still months away, the NFL playoffs are fast approaching, and we continue to get a clearer grasp of which teams are set to reach those playoffs and contend for the ultimate title in football.  Here is a ranking of the top 10 NFL teams likely to withstand the late season tests and truly make a run at this year’s championship:

10.)  Detroit Lions - Though they sit well perched atop the NFC North, there’s a general feeling that the Lions will stutter down the stretch and collapse based on their pathetic history of doing just that.  While I generally agree with that assessment, the Lions are a bit different this year in that they house a terrific defense.  If defense truly “wins championships”, Detroit could be ripe for a tremendous and surprising playoff run.

9.)   Philadelphia Eagles – Chip Kelly’s offense is great when it works, but tragic when it doesn’t. While they usually look good and win the games they should, they usually struggle against the league’s best.  I think an early exit to the playoffs will end their season again, especially since the questionable Mark Sanchez is now the starting quarterback.

8.)   Pittsburgh Steelers – Despite having a tough schedule ahead, the Steelers are usually late-season bloomers and their history of recent titles suggests they are certainly capable. If Troy Polamalu gets healthy and Ben Roethlisberger keeps doing his thing, the Steelers could make a daring run at the Super Bowl.

7.)   Indianapolis Colts – Andrew Luck is a megastar and that is essential to title contenders. The Colts’ passing attack is tops in the league, but until the defense gets fixed Indianapolis won’t win.  Nevertheless, anything is possible with a top QB and the Colts could just win it all if things go their way.

6.)   Seattle Seahawks – Struggling at 6-4, it’s easy to overlook how dominant the Seahawks were at the end of last year. All the championship pieces are in place but the team needs to step up their game a notch in order to repeat.  I doubt they will, but considering their success last year, who can really doubt Seattle?

5.)  Denver Broncos – Peyton Manning is very good, and the Broncos’ defense is good too. The team certainly has a point to prove following their depressing Super Bowl loss last year, and they could win it this time around.  But after a woeful loss to the St. Louis Rams this week and suffering a couple key injuries, who knows if there’ll be enough in the tank to repeat as AFC Champions.

4.)  Kansas City Chiefs – Andy Reid’s team is on fire, and their defense is great. They’ve beaten the Patriots and the Seahawks this season, showing up in big games.  Knile Davis and Jamaal Charles are a strong running back duo, and Alex Smith is playing smart and avoiding mistakes.  With the team starting to come together, the Chiefs might just get Reid his first title!

3.)  Arizona Cardinals – While they have the league’s best record (9-1) and a tremendous defense, their starting quarterback Carson Palmer went down for the season. Palmer was never elite and backup Drew Stanton is playing well.  However, their defense will dictate how far they go in the playoffs.  They have a tough schedule coming up and if they can come through as NFC West champs, they’ll have earned their chance to make a run.

2.)  Green Bay Packers – No one is playing as good as Aaron Rodgers these days, and with Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers making plays on defense, the spirit of the 2010 Super Bowl is alive and well in Wisconsin. But as we saw in a bad loss to the New Orleans Saints just a month ago, when the offense is slowed the Packers can be beat.  However, any team in this league is beatable, and the way Green Bay is playing right now bodes well for a championship.

1.)  New England Patriots – Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are the NFL’s strongest head coach/quarterback duo and they’ve routinely dominated the league for a decade. However, now 10 years removed from their last of 3 titles, time is running out and there’s an element of desperation in their play.  This could help the team rise up and claim a final Super Bowl title of this incredible dynasty!  They are the team to beat right now.

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Which Surprising NFL Leaders Could Actually Contend for the Super Bowl?

With the 2014 NFL season reaching its halfway point this week, we’ve got a good sense of which teams are contending vs. which teams are already eyeing top draft picks next spring.  However, as is usually the case in these parity-driven league, several teams have come out and surprised us with brilliant starts to the year.  Sure, we expected the Green Bay Packers and the New England Patriots to be pretty good (as they are nearly every year), but who would have predicted hot starts for the Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys, and Buffalo Bills?  With solid winning records and with fans’ hopes building, can one of these teams continue their hot streak on to wining the Super Bowl?

The short answer is no, and there’s countless reasons why.  Each of these teams have marginal quarterbacks at the helm.  One could try and argue that Tony Romo and Carson Palmer are elite given their statistics or that Matthew Stafford remains one of the game’s best young quarterback prospects, but none of these guys have had any real success in the playoffs.  And while Kyle Orton has played exceptional in several games for the Bills, we should know by now that he is little more than a serviceable backup.  Let’s see how his numbers last over the course of the year.

The one player truly capable of becoming elite is Stafford with the Lions.  Featuring Calvin Johnson and Reggie Bush on offense, you’d think he’d be able to do it and at age 26 he still has room to grow and develop, but the Lions unfortunately have a knack for losing that is seemingly running rampant throughout the entire city of Detroit.  While they managed a playoff appearance in 2010 (which ended in the first round), they have become perennial late-season swooners.  Last season the Lions were 6-3 before stuttering to a 7-9 record.  In 2012 they were a respectable 4-4 before losing 8 straight and finishing 4-12.  This is a team that tends to run out of steam when the games begin to matter most! 

Meanwhile the Bills have also grown notorious for poor play, having not reached the NFL playoffs since 1999 (due in large part to the Patriots’ success).  They last teased their fans in 2011 by starting off 5-2 before succumbing to a 6-10 finish.  And then there’s the Cowboys, whose 8-8 record for 3 years running has been maddening to fans.  They seem to live for getting hopes up only to crush them with a late-season falter.  Romo seems to have all the skills but he folds under pressure.  At 34, the chance of him finally getting it right is fleeting at best.

Similarly, the Cardinals’ 34 year-old Carson Palmer has also been just a better-than average QB during his career, putting up solid numbers for the Cincinnati Bengals but never quite achieving greatness.  However, this is the team I see most likely to actually contend for the Super Bowl should the stars align.  The Cardinals got the short end of the stick last season and missed out on the playoffs despite a 10-6 record.  They are hungry and have proven that in the young season, claiming victories against the San Diego Chargers, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Philadelphia Eagles.  They will have a tough end to the year facing the 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks in successive weeks, though if they come through that test, look out!

For me, the challenge about a surprise team winning the Super Bowl is that they lack playoff experience.  Recent Super Bowl champs have all had unsuccessful playoff runs in previous years, but that experience helped them later on.  For example, the Seahawks won a wildcard game in 2012 before losing in the divisional round.  The next season they built off of that success and won the Super Bowl.  For teams like the Lions, Bills, Cardinals, and Cowboys, their last trips to the playoffs were so long ago that many of the core players really can’t understand the magnitude of such games.  As a result, should any of these teams reach the postseason, they’ll probably fall short and lose.  The best bet would be a solid, winning year to build up for a serious run at the Super Bowl in 2015.

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Are the Dallas Cowboys Really Ready to Contend for a Super Bowl?

The Dallas Cowboys are one of the great enigmas of professional football.  The type of team that often wows fans before its annual late-season collapse, folks in Dallas are collectively holding their breath, cautiously optimistic in order to avoid a massive embarrassment should the currently 5-1 Cowboys fail to capitalize on their bright start to the NFL season.  But, with the league so wide open and with Tony Romo’s maturity beginning to flourish, could the team stun the NFL and actually win the Super Bowl?

The championship hopes for Dallas rest largely on the shoulders of Tony Romo, which is normal for any football team as the quarterback position is by far the most important.  While fans and media were largely critical of the massive $100 million contract given to Romo last year, he has responded with great play.  Right now his quarterback rating is a solid 100.5, which is only bettered by guys like Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, and Philip Rivers.  It’s also worth noting that such a rating is currently higher than Russell Wilson, Andrew Luck, Andy Dalton, Drew Brees, and Tom Brady.  If he continues at this pace, the Cowboys will certainly contend.

However, the big issue with Romo is his tendency to collapse in high-pressure situations.  The shining moment of Romo’s career is still his botched field goal hold in the playoffs of 2007, when the Cowboys lost to the Seattle Seahawks.

He did largely rectify the situation with a big win in Seattle this past weekend, defeating the reigning Super Bowl champions on their home turf and playing exceptionally well in the process however.

But a big part of this team’s success falls on their offensive line and their star running back DeMarco Murray, whose 785 yards leads the league by over 200 yards.  We will have to wait and see how he holds up over the full season as he is getting far more carries than any other back, but considering his success it appears to be well worth it.

With this potent and generally safe attack, the average defense currently employed by the Cowboys needs to merely slow opponents down and avoid major errors.  They are ranked pretty middle of the road, but with this impressive offense a title is certainly a possibility in Big D.

The issue falls back to Tony Romo and what might happen in the playoffs.  He’s only played in 4 such games and owns a 1-3 record.  His last playoff appearance was over 5 years ago, and the reason he hasn’t been back is because he stutters when games seem to matter most.  Performing in the clutch is what often separates the greats from the almosts, and until Tony Romo proves himself, those questions about his massive contract will linger.

The other problem for the Cowboys is that their division harbors another 5-1 team, the Philadelphia Eagles.  While such a matchup is going to set up an exciting NFC East race, it does lead to a strong potential for the Cowboys to end up with just a wildcard spot and a tricky road to the Super Bowl.

The fate of the 2014 Dallas Cowboys seems to be bright, but it’s going to be determined late in the season.  Once again, hopes are growing (as they should for any 5-1 team), but we will have to wait and see whether Dallas will get over the hump and win the big games.

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Which 1-2 NFL Teams Have a Hope of Reaching the Playoffs?

Oh the perils of your favorite NFL team getting off to a poor start! For every team savoring in their early good fortune this season, there are equal numbers of team feeling quite the opposite; battered and bruised after several losses and unsure of where to turn for hope in the duration of this season. And while I’d be expecting the worst for any team that has started 0-3 (Oakland Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers), for those 1-2 teams there is still a small hope of salvaging this season, but they’ll need to pick up their game in a hurry.

While there are some of the typically poor teams currently sitting at 1-2, there are also several usually strong teams who were even involved in the playoffs last year that have gotten off to bad starts. These surprising poor starters include the Green Bay Packers, the San Francisco 49ers, the Indianapolis Colts, the New Orleans Saints, and the Kansas City Chiefs. That’s nearly half of last season’s playoff teams now suffering below .500!

In my mind these are the teams most likely to rescue their seasons. And history actually beckons warmly for several of them, including the Packers and 49ers, who both started 1-2 last year only to resurrect their hopes and make a strong playoff push.

The key ingredient for such teams is in how they finish the season, not how they’ve started it. Football teams are an organic being, as injuries, player development, and unforeseen future obstacles can alter a team’s shape and style immensely over the course of the year. NFL rosters look very different in September than they do in January and it’s the teams that can handle such change effectively that do well in the later months and typically end up claiming a playoff spot. Unquestionably, a great quarterback can also go a long way to leading a team back from a poor start to a potentially championship-winning season.

Each of the 1-2 teams I mentioned carries great starting quarterbacks (including Aaron Rodgers, Colin Kaepernick, Drew Brees, Andrew Luck, and Alex Smith) and this is why they still have hope. Other 1-2 teams that I wouldn’t expect to hear much of a whimper from are the Miami Dolphins, the New York Jets, the Cleveland Browns, the Minnesota Vikings, the Tennessee Titans, the New York Giants, the Washington Redskins, and the St. Louis Rams. These teams look to lack any sort of presence on the field and have been pretty marginable for years. Their poor records are due to simple lack of talent.

But for the better teams, they’ve just not clicked into high gear or have been unfortunate in the couple of key plays that can often decide a game one way or the other. Another thing to realize is that 1-2 is just a single game away from 2-1. A play here and there could have made the difference, and I’m sure you’ll find that most fans of 2-1 teams are more than satisfied with their seasons’ beginnings.

As the NFL season wears on, those slight hiccups or mistaken plays will carry less weight as the true contenders of the league emerge and get their needed wins. While I certainly wouldn’t be expecting a Super Bowl following two early losses for teams like the Packers, Chiefs, Colts, 49ers, or Saints, I think it’s far too early to be writing them off as has-beens or incapable of salvaging the season. In many cases they’ve done it before and these specific teams certainly have the talent capable to make a serious run at their respective divisions. But be careful, with their collective poor starts, I would only suspect 2 or 3 of these teams manage to right the ship and make the playoffs this year…

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NFL Season Picks Up Right Where it Left Off Last Season

The wonderful thing about the NFL is that with the worst teams getting the top draft picks, and with the inclusion of the salary cap, predicting who will remain dominant from one year to the next is a very inexact science.  Once great teams can implode very quickly while a “worst to first” occurrence in one of the NFL divisions seems to happen annually.  However, after watching week 1 of the 2014 NFL season, it seems like this year has picked up right where we left off from a year ago, with little substantial change.

In short, both Super Bowl participants of last year won big.  The Seattle Seahawks’ tough defense beat up on the Green Bay Packers (whose weak defense continues to look shaky).  Meanwhile, Peyton Manning and his high-octane Denver Broncos offense looked tremendous (even without the suspended Wes Welker) once again in their victory over his former team, the Indianapolis Colts.  However, the Colts still looked competitive, as Andrew Luck nearly pulled off a comeback reminiscent of his heroics last season in the NFL playoffs against the Kansas City Chiefs.  However, against a top-level team like the Broncos, his efforts weren’t enough.

Elsewhere, most of last season’s playoff teams won last week, including the Carolina Panthers, the Cincinnati Bengals, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Philadelphia Eagles.  A few surprises did rattle our predicting senses, like the Miami Dolphins tremendous comeback victory over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, and the Tennessee Titans dominating the Chiefs, who’s poor form late last season seems to have continued.

Largely though, it was the same players kicking off the year in the fashion we’ve grown used to.  The Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Tony Romo continued to throw the ball (and the game) away to the defense with 3 interceptions, the San Diego Chargers found a way to ruin a strong lead over the Arizona Cardinals, and the Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints battled to an exciting, close game which Matt Ryan and the Falcons won.

And unfortunately, the typical lowest of the low NFL teams continued their atrocious form, reminding fans that they are still paltry teams that shouldn’t even dream of glory; see the Oakland Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns, St. Louis Rams, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

But what does warmly breathe new life for football fans is that the sport has officially returned.  Yes, your specific team may still be dealing with the frustrations of the past and a rather bleak outlook, but at least your Sunday afternoons have returned to normal with all the games on display!

And who knows, there are still 15 games for each team to decide their fate.  The great thing about the NFL season is that teams can easily overcome a loss by proving the doubters wrong the next week by winning and changing their fortunes.  The real drama of the season will arrive come December, when the playoff contending teams must get their acts together and earn vital wins.  But those days are still a long ways away.  For now, it’s time to simply enjoy the action because while half the teams lost their openers, the season still beckons brightly for everyone….Except the Rams…losing Sam Bradford to an ACL again is just tragic!

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Get Ready NFL Fans: Football Season Is Upon Us!

Late summer heat is in the air, and the early reports from football training camps have been making their way to eager fans of the NFL; football season is coming!  For nearly half a year since the blowout that was Super Bowl XLVIII, supporters of each team have been waiting and waiting for this moment.  With the NFL preseason just around the corner, we can thankfully say that it is time for football once again.

Like every other year, unknown questions, blind hope, and a sense of excitement are building around the country.  Will the Seattle Seahawks be unstoppable, just as they were towards the end of last season?  Will Johnny Manziel or any other rookies take the NFL by storm?  Which lousy team will experience the miraculous turnaround to the playoffs that seems to occur every year?  These questions will begin to be answered in the weeks ahead.

But first we must endure the preseason games featuring a lone series by our favorite stars before the fringe players and squad hopefuls take the field.  While the occasional touchdown bomb by Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers will excite the fans, we know that these games are completely meaningless.  While we did receive a hint about the Seahawks for their 4-0 preseason record in 2013, what can we say about the league’s other 4-0 team, the Washington Redskins?

But while all the roster cuts and occasional injuries will keep fans on their toes all August long, we can welcome back the regular season with open arms in just one month.  On September 4^th, we will witness the Green Bay Packers playing the Seahawks in a rematch of one of the NFL’s most infamous games:  The Fail Mary game.  How it will turn out this time around is anyone’s guess, but I’m hopeful that it will be a marvelous spectacle kicking off the great season ahead.

While many mouthwatering fixtures will draw intrigue in the opening months of fall, we know that the NFL season will gradually build in excitement until the incredible winter games of the playoffs, and the eventual celebration of Super Bowl XLIX next February.  We certainly don’t know which games will be the most exciting until at least 6 weeks in (though fortunately flexible scheduling should showcase the best games each week), but for a fan of any team, what does it really matter so long as your favorite team is playing?

I could sit here and pick 5 teams I fully expect to contend for the Super Bowl, but what’s the point?  Right now, every team sits as equals at 0-0, and their players are roughing it out in the summer training camps, bracing themselves for the tough games ahead, which are certain to test every bit of their strength and perseverance.  This is what football is all about, and it has just gotten underway in the most serious manner for every team in the NFL.

And so as preparations are made for the upcoming NFL season, let’s sit back and count down the days until our precious football returns to action and celebrate the growing anticipation of our favorite sport!

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The 2014 Mock Top 5 NFL Draft Picks

Mock drafts are an interesting endeavor.  Not only must one consider who are amongst the top football players available in the selection process, but we also have to think about which specific NFL teams are making those picks, and their particular needs and wants.  One must also consider the potential for big trades for draft picks and players that can totally throw any mock draft for a loop.  But with the NFL draft now just 1 month away, let’s have a go at deciding which players will go in the top 5, and to which teams they will go that are in such desperate need at the top of this 2014 NFL draft.

1. Houston Texans - Johnny Manziel – QB – Texas A&M – The Texans are in dire need of a new franchise quarterback.  One year ago they were considered potential Super Bowl contenders with Matt Schaub under center.  Now he is off the team, and the Texans just signed Ryan Fitzpatrick, who if anything, resembles a perfect carryover quarterback for Houston to nurture their next franchise star.  While the jury is certainly out on Manziel, especially with his rambunctious character, the player is a local Texas boy and he has a heck of a playmaking ability.  Perhaps he is a reach for being selected #1, but I think the Texans would greatly benefit from picking up this potential superstar.  A move back several spaces may be in their best interest if they can still nab him, but the Texans need a new face, and “Johnny Football” would be perfect for them!
2. St. Louis Rams – Greg Robinson – OT – Auburn – The Rams need to figure out if Sam Bradford is their franchise guy, and after 4 NFL seasons it’s looking less and less likely of ever panning out.  Injured halfway through the year, St. Louis needs to keep their man on his feet and having a potential Pro Bowl offensive lineman will do just that.  Robinson is a rock and will help Bradford have the time to hunt down Chris Givens and Tavon Austin.  This is a smart pick and one that could preserve their franchise quarterback and bring out the best of his abilities.
3. Jacksonville Jaguars – Jadeveon Clowney – DE – South Carolina – He’s the best player in this draft and has all the tools to become a Hall of Fame NFL player, but the previous teams have larger needs to fulfill and already have strong pass rushers like Robert Quinn and J.J. Watt, meaning Clowney will slide to #3.  Jason Babin of the Jaguars was the team’s best defender with 7.5 sacks.  They need Clowney more than their burning desire for a star quarterback!  If someone intrigues them as a potential franchise star they may look elsewhere, but Clowney is someone with Julius Peppers-like potential and they won’t pass him up!
4. Cleveland Browns – Blake Bortles – QB – UCF – Bortles is a special talent and has all the tools needed to succeed in the NFL.  The only thing holding him back is his small-school collegiate playing experience, but he did manufacture big wins against Louisville and Baylor (both nationally ranked 6^th when they played) last year.  He proved that he can be a winner and a leader, and those characteristics are incredible valuable in the NFL.  The Browns have been a joke of a franchise for their entire existence this millennium and a superstar quarterback like Bortles might just make them relevant again…
5. Oakland Raiders – Sammy Watkins – WR – Clemson – With Matt Schaub as their quarterback and a crop of receivers including James Jones, Denarius Moore, and Rod Streater, the Raiders could use a playmaker.  Each of those aforementioned players are decent pass-catchers who can make a play or two every given Sunday, but Sammy Watkins can take over games.  He is by far the most intriguing wide receiver prospect available and could help spark a resurgence in Oakland’s offensive fortunes.  Don’t expect Watkins to slip out of the top 5 as he is an explosive player and the best offensive prospect available in 2014!

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The Top 5 NFL Free Agent Signings…So Far

As NFL free agency moves into its second week of existence, the vast majority of premium football stars have already secured lucrative deals with various teams across the country.  Meanwhile that second tier of less talented “squad” players continue to bounce around team visits, holding out hope for a big deal, but probably starting to realize that they may just have to settle for something less than spectacular on the payment front.  Nevertheless, I have taken a look at most of the free agents that have been signed so far and here is my list of the 5 top free agency signings this year:

5.  Hakeem Nicks – While his great play seemed to tail off in the last few years, the failure of the New York Giants has been the team as a whole, and therefore I cannot point the finger at Nicks.  With his quarterback Eli Manning playing terribly and getting little support from a non-existent rushing attack, the Giants simply had a horrendous season.  With the Indianapolis Colts, Nicks will get a fresh start with an incredible young QB in Andrew Luck.  Additionally, he will be gifted the opportunity to learn from future Hall of Fame wide receiver Reggie Wayne in his twilight years. The Colts are going places and Nicks will certainly help with his physical presence!

4.  Julius Peppers – Certainly no spring chicken at 34, many have forgotten just how dominating this player can be.  An athletic freak, Peppers might well have 5 good years left in the tank.  Another benefit in signing with the Green Bay Packers is that he won’t have to be the central playmaker in the defense that already stars Clay Matthews.  This pair of sack masters will probably revamp the team’s defense and could help them get over the hump that is the San Francisco 49ers and become Super Bowl contenders once again.

3.  Josh McCown – While not spectacular, the mature veteran quarterback is exactly what the Tampa Bay Buccaneers need.  While Mike Glennon showed some promise and smart decision-making last year, McCown is someone you can count on.  As the Chicago Bears saw last season, this player was able to fill in and played exceptionally well and consistently made good throws.  While he is already 34, McCown will be the perfect bridge player that will give the Bucs some time to groom Glennon or another potential starter down the road.

2.  DeMarcus Ware – Teaming up with Von Miller and the Denver Broncos, Ware will now be part of one of the premier teams in the league.  While Peyton Manning can keep up the score with nearly everyone, Ware will help make impact plays and sacks on the other side of the ball.  He is on the wrong side of 30, and is coming off of his worst season statistically, but this defensive end will now have the opportunity to play for a legitimate contender and could just push them over the top!

1.  Jairus Byrd – The New Orleans Saints were one of the few teams that actually gave the Seattle Seahawks a run for their money last year.  They already had a pretty stingy defense, but Byrd is a safety that can make the big game-changing impact.  His 22 interceptions since 2009 is right up there with the best defensive backs in the game, and he has a tendency to force fumbles as well.  With creating turnovers being absolutely key to success in the NFL, Byrd is the word that will prove to be well worth all the money spent to secure this deal!

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