you all know the stories of the 99rams, 00ravens, 01pats and 02bucs, and the 03 Panthers(even though they lost) so i wont get into detail but every year there is a suprise team that goes far. last year you all know i said that would be the panthers, and i was right. so this year, if this streak of at least 1 SB team is a complete cinderella or dark horse continues who do you think it will be. my top 5 are 1)Jaguars-I love this offense, jimmy smith, reggie williams(my fav. wr out of the draft), fred taylor and Leftwich i think can form a offense like carolinas defense last year, and it will be enough to carry the team to a 10 win season. i think hugh douglas will have a bounce back season and contribute 7-10 sacks also. negatives is tthat they play with the colts and titans(i think this team is done) 2)Steelers-i dont see why not, they have a young QB who was arguabably the best in the draft, and he has weapons to use. if Plaxico gets straightened out, and stays i can see that being a threat in a up for grabs division. 3)Buffalo-they have the defense, they need the offense which is already there, just not producing. i think that who ever the quarter back is, bledsoe or losman that the season will make or brake on them. i mean moulds, mcgahee/henry and evans is a good offense, it just needs a QB to run it. troy vincent i think isnt the player he was, but there is no serious WR threat in the AFC north except miami. 4) Detroit-like the bills, the offense is set it just needs a QB to run it, but the only thing that kept them from being my second team is their defense. no defense, i like terrence holt, i think he should start, dre bly is good and i love boss bailey but thats not close to being enough to let the offense win games. they may be able to get by with a average joey harington because their offense is stacked, but the defense will be the liability. 5)Texans-i think they have a great offense in the making, and that with a few players added to the defense and another good WR this team will be a contender for years. i think they are 1 or 2 years away from playoffs, but they will stay competitive all season and maybe pull out 9 wins. i think more of 7 or 8 wins. after all isnt that what the panthers were said to be last year?
You forgot about my favorite for the Dark Horse...Drumroll..... ARIZONA I think that Denny Green is a brillian coach, I think they have 2,3 top quality recievers, a pair of decent runing backs. And a killer offensive line. Does that sound familiar, Viking maybe. The defense does suck, but he never had good defense. Denny Green wins with great offense, and I can just see that. They should have an easy schedule, I can really see 8 - 10 wins. Which for them would be the best of their franchise.
i thought about arizona, but then i thought that no defense, no experience, tough division, they are going to be improved, but even an improvement gets them 6 wins so i dont think they are there yet i think like houston they are a few years away.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Philly_Freak93)</div><div class='quotemain'> 1)Jaguars-I love this offense, jimmy smith, reggie williams(my fav. wr out of the draft), fred taylor and Leftwich i think can form a offense like carolinas defense last year, and it will be enough to carry the team to a 10 win season. i think hugh douglas will have a bounce back season and contribute 7-10 sacks also. negatives is tthat they play with the colts and titans(i think this team is done) 2)Steelers-i dont see why not, they have a young QB who was arguabably the best in the draft, and he has weapons to use. if Plaxico gets straightened out, and stays i can see that being a threat in a up for grabs division. 3)Buffalo-they have the defense, they need the offense which is already there, just not producing. i think that who ever the quarter back is, bledsoe or losman that the season will make or brake on them. i mean moulds, mcgahee/henry and evans is a good offense, it just needs a QB to run it. troy vincent i think isnt the player he was, but there is no serious WR threat in the AFC north except miami. 4) Detroit-like the bills, the offense is set it just needs a QB to run it, but the only thing that kept them from being my second team is their defense. no defense, i like terrence holt, i think he should start, dre bly is good and i love boss bailey but thats not close to being enough to let the offense win games. they may be able to get by with a average joey harington because their offense is stacked, but the defense will be the liability. 5)Texans-i think they have a great offense in the making, and that with a few players added to the defense and another good WR this team will be a contender for years. i think they are 1 or 2 years away from playoffs, but they will stay competitive all season and maybe pull out 9 wins. i think more of 7 or 8 wins. after all isnt that what the panthers were said to be last year?</div> After last year's choice of the Panthers, I'm not going to deny you any of these possibilities, but.... I do have to say that most of these selections are more of a reach than Carolina was last year. 1. Jaguars - I really like this team. I mean you've got Leftwich, Taylor, and Smith on offense, and Jack Del Rio's Defense. They played tough down the stretch last season and will be somewhere in the 7-9 to 9-7 this year. I think they are still a year or two away though. They play in a very tough division and their rookie receiver will need at least a season or two before he is really productive. 2. Steelers - I can tell you 10 reasons why I agree, but I won't do that. I hope the Steelers bounce back, but with they youth in the secondary and uncertainty at the receiver position (Burress), it's going to be a tough go. If the line stays healthy, and Maddox gets back on track, I could see the Steelers back in the playoffs. Staley was a great acquisition. 3. Buffalo - Can first year Head Coach Mike Mularkey take this team all the way? It seems like a stretch IMO. I like him and think he's a great coach, but until Bledsoe is out of the picture, I think Buffalo is doomed to only make it as far as the first round of the playoffs. Although I do think Magahee is going to win the starting job and be a great back for Buffalo. I just wonder where Henry will end up? 4. Detroit - Here's another team that has mighty potential. They have so much youth and raw talent that they should certainly win a few games that they shouldn't this year. But I think they are about 2-3 years away from being heavy-hitters. That defense needs overhauled and only time and good drafting will do that. I will say though that I will enjoy watching them play this year. It's great to see all that youth and speed on the field together. 5. Houston - I like the Texan's chances more than Detroit or Buffalo, but they also play in that tough AFC South Division. It's going to be hard for them to get above 8-8. Capers will have that defense shining in 2-3 years and the offense should be great by then. It is good now and will be even better after this season. Carr, Davis, and Johnson are a great trio. My other possibilities... 1. Chicago - Does anyone remember this team at 13-3 just a few seasons ago? They still have much of that team in place. With some key additions in the offseason and dumping Stewart, they might be better than most expect. If Grossman pans out, they could be the surprise team of '04. 2. Minnesota - They continue to strengthen that horrible defense. If their draft picks pan out, and Moss can play even at 70%, this team could be tough down the stretch. I don't know if there's a curse on the Vikings or what, but they are always close to having a great team. 3. Washington - Under Joe Gibbs, this team IMO is the biggest wildcard. They could be very good or very average... it's hard to tell how this team will gel. I think the Giants will be the bottom team in the East with Dallas & Washington battling for the #2 spot. People have been saying watch out for the Redskins for 4 years now, but this might be the best team of all of them.
SF, the bears are a possibility, but i think they are in a division thats bad, but there just not able to compete with the vikes and packers. maybe not even the lions. i wouldnt consider the vikngs to be a darkhorse, they are a possibility but they wouldnt suprise anybody like the other 5 teams i said would the skins wont win, the eagles and cowboys are here and they dont have chemistry, the bengals im not sold on yet, they had a good year but i like the ravens a whole lot better, and in the division were 9 wins gets u a title, i think the ravens get those 9 wins, and the bengals 8 or 9 wont be enough for a wild card. i think the bills will be a decent team because bledsoe wont be AS bad and the defense can carry.
philly, the bears cant compete with vikings? and maybe not lions? over the past 4 years they have beaten those teams at least once and sometimes twice. Division games are NEVER EASY. Plus, with only 6 division games, even if they split they could win division by doing well vs non - divisional opponents.
Dark horse team. Hmm, im gonna say seattle seahawks and the denver broncos. These two teams could be dark horse teams. However in order to be a darkhorse, you need to have depth at both spots. Last year carolina was a crap shot and rodney peete not getting it done did help them. In comes delhome and all of sudden this team beleived it could win games, there defense dominated but stephen davis and delhomme were the storys of 2003.
bucs seattle was in the playoffs last year. no way there a dark horse, but i can see denver. and i dont think the bears will be able to compete in that division because they have no quarterbacgr0ssman barely got time). i dont think they have a corner to stop moss or rogers or williams, i think charlie tillman will be good and is good but isnt that good yet. besides whats their offense? atrain?
I have to agree w/ Pack Attack about Cincy. Houston & Detroit are also good candidates to surprise. If y'all recall a few months ago I took a stab and said Detroit would make the Super Bowl. Will it come to pass as Dawk said Carolina would last year. Yes; Sf was skeptical my guess as he was with Dawk's last year. New Orleans & Baltimore could be greatly improved. I still don't think Buffalo's OL is all that great and who do they have if Bledsoe were to go down? Anything can happen in any given year. The only franchise I would completely rule out is San Diego.
The teams you named were not dark horse teams dawk, when you said teams like tampa,balitmore,new england and stlouis they were playoff teams. seattle made the wild card spot last year and the last week was battling to get in. You and i may respect the seahawks but many overlook them for one reason. The rams. Not every year we will see a carolina panthers story in the nfl. Lets remember they did come up short in the biggest game and for that after a certain amount of time will probably be forgoten. Dark horse, seattle and denver.
I hear a lot of talk about offense but as we ALL know defense wins championships. Detroit? Give me a break. However the Jags are a good pick to make some noise in '04. In fact that division(afc south) may over take the AFC east as the toughest in football. As a Pats fan I know the Texans are also a tough scrappy team. I just don't think their D is quite up to par with Jax or Tenn. Indy is still the team to beat but it's far from a lock. If you're looking for a dark horse just remember the following criteria: opportunistic D, poised QB, excellent special teams & defensive minded coaching.
Bakes you got it. Theirs a saying i like to use alot. Offenses wins you games, Defenses wins you championships.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (bakes781)</div><div class='quotemain'>If you're looking for a dark horse just remember the following criteria: opportunistic D, poised QB, excellent special teams & defensive minded coaching.</div> Hmmmm... sounds like the Steelers...
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Bucs40etrain)</div><div class='quotemain'>The teams you named were not dark horse teams dawk, when you said teams like tampa,balitmore,new england and stlouis they were playoff teams. seattle made the wild card spot last year and the last week was battling to get in. You and i may respect the seahawks but many overlook them for one reason. The rams. Not every year we will see a carolina panthers story in the nfl. Lets remember they did come up short in the biggest game and for that after a certain amount of time will probably be forgoten. Dark horse, seattle and denver.</div> when i mentioned the past SB winners, i meant that they all came out of nowere. the rams, pats and ravens were teams nobody epected to do anything, and the bucs were already a playoff team, but that was a suprise but not a bg suprise.
Didnt the broncos make the playoffs last year only to lose to the colts? The broncos also was in a battle in afc to even make the playoffs with some good teams. In the afc if you do not win your div its very difficult to get in the playoffs with alot of teams battleing to get in with almost the same records. Sleepers if any is denver,jacksonville,miami and a revamped steelers team with who i think is the real deal qb if he starts.
