The divisional round of the playoffs has wrapped, leaving
only the 49ers, Giants, Ravens and Patriots still standing. While those games
are going to be good, let’s quickly look back at the teams no longer in the
playoffs and see what they can take away from this post-season.
Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals can
take a lot away from this season. They received quality play from their rookie
quarterback and wide receiver and saw their defense mesh, in-spite of injuries
to some of their players. Going forward, the most important thing the Bengals
need to do is re-sign a fair number of their free agents and commit to winning
long-term. Mike Brown can clearly build a team, now he needs to keep it
together and take that next step to being a consistent contender. Getting Leon
Hall back from injury will help greatly.
Detroit Lions
This was a huge
step forward for the Lions. Not only did they make the playoff, but they definitively
found their man at quarterback in Matthew Stafford. They definitely need to
work on their power running game and pass defense, but all and all this was a
great season for them. The one thing that MUST improve from this year to next
is the overall team discipline. Playing with an attitude and trying to maintain
an edge is fine, but all of the personal fouls, all of which were just
completely unnecessary and stupid, cost this team games at times. Ndamukong Suh
and Cliff Avril in particular need to play under control.
Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons aren’t
happy with how the season turned out and while the loss was bad, it shouldn’t destroy
what was an otherwise good season. The playoff loss and their other losses
served to point out the needs this team still does have. More depth in
secondary and a stronger offensive line are the primary needs. Losing Harvey
Dahl in free agency hurt a lot more than expected. If the Falcons can re-sign
some of their key free agents on defense, the draft can handle fixing a lot of
the other problems.
Pittsburgh Steelers
This was a very
typical Steelers season with a very atypical postseason conclusion. It’s
difficult to say how the playoff game against the Broncos would have gone if
the defense had stayed completely healthy, but either way it’s clear that the
Steelers need to improve the depth of the defense. Also, the defensive scheme
may need to be adjusted a bit to account for Troy Polamalu better. Polamalu is
at his best when he can free-lance and guess routes, but it also makes him a
bit of a liability. Since the Packers beat the Steelers in the Super Bowl a
year ago, teams have tried taking the same approach to beating the Steelers
defense. With the more assignment sound Ryan Clark on the back end, it works
well. But when he’s gone, the back end becomes a liability. They should
consider this when approaching the offseason.
New Orleans Saints
The Saints really can’t take much
away from this post-season that they didn’t take away from the end of last
post-season. They still have a fundamental problem with their running game and their
defense. While they were sixth in the NFL in rushing, they did it by mixing and
matching their running backs to fit the defenses they were facing. The biggest problem
with this is that if one (or worse, two) of those running backs go down, the rhythm
of the offense is completely thrown off, as evidence by the playoff game when
they lost both Mark Ingram and Pierre Thomas. They need to change that. Also,
the defense needs more depth overall and potentially better cover players. They
have solid pieces all-around, but as a whole the scheme just doesn’t always
work. Being able to play base defenses a little more would go a long way
towards the Saints returning to the Super Bowl.
Denver Broncos
The Broncos
front office should be proud of the season they put together. They went from
being one of the worst teams in the NFL to winning the division and winning a
playoff game. Now they need to take the appropriate steps to develop Tim Tebow
and their offense. A full off-season to work with his quarterback coach should
help greatly. The defense, as good as it was needs to be addressed some, mostly
in terms of depth at the cornerback position. While Andre Goodman and Champ
Bailey were good this year, both are aging and may not be able to handle elite
receivers in the next few years.
Houston Texans
The Texans can
take a ton away from this post-season. All of it being around how they’ve
turned their defense, which was a liability previously. The additions they made
in the draft and free agency have been excellent and should solidify this team
for years to come. The Texans also should be comfortable with T.J. Yates as a
back-up to Matt Schaub going forward. He may never be a great player, but he
has the tools and intelligence to develop. A bit more depth is needed, and a
decision needs to be made on Mario Williams, but for the most part the Texans
can just grab the best players they can afford without pressing for any major
need.
Green Bay
Packers
The Packers
need to realize that they can’t rely solely on the passing game to be
successful. While Ryan Grant and James Starks are good players, they really
need to make an effort to create a power running game. They also need to look
at three of the players who played for them last post-season but were gone this
season and address those positions. One of them is Nick Collins, who missed
most of the season with a bad neck injury. While he should be back next season,
they need to consider the depth at safety and corner. The second was the loss
of Cullen Jenkins. Without him, the Packer’s defense had a hard time generating
pressure. The team needs to look at getting more athletic pass-rushers. The
third is now Arizona Cardinals guard Daryn Colledge. Without him, the team
seemed to take big steps back in terms of protection and run blocking. It’s a
problem that needs to be addressed, in spite of spending their last two first
round picks on offensive lineman. 15-1 really can disguise a ton of problems.
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