I'll start off this post by reflecting on the biggest surprises of the past season:
- The 49ers. A huge turnaround on both sides of the ball for a team that looked just plain out of it last season. Most of the credit goes to first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh, who should be a shoe-in for Coach of the Year.
- The Bengals. No one expected Cincinnati to even have a winning record, let alone be in the playoffs, but once the Bengals jettisoned QB Carson Palmer and trouble-making WR's Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco, they found the team chemistry that they had been lacking in 2010. Like the 49ers, the Bengals' turnaround can be attributed to the major improvement in the play of their defense this season.
- The Seahawks and the Cardinals. Both of these teams got off to bad starts this season and couldn't catch San Francisco for the division, but they somehow found that spark in the second half of the season and went on winning streaks. Seattle RB Marshawn Lynch was an absolute beast this season, and CB/KR Patrick Peterson gives Arizona a lot to look forward to in the next few years.
- The Chiefs. They looked done for the season when they lost Matt Cassell, Jamaal Charles, and Eric Berry, but they stayed in contention for most of the season thanks to their surprisingly stingy defense, and even managed to hand the Packers their only loss of the season. I see nothing but a bright future for this team.
- The Panthers. How about that Cam Newton? Holy smokes! If Carolina can just patch up its defense - an easy thing to do in the draft these days - they could be the team to beat pretty soon.
- And of course, the Broncos. Most of the hype during Denver's six-game winning streak has been about Tim Tebow, but the Broncos also owe their turnaround in part to their defense, led by DE Elvis Dumervill and LB Von Miller, the frontrunner for Defensive Rookie of the Year.
- The Eagles. With all of the talent on defense that they signed in the offseason to complement their explosive offense, everyone thought Philly would be the team to beat this year. Unfortunately, their passing game was hampered by both Michael Vick's injuries and DeSean Jackson's seeming lack of effort at times, and by the time the defense finally started to play up to expectations, it was just too little too late.
- The Chargers. This was the team I was picking to win the Superbowl this year. They already had the talent on both offense and defense, but their abysmal special teams never improved, and Philip Rivers finished near the top of the league in interceptions. There's still hope for them next year, but I expected much better from them this year.
- The Rams. They came close to winning the NFC West last season thanks to Rookie of the Year Sam Bradford, and were favored by many to win the division this year. However, Bradford's performance regressed in the few games he played before being sidelined by injuries, and the Rams finished at or near the bottom of the league in almost every category on offense and defense.
- The Jets. It started with Mark Sanchez's controversial photo shoot for GQ, and snowballed from there. The absence of team chemistry became more and more apparent as the season went on, and resulted in a disappointing finish for a team that I thought had the talent to win the AFC East.
- The Buccaneers. Hopes were high in Tampa after the Bucs posted 10 wins last season. Those hopes were soon dashed midway through the season as QB Josh Freeman failed to show any consistency and the defense failed to live up to its potential.
- The Bills. They got off to a good start and looked pretty promising, but fell apart midway through the season and won only one game in the second half of the season.
Tune in tomorrow for my predictions for the Wild Card round. Till then, stay frosty, y'all! B-)
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