Most Improved team?

BizzyC

Of course when you look at additions in the offseaon, the Patriots stand out.
But having made the AFC Championship game last season, there isn't much room for improvment.

So who will improve on last season the most.

I reckon it'll be the Bills, 49ers and Raiders.

Lynch and Poslusny are key to the Bills, if they step up I think that the added dimensions to the offence will see them have a better season. 9-7

The 49ers look alright, I dont predict as much as an improvement as the Bills though. Patrick Willis could have a big year for them, but I don't think they have enough talent to make any kind of competitive push. 8-8 I think

Raiders are looking stronger this year. The addition of Culpepper seems to be bringing some stability to that offence and they already have a strong D. 6-10.

DaXiS

49ers i get...a bit

Raiders? What's improved? Yeah better RB and QB(we'll see though..) arguably, but same ol situation i foresee.
Bills lost a lot of quality. I agree lynch could post 1000+ yards and 8-10 TD's in his season, so I'm undecided as to if this team improved overall or not

Chucky the tree

DaXiS wrote:

49ers i get...a bit

Raiders? What's improved? Yeah better RB and QB(we'll see though..) arguably, but same ol situation i foresee.
t

It wasnt our o-line that was the problem last year, it was the way they were coached. I think if our o-line was still terrible Kiffen would a much bigger effort to pick up o-line players. I think we'll finish ahead of the Chiefs this year.

BizzyC

I think the raiders will improve.

They had a top 5 D last season, which they've retained. They look more stable on offence, so they should see more wins...

I think Lynch could prove to be a bigger addition than that to the bills. Lynch brings a better receiving target to Losman than MaGeehee ever did. The added threat of Lynch in the passing game will free up the long ball a bit more, which is one of Losman's strengths. If he stays healthy and can run for 1000+, I think the Bills will be improved.
Again with the Bills, I emphasise that they are relying heavily on two rookies. If Lynch and Poslusny dont step up, they'll be in trouble.

heyjude

DaXiS wrote:

49ers i get...a bit

Raiders? What's improved? Yeah better RB and QB(we'll see though..) arguably, but same ol situation i foresee.

The biggest change in Oakland was that Al Davis actually seems to be allowing Kiffin to coach the team, pick his own staff and make his own roster decisions. Kiffin said recently that there would be no scholarship players on the team, meaning that nobody had a right to be on the team, which if true would be a change and possibly an end to underperformers like Brayton,Whitted and Fargas.

Is Culpepper better than Aaron Brooks ? Well at least he will be playing behind an O-Line that is better coached and won't require him to hold the ball for 5 seconds on every play(not a good idea when facing Shawn Merriman and with only Barry Sims to protect you). Don't know if Rhodes is that much of an upgrade at RB, but it might light a fire under Lamont Jordan, can't wait to see if Michael Bush is the player that potentially he could be. I think Zach Miller could be the most important addition, how long has it been since the Raiders had a TE that could really block and was also an excellent receiver, he could be a great outlet. I'm still not convinced the O-Line is fixed either, you can't tell much from facing the vanilla defences you see in pre-season, but Kiffin's playcalling with shorter passes and more passes to the RBs should help.The D should be solid again. So they may challenge the Chiefs for third place in the AFC West and may win 6-8 games if they can avoid injuries to core players. They had a pretty solid draft too.

DaXiS wrote:

Bills lost a lot of quality. I agree lynch could post 1000+ yards and 8-10 TD's in his season, so I'm undecided as to if this team improved overall or not

Lynch had a slow pre-season, but may be the type of player that needs 20-25 carries a game to get into his rhythm so we'll have to see, but unless the Bills get the running game going, Losman is going to have to carry the team and with the punishment he took last season, he may not survive a repeat performance.

jdivision

I think Lions will be most improved.

BizzyC

I dont think the lions will be more improved than others.

I think their D is too weak against the pass for them to have a much better season.
I think the added stability of their running games with the addition of Tatum Bell combined with a slowly returning Kevin Jones will give them better offensive numbers, but not much. Kitna is out with back problems, which is always a problem cause you can never be sure they've gone away for the season...

One team I overlooked, the Cardinals. I think they'll have a much better season. Offensively, the running game is picking up as Edge and the O-line get a better understanding of each other, while Lienart is set for a big year, we already know plenty about their recievers....
Defensively, I expect them to be competitive. I can see them going from 5-11 to 8-8.

jdivision

BizzyC wrote:

I dont think the lions will be more improved than others.

I think their D is too weak against the pass for them to have a much better season.

They lost most games by seven points or less last season. Offence should be better this year but the D lost a few key players. That said I like their defensive line. I think they'll win at least six games, which would be a 100 per cent improvement on last season.

BizzyC

Yeah, but if their D line is the only source of pressure on the passing game, they'll need to lead the league in sacks, by a huge margin in order to improve their overall pass defence....not going to happen.

jdivision

Still think they'll score more than they did last year. Losing Dre Bly was a blow and they'll give up more than last year too. It's just a matter of whether they can score enough to pull a few games out. I think they will.

BizzyC

I disagree! Sure they'll score more, but I think that they'll get beat by every team that has a power running game, a west coast offence or a highly competant QB, which covers most teams in the league.

mariowilliams

bills the most improved team? that's laughable. i can see them winning 6 games max!

the saints are clearly the most improved. they return 22 starters plus they add kevin kaesviharn, jason david, brian simmons to a young defense that's sure 2 improve. then they add robert meachem to an already loaded offense.

pencil them into the super bowl in arizona!

jdivision

You're taking it as which team added key players not which team will improve its record most. Best case scenario I think they'd go 12-4 this season which would be a 20 per cent improvement. Hardly makes them most improved. The way you're doing it, I think the Patriots would be better off than the Saints but you're right they've upgraded a bit although their d still has questions to answer.

mariowilliams

49ers....

patrick willis, nate clements, michael lewis, tully banta cain, Aubrayo Franklin all upgrade a young defense.

on offense alex smith is ready for a breakout year, joe staley is a beast, frank gore is a superstar, darrel jackson, ashley lelie and jason hill add depth and talent to the wide receiver corps and a healthy vernon davis is on the verge of becoming a perennial pro bowler!