What teams have improved the most this off-season?

[Guest]

Taking into account the draft, free agency, coaching changes and whatever else you want to, post your top three teams that have improved this off-season

[red33]

rams.

[BigBucs]

Bucs

[EmpireWF]

I'll be the first to NOT be a homer....even though everyone agreed last off-season the giants got worse...and yet they managed to win themselves another SUPER BOWL!!!

I'll say the Bengals did a decent job.

Colts shouldn't be as shitty as they were last year, although they still probably won't be any good.

[G-men]

I really don't like judging teams in May because we don't know how any of these moves will work out but...

Bengals
Rams
Buccaneers

did the best in my opinion.

[Primetime]

I like what the Bears did. Filled a huge need getting Marshall, and I think Shea will make an immediate impact.

[jaxjaggywires]

If Manning stays healthy...the Broncos.

[Warner2BruceTD]

I'm not exactly sure what the Rams did to improve this year, other than stockpile draft picks.

What did the Rams do to improve the god awful WR corps? They signed the other Steve Smith, and lost Brandon Lloyd. That's going backwards, which means stiffs like Brandon Gibson will be forced to start again.

They signed Cortland Finnegan, one of the most overrated players in the league the last few years.

They hired a bloodthirsty nutjob maniac to run their defense, who was promptly banned from the league, leaving the team without a defensive coordinator.

Who is going to play OLB?

They drafted a raw project in the first round, and a criminal who was too dirty for Florida (FLORIDA!) in the second round.

I'm sure Mullet Head Fisher will eventually turn this team into his usual 8-8 mediocre shitfest that the media raves about for being "tough", and don't get me wrong, i'd love to go 8-8, but that's not going to be this year. The Rams stink.

[krulmichael]

The Bungles and Bucs.

[red33]

I'm not exactly sure what the Rams did to improve this year, other than stockpile draft picks.

What did the Rams do to improve the god awful WR corps? They signed the other Steve Smith, and lost Brandon Lloyd. That's going backwards, which means stiffs like Brandon Gibson will be forced to start again.

They signed Cortland Finnegan, one of the most overrated players in the league the last few years.

They hired a bloodthirsty nutjob maniac to run their defense, who was promptly banned from the league, leaving the team without a defensive coordinator.

Who is going to play OLB?

They drafted a raw project in the first round, and a criminal who was too dirty for Florida (FLORIDA!) in the second round.

I'm sure Mullet Head Fisher will eventually turn this team into his usual 8-8 mediocre shitfest that the media raves about for being "tough", and don't get me wrong, i'd love to go 8-8, but that's not going to be this year. The Rams stink.

w2b u sound so old and crotchety sometimes. I cant remember last time Rams were this active in offseason and draft. At the very least they tried to fix things so as of right now since we dont know how things will turn out cant we be optimistic?

Or do we stay angry and shake our fist?

[ralaw]

On paper I'd say the Bucs and Bengals, but we shall see.

[Guest]

1.) Tampa Bay. Carl Nicks was a huge addition- rarely do offensive linemen with his talent and ability make it to the market, and now the Bucs have two huge anchors in the middle of the line. VJax brings a legit #1 option to the passing game, which was sorely lacking that kind of player, and Doug Martin will provide a completely different look when Blount isn't on the field. Spending all of that money on Wright may end up coming back to bite them, but that was also the going rate for a corner this off-season. I also like Schiano taking over as head coach.

2.) Denver. Denver has a solid group of rushers, pass-catchers, an above average line and a solid defensive unit that is only going to get better. As we saw with the Colts last year, Peyton Manning did a lot of things. He made a below average defense look competent, he ran an all-world offense that looked terrible last season, despite many of the same pieces from the previous season. Manning is a huge addition, as the Broncos look to go all-in over the next few seasons.

3.) Chicago. While they still haven't addressed their offensive line (and a healthy Cutler with his release helps to negate that issue) they did acquire a top receiving option, and it helps that Cutler is very familiar with Brandon Marshall. A new general manager also means that Lovie Smith is on notice, and another season where the Bears miss the playoffs could mean his job.

Just missing the cut:

Washington. Like Chicago, did little to add depth to the line, but did finally get their franchise QB in RGIII (with a steep price.) They also added Pierre Garcon and Josh Morgan, who, along with Fred Davis, will be there for RGIII to learn and grow with in the offense for the length of their contracts. The Skins also added some low risk options to help improve the safety position, as Landry found himself on IR yet again and OJ Otogwe worked himself out of the starting job last season.

Rams. Orchestrated a great trade out of the #2 spot and have an extra first rounder in each of the next two seasons, and traded down from Washington's spot to acquire more picks and add some depth to the roster. Say what you want about Fisher and even Finnegan, but from their first draft, you need to establish some depth and Finnegan addresses a need regardless of what you think about him (and I agree with w2b, he is an overrated player.)

[Goober]

Not sure how Denver isn't getting more love here. It's fucking Peyton Manning.

[nwfisch]

Not sure how Denver isn't getting more love here. It's fucking Peyton Manning.

If he returns to 1998-2010 form....

Then again last year was 2011 where Manning played a grand total of 0 games...

[ThunderHorse]

Maybe I'm a homer but I think Indianapolis improved a lot this year.

I watched 16 very fucking painful games. horrific quarterback play was the main culprit last year, I think our defense is actually a little better than they looked becuase they were on the field so much. Anyone who watched Indianapolis' offense try to move the ball last year knows that really it's tough to get worse than that.

Still, maybe I've got to chalk this up to homerism. I've admitted more than once it's hard to take off the homer goggles. Theoretically they've improved greatly with their pick at quarterback, Tight end was a legitimate need for this team and they've picked up 2 of the "better" TE's in the draft. They're changing their outdated defensive scheme. We seem to have a legitimate head coach as opposed to Caldwell. I think Robert Mathis is going to be great as a stand up linebacker I feel it really fits his play style and will allow him to make better use of his athleticism. I like that Pagano's scheme also runs a lot of 43 which means that Freeney and Mathis can still attack from the 3 point stance from the End position. They picked up the Chapman kid from Alabama who can probably plug in at NT and at least give us better play than we've had since 06.

After reading that I see I'm putting a lot of stock in the draft, so this could be boom or bust.

I think a team that improved a lot is the Bucs. I really like the Vincent Jackson pick up, I think The RB pick at the top of the second round was a good one, I know they've picked up an offensive lineman in free agency that is supposed to bolster thier offensive line play. I really think with the situation in New Orleans and given Atlanta's habit of being fickle about showing up to games that matter Tampa Bay can make a legitimate run at that division.