What teams have improved the most this off-season?

[Rudi]

Bengals arguably had one of the best drafts out of anyone....and signed some decent free agents that give us a lot more depth. So homer or no homer, I'm sayin its us.

 

[Rblake]

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

Probably being a homer...me too. We're still going to be bad. BETTER, but still bad.

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.

I agree all around. Our defense was not terrible. Curtis Painter made me want to skull fuck my own eyeballs out of my head. He was always SO close to making the play. I kept thinking, if this guy could just string a few plays together, I could see us having a chance in some of those games. Obviously, that never happened.

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 They're changing their outdated defensive scheme.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.

Even if Luck is terrible, he already looks better than that three-way between Corky Thatcher, that Indian girl born with eight arms & legs and Forrest Gump, we had at QB last year. Our FA pickups @ S, DE & OL were certainly improvements, and we addressed several aspects of our offense through the draft, but I'm worried at CB and RB. New QB's generally benefit from a good running game. Something we haven't really had since 2000.

Even with a huge boom across the board, I don't see us winning 8 games. 6, maybe, but considering our two win abortion last year and the house cleaning, I'd rate a six win season as one hell of an improvement.

Bears, Bucs, and Denver (with the Manning pick up)

 

[Woy]

It was still early here when I posted that.. Mea culpa.

Only reason I knew was because the Titans were looking at him as well. You keep on stealing my targeted players! lhoss:

Hopefully they all bust like Pujols. :motte:

 

[Hasselbeck]

The Eagles did a LOT to remedy the defensive side of the ball.

Bears did a good job, as did the Niners (sadly), Broncos and Bengals.

Also I'm a Seahawks homer, so I loved our offseason

 

[ram29jackson]

whats wrong with you morons ? Broncos IS the only answer.

possibly a close scenario to when the Vikes got Favre

 

[Blick]

Put me down for NOT Denver.

Seriously, that team isn't very talented.

Manning is old and fragile. I think there will be a lot of growing pains with the new offense and the unfamiliarity between teammates, timing, etc.

They will be better in 2013 if Manning is still going strong.

 

[Berowsk]

Nobody said the Chargers? I honestly think they scored huge with their offseason. Lemme explain.

They lost Vincent Jackson -- While obviously a blow to the team, I really don't think it's as big a blow as people like to think it is. Although he can consistently post 1000 yards, last year Jackson had the 16th most yards, surrounded by the likes of Nate Washington and Jordy Nelson. He posted the 22nd total yards per game.

They picked up Robert Meachem, Eddie Royal, Roscoe Parrish and drafted TE Ladarius Green -- While they lost the star receiver, they were able to build up a much more balanced receiving core. Expect Rivers to go off this year. Fantasy pick for me. :smug:

And let's not forget the acquisitions of safeties Atari Bigby and Brandon Taylor, linebackers Jarret Johnson and Melvin Ingram and defensive lineman Kendall Reyes. With the 11th most scored against defense and a middle-of-the-pack yards against, the Chargers did a lot to improve their defense.

 

[Blick]

I like what Tampa has done. This is the year if we find out if Freeman is the real deal or not. No excuses for him this year.

Chicago, Philly, San Fran all did well to me too.

And, of course, my Kansas City Chiefs.

They replaced one of the worst right tackles in the league in Barry Richardson with one of the best zone blocking right tackles in the league in Eric Winston. Huge upgrade.

They replaced Leonard Pope with Kevin Boss, so they will actually have a viable receiving threat at the other TE spot. Upgrade.

They replaced "2 yards" Thomas Jones with Peyton Hillis. Hillis is on a one year deal. He'll come to play. Huge upgrade.

They replaced Tyler Palko with Brady Quinn. Both suck, but Quinn not as much, and at least he still has 1st round pick upside. Upgrade.

The only significant loss is Brandon Carr, but he is replaced by Stanford Routt. I think Carr was overrated by a lot of Chiefs fans, and he's going to be even more overrated now that he has a star on his helmet. Routt might arguably be the better man-to-man cover guy.

It looks like Rodney Hudson is going to take over at center for Casey Wiegmann. Even though it's an inexperienced center taking over for an experienced one, I think it's an upgrade. Hudson was a stud at FSU and Wiegmann has been old and severely undersized for a few years now. He was a liability against bigger, stronger nose tackles last year and got blown off the ball all the time. It really hindered KC's interior running game.

Andy Studebaker started at the other outside LB spot at the beginning of the season last year. This year, it will be Justin Houston, who came on strong at the end of last year with 5.5 sacks in the last 5 games.

I'm not gonna count on draft picks yet when we haven't even seen training camp, but there are some possible upgrades there as well.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Denver has elite pass rushers and arguably the best QB of all time.

If Manning is 90% of what he was, they are easily the best team in the AFC West, and a serious SB contender.

 

[Shayn•Da•Pain]

While I can agree with the Bears, Bengals Broncos, and pretty much every team name that starts with a B outside of the Browns being at or near the top of this list, I don't think the 9ers have been discussed enough. I'll try my best for them.

• I know it's silly to mention a second year coach as an improvement, but Harbaugh gets his first full off-season with the team, and that alone is scary for the NFC-W. But who are we kidding, they should win the west again, and improved has to mean SB contender at this point. Harbaugh having his first full off-season and a second year with these guys is a great thing. He should be able to prepare this team better now to take on any team in the playoffs this upcoming season.
• 49ers had the 11th scoring offense, but 30th in the league for redzone TD percentage 40%. So they added the touchdown magnet Randy Moss first. If he does nothing but score redzone TD's he was well worth the signing, but he should do a little more than that as well.
• To further address their redzone problems they also added Brandon Jacobs. Jacobs is a big back, and a much better goal line back then Frank Gore, who IMO isn't a very good short yardage back, though he has improved since Iupati was drafted.
• The niners were 29th in passing yards, 183 per game. This was by design, mostly due to the shitty WR group. Alex Smith had something to do with the play calling as well, but now he has a lot of shiny new toys and Harbaugh to coach him up another seaason. They cut Edwards, which was a good move IMO, just dead weight. As previously mentioned they added Moss, then Mario Manningham, and drafted A.J. Jenkins who most consider a reach to be taken in the 1st round, but I think could pan out to be a Mike Wallace type impact player (potentially). Manningham proved to be clutch with that very memorable SB catch last year along the sideline. He adds great depth at WR here, and ads a spark. This new WR group should bolster this offense immensely and do what they desperately needed last year, to move the chains on 3rd downs and score TDs in the redzone.
• 2nd rnd pick LaMichael James has the skillset that teams are looking for in a change of pace back. He's explosive, can catch, and he compliments Gore well. Gore won't have to shoulder the burden of the run game anymore. Gore ,Jacobs, James, and Hunter combine to make one hell of a backfield that can cover any game time scenario.
• Perrish Cox Ok, now the defense. The niners have a history of taking these CB's that nobody else wants and flipping the switch on in their career. Last year it was Carlos Rogers, a few years ago it was Shawnte Spencer, before that Nate Clements. It's a position they do well in finding the right players, and Cox should be that guy this year.
• Special Teams - While Ted Ginn Jr. wasn't technically an improvement, how they use him should be. Now that he's going to be 4th-5th on the dept chart at WR he'll have less of a chance of being hurt come playoff time next year. If Ginn Jr wasn't hurt, Kyle Williams wouldn't have been back there muffing punts in the most important game of the season. Ginn Jr should be healthy, and that greatly improves their special teams. While we're talking about special teams, I'll take this chance to mention Rock Cartwright, who most of you might scoff at me even mentioning, and I understand he'll be most useful on special teams. But he's a versatile FB, and he's one of those nuts&bolts players that great teams are made of. I like him as much as Delanie Walker, another one of those guys that you don't talk about much but they impact games. Rock won't wow you, or wrack up great stats, but he'll definitely make a difference and you may not even notice.

The niners were 4 points away from beating the SB champs (Giants). In that game they were 1-13 on 3rd downs (7%) and 0-1 in redzone TDs. And they still only lost by 3. That defense is scary good, but if only this offense could score more often. The reason I think this team improved the most this season, isn't because they added the most talent, although I think they added plenty of talent, but because this offense improved in all the right ways. They've got a full WR corpse now, with deep threats who can score, and with guys who can score TDs from the redzone most importantly. The ground game should be markedly improved as well, especially inside the 20. While many would argue Alex Smith will never win a SB, and I won't challenge that, I think this team could win a SB despite Alex Smith. And hell, Smith could turn some heads with Harbaugh and this current roster, who knows. But I think they will score much more than last season, and David Akers will not have a career high NFL leading 44 FG's either. This team now has as good a chance as any at winning the SB this season. I'm not trying to bill these guys as the next greatest show on turf or anything, I assume they will still be a running team, though more balanced, but they will be much much more dangerous in these close NFC playoff games with these additions, and will give that great defense a real shot at a SB run.

 

[Champ]

Nobody said the Chargers? I honestly think they scored huge with their offseason. Lemme explain.

They lost Vincent Jackson -- While obviously a blow to the team, I really don't think it's as big a blow as people like to think it is. Although he can consistently post 1000 yards, last year Jackson had the 16th most yards, surrounded by the likes of Nate Washington and Jordy Nelson. He posted the 22nd total yards per game.

They picked up Robert Meachem, Eddie Royal, Roscoe Parrish and drafted TE Ladarius Green -- While they lost the star receiver, they were able to build up a much more balanced receiving core. Expect Rivers to go off this year. Fantasy pick for me. :smug:

And let's not forget the acquisitions of safeties Atari Bigby and Brandon Taylor, linebackers Jarret Johnson and Melvin Ingram and defensive lineman Kendall Reyes. With the 11th most scored against defense and a middle-of-the-pack yards against, the Chargers did a lot to improve their defense.

I dont see that as being a great offseason at all. You picked up Bigby who is a waste. Jarret Johnson who played in at a great defensive system. And a bunch of offensive scrubs.

 

[Wrath]

Bengals
Chargers (Great Draft)
Bucs
Eagles

 

[RosettaStoned]

Can't believe nobody has mentioned the Patriots. They killed the draft IMO.

 

[Berowsk]

I dont see that as being a great offseason at all. You picked up Bigby who is a waste. Jarret Johnson who played in at a great defensive system. And a bunch of offensive scrubs.

"You"?

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Nobody said the Chargers? I honestly think they scored huge with their offseason. Lemme explain.

They lost Vincent Jackson -- While obviously a blow to the team, I really don't think it's as big a blow as people like to think it is. Although he can consistently post 1000 yards, last year Jackson had the 16th most yards, surrounded by the likes of Nate Washington and Jordy Nelson. He posted the 22nd total yards per game.

They picked up Robert Meachem, Eddie Royal, Roscoe Parrish and drafted TE Ladarius Green -- While they lost the star receiver, they were able to build up a much more balanced receiving core. Expect Rivers to go off this year. Fantasy pick for me. :smug:

And let's not forget the acquisitions of safeties Atari Bigby and Brandon Taylor, linebackers Jarret Johnson and Melvin Ingram and defensive lineman Kendall Reyes. With the 11th most scored against defense and a middle-of-the-pack yards against, the Chargers did a lot to improve their defense.

The thing about losing VJax is that there is now a huge hole as far as a playmaker goes. We all know you can't count on Antonio Gates to make it through a season and he will be 32 when the season starts. Same goes for Malcom Floyd, who just can't avoid the nagging injuries and break out. I don't think Meachem and Royal equate to Jackson, I'm sorry.

They also did not address the depth along the offensive line, and they suffered a lot of injuries last season.

I do like the Johnson and Ingram additions. Some feel Johnson is a system player, but the dude is a workhorse and will fulfill whatever role the coaching staff wants him to do. Bigby is still a waste of space.

They did OK, but I wouldn't say it was a great off-season by any means. There isn't a huge potential game changer in that group that will step up immediately and play at an elite level.

 

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

Not the Jaguars.

Lulz Mularkey...pretty awful draft...overspent on average players in free agency...missed an easy lay up to acquire Tim Tebow.

Name me something the Jaguars did RIGHT.

 

[Berowsk]

Locked down the punter spot for the next 15 years?

I've been saying for so long that that punter is mad special. Dude's coffin corners and 1 yard line drops are fucking amazing.

 

[Berowsk]

Whoops

 

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

Locked down the punter spot for the next 15 years?

Would have traded that 3rd rounder for this guy is that was the case...

lolpunter.

The Jaguars have used a 3rd and a 4th rounder in the past FIVE YEARS on punters.

3rd and a 4th round pick over FIVE YEARS...on PUNTERS...PUNTERS!!!!

 

[Blick]

LOL @ 1st round upside.

Does that mean that Jamarcus Russell still has some upside left too? Just because a guy went in the first round 5 years ago doesn't mean he has any kind of upside left. Palko wasn't great but I wouldn't call BQ an upgrade over anyone at this point. The Broncos staff was doing anything they could to give him the #2 job outright in Denver and he even had a chance to beat out Orton going into the last preseason game and then came out and shit the bed.

The guy has never shown that he will be able to adjust to the pro game on a number of levels.

Russell was run out of the league. No, he no longer has upside. Quinn is still in the league, so yes, he still has upside.

Good comparison.