First off I'm basing this off of what the teams did last season. Not off who the acquire in the off season. With that being said let's go.
The 49ers are the unanimous number to me. They did look more human in the New Orleans game in San Francisco. But who doesn't against Drew Breed? They have a core of young players with Willis, Bowman, Aldon Smith, and Donte Witner. The only aging player they really have is Justin Smith and he doesn't look like it. Now with the secondary coming off a stellar season they'll probably be better after actually playing a year together and now knowing each other's strengths and flaws.
The Texans are my 2. Yes I am a Texans fan but the proof is there. If not for the fact that we played a rookie QB in our playoff run we probably beat the what most say is the best defense in the AFC. On top of that it all happened without Marion Williams who's looking like he'll be resigned at this point. Jonathan Joseph showed up as a shut down corner. More so than many expected. With the emergence of Jason Allen on the other side and Kareem Jackson playing better our corner play was tops in football. Daniel Manning was huge this year even though he did miss some time he proved to be the safety net on the backside we needed. JJ Watt will get better after an amazing rookie season he'll be our anchor much like Ngata for Baltimore.
I'm going Baltimore here because of age and shotty secondary play early in the season. This was the first time in a long time there defense looked vulnerable losing to teams like the Seahawks early in the season. I think age and the constant rotation of coached through there is taking its toll on the Ravens. It would be better to pay Ray Lewis to do dual duty as DC and MLB/Captain thN keep shuffling guys through to head coaching jobs.
The Giants are my 4. Yes they won the Super Bowl this season but because of the aging linebacker core that was eventually pieced together with a rookie playing middle linebacker at times and the fact that there secondary can't stay healthy they fall. The loss of key pieces didn't seem to have a huge effect on them this season because of the depth they had a safety the were able to play Kenny Phillips and Antrelle Rolle on WR's at time this year. The Niners exploited that when they tries to match up on Vernon Davis but with that blueprint many more teams will get to tje G-Men. There D line is young for the most part but they haven't had a real DT in a long time. All the speed rushing will be harder the more they let Eli fling it. Got it done this year but don't see it happening again with the guys they have on D.
Last are the Steelers. Unfortunately they're really starting to age. With the only person not really getting spelled frequently was Troy Polumalu. MLB James Farrior is doubtful for next season in my eyes. The paid every LB on the team to lofty extensions and I could see them finally going young at his spot letting the guys currently locked up awhile mentor him. There D line is actually getting younger Can Heyward and Ziggy Hood got more time this year spelling Bret Keisel a lot. More or less getting more just as many snaps. The last place to go young is NT. Signs point to them doing that in a lot of Mocks.
There it is people. I'll be updating this post. Sometime after free and during Free Agency based on whether the signings will immediately make an impact in my mind.
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