NFL 2008 Preview and Playoff Predictions

The RB spot has what seems like a dozen possible starting candidates, and the defense isn’t the best in the league, but it also isn’t the worst. Here’s a perfect opportunity to use the word solid right here. They Seahawks defense is solid. The word solid is a solid word in terms of being a football adjective, I think.

The 49ers, doubtfully proud owners of the worst, most anemic offense in the NFL last year have been giving a gleam of hope with the arrival of Mike Martz.

The whole discussion has been beaten to death several times, so I’ll try and keep it simple. Josh Morgan is going to be Martz’s Torry Holt, Vernon Davis and Isaac Bruce will combine to be Martz’s pre-2006 Isaac Bruce, and Frank Gore is going to a be a tougher, more downhill-running version of Martz’s Marshall Faulk.

The only problem is that Martz is expecting J.T. O’Sullivan to be his Marc Bulger/Kurt Warner. This may be the year that Mike Martz finally realizes that he is indeed a mere mortal, just like the rest of us. I’ll be surprised if the offense catches fire this year, but if it does, I will express an undying respect of Mike Martz. So we’ll see.

Finally, we have the Arizona Cardinals. The perennial underachievers of the NFL, the Cardinals fail to live up to hopes, even when those hopes are actually warranted (like the arrival of Edgerrin James).

The Cardinals' season is going to be started off with Kurt Warner at the helm, and he will lead them where he always does, on a good path towards the playoffs that suddenly and unexpectedly turns towards the edge of a cliff. This should happen around midseason, with the hopes of a playoff bid dwindling.

The Cardinals will throw Matt Leinart in, realize he won’t get them in the playoffs, but keep him in there anyway since they’ll also realize that maybe they need to keep him in for a good chunk of games in order for him to get used to being the starting QB.

I heard in-game experience does wonders for quarterbacks, but what do I know? But speaking of in-game experience for QBs...

AFC WEST

1. Denver Broncos
2. San Diego Chargers
3. Oakland Raiders
4. Kansas City Chiefs

The AFC West has two quarterbacks who are in dire need of in-game experience: Brodie Croyle and JaMarcus Russell. Because of this, the division is essentially a shoo-in to be won by either the Broncos or Chargers.

Jay Cutler proved last year that he’s the real deal, and the fact that the Broncos' running game is so frigging befuddling doesn’t really matter so much anymore. Brandon Marshall’s suspension was cut to one game, which meant more to his ecstatic fantasy owners than the actual team, and the team drafted rookie WR Eddie Royal, who is apparently of the rare breed of rookie WRs with enough tools to be named a starter in his first year.

All of that, combined with major question in San Diego, should add up to a division crown for the Broncos.

The San Diego Chargers have injury questions, mainly for Antonio Gates and Philip Rivers, but LaDainian Tomlinson proved at the end of last year that he may be a mortal as well. The guy has racked up nearly 2,500 carries (excluding receptions), so it’s really no surprise that he managed to get injured at least once.

It’s a smart bet to expect either a regression or a beginning of a regression from him this year, which is something that will not bode well for Philip Rivers. Nor would the situation from his favorite target, Antonio Gates, who has stated he doesn’t know how his big toe will hold up this year.

For such a big person and such a big percentage of Philip Rivers’s total completions, Gate’s big toe could spell big problems for Rivers and the Chargers' overall offense. Poor Chris Chambers, he waited way too long to demand a trade from Miami.

That leaves the Chiefs and Raiders to battle it out for third place, even though each team’s future looks very bright after their recent drafts. The Raiders have heralded, Hall of Fame lock, Darren McFadden to look forward to, while the Chiefs have a large portion of their 73 draft picks to look forward to.

Not to mention, Brodie Croyle faced some very tough pass defenses in his six losses last year, so there is reason for some optimism with him this year. On the subject of optimism, let’s head down east to...

AFC EAST

1. New England Patriots
2. New York Jets
3. Buffalo Bills

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?