NFL Free Agents 2011: 5 Teams Whose Playoff Dreams Will Become Reality

If you're a big fan of NFL free agency, this week must have been like Christmas, New Year's, St. Patty's and the Super Bowl all rolled into one fantabulous package.

It's been crazy, no doubt about that. And heck, we haven't even seen Nnamdi Asomugha agree to terms yet. Though that could change any minute now.

In any case, one thing that may have gotten lost in the shuffle this week is that the season is just a couple weeks away from starting. All the signings we've seen this week are going to be booming or busting very soon.

Obviously, teams are hoping for the former. This is particularly true of the teams that are placing what playoff hopes they have on the players they've committed themselves to this week.

Without them, the playoffs were a pipe dream. With them, the playoffs could be a dream that comes true.

For the sake of having a little fun with the old crystal ball, why don't we go ahead and try to pick and choose which teams are going to get lucky with their free-agent signings?

Here are five teams whose playoff dreams will come true in 2011.

5. Atlanta Falcons

Let's kick this list off with the Atlanta Falcons. And believe me, I'm going way out on a limb so I can include them. As a matter of fact, I can hear it snapping.

As well I should. We are, after all, talking about a team that finished with the best record in the NFC in 2010. Surely, the playoffs were already in the cards for the Falcons.

In my opinion, not necessarily. Atlanta's 13-3 record definitely indicated that they were a great team in 2010, but the eye test showed that they were merely a good team that fortune smiled upon time and again. And because they are flanked by two very good teams in the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the playoffs were by no means a sure thing for the Falcons.

That's why they went out and got aggressive. It started when they traded up to get Julio Jones in the draft, and it continued this afternoon when the Falcons made a splash by signing defensive end Ray Edwards, who was right at the top of their free agency wish list. He will help bolster the team's pass rush, which needed a little bolstering after posting just 31 sacks in 2010.

If the Falcons weren't a surefire playoff team before, they are now.

4. Tennessee Titans

To this point, the Tennessee Titans haven't been very active on the free-agent market.

In fact, they've seen more talent go out the door, as defensive end Jason Babin signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, and it looks like linebacker Stephen Tulloch is also going to head elsewhere. Vince Young left too, though nobody is likely to miss him.

The Titans have made one big signing, though, as they locked up for Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck for this season and beyond. Jake Locker is obviously the QB of the future in Tennessee, but Hasselbeck will step in and start for the Titans right away.

While it's true that Hasselbeck is not a likely candidate to light up the stat sheet on any given Sunday at this point in his career, he showed us against the New Orleans Saints in the playoffs that he still has plenty of gas left in his tank.

He may have been pretty pedestrian in the regular season, but a lot of that was due to the fact he got banged up quite a bit playing behind Seattle's porous offensive line. The Titans line allowed a grand total of 28 sacks last season, so Hasselbeck should be on his feet more often this season.

If Hasselbeck pans out, the Titans are going to be in the race in the AFC South. Because Peyton Manning seems to be on the decline, the division has no clear favorite, which will essentially make it a matter of whichever team is left standing at the end.

As you can probably recall, Hasselbeck took part in such a race in 2010. That worked out OK.

3. Detroit Lions

Fortunately for them, the Detroit Lions emerged from the lockout with a pretty short list of needs. This is largely owed to their excellent showing in the draft, as they nabbed a stud a defensive tackle in Nick Fairley, a talented running back in Mikel Leshoure and an explosive receiver in Titus Young.

As such, many people already had the Lions pegged as a playoff team in 2011, and they didn't do anything this week to change that.

Yes, it would have been nice if the Lions had found a way to get involved in the Nnamdi Asomugha sweepstakes, as they could definitely use some talent at the cornerback position.

Instead, the Lions did the next best thing by adding a body to their linebacking corps by signing Justin Durant, formerly of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

There's a chance the Lions might not be done in that particular department. They've been circling Stephen Tulloch for the last couple days, and there's still a chance that they could fit him in. If they do, the Lions are going to have a very good front seven.

True enough, the Lions' chances of making the postseason are severely hindered by the fact that they play in the NFC North, where the Chicago Bears and Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers also lurk.

However, the Bears are a legit regression candidate, and the Packers have to worry about the dreaded Super Bowl hangover.

Get ready, Detroit. This could be the year.

2. Seattle Seahawks

Speaking of Hasselbeck, his former team has been very active in free agency. The Seahawks kicked things off by adding former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson and then went out and added former Vikings receiver Sidney Rice and former Oakland Raiders guard Robert Gallery.

Like most people it seems, I'm on the fence about the Jackson signing. I get that he's going to be reunited with former Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, but I have my doubts about whether or not the Seahawks actually went out and signed a starter.

Charlie Whitehurst could very well break camp as the starter, in which case Jackson would find himself in a place he knows all too well: the bench.

Oh well. The good news for the Seahawks is that the Rice and Gallery signings will be worthwhile. Before a hip injury put a damper on his 2010 season, Rice broke out in a big way in 2009, hauling in 83 passes for over 1,300 yards. If he can stay healthy, Rice will be a true threat.

Gallery, on the other hand, will help out an offensive line that was pretty dreadful in 2010. He has never really justified being a second overall draft pick, but he's a pretty solid lineman.

Whether it's keeping Whitehurst (or Jackson) on his back or clearing a path for Marshawn Lynch, Gallery will get the job done.

In short, the Seahawks may have lost a good quarterback, but they have definitely used free agency to improve.

And because the NFC West is still a subpar division, the Seahawks have as a good a chance of capturing their second straight division crown.

Who knows? They might even do so with a better than .500 record.

1. San Diego Chargers

Since the lockout was lifted, the San Diego Chargers have dipped into the open free-agency market just once, and that was so they could sign veteran linebacker Takeo Spikes.

Before the lockout, however, the Chargers came to terms with Bob Sanders, the former Indianapolis Colts safety and 2007 Defensive Player of the Year.

Forgot about that one, didn't you?

As we all know, Sanders hasn't been very healthy in recent seasons. In fact, he's played in a grand total of three games in the last two seasons.

When Sanders is healthy though, he is one of the best defenders in the NFL. As long as he can stay on the field, Sanders and the newly re-signed Eric Weddle could be a lethal combination.

We know for a fact that the Chargers offense is going to be just fine, even if it did lose Darren Sproles to the New Orleans Saints.

Now that they've gone out and upgraded their defense, the Chargers really have no excuse not to win the AFC West in 2011.