A Way Too Early Preview of the 2009 NFL Season

Now that the 2008 season is officially over, it’s time to start looking ahead to the 2009 season.

Which teams will improve? Which teams will fall off? Which team is going to be next season’s Miami Dolphins? Which team will be next season’s Cleveland Browns?

The best thing about the NFL is that right now, even fans of the Detroit Lions believe their team can get to the Super Bowl next season. Last year’s St. Louis Rams can be next year’s Atlanta Falcons.

After all, if the Cardinals can get to the Super Bowl, anyone can get there!

Three Teams on the Rise

Denver Broncos

Long gone is the myth that head coaches can’t succeed in their first season with a new team. The Broncos were undone by a roster that lacked defensive talent and an offense that suffered key injuries.

And don’t overlook the fact that Mike Shanahan’s coaching style may have finally grown stale in the mile-high city.

The Broncos have a new head coach, a new philosophy, and offensive weapons that are perfect for the Josh McDaniels’ spread offense.

The Chargers won the AFC West with eight wins last season. They’ll probably be favored coming into the season to win the division again. But watch out for the Broncos.

No way they lose every big game down the stretch and allow someone else to back into their playoff spot again.

New England Patriots

The Patriots won 11 games, yet they missed the playoffs last season. But 11 wins didn’t tell the whole story. The Patriots played a pretty weak schedule and suffered tremendously on the defensive side of the ball.

Their secondary was terrible, with a capital awful.

The Patriots have five picks in the first three rounds of this year’s draft. They also have that Matt Cassel guy, whom I still think is going to be traded for additional first day draft picks before April’s draft.

Oh yeah, and that Tom Brady guy is going to be back next season.

The Patriots are in position to retain everyone from their record setting offense, and upgrade the defense significantly through the draft. They won’t lose a single significant player this offseason.

The Patriots are the early favorites to retake the AFC East title, no doubt about that. Vegas has them as the favorites to win it all.

Green Bay Packers

It was a strange season for Brett Favre’s former team. First, they had the Favre saga carry into the preseason. Then their defense lost the ability to stop anyone during the regular season.

If I’d have told you that Aaron Rodgers was going to play as well or better than Favre had the year before, yet they’d finish 6-10, you never would have believed me.

The Packers need to fix their defensive line. The Packers struggled to replace Corey Williams and will have to find a way to do so this offseason.

But I refuse to believe their defense was as bad as it looked at times last year.

How you feel about the 2009 Packers comes down to this question: Is their defense closer to what we saw in 2007, or is it closer to what we saw in 2008.

I think it’ll be closer to the 2007 version.

Three Teams on the Decline

Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins will have a few things working against them next season.

They caught a few teams by surprise last season, and it gained them two or three extra wins. They were able to feast on what was really a terrible schedule on their way to 11 wins. They went 2-5 against teams with winning records (counting their playoff loss to the Ravens).

That’s not taking anything away from what they did. Going from one to 11 wins is unheard of. And there’s no way this team is going to fall back to what they were in 2007.

But they will fall back a little.

Their schedule will be tougher. They won’t catch teams by surprise. Chad Pennington is still running the offense, and last I checked his arm was still made of noodles.

Seven or eight wins for the 2009 Dolphins is a pretty realistic target.

Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens made the list because they’re surely going to lose at least one of their marquee free agents, Terrell Suggs, Ray Lewis, and Bart Scott.

It’s also very possible, if not very likely, that Joe Flacco will experience a sophomore slump.

The Ravens also have the misfortune of playing in the same division as the Steelers, who are going to be good just about every year.

The Ravens’ defense was punishing last season. But the defense masked an offense that wasn’t nearly as good as it needs to be to get them to the next level.

The Ravens need to get Flacco some help in the passing game. They need a wide receiver that defenses respect—maybe Anquan Boldin.

But unless their offense improves and they can figure out how to replace whoever leaves their defense via free agency, the Ravens are going to struggle to match the success they had in 2008.

New York Giants

The Giants were the best team in the NFL for a large portion of the 2008 season. Then it all unraveled. Most of the unraveling done by their immature, unintelligent, insert-insulting-term-here No. 1 wide receiver Cheddar Bob.

The Giants suspended Plaxico for the rest of the season after he shot himself in the leg (and his career in the foot), which was the right thing to do regardless of the on-field consequences.

He’s likely to miss at least eight weeks next season, and that’s only if he avoids jail time.

But the Giants NEED Cheddar Bob. Desperately.

There’s nobody on their roster who can do what he does. Without him, teams can stack the line and stop the Giants’ running game. Just look at what the Eagles were able to do in the postseason.

And Eli Manning isn’t Peyton Manning. He’s not making that crop of wide receivers look like all-pros.

I’m not saying the Giants are going to be significantly worse next season, because they won’t be. They still have one of the best defenses in the NFL. And their running game is still second to none.

But falling off just a little is all it takes in the NFC East. It’s the price you pay for playing in the toughest division in football.

My WAY Too Early Sleeper Candidate

Kansas City Chiefs – They actually have some talent. They’re not nearly as bad as Herm Edwards made them look. And I have way too much faith in Scott Pioli and Todd Haley to believe that they won’t be significantly better. Potentially, 2009’s Miami Dolphins.

My WAY Too Early Super Bowl Favorites

Pittsburgh Steelers – I’m not buying the Patriots getting to the Super Bowl until after they finish improving that defense. Until that happens, the Steelers will remain the best team in the AFC.

Carolina Panthers – It took Jake Delhomme’s worst game as a professional to knock them out of the playoffs. Assuming no repeat performances, by him or whomever they replace him with, the Panthers will be one of the favorites to come out of the NFC next season.

Sorry Arizona.

Sean Crowe covers the New England Patriots for Examiner.com and writes a bi-weekly column for Sports-Central.org.

He is a Senior Writer and an NFL Community Leader at Bleacher Report. You can email him at [e-mail].