Looking ahead to next year…

A look ahead to the 2010 NFL season

I understand that the season has just ended, and the New Orleans Saints have hoisted the trophy and are now enjoying the parade and the tour of Disney, but it is never too early to look ahead to next season. In this article we are going to look at the top 5 teams in the NFL next season based on what we feel, now there are a lot of things that can take place free agency, draft, coaching changes, etc… but we are excited about next season even though it is a little over 6 months away. So let’s look at the top 5 teams in our mind for the start of next season:

• New Orleans Saints-The New Orleans Saints are the champs, so the champs get the number one spot. The Saints are a machine on offense; the only difficultly could be their 25 th ranked defense. They must make improvements on the defensive side of the ball in order to repeat as champs. New Orleans must make sure that they sign the free agents they have many that will be restricted and unrestricted, they must figure out the key pieces to make the puzzle work.

• Indianapolis Colts-The Colts could be number one according to how the off-season for the Saints go, the fact is as long as you have Manning at quarterback you will have the Colts in the mix. As long as the key pieces can return and contribute, Indy will make the same type run that they made this season. The key for the Colts is getting Bob Sanders back and healthy and making key adjustments on the defensive side of the ball, also getting the run game back and solid for the offense to flourish back when they were Super Bowl champs.

• Minnesota Vikings- The key to the Vikings of course is the return of Brett Favre, in order for the team to remain on top of the league, the 40 year old quarterback must return. The Vikings have a solid running attack with Adrian Peterson, but he must learn to hold on to the ball and with Favre’s passing ability he makes the receivers around him better. As always the defense is solid and will continue to be with Allen and the Williams boys, but they must improve in the secondary.

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• San Diego Chargers- The Chargers have the passing attack and they can run the ball, with the loss (potentially) of L.T. to free agency, Darren Sproles is and has shown he can adequately fill the shoes of a big time back. What San Diego must improve on is the defensive side of the ball, they have a good secondary but must improve up front against the run.

• Philadelphia Eagles- There are always chants in Philly about getting rid of Donovan McNabb and even make a change in the coaching but the fact is the Eagles win and they do it consistently. With the talent at wide receiver they have and the emergence of McCoy at running back the Eagles are set up for the future. The Eagles must improve on maturity, playing big in big games and decision making on the field; with a defense that is pretty solid and an offense that is explosive it could be a big year for Philadelphia.

There you have it our top 5 teams for the upcoming NFL season, now remember keep in mind that with the draft coming up and the free agency merry-go-round coming up the out look of these teams could change. There are some big name free agents to be had but the key for these teams is not only to look for a game changer to add but to also keep those that they have built the teams foundation on in the process. Get ready, we can’t wait til’ next season.

By: Sam Adams
Pro Football Fans Staff Writer