SI: six teams to make playoffs that didn't

[mmillman]

last year per SI.

Six new playoff teams in 2009

AFC
• New England -- A no-brainer to start, but everybody's got to hit their layups. Without Tom Brady last season, the Patriots went 11-5 and scored more than all but one AFC team (San Diego). With Brady's return to health -- relax, Pats Nation, he's gonna be ready -- there's no reason to think of New England as anything other than the conference's top Super Bowl contender.
The schedule is undoubtedly tougher this season, with New England drawing the NFC South and AFC South (which featured seven of eight teams at .500 or better in '08), rather than last year's lame NFC West/AFC West combo (one winning team last season). But the Patriots have made another nice veteran signing in running back Fred Taylor, improved their weak secondary, and I don't expect them to be doomed this season by the twin losses of offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and personnel man Scott Pioli.
• Houston -- It might surprise you to learn that only five AFC teams own more regular-season victories than the Texans' 16 in the past two seasons, and that New England (27), Indianapolis (25), Tennessee (23), Pittsburgh (22) and San Diego (19) have parlayed those wins into nine out of a possible 10 playoff berths. Houston has gone 8-8 the past two seasons, and seems on the cusp of finally making the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. But we've heard that before, because the Texans have been teases for a while now.
What's going to be different this time? Well, for one I don't see Houston starting the season 0-4 and playing its hurricane-delayed home opener in Week 5 again. Secondly, quarterback Sage Rosenfels isn't around to give away a game or two in spectacular fashion. Lastly, I like the way Houston's schedule breaks. The Texans don't play 2008 playoff teams in consecutive weeks until late November. By then I think Gary Kubiak's team will be well on its way to growing up.
• Buffalo -- Was the Bills' 5-1 start last season a mirage? It's possible, given the five teams Buffalo beat in that span finished a combined 24-56 (.300), with only one of them (the 8-8 Chargers) turning respectable later in the season. It's a make-or-break season in Buffalo, because Dick Jauron and his staff know a fourth consecutive 7-9 finish spells the end, and that should lend both clarity and urgency to the situation.
Signing Terrell Owens was the ultimate win-now move, but a good short-term fix for an offense in desperate need of more points and production. The Bills' reworked offensive line remains a work in progress, but the season should rise or fall on the progress Trent Edwards makes in his second full season as a starter, and the development of offensive coordinator Turk Schonert as a play-caller. If both aren't markedly better, the Bills will stretch the AFC's longest playoff drought to a decade.
NFC
• New Orleans -- When I project the last-place Saints to make the jump to the 2009 playoffs, I'm counting on more than the NFC South's penchant to reshuffle itself almost each and every season. The defensive improvement I foresaw for New Orleans last season never materialized, as a wave of injuries and the same old propensity to allow the big play doomed Sean Payton's club to the fate of losing a series of high-scoring games.
But the Saints offense is special (a league-high 463 points), and with six of its eight losses by a combined 18 points, New Orleans was tantalizingly close to winning and winning big. Can't win big if your defense gives up 24.6 points per game, you say? Tell that to Arizona, which won the NFC despite a defense that allowed 26.6 per game. The Saints hired veteran defensive coordinator Gregg Williams to fix the problem, and I think it'll be remembered as one of the most pivotal moves of the NFL's offseason.
• Dallas -- There are no two ways around it: The Cowboys underachieved mightily in 2008 and became a dysfunctional team in the locker room in the second half of last season. But only one of Dallas' losses came against a losing team, and that was at St. Louis in its first game without injured starting quarterback Tony Romo. Otherwise, the Cowboys lost to Pittsburgh, Arizona, Philly, Baltimore and the Giants -- the NFL's final four and its defending Super Bowl champion -- as well as to 8-8 Washington when the Commanders were rolling early.
Three reasons why the Cowboys will be better off in 2009 jump to mind: 1) Romo doesn't have to sweat the T.O. drama any more, and that's going to help his head and his game; 2) explosive running back/return man Felix Jones should play more than six games this time around; 3) the Cowboys improved their porous secondary both at cornerback and safety in free agency and the draft.
• San Francisco -- The 49ers finished the season at 5-2 in their last seven games under interim head coach Mike Singletary, and that's almost always going to earn you chic-pick, team-on-the-rise status heading into the following season. But there is something about Singletary's old-school approach that seems to be exactly what the lackadaisical 49ers have lacked in recent years. He doesn't seem to suffer fools or sloppiness too well, and those are two things that have not been in short supply in San Francisco for a while now.
Whether or not the 49ers have enough quality quarterbacking to make their first playoff appearance since 2002 remains a question, but let's not lose sight of something here. The NFC West's past three champions have gone 9-7 (Arizona in 2008), 10-6 and 9-7 (Seattle in 2007 and 2006), so it's not going to take a quantum leap for San Francisco (7-9 last year) to scale that particular mountain.

 

[DaBoys4Life]

I don't see the boys making the playoffs this year.

 

[Hoofbite]

I don't see the boys making the playoffs this year.

Why?

I'm not so sure the 9ers will be able to take the Seahawks. Seattle was beat the hell up last year and I think they will be much better this year.

 

[DCBoysfan]

I expect Dallas to not only make the playoffs this year but to get some wins in the post season.

 

[YosemiteSam]

I don't see the boys making the playoffs this year.

I don't see you as a real Cowboys fan.

 

[YosemiteSam]

Why?

I'm not so sure the 9ers will be able to take the Seahawks. Seattle was beat the hell up last year and I think they will be much better this year.

He is just trying to be like the mediots. You know, be a drama queen / attention *****.

 

[DaBoys4Life]

I don't see you as a real Cowboys fan.

I am a real fan. Otherwise I wouldn't be here posting. However, I don't feel as good about this season as I did last season. So I'm going to say how I feel and will wait to see more changes that will further improve the team.

 

[jobberone]

Not making the playoffs will depend on our out of conference record, injuries, and OL play more than anything.

If Philly and NY have powerhouses and are better than us AND the Skins play well esp us then we will have a tough time. But I would still consider it a monumental screwup for us not to make the playoffs.

Injuries to Witten, Romo, Newman, an OL player esp T or C and Ware mixed together and around each other would do it. So it ain't a gimme.

 

[CATCH17]

I am a real fan. Otherwise I wouldn't be here posting. However, I don't feel as good about this season as I did last season. So I'm going to say how I feel and will wait to see more changes that will further improve the team.

We were definetely better on paper going into last season but if you still stack our roster up against anyone elses we have just as good of a team as anyone else.


The only reason to think this team couldn't do well is because we don't have TO and I think Romo is a good enough player and has good enough pieces around him to still get it done at a high level.

 

[thor_01]

one change might be to pick a new team, one that you can have extreme confidence in even before the first ota's or mini camps or preseason games have been played, you people are such pessimists dont know how anyone stays so negative before anything goes wrong lol

 

[cobra]

I don't see how you look at this team and think "this is not a playoff team." It absolutely is.

We have a top 10 defense and a top 10 offense. How does one not see the playoffs out of that? They got rid of the drama and the locker-room problems, so they should have their heads on straight this year.

The only thing that I can see people *****ing about is the loss of Owens, and I, personally, don't see how that it is a major loss or something that ruins this team.

What else is there to ***** about?

 

[DaBoys4Life]

We were definetely better on paper going into last season but if you still stack our roster up against anyone elses we have just as good of a team as anyone else.


The only reason to think this team couldn't do well is because we don't have TO and I think Romo is a good enough player and has good enough pieces around him to still get it done at a high level.

I don't think the players is the problem with the team to be honest. I think the current culture at VR is very problematic. We need to clean house in order to get in where IMO. I see a lot of talking but not too much happening to support it.

 

[DallasDomination]

If we make the playoffs it's going to be because our running game and a improved defense. I know our running game is the real deal with a healthy Felix and barber and Choice. The defense should be better with Wade Poofs calling the shots and we did improve our safety and get some young hungry blood in other spots.

I'll give you a perfect example of how we are going to play and should play next season. Watch the Packers cowboys game again from last season. We didnt Need romo to win that game. Our defense was on fire and our running game was a BEAST!. And when Romo needed to make a play, He did.

 

[DallasDomination]

I don't see how you look at this team and think "this is not a playoff team." It absolutely is.

We have a top 10 defense and a top 10 offense. How does one not see the playoffs out of that? They got rid of the drama and the locker-room problems, so they should have their heads on straight this year.

The only thing that I can see people *****ing about is the loss of Owens, and I, personally, don't see how that it is a major loss or something that ruins this team.

What else is there to ***** about?

A better question would be :

How do the players look at themselves? Do they believe they can get into the playoffs and win?

Last years modo was Finish?...and they didnt even start. So before people go calling for other fans heads lets look at the team from a realist point of view.

 

[cobra]

I don't think the players is the problem with the team to be honest. I think the current culture at VR is very problematic. We need to clean house in order to get in where IMO. I see a lot of talking but not too much happening to support it.

First, what do you mean by "culture"? Please define what you mean. (Surely you did not intentionally pick an undefinable characteristic to backup your position!) We are top 10 nearly across the board on this team (QB, RBs, Oline, D front 7, secondary, K, and P). But you think there is such a cultural problem that we won't make the playoffs? Must be a hell of a cultural problem and surely you will be able to explain such a devastating force.

Second, you "see a lot of talking but not much happening"? Well, if culture you think is the problem, you must have slept through the fact we got rid of TO, Pacman, Tank, and then drafted only character guys. So that appears to be something happening. But beyond that, what are expecting to see in the middle of the off-season other than "talking"?

 

[cobra]

So before people go calling for other fans heads lets look at the team from a realist point of view.

Ok. Go ahead. Start showing me the problem from "a realist point of view."

Because I look at a team who lost their franchise QB for a portion of the season and had a horrendous backup (a problem which was solved with Kitna). I see a team that lost their starting RB to injury and their game-changing rookie RB to injury. I see a team that last a starting guard to injury. I see a team that had its Hall of Fame TE play injured all year. I see a team that even lost their punter. And yet, I see a team that missed the playoffs by one game despite all of that.

I also see a team that went through a lot of locker room issues last year, and yet missed the playoffs by one game.

I assume that the injuries will not be the same and the locker room issues will be largely gone.

I also see some nice additions and potential growth from some players.

So, pray tell, what does the "realist" view of this team look like that is different than what I just described?

 

[DallasDomination]

Ok. Go ahead. Start showing me the problem from "a realist point of view."

Because I look at a team who lost their franchise QB for a portion of the season and had a horrendous backup (a problem which was solved with Kitna). I see a team that lost their starting RB to injury and their game-changing rookie RB to injury. I see a team that last a starting guard to injury. I see a team that had its Hall of Fame TE play injured all year. I see a team that even lost their punter. And yet, I see a team that missed the playoffs by one game despite all of that.

I also see a team that went through a lot of locker room issues last year, and yet missed the playoffs by one game.

I assume that the injuries will not be the same and the locker room issues will be largely gone.

I also see some nice additions and potential growth from some players.

So, pray tell, what does the "realist" view of this team look like that is different than what I just described?

It was a more general Opinion for everybody. There are to many people that get mad when Somebody is not being positve and yet they dont see some of the true colors or make excuses.


As far as what you said it's all valid points that I agree with. The injuries played a huge roll in how we finsihed last year. But that isnt the only problem.

Romo needs to step up to the plate if We are to win a Championship. People just brush it off because His stats in the REGULAR SEASON are so great. I need Romo to SHOW me He can do it before I start pumping my chest out and saying he's going to do it.

There has to be more leadership and accountability. to many times have I seen the players just loose their heart in the field and simply give up. The coaching has to correct this and so do the players.

 

[DallasDomination]

Ok. Go ahead. Start showing me the problem from "a realist point of view."

Because I look at a team who lost their franchise QB for a portion of the season and had a horrendous backup (a problem which was solved with Kitna). I see a team that lost their starting RB to injury and their game-changing rookie RB to injury. I see a team that last a starting guard to injury. I see a team that had its Hall of Fame TE play injured all year. I see a team that even lost their punter. And yet, I see a team that missed the playoffs by one game despite all of that.

I also see a team that went through a lot of locker room issues last year, and yet missed the playoffs by one game.

I assume that the injuries will not be the same and the locker room issues will be largely gone.

I also see some nice additions and potential growth from some players.

So, pray tell, what does the "realist" view of this team look like that is different than what I just described?

Just to add here.

"We only missed the playoffs by one game" I have a feeling you are ok with that.


Where the hell was the accountability with all that drama in the locker room? Where was teh leadership when Romo went down?

Where was that Dallas Cowboys Pride when all was on the line?

please tell me...We didnt just miss the playoffs by one game. it's all nice and dandy. No We got Hammered into submission on the most important game of the year. We lost to pretty much every good defensive team on our scheduale. We give up two Huge back to back runs against the ravens. That wasnt injuries talking, That wasnt drama in the locker room talking...That was heartless, lack of pride and not knowing how to FINISH.

A little word they all started the season believeing.

 

[Frozen700]

we will make the playoffs....plain n simple

 

[cobra]

Where the hell was the accountability with all that drama in the locker room?

Where is the accountability? Uh... what do you call TO getting shipped to Buffalo?

Tank?

Pacman?

Roy31?

Brian Stewart?

Bruce Read?

(FYI - they are all gone. That's called accountability.)

Where was teh leadership when Romo went down?

Psst, Kitna was brought in to solve this.





I'm not proud we missed this playoffs by one game. My point is that this is unquestionably a playoff team and it is STUPID and not "realistic" to say this is not a playoff team. If we were only one game away last year after all of that, then this is certainly a playoff team this year.