Spurs Dominate, Bengals set to dominate

 ABC news

Well the NBA finals are finally over and the best team in the NBA by far stood as Champs when it was all said and done.  Team basketball prevailed as the San Antonio Spurs played almost flawlessly and dominated the Miami Heat, closing them out in 5 games.  They played the type of ball that high school and AAU coaches could probably show film of as excellent fundamental instruction material.  Somehow we had heard it mentioned often going into the playoffs that this type of basketball was not "flashy" or "fun" to watch.  Well personally I have not had more fun watching a team play.  They moved the ball so well that their offense was almost artistic, so well that it almost overshadowed their tenacious defense.  It seems now you have to put Gregg Popovich up there with the greats of all time and his ability to develop talent and get everyone to buy in to this selfless cause that is bigger than the individual sounds an awful lot like a certain NFL coach...

 Link

So now what? 

It is the dog days of summer approaching for baseball, the USA men's soccer team might shock the world....and make it to the elimination round before losing and according to Lebron James we will have to wait till summer to hear his Decision 2.0.

 81 days till Bengals v Ravens week 1 of the NFL

The Bengals wrapped up their mandatory mini camp last week and don't start training camp till the end of July.  They have a couple of guys looking to ink soon this off-season:

Vontaze Berfict contract talks ->  Get it done front office.  This guy has what it takes to solidify a perennial top 10 defense for the next decade and he brings the type of passion and leadership that makes everyone around him better.

Andy Dalton contract talks -> Would prefer to make him earn it this year.  We believe he has what it takes to prove doubters wrong and is not far from being a top franchise quarterback in this league.  If he gets one though the less guaranteed money the better. 

Stay tuned as we will break down all of the Bengals off season later this week!

Lightning Meet Thunder!

It was the NFL draft of 2013 and the Cincinnati Bengals were on the clock in the 2nd round pick 37 and most of Who Dey Nation knew that the Bengals were thinking Running Back. And Running Back they took, selecting Giovani Bernard out of North Carolina University. A shifty tailback that could easily weave in and out of traffic and find the hole and take off like a flash of lighting. Fast Forward to the NFL draft of 2014, we find the Bengals once again on the clock in the 2nd round pick 55. Many analysts had us selecting a DE or even an OL in their mock drafts but most of them did not seeing us complimenting our Lighting with its Thunder! Without further adieu we give you Jeremy Hill!

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So why exactly did the Bengals draft Jeremy Hill when Carlos Hyde from Ohio State University was still on the board? How about these stats for you, Hill while at Louisiana State University (LSU) put up monster numbers running in the "toughest" conference in the NCAA, the SEC. With 203 rushing attempts this past season, Hill was able to rack up 1401 yards giving him an unreal average of 6.9 yds per rush. Going up against teams like Alabama, Auburn, Texas A&M, Florida and Georgia, one would say that averaging 3.5 yds a carry would be great. Then of course there is his ability to find the hole and even show his open field quickness that sometimes is overlooked by the 40 at the Combine. Take a look at this gem Jeremy put on South Carolina, with a great move on number 1 draft pick Jadaveon Cloney and the speed to pull away from defenders.

Jeremy Hill 50 Yard TD run

Think thats great, check out this one he put up against Auburn.

Jeremy Hill vs Auburn TD

Or this one he put up in the Chick Fil-a bowl game.

Chick-Fil-A Bowl Game TD

Alright enough with the Highlight Reels we get it, Jeremy Hill is a Human Highlight Reel and we know that he is going to be a great addition to our backfield. The Bengals now have Lightning and Thunder and it is going to be epic to see when teams come into the JUNGLE trying to stop our RB's.

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In 2012, Jeremy Hill put up impressive stats that made Les Miles up his usage in 2013 with 142 attempts in 2012 Hill ran for an impressive 755 yards. Averaging 5.3 yards per carry, which when he brings that to the NFL nobody will be able to stop The Bengals Offense. Just another young addition to the team that should pump up Who Dey Nation and get them ready for an outstanding 2014 season. 

Jeremy Hill is the perfect downhill runner that Hue Jackson loves and he is going to take advantage of his two excellent young backs. You heard it here first, our bold prediction is the Cincinnati Bengals will have two 1,000 yard rushers this year! Thanks for reading and Who Dey On!

The Jungle Has Become a No-Fly Zone

It is simple supply and demand.  So teams want to change the game in recent years so that average QB's (Flacco's of the world) now have 600 pass attempts? Does it now seem as if throwing for 4,000 yards has become as great of an accomplishment as filing ones taxes before the deadline?  This is the NFL we live in and DB's and specifically CB's are rightfully in high demand.  The league wants to have wide receivers and now tight ends flying all over the place in faster and faster offenses?  Then you want guys that can post no-fly zones.  For the 1st pick in the 2014 draft the Bengals began upgrading their anti-air missile defense systems with Darqueze Dennard.   

(Picture from Pittsburgh pre-draft blog article about how they should take him.  Awesome.)

Watch the guy play for just one game (sadly one of mine was when his forced fumble and 2 broken passes  helped put down my Buckeyes in the Big Ten Title game) and you know this guy comes to play and does so with intensity.  Listen to an interview with the him.  It was told to me once that Bill Parcells said that he can tell in just a couple minutes of talking to a player if he will succeed and if he wants him on his team.  For No-Fly Zone Dennard we answer those questions with a Yes and a resounding Yes.  He is a natural leader, very smart, an athletic freak (even Mel K himself says he may of been one of the best athletes in the draft), played just about every position in the secondary in college and has a list of accolades as a Spartan longer then a Steinbeck novel.  

Check them out > NoFlyZone

We love this pick.  The Cincinnati Bengals are still on the cusp of something great and have their sights set far higher then repeating as AFC North Champions.  Nothing is guaranteed in the NFL and getting to the playoffs 3 years in a row is no easy task.  They have a perennial top 10 defense and have a standout defensive back group that is host to numerous former 1st round draft picks.  The Bengals did not approach this draft asking, "What is a big need for our team?" but rather knowing "We are on the verge of greatness, who will help us tip the scales?" 

Fox Sports

Piece by piece this draft they plugged in guys (from Dennard to Hill to Bodine to Clarke) who could fit perfectly on this journey towards hoisting the Lombardi.  Darqueze was a big piece who will hit the ground running, come in on the nickel package, learn from former pro bowlers (becoming one himself someday) and help WhoDey Nation play deeper into January and inch closer to greatness.  "Greatness," saying that word over and over again may elicit giggles from outsiders, media or even locals who have become eternal cynics rumbling some unintelligible grumblings about Mike Brown.  The reality is still that this team is not far at all from greatness and we can't wait to see a future great in Darqueze Dennard take the field in Cincy this fall...and then in Arizona in early February.

The Million Dollar Arm?

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As many of you know, our very own Cincinnati Bengal Rey Maualuga has a featured role in the new motion picture from Disney, "Million Dollar Arm". If you were thrown off it was probably because he did not go by his actual name, he went by the name PoPo, and he was a terror MLB just as he is in the real NFL.

We were lucky enough to win tickets to see the private showing with other Bengals Friday, 5/16 at the Florence Rave. It was hosted by one of the classiest Bengals, Domata Peko and his lovely wife Anna. Since Rey had practice and had to miss the actual opening of Million Dollar Arm, Domata decided to rent out a room at Rave and invite several Bengals, then went to twitter and gave tickets away to local Bengal fans. Blessed to been given these tickets because the movie did not disappoint and even though Rey had only a few minutes on screen, he dominated those few minutes leaving his fellow teammates chanting Oscar! Needless to say, when Rey is done terrorizing on the Football field we know where he will be heading, HOLLYWOOD!

Now to the question that every Bengal fan is thinking about, what are we going to do with Andy Dalton and his contract? Well we here at NatiSportsNation believe that the Bengals do in fact have our franchise Quarterback in Andy Dalton. Take away the name and let's just look at stats:

Season            TD's       INT's       YDS       Record

2011                20          13             3,398     9-7

2012                27          16             3,669     10-6

2013                33          20             4,293     11-5

Now let's take a look at another QB's number but we won't reveal who we are talking about through their first 3 years in the NFL

Season            TD's      INT's       YDS       Record

2002               17          16            3,284      8-8

2003               11          15            2,108      4-12

2004               27          7              3,159      12-4

You see similar numbers with both of these QB's Andy has thrown 80 TD's in his first three season whereas the later mentioned QB threw 55 TD's through his first three years. Of course Andy has also thrown a total of 11 more INT's but leads in total yards by roughly 3500 yards. The QB we are comparing numbers with Dalton is Mr. Drew Brees himself. MVP, Super Bowl Champ, and has led the league in passing multiple seasons throughout his career. Do we really want to do exactly what the Chargers did and let Dalton go well before his prime, or do we want to stick with the leader of the Bengals offense and continue to let them grow and bring the Lombardi trophy to Cincinnati where it has been desperately waiting to visit. 

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The Bengals have a lot of good players nearing the end of their contracts and they have been spending the off season trying to keep this young core together. They are currently in talks with Burfict who we for sure need to lock up for a long time, and we all know that next year is the year we will probably see the biggest contract for a WR when AJ Green's contract runs out. So what we think the Bengals need to do is offer our Pro Bowl QB Andy Dalton a 4 year 40 million dollar contract and let him bring us home a few Lumbardi's and then when everyone is back on Dalton's side pay the man the real money he deserves.

Stats

                                     

Billy Bean Runs a Fantasy Football Team

Unbiased...Unconventional...Winning

It is that time of year.  No more moch drafts.  No more cheat sheet analysis on your smart phone while you are supposed to be being a "productive" employee at your business.  No more debates in the lunch room as to whether or not going RB RB is a must this year or you can wait and get a guy like Le'veon Bell as a RB2 later on.  No more shaking your head in disbelief that guys like Matthew Berry make a good living off of our NFL Larping and is often offering up only mediocre fantasy advice. It is put up or shut up and let the drafts begin.  We all want to put together the right type of talent that is going to win us our leagues. Whether it is for a trophy with a Nerf Football duck taped to it or for a $500 pay out, let us give you some basic strategy this year for your fantasy football draft.

1.  Don't, don't, don't overreach.  There is a large psychological factor that plays into fantasy football drafts and some guys will get drafted early because of their name, recent performance, or team, when in reality you could get the same type of player for a later round pick.  Find value and see where the draft is falling.  Sure this may be a generic overarching philosophy but it is one that is easy forget in the heat of the moment.  Check the emotions at the door and if you pass on a hometown guy do not fret because it's not personal, just business.

 (Calvin Johnson, man among boys? Yes.  Best WR of our generation? Yes.  Worth taking in the top 5?  Probably not)

2.  Past Injuries or "coming off of down years" are overrated.  Don't overlook a guy just because he is "injury prone" or coming off of a "down year" or there is no exciting "buzz" about them this year.  Injuries can happen to an NFL player at any given time and if for some reason a DeMarco Murray falls to an absurdly 6th round, you best be jumping on him like (insert generic jumping metaphor reference).  Look at what players do when they ARE on the field and use that as a factor to help place value.  A lot of teams make a lot of off season moves to help those guys coming off of down years as well (Chris Johnson).

 (CJ 1.2k from last year has a much improved Off Line this year and his ADP is mid round 2 with top 10 potential)

 3.  Wait on QBs if you want.  If you don't want Drew or A-Rod and Tom or Cam go higher then you would like, then wait for round 7 for a QB and gobble up every WR and RB you can.  Whether they are solid 2's and 3's, other peoples handcuffs or even potential sleepers that have an outside shot as breakouts.  In round 7 you could potentially get a Matthew Stafford, Tony Romo, Russel Wilson or Andy Dalton.

 (preseason is not reality, but it does suggest some that the last half of last year could be the norm for the former Rutgers star)

4.  Points Win Games.  Just like Billy Bean with scoring runs being all that matters, scoring fantasy points is all that matters.  You want guys that are going to be sure things for points.  If that is WR then you want targets, targets, targets and if it is a running back you want touches touches touches. For QB's you want a guy who is more likely to throw or scramble from the 4 or 5 yd line then he is to hand it off.  See how the room is drafting and don't let biases creep in! I guarantee you other teams will avoid guys because they are letting their own biases take over and Darren McFadden is sitting there in round 6 or 7 with top 10 upside potential.  Did I want to take Cam Newton in a recent draft? Absolutely not.  I could just imagine seeing that dumb superman touchdown celebration in my nightmares as I am left out of the playoffs this year.  Nonetheless, when he falls to mid-round 4 and I have two RB studs and a WR stud, I took him.   Value, Value, Value.

 (Elite NFL QB? No.  700+ Rush Yds and 6-ish TDs? Probably.)

5.  Get talented starters first. Last but certainly not least, we all want to find that break out fantasy stud this year.  Please however secure all of your starting positions with elite or close to elite talent (except Def. and K) before you go filling up your bench with back-ups.  Don't be gobbling up RB's or QB's for your bench when your first 5 picks were 3 RB's, a QB and a WR.  Make sure you have a solid starting line-up before you go on the hunt for a lottery ticket.

What to take from the Bengals Fake Game #1

Depth, Depth and... some more Depth!

Done are the days where Bengals fans would have to worry about Andy Dalton going down and The Mighty (Awful) Bruce Gradkowski would step in as Quarterback. We do not about you all, but we for certain were always worried whenever Dalton took a hard hit or an awkward fall because we knew that Bruce would come trotting out to the field. His play at Quarterback just did not fit what the Bengals were looking for and the team finally realized that after too many years of him as backup. Looking into this year and after Thursday night, we got to see a glimpse of just what we have to look forward to if Dalton does have to miss a few minutes or games. Taking over in the second quarter Josh Johnson received a great amount of playing time, over two quarters of the game. We have been hearing good things about him during training camp and finally we were able to see it in a game, all be it a fake game, but nonetheless he showed us that we have a solid backup which is huge in the NFL. Whether it was his 64 yards rushing on 4 attempts or his 9 of 16 passing with 100 yards and 1 TD, he did a great job at controlling the tempo, adjusting at the line and not turning the ball over on stupid mistakes. We aren't saying that he is starter material or that we have completely ignored his below par first few years in the NFL (5 TD 10 INT), but needless to say if Dalton goes down against the Browns again we probably won't have to rely on a backyard football play for us to come away with the win!

The Orange and Black even displayed an admirable performance from a 3rd string Quarterback has a pretty decent amount of starting NFL experience and has showed flashes of talent from time to time. Us Bengal fans might remember him as the guy that almost came back and beat us in the fourth quarter last year while they were trailing us by a little over 2 touchdowns. Enter John Skelton, the starting QB for the Cardinals last year was signed by the Bengals in the offseason and is currently listed as our 3rd string QB. Although his playtime came in the 4th quarter where we decided to run the ball 20 times, Skelton managed to find Sanzenbacher on a seam down the middle with a perfectly thrown ball. Depth at QB is huge in the NFL and something the Bengals have lacked for awhile until now and that has to make Bengal nation felling pretty good.

Go Bucks!

Some of you have heard of him and some you maybe have not. It's okay because after Thursday night every Bengal fan has been introduced to the speedy Dane Sanzenbacher. Drafted by the Bears out of The Ohio State University, Dane struggled to find the field for the Bears and they ended up letting him go come seasons end last year. Hey, fine by us! Although it was only one game, Dane has been impressing coaches all training camp Special Team-wise and Offensively. Shortly after his 71 yard punt return where we saw his quickness and agility, Sanzenbacher followed if up with a perfectly run seam right down the middle and a quick 10 yard jolt into the endzone for the second time Thursday night against the Falcons. With Baby Hawk out for what looks to be awhile, look for Dane to maybe work his way into the starting slot and become a great option for Andy Dalton this year.

Defense Wins Championships

The Bengals Defense was nothing short of perfect Thursday night against the Falcons. It looks as if teams are certainly going to struggle with running the ball on us this year. Our D-Line is stacked to say the least.  Geno, Dunlap, Johnson, Gilberry, Geathers, athletic freak Margus Hunt, second year player Devon Still and let us not forget Bengal leader Domata Peko! That is a frightening front line to look at if you are the opposing team. Then comes the new look Linebacking core which played with some attitude Thursday. Adding James Harrison looks like it is going to be a great signing for the Bengals, the leadership and experience he will be able to teach to LBs like Vontaze Burfict and Rey Maualuga can only help them.  Will he still have to adapt to more pass coverage responsibilities? Yes.  Is he still a man among boys at times on field?  Absolutely. Speaking of Rey did any one else notice him actually cover Chase Coffman on the out route on 3 and 9 and actually look decent in pass coverage? Where was that last year against the Texans? Oh well, you cant live in the past and if Rey keeps up with the decent pass coverage and the growth of Vontaze and the Veteran James Harrison, how can anyone run on that front 7?

Who else was excited to see Kirkpatrick make it on the field? We were for sure and we definitely saw what kind of speed and man coverage Dre has which made him 1st round material in the draft. If he can stay healthy and line up with Veterans like Leon Hall, Terrance Newman and Adam Jones, wow we are looking at a secondary that has the quickness, has the ball hawks and has the perfect blend of coverage for the NFL. Finally there was the Safties fighting for the second starting job opposite Reggie Nelson who once again looked amazing. Splitting time were Taylor Mays, Shawn Williams and George Illoka. None really outperformed head and shoulders above the others but Taylor Mays and George Illoka showed some great run D at the line of scrimmage. Shawn Williams looked great in pass coverage and we saw some weakness in the run D, but this should be an interesting battle all preseason and we cant wait to see who steps up and takes the spot! 

Bengals Vs. Falcons: Fake Game #1

Fake Game #1 is hear at last!  Sure season ticket holders had to pay full price for them, sure you may find yourself flipping the channel to a rerun of Everybody Loves Raymond by the start of the 2nd quarter, but the preseason is a very important time for many players and coaches.  As the Bengals are already heading down to the ATL for a couple of practices at the Falcons facilities, we figured we would take a look at what to watch for this Thursday night.

Offensive Line: The Bengals O-Line has become just about as solid as it's counterpart on the other side of the trenches.  With Andrew Whitworth not making the trip to Atlanta as he is still rehabing from his offseason knee surgery, how well will Anthony Collins do against the Falcons 1's in protecting the Red Rifle's blindside?  Will Kyle Cook allow pressure up the middle?  Will Trevor Robinson gain an edge in the battle for center?  Will Andre Smith show improved pass protection?  Sure some of these guys may only be in a quarter, but one quarter in the NFL can leave tape on a guy to cause worry for both fans and coaches alike.

Running Back:   Though Jay Gruden will probably keep Fake Game #1 pretty vanilla from an Offensive standpoint, but does Gio line up in multiple positions?  Does he pick up blitzes?  Does he gain an edge on the Firm in the battle for touches?  Does Rex Burkhead or Boom Herron have a spot in the Jungle this year?  Does Orson Charles clearly take over the FB role as 2012 feel-good-story Chris Pressley stays in Cincy on the PUP?

Wide Receivers:  A.J. Green will also be staying in Cincy as he is nursing his knee in prepartion for games that count.  Look to see how Mohammed Sanu, Ryan Whalen, Sanzenbacher, Brandon Tate and rookie Cobi Hamilton (who has been impressing in camp) do against a solid Falcon Secondary.  Is Mohammed looking like the clear #2?  Timing issues with Dalton?  Wrong routes ran?  Hot reads?  Blocking? Typically the 1's will stay in longer on defense for Atlanta and many of these guys will be playing deep into the 2nd half. 

Linebacker:  Does Rey Maualuga still show signs of struggling in pass coverage and shedding blocks?  Does Tony Gonzalez make him look silly as Owen Daniels did in the playoffs 2 years in a row? Do Vincet Rey and Emmanuel Lemur shine and show signs that they should be on the field more (and less of Rey)?

Secondary: Dre Kirpatrick is anxious to show all and Who Dey Nation that he is not a bust.  He will get an early opportunity with going up against one of the NFL's most dangerous offenses (though Dre is currently listed as 3rd string, really Marvin?).  Look to see how Brandon Ghee and Ontario McCalebb perform once they get their chances as they are primed to offer extra help to this group of veterans led by Leon Hall (top 10 corner in the league), Terrance Newman and Adam Jones.   There is also a battle for Reggie Nelsons sidekick at safety.  George Iloka is leading the way but only slightly as rookie Shawn Williams is looking to show why he needs to start year 1.

Defensive Line:  Clearly the largest strength for the Bengals, but it is in a fake game like this that we can see how up and comers such as Devon Still and Margus Hunt play.  2nd year man Devon Still will look to make the most of his reps so he can see some rotation into this stout D-Line.  Sure Margus could probably wrestle a bear in the middle of a blizzard but can he take a step forward from being a project to being a difference maker?

QB:  Even though we will only see Andy Dalton for a brief time in Atlanta, we can look to see how his timing is with his receivers,  getting in and out of the huddle, how he handles pressure in the pocket and maybe we will get to see some of his decision making skills as well (and if we are lucky he will air out a couple).  Look to see who takes over as the clear back-up as well as this battle is ongoing between Josh Johnson and John Skelton.

 

NFL Power Rankings: 21-32

Finally, #21 - #32

They have made all the offseason moves and will work their butts off in training camp and the grind of an entire NFL season, but in the end, these Lombardi Swag seekers will be left looking towards 2014.




# 21 Eagles - Another QB battle, only this one is to see who will take the reigns of Chip Kelly's up-tempo offense.  Vick will most likely win out but there is too much uncertainty with his play style/health and a mid year QB change to Fowles doesn't sound like a playoff bound season for the Eagles.  This does not even take into account some of their glaring holes in their "D."


# 22 Chargers - With key additions this offseason of LT Matt Starks, DE Dwight Freeny, RB Danny Woodhead and CB Derek Cox, new Coach Mike McCoy has to think the Bolts have filled some of their holes from last year. Sadly for Phillip Rivers the one "hole" left out was wr weaponry where its pretty much the same old 2012 story.




# 23 Dolphins - Look for Joe Philbin to make a push to to improve on their 7-9 season last year with tooling up for 2nd yr QB Ryan Tannehilll (re-signing of Harline, signing Mike "9 Route All-Day" Wallace and Dustin Keller.) Their D looks to be improved from a solid 2012 performance with the addition of 1st round pick DE Dion Jordan. A team looking for a bright future? Possibly. A team looking up at the Patriots at the top of the division at the end of the year? Definitely. 

# 24 Titans - Bringing in some key players to solidify their offensive line, CJ 1.2K will have no excuses this year not to put up big numbers. However, even if he returns to 2K form, an inconsistent Locker with an underachieving Kenny Britt will make 2014 a letdown in Nashville.


# 25 Panthers - Is it just me or does the tandem of Jonathon Stewart and DeAngelo Williams seem like the mediocre brittle bones duo for about 5 years now? They along with Steve Smith and Greg Olsen provide the same cast for the Cam Newton show. Their season will depend on whether or not Cam Newton also sees it as a Cam Newton show.




# 26 Chiefs - Andy Reid is now in Arrowhead and making more moves then Jackie Chan knocked up on caffeine.  Some good some bad but regardless, he is trying to imprint his winning (well Playoffs anyway) ways into this franchise.  We do believe he will use the teams best player Jamaal Charles more effectively then last year but we are not sure if Alex Smith will be as productive as he was with a Harbaugh.  A step forward this year for the Chiefs but they will not get over the hump yet.




# 27 Browns - The Browns are quietly creeping up as players in the AFC North with perennial top 10 defenses, a rising star wideout in Josh Gordon and a bell-cow RB in Trent Richardson. Now can Old Man Wheeden bring the Browns back to relevancy in December/January? Probably not this year.


# 28 Bills - Whether it's a "mediocre good-in-the-system" QB in Kevin Kolb or the raw young E.J. Emanuel, whoever is taking snaps at the end of the year will be playing out another disappointing "rebuilding" year for the Bills. The Bills will look to the legs of C.J. Spiller to carry them to a mediocre season.




#29 Cardinals - Is Palmer the golden arm Fitzgerald has been looking for since Kurt left? We like this potential hook up and a young "D" who showed promise last year. There is just not enough on this roster however to see the Cardinals as a serious threat this year.



# 30 Jets - With Sanchez being Sanchez and rookie Geno Smith already looking a bit out of shape in training camp, 2014 doesn't look too bright for the J-E-T-S. Whoever does win this "QB battle" will have a whole host of WR4 options in a 20 team Fantasy League to throw to. Sure Rex's D will find a way to keep them in some games, but we expect him to have more media sound bytes then wins this year.



# 31 Raiders - When your starting QB couldn't beat out a rookie or got passed over by other teams in free agency, then you are looking at a rough season. Every NFL team will only go as far as their signal caller can take them and Matt Flynn looks like he can get them to about 6-10. 


# 32 Jaguars - Blaine Gabbert hasn't exactly shined in his first two years in the NFL and is hobbling into training camp this year. Can Blackmon stay out of trouble? Can MJD return to his former self coming off of an injury? New coach Gus Bradley sure hopes so but we still look for the Jaguars to take a couple of years to turn this ship around.

NFL Power Rankings 11-20

Continuing on from our top 10 of the power rankings, we have gathered some updated information on teams and for your reading pleasure have dissected teams a little deeper.  We are extremely excited that training camps have finally started back up (it seems like the confetti fell on Flacco about 13 years ago at this point)! Without further adieu..

#11 Dallas Cowboys
When owner Jerry Jones saw the amount the Ravens paid their QB he knew he was as well going to have to overpay his middle of the pack QB and that he did. With Romo getting an extension he is guaranteed that the Cowboys are his team! Now is the time to step up and with Dez, Miles and Jason Witten, Romo has a high powered aerial attack and if they can get Demarrco Murray to stay healthy the NFL better watch out!




#12 Washington Redskins

All we really have to say is they still have Mike Shannahan correct? I mean that guy is a guinness, he can take any RB and make him an instant star. Alfred Morris, Tatum Bell, Mike Anderson, Clinton Portis, Reuben Draughns are they still around? Well Alfred is and if RGIII comes back with a season anywhere close to what he had last year the Redskins will have a solid season.



#13 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Acquired a lot of important holes in their locker room. With the acquisitions of Darrelle Revis (Healthy?) Dashon Goldon and Eric Wright the Buccaneers added depth and great skill to their secondary! Josh Freeman is a good QB who has plenty of room and time to grow. Vincet Jackson is more familiar with the offense now and signing Mike Williams to an extension the Buccaneers are looking at a bright future!

#14 New York Giants

What? The New York Giants barely crack the top 20 are you kidding me? No we are not. The Giants lost a few key players this off-season, Osi Umenyiora, Chris Canty, Martellus Bennett and semi injury prone Ahmad Bradshaw.  Thats a lot of key starters that have helped the Giants the past few seasons. Plus they had the holdout of Victor Cruz which is never a good idea for a player just hurts the team and makes you look bad if you do not play up to the contract. They still have Eli Manning at the helm and for some reason that guy always seem to win. 

#15 Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers seem to be on a decline the past couple of years but make no doubt, they will still be a hard nose D with a ground and pound Offense that can manage to win games. If Big Ben can stay healthy all year, the Steelers could definitely be a contender this year. Losing their deep threat Mike Wallace sure hurts but look for Antonio Brown to try and fill the void. Tomlin has a lot in store for him this year but from his short career in coaching we can see that he can handle adversity!


#16 Indianapolis Colts
We are not completely sold on the Andrew Luck wagon quite yet. That being said he definitely showed great leadership last year and showed the potential to be a great NFL QB. Last year the Colts were playing with a lot of emotion and their strength of schedule was not so tough but they are another young team that look to have an amazing future ahead of them! T.Y. Hilton looks to be a great compliment to Reggie Wayne and their young D has a year under their belt, the Colts look to have a pretty good season.

#17 Baltimore Ravens
Unlike the last Super Bowl team, the Ravens decided to stick with their QB and give him an outrageous amount of money! Making a lot of people wonder if Flacco was really worth losing numerous people on Defense. Yeah we knew the time would come when there would be no more Ray or Ed but to just let Ed go seemed a little weird? If their young D comes out and can play somewhat like last years than the Ravens will be alright this year but it is hard to tell right now. They also just lost Flacco's go to man around the end Zone Dennis Pitta along with losing Boldin because they could not afford him. Ravens have some decisions ahead of them and they obviously know they have a target on their back being the defending champion!

#18 Minnesota Vikings

All Day (Adrian Peterson) is without question one of the best RB's of all time as long as he stays healthy. The Vikings had a great draft some might even say the best draft this year. They found a WR from Tennessee in Cordarelle Patterson and with the addition of Greg Jennings, the Vikings have already improved greatly from last year. They stole Sharrif Floyd and Xavier Rhodes late in the first round which is a huge addition for their D in a pass heavy league. If Christian Ponder can improve a little each year, look for the Vikings to have a great next couple of years!

#19 Chicago Bears
Da Bears! Jay Cutler stay healthy and your team will make it to the playoffs. Their D just keeps getting better the older they get it seems.  Brandon Marshall and Jay Cutler are one of the most fun QB/WR combos to watch in the NFL! Now all they need are some supporting cast at wideout. Look for Alshon Jeffery to get more looks this year and if Matt Forte and Michael Bush stay healthy all year as a 1-2 punch then the Bears will find themselves sitting at a decent record!

#20 St. Louis Rams

The St. Louis Rams are in a tough division and will have to play the Seahawks and 49ers a combined four times throughout the year! That being said the Rams are a young and very talented team looking to improve from last year. Adding Jake Long to their team will definitely help out their O-Line so look for Bradford to help take this team to the next level with Rookie WR Tavon Austin and second year starters Brian Quick and Austin Pettis. It always helps to have a great coach in Jeff Fisher.