SI.com-Inside the NFL

[reese125]

Forget these five
It's not too early to discount some overhyped teams
Posted: Wednesday May 31, 2006 11:52AM; Updated: Wednesday May 31, 2006 1:03PM
Jeffri Chadiha

With my fellow scribes announcing their Super Bowl picks earlier and earlier, I'm taking a different tack: I'll tell you which five teams won't be there. I'm not talking about the easy picks, either. There won't be any 49ers, Packers, Texans or Raiders on this list. Instead, I'm going after those teams that have enough talent to possibly grace NFL-preview magazine covers but also have enough problems to leave their fans disappointed.

If I'm wrong about this, you can shoot me an angry e-mail. Until then, I've got a pretty bad feeling about these five teams.

1. Miami: The Dolphins will be a popular pick to win the AFC East for those who only look at how Miami finished 2005. Yes, coach Nick Saban did lead his team to six straight wins after a 3-7 start. But that run also included five victories against teams that didn't make the playoffs -- Oakland, Buffalo, San Diego, the New York Jets and Tennessee -- and a sixth win against a New England team resting its starters for the playoffs. The main question here is whether quarterback Daunte Culpepper can regain his Pro Bowl form. If he can't, then these Dolphins remind me of last season's Buffalo Bills, a team that rode into the year with a wave of high expectations and flopped under the pressure.

2. Philadelphia: If I'm an Eagles fan, I have some major concerns about this offense. It's starting to look a lot like it did back in the days before Terrell Owens blew into town. There isn't a receiver who really scares a defense. The running game isn't intimidating either, not when Brian Westbrook will be splitting carries with Ryan Moats and the oft-injured Correll Buckhalter. Even with a healthy Donovan McNabb back at quarterback, there are plenty of reasons to think that the best days of this perennial NFC contender have passed. One look at the competition in the NFC East -- where Washington, Dallas and the New York Giants have improved -- should cement that opinion.

3. Kansas City: This team could fall apart at any moment. First, they're old: A handful of key offensive starters are in their mid-30s, including quarterback Trent Green, Pro Bowl linemen Willie Roaf and Will Shields and leading receiver Eddie Kennison.

They're also playing with most of the same defensive personnel that finished 25th overall last season. Unless the Chiefs do the logical thing and sign free-agent cornerback Ty Law, there's no reason to think this season will end any differently than the last.

4. San Diego: Another AFC West team that hasn't done much to improve this offseason. I won't believe that Philip Rivers is a better quarterback than Drew Brees until I see him play in a Pro Bowl. I also can't understand how a team so desperate for a reliable receiver to take some pressure off Keenan McCardell pulls off such a weak trade. The Chargers ended up with Rashaun Woods, a first-round bust with the 49ers who couldn't find a role on that offensively challenged team. Tight end Antonio Gates is a great player, but he's not going to keep the passing game from being San Diego's downfall.

5. Minnesota: As much as I like new head coach Brad Childress, I have to question his personnel on offense. He needs Chester Taylor -- or someone else -- to prove the running game will be reliable. He needs Troy Williamson, last year's first-round pick, to mature into a legitimate big-play threat at receiver, especially now that Nate Burleson has moved on to Seattle. He also needs quarterback Brad Johnson, who turns 38 this season, to prove that he's still effective. Those are a lot of needs for a team that finished with a flourish in 2005 (the Vikings won seven of their final nine). It's unlikely that it'll find answers to all of them.

[Feva]

Yeah, I saw that yesterday... my 1st thought was it's kind of hard to be overhyped when nobody expects shtein from you.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

The SI writers as a whole are really just awful.  This guy is actually the only half-decent one on occasion.

Oh well.  He's right until proven otherwise.  The Eagles should have addressed the running game with one more NFL-quality running back (either FB or "bigger" RB), and they certainly are banking on a motley crew of WR's.

[Geowhizzer]

What's he talking about?  The Eagles are Super Bowl bound!

Super Bowl, I say! 

[rjs246]

Personally, I think Chahida is the second worst football columnist (working for a major sports outlet) in the country. Only Dr. Z is actually worse. The two of them should be forced to cover highschool gymnastics until they learn how to write something interesting.

Having said that, I tend to agree with him. Anyone who expects this team to be significantly better than .500 is scraping the bottom of the Kool-Aid barrel.

[Tomahawk]

Personally, I think Chahida is the second worst football columnist (working for a major sports outlet) in the country. Only Dr. Z is actually worse. The two of them should be forced to cover highschool gymnastics until they learn how to write something interesting.

Having said that, I tend to agree with him. Anyone who expects this team to be significantly better than .500 is scraping the bottom of the Kool-Aid barrel.

I guess I'm scraping the bottom of the Kool-Aid barrel.

The douche says, "It's starting to look a lot like it did back in the days before Terrell Owens blew into town."

If I recall correctly (and I'm sure I do as my memory is a veritable steel trap), the Eagles fared fairly well for the three years immediately preceding the arrival of jackass.

[Catapult]

Yet another hack who thinks he can stir up some hype by stirring the nest of Eagles fans.

Washington spent another year playing Salary Cap Shell Games, spent a ton of money in the off-season, and managed, once again, to win the "Offseason Super Bowl."  However, what immediate needs they managed to address in the signings is still a mystery.  And they still don't have a QB.

New York, like the rest of the NFC East, caught the Eagles in the middle of full-scale collapse (thanks in large part to the "Cancer").  Eli Manning is an OK QB, but his offensive line is still suspect, Tiki is a year older, Shockey scares no one anymore, and that defense...still has exploitable holes.

Dallas, with Jerry Jones getting TO, got legions of Cowboy fans to be infected with the same thing that hit Washington fans every year (I've been seeing guys buy Cowboy #81 Owens' jerseys in droves).  Many of these same guys wanted Roy Williams to "cripple TO for life" when he showed up Dallas on the Star as a 49er and that hatred only increased when he made the Cowboys look silly when he was an Eagle.  I wonder what Cowboy fans will say when TO throws Drew Bledsoe and Billy P under the bus?

One last thing:  Philadelphia, with 3 exceptions (TO, Kearse, and Runyan) never looks to make the biggest splash in the FA market - mostly because while they have a huge payroll, they try not to "overpay" their players.  And if Plan A goes bust (some of their "wants" end up in Cleveland or Denver), you make sure that Plan B is ready (getting BOTH Projected First Rounders as a plus).  This was the case every year that Reid and Banner have been at the helm.

Nay-say all you want about Philadelphia.  There will be a seat in Coach, complete with Emergency Ejection, when you jump on the bandwagon - just for you.

[Wingspan]

I guess I'm scraping the bottom of the Kool-Aid barrel.

that's where all the good sugar is

[Tomahawk]

Exactly - but let's call it the Tang barrel instead.

[Zanshin]

Yet another hack who thinks he can stir up some hype by stirring the nest of Eagles fans.

Washington spent another year playing Salary Cap Shell Games, spent a ton of money in the off-season, and managed, once again, to win the "Offseason Super Bowl." However, what immediate needs they managed to address in the signings is still a mystery. And they still don't have a QB.

New York, like the rest of the NFC East, caught the Eagles in the middle of full-scale collapse (thanks in large part to the "Cancer"). Eli Manning is an OK QB, but his offensive line is still suspect, Tiki is a year older, Shockey scares no one anymore, and that defense...still has exploitable holes.

Dallas, with Jerry Jones getting TO, got legions of Cowboy fans to be infected with the same thing that hit Washington fans every year (I've been seeing guys buy Cowboy #81 Owens' jerseys in droves). Many of these same guys wanted Roy Williams to "cripple TO for life" when he showed up Dallas on the Star as a 49er and that hatred only increased when he made the Cowboys look silly when he was an Eagle. I wonder what Cowboy fans will say when TO throws Drew Bledsoe and Billy P under the bus?

One last thing: Philadelphia, with 3 exceptions (TO, Kearse, and Runyan) never looks to make the biggest splash in the FA market - mostly because while they have a huge payroll, they try not to "overpay" their players. And if Plan A goes bust (some of their "wants" end up in Cleveland or Denver), you make sure that Plan B is ready (getting BOTH Projected First Rounders as a plus). This was the case every year that Reid and Banner have been at the helm.

Nay-say all you want about Philadelphia. There will be a seat in Coach, complete with Emergency Ejection, when you jump on the bandwagon - just for you.

Actually, I think he's trying to be positive about Philly  in that mess of words.

[General_Failure]

Exactly - but let's call it the Tang barrel instead.

You want to scrape the bottom of the Tang barrel?

[The BIGSTUD]

The more haters means the more pleasure I get in winning.

I wish the bandwagon would be bigger.

Superbowl in 06-07.

[Geowhizzer]

The more haters means the more pleasure I get in winning.

I wish the bandwagon would be bigger.

Superbowl in 06-07.

Is that a guarantee?

[The BIGSTUD]

I don't know just yet.

Don't want to ruin my perfect guarantee track record.

[rjs246]

How about this. If the Eagles don't win the Superbowl this year, Bunkley78 agrees to stab himself in the earhole with a syphilitic butter knife. Deal?