Why Your Team Will Not Win the Super Bowl

This is the time of year where everyone is amped for the start of the NFL season and thinks this could be the year their team wins it all. Obviously there are some teams that have no realistic chance at getting to the Super Bowl, but after last year's Dolphins team that went from 1-15 to 11-5 and a division crown, everyone believes the impossible is now possible.

Why not my team? Why can't the Lions win nine or 10 games this season after winning nary a one last year? I'm going to tell you why your team will not win it all this year.

Arizona Cardinals — The Cards shocked the football world by making a Super Bowl appearance last season after coasting into the playoffs. Will quarterback Kurt Warner hold up for the entire season? He had hip surgery in the offseason and it has taken him a while to get it going this summer and the offensive line has allowed 9 sacks in the first three preseason games.

Will the defense stand up this year? The defense allowed 26.6 points per game last year, they did not make any significant changes, and have not played terribly well in the preseason. The Cards own a -8 turnover ratio after three games. The defense just does not have enough play-makers that teams have to game plan for and Chike Okeafor and Bertrand Berry's days of being good pass rushers are over. The Cards need a Calais Campbell or Cody Brown to emerge as a dominant pass rusher and hope that having Bryant McFadden as one of their starting corners does not come back to bite them.

Atlanta Falcons — The Falcons were another team that surprised last season by riding the back of Michael Turner to an 11-win season and a playoff appearance. The biggest question facing the Falcons is whether or not they have figured out how to stop teams from moving the ball on them. Atlanta's defense ranked 25th against the run and 21st against the pass last season. They let a lot of veterans go, including Keith Brooking, Lawyer Milloy, and Michael Boley, and spent the bulk of their draft picks on defensive players. It is shaping up to be a pretty young, inexperienced defense, but the fact that they just dealt for St. Louis corner Tye Hill is a bit of a concern.

The other big question will be whether or not Turner holds up after a season that saw him get the ball 417 times. Historically, players who have had as many touches as Turner have a big drop-off in production the following year and are never as productive again. He has looked good in the preseason, but it remains to be seen if he will still be breaking those long runs come December.

Baltimore Ravens — The Ravens surprised quite a few folks by winning 11 games last season. The Ravens are relying on a lot of veterans to be big contributors this season and that could end up being their Achilles heel. Derrick Mason (35), Matt Birk (33), Kelly Gregg (32), Trevor Pryce (34), Ray Lewis (34), and Samari Rolle (33) are all well into their 30s and the Ravens cannot afford injuries to any of them if they want to make it back to the playoffs in January. One wonders when losing quality defensive stars like Adalius Thomas and Bart Scott every offseason is going to catch up with them.

The lack of any quality depth behind Derrick Mason at receiver and Todd Heap and L.J. Smith's tendency to miss games due to injury could hamstring the Ravens a bit in the passing game this year, as well.

Buffalo Bills — The Bills looked like the team to beat in the AFC East at the beginning of the year and then crash landed, losing eight of their last 10 to finish 7-9. Will the Bills' defense step it up this year? The team ranked in the middle of the pack in terms of yards allowed, but it was 23rd in turnovers forced and tied for 28th in quarterback sacks. The team just lacks anyone that opposing offenses need to game plan around and they need to find someone to get after the quarterback to force some more turnovers.

This is also a make-or-break year for quarterback Trent Edwards. He has shown flashes of what he can do, but has yet to put it all together, and with the addition of Terrell Owens and rookie tight end Shawn Nelson to go along with Lee Evans, he should have an ample number of weapons to get the job done this season.

Carolina Panthers — The Panthers won 12 games last season, only to see it all go to pot in the debacle against the Cardinals that saw quarterback Jake Delhomme implode, turning the ball over 6 times. The defense seems to have the biggest question marks this summer. Julius Peppers has no interest in being a Panther any longer, starting defensive tackle Maake Kemoeatu was lost for the season the first day of camp, Jon Beason and Thomas Davis have both missed practice time due to injury, Nate Salley was just put on IR, and Charles Godfrey has a broken bone in his hand. It could be a long season in Charlotte if they do not get healthy on defense or find replacements for them.

The offense should be fine with the triumvirate of DeAngelo Williams, Steve Smith, and Jonathan Stewart carrying the load. Stewart has yet to see any game action and has barely practiced this summer, which is a concern, but, fortunately for them, rookie Mike Goodson looks like a legit player for them and could soften the blow of not having Stewart in the lineup for the short-term.

Chicago Bears — The Bears finally have a franchise-caliber quarterback in Jay Cutler the only problem is he does not have anyone to throw the ball to. The lack of a receiving threat on the outside and the possibility of not having a healthy Dusty Dvoracek and Tommie Harris to occupy blockers for Brian Urlacher for the entire season could be what does the Bears in this season.

Cincinnati Bengals — It is basically the same story for the Bengals this year as it has been the last few years. Will the defense finally turn the corner and impose its will on other teams? The Bengals sacked the quarterback just 17 times last season and ranked in the bottom third of the league in interceptions, touchdown passes allowed, and opposing quarterback rating.

Will the offensive line open enough holes for Cedric Benson and give Carson Palmer the protection he needs to stay healthy enough to play for sixteen games this season?

Cleveland Browns — Will the Browns get any kind of consistency from their quarterbacks this year? Four different quarterbacks, including Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson, combined to complete just 48.8% of the teams passes and compiled a 54.8 overall quarterback rating for the team last season. Quinn was recently named the starter, but even he left something to be desired during his brief tenure as the starter last season.

The Browns need to better than 17 sacks and they still do not look like they have any semblance of a pass rush and are lacking that dynamic play-maker on the edge that teams need to game plan for.

Dallas Cowboys — Until Tony Romo shows he can win a game that matters after December 1st, is there any reason to believe the Cowboys are a legit Super Bowl contender? I am also not convinced that Roy Williams is going to give them the type of production that T.O. gave them.

Denver Broncos — This team is a mess right now and has been in a downward spiral ever since Jay Cutler found out about Josh McDaniels trying to deal for Matt Cassel. The Brandon Marshall saga is surely going to be a distraction, Kyle Orton is a stopgap starter at best at quarterback, and they are still lacking a dynamic pass rusher. Brian Dawkins is probably starting to wonder why he took the money to go to Denver rather than stick around in Philly.

Detroit Lions — The Lions did not win a game last year and are going with a rookie at quarterback, which is generally not a precursor to a big season. I am not sold on Matt Stafford being anything special to begin with and the best one season turnaround was last season's Miami team that went from one win to 11. Given that the Lions' issues revolve more around an overall lack of talent than suffering through a string of injuries, it seems unlikely they will be able to build a winner in one offseason. Besides, rookie quarterbacks tend to struggle more times than not their first year in the league.

Green Bay Packers — The defense still seems to be struggling with consistency and probably will as they switch from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defensive front. It looked good the first two games, allowing just 21 points, but the Pack gave up 64 points the final two preseason games and ranked in the bottom third of the league defensively for the preseason.

Houston Texans — Quarterback Matt Schaub has yet to start more than 11 games in a season and, historically speaking, Andre Johnson has a tendency to follow up a Pro Bowl-caliber season with a mediocre one. He has yet to post consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. The offense looks good, but, the defense still seems to be searching for an identity.

Indianapolis Colts — Do not underestimate the value of Tony Dungy to this franchise, he was more than just a coach to a lot of these players. There have been some rumblings that Peyton is not entirely happy with how some things unfolded over the offseason and it seems we can always count on at least one or two key defensive players missing significant playing time for the Colts throughout the season. There is already some question as to whether Bob Sanders is going to be ready for the season-opener.

Jacksonville Jaguars — I am still not sure who David Garrard is going to be throwing the ball to this year aside from Torry Holt. Do they have a competent enough backup behind Maurice Jones-Drew? Keep in mind Jone-Drew has never carried the ball more than 197 times in a season and they do not have Fred Taylor to fall back on this season. The pass rush also looks like it still has some issues to work out.

Kansas City Chiefs — The Chiefs are still a team in transition and Matt Cassel needs to show he has what it takes to be a franchise QB and his success was more than just being coached up by Belichick and McDaniels last season. The Chiefs are also still in the process of rebuilding the defense and lack that big-time pass rusher off the edge to get after the quarterback.

Miami Dolphins — The team still lacks any elite play makers in the passing game, including the quarterback, and the wildcat is not going to catch teams by surprise this season they way it did last season.

Minnesota Vikings — Brett Favre is no longer an elite quarterback in the NFL and really does not provide a significant upgrade over what Sage Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson bring to the table. Either is just as capable of throwing ill-timed interceptions as Favre has proven to be over the past few years. The Vikings have play-makers at receiver, but they lack any consistency and are still prone to drops and running bad routes.

New England Patriots — The Pats defense is taking a huge step back in terms of veteran leadership this season with Rodney Harrison and Tedy Bruschi retiring, Mike Vrabel being dealt to Kansas City, Ellis Hobbs being dealt to Philly, and Richard Seymour being dealt to the Raiders. They are going to be counting on a lot of young, untested talent to be able to rise up to the challenge on defense this season.

New Orleans Saints — The Saints will be able to score at will on just about any team in the league, the only problem is other teams will likely be able to do the same with them. Sean Payton is being to look like the anti-Buddy in that his offenses are always dominant, but his defense is mediocre, much like Buddy Ryan's defenses destroyed other teams and his offenses were sorely lacking.

New York Giants — Like David Garrard in Jacksonville, I am not sure who Eli Manning is going to be throwing the ball to this season. It could turn into a disastrous season for Manning if he starts pressing out there in an attempt to prove he was worth the contract he got, it could be 2005 all over again where he struggles to complete over half of his passes.

New York Jets — Like the Lions, the Jets are going with a rookie under center and they open with a brutal schedule, meaning the Jets could easily open the season 1-4 or 0-5 as Mark Sanchez learns to be a starting quarterback in the NFL on the fly. In addition to that, the Jets have some real questions at receiver that could lead to even more struggles on offense in the early going.

Oakland Raiders — All one needs to know about the Raiders is Al Davis is still calling the shots. Enough said.

Philadelphia Eagles — Like the Saints, the Eagles should have enough weapons on offense to be able to drop 30 on just about anyone. What could be the Eagles' downfall this season is the loss of Jimmy Johnson, the defensive coordinator, and key defensive players Brian Dawkins and Stewart Bradley. Dawkins was the quarterback of the secondary and held it together, while Bradley was the team's best run defender last season and was developing into one of the league's better middle linebackers. The secondary has looked downright brutal at times this preseason.

Pittsburgh Steelers — The Steelers need to get better play from the offensive line this season if they expect Ben Roethlisberger to be standing at the end of the season. One has to believe that he cannot stand up to another season of that kind of abuse.

San Diego Chargers — Will Shawne Merriman be dominant enough to lead the defense back into form and will the Chargers be able to win despite Norv Turner being the head coach? Is the offensive line going to be as bad as it looked during the preseason? It is a bit disconcerting that Philip Rivers took 6 sacks in 36 dropbacks this summer.

San Francisco 49ers — Is Shaun Hill really the answer at quarterback and, for that matter, who is he going to be throwing the ball to? The inability to sign Michael Crabtree leaves them without the dynamic playmaker they were sorely lacking at receiver and the passing game in general.

Seattle Seahawks — Will Matt Hasselbeck stay healthy enough to start 16 games this season? Who is going to be the other receiver opposite T. J. Houshmanzadeh? Will the 'Hawks have any semblance of a running game this season? They have struggled running the ball this summer. I am also not sold on Jim Mora, Jr. being anything special as a head coach in the NFL.

St. Louis Rams — Can Marc Bulger endure another year like last one and stay healthy? If so, who will he throw to aside from Donnie Avery, who is a nice player, but nothing special at this stage? Will the Rams be able to coax more than 12 games out of Steven Jackson this season? They have failed to do so the past two seasons. The defense has struggled with consistency this summer, as well.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Does anyone really think Byron Leftwich, Josh Freeman, or Josh Johnson can lead this team to more than six or seven wins tops? This is a team in transition under rookie head coach Raheem Morris as it learns to play without leaders like Warrick Dunn and Derrick Brooks.

Tennessee Titans — Was 2008 Kerry Collins' last hurrah or does he have it in him to do it one more year? The running game is stacked, but it remains to be seen if the team is going to get better production out of its receivers. How will the team cope with the loss of Albert Haynesworth in the middle of the defense?

Washington Redskins — Will Jason Campbell be able to overcome the fact that the team basically told him they did not think he was good enough to win when they tried everything under the sun to land either Jay Cutler or Mark Sanchez this offseason? Is the aging offensive line going to hold up enough to provide holes for Clinton Portis and protect Jason Campbell? Is Brian Orakpo going to give the pass rush the shot in the arm it has needed for several years now?

This story republished with permission from PopPickle.