20 NFL Games to Watch in 2013, Part 2

I've got a few blogging tricks left up my sleeve now that we're back in full swing, but it's never too early too look ahead to the best games on the schedule so you can go ahead and start scheduling weddings, baptisms and appendectomies around them.  In chronological order, here is Part 2 of the 20 NFL Games to Watch in 2013:

11) Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Detroit Lions, Week 12

Both of these teams have looked promising and awful at various points of the last two years, and they're not exactly favorites to go the distance in a very competitive NFC this season.  Even so, the Buccaneers' suddenly stout secondary with Dashon Goldson and Darrelle Revis makes for an intriguing line up against Calvin Johnson's Lions.  Johnson may be the most valuable receiver we've seen since Jerry Rice, and he'll be put to the test against the similarly superlative CB, Revis.  Prediction: Outside of the Lions' dynamic passing attack, they don't have nearly as much going for them as the Buccaneers should this year as long as Josh Freeman doesn't make horrible and increasingly unnecessary decisions.  Greg Schiano throws in a statue of liberty call just to remind us all once again that he might have coached for a college previously.

12) Denver Broncos at New England Patriots, Week 12

Ah, the Brady-Manning tradition.  It has become as timeless and recurring as reruns of The Shawshank Redemption on TNT.  It's always a treat to watch two of the most competitive quarterbacks in the history of the game square off, but it's also bittersweet knowing that we are definitely now in the winter of this rivalry.  A delightful new wrinkle for this chapter, however, is that Week 12 will be the first time Brady and Manning face off since Wes Welker switched sides.  Relish this all--Manning Face and Bradying in the face of well-intentioned officiating, end zone corner fades and one of the final chapters in a head-to-head story line that has spanned over a decade.  Prediction: It's a fact that Tom Brady rules this series, having won 9 out of the last 13 games he's played against Peyton.  Especially with Brady playing at home in November when things could get mighty chilly for those Manning hands, the Patriots have the advantage.  Bill Belichick allows a single nostalgic tear to trickle from the corner of his eye for a brief moment before it bores a bubbling hole of primordial ooze into the Gillette Stadium turf.

13) San Francisco 49ers at Washington Redskins, Week 12

Now that it appears Robert Griffin will be in full recovery well before this mid-November bout, who wouldn't want to see two of the best young hybrid quarterbacks go head to head, especially since it never came to pass in January?  This game should be a thrill regardless of the conditions, whether the FedEx turf is fast and shiny for Kaepernick and Griffin to light it up or muddy and slow for two smart and physical defenses to slog it out against solid rushing attacks.  Prediction: Griffin will have to play out of his mind and avoid a nasty 49ers pass rush to get through this one.  It's definitely not impossible for Washington to win here, but Jim Harbaugh is a whole lot craftier than the Shanahans, which will matter a great deal in these two teams' bait-and-switch styles of offense.  Kaepernick and RGIII switch sides for just one, very complicated read option play to see if anyone notices.

14) Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens, Week 13

There are few guarantees that the traditional Thanksgiving games in Dallas (v. Oakland) and Detroit (v. Green Bay) will be competitive this year.  Thank goodness there's a heckuva night game to watch while the pumpkin pie and booze settle in our collective guts.  Throw all of that talk about holiday cheer and family bonds out the window.  As it is every year, this heated Steelers-Ravens rivalry is going to be chippy, brutal and a lot more enjoyable for those of us not on the field.  Prediction: These teams nearly always split the series, even when Charlie Batch is playing with one foot in the grave, and this season ought to be no different.  Although I'm not sure how the Ravens will fare overall in 2013, I think John Harbaugh and Joe Flacco will prove clutch in prime time once again.  Ray Lewis skypes in for a very eerie big brother-style squirrel dance on the jumbotron.

15) Atlanta Falcons at Green Bay Packers, Week 14

If you listen very closely, you can hear Roddy White jawing right now about how much better the Falcons are than the Packers except for that whole winning head-to-head part.  To be fair I wouldn't want to send my southern dome team to Wisconsin in December either, but I'm hoping for a great shoot out between Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan as the NFC playoff picture starts to come into focus.  Prediction: Given my predictions for all three Falcons appearances here, I should first clarify that I think Atlanta will win a lot of games this season.  Who knows, if Michael Vick could take it to the house in Lambeau in January, this Atlanta team certainly has enough punch to do it here too.  But the house usually wins when Aaron Rodgers is on his home turf.  Roddy White stops talking for precisely 27 seconds.

16) Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers, Week 15

Cincinnati isn't the most glamorous team these days, hence this rare sighting in the 20 games to watch this season.  But assuming that they are going to continue performing the way they have over the past three years and that the Ravens and Steelers have a lot more to worry about in terms of turnover, injuries and age, it's the Bengals' division to lose in 2013.  This Week 15 game could very well be a sink or swim moment for both of these teams in securing a high-caliber playoff spot, and it could show a lot about Cincy's mettle on the road in particular.  And the Bengals pass rush lining up against ever-elusive Ben Roethlisberger could make for an excellent sub-headline. Prediction: The Bengals are guilty until proven innocent in my book since they've blown many a big opportunity against their division rivals and in the playoffs in recent years.  Conversely, the Steelers have a way of catapulting themselves back into the top ranks time and time again after lackluster seasons like they had in 2012.  Andy Dalton gives a well-meaning shrug to the sideline camera.

17) New England Patriots at Baltimore Ravens, Week 16

There will be a sizeable new cast of characters for these teams when they meet in Baltimore this season compared to their AFC Championship matchup just a few months ago.  I hope that in the absence of all of those Ravens Super Bowl starters, especially on that defense that gave Tom Brady fits, it's still a competitive game.  With an AFC still scraping for talent beyond the top 3 - 4 seeds, the Pats and Ravens have been a great annual showdown for a few years, and I'm sure Bill Belichick and John Harbaugh intend to keep it that way.  Prediction: In a back-and-forth series over the years, this season should logically swing back into New England's favor, assuming both teams still have any receivers whatsoever by December.  Joe Flacco pauses to marvel at the fact that he makes more money than Tom Brady.

18) Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears, Week 17

If the Chicago front office has its way, these two teams will look a lot more similar in their offense- and pass-heavy styles than they used to.  I won't rule out the Vikings entirely in the NFC North after what they were able to do last year with fewer weapons than they have now, but I think the Packers and Bears could well have the biggest stakes in the last game of the regular season.  If so, it'll be a lot of fun to watch in that miserable January weather at Soldier Field as long as you're spectating from the comfort of your blanket-swaddled couch with Irish coffee in hand.  Prediction: Thinking of the Bears as an offensive juggernaut still feels like watching a dog walk on two legs. By comparison, the Packers will be in a four-legged cheetah sprint in this regard if they're not already resting their starters.  Brian Urlacher chuckles from his armchair with Rottweilers perched on each side.

19) Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints, Week 17

The divisional tides may be shifting all over the NFL this year, and the NFC South is no exception.  in fact, I wouldn't be totally surprised to see any one of these teams other than the Panthers take the division crown this year.  The Falcons seem like a sure thing to make the playoffs one way or another, so I like this final Saints-Bucs matchup as having real playoff implications.  Hopefully it'll put a punctuation mark on a successful turnaround year for at least one team that a certain blogger is just a hair obsessive about.  Prediction: The new Bucs secondary versus Drew Brees' high-octane offense is intriguing, and I see a series split this year.  However, the Saints get back to maximizing a serious home advantage this final week of the regular season.  Sean Payton and Greg Schiano trade inspirational but failed random onside kicks.

20) Washington Redskins at New York Giants, Week 17

I haven't put the Giants on this Games to Watch list as often as I would have thought, mainly because they are so mercurial from year to year that it would be pointless to know whether they'll be invincible late season gods or just screwing everything up what was in the palm of their hands a few weeks ago.  But assuming they play mostly to their strengths in 2013, they could be in for a title fight with the Redskins in Week 17, or really, any NFC East team as it typically goes.  Prediction: By sheer superstition, it seems the Giants have to have 2 - 3 down years before they can win another Super Bowl.  In a coin toss, the Redskins get the edge with a less mistake-prone QB.  Dan Snyder somehow bills the Giants for hosting the game.

20 NFL Games to Watch in 2013, Part 1

What's that tiny white speck off in the distance?  Is it the light at the end of the baseball and golf-filled summer sports programming tunnel?  We are a mere 10 days away from the 2013 preseason, which admittedly isn't nearly as exciting as being 13 days away from the final season of Breaking Bad, which is pretty much on par with being just 38 agonizing days away from Game 1 of the regular NFL season.

I've got a few blogging tricks left up my sleeve now that we're back in full swing, but it's never too early too look ahead to the best games on the schedule so you can go ahead and start scheduling weddings, baptisms and appendectomies around them.  In chronological order, here is Part 1 of the 20 NFL Games to Watch in 2013:

1) Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints, Week 1

Sure, it may not get as much air time as the storied Ravens-Steelers rivalry or the many clashes of the NFC East, but these two division rivals absolutely HATE each other.  They hated each other when they were scraping the bottom of the barrel against the Joe Montana 49ers together and they hate each other even more now that they've passed the division crown back and forth over the past several years.  With division and conference competition looking as scary as ever, both teams know how critical it will be to start out guns a-blazin'.  And in Sean Payton's first game back from his year-long bounty scandal suspension, you better believe the Superdome will be rocking. Prediction: The Saints get the edge with Payton back in one of the loudest arenas in American sports.  But Drew Brees and Matt Ryan treat each other to gold leaf-plated caviar afterwards with their massive paychecks in tow.

2) Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers, Week 1

The Packers are dying to atone for a porous defensive effort against the Niners back in the 2013 divisional round, but they will have to do it at Candlestick against the reigning NFC champs.  The Niners, on the other hand, can't wait to show off their new weapons in Anquan Boldin, Nnamdi Asomugha and a crazy-stacked rookie draft class.  Over the course of NFL history, these two teams have tended to peak and ebb around the same times, so this one has the feel of an instant classic as San Francisco tries to keep its winning streak going against Green Bay.  Prediction: By some hype standards, the 49ers might be the first viable candidates since the '07 Patriots to go 16 - 0.  Their schedule this season makes for quite the challenge there, but I think Game 1 is in the bag.  Jim Harbaugh and Mike McCarthy trade cryptic one-liners in a joint post-game press conference.

3) Denver Broncos at New York Giants, Week 2

Avert your eyes, Archie!  The Manning Bowl only comes around once every four years, and it ought to be another memorable bout of sibling rivalry for the ages.  If the elder Peyton continues to play like the comeback success he was last year and if Eli gets the ball inside of two minutes, we're in for a hyper-competitive treat in the Meadowlands.  Prediction: This is a tough one since the QBs are a bit similar and their team rosters have promising balance.  But on the assumption that last year's Broncos were a bit more pretenders than fans realized, I like Eli at home.  Archie still insists that Eli share some of his Super Bowl rings with Peyton over ice cream sundaes afterwards.

4) San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks, Week 2

This NFC West rumble became the best new rivalry of the 2012 season, and it will almost certainly set the tone for this division in 2013.  Will the 49ers extend their reign of divisional dominance in a hostile 12th Man environment that will coincidentally be attempting to reach new crowd noise heights on September 15th?  Will the Seahawks continue right where they left off or is Russell Wilson at risk for a sophomore slump?  Will Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh have the kind of delightfully smug handshake that Jim Schwartz can only dream about these days?  Stay tuned for this rumble of a CenturyLink opener to find out.  Prediction: Remember how I said that the Niners could possibly go 16 - 0 this year?  Even they'll have a tough time getting out of Seattle alive now that the Seahawks are actually good.  So the 'Hawks take the pressure off with an early victory at home, but the crowd noise is so deafening that the whole city has to learn "Venti Latte" in ASL.

5) Kansas City Chiefs at Philadelphia Eagles, Week 3

It's no secret that Philadelphia sports fans are elite when it comes to professional trolling. I bet more than a few are doing wind sprints as we speak (...or just getting belligerently drunk) to give a proper welcome to former Eagles talent-ruiner Andy Reid when he returns to town.  Even so, this ought to be a much more interesting game than it would have been a year ago.  We have no idea what to expect from Chip Kelly's offensive machinations and Reid will have a much more reliable quarterback in Alex Smith than he ever had in the Michael Vick era in Philly.  Prediction: From the outset with a sample size of zero, it would probably be smarter for me to flip a coin, but I think Andy Reid's Chiefs will have the edge in stability and inside knowledge of the other team's strengths and weaknesses.  Philly fans are all too quick to point out that his mustache is still really stupid-looking though.

6) New Orleans Saints at New England Patriots, Week 6

Two of the most strategic coaching minds in the NFL will clash in Week 6 for a Belichick-Payton chess match in Foxboro.  I expect some bells and whistles in the play-calling and, in a rare sub-headline, a great quarterback duel between Drew Brees and Tom Brady.  Prediction: The eight ball's a little murky for both teams given the Saints' 2013 reset and the diminishing offensive talent for the Patriots.  I think New Orleans' defense will show signs of improvement but not enough to best Tom Brady's no huddle in Foxboro.  Both teams share hilarious bounty- and alleged-homicide-related locker room anecdotes to ease the tension.

7) Denver Broncos at Indianapolis Colts, Week 7

The breakup between Peyton Manning and Indianapolis was a fairly amicable one, all things considered.  You don't hear many current Broncos or Colts fans complaining anyway.  Nevertheless, network camera crews across America are already lining up to get the best post-game Manning-Luck handshake visual possible to commemorate the passing of the QB baton at Lucas Oil Stadium.  I expect the good-natured midwestern crowd to cheer more than jeer for their former legend under center while rooting for the upset with Andrew Luck.  Prediction: Peyton feels right at home in Indianapolis and contributes to a bit of a sophomore slump for Luck's Colts.  Manning still finds time to do a couple local used car lot commercials before leaving town though, giving back with one of his most prominent contributions to society.

8) Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots, Week 8

The Dolphins are an intriguing team going into 2013 after an impressive free agency period.  They have quite the early season gauntlet to get through including a four-week stretch against the Colts, Falcons, Saints and Ravens.  Still, I think the biggest sniff test for these loaded Dolphins will be against the division bully Patriots in Week 8.  Assuming they can secure a couple of confidence-building wins earlier in the year, Miami will have every desire to measure up against their biggest competition.  Prediction: They might be able to split the series when the Pats come to Florida in December, but I think the AFC East still firmly belongs to New England here.  Bill Belichick delivers the most and least exciting post-game interview of his career, just like every time.

9) Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans, Week 9

The rest of the AFC South took a collective, all-too-temporary sigh of relief when Peyton Manning packed his bags for Denver.  It's too bad for the Texans that the Colts are already breathing down their necks again after just a year with Andrew Luck and Chuck Pagano at the helm.  I don't necessarily expect that Indy will have the spectacular and unlikely season it did in 2012, but the Colts ought to give Houston a run for its money in this key divisional matchup.  Prediction: While an Indy win is certainly not out of the question, I think the Texans still have too many advantages in big positions (other than quarterback) and will protect the divisional lead at home.  Neither of these teams are interesting enough in their own right to insert a stupid Lady Blitz joke here.

10) Seattle Seahawks at Atlanta Falcons, Week 10

It may be virtually impossible for the Seahawks and Falcons to recreate one of the most memorable playoff games in recent memory here, but we sure can hope for it.  On that fast Georgia Dome turf, this game is destined to be a shootout between Matt Ryan and Russell Wilson.  You better hope your guy has the last possession to take the win in this one.  Prediction: The Seahawks should have won the last time these two teams met, and they appear to have reloaded with more talent than the Falcons did in the 2013 offseason, especially when it comes to defending the pass that the Matt Ryan-era Falcons love so well.  Pete Carroll ices the kicker in the first quarter just for a "hey, remember that one time?" lark.

A Reason to Love and Hate Every NFL Team This Season: NFC West Edition

Concluding my first blog series of the offseason and full of speculative anticipation for the 2013 NFL season, here are my reasons to love and hate every NFL team this year, NFC West edition:

Arizona Cardinals

Love - A Quietly Dominant Defense
As I mentioned in my end of season grades for the 2012 Arizona Cardinals, how about that defense?  They ended on a subtle high note for this struggling club with top five rankings in interceptions, pass defense and total turnovers.  That's no small feat when you're facing Colin Kaepernick/Alex Smith and Russell Wilson twice a season. Patrick Peterson and Daryl Washington lived up to their Pro Bowl honors, and the supporting cast of relative unknowns could make a big splash this year with any kind of sign of life on the offensive side of the ball.

Hate - Carson Palmer, Really?
I get that it was the financially low-risk best of a long bench of Arizona QB evils, but Carson Palmer is not the answer.  Heck, the Cards would probably be better off this year picking up the Raiders' other scrap pile QB of old, Jamarcus Russell.  At least he'd have your back for Taco Bell runs after practice.  I don't discount that new coach Bruce Arians did wonders with Andrew Luck during his rookie season with the Colts that might be transferred in some small way to Palmer here.  But the Arizona O-line still continues to be stagnant and we know how this be-frowned QB past his prime performs after injuries. (He doesn't.) Unless Arians is an evil genius setting the Cardinals up for a dynasty under #1 overall pick Johnny Manziel in 2014, these fans will be in for a season of Carson Palmer sad, sad has-been best.

San Francisco 49ers

Love -  A Tecmo-Worthy Roster
Seriously, nobody has it better than the 49ers right now. Colin Kaepernick is playing out of his mind and should only get better with Anquan Boldin lining up alongside Vernon Davis & co.  If that wasn't enough, this 2013 draft class holds tremendous short- and long-term potential within a roster that's already fathoms deep on offense and defense.  In particular, who's to say where San Fran's ceiling will be with the running game if rookie Marcus Lattimore can get back to 100% under the tutelage of Frank Gore?  Alongside one of the best rushing quarterbacks in the league today?  It just makes you sick.

Hate - Anything Less Than a Perfect [Super Bowl] Season
With a roster as loaded as this that was arguably a mere 5 yards away from a Super Bowl victory just a few months ago, anything less than a Lombardi this year will surely be a disappointment to the vast majority of fans.  The 49ers under Jim Harbaugh have proven they can win in an obscene number of ways, but the team has also benefited from suffering very few injuries and having an edge in innovative play-calling over the past couple of years.  Both of these factors will have diminishing returns at some point.  How the Niners respond to the kind of adversity that has eluded them so far in the Harbaugh era could be a big factor in this team's ongoing success and how fans define that success.  This year, it's just a sixth ring or bust in San Francisco, so no pressure.

St. Louis Rams

Love - Momentum Under Jeff Fisher
If you round up with the tie, the Rams improved by 6 wins under Jeff Fisher in 2012, largely with the same cast of characters that suffered a miserable 2 - 14 season under Steve Spagnuolo the year before. Even though the Rams will have a tough time breaking through in the suddenly stout NFC West, they've shown they can hang with some of the league's best with limited means. The Rams' defense has a lot of bright spots heading into this year, and I really like the move to reunite TE Jared Cook with his old head coach and give QB Sam Bradford new options in the passing game.  If the Rams happen to get it together and squeeze into a wild card spot this year, I wouldn't be that surprised.  But if they tanked on Fisher's watch, I'd be stunned.

Hate - Stiff Competition
The Rams might get the Lady Blitz bump since I made a similar argument last year about the Minnesota Vikings' playoff chances, but they are in a tough spot to improve as long as the 49ers and Seahawks continue to play lights out and the Cards' Carson Palmer has an even mediocre season to match a spectacular defense.  (For the record, I think the Rams will outplay Arizona, but hey, I'm trying to make a contrarian argument here).  In another division, St. Louis could scrap for a wild card spot with everything going right, but the talent just isn't there right now to match that of their western brethren.

Seattle Seahawks

Love - A Very Well-Rounded Roster
The Seattle Seahawks stack up pretty darn well in the arms race with the 49ers for the most loaded roster in the NFL.  Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch, Sydney Rice and now Percy Harvin make for a formidable core of skill players on offense.  Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman and Chris Clemons were among many big time playmakers on defense in 2012, and they now add Cliff Avril to their elite ranks.  The expectations will be just as sky-high for these guys as they are for their biggest NFC West rivals down the coast, but who isn't looking forward to this Pro Bowl-caliber divisional matchup twice this year?  Heck, it should probably just replace the Pro Bowl altogether.

Hate - Adding to Seattle Fans' Annoyability
I get it.  The Twelfth Man is a testament to a geographic fanbase that is arguably rivaled only by that of Boston.  It's hard for opponents to win in Seattle because of a dungeness crab- and espresso-fueled rage of radioactive green and blue. But now that the Seahawks are winning like crazy and just opening their playoff window in the Wilson/Carroll era, we are all going to have to hear about it constantly and it will be a lot less sympathetic and a whole lot more smug than in the endearingly awful old days.  The "Twelfth Man" is even trying to break the world record for crowd noise at their home opener with the Niners this year; if they succeed in being louder than the soccer hooligans of Turkey, (apparently,) the arrogance will be deafening.

A Reason to Love and Hate Every NFL Team This Season: NFC South Edition

Ermagerrd, I swear I'm not trying to be flaky with the blog.  It has simply become a never-ending saga to find an internet provider in Memphis, TN who wants my money in exchange for reasonably reliable goods and services.  Nevertheless, I'm doing my best holed up at a coffee shop with no headphones next to a gaggle of children who can scream at roughly the same decibel level as an F-22 engine all because of my dedication to you, Lady Blitz fan.  You're welcome.

Continuing with my first blog series of the offseason and full of speculative anticipation for the 2013 NFL season, here are my reasons to love and hate every NFL team this year, NFC South edition:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Love - A Worst-to-First-Class Secondary
Sure, there's a chance the Bucs were bitten by the overcompensation bug in the offseason, but there's no denying that they've assembled a Justice League-quality secondary squad based on past performance.  If Darrelle Revis plays at even 75% of his former strength, this should be the best trade acquisition of the offseason.  But even if he's not, ex-49er Dashon Goldson and ex-Saint Jonathan Casillas will add some serious juice to the league's worst pass defense of yesteryear and take pressure off of QB Josh Freeman to play an oft-intercepted hero who doesn't trust his defense.

Hate - A Snooze-Worthy QB Controversy
An equally viable reason to hate the Buccaneers is Greg Schiano's iffy quality and vision as a coach.  I get bad vibes from the guy, not only for his pathetic college-style gimmicks (like the infamous kneeldown of twenty-ought-twelve at the Meadowlands) but because of all of the recent "buzz" around whether or not Josh Freeman will continue to start at QB.  There's no denying Freeman is in a do or die situation coming into his fourth year [and final contract year] with Tampa.  The Buccaneers even drafted QB Mike Glennon in the third round to put the pressure on, but we're already dealing with some shady Schiano double-speak about how Glennon "is going to be a tremendous QB in his time" while Freeman "is going to have a big year."  All of this after propping Glennon up as a more-than-ready rookie starter throughout the Spring.  I can't blame the guy for entertaining a change after Freeman continues to slide from his stellar 2010 debut, but this "controversy" is just about as mindblowing as the time Paula Deen admitted she was a diabetic, just sayin'.

Atlanta Falcons

Love -  Tony Gonzalez's Second Swan Song
To be fair, this guy's been healthy enough and automatic enough up to this point that he may well end up Brett Favre-ing it for another couple of seasons, but assuming T-Gon is for real about retirement in the next year or two, this is a huge season for the Falcons.  Atlanta may well take a page from the Ravens' 2012 postseason surge under Ray Lewis' leadership to try to give this first ballot Hall of Famer the final chapter he deserves.

Hate - Turnover on Defense and Not the Good Kind
GM Thomas Dimitroff has been lauded for his aggressive offseason moves over the past few years.  There are certainly a few other teams that now wish they hadn't slept on WR Julio Jones, who has played absolutely lights out so far in the NFL.  The front office has stockpiled Atlanta's offense with one of the best receiving sets in the league under the care of an ever-improving Matt Ryan.  While Dimitroff's shop has looked very smart to date, however, there's a lot more risk and uncertainty at play this season after the Falcons dumped Michael Turner, Dunta Robinson and Pro Bowlers John Abraham and Brent Grimes in a couple fell swoops.  On defense in particular, the Falcons have experienced a lot of turnover, trending toward young and inexperienced players.  Atlanta is innocent until proven guilty but this kind of shake up will be hard to overcome if it doesn't work.

Carolina Panthers

Love - Luke Kuechly's Breakout
In a 2012 season full of high-profile offensive rookie success stories, Luke Kuechly's spectacular debut with the Panthers was largely lost in the media mix.  Boy, did this first rounder live up to his DROY expectations though, leading the league in tackles by a margin of 20 and stealing the middle linebacker starting job from another defensive great, Jon Beason.  Panthers fans will be eager to see this young player continue his rapid development in 2013, especially against the rest of the offensively stacked NFC South.

Hate - The Leadership Vacuum
Sure, the Panthers ended this past season to forget on an impressive 5 - 1 run, but I'm still having a hard time buying that the Panthers are much better than their record with the leadership currently in place.  Coach Ron Rivera is as mercurial but lame as his transition lenses, and QB Cam Newton can't take charge of his own emotions, much less an entire team that is still in rebuilding mode.  2013 will definitely be a wheat-from-the-chaff season for Rivera and Newton now that previously successful OC Rob Chudzinski has moved on to coach the Cleveland Browns.

New Orleans Saints

Love - Sean Payton's Revenge
Remember how the 2007 Patriots set the NFL on fire with the first-ever 16 - 0 regular season record?  That historic run fell on the heels of the Spygate scandal and gave Bill Belichick's squad quite a productive chip on its shoulder.  Enter the 2013 Saints who, accurately or not, still feel completely wronged by Roger Goodell's unprecedented Bountygate sanctions.  While it's easy to argue that these Saints aren't nearly as loaded as the '07 Patriots were, Sean Payton's year-long suspension may actually serve this team well in 2013.  Payton has had a 30K view of the league for a whole season, an opportunity to rethink New Orleans' strengths and weaknesses as well as the latest play-calling developments of their opponents.  It's one of those intangibles that might actually amount to something this season.

Hate - Defensive Mediocrity at Best
True, this squad [ostensibly] has nowhere to go but up after the worst defensive performance in league history in 2012, but it's hard to see the Saints making more than baby steps this season.  New DC Rob Ryan will do his best to shift a roster that was recently rebuilt for Steve Spagnuolo's 4 - 3 alignment back to 3 - 4.  But limited cap space, the loss of Victor Butler for the season and consecutive offseasons of overhauls leave this struggling roster little time to brace for quite the uphill battle in 2013.  The Saints defense will face the rest of the offensively loaded NFC South twice as well as Tom Brady, Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson.  Ouch.

A Reason to Love and Hate Every NFL Team This Season: NFC North Edition

Continuing with my first blog series of the offseason and full of speculative anticipation for the 2013 NFL season, here are my reasons to love and hate every NFL team this year, NFC North edition:

Chicago Bears

Love - A Potentially Scary Offense
From top to bottom, the Bears have made it clear over the offseason that they are all in on offense after a decade of defensive dominance under Lovie Smith.  The Bears have picked up Pro Bowl lineman Jermon Bushrod, TE Martellus Bennett, Offensive Coordinator Aaron Kromer and ex-CFL head coach Marc Trestman to complete a dramatic transformation of the roster and management.  This accumulation of talent will surely be tested in a division with Calvin Johnson, Aaron Rodgers and Adrian Peterson, but Chicago may just have a fighting chance to place in the North's track meet.

Hate - Still, Jay Cutler
Here's the thing, Jay Cutler sure is hard to root for now so imagine how you'll feel if he actually succeeds.  Dude didn't even shave for his own wedding, so why do we expect him to put forth more than minimal effort on the field?  He may have the athletic chops and underdog track record to be an ascending force in the NFL, but if Cutler happens to get there this season, I can't say I'll be bending over backwards to sing his praises.  Then again, he'd probably be impressed with that level of apathy.

Detroit Lions

Love -  Calvin Johnson Being Awesome
Despite what I'm about to say about the Lions' character issues, there is no denying how awesome Calvin Johnson is in every sense, even with a small asterisk on all that weird abstinence propaganda.  Although the rest of the Honolulu Blue gave us little to write home about in 2012, Megatron had one of the best receiving years in NFL history with a record-breaking 1,964 yards to his name.  With a little more luck on the Lions' game clock and Reggie Bush trying to draw more attention on the ground this year, Johnson will be the key to Detroit getting back to 0.500.

Hate - A Mountain of Bad Karma
Fact: The Detroit Lions probably could have lifted a decent-sized village out of poverty with the bail and penalty fines they've had to pay over the past year and a half.  They just can't seem to shake the bad rap on and off the field these days, especially with ex-WR Titus Young's civilian debut as a hot mess and Ndamukong Suh adding to his resume of unnecessary roughness.  (To be fair to Suh, his personal foul count has declined since 2011-12, as low as that bar is, but the swift kick he gave Texans QB Matt Schaub on Thanksgiving was worth two PFs in the hand.)  Even the most respected NFL franchises aren't immune to player controversy a la Aaron Hernandez, but the Lions aren't making any noticeable progress in maintaining a disciplined culture on and off the field.  To an outsider, it feels toxic and perhaps irreparable in the Jim Schwartz era.

Green Bay Packers

Love - A Reloading Year
It's hard to be disappointed in a team that has gone 36 - 11 and won a Super Bowl in the past three years.  Still, with a celestial being like Aaron Rodgers under center, anything less than a Super Bowl appearance feels like an underachievement for the Packers.  You just can't count them out with a guy this good, and maybe a couple of seasons of surprising playoff exits will help this supremely talented Green Bay team focus on getting back to elite form.  Even though all eyes are on the 49ers and the Seahawks in the NFC, I wouldn't be surprised to see this team to go far in January.

Hate - Biiiig Questions on Defense
Speaking of January, the Packers' defense looked downright thunderstruck against the 49ers during this past one.  They also gift-wrapped some of Adrian Peterson's greatest highlight reels during his MVP season, selling out to stuff him in the secondary and still giving up nearly 500 rushing yards in their three meetings.  While Green Bay's defense has been middling to good on average during the Mike McCarthy/Dom Capers era, this squad hasn't shown up for big games in a while.  Though the Packers' sensational offense and luck/skill in generating turnovers have taken them a respectable distance, there are no guarantees that the defense as a whole will remain clutch in close games, especially now that ball hawk Charles Woodson has gone back to Oakland.

Minnesota Vikings

Love - Elbow Room in the Passing Game
Say what you will about rising third-year QB Christian Ponder becoming elite - he never will be - but kid can manage a game when the rushing attack and defense do enough.  I may eat these words if/when Adrian Peterson comes back to Earth, but the Vikings have bought themselves a little breathing room to diversify their offense now that all eyes [and defenses] will be on AP to repeat his MVP campaign.  Ponder has been uneven to be sure, but he posted 5 games with a 90+ passer rating and a collective 9 TDs to 0 INTs this past season.  Even though his success will ultimately hinge on AP's continued dominance in the running game, credit the young QB for learning how to exploit defenses and for looking like a genius after Joe Webb temporarily took his place in January. 

Hate - AP's Impossible Expectations
Historic seasons are historic for a reason.  And unless the NFL swings back to its old school rush-heavy style and/or lightens up on the impending PED scandal-ganza, we may never see another performance like Adrian Peterson's 2,097-yard MVP year in our lifetimes.  Which means, despite Peterson's adorable but ridiculous assertion that he'll break 2,500 this year, he will almost certainly be eclipsed by his own shadow this season.  I think there will still be plenty to cheer about if he breaks 1,500 and the Vikings continue their upward momentum, but to expect AP to reach the same pinnacle that only one other player has ever surpassed in all of known football records is just a liiittle bit of a stretch.

A Reason to Love and Hate Every NFL Team This Season: NFC East Edition

Continuing with my first blog series of the offseason and full of speculative anticipation for the 2013 NFL season, here are my reasons to love and hate every NFL team this year, NFC East edition:

Dallas Cowboys

Love - Romo's Moment
Confession: this is not my sentiment, but there are still people out there paid to stir up speculative controversy about football who think Tony Romo hasn't been given a chance to prove himself yet.  Jerry Jones has officially pulled the offensive puppet strings from head coach Jason Garrett and put them on Romo's shoulders so that he can "finally" lead the Cowboys to victory this season. So if you, America, believe that the league's ultimate micromanager is going to bestow immense power on one of the least clutch quarterbacks in NFL history (who has nothing to prove with his new massive contract extension, by the way), 2013 is your chance to see our dear friend Tony reach his maximum potential.  What's not to love?

Hate - An Ever-Crowded Division
This is actually something to love in general about the NFC East, but if you're a Cowboys fan, you are probably dreading having to face three completely unpredictable division rivals whose stock seems to be increasing all around this year.  Although the Eagles can't go anywhere but up, Chip Kelly's lightning-fast spread offense will be tough on Dallas's rebuilding defense.  Moreover, the Giants and Redskins have steady leadership and talent on both sides of the ball that will be hard for the Cowboys to match if Dallas' brain trust doesn't step up in a big way this season.

Philadelphia Eagles

Love -  Chip Kelly's Gonzo Offense
Come January, we'll have enough of a sample size to know if Chip Kelly's meth-ed up version of the no huddle will be a gimmick or a game-changer in the pros.  All is shrouded in secrecy for now  unless Edward Snowden tells us otherwise. In the meantime though, it sure is fun to speculate about what hairbrained schemes Kelly is drawing up, especially for the likes of ultra-speedy LeSean McCoy and DeSean Jackson.

Hate - The O-Line's Ceiling
Big questions still remain for Philadelphia's offensive line, however.  This group allowed the most QB hits of any team in the NFL in 2012, and the past couple of years have reduced once-formidable Michael Vick's rib cage into a nasty pulp.  With QBs Vick/Nick Foles/Matt Barkley still learning what will no doubt be a complicated play-calling system, there are likely to be delayed decisions, confusion and breakdowns on the Eagles' offensive line this season.  Without much beef, they better hope for a sharp QB learning curve in order to stand up Chip Kelly's system.

New York Giants

Love - Eli's Fine Wine Stage
The other Manning has come a long way since he sulked his way out of San Diego those many years ago.  Even though some seasons have certainly been better than others for Eli, he's hit a consistent and respectable stride in New York over the past five years, hovering around 25 - 30 TDs, 4,000 YDs and a 90 QB rating per season.  For those who thought he would never reach the heights of big brother Peyton, his two Super Bowl rings alone suggest otherwise, and you can never rule out the Giants in big moments because of it. 

Hate - Losing Defensive Steam
Sometimes it's still hard to believe that the New York Football Giants have won not one but two Super Bowls in the past five years.  A big reason for that is the Giants' inconsistency on defense - when guys like Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck and Jason Pierre-Paul have stepped up, New York has been virtually unstoppable even against some of the best QBs in the league like Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady.  Other than those flashes of brilliance, however, the Giants' D-fault (yay puns!) is a lot more mediocre, especially in the pass rush.  This season looks to be no different - Michael Strahan left Tom Coughlin for Kelly Ripa years ago, Justin Tuck is playing past his prime, Jason Pierre-Paul just had offseason back surgery--which is never a good thing--and Osi Umenyiora went to the Falcons.  Unless the remaining vets step it up and plug holes effectively with relative unknowns on the roster, the Giants will be playing solely on Eli's arm, which is rarely a good thing.

Washington Redskins

Love - RGIII, Year II
Get out your deer antler spray, because Robert Griffin is ready for a comeback.  Putting away the FedEx Field resentment for a paragraph, I'm excited to see this dynamic offensive ROY get back to work in 2013.  He outperformed just about everyone's wildest expectations in 2012 and maintained his poise even after everyone was calling for Mike Shanahan's head in January.  I look forward to RG3 retaking the reins with brilliant play-making in 2013 and maybe a tad fewer Subway commercials this time around, just sayin'.

Hate - The Worst Management
In the power rankings of awful NFL management teams, there are the talent-blind incompetents (like the Jaguars and Jets), the miserly fan-haters (like the Bengals), the tyrannically top-heavy (like the Raiders and Cowboys), and then there is Dan Snyder of the Washington Redskins.  You know, the guy who sued season-ticket holders who couldn't pony up to renew during the recession?  And who sold fans expired airline peanuts as concessions, for real?  And who tried to ban pedestrian traffic at FedEx Field to increase parking revenue?  And who spent 0% of all of these ill-begotten profits as expertly outlined in the City Paper on actual, serviceable field turf that might have salvaged his star player's knee in January?  There's a special place in NFL Hell waiting for Dan Snyder, and don't you forget it even when RG3 is tugging on your heartstrings in September.

A Reason to Love and Hate Every NFL Team This Season: AFC West Edition

Continuing with my first blog series of the offseason and full of speculative anticipation for the 2013 NFL season, here are my reasons to love and hate every NFL team this season, AFC West edition:

Denver Broncos

Love - Manning to Welker Bromance
I absolutely believe that Peyton Manning can make just about any receiver look like a Pro Bowler.  I mean, look at how Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas came out of nowhere to become [fantasy] household names last year.  Just imagine what he and a vengeful Wes Welker may be able to do this season after the Patriots let Welker walk all the way to their biggest QB rival.  Defenses everywhere are already shaking in their cleats about this impossible coverage situation; Manning and Welker are two of the fastest no huddle executioners that have ever played the game.

Hate - Signs of Aging
There's still a very reasonable possibility that Peyton Manning will play at an insanely high level this year, masking any and all team deficits and pulling off that minimum 12 wins he seems to do every year he's not having a neck transplant. But sooner or later, the ageless wonder may in fact age to the point that he can no longer out-throw the many defenders he's outsmarted over the years.  What's more, the Broncos' defensive squad has a few more wrinkles too now that Elvis Dumervil is in Baltimore and Champ Bailey has grown another ring around his trunk.  Is it a matter of time before this Manning-era team burns out?  2013 will tell.

San Diego Chargers

Love -  Anyone But Norv Turner
Poor Norv.  I do sincerely hope he finds new traction in Cleveland since he was regarded as a QB guru once upon a time before mucking things up in San Diego.  But the Chargers needed to shake up their terribly lackluster management with a new GM and head coach, and they finally followed through.  If ex-Denver OC Mike McCoy could get Tim Tebow to the playoffs and Peyton Manning to 13 wins out of the gate, who's to say what he can do with Philip Rivers and a decent set of receivers?  Coaching changes aren't always what they're cracked up to be, but the San Diego faithful should be thrilled at the possibility of reopening that playoff window without Norv dragging them down.


Hate - Te'oing
Now that Tebow is back in the spotlight again, maybe I'm overblowing what's to come for Manti Te'o during his rookie year, especially if it's a mediocre debut. But if Te'o ends up having an exceptionally good or bad year, you better believe we'll be hearing all about it in Skip Bayless stock narrative form for months.  I'm sure it's already prewritten and waiting in the wings like Lindsay Lohan's obituary: "Look at how Te'o overcame all of the scrutiny/adversity to find a real pro identity" OR "Look at how all of this scrutiny/adversity is destroying Te'o's chance of redemption in the NFL." And then we'll all have to suffer through repeated agonizing criticisms about the media's obsession with Te'o from people like me.  And he'll just be sitting there on the sidelines with his bug eyes pretending like everything's cool until his agent props up a new love interest for the tabloids destined to go toe to toe with Chad Ochocinco on Dancing with the Stars.

Kansas City Chiefs

Love - An Overhaul Worth Rooting For
There isn't a soul outside of the rest of the AFC South who didn't love the Colts' rise against the odds in 2012.  So it feels only natural after a miserable 2012 season on and off the field for the Chiefs that they can be that feelgood story in 2013.  With esteemed outcasts Alex Smith and Andy Reid teaming up with big chips on their shoulders and a talented surrounding cast, the Chiefs should be more than motivated to become contenders in a pretty weak division. I'd love to see them at least split the series with Denver this year.

Hate - The Possibility of Eagles 2.0
Andy Reid may have gotten just the fresh start he needed to get back to his winning ways in Kansas City.  Even so, you have to be more than a little nervous about how he handled things with a stockpile of talent in Philly over the past couple of years.  Dude just hasn't looked the same since Donovan McNabb went the way of the dinosaur, which means Reid has a lot to prove about his true coaching ability before we can crown him for another turnaround success story.  Plus, even though Alex Smith greatly surpassed my expectations under Jim Harbaugh's care in San Francisco, he had the comfort of an elite defense and running game to fall back on. The rest of the Chiefs are not the rest of the 49ers.

Oakland Raiders

Love - Charles Woodson Returns Home
It's probably not what Charles Woodson had in mind after closing out a top-notch contract period in Green Bay, but the Black Hole will welcome its prodigal son home with open arms until the day he retires. From the look of things, the Raiders are probably not going to be contenders by a long shot this year, but I bet Woodson still has a few highlight-reel tricks up his sleeve.  And at the very least, he can remind Peyton Manning about how awesome it was that he got the 1997 Heisman twice this year.

Hate - The Al Davis Apple
If anyone thought a results-oriented change was gonna come when tyrannical Raiders owner Al Davis passed away in 2011, your acceptable window of delusion is officially over.  The Raiders haven't had a winning record since their 2002 Super Bowl run, and they still appear to be going nowhere fast under the leadership of Al's satanic bowl-cutted spawn, Mark.  Junior's tenure has been so riddled with public and messy front office ousters that there's a pretty sophisticated analogy to the plot of Tommy Boy worth your reading.  It's not even based on how crazy Mark Davis looks, but also, yech:

A Reason to Love and Hate Every NFL Team This Season: AFC South Edition

Continuing with my first blog series of the offseason and full of speculative anticipation for the 2013 NFL season, here are my reasons to love and hate every NFL team this season, AFC South edition:

Indianapolis Colts

Love - Great Expectations
It sure didn't take long for this Colts team to get fans back in the seats at Lucas Oil Stadium after a disastrous 2011.  In one of the greatest turnarounds in NFL history, Indianapolis improved its win total from 2 to 11 in two years with a new coach, quarterback, and really, a brand new roster altogether.  Whereas Andrew Luck and Chuck Pagano had to recapture fans' trust and excitement from scratch this time last year, they'll start off 2013 healthier and with more experience to keep moving up the AFC food chain.

Hate - Great Expectations
Don't get me wrong - Andrew Luck has proven himself to be a worthy No. 1 draft pick after a successful and courageous rookie year.  But this team's performance in 2012 reminded me more than a little bit of the 2011 Detroit Lions who went from 10 - 6 and a wild card bid to a 4 - 12 slump in 2012.  The Colts had a lot of things go right for them this past year that are unlikely to repeat in full in 2013.  First off, they were the only 2012 playoff team to have a negative point differential in the regular season, and 9 of their 11 wins were by a margin of one possession.  That suggests that the arbitrary flow of the game clock (and yes, Luck's many insane 4th quarter drives) helped out a whole lot.  Further, this success means that Indy's schedule in 2013 isn't going to be nearly as soft as it was a year ago.  The Colts will face five teams this year that made the 2012 playoffs (49ers, Seahawks, Broncos, Texans, Bengals) as well as the high-potential Dolphins, Rams, and Bruce Arians-led Cardinals.  That's a tall order for a young team who will just now have a full season with the new coach.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Love -  Um, New Uniforms?
Apparently this year's new Jaguars uniforms are slightly different from last year's.  Isn't the mascot's tongue a little bluer or something? Maybe it'll result in a little extra revenue for this struggling franchise if all of those apparel completists in Jacksonville absolutely must have an electric blue Jaguar-tongue Blaine Gabbert jersey.  I'm really struggling here...


Hate - Unending Despair and Hopelessness
Heck, the Cleveland Browns look like a veritable dynasty compared to the Jacksonville Jaguars of the past few years.  Say what you will about feeling for pathetically bad franchises, these jerks deserve it.  How ridiculous it must look in retrospect for this front office to have dumped returning Pro Bowl QB David Garrard less than a week before the 2011 season to give--yes, really--Luke McCown/Blaine Gabbert the starting job.  The Jags are now on their third coach in as many years, their perennially high draft picks have been nothing but busts since Maurice Jones-Drew, and now even MoJo is starting to trend toward Pacman Jones territory off the field.

Houston Texans

Love - An All-Star Defense
It's hard to say whether new safety acquisition Ed Reed still has fuel in the tank to play at a high level at this point in his career.  But DC Wade Phillips need not panic - he's got a fantastic squad he's already developed on his own that will be healthier than they were by the end of last season and ready to pick up where Houston left off.  J.J. Watt returns as one of the first defensive MVP candidates we've seen in a long time because of the way he redefined the DE role in 2012.  Jonathan Joseph will complement Reed well in the secondary and Brian Cushing/Brooks Reed will be back at 100% in September to control the middle of the field.  Houston's going to need all the defensive muster it can stand this year in facing Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck, Colin Kaepernick, Russell Wilson and Alex Smith.  2013 will be a trial by fire for the elite Texans D.

Hate - Matt Schaub's Plateau
Now that Matt Schaub has finally made it through an entire season without a Hoveround, it's becoming obvious that his 2009 season of 4,700+ passing yards and 68% completion rate may have been more of an outlier and a function of WR Andre Johnson's productivity than of the QB.  To be fair, there are many franchises in the league who would probably kill for a guy like Schaub under center, but he has basically become a lost cause in situations where Johnson is in double coverage and opposing defenses sell out to stuff Arian Foster at the line of scrimmage.  In fact, that was pretty much the entire second half of the 2012 season and playoffs for the Texans.  If Schaub can't take some pressure off of his top-notch skill players, the Texans will be hard pressed to take the reins in the AFC yet again with a very tough schedule ahead.

Tennessee Titans

Love - Track Meet Potential
The Titans didn't have a lot to write home about last season between Jake Locker's regression and a slide from nine wins in 2011 to just six in 2012.  A bright spot, however, was finding some real diamonds in the rough on special teams that ought to have a more prominent offensive role going forward for pennies on the dollar.  Darius Reynaud stands out in particular - the return receiver was a January 2012 castoff of the Giants who ended up with three return TDs with the Titans by December after the capable Marc Mariani went down.  Maybe there's a future John Harbaugh on that special teams coaching staff too since Tennessee led the league in total return TDs this past year.

Hate - The Return of Greggggg Williams
It was only a matter of time before the Lord Voldemort of the modern NFL returned after being suspended "indefinitely" for Bountygate by the league office.  I must admit, however, that I'm stunned that 1) Goodell the Hammer would lift Williams' suspension after just a year; and 2) that any team would snatched up this highly questionable fellow so quickly since in additional to being evil, Williams wasn't really ever that great of a coach or coordinator anyway.  Leave it to so-old-I-don't-give-a-crap Titans owner Bud Adams to look past things resembling "ethics" to put Williams back in a position of authority so quickly.  You better believe more than a few Titans' opponents are going to remember Gregg's reputation when they take the field this year.  Conversely, he has surely met his player match in new Titan Bernard Pollard, who's already known for ending key players' seasons and who appears to be fitting right in as a bounty cheerleader in the Tennessee locker room.