It's getting to that point where we can taste training camp. Teams begin reporting next week and fans get a first look at their favorite teams roster. Camp signals the end of the offseason. All the work by general managers and scouts putting their teams together through free agency and the draft are now complete. It's hard to make wholesale changes to a team during the regular season. The NFL is not like baseball where teams can make multiple moves at the trading deadline to drastically get better (you can blame the salary cap for that).
Two AFC teams that I think had a great offseason were the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins. Let's start with the Chiefs, who after a 2-14 season were bound to make several changes. Perhaps the biggest change came off the field. The hiring of John Dorsey as general manager and Andy Reid as head coach is a great foundation that the team can build on for years. Reid is a proven winner and won several NFC East division's with Eagles teams that had good, but not great talent. His presence alone on the sideline should provide the team with an extra 2-3 wins this season. Trading for quarterback Alex Smith in exchange for a second round draft pick was good value. Smith, although not a top 10 QB, is a solid professional that can manage a west coast offense. He does not have the strongest arm but is intelligent with ball decisions. He has a myriad of offensive talent to spread the ball to. Jamal Charles is a pro-bowl caliber running back. The team re-signed number one receiver Dwayne Bowe to a multi year contract. Drafting Eric Fisher with the first overall pick is not sexy but the right choice. Fisher will be a pillar of their offensive line for a decade. Teaming him with left tackle Brandon Albert will provide the team with strong bookend tackles to protect Smith and to help run the ball. The teams defense has some good players like linebacker Derrick Johnson and budding star Eric Berry at safety.
The Dolphins rebounded nicely with a 7-9 season after a disastrous 2011. First year coach Joe Philbin was a good hire, and has developed a winning culture in Miami (something its lacked since the Marino era). Quarterback Ryan Tannehill did not get the same amount of exposure that Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, and Russel Wilson received (most likely because his team was not a playoff team), but had a formidable rookie season considering he had very little weapons on offense. He should improve in his second year as a starter. The team chose not to resign left tackle Jake Long (which I think was a mistake) and have yet to replace him with another player of his caliber. But they have improved the offense by re-signing last years leading receiver Brian Hartline and pairing him with pro-bowler Mike Wallace (formerly of the Steelers). Wallace is a burner that will provide Tannehill with a deep threat down the field. They also signed wide receiver Brandon Gibson, a productive player for the St. Louis Rams the past few seasons. Miami stole tight end Dustin Keller away from the division rival Jets by signing him to a one year contract. These additions should make their passing attack fairly potent. On defense they signed Dannell Ellerbe from the super bowl champion Ravens to play linebacker. Cameron Wake is still on the roster and I believe one of the best pass rushers in the league. They will pair him with first round pick Dion Jordan out of Oregon, who the team expects to contribute on defense right away. They lost corner back Sean Smith in free agency to the Chiefs and have not replaced him.
Overall, the AFC conference is a lot weaker than the NFC conference (a conversation for an article that is coming soon). The Broncos, Patriots, Ravens (although weaker) and the Texans are the class of the conference, with the Colts, Steelers and Bengals also in the mix for playoff contention. But the improvements made by the Dolphins and Chiefs put them right in the thick of things. I think one of these two teams could surprise and win a wild card spot. Right now my money is on the Chiefs who play in a weaker division than the Dolphins (they play the Raiders twice). Either way both teams futures look bright and their stock is trending upward.
No comments:
Post a Comment