The Indianapolis Colts will continue their dominance of the AFC South in the new NFL season, but the Houston Texans will make them work.
While I don’t think Andrew Luck is the next Peyton Manning like a lot of people do, he is a good quarterback.
Making the Pro Bowl all three years he’s played, he led the league in touchdowns last year with 40, being ranked the seventh best overall player of 2015 by the NFL, up 23 spots from 2014.
Signing Frank Gore will really legitimise this offence, and finally give Luck a great running back. Indianapolis’ offence could be scary good when you think of Luck throwing the football and Gore running it.
Add in TY Hilton, who made his first Pro Bowl last year, Andre Johnson, one of the best wide receivers of all time, and the young playmakers in Donte Moncrief and Phillip Dorsett, and this explosive group of players could easily put up a 13-win season to see them into the divisional round.
That’s not even mentioning the players on the defence – Vontae Davis, D’Qwell Jackson and Mike Adams, all of whom made their first Pro Bowl last season. Add in Trent Cole, the longtime Eagle who signed with Indianapolis this year, and both sides of the ball have the ability to make big plays.
The Houston Texans will give them a run for their money, but they’ll still end up finishing second. They may improve their record from 9-7 to 10-6, but I’d be surprised to see them win a playoff game. I think choosing Brian Hoyer as the starting quarterback is a mistake, but Bill O’Brien knows what he’s doing.
Arian Foster being out will hurt the team, and with their workhorse, marquee running back sitting on the sidelines, I expect to see the team stutter in their first few games until he returns. DeAndre Hopkins, teaming with rookie Jaelen Strong, will have to replace what Andre Johnson gave them.
Johnathan Joseph will lock down the corner spot, and the rookie Kevin Johnson will contribute some too. JJ Watt is the best defensive player in the league, and he was ranked as the best overall player in the NFL in 2015 for a reason. A straight three-time Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro selection, he’s twice won NFL Defensive Player of the Year and was runner-up in MVP voting last year. Benardrick McKinney and Jadeveon Clowney will both look to make big impacts at the linebacker position.
The Jacksonville Jaguars finished 3-13 last season, but I expect an uptick in wins as Blake Bortles becomes more comfortable in the starting quarterback role. He wasn’t perfect in his rookie season – Derek Carr also went 3-13 and far outperformed Bortles – but there’s definitely things to like. He doesn’t have the most talented offence to work with, so expect a 6-10 season, if they’re lucky.
The problem with the Jaguars is they don’t have much talent anywhere. Outside of Paul Posluszny’s lone Pro Bowl selection in 2013, there’s little accolades that these defensive members have collected. Rookie Dante Fowler Jr tearing his ACL on the first day of mini-camp is a big blow to this defence.
The Tennessee Titans were tied for the worst record in the NFL last year with an atrocious 2-14, but with Marcus Mariota as the new starting quarterback, expect a complete turnaround for the woeful franchise. It might not be immediate, but Mariota has the talent to make all the right plays. Young running backs David Cobb and Bishop Sankey will help the offence, as will wide receivers Justin Hunter, Kendall Wright and rookie Dorial-Green Beckham. I predict a 6-10 season easily – maybe even 8-8.
The Colts will dominate the division with a stellar season, but don’t be surprised to see Houston in the playoffs as well.
Hey, supercoach? Choose your own ultimate NFL team and compete with other players for cash prizes in daily competitions on any match. If you’re after the best odds on the NFL, PlayUp is your best bet. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
The extraordinary episodes after his life as an American Football hero quite overshadowed the career of O.J. Simpson, who has died at the age…
The Kansas City Chiefs, steered brilliamtly at the end by star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, downed the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime to secure…
San Francisco 49ers will make their eighth appearance in the Super Bowl after a stellar season from a team stacked with real talent across the whole line-up.
The Chiefs are no longer strangers to playing matches in February. What was once a multi-generational 50-year drought has become an almost yearly tradition.
Daniel Faalele and Mitch Wishnowsky have kept their Super Bowl dreams alive, with Baltimore and San Francisco winning the divisional round playoff.
Six-time NFL champion Bill Belichick has agreed to part ways as the coach of the New England Patriots, bringing an end to his 24-year…
