AFC East: Each Team’s Greatest Weakness

Manuel may not even be the starter for the Bills, but it’s not the quarterback position that is the real problem in Buffalo.

Seemingly every season there is an upstart member of the AFC East that is set to dethrone the New England Patriots as division champion. Yet, seemingly every season since Bill Belichick took over the role of head coach, that threat has quickly been pushed to the side as the Patriots march into the playoffs once again.

Last year the Buffalo Bills filled that role, but their weaknesses through their defense and at the quarterback position overshadowed any acquired areas of strength. This year, it appears that the Miami Dolphins are looking to jump back into contention. At the very least, the Dolphins are the last team to take the division away from the Patriots, during the 2008 season when Tom Brady tore his ACL.

AFC North Edition
NFC North Edition

NFL Draft Represents First Step for Eight New NFL Head Coaches

In this image, every team beat the very next team if you move in a clock-wise direction.

Even after an NFL season that was full of parity, eight owners, or one quarter of the league, decided that it was time to move on from the men who had led their rosters through training camp and the regular season. Even though each of those new faces in new places will have begun to make their initial impression on the direction of their respective franchises in free agency, the first real step in their new careers will be the NFL draft.

Nobody taking over a new team ever really expects to inherit a talented roster, and even though it’s not directly a reflection of the talent on the field, seven of the new teams are picking within the top 11 of the first round, with only the Chicago Bears reaching the far depths of 20th overall.

Because of the lack of top level quarterback talent, this draft likely won’t determine how successful the new regimes will be over their spans with their franchises, but the early choices will go a long way in determining how successful they will be in the short-term. Initial impressions are always important for fans, but they can also determine how the new direction of the franchise is received within the walls.

NFL Draft 2013: Best Landing Spots For Each Style of Prospect

Where would strong-armed quarterback Tyler Wilson prefer to be?

At this stage of the draft process, every single prospect is starting to let his mind wonder about where this portion of his life is going to project his career. Who will take him in the draft and allow him to wear their jersey?

Undoubtedly each prospect will have their personal preferences, but since it’s impossible to ask every single one and get an honest answer, I instead decided to look through the different styles of players available and where they would likely be best fit for their careers.

Unbalancing NFL Defenses: A Conceptual Analysis of the New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints

Mark Ingram may not be the star he was expected to be coming out of Alabama, but his presence on the roster alone points to what the Saints want to do.

In today’s offensively inclined National Football League, ever minor advantage is explored by coachings and even those tiny details can become massive in the grand scheme of unlocking the opposition. Because of the variety of schemes and differing skill-sets of players, the complexity of today’s game is always expanding while approaches are variable and evolutionary rather than predetermined and acquired.

Two of the most dynamic offenses in the NFL have been the leading charges in the race towards greater offensive efficiency, the New Orleans Saints and New England Patriots.

Since the 2006 season, both teams have combined for nine top five finishes in scoring offense and five first overall finishes. Neither team has dropped lower than 11th in total scoring and never once during that time did both teams finish outside of the top five.

In today’s league that is a phenomenal achievement. It is the combination of high quality coaching, quarterbacks who wear capes and magicians at the skill-positions. What really separates these two offenses however, is their ability to keep defenses off balance and dictate the game to them.

The Rollercoaster Series: Kevin Kolb, Buffalo Bills

What does Kevin Kolb bring to the Buffalo Bills?

This article is an adaptation of a scouting report written during the 2012 Regular Season.

The Arizona Cardinals were one of only three remaining unbeaten NFL teams after Week 3 of the 2012 NFL season. The Cardinals defense and special teams play had stolen all the headlines for the team’s excellent start, but Kevin Kolb’s impact on the offense had been very significant also.

Kolb lost the quarterback competition to John Skelton in the off-season, but Skelton was subsequently injured against the Seattle Seahawks on opening day. Kolb came in to that game in the fourth quarter and led a game-winning touchdown drive.

After that he orchestrated victories against the New England Patriots, in Foxboro, and the Philadelphia Eagles, in Arizona, with two very different performances. Arizona Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt has asked a lot of Kolb in his first two starts this season, but each gameplan has been vastly different from the other.