2016 Super Bowl Contenders and Dark Horse teams
At the end of the 2015-2016 season, Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos were Super Bowl champs and had arguably one of the greatest defenses in NFL history. A lot has changed since then though, with Peyton Manning retiring, the division getting tougher, and the Broncos losing key players on both sides of the ball during the free agency purge. Many teams have improved, some have stayed dormant this offseason, and the others just can't seem to get it together. With all of these changes, its time to take a look at the top five Super Bowl contenders for the 2016-2017 season and also take a look at a few dark horse teams.
1. New England Patriots
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Lets be honest, as long as these two are still at the helm in Foxborough they will be a super bowl contender. Tom Brady has easily entrenched himself as the greatest quarterback ever, and Belichick will go down as one of the best if not the greatest coach ever. With that being said, the Patriots are my number one super bowl contender next year. The Patriots have been to the last five AFC championship games but have only won two of them. Two of their losses have been to none other than the reigning Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos. With free agency settled, it was very apparent that the Patriots weren't ready to admit defeat. They went out and improved their passing game by trading for 6'6 TE Martellus Bennett from Chicago. This now gives New England a deadly combination at TE with Bennett and Gronk set to terrorize opposing defenses. Along with the addition of Bennett, the Patriots had a very underrated signing of WR Nate Washington, which will be another solid weapon for Tom Brady. The Patriots also made a tough decision this offseason by shipping DE Chandler Jones off to Arizona in exchange for a 2nd round pick in the upcoming draft and G Jonathan Cooper. Trading Jones was a huge surprise, however when you look at the trade closely it could turn out very well for New England. Jones was starting to stray from "the Patriot way" (ala his synthetic marijuana debacle), the addition of Cooper will help keep Brady upright and improve a depleted offensive line, they signed DE Chris Long, and lastly gave Belichick ammunition in the draft. New England, barring injuries, should make it back to their 6th straight AFC championship game this season and with Tom Brady on the cusp of winning an absurd 5th Super Bowl, its going to be very hard to stop them.
2. Pittsburgh Steelers
RB Le'Veon Bell has his sights set on being the best RB in the NFL net season.
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Oh what could've been. Last season the Steelers were in prime position to unseat New England in the AFC as the top team, but things didn't go as planned. Injuries completely derailed the Steelers all season long. Having to play the first three games without RB Le'Veon Bell, then the game Bell returns losing, starting QB Ben Roethlisberger, and to top it all off, playing without Bell and the best receiver in the game Antonio Brown in the playoffs. Injuries aside, the Steelers were still just a touchdown away from taking down the Broncos and advancing to the AFC championship game versus the Patriots. As of right now the Steelers are the only team that I can see competing with the New England Patriots offensively. However, if the Steelers want to return to the Super Bowl they must improve on defense. This is where the draft comes into play. If Pittsburgh can add a cornerback such as Ohio State's Eli Apple or Clemson's Mackensie Alexander along with a solid pass rusher in the upcoming draft, they will have a much improved defense. A defense with a lot of young talent, combined with a potent offense, oozing with talent, will make the Steelers a hot candidate too win Super Bowl 51.
3. Arizona Cardinals
In his 13 year career, Carson Palmer has just one playoff victory.
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The Arizona Cardinals were one of the most exciting teams to watch last season and that was because of Bruce Arians' blueprint for a deadly offense. Palmer is the perfect mold for Arians' offense as he has cannon for an arm and he is your typical gunslinging quarterback that is needed to make it flourish. Quarterback Carson Palmer along with 6'3 twin towers Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd at receiver, gave Arizona the 2nd best passing game in the league last season. RB David Johnson was quite the surprise for the running game which ranked 11th in the NFL. With Johnson entering his sophomore season and Palmer feeling even more confident in Arians' offense, the Cardinals should have no problem matching their previous ranks on offense. Arizona made a key addition by adding afore mentioned, DE Chandler Jones from New England. Jones will improve an already top 5 ranked defense from last season by giving a much needed spark to their pass rush. With Tyrann Mathieu coming back from injury and the addition of Jones, the Arizona Cardinals have a recipe in place to be NFC champs next season.
4. Carolina Panthers
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Last year the Panthers exploded onto the scene and surprised quite a lot of people by only losing one game and reaching their first Super Bowl since 2004. Sadly, for Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers, they couldn't put the finishing touches on a cinderella type season and ended up losing the Super Bowl. The Panthers have been very quiet this offseason but they didn't need much improvement. They have MVP Cam Newton at quarterback, they had the 2nd best ground game in the league, and their defense just missed the top five by coming in at number six. With the Panthers a tad dormant this offseason they haven't improved a whole lot. One addition that should help the team next season however, is getting WR Kelvin Benjamin back from a gruesome injury last season. Cam had a phenomenal season last year but clearly lacked a big time target. Carolina's strong defense, along with the return of Benjamin, will help give Cam and the Panthers another shot at making a run for the Super Bowl.
5. Green Bay Packers
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You know the saying, "It's better to be lucky than good", well what if you were both? Well anytime you are able to complete two Hail Mary passes in one year, let alone one of them being in the playoffs, I'd definitely consider you lucky. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers did just that. Rodgers has been one of the best quarterbacks for quite some time now and might be the best pure passer in the league. He seems to be in the MVP discussion every year even when he has a down season. Last year though, the Packers struggled mightily through the air. Rodgers and the Packers ranked 25th in the NFL for passing last season. That was easily the worst mark of Rodgers' stellar career and the loss of WR Jordy Nelson played a huge part as to why the team struggled. Getting Nelson back is the most underrated "addition" to a team this offseason, in my opinion. Often times players who comeback from injury help give teams that extra push they needed while the player was absent. Nelson is clearly a difference maker for Rodgers and will help keep defenses on their toes which should allow RB Eddie Lacey to run more freely. Lacey has reportedly lost weight and is looking to have a comeback type of season this upcoming year. With Lacey seeking to improve and Rodgers and the passing game set to take off, the Packers will easily be a top contender once again.
Lastly, lets take a look at 3 teams that have an opportunity to have a cinderella type season by being a surprise super bowl contender:
1. Indianapolis Colts
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Now I know what some of you might be thinking, "The Colts, a dark horse team?", but what a lost season it was for Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts. Last season the Colts had everything they needed to take them all the way to the Super Bowl. They were just one game away the year prior and only seemed to improve through free agency last offseason. However the Colts quickly learned that winning free agency doesn't always translate to wins on the field. Quarterback Andrew Luck couldn't get on the same page with newly acquired WR Andre Johnson, veteran RB Frank Gore looked like a shell of his former self, and the defense had almost zero pass rush. That isn't a good formula to win football games. Luck then got injured behind a putrid offensive line and the season was quickly lost. Now all of this set aside, this is still a team that the previous three years made the playoffs and advanced one round further than the year prior. The AFC South got a lot tougher this offseason, but with a solid draft and a healthy Andrew Luck, the Colts should get back into the playoffs and make a deep post-season run.
2. Oakland Raiders
Mack's dominating performance against the eventual Super Bowl champs would give any fan base reason to be excited
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A dominating defense and a perennial passing attack was a staple for the Oakland Raiders' organization for years. For Raider fans, those years have been long gone for the past 15 seasons. The Raiders haven't even enjoyed a winning season in that span. So, why now? The Raiders have put themselves in perfect position to finally have a winning season and making a playoff push by improving through the draft and free agency each of the past three offseason's. For the second straight offseason, the Raiders took full advantage of being flushed with a plethora of cap space by signing solid players on both sides of the ball in free agency. They now boast one of the best offensive lines in the league with the addition of all-pro guard, Kelechi Osemele. Osemele will give Oakland a nasty duo at the guard position with Gabe Jackson on the other side. Not only will this open up the middle of the field for RB Latavius Murray, but it will also give Derek Carr the time he needs to find the open receiver. The combination of Carr, Crabtree, and Cooper, gives Oakland a deadly passing attack behind a great offensive line. Now that the offense looks the part of being a top 5 caliber, it was time for GM Reggie Mackenzie to shift his focus on the defense. Mackenzie knew he needed to add a compliment to go along with DE Khalil Mack, so he went and signed OLB Bruce Irvin. Irvin had his best seasons under Raiders current defensive coordinator, Ken Norton Jr and will look to repeat that production in Oakland. In addition to signing Irvin, the Raiders re-signed troubled DE Aldon Smith, who was once the best pass rusher in the league at one point. Oakland also upgraded a putrid secondary by stealing CB Sean Smith from their divisional rival, the Kansas City Chiefs, and took SS Reggie Nelson right out from underneath the Bengals' claws to help replace hall of fame safety Charles Woodson. The Raiders still have much to prove if they want to make it to the Super Bowl, but they are right on the cusp to returning to glory.
3. New York Giants
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The team that improved the most this offseason is the New York football Giants. A ton has happened this offseason for the Giants. Out is longtime head coach Tom Coughlin, in is a new wave of defenders, and a potential all pro with the 10th pick in the draft. The Giants have signed DE Olivier Vernon from the Dolphins, DT Damon Harrison from the Jets, and re-signed one of their own in DE Jason Pierre Paul. If those three names alone don't make opposing quarterbacks lose sleep at night, I don't know what will. The Giants clearly wanted to improve defensively and in upgrading their pass rush through free agency, it allows for them to go many different directions in the upcoming draft. They could select exhilarating RB Ezekiel Elliot from Ohio State, go offensive line by selecting a prospect like Ronnie Stanley out of Notre Dame, or even go defense by selecting a player like Vernon Hargreaves out of Florida. Whichever direction the Giants' staff decides to go, one thing is true, and that is that they have a lot of flexibility. I think Elliot would be the perfect fit for their offense, and it would give them the perfect balance between the passing game and running game.
