King Arthur Movie Tristan

The one thing I love about the NFL is parody. Every year there are new playoff teams. With new playoff teams comes teams on the decline. Without further ado here are my predictions for the teams on the rise and on the fall...

On the Fall: Seattle Seahawks 

In 2010, the Seahawks became the worst team to ever make the playoffs with a 7-9 record. To me, they got lucky. On week 17 of the season the Seahawks played the Rams in Seattle for a chance to represent the NFC West in the playoffs, the Hawks were pretty much unbeatable in Seattle last year and they won. Many people are picking the Seahawks as the team that will have the biggest fall in 2011, due in part because they are still in a rebuilding phase. Also, their QB for last year Matt Hasselbeck is a free agent so the Seahawks have a lot of questions to be answered at the NFL's most important position. There are just to many questions about Seattle to predict they will be going to the playoffs in 2011.

On the Rise: St. Louis Rams

Even though I have stated I am a 49ers fan, I have to give the Rams the edge in winning the NFC West... for now. Why? Because they have the best stability at QB then any other team in the division. If you want to win in this league you have to have a good QB and the Rams do in Sam Bradford. If the Seahawks are going to be the ones on the fall in the NFC West, why shouldn't the Rams be the ones to take their place? I feel that for the first time in years that the Rams are going to have that cloud of great expectations to preform well and if Steve Spagnuolo doesn't get the Rams to preform he will be out of there. I think Spagnuolo will, however, and the Rams will be on the rise in 2011.

On the Fall: Chicago Bears

Last year the Bears suprised everybody by winning the NFC North, getting the NFC's #2 seed, and making it to football's final four. What really suprised me was the fact Jay Cutler played so well. Under Mike Martz, Cutler threw 23 TD's and only 16 INT's with 3,274 yards. I bet some fans are wondering why I don't think the Bears will do even better with Martz in his second year. Last year, the Bears got lucky with injuries, as they barely had any at all. In 2011, I'm not sure if they can dodge the injury bug as often as they did last season so I think they will be on the fall in the NFC North.

On the Rise: Detroit Lions

I think we all know if the Packers can stay healthy next season, they will run away with the NFC North. That could leave a wild card team in that division and since the Bears are on the fall, I think that the Lions can actually take their place. If their QB Matthew Stafford can stay healthy, they could be one of the best teams in the NFC. Especially with one of the best WR in the game, Calvin Johnson. Detroit's defense also will be better with Ndamkang Suh and Nick Fairley heading up the front seven. For the first time in years, the Lions also have a cloud of expectations over them and if they don't preform, we could see some major changes. For probably the first time in my life, I think the Lions will be able to preform at a high level, it just depends if they can stay healthy or not.

On the Fall: Kansas City Chiefs

To me, the Chiefs were the biggest suprise in the NFL last year. They went 10-6 and won the AFC West, despite the Chargers ranking first in offense and defense and the Raiders going undefeated in the division. Being the young team that they were, Kansas City lost to the Ravens in the Wild Card Round. I think that the Chiefs were a one hit wonder in 2010, which was probaly the craziest year in football in recent memory. I don't have enough confidence in QB Matt Cassel to have another successful season. The Chiefs running game, mainly Jamal Charles, were the ones who guided KC all the way to the postseason. I'm not really sure that they will be able to do that again and I have a feeling that they are on the decline.

On the Rise: San Diego Chargers

Every Super Bowl for the past five years, I have pondered why the Chargers aren't playing in it. They have the talent and one of the best QB's in the NFL in Phillip Rivers. Then it hit me, it's the slow starts. Over the past three seasons, the Chargers have been 4-5, 2-2, and 3-5 before the bye week hits. Two of those three seasons, the Chargers made the playoffs. Well last season the slow start finally caught up to them as the Chargers were replaced in the playoffs by the Chiefs. I think most San Diego fans are hoping that 2010 was a wake up call and the team has realizies they have to play all 16 games. If the Chargers can stay hungry in 2011, I think that they not only win the AFC West but actually have a shot at a Super Bowl.  

Honorable Mention: Houston Texans

Since I have a thing for underdogs, I have to mention the Houston Texans here. Of course for them to be on the rise, the Colts would have to be on the fall. So this prediction isn't written in stone, it's written in pencil so I can erase it later. Before 2010, the Colts had eight consecutive seasons with at least 12 wins. Indy might of only had ten wins in 2010, but they still won the division while the Texans looked up from below, again, sitting in third place. I picked the Texans last year to be the Wild Card team out of the AFC South, but like many of my predictions, I was wrong. If the Texans have a thirst for long overdue revenge, expect them to be on the rise in 2011. Again, I'm just not sure if the Colts are going to be on the fall, considering they have won seven of the past nine AFC South titles.