By John Sarianides
Happy Birthday America! In honor of America’s 241st birthday, here is a list of four teams in the NFL that could surprise people this season.
1. Los Angeles Chargers: It is easy to dismiss the Chargers this season because they are moving to Los Angeles and playing their home games in a soccer stadium but doing that would be a mistake.
New coach Anthony Lynn has assembled a veteran staff and is inheriting a team that has enough talent to compete with most teams in the AFC. The Chargers had a productive off-season both in free agency and the draft. They really improved.
I don’t think they’ll the playoffs but a 9-7, 10-6 season is not out of the realm of possibility for the Bolts.
2. Tennessee Titans: I think the Titans will be a playoff team in 2017. Provided Marcus Mariota can stay healthy, they will contend for the AFC South and a wild card spot.
The Titans should score plenty of points. It is their underwhelming defense that must improve if they are to the next step to contender status.
The pieces are in place for this team to take the logical next step. Let’s see if Mike Mularkey can coax 10-11 wins out of this team and get them into the playoffs.
3. Tampa Bay Bucs: Everyone and their mother is on the Bucs bandwagon for the upcoming season and rightfully so. On paper, this team is as talented as any team in the NFC.
Offensively, the Bucs will score points. The additions of DeSean Jackson and rookie tight end O.J Howard gives them the complements to Mike Evans they were lacking last season.
Defensively, this team is young, athletic and aggressive. Defensive coordinator Mike Smith gets a lot out of this group. They played much better the second half of last season and look to carry that momentum into this season. The Buccos are for real folks.
4. Minnesota Vikings: Call me crazy, but I think the Vikings are better off without Adrian Peterson. There was an expectation both within the organization and from the outside that Peterson had to get a certain number of carries per game. That pressure is off now and offensive coordinator Pat Shurmer can focus on being more balanced and diverse offensively.
Minnesota should be better offensively thanks to an improved offensive line and the additions of running backs Latavius Murray and Dalvin Cook.
If the Vikings defense plays up to the level they played at last season, then this team is headed to the playoffs.