NFL Surprises

So earlier this week I talked a lot about the teams that disappointed us this season, and looking back, there are a lot of them. However, I think we can find just as many surprising teams this year. Lets hope we can, its more fun to write about the good rather than the bad..

Starting in the AFC lets talk about the Kansas City Chiefs. In 2009 they finished 4-12, despite adding Matt Cassel to be the teams new QB. However, Todd Haley just needed another year, and maybe some help from coordinators Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel, who were added this offseason.

Matt Cassel has found his groove in KC

Whatever the reason is, the Chiefs made huge improvements this season. They finished 10-6 and won the AFC West, securing themselves a spot in the playoffs. The Chiefs were also the last team to lose a game this season. I Didn't predict they would play all that well, and I'm glad I was wrong. I really like the look of the Chiefs right now. They feel like the Patriots back in the day. They have a lot of the same people, Weiss, Crennel and Scott Piolo, who is front office executive, all worked with the Patriots and helped build that dynasty.

It also helps when you sign Matt Cassel and Mike Vrabel, both played in New England.

They have shown some moments of inconsistency, so I'm not seeing them going very far this postseason. But to go from 4-12, to 10-6 is a huge accomplishment and they deserve a lot of praise. And if the Chiefs can fix some problems on offense, they seem to lack some firepower some games, they could be a force to be feared in the coming seasons.

Although the Oakland Raiders didn't win the division or make the playoffs, they still had a pretty solid year. They finished 8-8, going 6-0 in their division. Having a .500 season isn't usually a great thing for team, but when you have had a record setting 8 seasons with at least 11 losses, getting 8 wins is huge. This is the first time since their Superbowl season in the 2002-2003 season that they have not had a losing season. Their defense played a lot better, and they had a lot of help in the running game from Darren McFadden, who had a probowl caliber season, even though he didn't make it in.

Oddly enough, the Raiders did not keep head coach Tom Cable. They decided to let him go, even though the team is starting to build up momentum and play better. Maybe they fired him because they think they can do better with someone else?

Or maybe they fired him because the Raiders only won two games outside of they AFC West. The Raiders are the first team in the divisional era to go undefeated in their division and not win it.

However the Raiders have some solid things going for them, their defense is playing better, they have a solid running game and they are young.

Switching over to the NFC, we'll find a lot more surprises as the NFC seems to be on the rise after several years of futility in comparison to the AFC.

How 'bout them Bears? Chicago has a pretty solid team and Jay Cutler seems to playing up to expectations for the first time in his career. The Bears have shown that they can play a tough physical game with good defense and a running game. They can also play well in shoot outs and let Cutler go into his gunslinger mode and shred defenses.

Cutler has to be happy with Martz.

I can't state how big the hire of Mike Martz as offensive coordinator has been for the Bears. For those of you who don't know, Martz was the offensive coordinator, and later became head coach, for the Rams from 1999-2005 and built 'the greatest show show on turf'. This offense, at the time, was the best by far. Having him as the OC has added so much firepower to the Bears offense.

Earlier this year I predicted that the Bears would not be a good team with Jay Cutler, he had a pretty bad 2009 season and has a bad reputation as being a punk. However, he has played very well so far this season and is on the path to establishing himself as an elite QB. I still don't like him and haven't been the biggest fan of the Bears, but they have been a big surprise this season. Lovie Smith was on the hot seat entering this season, now it looks like his job is safe as his team has the #2 seed in the NFC playoffs.

The surprise that I'm the happiest to see has got to be the Detroit Lions. Despite the fact that they finished with a 6-10 record, normally a record for a team that is not all that good, the way the Lions have played has been very impressive. Most of their losses were very close and very well played games. They were robbed of a win in week one against the Bears when WR Calvin Johnson appeared to have a game winning touchdown. However after he got up the ball came out and was ruled incomplete.

That is just one example of how hard they have played. They finished the season on a 4 game winning streak, the first 4 game winning streak since 1999. The team has a lot of youth and is playing hard under head coach Jim Schwartz. 2009 first round draft pick Matthew Stafford has struggled with injuries all season long only playing in one full game all season. He has shown a lot of promise in his short appearances and if he stays healthy the Lions seem to have the building blocks necessary to build a contending team.

The Lions have been awful for a very, very long time and finally seem to be at the point where they can turn the corner and begin to not be a walking mat for other teams. I for one am glad to see them play well and hope they continue to improve.

I still think they need to change to this jersey

I thought the only way the Buccaneers could start winning again would be to switch to their old 'orange creme' jerseys that they use to have. Most people hate those jerseys, but for me they are my second favorite all time of any team(second to my Saints of course). But the Buccaneers proved me wrong and put together a 10-6 season, they missed the playoffs but still had a decent season. A lot of people out there are going to say that the Bucs had a very easy season and they only beat one team with a winning record, which is all very true. The only team they beat with a winning record is the Saints who rested their starters in the middle of the game. But 10 wins is still 10 wins, they made some serious improvements and Josh Freeman has played very well as a QB and their running game was pretty solid. I'm not sold on them being a contending team yet, they are still looking for that signature win to help define them as a team, but they are in the right direction.

How about a team going from 1-15 to 7-9 the next season and be one game away from winning the division? That's the story of the 2010 Rams.  Last season they looked pretty awful, had poor defense, bad offense, besides all pro RB Stephan Jackson that is, and seemed to be reeling as a team all together.

However, give Steve Spagnuolo another year with the team, a new QB for the franchise to build around and playing the awful NFC West, and the Rams put together a pretty solid season and have a lot to look forward to in the future. Sam Bradford has looked pretty sharp for a rookie QB playing on a team that went 1-15 last season. I've been really impressed when I look at his numbers, 3,500 passing yards, 18 TDs 15 INTs and completed 60% of his passes. Pretty solid numbers I'd say. Look for the Rams to get better on defense and work with Bradford to throw the ball more and throw the ball deeper.

The Biggest surprise this season for me has been Michael Vick. Today all I have talked about has been teams, but Vick has surprised me, and so many others that I have to mention him here. I was worried that the Eagles would take a serious turn for the worst when they handed the reigns to Kevin Kolb to be the starting QB. I don't think he had proven much before he got the job. Then he got hurt and Vick 2.0 came in and stunned everyone.

It was probably the best injury that Andy Reid and the Eagles have ever had. Vick has shown that he still has his quickness and speed that he had when he played with the Falcons, but he has added something he didn't have before. A legitimate passing threat. This season Vick was able to sit in the pocket and throw the ball very accurately and has helped the Eagles have a pretty stellar season.

Vick 2.0 is better than ever

I'm really happy for Vick to, I never really liked him when he was in Atlanta. He seemed to rely way to much on his physical gifts and didn't try to work hard or improve his passing game(sound kind of like Vince Young doesn't it?). He was always the last one in for practice and first one out. Now it is just the opposite, now he is working as hard as he can to make himself a better player.

Even better than his on field success, has been his off field success. Vick did some pretty horrible things, please don't think that I'm saying what Vick did is ok in anyway. I love animals, especially dogs, and was happy to see him get some jail time, because what he did was super bad.

However he has paid his debt to society, and it was a pretty big hit he took. He lost everything, over 100 million dollars and who knows how much in future contracts and endorsements. He was away from his kids for two years and saw himself become a villain. He literally saw his life crumble before him.

The Eagles gave him a chance to make something for himself again and he took full advantage of it. He is playing the best football of his career right now, and if Tom Brady wasn't having an incredible season, Vick would most likely be the MVP of the league.

Way to go Vick, way to give us a good story of how people can change their life.