NFL Surprise Teams of 2013 - The Good and the Bad

The calendar just turned to August, that means pre-season action is about to begin. So, here a 4 teams to watch out for this coming season. The 2 teams that I think will go from last place and challenge for a wildcard spot are Tampa Bay and Kansas City. Tampa Bay made a lot of noise in the off season to improve their team. Most of these moves came on defense as they were 31^st of 32 teams. So on draft day they gave up two draft picks for  Cornerback Darelle Revis, they also signed free agent Safety Dashaun Goldson from the 49ers.  With 2^nd year safety Mark Barron and rookie safety Banks this unit just came from the bottom to I think a top 10 defense. This should help Josh Freeman and the offense. Speaking of Freeman expect him to have a big year behind center. As he is in his contract year. He’ll want to prove himself  to the Bucs and other teams. Just like QB Joe Flacco of a season ago. Last year a lot of people were picking the Kansas City Chiefs to do well, but that wasn’t the case. After getting hit hard by the injury bug with stars like Jamal Charles, Erick Berry, Brandon Flowers and Dawayne Bowe in an out of the lineup they finished 2-14 last year. But, this could be their year. With trading for QB Alex Smith they finally have a steady Quarterback since the days of Trent Green.  With a healthy Jamal Charles he is a matchup nightmare. I think teams will have their hands full trying to score against the Chiefs defense, as they can rush the passer and their secondary is one of the best in the whole NFL. With ex-Eagles coach Andy Reid on the sideline I think it could be a key move for the team. There were 2 teams that were in the playoff dance last season, that will  miss  playing in January this year. Those teams are Minnesota and Washington.  Minnesota was carried to the playoff behind the running of Adrian Peterson and his career best 2,000 rushing yards.  Expect him to take a little step back from that I know they picked up Greg Jennings from the Packers, but he won’t have the open space on the field as he did for Green Bay. As he is the no. 1 receiver for the Vikes  Christian Ponder isn’t near the QB of Aaron Rodgers. The Vikings other receivers aren’t going to be ready for the bright lights of the NFL just yet. Their secondary has a few holes still and the schedule is very difficult.  As for  Washington it’s all going to count on the knee of QB RG3. I don’t know if he can hold up through all 16 games. Scoring won’t be the problem for Washington. It’s the defensive side of the ball that scares me. If they can’t pressure the quarterback regularly, teams will pick apart their secondary as they are short and getting a little slower as they are all over 32 years old. That will show up at sometime this season. They also played a last place schedule  a year ago. With winning the NFC East they will play a first place schedule. I think that will be too much for RG3 and the Redskins.