NFL Predictions – The Top 3 Most-Improved NFL Teams

While the debate is a passionate one, the three most improved NFL teams for 2010 are the Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins.

Most Improved Teams
NFL Predictions: Baltimore Ravens

The one AFC team that made itself substantially better in the offseason was Baltimore. The football cognoscenti can’t ignore the extent to which coach John Harbaugh and his front office improved their already-solid defense. The Ravens had a nasty and dominating defense when they won Super Bowl XXXV (over the New York Giants) in January of 2001. Now, the Ravens just might have a defense that could rival the one fielded by that championship team nine and a half years ago.

[Off topic: by the way, do you want to get a 60% bonus on your first deposit here at BetOnline? So go on JOIN NOW.]

Baltimore used a pair of second-round draft selections to snag two players who performed in the 2010 BCS National Championship Game. With the 43rd pick in the draft, the Ravens chose Texas outside linebacker Sergio Kindle, a playmaking beast for the Longhorns. A knee injury prevented Kindle from being taken earlier in the draft, but if his body holds up and shows the resilience Baltimore executives evidently bought into, he’ll be a great addition to the Ravens’ defense. With the 57th pick, Baltimore plucked Alabama’s massive run-stuffing and gap-plugging nose tackle, Terrence Cody. “Mount Cody” brought muscle and field-goal-blocking expertise to the table in the Crimson Tide’s march to the college football mountaintop. If he can build more stamina, Cody will make Baltimore’s defense even more powerful. The Ravens should bring more speed and more power to the table in 2010. If they can simply avoid turnovers, their defense will be good enough to rival what Rex Ryan is doing with the New York Jets.

The bottom line is that the Ravens are acquiring the kinds of pieces that will make them particularly formidable in 2010 (and maybe beyond).

In the NFC, there are two teams which did a lot to improve themselves relative to their competition.

Most Improved Teams
NFL Predictions: San Francisco 49ers

In the NFC West – which has been drained of star power in the wake of the massive offseason exodus from the Arizona Cardinals – the San Francisco 49ers appear ready to take over the division. Arizona lacks skill-position studs, and Seattle is thin on quality offensive linemen. This leaves the 49ers, who loaded up on linemen in the NFL draft and are making a concerted effort to protect quarterback Alex Smith with a smash mouth running game. Coach Mike Singletary is determined to field the most physical team in the NFC West, and he’s on his way to fulfilling his goals. As long as Smith can hit the occasional deep ball off play action and not turn the ball over in key situations, the Niners will have a stout defense and a generally rugged style of play which should overwhelm the competitors in their division.

Most Improved Teams
NFL Predictions: Washington Redskins

The other NFC team that did a lot to help itself was, quite obviously, Washington. The Redskins brought in an elite coach – Mike Shanahan – to help them forget the dreary tenure of Jim Zorn. Shanahan will also be able to coach Donovan McNabb, not oft-troubled signal caller Jason Campbell, who has his own fresh start in Oakland as a member of the Raiders. The Redskins are far from a complete team, but adding Shanahan and McNabb to your organization should be good for a four- or five-win improvement. That would get the Redskins to .500 or better, and some NFL predictions even have them in the running for a playoff spot.