FanHouse NFLPreview2008

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is right around the corner, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterback: The young Jason Campbell made some nice strides last year ... but had a huge problem holding onto the ball too long. His fumbles, unnecessary sacks and bad decisions led to some poor end-of-game situations. Now with Jim Zorn calling the shots, Campbell will be in his 7th different system in eight years (counting his time at Auburn). Now he will be learning the West Coast offense that takes QBs a while to learn. Backup Todd Collins was golden in his duties last year and it was a bit of a surprise that he re-upped in Washington again. Colt Brennan is a project as the No. 3. Heat Index: 5

Running Back: Heading into last year, many people figured that the Redskins would go to a dual-back system. Didn't happen. Clinton Portis (who is always nicked up) brought it all season long, taking his place near the top of the yardage and TD rankings. Ladell Betts wasn't bad or anything -- he just didn't get the opportunities to shine as he did in 2006. Still, Betts is a very serviceable backup who could get more touches if Zorn really does want to run the football. Heat Index: 8

The bloggers here at the NFL portion of FanHouse recently huddled up in a basement, put our heads together and came up with our predictions for the 2008 NFL season. Eleven of us voted and below is the mathematics of it all.

We don't just have our Super Bowl predictions [go after the jump to see those picks], but the entire NFL. We picked each division how we saw fit and below is how the voting went, along with the links to our writers' previews of each team. The number in parenthesis denotes how many first-place votes that team received.

*- denotes our Wild Card picks:

AFC EAST NFC EAST 1 New England Patriots (11) 1 Dallas Cowboys (8) 2 New York Jets* 2 New York Giants* 3 Buffalo Bills 3 Philadelphia Eagles (2) 4 Miami Dolphins 4 Washington Redskins (1) AFC SOUTH NFC SOUTH 1 Indianapolis Colts (7) 1 New Orleans Saints (7) 2 Jacksonville Jaguars* (4) 2 Carolina Panthers (2) 3 Houston Texans 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2) 4 Tennessee Titans 4 Atlanta Falcons AFC NORTH NFC NORTH 1 Pittsburgh Steelers (8) 1 Minnesota Vikings (6) 2 Cleveland Browns (2) 2 Green Bay Packers* (4) 3 Cincinnati Bengals (1) 3 Detroit Lions (1) 4 Baltimore Ravens 4 Chicago Bears AFC WEST NFC WEST 1 San Diego Chargers (11) 1 Seattle Seahawks (6) 2 Denver Broncos 2 Arizona Cardinals (3) 3 Oakland Raiders 3 St. Louis Rams (2) 4 Kansas City Chiefs 4 San Francisco 49ers

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is right around the corner, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterback: If you can say with certainty that you know whether Vince Young is going to take a big leap forward this year, or stumble into mediocrity, I want to hear your stock tips. The Titans say they're happy with the way Young has improved his drops and his accuracy during training camp--we just haven't seen much of it in games. Kerry Collins is a very solid backup, but with the group of receivers these two are going to have to throw to, it's hard to know how much blame they deserve if the passing game struggles. Heat Index: 5.

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is right around the corner, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterbacks: Marc Bulger is coming off an injury-riddled, subpar at best, season. For the first time in his career he threw more picks than touchdowns, and his yards per attempt were nearly a yard lower than his previous career-low. Much of this can be attributed to the brutal offensive line play in front of him, but that may not change if Orlando Pace isn't completely healthy. Overall, though, Bulger will have a much better season and Trent Green is a fine backup. Heat Index: 6

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is right around the corner, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterback:One of the consistencies of Mike Holmgren's regimes has been strong quarterback play. Maybe Matt Hasselback never became the "next Brett Favre", but maybe, on a number of levels, that's actually a good thing. What Hassyback has become, though, is one of the most consistently underrated and, um, consistent signal callers in the league. He's not flashy but he doesn't need big name wideouts to post big stats either. He's got a bad back early this year though, and I'm automatically docking the Seahawks one "heat point" for refusing to use Seneca Wallace at wideout. Also: Charlie Frye. Heat Index: 7

Running Back: There's something to be said of your running back situation when neither Julius Jones nor Maurice Morris can perform at a high enough level in training camp or preseason to make Mike Holmgren name a starter. T.J. Duckett could still be cut, although with the recent Ben Obomanu injury, it looks like both he and Justin Forsett could be on the roster, with Duckett manning goal line carries and Forsett returning kicks. It's not a really attractive situation either way you slice it. Heat Index: 5

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is a month off, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterbacks: Listen, I'd love to believe in J.T. O'Sullivan. He's had a great pre-season, he's battled through a lot of adversity to earn this shot, and he seems to have the physical tools. However, the fact that he's failed in every NFL stop before this worries me. Is Mike Martz the magic potion that will cure O'Sullivan and turn him into a good NFL quarterback? Maybe. He's certainly made a lot of other quarterbacks look really good. At quick glance, O'Sullivan appears to be a perfect fit for the Martz offense. He's making good, quick decisions. He's got an arm that's plenty good enough. But the fact that he's never succeeded anywhere else in the NFL tells me that there is at least a part of his pre-season performance that's "mirage". There isn't much else to work with here. Alex Smith has been generally terrible, doesn't appear to get along well with coach Mike Nolan, and he's getting to the point in his career where San Francisco may just have to consider giving up on him. Shaun Hill, meanwhile, looked passable in a late-season audition last year before becoming virtually invisible in training camp. He doesn't appear to be much of a factor. Heat Index: 5

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is right around the corner, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterback: When Ben Roethlisberger went 15-1 as a rookie, many critics said he was the beneficiary of a system that didn't ask him to do too much--never mind the fact that he sets rookie records for wins, completion percentage and passer rating. The next year, when he led the Steelers to the Super Bowl, critics still weren't sold. And when he fell apart during a brutal 2006 season, it seemed to make the critics look prescient. But after an outstanding 2007 season, there are few doubters left. Roethlisberger has the size and escapability that's needed behind an offensive line that likes to send random pass rushers his ways just to keep him on his toes. With Charlie Batch hurt, the Steelers were fortunate to snag Byron Leftwich, a long-time starting quarterback, as a well-qualified backup. Dennis Dixon, a rookie from Oregon, is a promising developmental quarterback with great feet to go with a strong arm. Roethlisberger doesn't deserve to be compared to Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, but as we've watched Jim Sorgi and Matt Cassell, it is fair to say that the Steelers' combination of depth and talent is pretty rare. Heat Index: 9.

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is right around the corner, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterback: Bear in mind, I'm a tremendous Philip Rivers fan. So despite the hilarity of Ape's Marmalard skits, I don't laugh (much). And the fact that everyone focuses on Rivers poor throws amuses me some, since Norv Turner consistently put him in horrible situations for most of the season. I won't mention that he has the stones to go toe-to-toe with Tom Brady sans ACL. Anyway, two years ago he was prepared to take his game to the next level and somehow regressed in 2007. Won't happen this season, providing his coach is smart. Crap. Heat Index: 8

Running Back: Am I allowed to give a heat index of 11? Because, like Nigel's amps, LaDanian Tomlinson is a little bit louder/better than anyone else. The loss of Michael Turner hurts a little, but the poor man's lightning-thunder backup combo of Darren Sproles and Jacob Hester is going to be a pretty devastating change of pace factor for opposing defenses. Heat Index: 11

Wide Receiver: Vincent Jackson was supposed to rise up and become a legit number one last year. Whoops. Fortunately, Chris Chambers and his potentially record breaking low catch rate (based on target % anyway) are in town now. Craig Davis will blossom decently this year and Malcolm Floyd is a pretty nasty, athletic freak, red zone target type. Oh yes, and Antonio Gates counts here too, so there's that. Heat Index: 9

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is a month off, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterbacks: That nagging, annoying question is back. Will Donovan McNabb stay healthy for a full season? Will Kevin Kolb rot on the bench again? Obviously, most Eagles fans hope Kolb doesn't see the light of day this year. McNabb, however, hasn't gotten through a season healthy since he and Terrell Owens were getting along. Injuries have kept him on the sideline for seven, six, and two games, respectively, each of the last three years. The injuries are the only thing keeping McNabb from being mentioned among the truly elite quarterbacks in the game. Certainly, his numbers last year weren't subpar, but McNabb continues to take way too many hits. He was sacked 12 times by the Giants in Week Four last year, and 44 for the season. For a comparison, backup A.J. Feeley started twice for McNabb last year, and he was sacked three times in those two games. Also worrisome is McNabb's sudden inability to throw the deep ball. One season is not a fair sample, especially considering the Eagles' relative lack of big-play ability at wide receiver. However, it's a development that bears watching, especially if McNabb's penchant for getting hurt doesn't go away. Heat Index: 7

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is a month off, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterback: Chad Pennington enters 2008 trying to prove yet again that he -- wait, what? Who? Really? Didn't he retire? Oh. I see. It doesn't seem like Brett Favre wants to play in New York this year, he's basically said so much in the most diplomatic way possible, which means this is the year where Favre stops having fun. This is the year he stops looking like a kid again, to support the cliche. And it can be argued that that magic has perpetuated itself, and has been the reason Favre is still considered -- rightfully or not -- one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Without it, I can imagine 2008 being a disaster for Favre -- bad play and missed games. And then the New York media jumps in and the misery just compounds. That's how I see 2008 rolling. Oh, plus, they don't have a decent backup quarterback. Heat Index: 6