FanHouse Terrance Taylor

Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. " We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

For most franchises, 12 wins is a banner year; one they can hang their proverbial hats upon. For the Colts, 12 wins is a certainly. They have won at least 12 games in each of the last six seasons. They have also had Tony Dungy as their head coach for the past seven years, but now he's gone. In 2009, the Colts will look for some continuity. Can it be provided by the Jim Caldwell administration?

Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.

I often chuckle at the amount of time people spend whining about how you can't accurately evaluate the draft immediately. We know that. We also don't know exactly who is going to do what in each season, but that doesn't stop us from giving preseason predictions or fantasy football advice. Sometimes you just have to have a little bit of intestinal fortitude and put yourself out there. The reader demand is there, so we'll provide the supply.

One of the few cases (along with teams like the Steelers and Patriots) where it's probably not a good idea to say anything bad, though, is when it comes to Bill Polian and the Colts.

With the draft less than a week away, it's time to start firming up the draft boards. When the draft begins, the Steelers will have multiple needs, although thankfully there is no position where the Steelers don't bring back a projected starter with some experience.

The Steelers bigger need is to plan ahead for 2010, when free agency could rip apart much of this past year's Super Bowl champs. With that in mind here are four plausible draft classes for the Steelersn as prepared by friend the Steelers draft nut, all of these include no trades. Every player is projected to go in a round where multiple draft experts still have them available on the board. There are a few spots where it is noted that it is less likely that player is still on the board when the Steelers pick in that round, but none of these are absurd stretches. Which of these classes would you prefer and why?

I love the draft, but a friend of mine puts me to shame. He has set aside a chunk of his brain to analyze the draft year-round. And when spring arrives he shifts into top gear, putting together mock drafts throughout the spring,

With his permission, here's a reprint of one of his recent seven round mock drafts, and another scenario that maps out why it may make sense for the Steelers to trade down. The mock drafts assume that the Steelers will receive a fourth-round supplemental pick for losing free agent Alan Faneca last year, and they pick up an additional seventh-round pick from last year's trade of Sean Mahan to the Buccaneers.

Both drafts requires players to be available per the NFL Draft Scout overall player rankings when the Steelers select, and include no trades by the Steelers.

Michigan, O Michigan, ye of the constant accusations of underachievement despite possessing the best record in college football over the past decade. My alma mater. My blog niche. My harsh, harsh mistress. Please don't suck this year.

WHY THEY'LL WIN

This part is easy: four potential All-Americans (Chad Henne, Mario Manningham, Jake Long, and Mike Hart) return on the offensive side of the ball. All save Hart are holy locks for the first round next year, assuming Manningham decides to enter early, and that's not even a full accounting of the myriad riches on the offense. There is also lanky emerging star Adrian Arrington, a version of Jason Avant with some extra deep threat attached, senior left guard Adam Kraus, a lock to be all-conference, and young offensive linemen Justin Boren and Steve Schilling, guaranteed to be stars sooner or later. There are even rumblings that tight end Carson Butler, kicked off the team for an assault he was later acquitted of, may return, which would shore up the one weakness on offense: jumbo blocker types at FB and TE. Most of that killer defense (save the last two games, yes) is gone, but guided missile Shawn Crable returns for his senior year along with fireplug defensive tackle Terrance Taylor. With Taylor on the defensive line will be two five-star recruits at defensive end, Tim Jamison and Brandon Graham (a man who Mike Hart described as "Lamarr Woodley but faster"), and defensive tackle Will Johnson, who played extensively and well last year. Sometimes Michigan even lifted leviathan Alan Branch for Johnson on third and short. Like, whoah. It won't be last year's thumping death machine, but it will probably be the best line in the conference anyway. On special teams, there is Zoltan the Inconceivable, a punter who is awesome and named Zoltan Mesko. He will punt opponents to death.