1. Pittsburgh Steelers–The defending champions have the best pass rush in the A.F.C., led by James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley. In addition, Superbowl MVP Santonio Holmes is poised to have a terrific year. However, obvious off-field issues with Ben Roethlisberger may distract the quarterback and the organization has done little to improve an already suspect offensive line.

2. New England Patriots–Tom Brady’s health is going to dictate where the Patriots finish this season. New England comes close to the top spot, but I would like to see Brady perform on the field before making anything official. The cornerback spot opposite Leigh Bodden is an area to watch.

3. Philadelphia Eagles–Vast improvements on the offensive side of the football means that Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid have perhaps one last chance to win it all. However, health is always a question for the league’s most underrated player, Brian Westbrook.

4. New York Giants–Arguably the last team in the league’s top tier, the Giants have the best defensive line in football. This defensive line not only consists of a healthy Osi Umenyiora, but also newly acquired Chris Canty. The loss of Plaxico Burress should not be overlooked, but there are several wide receivers ready for prime time: S. Smith, D. Hixon, H. Nicks, and M. Manningham.

5. Indianapolis Colts–With Peyton Manning at quarterback, the Colts will again be a team to contend this season. Maybe not as untouchable as in years past, but Indianapolis should at least cruise to a division title. Also, keep an eye on Donald Brown this season. He was high on my draft board this past April, so the Colts got a steal grabbing him late in the first round. Don’t be surprised to see him get a bulk of the carries if Joseph Addai continues to struggle.
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College football is slowly making its appearance back in the national spotlight. In fact, much has been made recently about a mysterious coach spurring controversy by not including Tim Tebow on his pre-season SEC All-American roster. The move turned out to be a mistake on the part of former-Gator, and now South Carolina coach, Steve Spurrier. While Tebow deserves the recognition as the SEC’s top collegiate quarterback, the man Spurrier mistakenly placed over Tebow, Jevan Snead, is the better NFL talent.

As a quarterback who has performed in a spread offense, Tim Tebow will be entering the draft at an awkward transition stage. Teams still have the memory of Alex Smith, also a product of Urban Meyer’s offense, but teams also seem to be experimenting with the new “Wildcat” offense, requiring a quarterback similar to one that would be employed in the spread. Tebow will not be a top 5 pick, nor will he be a top 15 pick. But there’s a chance, depending on the popularity of the “Wildcat” he could sneak into the latter part of the first round. The number of quarterbacks expected to enter the 2010 draft could definitely push him farther down the first round. Amazing for somebody that has done everything he could at the collegiate level. Tebow has been one of the greatest college players in my lifetime but how his skills translate on the next level remains questionable.

Jevan Snead has the opportunity to be an elite NFL prospect. Unlike Tebow, Snead has played in more of a pro-styled offense. Snead has played against the same SEC competition as Tebow, but Snead has not had the same caliber talent surrounding him. Snead has led Ole Miss back to the football relevancy. As a transfer to Ole Miss, after failing to beat out Colt McCoy in Texas, he has done everything asked of him and more. However, Snead is not done with McCoy. The two will be battling, along with Sam Bradford, for the privilege to be the top quarterback off the board during April.

It’s amazing how the NFL draft works. Snead got beat out by Colt McCoy in Texas, and is unanimously considered the second-best quarterback in the SEC by the coaches in the conference. However, in just 8 months, Snead could hear his name called before both McCoy and Tebow.

It seems we’ve made it a tradition t0 take a couple month’s hiatus after the draft to clear our minds. Well hopefully the hiatus is over. In just a few weeks, professional teams will be reporting to training camp, and college teams will be opening their seasons. And it’s about time. Baseball, basketball, and hockey are all great (well okay, maybe not hockey), but nothing beats anything affiliated with the National Football League.

There are so many promising storylines in this fresh NFL season that I had to make use of the website somehow before the 2010 NFL draft. Just off the top of my head, we have a Brett Favre conundrum (not that this is different from years past, or maybe the next five), a dieting LenWhale, and a host of players in unhappy situations. Fantasy football has always been one of my loves, so expect some fantasy posts scattered between now and the start of the season.

Oh, and by the way, we’re on twitter. Following me @sat2sun, as I’ll be “tweeting” about a variety of different issues. Hopefully we’ll be getting the twitter account more active, which obviously would mean more traffic sent to the website (which is good).

I’ll close my comeback post by saying expect a 2010 mock draft sometime before the end of the summer. I’m in no particular rush to get one done, but I would like to complete one in the pre-season to use as a reference point come April.