Atlanta Falcons Season Recap

NFC South	Finished 1st in Division Beat Seattle in Divisional Round Beat Green Bay in NFC Championship Lost to New England in Super Bowl
Overall Record: 11-5 (5-1 in the division)	Draft Position: 31st
Head Coach: Dan Quinn	GM: Thomas Dimitroff

Pro Bowlers

• LB Vic Beasley
• K Matt Bryant
• RB Devonta Freeman
• WR Julio Jones
• C Alex Mack
• QB Matt Ryan

2016 Rankings

	Yards/Game	Points/Game	Passing Yards/Game	Rushing Yards/Game
Offense	2nd	1st	3rd	5th	TDs – 1st
Defense	25th	27th	28th	17th	Sacks – T-16th	INTs – T-18th

Top Passers

Name	Games Started	CMP. PCT.	Yards	TDs	INTs	Passer Rating	QBR
Matt Ryan	16	69.9	4,944	38	7	117.1	83.3

Top Rushers

Name	Rushing Yards	Y/A	TDs
Devonta Freeman	1,079	4.8	11
Tevin Coleman	520	4.4	8

Top Pass Catchers

Name	Receptions	Yards	Y/C	TDs
Julio Jones	83	1,409	17.0	6
Mohamed Sanu	59	653	11.1	4

Top Defensive Players

• LB Deion Jones - 108 total tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 3 INTs, 1 forced fumble
• S Keanu Neal - 106 total tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 5 forced fumbles
• LB Vic Beasley - 39 total tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 15.5 sacks, 6 forced fumbles

Impending Free Agents

• DT Jonathan Babineaux
• QB Matt Schaub
• ILB Paul Worrilow
• G Chris Chester
• TE Jacob Tamme
• ILB Sean Weatherspoon
• OLB Courtney Upshaw
• WR Eric Weems
• OLB Dwight Freeney
• OLB Philip Wheeler
• FS Dashon Goldson
• G Tom Compton
• FB Patrick DiMarco
• ILB LaRoy Reynolds
• WR Aldrick Robinson
• CB Blidi Wreh-Wilson
• TE Levine Toilolo
• SS Kemal Ishmael

What I Said About Them Before the Season

• I was really off on the Falcons.  Like horribly off.  I projected them to go 7-9, a full game worse than their record in 2015 despite all indications showing that they had improved their roster. Despite my low prediction for their record, I was still impressed and excited by their roster and wrote that Devonta Freeman and Julio Jones were stellar weapons.  I also thought that Matt Ryan was a really good quarterback that needed to reduce the number of interceptions he threw last season.  I was big on the offseason additions of center Alex Mack and wide receiver Mohamed Sanu and thought that both could go a long way to making the offense more well-rounded.

Success/Failure

• Success - The Falcons made it to the Super Bowl, and probably should have won it, in a season that most people probably projected them as possibly getting the NFC championship game at best.  Their offense came together perfectly as Matt Ryan broke into the elite tier of quarterbacks, winning league MVP along the way, running back Devonta Freeman rushed for over 1,000 yards, and Julio Jones cemented his status as one of the best wideouts in the league. Their offensive was the number one ranked scoring offense in the league and make up for any deficiencies the defense exhibited.  

Offseason Needs

• If the Falcons want to have a repeat performance of 2016 they will need to address the problems they had on defense.  Their biggest issue is in the secondary which was young this season and gave up a lot of yards.  They also need to add another piece for their pass rush which was very good this season but could use an edge guy opposite of Vic Beasley.  Having two guys like Beasley would make defending against it nearly impossible.  Both CBS Sports and NFL.com have Atlanta drafting defensive ends - either Missouri's Charles Harris or UCLA's Takkarist McKinley.

*All stats and information come from espn.com, nfl.com, pro-football-reference.com, rosterresource.com, spotrac.com, overthecap.com, foxsports.com, and cbssports.com

Pittsburgh Steelers Season Recap

AFC North	Finished 1st in Division Beat Miami in Wild Card Round Beat Kansas City in Divisional Round Lost to the Patriots in AFC Championship
Overall Record: 11-5 (5-1 in the division)	Draft Position: 30th
Head Coach: Mike Tomlin	GM: Kevin Colbert

Pro Bowlers

• RB Le'Veon Bell
• WR Antonio Brown
• G David DeCastro
• C Maurkice Pouncey
• QB Ben Roethlisberger
• ILB Ryan Shazier

2016 Rankings

	Yards/Game	Points/Game	Passing Yards/Game	Rushing Yards/Game
Offense	7th	T-10th	T-5th	14th	TDs – T-9th
Defense	12th	10th	16th	13th	Sacks – T-9th	INTs – T-15th

Top Passers

Name	Games Started	CMP. PCT.	Yards	TDs	INTs	Passer Rating	QBR
Ben Roethlisberger	14	64.4	3,819	29	13	95.4	66.6
Landry Jones	2	61.6	558	4	2	86.3	45.8

Top Rushers

Name	Rushing Yards	Y/A	TDs
Le’Veon Bell	1,268	4.0	7
DeAngelo Williams	343	3.5	4

Top Pass Catchers

Name	Receptions	Yards	Y/C	TDs
Antonio Brown	106	1,284	12.1	12
Le’Veon Bell	75	616	8.2	2

Top Defensive Players

• LB Lawrence Timmons - 114 total tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 2 INTs, 1 forced fumble
• LB Ryan Shazier - 87 total tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 3 INTs, 3 forced fumbles
• LB James Harrison - 53 total tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 5.0 sacks, 1 INT, 2 forced fumbles
• CB Artie Burns - 65 total tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 3 INTs

Impending Free Agents

• ILB Lawrence Timmons
• CB Justin Gilbert
• OLB Jarvis Jones
• RB DeAngelo Williams
• OLB James Harrison
• C Cody Wallace
• RB Le'Veon Bell
• TE David Johnson
• DT Ricardo Matthews
• ILB Steven Johnson
• WR Markus Wheaton
• SS Shamarko Thomas
• QB Landry Jones
• QB Bruce Gradkowski

What I Said About Them Before the Season

• I was really on the Steelers prior to the season and thought that they would go 13-3 and be competitive for the number one seed in the AFC.  The only thing that I thought could hold them back from reaching these goals were injuries since they have been a team that has dealt with them in recent seasons.  I strongly believed in the team's core pieces including Bell and Brown and thought that the moves they made last offseason to improve their defense would be successful.

Success/Failure

• Success - The Steelers did well during the regular season, overcoming suspensions to Bell and Martavius Bryant and an injury to Big Ben.  The problem for this franchise is that regular season success is only so meaningful and they need to prove it in the playoffs to have a meaningful year.  Sadly for them, they continue running into the Patriots in the playoffs and basically cannot beat Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, instead choosing to do the same thing every match up and failing each time.  Regardless of that, Bell and Brown had incredible seasons once again and have continued to prove that they are arguably the best in the league at their positions.  Their defense was pretty good too, but they are still slightly incompetent in the secondary to be able to compete with good passing teams that can rip apart zone defenses.

Offseason Needs

• The Steelers need, above all, to get Bell under contract for the long-term and he should be paid really well.  They also need their players to stay on the field since they have had problems with not being suspended.  At the draft this year, the Steelers need to address their linebacker situation where both Lawrence Timmons and James Harrison are close to the end of their careers and the Steelers need to find replacements.  I think they should also go after another player for their secondary and trying finding a true lockdown corner.  Additionally, finding a young running back to play behind Bell could be an important need for them since DeAngelo Williams is a free agent.  Lastly, I think that they need to try finding the future (or immediate) replacement for Roethlisberger as Landry Jones probably isn't good enough to be a long-term fit at the quarterback position.  Ben mentioned this offseason the possibility that he may retire which would be a huge blow to the franchise.  Regardless of this decision, he has taken a lot of hits over the course of his career and no one knows when his health may start seriously declining.

*All stats and information come from espn.com, nfl.com, pro-football-reference.com, rosterresource.com, spotrac.com, overthecap.com, foxsports.com, and cbssports.com

Seattle Seahawks Season Recap

NFC West	Finished 1st in Division Beat Detroit in Wild Card Round Lost to Atlanta in Divisional Round
Overall Record: 10-5-1 (3-2-1 in the division)	Draft Position: 26th
Head Coach: Pete Carroll	GM: John Schneider

Pro Bowlers

• DE Cliff Avril
• DE Michael Bennett
• TE Jimmy Graham
• CB Richard Sherman
• LB Bobby Wagner
• LB K.J. Wright
• WR Doug Baldwin

2016 Rankings

	Yards/Game	Points/Game	Passing Yards/Game	Rushing Yards/Game
Offense	12th	T-18th	10th	25th	TDs – T-18th
Defense	5th	3rd	8th	7th	Sacks – T- 3rd	INTs – T-21st

Top Passers

Name	Games Started	CMP. PCT.	Yards	TDs	INTs	Passer Rating	QBR
Russell Wilson	16	64.7	4,219	21	11	92.6	63.1

Top Rushers

Name	Rushing Yards	Y/A	TDs
Christine Michael	469	4.0	6
Thomas Rawls	349	3.2	3

Top Pass Catchers

Name	Receptions	Yards	Y/C	TDs
Doug Baldwin	94	1,128	12.0	7
Jimmy Graham	65	923	14.2	6

Top Defensive Players

• LB Bobby Wagner - 167 total tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 1 INT
• LB K.J. Wright - 126 total tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks, 1 forced fumble
• DE Cliff Avril - 39 total tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 11.5 sacks, 5 forced fumbles
• CB Richard Sherman - 58 total tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 4 INTs

Impending Free Agents

• K Steven Hauschka
• T Bradley Sowell
• OLB Michael Morgan
• DT Tony McDaniel
• FB Marcel Reese
• FB Will Tukuafu
• SS Jeron Johnson
• SS Kelcie McCray
• TE Brandon Williams
• CB Neiko Thorpe
• DE Damontre Moore
• DT John Jenkins
• TE Luke Wilson
• WR Devin Hester

What I Said About Them Before the Season

• Prior to the season, I thought that the Seahawks were going to just be the next edition of this era of the franchise.  Pete Carroll and John Schneider have continued to put together a quality roster capable of going deep in the playoffs.  I wrote that Thomas Rawls was going to be forced to carry the rock the most at running back and that Russell Wilson has taken the next step to be on the cusp of elite at quarterback.  I pointed out the potential loss the team was going to face by allowing tackle Russell Okung to leave via free agency and questioned their offensive line. I projected them to go 12-4 and make a run at the Super Bowl once again.

Success/Failure

• Success - Just because they didn't match the record I projected for them doesn't mean that they were a failure.  Russell Wilson had another excellent season, Doug Baldwin has emerged into a true number one target for Wilson, and the defense was elite once again.  They also played their best football down the stretch and beat Detroit on the road in the wild card round before losing to eventual NFC champions, the Atlanta Falcons in the divisional round.

Offseason Needs

• The Seahawks should be able to return most of their roster in 2017 and just focus on the few positions that need upgraded.  They need help on the offensive line after they allowed too much pressure to reach Wilson and wasn't effective in the run game.  Spending more than one pick on the line is a priority for the team this offseason.  CBS Sports has the Seahawks drafting Western Kentucky's Forrest Lamp at guard with their first round pick.  Fox Sports has them going after tackle Garett Bolles from Utah who faced some tenacious pass rushes in the PAC-12 this season.

*All stats and information come from espn.com, nfl.com, pro-football-reference.com, rosterresource.com, spotrac.com, overthecap.com, foxsports.com, and cbssports.com