Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

Each NFL season can only have one champion, and in 2009, the New Orleans Saints claimed that title. The good news, though, is that right now for the 2010 season, every team is sitting even. With that in mind, the Bruno Boys got to thinking about what each NFL team needs to do in order to hoist the Lombardi Trophy next year. Thus, was born the Bruno Boys latest series which will examine the key needs that need to be addressed by all 32 NFL teams. Bruno Boys Kyle will take a look at the AFC South in the seventh part of this 8-part series.

AFC SOUTH

The AFC South is dominated by the team in the division that plays farthest north – the Indianapolis Colts. Indy has won the division six times in the eight seasons since NFL realignment created this division in 2002. Still, Peyton Manning can’t throw with his laser rocket arm forever, so there’s some hope for the other squads, right? Well, maybe not this season, but you never know. After all, Houston is taking baby steps towards the playoffs, the Titans won 13 games in 2008, and Jacksonville was the fourth-place team despite a 7-9 record, so they’re certainly not a team that can be immediately discounted.

Indianapolis Colts

It’s entirely possible the Colts would have finished the regular season with an undefeated record had they kept all their starters in for the season’s final games. They didn’t, however, and wound up with a 14-2 record. They were the favorites to win the Super Bowl, but a mediocre performance across the board saw them come up short to the Saints. Still, they’ll be one of the favorites to get back to the Super Bowl in the 2010 season.

Team Strengths:

- Passing Attack (The Colts were second in the NFL in passing offense, and there isn’t a better quarterback on planet Earth than Peyton Manning)
- Organizational Consistency (Indianapolis, led by Bill Polian, is lauded for their ability to keep things smooth, even in transition. Nobody seemed to blink as Jim Caldwell took over for Tony Dungy)
- Depth (Whenever somebody goes down, there always seems to be a quality replacement ready to go and not skip a beat. See: Garcon, Pierre)

Team Needs:

1. Defensive Tackle - The Colts do not have a big defensive presence inside, and though they’ve won this way in the past, it could never hurt for them to remedy the situation. They finished 24th in the league in run defense last season, giving up 126.5 rush yards per game.

2. Kicking Game - Matt Stover, an accurate but weak leg likely won’t be back, and it says something when he replaces a seemingly healthy Adam Vinatieri in the playoffs. Vinatieri is 37 years-old, and it’s time for Indy to head in another direction.

3. Backup QB - This may seem silly to some, but Manning will be 34 years old next season, and longtime backup Jim Sorgi just signed to play behind Peyton’s brother, Eli, in New York. We all saw what happened with Curtis Painter last season, did we not?

Houston Texans

After two consecutive 8-8 seasons, the Texans broke the .500 mark in 2009 with a 9-7 record; it was the organization’s first time finishing above .500. There are a lot of quality individual pieces in Houston, but are there enough components to put together an excellent total team?

Team Strengths:

- Passing Game (Houston finished first in the NFL in passing offense behind quarterback Matt Schaub and arguably the best wide out in all the league in Andre Johnson)
- Mario Williams, DeMeco Ryans, and Brian Cushing (These three represent an excellent nucleus for a Texans’ defense that underperformed despite their personnel)
- Owen Daniels (Yes he got hurt but there’s no reason to think he won’t bounce back strong. He emerged as one of the best tight ends in the game before the injury)

Team Needs:

1. Secondary Help - The Texans were 18th in the NFL in pass defense last season (217.9 passing yards per game), and 20th in the league in interceptions (14). They just lost their best corner back in Dunta Robinson, and they are not deep at safety, so this is an issue that is critical for them to address in the draft, especially when you consider they play Peyton Manning and the Colts twice.

2. Running Back - Steve Slaton must have dipped his hands in butter before each game last season, because his fingers were slicker than a Slip ‘N Slide in a downpour. He played 11 games last season and fumbled seven times, losing five of them. He’s lost the confidence of the coaches, and he’ll have to earn it back; the rest of the team’s runners offer little real upside.

3. Pass Rushers - A team that spent six of its last seven first-round picks on defensive players, and, specifically, four of its last six first-round picks on defensive lineman has no business being 25th in the NFL in sacks (30), but that is the distinction the Texans hold. Obviously, many of those selections haven’t worked out, so Houston needs to improve here.