Guest Post: 5 NFL Teams That Will Beat Their Projections

If there's anything as fun as watching football it's talking about it. With the NFL season quickly approaching, we have been talking about who will do well and who the possible surprises will come from. Here's a look at five NFL teams that we believe will do better than their pre-season projections. New York Jets This is a team in disarray and, whether or not they want to admit it, they have a quarterback controversy on their hands. Mark Sanchez is the starter, but head coach Rex Ryan didn't pick up Tim Tebow from the Denver Broncos because he's into endless distractions. Sanchez will start under center this season, but it's not going to take too long before Ryan gets itchy and starts Tebow. I like Mark Sanchez, and I think he's a serviceable quarterback, but there's something about Tebow as a starter that's compelling. Most projections have the Jets no better than 8-8 this season, and they're in a tough division to be sure, but I can see them getting to 10 wins with a shot at a Wildcard slot in the post-season. Carolina Panthers Say what you will about the Carolina Panthers, but pre-season projections of 7-9 are absurd. They had a top ten offense last season, led by rookie quarterback Cam Newton who showed as much upside as any quarterback in recent history. The Panthers also have an excellent defense which should keep opposing offenses off the field. The Panthers do have a tough schedule this year, and will need a little luck along the way, but a stretch of four games late in the season—at Kansas City, Atlanta, at San Diego, Oakland—should result in a nice string of wins to wrap the season. I can easily see the Panthers winning 10 games this season, but probably not enough to make the playoffs. Washington Redskins Most NFL pundits have the Redskins finishing dead last in the NFC East, and that could indeed happen, but projections at 6-10 don't seem to fit a team that has a good quarterback in Robert Griffin III, who should be much improved this season. They also significantly upgraded their receivers, which will give the scrambling Griffin plenty of great targets. Griffin's ability to scramble could be the key here as every other team in their division is loaded with outstanding pass rushers. If he can juke and move like we've seen in the past, the Redskins could finish 9-7 this season. Arizona Cardinals The Cardinals are the proverbial underachievers who, well, underachieve with great regularity. This is frustrating for their loyal fans in the Valley of the Sun, particularly when you consider the talent on both sides of the ball. Any team with Patrick Peterson, Larry Fitzgerald, Darnell Dockett, and Calais Campbell should be on the winning side of the ledger by the end of the season. Most have the Cardinals finishing no better than 7-9 and third in the weak NFC West. However, the weakness of the division—the 49ers aside—could play to their advantage. They won't finish below the St. Louis Rams, but could easily finish ahead of the Seattle Seahawks with a mere nine wins. With any luck at all the Cards could go 9-7 or even 10-6, particularly if they handle the easy games inside their own division. Chicago Bears In what is now the toughest division in the NFL, the Chicago Bears are projected to finish a game behind the Green Bay Packers with a 10-6 record (compared to the Packers at 11-5). We, however, think the Bears are considerably better than 10 wins and have them atop the NFC North by the time their season wraps at the Detroit Lions on December 30. 12 wins from this excellent team will not surprise, with a first-round playoff BYE and possibly home field throughout the playoffs if they can out-duel the San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants. Who are your NFL dark horses this season?