We’re merely 26 days from the start of the 2014 NFL season.
Every day, we have reviewed the top storylines from training camps across the NFL, providing who is impressing, who is disappointing, and any other significant notes from on and off the field.
Given the news coming out of camps, XN Sports will be naming one difference-maker for each team. Friday marks the AFC South and NFC South.
Houston Texans
We can assume that with JJ Watt, Jadeveon Clowney and a healthy Brian Cushing, Houston’s defense should be the better unit in 2013. But under the offensive guru Bill O’Brien, there are a lot of question marks.
First and foremost is the quarterback position. Ryan Fitzpatrick is a career journeyman. But the Texans’ offense is only as good as Arian Foster allows it to be.
Foster was injured most of 2013 and has been in and out of practices during training camp. If he can’t stay healthy and give the team a solid rushing attack, this offense will get nowhere fast.
Indianapolis Colts
Many are forecasting that this is the year Andrew Luck transforms from a good quarterback to a great one. He has a healthy Reggie Wayne, T.Y. Hilton and Hakeem Nicks. But can Luck take that step forward if he has no running game to lean on?
Donald Brown is now in San Diego, and nobody knows what to expect out of Ahmad Bradshaw at 28 years old and coming off a neck injury. It’s on the former No. 3 overall pick Trent Richardson to learn the playbook and return to the form he had as a rookie in Cleveland.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Let’s be honest … the Jaguars remain a team in rebuilding mode, so one player may not be a difference-maker. But as the team begins to see what it’s got going forward, it needs a franchise-altering kind of talent. That could be Jonathan Cyprien.
The safety could fit the most of what Kam Chancellor does for Seattle, where Gus Bradley hails from. The team has a bunch of veterans across the defensive line and young pass-rushing linebackers, but if the Jags want to emulate the Legion of Boom, it needs a strong back end of the D. That begins with its best player, Cyprien.
Tennessee Titans
This is a no-brainer. If Jake Locker cannot become a quality starting quarterback in 2014 then the Titans and coach Ken Whisenhunt need to turn their heads elsewhere in hopes for a franchise player.
Locker showed flashes of progress last year before getting hurt, again. He has a lot of weapons in Kendall Wright and Justin Hunter, and a young backfield comprised of Shonn Greene and Bishop Sankey. Locker needs to stay healthy and constantly pick the mind of Whis, who’s helped mold the likes of Ben Roethlisberger and Kurt Warner.
