In 5 Years..

[eandb17]

I was just sitting around and thinking to myself about how the Ravens will be great in the future. Which got me thinking what other teams will be good in the year 2015 or something like that. Post your top 5 teams and vote in the poll on some of the up and coming teams.

[ed.s52]

There were only 3 teams in the mix for me: the Ravens, the Lions, and the Packers. We all have young talented quaterbacks not in their prime and pretty good FO's.

I like the Lions just because I think they are the team that won't stop getting better and by 2015 they should be playoff contenders at least if not a solid 11-5 or 10-6 team.

The Packers are just the Packers. Aaron Rodgers is a beast as is Greg Jennings and Ryan Grant should progress. They are building their O-line which should be mostly youthful by 2015 and their D is still ferocious as long as they can replace Charles Woodson.

And us.... We are young all around. The only old players we really need to replace are R.Lewis, Trevor Pryce, maybe Ed Reed, and maybe Matt Birk. Also Derrick Mason, but since he is only our #2 receiver he isn't as important as most of those other guys. We are young all around, so in 2015 I'm predicting the Ravens as a major football powerhouse.

Also, on a side note, I would have put the 49'ers, Dolphins, and the Titans in the mix too.

[T-ray]

I think a lot of the teams up top will either be in rebuilding mode or getting there if they don't act soon enough in replacing their stars. The Patriots have tons of old players such as Tom Brady, their O-Line, Randy Moss, Wes Welker, etc. The Colts will not be the same without Peyton Manning, as we've already seen them get crushed without him in there to play. The teams that are rebuilding right now are the teams of the future. Its like a natural progression; a team is great for 10-15 years, then they just drop off, then they become good once again, such as the 49ers and Broncos.

[theFRANCHISE]

Though the Ravens will be good, when you're referring to the absolute best, I'm leaning towards the Houston Texans.

Here's why:

1) The Foundation: They have a solid young group on offense with a maturing signal-caller in Matt Schaub; additionally, Andre Johnson will be around 33 years old but could still be effective.
2) The Division: It's unlikely that the Jaguars will significantly improve; the Colts will gradually decline as their stars age; and the Titans will likely replace Jeff Fisher if he doesn't win a championship in that span.
3) Parity: Though this ties into the divisional argument, you also have to look at how the Texans have gradually improved over the past couple of seasons -- they can't be bottom-feeders forever with how well they've been playing lately.

The only thing that is holding them back is their GM; however, there is a good chance that he could get the boot if the team posts another winning season but their recent draft picks don't pan out.

The biggest reason why I'm not going with Baltimore as the absolute best team in 5 years is because the Steelers are always contenders and there's no guarantee that the defense will continue its dominance once Ray Lewis and Ed Reed retire.

[T-ray]

The fact that Ed Reed and Ray Lewis will be retiring is what scares the heck out of me. They have been the two cornerstones of our D forever it seems like. At least we have Zibby and a slew of MLB's to replace the two, although I doubt they will be quite the same as Lewis and Reed.

[T-ray]

My top three teams of the future:
1) Texans- Will be great if they can get better in the F.O. Have all the pieces neccessary to winning a Championship, as long as they find a stable runningback(s)

2) Ravens- Great team, only problem is replacing Reed/Lewis, which won't happen, but we can mitigate the losses as much as we can with our young backups

3) 49ers- Good right now, and will only get better as the years go by. Getting another reciever to complement Crabtree and also having Alex Smith or another Qb step it up will be the two key tasks here

[AwakenTheDemon]

I have to agree with Franny. The Texans improve nearly every year, and last year they can finish the season with a winning record. If Ben Tate pans out (or Slaton turns it around), then the Texans could have a complete offense. Regardless, Schaub, Johnson, and Daniels is a passing game to be feared. If they keep patching up their already decent defense, they could turn into a pretty good all around team. Demeco Ryans is an underrated linebacker, Mario Williams is a top notch defensive end, and Pollard is a decent strong safety. Their major holes are outside linebacker outside of Cushing, Free Safety, and Cornerback.

[BloodRaven]

I chose the Chargers, they have a top 3 QB who is 27 and seem to draft well.

[Wacko4Zacko]

I chose Packers for 1st one and Titans, for the 2nd one.

[Dubs]

Ravens then the 49ers, they have all the peices except the QB, it may be the hardest one but I think they are too talented else where, OL young and just got two stud rookies, great recieving weapons in Crabtree, Davis and Morgan all young. Frank Gore may be getting up there in age but RB is an "easy" find. Defensively LBers are solid and only getting better with guys like Lawson finally plying to potential, DL reminds me of Ravens of past years who consistantly overachieve, the secondary could use some help but Taylor Mays should be used correctly there, plus they got Singletary, nuff said

[Rav'n Maniac]

I had to pick the Ravens just because I'm partial. I feel we are on the verge of building a dynasty here! There always seems to be someone sitting in the wings that is hungry to step up when our older players reach retirement. Ed and Ray are too great to ever be truly replaced and will be missed but, someone will step up.

As my second team, I have to go with Franny. I feel the Texans are a team that will dominate in the future and will have to be dealt with. I also see the Pack becoming the Chargers of their division.

I also feel that the NFL will perform another realignment of divisions at some point during this period. If they want to keep the bottom feeders in their television markets, they will make the adjustments needed to make sure these teams keep their fan base by making them more competitive.

[Ravens Lover]

I feel like the Texans after last year are soon to be really good contenders

[George70]

I chose the Ravens firstly, because we are united by the colors of royalty - the Ravens colors, and the team.

My second chioce is the Lions, because now that there is some semblance of competence in the front office and coaching staff, this team is looking to make some good moves, and this has to be for the better in the Motor City.

Finally, I have to agree with Franchise here in the TExans being a team to watch in the coming five seasons, mostly because this team is building in the right manner, through the draft, and the Texans may just make the playoffs soon - real soon.

[darklight1216]

There aren't enough teams on there. Give the Browns a chance!