With the beginning of training camps for all 30 of pro football’s squads in full throttle and the beginning of the exhibition schedule closing in it’s time to predict a few potential surprises for the upcoming year. Each season a couple of squads come forth from the rest to surpass the predictions of the experts. Last year the prime illustrations were the Arizona Cardinals and the Atlanta Falcons. Who is going to frame themselves as the sleeper teams of 2009? The views will vary as common but the one that matters in this article is the author’s so here we go.

1. Buffalo Bills: The Bills have all the makings of an exciting offense. Not only because of the highly publicized add-on of Terrell Owens but the total of each of the pieces at the skilled positions have the capableness of putting up prolific stats. Lee Evans has been one of the most underrated pass catchers in the NFL over the last few years. His stats haven’t been amongst the best in the NFL only because the Bills have missed another decent wide receiver than can extend the field. With the gain of Owens he will not command as many double teams and look for him to come forth with a Pro Bowl type year. The Bills other pass catcher Josh Reed can now move back to his comfort zone of being the slot receiver. Also Roscoe Parrish and Steve Johnson will make this unit one of the deepest in the AFC. The Bills are three deep at the running back position with Marshawn Lynch, Fred Jackson, and Dominic Rhodes. Trent Edwards moves into his second full year as a starting quarterback and is ripe for a strong season. The big question mark will be the revamped guys in the trenches which has 2 rookies expected to be starting. The defense will not be amazing but has all the makings of a hardy unit. The Bills special teams may be the greatest in the league.

2. San Francisco 49′ers: Mike Singletary goes into his first full season as the head man and will see if he can build upon the momentum that his team finished the 2008 season with. They say that good teams take on the personality of their head coach and this inexperienced team showed all the marks of acting so once Singletary accepted the job. The strength of the team will be their defense and the running game. When he isn’t injured, Frank Gore has proven to be one of the best running backs in the NFL. Singletary likes to play pound it down your throat football on offense and they will rely heavily on Gore who figures to get 20 to 25 carries per contest. The defense has the capability of being one of the decent stop units in the NFL this year. The huge question mark will be under center where the incumbent Shaun Smith will seek to hold off former No. 1 overall pick Alex Smith. First round draft choice Michael Crabtree is threatening to holdout for the season which will do neither the 49ers or Crabtree any benefit. His ratifying a contract will be the key to the offensive unit exhibiting a noticed improvement over their 2008 numbers.

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