Five teams that could get over playoff hump

With QB Drew Brees still in his prime, the New Orleans offense should be fit as a fiddle. The key here may be the continued emergence of a young running back (but do I mean Reggie Bush or Pierre Thomas?) and the return of Deuce McAllister.

The addition of Jeremy Shockey would have been nice, but it's been demonstrated that great success can be achieved without him.

DeSean Jackson might give the Eagles an explosive option (and should at least be a force in the return game.) (Otto Greule Jr. / Getty Images)

I strongly considered going with the Washington Redskins here, but decided that if the Redskins aren't convinced regarding Jason Campbell's current level of performance, then my skepticism should prevail.

So, let's assume Donovan McNabb won't suffer a season-ending back injury while looking over his shoulder at Kevin Kolb and Brian Westbrook manages to avoid space-alien abduction. If the latter occurs, the addition of Lorenzo Booker might ease the doom until Westbrook is returned to our planet.

But the big reason for optimism (delivered with a side order of skepticism) is rookie receiver DeSean Jackson, who was the nation's biggest tease while at Cal.

If Jackson can catch the ball -- and not be forced to play against USC -- his big-play potential will work wonders in Philly. We're pretty sure he can catch kickoffs and punts; at worst, he should be quite the threat in those areas.

The defensive additions include big-ticket item Asante Samuel lining up at corner, with rookie Trevor Laws capable of creating traffic jams from his defensive tackle spot. You may remember Laws as one of the few Notre Dame players who refused to be grotesquely overmatched last season.

This pick, of course, is making the huge assumption that QB Jake Delhomme will go from bad elbow to beyond competent. I also nearly talked myself off the Panthers while remaining unconvinced that the return of Muhsin Muhammad will make things easier for superstar receiver Steve Smith.

But, as a card-carrying Pac-10 guy, I think a lot of rookie runner Jonathan Stewart, who -- teaming up with DeAngelo Williams -- should give John Fox a nice running game to build around.

I'm also a fan of adding rookie linebacker Dan Connor to a defense that really needs Julius Peppers to impersonate Julius Peppers this year.

AFC

Most of my faith is lobbed at QB Jay Cutler, whose history of playing for Vanderbilt should prepare him for life with diabetes. Cutler's protection now includes rookie tackle Ryan Clady, while Arizona State draftee Ryan Torain seems like the perfect candidate for mind-blowing success in Mike Shanahan's running game.

I'm also riding the Broncos due to karma and faith in a system; they can't stink yet again, can they?

Yeah, the blame for most of this risky optimism rests on the shoulders of QB Carson Palmer, but I'm also supportive of adding LB Keith Rivers and DT Pat Sims to the Cincinnati defense.

It also should be noted that if Johnson is moved, the Bengals may have drafted one or two kids capable of keeping T.J. Houshmandzadeh from drawing triple coverage.