Post by spiderfan on Aug 29, 2023 12:05:11 GMT -8
The preseason games have been played, the players have been trained at training camp, the draft has had players drafted, and free agency has resulted in free agents being on teams. The greatest game in the world back and with that being the case it is time for me the official NFL analyst of this great forum to come out of his hibernation to give you my thoughts on the NFL season to come. Let us begin!
AFC West
Kansas City Chiefs
The biggest problem that the reigning champions have that could very well keep them from repeating as champions is DE Chris Jones contract holdout. As of writing this Chiefs management has not given him his new desired contract so the holdout is still ongoing. Jones has said that he is willing to take into the season, and if he does that and/or the Chiefs decide to trade Jones at the last minute, the Chiefs defense is going to collapse in quality and in a competitive AFC they will not repeat, despite their offense continuing to be one of the best in football. If Jones finally gets what he wants? The Chiefs are absolutely in the conversation to repeat.
Los Angeles Chargers
After having a historic choke in the playoffs, the Chargers decided to bring in Cowboys OC (and guy who should have been coaching Boise State for the last few years) Kellen Moore to bring his gimmicky pass heavy offense to the city of angels. Justin Herbert is a better QB than Dak is, so he'll probably be one of the top QBs in the league as far as passing yardage is concerned, which will lead to the LA sports media complex continuing to insist that he is in the conversation as best QB in the league. Thanks a lot Kellen!
Las Vegas Raiders
Josh McDaniels to some humiliating losses last year leading to unpopularity within the fanbase. The solution? Cut fan favorite mediocre QB Derek Carr and replace with the superior, yet frequently injured and sometimes up and down former Patriot QB Jimmy Garoppolo. When Jimmy G is healthy he has led multiple overachieving squads to deep playoff runs. I can see something similar happening with the Raiders. I can also he Jimmy G reinjuring his foot and the Raiders having a completely wasted 5-12 season. This is my hedge.
Denver Broncos
Boy howdy did I get the Broncos right last year or what? I thought Russell Wilson was washed up, but I had no idea he was THAT washed up. He'd be better off working as a studio talking head than as a QB right now... if not for the fact that the Broncos gave him an albatross contract that will hurt their franchise for YEARS AND gave up a load of draft capital to do so. Seeing this awful situation, Fox talking head and self exiled former Saints HC Sean Payton decided it was a perfect opportunity to take advantage of uberrich new ownership and come back to coaching. His tenure so far has been highlighted by his now infamous insistence that the Broncos' suckage last season had everything to do with previous HC Nathaniel Hackett, despite Hackett doing everything possible to set up Russell Wilson to succeed. Whether Sean Payton is playing some kind of 4D chess to avoid looking like an idiot for taking the Broncos job later or is just another bystander in the disaster of the Broncos organization I have no idea.
What I do predict is that the Broncos will have another bad year, Russell Wilson will end up getting paid a ridiculous amount of money to go away and never play football again, and the whole draft process will become a sports media complex lovefest about which QB Sean Payton will take in the draft.
AFC East
New York Jets
Aaron Rodgers has finally gotten out of Green Bay and brought some friends along in Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb, and former Packers OC Nathaniel Hackett. This adding to a team that nearly made the playoffs last year despite atrocious QB play and a star running back that was out for most of the year. I think Rodgers is the missing piece and I think barring injuries, the Jets are going to go to the Super Bowl.
Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins have a talented team and a good coach, the problem is that the QB they drafted to be the face of the team, Tua, has not turned out to be nearly as good as people, including myself, thought he was going to be. This will result in a 10-7ish team that will spend next offseason trying to get an upgrade so they finally get in the Super Bowl conversation.
Buffalo Bills
Stefon Diggs being a malcontent is going to completely derail the Bills season. Football history shows when you have a star that is a malcontent, especially one at the WR position, the team becomes a media circus and a mess. This is especially a problem for the Bills because they want to be in Super Bowl contention and everyone is instead going to talk about how they an underachieving mess. Bills HC Sean McDermott will probably pay the price for this, be fired, and then go coach somewhere else a day later.
New England Patriots
The bottom has yet to completely drop out for the Patriots and yet all anyone can talk about is whether Bill Belichick is going to be fired for leading a mediocre team to mediocrity. This probably wouldn't be a conversation if Brady and Gronk hadn't won a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers and/or the Patriots had won without Brady and Gronk. Because the Patriots have been at best above average and worst below average without Brady and Gronk, and because Brady and Gronk won a Super Bowl without the Patriot Way, Belichick has put himself on a hot seat that was unthinkable just a few years ago. In the end, I think Belichick gets pushed in retirement, although if he wants to continue coaching, the divorce could get ugly.
AFC South
Jacksonville Jaguars
After a quick turnaround last season that resulted in an unexpected playoff appearance and win, the Jaguars look to finally enter the "were one of the better teams in the AFC" conversation. With QB Trevor Lawrence eligible for a contract extension, we'll see if he can finally piece together a whole quality season or if like the other hyped up young QB in the AFC in Florida, he turns out to be a disappointment. I think the Jaguars have a similar record to last season and I think that is good enough to win them the AFC South.
Houston Texans
I said last year that the Texans shall rise again and after an incredibly promising draft, I think this will end up being the best Texans team in years. They finally have a real HC and not a placeholder in DeMeco Ryans who not only is coming off of a successful tenure as 49ers DC, but is also a former player for the Texans, giving him that extra air of popularity. Rookie QB CJ Stroud and Rookie DE Will Anderson Jr are the new faces of the franchise and are sure to make Texans football far more interesting to watch than it has been in a long time. For all the excitement and promise, I think the Texans are going to have their fare share of 21-3 ugly losses since they are a young team with growing pains. They'll end up being 7-10ish team that has a couple upset wins and a couple great performances by Stroud and Anderson that get people even more excited for what they can do in the future.
Tennessee Titans
After the disastrous effects of trading AJ Brown, the Titans decided to sign free agent WR DeAndre Hopkins. Not a bad idea as he has a history going all the way back to the Texans of making bad QBs look decent and good QBs of looking great. I see Hopkins having that effect on Ryan Tannehill and/or Will Levis and/or Malik Willis. Because the Titans have seemingly the worst strength and conditioning staff in the league, I see injuries piling up once again and them missing the playoffs.
Indianapolis Colts
The Colts are a poorly run franchise. No better is this shown by the ongoing (as of this writing) holdout by Colts RB Jonathan Taylor. If you are going to hire a guy like Shane Steichen has your HC, who just got done being the OC for the near Super Bowl champion Eagles, and draft a QB like Anthony Richardson who is stronger than a bear, faster than a buck, because the Maple Leafs suck, all in an attempt to recreate the success of the near Super Bowl champion Eagles, why would you tick off your star running back? Because incompetence that's why. Last place finish incoming!
AFC North
Baltimore Ravens
Lamar Jackson has a new contract, a new star WR to throw to in OBJ, and a new OC coming off multiple national championships as the OC of the Georgia Bulldogs Todd Monken. Barring injury, I think the Ravens will finally be back where they belong in "one of the better teams in the AFC" conversation.
Cincinnati Bengals
The uncertainty of just how hurt star QB Joe Burrow is will define the Bengals season. If he is fine after a couple weeks? The Bengals will continue to be in the Super Bowl conversation. If Burrow is out for a while or the injury nags causing him to miss a bunch of time throughout the season or not play to the level he has played for the last couple years, then the Bengals are going to in the "how low of a wildcard are we?" discussion.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers won a bunch of meaningless games down the stretch to pump up Mike Tomlin's win total and have 1% percent chance of making the playoffs during Week 18, but we shouldn't forget that they started out as one of the worst teams in the league to start last season. Until I see consistency from the Pickett era Steelers call me a skeptic.
Cleveland Browns
The Browns can take heed in the fact that because of Deshaun Watson, they'll always be a 6-11ish team that people talk about for all the wrong reasons, but are not near the historic lows of last decade. Maybe with all the conference realignment in college football, maybe Dabo Swinney will take a shot at coaching in the NFL. Probably not, but that is the conversation that will be happening in December for the Browns.
NFC East
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles were thisclose to winning a Super Bowl championship last year and even though they lost some guys to free agency they replaced them with younger cheaper guys who are likely to be instant contributors like Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith. The only real concern I have with the Eagles is having lost both coordinators to head coaching jobs. Will the new guys be able to replicate the near championship level success? I don't know. What I do know is that the Eagles are still in my opinion the class of the NFC East.
New York Football Giants
I shouldn't fall for the trap. But I wrote a whole long thing last year around midseason where I thought I was being too much of a hater and so because of the Giants' playoff success, I have decided to not be a hater and go with the idea that the Giants will have similar results this year.
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys are a team that should be in flux, but aren't because the Jones' don't like the idea of being in flux. So what the Cowboys are left with is a situation where Dak Prescott who has not lived up to a contract that he should have never gotten in the first place is still the QB and will continue to be so, even though Trey Lance will probably deserve a shot at some point this season to play. Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy is back to calling plays which didn't end well the last time he tried it and has caused many to think he is on the hot seat, I personally don't think so. The Cowboys going 8-9 SHOULD result in a new QB and a new HC, but won't because that is not how the Cowboys do things. Micah Parsons and Zack Martin will keep racking up Pro Bowls, so there's that I guess.
Washington Commanders
The fanbase is finally free of now former owner Dan Snyder who they have wanted to sell the team for years. While this is great news for them, this is not good news for Ron Rivera who was given complete control of the football operation by Dan Snyder. Considering he cost his team a playoff appearance last year, he has the hottest of seats, and barring a playoff run, he'll get fired, possibly midseason. They have some talent that will attract a good coaching candidate next year though.
NFC West
Seattle Seahawks
This could easily prove to be as wrong as my last place pick for the Seahawks was last year. For as good as the Seahawks played in the first half of last year, their back half of the season was not good. With the return of Bobby Wagner and Jamal Adams on defense, and with the addition of Jaxon Smith-Njigba on offense, even if Geno Smith turns out to be the benchwarmer he was for 10 years, Drew Lock should be able to lead them to the playoffs at worst. If Geno Smith manages to play better than he did last season, the Seahawks will be in the conversation for a top seed in the NFC.
Los Angeles Rams
The Rams collapsed into a bad team last year without their stars of Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, and Aaron Donald. With those guys back? I think the Rams are going to surprise a lot of people.
San Francisco 49ers
Despite his up and down quality of play, Kyle Shanahan's regular season record without Jimmy Garoppolo is 14-29 and 5 of those wins came because of Brock Purdy last year. For as cute as it was to see a guy who was Mr. Irrelevant play like above XFL caliber, as someone who got the chance to see Purdy play a number of times in college, there was a reason he was Mr. Irrelevant. I don't think his quality play is sustainable, and I think the 49ers are going to regret having traded Trey Lance. Even if Purdy plays at the same level, the 49ers have a horrendous strength and conditioning staff, leading to a bunch of injuries, so in the event that Purdy gets hurt they are stuck with Sam Darnold, someone who should be preparing for the 2024 XFL or USFL season right now.
Arizona Cardinals
Unlike the last time the Cardinals completely sucked where they weren't trying to tank, this time the tank is on! Considering the Super Bowl hopes the Cardinals had just a season and a half ago, it a shame to see them right back where they started. Oh well, at least Cardinals fans can enjoy the North Carolina Tar Heels winning, after all, I hear that Drake Maye kid is pretty good.
NFC North
Green Bay Packers
Jordan Love looked really good in the limited relief he did for Aaron Rodgers last year. While I think Rodgers is going to do great things for the Jets, I think the Packers will be motivated to prove they can win without him, and with the NFC North being a weak division in my opinion, I think the Packers are going to come out of nowhere and win the division.
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings had an insane amount of close games last year, that easily could resulted in them being under .500. Having said that, I still think they are the second best team in the division.
Chicago Bears
The Bears had a rough season last year, but I think they'll improve in their second year under HC Matt Eberflus.
Detroit Lions
Having written about the Curse of Bobby Layne multiple times in my years doing this column, I can't buy into the Lions hype. For the sake of Lions fans I hope I'm wrong, but the curse is undefeated.
NFC South
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Counting on Baker Mayfield to lead a NFC South team to success two years in a row probably isn't a good idea on my part, but the Buccaneers are more talented than the Panthers were last year, and they are the reigning NFC South champions. When push comes to shove, I don't them being surpassed.
New Orleans Saints
Dennis Allen gets to reunite with Derek Carr who despite being overrated and overpaid for a good chunk of his Raiders tenure is still better than anyone who has taken the field for the Saints at QB since Drew Brees. With Alvin Kamara doing his thing and Dennis Allen continuing to be a solid defensive mind, the Saints making the playoffs is very much on the table.
Carolina Panthers
For the last few years the Panthers have been the "oh this team actually be good" pick of a lot of people in the national sports media. I made it last year. I won't do it again. The Panthers haven't been good since the early days of Kyle Allen. Sure they have Bryce Young who if nothing else will give Panthers fans a reason to care about the Panthers and sure they are in a bad division that they almost won last year, but I'll need to see it to believe it.
Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons should have gone all in and traded for Lamar Jackson when they had the chance. They didn't and so despite having Bijan Robinson who probably win OROY, they will continue to be in the bottom of the NFC South.
With that said, that is all for this year's NFL season preview. As always I hope ya enjoyed and I hope to see ya Week 1! And to be sure to remember, that football is the greatest game in the world. This is spiderfan out.
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