NFL Predictions and Outlook
After a bit of a hiatus and taking a slight break from the NBA, I want to give my quick thoughts on the upcoming NFL Season.
The NFL Season is upon us. Many of us had our Fantasy Football drafts, many are participating in survivor and league pick-em leagues. And await to see what this league brings us. Now we decide on how each time will do. And pray that they can live up to their potential.
AFC:
AFC South:
Tennessee Titans:
The Titans do have an interesting year upheld. While there was a bit of a slight let down getting eliminated in the wild card last year, they still have plenty of optimism heading into the season. King Henry is still the main man, they added Julio Jones to give them a passing attack to watch out for, and their offense is still as potent. The biggest question is their defense. Their pass rush was severely underwhelming and it showed in multiple games. Their secondary reeks of patchwork and there are some questions among their DL. Tennessee can easily win the division again, but they will need to improve defensively, and hope the young kids in the secondary can shine quickly.
Indianpolis Colts:
The Colts search far and wide to find their top quarterback and may have possibly found it in Carson Wentz. The package they sent to Philly is a nice bargain and reuniting him with the OC of his MVP year is promising. Now if he can stay healthy is the other question. As well as the rest of the team. The Colts do have a bit of bad luck with injuries this year, Quentin Nelson, TY Hilton, Sam Tevi, all missing several weeks or even the entire season. This team can be a legitimate threat if they can stay healthy, and that will be the key. It is a solid roster all-around, but it takes a lot of luck to win.
Houston Texans:
I don’t think there has been a team that has had a worse offseason than the Houston Texans. With DeShaun Watson not only demanding to leave the embarrassment of a franchise, not only with several problems being leaked of the team being a cancer to be on, not only having a GM/President being a Belicheck crony, but now your top tier player demanding a trade has lost a lot of value due to sexual harassment allegations from a reported twenty-two women. They also lost one of their best defensive players they have had in ever because even he is done with the franchise. This team is in a massive rebuild and they will be a painful team to witness. Hopefully the allegations come up in Watson’s favor. He needs to leave the team and the team could use those assets they are demanding. Three firsts and two seconds… Should’ve traded him back in March.
Jacksonville Jaguars:
Now we have the second team rebuilding. Jacksonville may have found their quarterback of the future in Trevor Lawrence, but now it is time to address the rest of the team. The Jaguars have some promise in the skill position slot offensively with DJ Chark, Travis Etienne (who is out for the year with a Lisfranc injury), James Robinson, Laviska Shenault, a pretty good set to build around Lawrence. The OL though needs some studs or else he will get killed like Joe Burrow. And that defense needs help as well. Outside of Myles Jack, this team lacks any standout defensive talent. It is also bad to be listening to trade offers for your ninth overall pick from last year. I doubt you will get a Miami haul to spur your development.
AFC East:
Buffalo Bills:
The Bills lived up to their potential and got to the AFC Championship and also addressed their key weakness from last year and upgraded their pass rush. Josh Allen played at an MVP level and it showed. Now he has to replicate it. If he can continue to play at that level, they will have the Chiefs shaking. The defense is still rather stout but that pass rush has to affect the quarterback. They don’t necessarily have to get a ton of sacks, but they do need to get them off their spot and rattle them. If they can sit too comfortably, then it’ll be a repeat from the AFC Championship. Also the run attack must show up, either Zach Moss or Devin Singletary needs to step up and ease the pressure off of Josh Allen.
New England Patriots:
The Patriots had a rude awakening in 2020 and everyone was happy. The Patriots went all out acquiring skill position players: Hunter Henry, Jonnu Smith, Nelson Algohor, Kendrick Bourne, they also drafted their possible future in Mac Jones and gave him the keys by releasing Cam Newton. Defensively they got some good pieces and some returning ones as well: Matt Judon, Jalen Mills, Kyle Van Noy, Donta’ Hightower, Adrian Phillips… this feels like the standard Patriots roster, but QB and offensive potency will be key. If Mac Jones replicates his Alabama season, then they’ll be back at the top in no time, if not, then we will all continue to laugh and celebrate.
Miami Dolphins:
Miami had perhaps the most surprising year out of any teams last year. They had a massive boost in their development and were so ever close to making it into the playoffs. The team has a good/great core of players and expectations of them making the playoffs will be thrust onto them. The question is on Tua. He had a rather down year playing too conservative and passive at times and many want him to play more aggressive. Giving him the bust label is jumping the gun considering many quarterbacks don’t play to their full potential until their third year, so give him a bit. He does hold their present and future, but let him develop first.
New York Jets:
Every time the Jets feel like they take one step forward, they fall like 5 steps down. Brought in a rising pass rusher? Out for the year due to injury. Drafted a quarterback? OL play takes a hit. Defense looks okay? INJURIES! I can see the team playing hard and competing to the bitter end purely from a coaching standpoint, but this team is just not going to accomplish much. Zach Wilson better be prepared to be thrown into the pits of hell.
AFC North:
Cleveland Browns:
The Browns playing to their potential… that was surprising. They made the playoffs and are considering by a few to be a sleeper Super Bowl contender. Yeah. Odd times. They went all out and upgraded their secondary and added some pass rush help. The Browns now have serious expectations and will be asked to perform accordingly. They do have a winning formula offensively in just pound the football with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, then have Baker throw it like 25 times. Defense will need to however perform better than they have. The secondary with John Johnson and Troy Hill should be something.
Baltimore Ravens:
The Ravens were a slight let down and a lot is due to Lamar taking a slight step back in his passing ability. He wasn’t as precise or as lethal in the passing game as he was in 2019. The Ravens did add two new weapons for him to work with but now it rests upon him to keep improving his passing mechanics. Now if the running backs can just stop getting hurt… Defensively should be same old story. While they did lose Judon, they still have a good pass rush and a great secondary. The division is theirs to lose.
Pittsburgh Steelers:
They brought back Big Ben for one last possible ride… and they didn’t even bother upgrading the OL much. Steelers overhauled their OL a bit, their center retired, let their left tackle walk, and their longtime guard got released. They added Najae Harris to ease the pressure off of Ben, but Ben is the problem. His arm is shot, and he looks more miserable than Drew Brees and Philip Rivers trying to throw that football. Look out for the arm punts. Defensively is still pretty stout. Though they need to pay TJ Watt now.
Cincinnati Bengals:
They killed Joe Burrow like everyone predicted they would. Their OL was utter garbage and Burrow died because of it. They didn't even draft a perennial LT and instead drafted a receiver that is dropping passes left and right. They did address it later by getting rid of massive liabilities but it might be too late. That OL has to protect Burrow while creating holes for Mixon to run through. Yeah, go back and look at that 2020 offense, and see how many holes Mixon didn’t have set up for him. Defensively is more patchwork. Just guys sprinkled and overpaid players like Trey Hendrickson. Screw you Cincinnati.
AFC West:
Kansas City Chiefs:
The Chiefs made it back to the Super Bowl and were obliterated by the Buccaneers pass rush. You can still see Mahomes running for his life while making absurd throws to his wideouts. So the Chiefs front staff went all out in getting a new line for him. Adding Orlando Brown Jr., Joe Thuney, Creed Humphrey, Kyle Long, and Lucas Nieng. All hoping to protect Mahomes better than last years line. Defensively is still solid and as long as Tyrann Matheiu can lead the squad, it will be another Super Bowl contender.
Los Angeles Chargers:
The Chargers still remain NFL’s most snake bitten team over the last decade. But right now… everything is a little quiet. And they could use that. OROY Justin Herbert looks to add on to his stellar rookie year, and he has a new LT to protect him in Rashawn Slater. Derwin James also looks to play this year and hopefully he can stay healthy. He is a key cog and they will need him. Should both players be healthy and play to their talent, the Chargers could be set to make a nice post season run.
Denver Broncos:
The Broncos still haven’t found their quarterback, and couldn’t pry Aaron Rodgers away from the Packers. They found a nice consolation in Teddy Bridgewater who beat out Drew Lock for the starting job. Bridgewater should lead this Broncos offense very efficiently. Defensively, you see a youth resurgence going on. Adding Kyle Fuller, Patrick Surtain II, Baron Browning, and Jamar Johnson. The defense will likely be looking to be back in top form. Just one thing. Please start the belly man Quinn Meinerz start.
Las Vegas Raiders:
The Raiders overhauled their OL only bringing back LT Kolton Miller after their OL was ranked in the top half of the league last year. Guess the financial situations in Raider land went way south, pandemic probably played a heavy part in that. The Raiders are stuck in limbo. They aren’t good enough to be playoff threats yet they aren’t terrible enough to get top picks. Guess the combo of Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden is backfiring tremendously. Who knew? This roster of mediocrity is going to a long uphill climb and I pity the soul of whoever has to deal with this mess. Assuming Mark Davis doesn’t file Chapter 11.
NFC:
NFC South:
New Orleans Saints:
No more Drew Brees, managed to shuffle around 100million in cap space, lost some good talent, but are still in playoff hunt contention. While the window might be closed, the team still has plenty of talent, especially in that defense. However, their season will rest in the shoulders of two things: Jameis Winston and the defense. The defense can not start off with how they started off last season: allowing big plays, sloppy communication, and just absolute disorganization. While with Winston, he must cut down on the turnovers. It is the reason why the Bucs let him walk, and no matter how much he has talked on how he has improved, he has to show it on the field.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
The Bucs not only won a title thanks to Tom Brady, but they were able to keep all their starters from last season. Pays to win. The Buccaneers are favored not only to win the division, but also win the Super Bowl again. Retaining their key starters and being young in certain areas help immensely. However, luck plays a big part in everything. Just stay healthy and play certain opponents at the right times. The road is there, lets see how many bumps.
Atlanta Falcons:
Falcons are somewhat back in limbo. New coach and GM, but neither took a step to their future. They neglected to take a new QB and went for a perennial TE at pick four, and yet traded Julio away. Their defense still feels about the same: Over-reliant on Deion Jones. Their record should improve, but getting the quarterback of the future will likely take a massive hit because of it. Welcome to mediocrity Atlanta. We’ve missed you.
Carolina Panthers:
Saints aren’t the only team hinging their season on a former first round quarterback trying to salvage their career. Panthers dumped Bridgewater and traded for Sam Darnold who’s trying to get rid of the stink of Adam Gase. Results aren’t promising initially. Panthers have a rather good roster built with CMC, DJ Moore, Robby Anderson, Derrick Brown, Jeremy Chinn, Donte Jackson, Jaycee Horn and Brian Burns. They are legitimate quarterback away, and Sam Darnold holds all the cards. Wonder if he’s still seeing ghosts.
NFC East:
Washington [Name Redacted]
While the franchise is still looking for a team name, they are still trying to win least terrible team in division again. The team is still lacking a quarterback as well. A competition between Fitz(magic/tragic/ception) and Taylor Heineken was about as exciting as it sounded. But I do give credit to Washington for assembling a dangerous defense that will terrorize these NFC East offenses. Could give them an edge over these clubs. Their offense isn’t too shabby with Terry McLaurin , Curtis Samuel, and Antonio Gibson… now if the QB can perform.
Dallas Cowboys:
Dallas had a rather weird year. First Dak was playing at a MVP level, then his leg got snapped in half. Their defense was gashed repeatedly, especially in the passing attack. So they went out to improve by… taking two linebackers. Now benefit of the doubt here is that the two corners they wanted were both taken in front of them at 8 and 9 respectfully, so that happened. They took Micah Parsons who should make the defense a legitimate nightmare for opponents, but they also took Jabril Cox in the fourth and added Keanu Neal when they had Leighten Vander Esch and Jaylon Smith (who they paid $90 million over a six year extension). They do have a new DC in 28-3 man Dan Quinn, but that secondary is highly suspect. Also hopefully Dak doesn't fall apart like Carson Wentz after getting that massive contract. OL and WR still great.
New York Giants:
It is do or die time for the G-Men, especially for quarterback Daniel Jones. They gave him everything to succeed with adding Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney. They assembled an underrated defense to give him chances to seal the game… yet there are rumblings of the offensive line playing like ass and Joe Judge being a little too dictator-like and being really douche-y (see Kelvin Benjamin fiasco). Judge really has to start winning otherwise mutiny will arise. He should also try to imitate Bryan Flores and not Matt Patrica. For his sake. And Daniel Jones as well.
Philadelphia Eagles:
Hard to believe that four years ago, this team were Super Bowl Champions. They had a nice recipe to be regular contenders and it went away like that *snaps fingers*. Doug Pederson is gone. Carson Wentz is gone. Majority of players like Alshon Jeffery, Jay Ajayi, Malcolm Jenkins, Jalen Mills, Ronald Darby, and more are gone. The Eagles are now just an absolute shell. They have a long rebuild and it starts at QB. They have the ever solid Jalen Hurts for the season so far, but let’s see how the ownership like him considering they feel like meddling again. Feels like when Andy Reid was fired and they skipped that 2013 year and gone straight for 2015.
NFC North:
Green Bay Packers:
The Packers had the worst offseason in the NFC bar none. Aaron Rodgers decided to play poker with the Packers brass by threatening to retire. While there was speculation that it was over the GM, drafting Jordan Love, not addressing receiver in the first round, it was more clear that he just wanted out. He wanted to be on another team and was utterly denied this year. But Rodgers and the brass worked it out, and have it set where this year will be his last in Green Bay. For the time being, they will try to squeeze out another ring before he leaves. They did get a corner in the draft, who is getting torched but we’ll see if that’s just preseason shenanigans. Packers know this is do or die. Let’s see if they can learn from their mistakes (this time).
Chicago Bears:
GM Ryan Pace and HC Matt Nagy were given one more year for no reason, and now are trying to keep their undeserved jobs. They ditched Mitch Trubisky and went for another QB prospect in Justin Fields, but he will have to get passed Andy Dalton. Now granted, Fields should take his time because this isn’t a Super Bowl team. The Bears are getting older on defense and any window that was there in 2018 ain’t there no more. Their OL needs improvement and they will need to get a youth movement in that defense in key areas. Corner also has to improve, sad they cut Kyle Fuller.
Minnesota Vikings:
Minnesota’s massive youth movement on defense showed its face when they were routine exposed week to week. Hurts more when last year’s first round pick was released after some off-field incidents. The Vikings are transitioning from vets that helped in 2017 to young’uns. No camp or preseason hurt them the most last season, and now they got that much needed play time. Question is will the gears turn and start getting results. The Vikings still have a solid quarterback in Kirk Cousins and the elite Dalvin Cook with Justin Jefferson and Adam Thelien. The defense needs to grow up and do it now. Otherwise it’ll be perhaps the last season with Mike Zimmer as head coach.
Detroit Lions:
The Lions have granted Matt Stafford his wish and traded him to a winning team. In return, they received Jared Goff and two first round picks. The team is clearly going through a rebuild and an absolute cleansing from the Patricia error, and they got some assets that they can either use to get some intriguing prospects or trade bait to get some key veterans. They have some workaround, and it’ll be fine with some patience and a clear goal in mind. For now, they have some pieces they’ll use to fill spots for now. Goff should fill in nicely for the time being, and Penei Sewell should be a great cornerstone as a standout tackle. Defense is where they’ll need some key pieces to develop. Looking directly at Jeff Okudah.
NFC West:
Seattle Seahawks:
After sputtering to the finish line to top off a stellar start to the season, Russell Wilson was fed up. He had demanded the team to not only get a new OC but get some actual help to the offensive line. He was tired of running for his life, and was prepared to demand to be traded. Seattle responded by getting Gabe Jackson from the Raiders and added several OL like Brandon Shell and Stone Forsythe. Seattle knows to keep Russell happy. And the key to keep Russell happy is to listen to him. They did get him a new OC and improved the offensive line play. Now they need to get over the hump.
San Fransisco 49ers:
The 49ers are a team that if they can stay healthy, they are near unbeatable. But they are the LA Chargers of the NFC. Snakebitten to hell. The Niners took their guy of the future in Trey Lance after trading up for him. Spelling the end for the Jimmy Garoppolo in San Fran. The team is well put together, but the injury curse needs to be exorcised. Should they suffer the same extent of injuries that killed them in 2020, it’ll be more of the same. Question is that if Garoppolo gets hurt again, would Trey Lance start or would they bring in another quarterback. But regardless, health is key. And this team needs it more than any other team.
Los Angeles Rams:
The Rams decided to upgrade their quarterback and went all out for Matt Stafford, sacrificing first round picks as if McVay is an NBA GM. The Rams are continuing their “all or nothing” game-plan, and now quarterback was their goal. Stafford is more of a gunslinger than Goff so McVay’s play-calling could be more aggressive as a result. Though losing Troy Hill and John Johnson will hurt their defense a bit. Then there’s losing Cam Akers to a season ending injury. The Rams might be a team that will make the playoffs repeatedly, but I don’t think Stafford will take them over the top. But anything is possible.
Arizona Cardinals:
This really is a team that is just cursed on being in a stacked division. The Cardinals would be considered divisional contenders, but here, just fourth place. Kliff Kingsbery has to start winning. They have the QB, WRs, LBs, and overall talent to compete. It really comes down to. him and his play-calling. I very much believe he is on the hot-seat. Kyler Murray also has to settle down some. I do like this team even though Larry Fitzgerald ain’t there anymore. Coaching just has to improve now.
AFC Predictions:
AFC South: Tennessee Titans
AFC East: Buffalo Bills
AFC North: Baltimore Ravens
AFC West: Kansas City Chiefs
Wild Card Teams: Cleveland Browns, Los Angeles Chargers, Miami Dolphins
There is a real chance that a double digit win team misses the postseason yet again. It’ll suck and it will likely be a team like the Patriots or the Colts. This conference has gotten better. Bills and Chiefs are too good even with their division improving, Ravens eek out a clutch win or two over the Browns, and the Titans have the division in hand while the rest of the South sorts itself out.
NFC Predictions:
NFC South: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
NFC East: New York Giants
NFC North: Green Bay Packers
NFC West: Los Angeles Rams
Wild Card Teams: Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, New Orleans Saints
This will be close and it will come down to like three matchups sprinkled down. The Saints, 49ers, Vikings, Bears, and Cardinals will fight tooth and nail for those last two spots. It’s a toss up between the Rams and Seahawks. Packers and Buccaneers have both divisions in hand. Giants barely eek out a win simply because they are above average at both ends unlike the rest of the division.