A lot of changes have gone down between the end of last season and now. We got some new faces in new places.
Marcus Mariota (Atlanta), Mitchell Trubisky (Pittsburgh), Russel Wilson (Denver), Carson Wentz (Washington), Russell Gage (Tampa Bay), Julio Jones (Tampa Bay), Zay Jones (Jacksonville), Jarvis Landry (New Orleans), Allen Robinson (Rams), JuJu Smith-Schuster (Kansas City), Sammy Watkins (Green Bay), Amari Cooper (Cleveland), Davante Adams (Las Vegas), Tyreek Hill (Miami),Evan Engram (Jacxksonville), Austin Hooper(Tennessee), and C. J. Uzomah (Jets) were all on the move on the offensive side of the ball.
On the defensive side of the ball, Dante Fowler (Dallas), Myles Jack (Pittsburgh), Bobby Wagner (Rams), Tyrann Mathieu (Saints), Stephon Gilmore (Colts), Marcus Maye (Saints), and Logan Ryan (Bucs) all got moved on that side of the ball.
Now here's how we see each division going down for the 2022 season.
NFC West:
1. Los Angeles Rams (11-6)*
2. San Francisco 49ers (10-7)(WC)*
3. Arizona Cardinals (9-8)
4. Seattle Seahawks (4-13)
There's nothing to say that, at least on paper, the Rams can repeat as division champs in the West. The core of this team, on both sides of the football is back from a year ago and they are going to be very hard to stop. They have the best defensive player in the game in Aaron Darnold and one of the top wide outs in the sport in Cooper Kupp. San Francisco is going to be a solid team. Jimmy G is locked up through the year and if, for whatever reason he can't go, Trey Lance looks ready to take charge with the team. Sure, there's high risk with this team, but they have the potential. Same potential can come true for Arizona, but that would be shooting for the moon. What's really going to be the test for the Cardinals is how well they can hold up for the first half of the season with not having DeAndre Hopkins. Sure Marquis Brown will be able to fill the void, while Hopkins is out. But at the same time there is too much against Arizona for them to overcome it as a playoff team. Meanwhile, Seattle is in full blow rebuild. Drew Lock is now under center, with Wilson now in Denver. Noah Fant came in to play with DK and Lockett in the pass game, but how much fait do you have in the guy getting them the football?
NFC North
1. Green Bay Packers (12-5*
2. Minnesota Vikings (10-7)(WC)*
3. Detroit Lions (6-11)
4. Chicago Bears (5-12)
Quite a few changes have been made in Green Bay, but one thing is for sure. As long as Aaron Rogers is the teams starting quarterback, they have a good chance to be able to win football games. Davante Adams isn't there anymore, he now in Vegas. Neither is Valdes-Scantling, he's in Kansas City. So enter Sammy Watkins, with Cobb and Lazard. They can still catch. Its going to be the run game of Aaron Jones that's going to carry the offense. Oh and the defense in Green Bay is going to be good, like really good. Minnesota is going to be better, or at least really push the Pack to the limit. A lot of it relies on Kirk Cousins having another stellar year. They got good weapons with Jefferson and Thelian in the pass game. Oh and they have Dalvin Cook in the running game, and he's kind of good. In Detroit, Jared Geoff doesn't have much of a passing attack to work with. Swift is going to be solid in the running game and the pass game with Clark and Williams. That offensive line is one of the best in football and is going to make the run attack better. It just leaves one to wonder how much of a jump forward are they going to make. Then there's Chicago. They've cleaned house with new coach and new management team to try and help bolster the talent around Justin Fields. Chicago lost Mack, Dalton and Robinson, so its going to be an uphill climb. They still have Montgomery and Mooney but lets be real here it's not looking good.
NFC South
1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (12-5)*
2. New Orleans Saints (9-8)
3. Carolina Panthers (8-7)
4. Atlanta Falcons (4-13)
It pretty much looks like a lock that this is Tampa Bay's division again. With Tom Brady back and this loaded roster, this team is going to be scary good. Brady comes back with unfinished business. He's without Gronk, who's just retired. Cameron Brate is now expected to take over at the position and try to fill those shoes. Throw him in with the weapons already here, like Evans, Godwin and adding in Russel Gage, this is going to be really good. Oh and they have one of the top defenses in the entire league, which hasn't really been messed with. There's quite a bit to be optimistic about in New Orleans. Its a little different not having Sean Payton on the sideline, as Dennis Allen now takes over. Kamara is back and adding to a loaded offense. He and Ingram are back as the one two punch. They also have Landry and Thomas catching passes. And they have a defense that could be one of the top five in the entire league. The biggest question is under center. If Winston isn't the turnover machine he's known to be, this could be a playoff team, but you never know which one your going to get. It's not going to be a prefect season in Carolina. Instead of worrying what you going to get out of Sam Darnold, you get a healthy and newly motivated Baker Mayfield. They getting back a healthy Christian McCaffrey and with DJ Moore and Robbie Anderson, there's something here. It's not quite there for a playoff team, but they could be going up. Finally, there's Atlanta, who is going to be a feasting ground for this division. Yes, they got Mariotta under center and drafted Drake Landon. Kyle Pitts is still one of the best threats in the sport from tight end. Other then that, there's nothing much to really talk about coming out of the ATL.
NFC East:
1. Philadelphia Eagles (10-7)*
2. Dallas Cowboys (10-7)(WC)*
3. New York Giants (6-11)
4. Washington Commanders (6-11)
Yes I know its a little bold to pick Philadelphia to win the NFC Eat this year, but it seems like it could possibly be the Eagles time this year. Jalen Hurts can stay healthy, it looks like there's going to be plenty to get excited about in Philly. He's got a new weapon to work with in AJ Brown, to go along with a better adjusted DeVante Smith on the outside. They have a pretty balanced offensive attack that can hang and the defense could be good enough to steal a game or two. Then there's the Cowboys. They have one of the more potent offenses in football, but what could possibly hold up a division title is how consistent they are. Dak went cold during a stretch last season after that great 5-1 start. Who's to say that it might not happen to them again this season. A lot of it depends on his play. The Giants, while still trying to build up to being a threat in the NFC again, took steps in the right direction. They improved their play on their offensive line to try and keep starter Daniel Jones upright. They have targets with Barkely, Golliday and Sheppard. They bolsterd both the offensive and defensive lines. The pieces for Big Blue could start coming together and falling in place, but its going to be a little ways away before they find their groove again. Then in Washington, the have Wentz still under center and Terry McClain as his top target, but outside of that, there isn't much there to work with. Wentz has a bit better of a line to work with then he did last year in Indy but that's not saying much. Going to be a long year in DC.
AFC West:
1. Kansas City Chiefs (13-4)*
2. Los Angeles Chargers (12-5)(WC)*
3. las Vegas Raiders (9-8)
4. Denver Broncos (9-8)
This is the toughest division in football, and its going to be for a long time. Kansas City is still the top of the class in the division and they will be again this year. Sure Hill is gone but they brought in JuJu and Valdes-Scantling to go along wioth tight end Kelce. And Patrick Mahomes is still Patrick Mahomes. He's gonna be good no matter what (unless he's hurt). They have a solid run attack with Jones and Edwards-Helaire. They have a pretty good defense in Kansas City that's going to cause a lot of problems for opposing teams. The biggest threat to KC this year in this division is going to be the Chargers. Defensively, adding Khalil Mack was a huge move to make that side of the ball even better. They are scary good and are going to be again for a long time. Los Angeles too is going to be really good, with Justin Herbert getting better and better every year. He's got Allen and Williams catching passes, while Eckler will be taking the handoffs. Its a balanced offensive attack for the Chargers. The only thing is the defense is a little behind what they got going in KC, which is why the a wild card team. Now you have a team in the Raiders that are starting to take steps in the right direction. Adams and Cole were brought in as big threats in the passing game. Them with Waller and Renfro are plenty for Carr to work with and it could be good. But how good is their blocking game and the other side of the football? Finally, there's Denver, who already took a huge step in the right direction by trading and signing Russel Wilson to a new deal. He got Judy and Suttfierld to work with in the air attack. They not quite there yet, but they already taken a huge step in the right direction.
AFC North:
1. Cincinnati Bengals (11-6)*
2. Baltimore Ravens (10-7)(WC)*
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-9)
4. Cleveland Browns (7-10)
This is going to be a tight race at the top of this division all year long. Cincinnati still has the edge. Sure they got a few breaks last year, but they have a great offensive line that will be able to take care of Joe Burrow. He got a good one behind him in Mixon to hand the ball too. Through the air, he has Boyd, Chase, and Higgins to work with, so there a good chance to see the ball spread around quite a bit. Baltimore might take a step back just a bit this year, losing Hollywood Brown and Sammy Watkins. Lamar can still make plenty of plays and spread the ball around. On the other side of the ball, the Ravens looked horrible last year, but the addressed issues in the offseason and improved. Good for a Wild Card spot but will still be behind the Bengals. As for the Steelers, the Kenny Pickett era has arrived, they hope. He and Mitch are now in town and were working under center during camp so we going to see how that's going to play out. They have a great young back in the form of Harris, but the passing game taken a step back this year. Could be close to being the first ever losing season under Mike Tomlin. The only team that could be in worse shape this year could be Cleveland. They for some reason got rid of Baker after adding Deshaun Watson, which made no sense. And Watson is out the first eleven games of the season due to suspension. They did bring in Cooper to add a threat along with Nick Chubb, but there a lot of problems still with the Browns which is keeping them back a little while longer.
AFC South:
1. Indianapolis Colts (10-7)*
2. Tennessee Titans (8-9)
3. Jacksonville Jaguars (6-11)
4. Houston Texans (5-12)
The only division in this conference that's going to have one team finish over .50e0 and its the division winning Colts. Biggest plus for Indy was adding Matt Ryan. Its a pretty good one two punch in the running attack. He's got good receivers with Pierce and Pittman. And the Colts have the 12th best line in all of football. And they got better for adding to the pass rush adding Yannick Ngakoue and getting better in the secondary with Stephon Gilmore. Just a year ago Tennessee was a division winning playoff team. They lost AJ Brown and Julio Jones from a year ago. But now they get a healthy Derreck Henry back in the lineup and they still have Robert Woods in the mix as well. They got Tanahill under center again and with Woods and Hooper catching his passes, it makes Ryan's life a little bit easier. It's not the same as having Brown here, but Woods is still solid never the less. Tennessee is going to take a bit of a step back this year. Jacksonville is going to get better with Trevor Lawrence under center this season. They brought in Kirk, Engram and Zay Jones to play with Marvin Jones and give Lawrence more to work with in his passing attack. The run game is balanced and this team, as a whole, is deeper then its been in a while. And they actually have a competent coach in Doug Petterson instead of an unprepared Urban Meyer. Then in Houston, they're trying to recover from the offseason trainwreck that was the Watson saga. Lovie Smith takes over for a four win team last year that won't be much better this year. Davis Mills takes over under center, while still having Bradin Cooks and newly added Marlon Mack to hand off too. Other then that, there's nothing really going of for the Texans and its gonna be another bad week.
AFC East:
1. Buffalo Bills (14-3)*
2. Miami Dolphins (10-7)(WC)*
3. New England Patriots (9-8)
4. New York Jets (5-12)
This could finally be the year that Buffalo gets over the hump in the conference. Josh Allen is going to have a massive year this season. He can easily hand off to Singeltary and let him do his thing. He also has Diggs still to throw too, as well as Crowder just added. They have a very balanced attack on that side of the ball and a very punishing defense on the other side of it. This is goin to be a very very hard thing to deal with for any team to go up against this year. Right behind them is a retooled and solid looking club down in Miami. Tua has a new toy to play with in the passing game in the form of Tyreek Hill. Him and Waddel make for a deadly pass attack to defend against. Then there's the loaded backfield with Chase Edmonds, Raheem Mostert and Sony Michel. They are well balanced and they are going to be good enough to get back into the playoffs. With New England, they always find a way to be a pest and hang around in the race. DeVante Parker was brough on board to give more threats through the air for Mac Jones to work with. Him and Hunter Henry could make for a good combo. But this is going to be a step back year for the Patriots, there isn't much top really be able to build off of. Finally there's the Jets. Zach Wilson is coming off injuries and wont even start the year, Joe Flacco is getting the nod week one. The weapons aren't where they need to be. Sure they got some good pieces with Hall at backfield. Moore Berrios and Davis are solid weapons to work with through the air. But all around there isn't much hope to rely on for the Jets.
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