NFL CRAPOLOGY

  SUPERBOWL CHAMPION - DETROIT LIONS SUPERBOWL LOSER:      HOUSTON TEXANS  

Norris Division Winner - Detroit Lions

Dan Cambell and Ben Johnson are leading the Detroit Lions for one reason to win a Superbowl and I think they can do it. Ben Johnson The Lions offensive coordinator had opportunities to become a head coach and turned them down to return to Detroit and win a Superbowl with Dan Cambell. On offense The Lions will be the league’s best. The Lions also added depth at the Offensive tackle position which is always a good move. On defense I believe The Lions will improve their defense with the acquisitions of Terrion Arnold from AlaSaban and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. out of Missouri, two of the best corners in the draft. These two corners played in arguably the best college football conference in the country. Arnold coming out of AlaSaban was coached well and prepared for the NFL as all defensive players from that program are. They also added Mekhi Wingo a big defensive tackle who could help stop the run. The Lions seemed to do well stopping the run last season their problem was through the air. The two corners they drafted should be ready to play as rookies and help the overall pass defense. 

The Green Bay Cheese Packers Tenth in offense and 17th in defense overall, which beat my expectations. I am impressed by Matt LaFleur who honestly I didn’t have much confidence in when he was hired to lead The Cheese Packer. They play hard, they play well and they draft well. They will challenge The Lions but come up short.
On offense is Jordan Love a competent, mostly effective NFL quarterback? It appears he is. Love came on in the second half of last season and put up some good numbers against the league. The Packers have so much confidence in Love that they let Aaron Jones go to rival Minnesota to help The Vikings offensive mess. In the fifth and sixth round they added two offensive lineman, Morgan out of Arizona is the most impressive rookie offensive lineman they are bringing in. In adding Jordon Morgan they added a top tier OG or average OT to protect Love. We don’t know if Morgan can play Tackle as he is not as quick with his feet as most NFL tackles, will that improve we don’t know, if it does The Packers have a solid right tackle if not they have a really good left or right guard. Any way it shakes out Morgan will start on that offensive line soon. They added Marshawn Lloyd a running back out of The University of Southern California and thought this would allow them to let disgruntled Aaron Jones go. Lloyd is no means Jones in his first season or maybe in his career, but he is big and faster than backs his size. Lloyd was also coached by Lincoln Riley’s staff who seems to do a pretty good job with offensive players.
On defense, The Packers are bringing in several rookies to help their secondary and front seven. They drafted two linebackers and three defensive backs to add depth on defense. The Packers were eleventh in total defense and should improve those numbers this upcoming season.  

The Minnesota Vikings The Vikings were the tenth best offensive team in the NFL last season thanks to Head Coach O’Connels offensive expertise. This year will be more of a struggle on the offensive side of the ball.
On offense, The Vikings will most likely start Sam Darnold at quarterback. Sam is going into his seventh season in the NFL. I was a Darnold supporter coming out of college and my enthusiasm has diminished greatly over the past seven seasons. Darnold has proven to be inconsistent and inaccurate. Darnold started most of the games for The Jets for three seasons and had a high of 19 touchdown passes in 2019 but also threw 13 picks. In 2018 he threw 17 touchdowns but 15 interceptions. In 2020 it got ugly as he had 9 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He started 12 games for The Panthers in 2021 and in his forth year in the league amassed 9 touchdown throws and had 13 picked off, yes it got worse as the years went on. In Darnold’s defense he played for some really bad teams connected to inefficient not cohesive organizations. Maybe O’Connel knows more than we do? I sure hope so he is an NFL Head Coach hired for his offensive knowledge and we look in from outside and speculate on what will happen with his team. The Vikings have J.J. McCarthy waiting in the wings to take over the offensive controls. I didn’t see McCarthy as becoming a top tier NFL quarterback, but again I am not paid by The Vikings to lead their team. For Vikings fans I thought Peyton Manning would never be more than an average NFL quarterback, OMAHA! OMAHA!
On defense The Viking defense needs to be elite to get them to the playoffs this season. They are going to play a 3-4 defense which only the Steelers have been effective with in the NFL and it was years ago. Most teams play 4-3 and sub in their best two pass rushers on passing downs, 1 for a defensive end and one for a linebacker. Looking at their defensive depth chart I don’t know where they are going to get a pass rush from. It would look like they are counting on Dallas Turner to have a Micah Parsons type rookie year or better. I think they are going to wear out their better than average secondary trying to cover receivers for ten seconds every passing down, because they can’t get to the quarterback. Well Brian Flores was a head coach in the NFL and has many years of experience as a coach on the defensive side of the ball and hopefully for Viking fans knows a-lot more than I do.  

 
DA BEARSCaleb Williams WOW! We got Caleb Williams our savior. I think Williams will be successful and I have written why on this website. This all depends on whether DA Bears are patient enough and don’t expect playoffs in the first two seasons. NFL Story: Why Caleb Williams will succeed?

1. New General      Manager
2. 3 quality wide      receivers (D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen, Odunze)
3. 2 quality pass      catching tight ends (Kmet, Everett)
4. An improved      offensive line 
5. New Offensive      Coordinator Shane Waldren (he made Geno Smith semi effective he is a      genius).
6. Former Bills      defensive Coordinator. 

All right so the offense will be ok, how about the defense? And how good will the offense be in season one with a rookie at quarterback?
DA Bears were 16 in defense last year and brought in the man who directed the number 9 defense in the league. This is an improvement. What else did our new General Manager do? Well he oversaw a very strange draft. #1 Williams was picked this makes since.#2 Odunze wide receiver University of Washington, this is a great pick one of the top five receivers in college football to help Caleb.#3 6-5 326 pound offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie out of Yale HUH? I get he was IVY League first team two years in a row, I understand he has the size and possibly the footwork, but this was a deep offensive lineman draft wouldn’t you draft a tackle from a power five conference?#4 HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND? YOU DRAFTED A PUNTER? WTF! I THOUGHT THERE WERE MANY PUNTERS OF NFL CALIBER LOOKING FOR JOBS. CAN’T YOU BRING FREE AGENT PUNTERS IN AND PICK THE BEST ONE AFTER PRE-SEASON WITHOUT WASTING A DRAFT PICK ON A PUNTER? FURTHERMORE YOU ONLY HAD FIVE DRAFT PICKS AND YOU USED ONE FOR A PUNTER! AGAIN, HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?They finish last in the Norris Division they have a chance to catch The Vikings, but I don’t think they do. 

NFC SOUTH DIVISION WINNER – New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints The Saints were 12th in offense and 14th in defense during the last season, I am counting on them improving on both sides of the ball in 2024. I think the defense should make significant strides and Dennis Allen will be able to lean on his defense a little more this season. I know that is hoping for a-lot since the owners and the NFL front offices have changed the rules to keep teams from playing defense.
On offense Pete Charmichael is out and Klint Kubiak is in. Yes Derek Carr has yet another new offense to learn. I don’t think Carr has gone more than one season in his career with the same offensive scheme. I am counting on Carr now a veteran being able to pick up Kyle Shannahan’s offense quickly. The other option is they leave John Grudens’ Offense in that they ran last season, because Carr played really well in his last five games last year. I am hoping this will carry over to this season. Carr also had nagging injuries for the first half of the season. Carr will have Alvin Kamara, Kendre Miller and Jamaal Williams behind him to run the ball and catch passes out of the backfield. I believe Kendre Miller will have a bigger role this season and will prove to be a threat out of the backfield. Miller in his third season is settling into being a dual purpose back in the NFL. Miller had a great career at TCU and should show more flashes of greatness this season. Taliese Fuaga was The Saints first draft pick and a really good one. He played left tackle at Oregon State and should be able to fit in at left tackle right away to give Carr more time to throw. Fuaga was one of the nations best left tackles and has all skills to be an all pro. I am a little worried about the tight end situation for The Saints as they have Juwan Johnson and not a-lot more. Taysom Hill may have to step in and run the tight end pass patterns regularly to give Johnson a break. If Johnson goes down I think there could be an issue, because I have not known Moreau or Horsted to have productive pass catching years in the past.
On the defensive side of the ball The Saints have Head Coach Dennis Allen who was a successful defensive coordinator in NFL for years before becoming a head coach. The Saints drafted linebacker Ford out of The University of Texas at Austin who could start right away, along with former Alabama cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry. These are two highly rated rookies from top tier programs that should be able to contribute right away. These rookies are going to have Cameron Jordan, Damario Davis and Marshon Lattimore to lead them on the defensive side of the ball. I expect more turnovers and stops. I also expect the defense to move up to maybe the eighth best defense in the league next season, which should be enough to guide The Saints to the NFC South Title over The Buccaneers. 

The Tampa Bay Bucaneers
The Tampa Bay Bucaneers will improve this season through pure stability. There 9-8 record will improve to a 10-7 record in 2024, but this will not be enough to overtake The Saints in the south or make any noise in the playoffs. For The Bucs to get to an NFC Championship Game or The Superbowl Baker Mayfield would have to have a better season than even he has ever dreamed of. The Bucs defense would also need to make incredible strides. I am placing them second in the NFC South believing that their opportunistic defense will make great improvements in other areas this season. The Bucs were 23rd best in offense and to be consistent 23rdin overall defense also. What kept The Bucs in the game was their defense was able to get some turnovers consistently, they ranked 9th in turnover differential. The Tampa Bay Organization is keeping their Head Coach and most of their players in tact, this will create more cohesiveness.
On Defense the Bucs added linebacker Chris Braswell of AlaSaban University and Safety Tykee Smith of we are all about defense here at The University of Georgia at Athens. Both these men are ready to step in right away and play at the NFL level. Another year of the defense working with Head Coach Todd Bowles and Defensive Coordinator Todd Bowles should tighten up some coverages and get a better pass rush with young fast pass rushers. Bowles is so sure they don’t need help with their defense they have former Steeler Linebacker Larry Foote coaching on the offensive side of the ball. Foote does coach the linebackers as well as adding his perspective to protecting Baker and creating a successful passing attack. I think this shows you how Bowles thinks, Foote rushed the quarterback in The Steelers 3-4 defense as a linebacker for Dick Labeau. Foote tries to help the offensive line protect against guys like him getting through to hit the quarterback, who better than a sack man to help a line against a sack man. Bowles run game coordinator also coaches the defensive line, as Kacy Rodgers had a career playing defensive line and being a very capable run stopper and his son was an even better run stopper. He now tries to assist in getting the offensive line to be efficient at getting their running back passed guys like him and his son who yes was better than dad, without getting touched.
On offense The Bucaneers have Tom Moore, need I say more? Tom Moore is known as one of the offensive geniuses around the league. Tom Moore has been coaching in the NFL since it’s inception. Moore has been around so long he coached Terry Bradshaw to his Superbowl victories. When you see Baker look like a real NFL quarterback and have a better than average game Tom Moore has a-lot to do with that. Moore worked thirteen years with Peyton. Peyton learned a-lot from Coach Moore. Peyton was able to call his own plays, make the correct audibles because of the time he spent with Moore and probably his dad Archie also. Moore coached Tom Brady and Drew Brees. Moore is the quarterback whisperer. Moore played quarterback at Iowa University at Iowa City, but didn’t have a pro career in football, he was a counselor. His background was perfect to work one on one with quarterbacks to help them reach their full potential. Moores’ best coaching job might have been when he coached James “Crab legs” Winston to two good seasons in the NFL and may have been the influence that kept Crab legs out of trouble. His title is Senior Offensive Assistant but anyone who has met him knows he is so much more.
The Bucs have Mike Evans back and several other good receivers for Baker to work with. Godwin, Palmer, Shepard are back and they added rookie Jalen McMillan. McMillan was one of the top wide receivers in the country last season catching passes from Michael Penix Jr. at Washington. Behind Mayfield, White is back along with Chase Edmonds. They added Bucky Irving a quick back out of The University of Oregon at Eugene. Irving is a good pass receiver as well as a quality ball carrier. Irving played in a fairly complicated offense ran by Bo Nix, so he should pick the new playbook up quickly. They are going with a rookie center, but he is very good and was working early with Baker to ensure they have synergy. In the draft they picked up Elijah Klein an offensive guard who has 5 tears experience on the collegiate level and should fit in well.  

Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons will make some strides on offense with Kirk Cousins at the helm, but their defense will fail them. Even though they ranked 11thin total defense they were bad against the run and allowed more points than other defenses in the division. Rhaheem Morris is a Superbowl winning defensive coordinator, but he won’t be able to straighten out The Falcons defense. Let’s face it any team that Arthur Blank owns can not be successful, as he continues to get involved when he has no idea what he is doing.
On offense The Falcons signed Kirk Cousins to take over at quarterback. Cousins has some weapons to work with at the receiver position, London Drake, Kyle Pitts, Darnell Mooney, Rondale Moore and a solid bench. They drafted Casey Washington out of Illinois as a receiver, but I don’t think he is ready to contribute as a rookie. Bijan Robinson can get outside and catch some passes out of the running back position, but he is not a good inside runner. The Falcons don’t have an a big back. The key to any successful offense is the offensive line and I don’t think The Falcons paid any attention to that in the off season. The Falcons drafted Michael Penix Jr. before an offensive lineman when they had just signed Cousins and still have Taylor Heinicke Mufflers on the roster. I think they will get it together and be able to score points, but their defense will allow more. When the offensive line breaks down and Cousins turns the ball over in his own end it will be a quick score the opponents.
On defense The Falcons were 11th in total yardage allowed, not as good in points allowed. They were average against the pass and below average against the run. The Falcons did draft two run stoppers up front to improve their rush defense, but no secondary help. Their rookie defensive backs are free agents. I don’t see any reasons in their front seven why they should get sacks and no reason in their secondary that they can actually cover any receivers. When The Falcons play I would guess you bet the over because they will lose 35-31 most games. Lots of points but they usually have less. 

The Carolina Panthers
I will be honest this organization is a mess. This is supposed to be an NFL Organization and they traded up to draft Bryce Young last year. You are thinking, one draft pick can’t destroy a team for years? Yes it can, when you trade picks. This means they will have “The Red Rifle” Andy Dalton as their quarterback. They made other questionable draft picks, hired a Head Coach that wasn’t high on other teams lists and have not paid any attention to their offensive line.
On offense The Panthers were dead last, last in passing and close to last in rushing. Young will get the reps., work his timing with the receivers and then get hit a couple of times and knocked out again. Therefore, behind Dalton they have Chuba Hubbard a good running back who can carry the ball, catch the ball and block a little. Hubbard blocks better than most of their offensive line and their lies the problem. The Panthers did entice The University of Tennessee’s’ starting left tackle to sign as a free agent but I don’t think that will keep Young from getting hurt and Dalton from being beat up every week. They have Crawford third on the depth chart, so he may never get into a game and if he is working hard and looking good in practice they may cut him. They actually made a very good draft pick and got Xavier Legette a wide receiver out of South Carolina. Legette had a poor season last season, but he showed the two seasons before that he is an NFL caliber wide out. He is big and fast and strong, with good hands. He will learn from Adam Thielen who is past his playing days. I think it was good to sign Thielen as he will be able to coach Legette and veteran Diontae Johnson. The problem is, Young will get knocked out in week three or four, then it will take a while before the timing is right between Dalton and the receivers and by the time it gets good the season will be over.
On defense Carolina exceled being number four in yards allowed, but they allowed many points. Their offense turned the ball over in their own end, therefore they only had to go twenty to thirty yards for a score. This will most likely happen again as the offense doesn’t look like it is going to get any better. I don’t how this defense did what they did last year, but I really don’t know how they are going to repeat that effort. This defense will be on the field a-lot since the offense will not be able to get first downs, let alone sustained drives. They made some good picks in the draft picking up a defensive end, two middle tier linebackers and a top tier corner. They will need all of this, they will need to be the best defensive unit the league has ever seen to give these Panthers a chance at winning. 

NFC WEST DIVISION WINNER – San Francisco Forty Niners
San Francisco Forty Niners – The Niners will win the NFC West once again behind the leadership of Kyle Shanahan. They had the second most productive offense in the league and the number eight defense. Brock Purdy has proven to be a smart leader of their offensive attack. They also have offensive player of the year in Christian “I can do it all” McCaffrey. They also number eight in turnover ratio, so they have a very balanced efficient team. They are in the top tier in every category and they should get better. The forty Niners are a complete team, good leadership, good coaching, good personnel and good execution on the field.
On Offense they have Kyle Shanahan’s playbook, brilliance and experience. Purdy Mr. Irrelevant in his draft class, runs the offense taking few risks and making few mistakes. Purdy knows exactly who he is. Purdy is a good NFL quarterback, not a great one. He doesn’t have a great arm or great running ability, but he does have a mountain of good sense. Purdy knows what he can do and what he can’t do and does just what he can do. He knows he has to just distribute the ball to the correct weapon and let it fire down the field. Trent Williams is back to anchor the veteran offensive line and the usual weapons will be there, Kittle, McCaffrey, Samuel, Juszcyk and Aiyuk. Aiyuk is in contract negotiations but I think he will be back to take another run at a Superbowl Title. Oh one more thing, they added a receiver, a running back and two offensive lineman through the draft to add to their depth. They all seem to be solid picks.
The Niner defense they are strong up front led by Bosa and Hargrave. The backer are led by Fred Warner in the middle and Ward will be back as their shut down corner. They are a complete defense with all the necessary components and they should be better this season. To top it off they added Bethune at Linebacker, Green at corner, Mustapha at safety, a receiver and two offensive lineman through the draft. They all seem to be quality picks, surprise, surprise for a good organization. 

The Los Angeles Rams – The Rams came out as a lopsided team in 2023 with their offense ranked 7th overall and their defense 20th. I believe we will see about the same thing again in 2024. The offense will outscore some teams, but they won’t beat the top tier franchises. The Rams make the playoffs as a wild card.
On offense Matthew Stafford will be back with Stetson Bennet backing him up. Stafford will have Kyren Williams and Blake Corum behind him to share the load carrying the ball and catching the ball. Both are quality runners and pass receivers. The Rams have a couple of big backs for the goal line who can come in to pound it through. They look to have an outstanding receiver group with Kupp, Nacua, Robinson and Higbee. The Rams added two rookie receivers who can fill in when needed. Whittingham and Stoops seem to be good prospects. The offensive line got some rookies added to improve it’s depth. The Rams look set on offense and should be very difficult to stop as long as Stafford stays healthy. Bennet is a capable back up, but doesn’t have the experience of Stafford with McVay’s offense. A big adjustment on offense will be McVay fired offensive coordinator Sean McVay and hired Mike LaFleur former Jets offensive coordinator. McVay is going to concentrate on the big picture more than mostly the offense. I don’t think this will affect the offense much as Stafford will act as the coach most of the time and LaFleur will just ensure McVay’s offense keeps running smoothly.
On defense The Rams are suspect, although they did try to strengthen themselves through the draft. They added two defensive linemen, two linebackers and a safety. They have some promising free agent rookies on defense that you say he wasn’t drafted? Really. Chris Shula after seven years with Mcvay has been promoted to defensive coordinator after being linebackers coach. Red flag first year as a coordinator will be rough, so look for the defense to not improve greatly. I expect after they settle in they will finish better than 20th in defense. 

The Arizona Cardinals – This will be another wild ride as it always is with the Cardinals. What a recently unstable organization who can’t seem to get things right. Well they got a few things correct recently. They drafted very well, they addressed needs and brought in big time talent on both sides of the ball. They improved their offensive line, which you have to every year to make it in the NFL. They hired Jonathon Gannon as Head Coach with no experience in that position. Is this a mistake it will be if they give him two years to turn everything around and then fire him. They need to give him five years to show significant improvement and then re-evaluate. Gannon does have fifteen years experience coaching in the NFL. His last position was defensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles. Cardinal fans should be comfortable with the Eagles defensive coordinator now leading their team. One thing is about Gannon he has no experience coaching on the offensive side of the ball. We will see if that affects the offense and the The Little Person at quarterback. The Cardinals are less of a mess, but don’t make the playoffs. Cardinal fans you are moving in the right direction with coaching and player personnel, lets hope the front office doesn’t find a way to screw this up.
On offense they have not yet figured out The Little Person is not someone who can take you to the promised land. The Kyle Murray experiment has to stop! It is painful for me to watch it tears down an NFL franchise. I don’t believe Ridder or Tune are the answer either, so long term they need to bring in a young arm to sling the ball around. I would think Clayton Tune is their best chance right now to win games. They are counting on Drew Petzing to perform miracles. He worked with Cousins in Minnesota and he had his best season, Jacoby Briskett in Cleveland who had his best season and  even improved DeShaun Watson. Is this the next Tom Moore? A quarterback whisperer? I don’t think so, but he may be a solid offensive coach. The Cardinals finished nineteenth in offense in 2023 so they can’t get much worse. They strengthened their offensive line which is a positive step. They are going to start Marvin Harrison Jr. their number one draft pick at wide receiver. He is a big time player and needs the playing time. James Conner is back to run the ball along with rookie Troy Benson. I don’t agree with drafting running backs as high as they did but they thought it was a real need and they saw something bright and shiny. To sum it up The Little Person will get beat up bad, be running for his life and have many passes batted down and picked off. After this happens Petzing starts to really earn his money as he will have to figure out how to score with Tune or Ridder at quarterback and an offensive team that is pissed off and depressed.
On the defensive side of the ball they allowed a-lot of yardage through the air and many yards on the ground, but on the positive side they allowed many points to be scored per game also. They were a disaster. On the up side Cardinal fans Gannon’s group drafted a quality defensive linemen, two quality corners and a quality linebacker who can all help right away. They threw in another defensive back and free agent defensive linemen just for fun. I think they start to get better on defense, but not peak this season. After all some key pieces in the pass defense will be rookies.  

Seattle Seachickens – The Seachickens finished 22ndin offense and 28th in defense, I said Arizona was a mess, well The Seachickens maybe worse. What we have to look forward to is a new Head Coach with no Head Coaching experience, a terrible draft offensive line wise in a deep offensive line draft, a new coaching staff and systems, as well as Geno Smith as your starting quarterback. Seachicken fans if there is a positive you did acquire Sam Howel as your back up quarterback who could actually look like an NFL quarterback if Geno goes down or if the offensive coordinator’s drugs wear off and he pulls Geno. Seachicken fans prepare for massive alcohol and pain killers it is the only thing that will get you through the 2024 season. Seachickens dead last in the NFC West and searching for answers.
On offense the Sea Chickens are led by Geno Smith UGH! WE ARE SCREWED! A positive you have rookie offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb to help Geno. Grubb did run the University of Washington at Seattle offense which was an efficient and explosive offense led by Michael Penix Jr. Of course Washington had a very, very good offensive line that kept Penix upright the entire season.  If Geno goes down you have Sam Howel, who may be better than Geno, who am I kidding he is better than Geno as most quarterbacks are. Running the ball is Kenneth Walker III one of the best in the business especially without a good offensive line. Behind Walker you have Zach Charbonnet another very good back, who developed a-lot once he got to the NFL level. Unfortunately the skill players don’t matter when you can’t keep the pass rush out or open up holes for your backs. The offensive line is not good and that is where the problem lies. The man who is going to take these sub standard offensive linemen and make them one of the leagues best is Scott Huff. Huff has no experience coaching at the NFL level. Huff did coach the Washington Huskies offensive line for seven seasons and they have been excellent. All this said I look for the Sea Chickens to drop down on offense this season and be scratching their heads, as we all say we saw this coming how come you didn’t.
On defense The Sea Chickens are led by Leonard Williams up front, Nwosu in the middle and Riq Woolen in the secondary. They made a good draft pick in Byron Murphy II at an end spot who should get a-lot of playing time if not start. Pritchett from Auburn was picked up and he seems to be one of the top corners in the draft. Another linebacker and defensive back were drafted instead of offensive linemen. The positive point is they brought in eight free agents on defense to compete for jobs they won’t get. Another positive is Head Coach McDonald is getting this chance because he ran very good defenses in the NFL. Well to counteract his success, he hired The Cowboys defensive line coach as his defensive coordinator. How scrambled is Aden Durde’s brain after working with The Cowboys for three seasons. Dallas has proved you can have great talent but if your front office has big enough ego’s you can screw up any NFL franchise. On a more positive point is Durde was born in London and grew up with rugby. Well the Sea Chickens can’t do any worse on defense, so coach McDonald and coach Durde take chances you have nothing to lose. 

NFC EAST DIVISION WINNER –
Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles were very good on offense and they don’t need to change anything. Some changes the Eagles were forced to make to the offense, so we’ll see how those affect their ability to score. The defense struggled and the Defensive Coordinator received a Head Coaching position for leading the 26thbest defense. The defensive side of the ball is critical to The Eagles this season. They must improve on defense and they must get more stops and more turnovers. If the defense doesn’t improve The Eagles will be looking at The Cowboys ahead of them in the NFC East. I think Siriani gets it all flowing smoothly and The Eagles soar to another division crown.
The Eagles brought in Kellen Moore to take over as Offensive Coordinator after Brian Johnson left to take a position with The Washington Commandos (Commanders, Redskins, Senators, Congressmen whatever the hell they are going to call them) as Assistant Head Coach and Passing Game Coordinator. I am guessing Johnson took his playbook with him and Moore will be installing a new system. This may be a challenge for Jalen Hurst who took a little while to run the prior system well and light up the scoreboard. Moore was a long time Offensive Coordinator for The Cowboys and The Chargers. Moore will have Saquon Barkley to help him out this season at running back as well as Gainwell and rookie back will Shipley out of Clemson. The receivers are anchored by A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith two veterans who have worked with Hurst for a few seasons now. In the draft they took two receivers who both have high upsides in Annias Smith from Texas A&M and Johnny Wilson out of Florida State. The Eagles should have the personnel to get ball down the field anyway they want. The most important piece Moore has to work with is a very good and stable offensive line. This line has been one of the best for several seasons. Moore is very good at what he does, so we’ll see if the offense is better than 8thin the league.
The defense of course is a different story, there is a new Coordinator there also in Vic Fangio. Fangio started coaching in the NFL when they wore leather helmets and Lombardi was a kid. Fangio has mostly the same personnel to work with which isn’t a positive point. The Eagles did draft two very good corners, a solid defensive end and a good linebacker. The other newcomers we will have to see how they perform on the NFL level. Fangio has stepped into these situations a few thousand times before in his career, so I am counting on him to create a menacing defense that ranks in the top ten.  

The Dallas Cowboys – Jerry Jones still owns the Dallas Cowboys and still insists on the title General Manager. The organization will tell you Jerry, Stephen and Will McClay make decisions collectively on coaching staff and player personnel. I can’t believe that completely. I can’t believe that Stephen Jones and Will McClay also have outrageously inaccurate views of themselves, their strong skills and their weak skills in the work place, as well as what type of person they are. Hiring Mike McCarthy a Head Coach who obviously can’t take you any place let alone the promised land was a joint decision, when there were so many better choices. This smells of Jerry I am living in the past Jones. I know this team won the NFC East last season, but I don’t know how. This team was one of the best in the NFL in 2023, I am surprised to say. All I can think is people in this organization are putting their heads down, doing their jobs and ignoring the Jones Management Team. I think this would make them successful.
On offense Jerry still loves Dak and the love affair continues. He gets injured, puts up mediocre numbers, makes bad decisions but Jerry says he is our starter. This is why Jerry bought an NFL Team so he could evaluate players because he can do it better than any current player personnel expert or coach. LOL! You laugh this is a man who thinks Trey Lance maybe one of the best bargains he has ever traded for. Oh! My GOD! Can you say Alzheimer’s because I know he can’t spell it. Until Jerry realizes that, that is a pile of crap and gives up the reins to a real professional football man the Cowboys are doomed to mediocrity. Since Mike McCarthy screwed up the offense, Brian Schottenheimer was brought in to run the offense. How long will this successful, professional, experienced offensive coach stay around? I am guessing it will not be long unless his is promoted to Head Coach before the 2025 season begins. As I write this, I am thinking how are they going to finish above The Giants? Maybe they won’t. This organization has been so screwed up by Good Ole Jerry that they have no chance, but they were one of the best teams on the field last season, how did that happen? Well, let’s get really serious, they still have a good offensive line and some good receivers. They also brought in three rookie offensive linemen and a couple of rookie receivers. Schottenheimer has some good personnel to work with and a good offensive line. I don’t think Dak gets it done and I am starting to believe The Giants finish above them.
On defense The Boys played really well, one of the best units in the NFL led by Micah Parsons. Defensive Coordinator Mike Zimmer is expected to put a top five defense on the field again this season. They brought in eleven rookies on the defensive side of the ball for Zimmer to evaluate. It is likely five of these rookies stick with the team and three or four get some playing time. This unit helped the Boys finish +10 in turnover ratio, collecting 26 turnovers finishing 5 turnovers behind The Giants defense? I wasn’t joking about The Giants finishing in front of Dallas. 

New York Giants -   This team won six games last season and actually are showing promise, believe it or not. The defense is solid under Shane Bowen, yes, Shane Bowen. Bowen looks like one of the best young coaches in the NFL. Brian Daboll was hired as Head Coach to fix the offense and make Daniel Jones look like an NFL quarterback, well that hasn’t happened yet. Daboll and the Giants look like they have confidence in Jones and are confident he can do the job. Besides Daboll Jones will have Mike Kafka, Shea Tierney, Christian Jones, Christian Daboll and Cade Knox to help him get to where he needs to go.
The Giant offense needs a-lot of work to turn them into a scoring machine. They drafted Malik Nabers hoping he can make some big plays down the field, up the field, to the side of the field and everywhere else on the field. They also have second year speedster Jalen Hyatt out of Tennessee who can get deep on NFL defenses. The question now is can Jones recognize when there is man coverage and get these receivers the ball. To create a running threat is Devin Singletary and not a-lot more. The Giants should look at all free agent backs and consider bringing in a veteran to lighten the load for Singletary. I don’t know how much Eric Gray and Tyronne Tracy are going to help. The best thing The Giants did in the off season was fire their offensive line coach, their offensive line is a mess. Of course The Commandos, Commanders, Redskins hired him immediately, the thinking may have been, he almost got Daniel Jones killed, maybe he can get Jaden Daniels killed and we can get a real quarterback in here. So for The Giants Carmen Bricillo was brought in to make this intramural offensive line into an actual NFL offensive line that will keep Jones upright for most of the season. Bricillo has five years experience coaching in the NFL and thirteen years in collegiate coaching , FCS and FBS levels. They gave Bricillo an assistant, hopefully all this will help one of the worst offensive lines in football in 2023. Most of the Big Ten offensive lines were better than this offensive line last season. If they can’t protect Jones, then Drew Locke will accept the suicide mission. Behind Locke is Tommy DeVito who has played in NFL games but not very well. I think Jones can get the job done if he has a line in front of him, yes I am a Jones believer and I think The Giants and Daboll are doing the right thing by running him out there again this season.
The Giant defense was exceptional last season and a really smart thing you don’t see with NFL teams often, is they didn’t SCREW WITH IT. They drafted two defensive backs and a linebacker to add depth. They are bringing in four rookie free agents on defense to see if any of them will stick. This unit was second only to The Ravens in turnover differential, NO JOKING. The Giants defense was really good, they were on the field too long because the offense couldn’t get first downs and they were still efficient. Shane Bowen did an exceptional job and apparently, they are going to let him do his job well and stop offenses all over the league. Bowen is impressive and I expect him to roll out a dominating defense in 2024. 

The Washington Commanders (Commodores, Commandos, Congressmen, Senators, Redskins) - This organization is a tremendous mess and I don’t think Dan Quinn can fix the product on the field. I believe Dan Quinn is a very knowledgeable and experienced NFL Coach, but I think he has too much going against him to make this team look like an NFL football team. If this team wins seven games Quinn should get Head Coach of the decade. I admire Quinn for taking on this immense challenge and trying to do what everyone says can’t be done, make This franchise look like a legitimate NFL team. They finish last in the NFC East they improve a little led by Mariota and give us some entertainment starting free agent quarterback Sam Hartman at the end of the season.
This offense was terrible last season. To improve the offense they hired The Giants offensive line coach, who was fired for not meeting expectations. He was fired for almost getting Daniel Jones killed or seriously injured. Bobby Johnson needs to go work under a good High School coach and learn how to coach an offensive line. Hopefully Kingsbury, Lynn and Brian Johnson can keep him in line. To make things even more difficult on offense they drafted Jaden Daniels to play quarterback. Daniels put up good numbers at the FBS level and should have no success at the NFL level. Daniels is six foot four and 200 pounds, with not much muscle. This is a Bryce Young scenario, small fragile quarterback with a terrible offensive line gets seriously injured. Daniels can run, but these are linebackers that run 4.5 forties and defensive backs that close faster than a front door in a hurricane. To compound their mistake of drafting Daniels, they drafted only one offensive linemen in a deep offensive line draft. I guess they thought we were so good last year up front there is no reason to change anything. Maybe the thinking was we have Austin Ecklar and Brian Robinson in the backfield and they are so good they don’t need an offensive line. Daniels will get killed by week four and Mariota takes over. After three weeks of Mariota making bad reads and turning the ball over, they will go to rookie free agent Sam Hartman. This will be fun and interesting to watch. The former Wake Forest and Notre Dame quarterback is a drop back passer who didn’t fair well at Notre Dame. Hartman destroyed defenses while in a Deamon Deacon uniform, anyway it should be interesting. What about Driskel? He will be cut right before the season starts. Who else does this affect? Rookie receiver Luke McCaffrey who will never get the ball. We won’t know if McCaffrey will turn into an effective receiver or if he was a good draft pick. McCaffrey will be sitting waiting for a quarterback who can get him the ball along with veterans Dotson and McLaurin.
This was the worst defensive team in the league, I am thinking you can only get better. They should get better since Head Coach Dan Quinn has coached on the defensive side of the ball in the NFL for many, many years. They drafted better on this side of the ball picking up two defensive backs, two linemen and a linebacker. They also have veteran Bobby Wagner calling the defensive signals. Wagner has worked with Quinn before in Seattle and they got to a Superbowl. I don’t think for even a nano-second that this defense will be effective, but they won’t be the worst in the league.    

 AFC NORRIS Division Winner – Baltimore Ravens
What can you say about the Ravens, they are an excellent organization. Great front office, great coaching staff, great personnel, great results. The Ravens finished sixth in offense, sixth in defense and number one in turnover ratio in 2023. This team should be in The Superbowl in February of 2025, because they may improve. This team has for years been about playing great defense, being tougher than the other team, controlling the ball and not turning it over. This philosophy has made them very successful under John Harbaugh. They have only won one Superbowl with Coach Harbaugh, but more could happen. They got one many years ago with Brian Billick and Trent Dilfer and the same philosophy. The Ravens win the AFC Championship in 2024 and go on to The Superbowl.
On offense The Ravens are about the running game and Lamar Jackson. None of this goes anywhere without a superior offensive line and they have that. Their offensive line is anchored by veteran Ronnie Stanley and not to my surprise they used a top pick to bring in Roger Rosengarten one of the best offensive tackles in college football last season. He is six foot five, three hundred and twenty pounds. Rosengarten led one of the best lines in college football last season at The University of Washington at Seattle. His line allowed Michael Penix Jr. to do whatever he wanted to do, because he was not touched all year. The Ravens also drafted a top tier center, nothing happens without a good offensive line and The ravens have understood this and made sure they have had a good offensive line every season. Lamar Jackson will do what Lamar does again this year, run the ball some, throw short and intermediate passes to his tight ends and go long to his wide outs once in a while to keep the defense honest. Lamar won’t do anything high risk if he is following the game plan. Monken is back at Offensive Coordinator and has used Jacksons talents really well to move the ball without turning it over. Monken has Chris Hewitt working with him on the passing game, although I think they will be running the ball more this year with Derrick Henry in the backfield. Henry and Justice Hill make a good pair to line up behind Lamar. Devontez Walker a receiver from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was drafted to add depth to the receiving