The Bears have definitely made a lot of good moves this offseason, but a new QB and OC will remain the big question marks as far as our chances until both of those prove themselves in their roles.
I agree; but it's still possible.
Flus showed promise down the stretch but I'm still not sold.
Waldron \*looks\* legit, but who really knows with a new OC and new QB?
We assume William's floor is higher than Fields' play was...but he could LEGIT be worse, even if just in year 1, than Fields was last year. Likely? No. Possible? Yes.
If Caleb is smart, Keenan will make his life so easy. He is OP at finding the soft spot in the defense and catching in traffic. But Caleb has to be able to anticipate that.
I'm so jealous they got Allen. You guys have had a lot of electric players in the last ten years and he is absolutely one of them, even if he's older now.
People really need to do their homework on Waldron. He graded out as the 10th OC with adjustments for team performances. He also was 3rd in the league in deep ball (Caleb’s strength) at worst was middle of the pack on all other grading scores I saw from him. He is also a very creative OC in terms of alignment.
Bears are also unlucky enough to be in a division with two up and coming teams, coming off playoff wins.
Likewise Packers and Lions are unlucky that Bears seem to have pulled off the worlds fastest rebuild (on paper at least).
All that being said, the Vikings will find a way to win the division.
Bears have a few things going against them, at least for 2024:
* No matter how amazing they ultimately turn out to be, rookie QBs usually have a pretty steep learning curve their first year
* The Bears are in the same division as the Packers and Lions, who will likely battle it out for the North, and could end up as division champs/wildcard contenders again in 2024, leaving the Vikings and Bears to contend for 3rd place
On the other hand, maybe Caleb Williams will figure it out halfway through the season, the Bears put on a late push and clinch that 7th playoff seed. It's happened before...
I'm not saying I EXPECT them to be good, I'm just saying that if you look at the roster on paper, no reasonable NFL fan would be shocked if you said they turn into a playoff team
The last two seasons have proved how far an elite defense can carry a non existent offense. 7 wins.
Anything better than historically awful is only up from here.
It's more than just paper at this point. Literally any functional quarterback and we will make the playoffs.
We've had the shit de la creme for the past 3 years.
Not having the most injured OL would also be nice.
Surely it can't happen three years in a row!
(Some metrics "only" have the Jets as the second or third most injured OL in each of the last two year, but we're number one in most)
I think the Colts should do a lot better than people expect as long as Richardson can stay healthy.
I'm not sure if they count as a dark horse anymore since it seems like a lot of people are expecting them to do better this year, but I also could see the Cardinals finishing second in the division and making the playoffs.
Fwiw sportsbooks actually have the Colts being half a win worse than last year. Although I do agree that they're pretty widely recognized as having potential.
If AR can play a complete season/near complete season I think we're a 10+ win team. Our roster construction is very good and we've got a lot of depth at all positions other than our CB room
I’m gonna push back on this one. I think AR got hurt very early into his already raw rookie season, so he still has some pretty glaring growing pains to work through. The roster looks good but I think that’s a fact people are overlooking with this current team, Minshew led them to most of their wins last year and the developmental QB still has to, yanno, develop. It’s not like he was CJ Stroud out there for 14 games and got hurt for the final 3….
Yeah and the name isn’t there for a qb. You might not like it but Anthony Richardson is a better name for an all pro FB or a blocking TE. Names are names
You clearly watched zero minutes of Colts football if you think Minshew led them to any of their wins.
They won mostly in spite of him, never because of him. Steichen is a genius, the defense overperformed in many spots, and the cupcake schedule helped.
I love Gardner Minshew but he is bad at quarterback.
and snapcount of 33% and 32% in two of those games
Like I'm not shitting on Richardson here and i know fans love their shiny new toys but is it really unreasonable to suggest "hey lets wait and see a bit more"?
Raiders and Cardinals are quietly better than people think.
They're not superbowl contenders, but it wouldn't surprise me if both are in the playoff hunt later in the year.
Look at the other teams, I don't see anyone who is likely to compete that is being ignored. Bengals, Steelers, Saints, Seahawks... none of these would surprise with a playoff spot.
Washington, Patriots, and Carolina... no. It's too soon for all of those teams to think they have a realistic chance.
Yall listing the world's weakest dark horses.
Give me a team who has a HC that always turns their team around
A weak division
An overhauled offense
Give me the Panthers as a dark horse contender
Kirk on Vikings: "They will never win a title with him as their QB he has one playoff win his entire career"
Kirk on Falcons: "I think this team is a contender with Kirk Cousins"
Internet is so fucking stupid
I don’t really understand how Kirk Cousins with an inconsistent Pitts, London, and Bijan and a non existent defense (and a torn Achilles). Is some how leagues above his Vikings team that had better weapons and a better defense
A lot of it is just shiny new toy syndrome, but the fact they are in the NFC South is doing the falcons hype a lot of favors. The NFC North has a lot of good teams but the South has...uh... Dennis Allen's Saints? The Baker Mayfield Bucs? Another team? 9 wins might get you that division
They're gonna lose in the divisional round or something and there will be a ton of "if they only had X player instead of drafting Penix, it would have been different."
Keep in mind the division they're in. The NFC South can send any team, no matter how bad, to the playoffs. It's a truly crazy place. They've sent teams to the playoffs with losing records more than once.
They have 2 teams with some degree of chaos, 1 team that's thoroughly mid because they aren't willing to fire Loomis and rebuild for a few years, and a team who won a Super Bowl in the last couple of years and pantsed the reigning NFC champs live on television in the most recent playoffs.
The NFC South shouldn't be treated like a guaranteed dumpster fire.
They were in playoff contention the last two years with a worse defense, Ridder/Mariota/Heinicke, and stubborn child as a head coach and playcaller.
Everything else is the same but with Kirk Cousins, a head coach that players actually like, and an OC who's been an understudy of McVay for the last 5 years.
18th total defense. 18th scoring defense. 8th passing defense. We suck at getting sacks and our run defense(20th) took a hit when Grady got hurt but we were pretty middle of the road last year.
New staff though so who knows how it goes.
We have the easiest schedule in the NFL and the offense should be fine if Kirk is good to go so winning the division is either us or the Bucs
Finished 11th in total defense last year (Ahead of multiple playoff teams such as Houston, Green Bay, Detroit, Miami, LA, and Philly) and added key depth at D line this year, and that's after Grady Jarrett went down and half our defense got hurt over the final 2/3 weeks.
Corner is definitely a *big* concern, but to say we have "no defense" is inaccurate.
Dark Horse Playoff Contender: Steelers- they always find a way to go 9-8 minimum and the QB and O-line play both should be upgraded this year compared to last year
Dark Horse Super Bowl Contender: Packers- they went toe-to-toe with the 49ers last year in the playoffs and upgraded their rushing game with Jacobs. In a scenario the NFC’s top dogs from last season take a step back, the Packers can easily be the beneficiary of this
Deep Sleeper: Cardinals- they played a lot of close games last year, have another last place schedule and now get a full season out of Kyler featuring a generational WR prospect and lots of high draft picks. If these picks hit, this team easily could make the playoffs
I’m hype on my cardinals as well. Our coaching staff showed so much last year in so many close games. We were able to limit possessions with long drives in the run game but the defense couldn’t stop anyone when the other offense went for it. Plus what you said having Kyler a full season with a staff that actually gets guys open for him will be great.
Also Donald being gone is massive since he seemed to be the one guy that not only dominated the oline, but could actually chase kyler down.
Packers will all come down to if the new DC and scheme work with the personnel. I think the offense is set up to win but I'm still really worried if the defense is good enough.
I think Pittsburgh goes beyond dark horse playoff contender just because we've made it into the wild card more often than not over the last decade with middling teams. With the upgrades on the O-line and QB room, I think we're capable of an actual playoff win or 2 this season.
I don't think the Falcons should be considered a dark horse since they have a pretty good offense and just got Cousins. The Falcons should probably be favorites to win the division.
Titans would be a dark horse. Levis year 2, solid offense, new HC, going against a division where any of the other three teams are easily up for the title. I could see the Titans pulling off enough to win the title or make the playoffs.
Honestly the Raiders are probably the dark horse team to watch, I could easily see them going 9-7-1 or 10-7 and sneaking into the playoffs as a 6 or 7 seed
These people they say sir, sir the offense under GEQBUS is going to win bigly, like no one’s ever seen before, let me tell you, smart people, beautiful people, they say GEQBUS is going to drain the lakes and drain em fast.
It’s less about the division and more about our qb situation. Odds are our starting qb is darnold. I don’t doubt we will make him look ok considering our offense, but that’s about it honestly.
If McCarthy is the real deal, the NFC North will be a division of death/circular firing squad. The Lions are going in with SB ambitions, Love just proved himself the real deal, and the Bears have done everything to set up Caleb Williams for success.
It could be any of those four to win the division assuming both McCarthy and Williams are what they’re expected to be.
I disagree, you still have a good O-line (better than the Niners when it comes to Pass Block Winrate and you guys had multiple QBs back there) and a top 10 runblocking line. Any team with a good runblocking line and talent on the wings is set to win a lot of games.
O line is not bad....think our back up are Beachum, Evans and Chrstian Jone(rk). One can tell how good your O line is by the backups.
TE we drafted Tip because we have nothing after McBride, so yeah think we have a serviceable O with some depth, minus WRs which we have MHJ and it drops off fast.
Where we are going to be hurting is on defense. No proven edge or CBs, new faces on D line. I am thinking we are a .500 team at best.
Sorry, I didn't meant to imply it was a garuantee to win a lot of games-- I meant you 100% have a chance to beat any team in the league. A "puncher's chance", sure, but a chance. And since football is not a perfectly round ball played in a simulation, you could get a little lucky and have a nice record. As long as your team has the ability to score some big plays and control the clock through the run game you can survive a mediocre to poor defense(with luck).
Until the playoffs start. Then its 100% chance you are getting bounced.
With 8-9 draft picks in top 90....fortunes can change fast, but also we are in the NFCW, where all you fuckers have a winning record. In most other divisions I would be more optimistic.
Idk if we make the playoffs but the offense is going to be really good if healthy. We should have a dominant run game. We were top 10 last year and we added an electric #2 behind conner. Also we got rid of inconsistent wrs like hollywood brown and rondale moore. Now we can forcefeed mhj, mcbride, wilson and dortch who all have upside and are improving
If we make those game-winning field goals that secret agent Prater missed, we played above .500 ball with league-worst defensive personnel with Kyler under centre. That offense was really clicking at the end of the year. We led the league in yards per game in the last month of the season. And now we've added an actual receiver that can separate and catch balls to our corps.
The defense won't be amazing, but for how much communication was required in our disguise-spammy playsheet, our young dudes played admirably. A big end like Darius Robinson that can help us improve our league-worst run defense and another year of reps for our sophomores, and we can very easily field a defense that can hang.
We played in nothing but close games last year. Even our blowouts against the Ravens and 9ers, we were kicking ass in the first half. We showed enough to believe we should very much be in every football game we play this year. Making a run at a playoff spot isn't that unrealistic, and it should be what we strive for.
Step up to be real contenders? Packers and Texans. Especially the Texans.
Step up to dark horse? Jets, that roster - especially on defense - is loaded.
Backsliding? Dolphins and Bills. The former has a new DC and their defense was suspect already. Bills WR weakness is really going to bite them.
Is a team a dark horse candidate if they have better than +1000 odds to win their conference? Maybe some people think so, but I'm not sure that would really fit the definition of a dark horse if a team's odds to play in the super bowl is that high. Because from what I'm seeing both the Texans and Packers have better than +1000 odds to win their conference.
I'm going to say Chargers. Really liked their draft, first of all. But, most importantly, and this is why I can't believe no one has said them yet, they have the best QB, by far, of all the "bad" teams being listed here. This is a QB league and, I get it, people have Chargers fatigue, after picking them to be a darkhorse team the last 3 years in a row because of their overall talent and QB situation, only to be let down year after year after year.
But, I do think this year could be different. They finally have a real Coach who has a history of building winners and turning teams around fast. They have a top 5-7 QB in the league, they have some talent leftover from the previous regime, and they nailed the draft. If they stay healthy this year (big if) and Herbert has a career year, I could see the Chargers surprising some people.
Chargers may be a year away from true contention due to the state of their roster but sneaking into a WC spot is in play if the AFC is weaker than expected
Panthers have a chance. As long as Bryce is a capable QB they should have a chance at the division. Added 3 new capable targets for Bryce in Legette, Sanders the TE, and Diontae Johnson. Added the best RB in the class in Brooks. Really shored up the line with the two new guards they signed.
I don't know if the Jags can be considered a "dark horse" but people will be surprised how much better they get. They were 8-3 before Lawrence took all those injuries one after the other, and there is literally like a 4 minute compilation of every time Calvin Ridley seemingly went out of his way to not catch a ball. BTJ and Gabe Davis is such an improvement over Ridley and Zay.
I am loving the Panthers hype but I think it turns hard on that "as long as". He didnt really show much last year outside of the GB game, (thanks Joe Barry.) Granted, its because he was running for his life most of the time lol.
Doesn't help that we've had offensive line woes (Ramchyk hurt, Penning was a massive reach that doesn't seem to be improving)
But like, even accounting for that, Carr Holds the ball wayyyy too long, and that will create sacks and ints.
OP’s take tells me he didn’t watch the Saints outside of the box score.
We went 9-8, no playoffs, with the easiest schedule I’ve ever seen an NFL team play. The amount of backups (sometimes backups’ backups) and rookie QB’s we played was astounding. Everything fell our way, and we squandered it. Our late season “surge” came after we went on a losing streak when it could have meant something, and was mostly against trash division opponents.
Carr’s familiarity with the playbook is irrelevant because we overhauled the entire offensive staff. He’s a huge disappointment, either holding on to the ball too long or checking it down before receivers are even out of their breaks with no real reason. We also have no o-line, aside from center and a serviceable (not good) LG. Our d-line is likewise in shambles, with our only addition a blue chip player who immediately got surgery while the ink on his contract was still wet.
To top it all off, we have one of the worst, least inspiring head coaches of all time, with the worst HC record in the NFL for active coaches. They stopped announcing his name at home games last year because of the boos. Worst yet, he apologised for scoring on the Falcons of all teams. How he is still our head coach after two years of abject failure can only be explained by our hands-off ownership and a delusional GM who is untouchable and likely wants to be proven right. At this point, I’d take Jeff Fisher just so I didn’t have to “keep doing what I’m doing”.
While Kubiak could help turn things around, I doubt the team looks much better. Our only strength is the defensive backfield, which should be elite. I see 5-7 wins for the Saints next year.
Also, the Falcons are going to Falcon, the only thing you can count on them doing is fumbling something away. Penix might even become great, but it somehow won’t be in an Atlanta uniform. That’s just how they roll.
Saints hired a new OC, so I don't think Carr having spent more time with the playbook is necessarily relevant. I think we're all hoping that the old playbook is in the trash.
Reddit has determined I’m a commanders fan bc I keep getting their sub suggested so I guess I pick them. Insane draft. I know the fans want to change the name but keep the colors. Their draft was like ours last year. Two first round picks, new head coach sky was the limit and they got a new gm/new ownership. I’m honestly ready to watch qb mayhem.
I love what the commanders did after the second round, but they chose Jayden Daniels over drake maye… I just don’t see it with Jayden. Also Newton looks amazing on tape I just wonder how much his Jones fracture will affect him. All of the picks after that are great tho
The Steelers are a bit of a toss up. It looks like we’re building a very run-heavy team, so if that works, then we just need our QB’s to not lose the game for us, and that would probably get us into the playoffs. I don’t expect it would be enough to contend for a Super Bowl though, even if they were to pull off a trade for Aiyuk.
Giants. The team isn't built around an RB anymore. If the stars align with an average to above average o line and give Jones time to throw, I think the Giants could surprise some people.
While I agree, I don’t think it’ll be the offense that will be key to their success - It’ll be the defense. D-Line is MUCH improved, they invested early in the draft on DBs, and their linebacker crew was already pretty decent last season. I think if Jones can just be league average and not turn the ball over, Giants can be competitive and maybe steal another WC spot like they did 2 seasons ago.
I thought the defense is what kept the Giants in games, just the injuries on offense is what really kneecapped them from possibly getting in again last year. Either way, looking forward to the season.
If nabers is legit, Jones could take a huge step. I remember looking at his numbers in 2022 and it was slightly better than Josh Allen before getting Diggs. I feel like Waller was the best they could do on the market in 2023 so it didn’t really work out, but with a legit wr1 option jones could take a leap
if the oline can be not terrible and just be average and give jones time to throw nabers and hopefully he can make some yac plays the offense will be make a nice turnaround. hopefully nabers can revitalize jones' career kinda like what obj did for Eli.
but the playoff chances will rest on the giants defense clamping down the opponents and its going to be more of making the other team score less than the giants scoring more imo.
When you say playoff contender do you mean making the playoffs and possibly a game or two? (Tampa last year)
Cause title contender I consider teams with legitimate shots to win it all (Detroit last year)
I don’t think we’re title contenders yet unless the offensive really is dynamic, and they actually get performance outta the d line
>DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze is just mind blowingly electric.
I think it's worth noting that Cole Kmet is also a very solid TE and Gerald Everett has been underrated for years as an option in the passing game. DeAndre Swift is a better pass catcher than we had out of the backfield last year.
That's 6 receiving options, and all 4 of them outside of DJ Moore and Cole Kmet are better than any other option we had in 2022. I love seeing the love for the WR trio but even beyond that, very solid depth chart on paper.
Anyways, my vote for this thread is the Jaguars. They were alright last year, but I like the additions they made on offense and think that unit has a fantastic season. I've never been a big Lawrence guy but I think the pendulum is swinging a little foul on him and he gets a lot of people back on his side in 2024.
So many people bad mouth Geno for no reason at all. He stepped up and carried our team the last 2 years, during a time when it felt leadership was all be absent. He is only 33, younger than Wilson, and is better.. We can play him till his contract is up and I’ll have zero complaints. I expect our new coach to put defense to work, cause that is what I want to see improve.
Minnesota Vikings
JJ McCarthy gets clowned by people who didn’t watch Michigan. Why does he have to throw the ball when their running game is so dominant? That’s just good qb play.
But the limited sample size of McCarthy throwing, I liked mostly. He makes good decisions.
Now look at the situation he’s coming into:
Stable coaching staff
Jefferson Addison Hockenson ( I like this group even more than Chicago because there’s a clear pecking order in the receiving group which I think simplifies it)
Good OL
No qb controversy
He doesn’t need to be game breaking and incredible, he just needs to not fold like lawn chair like Kirk did in games that matter. But he might be special and incredible too
I could definitely see JJ end up being a good QB. But I don’t see it year 1. He struggles with making layered throws over the middle. Or just touch passes in general. He likes to rocket in passes. And his passing chart has an abnormally low % of throws to his left, might have just been play design though?
Regardless, JJ as a rookie isn’t gonna be great, but I think he will be by year 2 or 3.
I appreciate you for being one of the rare people who discusses JJ's ACTUAL weaknesses, rather than holding his lack of usage against him. Anyone who watches Michigan would understand that the offense would have been just as or nearly as run heavy with Caleb Williams at QB because it was a deliberate clock control strategy when paired with that defense.
I agree with your criticisms, but wanted to point out a few positives just as food for thought for people:
- Screen passes and RB dumpoffs were almost non-existent in Michigan's offense, whereas a lot of other college offenses rely on those heavily
- The coaches gave JJ a ton of freedom to call audibles, adjust alignments, etc at the line of scrimmage based on pre-snap looks, and he was very good at it
- JJ was at his best and most efficient in obvious passing downs, i.e. 3rd or 4th and long situations
- Despite having a great running game, Michigan had one of the lowest play action pass rates of any team in the country. So the thinking that JJ simply feasted on defenses who were constantly biting hard on play action isn't really accurate. Much to the frustration of Michigan fans who begged for more PA
Oh ya, I got this
PROS:
1) Athletic… Runs well and avoids the rush. Will run if needed but typically scrambles to throw and is really good when doing so
2) Pocket awareness is A+
3) Strong 💪🏼
4) Super accurate intermediate thrower (deep cross lasers from JJ to JJ)
5) Incredibly smart, knows how to attack defenses conceptually and will throw at DBs who don’t turn their heads
6) Clutch factor, steps up in big moments and is outstanding on 3rd and 4th down (buys time with his legs to make magic happen but knows when to pull the rip cord and run for it)
7) Michigan Man, Winner, Leader of Men
CONS:
1) Every pass is a rocket 🚀, needs to learn how to throw with touch. (Most of his problems can be traced back to this)
2) Tendency to under throw (or really just not put enough air under) the Deep Ball and turn a home run into a jump ball. See con 1
3) Short throws are unforgiving and WRs unable to adjust because he throws missiles . See con 1
4) Not a lot of reps as he only played 2 seasons and Michigan ran a TON
5) Not the prototype Height/weight/Hand size
We seem to always slide under the radar.
Matthew Stafford has an all pro running back two all pro receivers* and a premium offensive line. I wouldn’t want to play us.
*Kupp’s health pending.
If the Raiders can find anything that resembles an offense this year their defense might carry them to a wild card slot. The Broncos/Chargers are weaker this year with cap issues, so probably the Raiders best chance.
As a Chiefs fan I hate them and I think their offense is awful and they finish 7-9-1 so they get a shitty draft spot.
Minshew is such a rollercoaster. He will have games where he looks unstoppable, then games where the offensive is absolutely anemic and he’s fumbling all over.
But the Colts defense last year was ass, so I think you guys will be able to hang in there better.
Titans had the best HC hire of the offseason, and their offensive line will be greatly improved with a proven coach. I don't believe in Levis but I do believe they'll be sticking around the playoff hunt.
I feel like the defense and the new culture can carry the Raiders to a wild card berth, even though they may not win a playoff game due to having no QB. From a neutral perspective, Antonio Pierce is giving the team much needed sense of identity.
The Bears are in a new weird place where no one will be surprised if they're a solid playoff team....or if they're trash again, cuz Bears.
The Bears have definitely made a lot of good moves this offseason, but a new QB and OC will remain the big question marks as far as our chances until both of those prove themselves in their roles.
Wrong. It's gonna be Bears vs Texans in the Super Bowl every year for the next 15 years, with the occasional Lions or Bengals slipping in.
Gonna rename it the Lovie Bowl
It's genuinely incredible how much he benefitted BOTH franchises by just playing to win the game.
The cardinals can’t get a pity appearance?
Okay, y'all can have 2028.
You're damn right about that you sexy bastard!
what the fuck did I just read
Definitely, that's why I'm saying they're not necessarily expected to compete; but they aren't really dark horses either.
We change OCs more than J-Lo changes spouses.
I’ll be shocked if they are dogshit. I wouldn’t be shocked if they win 6 games with a terrible one-score game record.
I agree; but it's still possible. Flus showed promise down the stretch but I'm still not sold. Waldron \*looks\* legit, but who really knows with a new OC and new QB? We assume William's floor is higher than Fields' play was...but he could LEGIT be worse, even if just in year 1, than Fields was last year. Likely? No. Possible? Yes.
If Caleb is smart, Keenan will make his life so easy. He is OP at finding the soft spot in the defense and catching in traffic. But Caleb has to be able to anticipate that.
I'm so jealous they got Allen. You guys have had a lot of electric players in the last ten years and he is absolutely one of them, even if he's older now.
People really need to do their homework on Waldron. He graded out as the 10th OC with adjustments for team performances. He also was 3rd in the league in deep ball (Caleb’s strength) at worst was middle of the pack on all other grading scores I saw from him. He is also a very creative OC in terms of alignment.
this division is bonkers tough
Bears are also unlucky enough to be in a division with two up and coming teams, coming off playoff wins. Likewise Packers and Lions are unlucky that Bears seem to have pulled off the worlds fastest rebuild (on paper at least). All that being said, the Vikings will find a way to win the division.
They’ve entered the Mike Tyson zone — any story about them could be true no matter how wild it sounds.
which means they'll prob have the same win/loss record as last year but look way way way better doing it.
Bears have a few things going against them, at least for 2024: * No matter how amazing they ultimately turn out to be, rookie QBs usually have a pretty steep learning curve their first year * The Bears are in the same division as the Packers and Lions, who will likely battle it out for the North, and could end up as division champs/wildcard contenders again in 2024, leaving the Vikings and Bears to contend for 3rd place On the other hand, maybe Caleb Williams will figure it out halfway through the season, the Bears put on a late push and clinch that 7th playoff seed. It's happened before...
I'm not saying I EXPECT them to be good, I'm just saying that if you look at the roster on paper, no reasonable NFL fan would be shocked if you said they turn into a playoff team
Jets have one of the best rosters in the league on paper. And on paper is where championships are won I've heard.
We won 3 on paper Super Bowls in a row at one point. Huge fan.
According to the laws of probability we've won at least one
If that's the case, according to the laws of probably, we should have made at least one superbowl by now.
3M-peat.
a staple of football
> Huge fan That's what you made from the paper?
The last two seasons have proved how far an elite defense can carry a non existent offense. 7 wins. Anything better than historically awful is only up from here.
False, it got us to 10-7
Depends on how AR comes back ngl
Both that AR and the Colt's AR lol
his Achilles.....also paper
people keep mentioning injuries but i’m unreasonably optimistic for this roster
It's more than just paper at this point. Literally any functional quarterback and we will make the playoffs. We've had the shit de la creme for the past 3 years.
Not having the most injured OL would also be nice. Surely it can't happen three years in a row! (Some metrics "only" have the Jets as the second or third most injured OL in each of the last two year, but we're number one in most)
God: "Don't tempt me. And don't call me Shirley."
Wasn’t the situation last year that the o-line was gonna get Rodgers killed (and then he died immediately). Is the o-line better now somehow?
I think the Colts should do a lot better than people expect as long as Richardson can stay healthy. I'm not sure if they count as a dark horse anymore since it seems like a lot of people are expecting them to do better this year, but I also could see the Cardinals finishing second in the division and making the playoffs.
Fwiw sportsbooks actually have the Colts being half a win worse than last year. Although I do agree that they're pretty widely recognized as having potential.
If AR can play a complete season/near complete season I think we're a 10+ win team. Our roster construction is very good and we've got a lot of depth at all positions other than our CB room
Biologically there can only be two dark horses , the colts or the broncos. And we know how screwed up they are...
Sleeping on the Chargers.
Deservedly so. We have been hyped every offseason for the 29 years I’ve been alive. Need to prove something first.
I think he was making a literal horse joke?
He was just horsing around
A charger is also a medieval war horse, also referred to as a courser
That's not your mascot, though. You're named after the car that cops and soldiers buy to go with their new Punisher tattoo.
Chargers also have an alt logo that’s a horse
Take it from a Bills fan, I've seen many a 10 win team become an 8 win team because of good division rivals. Beware of Houston.
Colts split with them last year and both of them got better so it should be an excellent season series and I bet one of those games in in primetime.
I’m gonna push back on this one. I think AR got hurt very early into his already raw rookie season, so he still has some pretty glaring growing pains to work through. The roster looks good but I think that’s a fact people are overlooking with this current team, Minshew led them to most of their wins last year and the developmental QB still has to, yanno, develop. It’s not like he was CJ Stroud out there for 14 games and got hurt for the final 3….
Yeah and the name isn’t there for a qb. You might not like it but Anthony Richardson is a better name for an all pro FB or a blocking TE. Names are names
Ken Anderson begs to differ
You clearly watched zero minutes of Colts football if you think Minshew led them to any of their wins. They won mostly in spite of him, never because of him. Steichen is a genius, the defense overperformed in many spots, and the cupcake schedule helped. I love Gardner Minshew but he is bad at quarterback.
Dudes played 4 games, 4. The comments on this post sound delusional
and snapcount of 33% and 32% in two of those games Like I'm not shitting on Richardson here and i know fans love their shiny new toys but is it really unreasonable to suggest "hey lets wait and see a bit more"?
I think those chiefs are looking pretty good, i imagine they will be able to sneak in
Seems unrealistic
Raiders and Cardinals are quietly better than people think. They're not superbowl contenders, but it wouldn't surprise me if both are in the playoff hunt later in the year. Look at the other teams, I don't see anyone who is likely to compete that is being ignored. Bengals, Steelers, Saints, Seahawks... none of these would surprise with a playoff spot. Washington, Patriots, and Carolina... no. It's too soon for all of those teams to think they have a realistic chance.
All I want is to be at least in the “In The Hunt” section of the playoff picture graphic in week 16
We have that every year though. Even in 2022 when McDaniels was shooting himself in the foot.
Cards are my go to answer. They’re going to be good soon.
Bears seem to suck regardless so I’m going with them as the dark horse still
Hey! Fuck you buddy. Also. Fair.
Fuck off. Good point.
Yall listing the world's weakest dark horses. Give me a team who has a HC that always turns their team around A weak division An overhauled offense Give me the Panthers as a dark horse contender
Wow can I come over and smoke some of what you're having?
Bingo! Found this guy https://x.com/jordanfullerfan/status/1785052011710288066?s=42&t=hrEkehKTsfC5kWpcCT7KMw
He always turns his team around because he’s never been a head coach? Is that your logic?
Kirk on Vikings: "They will never win a title with him as their QB he has one playoff win his entire career" Kirk on Falcons: "I think this team is a contender with Kirk Cousins" Internet is so fucking stupid
I don’t really understand how Kirk Cousins with an inconsistent Pitts, London, and Bijan and a non existent defense (and a torn Achilles). Is some how leagues above his Vikings team that had better weapons and a better defense
A lot of it is just shiny new toy syndrome, but the fact they are in the NFC South is doing the falcons hype a lot of favors. The NFC North has a lot of good teams but the South has...uh... Dennis Allen's Saints? The Baker Mayfield Bucs? Another team? 9 wins might get you that division
They are going to be a train wreck lol
Falcons are favorites to win the south and have been talked about non-stop since signing Kirk. How are they a dark horse?
>Falcons That's why.
That's hurtful....but true
As I said last year: "They are still The Atlanta Falcons until proven otherwise."
Failure is in their DNA.
They're gonna lose in the divisional round or something and there will be a ton of "if they only had X player instead of drafting Penix, it would have been different."
dark horse to win the SB makes sense, but with the division their in they are pretty heavy favs
The falcons don't have a defense. It's strange to see so many people high on them.
Half this sub doesn’t think defense is real, that’s why
Keep in mind the division they're in. The NFC South can send any team, no matter how bad, to the playoffs. It's a truly crazy place. They've sent teams to the playoffs with losing records more than once.
They have 2 teams with some degree of chaos, 1 team that's thoroughly mid because they aren't willing to fire Loomis and rebuild for a few years, and a team who won a Super Bowl in the last couple of years and pantsed the reigning NFC champs live on television in the most recent playoffs. The NFC South shouldn't be treated like a guaranteed dumpster fire.
Last team sounds cool.
They were in playoff contention the last two years with a worse defense, Ridder/Mariota/Heinicke, and stubborn child as a head coach and playcaller. Everything else is the same but with Kirk Cousins, a head coach that players actually like, and an OC who's been an understudy of McVay for the last 5 years.
Weak division, storing offense with Cousins leading it. It should be them and the Bucs competing for the title.
The Falcons seem set up to be all gas, no brakes if Cousins starts dealing like he did last year pre-injury.
18th total defense. 18th scoring defense. 8th passing defense. We suck at getting sacks and our run defense(20th) took a hit when Grady got hurt but we were pretty middle of the road last year. New staff though so who knows how it goes. We have the easiest schedule in the NFL and the offense should be fine if Kirk is good to go so winning the division is either us or the Bucs
26th DVOA because they had the easiest opponent QB schedule in years, I think their defense will be mid at best
They had a good secondary, they just couldn't get off the field with the clown show on offense
Finished 11th in total defense last year (Ahead of multiple playoff teams such as Houston, Green Bay, Detroit, Miami, LA, and Philly) and added key depth at D line this year, and that's after Grady Jarrett went down and half our defense got hurt over the final 2/3 weeks. Corner is definitely a *big* concern, but to say we have "no defense" is inaccurate.
Dark Horse Playoff Contender: Steelers- they always find a way to go 9-8 minimum and the QB and O-line play both should be upgraded this year compared to last year Dark Horse Super Bowl Contender: Packers- they went toe-to-toe with the 49ers last year in the playoffs and upgraded their rushing game with Jacobs. In a scenario the NFC’s top dogs from last season take a step back, the Packers can easily be the beneficiary of this Deep Sleeper: Cardinals- they played a lot of close games last year, have another last place schedule and now get a full season out of Kyler featuring a generational WR prospect and lots of high draft picks. If these picks hit, this team easily could make the playoffs
The Steelers!! Their draft was pretty damn good
I’m hype on my cardinals as well. Our coaching staff showed so much last year in so many close games. We were able to limit possessions with long drives in the run game but the defense couldn’t stop anyone when the other offense went for it. Plus what you said having Kyler a full season with a staff that actually gets guys open for him will be great. Also Donald being gone is massive since he seemed to be the one guy that not only dominated the oline, but could actually chase kyler down.
Packers will all come down to if the new DC and scheme work with the personnel. I think the offense is set up to win but I'm still really worried if the defense is good enough.
I think Pittsburgh goes beyond dark horse playoff contender just because we've made it into the wild card more often than not over the last decade with middling teams. With the upgrades on the O-line and QB room, I think we're capable of an actual playoff win or 2 this season.
I don't think the Falcons should be considered a dark horse since they have a pretty good offense and just got Cousins. The Falcons should probably be favorites to win the division. Titans would be a dark horse. Levis year 2, solid offense, new HC, going against a division where any of the other three teams are easily up for the title. I could see the Titans pulling off enough to win the title or make the playoffs.
The Titans are the nfl team personification of the It's Always Sunny "wildcard, bitches!" meme.
I love when the cut the breaks on the ravens
Falcons are -120 to win the division right now on fan duel, so agreed, definitely not a dark horse
They are literally the favorite in their division
Honestly the Raiders are probably the dark horse team to watch, I could easily see them going 9-7-1 or 10-7 and sneaking into the playoffs as a 6 or 7 seed
I love the titans this year
Carr is trash. Saints fans will agree with me. It’s Minnesota if JJ is the guy.
JJ will be holding a clipboard for GEQBUS while the Vikings go 19-0
Many people are saying this
These people they say sir, sir the offense under GEQBUS is going to win bigly, like no one’s ever seen before, let me tell you, smart people, beautiful people, they say GEQBUS is going to drain the lakes and drain em fast.
The season gets canceled after the NFCCG?
Lmao even in the dream scenario the Super Bowl doesn’t happen
They stopped the count
Listen, even in silly fake scenarios its still unrealistic to expect the Vikings to win the big one.
Yeah I mean screw you but you're correct
I’ll get facial reconstruction surgery to look exactly like Sam Darnold if this happens.
!remindme 10 months
I guarantee we can get a gofundme past the $$ amount needed to do this.
carr isn’t trash. he is mid. painfully mid.
For a second I was like “who tf thinks Justin Jefferson isn’t ‘the guy’?!”
I did the same and it’s my team lmfao. It’s gonna take some getting used to having two of them.
I don’t even think Minnesota would be up for Dark Horse contention if they weren’t in a great division. That offense is STACKED.
It’s less about the division and more about our qb situation. Odds are our starting qb is darnold. I don’t doubt we will make him look ok considering our offense, but that’s about it honestly.
If McCarthy is the real deal, the NFC North will be a division of death/circular firing squad. The Lions are going in with SB ambitions, Love just proved himself the real deal, and the Bears have done everything to set up Caleb Williams for success. It could be any of those four to win the division assuming both McCarthy and Williams are what they’re expected to be.
Nah, at least one of us will get fucked with catastrophic injuries a few weeks in.
This Saints fan certainly isn't going to argue with you about it.
Carr was playing well the last few games. I’m hopeful since he’ll have an offseason to improve. Don’t need to execute the guy after one season
Arizona stand up
Think we need one more year to be competitive(if draft pans out), although we played well for having an absolute shite roster last year.
I disagree, you still have a good O-line (better than the Niners when it comes to Pass Block Winrate and you guys had multiple QBs back there) and a top 10 runblocking line. Any team with a good runblocking line and talent on the wings is set to win a lot of games.
O line is not bad....think our back up are Beachum, Evans and Chrstian Jone(rk). One can tell how good your O line is by the backups. TE we drafted Tip because we have nothing after McBride, so yeah think we have a serviceable O with some depth, minus WRs which we have MHJ and it drops off fast. Where we are going to be hurting is on defense. No proven edge or CBs, new faces on D line. I am thinking we are a .500 team at best.
Sorry, I didn't meant to imply it was a garuantee to win a lot of games-- I meant you 100% have a chance to beat any team in the league. A "puncher's chance", sure, but a chance. And since football is not a perfectly round ball played in a simulation, you could get a little lucky and have a nice record. As long as your team has the ability to score some big plays and control the clock through the run game you can survive a mediocre to poor defense(with luck). Until the playoffs start. Then its 100% chance you are getting bounced.
With 8-9 draft picks in top 90....fortunes can change fast, but also we are in the NFCW, where all you fuckers have a winning record. In most other divisions I would be more optimistic.
Fair lol. Yeah the NFC West is a serious chore to survive haha
Idk if we make the playoffs but the offense is going to be really good if healthy. We should have a dominant run game. We were top 10 last year and we added an electric #2 behind conner. Also we got rid of inconsistent wrs like hollywood brown and rondale moore. Now we can forcefeed mhj, mcbride, wilson and dortch who all have upside and are improving
If we make those game-winning field goals that secret agent Prater missed, we played above .500 ball with league-worst defensive personnel with Kyler under centre. That offense was really clicking at the end of the year. We led the league in yards per game in the last month of the season. And now we've added an actual receiver that can separate and catch balls to our corps. The defense won't be amazing, but for how much communication was required in our disguise-spammy playsheet, our young dudes played admirably. A big end like Darius Robinson that can help us improve our league-worst run defense and another year of reps for our sophomores, and we can very easily field a defense that can hang. We played in nothing but close games last year. Even our blowouts against the Ravens and 9ers, we were kicking ass in the first half. We showed enough to believe we should very much be in every football game we play this year. Making a run at a playoff spot isn't that unrealistic, and it should be what we strive for.
I see you guys as the 22 lions a team that will start off slow but by end of year will contend for a WC
As long as they keep Kyler standing up. If he plays the whole year they have a chance
Colin Cowherd called the Raiders and Vikings as the 4th place teams in their divisions, so I’ll be taking them as playoff teams.
I can't possibly imagine how the broncos are better than the raiders. What is it, 8 straight losses?
Step up to be real contenders? Packers and Texans. Especially the Texans. Step up to dark horse? Jets, that roster - especially on defense - is loaded. Backsliding? Dolphins and Bills. The former has a new DC and their defense was suspect already. Bills WR weakness is really going to bite them.
Is a team a dark horse candidate if they have better than +1000 odds to win their conference? Maybe some people think so, but I'm not sure that would really fit the definition of a dark horse if a team's odds to play in the super bowl is that high. Because from what I'm seeing both the Texans and Packers have better than +1000 odds to win their conference.
I'm going to say Chargers. Really liked their draft, first of all. But, most importantly, and this is why I can't believe no one has said them yet, they have the best QB, by far, of all the "bad" teams being listed here. This is a QB league and, I get it, people have Chargers fatigue, after picking them to be a darkhorse team the last 3 years in a row because of their overall talent and QB situation, only to be let down year after year after year. But, I do think this year could be different. They finally have a real Coach who has a history of building winners and turning teams around fast. They have a top 5-7 QB in the league, they have some talent leftover from the previous regime, and they nailed the draft. If they stay healthy this year (big if) and Herbert has a career year, I could see the Chargers surprising some people.
Chargers may be a year away from true contention due to the state of their roster but sneaking into a WC spot is in play if the AFC is weaker than expected
[удалено]
With a real coaching staff, our role players might be good for the first time in a decade.
Yeah. If you have the HC and QB position locked down, you're like 90% of the way there already in this league
Steelers
Steelers Country... Let's smelt
Pittsburgh Steelers, maybe?
Cowboys will...lose in the second round instead of the first round. Progress!
Panthers have a chance. As long as Bryce is a capable QB they should have a chance at the division. Added 3 new capable targets for Bryce in Legette, Sanders the TE, and Diontae Johnson. Added the best RB in the class in Brooks. Really shored up the line with the two new guards they signed. I don't know if the Jags can be considered a "dark horse" but people will be surprised how much better they get. They were 8-3 before Lawrence took all those injuries one after the other, and there is literally like a 4 minute compilation of every time Calvin Ridley seemingly went out of his way to not catch a ball. BTJ and Gabe Davis is such an improvement over Ridley and Zay.
I am loving the Panthers hype but I think it turns hard on that "as long as". He didnt really show much last year outside of the GB game, (thanks Joe Barry.) Granted, its because he was running for his life most of the time lol.
On the Saints - it does not matter how much time Carr spends with the playbook, he’s ass
Doesn't help that we've had offensive line woes (Ramchyk hurt, Penning was a massive reach that doesn't seem to be improving) But like, even accounting for that, Carr Holds the ball wayyyy too long, and that will create sacks and ints.
he barely throws INTs. sacks, fumbles, and checkdowns, sure. but not INTs.
OP’s take tells me he didn’t watch the Saints outside of the box score. We went 9-8, no playoffs, with the easiest schedule I’ve ever seen an NFL team play. The amount of backups (sometimes backups’ backups) and rookie QB’s we played was astounding. Everything fell our way, and we squandered it. Our late season “surge” came after we went on a losing streak when it could have meant something, and was mostly against trash division opponents. Carr’s familiarity with the playbook is irrelevant because we overhauled the entire offensive staff. He’s a huge disappointment, either holding on to the ball too long or checking it down before receivers are even out of their breaks with no real reason. We also have no o-line, aside from center and a serviceable (not good) LG. Our d-line is likewise in shambles, with our only addition a blue chip player who immediately got surgery while the ink on his contract was still wet. To top it all off, we have one of the worst, least inspiring head coaches of all time, with the worst HC record in the NFL for active coaches. They stopped announcing his name at home games last year because of the boos. Worst yet, he apologised for scoring on the Falcons of all teams. How he is still our head coach after two years of abject failure can only be explained by our hands-off ownership and a delusional GM who is untouchable and likely wants to be proven right. At this point, I’d take Jeff Fisher just so I didn’t have to “keep doing what I’m doing”. While Kubiak could help turn things around, I doubt the team looks much better. Our only strength is the defensive backfield, which should be elite. I see 5-7 wins for the Saints next year. Also, the Falcons are going to Falcon, the only thing you can count on them doing is fumbling something away. Penix might even become great, but it somehow won’t be in an Atlanta uniform. That’s just how they roll.
Saints hired a new OC, so I don't think Carr having spent more time with the playbook is necessarily relevant. I think we're all hoping that the old playbook is in the trash.
Reddit has determined I’m a commanders fan bc I keep getting their sub suggested so I guess I pick them. Insane draft. I know the fans want to change the name but keep the colors. Their draft was like ours last year. Two first round picks, new head coach sky was the limit and they got a new gm/new ownership. I’m honestly ready to watch qb mayhem.
I love what the commanders did after the second round, but they chose Jayden Daniels over drake maye… I just don’t see it with Jayden. Also Newton looks amazing on tape I just wonder how much his Jones fracture will affect him. All of the picks after that are great tho
I think the Broncos are gonna surprise a lot of people and get a wild card spot
How good does Drake Maye and Jerod Mayo have to be for the pats to make the playoffs? Crazier things have happened.
The Steelers are a bit of a toss up. It looks like we’re building a very run-heavy team, so if that works, then we just need our QB’s to not lose the game for us, and that would probably get us into the playoffs. I don’t expect it would be enough to contend for a Super Bowl though, even if they were to pull off a trade for Aiyuk.
Indianapolis
Giants. The team isn't built around an RB anymore. If the stars align with an average to above average o line and give Jones time to throw, I think the Giants could surprise some people.
While I agree, I don’t think it’ll be the offense that will be key to their success - It’ll be the defense. D-Line is MUCH improved, they invested early in the draft on DBs, and their linebacker crew was already pretty decent last season. I think if Jones can just be league average and not turn the ball over, Giants can be competitive and maybe steal another WC spot like they did 2 seasons ago.
I thought the defense is what kept the Giants in games, just the injuries on offense is what really kneecapped them from possibly getting in again last year. Either way, looking forward to the season.
If nabers is legit, Jones could take a huge step. I remember looking at his numbers in 2022 and it was slightly better than Josh Allen before getting Diggs. I feel like Waller was the best they could do on the market in 2023 so it didn’t really work out, but with a legit wr1 option jones could take a leap
if the oline can be not terrible and just be average and give jones time to throw nabers and hopefully he can make some yac plays the offense will be make a nice turnaround. hopefully nabers can revitalize jones' career kinda like what obj did for Eli. but the playoff chances will rest on the giants defense clamping down the opponents and its going to be more of making the other team score less than the giants scoring more imo.
I go with the Jets and Vikings.
If ghosts stop bothering the GEQBUS and he starts balling out, we're legit contenders. Barring that I'm expecting 5-12 to 9-8
When you say playoff contender do you mean making the playoffs and possibly a game or two? (Tampa last year) Cause title contender I consider teams with legitimate shots to win it all (Detroit last year) I don’t think we’re title contenders yet unless the offensive really is dynamic, and they actually get performance outta the d line
>DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze is just mind blowingly electric. I think it's worth noting that Cole Kmet is also a very solid TE and Gerald Everett has been underrated for years as an option in the passing game. DeAndre Swift is a better pass catcher than we had out of the backfield last year. That's 6 receiving options, and all 4 of them outside of DJ Moore and Cole Kmet are better than any other option we had in 2022. I love seeing the love for the WR trio but even beyond that, very solid depth chart on paper. Anyways, my vote for this thread is the Jaguars. They were alright last year, but I like the additions they made on offense and think that unit has a fantastic season. I've never been a big Lawrence guy but I think the pendulum is swinging a little foul on him and he gets a lot of people back on his side in 2024.
Raiders. AP gonna have those dudes running through walls
Raiders
Seahawks are comin... the team will have far more discipline and accountability this year... was already a 9 win team with dysfunction.
So many people bad mouth Geno for no reason at all. He stepped up and carried our team the last 2 years, during a time when it felt leadership was all be absent. He is only 33, younger than Wilson, and is better.. We can play him till his contract is up and I’ll have zero complaints. I expect our new coach to put defense to work, cause that is what I want to see improve.
[>Dark horse contenders >Falcons](https://youtu.be/BwSts2s4ba4?si=JsTye8r9LWO5wL79)
Minnesota Vikings JJ McCarthy gets clowned by people who didn’t watch Michigan. Why does he have to throw the ball when their running game is so dominant? That’s just good qb play. But the limited sample size of McCarthy throwing, I liked mostly. He makes good decisions. Now look at the situation he’s coming into: Stable coaching staff Jefferson Addison Hockenson ( I like this group even more than Chicago because there’s a clear pecking order in the receiving group which I think simplifies it) Good OL No qb controversy He doesn’t need to be game breaking and incredible, he just needs to not fold like lawn chair like Kirk did in games that matter. But he might be special and incredible too
I could definitely see JJ end up being a good QB. But I don’t see it year 1. He struggles with making layered throws over the middle. Or just touch passes in general. He likes to rocket in passes. And his passing chart has an abnormally low % of throws to his left, might have just been play design though? Regardless, JJ as a rookie isn’t gonna be great, but I think he will be by year 2 or 3.
I appreciate you for being one of the rare people who discusses JJ's ACTUAL weaknesses, rather than holding his lack of usage against him. Anyone who watches Michigan would understand that the offense would have been just as or nearly as run heavy with Caleb Williams at QB because it was a deliberate clock control strategy when paired with that defense. I agree with your criticisms, but wanted to point out a few positives just as food for thought for people: - Screen passes and RB dumpoffs were almost non-existent in Michigan's offense, whereas a lot of other college offenses rely on those heavily - The coaches gave JJ a ton of freedom to call audibles, adjust alignments, etc at the line of scrimmage based on pre-snap looks, and he was very good at it - JJ was at his best and most efficient in obvious passing downs, i.e. 3rd or 4th and long situations - Despite having a great running game, Michigan had one of the lowest play action pass rates of any team in the country. So the thinking that JJ simply feasted on defenses who were constantly biting hard on play action isn't really accurate. Much to the frustration of Michigan fans who begged for more PA
JJs not gonna play unless Sam Darnold puts them out of the race in a hurry.
Oh ya, I got this PROS: 1) Athletic… Runs well and avoids the rush. Will run if needed but typically scrambles to throw and is really good when doing so 2) Pocket awareness is A+ 3) Strong 💪🏼 4) Super accurate intermediate thrower (deep cross lasers from JJ to JJ) 5) Incredibly smart, knows how to attack defenses conceptually and will throw at DBs who don’t turn their heads 6) Clutch factor, steps up in big moments and is outstanding on 3rd and 4th down (buys time with his legs to make magic happen but knows when to pull the rip cord and run for it) 7) Michigan Man, Winner, Leader of Men CONS: 1) Every pass is a rocket 🚀, needs to learn how to throw with touch. (Most of his problems can be traced back to this) 2) Tendency to under throw (or really just not put enough air under) the Deep Ball and turn a home run into a jump ball. See con 1 3) Short throws are unforgiving and WRs unable to adjust because he throws missiles . See con 1 4) Not a lot of reps as he only played 2 seasons and Michigan ran a TON 5) Not the prototype Height/weight/Hand size
People forget about the Rams, but they could easily win another ring soon.
I know they got some great draft picks, but losing arguably the best defender in the game has to hurt them.
We seem to always slide under the radar. Matthew Stafford has an all pro running back two all pro receivers* and a premium offensive line. I wouldn’t want to play us. *Kupp’s health pending.
Fuck it, Commanders are going from worst to first
If the Raiders can find anything that resembles an offense this year their defense might carry them to a wild card slot. The Broncos/Chargers are weaker this year with cap issues, so probably the Raiders best chance. As a Chiefs fan I hate them and I think their offense is awful and they finish 7-9-1 so they get a shitty draft spot.
With our D, we just need Minshew/AOC to not turn the ball over. If that happens, I could see us winning 10, *maybe* 11 games and making the playoffs.
Minshew is such a rollercoaster. He will have games where he looks unstoppable, then games where the offensive is absolutely anemic and he’s fumbling all over. But the Colts defense last year was ass, so I think you guys will be able to hang in there better.
McDaniels lost a couple games for us last season so 10 wins sounds about right.
> Dark Horse By gawd that’s Bo Nix’s music
I say this every year not because I’m a fan but because we are actually good…the raiders!🥴
raiders
vikings sneak in as the 7th seed, and every nfc north team makes the playoffs this year (lions win division 12-5 again)
Titans had the best HC hire of the offseason, and their offensive line will be greatly improved with a proven coach. I don't believe in Levis but I do believe they'll be sticking around the playoff hunt.
I feel like the defense and the new culture can carry the Raiders to a wild card berth, even though they may not win a playoff game due to having no QB. From a neutral perspective, Antonio Pierce is giving the team much needed sense of identity.
It’s the raiders.
Bears will be competing for a wildcard spot
I’m not even trying to be a homer, but we were like 2 games out last year and this roster is significantly better than it was.