Andy: I largely yawn at the prospects of writing much up on this division. Carolina won it last year at 7-8-1 and I don’t see enough improvement from any team to truly make a dent in the playoffs. I think it’s possible that the Panthers, minus Kevin Benjamin, and the Saints, minus Jimmy Graham, Kenny Stills, Junior Gallette and others might be worse than they were in 2014. The Bucs are probably better than they were, but that’s hard not to do coming off a 2-14 season and the number one overall pick. Atlanta … who the hell knows.
Tony: Let’s try to look at the positive for once—this was one of the most competitive divisions in football in 2015, with three of the four teams fighting for that coveted playoff spot heading into the final weeks of the season. What more could you ask for?
Oh, you want at least one of them to finish above .500? Well, aren’t you asking a lot. (more…)
Andy: I was thinking the drama in the NFC North was primarily going to be for second place and a possible wild card berth this season – and then Jordy Nelson tore his ACL.
I still think Green Bay has to be considered the team to beat. They’ve still got Aaron Rodgers and a lot of additional offensive weapons, but Detroit’s offense looks great and the Vikings appear to have a lot of upside this year too.
Tony: What, no love for the Bears? I mean, any team that is led by Jay Cutler has a chance…to be very, very bad. I mean, when Martellus Bennett starts spouting off about whether or not you’re a leader—and it’s not even the regular season—well, that’s a team that’s got some problems. As a fantasy owner that inexplicably invested heavily in Cutler last season…well, I’m almost over it. However, as a Vikings fan, that’s a beautiful thing to see.
The only thing that would be nicer to see? If it were the Packers. I mean, you never wish injuries on someone—not even your biggest rival. Well, maybe when you’re playing them, and you want to see your All-Pro Defensive Tackle snap their All-Pro Quarterback with a record game streak in half … but other than that, never. But when it happens…it’d be nice if it didn’t feel like they already had one or two guys waiting in the wings to take their place. I mean, if all the pundits are right about Davante Adams, and Ty Montgomery can slide into the #3 spot…well, next year we might be asking “Jordy who?”
Andy: I’m not sure those guys are going to make fans forget Jordy, but it does speak to the skills Ted Thompson has in assembling teams. I think the Packers are still a notch better than any other team in the division. (more…)
Andy: I’ve thought the last couple years that the NFC’s two strongest teams came from the NFC West. I still feel that way, though one of the participants has changed.
I still think the Seahawks are the class of the division. The offensive line took a hit in trading Max Unger to New Orleans, but the offense overall should get a boost from the presence of Jimmy Graham. The defense should still be top notch.
After that, I think the Cardinals – if Carson Palmer stays healthy – have jumped San Francisco and they look to me like a real contender.
Tony: I’m not disagreeing that the Seahawks are still the class of the division—or that the offense might get a boost from Graham—but overall, I think Graham’s numbers suffer in Seattle, more than he brings up their offense. Experts targeting Russell Wilson as the #2 or #3 QB just baffle me—3,500 yards and 20 TDs last year do not suddenly jump to 4,500 and 30 TD just because Graham is in town. Their leading TE last year saw 44 targets and 22 catches for 3 TDs, and the team had 525 rushing attempts. Unless they reduce Beast Mode’s workload, I would expect Graham to see about 90 targets, 65 catches, 750 yards and 7 touchdowns this year—not bad for a TE, but not up to his standards.
The Cardinals, meanwhile, did jump the 49ers last season and remain second in the division—more by default, though, than by anything they’ve done. Yes, signing Mike Iupati was a solid move, and they are getting Carson Palmer back. But can he stay healthy? Can Andre Ellington stay healthy? Can David or Chris Johnson do anything if/when Ellington misses some time? Does the loss of Todd Bowles hurt the defense significantly? (more…)
Well, it’s that time of year again. Actually, it’s well past that time of year – we decided to take a little time this year,
Courtesy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
before presenting our guesses for the Hall of Fame. But here we finally go…
Andy: Picking Hall of Fame classes in recent years has been a little easier, as there have been at least a few candidates in each class who stood a head taller than their peers. That changes a bit this year, as the voters have put many of those top notch candidates in. Not that there aren’t great players remaining, but there are a lot of guys with similar resumes to consider.
Tony: There are three first-time eligible players who seem like obvious names to, at least, make the final 15 – starting with the only player probably guaranteed a ticket to Canton in 2016 — former Falcons, Jets and Vikings quarterback Brett Favre (what? He played somewhere else?). He held basically every quarterback record there is when he retired, and with three MVP awards and a Super Bowl ring in addition to 11 Pro Bowls and six All-Pros, Favre’s bronze bust was cast before he walked away from the game…even the first time.
The other two seem likely to make the finalist list, but less likely make the final five—Terrell Owens and Alan Faneca. Owens finished his career second in all-time yardage and third in touchdowns, but six Pro Bowls and five first-team All-Pros won’t likely overcome his reputation in year one. And while Faneca was one of the best guards in the game in his time, he isn’t at the same level as Randall McDaniel or Will Shields, who both had to wait to get in.
Andy: Yep, I agree completely on the first-year guys. Favre may have played a year too long, but he was the model of greatness and a gunslinger throughout the years. Not to go all “John Madden” on it, but his personality is missed in today’s game. (more…)
Andy: I know in most seasons there is a fair amount of turnover in playoff teams, but I just don’t see a lot of that happening this year. A lot of the really strong teams almost seemed to get stronger and I think there are even going to be some potential rematches to be had in 2014.
Tony: I so want to disagree with you, if for no other reason than it makes for more interesting writing. But, while typically between five to seven teams change over, I can’t see that happening this year, as I actually ended up with six of eight division winners from last year repeating. (more…)
Tony: For the first time in … as long as the Browns have been back in the NFL, the AFC North might be the strongest division in the AFC from top to bottom.
Looking at the Raiders, Jaguars, Texans and Jets, that might not be saying much, but more so than in the other divisions, an argument could be made that ANY team could end up winning the North.
The Bengals are coming off of an 11-5 season and division championship. Much like brother Jim and the 49ers, John Harbaugh & Co. don’t rebuild the Ravens, they simply reload, and could easily improve on their 8-8 record (the worst the team has had since 2007). The Steelers showed their age early in the season, but came on strong at the end of the season, going 8-4 after the bye, 6-2 after a drubbing at the hands of the Patriots, and winning their last three.
And then there are the lowly Browns, who started the offseason on an incredibly weak note, firing a head coach with no apparent plan in mind to replace him (or at least no backup plan when the Jim Harbaugh experiment failed), but parlayed their draft into becoming possibly the most talked about team in the league with a player that could spark an immediate turn around. Of course, he could just as easily doom the franchise to another 5 years of less than mediocrity…
Andy: I think you broke federal law not mentioning Johnny Blackjack, err Johnny Nightclub, err Johnny SixPack, err Johnny Football in your first paragraph. That said, I agree with the sentiment – this division will be competitive, though that is equally due to all four teams being flawed as it is to their being good. (more…)
don’t see enough improvement from any team to truly make a dent in the playoffs. I think it’s possible that the Panthers, minus Kevin Benjamin, and the Saints, minus Jimmy Graham, Kenny Stills, Junior Gallette and others might be worse than they were in 2014. The Bucs are probably better than they were, but that’s hard not to do coming off a 2-14 season and the number one overall pick. Atlanta … who the hell knows.
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