2022 NFL Season Preview AFC West

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AFC West

Day Eight of the “Division Prediction Marathon” brings us to the LAST division in my series, the one that will be the hardest to predict, the one where the winner could be almost any of the four teams in the division.  All have Special talent at key positions, all have great defenses, and all have an elite QB at the helm of the offense.  We’re talking about the AFC West, the best division in the NFL, so say all of the experts.  Well I am NOT an expert, but even I agree this is the best division in football.  (Yes Footies in Europe and around the world – FOOTBALL…)  It’s pure American, and as much as you may HATE America, it is the #1 sport over here in the west, and we love to watch it, we love to play it, and we love to talk about it.  We feel it is the greatest sport in the world and because we are arrogant  “yanks”,  we will not allow any discussion to the contrary.

Now that I have insulted pretty much everyone in the Eastern Hemisphere…  Lets move on with the preview…

Los Angeles Chargers – wait…  what? The Sports Nerd is choosing the Chargers over the Chiefs???  Yes, I am…  The Chargers have a better running game, they have a better WR corps, and most importantly, they have a better defense than the Chiefs.  Justin Herbert, Austin Eckler, Keenan Allen, Mike Williams…  all more talented than what KC can bring to the table (except maybe Mahomes – MAYBE).  Herbert is ready to take this team to the next level, and I don’t doubt they will be successful.  Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack, Kyle Van Noy, Derwin James, Asante Samuel Jr, all top tier defenders, the Chargers defense is no joke and I really think they will cause havoc in opponents backfields this upcoming season.  The Los Angels Chargers will WIN the AFC West.

Kansas City Chiefs – The Chiefs will fall a bit this year, but not THAT much.  Despite the loss of Tyreek Hill in the offseason to the Dolphins, the Chiefs have arguably the SECOND best QB in the NFL in Patrick Mahomes, after Josh Allen.  Yeah Josh is a better QB, and I will die on that hill…  The Chiefs replace hill with JuJu Smith-Schuster from Pittsburgh and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, along with Justin Watson from the Buccaneers.  The only returning WR on the roster from last year is Mecole Hardman, so Patrick will have a whole set of new targets to throw to, not saying these guys are exactly elite.  They still have Travis Kelce, but he will spend so much time under double team, Patrick may have to get more creative than ever to hook up with his other options.  They do not have a top-10 defense, in fact both Los Angeles and Denver have better defenses in the division, and I feel a lot of teams will be able to score on them.  The Chiefs finish second in the division, but still make the playoffs.

Denver Broncos – It was difficult picking between the Broncos and Raiders for the third spot in the division, but I feel the deciding factor is Denver’s defense and Russell Wilson.  Wilson, acquired in the offseason from the Seahawks via trade, will inject new life in to the offense that barely managed to get out of its own way last season with Drew Lock at the helm, who ironically, is now in Seattle.  Having Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton to throw too gives Wilson some pretty good targets.  Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams make for a pretty good backfield in the running game (Key Fantasy Football advice…  do NOT draft Gordon, TRUST me) and Wilson wil have something he didn’t have in Seattle…  an offensive line.  Denver has one of the best defensive lines in football, so he will see more protection than he ever had in Seattle since their Super Bowl years.  Bradley Chub, Randy Gregory, Patrick Surtain, some of the best defenders in the league.  All things considered if the Broncos go on a roll, they could compete with the Chiefs for that second spot in the division.

Las Vegas Raiders – So I finish up this series with the Las Vegas Raiders…  I’ve been to Vegas ONCE in my life…  2008 for a week.  Nice place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there.  Between all of the guys on the sidewalks on the strip handing you flyers for calling a hooker, the money trap that is the casinos, and the fact I did not win crap on the slots…  I have no desire to go back, but I digress.  The Raiders are a really good team, besides me picking them to finish last in the division.  I firmly believe that 9-8 could be the record of the last placed team in the division.  The problem is that this division is so good, even the Raiders could finish last and still have a better record than some second place teams in other divisions and quite possibly one or two division winners.  (AFC South & NFC East) Derek Carr has a new weapon in Davante Adams, picked up in the offseason with the Packers, Hunter Renfrow is also a high end receiver and Daren Waller is one of the best TE’s in the NFL.  Josh Jacobs is a top-level running back so Carr has a ton of weapons, but I just don’t think it is enough to overcome the other teams in the division.  I just don’t feel that the Raiders have the horsepower to compete in the division and that is why I pick them to finish last.

So ends the “Division Prediction Marathon” by The Sports Nerd.  I hope this series has given you a glimpse of the upcoming season and whether or not you agree with what I have predicted, I thank you all for reading what I have had to say.  I have NEVER written one post a day for eight days straight before and as I told @jongolson the other night this series has given me a new outlook on where I am going as a writer.  Look for more posts as the season progresses and I may even post my predictions on the playoffs and Super Bowl 57 in the coming days.  Right now…  I need to rest my fingers.  thanks all…

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2022 NFL Season Preview NFC South

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Day seven of the “Division Prediction Marathon” brings us to the NFC South which includes the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, and the Atlanta Falcons.  This division is loaded with four teams that truly hate each other.  These teams play each other with intensity and over the years it is plain that whatever the records, anything can happen.  With that being said, let me present you with my prediction for this division.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Tom Fucking Brady…  The goat will play his third season as QB of the Bucs, and at 45 years old he is showing NO signs of slowing down.  He has talent around him with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, Leonard Fournette and new addition Julio Jones.  Supporting cast includes Scotty Miller, Breshad Perriman, and TE’s Cameron Brate and Kyle Rudolph.  The only weak spot I see with the Bucs is their offensive line.  the injury bug has hit this team pretty hard including center Ryan Jensen and Guard Aaron Stinnie leaving a gaping hole in the center of the offensive line.  History has shown that Brady’s greatest weakness is teams applying pressure up the middle of the OL.  With that being said if there is any kink in the armor of the Bucs, it will be there.  they have a solid defense, lead by Shaquil Barrett, Lavonte David Will Gholston, and Vita Vea.  I feel the defense will play a bigger role in how successful the Bucs are this season.  Despite all of the improvements and additions made by their biggest rival, The New Orleans Saints, I still think that the Bucs will win the division.

New Orleans Saints – The Saints welcome back Jameis Winston at QB after missing most of last year due to injury.  he has performed well during the preseason and it is this fan’s belief that he will have a breakout season, perhaps even winning comeback player of the year.  Surrounded by plenty of key players, including the return of of Michael Thomas, coming off of injury, and new addition Jarvis Landry who was the emotional leader in Cleveland while he was there.  add to that RB’s Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram along with a stout defense, the Saints are the greatest threat tot he Bucs in the NFC South.  I still feel they will finish second in the division, but they should make the playoffs and after that anything can happen.

Carolina Panthers – The Panthers traded for Baker Mayfield in the offseason, hoping he could be the answer to their QB situation.  Baker competed with Sam Darnold for the starting position during the preseason wining the job with his performance.  Baker will have Christian McCaffrey as his lead back, Rashard Higgins and DJ Moore as his main targets at WR, and after that, the talent level on offense deteriorates from there.  the Panthers wont be very good, and baker will not be able to carry them very far this season.  The most exciting game this season will be week one, when baker faces his old team, MY Cleveland Browns in Carolina.  After that, The Panthers will have a disappointing season, finishing third in the division.

Atlanta Falcons – The most significant pickup for the Falcons in the offseason was QB Marcus Mariota, the former first round draft pick out of Oregon.  He wil be their starter for 2022 but waiting in the wings is Desmond Ritter their first round draft pick out of The University of Cincinnati.  If Mariota falters during the season, expect to see Ritter step in as the starter the remainder of the season.  The Falcons do have high-level talent beginning with star TE Kyle Pitts and RB/WR Cordarrelle Patterson, who is more like a swiss army knife as far as a weapon is concerned.  Despite all that, the Falcons will not be good enough to get out of the cellar of the NFC South this season and they will finish last.

Join me and my cohosts @jongolson, @scubatexan, and Eliot “Big E” Lomba each and every Sunday night at 7:30 PM Eastern time for The Sports Nerds!  60 minutes of sports talk, trash talk, and laughs as we discuss the week in sports.

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2022 NFL Season Preview AFC South

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AFC South

Day six of the “Division Prediction Marathon” and today I will present my prediction of the AFC South.  This division includes The Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Houston Texans.  Not exactly the most exciting division but it presents a lot of questions as to the rebuild of more than one team in the division.  I have found that this is the hardest division to predict and the choices I have made may or may not be right, but here goes…

Indianapolis Colts – The Colts traded for Matt Ryan in the offseason, giving them the franchise quarterback that they have been lacking since Andrew Luck retired.  Ryan may be long in the tooth and he is on the downside of his career, but the talent around him is enough to elevate him to the weapon that Indy needs to get them to the next level.  I predict they will win the South with the help of Jonathon Taylor, arguable the best RB in the NFL, and a talented WR corps I foresee the Colts winning the division.

Tennessee Titans – I am not really sure what to make of this team.  They have Derrick Henry, a powerful, dominant RB and yet they have a mediocre WR corps and a QB that is hot and cold depending on the situation.    they traded away AJ Brown to the Eagles and yet, they are coming off a division win last season.  The Titans remain an enigma, not sure how to judge them or to evaluate them.  Still, they have enough talent to finish second in the division, for what it is worth, and despite that, I don’t think they will make the playoffs in a highly talented conference.  there just wont be enough space to get in the playoffs with how much talent in other divisions in the AFC.

Jacksonville Jaguars – I placed the Jaguars third in the division simply because of the talent on the team.  The jags are coming off a dysfunctional season where Urban Meyer, hired last year as the head coach, caused more drama and problems than owner Shahid Khan could muster and thus was fired after 13 games last season.  New head coach Doug Peterson comes with a Super Bowl pedigree with the Eagles in 2018 and promises to further groom the talent of QB Trevor Lawrence.  With RB Travis Etienne coming off injury, WR’s Marvin Jones and Christian Kirk, the Jags hope to move to the next level.  I predict they will, from 4th in the division to the third…  not much of an improvement, but an improvement just the same.

Houston Texans –  the highlight of 2021 for the Texans was upstart QB Davis Mills who performed at a higher level than was expected.  They finished 4-13 last season but the bright start was Mills.  Unfortunately they changed their head coach yet again this offseason and hired Lovie Smith as their head coach.  Smith has a decent record as a head coach with the Bears, even leading the Bears to the Super Bowl in 2006, where they lost to the Peyton Manning-led Indianapolis Colts in Miami.  The Texans traded their franchise QB Deshaun Watson in the offseason to the Browns, garnering a plethora of high draft picks in the process.  the future of the Texans may be bright with all of those draft picks, but for this season the result will be a last place finish in the division.

Join me and my cohosts @jongolson, @scubatexan, and Eliot “Big E” Lomba each and every Sunday night at 7:30 PM Eastern time for The Sports Nerds!  60 minutes of sports talk, trash talk, and laughs as we discuss the week in sports.

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2022 NFL Season Preview–NFC North

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NFC North

Day five of the “Division Prediction Marathon”  today I predict the NFC North, a tried and true historic division that includes teams with tremendous history, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears, and The Detroit Lions.  ESPN Anchor Chris Berman is famous for calling this division the “Norris” out of respect for the historic NHL teams in what used to be I that division back in the day.  Friend of The Sports Nerds Derek Lofland is a die-hard Green Bay Packers fan and this post is dedicated to him, no matter how much he will disagree with what I have to say.

Green Bay Packers – I dwelled on this for a few days, I could not decide between the Packers or the Vikings.  Green Bay lost Devante Adams to a trade with the Raiders in the offseason, seriously diminishing the WR Corps in Green Bay.  The difference maker here is of course Aaron Rogers, coming off back-to-back MVP seasons, Rogers has the ability to get the most out of his receivers no matter who they are.  They have a solid run game with Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon, who is a weapon in the passing game out of the backfield.  I foresee Rogers leaning on that run game more than he has in many years, but with the talent of Green and Jones that will be the most positive factor in the Packers attack.  AS much as I don’t have a lot of confidence in the receiving corps (Sammy Watkins, really??) I have faith in their QB and their defense.  The defense promises to be very good ( I Think) and the fact that none of the other teams in this division has enough talent to compete with them, The Packers will win the division

Minnesota Vikings – The Vikings still have Kirk Cousins at the helm of a very potent offense.  Dalvin Cook is in the top-5 of talented RB’s in the NFL so long as he can stay healthy.  Justin Jefferson is one of the best WR’s in the league as well and he is destined to have another Pro Bowl season this year.  the question mark I have on the offensive side of the ball is Cousins.  I have no confidence in him at all, he is a journeyman QB at best, although he has a good arm he has a tendency to make mistakes that have cost The Vikings in the past.  I predict the Vikings will try and draft a future franchise QB in the upcoming QB-rich NFL draft in 2023.  I cant see the Vikings being able to overtake the Packers and they will finish second in the division.

Chicago Bears – Justin Fields…  I have a warm spot in my heart for this guy, due to his College Career at Ohio State (NCAA) and I hope he can be successful in the NFL, but the problem is that he plays for The Bears, and this franchise simply has underperformed for over a decade, winning the division only once in that time frame.  The Bears will have a decent defense but that will not be enough to overcome their lack of talent on the offensive side of the ball.  Time will tell if Fields can raise the play of this offense, but he cant do it alone.  They will finish third in the division.

Detroit Lions – What can I say about the Lions…  they have been the poster child for failure in the NFL ever since Barry Sanders retired.  they lose their future HOF QB in Matthew Stafford last year to a trade and he all of sudden wins The Super Bowl with the Rams.  Another year for Jaren Goff to prove himself, though I have no doubt he will again be shown as the mediocre QB that he is.  I understand the Lions had a great experience on Hard Knocks, but that won translate to the field.  Second year head coach Dan Campbell is a great motivator, but still he is limited to the talent on the roster.  Detroit finishes last in the division yet again.

Join me and my cohosts @jongolson, @scubatexan, and Eliot “Big E” Lomba each and every Sunday night at 7:30 PM Eastern time for The Sports Nerds!  60 minutes of sports talk, trash talk, and laughs as we discuss the week in sports.

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2022 NFL Season Preview AFC North

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AFC North

Day four of the “Division Prediction Marathon” – tonight I predict the AFC North, and as al of you that know me I have a veste4d interest in this division, after all, I am a life-long Browns Fan and I am usually biased when it comes to the Browns.  This time, however I will put my blinders aside, take off my rose colored glasses and present an honest, non-biased review of the division and how I truly feel it will play out for 2022.

This division contains four teams that all hate each other, there are historic rivalries, rivalries that have been around for over 50 years.  However there are some rivalries that have not lasted that long…  simply 20 or so years, specifically since the “Ratbirds” came into the NFL in 1996, a bastard child of what once was the proud franchise in Cleveland, a stain on the league, a team that I have grown to hate more than that team in Pittsburgh, the traitorous owner Art Modell, may he rot in Hell, moved his ownership to Baltimore and will forever be known as the most hated man in Ohio, even a decade after his death this month in 2012.  (Do I sound bitter?)

Moving on…

Here is my prediction for the AFC North for 2022…

Cincinnati Bengals – The Bengals are coming off their first division championship since 2015 and their first Super Bowl appearance since 1989.  QB Joe Burrow has injected a winning mindset into the franchise and has become the leader of this team in just his second season, going into his third.  The Bengals weakness last year was their offensive line, allowing a historic amount of sacks on Burrow, including 9 sacks in the playoff game against Tennessee.  Despite those sacks, and his lack of protection, burrow was still able to lead the Bengals to the Super Bowl, where once again Their offensive line showed signs of weakness allowing another 7 sacks against the Rams.  The game was close the entire way, but a late near-sack by Aaron Donald stopped the Bengals final drive and sealed the victory.  I say all of this to point out the fact that the Bengals have made a ton of offseason moves to bolster their offensive line with a few key additions in the offseason making them still the favorite in the division in my mind.

Baltimore “Ratbirds” – As much as I hate to admit it, Baltimore will finish second in the division.  They have the X-Factor in Lamar Jackson and one of the best defenses in the NFL.  The only weakness I can see in this team is their WR corps, loaded with a bunch of no-names and unproven players with the exception of Demarcus Robinson, but he doesn’t fuel any hopes of having a breakout year.  The Ravens were decimated last year with injury, which is mostly responsible for their last-place finish in the division.  they are mostly healthy now, wit the exception of their mascot, who suffered a season-ending knee injury just this week.  Still, with al of that being said, I feel they will finish second in the division, despite the “experts” saying they will actually win the division.  I am still of the opinion that Jackson is overrated and teams have figured him out going into 2022.  My second place division prediction does not mean I feel they will make the playoffs, as most of the AFC is loaded with much more talented teams.  With that being said, FUCK the “Ratbirds”…

Cleveland Browns – *sigh* ok…  here we go…  after yet another off-season full of drama, The Browns are still trying to find their identity.  this team is loaded with talent, top defense, top WR corps, arguable the best 1-2 punch at RB in the NFL.  The ONE position that has plagued this team for over 20 years is quarterback.  Baker was drafted #1 overall in 2018 and he was the hope of the future for this team.  He led them to the playoffs in 2020 but an injury plagued season last year caused the front office to second-guess that decision.  Baker played with a Torn labrum in his left shoulder for most of all last season and it affected his throwing motion and the Browns finished out of the playoffs.  The Browns traded for Deshaun Watson in the offseason, despite the 24 accusations of sexual abuse/assault against him, causing this fan to question why he is still following this shit-show of a franchise.  When the Browns hired Andrew Berry as GM and Kevin Stefanski as Head Coach, I had high hopes for The Browns.  this off-season put a lot of doubt in my head and my fandom.  Watson has been suspended the first 11 games of the season, leaving Jacoby Brissett as the starter for the season until Watson returns.  Brissett is a game manager and has not proven he can lead a team so I do not have a lot of hope for a successful season.  The Browns finish third in the division and miss the playoffs for the second straight season.  I will root for them nonetheless, as I have for the last 50+ years, but I am not hopeful and I am not positive they can win 7 or 8 games this season.

Pittsburgh Steelers – Big Ben is gone…  Roethlisberger retired after the 2021 season and the Steelers are left with a trio of journeyman quarterbacks on the roster.  I don’t necessarily like talking about the Steelers because of how much I hate this team.  but with their options at QB – Mitchell Trubisky, Rookie from Pitt Kenny Picket, and Mason Rudolph the potential of this team is questionable at best.  The Steelers will still have a good defense with it’s leader TJ Watt, a potential defensive player of the year candidate, but the defense cannot make up for the weak offense they will put on the field.  the WR corps is average, with Chase Claypool as the potential WR1 and Najee Harris as their #1 back, he may be the lone bright spot for this team.  It’s gonna be a long season in Pittsburgh, they will finish last in the division.

Join me tomorrow as I preview the NFC North, home of the Packers, the favorite team of one of our favorite guests on The Sports Nerds – Derek Lofland…

Join me and my cohosts @jongolson, @scubatexan, and Eliot “Big E” Lomba each and every Sunday night at 7:30 PM Eastern time for The Sports Nerds!  60 minutes of sports talk, trash talk, and laughs as we discuss the week in sports.

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NFL Season Preview – NFC West

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NFC West

Day three of what I like to call the “division prediction marathon” brings us to the NFC West..  In this division we have the Los Angeles Rams, The San Francisco 49er’s and the Arizona “Hail Murray” Cardinals.  I have heard some say this is the best division in the NFC, and to be honest, it is pretty good, with three teams in this division having the chance to win it (Sorry Seattle) but I don’t know yet, I am still on the fence on how good the teams are in this division.  Lets get going, this one is for Eliot Lomba, co-host #3 on the list, but (possibly) #1 on my co-host list.  (not really, I don’t rank my friends).

Los Angeles Rams –  Coming off their Super Bowl victory the Rams are the team to beat in the division.  Until they are knocked off, they will still be my favorite to win the division, as the have most of their team back for 2022.  Matthew Stafford, after languishing in Detroit for all of his career with a front office and ownership that didn’t care about winning, finally got a taste of what a successful franchise is really like.  I was very happy for him, and even more happy that the Rams beat the Bengals, a hated rival in the AFC North and The Browns (AFC North prediction coming tomorrow).  The Rams will win this division again, beating out their fiercest rivals, the 49ers.  Honestly I don’t see them repeating (That blog is coming later) but with the ability of Stafford and that receiving corps along with the defense and Aaron Donald, they should once again win this division.

San Francisco 49ers – This team is loaded with Talent…  From Nick Bosa, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, and yes, even Trey Lance I still don’t fee they are ready to take over the division.  The question mark in my eyes is Lance…  he is a great talent, but this season will be the first for him to start full time for the 9ers and with the re-signing of Jimmy Garoppolo yesterday, Lance will be looking over his shoulder, whether on purpose or not.  They’re gonna have to get past the Rams, and although they were able to do that during the regular season, it is yet to be seen if they can do it in the playoffs.

Arizona Cardinals – The Cardinals are counting on Kyler Murray to take that next step and be the guy to lead them to the promised land.  With targets like Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and DeAndre Hopkins Murray should… wait… just a minute… oh RIGHT..  Hopkins is suspended for the first six games of the season…  so… there’s that.   Still, they have Zach Ertz in his 10th season, A.J. Green in his 12th season…  and a bunch of nobody’s to throw the ball to before Hopkins comes back.  They have James Connor as their primary back, which is ok, but he hasn’t exactly shown elite status as an NFL Running Back.  Then, there;s the defense…  Led by J.J. Watt, one of the most injured DE’s in the NFL in his 12th season and not much else…  I foresee trouble for the Cardinals on defense.  I’m not sold on Murray, he is 5’ 10” if that, and despite his mobility, I still question he can get the ball downfield and be the leader of this team.  Just not a fan of him and feel he is overrated.  The Cardinals will finish 3rd at best in this division and will miss the postseason.

Seattle Seahawks – What can I say about Seattle?  They trade Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos, they release Bobby Wagner and it appears that they are working to rebuild post Pete Carroll.  I predict the Seahawks will play to get a high draft pick next year in a QB rich draft so they can move towards molding their future around a new franchise quarterback.  I believe Carrol is done after this season and they bring in a coach that will pick the future of the franchise.  The Hawks finish last in this division under the ageing Pete Carrol, Geno Smith, and Drew Lock waiting in the wings.  Not even the physical specimen DK Metcalf or the versatile Tyler Locket wil be able to help this team…  and TE Noah Fant? he’s gonna miss Denver so bad this year…

Tomorrow is the Big one…  The AFC North…  be ready, I’m not going to be biased on this one…  I may actually shock a lot of you.  Stay tuned…

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2022 NFL Season – NFC East Preview

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NFC East

Continuing my series on previewing the 2022 NFL season, tonight I predict the NFC East.  This division includes The Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, NY Giants, and the Washington (uggh) Commanders.  It has a lot of NFL History with a total of 13 Super Bowl Wins in its history.  Dallas with 5, NY Giants with 4, Washington with 3, and the Philadelphia Eagles with 1.   Below is my  preview of this division for 2022.

Dallas Cowboys –  Dallas has been the brunt of the “can’t win the big one” Memes you’ve seen on the internet.  Dallas hasn’t won a championship since 1995, and have not won many playoff games since that last championship, despite having high-level talent.  Dak Prescott will lead this team in his seventh season out of Mississippi State.  Dak has shown a lot of promise since he was drafted, but he just can’t seem to get them over the hump and go deep in the playoffs.  Despite all this, hopes are once again high in Dallas, with their all-star QB, power running game and vaunted defense.   Owner jerry jones is hoping he can get the “Jimmy Johnson” monkey off his back, but alas, I don’t believe it.  This division is going to come down to two teams…  Dallas and Philadelphia.  despite my reservations I give the Cowboys the edge in the division and will come out on top just BARELY over the Eagles.

Philadelphia Eagles – The Eagles got some weapons in the offseason, including wide receiver AJ Brown in a surprise trade with the Tennessee Titans this past offseason.  Brown promises to be WR#1 and the primary target of QB Jalen Hurts, in his third season out of Alabama and his second season at the helm of the Eagles offense.  The Eagles may be leaning on the run game more this year with Miles Sanders and newly acquired (Today) Trey Sermon from waivers after he was released by the San Francisco 49ers.  This season wil be a make or break year for Jalen Hurts and will be his proving ground for whether or not he can be the franchise QB for the Eagles, something they have been looking for since Donovan McNabb retired.  I think the Eagles will battle it out with the Cowboys for the division but just fall short, settling for a Wild Card Playoff spot in the NFC.

New York Giants – The Giants have a new head coach in Brian Daboll, recently with the Buffalo Bills.  Daboll will insert a shot of renewed hope with the Giants and there are signs that they will rebuild and be a better team than they were compared to last years team.  They are still going to ride with Daniel Jones as their QB and in this fans opinion, this will e the make or break year for Jones.  Saquon Barkley is healthy, they added WR Kenny Golladay last year and he promises top be their key receiver this season, along with Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton, Kadarius Toney, and David Sills.  The giants were 4-13 last season, but this season I feel they will be better under Daboll.  Not much, but better.

Washington Commanders – New name… same owner…  that’s al I really have to say.  Daniel Snyder is the worst owner in the NFL and he doesn’t care about winning, only about how much money he can make each season.  The “Commanders” acquired Carson Wentz in the offseason, the poster child for unrealized expectations at QB.  Ron Rivera is a great head coach, but he is at the mercy of an ineffective front office and an owner that just doesn’t care.  They will already start the season without All-Pro DE Chase Young for the first 4 games due to still rehabbing his torn ACL & MCL in November last year.  Questions remain to see if RB Antonio Gibson can return to form and if Terry McLaurin can carry the WR corps along with Curtis Samuel and others.  The biggest question mark is Wentz…  will we see good Wentz or bad Wentz…  My prediction is that this will be Wentz’s last stand, and the Commanders will finish last in the division, possibly costing Rivera his job.

Thanks for reading and I don’t expect many to agree with what I predicted, but after all, no one can accurately predict what will happen in any given division in August/September before the season starts.  It’s a crap shoot, and everyone is 0-0.  Stay tuned tomorrow night as I preview the NFC West.  I am sure Eliot will have a LOT to say after that post… lol.

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NFL 2022 season preview–AFC East

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I’m gonna do something that entails a little risk…  I am going to spend the next 8 days previewing and predicting the outcome of the 8 divisions in the NFL.  The catch…  I wont do any research on the usual suspect sites, I wont quote them, I wont use their words, I will do this off the cuff, as nature intended.  Some of you wont like what I have to say, some will call me nuts and I have no idea what I am talking about, and other will call me “Captain Obvious”, but I’m going to do it just the same.  I am going to first focus on the four divisions that impact our Sunday Night Panel, beginning with the AFC East, which houses the Buffalo Bills, the favorite team of @jongolson, as well as The New England Patriots, NY Jets, and the Miami Dolphins.

So…  Let’s get this party started…

Buffalo Bills –  the odds-on favorite to not only win this division, but the favorite to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl this year.  The Bills have shorn up their defense and they have quite possibly the best safety in the NFL in Micah Hyde, the undisputed leader of the defense.  Add to that one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, a fully stocked wide receiver corps and of course, the best QB in the NFL in my opinion and the Bills are the class of the division, no other discussion is needed.

Miami Dolphins –   The Dolphins added Tyreek Hill to their roster to give Tua a world-class WR to throw to.  That’s all fine well and good, but Tua isn’t proven and he is still rough around the edges.  His ability to throw the long ball is in question as is his accuracy.  The Dolphins are the up and coming team in the division, they have a lot of talent and I expect them to finish second in the division.  the Tua to Hill combo may just be the difference between finishing ahead of the Patriots or just behind them.

New England Patriots –  The Patriots continue to try and find the magic they had when Brady was the king of all of the NFL and Belichick was lauded as the second coming of Vince Lombardi.  I got new for you NFL fans, it wasn’t Belichick that was responsible for the Patriots success, it was all Brady.  The truth will come out this season when the Pats finish third in the division and Mac Jones is revealed as the fraud that he is.  The Pats will finish 9-8 or 8-9 and will miss the Playoffs for the second time in three years.  The last time that happened, was when they missed the playoffs 3 out of four years from 1999-2002.  The dynasty is over, and the departure of Tom Brady is the reason for that.

New York Jets –   the Jets are the Jets and 2022 will be no different.  the jets will finish last in the division as they have six out of the last eight years.  The Jets haven’t made the playoffs since 2010, and this year will be no different.  Second year quarterback Zach Wilson was injured during the preseason and it appears that backup Joe Flacco will start for the Jets against his old team the Baltimore Ravens, where he led them to Super Bowl 47 victory against the 49ers in 2012.  The Jets are still a work in progress, and this season will be no different…  they’ll finish last in the division.

Ok so that’s the first of eight divisions…  tune in tomorrow when I cover the NFC East, and my outlook for Ken’s Dallas Cowboys…

Join me and my cohosts @jongolson, @scubatexan, and Eliot “Big E” Lomba each and every Sunday night at 7:30 PM Eastern time for The Sports Nerds! 90 minutes of sports talk, trash talk, and laughs as we discuss the week in sports.

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The Filter is coming off…

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Sports Nerd here…

Those that know me understand my fandom for everything Cleveland sports (except the Cavs…  I do not like or appreciate today’s NBA) to include the Browns, Guardians (Indians), and yes…  Ohio State Football (Yeah I know they’re in Columbus).  I am not blind to reality, nor am I blind to public opinion, and with that comes the elephant in the room, Deshaun Watson and his 11-game suspension that was handed down by the NFL today after a long and tedious compromise between both sides.  As a result, Watson will be eligible to return to the field in week 12, which just so happens to be the week the Browns face the Texans, how convenient.  I’ve made no secret my feelings on Watson, I have been against the trade from the beginning.  I don’t want him as the quarterback for Cleveland, I have been critical of ownership (Jimmy Haslam) the front office (Andrew Berry) and of course the coaching staff (Kevin Stefanski) from the start.  After today’s events, even with closure of the whole issue, my thoughts and feelings have not changed.

Watson got LESS than what he deserved.  I wanted no less than a one-year suspension for Watson and a hefty fine.  To be honest, I want him to be suspended for a year, a hefty fine, and the requirement that he apply for reinstatement to the NFL after the suspension with no guarantee that he would ever step on an NFL field for the rest of his life.  Let me be clear… I hope Watson never takes the field for The Browns, and although I know this won’t be the case, it does not change the fact that he is a cancer on the league and does not deserve to be a QB in the NFL.  It is distasteful to me that the franchise I have rooted for most of my life is willing to compromise their morality in search of a championship and that there are also fans of The Browns looking the other way, willing to put blinders on and root for this guy, to support him, to believe he did nothing wrong, when in fact the evidence is clearly right in front of their face.

I am loyal to the team, to the Browns, I do not root for individual players but for the franchise to do well.  It leaves a distasteful flavor in my mouth to know that despite all that has happened, all that has come to light during this whole ordeal, I will still put on my Jim Brown Jersey and my Miles Garrett jersey and root for this team.  With that being said, I will not be afraid to criticize this franchise or call them out for their distasteful rhetoric.  The press conference today by the owner was nothing less than an exercise in justifying bringing in a serial compulsive sexual predator in order to win the Lombardi.  Watson doesn’t deserve to be on the same field as that trophy, or the champions that have held that trophy in  triumph.  Lombardi, Landry, Shula, Noll, Walsh, Parcells, Johnson, Cowher, and yes, Belichick.  From Starr to Staubach, Dawson to Griese, Bradshaw to Montana, Simms to Aikman, and of course, Brady, Watson needs to be in the depths of NFL oblivion, never to be seen on an NFL field again.

I’ll end with this…  I wish Jacoby Brissett the best, that for the first 2/3 of the season that he is successful and leads The Browns to a winning record.  When Watson does return, I will be sad, but I will still root for the team, because that’s what I have done for over 50 years and will continue to do for the remainder of my days.  My loyalty will never waiver, despite the fact that I dislike one of the players, because it is what my father did, and it is what my grandfather did.  Go Browns!!!

Join me and my cohosts @jongolson, @scubatexan, and Eliot “Big E” Lomba each and every Sunday night at 7:30 PM Eastern time for The Sports Nerds!  90 minutes of sports talk, trash talk, and laughs as we discuss the week in sports.

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Another Rant… NFL vs Stephen Ross

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So…

I have yet another rant tonight, on the heels of my Deshaun Watson rant from last night, tonight I want to cover the news that broke today about Stephen Ross being found guilty of tampering with Sean Payton and tom Brady from 2019 through 2022, while Brady was still a member of the New England Patriots.  This all stems from the lawsuit brought about by former Dolphins Head Coach Brian Flores and his accusations of racist hiring practices in the NFL and that Ross encouraged him to “tank” to include a $100,000.00 incentive for each game the Dolphins lost.  While the NFL did not find any evidence of the tanking accusations, they did find Ross guilty of the tampering charges.

From the Athletic:

  • The Dolphins had impermissible communications with Brady in 2019-20, while he was under contract to the Patriots. Those communications began as early as Aug. 2019 and continued throughout the 2019 season and postseason. These numerous and detailed discussions were conducted by Beal, who in turn kept Ross and other Dolphins executives informed of his discussions with Brady.
  • The Dolphins again had impermissible communications with both Brady and his agent during and after the 2021 season, while he was under contract to the Buccaneers. Those discussions began no later than early Dec. 2021 and focused on Brady becoming a limited partner in the Dolphins and possibly serving as a football executive, although at times they also included the possibility of his playing for the Dolphins. Both Ross and Beal were active participants in these discussions.
  • In Jan. 2022, the Dolphins had impermissible communications with Don Yee, the agent for Payton, about having Payton serve as Miami’s head coach. Miami did not seek consent from New Orleans to have these discussions, which occurred before Payton announced his decision to retire as head coach of the Saints. Following that announcement, Miami requested permission to speak to Payton for the first time, which New Orleans declined to grant.

https://theathletic.com/3470950/2022/08/02/dolphins-lose-draft-picks-fined-tampering-investigation-brady-payton/

This will cost the Dolphins a 1st round draft pick in 2023 and a third round pick in 2024.  the penalty will also include a fine to Ross of $1.5 million and a suspension this season through October 17, which just so happens to be the day after Deshaun Watson comes off his 6 game suspension handed down by Judge Sue Robinson for his sexual misconduct charges.  Ross can not attend any  team function, be at the teams facility or represent the team in any capacity.  In addition he can not attend any owners meetings until the annual meeting in 2023.  Also caught up in the carnage is Dolphins vice chairman and limited partner Bruce Beal.  Beal was fined $500,000.00 and also cant attend any owners meeting s for the remainder of the 2022 season.

Commissioner Roger Goodell called the violations “unprecedented in scope and severity”.

These violations triggered a statement by Flores as quoted by ESPN:

“I am thankful that the NFL’s investigator found my factual allegations against Stephen Ross are true. At the same time, I am disappointed to learn that the investigator minimized Mr. Ross’s offers and pressure to tank games especially when I wrote and submitted a letter at the time to Dolphins executives documenting my serious concerns regarding this subject at the time which the investigator has in her possession,” he said. “While the investigator found that the Dolphins had engaged in impermissible tampering of ‘unprecedented scope and severity,’ Mr. Ross will avoid any meaningful consequence. There is nothing more important when it comes to the game of football itself than the integrity of the game. When the integrity of the game is called into question, fans suffer, and football suffers.”

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/34334514/nfl-strips-miami-dolphins-2023-first-round-pick-fines-stephen-ross-15m-tampering-tom-brady-sean-payton

“The integrity of the game”… Give me a Fucking break…

So what Watson did doesn’t impact the integrity of the game?  One of the most high-profile players in the NFL is indicated in over 25 incidents of sexual misconduct and assault, yet he gets a suspension that lasts one day LESS than an owner that went after arguably the best QB to ever play the game while still under contract, as well as going after one of the best head coaches in the game while HE was still under contract with the Saints.  (the tampering occurred prior to Payton retiring) Flores also accused Ross of incentivizing him to tank games at $100,000.00 a game and at the end of the season got mad about the on-field success of the Dolphins and told Flores that winning was compromising the teams draft position.

The Double standard is amazing to me…

Despite all of this, I have seen media articles that state this punishment is a prequal of Roger Goodell appealing the sentence of Watson so that he can hand down a more severe sentence on him.  the “unprecedented” portion of this issue is what he will use as a reason to go after Watson harshly, quite possibly a one-year suspension and a hefty fine.

From Touchdown Wire:

The NFL may get a lot of things wrong, but it rarely does things without a point. In this case, it could be that punishing Ross in this specific manner, and making note of the “unprecedented scope” of the tampering, sets the league up to go after a longer suspension of Watson on appeal, due to the unprecedented number of Watson’s alleged violations against the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy. In her ruling, Judge Robinson spoke quite a bit to precedent, and more specifically, to “standards of fairness and consistency of treatment among players similarly situated.”

Thus, the six-game suspension, when the sheer number of Watson’s alleged violations would seem to engender a much more severe punishment. We know that the NFL wanted Watson suspended for at least the entire 2022 season, with conditions to his reinstatement in 2023. In settlement talks with the NFLPA, the league was willing to go as low as 12 games.

In the end, Watson’s representatives chose to bet on the ruling of an independent arbiter, and at first glance, they bet right. But the Ross suspension could well lead to the NFL’s right and ability to step into legal definitions of “unprecedented” that could lead to a much longer Watson suspension.

https://touchdownwire.usatoday.com/2022/08/02/stephen-ross-deshaun-watson-suspension/

Stay tuned, this is only getting started…

Have a great night Nerds…

Join me and my cohosts @jongolson, @scubatexan, and Eliot “Big E” Lomba each and every Sunday night at 7:30 PM Eastern time for The Sports Nerds! 90 minutes of sports talk, trash talk, and laughs as we discuss the week in sports.

https://www.vimm.tv/c/the-sports-nerd
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1839617396217126