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Showing posts from July, 2024

Preview of the Carolina Panthers

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   After an utter embarrassing season in 2023, the Carolina Panthers will look to flip the script in 2024. The Panthers will look a little different this season with a brand new coaching staff.  Usually when you have the worst record in the league, like the Panthers, you have the first overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. Well for Carolina, this was not the case. Their 2-15 record in 2023 got them no first round picks because of their trade with the Chicago Bears for the #1 overall pick in the previous draft.  Safe to say this deal has not worked out so well in the Panthers favor.  Carolina went into this offseason and fired their head coach Frank Reich after just one abysmal season. They went out and hired a coach within their own division, Dave Canales. Canales was the offensive coordinator for the Buccaneers and is well-known for reviving and putting Baker Mayfield's career back on track.  The Panthers front office envisions that Canales can do the sa...

Preview of the Atlanta Falcons

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  The Atlanta Falcons had a busy offseason to say the least. After a disappointing 7-10 season in 2023, Atlanta decided to revamp not only their roster but their coaching staff as well for the 2024 season.  There is a new QB1 in town and that is Kirk Cousins. The Falcons signed Cousins as a free agent to a massive four-year deal to become their leader on offense. For the past two seasons since Matt Ryan departed Atlanta, the quarterback play has been towards the bottom of the league. Cousins will definitely improve that mark in 2024.  Atlanta decided to fire their head coach Arthur Smith and hire Raheem Morris to take over the role. Morris was the defensive coordinator for the Rams for the past three seasons and spent some time in Atlanta beforehand from 2015 to 2020.  The Falcons were able to go out and get two new weapons for Kirk Cousins and the offense. They signed wide receiver Darnell Mooney to a three-year deal to take over the WR2. They also traded for speeds...

Preview of the New Orleans Saints

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  The Saints had an underwhelming season in 2023 after just narrowly losing the NFC South to Tampa Bay by just a game. Once again the NFC South is very up for grabs and the Saints are a much improved team over the last offseason.  Saints quarterback, Derek Carr finished up his first season in the black and gold with pretty solid numbers after playing in all of their seventeen games. Carr, now 33 years old, has been in the league for a long time now and has yet to prove that he is a winner. Entering his 11th season, Carr will have no excuses to get New Orleans back into the playoffs.  New Orleans made their mark known in this year's draft with a pretty solid couple of picks. They drafted Taliese Fuaga, an offensive tackle out of Oregon State, to help Derek Carr to play a full season once again. They improved their secondary after taking Alabama cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry.  This offseason the Saints did have some notable cuts as well. Michael Thomas is no longer a S...

Preview of the San Francisco 49ers

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  It's no secret, the San Francisco 49ers are one of the most prominent teams in the National Football League. But what has been missing for the Niners is that final piece, a Super Bowl victory.  The 49ers are coming off of an overtime Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. San Fran has been to either the NFC Championship or Super Bowl in four of their last five seasons, yet their last title came back in 1994. However, that does not stop this powerhouse from reloading once again in 2024.  San Francisco has remained as one of the most, if not the most, complete team in the entire league. Every position on the field they are confident they have the best players. It's a good problem for them to have, but it is hard to go into free agency and upgrade when having a team like this.  The only big pieces the Niners lost this offseason was their defensive ends: Chase Young and Arik Armstead. Armstead was cut and Young signed with New Orleans. San Fran immediately replaced...

Preview of the Los Angeles Rams

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  After being one of the more intriguing teams from a season ago, the Rams are looking to avenge their first round playoff loss in 2024. Los Angeles developed a dynamic offense behind Matthew Stafford as they look to take a leap forward this upcoming season.  The Rams finished 10-7 in 2023 after many predicted them to be towards the bottom of the NFC. The real reason for their success was the outbreak of their new and improved offensive group. They ranked 7th in the NFL in total offense with Matthew Stafford at the helm.  The biggest story for the Rams in 2023 was the emergence of late round rookie Puka Nacua. If it weren't for CJ Stroud's unreal season, Nacua would have easily been selected as Rookie of the Year. He finished with almost 1500 receiving yards in his rookie season after being drafted in the fifth round.  Pairing him with All-Pro Cooper Kupp made for a deadly duo that is going to become even scarier in 2024. Although Kupp was not always healthy last sea...

Preview of the Seattle Seahawks

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After just barely missing the playoffs a season ago, the Seahawks are looking to set the tone early in 2024. The team was a bit shaken up this offseason and will have a whole new dynamic added to them this upcoming season.  The biggest story of the offseason for Seattle was the departure of Pete Carroll. Carroll was the head coach of Seattle for the past fourteen seasons, one of the longest tenured coaches in the league. Carroll had brought the city of Seattle a lot of success during his tenure, but the front office felt it was time that the Seahawks took a new course of direction.  Seattle went out and hired Mike Macdonald to take over the helm of the coaching position. Macdonald was the defensive coordinator of the Ravens for the past two seasons and the Seattle front office was quite impressed with what he was able to do there to say the least. He now takes over as the youngest head coach in the NFL at just 37 years old.  Despite the Seahawks completely rebuilding thei...

Preview of the Arizona Cardinals

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  After finishing back to back seasons with 4-13 records, the Cardinals look to bounce back in 2024. A full season of Kyler Murray and a healthy offense surrounding him could be exactly what they need.  Kyler Murray was only able to play in five of seventeen games for the Cardinals a season ago due to his ACL injury. Even though Arizona only went 2-3 in that stretch, they looked like a team with more much life than the team in the previous twelve games.  The Cardinals focused a lot on defense in free agency after signing a couple of key pieces including: Justin Jones, Sean Murphy-Bunting, and Mack Wilson. Arizona ranked 25th in total defense in 2023, so they are hoping these new guys will sway that number upwards.  Moving onto the biggest story of the Cardinals offseason, the fourth overall pick in the NFL Draft. With that pick, the Cardinals took Marvin Harrison Jr. from Ohio State. Harrison Jr. was undoubtedly the best wideout in all of college football, making it ...

Preview of the Indianapolis Colts

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  A season ago, the Colts finished a game shy of making the playoffs and winning the AFC South after dropping their last game of the season to the Houston Texans. This year they hope to have a healthy Anthony Richardson to lead the way for success in 2024.  Indianapolis only saw a couple games of their rookie quarterback in 2023 before he eventually suffered a season-ending injury. Learning to be more cautious while running the football was a big part of Richardson's journey back from injury and is hoping to play a full seventeen games this season.  The Colts did not make a lot of new acquisitions this offseason, rather they made the effort to re-sign a lot of their notable pieces on both sides of the football. Indy was able to extend key guys like Michael Pittman, Zaire Franklin, DeForest Buckner, and Kenny Moore, keeping these core players intact. Extending Jonathan Taylor last season took a lot of pressure off the Colts this offseason to get that deal done as well....

Preview of the Jacksonville Jaguars

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After a disappointing season in 2023 which consisted of a massive downfall, the Jaguars look to prove why last year was just a fluke. The Jags look to bounce back with their superstar quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, at the helm.  Jacksonville was sitting comfortably in the AFC South last season until they dropped five of their last six games, losing the division by one game to the Houston Texans. Duval County has made a lot of notable transactions, including numerous extensions so they don't have a repeat season of 2023.  The Jags extended two of their cornerstone pieces this offseason after giving both Josh Allen and Trevor Lawrence five-year deals to stay with the team until the near end of the decade. Along with extending Allen, Jacksonville also extended their other starting linebacker, Foye Oluokun, for three more years. Many consider this duo to be one of the top linebacker combinations throughout the NFL. Oluokun has earned a lot of praise for his play throughout the year...

Preview of the Tennessee Titans

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   It is safe to say that the Tennessee Titans do not want to repeat their last place finish in the AFC South from a year ago after they finished the season at 6-11. Some notable offseason transactions though have made the Titans a little more competitive from a year ago.  It was a nightmare of a season in 2023 for Tennessee, but throughout the struggles, they may have found their franchise quarterback in Will Levis. Levis played in nine games last season and showed some very intriguing signs when he took over the helm of the Titans.  Tennessee put Levis in a much better situation to succeed this year with some of the new weapons they added for him. Despite losing longtime Titan, Derrick Henry, the Titans offense looks a lot better than it has in previous years.  To replace Henry, they went out and added a star running back in Tony Pollard for the next three years. But this isn't even the biggest headline in the new acquisitions on this offense. To pair along wi...

Preview of the Houston Texans

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  One of the most exciting teams in the NFL, the Houston Texans come into the 2024 regular season with very high expectations after winning the AFC South a season ago. After a superb first season with CJ Stroud at the helm, the Texans are now viewed as a top contender in the AFC.  Going into last season, critics thought that it would take time for these young Texans to gel together, and boy were they proven wrong. Houston's improvement from the 2022 season to the 2023 season is something extraordinary and remarkable to embark upon. They turned a 3-13-1 record into a 10-7 and division title in just one calendar year.  People knew what CJ Stroud was capable of, but no one thought he would adjust and takeover the NFL this easily. The Texans easily had one of the best offenses a year ago and during the offseason they got greedy and added to their powerhouse. They did that by acquiring two veteran pro bowlers with a ton of experience on this young Houston team.  They sign...

Preview of the Detroit Lions

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To wrap up the NFC North, the Detroit Lions come into the 2024 season looking to avenge their first division title in over three decades. The Lions come into this new season with a lot of familiar faces and many regard them as legit contenders just a season after their NFC Championship game appearance.  This offseason for the Lions was mainly centered around locking down their cornerstone pieces. They were able to extend three of their biggest franchise pieces for over $440 million combined over the next four seasons. These players included Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Penei Sewell.  For the past couple of seasons the Lions have had one of the most productive offenses in the National Football League and they are making sure that production continues well into the future. The Lions underwent some big changes on the defensive side of the football as well.  Detroit essentially is coming into this new season with a brand new secondary. They got rid of Tracy Walker and C...

Preview of the Green Bay Packers

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  After a surprising season in 2023, the Green Bay Packers head into the 2024 with an improved roster, looking to seize the NFC North once again. The Packers, lead by franchise quarterback Jordan Love, have a real shot at success in the NFC this season.  The maturity and growth of Green Bay from a season ago will be the most important factor in 2024. In 2023, the Packers had "by far" the youngest roster in the entire National Football League. Despite this, they were a score away from going to the NFC Championship game.  Jordan Love has taken over the franchise quarterback role, since Aaron Rodgers departed Green Bay, and has thrived in this new position. Despite having to work with an inexperienced receiver room and not having that true number one wide receiver, Love made all of his weapons better throughout the 2023 season.  The Packers made a change to their running back room this offseason after letting go Aaron Jones and replacing him with Josh Jacobs. Green Bay ...

Preview of the Chicago Bears

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  The Chicago Bears have arguably had the most talked about offseason in the NFL after turning their roster from a mediocre team a season ago, to a potential playoff contender just a calendar year later.  The biggest news surrounding the Bears this offseason was their quarterback dilemma, but that quickly was solved on March 16th. On the 16th, the Bears traded Justin Fields, making it clear of what they were going to do with the first overall pick. It gave the Bears one of the most hyped up prospects ever in Caleb Williams out of USC.  Plenty of people were upset with the Bears moving on from Fields, and plenty were ecstatic about landing Caleb Williams. Personally, I think that Fields still had a lot more to prove, but to pass up on a guy like Caleb Williams is very risky. Chicago has done almost everything in their power to help their potential rookie phenom succeed with the weapons they have acquired.  Chicago went out and acquired Keenan Allen from the Los Angele...