HOTTEST TEAMS MIDWAY THROUGH THE NFL SEASON

 

                                        PART 1 TEAMS 10-6

 

A LOT OF PEOPLE MAY NOT AGREE WITH THESE RANKINGS.  THEY ARE NOT YOUR TYPICAL NFL.COM OR ESPN.COM RANKINGS.     I MASHED UP A LOT OF STATISTICS TO COME UP WITH THE ORDER THAT I CAME TO.  IT IS BASED ON A PLETHORA OF THINGS SUCH AS OFFENSIVE YARDS PER GAME, POINTS PER GAME, ALONG WITH DEFFENSIVE STATS: YARDS PER GAME ALLOWED, POINTS PER GAME ALLOWED, TURNOVER MARGIN PER GAME, TOTAL SACKS AND TOTAL TAKEAWAYS.  IN ADDITION TO ALL OF THAT I ALSO FACTOR IN THE LEVEL OF COMPETION IN EACH OF THESE TEN TEAMS STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE THUS FAR.

 

10) ARIZONA CARDINALS- 

            THE CARDINALS, IN MY OPINION ARE PRETTY UNDERATED THIS SEASON.  MANY PEOPLE MAY NOT SEE THEM AS A BIG THREAT, HERE’S WHERE I BELIEVE THOSE PEOPLE MAY BE WRONG.  WEEK ONE SHOWED THAT THE CARDS CAME INTO THIS SEASON HOT AND READY TO PROVE THEIR DOUBTERS WRONG.  YES, THEY DID END UP LOSING, BUT BOY WAS THAT AN IMPRESSIVE WAY TO KICK OFF THE SEASON, GOING INTO BUFFALO AND STARTING OUT 17-3 OVER THE BILLS, SMACKING THEM IN THE MOUTH IN THEIR OWN BUILDING.  IT WASN’T UNTIL THE END OF THE THIRD QUARTER THAT BUFFALO TOOK THEIR FIRST LEAD OF THE GAME.  JOSH ALLEN DID WIND UP PROVING TO BE A LITTLE TOO MUCH AS HE WOUND UP WITH FOUR TDS, 2 PASSING PLUS 2 ON THE GROUND.  BIG PROPS TO THE CARDS HERE, MANY WOULD’VE THOUGHT THE CARDS WOULD BE BLOWN OUT ON THE ROAD HERE. 

IN WEEK TWO THE CARDS BLEW OUT THE RAMS AT HOME IN A MATCHUP THAT PUKA NACUA DID NOT PLAY AND COOPER KUPP GOT HURT IN, THOUGH IT WAS STILL A 41-10 VICTORY FOR KYLER AND COMPANY.  NEXT UP WAS A LOSS AT HOME FOR ARIZONA, HOWEVER IT WAS ONLY A 20-13 FINAL AGAINST A MUCH SUPERIOR DETROIT LIONS, SO I AGAIN GIVE THEM MAJOR CREDIT HOLDING A TEAM OF THE LIONS CALIBER TO ONLY 20 POINTS.  THE NEXT FOUR WEEKS SHOWED US THAT ARIZONA COULD BEAT THE 49ERS IN SAN FRAN, (NO MCCAFFREY + SOME DEFENSIVE INJURIES) THE CHARGERS IN A COMEBACK VICTORY, AND THE DOLPHINS WITH THE RETURN OF TUA TAGOVAILOA.  MIAMI ACTUALLY LED THE ENTIRE GAME, THOUGH ARIZONA KEPT IT PRETTY CLOSE, IT WASN’T UNTIL ONE SECOND LEFT IN THE GAME THAT THE CARDS KICKED A FIELD GOAL TO SEAL THE COMEBACK VICTORY BEHIND A MONSTROUS GAME BY KYLER MURRAY (26/36, 307 PASS YDS, 2 TDS).

ARIZONA IS CURRENTLY IN FIRST PLACE IN THE NFC WEST AND KYLER MURRAY IS NOT ONLY FULLY HEALTY, BUT IS GAINING TRACTION WITH HIS NEW NUMBER ONE TARGET, MARVIN HARRISON JR.  HE ALSO HAS OTHER GREAT WEAPONS AROUND HIM ON THIS OFFENSE THAT IS CURRENTLY RANKED 12^TH IN YARDS PER GAME.  TREY MCBRIDE IS QUITE POSSIBLY THE BEST TIGHT END IN THE LEAGUE THIS SEASON, THROUGH THE FIRST EIGHT WEEKS HE HAS COMMANDED 56 TARGETS WHILE REALING IN 42 RECEPTIONS, (BOTH RANK 2^ND AMONG ALL TE’S) WITH 446 RECEIVING YARDS (3^RD AMONG TES).  THE CARDS ALSO POSE QUITE A THREAT WITH THEIR RUNNING BACK JAMES CONNER, WHO HAS 557 YARDS ON THE GROUND THIS SEASON AND HAS CARRIED THEM ON HIS BACK FOR 39 FIRST DOWNS THIS YEAR (557 RUSH YDS RANKS 8^TH AMONG RBS, 39 1^ST DOWN RUNS RANKS 2^ND TO ONLY DERRICK HENRY).  THIS TEAM HAS AN OFFENSE THAT I BELIEVE WILL CARRY THEM TO A PLAYOFF GAME THIS SEASON BEHIND AN OFFENSIVE LINE THAT HAS ONLY GIVEN UP ONE SACK IN THEIR LAST FOUR GAMES.  THEY ALSO HAVEN’T GIVEN UP ANY IN THE PAST THREE WEEKS, WHICH IS THEIR LONGEST STREAK SINCE WEEKS 12-14 OF THE 1975 SEASON.

 

9) ATLANTA FALCONS-

            ATLANTA CAME INTO THIS SEASON WITH A MUCH DIFFERENT MINDSET THAN THE PAST SEVERAL SEASONS.  THEY CHANGE SEEMINGLY EVERYTHING ABOUT THE OUTLOOK OF THIS TEAM FROM THEIR COACHING STAFF, THEY WENT FROM A RUSH FIRST OFFENSE TO A PASS HEAVY TEAM.  THEY WENT AHEAD AND DRAFTED THEMSELVES A QUARTERBACK FOR THE FUTURE IN MICHAEL PENIX JR., THEY ALSO BROUGHT IN A PROVEN VERY GOOD VETERAN QB IN KIRK COUSINS, SURROUNDED HIM WITH A PLETHORA OF TALENT, PLUS THEY BROUGHT IN TWO HUGE AQUISITONS RIGHT BEFORE THE SEASON BEGAN TO HELP BOLSTER THEIR DEFFENSE.  WITH YOUNG TALENTS SUCH AS RUNNING BACK BIJAN ROBINSON, TIGHTEND KYLE PITTS, ALONG WITH WIDEOUTS DRAKE LONDON AND DARNELL MOONEY, IT IS NO WONDER ATLANTA’S OFFENSE IS PRODUCING THE LEAGUES 7^TH RANKED YARDS PER GAME WITH KIRK COUSINS AT THE HELM.  KIRK IS THIRD IN PASSING YARDS, (2,106 PASS YDS) FIFTH IN YARDS PER GAME, (263.3 YPG) AND TIED FOR FIFTH IN PASSING TDS (14 TDS).  THE FALCONS ALSO HAVE A HECK OF A WIDEOUT IN DRAKE LONDON WHO IS ONE OF THE TOP RECEIVERS IN THE NFL THIS YEAR.  AMONG THE MAJOR RECEIVING CATEGORIES THIS SEASON DRAKE HAS 48 RECEPTIONS, (T-4TH) 68 TARGETS, (5TH) 525 YARDS, (13TH) 5 TDS, (T-4TH) WITH 28 FIRST DOWNS. (28 FDS) NO DOUBT DRAKE LONDON HAS BEEN MASSIVE FOR THIS OFFENSE THIS YEAR. 

            ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BALL ATLANTA DEFINITLEY NEEDS SOME WORK AND IF I AM BEING HONEST, THIS OFFENSE HAS LARGLEY BAILED THEM OUT OF SOME STICKY SITUATIONS SO FAR THIS YEAR.  WHEN HEAD COACH RAHEEM MORRIS AND GENERAL MANAGER TERRY FONTENOT DECIDED TO BRING IN ALL-PRO, PRO BOWL VETERAN SAFTEY JUSTIN SIMMONS AND TRADE FOR A PREMIER EDGE RUSHER IN MATTHEW JUDON THEY EXPECTED THIS DEFENSE TO IMPROVE IN WAYS THAT THEY REALLY HAVENT YET SHOWN.  UP UNTIL NOW THE BEST PART OF THIS DEFENSE IS THAT THEY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO TAKE THE BALL AWAY TEN TIMES (T-11TH).  ATLANTA MAY HAVE THE OFFENSE TO BE ABLE TO HANG IN THERE WITH THE BEST TEAMS IN THE LEAGUE AND ARE CURRENTLY IN FIRST PLACE IN THE NFC SOUTH.  THE FALCONS HAVE NOW WON FOUR OF THEIR LAST FIVE GAMES AFTER STARTING OFF THE SEASON 1-2.   IF THEY CHOOSE TO ADD SOMEMORE TALENT TO THEIR DEFENSE WITHIN THEIR D-LINE OR LINEBACKERS PRIOR TO THE NOVEMBER 5^TH TRADE DEADLINE, THEY WILL BE A VERY SCARY TEAM FOR ANYONE TO HAVE TO FACE IN THE PLAYOFFS.  FLACONS SHOULD MORE THAN LIKLEY WALK AWAY WITH THE NFC SOUTH TITLE AT THE END OF THE SEASON, ALREADY OWNING THE DIVISON WITH A 4-0 RECORD AND ONLY HAVE TO PLAY THE POROUS PANTHERS AND STRUGGLING SAINTS ONCE MORE EACH.  THEY DO ALSO HAVE A FEW TOUGH CHALLENGES AHEAD WHEN THEY FACE TWO OF THE BEST DEFENSES IN FOOTBALL THIS YEAR IN BACK-TO-BACK WEEKS AGINST DENVER AND THE LOS ANGELES CHARGERS IN WEEKS 11 & 12, A MEETING WITH THE MINNESOTA VINKINGS IN WEEK 13, THEN THEY WILL CERTAINLY HAVE THEIR HANDS FULL WHEN THEY PLAY THE SENSATIONAL ROOKIE JAYDEN DANIELS AND THE WASHINGTON COMMANDERS COME WEEK 17.

 

8) HOUSTON TEXANS-

            HOUSTON DOESN’T FEEL QUITE THE SAME AS THEY DID LAST YEAR, AM I RIGHT?  THEY HAVE BEEN WINNING GAMES, SURE, BUT WHEN YOU CONSIDER THE TEAMS THAT THEY HAVE PLAYED THIS YEAR, THEY REALLY JUST WON THE GAMES THEY’RE SUPPOSED TO.  THEY BEAT THE 4-4 COLTS TWICE, THEY TOOK DOWN THE BEARS WITH ROOKIE CALEB WILLIAMS WHO WAS PLAYING IN HIS SECOND START IN THE NFL, TEXANS ALSO BEAT THE PATRIOTS AND THE JAGUARS...UMM...YEA, THEY BETTER BEAT THOSE TEAMS.  THEY ALSO WON A CLOSE GAME AGAINST BUFFALO, WHICH I GUESS WE CAN GIVE THEM THEIR CHIPS WITH THAT WIN.  THEY WERE ROUTED BY THE VIKINGS, WHICH I THOUGHT THEY WOULD HONESTLY PUT UP MORE OF A FIGHT THAN LOSING 34-7, THEN THERE WAS THEIR LOSS TO THE GREEN BAY PACKERS.  THAT GAME HONESTLY COULD’VE WENT EITHER WAY AND IF NOT FOR A MINOR MISTAKE ON HOUSTON’S END, THEY WOULD BE A 7-1 TEAM RIGHT NOW INSTEAD OF 6-2.  HOUSTON HAS LOOKED MUCH BETTER FROM A DEFENVISE STANDPOINT THAN LAST YEAR.  THE OFFENSE HAS HONESLTY COOLED OFF QUITE A BIT FROM LAST YEARS PROWESS. 

HOUSTON HAS NOW LOST TWO OF QUARTERBACK C.J. STROUDS BEST RECEIVERS IN NICO COLLINS AND SUPERSTAR STEFON DIGGS.  THIS OFFENSE DOES CURRENTLY RANK 9^TH OVERALL, (351.4 YPG) AND 8^TH IN PASSING YARDS (232.5 YPG).  ON OFFENSE THEIR MAIN FLAW UP TO THIS POINT HAS MORE SO BEEN THEIR RUN GAME.  HOWEVER, I DO EXPECT THEM TO TAKE A BIT OF A HIT TO THEIR PASSING ATTACK NOW, UNTIL WIDEOUT NICO COLLINS IS ABLE TO RETURN FROM INJURY.  STEFON DIGGS ON THE OTHER HAND HAD WORSE LUCK, GOING DOWN TO A NON-CONTACT INJURY THIS PAST WEEK WHEN HE SUFFERED AN APPARENT TORN ACL.  IT WAS CRAZY TO SEE THIS WHEN HE STARTED TO RUN HIS ROUTE, HE TURNED TO CUT AND JUST STARTED LIMPING.  THIS TRULY MAKES FOR A WILD ENDING NOT ONLY TO HIS SEASON, BUT ALSO TO WHAT COULD POSSIBLY BE HIS TIME WITH THE HOUSTON TEXANS.  WE WILL HAVE TO SEE IF THEY OFFER HIM A NEW DEAL IN THE OFFSEASON AS THIS SEASON WAS ACTUALLY THE LAST YEAR ON HIS DEAL DUE TO BUFFALO TRADING DIGGS TO HOUSTON THIS PAST SUMMER WITHOUT EITHER TEAM EXTENDING HIM BEFORE OR AFTER THE BLOCK BUSTER TRADE WAS MADE. 

HOUSTON HAS DONE A VERY GOOD JOB WITH THEIR DEFENSE THIS YEAR, HOLDING OPPOSING TEAMS TO ONLY 280.3 YARDS PER GAME (2^ND IN NFL).  THEY ALSO HOLD THE 8^TH BEST TURNOVER MARGIN PER GAME (+0.5), THEY HAVE 12 TAKEAWAYS (T-8^TH) AND HAVE BROUGHT DOWN THEIR OPPONENTS QUARTERBACKS 27 TIMES (3^RD IN NFL).  HEAD COACH DEMECO RYANS HAS THE TEXANS RIDING HIGH IN A BAD AFC SOUTH DIVISION AND THEY ARE SITTING IN SECOND PLACE IN THE AFC BEHIND THE KANASAS CITY CHIEFS.  WITH AN UPCOMING SCHEDULE THAT HAS THEM HOSTING THE LIONS, DOLPHINS, AND RAVENS, WHILE ON THE ROAD AGAINST THE JETS, COWBOYS, AND THE CHIEFS, I THINK IT IS PRETTY FAVORABLE FOR HOUSTON.  ONE OF THE MOST COMMON SAYINGS IN THE NFL IS ANY GIVEN SUNDAY AND FOR GOOD REASON AS UPSETS CAN COME AT ANYTIME.  HOWEVER, I WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED IN THE SLIGHEST IF THE TEXANS WIND UP ENDING THE SEASON WITH AN 11-6 RECORD.

         

 

7) DENVER BRONCOS-

            THIS TEAM BEING RANKED INSIDE ANYONES TOP TEN FOR ANYTHING RELTATED TO NFL RANKINGS MAY SEEM A BIT ARBITRARY AT FIRST, TRUST ME I KNOW.  THOUGH THE FACTS ARE RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF OUR EYES, YOU JUST NEED TO LOOK AT THEM PLAY.  MOST WON’T GIVE THIS TEAM A CHANCE OR THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT UNLESS YOU HAPPEN TO BE A DIRECT FAN OF THESE DENVER BRONCOS OR YOU RESIDE IN DENVER, COLORADO.  IT HAS BEEN A BIT OF A ROLLER COASTER RIDE FOR THE DENVER FANS SINCE THEY BROUGHT IN HEAD COACH SEAN PAYTON ON FEBRUARY 3, 2023.  THEY RUSSELL WILSON CHAPTER DIDN’T GO AS EXPECTED, A LOT WAS MORTGAGED ON THAT SUB PAR MOVE AND ALAS THEY WILL BE FEELING THOSE FINANCIAL AFFTECTS FOR A LITTLE WHILE, EVEN WITH DENVER MOVING ONWARDS WITHOUT HIM.  NONETHELESS, THE BRONCOS HAVE SEEMINGLY FOUND THEMSELVES THEIR QUARTERBACK OF THE FUTURE AND BOY DOES HE LOOK LIKE HE COULD BE SOMETHING SPECIAL. 

THE NFL IS NOW EIGHT WEEKS SO FAR AND ROOKIE QB BO NIX, WHO WAS THE LAST OF THE QUARTERBACKS TAKEN IN THE FIRST ROUND, HAS BEEN LOOKING BETTER WITH EACH AND EVERY WEEK.  BO HAS BEEN COMPARED TO ONE OF THE GREATEST NFL QBS OF THE PAST TWO DECADES, DREW BREES, AND THAT HE IS STARTING TO LOOK THE PART IN SMALL SMAPLE SIZES.  BO NIX CURRENTLY LEADS ALL ROOKIES THIS SEASON WITH 12 OVERALL TOUCHDOWNS, 8 PASSING TDS AND 4 RUSHING.  DENVER’S ROOKIE HAS NOW BROKEN AN ALL-TIME FRANCHISE RECORD FOR MOST WINS AS A ROOKIE QB, SURPASSING DREW LOCK AND MORE NOTABLE THEIR LIVING LEGEND QB JOHN ELWAY.  MOST PEOPLE MAY NOT REALIZE IT, BUT THAT IS DEFINITLEY SOMETHING SPECIAL AS THE BRONCOS HAVE NOT HAD ANY SUCCESS DRAFTING QBS SINCE JOHN ELWAY, WHICH IS WHY THEY HAD BEEN LOOKING TO OUTSOURCE FOR VETERAN QBS VIA TRADES OR FREE AGENCEY SIGNINGS AROUND THE LAST 20 YEARS OR SO.  NOW LET’S PUT THINGS IN RETROSPECT HERE AS BO HAS BEEN ASCENDING IN PERFORMANCE THE LAST FEW GAMES, THE BRONCOS ARE STILL FAR FORM OFFENSIVE JUGGERNAUTS.  THIS OFFENSE THAT HAS BEEN LOOKING DECENT STILL RANKS 25^TH IN THE LEAGUE AS THEY ARE PUTTING UP AN AVERAGE OF 307.3 YARDS PER GAME.  BOTH THEIR PASSING ATTACK AS WELL AS THE GROUND GAME ISN’T EXACTLY A TOP TEN UNIT JUST YET, BUT THEY SEEM AS THOUGH THEY MAYBE TURNING THE PAGE ON THEIR OFFENSIVE WOES.  THEY HAVE HAD VERY STRONG O-LINE PLAY IN THE PAST FEW GAMES NOW.  THE RUN GAME HAS BEEN MORE EFFICENT, THEY ARE PROCTECTING BO WHEN HE DROPS BACK TO PASS.  IN FACT, THE BRONCOS O-LINE HAS ONLY ALLOWED 11 SACKS (T-2^ND) THIS SEASON, 1.4 TIMES PER GAME (T-2^ND), WITH A LEAGUE LEADING 4.01% SACK PERCENTAGE. 

NOW WE GET TO THE REAL REASON WHY THE BRONCOS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS A POSSIBLE PLAYOFF CANDIDATE.  WHAT IS THAT OLD SAYING WHEN IT COMES TO WINNING CHAMPIONSHIPS, OH RIGHT, DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS.  LET’S NOT GET TO CARRIED AWAY, THE BRONCOS AREN’T GOING TO BE HOISTING A LOMBARDI THIS SEASON OR NEXT, BUT THEY ARE PLAYING GREAT DEFENSE AND I THINK IT MAY BE TIME THEY GET A LITTLE RECOGNIZATION FOR IT.  DENVER IS ONLY ALLOWING 282.6 TOTAL YARDS PER GAME TO THEIR OPPONENTS THIS SEASON (3^RD). THEY’RE ONLY ALLOWING 15.0 POINTS A GAME (3^RD), HAVE A TOTAL OF 12 TAKEAWAYS THIS SEASON WHICH IS TIED FOR 8^TH BEST IN THE LEAGUE, ARE RANKED 4^TH IN PASS DEFENSE (176.3 YPG), ALONG WITH BEING RANKED 7^TH IN RUSH DEFENSE (106.4 YPG).  LASTLY, THE BRONCOS ARE TAKING QBS DOWN LEFT AND RIGHT SEEMINGLY GETTING IN THEIR OPPONENTS BACKFIELD WITH EASE AND HAVE PRODUCED 30 SACKS (2^ND).  WHEN IT COMES TO THIS TEAM THE DEFENSE HAS OBVIOUSLY BEEN THE MOST PROMINENT PART OF THEIR SUCCES TO THIS POINT IN THE SEASON.

DENVER HAD INITALLY STARTED THE SEASON 0-2 WITH TWO HEARTBREAKING LOSSES 26-20 ON THE ROAD TO THE SEAHAWKS IN A GAME THAT STARTED TO SHED SOME EARLY LIGHT ON HOW GOOD THIS DEFENSE COULD BE THIS YEAR AS DENVER HAD TAKEN SEATTLE DOWN IN THEIR OWN ENDZONE TWICE FOR TWO SAFTIES IN THE SECOND QUARTER.  THEN THE BRONCOS FELL TO AT HOME TO A GREAT PITTSBURGH STEELERS DEFENSE 13-6.  FROM THAT POINT THE BRONCOS SEEMED TO TURN THE CORNER AND WON THREE OR THEIR NEXT FOUR GAMES AGAINST THE TAMPA BAY BUCS WHO WERE RUNNING HOT (HELD TB TO 7 POINTS), TOOK DOWN AN INTERESTINGLY BAD NEW YORK JETS TEAM IN EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY.  THEY BEAT THE RAIDERS AT HOME WHILE SCORING 34 POINTS, FOLLOWED BY A LOSS TO ANOTHER DIVISION RIAVL LOS ANGELES CHARGERS TEAM.  AFTER THAT THEY BEAT DOWN TWO BAD NFC SOUTH TEAMS TO WIN 5 OUT OF THEIR LAST 6 GAMES.  SO YES I UNDERSTAND THEY HAVEN’T PLAYED ANY ELITE TEAMS AS OF YET, BUT THEY ARE ABOUT TO PUT THIS DEFENSE TO THE TEST IN THE NEXT FEW GAMES AS THEY WILL BE FACING THE BALTIMORE RAVENS IN BALTIMORE THIS SUNDAY.  AFTER THAT THE BRONCOS HEAD TO ARROWHEAD TO PLAY THE SUPER BOWL CHAMPS AND DIVISION FOES, WHO DENVER FINALLY BEAT LAST SEASON FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE PEYTON MANNING WON DENVER THEIR LAST DIVISION TITLE AND SUPER BOWL.  TWO ROAD CHALLENGES THAT WILL UNQUESTIONABLY CHANGE THE TRAJECTORY OF THIS TEAM GOING FORTH.  THEY WILL STILL HAVE TO PLAY SOME DECENT TEAMS WHEN THEY WILL MEET THE FALCONS, THE COLTS, BENGALS, AND STILL HAVE THREE MORE DIVISION GAMES REMAINING DOWN THE LINE.  THE BRONCS TRULY HOLD THEIR OWN FATES FOR A POSSIBLE PLAYOFF BIRTH THIS SEASON AND AS OF RIGHT NOW THEY ARE THE NUMBER FIVE SEED IN THE WAY TOO EARLY AFC PLAYOFF PICTURE.

 

6) GREEN BAY PACKERS-

            GREEN BAY IS A TEAM THAT HAS BEEN ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL IN THE NFL, SEEMINGLY FOR THEIR ENTIRE FRANCHISE’S HISTORY.  THEY DON’T EVER LOSE A BEAT, FROM BRETT FAVRE TO AARON RODGERS, TO JORDAN LOVE.  THIS GREEN BAY PACKERS TEAM HAS BEEN ONE OF THE MOST CONSISTENTLY GREAT OFFENSIVE TEAMS BEHIND THREE QBS THAT HAS SPANNED OVER THE PAST 31 YEARS NOW.  WITH MATT LAFLEUR AS THEIR HEAD COACH AND AN ARSENAL OR SKILLED POSITIONAL PLAYERS SUCH AS RB JOSH JACOBS, WRS JAYDEN REED, CHRISTIAN WATSON, ROMEO DOUBS, AND THE RECENT EMERGENCE OF TIGHTEND TUCKER KRAFT, THE PACKERS LOOK LIKE A SURE-FIRE PLAYOFF TEAM FOR QUITE POSSIBLY THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE.  THEY DO HAVE TO PLAY IN THE NFC NORTH, WHICH IN MY PERSONAL OPINION IS THE TOUGHTEST IN THE ENTIRE NFL.  THEY HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE DOMINANT DETROIT LIONS, THE MIGHTY MINESSOTA VIKINGS, AND THE BUDDING CHICAGO BEARS.  THIS DIVISION COULD POSSIBLY BE THE VERY FIRST TO SEE ALL FOUR TEAMS ENTER THE PLAYOFFS THIS YEAR DEPENDING ON WHAT HAPPENS IN THE EAST AND WEST DIVISIONS THE REST OF THE SEASON, THAT’S JUST HOW GOOD THESE TEAMS IN THE NORTH ARE.

            PACKERS HAVE ONE OF THE BEST OFFENSES IN THE LEAGUE AS THEY RANK 5^TH IN BOTH TOTAL YARDS (387.4 5^TH) AND RUSH YARDS (156.9 PER GAME, 5^TH).  THE PACKERS PASSING OFFENSE ALSO RANKS TOP TEN (230.5 PER GAME, 9^TH) AND COULD VERY WELL BE IN THE TOP TEN IF NOT FOR JORDAN LOVE MISSING SOME TIME THIS SEASON WITH A FEW INJURIES.  THEY ALSO RANK 6^TH IN THE LEAGUE IN POINTS (27.0 PER GAME).  EVEN WITH QUARTERBACK JORDAN LOVE MISSING SOME TIME THIS SEASON HE IS CURRENTLY TIED FOR 3^RD IN PASSING TOUCHDOWNS (15 TDS). RUNNINGBACK JOSH JACOBS HAS BEEN ABSOLUTELY TORCHING TEAMS THIS YEAR AS HE’S 4^TH IN TOTAL RUSHING YARDS THROUGH THE FIRST EIGHT WEEKS WITH 667 YDS.  JACOBS ALSO RANKS 7^TH IN YARDS PER GAME (83.4 YPG).  THIS OFFENSE HAS SOME ELITE LEVEL TALENT AND SEEMS TO BE ROLLING ON ALL CYLIDERS AS OF LATE.  THEY NEED TO KEEP LOVE HEALTHY AND THEY CAN COMPETE WITH THE BEST TEAMS IN THE LEAGUE.

            DEFENSIVELY, THE PACKERS ARE ALSO NOT TOO SHABY.  THEY ARE ALLOWING JUST 21.3 POINTS PER GAME (11^TH), AND HAVE TALLIED 21 SACKS, WHICH RANKS 7^TH OVERALL AND ALSO LEAD THE LEAGUE IN TAKEAWAYS.  ONE OF THE BEST MOVES OF THE OFFSEASON FOR GREEN BAY WAS SIGNING FREE SAFTEY XAVIER MCKINNEY, WHO STARTED HIS CAREER WITH THE NY GIANTS.  MIDWAY THROUGH THIS SEASON MCKINNEY PACES THE NFL IN INTERCEPTIONS WITH 6.  PACKERS HAVE HELD TEAMS TO JUST 111.6 YARDS PER GAME ON THE GROUND, 10^TH BEST IN THE NFL TO THIS POINT.  THEY STARTED THE SEASON ON THE ROAD IN INTERNATIONAL PLAY AGASINT THE PHILADELPHIA EAGLES WHEN JORDAN LOVE WENT DOWN TO INJURY PRIOR TO THE GAMES END.  THOUGH THEY ULTIMATLEY LOST THAT GAME THEY LOOKED PRETTY DAMN GOOD.  THE FOLLOWING WEEK THEY HAD TO START THEIR, AT THE TIME, NEWLY AQUIRED BACKUP QB MALIK WILLIS THEY HAD TRADED FOR FROM THE TENNESSEE TITANS.  WILLIS ACTUALLY LOOKED PRETTY IMPRESSIVE FOR SOMEONE WHO HAD ONLY BEEN IN GREEN BAY FOR ABOUT 14 DAYS PRIOR TO GETTING HIS FIRST START FOR THEM.  THE PACKERS WON WITH THEIR BACKUP AT THE HELM AGAINST THE COLTS 16-10, THEN MALIK HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A “REVENGE GAME” AGAINST HIS OLD TEAM IN HIS SECOND START.  THE PACK WOUND OUT BLOWING OUT THE TITANS AND WILLIS GOT TO HAVE THE LAST LAUGH WITH A 30-14 WIN ON THE ROAD.  WEEK THREE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF A WEIRD ONE FOR GREEN BAY FANS.  THEY STARTED OFF TERRIBLE BUT CLIMBED ALL THE WAY BACK TO ALMOST BEATING THEIR DIVISIONAL RIVAL MINNESOTA VIKINGS, WITH A FINAL SCORE OF 31-29.  JORDON LOVE REGAINED HIS FOOTING THE FOLLOWING WEEK AND THE PACKERS HAVEN’T LOST A GAME SINCE CATCHING FIRE ON THEIR WAY TO WINNING FOUR STRAIGHT AND THUS NOW WINNING SIX OF THEIR LAST SEVEN GAMES.

            JORDAN LOVE HAS NOT PRACTICED YET THIS WEEK BUT IS STILL LOOKING TO BE GOOD TO GO FOR THIS SUNDAY.  THAT IS A GREAT SIGN FOR THE PACKERS SEEING HOW THEY ARE ABOUT TO GO ON THEIE TOUGHEST 5 GAME STRETCH OF THEIR SEASON STARTING THIS WEEK.  THIS UPCOMING GAME COULD IS QUITE POSSIBLY THE MOST MEANINGFUL GAME OF THEIR SEASON AS THEY PLAY HOST TO THE CURRENT NFC LEADING DETROIT LIONS AT HOME.  THIS GAME COULD BE FOR ALL THE MARBLES IN TERMS OF WHO COULD WIND UP WINNING THE NFC NORTH TITLE AT THE END OF THE SEASON.  NEXT UP WILL BE ANOTHER DIVISION GAME AGANST THE UP-AND-COMING BEARS ON THE ROAD.  FROM THERE THEY WILL HAVE TO DEAL WITH BACK-TO-BACK TEAMS THAT ARE STARTING TO GET HEALTHY IN THE NINERS AND THE DOLPHINS, LUCKILY FOR THE PACK BOTH GAMES OUR ON THEIR HOME TURF.  THEN IT WILL BE A TRIP SOUTHEAST TO THE MOTOR CITY WHEN THEY WILL PLAY THE LIONS AGAIN.  ONCE THOSE GAMES ARE IN THE REAR VIEW, THEY WILL FACE TWO WEAKER OPPONENTS IN WHAT SHOULD SURELY BE WINNABLE GAMES WHEN THEY MATCHUP WITH SEATTLE FOLLOWED BY THE NEW ORLEANS.  THEIR REMAINING TWO GAMES WILL BE BACK TO INTER-DIVISIONAL PLAY WITH THE VIKINGS AND THE BEARS.

            GREEN BAY DEFINITLEY SEEMS LIKE A TEAM THAT CAN POTENTIALLY CONTEND FOR A SUPER BOWL AS SOON AS THIS YEAR.  I THINK THE MAIN OBSTICLE FOR THEM IS HOW THEY FAIR AMONG THE BATTLES IN THEIR DIVISION.  THE LIONS ARE 6-1 AND LOOK ALMOST UNBEATABLE AS OF LATE, THE VIKINGS HAVE LOST TWO STRAIGHTS, THOUGH STARTED THE SEASON 5-0 WITH A STRONG DEFENSE AND AN OFFENSE WITH ONE OF THE BEST PLAY CALLERS AND SUPERSTAR RECEIVER JUSTIN JEFFERSON.  THOSE TWO TEAMS ARE NEVER FUN TO SEE, LET ALONE HAVE TO PLAY THEM TWICE A YEAR, AND WHO KNOWS, MAYBE EVEN A THIRD TIME IF THEY ALL WIND UP IN THE PLAYOFFS.  AS I PREVIOUSLY ALLUDED TO THE BEARS ARE ALSO ON THE RISE AND WITH THE DEFENSE A TOP 8-10 UNIT THIS SEASON AND THEIR PRIZED ROOKIE QUARTERBACK CALEB WILLIAMS STARTING TO FIGURE THINGS OUT ITS CERTIANLY NOT AN EASY DIVISION TO NAVIGATE THROUGH.  THE PACKERS ARE 5^TH IN THE NFC PLAYOFF PICTURE AS OF RIGHT NOW AND IF WE’RE BEING COMPLELTEY HONEST WITH OURSELVES THE NFC IS LOOKING LIKE MORE OF A POWERHOUSE SO FAR THIS SEASON THAN THE AFC WITH SEVEN OF THE TOP EIGHT TEAMS HAVING THREE LOSSES OR LESS AND ONLY HAVING FIVE TEAMS UNDER .500, COMPARED TO THE AFC HOUSING EIGHT SUCH TEAMS.  TO FINISH MY THOUGHS ON THE EARLY DOMINANCE OF THE NFC THIS YEAR, WHO KNOWS GREEN BAY COULD WIND UP IN 1^ST PLACE BY WEEK 18 OR THEY COULD COMPLETLEY MISS THE PLAYOFFS.  THE NINERS ARE GOING TO GET HEALTHY, THE RAMS HAVE STARTED TO GET HEALTHY, AND EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE LOOKED POOR SO FAR THIS YEAR, I DON’T KNOW THAT WE CAN COMPLETEY COUNT THE COWBOYS OUT EITHER. 

MY TOP 10 WIDEOUTS THROUGH WEEK 7

 

EMERALD CITY & the 12TH MAN

 

SEAHAWKS HISTORY:

        The Coffee Capital of the World, Rain City, Transplant City, or as most know it as Emerald City is the home of the NFL’s 28^th franchise.  The “12^th man” refers to the fans of the Seattle Seahawks (used for many football teams) who were established as an NFL team at the start of the 1976 season.  The Seahawks were one of two expansion teams that first appeared in the NFL in 1976, the other team being the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  Upon joining the league, the NFL placed Seattle in the NFC West Division while having placed the Tampa Bay Bucs in the AFC West Division.  The Seahawks are the only NFL team to have ever switched conferences two times as the following season Seattle and Tampa Bay swapped conferences, placing the Hawks in the AFC West and the Bucs in the NFC North.  Seattle had been Division rivals with the Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, and Denver Broncos from 1977-2002 before their departure, which placed them back into the NFC West.  Seattle is also the only NFL team in the league's history that has played in both an AFC Championship and NFC Championship Game.

        During the Seahawks' inaugural season, they started slow losing their first five games before picking up their first win as a franchise.  Ironically Seattle's first win came against their expansion brothers, Tampa Bay, when they won 13-10.  Their only other win that season came when they played the Atlanta Falcons three weeks later.  In year two they again struggled to open the season, losing four straight games before grabbing their first win, yet again over the Buccaneers 30-23 in what became known as the “Expansion Bowl II”.  These Seahawks undoubtedly had many great players in their team history, though none better than Hall of Famer wideout Steve Largent.  Steve Largent was drafted by the Houston Oilers in the 1976 NFL Draft but was traded to Seattle in the preseason, thus never playing a game for Houston.  This move would become one of the most successful in the Seahawks’ franchise.

 

PETE CARROLL ERA:

        Carroll served as a defensive specialist coach at the collegiate level and in the NFL.  He started his coaching career at Iowa State, where he spent a year (1978) before moving to Ohio State for one season in 1979.  Pete was initially a secondary coordinator for both Ohio & Iowa State until he caught North Carolina State’s eye when they brought him in to be their defensive coordinator from 1980-1982.  His next opportunity was a one-year stay, yet again, this time it was at Pacific in 1983 as their DC.  Then Pete finally got his chance in the NFL as a defensive backs coach with the Buffalo Bills.  After spending a season with Buffalo, some time with Minnesota (1985-1989), and a three-year stint with the New York Jets, long-behold Pete Carroll got a shot as Head Coach for the Jets.  Unfortunately, it was only a one-season gig as their HC, and his next chance didn’t come until three years later when the New England Patriots hired him to fill their HC role where he lasted from (1997-1999).  Two failed attempts as an NFL HC led coach Carroll back to the NCAA to become USC Trojans Head Coach from (2001-2009).

        Pete Carroll spent a total of thirty-six years coaching for eleven different programs.  Along his way to finding long-term success with one organization, coach Carroll had spent many years serving six college teams and five NFL teams before becoming a mainstay with the Seattle Seahawks.  While coaching for Seattle, Pete Carroll enjoyed a successful tenure of fourteen years from (2010-2023).  Carroll was quite triumphant while accomplishing a few huge milestones for this team and organization over his longevity in Seattle.  In his first year as Seattle’s head coach the Seahawks won the NFC West; in doing so, they became the only team in NFL history to win their division with a record of 7-9.  On top of winning their division, they also beat the odds in a major way while upsetting the previous Super Bowl Champs (New Orleans Saints) 41-36 in the wild-card round of the playoffs.  Year three (2012) marked Pete Carroll’s biggest achievement yet as the Seahawks head coach when he led them to an 11-5 record while also going undefeated at home. 

 

SEATTLE’S SUPER BOWLS; LEGION OF BOOM:

The following season the Seahawks tied their franchise's best all-time regular season record 13-3, while making it to the pinnacle of the sport.  Seattle’s dominant defense, Legion of Boom (LOB) brought them to a place that Seattle had never seen before, the Super Bowl.  They met the Peyton Manning-led Denver Broncos, who had the number one offense in the NFL in 2013 and had also broken several records that season: leaguewide and franchise records.  Seattle ended up doing the unthinkable and upset the Denver Broncos and eventual Hall of Famer Peyton Manning in not only beating the NFL’s number one offense but routing them 43-8.

After Pete Carroll brought the Seahawks their very first Lombardi Trophy it was obvious that the whole city of Seattle believed in this team and was completely locked in.  However, it seemed like their success was only getting ready to grow.  Carroll and Seattle’s defensive coordinator Dan Quinn had one of the best defenses of all time with the Legion of Boom (LOB).  This group of monstrous supremacy was led by cornerback, Richard Sherman and safeties Earl Thomas & Cam Chancellor.  The Seahawks' next season was almost as fruitful as their previous one as they wound up finding themselves at the pinnacle of the sport for the second consecutive season.  Though, unfortunately for them, the outcome was much different this time around as they ran into Bill Belichick and Tom Brady’s dynasty, the New England Patriots.  To coach Carroll’s displeasure his former team, the New England Patriots proved that they weren’t yet done with their preeminence and Carroll’s team suffered defeat in Super Bowl XLIX.  Still, to this day, there are whispers both in the NFL and in the streets of football fans everywhere about how that game ended and that maybe if Seattle had only elected to hand the ball off to their running back (Marshawn Lynch) they would have ended up winning their second straight Super Bowl.  Instead, they chose to pass the ball from the one-yard line as we watched Russell Wilson throw it into the hands of the Patriots cornerback, Malcolm Butler.

       

CURRENT SEATTLE SEAHAWKS:

        The 2024 NFL season is now just four weeks away from the regular season-ending.  As for Seattle, they have had some ups and some downs, starting the season 3-0 but then started to unravel through the course of the season.  Seattle has now won four in a row and looks primed for a playoff run with new head coach Mike Macdonald.  Mike is best known for his awesome defensive-minded style and was the Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator last season.  Mike isn’t the only new coach in Seattle as they also replaced their defense and offense coordinators when they hired Ryan Grubb as their OC, who spent the last two seasons as the Washington Commanders' OC and quarterback coach.  On the defensive side, Seattle brought in Aden Durde.  Coach Durde served as the Dallas Cowboys defensive line coach for the past three seasons.  Before their recent win streak started, the upside of this season for Seattle had been within their first three weeks of the season when they beat the Broncos (26-20) in a comeback win at home, followed by a meeting with the New England Patriots when they outlasted the Pats on the road in O.T (23-20).  Week three was a complete routing of a subpar Miami Dolphins team without their star QB Tua Tagovailoa (24-3).  Then things certainly started to take a turn for the Seahawks as the Detroit Lions proved to be a little too much for Seattle in a (42-29) loss on Monday Night football.  Then in weeks five and six Seattle dropped two straight games at home to a bad New York Giants team (29-20) and the Seahawks' NFC West divisional opponents, the San Francisco Forty Niners (36-24).

        Seattle is now up one game in the NFC West over the Los Angeles Rams.  However, they still have some work to do before we can write them into the postseason.  They have one of the most difficult schedules left of any NFL team.  Seahawks will be playing two of the top NFC teams in the next two weeks with back-to-back NFC North opponents.  The only good you can make of this schedule is that they will be playing host to both Green Bay and Minnesota.  After that, they must face a tough defensive team that just terminated their head coach, the Chicago Bears.  When all that is said and done they will take a trip to L.A. in week 18 when they will duke it out with their division rivals, the Rams.  The Rams just came off a win and could stay hot now that they are healthy once again.  I also wouldn't completely count the Cardinals out, but Seattle will have to lose three of their last four games for the Cards to catch them at this point (Seattle swept Arizona).  Mike Macdonald's team is in a good place right now, I didn't see them winning this division coming into the year.  I still have less faith in them than the Rams or Cardinals but they do have the lead as of right now.

        The Seahawks’ offense is currently ranked 13th in the NFL in total yards per game (344.4), they are actually third-best in the NFC West in that statistic.  They are also ranked 15th in points per game (23.2).  Their passing offense is 3rd in the league with 249 yards per game thanks to the NFL’s 2nd best quarterback in total passing yards Geno Smith (3,474 yards).  Second-year wideout Jaxson Smith-Njigba is surely coming along well as he is currently tied for 9th in receptions with 75 and also ranks 6th in receiving yards (911 yards).  Defensively they have dramatically dropped in almost every category since the start of the season, however, they still pose the tenth-best pass defense, allowing 212.5 yards per game.  Just remember that they have a first-year head coach, they’ve been battling injuries to numerous starters on their defense, and they have beaten most of the teams that have looked weaker than them.  The exception comes with the loss to the Giants who've been very bad so far this year.  However, it is not how you start the season, but how you finish that matters most.  One last note is their O-line play, it has been a little better as of recently, though that is one thing to watch for with these next couple of games coming against good defensive units.  Particularly when they host the Minnesota Vikings with Brain Flores dialing up more blitzes than any other DC this season. 

NEW YORK, NEW YORK; BIG BLUE EDITION

 

            I will do my best to keep this one short and sweet as there isn’t very much for me to say about a franchise that has been in dismay for the past couple of seasons.  I know that the fans of Big Blue would have my head if I did not mention that the New York Giants did make the Playoffs just two seasons ago, but that is already starting to feel like a lifetime ago.  This past offseason the Giants team was dismantled, well maybe that is going a little too far, but then again, they did lose quite possibly the best offensive player that they’ve had in recent memory and maybe since I’ve been alive.  That’s right, that is just how good the Giants’ now ex-running back Saquon Barkley had been for New York.  Don’t get me wrong here, I know that this is the same team that once had tight end Jeremy Shockey, wideouts Amani Toomer, Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks, Plexico Burress, and of course Super Bowl hero David Tyree.  The running backs that these G-men have had over the years were also pretty good like Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw, and eventual Hall of Famer Tikki Barber.  Over the last two seasons, Barkley had accounted for roughly 70-80% of the Giants' offense and is already the first or second option on his new team, the Giants division rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles.

            The G-men have already gotten off to an unfavorable start this season with a 2-4 record and I don’t see them turning it around anytime soon.  They opened the season in the worst possible way, taking an absolute beating at home from the Minnesota Vikings 28-6.  They also lost two divisional games to both the Washington Commanders in a close 21-18 game and of course, losing another closely contested game to the Dallas Cowboys in primetime 20-15.  These Giants did manage to beat a better Seahawks team on the road, one where they were without their superstar rookie receiver, Malik Nabers in a 29-20 upset.  This past Sunday night we all witnessed the Giants drop another primetime matchup when the Cincinnati Bengals and all-star quarterback Joe Burrow came to town.  It was a bittersweet loss because Big Blue’s defense showed up, holding two of the league's top wideouts to under one hundred yards each, but their offense was terrible.  Cincy held the Giants to 190 passing yards and only 4.2 yards per play, they only allowed NY to score seven points total (NYG missed a FG).  Not only that, but the NYG were somehow only able to convert 5/15 third downs and ran over 70 offensive plays (74 total plays).  The Giants need to do something quick to turn their awful play around, I mean they were only penalized just twice in that game for only 9 yards and led the game in time of possession (34:07).  That would normally be a recipe for success but not for this team.  New York also found themselves only punting the ball four times, which would make you think that they led their team to a lot of scoring drives, on the contrary, they just elected to go for it on fourth down five different times in the game and a surprising twist had them converting on three of those attempts.  Three scoreless quarters with seven points in the third quarter is terrible, especially against a defense that ranks 23^rd in yards allowed per game (356) and 26^th in points allowed per game (25.3).

            On the other side of the ball, the Giants have been decent thus far.  Through the first six weeks of the season, New York’s defense is holding opponents to 314 yards per contest, which ranks tenth in the league.  They rank fifteenth in rush defense allowing 116.3 yards a game, twelfth in pass defense, giving up 197.7 yards through the air, and are only letting teams score 20.2 points per game, ranking ninth in that category.  It’s largely noticeable that their offense is holding them back from any success as of right now.  You need to score points in the NFL to have a chance to win games and right now they are only putting up 16 points per game (29th).  The Giants are 20^th in the league in total offense with 319.3 yards per game, their passing attack is 18^th with 213.5 yards per game, and the run game is pushing them to just over 100 yards per game on the ground (105.8) which ranks 24^th in that statistic.

            On the bright side, the Giants could be getting their number one draft pick back in their lineup for their week seven inter-divisional game against the Philadelphia Eagles.  The G-men have been without their rookie wideout Malik Nabers for the past two weeks now, due to a concussion he sustained in the Thursday night matchup against the Cowboys in week four.  The Giants are a bit banged up right now and have hopes that they will be able to get their starting running Devin Singletary back from a groin injury soon that he also sustained in week four.  New York is anticipating that their kicker Graham Gano will be back sooner rather than later from his hamstring injury.  Though for their O-line it seems like they may have lost their starting left tackle, Andrew Thomas.  It was reported earlier today that Andrew Thomas is exploring season-ending surgery for a foot injury he experienced this past week against the Bengals.  I like the Giants coach Brian Daboll and think that Big Blue’s head coach is doing everything he can to right the ship, but I also feel that it is ultimately too much for him and this team to overcome this season.  This NFC East is one of the toughest divisions in all of football, with everything that has been happening In East Rutherford, New Jersey I don’t expect Daboll to go anywhere anytime soon.  With the emergence of Washington’s rookie quarterback, this is starting to seem more and more like a three-team division in the short term, though these G-men do have some interesting pieces that could put them right back into the mix next season.

LOS ANGELES HASN'T LOST ITS CHARGE

 CHARGERS HISTORY:

        Welcome to Los Angeles, the city big enough to carry two NFL franchises, the Rams and the Chargers.  The Chargers were initially established in the city of Los Angeles back in 1960.  Upon their entrance to the city of Angels, the franchise got off to a hot start in the AFL with the Chargers winning ten-plus games in both their first two seasons in the league while making it to back-to-back AFL Championship Games.  The outcome wasn’t what they had hoped for as they had lost both years to the same Houston Oilers team.  Originally the Chargers started their franchise in Los Angeles but the following year the Chargers were forced to move to San Diego due to the team’s competition in La La Land with the Los Angeles Rams who had already set up shop in L.A. fourteen years before the Chargers arrival.  The Chargers were a regularity in AFL Championship Games early in their franchise history, appearing in five within their first six seasons.  They ended up going 1-4 during that Championship run and wouldn’t appear in any others nor would they make the playoffs for the next fourteen seasons.

        Since the Chargers have been in the NFL, they haven’t yet tasted true success other than that one AFL Championship win in 1963.  The Chargers have only made it to the Super Bowl once in 1995, though they wound up losing to the San Francisco 49ers.  They also haven’t had a Head Coach that has lasted longer than six seasons since Don Coryell (San Diego HC 1978-1985).  In fact, the Chargers only ever had two Head Coaches last at least seven seasons in franchise history (Don Coryell & Sid Gillman 1960-1971).  Long-time Chargers coach Sid Gillman had a lengthy decorated tenure as he led them for 11 seasons.  Gillman is the winningest Head Coach the Chargers have ever had and possesses a record of 85-53-6.  Coach Gillman had left the team and his coaching duties nine games into the 1969 season because of a hiatal hernia before coming back to coach them for the first ten games of the 1971 season.

 

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS PART II:

        After such a long history of San Diego being the home of the Chargers, the team decided to give The Big Orange another go at hosting their NFL franchise.  In 2017 the Chargers decided to pack up and move the organization about two hours north (123 mi) up I-5 N to head back to where the team was originally founded.  Upon moving back to L.A. they haven’t been a great team, only registering two playoff appearances in the past seven years.  Before this season the Chargers have only had two head coaches since their move back.  Now with this year's new GM Joe Hortiz, along with first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh it sure appears that this team will be heading towards a brighter future.  Los Angeles came into this season seeking a playoff run as the Chargers are two years removed from their last one.  No doubt he has done a great job so far, giving life to their run game while also getting this defense back on track.  They currently are sitting in sixth place in the AFC, while having the best-scoring defense in the league.  

 

        The Chargers Defensive Coordinator Jesse Minter, who also served as Head Coach Jim Harbaugh’s DC last season in Michigan has the Chargers defense ranking in the top ten for just about every defensive statistic.  The Charger’s General Manager did a good job in the offseason making some savvy moves, inking some very good veterans to deals.  They completely bolstered their running back room by signing both Ravens' previous running backs Gus Edwards and the explosive but often injured runner J.K Dobbins (who led the league in yards per carry for a handful of weeks early on this season).  That move came after Harbaugh decided to go out and hire Greg Roman who spent four years with Dobbins and Edwards in Baltimore under Jim’s brother John Harbaugh.  They also made sure they got one of the top backups at the quarterback position for insurance in case Herbert went down, which proved to be helpful as he was banged up in pre-season, dealing with foot/ankle injuries, he also had to leave the field in multiple games this year missing a few snaps here and there.  Another big move by the Chargers was signing the great veteran O-lineman guard Bradley Bozeman.  It’s almost as if John Harbaugh sent a gift basket of talent to celebrate Jim’s return to the NFL as Bozeman also played for Baltimore his first four years in the league before signing with Carolina for two years.

 

        Harbaugh was instantly given the keys to LA among inking his name on the dotted line when he took this Head Coaching job.  It should come as no surprise that he probably had a lot of say in who the team would be drafting.  The first thing the Chargers did was draft the overall best offensive lineman in the 2024 NFL Draft (LT Joe Alt).  Then they figured it only made sense to go out and try to address their lack of weapons on the outside after moving on from both Keenan Allen and Mike Williams.  Now the Chargers got themselves two young studs to add to their receiver corps that will hopefully grow into stars soon.  Ladd McConkey (already their best offensive weapon) out of Georgia and Hall of Famer Jerry Rice’s son Brenden Rice who was drafted to L.A by way of USC.  The Chargers also found themselves adding depth to their defensive backs as well as their front seven through the draft. 

 

        If the Chargers indeed make the playoffs this year, I will not be surprised.  Herbert needs to stay healthy and they need to get their ground-and-pound game back on track.  Early on they were ranked 11^th in rushing offense through the first four weeks of the season.  Dobbins is out with another injury and they've faltered to 19th on the ground.  Their air attack has looked better recently and they've also been putting more points on the board, but they do rank 25th in passing and 20th in scoring.  The Chargers' defense has kept them in a bunch of games this season they had almost no shot of winning like earlier this year against KC when they could’ve possibly upset the Chiefs at home, but to no avail as they fell to the Champs 17-10.  Then last week against the Falcons terrible defense that they only scored one touchdown by way of a pick-six.  However, I will not count Sunday Night against the Chargers for the fact their top receiver rookie Ladd McConkey along with Dobbins were hurt, plus Herbert had to leave the game for a few snaps.  The Chargers are still holding off the Broncos for the 6th seed, while also having a two-game lead over the likes of the Dolphins, Colts, plus they also own a tie-breaker over the Bengals.  They should be able to make it into the postseason with only two tough games ahead when they take on the Buccaneers and the Broncos in the next two weeks (at home), the last two games are both road matches against two weaker teams (Patriots & Raiders).

TAMPA BAY IS BAKING (9/30/24- EDITED VERSION)

            Tampa Bay is now a few years removed from their magical run in 2020 when Mr. Brady came to save the day and brought these Buccaneers only their second Lombardi in the franchise’s history.  Tampa Bay is looking more and more like a playoff team this season.  I know they have only played four games so far and there are still three-quarters of the season to go, but they are off to a very hot start.  Head Coach Todd Bowles along with Tampa’s Offensive Coordinator Liam Coen (Coen served as Kentucky’s OC 2023) still have a lot of work to do as the Bucs are putting up 319 yards per game which is ranked 16^th in the league so far this season.  For the Defense, Tampa Bay took a unique approach by employing a co-Defensive Coordinator plan.  Both Kacy Rodgers and Larry Foote are listed as the teams' DCs, in any matter they need to do a better job going forward regardless of the team's 3-1 record as their defense is allowing 335.3 yards per game which ranks 19^th among the 32 teams.

            With a closer look at the Buccaneers who are off to a great start, their overall offense may be middle of the pack and their defense may be worse than their personnel say they should be though they are currently 3-1.  Winning seems to cure everything in the sports world, right?  Through the first 4 weeks quarterback Baker Mayfield looks more poised than ever as he has now thrown for a total of 984 yards on the season and ranks fourth in passing yards.  Mayfield has also thrown for eight touchdowns and ran for two more, while only throwing two interceptions.  Wide receiver Chris Godwin is currently third in the league with 27 receptions, sixth in receiving yards (322 yards), and tied with fellow receiver & teammate Mike Evans for second in touchdowns (3 TDs).  Baker is currently in fourth place of all QBs with an overall QB rating of 106.9 on the season, having produced a rating of 90 or better in three of his first four starts.  His only game where he did not achieve this came in week three against the Denver Broncos' top-five defensive unit.  In week one Tampa topped the Washington Commanders 37-20.  In week two Baker got his playoff revenge against Detroit winning 20-16 on Ford Field.  Week three marked their first loss of the season, at home to the Denver Broncos 26-7, then yesterday the Buccaneers got back on track beating the banged-up Philadelphia Eagles in Tampa 33-16.

            My early prediction for this Todd Bowles-led team is that the Bucs will find themselves in the postseason, yet again behind great quarterback play and a pair of unbelievably talented wideouts.  They will certainly have a lot of work to do with the rush offense and a full-time switch to the rookie running back Buck Irving may be the answer.  Rachaad White has proven to be inefficient as their number-one running back through four games and is averaging a measly 2.8 yards per carry on 41 attempts which is why the switch will inevitably come soon.  The other main thing to work on for this team is their defensive play as they have been pedestrian in both rush & pass defense.  Tampa is giving up 131.5 yards per game on the ground (22nd) and 203.8 yards through the air (16th).  Three of the Bucs' next four games are against divisional opponents while the other game will be a home matchup where they will host none other than last year’s regular season MVP Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens.   

Defensive Statistics

UNCONQUERED, UNSTOPPABLE, UNDEFEATED

 

                What’s going on NFL fans?  It has been an awesome three weeks of football so far.  We have seen a lot through the first three weeks of the season a lot of touchdowns, a lot of lop-sided wins, some big upsets, and a plethora of injuries that have taken place.  The NFL is now gearing up in preparation for week four to kick off this upcoming Thursday night when we will all watch the Dallas Cowboys take on the New York Giants in East Rutherford New Jersey at 8:15 PM ET.  Although there isn't a single team that has tremendously pulled away from the pack, three teams have a zero in their win column.  The AFC South’s own Jacksonville Jaguars, their divisional rival Tennessee Titans, plus a team with Super Bowl aspirations, the Cincinnati Bengals.  However, this article is not about the winless teams, it is about the teams who have made it through the first three weeks seemingly unscathed, well at least from a record standpoint.

 

AFC UNDEFEATED TEAMS

 

BUFFALO BILLS 3-0

                This Buffalo Bills team may not surprise most having a 3-0 record after beating the likes of the struggling Jacksonville Jaguars, The Miami Dolphins who lost Tua to his fourth concussion in the past five years, and the lackluster Arizona Cardinals.  However, make no mistake about these Bills, they still have a Top-notch defense, they still have one of the best Head Coaches in the league, and they still have offensive weapons at their quarterback's disposal.  The reasons why certain people thought that they would take a step back this year, including myself, are preposterous.  I mentioned that they still have a great coach in Sean McDermott.  Maybe we doubters forgot that the Bills have a record of 76-41 ever since McDermott took over as their HC or maybe we have lost faith in the great QB Josh Allen.  It could also be because every time we look at their offense, we don’t instantly recognize the players that Josh is throwing the ball to.  Whatever the case I am here to put that nonsense to rest.  Buffalo came out swinging in week one and came back from a fourteen-point deficit to beat the Cardinals 34-28.  Buffalo’s second game was a very different story as the Dolphins were obliterated by the time the fourth quarter started and had to go to their backup QB because of Tua’s injury.  Buffalo won 31-10.  Then there was last night's blowout victory against the Jaguars which ended in a 47-10 dismantling of Jacksonville.  These Bills are for real and if they have the MVP-like great Josh Allen at the helm they will always have a chance.  The young core of players, especially their wideouts, will continue to gel with Allen and their success will only grow.  Having said that, the Bills have no easy ride ahead as their next three weeks are as tough as it gets for Buffalo.  Next week the Bills head to Baltimore to face Lamar Jackson and the Ravens on Sunday Night.  Then they are off to Houston to face off against the Texans.  After those two difficult challenges, they will meet up with the New York Jets in New Jersey to play Aaron Rodgers and the Jets, which is never an easy task.

 

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 3-0

One could only assume this may not be surprising to most as well.  Yes, this is the Chiefs, the current two-time consecutive Super Bowl Champs.  They possess one of the best Head Coaches in NFL history, and they have a prodigy, who already is in the G.O.A.T discussions as one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history, though he is not even thirty years old.  This one does feel a little odd though if I’m being honest.  The Chiefs are certainly one of the best-storied teams in recent history, but if you look at their undefeated start, you may scratch your head in pondering.  They beat the Baltimore Ravens in week one, but if you watched the game there were certainly a few questionable calls and penalties by the referees.  Even still the game came down to a heck of a play by Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who found backup tight end Isaiah Likely in the back of the endzone.  He was so far in the back of the endzone that it ultimately cost Baltimore the game as the front of Likely’s cleat (barely) went into the white line that outlines the out-of-bounds line that separates a touchdown from what could've been.  Either way, Chiefs Kingdom enjoyed a second victory over the purple and black (27-20) for the second time in KC’s last three games (beat the Ravens in the AFC Championship Game).  

Week two for KC was also controversial in that they had some penalties go their way as they enjoyed another victory at home over the Cincinnati Bengals 26-25.  The Chiefs' week three win came against the Atlanta Falcons 22-17 on the road in Atlanta.  This game was a very interesting one, it showed the Falcons growing their chemistry as a whole both offensively and defensively.  Mahomes threw what looked to be a game-changing pick early in the contest to All-Pro safety Justin Simmons, (6^th INT on Mahomes and 4^th straight game with an INT vs Mahomes) but it was still very early.  Later in the game, there were a few missed calls by the referees yet again, like when Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts was held in the endzone on what should have been a pass interference call.  This changed the whole trajectory of the game as the outcome more than likely could’ve favored the Falcons.  I’m not saying that Mahomes couldn't have led his Chiefs back downfield for another score, as he has done numerous times in his career, I’m just saying that the Falcons likely would’ve had seven more points on that drive had the refs not missed the call.  This was however a game-ender for KC’s defense as it was a third-and-five from about six yards out with 4:12 left in the game.  The Falcons would then try on fourth down but to no avail as Kirk Cousins's pass fell incomplete.  Kansas City has gotten off to a fiery hot start against three difficult opponents and next on the docket is a division game against the Los Angeles Chargers who may or may not have their Pro Bowl quarterback Justin Herbert.  These Chiefs have sustained a few injuries but when you have a QB like Mahomes nothing is ever out of reach.

 

PITTSBURGH STEELERS 3-0

Now this is certainly more of a surprising feat when you think of all the teams that could’ve been in this undefeated scenario to start the first three weeks of the season.  Keep in mind that we have a long way to go before we can crown anyone a playoff team or a division winner.  The Steelers may come as a surprise because coming into the season, just a few weeks ago, there was a lot of chatter that no one knew who would end up being the team’s starting quarterback.  All that anyone had was speculation.  The known was that Russell Wilson rarely turns the ball over which would obviously favor a hard-nosed defensive team such as Pittsburgh.  The other known factor was that Russell’s play-it-safe approach could also have the Steeler’s offense looking the way they’ve been the last several seasons since Ben Roethlisberger retired.  

When Denver decided to move on from Super Bowl Winning QB Russell Wilson it seemed to be because he limited the upside of the team's offense by playing it safe, instead of taking big shots downfield to his playmakers.  The only real knock on their other newly signed quarterback, Justin Fields, was that he has turned the ball over a lot in the past and that could potentially put a lot of strain on the Steelers' defense.  On the contrary, Justin Fields has looked pretty good through these first three weeks for Pittsburgh.  He has fumbled the ball twice, but luckily for him, his teammates recovered both.  Fields has also thrown an interception but as the Steelers are rolling on undefeated that doesn’t hold much weight currently. 

In week one the Steelers took the show on the road to Atlanta where they beat the Falcons 18-10.  Then in week two Head Coach Mike Tomlin elected to start Fields again because Russell Wilson wasn’t yet healthy enough to play against his old team, the Denver Broncos.  Again, for the second straight week, it wasn’t a big difference on offense for the Steelers as they only scored 13 points, however, that was more than enough to defeat the Broncos in Denver 13-6.  With week three approaching critics were still talking about a possible quarterback switch to the Pro Bowler Russell Wilson because of Pittsburgh’s unimpressive offense that had only put up thirty-one total points after two games.  Russell still didn’t play as his injury was still bothering him, but no fear here for Head Coach Mike Tomlin as he had his men ready for battle against the 2-0 Los Angeles Chargers at home.  The Steelers put up their most points yet in week three and took down the Chargers in the Steel City 20-10 as Justin Fields threw for 245 yards, 1 TD & completed 25/32 passes, plus also rushed for another 6 yards and another touchdown.   The Steelers' defense is a game-recking unit, and we still don’t know what to expect from the quarterback position for this team, but Fields is seemingly getting better and better with each coming week.

 

NFC UNDEFEATED TEAMS

 

MINNESOTA VIKINGS 3-0

                Minnesota, much like the Steelers could be surprising to some depending on your individual views of their starting quarterback Sam Darnold.  Darnold was drafted by the New York Jets in the 2018 NFL Draft when he was selected third overall.  Many thought that maybe he could change the fate of that franchise and give their fans something exciting to root for again after decades of poor play and a championship drought that now ranges over 55 long years.  Instead, Darnold was not the answer and after being shipped off to the Carolina Panthers, where he spent two seasons, and then again finding a new team in San Fran for a season, he seems to have finally found a place he can call home.  Though often scrutinized, quarterback Sam Darnold is a good player.  Darnold’s career numbers don’t look great and when you are a young QB playing for a team that gets the publicity such as a place like New York it's hard to try and keep the outside noise from the NY media affecting you both on and off the field.  That mixed with the fact that the Jets didn’t have great offensive line play and the best skilled positional players around him.  Sam Darnold didn’t give up though, even after losing his starting role in Carolina to Baker Mayfield.  

                 Sam came into this season competing with the rookie, last year's National Championship-winning QB, J.J. McCarthy.  Many believed that J.J. probably would’ve been the starter come week one of the regular season.  That was unfortunately not the case for McCarthy after a freak injury that left him on IR for the entire season.  For Darnold, it seems like maybe the right time, the right place and he is undoubtedly taking advantage of this opportunity to showcase his talents as a starter, even if this ends up being his only season as a Viking.  Through the first three weeks of this season, Darnold has looked magnificent.  His completion percentage is 67.9%, the best of his career though it has only been three games.  He has thrown for 657 yards and has a TD: INT ratio of 8:2, with a passer rating of 117.3, also by far the best of his NFL career.  In week one the Vikings beat up a bad New York Giants team at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey with a final score of 28-6.  Then Darnold with their Head Coach Kevin O’Connell had the Vikings prevail at home over last year’s NFC Champs, the San Francisco 49ers, winning 23-17.  Beating the 49ers on any Sunday is very inspiring but for the Vikings’ fans watching their QB Sam Darnold sling a 97-yard TD to superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson out of their own endzone.  Then the unthinkable happened in a week three matchup between the Vikings and the Texans.  True NFL fans watched last year as the number two pick of the 2023 NFL Draft had the best rookie season of all time from a QB in C.J. Stroud.  Beating this Stroud-led Houston Texans team is one thing, but the Minnesota Vikings did something that no other team has done since Stroud became their starter.  Minnesota completely dismantled the DeMeco Ryan’s coached Houston Texans team in a win considering no one outside of Minneapolis could’ve seen coming, 34-7 keeping the Vikings unbeaten.

 

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 3-0

                The Seattle Seahawks had a massive change in the offseason that left people wondering how this team would look for the future after parting ways with their previous Head Coach of the past 14 seasons.  It is never easy to move on from a Head Coach of that caliber or length of time, especially one that brought the city a Lombardi trophy and had the team in two Super Bowl appearances.  The known was that Seattle should certainly have a good-to-great defense with a masterful Defensive-minded Head Coach Mike Macdonald.  The Seahawks hired Mike Macdonald to become their franchise's ninth Head Coach after how his defense performed last season.  Macdonald was the Baltimore Ravens Defensive Coordinator in 2023 and was named the Assistant Coach of the Year by the Pro Football Writers of America and I’ll tell you why.  Baltimore’s defense was incredible with Mike as their DC, allowing just 16.5 points per game, (1st) they had 60 sacks, along with 31 takeaways (both 1^st in the NFL). The Ravens also allowed the fewest touchdowns in the league (26) while finishing first in overall defense & first in pass defense.  The only major category that Baltimore’s defense didn’t rank first in was their run defense, which finished 7^th in the league.  

                So far through three games Head Coach Macdonald has Seattle’s defense off to an awesome start, although they’ve played three bottom-10 offenses to start.  The Seahawks and their 13^th man currently rank third in pressure rate while only blitzing 19.2% of the time, the seventh-lowest rate in the NFL.  This defensive-minded genius has Seattle currently ranked as a top-five unit in sacks (11), and top-ten defense in sack rate (9.8%).  The Seahawks have only allowed 248.7 yards per game so far this season, which is the second-best in the league, while also only allowing a total of 473 passing yards, which ranks third in the league.  Seattle kicked the season off with a home game playing host to the Denver Broncos and their rookie quarterback Bo Nix who failed to throw a touchdown, and the Seahawks won 26-20.  The following week Seattle took to the road to play the New England Patriots and again came out victorious after a game-sealing field goal in overtime that had them win 23-20.  This past weekend wasn’t as tough of a game as it could have been due to the Miami Dolphins not having their franchise QB Tua Tagovailoa.  Seattle steamrolled the Dolphins at home with a final score of 24-3 to stay perfect.  Even though these Seahawks are currently undefeated they will have their toughest challenge this upcoming Monday Night when they go on the road to play the gritty Detroit Lions and their dual running back attack in Detroit.

DESERTED CARDINALS OF ARIZONA

 

         Arizona has always been known for its natural attractions.  The weather there is mostly dry, non-humid heat.   The cuisine is mostly southwestern with its unique Sonoran style of Mexican food with its bold flavors and plenty of chili peppers & spices, especially on the southern border of Arizona.  Other styles of food you can find out there are mesquite barbecued meats because of the mesquite trees that are Indigenous to Arizona.  The Velvet, Honey, and Arizona native mesquite trees can all be found there and are all very useful for their unique dishes.  Another reason people would be intrigued to visit or live in this southwest state is the beautiful natural sites all around including the Grand Canyon, Saguaro National Park, Monument Valley, and then of course the city of Tucson.  The NFL team that calls Arizona its home is about two hours north of Tucson in Glendale, Arizona.

 

CARDINALS FRANCHISE HISTORY:

        The Arizona Cardinals were established as a football team in 1898 as the Morgan Athletic Club in Chicago.  The Cardinals were the first football franchise in the United States and are one of only two original franchises still operating in the NFL.  The other active original team is the Chicago Bears.  Arizona hasn’t always been the home for the Cardinals though, they have moved multiple times and have had several different names along the way.  After they were known as the Morgan Athletic Club (1898), they became the Racine Normals (1899-1900), and then they were known as the Racine Street Cardinals (1901-1906, 1913-1919).  It wasn’t until 1920-1943 that they became the Chicago Cardinals and then again from 1945-1959.  In 1944, the Cardinals merged with the Pittsburgh Steelers and were named Card-Pitt due to a draft that had many players lost for at least a season if not longer. 

        Upon the 1960 season, the Cardinals moved to St. Louis where they played from 1960-1987 before making their way to the state of Arizona to become the Phoenix Cardinals (1988-1993) where they played their home games for 18 years at Arizona State University’s Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona.  It wasn’t until the 1994 season that the Cardinals changed their name yet again to the Arizona Cardinals which is still their name today.  Though the Cardinals are one of the two original American football teams they unfortunately do not boast a good winning percentage. They possess one of the worst in NFL history dating back to 1920 when they first took on the Cardinals name.  From 1920 to 2023, the Cardinals franchise had an overall win percentage of just 42.4%, they own the most losses by any franchise in NFL history with over 800 losses in the regular season, and as Arizona fans already know, they also own the current longest active championship drought in North American sports. (77 years since their last championship) In the Cardinals' entire history, they have won just two Championships that date back to 1925 and then again in 1947.  Since the NFL renamed their ultimate game from the Championship Game to the Super Bowl, the Cardinals have only made one Super Bowl appearance in 2008.

        The Arizona Cardinals are in a group of their own in the NFL, though it is not a group you would want to be associated with, as they are currently one of twelve NFL teams to have never won a Super Bowl Title.  These Cardinals have more than 200 more losses than wins in their respective team’s history.  It may not surprise you that the Cards have only made it to the playoffs nine times since the Super Bowl era was born.  They have had some pretty good teams over the past three decades, they were just never good enough to earn a title.  The division they play in (NFC West) is also considered one of the toughest in the NFL.  The other three teams in their division have all individually either played in or won the Super Bowl within the past 10 years.  In the NFC West, the Cardinals divisional opponents consist of the Seattle Seahawks, who won the Super Bowl in 2014, the Los Angeles Rams won in 2022, then there are the San Francisco 49ers who have been in two of the last five Super Bowls though have lost both of those games coincidentally to the same Kansas City Chiefs team twice.

 

KEN WHISENHUNT ERA:  

        During Ken Whisenhunt's time as the Arizona Cardinals Head Coach, the Cards seemed to be in better spirits.  The Cardinals enjoyed some success under Whisenhunt as he had led the Cardinals to six playoff games in his tenure and they enjoyed a playoff record of 4-2, however, his overall win-loss record was under .500, 45-51.  Most people probably forget that these Cards had one of the best wide receiver tandems in NFL history in future Hall of Famer, Larry Fitzgerald and his teammate of six seasons, Anquan Boldin.  Larry Fitzgerald was a staple for Arizona for 17 years and produced over 17,000 yards and 121 touchdowns within 263 games.  Larry is an 11-time Pro Bowler, 1-time All-Pro, and was voted to the HOF All-2010s Team.  Anquan Boldin was a 3-time Pro Bowler, 2003 AP OROY and a 1-time Super Bowl Champion.

        Another player that made the Cardinals a legit threat to the rest of the league was the 4-time Pro Bowl, 2-time All-Pro, 1-time Super Bowl Champ, Super Bowl XXXIV MVP, and 1999 PFWA OPOY quarterback Kurt Warner.  Kurt was one of the best overall QBs of the last thirty years with a much different story than most.  I don’t think there is another story in comparison to Kurt’s as he was originally a walk-on for the Green Bay Packers after going undrafted in 1994.  The Packers cut Kurt as he was not good enough in their opinion to even be their third string.  The funny thing is Kurt Warner ended his career with a trip to Canton, Ohio when he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017.  Warner had a few stops along his way to Canton; after getting cut from the Packers he spent a few years with the Iowa Barnstormers (Pro indoor team) before arriving in St. Louis to play for the Rams.  It was this move that helped his career take off.  Fast forward to 2005 when Warner signed with the Cardinals.  Kurt was originally brought to Arizona to be a bridge QB and help develop the USC standout Matt Leinart; however, the opposite became the team’s destiny as Leinart never quite worked out and Warner had the Cards in the Super Bowl in his fourth year there.  For Warner, this was his third Super Bowl appearance, and he became the NFL’s second quarterback to take two teams to the Super Bowl.

        This Cards Super Bowl team had a magical run on their way to the 2008 Super Bowl.  They had an elite offense behind their pass catchers in Fitzgerald and Boldin, but they also had a good offensive line and one of the better running backs of the 2000s in Edgerrin James.  Their defense also had some dawgs with defensive end Antonio Smith, Linebackers, Chike Okeafor and Karlos Dansby, then their defensive backs.  This team posed a major threat with two of the best safeties in the game Antrel Rolle & Adrian Wilson.  En route to their first Super Bowl appearance, they had to play three straight games before reaching their ultimate goal, the Super Bowl, as they had a regular season record of 9-7 and did not lock up a first-round bye week.  In the Wild Card round, they beat the Atlanta Falcons 30-24, and in the Divisional round, they faced the Carolina Panthers and prevailed 33-13.  The NFC Championship Game had the Cards host the Philadelphia Eagles which they were also victorious 32-25.  They had everything going for them until they got to the Super Bowl where they played an unbelievably great coached team in the Pittsburgh Steelers.  We all probably remember how that game ended, however, if the Cardinals had scored a touchdown from only two yards out with 18 seconds on the clock before halftime, then the outcome could’ve been completely different.  Instead, we all watched as Kurt missed Boldin on what looked to be a 2-3 step slant when James Harrison stepped in front of him to intercept the pass and bring it the length of the field back to the endzone.

 

CURRENT 2024 CARDINALS:

           This current Arizona team is much different from the top down.  Their current Head Coach is Jonathan Gannon who was signed to a five-year contract before the 2023 season.  Before Gannon was announced as the Arizona Cardinals Head Coach he made a name for himself as the Philadelphia Eagles Defensive Coordinator during the 2021-2022 seasons.  Gannon is now in his second season as the Cards’ Head Coach, and you must figure this will not be his last regardless of the team’s record at the season’s end.  I firmly believe this is the truth in Glendale, Arizona, as last season was a throwaway year.  Gannon could only watch as his team suffered a terrible season-long defeat after losing their superstar quarterback, Kyler Murray.  Kyler went down in December of 2022 to an ACL tear, but once he returned to full health Kyler looked very good.  Regarding fantasy football, Murray had ranked eighth among all starting QBs from weeks 10-18 last season once he was back under center.  He also ranked sixth in fantasy points per game.  Kyler has a win-loss record of 29-37-1 in the regular season along with losing his only playoff game in his six seasons as an NFL starter.

        Kyler is a very talented player who shows special abilities.  He is a dual-threat QB who can extend plays using his legs, even behind somewhat less desirable O-line play.  Kyler is very accurate with his deep ball throws; he has great awareness both in and outside the pocket.  He has speed that most quarterbacks do not possess and can take off when the pocket crumbles around him.  He is also like Lamar Jackson given his vision as a runner, which he has shown through his ability to make tacklers miss with his natural, God-given athleticism and agility.  He also always makes sure he never takes a big hit in the process.  Murray always leaves it all out on the field every Sunday.  Now he has some shiny new toys that the Cardinals have brought in the past couple of off-seasons through the Draft and free agency.

        General Manager of the Cardinals Monti Ossenfort has taken some swings in the NFL Drafts that have been major hits.  When you see the Tight End Trey McBride accumulate over 1,100 yards on 90 receptions for Colorado State you don’t think twice about drafting him if he were to fall to your team.  Monti did exactly that and in his rookie season, he showed some flashes but shared snaps with veteran TE Zach Ertz.  McBride’s second year he caught fire catching 81 passes for 825 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns, while only starting 12 games.  Now Trey is in his fourth year and is the sole number-one Tight End for the Cards.  Ertz is now a part of the Washington Commanders, and I project McBride to have a fruitful statistical season.  I project Trey McBride to have 88 receptions, 1,050 yards, and 8 TDs.

        Another major draft pick that will help change the trajectory of the Cardinals’ offense and team, in general, would be, none other than Hall of Famer and longtime Indianapolis Colt’s wideout Marvin Harrison’s son.  Marvin Harrison Jr. looks to be every bit of a franchise receiver.  At Ohio State, he wowed Buckeye fans in his sophomore year when he caught 77 receptions for 1,263 yards and scored 14 touchdowns.  He nearly repeated this production his junior year with 1,211 yards and 15 total TDs minus 10 receptions (67 rec as a junior).  With Marvin Jr. as the Cards' true number-one option in the passing game, I can see him producing at a high level for the next several years with Kyler Murray at the helm.  I like Marvin Harrison Jr. to record about 98 receptions for about 1,280 receiving yards and around 12 touchdowns this season.  In his first game as a pro, he had a dud, but in his second game, he showed up and showed out, scoring twice in the first half against the division-rival Los Angeles Rams.  Marvin's final stat line for week two was 4 rec, 130 yards, and 2 TDs.

        When it comes down to it, I certainly believe that this team is now in a good place, under good management, and has a good coaching staff.  The Cardinals are full of untapped potential and young talent on offense and defense.  Kyler Murray in my opinion, is an immensely talented quarterback, though maybe not a top-ten QB at this given time.  Having James Conner in the backfield is also very helpful as he is a hard runner with good vision and doesn’t turn the ball over.  Then you add in Harrison Jr., Trey McBride, wideouts Michael Wilson, and Greg Dortch and that is an offense that can wreck even the best of defenses.  Through the first two weeks of the season the Arizona Cardinals are now 1-1.  In week one Arizona lost to Buffalo 34-28 and in week two the Cards shredded the Rams 41-10.