We have now reached the final full weekend of Pre-Season which means real NFL games are just around the corner. I’ve put together 5 preview articles that will break down the season win predictions for every team in football, and then look to the playoffs and what teams have value in the futures there. I have gone through the entire schedule, game by game and have found some great values on season win totals. I’ll highlight my top 5 plays along the way and get you my picks division by division. Wanna know anything else? Hit me up on twitter @TheGreatKnoche
NFC South – The Ageless Wonder, GOAT, luckiest man alive, whatever you want to call Tom Brady it doesn’t matter. Bottom line is he wins. He’s back for his 22nd season, and is defending champ once again after getting his 7th Super Bowl win with the Bucs. After getting in the playoffs as a wild card the Bucs have the 4th easiest schedule in the NFL and should be the class of this division as they lose almost no one. In New Orleans Drew Brees is now retired. Is Jameis Winston the answer? We will find out soon. They still have Alvin Kamara on offense, but the receiver core is a huge question mark. Gone from defense are the top pass rusher Trey Hendrickson, linebacker Kwon Alexander and one of the better cover corners Janoris Jenkins. I don’t see this team being as strong as last year unless Winston learned to stop throwing interceptions during his year on the bench. The Falcons made the decision to not draft a QB with the 4th pick which means this is still Matt Ryan’s team. Arthur Smith who helped turn around Ryan Tannenhill comes in as Head Coach to try and revamp the offense. The thing is The Falcons weren’t awful last year. -18 point differential on a 4-12 team makes you wonder about how the season could have gone. The defense has been the major issue the last few seasons and if they improve this team could be more of a threat than most are predicting including me. The Panthers will turn to former top pick Sam Darnold. I love Matt Rhule as a coach and hope he can get things figured out. Getting CMC back should improve their offense which struggled mightily last season. Their defense is young and improving, but I still think needs one more year of solid draft pieces. The NFC South gets the NFC East and AFC East as common opponents.
Tampa Bay 11-6
New Orleans 8-9
Atlanta 7-10
Carolina 6-11
NFC West – To be honest, I had to go back through my game by game projections once I got done with the NFC West. It was the last division I completed and something just wasn’t adding up. The reason it wasn’t adding up is I ended up with all four teams in this division winning 10 games. Toughest division in football no question. They are going to beat up on each other and then beat up everyone else in the NFL. I am drinking the kool-aid when it comes to the Los Angeles Rams. It’s not just because of the trade for Matt Stafford who with the weapons on the outside is going to carve up opposing defenses. It’s because they have Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey back. They’ll have to replace a few pieces around them and a DC, but with those two as anchors they should be formidable once again. The 49ers should bounce back from their 6-10 campaign last year. The injury bug got them bad as they led the NFL with 32 IR transactions. The question on offense will be whether they turn the keys to the car over to Trey Lance or stick with Jimmy G. Garoppolo has been successful when healthy going 24-9 as a starter in SF. The defense will have a new coordinator, but also has 4 1st round picks on the line. The back end is also solid and if they stay healthy this unit should be a top 5 performer in the league. Seattle won this division in 2020 and should compete again. Russell Wilson had another great season, but ended up struggling down the stretch. His protection was rough last year and they get a big upgrade at guard in Gabe Jackson from the Raiders. The defense was average last year and their pass rush is not good. Bobby Wagner and KJ Wright are not getting any younger. The trade for Jamaal Adams should greatly improve the secondary as they look to recreate a new Legion of Boom. The Cardinals were 8-8 with a highly efficient offense. Kyler Murray makes the offense go and if he takes another step forward like I expect they will put up some serious points this year. Getting Green at WR gives Murray a great 1-2 punch with Hopkins good as any other team in the league. On defense their secondary has taken a step back, but if JJ Watt stays healthy even getting a year older, he can still disrupt on the line. The NFC West gets the NFC North and AFC South as common opponents
Los Angeles 13-4
San Francisco 12-5
Seattle 10-7
Arizona 10-7
Free Picks: Los Angeles Rams over 9.5 -127 This is my number 1 team total win play. Truth be told I got this line in early August and you likely won’t find it now. Most books are up to 10.5 with plus money on the over. I’d still play it confidently, but not quite as good as where it was a month ago.
