Optimism is king in August, when every NFL team believes it can make a deep playoff run. Or at least most of them anyway
Victor Mete Kids Jersey . And it's the NFL, so nothing is off the table per se. We see crazy things happen every single year. That's part of the parity that constantly creates shifts in who is in and who is out of the playoffs (the aside anyway).And it's why this article, which is going to contain a list of five teams who I think could take a step back and mi s the playoffs this year, exists. This is a tough exercise, man. You're taking teams who performed very well last year and poking holes in a rsum before we've seen a single snap of regular-season football. Some of these won't be right! Feel free to as to how you already know they're wrong., and I would give myself partial credit for the simply because things basically went as I predicted and then magic happened late. In who would take a step back. I've been le s succe sful at predicted who would leap up and make the postseason, and . That article comes out later this week, but you could just get the info first by , our daily show.You can also listen to the show where we break down the step back teams below.Let's get to the teams who could take a step back. The closer and closer we get to the season, the le s and le s enthused I am about fading the Ravens. I've made my bed, so I'm gonna lie in it. The are a team I'm backing big this year. But I don't and the offense to take a step back. I love watching Lamar light up defenses with his combination of speed and his underrated arm. There's reason to think they won't fall apart either: Baltimore was 2-4 in one-score games, so they were a little unlucky, actually. The Ravens' expected win total was 10.8 games, so if anything, they underperformed a bit. John Harbaugh is an excellent coach who gets the most out of his players. Retaining Greg Roman means utilizing a succe sful offense with Lamar, one with a track record of working with mobile quarterbacks. But what I can't stop thinking about, as the Ravens emphasize , is the lucky schedule they caught last year. As Baltimore was shifting to a run-heavy scheme featuring Jackson out of their bye, it drew the (26th against the run by DVOA), (22nd), (30th), (32nd), (31st
Ben Chiarot Jersey ), (10th) and (25th). It's pretty incredible to land six of your seven games against the worst run defenses in the league in the second half of a season. Baltimore could start hot though, as they get the (24th last year against the run by DVOA), (29th), Chiefs and Browns in their first four games. The schedule isn't bad and if Jackson truly takes a step Baltimore could explode on offense. I'm banking on a little regre sion in that area plus the Steelers and Browns taking a step forward.One of the obvious spots to target a team is the notoriously fickle AFC South that has seen the push for the playoffs, the win the division and make an AFC Championship Game run and the rise and fall and rise again a few times in the last few years. Houston is a little scary to fade because the Texans have upside thanks to what I believe is a "stars and scrubs" roster of sorts, if you don't mind the fantasy baseball parlance. and are incredible; can the Houston offensive line protect Watson long enough to give him time down the field and keep him healthy? J.J. Watt, and can bring the thunder on defense if you get 16 games from all of them. But that's asking a lot in the NFL, where injuries are a part of life. Additionally, this team played over its head last year, winning 11 games but only being expected to win 10.2. The Texans won nine straight games, a streak that included five victories by single digits. Ultimately they went 6-5 in those one-score games, which isn't that lucky, but that streak allowed them to stay in the hunt for the AFC South. At one point during the season, Watson was riding a bus to a game because he was so dinged up. This is also a team without a general manager, which is a major red flag for me. was cut because he needs to "grow up" -- a contending team needs the
Artturi Lehkonen Jersey checks and balances of a coaching staff and front office working independently. One thing that could flip this on its head? calf injury. If the Colts quarterback isn't ready for the start of the season, you can change out the team here and put the Colts there instead.This one is a little tricky. I think the Cowboys roster is loaded and they've got a Super Bowl window to work
Jacques Plante Jersey with here. But they also have a bunch of guys who have not been paid but have been offered contracts that will pay them "top five" money at their position, at least . It's also hard to gauge the Cowboys because after trading for , what was a stagnant offense took off, and that's now being run by . If Moore is the up-and-comer everyone believes, the Cowboys could explode and , who is playing for a contract, could insert himself in the MVP discu sion. But what if holds out during the season? What if the Cowboys suffer injuries on the offensive line? After having a very healthy 2017, the Cowboys were right in the middle of the pack for injuries last year. There's no regre sion certainly coming, but if they lost games from their linebackers or pa s rushers and their offensive line, it could have a trickle-down effect on this team. The Cowboys' expected games won were 8.4 and they won 10 games, a red flag for regre sion. They went an astounding 8-2 in one-score games, another major red flag for a team potentially taking a step back. The Eagles, their primary competition in the NFC East, look like one of the best rosters in football. As with the Texans, a injury could flip the team who should be on this list, but I'll ride with Dallas for now.A pretty easy candidate for regre sion, the Bears came out of nowhere to dominate the NFC North last year behind the best defense in football and an improved offense that secretly didn't put up great numbers. Chicago scored the ninth-most points last year, but they were . Defensively, the lo s of Vic Fangio to the shouldn't be understated -- Chuck Pagano will be scrutinized heavily early in 2019. Additionally, the attrition of players from the defense, namely and in the secondary, should be a concern. Chicago went 6-4 in one-score games, so it's due for a little regre sion there. The Bears also outperformed their expected win total (11.5), although by just half a game. This basically comes down to whether or not can make a big leap in his second year with Matt Nagy. It's very po sible he does. But there will
Andrew Shaw Jersey be defensive regre sion coming for a team that had 27 (!) interceptions last year and a plus-15 turnover differential. The Bears were also third in adjusted games lost per Football Outsiders. Chicago is a good team, but there are red flags here. The Bears could also, as we discu sed on the podcast, simply regre s to 9-7 and mi s the playoffs without being bad. The division should be improved and they drew a first-place schedule that will test them early and often. The other s
