Last season I was late getting out the end of season review because of the whole flooded out thing. This year, I just didn't feel like doing a preview as well as a review so here is another super late review/pre draft preview. Fans were allowed back in the stadiums (including California) so there was no need for fake crowd noise or cardboard cutouts. Players still got infected with Corona and games did move around but at least it wasn't the craziness of last season where teams were forced to play games without an entire position.
I shat all over the Bengals for getting Joe Burrow injured and suggested he sit out the season or ask for a trade if the coaches and offensive line were not fired. None of those things happened and he still led the league in times sacked. But he's such a talented QB, he was able to stay healthy this time and pass the ball to Offensive Rookie Of The Year Ja'Marr Chase. That's a nice turnaround for someone who was mocked for not being able to catch a NFL football.
But no one had a bigger turnaround than Matt Stafford. On the Lions, he was considered above average like Matt Ryan, Kirk Cousins and Joe Flacco. He accumulates a bunch of stats but he doesn't win many important games and he sure as hell not gonna get you in the playoffs on a regular basis like Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers or Patrick Mahomes. Despite those criticisms from other fanbases, Lions fans (mostly) loved him and it was hard to see him go to LA. It was understood that his play stagnated in Detroit so a change in scenery was best for him. Having said that, few people could have foreseen the immediate success he would have with the Rams!
They was absolutely dominant this season and with the all in approach they took, it was either Super Bowl or Bust. And Super Bowl is what they got becoming the second straight team to do it on their home field. Stafford finally was able to show off his skills and silence his critics. Yeah, he didn't do much with HOF Calvin Johnson on the Lions but he finally got a team that was talented on BOTH sides of the ball along with a coach who actually knows what the hell he's doing. Did both teams blow their loads only to be doomed with mediocrity in the future? We shall see.
END OF SEASON TEAM REVIEW
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13-4
This was a interesting offseason for the Bucs. Tom Brady suddenly retired with time left on his contract, then he unretired a couple months later after attending a soccer game. His Guard Ali Marpet isn't gonna come out of retirement but they did resign Center Ryan Jensen and budding receiver Chris Godwin. Their key pieces have returned but next season's success rides on their veteran pickups, draft picks and Todd Bowles taking over as head coach. His time as Jets coach was pretty lackluster but maybe he can turn it around himself like Bill Belichick.
Green Bay Packers 13-4
This was a interesting season for Aaron Rodgers. The media was all in their feelings over him not getting the Covid shot and piled on him when he got sick (only for him to recover a couple days later). With all this REEing over him, I'm surprised he still won league MVP. I guess those voters are not as spiteful as HOF voters. So we go to the offseason and in comes the retirement speculation. Eventually Aaron resigned with the Packers but star receiver Davante Adams was traded away to the Raiders. But hey, Sammy Watkins is here along with other receivers!
Los Angeles Rams 12-5
The Rams didn't "get the band back together" with Von Miller leaving for a 6 year deal with the Bills so it's unknown if Aaron Donald will return or not. If he does, they have a great chance of repeating with Stafford signing a 4 year extension. If not, he done enough to get in the HOF with a Super Bowl win as the cherry on top of his career. Eric Weddle got to go out on top as well.
Kansas City Chiefs 12-5
I was surprised to hear they traded Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins for 5 draft picks until I found out that he was a cap casualty. They added WR JuJu Smith-Schuster and Safety Justin Reid beforehand and other notable players like RB Ronald Jones and WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling afterwards. As long as Mahomes and Travis Kelce are still here, they will continue to be contenders. Also, congratulations to Dick Vermeil for the Hall of Fame induction!
Tennessee Titans 12-5
All that effort of getting Julio Jones and earning the #1 seed only to throw a late interception and lose on a last second field goal. Sad. Well he's gone now so that project didn't pan out. They will have bigger problems if they don't resign A.J. Brown. TE Austin Hooper and Robert Woods are big gets but A.J. would be a huge loss if they can't get this new deal done. Maybe Derrick Henry could offer him ownership of his soccer team to get him to stay.
Dallas Cowboys 12-5
So yeah, the Cowboys need ole Dakota to be worth a shit in this league. Good thing he has stud receiver CeeDee Lamb by his side so loosing Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson won't be much of a loss. I would think that fuck up at the end of their wildcard game would be a one time thing but with Mike McCarthy coaching, anything is possible when it comes to late game situations.
Buffalo Bills 11-6
Josh Allen may not have gotten far in the playoffs but he clearly showed he's a star player. So much so that he's teaming up with Mahomes against Brady and Rodgers in "The Match". There's also some big things coming to this organization like Von Miller, a new stadium project and a new alternative uniform that looks like it was made with NCAA Teambuilder.
Arizona Cardinals 11-6
So, Kyler Murray is a star player who makes the team better compared to when he wasn't with this team. BUT, is he worth a big payday considering his tendency of making mistakes? After weeks of his reps burying the Cardinals and Kyler taking all team related photos off his socials, he comes out saying he wants to win a Super Bowl with them. Like we saw with Dallas last season, it is hard to find a good QB and if you have one who's competent, you keep him!
Cincinnati Bengals 10-7
It's great and all that they made a surprising Super Bowl appearance but they have got to fix their offensive line! Burrow is getting killed back there and like I said before, his career is gonna end prematurely like Andrew Luck and RG3 if they keep employing wacky armed inflatable tube men as blockers. This is malpractice who they have protecting him! The only big name (to me) lineman they got in the offseason is RT La'el Collins. Pray for Joe Cool.
San Francisco 49ers 10-7
It looked obvious that the Niners didn't want Jimmy Garoppolo but now it seems that Deebo Samuel wants to be traded as well. That's a interesting development considering Trey Lance is likely to be starter next season. Maybe he wants to play with A.J. Brown on a new team. In more positive news, congratulations to Bryant Young for his Hall Of Fame induction. And the Niners got new jerseys that honors their 80's and 90's glory days. No shadow numbers though.
Las Vegas Raiders 10-7
I felt Rich Bisaccia earned the right to be head coach after getting this team past the Jon Gruden email controversy and into the playoffs. Instead, Josh McDaniels gets a second head coaching gig after his Broncos run was a bust. He's got a nice squad with the extensions of Maxx Crosby and Derek Carr along with adding Chandler Jones and Davante Adams to the team. I'm not convinced they're Super Bowl contenders but I can see them making multiple playoff appearances in the future. RIP Ed Jasper and Daryle Lamonica.
New England Patriots 10-7
Now I DO see the Patriots as future Super Bowl contenders. Despite getting blown out by the Bills in the Wildcard game, I feel Mac Jones has what it takes to return this team to glory. Malcolm Butler returns to this team so that should help with their iffy defense.
Pittsburgh Steelers 9-7-1
I get that Matt Nagy was a awful coach but I'm not high on Mitchell Trubisky replacing the retiring Ben Roethlisberger. And I'm not alone. I just checked FanDuel's Super Bowl odds and it's now +8000!!! They have worse odds than the Commanders (+7000), Vikings (+3900) and Dolphins (+3700)! Mason Rudolph looks like a career backup and unfortunately we won't get to see Dwayne Haskins live up to his potential so unless they draft a QB, Yinzers can start printing off those Mitchburgh shirts. Also former Dolphins coach Brian Flores is here.
Philadelphia Eagles 9-8
Jalen Hurts did a nice job starting for the Eagles this season. Throwing for 3,144 yards with 16 TDs and 9 interceptions is respectable. Add on the 784 rushing yards and 10 TDs and you can see he kept defenses on their toes. They didn't really do much in free agency so they're gonna build up their roster through the draft. A receiver should be their top priority.
New Orleans Saints 9-8
Before his injury, Jameis Winston was doing fine as starter. He wasn't putting up big yardage numbers but he was protecting the ball far better than his time as a Buccaneer. So I'm glad he's back with them because with Taysom Hill as utility man, they can be playoff contenders as well even with Malcolm Jenkins retirement and Dennis Allen as coach.
Los Angeles Chargers 9-8
What a heartbreaking way to miss the playoffs. If you win, you're in. If you tie, you're BOTH in! Instead, the Raiders won and you're done. I'm no analytics fan but coach Brandon Staley lives by that sword so he has to die by it too. They made a big trade in getting Khalil Mack from the Bears to bolster their defensive line. So expect them to constantly be in the playoff picture.
Indianapolis Colts 9-8
Speaking of heartbreaking, their loss to a literal clown show kept them out of the playoffs. They had enough of Carson Wentz, who sprained both ankles on a play, so they brought in Matt Ryan from the Falcons. I don't know how many years Matty Ice has left in him despite his 3,968 yards, 20 TD performance last year. I would imagine they will draft a QB for him to mentor.
Miami Dolphins 9-8
We all know about Flores' lawsuit against the Dolphins alleging things like owner Stephen Ross tried to bribe him to lose games on purpose. But allegedly the reason why Brady suddenly retired and Sean Payton left the Saints was so they can team up on the Dolphins with Tom Terrific as a part owner! Players becoming part owner of teams have been a recent trend lately so I can believe this rumor. In other news, Tua Tagovailoa finally has a coach who believes in him with Mike McDaniel and has a stud receiver in Tyreek Hill to catch passes. Now that he's not worrying about his job status anymore, Tua should play better next season.
Cleveland Browns 8-9
The Browns sure put themselves in a interesting position. They traded for Deshaun Watson but they still have Baker Mayfield on their roster. Maybe they're expecting Deshaun to be suspended? Either way, Baker doesn't want to be here and from a locker room standpoint, they should trade him and get SOMETHING out of him before it gets toxic.
Baltimore Ravens 8-9
Just pay Lamar Jackson already. The team is far better with him than without.
Minnesota Vikings 8-9
Kirk Cousins signed a one year extension so he better ball out if he wants a new contract. With the weapons he have at his disposable, he has no excuse for not making the playoffs.
Seattle Seahawks 7-10
The Russell Wilson era is over as he was traded to the Broncos. Geno Smith is likely to be promoted to starter with new guy Drew Lock and Jacob Eason as his backups. Geno isn't that great of a QB but he knows the system so maybe they won't draft another one this week.
Atlanta Falcons 7-10
With Matt Ryan gone, it's Marcus Mariota's time to shine. When Marcus and Jameis entered the the 2015 NFL Draft, people expected Mariota to have the better career. That's not the case so far but like with Jameis in New Orleans, Marcus has another shot at being a top tier QB. Also, if you're an athlete betting on games, don't use your own account like this dumbass.
San Antonio Commanders 7-10
This Football Team spent all that money, wasted all that time, just to steal a AAF team's name. Most people thought they was gonna choose something cool like Red Wolves or Wild Hogs but they came up with some bullshit legal reasons why they couldn't use Red Wolves due to Arkansas State using it. Let's just ignore that the Cleveland Baseball Team straight up STOLE a EXISTING roller derby team's name when they went from Indians to Guardians last year. I'm gonna enjoy the Commie jokes as Wentz sprains 7 ankles while throwing a game ending pick 6.
They also revealed their new uniforms that comes with black alternatives. I didn't even know the NFL ended their one helmet rule allowing teams to use alternative helmets before seeing their tweet. So now we can see alternatives like the Creamsicle Bucs, Kelly Green Eagles, and the aforementioned Buffalo Wings Bills. All of this is to draw attention from that huge investigation into Dan Snyder and the Redskins alleging they created 2 financial books embezzling millions of dollars from the NFL. Like goddamn, if he survives this, he absolutely have something on Goodell and the other owners that would get exposed if he's forced to sell the team.
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| RIP Dwayne Haskins |
Denver Broncos 7-10
Bringing in a Super Bowl winning QB worked with Peyton Manning. Let's see will it work with Russell Wilson. I still can't believe he went here instead of glamorous locations like Miami or NY.
Chicago Bears 6-11
Matt Nagy is gone, that's all that matters. Good luck out there Justin Fields!
Carolina Panthers 5-12
Sam Darnold's post Adam Gase career resurgence didn't go as planned. He only threw for 2,527 yards for 9 TDs and 13 INTs and was sacked 35 times. Of course, a shoulder injury didn't help matters but neither did bringing back Cam Newton who showed pretty quickly why teams wasn't interested in him. Plus, this team looked completely lost without Christian McCaffrey. I get he's their best player but he's teetering on injury prone status. I'm not ready to give up on Darnold just yet but he has got to play better next season and they can't rely on CMC so much.
New York Jets 4-13
I haven't watched any Jets games lately but judging by his stats, Zach Wilson is in the same boat as the last QB. He threw for 2,334 yards for 9 TDs, 11 INTs and was sacked 44 times. Yikes! They say protecting and developing him will be their "main thing" so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
Houston Texans 4-13
The Texans finally got around to trading Deshaun Watson. With him off to browner pastures, the Texans current QBs are, uhhh, Kyle Allen, Jeff Driskel and Davis Mills. Lovie Smith is gonna have his work cut out for him in his return to NFL head coaching. But if anyone can get the most out of subpar talent, it's him. Afterall, the Bears have been absolute dog shit with brief moments of competency since he was fired in 2012. Hopefully he doesn't suck like with the Bucs & Illinois.
New York Giants 4-13
FVB Sports legend Tyrod Taylor has set up shop in New Jersey. Is he gonna be the starter? No. Can he push Daniel Jones to be the second coming of Eli Manning? Maybe but I doubt it.
Detroit Rams 3-13-1
Despite MCDC letting the world know they will be biting off kneecaps in his press conference, the Lions didn't do shit this season. That's not to say they didn't play hard because they could've went 9-7-1 judging by their wins against the Vikings, Packers and Cardinals and tie with the Steelers. This long suffering fanbase seen two HOFers rather retire in their primes than play another snap for this sad sack franchise. And they watched arguably their best QB in franchise history leave for L.A and instantly win a Super Bowl with actual talent around him.
Even though they got mocked for it, Lions fans fully supported Stafford's Super Bowl run. Hell, Pro Sports Zone owner John Yu in Livonia, Michigan started selling Detroit Rams merchandise created by local clothing company The D Line during the season. He didn't think many people would buy them but since Matthew is such a likable guy and Lions fans don't have much else to cheer for, they brought out the gear and worn it with pride. It's like when fans of a SEC school celebrate a fellow SEC school winning the national championship. Your team may not have won it but at least someone who has connections to it does. As for Jared Goff, he may not be concerned about them drafting a QB but the Rams proved he's easily replaceable and if you can draft one who has a higher upside then him, go do it.
All Élite Jaguars 3-14
What a clown show last year was and I'm not talking about Tony Khan's booking on AEW. Urban Meyer was WAY over his head and couldn't handle how hard it is to win in the NFL. You can't just collect all the best players and go undefeated. Like he said, every game is like playing Alabama. There's no UMass, Idaho or Alcorn St jobbers you can feed off of to get free wins because it's Every Given Sunday in the NFL. So in comes Eagles miracle worker Doug Pederson to clean out the muck in this franchise. He has Trevor Lawrence who put up respectable numbers of 3,641 yards, 12 TDs, 17 INTs and sacked 32 times. If they can cut down on the sacks and interceptions, they should earn a winning record next season.
I took the screenshots of the final NFL standings back in February when they was still listed as Washington Football Team. But if you zoomed it on the page, it would change to Commanders.
I went back today and they changed it to Washington Commanders.
But if you zoom in again, it changes back to Football Team. Weird.
With just hours before the 2022 NFL Draft, here's my 2021 NFL season review. This is so late, by the time I post this, Baker will probably be on the Panthers by now if they don't draft one first.
LAST WEEK 0-1
PLAYOFFS 8-6
FINAL OVERALL 157-128-1
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