I don’t know if you caught the USA Today 2020 predictions that came out yesterday but they can be found here. Some of the obvious choices like the Chiefs being good again are obvious but there were some predictions that were just downright reckless. I will focus on those now because it is always easier to criticize other’s work.
Baltimore Ravens (13-3 & Super Bowl winner) – Sure it is a possibility and they were really good last year. They haven’t fixed their run defense yet, their WR’s are still weak sauce (except Hollywood Brown) and Lamar may have been figured out by the Titans. They will win the division but they are not the best team in the NFL in 2020.
Pittsburgh Steelers (11-5 and Wild Card) – This one really made me scratch my head. How do they get 11 wins? My last article was about how they have serious offensive problems. Their defense is going to be really good but that is not going to get them 11 wins. They are going to need that many to win the Wild Card this year because I think there is going to be some desperate differences this season based on COVID.
Cincinnati Bengals (5-11) – Sure this is the worst case scenario but we are more than 3 wins better than last season. I have been down on the OL and youth at LB but I think we get 7 or 8 wins this season as an optimist. The pessimist tells me 6.
Houston Texans (8-8) – I am still high on the Texans because of Watson. I think they are a s-show with BoB but Watson will want a YUGE deal and this is the season to warrant that. Their OL got better and that defense is still good. Losing Reader is going to really hurt (THANK YOU) but JJ Watt is still there last time I checked.
New England Patriots (8-8) – I think Belichik is the greatest coach of all time which is why they are not going 8-8. They are tanking to get Lawrence because we know that Stidham is NOT the answer. Tank one season to have 15 more competitive ones? The Patriot Way.
Miami Dolphins (6-10) – That is one more than the Bengals, no way. Fitzmagic will be benched by Week 8 which puts a rookie QB with serious injury history in the game. The Bengals have a better roster, easier early schedule and a better starting QB. It’s insulting to read they get one more win.
New York Jets (5-11) – Wake up people, Sam Darnold is going to be a star in this league. The dude can spin it and the still have Le’Veon Bell. These guys are going to be closer to .500 than 5-11. I hate that I believe Darnold is going to be a stud, because a USC QB hurt me and hurt me hard.
Detroit Lions (7-9) – Another surprise to me. They took a CB as their first round pick and now they get 7 wins. I like Matt Stafford a lot and feel bad for the guy but he doesn’t have enough around him to get 7 wins. 7 wins, I say it again. Nope.
Chicago Bears (3-13) – They are not starting Mitch (he hates that). Foles is going to win this job and give them something they haven’t had in a while, a legitimate starter. Just two seasons ago the Bears were on the verge of breaking out and being a real Super Bowl contender, just missing that key QB piece. I am not saying they even make the playoffs but they are better than 3 wins.
Carolina Panthers (3-13) – Am I the only person on the planet that thinks Teddy Bridgewater is a legit QB? He is good enough to get them to 5 or 6 wins I think.
Other than that I can get to the wins/losses of the other teams. In the words of Entourage, “smoke more week Turtle, seriously smoke more weed.”