FOOTBALL NFL ARTICLES

The defense couldn’t do it all last season and the Denver Broncos need more from an offense that was inept for a good portion of the year. The D will the key for the Broncos and new head coach Vance Joseph to get the team back into the playoffs after they were observers for the first time in six seasons in 2016. Denver is hoping that Trevor Siemian can do enough as the starter to rekindle what the team accomplished in 2015 when the Broncos’ won the Super Bowl behind the NFL’s best defense and middle of the pack offense.... 

The optimist in us says that going from worst to first can and has happened. Just look at last year’s Dallas Cowboys. But the pessimist says the San Francisco 49ers are still a few years away from contending with a roster that still needs some juggling. There’s also an issue with continuity among the coaching staff with the Niners working on their fourth head guy in as many years. The last two weren’t right for the position, but the Niners may have found their man in Kyle Shanahan, who needs to work wonders with an offense that couldn’t score last season.... 

The Cleveland Browns haven’t put forth a winning campaign since going 10-6 way back in 2007. The double digit win campaign still wasn’t good enough to punch a ticket to the playoffs. This defunct franchise hasn’t felt the thrill of playing a postseason game since 2002. Their average win total over the last nine seasons has been 4.2. With that, it comes as no surprise to see their 2017-18 win total hovering in the 4.5 game ballpark. While some pundits believe improvement is set to take place in Cleveland, the Browns still find themselves installed the second largest underdogs to win the AFC ( +12,500 ) in front of only the New York Jets.... 

The buzz surrounding the return of the Los Angeles Rams to the City of Angels fizzled out over th course of the 2016 season. The team was bad and locals soon realized that they would rather stay home and not have to deal with Los Angeles traffic then go cheer on a loser. The Rams finished the season 4-12 and had the worst offense in the NFL for the second straight season. If that’s going to change in 2017, Jared Goff is going to have to start to live up to his promise as a No. 1 pick.... 

The Chargers will be moving back to the city where it all began in 2017. Los Angeles didn’t seem to particularly want the Chargers to return, but here they are. This team was snake-bitten in its last season in San Diego, blowing fourth-quarter leads all throughout last year. They were much better than their 5-11 record indicated, but that wasn’t enough to save Mike McCoy’s job. Anthony Lynn is the Chargers new head coach and will look to bring a more run-oriented style to this team.... 

The New Orleans Saints are tired of going 7-9. New Orleans has finished the year 7-9 in each of the last three seasons as its high-powered offense continues to be sabotaged by an ineffective defense. On offense, the team was ranked 1st in 2014, 2nd in 2015, and 1st in 2016. However, on defense New Orleans was ranked 31^st in 2014, 31^st in 2015, and 27^th in 2016. The Saints made some moves in the offseason to try to finally address those issues, but we’ll see how those pan out.... 

Even so, this club is heading into 2017 as once again one of the NFL favorites. They are expected to capture the NFC West once again and reach double-digit victories for the sixth consecutive season. The oddsmakers have a high belief in Seattle and have set the projected win total quite high this year. The defensive core should once again be elite but it is aging, while there are questions on the offensive end.It will be interesting to see if the Seahawks can come away with another dominant season, or if 2017 is the beginning of a decline for one of the most successful teams in the NFL over the past half-decade,... 

Dallas opened the season with the best odds of making the Super Bowl in the conference, and the second-best to win it all behind the New England Patriots. However, the looming suspension of Elliott casts a large shadow and could be hurting Dallas’ chances. The Cowboys certainly have an elite roster, and the continued evolution of Prescott will be key as Dallas pushes for a deeper playoff run in 2017.... 

The Green Bay Packers have a season O/U win total of 10.5 with the under coming in at hefty -150 juice. The green and gold has won 10 games each of the last two seasons, so it’s safe to say the betting public is a true believer of everything coming in threes. Regardless, this is a team that rattled off eight straight wins at the tail end of last season before running into the steamroller that proved to be the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC title game. This is a team that’s been to the playoffs eight straight years, and it actually improved the overall roster this past offseason. The Packers are the Patriots of the NFC.... 

It’s been over decade since the Washington Redskins last won a playoff game and a heck of a lot longer since they played in a Super Bowl. And despite all the turmoil surrounding the organization this offseason, Jay Gruden has a good chance of putting a challenging team together. The Skins won the NFC East two years ago and were in the running for a playoff spot until the end of last season. The organization underwent drastic changes in the front office and on the field, but Gruden has molded Kirk Cousins into a top-notch quarterback and will milk one more season from him before he likely moves on.... 

The Minnesota Vikings had the worst ground game in the NFL last season and they released their career rushing leader and future Hall of Famer Adrian Peterson after 10 years and nearly 12,000 yards. Peterson was limited to just three games last season, which was part of the problem. There were others for the offensively-challenged Vikings, who had to replace their starting quarterback days before the season started. The team overhauled its offense with hopes that more production, along with a stout defense, can get them back to the top of the NFC North.... 

Two seasons ago the Carolina Panthers were the darlings of the NFL. They nearly ran the table and settled for a 15-1 regular season record and a trip to the Super Bowl. Little did anyone know that a loss to the Broncos in the Big Game would be a massive turning point for the franchise. Cam Newton didn’t play well, the Panthers offense was stymied and the torturous run continued into last season. Newton was banged up and missed time with injury. He should be ready from offseason shoulder surgery and No. 1 pick Christian McCaffrey should help the offense improve. But will it be enough to climb back to the top of the NFC South?... 

The Detroit Lions have produced winning campaigns and went to the playoffs two of the last three seasons. For a franchise that’s been marred in mediocrity seemingly forever, that’s a big deal. Jim Caldwell’s squad is predicted to finish third in the NFC North per the current divisional futures odds, but that won’t stop Matthew Stafford and company from going all out to prove them wrong. The team split its six divisional games last season and dropped both matchups to the Packers. If it can find a way to end its futility against the odds on favorite to win the division, the Lions will have a nice shot to surprise in 2017-18.... 

A year removed from almost going undefeated in the regular season and falling in the Super Bowl to Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos, the Carolina Panthers regressed in a big way to bring up the rear of the NFC South standings. Carolina is predicted to finish in second place within the division by oddsmakers, and currently checks in as a 28-1 dog to win the big game down from their 33-1 opener.... 

The first year of the Carson Wentz era was very promising. Although the Philadelphia Eagles finished with the same record that they did the season before, Wentz showed why the team decided to trade up in hopes of landing a franchise quarterback. His production tailed off as the season went along, but he performed very well considering he was making a huge leap from FCS football to the NFL. That has Eagles fans thinking Philly could contend for the conference crown in 2017 if a few things break their way.... 

The Chicago Bears are in rebuilding mode. After a decade of mediocrity in which the Bears were constantly hanging around .500 under Jay Cutler, the team finally decided to part ways with the veteran quarterback. Chicago now enters this season mired in a quarterback controversy that the team did not want after signing Mike Glennon and drafting Mitchell Trubisky. There are a lot of holes on this roster and there’s a reason why this team is 35-1 to win this division.... 

Minnesota started out hot in 2016 but the offense wasn’t good enough to keep it sustained. The team finished in third place in the division and didn’t make it to the postseason with an 8-8 finish. Much this year will depend on quarterback Sam Bradford and the passing game. He was thrown into a tough situation a year ago when the Vikings lost signal-caller Teddy Bridgewater to a gruesome knee injury and needed a replacement.Bradford was average but couldn’t get his team over the hump and hopes more comfort in the offense will lead to success in 2017. Minnesota is not among the teams expected to compete for the NFC title, but an uptick in offensive performance could have the Vikings surpass those projections.... 

While star cornerback Josh Norman has moved on, there are still plenty of key pieces back from that Super Bowl run. If quarterback Cam Newton can get back to his Superman form, the Panthers could once again be among the best teams in the NFL.However, if he struggles and the secondary once again has issues, another sub-.500 season could be in the cards. This team seems like it could have a wide variety of outcomes, and the oddsmakers have decided to split the difference with their projected win total for Carolina in 2017.... 

The Buccaneers check in at +275, as the oddsmakers believe they could definitely claim the crown and advance to the playoffs if things bounce right. Tampa Bay has taken forward strides in the past couple of seasons and if quarterback Jameis Winston is in for a breakout season, that could be the jolt the Bucs need to claim the NFC South.... 

The Chicago Bears have won a grand total of 13 games the last three years combined. It’s safe to say the John Fox era is hanging by a thread. Though upper management made a bold move in the draft this past offseason trading away a ton of picks to draft what they believe to be the future of the franchise in quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, Fox and the rest of his coaching cronies might not be around to see him flourish if the team doesn’t take steps in the right direction this season. Oddsmakers are selling what the Bears are trying to sell with the team’s season win total set at 5.5 with the juice shaded to the low side of that number.... 

No team in the NFC has been more consistent than the Seattle Seahawks over the last five years. Seattle has won at least 10 games and made a trip to the postseason in each of the last five seasons and is primed to make another trip to the playoffs. The Seahawks are the favorite in the NFC because they have the least amount of questions and the most overall talent of any team in the conference.... 

The first year of the Ben McAdoo era was a successful one for the New York Giants. Big Blue returned to the postseason for the first time in five years and was the only team to beat the Cowboys when it mattered in the regular season, not once, but twice. Dallas is New York’s primary competition for the division title this season and there will be plenty of buzz surrounding both of their games.... 

It was a drastic fall for the Carolina Panthers last season. In 2015, the Panthers were the toast of the NFL, having finished the season 15-1 and looked destined to win its first Super Bowl ever. They were 4.5-point favorites against Denver, but ended up not being able to move the ball on offense the whole game and lost by two scores. Carolina couldn’t shake off the effects of that Super Bowl loss and were a completely different team in 2016. The Panthers dropped five of their first six and finished 6-10 on the year. Which Carolina will we see in 2017?... 

Aaron Rodgers has won the NFL MVP twice previously and though he didn’t win the award last season, he was most deserving. Behind Rodgers the Green Bay Packers had a season-ending run for the ages and came within a game of reaching the Super Bowl, eventually losing to Atlanta in the NFC Championship game. When the Pack was 4-6 and all but out of the race, Rodgers said they could run the table. They did, got some help from Detroit, and won another NFC North title. With Rodgers at the helm the Packers are always a threat.... 

The collapse didn’t come on the game’s biggest stage and the Detroit Lions’ failure to secure its first division title in 23 years will be overshadowed by the Falcons’ self destruction in the Super Bowl. But for long-suffering Lions fans it was another kick in the midsection. Detroit lost its final three games last year, including the finale to Green Bay to finish a game back of the Pack in the NFC North. They did win nine games, but the stumble at the end of the season carried over into the playoffs. There’s talent to duplicate last season’s success, led by franchise quarterback Matthew Stafford....