By Fred Minco
Every year a few teams that made the NFL playoffs the year prior fail to go back. In the same breath, teams who didn’t make it will break into the big dance. Who are those teams? I’ve listed them below but don’t bet your mortgage on it. Car notes maybe, mortgage, not so much...
NFC - FLOPS
Tampa Bay Buccaneers - For obvious reasons this team will take a significant step back. Maybe not as big of a step forward as some would think, after losing Tom Brady. The team announced Tuesday they will be going with Baker Mayfield as the captain of their ship. In a relatively weak NFC south, it’s any body's division. This could significantly change if any one of these teams in the NFC South brought in a new guy at QB (cough cough Trey Lance). The roster as a whole isn’t a bad team and definitely has an abundance of talent, but they look to be the odd man out in an NFC that’s wide open.
New York Football Giants - 3 NFC East teams made the cut last season for the Playoffs. No way that happens twice. This is a good Giants team on paper, that has a capable coaching staff and front office. We haven’t been able to say that for a few years about a team from New York and now look at the two of them. I could cry. The Giants brought in Darren Waller and Parris Campbell, draft Deonte Banks along with Jalen Hyatt and have another off season under Brian Daboll. I just don’t think this team is better than Philadelphia or Dallas and there’s going to be some surprise teams in the NFC. 9 wins won’t be enough to get them into the playoffs this year
NFC - HOPS
Chicago Bears – I AM A ‘BEAR’LIEVER in Justin Fields. I think DJ Moore elevates his game; they added D’Onta Foreman who should pair well with Khalil Herbert as well as drafting Roschon Johnson out of Texas, who is a bruiser. Adding Darnell Wright to the O-Line and retaining Riley Reiff should help keep Fields off the ground. GM Ryan Poles made moves on the defense side of the ball as well to make them a more competitive team. Adding a guys like Tremaine Edmunds, whose ceiling has yet to be reached, and TJ Edwards. Bring in Demarcus Walker from Tennessee and Yannick Ngakoue, from Indy, to get after the QB. Expect Jaquan Brisker to take the next step and Jaylon Johnson to continue to get better. They don’t win 12 games this season, but they do win the NFC North.
Detroit Lions – The NFC North Frenzy. Every player on this Lions team would step in front of a bullet for Dan Campbell. The player comradery isn’t to be discounted either. Amon Ra St Brown has cemented himself as a rising star in this league and they went out and took the best TE in the draft with the 34th pick in Sam LePorta out of Iowa. Goff when given a good offense can be a top 15 QB and with a defense that likes get to the QB and take the ball away. That is the combination needed to break into the playoffs. Jahmyr Gibbs comes in with big expectations and brings in David Montgomery for short yardage situations. The defense disappointed last season, but with second year standout Aiden Hutchinson, the addition of CB Cam Sutton in free Agencey, Drafting LB Jack Campell with the 18th pick and Alabama Safety Brian Branch in the second round, expectations are going to be higher for Dan Campbell’s young defense. This team smells like a playoff contender and no other fan base deserves it more. This team is ready to deliver.