Before I go any further, keep in mind these are not etched in stone like my picks in a couple of months will be. This is my pre-OTAs picks. A lot can happen between now and then end of July, when training camp starts.
AFC East: NFC East:
Buffalo. Philadelphia
NY Jets. Washington
New England. Dallas
Miami. NY Giants
North:
Baltimore. Detroit
Pittsburgh. Green Bay
Cincinnati. Minnesota
Cleveland. Chicago
South:
Houston...
Read MoreGood: The Raiders signing Jeremy Chinn. The guy more than makes up for the departure of Treyvon Moehrig. They’ll likely still miss the playoffs in ’25, but they’ll have a record similar to ’23. Denver signing Dre Greenlaw and Evan Engram should make the Broncos a formidable team for a while. Chargers re-signing Khalil Mack, which had to be done after Joey Bosa was cut, then signed with the Bills.
Notable Trade prior to FA: Seahawks trade QB Geno Smith to the Raiders for a Third Round pick in ’25.
Bad: Seahawks signing Sam Darnold to replace the void left by Smith. He had one great year up until the last game of the regular season and rode the vomit comet in the Wild Card Round. Question is, can he bounce back? I don’t see it. The Chiefs not addressing their offensive line through now...
Read MoreSuper Bowl 59 saw new champions. Congratulations to the Philadelphia Eagles!
Here are my good, bad, and ugly (if any):
Good: The Eagles defense suffocated Patrick Mahomes. He couldn’t get anything going until the game was out of hand. Honorable Mention: Jalen Hurts Super Bowl MVP performance.
Bad: The Kansas City Chiefs offensive tackles who might as well not have been on the field for the game. Other Noteworthy Mention: The Chiefs secondary having an off-night.
The Downright Ugly: Nothing ugly about this game, although towards the end of it my heart skipped a beat or two while dreading Mahomes could do the impossible; come back from 26 down inside of two minutes left in the game
Read MoreWell, another NFL regular season is in the books. Highlights are the Chiefs being near-perfect, the Raiders disappoint everyone, and the Jets continuing to Jet. Here is the 2024 NFL regular season wrapped up in three takes:
Good: The Kansas City Chiefs. They are the best-run organization in the NFL and it’s showing with division title after division title.
Bad: The Las Vegas Raiders. They were looking at building on their 8-9 record from the year prior but, instead, due to injuries, poor QB play from three of them, and a disgruntled WR, they halved the win total, finishing 4-13, just good enough to stay out of the top 5 in the 2025 NFL draft.
The Downright Ugly: The New York Jets...
Read MoreThe last week of the season. Stay tuned for my Good, Bad, and Ugly next week of the 2024-25 Regular Season. A playoffs edition will follow after the Super Bowl.
This week’s games feature the LA Chargers finishing with the #5 seed in the AFC and they will face the Houston Texans next week in the wild-card round. Denver punched their ticket, earning the #7 seed by beating a team that tapped out before the opening bell rang. Tampa Bay earned the #3 seed in the NFC by making the Saints march our of Raymond James Stadium with an L and the Seahawks beating the Rams, who earned the #4 seed.
My Good, Bad, and Ugly this week will focus on non-playoff teams.
Good: The Seattle Seahawks getting to ten wins on the season, which is a foundation for the ensuing off-season...
Read MoreWell, the LA Chargers punched their ticket to the NFL playoffs by obliterating the Patriots while the New Orleans Saints marched towards another loss, this time to the dysfunctional Raiders. The Giants fell from #1 overall in the draft to #4 by eliminating the Colts from playoff contention. Here are the rest of my good, bad, and Ugly in week 17.
Good: The Detroit Lions are one win away from their second straight NFC North title. They face a rejuvenated Minnesota Vikings team on January 5th. Winner wins division and one-seed. Honorable Mentions: Washington beating Atlanta, thus keeping Tampa Bay’s NFC South and playoff hopes alive; Kansas City securing the AFC one-seed by crushing the Steelers.
Bad: The Denver Broncos failing to clinch a playoff spot this week by losing in overtime to the C...
Read MoreI first would like to send my apologies for letting Christmas and the Raiders win get the better of me. That’s why this is very late.
Giants are still a giant mess, Raiders aren’t trying to lose (thank God), and the Saints keep marching into the top ten of the NFL draft.
Good: The Raiders finally get back into the W column. Idiot Raider fan reaction in my Ugly section. This shows they still care about ethics and doing things the right way. Honorable Mentions: The Commanders beating the Eagles in a shootout, The Packers shutting out the Saints.
Bad: San Francisco no-showing vs. the Miami Dolphins. Then again, they were eliminated from playoff contention before the game...
Read MoreWell, another week, another loss for my Silver and Black, but if we lose out we’re guaranteed a top 2 pick and get Cam Ward or, if we’re fortunate, Shadeur Sanders. But the biggest dumpster fire resides in New York, where the Giants rival my Raiders as the worst team in the league. As for the rest of this week’s games…
Good: The Atlanta Falcons staying in the playoff race by beating a team who played a quarterback your humble writer is better than. The Falcons QB is not playing as well as he has in the past but he did enough this week. Honorable Mentions: Buffalo Bills beating the Detroit Lions; Minnesota Vikings beating the Chicago Bears.
Bad: The Carolina Panthers no-showing against the Dallas Cowboys...
Read MoreWeek 14 was highlighted by the Chiefs getting fortunate again with their 3rd string kicker bouncing a game winning field goal off the upright and through for a 19-17 win over the Chargers. The quarterback situations of the awful teams, yes, I’m talking to you three, Jags, Raiders, and Giants plus I supposedly can throw the Jets in there and they are by far the most disappointing in a sense they have a Hall of Fame QB under center in Rodgers, who should consider being a QB coach after this year because IMO he can’t play consistently at a high level anymore. Anyway, here are the rest of my Good, Bad, and Ugly this week:
Good: The Bills-Rams game for being the highest scoring game of the season...
Read MoreWeek 13 featured three games on Thursday, which in the US was Thanksgiving. Bears-Lions, Giants-Cowboys, and Dolphins-Packers. There was also a game on Friday, Raiders-Chiefs. Saturday was College Football day, then on Sunday the NFL slate resumed. On that day there was a play that will live in NFL infamy for days to come. More on that in the Downright Ugly section.
Good: Aidan O’Connell. Even though the Raiders kicker couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn and the center and himself weren’t in sync on the Raiders final play of the game, he did pass for over 230 yards and two second half touchdowns against a great defense in Kansas City. He may be auditioning for next year’s backup job since it’s quite likely they will draft a top quarterback in 2025’s NFL Draft...
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