2021 NFL Preview: NFC North

 Chicago Bears

2020 Record: 8-8 (2nd in NFC North)

Head Coach: Matt Nagy (4th season)

Notable Additions: QB Andy Dalton, RB Damien Williams, CB Desmond Trufant

Notable Departures: QB Mitch Trubisky, CB Kyle Fuller, T Charles Leno

Biggest Reason for Excitement: Justin Fields

What a difference a month and a half makes. In mid-March, the Bears were expected to head into 2021 with cheap veteran free agent pickup Andy Dalton as their all but officially locked in starting quarterback after the Seahawks rebuffed their trade offer for Russell Wilson and fans were understandably livid. Their poor QB play, particularly from the lumbering Nick Foles, cost them multiple wins last season and going with a mediocre pocket passer whose play has been steadily decreasing since 2016 felt like a move that guaranteed they would suffer a similar fate in 2021. Then on draft night in late April, the Bears stunned the league by getting aggressive and trading up to select Ohio State product Justin Fields after he surprisingly slipped out of the top 10. While Fields isn't expected to start over Dalton right away, his entry into the Bears QB room has completely changed the complexion of their situation at the position.

Fields brings the type of skill set to Chicago that Matt Nagy has been clamoring for since he arrived in 2018. He's an accurate, strong-armed passer that can attack defenses downfield as well as an exceptional athlete that can make things happen with his legs. Not to mention, he's won early raves from camp for his leadership, work ethic and quickness in picking up the offense. If he manages to take over the starting job this year and these promising early returns translate to actual games, the sneaky high potential of this offensive corps (Allen Robinson, David Montgomery, Darnell Mooney, Cole Kmet, new addition Damien Williams) should be able to get tapped into and the Bears might actually blossom into something more than just the middling team whose defense is the only thing preventing from being terrible. 

Obviously the Bears doomed history at QB makes it impossible to not fear the worst for Fields's fate in the NFL. However, the makeup of this player and being in the unfamiliar position of drafting the highly touted guy that slid down the board for no real reason opposed to the laughing stocks who took the unproven guy too early (see Cade McNown, Rex Grossman and Mitch Trubisky) that they usually are makes me cautiously optimistic that things with this prospective franchise signalcaller could actually be different.  

Biggest Question Mark: Cornerbacks

Now an area where the offseason criticism of Ryan Pace still holds up is the bizarre choices he made with which veterans he chose to cut to get under the cap. Headlining this list-that also included starting tackles Charles Leno and Bobby Massie- is longtime top corner Kyle Fuller. While Fuller had definitely regressed from his insane All-Pro campaign in 2018 where he led the league with 7 INT's and had 20 passes defensed, he was still a steady presence on the outside that usually limited the impact of the opponent's top receiver.

With Fuller gone, a whole Pandora's Box of issues at the position have opened up. Their corner depth that was already steadily diminishing with the departures of Prince Amukamara, Bryce Callahan and Sherick McManis in recent seasons has reached a code red as they look to thumb through a myriad of unproven options (Duke Shelley, Kindle Vildor, notorious draft bust Teez Tabor, 2021 6th round pick Thomas Graham Jr.) to fill out the depth chart, 2nd year player Jaylon Johnson-who did show flashes of greatness during his rookie year-will be thrown into the fire as the #1 corner despite missing the final 4 games of 2020 with a shoulder injury and their 2nd outside corner spot seems destined to be settled by a camp battle between the washed up, oft-injured Desmond Trufant and the volatile Artie Burns, who also happens to be coming off a torn ACL that sidelined him for the entire 2020 season. Having a powerhouse front 7 that could conceivably be better this year with nose tackle Eddie Goldman returning to the fold and Roquan Smith hopefully continuing his upward trajectory at inside linebacker, and a reliable veteran starting safety pair in Eddie Jackson and Tashaun Gibson working alongside them should take some pressure off these guys, but new DC Sean Desai is going to have to work really hard to figure whose going to line up where and probably cross his fingers that this mystery-soaked group doesn't get carved up by the many high-powered passing offense their set to face in 2021.  

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Offensive Line Health and Continuity

A sneaky big problem for the Bears over the past 2 seasons has been the revolving door they've experienced at offensive line caused by a combination of injuries and trotting out jabronis that just can't play the game. Things changed a bit during the stretch run of 2020 when they were able to field an offensive line featuring the same 5 players (Charles Leno, Alex Bars, Cody Whitehair, Germain Ifedi, Sam Mustipher) for an extended period of time for the 1st time all season and their effectiveness on offense subsequently skyrocketed with David Montgomery rushing for 598 YDS/7 TD's and Allen Robinson logging 39 REC/495 YDS/3 TD's over the last 6 games.

Now, re-establishing continuity in 2021 is going to be a little bit difficult. Both of their Week 1 starting tackles from a year ago (Massie, Leno) were cut, they're in all likelihood going to be starting a rookie (Teven Jenkins) at LT and they're going to have figure who exactly will be in the starting lineup now that's everybody healthy. Despite the challenges they're currently facing with reshuffling and nailing down the right group, the Bears do have a solid pool of players to chose from. 

Jenkins was a certified mauler in college who performed very well against top competition, James Daniels was playing the best football of his career before he tore his pec against the Bucs in early October, new tackle depth piece Elijah Wilkinson logged 26 starts over the past 3 seasons with the Broncos, the long-struggling Ifedi had arguably his best year as a pro during his 1st season with the Bears  both Bars and Mustispher held up pretty decently during their 1st run of being starters in the NFL and Whitehair has been among the better interior lineman in the league for much of the past 6 seasons. If this group can stay fortunate in the health department (they've already experienced some problems on that front as Jenkins has already missed practice time with a back ailment and Ifedi is currently on PUP with a hip flexor strain), this group should be solid enough to help establish the running game and create more opportunities for their QB's to get the ball to their receivers downfield.

Bottom Line:

After sliding ass backwards into the playoffs last season, durability concerns surrounding their  offensive line and talent concerns surrounding their cornerbacks group paired with a brutal schedule (AFC North+NFC West+ Buccaneers) should be enough to derail their efforts to return there for the 2nd straight season.   

Detroit Lions

2020 Record: 5-11 (4th in NFC North)

Head Coach: Dan Campbell (1st season)

Notable Additions: QB Jared Goff, WR Tyrell Williams, DT Michael Brockers

Notable Departures: QB Matthew Stafford, WR Kenny Golladay, K Matt Prater

Biggest Reason for Excitement: Dan Campbell Press Conferences

Back in the fall of 2015 when the Dolphins fired Joe Philbin in-season and named tight ends coach Dan Campbell interim head coach, an unexpected star was born. Campbell, who played tight end in the NFL from 1999-2009 before immediately transitioned to coaching with the Dolphins in 2010, let everybody know he was going to be an old school coach right away by giving insane press conferences centered around his desire for his team to physically destroy their opponent and spitting in the face of CTE by running Oklahoma drills at practice. The Dolphins only ended up going 5-7 with him at the helm, but watching Campbell effectively blackout and speak in hardo tongues every time he stepped in front of a microphone made his brief tenure as the head man in Miami endlessly entertaining. 

After 5 years long years away during his stint as the tight ends and assistant head coach with the Saints, Campbell is back where he belongs: In front of a microphone spewing rambling meathead nonsense. The early returns have been fantastic as he referenced his players taking bites out of the opponent's flesh during his introductory press conference, admitted that he drinks 2 large coffees that each have 2 espresso shots in them every single day and just yesterday praised ownership and the previous regime  for handing him a team that has "no turds on it". Will press conferences full of lively soundbites translate to wins? Probably not. There's absolutely zero evidence that Campbell can actually coach and the fact that his coordinators are Anthony Lynn-whose stock has tanked significantly after back-to-back seasons full of head-scratching decisionmaking/clock management as the Chargers HC and Aaron Glenn-who is a first time DC that's only worked with defensive backs during his 7 years of coaching-only adds to that abundant skepticism around the areas of coaching that don't involve passion and gassing guys up. Even if things do end up going poorly, it took the Lions 3 years to fire Matt Patricia, so we should have at least a few solid years of Campbell's exquisite macho word salads to look forward to.   

Biggest Question Mark: Who Other Than T.J. Hockenson is Going to Catch Passes for Them

You gotta feel for Jared Goff. Not only did Sean McVay make him the fall guy for the Rams "underachieving" in the 2 seasons following their Super Bowl appearance on his way out of LA, the team traded him to receiver Siberia in Detroit in the deal that landed them longtime Lions starter Matthew Stafford. Goff will be going from having a deep arsenal of reliable targets including Cooper Kuup, Robert Woods and Tyler Higbee to literally 1 guy he can rely on in rising young star tight end T.J. Hockenson, who put together a very nice sophomore campaign (67 REC/723 YDS/6 TD's) in the midst of dealing with a QB carousel in the wake of Stafford's prolonged absence with an injury and general offensive ineffectiveness.

This suddenly bleak pass catcher situation in Detroit was brought on by letting both Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones Jr. walk in free agency. In fairness to the Lions, they weren't wrong to let either guy go. Golladay is a huge injury liability that was asking for $20+ mil per season and Jones just turned 31 and has probably no more than 2 years of good football left in him. They're a rebuilding team and re-signing either or both of those guys would've fallen under the umbrella of the type of moves you don't make unless you're in a better position to win now. 

Here's the problem though: They also dedicated no significant assets to overhauling the position. They didn't draft a WR until the 4th round (Amon-Ra St.Brown-who I admittedly think has the potential to develop into a solid NFL WR if he can work on his consistency and hands) and filled out the room by going on a cheap free agent spree that was headlined by the oft-injured Tyrell Williams, journeyman deep threat Breshad Perriman and 2020's most obscure single week fantasy star Chad Hansen. Rounding out this ragtag cast of receivers are returning backups Quintez Cephus, who did surprisingly average 17.5 YDS per reception last year in relief of the injured Golladay and Geronimo Allison, who was a 2020 opt-out. Baring a surprise St. Brown rookie breakout, it seems like Goff won't get much out of his WR's outside of the occasional splash play and will have to rely on Hockenson and his RB tandem of D'Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams to be his primary targets.      

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Their Attempts at Playing a "Black and Blue" Style of Football Actually Working

With their questionable pass catchers, strong offensive line led by Frank Ragnow, Taylor Decker and rookie Penei Sewell and a coach that probably hasn't added a football concept to his arsenal that was invented after 1975, the Lions appear to be gearing up to play an old school, smashmouth style of football. Outside of the offensive line,which is certainly suited to grit their teeth and punch opponents in the mouth, it's fair to question if they have the horses to pull that off. 

Swift is more of a shifty, dual-threat secondary option (he only logged 159 touches as a rookie) than a full blown workhorse back that also happened to missed 3 games with a hamstring issue last season and is already nursing a groin injury during training camp while Williams-despite being a reasonably powerful runner- has never been a high volume guy in the pros (he's never had a 200 touch season and his workload has decreased every year since receiving 177 touches as a rookie in 2017). 

Plus there's the whole unspoken RB curse that has plagued the Lions since Barry Sanders left (only 2 Lions RB's have ran for 1,000+ YDS since Sanders retired in 1998) that could put a serious wrench into the whole run first offense plan. Swift and Williams do complement each other well though and if they can stay healthy, they could end up being the most productive backfield duo the Lions have had since Reggie Bush and Joique Bell.

The other requirement for being a "Black and Blue" style team is an imposing defensive front and surely don't have that. They ranked 28th against the run last season and still don't really have an single established differencemaker in their midst outside of ex-Patriots duo Trey Flowers and Jamie Collins. What do they have however, is some sneaky potential underneath all the ugly numbers (in addition to the poor, they ranked dead last in yards/points allowed, 30th in pass defense and tied for 27th in sacks). Adding a trio of interior space-eaters in Michael Brockers, Alim McNeill and Levi Onzwurizke to an already respectable rotation of rush-stuffers (Da'Shawn Hand, Flowers, John Penisini) should significantly aid them in their quest to slow down their division rivals who all at least seek to establish dominance in the running game and Romeo Okwara looks like he could be turning into a really solid player after putting up 10 sacks last season with very limited help around him. 

Plenty of these guys have flashed on both sides of the equation: Swift was really dangerous with the ball in his hands down the stretch, Flowers is one of the most instinctive and quietly disruptive edge players in the game today and Okwara might be in the middle of a mid-career ascension. With a little bit luck on the health front and maybe some unexpected support from a young player like Charles Harris that hasn't yet found the right fit in the NFL, this group could be the obnoxious, physical bullies Campbell wants them to be.

Bottom Line:

Unless Dan Campbell is secretly a coaching savant and this roster is full of hidden gems, the rebuilding Lions are going to be stuck in the basement of the NFC North and the league on the whole for another year in 2021.    

Green Bay Packers

2020 Record: 13-3 (1st in NFC North)

Head Coach: Matt LaFleur (3rd season)

Notable Additions: WR Randall Cobb, T Dennis Kelly, OLB De'Vondre Campbell 

Notable Departures: C Corey Linsley, CB Tramon Williams (retired), ILB Christian Kirksey

Biggest Reason for Excitement: Aaron Rodgers Showed Up...

After a months-long standoff with the front office, Aaron Rodgers ended his highly publicized offseason soap opera on the least dramatic note possible by arriving on time to Packers training camp. The collective sigh of relief breathed by the organization and its fans following Rodgers' unexpected punctual entrance could probably be heard through the entire state of Wisconsin. Nobody wanted the Jordan Love-era to start immediately after Rodgers had his best season in a decade and led them all the way to an NFC Championship game, and now that they got their wish, the hunt for that elusive 5th Lombardi trophy feels like it's back on.     

Biggest Question Mark: ...But Does He Care Enough to Try?

Unlike last season where Rodgers came in hungry to prove that drafting Love was a huge mistake, this season feels like it could result in the polar opposite. While the chip on his shoulder may reactivate now that he's back in football mode, his public actions over the past 6 months would indicate that he might be too relaxed to take heads on the field anymore. He spent an offseason hosting Jeopardy, golfing with Tom Brady on national television and going on assorted couples trips with fiancé Shailene Woodley and her good friend Miles Teller and his wife. Could this have just been his way of taking a break from football for a bit like Rob Gronkowski does every year? Of course, but Rodgers is a 37 going on 38 year old QB whose already cemented himself as one of the greatest players to ever play the position and might just be ready to coast until he decides to hang it up.

Then there's the very important question of why is he going to be compelled to bust his ass for an organization that he believes disrespected him. Sure he loves his teammates and I don't think he hates Matt LaFluer enough to willingly engage in a mutiny against him, but the primary people that get rewarded when a team wins are the people at the top and I think it's very possible that Rodgers has in it him to actively punish Brian Gutekunst for the way he was treated. 

For starters, tanking would be a surefire way to shoot his ass out of town. The Packers have the heir apparent waiting in the wings and there'd be no reason to keep Rodgers if he wasn't still playing at a high level. 

A poor season would also likely have very minimal impact on his trade value. His perceived top suitor is the Broncos-who have consistently had some of the worst quarterback play in the league since Peyton Manning's last functional season in 2014 and would likely still give up a fat draft haul if the Drew Lock/Teddy Bridgewater duo can't get the job done this year. 

Finally, Guntekunst would be the one left holding the bag for their failure since he refused to honor Rodgers' pretty simple requests (being involved in personnel decisions like Brady, Manning and Drew Brees were for years, a trade from Green Bay as a result of not having a voice in personnel moves) and thus opened the door for such a situation to occur. It's clearly a very petty plan that would hurt a lot of other people in the organization including himself, but it should be at least entertained as a possibility as the unpredictable madness of the regular season fast approaches.     

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: An Engaged Aaron Rodgers

It's unfair to gloss over the other talent the Packers have outside of Rodgers. Jaire Alexander could very well be the best young corner in the game, Aaron Jones is one of the most lethal dual-threat backs in the league, David Bakhtiari is already a lock for Canton, Za'Darius Smith has emerged as a menacing pass-rusher since joining the Packers in 2019, their starting safety duo (Adrian Amos, Darnell Savage) are under-the-radar stars and Davante Adams is probably the single most feared outside receiver/redzone threat in the entire league. However, those guys aren't the reason the Packers are contenders. That falls entirely on #12's shoulders and if you don't have him playing, they're a middling-to-decent team at best. 

Sound absurd? Look at what happened in the NFC Championship Game against the Bucs. Their defense did everything they could to get them back in the game in the 2nd half after trailing 24-10 at halftime by picking off Tom Brady an absurd 4 times and Rodgers' failure to capitalize on those turnovers is the only reason they didn't complete their rally against the eventual Super Bowl Champs. Rodgers has been hamstrung by plenty of bad breaks (the Brandon Bostick fumble, a defense that was useless against the run against the 49ers) and conservative playcalling at the worst possible times (LaFluer in the 4th quarter against Tampa, Mike McCarthy in most key situations during his tenure in Green Bay), but when he's engaged and cooking, nothing is going to stop him from winning and that transcendent level of play is what it's going to take for him to finally secure ring #2 and take a valuable step towards shaking his reputation as a perpetual underachiever. 

Bottom Line:

This team will go as far as Rodgers can take them and if he's playing even remotely well, they should run away with this division yet again.

Minnesota Vikings

2020 Record: 7-9 (3rd in NFC North)

Head Coach: Mike Zimmer (7th season)

Notable Additions: DT Dalvin Tomlinson, DT Sheldon Richardson, CB Patrick Peterson

Notable Departures: S Anthony Harris, T Riley Reiff, TE Kyle Rudolph

Biggest Reason for Excitement: High Probability Their Front 7 Bounces Back

Perhaps the weirdest thing about watching the Vikings in 2020 was how shitty they were up front. Mike Zimmer-coached teams don't tend to be soft in the trenches and that unusual weakness led to them getting run over on the regular in the running game (27th overall) and miserably failing to sustain a pass rush (21 sacks, which ranked 28th in the league). Digging deeper into the overall numbers reveals their entire defense stunk (30th in scoring defense, 25th in passing defense, 4th in missed tackles), but their failures upfront were a bigger part of why the team underachieved and ultimately missed the playoffs last season.

A combination of key guys returning from injury and using their limited free agency flexibility to add some proven veteran talent to their defensive interior should change that outlook tremendously. 

Top edge performers Danielle Hunter and Anthony Barr appeared in a combined total of 2 games last season after sustaining major injuries (Hunter herniated a disc in his neck right before the season started, Barr tore his pec in a game against the Colts in mid-September) and their returns alone should help stabilize this group. Barr has been a pillar of their run defense for years and Hunter ripped off back-to-back 14.5 sack campaigns in 2018 and 2019 that landed him a pair of All-Pros selections. If they can return at anything above half strength, life will get a whole lot easier for Zimmer, fellow front 7 cornerstone piece Eric Kendricks and the rest of the other returning guys that suffered in their absence.

Defensive tackle was more of a pressing issue as they had zero depth at the spot and last year's starters (Jaleel Johnson, Shamar Stephen) were complete liabilities. Enter Dalvin Tomlinson and Sheldon Richardson. Ex-Giant Tomlinson establishing himself as an elite run defender during his 4 year stint in New York while Richardson is more of a gamble after bouncing around the league a bit since 2017, but he's an undeniable talent who can play the run and get after the quarterback that played well during his previous stint with the Vikings in 2018.

A lot of pressure is riding on this group as they still have a secondary that's in flux with a suspect corner group (Cameron Dantzler, Patrick Peterson, Bashaud Breeland, Mackenzie Alexander) that's even more unsettled following the release of 2020 1st round pick Jeff Gladney due to a domestic violence arrest and a new starting safety in Xavier Woods that just happens to be a big downgrade from the departed Anthony Harris, but if they can deliver, that backend liability will be never exposed and the Vikings can return to the familiar comfort of having the offense be the ones that are responsible for blowing games late.     

Biggest Question Mark: Kirk Cousins

In a normal year, there's plenty of reasons to be concerned about trotting out Kirk Cousins at starting quarterback. Between his struggles in primetime, against teams with winning records and securing the football when he gets hit, it's usually just a matter of time before he manages to cost his team games.

 Now adding to the shakiness of the Kirk Cousins Experience is his refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Just last week after being forced to quarantine after being a close contact of someone that tested positive, Cousins promised to "surrond himself with plexiglass" to prevent himself from becoming a close contact again. "Why not just get the vaccine Kirk?", a reporter followed up with. Cousins replied with the timeless classic "It's a personal choice" line.

Cousins' vaccine position is hardly surprising as he's one of the most devoutly religious people in the NFL and seems to believe that his love of the Good Lord will prevent him from contracting the virus. Unfortunately for Kirk, the Good Lord may also derail his season if he gets COVID and is forced to miss 2 weeks per the new NFL rule for unvaccinated players who test positive or are named a close contact.

 Now let's race through a hypothetical situation real quick. Say the Vikings are fighting for a playoff spot late in the years then Cousins gets sidelined and rookie Kellen Mond has to the take the field and his poor play ends up taking them out of contention. Or even worse for Cousins, Mond outshines him and he's out of a job at the end of the year. Maybe then Cousins would wish he had looked somewhere a little closer home than the sky for medical guidance.  

His new teammate Patrick Peterson has been particularly vocal about how vaccination isn't just the right thing to do from a common sense medical perspective, but from a football perspective as it significantly lowers the odds of a player having to sit on the sidelines for 2 weeks. Sadly for Peterson, his team is among the worst in the league on the vaccine front and the deference of his QB is probably a large reason why that's happening. There's a very clear doomsday scenario lurking in the shadows and ready to bring holy hell down on the Vikings and if it happens, Cousins deserves to get crushed 

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Grinding Out Wins Against Quality Opponents

This key could really be applied to any Vikings team over the past 5 seasons. Last season was the closest thing they had to a justification for this troubling staple of their team since their defensive woes made them a lot more vulnerable than usual and it showed with them going 0-7 against teams with winning records and 1-8 against playoff teams (the lone win came against the 8-8 Bears).

 It's getting to the point where these struggles against quality opponents are just straight up baffling. A team that has an offense led by the likes of Dalvin Cook, Adam Thielen and potential superstar Justin Jefferson should not be this bad against the league's top teams. Their ability to attack defenses in a variety of ways up and down the field alone should be enough to secure some wins in big spots against the best teams, but whether it's because of the play of Cousins or the offensive line or just simply a case of bad luck, it just hasn't happened for them yet. If Zimmer and co. ever want to be anything more than the tweener playoff team they are on an almost annual basis, they're going to have to stop folding at such an alarming rate against quality competition.

Bottom Line:

For better or worse, the near certainty of an improved defense to go with their high-powered offense should bring the Vikings back to the level of play we're used (Wild Card Spot, quick, embarrassing exit from the postseason) to seeing from them.

Projected Standings:

1.Green Bay Packers (12-5)

2.Minnesota Vikings (9-8)

3.Chicago Bears (7-10)

4.Detroit Lions (3-14)

2020 in Film: Revisited

All of the deeply impactful things that happened in the real world combined with the wide variety of release strategies that were deployed from March through December made it difficult to get a full handle on the cinematic landscape of 2020 at year's end. So what revelations about 2020's movies have come to light now that I've had the benefit of having a whole 8 months to reflect and catch up on titles that weren't widely released until 2021 or just simply slipped through the cracks due to the particularly dire state of affairs in the world? There were some really great hidden indie gems that were released during the initial couple months of theaters reopening last fall, the late Oscar contenders ended up being quite good for the most part and really only 1 title as of today has significantly benefited from a rewatch. Here's a full look of where the films of 2020 that I've seen stand right now.

()=Ranking on 2020 year-end list

new=Title that I saw after completing my 2020 year-end list  

143.(112) Gretel & Hansel (D-)

142.(new) Cut Throat City (D-)

141.(111) First Cow (D)

140.(110) Nocturne (D)

139.(109) Run (D)

138.(108) Antebellum (D)

137.(new) Songbird (D)

136.(107) The New Mutants (D+)

135.(106) His House (D+)

134.(105) Mosul (D+)

133.(new) Fatman (D+)

132.(104) Fantasy Island (C-)

131.(new) The Climb (C-)

130.(new) News of the World (C-)

129.(103) Save Yourselves! (C-)

128.(102) Unhinged (C-)

127.(101) The Turning (C-)

126.(100) Like a Boss (C-)

125.(99) The Platform (C-)

124.(98) #Alive (C)

123.(97) Money Plane (C)

122.(96) Mulan (C)

121.(95) Hubie Halloween (C)

120.(new) The Doorman (C)

119.(new) Monster Hunter (C)

118.(94) Never Rarely Sometimes Always (C)

117.(new) Ammonite (C)

116.(new) Nomadland (C)

115.(new) Let Him Go (C)

114.(93) Onward (C)

113.(92) Hooking Up (C+)

112.(91) Desperados (C+)

111.(90) The Wrong Missy (C+)

110.(89) The Half of It (C+)

109.(88) 7500 (C+)

108.(87) An American Pickle (C+)

107.(86) Dick Johnson is Dead (C+)

106.(85) Wonder Woman 1984 (C+)

105.(new) Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution (C+)

104.(84) Come to Daddy (C+)

103.(83) Infamous (C+)

102.(82) Black Box (C+)

101.(81) Love. Wedding. Repeat. (B-)

100.(80) The Broken Hearts Gallery (B-)

99.(79) Enola Holmes (B-)

98.(78) Pieces of a Woman (B-)

97.(77) Honest Thief (B-)

96.(76) The Rhythm Section (B-)

95.(75) Escape from Pretoria (B-)

94.(74) Words on Bathroom Walls (B-)

93.(new) The Last Shift (B-)

92.(73) The Assistant (B-)

91.(72) Color Out of Space (B-)

90.(71) Bloodshot (B-)

89.(new) Yellow Rose (B-)

88.(new) The Croods: A New Age (B-)

87.(new) The Wolf of Snow Hollow (B-)

86.(new) Possessor (B-)

85.(new) The Nest (B-)

84.(69) We Summon the Darkness (B-)

83.(68) Horse Girl (B-)

82.(67) Lost Bullet (B-)

81.(new) Spontaneous (B-)

80.(66) Ava (B-)

79.(new) Fatale (B-)

78.(65) Tenet (B-)

77.(new) Archenemy (B-)

76.(64) Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics (B)

75.(63) Irresistible (B)

74.(62) Yes, God, Yes (B)

73.(61) All the Bright Places (B)

72.(60) Capone (B)

71.(59) The Binge (B)

70.(58) Taylor Swift: Miss Americana (B)

69.(57) Coffee & Kareem (B)

68.(56) Athlete A (B)

67.(55) The Vast of Night (B)

66.(54) Da 5 Bloods (B)

65.(53) The Tax Collector (B)

64.(50) Hillbilly Elegy (B)

63.(new) Time (B)

62.(52) Vampires vs. the Bronx (B)

61.(51) VFW (B)

60.(49) Mank (B)

59.(48) Deerskin (B)

58.(47) The Fourty-Year-Old-Version (B)

57.(46) Kajillionaire

56.(new) Come Play (B)

55.(45) Happiest Season (B)

54.(70) The Gentlemen (B)

53.(new) Greenland (B)

52.(44) Unpregnant (B)

51.(43) Spree (B)

50.(41) Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (B)

49.(40) The Babysitter: Killer Queen (B)

48.(39) Buffaloed (B)

47.(38) The Hunt (B)

46.(37) Holidate (B)

45.(36) My Spy (B)

44.(42) The High Note (B)

43.(new) Another Round (B)

42.(35) Becky (B)

41.(34) Sonic the Hedgehog (B)

40.(33) Underwater (B)

39.(32) The Devil All the Time (B)

38.(31) Get Duked! (B)

37.(30) The Lovebirds (B)

36.(29) Uncle Frank (B)

35.(new) The Last Blockbuster (B)

34.(28) Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (B)

33.(27) Bill and Ted Face the Music (B)

32.(26) Class Action Park (B+)

31.(25) Guns Akimbo (B+)

30.(24) Big Time Adolescence (B+)

29.(23) Spenser Confidential (B+)

28.(22) The Way Back (B+)

27.(21) The Photograph (B+)

26.(20) The Rental (B+)

25.(19) Project Power (B+)

24.(new) Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen (B+)

23.(new) The Father (B+)

22.(new) Bad Education (B+)

21.(18) Sound of Metal (B+)

20.(17) Palm Springs (B+)

19.(new) Minari (B+)

18.(16) Freaky (B+)

17.(15) Uncorked (B+)

16.(new) Synchronic (B+)

15.(14) Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (B+)

14.(13) Extraction (B+)

13.(12) Black Bear (B+)

12.(11) Love and Monsters (B+)

11.(10) One Night in Miami... (B+)

10.(9) Bad Boys for Life (B+)

9.(new) The Kid Detective (A-)

8.(8) The Old Guard (A-)

7.(7) Charm City Kings (A-)

6.(3) The Trial of the Chicago 7 (A-)

5.(6) Promising Young Woman (A-)

4.(5) The King of Staten Island (A-)

3.(4) Birds of Prey (A-)

2.(2) Soul (A)

1.(1) The Invisible Man (A)

Forest Whitaker Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked", where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted relevant accolades. This week, I'm profiling the work of Forest Whitaker-whose latest project "Respect" hits theaters on Friday.

Forest Whitaker's Filmography Ranked:

19.Sorry to Bother You (D)

18.Phenomenon (C-)

17.Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (C-)

16.Phone Booth (C-)

15.Platoon (C)

14.Lee Daniels' The Butler (C+)

13.Panic Room (C+)

12.Southpaw (B-)

11.Repo Men (B)

10.Vantage Point (B)

9.Out of the Furnace (B)

8.The Last King of Scotland (B)

7.Bloodsport (B)

6.Street Kings (B+)

5.Fast Times at Ridgemont High (B+)

4.The Last Stand (A-)

3.Arrival (A-)

2.Dope (A)

1.Black Panther (A)

Top Dog: Black Panther (2018)

As I'm currently dealing with a pretty strong case of Marvel fatigue at the moment after taking in all of the projects they've released from January through July of this year, I've had to remind myself that they're also capable of making really special stuff like Black Panther that makes sitting through all of the perfectly adequate yet not even remotely special shit they churn out on the regular worth it at the end of the day. Ryan Coogler flexed his immense talent by turning the first (and tragically final) solo headlining outing for Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa into a sweeping epic that featured some of the best acting, visuals, villains, drama and action that the MCU has seen to date.

Lowlight: Sorry to Bother You (2018)

It's been just over 3 years since Sorry to Bother You was released in theaters and I'm still kind of in awe of how deeply shitty it is. Boots Riley's desire to address seemingly every single political/social issue talking point he could possibly think of in under 2 hours paired with his complete lack of feel for how to write or direct comedy turns this film into such an incoherent, rambling mess that he even manages to make a cast led by several reliably strong actors (LaKeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Steven Yuen, Danny Glover) look like fucking amateurs.    

Most Overrated: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

Before Rise of Skywalker came along and redefined the low bar for the Stars Wars brand with its completely half-assed efforts from almost all of the cast/crew and shameless, inorganic pandering to the toxic clown fans that incessantly bitched about the events of The Last Jedi, Rogue One cemented itself as the worst Star Wars film. The tedious pacing from the reliably sleepy hand of Gareth Edwards and mix of stiff (Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Donnie Yen) and bizarrely animated acting (Ben Mendelson, Whitaker) from the bulk of its primary cast was so painful to sit through that it had me clamoring for the sloppy yet energetic silliness of The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones.    

Most Underrated: The Last Stand (2013)

Arnold Schwarzenegger became an action legend in the 80's courtesy of his charisma and ace comedic timing in delivering one-liners. 31 years after his breakout role in Conan the Barbarian, Schwarzenegger proved he hadn't lost a step as he entered his 4th decade of acting with the terrific The Last Stand. Acclaimed Korean director Kim Jee-woon (I Saw the Devil, The Good, The Bad, The Weird) found a ton of success in his English-language debut by playing off Schwarzenegger's established strengths as a performer to create this over-the-top B-movie extravaganza that proudly serves up bloody action, big laughs and energetic absurdity for 105 consecutive minutes.       

A Flawed Yet Compelling Film with An Exceptional Lead Performance: The Last King of Scotland (2006)

The Last King of Scotland bites off more than it can chew by telling a fictionalized story about a Scottish doctor (James McAvoy) who is hired to be the personal physician for Ugandan dictator Idi Amin (Whitaker). However, the charisma, menace and unpredictability that Whitaker brings to his portrayal of Amin keeps the film interesting despite the issues with narrative focus and scope that hold it back.     

Movie Review: The Suicide Squad

 

Since Warner Brothers underwent a regime change in early 2018, the DCU has looked a lot different. The failures the previous studioheads-who became notorious for their extensive meddling in the creative process-experienced in trying to build a Marvel-esque interconnected cinematic universe inspired the new bosses to go in a completely different direction that emphasized standalone films/franchises and becoming a home for filmmakers who wanted to have their respective visions for a superhero project fully realized without having to adhere to the strict guidelines that Kevin Feige and Disney make their collaborators follow. This change in approach has yielded mostly positive results with Aquaman, Shazam! and Birds of Prey being much better received than the majority of their prior projects and Wonder Woman 1984 going down as the only real misfire thus far. 

DC's revitalization efforts received its biggest boost to date back in the fall of 2018 as some good fortune allowed them to hire Guardians of the Galaxy writer/director James Gunn to make a new Suicide Squad project that was neither a sequel or reboot of the 2016 installment. That film-which later became titled The Suicide Squad-isn't just the grand slam home run the DCU needed to push them another step closer towards a full blown image rehabilitation, it's a boldly creative, singularly focused vision that subverts the increasingly calculated superhero movie formula by only being concerned with what's on the screen at that exact moment in time.

At first glance, The Suicide Squad appears to just be an R-rated riff on Guardians of the Galaxy and in some ways, it is. The protagonists are a group of criminal misfits that are banded together against their will to perform a mission where they're expected to act as heroes despite lacking the demeanor to do so and a good chunk of the jokes are just more obscene takes on the immature sex/toilet humor that Gunn has sprinkled throughout both Guardians films. However, upon really digging into what lies underneath its familiar exterior, The Suicide Squad reveals itself to be one of the most dynamic, ambitious mainstream blockbusters to be released in recent memory. 

This is a movie that applies old school grindhouse staples (healthy doses of practical sets/effects/prosthetics, over-the-top gore and seriously dark comedy) to a blockbuster superhero project that features some of the biggest, most badass action setpieces and elaborate CGI imagery to ever come out of the genre. A movie that leans into the colorful, hyperactive maximalist nature of its source material while still allowing plenty of opportunities for its characters and an unexpected emotional core to slowly develop throughout. A movie that directly takes shots at imperialism along with the checkered history of the United States government conducting harmful covert operations on foreign soil involved without ever losing sight of the fact that it's still primarily a story about oddball antiheroes trying to stop a coup in a small South American country where the military is planning to unleash a killer giant alien starfish on unsuspecting countries across the globe in order to gain power.      

The Suicide Squad wouldn't have been possible without Gunn's knowledge of both B-movie and blockbuster mechanics or the maturity and confidence he's picked up after being in the industry for over 20 years, and it's incredible that a studio actually allowed him to make a nearly $200 million film with a such a fearlessly brutal, unique voice. 

Allowing Gunn's twisted, complex vision to really sing is the efforts of the Squad members themselves Not a single actor here from the leads all the way down to those who only have a few minutes of screen time is anything less than perfectly cast (I sincerely can't single out any standouts, everybody crushes), which is a great testament to Gunn's ability of knowing what actors will help bring his vision to life. Everyone brings something different to the table with their performance (examples: Daniela Melchoir's Ratcatcher II radiates a surprising amount of compassion for a bank robber who controls an army of murderous rats, John Cena's Peacemaker is the physical embodiment of America-loving meathead chaos, Idris Elba's Bloodsport is a grumpy, arrogant mercenary with a deep disdain for everyone and everything) and that helps contribute to selling the dysfunctional yet secretly loving dynamic that binds this group together. Sure these people are largely reprehensible individuals, but they're still capable of caring about others under the right circumstances and their ability to unlock the humanity within these characters provides a level of depth that antihero ensembles don't tend to receive in the cinematic format.

The Suicide Squad is the most fun I've had with a movie since John Wick: Chapter 3. Everything about this crazy, hilarious, dark, sweet, gory and perfectly acted old school B-movie meets blockbuster spectacle is wonderful, and I can't wait to figure out if it's one of my favorite superhero movies or my absolute favorite upon repeat viewings.          

Grade: A

Quick Movie Reviews: Snake Eyes, Old, The Green Knight, Jungle Cruise

Snake Eyes: The best G.I. Joe movie to date hardly ever feels like a G.I. Joe movie. Diving into the origins of masked ninja Snake Eyes (Henry Golding) before he took a vow of silence and how his relationship with Storm Shadow (Andrew Koji) vaulted him into the world of the Joes and Cobra takes the action out of the United States (outside of the opening few scenes) and into Japan-which gives the film a very cool Eastern world aesthetic that you don't usually see portrayed in mainstream American blockbusters. The majestic beauty of its Japanese setting (where it was shot primarily on location) from the neon lights of Tokyo to the elaborate, secluded temples in the mountains gives the film a very eye-popping look, the film handles its themes of loyalty, tradition and developing a family dynamic outside of blood relation in a quietly dignified manner and the diverse action sequences weave swordplay, martial arts and gunplay into a manic cocktail that act as needed adrenaline shots whenever the pretty straightforward story starts to sag. The final act is a bit underwhelming when the inevitable broader G.I Joe tie-ins come into the play, but there's still enough style, quality action and visual pizazz on display here to justify this return trip to a long dormant cinematic universe.   

Grade: B

Old: In a weird sort of way, Old is the ultimate M. Night Shyamalan movie. Every single major problem (uneven writing, stiff acting, a last minute plot twist that is both unexpected and completely absurd) that has plagued the polarizing thriller director during his 20+ year career is on full display and yet the film still manages to remain compelling every step of the way. Shyamalan does a good job of establishing an uneasy tone that sells the horror of the characters slowly realizing they're trapped on a beach that's causing them to rapidly age, the makeup department did a great job of handling both the subtle aging that some of the performers undergo and contributing to a few disturbing/gruesome moments that pop up in the second half of the movie and the exceptional cinematography from budding star Mike Gioulakis (Us, Split) beautifully balances the postcard perfect beauty of its Dominican Republic setting with the disorienting hopelessness of the events that are taking place on the beach. Shyamalan's movies are rarely ever not messy and this hodgepodge of supernatural mystery elements and sincere introspection about the grace and hardships of aging is certainly guilty of that, but his best work is always interesting and Old certainly finds success on that front. 

Grade: B-

The Green Knight: David Lowery's surrealist take on the 14th century Arthurian fable Sir Gaiwin and the Green Knight is a noble swing for the fences that just never quite comes together. While its definitely moody, visually appealing and awfully strange, it's not visceral or hypnotic enough to meet its Arthurian fever dream aspirations nor is it mystical or fleshed out enough of a story to work as a more conventional piece of folklore.    

Grade: C

Jungle Cruise: Disney's dream of making another Pirates of the Caribbean doesn't exactly come to fruition as Jungle Cruise is a merely competent adventure that is far too safe and shamelessly committed to replicating the feeling of an Indiana Jones movie to match the rollicking good times of their surprise 2003 gem. What Jungle Cruise does do however is demonstrate the value of casting the right actors for a project. There's not a whole lot of overly endearing or clever things going on in the script, yet everybody from leads Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt and Jack Whitehall down to the bit players toplined by Jesse Plemons, Edgar Ramirez and Paul Giamatti elevate every single scene with their charisma and full commitment to characters that probably aren't worthy of such dedicated acting. This Jungle Cruise would've been pulled adrift pretty quickly without their services and everyone at Disney HQ should be thrilled that they chose to hop aboard.   

Grade: B-

2021 NFL Preview: AFC North

 Baltimore Ravens

2020 Record: 11-5 (2nd in AFC North)

Head Coach: John Harbaugh (14th season)

Notable Additions: G Kevin Zeitler, T Alejandro Villanueva, WR Sammy Watkins

Notable Departures: T Orlando Brown, OLB Matthew Judon, RB Mark Ingram

Biggest Reason for Excitement: A full season of J.K. Dobbins as their Top Back

It took a while for Dobbins to carve out a spot in the Ravens crowded backfield rotation last season, but he managed to flourish once he did. The Ohio State product ran for a very impressive 805 YDS and 9 TD's on just 134 carries (that's an average of 6 yards per carry-which was tops among RB's) over the course of 15 games during his rookie season.

With veteran Mark Ingram out of the equation and power rushing specialist Gus Edwards moving back into his traditional 1B change-of-pace role after getting more work than expected last season (a team RB-high 144 carries), Dobbins appears set to take over the starting RB job and will look to find even more success as a feature back than he did as a secondary one. Clearly there's a built in advantage of playing in a run-first system that is spearheaded by a special athlete in Lamar Jackson and features one of the most consistently solid offensive lines in the league (this year's projected starting group of Ronnie Stanley, Bradley Bozeman, Patrick Mekari, Alejandro Villanueva and Kevin Zeitler-the latter two of which were free agent pickups- is no exception), but those schematic advantages shouldn't be used to diminish Dobbins' talent. He's got terrific balance/cutting ability for a back of his size (5'10, 212 lbs) has the power to run people over in the open field and rarely ever commits to the wrong gap.  

Being the top option out of the backfield should also allow him to be further incorporated into the passing game. He reeled in 18 of the 24 targets that came his way in 2020 and should be able to give Jackson another safety valve to look towards underneath other than Mark Andrews. If he can stay healthy and not be haunted by the fumbling issues that plagued him in college, Dobbins could very well end up finishing among the leading rushers in the league.   

Biggest Question Mark: Defensive Front 

It doesn't matter how much changeover the Ravens have on their defensive coaching staff or on-field personnel, it seems like they're always able to assemble a physical, athletic and generally formidable front that can make opposing offense uncomfortable. For the first time in a long time, this trait that has almost always defined their team since they arrived in the league in 1996 could be in jeopardy.

Talent-wise, their losses weren't overly substantial this offseason as edge rushers Matthew Judon-who has been a solid but not overly remarkable performer for them over the past few seasons and Yannick Ngakoue-who was only with them for 9 games last season and picked up just 3 sacks during that time were the lone departures. The difference is that in the past when they've lost key pieces like Adalius Thomas, Za'Darius Smith and Pernell McPhee, they had legit replacements waiting in the wings. This time around, the "next men up" are questionable at best. 

The current favorites to take Judon and Ngakoue's spots in the starting lineup are Jaylon Ferguson-who has just 4.5 career sacks in his first 2 NFL season and Justin Houston-who is 32 years old, just signed with the team last week and is coming off a season in which he posted his lowest sack total (8) in a non-injury shortened season since his rookie campaign all the way back in 2011. Rookie Odafe Oweh should also see some reps, but considering that he's still very raw from a technique standpoint, it's not likely that he'll make much of an impact this year.

Adding to the growing concerns over their questionable edge rusher situation is that their potential struggles won't be able to be covered up by the rest of the group. Calias Campbell is going through the inevitable productivity decline that all elite non-quarterbacks in their mid-30's experience, inside linebacker Patrick Queen was a massive liability as a tackler and in coverage during his rookie season in 2020 and Brandon Williams' play has declined to the point over the past couple of seasons where his role as their starting nose tackle could be in question.  Don Martindale is a creative enough DC to deal with their potential talent gaps as gracefully as possible and having a top-tier defensive back group (Marlon Humphrey, Marcus Peters, Chuck Clark, DeShon Elliott, Jimmy Smith) should be enough to cover up at least some of their deficiencies, but the weird mix of unproven young talent and rapidly aging vets they're trotting out upfront significantly reduces their odds of being a high impact group once again in 2021.       

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Lamar Jackson Taking Another Step Forward as a Passer

"THE LAMAR JACKSON CAN'T PASS" narrative is something that the 24-year old signalcaller isn't going to be able to escape until he puts forth enough evidence to kill it. 2020 certainly didn't do that as his all around numbers slightly dipped (2,757 YDS/64.4 CMP%/26 TD's/9 INT's/4 lost fumbles/99.3 QBR) from his MVP year in 2019 despite throwing about 25 fewer passes. While Jackson certainly needs to work on getting the ball out more in a timely fashion, using his legs to escape the pocket when it collapses and deep ball accuracy, his progress in 2020 was certainly impeded by the injury/COVID issues that limited his go-to guy Mark Andrews for most of the year, the continued volatility of Marquise Brown and of course, his receivers posting a league-high drop percentage (7.5%) for the 3rd straight season.

As Jackson heads into his 4th NFL season and 3rd as the Ravens full-time starter, he's arguably entering the best situation of his career since the team finally chose to bring in some new blood to prop up their league-worst passing attack from a year ago. 2021 1st round pick Rashod Bateman is a big, physical outside target who was known for his hands/route running skills in college, 4th round pick Tylan Wallace is a massive sleeper who displayed versatility and major YAC ability at Oklahoma State and Sammy Watkins is always a threat to make plays downfield when healthy. Having a healthy Andrews, who should be motivated to atone for his underwhelming 2020 season (58 REC/701 YDS/7 TD's in 14 games) to drive up his value ahead of his pending free agency, should also be a big help. Jackson has flashed some really solid pocket presence/downfield throwing ability throughout his time in the pros and hopefully having some better assets around will allow him to cash in on that potential.  

Bottom Line:

A dynamic rushing attack, terrific defensive back group and the reliably solid coaching of John Harbaugh should allow the Ravens to return to the playoffs for the 4th consecutive season.

Cincinnati Bengals

2020 Record: 4-11-1 (4th in AFC North)

Head Coach: Zac Taylor (3rd season)

Notable Additions: DE Trey Hendrickson, CB Mike Hilton, T Riley Reiff

Notable Departures: CB William Jackson III, DE Carl Lawson, WR A.J. Green

Biggest Reason for Excitement: Offensive Firepower

It's remarkable the impact having exciting young talent on the offensive side of the ball can have on a team's expectations. There's no better example of that phenomenon than what's currently going on with the  Bengals. People all over the league landscape are so busy swooning over the Joe Burrow/Ja'Marr Chase/Tee Higgins/Joe Mixon/Tyler Boyd skill position group that they're choosing to ignore the litany of glaring issues the Bengals have (an inept, alleged bully HC in Zac Taylor, a roster that really stinks at nearly every other position, their clowncar ownership that has basically openly committed to losing for the past 30 years) and choosing to anoint them as the surprise playoff team of 2021.

If it wasn't clear enough above, I'm not a member of this camp. However, the potential that this group has is definitely worth getting pumped up about. Burrow was on track to put together one of the best rookie seasons in league history before he tore his ACL, Higgins was somehow able to remain relatively productive (24 REC/279 YDS/2 TD's in 5 full games) with stiffs like Ryan Finley and Brandon Allen throwing him the ball after Burrow went down, Boyd is as steady of a slot presence as there in this league right now, Chase is an extremely polished WR prospect that just happened to be Burrow's top target during their title run at LSU back in 2019 and despite his abysmal, injury-shortened 2020 campaign (119 CAR/428 YDS/3 TD's in 6 games), Mixon has been too productive over the course of his career to write off his struggles as anything more than just a down year. Now, Burrow's recovery from said ACL tear and their HEINOUS offensive line could very well throw a wrench into their plans to be electric in 2021, but this group could be responsible for bringing some much-needed fireworks to Cincinnati in the near future. 

Biggest Question Mark: How Well This Offensive Line Can Hold Up

Burrow's ACL tear almost seemed inevitable based on the level of pass rushing heat he was receiving on a weekly basis. In just 10 games last year, he was sacked 32 times and hit another 72-which tied the rookie record set by Daniel Jones in 2019 and definitely would've been broken had he appeared in more games. After losing their young franchise QB to a major injury in his rookie season, the Bengals obviously went out and addressed this position significantly in the offseason right? Of course not!

 The closest thing the Bengals did to beefing up their offensive line was dropping longtime starting right tackle Bobby Hart for Riley Reiff. To be fair, Reiff is a notable upgrade over Hart and has a wealth of experience starting on the left side in case the team needs to kick him over there to replace the oft-injured Jonah Williams-who was the lone bright spot on this group last year when he played. That Being said, this is a guy who is was just released by another team with a garbage offensive line in the VIkings for his poor performance and will be turning 33 in December-so he's basically just a short-term band aid at best and a completely inadequate solution at worst.

Aside from that, we're looking at more or less the same group (center Trey Hopkins, guards Michael Jordan, Xavier Su'a-Filo and Quinton Spain floating between the 2 starting spots, Williams) that both failed to slow down opposing passing rushes or open up rushing lanes last season. No wonder Burrow has reportedly looked so dejected and skittish in training camp. You'd probably be nervous too if you were bracing yourself for another season of taking huge licks from NFL defensive lineman while simultaneously trying to rehab from a major injury.   

What's especially frustrating about this situation is that Penei Sewell-who is widely considered to be a generational prospect at tackle- was on the board when they took Chase with the #5 overall pick. While the selection of Chase does make sense to an extent because of his history with Burrow and status as one of the highest ranked WR prospects of the past decade,  passing on Sewell to add to what was already a position of strength for the team and in turn further jeopardize Burrow's long-term viability by leaving him open to take beatings every week could be a move that ends up having monumental consequences for this franchise. This whole conversation will be rendered irrelevant if Sewell ends up failing to live up to his profile or 2nd round pick Jackson Carman-who is currently projected to kick inside to guard in the NFL after playing left tackle at Clemson-ends up being a valuable asset, but for now most Bengals fans have got to be livid that they passed on Sewell and are forced to now focus their efforts on hoping that this sad group their trotting out there can hold up well enough to keep Burrow from becoming the next Andrew Luck or David Carr.      

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Their Defense Overachieving 

Overall, the Bengals defense was pretty poor last season-ranking 22nd in scoring defense, 24th in passing YDS allowed and 29th in rushing YDS allowed. However, there were a couple of bright spots in All-Pro safety Jessie Bates and his running mate Vonn Bell-who put together a career year in his 1st season with the team after coming over from the Saints in free agency- that established some optimism that this group might actually have some young foundational pieces to build around.

With Bates and Bell returning and a slew of new veteran starters (Trey Hendrickson, Mike Hilton, D.J. Reader, Trae Waynes, Chidobe Awuzie) entering the fold, there's a real path to overachieving here. Hendrickson is coming off a terrific 1st season as a full-time starter with the Saints-positing 13.5 sacks and 25 QB hits, Hilton is a super physical corner that excels in zone coverage and can deployed as a blitzer off the edge (he picked up 9.5 and 30 QB hits during his 4 seasons with the Steelers), Reader was an elite space eating run-stuffer during his last season with the Texans in 2019 (he was a COVID opt-out in 2020) and Waynes and Awuzie are both solid depth pieces with ample starting experience that should help fill the void left by top corner William Jackson III's departure in free agency.  

Now there are some red flags present within among their new corps, particularly with guys like Hendrickson-who was a complete non-factor in his 1st 3 NFL seasons and Awuzie-who alternated between being a good, versatile secondary piece and a complete liability in coverage throughout his tenure with the Cowboys. But they've all flashed enough recently and have the advantage of all being at the pre-prime stage of their careers where it's completely possible that their past struggles stemmed from a slow transition to the NFL, which is more than enough to justify taking the risk on them.   

Bottom Line:

Points will be scored. Highlight reels will be made. The Bengals will still lose way more games than they win.

Cleveland Browns

2020 Record: 11-5 (3rd in AFC North)

Head Coach: Kevin Stefanski (2nd season)

 Notable Additions: S John Johnson III, DE Jadeveon Clowney, CB Troy Hill

Notable Departures: DT Sheldon Richardson, S Karl Joseph, OLB Olivier Vernon

Biggest Reason for Excitement: Their Legit Contenders in the AFC Now!!!

2020 was truly a magical season for the Browns as new HC Kevin Stefanski showed up and transformed this team over night. The unjustly cocky, dysfunctional Browns of 2019 had been replaced by a team that played with passion, grit and discipline on both ends of the ball that made it all the way to the Divisional Round of the Playoffs, and came within 1 possession of beating the defending Super Bowl Champion Chiefs in that game.

Heading into this season, I think it's not only fair, but necessary to declare that the Browns are one of the strongest contenders in the AFC. Baker Mayfield seems to have figured out how to play with swagger without playing heroball, their running back tandem (Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt) is a lethal, well-balanced duo that is exceptionally hard to defend, their offensive line (Jack Conklin, Jedrick Wills, Wyatt Teller, J.C. Tretter, Joel Bitonio) quietly morphed into a full blown force of nature last year, budding superstar edge rusher Myles Garrett could finally have a running mate that makes him even more dangerous now that the erratic yet undeniably talented Jadeveon Clowney is lining up alongside him and their secondary-which was their biggest Achilles heel a year ago-got considerably upgraded this offseason with the additions of ballhawk safety John Johnson III, tough outside corner Troy Hill and long, physical rookie slot corner Greg Newsome. If this team really gets cooking down the stretch, don't be surprised if they make it all way to the Super Bowl.    

Biggest Question Mark: Durability of Their Secondary

A huge part of why the Browns couldn't keep up with the Chiefs in the Divisional Round was their banged up secondary. Greedy Williams' season-ending shoulder injury during training camp proved to just be the first domino to fall in a year full of consistent instability at that position. Williams' replacement Terrance Mitchell and nickel back M.J. Stewart were the only players in the group that were able to appear in every game and nearly every other key piece (Denzel Ward, Ronnie Harrison, Kevin Johnson, Karl Joseph, Andrew Sendejo) missed between 2-5 games and played hurt in several others. As game as each player was to step up and play when/wherever they were needed, the lack of continuity caused by the constant shuffling around and guys coming back before they were fully healthy regularly left them with vulnerable spots on the back end-which is evidenced by their 22nd rank in passing defense.

Even with a bit of an overhauled group this season (Johnson, Joseph, Mitchell and Sendejo are all gone), the concerns over the health of this group still remain. John Johnson III missed the final 10 games of the 2019 season with a shoulder injury, Troy Hill has missed at least 2 games in all but 2 of his 6 NFL seasons and Greg Newsome's extensive injury history at Northwestern was the reason he was available at the end of the 1st round while returning key pieces Ward and Williams have both missed significant time with assorted ailments in their short careers (Ward has missed 11 games in his first 3 NFL season and in addition to his season-long absence in 2020, Williams missed 5 games in 2019). There's a lot of to like about this group: Ward has a real shot of blossoming into an elite shutdown corner within the next couple of seasons, Johnson is one of the best young safeties in the league and Hill was a huge asset for the Rams shutdown secondary over the past few seasons. They just happen carry a much higher rate of durability concerns than most and that could be enough to significantly damage the great things this team has going for them. 

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: A Healthy Odell Beckham Jr.

After enduring an entire offseason full of trade rumors following a so-so debut campaign with the Browns in 2019, Odell Beckham Jr. started to silence his critics with a pretty impressive start to his 2020 campaign (23 REC/319 YDS/3 TD, 3 CAR/72 YDS/1 TD through 6 games). Unfortunately for OBJ, his comeback campaign went down in flames in the 1st quarter of their Week 7 contest with the Bengals when he went down with a torn ACL after attempting to make a tackle following an INT. It was just the latest in a string of tough breaks for the 28-year old, who has struggled to return to the dominant level of play he displayed when he became an overnight household name following 3 consecutive 1,300+ YD/10+ TD seasons to start off his career.

The road back to glory for Beckham is going to be really tough as he is nearing the age when coming back from ACL tears starts to get really tricky-especially as WR that heavily relies on explosiveness/YAC ability to make plays-but if he pulls it off, the Browns offense could be in line for a huge boost. Beckham is the type of game-breaking presence who has the route-running ability and elusiveness to make plays at every level of the field from both the outside and in the slot . Think about what having that type of presence in this offense would do for opening up the running game and giving Jarvis Landry, Austin Hooper, Rashard Higgins, Donovan Peoples-Jones and the rest of their receivers opportunities to run wide open all over the field. If OBJ can beat the odds and pull off this comeback, don't be surprised if a Comeback of the Year honor or even a Lombardi trophy follows.    

Bottom Line:

The Browns have the deep roster, mental toughness and sound coaching combo that's required to be taken seriously as contenders in this league. Put them up there with the Chiefs, Ravens and Bills on the list of top of contenders in the AFC. 

Pittsburgh Steelers

2020 Record: 12-4 (1st in AFC North)

Head Coach: Mike Tomlin (15th season)

Notable Additions: OLB Melvin Ingram, G Trai Turner, QB Dwayne Haskins

Notable Departures: G David DeCastro, CB Steven Nelson, OLB Bud Dupree

Biggest Reason for Excitement: Defensive Corps

Usually losing 2 starting corners (Steven Nelson, Mike Hilton) and an edge rusher whose posted 19.5 sacks in his last 27 games played (Bud Dupree) would leave a defense in rough shape, but most teams aren't blessed with the level of talent the Steelers have. While losing Nelson and Hilton has undeniably weakened their corner depth and is forcing an unproven player in Antoine Brooks Jr. to line up next to Joe Haden and Cameron Sutton, the rest of this group is at least just as good as they were last season.

 Ex-Charger Melvin Ingram is a great late addition to their pass rushing rotation who could really thrive in a situational role, Alex Highsmith could be in line for a true breakout season in his 1st year as a full-time starter after playing exceptionally well in relief of the injured Dupree during the final 5 games of last season and most importantly, their trio of 2020 All-Pro Selections (T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward, Minkah Fitzpatrick) are all back in the fold with no limitations to start the year. 

Then there's of course the potential added pot sweeteners of having Devin Bush successfully return from an ACL tear and seeing safety Terrell Edmunds take another step forward after his surprisingly decent 2020 campaign. Given all of the very pressing concerns about the trajectory of this team moving forward, at least they have a high quality defense that will be able to keep them in every game and even help them win some on their own. 

Biggest Question Mark: Offensive Line

Let's do a quick where are they now for the Week 1 offensive line starters on last year's Steelers team. Left tackle Alejandro Villanueva signed with the rival Ravens in free agency, right guard Matt Filer exited for the Chargers in free agency, center Maurkice Pouncey retired, left guard David DeCastro got released in a surprise move last month and right tackle Zack Banner is back with the team after tearing his ACL in said Week 1 game against the Giants and is currently projected to shift over to left tackle to start this season. While the 2020 group had their issues (especially with run blocking), they were a generally decent group overall and losing the bulk of the key cogs all at once isn't ideal to say the least.

What's even more alarming than the mass exodus is who was brought in to compete for these 4 vacant spots. Joe Haeg was the swing tackle for the Bucs last year and was literally the only veteran that wasn't a 62-year old running back that they let walk in free agency, Rashaan Coward was a well below average backup guard with the Bears who struggled immensely whenever he was forced to start over the past couple of seasons, B.J. Finney is an ex-Steeler who admirably held Pouncey's water bottle for years, but didn't play well at all when he actually played some significant snaps during his stints with the Seahawks and Bengals over the past 2 seasons and Trai Turner graded out as the single worst guard in football last year with the Chargers. Incumbent Steelers Chukwuma Okorafor-who played pretty poorly in relief of Banner last season and J.C. Hassenauer-who was below average in a few late season fill-in starts for the injured Pouncey in 2020- also figure to be involved in the competition. Not exactly a group of future All-Pros there...

Really the only hope they have towards ensuring that rookie Najee Harris won't have to break 6 tackles to gain 4 YDS and Ben Roethlisberger doesn't end up in a Western Pennsylvania morgue by Halloween comes down to a pair of unknowns: Banner seamlessly bouncing back from an ACL tear at a position he hasn't played in the NFL and rookie center/guard Kendrick Green coming in and playing at a semi-respectable level right away. Short of that miracle situation unfolding, it seems like its going to be a very long season for this new look Steelers o-line.    

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Keeping Ben Roethlisberger Engaged for a Full Season

I was extremely perplexed as to why the news of Ben Roethlisberger coming back for another season was widely viewed as cause for celebration within Steelers circles. As soon as the Steelers undefeated season went out the window in Week 13 against Washington, Big Ben looked like he was ready to tap out and by the time the playoffs rolled around, he had visibly given up on even pretending to try.

As he enters his 18th season with the Steelers at the age of 39, there's a very simple question to ask: What motivation does he have to be great at this juncture of his career? It sure as hell isn't legacy. He might not be Brady, Manning or Rodgers, but his 2 rings, 11 playoff appearances, 60,000+ career passing YDS and strong career record (169-83-1 including playoffs) are more enough to guarantee him a 1st ballot enshrinement in Canton. 

How about his teammates? I have no idea how he feels about the other veteran leaders on the team like Heyward, Watt and Haden, but do you think he really gives a shit about JuJu Smith-Schuster, Dionate Johnson and the other whippersnappers on this team who talk a lot of shit and sometimes struggle to catch his wobbly ass throws? Not a chance. 

Throw in the possibility of getting flat out assaulted behind what could possibly be the worst offensive line he's ever played with and being in a division that's shaping up to be very competitive, and you can a very clear path forming for Big Ben to sleepwalk his way through 2021. 

But if by some miracle, Roethlisberger shows up motivated for what is believed to be his final NFL season, the doomed course the Steelers appear to be set for could easily be reset and they could end up returning to the thick of the playoff mix.    

Bottom Line:

The bottom fell out on this Steelers squad when they dropped 5 of their last 6 games last season and with all the talent they've lost and an indifferent Ben Roethlisberger still under center, all signs point to that negative trend following them into 2021.

Projected Standings:

1.Cleveland Browns (13-4)

2.Baltimore Ravens (10-7)

3.Pittsburgh Steelers (6-11)

4.Cincinati Bengals (5-12)

2021 NFL Preview: NFC East

 Dallas Cowboys

2020 Record: 6-10 (3rd in NFC East)

Head Coach: Mike McCarthy (2nd season)

Notable Additions: S/OLB Keanu Neal, P Bryan Anger, DT Brent Urban

Notable Departures: QB Andy Dalton, DE Aldon Smith, S Xavier Woods

Biggest Reason for Excitement: Seeing What CeeDee Lamb Can Do in Year 2

Dak Prescott's gruesome season-ending ankle injury in Week 5 robbed football fans of the chance to see what CeeDee Lamb could do in a high-powered NFL vertical attack. After Prescott went down, the lauded receiver prospect out of the University of Oklahoma was effectively relegated to a respectable possession receiver status with Andy Dalton and Ben DiNucci under center and ended up finishing his rookie season with a decent but not overly impressive 69 catches for 935 YDS and 5 TD's in 15 games.

Clearly nobody knows what Prescott is going to look like a year removed from a major injury, but the prospect of Lamb teaming up with the vaunted 28-year old signalcaller for a full season is exciting to say the least. With a quarterback that boasts Prescott's arm strength and accuracy under center, there's pretty much no limits to what Lamb can do. Deep or short passing game, contested catches over the middle of the field or running wide open down the sideline, lining up in the slot or on the outside-Lamb has the rare route running skills, YAC ability and body control to be the next star WR in this league and it's very possible that we'll see him make that leap this year if he can get the level of QB play required to maximize the value of his versatile gifts. 

Biggest Question Mark: Dak Prescott's Health

Sure there are better QB's in the league than Dak Prescott, but is there another team that is more dependent on QB play to win games than the Cowboys? Ezekiel Elliott had his worst year of his career last year when he asked to shoulder a bigger offensive workload in Prescott's absence, their defense is a complete joke from top to bottom that lacks any consistently reliable performers outside of DeMarcus Lawrence and Mike McCarthy's most notable coaching achievement since winning a Super Bowl all the way back in 2010 is smashing watermelons on multiple occasions last season to get the team fired up during team meetings.

Their reliance on Prescott to win games is what makes the forecast for this season so cloudy. Expecting Prescott to just bounce right back from what was among the most serious, viscerally brutal injuries suffered in recent NFL history is naïve at best and reckless at worst. Prescott's status for the 2021 campaign managed to get even murkier upon the start of camp last week after he was shut down for multiple days after dealing with tightness in his throwing shoulder. The only thing scarier than Prescott's sketchy health status is that the semi-competent backup Andy Dalton has been replaced by a TBD doofus (the options as of now are DiNucci, Garrett Gilbert and Cooper Rush) that has past experience in their system, leaving them with zero insurance in case Prescott ends up on the shelf at any point this season. Prescott certainly has embraced being an underdog since he entered the league in 2016 as a 4th round draft pick that was drafted behind 6 other QB's in his class and stranger things have happened than a good veteran NFL QB making a swift, graceful recovery 1 season removed from a scary severe injury, but all signs to this point aren't pointing towards Dak going on a dominant comeback tour.

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Ezekiel Elliott Returning to Form 

Every member of the "Ezekiel Elliott is overrated" camp had a field day with his dumpster fire of a 2020 season. The 26-year old back was a shell of his usual self-posting only 979 rushing YDS, 4.0 YPC and 8 total TD's in 15 games (all career lows) while coughing up a position-high 6 fumbles-during a season where the Cowboys needed to lean on his services more than ever.

Now it does need to be noted that the stacked boxes he faced in the wake of Prescott's absence certainly contributed to his struggles, but his issues went well beyond being unable to break through 7-8 man fronts. He was running with considerably less urgency than he usually does and was so desperate to put a stop to his struggles that he began playing with an increased level of frustration-induced recklessness that served as the catalyst for his fumbling issues.

With Prescott potentially being limited once again, the Cowboys really need Elliott to return to All-Pro form. Their offense is so much more frightening when Elliott is picking up big chunks on the ground, powering across the goal line and allowing Prescott to dig into his special play action bag of tricks, and they definitely have the firepower upfront with Zach Martin, La'el Collins and Tyron Smith to establish more of a run-driven attack. Whether or not Elliott still has it in him to be a dominant back is another question, but they sure as hell need to feed the man and cross their fingers that he'll still be able to hit (at least) the 1,300+ scrimmage YD mark. 

Bottom Line:

Dak Prescott has long odds of being his usual self this year and the Cowboys have basically no chance of doing anything of note if that's the case.

New York Giants

2020 Record: 6-10 (2nd in NFC East)

Head Coach: Joe Judge (2nd season)

Notable Additions: WR Kenny Golladay, CB Adoree' Jackson, TE Kyle Rudolph

Notable Departures: G Kevin Zeitler, DT Dalvin Tomlinson, OLB Kyler Fackrell

Biggest Reason for Excitement: Their Sneaky Good Defense

With a decimated receiving corps, putrid offensive line and zero running game to speak of after Saquon Barkley went down for the year in late September, the Giants offense was one of the more hopeless units in the NFL last year. Despite their exceptional struggles on offense, their defense led by unlikely standouts such as James Bradberry, Leonard Williams and Blake Martinez emerged as one of the most surprisingly productive groups in the league as they finished in the top 10 in multiple categories (9th in scoring defense, 9th in rushing YDS allowed, 10th in takeways, 5th in passing TD's allowed) and were solely responsible for getting them back in the NFC East title hunt after a brutal 1-7 start. 

Even with the departure of some key rotational pieces including interior defensive line stalwart Dalvin Tomlinson, pass-rushing specialist Kyler Fackrell and inside linebacker David Mayo, this group appears to be on a path back to the top 10 again in 2021. The addition of Adoree' Jackson-whose career got off to a terrific start before injuries slowed him down last season and led to his release from the Titans-should mark a considerable improvement at the #2 corner spot that was occupied by the very shaky duo of Isaac Yiadom and Darnay Holmes last season, Todd Davis is a very respectable veteran inside linebacker that could contend for a starting spot or just be a solid insurance policy for Martinez and while there are some valid concerns about his durability, rookie Azeez Ojulari has the motor and sound technique to come in and boost this so-so pass rush right away. If all goes well, you might even see this group start to get compared to the standout defenses they had during their Super Bowl runs in 2007 and 2011. 

Biggest Question Mark: Daniel Jones 

Daniel Jones is just impossible to figure out. He's the type of QB that will string together 10 beautiful passes in a row then turn around and make the most boneheaded decision imaginable and immediately undercut all of the positive plays he made. 

To be fair to Jones, he hasn't exactly been put in a great spot to succeed during his 1st 2 pro seasons. The Giants have had huge talent gaps at offensive-line/receiver, star RB Saquon Barkley has either sidelined or ineffective because he was playing with a significant injury for the bulk of Jones' tenure and the playcalling he's received from his stooge OC's (Mike Shula, current numbskull Jason Garrett) has been just wretched. As he heads into 2021 with Barkley coming off a torn ACL, a new top WR in Kenny Golladay who has his extensive own injury baggage and pratically no changes to the offensive line (free agent pickup Zach Fulton sliding into veteran cap causality Kevin Zeitler's spot at left guard is the only projected change at the moment) that made life difficult for him last year with their all-around struggles, Jones will have be tasked with hurdling yet another steep set of obstacles that are out of his control while trying to establish himself as a legit pro quarterback.

The problem is that regardless of all the factors that aren't his fault impeding his chances to succeed, time is running out for Jones to prove himself. None of his beautiful highlight reel throws or long runs on broken plays will matter if he doesn't start punching the ball into the endzone with more regularity (he only threw 11 TD's in 14 starts last season), further improve his accuracy (his career CMP% is just 62.2) and cut down on his stupid turnovers (Jones has thrown 22 INT's and astonishing 29 fumbles in 27 career games)-particularly in the red area. As big of a swing as Dave Gettleman took on Jones when he selected 6th overall in 2019, it wouldn't be shocking if they started to look elsewhere if he struggles again this year.   

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Saquon Barkley and Kenny Golladay Staying Healthy

There's plenty of optimism within the Giants camp that they'll be able to improve upon their wretched 31st ranked scoring offense from 2020. Rookie Kadarious Toney is being viewed as a Deebo Samuel-type swiss army knife that can run people over in the short passing game with his physicality/speed combo or line up in the backfield and take jet sweeps and there's hope that bringing in a steady veteran presence in Kyle Rudolph will bolster their blocking while also provide them with a more trustworthy big redzone target to compensate for all the TD's Evan Engram's stone hands have cost them over the past few years. The reality is that Toney and Rudolph are most likely going to be secondary players on this mission to make the G-Men's offense competent. The two men that will be leading the way are Barkley and Golladay-who was handed a splashy 4-year deal worth up to $72 mil in free agency-which is a risky proposition  to say the least.

Everybody's aware of the type of impact Barkley and Golladay are capable of having on a game. Barkley is an incredible dual threat force out of the backfield that is extremely difficult to stop once he gets he cooking while Golladay is one of the league's most lethal threats in the downfield passing game. The trouble is that these two simply can not be relied upon to be the driving forces of an offense. Both of them only have 1 season in which they appeared in every game under their belts and at this very second, they're coming back from respective major injuries they suffered in 2020 (Barkley tore his ACL, Golladay had a major hip ailment that kept him out of the final 9 games to which the severity was never fully disclosed). 

Their major injury red flags wouldn't be as big of a problem if this group had other options. Newly acquired backup Devonate Booker is as blah of an employed veteran running back as there this in league right now and the rest of the receiving group outside of Rudolph and Toney is the same one (Sterling Shepard, Engram, Darius Slayton, Dante Pettis, C.J. Board, Alex Mack) that struggled to produce in 2020 except now ex-Bengals speedster/Hall of Fame 1st round bust John Ross is also in the mix. The Barkley/Golladay experiment is a significant leap of faith for the Giants to make (Update: Gollday left practice this morning with a hamstring/leg injury. Things are going great!) and how it pans out should ultimately determinate what Joe Judge's team is able to do this season.  

Bottom Line:

Despite the boom-or-bust status surrounding their offense, the Giants strong defense should keep them in the thick of the race to win this weak division.   

Philadelphia Eagles

2020 Record: 4-11-1 (4th in NFC East)

Head Coach: Nick Sirianni (1st season)

Notable Additions: S Anthony Harris, CB Steven Nelson, DE Ryan Kerrigan

Notable Departures: QB Carson Wentz, WR DeSean Jackson, S/CB Jalen Mills

Biggest Reason for Excitement: An Upgraded Secondary

Bringing in a top corner in Darius Slay that's still in the middle of his prime last season was a nice start to the Eagles long overdue secondary overhaul. Now admittedly Slay wasn't in top form in 2020- only securing 1 INT, registering 6 passes defensed (his lowest since his rookie year in 2013) and allowing the 12th most receptions in the league- but he still made enough plays to give the Eagles a boost at that spot. This offseason, they continued to invest in their secondary with the hopes of taking them from the middle of the pack (15th) into the top 10 and finally have a back-end that matches their long dominant front 7.

Their biggest move came early on when they signed ex-Vikings safety Anthony Harris. While Harris isn't exactly a known commodity around the league due to him playing next to Future of Hall Famer Harrison Smith for 6 seasons, he's a certified playmaking safety that tackles exceptionally well and has flashed some serious ball skills at times (he had a league-high 6 INT's back in 2019 and has 24 passes defensed over the past 3 seasons). 

Then a few weeks back, they were handed the somewhat unexpected gift of Steven Nelson choosing to signing a 1-year deal with them over several other more competitive suitors (Saints, Chargers, 49ers, Seahawks, Bears). Nelson asked for his release from the Steelers back in March for undisclosed reasons after another very solid season and is still very much in contention for the title of most underrated corner in the league. Pairing him with Slay immediately gives the Eagles one of the toughest and soundest corner pairings in the league and should put them on comparable footing with the pairings their divisional foes in Washington and New York have. 

Top things off with their longtime solid starter Rodney McLeod slotting in at the other safety spot and the scrappy yet not overly polished Avonte Maddox moving to the slot after a rough couple of years on the outside and you have a pretty stacked group that should cause some problem in a division that has some of the more questionable passing attacks in the league.   

Biggest Question Mark: The Viability of Their Receiving Corps

Is Howie Roseman even aware of the depth of the problem that his team has at receiver? His approach over the past couple of offseason would indicate that he doesn't have any fucking clue. He's refused to sign veterans that weren't aging retreads embarking on their 2nd stint with the organization (DeSean Jackson) since he got burned by the Alshon Jeffrey extension during the 2017 season and all of the draft picks he's made from 2019-2020 (J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, John Hightower, Jalen Reagor-who already has the dubious distinction of being drafted before Justin Jefferson and Brandon Aiyuk) have done jack squat in the pros thus far. Even the no-brainer slam dunk pick that DeVonta Smith was believed to be is already is starting to look a bit questionable as concerns over how the 2020 Heisman Trophy winner's  slender frame (6'0, 170 lbs) would hold up in the NFL are already looking like they could be valid after he suffered an MCL sprain over the weekend that may sideline him until the start of the regular season.  

So what does that leave them with? An aging Zach Ertz who has been begging for a trade to no avail for over a year now, a talented but injury prone TE in Dallas Goedert and a couple of warm bodies (Travis Fulgham, Greg Ward) that WR-needy fantasy players picked up during the most desperate days of the 2020 season. In more direct words, it doesn't seem like a repeat of the TO/FredEx or DeSean Jackson/Jeremy Maclin glory eras are going be in the cards this year. 

The Eagles are flirting with a full rebuild after severing ties with Carson Wentz and it's just irresponsible and maddening to ask a 2nd year QB in Jalen Hurts that's entering his 1st full season as the starter and a 1st year HC in Nic Sirraini to enter a foundational season with a group that has disaster written all over them.  

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Jalen Hurts Establishing an Identity as a Quarterback

No rookie quarterback became a starter last year under shittier circumstances than Jalen Hurts. Not only did Hurts have to deal with onetime franchise QB Carson Wentz breathing down his neck on a weekly basis, he was effectively being used as a pawn by Doug Pederson in a last ditch effort to save his job. The job or the team just never felt like it was really his and that had a visible effect on his confidence under center. 

Now that both Wentz and Pederson are out of the equitation, Hurts can finally breathe. Siranni came to Philly knowing that Hurts was going to be his guy and just the fact that one of the more coveted HC candidates from this cycle wanted to work with him should erase any of the lingering doubts he had about his status as the team's starter. What exactly the system will look like is anyone's guess as Siranni has never been the sole shot caller on an offense before and Hurts has the arm strength/dynamic rushing ability to do a lot of different things, but as a Frank Reich disciple, there's a pretty good chance it'll be an uptempo attack that attacks defenses in a variety of ways without being extremely complex. Hurts has the raw tools to be special and it's going to be exciting to see what he can do now that's he going to be fully unleashed in a system that's tailored to his strengths.  

Bottom Line:

As good as their defense and offensive line could/should be, there's too many question marks elsewhere from the offensive skill positions down to the coaching staff to have much optimism about the Eagles this year.

Washington Football Team

2020 Record: 7-9 (1st in NFC East)

Head Coach: Ron Rivera (2nd season)

Notable Additions: QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, WR Curtis Samuel, CB William Jackson III

Notable Departures: T Morgan Moses, DE Ryan Kerrigan, QB Alex Smith (retired)

Biggest Reason for Excitement: The Offense Has Been Significantly Overhauled 

Outside of some splash plays provided by standout young WR Terry McLaurin and rookie RB Antonio Gibson-who greatly exceeded expectations after receiving limited touches during his time at the University of Memphis, the Football Team's offense was a real mess last year. Their QB play was either abysmal (Dwayne Haskins) or so married to the game manager concept (Alex Smith) that they weren't trying to move the ball more than a few yards downfield most of the time, the receiving corps next to McLaurin was so useless that converted QB Logan Thomas-who was the epitome of a mediocre in his 1st year of extended run at TE-became the #2 option and about 8 of every 10 TD's they scored came from their defense giving them a short field to work with. 

After making the playoffs with such a limp offense in 2020 (25th in scoring, 25th in passing, 26th in rushing), new GM Martin Mayhew made adding some sizzle to this group his top priority. Considering who was available in this so-so free agency class, Mayhem did a damn fine job with that task. Ryan Fitzpatrick is the flashiest stopgap QB option there is courtesy of his tendency to just rip the ball downfield, Curtis Samuel is a burgeoning #2/#3 receiving option that has significantly improved as a YAC/jet sweep threat over the past 2 seasons (he logged a career high 1,051 scrimmage YDS last season with the Panthers) and rookie Dyami Brown was one of the most explosive, consistent downfield threats available in this year's deep receiver class. Adding those guys doesn't only bring some much needed depth and potential dynamism to this group, it makes the ceilings of centerpieces McLaurin and Gibson significantly higher now that they'll be able to run an offense that isn't almost solely focused on ball control. Plus since they are now less likely to attract all of the defensive attention from their opponents, a finish within the top 15 overall offenses seems like it could be well within the cards.

Biggest Question Mark: The Stability of the Locker Room

The steady, quiet leadership of Ron Rivera brought a level of stability and cohesion to the locker room in 2020 that's been largely foreign to the Washington football operation during Daniel Snyder's tenure as owner. Entering Rivera's 2nd season, that strong culture is already in jeopardy for reasons that aren't directly related to football. 

As anyone who closely follows the league knows, Rivera was diagnosed with cancer last August and remained with the team all season while he received chemotherapy and was eventually declared cancer-free in January. Responding to a question from a reporter at training camp last week surrounding his team's low COVID vaccination rate-which sits at a reported league low 50%- the usually reserved, diplomatic public Rivera, who is now immunocompromised as a result of his treatment, expressed his frustration with the large contingent of his players who are refusing to take his health issues seriously. 

Naturally, Rivera's candor with the media could create a very awkward dynamic within that room. There's a very realistic chance that Rivera has lost respect for the players who've proven they don't care about his serious underlying health conditions by not getting vaccinated and the many unvaccinated players in the room have lost respect for him for harshly criticizing them in a public setting. Given Washington's history with dysfunction, it almost seems like destiny that the unified front they formed last season could be undercut by the cruelty and selfishness of human nature.       

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Their Defense Remaining Dominant

Rivera's number one goal when he took over as head coach was to fix the defense and despite some early season woes, he pulled that off and then some. Driven by a monstrous front 7 headed up by 2020 Defensive Rookie of the Year Chase Young and some unexpected success stories (2020 7th round pick Kamren Curl gracefully stepping in at strong safety after Landon Collins went down with a torn Achilles in week 7, Kendall Fuller settling back into a groove at slot corner after 2 rough years with the Chiefs), the Football Team's D become a stout, well-balanced force that allowed them to compensate for the ineffectiveness of their offense and win close, ugly games down the stretch.  

Heading into 2021, this group seems like a good bet to maintain the level of impressive play they displayed last season. William Jackson III is a reliable, instinctive cover corner that marks a big upgrade over the up-and-down Ronald Darby, rookie Jamin Davis-who popped during his lone year as a starter at Kentucky-appears to have the instincts and athleticism to play inside linebacker at a high level in the pros and thinking about what Young can do in year #2 when he's fully healthy (he missed some time last October with a groin strain) is just downright scary. Outside of the Rams, this may be the defense in the football and their play should be the determining factor in how far this team goes this season. 

Bottom Line:

On paper, the Football Team are the clear best team in the NFC East. However, the potential locker room dysfunction that could be brewing over their low vaccination rates and the playoff curse that has followed Ryan Fitzpatrick to every single NFL destination he's been to clouds up their path to a title.

Projected Standings:

1.New York Giants (9-8)

2.Washington Football Team (8-9)

3.Dallas Cowboys (6-11)

4.Philadelphia Eagles (5-12)