Drafting the Bottom

A week ago I brought you my annual midseason review, breaking the league as I always do into a variety of tiers based on their level of performance and where I expect them to go from here. This year, mostly as a coincidence, I had four teams in both the highest and the lowest tiers—the Patriots, Chiefs, Rams, and Saints at the top; the Cardinals, Giants, Bills, and Raiders at the bottom.

The trade deadline is far behind us, and there isn’t much any of these teams can do to change the basic makeup of their rosters. Personally I kind of like the rigidity of rosters in the NFL in comparison to other sports, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still get frustrated when I see talented players waste half the season on a worthless team, or potentially great teams stringing along a critical flaw.

So I decided to do a little experiment. What would happen if the top four teams were allowed to draft from the bottom of four teams for the remainder of the year? And rather than just make this a thought experiment, I decided to have a little fun, and I recruited my three friends three of my friends to simulate this draft. I took over the Saints, Remy Millman took over the Chiefs, Jan Jaro took over the Patriots, and Sam Young took over the Rams.

A brief summary of the rules we used:

• This draft is for the remainder of this year only. As fun as it would be for the Patriots to snag Josh Rosen as the heir to Tom Brady, decisions should be made based on what most increases their chances to win a title this season.
• The draft will go in reverse order of current records, with a coin flip deciding the order of the Chiefs and the Rams. After the first round it will continue in a snake format.
• The salary cap does not apply. It would have been fun to have some cap restriction, but a couple of the participants were not all that into it to begin with (as you will see from some of their picks).
• All players come as they currently are, including current injury status.
• We all know this is dumb. The point is to have fun, and to draw attention to the good pieces on the worst teams in the league and the most glaring holes on the best.

The Draft

Round 1

Patriots: Patrick Peterson, CB, Cardinals

Saints: Odell Beckham Jr, WR, Giants

Chiefs: Chandler Jones, Edge, Cardinals

Rams: Tre’Davious White, CB, Bills

The first round was a story of value. These players all filled a need on the team that drafted them, but they are also probably the four best players among the bottom four. Peterson requested a trade earlier this year, and New England was considered a possible destination until he worked things out with the Cardinals. The Saints tried to bolster their receiving depth this week with Dez Bryant, only for him to go down immediately with a torn Achilles. The Chiefs have some good pass rushers but no one as dominant as Jones, and the Rams would like another attempt at revamping their secondary after failing this offseason.

Round 2

Rams: Jerry Hughes, Edge, Bills

Chiefs: Kyle Williams, DT, Bills

Saints: Olivier Vernon, Edge, Giants

Patriots: Saquon Barkley, RB, Giants

The pass rushers went fairly quick in this draft. It’s a position that is extremely thin at both the top and the bottom of the league, and after the first three were off the board there really wasn’t anyone left to fill the major holes that each of the top four teams has rushing the passer off the edge. Barkley to the Patriots is an almost perfect fit, a player who combines the athleticism of Cordarrelle Patterson with some actual rushing instincts, as well as being an elite receiver out of the backfield.

Round 3

Patriots: Landon Collins, S, Giants

Saints: Kelechi Osemele, OG, Raiders

Chiefs: Micah Hyde, S, Bills

Rams: Jared Cook, TE, Raiders

The most interesting thing about this draft was just how quickly the talent fell off. In the first round each team got a Pro Bowl caliber player. In the second teams were forced to reach somewhat for need. And now in the third every team grabbed a high upside player who they can't be certain they can rely on. Osemele is one of the best guards in football, but he has suffered through injuries for most of 2018. Hyde is great at forcing turnovers, but in terms of pure coverage ability he doesn’t match up with most top safeties. And Cook is a known quantity by now, an athletic marvel who never quite figured out how to use his remarkable gifts.

Round 4

Rams: Robert Nkemdiche, DL, Cardinals

Chiefs: Rodney Hudson, C, Raiders

Rams (from Saints): Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Cardinals

Patriots: Star Lotulelei, DT, Bills

Round 4 kicked off with our one and only trade. The Rams are the deepest of these four teams, and it made sense for them to part with multiple later round picks to jump up and grab an additional top talent. That talent happens to be Fitzgerald, a future Hall of Famer who has kept his career going as his athleticism declined by moving into the slot. He’s the perfect addition to this receiver rotation, especially with Cooper Kupp down for the rest of the year. The two defensive linemen are a pair of former first round picks who haven’t lived up to the hype, but with their athletic ability they have the ability to offer impact as rotational pieces on the line. And Hudson returns to Kansas City, sliding in either at center or guard to fill the weak interior of Kansas City’s offensive line.

Round 5

Patriots: Andre Smith, OT, Cardinals

Saints: Janoris Jenkins, CB, Giants

Chiefs: LeSean McCoy, RB, Bills

Saints (from Rams): Budda Baker, S, Cardinals

On the one hand, Smith is a well known player who has been around the league as a starter for years. On the other, he is bad at football. McCoy is the best player to go this late in the draft, falling due to a lack of need at the running back position. He offers the Chiefs depth and playmaking ability at a spot where they are thinner than the other top teams. Baker is an interesting player, a talented young safety who flies everywhere on the field and makes plays. Integrating him into the defense may be a challenge, but he offers upside that few others this late have.

Round 6

Rams: Derek Carr, QB, Raiders

Chiefs: Justin Pugh, G, Cardinals

Saints: Evan Engram, TE, Giants

Patriots: Josh Rosen, QB, Cardinals

The most interesting picks in the sixth round were the two quarterbacks who went off the board. Remember, this isn’t about long term investment, so both of these were drafted as injury insurance. A year ago I would have been skeptical, but Nick Foles proved the value of a backup, and at this point I don’t hate the picks. The Saints add another receiver from the Giants, the big and fast Engram who will allow them to stretch the field down the middle in a way Brees hasn’t had since Jimmy Graham.

Round 7

Patriots: Kony Ealy, DE, Raiders

Saints: Tremaine Edmunds, LB, Bills

Chiefs: Lorenzo Alexander, LB, Bills

Saints (from Rams): David Johnson, RB, Cardinals

This was a round of flyers. It’s very likely that none of these players would actually contribute, but the talent was worth taking a risk on. Edmunds is a big, athletic linebacker who is still figuring things out as a rookie, but he’s the only athlete at that position worth sliding into the middle of the Saints defense. Alexander can slot into a variety of roles, as a pass rusher, an off ball linebacker, or even just as a special teams player. And once again a running back falls past the point of his talent. Johnson has been limited by his scheme this year, and the Saints have a pair of quality backs already, but the upside and versatility he provides is worth the last pick in the draft.

Best Undrafted Players

Arizona Cardinals – Antoine Bethea, S

I have to admit, I did not expect the Cardinals to wind up having the most players selected. To be honest Nkemdiche, Smith, Rosen, and Pugh probably didn’t deserve to be selected, but even so this roster was stripped pretty much to the bone. There are a few interesting young players like Christian Kirk and Haason Reddick that could turn into something down the road, but the most useful player at this moment is probably their veteran safety. Bethea is past his prime, but he at least knows what he’s doing, and for a team without much else going for it that’s probably the best thing they could ask for in their secondary.

New York Giants – Sterling Shepard, WR

There are a lot of decent Giants players left on the board. Nate Solder hasn’t lived up to his big money contract, but he’s a league average player at a crucial position. Will Hernandez has had a strong rookie season, and Dalvin Tomlinson is getting a chance to show his worth in the middle since the trade of Damon Harrison. But despite losing three offensive weapons, their best player is still probably a receiver. The bottom four teams were actually fairly deep at that position, with other solid role players like Kirk and Jordy Nelson not being selected. Shepard is a quality number two receiving option, capable of winning on a variety of routes either on the outside or in the slot.

Buffalo Bills – Jordan Poyer, S

Buffalo’s offense is so wretched that most people don’t realize how well their defense has been playing this year. The strength is at the back end, and we saw two players taken from their secondary in the first three rounds of this draft. Poyer isn’t the all around stud that White is, and he isn’t as versatile as Hyde, but he is a quality option to man the deep middle of the field. He had five interceptions a year ago and has added another pair so far this year, shutting down deep passes so White and Hyde can play aggressive underneath.

Oakland Raiders – Gabe Jackson, OG

It wasn’t surprising that the Raiders had the fewest players selected. If Amari Cooper or Khalil Mack were still around they absolutely would have been selected very early, but the Raiders have worked harder than any team to strip their roster to the bones. The most intriguing players left on defense are all young athletes who have yet to prove themselves as consistent players, and no one felt like adding Maurice Hurst, Arden Key, or Gareon Conley. The one place they remain strong however is on the interior of the offensive line, and despite losing both Osemele and Hudson in this draft, they still have a very good guard in Jackson, arguably the best player left on any teams after we finished stripping them for parts.

Biggest Unfilled Need

New England Patriots – Wide Receiver

There were a lot of good receivers on the board, which makes it surprising that the Patriots didn’t go that direction. They did add a talented receiver out of the backfield in Barkley, but the fact remains that they are in need of a reliable weapon on the outside. Brady hasn’t been as precise as we’re used to seeing this year, and it would help him a great deal if he had a receiver he could trust to win an average one on one matchup.

New Orleans Saints – Edge Pass Rush

The Saints got Vernon in the second round, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are very lacking in threats to get after the quarterback from the edge. They have a pair of excellent interior rushers in Cam Jordan and Sheldon Rankins, but they haven’t gotten consistent contribution yet from rookie Marcus Davenport, who they spent two first round picks to grab and is now hindered by an injury.

Kansas City Chiefs – Cornerback

While it is looking like the Chiefs made a pretty good decision to part ways with Marcus Peters this offseason, they still have a fairly serious hole at the cornerback position. So far this year they have survived simply by outscoring the opposition, but as the margins get tighter it is going to become an issue that they can’t cover anyone. They had the opportunity to grab a couple starting caliber cornerbacks in this draft, but they worked to plug other holes in their defense, hoping that by improving their pass rush they could cover up the weaknesses on the back end.

Los Angeles Rams – Linebacker

The Rams seem to have everything, and this draft filled a number of the weak points on their team. Except perhaps the weakest spot, the middle level of their defense. As run defenders their linebackers are capable if unspectacular, but in the passing game they are horrific liabilities. They can’t dream of keeping up with running backs or tight ends operating underneath or in the middle of the field, which is a problem when they have to figure out how to beat teams that boast James White, Rob Gronkowski, Alvin Kamara, Kareem Hunt, and Travis Kelce.

2018 Midseason Review Part Two

As I did on Tuesday, I’m taking this midpoint of the season to take a step back and evaluate the playoff race shaping up before us. I have sixteen more teams today, the upper half of the league once again divided into four tiers, starting with the four teams that have separated themselves from the rest as the favorites to bring home the title this year.

The Contenders

There are a lot of good teams in the NFL, but these four have distanced themselves from the bunch. While the other teams fight to make the postseason, they have already turned their eyes ahead, to what they will have to do when the games turn single elimination to elevate themselves above the rest.

New England Patriots (7-2)

New England suffered a couple of disappointing early season losses, and they aren’t playing at the same level as everyone else in this group. But at this point they have earned more than just the benefit of the doubt, and they have to be considered the favorite to make it out of the AFC until someone else proves they can beat them.

Tom Brady is Tom Brady, and Bill Belichick is Bill Belichick, but there are other reasons to believe that this team can beat anyone they face. The additions of Josh Gordon and Cordarrelle Patterson give them a pair of rare athletes like they haven’t had in a long time, and both have come on strong in recent weeks. Rob Gronkowski will get healthy as the season goes along, as will Sony Michel, who has looked promising when he’s been on the field. The defense is still bland and uninteresting, but they avoid deadly mistakes, and with an offense that leaves them very few short fields to work with they are enough to get the job done.

Kansas City Chiefs (8-1)

We knew this was a possibility for the Chiefs, but I don’t think anyone counted on Pat Mahomes being this good this quickly. The talent on the offense is obviously among the best in the league, and Andy Reid remains the premier offensive mind in football. But Mahomes has elevated the talent around him to a new level. His arm strength and ability to make insane throws get all the attention, but he also does an excellent job diagnosing plays before the snap and finding the right place to go with the ball. This isn’t a flash in the pan, and Mahomes isn’t going to fall off a cliff the rest of the year.

There are reasonable questions to ask about this defense. They have a decent pass rush, but their secondary can’t keep up with anyone, and almost any offense they face is able to move the ball on them. Most of the time it doesn’t matter, because their own offense is lethal enough to run away with games. So far they’ve only faced two teams with offenses capable of keeping up with them, beating the Steelers and losing to the Patriots in a pair of shootouts. They are going to have to demonstrate the ability to get at least a couple stops, or else every postseason game is going to come down to whoever has the ball last.

Los Angeles Rams (8-1)

The Rams are in a very similar position to Kansas City. Their offense is deadly in a dozen different ways, dominating teams through talent, depth, and scheme. Jared Goff can rip defenses apart throwing to one of the best receiving corps in the league, while Todd Gurley is putting together a season that has him legitimately in conversation as MVP.

But as we saw last week against the Saints, this team can lose in a shootout. Their attempts to supercharge their defense in the offseason haven’t exactly panned out as they hoped. Aqib Talib can’t stay healthy, and Marcus Peters has been a disaster, keeping his regular missteps in coverage while not contributing any big plays. Aaron Donald is still a nightmare, but this defense is very shallow. They are going to need some of their other players to step up by the time the playoffs roll around.

New Orleans Saints (7-1)

The Saints suffered a shocking loss on opening day, and they have been just about flawless ever since. They weathered some rockiness in their defense over the first few weeks, seeming to improve with each game into back to back victories over the Vikings and the Rams. Their defense still has issues, but it might not matter with the offense clicking like it is. Drew Brees is in position to finally claim an elusive MVP trophy, distributing to the best group of weapons he has had at any point in his career.

Of all the teams in this tier, the Saints are the one that I feel the most hope for regarding their defense. Cam Jordan remains an underrated star along the front, and they look like they’ve found a partner for him in Sheldon Rankins, who is finally dominating like they hoped he would when they drafted him in the first round. Marshon Lattimore has struggled, but he showed last year that he can play at an elite level, and if he gets back to that this defense suddenly becomes extremely dangerous. Toss in more playing time for the promising Marcus Davenport, and this is the sort of young unit that could put this team over the top as the season winds down.

Hey, Anything Can Happen in the Playoffs

There are more warts on these teams than the ones in the tier above. But they have shown the ability to play at a very high level, and they have clear roads ahead to the playoffs. Once the season becomes single elimination, any one of these teams could get hot and go on a deep run.

Minnesota Vikings (5-3-1)

The start of the season was shaky for Minnesota, but things have quieted down. After some embarrassing performances from their defense they have rediscovered their old dominance, eating Matthew Stafford alive like they always do (seriously, just short of 20% of Stafford’s career sacks have come against Minnesota). Adam Thielen was quiet last week, but he has been the best receiver in the league this year, and a healthy Dalvin Cook gives them another explosive playmaker to work with on offense.

Is there reason to be concerned by their failure in each of the games they played against top teams in the NFC? Maybe, and it’s enough to drop them into this second tier. They fought hard against the Rams in a game that was set up against them, having to travel out to the west coast on a short week. The loss to the Saints was less excusable, set up by their own self destructive actions. The concern is that these sort of plays are inevitable with Kirk Cousins at quarterback. Of all the teams in the top two tiers, the Vikings are the one with the least confidence in their man under center, and there is a very good chance that comes back to haunt them once again this postseason.

Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2-1)

Five straight victories culminating with total domination of Carolina on Thursday night have the Steelers feeling fairly comfortable heading into the home stretch of the season. There were a lot of issues both on and off the field early in the season, but everything is going smoothly now, as their offense has settled into a rhythm and their defense has discovered a pass rush. It's looking unlikely that they will get Le'Veon Bell back, but it might not matter with James Conner a revelation in the backfield.

Inconsistency has doomed this team for the past few years, and I’m not convinced they are past it yet. Their defense is plagued by the same issues that I mentioned with Kansas City and Los Angeles above, a bunch of unathletic sludge mixed with marvelous athletes who don’t know what the hell they’re doing, and against better offenses like New England and Kansas City they will get ripped apart. But Ben Roethlisberger seems to have steadied somewhat after a rough start to the year, and with a new offensive coordinator they may be able to harness a more consistent offense that can keep them in games even when their defense struggles.

Los Angeles Chargers (6-2)

A 1-2 start had a lot of people rolling their eyes at the Chargers, thinking we had fallen into the same trap as always. Five wins later, it’s become clear that their rough start was almost entirely due to bad schedule luck that had them facing the Chiefs and the Rams early in the year. With these as still their only two losses, the Chargers have clinched a spot in the second tier of the league, and now they have to figure out what it’s going to take to knock off the teams above them.

One key factor will be Joey Bosa, who will hopefully return sometime over the second half of the season. The Chargers rank 28^th in adjusted sack rate in 2018, after finishing seventh a season ago. Give them a quality pass rush, and things will open up in the back end, allowing Defensive Rookie of the Year frontrunner Derwin James to play even more aggressively. Bosa is the sort of dominant player who elevates everyone around him, and he could be the difference between an early playoff exit and a championship run.

Prove It

On paper these teams look like they’re in good shape, but as they always say, the games aren’t played on paper. Despite excellent records at the midpoint of the season, I’m not convinced that any of these teams are actually that good. Sooner or later they are going to have to prove themselves against top competition, or else face an early playoff exit.

Chicago Bears (5-3)

The Bears are the perfect encapsulation of this category. Their five wins this year have come over teams with a combined 14-28 record, while the three toughest opponents they’ve faced—the Patriots, the Packers, and the Dolphins—have all gotten the better of them. To Chicago’s credit, they had a good chance to win all three of those games, and when they’ve played lesser competition they have blown them out of the water.

The matchup in two weeks against the Vikings looms large as Chicago’s chance to prove themselves. Until then, I’m still concerned about the state of their offense. They can run the ball when they’re sitting on a comfortable lead, but Mitch Trubisky has been all over the place, and I don’t trust this passing game to get it done against defenses besides Tampa Bay. There is plenty of room for them to grow—and plenty of time for them to prove me wrong—but for now I’m going to hedge my bet on the Bears.

Carolina Panthers (6-3)

I can’t say I expected the Panthers to be here right now, and even after being thoroughly dismantled by Pittsburgh on Thursday night, I still feel pretty good about their playoff chances going forward. The last three weeks of their schedule are brutal, with a pair against the Saints sandwiching a game against the Falcons, but four very winnable games before then will give them an opportunity to coast into the playoffs. This from a team that I felt had done very little to improve themselves in the offseason and was facing another year of middling performance in a difficult conference.

Ron Rivera’s defense has been playing to the level we expect, and most of the credit for the turnaround has to go to their offense. Christian McCaffrey has taken a leap forward as both a runner and a receiver, becoming tougher and more aggressive with the ball in his hands. With him alongside a receiving corps that now includes Curtis Samuel and DJ Moore, they have built an offense of raw weapons that most defenses simply aren’t athletic enough to keep up with. And somehow this is all being coordinated by Norv Turner, who used his time away from football to develop creativity that was very much lacking in his last few stops, allowing him to get the best performance possible from Cam Newton and this high upside offense.

Washington Redskins (5-3)

The strategy the Redskins are using shouldn’t work in the modern NFL. This is a team that has doubled down on the running game, counting on dominating the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball to win. Adrian Peterson has had a fantastic season after being signed off the street, and their young defensive line led by a pair of first round picks out of Alabama has stuffed up the competition.

This strategy can work, but only in very specific circumstances. We saw what happened last week when they fell behind early against the Falcons and could not do anything the rest of the game. So far it’s worked out for Washington, but they are playing a very dangerous game, and sooner or later I think it’s going to bite them. Now suffering from multiple injuries on the offensive line, their margin of error has gotten even slimmer. They still have a chance at winning the division if they can sweep the two games remaining against Philadelphia, but past that I don’t see any way this team can consistently compete with the top teams in the conference.

Houston Texans (6-3)

The Texans have pulled off the never before done feat of losing their first three games then winning their next six, and they have done so without a single impressive win in the bunch. They have rolled their way through narrow victories over the Colts, Cowboys, Bills, and Broncos, four of the worst teams that any team will find in a six week stretch on their schedule. And it’s not even that they consistently beat up on bad teams. They lost to the Giants as well, the only team so far to endure that humiliation.

There are a lot of good players on this team, and maybe they’ll step up their game when they face better competition. Deshaun Watson has picked his game up after a slow start. DeAndre Hopkins and JJ Watt are as dominant as ever. They have the top end talent to match any team in the AFC, and maybe they can do that. We won’t find out until the playoffs of course, since their remaining opponents consist of the Redskins, Titans, Browns, Colts, Jets, Eagles, and Jaguars. The Texans will coast to the playoffs, and if they’re lucky they’ll find themselves matched up with the next team on my list and have a shot to make it to the second round without playing a single above average opponent since the start of the season.

Cincinnati Bengals (5-3)

The Bengals sit in the driver’s seat for the last AFC wild card spot, a game ahead of the Ravens and half a game over the Dolphins with victories over each of them. On paper both are quality wins, but the victory over the Ravens is muted somewhat by it being a home game on Thursday night (home teams are 8-2 on Thursdays this year), and the Dolphins win came thanks to a pair of freakish defensive touchdowns.

The Bengals have suffered major letdowns in their two most important games, a seven point loss to the Steelers that wasn’t nearly that close and a 45-10 drubbing by the Chiefs. They had to hold on for dear life against the Buccaneers despite four first half Jameis Winston interceptions. They have more spark on both sides of the ball than in recent years, and they’ll be competitive down the stretch. But until they show that they can beat a team like the Steelers, I’m penciling them in for another first round exit.

Long Odds

There is a lot of talent on these teams, and if everything had broken right they could easily have found themselves a couple tiers above. They could prove dangerous when the playoffs come around, but just getting that far is going to be a struggle. They’ve dug pretty deep holes for themselves, and while they have the ability to climb out, the odds are stacked against them.

Philadelphia Eagles (4-4)

We’re only halfway through the season, and the defending Super Bowl champions have already lost more games this year than they did last year. Some of this can be blamed on the absence and then rust of Carson Wentz, but on the whole this team has not come close to the pure domination they had a season ago. Their secondary has been exposed repeatedly, and their offensive line has struggled to open holes in the running game and keep the quarterback on his feet.

Of the teams in this category the Eagles have the easiest route to the playoffs. They are only a game back in the division, and as I mentioned above things are looking a little grim for the Redskins. But the Eagles are going to have to do far more than just hold on if they want to repeat last year’s deep run. They are going to have to rediscover their running game without Jay Ajayi, and their pass rush needs to step up to save their vulnerable secondary. They added Golden Tate in the hope that he could bring a spark to their offense, and we’ll see if that has any effect (I don’t think he’s that significant an improvement over Nelson Agholor.) Most importantly, they need to figure out how to close out games, as two of their early season losses came due to big leads blown in the fourth quarter.

Atlanta Falcons (4-4)

A 1-4 start looked like it had basically sealed things for my Super Bowl pick, but three weeks later they suddenly find themselves very much alive. Now facing back to back games against the Browns and the Cowboys, they will very likely enter their Thursday night matchup with the Saints on a five game winning streak. They’re probably too far back to win the division, but they have a shot at a wild card spot, and from there I still believe this team has the talent to run deep into the playoffs.

Matt Ryan is having another MVP caliber season, Julio Jones is a monster despite his struggles to find the endzone, and Calvin Ridley is even better than they had hoped in his rookie year. But the story of this team remains around their defense. They suffered multiple brutal injuries at the start of the year, and even though Keanu Neal isn’t coming back, the rest of their core looks like it’s on its way to being healthy. The return of Deion Jones, as well as the addition of Bruce Irvin, gives them a flash of athleticism in their front seven that most teams cannot match, enough to make a difference if they can sneak into the playoffs.

Green Bay Packers (3-4-1)

The Packers currently have the tenth best record in the NFC, sit in third place in their division, and face a difficult schedule with games left against the Bears, Dolphins, Seahawks, Vikings, and Falcons. They have glaring holes everywhere on their defense, an offense that matches a lack of weaponry with the blandest scheme imaginable, and they have shown no sign of being able to make any changes to the way they do things.

Any other team in this situation I’d feel comfortable writing off. But I can’t do it here, because of Aaron Rodgers. We all know what he is capable of at this point, and even in the midst of what qualifies as a disappointing season for him, he has the ability to turn it on and carry this team streaking into the postseason.  A decade of cheering for a team in his division has left me terrified of him as long as he is kept breathing, and I won’t give up on the Packers until they are mathematically written off. I could try to rationalize this as a belief in their solid offensive line, or in the improvement of their young but talented secondary led by Jaire Alexander. But in the end it all comes down to Rodgers, as does everything written about this team for the past five years.

Seattle Seahawks (4-4)

The more I think of it, the more I suspect that I should have included Seattle in the first post this week. Because despite the fact that they are still very much in the hunt in the NFC, I can’t figure out what exactly they do well. Their once heralded defense has lost pretty much everyone except Bobby Wagner, they still can’t run the ball worth a damn on offense, and only years of absolute catastrophe on the offensive line have convinced people that what they have now is passable.

Russell Wilson is very good, I guess. And they still have three games against the bottom feeders of their division. But they also still have to face the Packers, Panthers, Vikings, Rams, and Chiefs. So you know what? Just flip them and the Ravens, and accept that there is almost no chance this team is going to keep playing after the season ends.