In just a few days, the entire NFL will be in the thick of training camp, which is a time where you hear and read stories about players that ooze with optimism.
Players are in the best shape of their life, ahead of schedule in their injury recovery, the new quarterback-wide receiver duo has instant chemistry, a second-year player is a primed for a leap now that the game has slowed down for him, the franchise quarterback will reinvent his game and soar to new heights, the offense has never been faster, etc. The same goes for coverage of the teams themselves with many that missed the playoffs being labeled as “sleepers” or “surprise playoff contenders.”
It makes sense because teams have new players from the draft and free agency, almost the entire league is healthy at the moment and looking forward to getting back to playing football again after months of rest and reenergizing. However, this 2024 NFL season preview piece will not be full of these vibes because here the task is to identify the last-place finisher for each of the league’s eight divisions. Doing this exercise a year ago, yours truly ended up correctly calling four of the eight bottom dwellers for the 2023 season.
2023 season finish: 4-13 (last place, no postseason)
The New England Patriots are in the midst of a clear rebuild: They cleaned house by letting go of six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Bill Belichick and hiring first-time head coach Jerod Mayo, one of Belichick’s former players and assistant coaches. They also selected North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye third overall after shipping Mac Jones off to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for a 2024 sixth-round pick.
The defense is certainly ready to be competitive now, ranking as a top 10 total defense (301.6 total yards per game allowed), despite playing alongside the worst scoring offense in Belichick’s reign (13.9 points per game, second worst in the…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/predicting-last-place-team-in-each-nfl-division-for-2024-giants-browns-among-potential-bottom-dwellers/
Author : Garrett Podell
Publish date : 2024-07-16 13:54:50
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