Finally, the long summer draws to a close. It’s been nearly seven months since we’ve seen a meaningful game of professional football being played. But the wait is over. The NFL is back.
The best part about the start of a new season is that I actually feel like trying a little bit. Of course, by Week 8 I will be entirely over this blog and wondering why I haven’t transitioned to TikTok or YouTube. Anyway, we’re just gonna load up a bunch of stuff into this one article because I was going to do the Record Predictions and Power Rankings separately yesterday, but it ended up being way too much work. So you’ll get the concise version today, as well as the Week 1 Picks. Let’s start with the Record Predictions:
Honestly, there’s not many surprises here. Obviously a 10-7 Panthers team is a bit off the wall, or maybe you found yourself scoffing at the notion of an 8-9 Raiders team. I can’t say that this is definitively how many wins I would’ve gave each team just running down their schedule, but based on my methodology, this how things shook out. Basically, I went through the entire schedule 3 times, averaged out each teams’ wins, and then ran through the schedule again to make sure this outcome is theoretically possible. And, it is. I think it’ll be nice to look back at the end of season and see how far off I was for some of these teams. I may do another version after Week 4 or 8/9, maybe both times, but definitely don’t count on it.
Power Rankings
The thing I love about doing a Power Ranking before anyone has even played a snap is that I can just kinda do whatever with it. Really, it’s a list of preconceived notions that I’ve got about everyone. And slowly, over the season, it pretty much works itself out into something pretty close to reality. Not doing a Top 10 breakdown today, though, too much work.
Week 1 Picks
There’s nothing like having a clean slate. My target for this year is to go 188-84. That’s exactly one game better than last year. And that’s all you can really ask for in this industry. I’m already getting tired of typing, so I’ll just highlight a few games that I’m looking forward to this weekend:
Chiefs @ Chargers – Don’t love that this is an international game, but every AFC West matchup will be good tv this year.
Steelers @ Jets – Something tells me that this won’t be a good game. But it makes my list because I’m curious to see how the Steelers offense looks with Aaron Rodgers at the helm. Also the QB Swap storyline is mildly interesting.
Raiders @ Patriots – I’ve projected both of these teams to be much improved from last season. This game could be a great jumping off point for one of these teams.
Panthers @ Jaguars – Similar to the above, even if I’m actually only projecting 8 wins for Jacksonville. In one simulation, I had them at 12 wins. So I think they can be pretty good if they put it all together. I’m riding the Panthers hype train though.
Lions @ Packers – Much like the AFC West games, NFC North games should be similarly thrilling. How will the Lions bounce back after their playoff loss and the loss of both coordinators? Is Jordan Love still a fraud? All that and more to be answered on Sunday.
Ravens @ Bills – I don’t really have to say anything here, right? It’s the two Super Bowl favorites, it’s Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen, it’s gonna be a real doozy.
I’m incredibly excited to care about nothing else for the next 5 months. I’m excited to see the Steelers start 8-2 before going 1-5 down the stretch and missing the playoffs. I’m excited to be so sure that the Chiefs are down and out around Week 13 and then inevitably have them go on a run to their 4th straight Super Bowl appearance (maybe not excited about that one). You gotta love it, man.
We are so back.
Strong Side Sports 