3 Darkhorse NFL Teams

Three Teams That Will Surprise You In The 2020 Season

Buffalo Bills

By: The Halftime Buzz, (@halftimebuzz)

    The Buffalo Bills have made some interesting moves during the offseason. In mid March, the Buffalo Bills acquired former stand out cornerback, Josh Norman. He's not the same lockdown defender he formerly was, however, Norman is still an experienced cornerback that will provide an already deep Buffalo Bills defense with a talented 8 year veteran. The Bills defense which allowed the second fewest points per game in 2019, letting opponents score an average of just 16.5 points per game, have added two more notable defensive players. First, Mario Addison. Addison, who signed a deal worth $13.25 million guaranteed, will provide the Buffalo Bills with an extremely talented defensive tackle. Last year, with the Carolina Panthers, Addison posted 9.5 sacks along with 2 forced fumbles. Also from the Panthers, Vernon Butler is on his was to Buffalo. I am expecting Butler, who posted 6 sacks in just 9 games started in 2019, and Addison to bring some firepower to an already talented Bills defensive line. 
   Now, moving onto the Buffalo Bills offense, of course, headlined by Josh Allen. Allen totaled over 3000 passing yards last year, a number that we should see increase due to the new addition of Stefon Diggs. Diggs, who has had more than 1000 yards receiving in each of his last two seasons, was visibly unhappy in his last season with the Vikings and should be welcoming a new chapter in Buffalo. Allen and Diggs should become one of the league's newest feared dynamic duos. At the start of last year, the Bills running back was their biggest question mark. However, it did not take long for them to figure out who would be the starting back for years to come. Devin Singletary, a rookie out of Florida Atlantic University, posted just under 1000 all purpose yards and should be far more comfortable going into his sophomore season. It is interesting to note that the Bills did draft Zack Moss, a RB out of Utah, who could be seeing some touches.
    Finally, in addition to their outstanding defense and greatly improved offense, the Bills play in the easiest division in the NFL. Their pathway to the postseason should be exponentially easier than what it was last year. The Tom Brady-less AFC East, does not put forward much competition for the Buffalo Bills in 2020. The Patriots, who had won the divisional title 11 straight years, lost their star quarterback this offseason. Just for the record, that quarterback happens to be the greatest to ever play the game. The Dolphins are still rebuilding and lack a proven franchise quarterback, while the Jets are still a few pieces away from posting their first winning season since 2015. I am expecting the Bills to win their division and see the NFL playoffs for the second straight year. 


Pittsburgh Steelers

By: Ari Koslow, (@fantasy.footballexpert)

    The Steelers dealt with injuries to nearly every offensive skill position last season, yet they were still in the playoff race up until the final week of the regular season. They were not only without Ben Roethlisberger for all but two games, but running back James Connor also missed six games, while Juju Smith-Schuster missed four games and was playing through injuries in other games. They were completely held back by the poor quarterback play of Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges, yet the defense kept them in playoff contention all season. They finished top-5 as a defensive unit in total defense and passing yards allowed per game, while allowing just under 19 points per game which was good for 6th in the league. When you combine the defensive unit they'll be bringing back with the fact that they are expected to have Roethlisberger healthy, Pittsburgh is a team I am fully expecting to get back into the playoffs this season, especially when you add in the fact that the NFL is adding another wildcard team this season. I do not believe they'll beat out Baltimore for the division, but I fully expect them to lock up one the top-2 wildcards as long as the offensive playmakers can stay healthy. 

Chicago Bears

By: Ari Koslow, (@fantasy.footballexpert)

    After entering last season with high expectations, the Bears failed to deliver, and that was mostly due to a combination of Mitch Trubisky on the offensive side of the ball and Matt Nagy's play-calling. The defense still finished top-10 in total defense and top-5 in points per game, but the stagnant offense led by Trubisky held the Bears as a team back. They finished 4th to last in total offense and points scored per game as an offense, which was partly attributed to Trubisky's play and partly due to Nagy's play-calling. Chicago has a monster in the making awaiting in their backfield in David Montgomery, but Nagy failed to give him a consistent workload all year leading to him not being able to find a consistent groove. I am hoping Nagy finds a way to get Montgomery more involved consistently in his offense this season, as the Bears are the type of team that needs to be led by a dominant defense and running game. I do believe the addition of Nick Foles, who has experience playing with Bears head coach Matt Nagy, offensive coordinator Bill Lazor and quarterbacks coach John DeFillippo, will be an instant upgrade over Trubisky under center for this offense. When you combine that with the favorable schedule they have, as the Bears don't face a 2019 playoff team until week eight, I am expecting the Bears to grab on of the three wildcard playoff spots this season. 

    

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Should the Dolphins Start Tua Tagovailoa?

Image
    Tua Tagovailoa in Miami      The Miami Dolphins selected QB Tua Tagovailoa out of the University of Alabama with the fourth overall pick in this year's draft. So, taking a QB that high up in the draft should mean they're starting him, right? Well, not necessarily.     Tagovailoa has been struggling with injuries throughout his three-year career at Alabama.  In March 2018, Tua broke his left index finger In October 2018, Tua sprained his right knee In December 2018, Tua had a left high ankle sprain  In October 2019, Tua had a right high ankle sprain In November 2019, Tua dislocated his right hip and fractured the socket in it (most serious)      The Dolphins clearly believed, even with his injury history, his talent was too hard to pass up. But, now Dolphins head coach, Brian Flores, has a decision to make: will Tua start for the Dolphins this season? There are several contrasting perspectives to this debate a...
Read more

The Redesigned NBA Playoffs

Image
The New NBA Playoffs Proposal By: Jacob Ortiz, ( @legionhoops ) In regards to a 16-seed playoff bracket, I think it’s unnecessary to change. I’d love to see the 16 current playoff teams get invited, and a play-in tournament for the four “bubble” western conference teams. Getting the teams to play is enough entertainment, and keeps the integrity of this season’s champion. We already have some people marking this season as an “asterisk”. Those at a disadvantage would be teams like the Lakers, Clippers, etc, in the sense that they worked hard for seeding for home court advantage, which no longer exists. However, this long hiatus does have its advantages for older teams, and they’ve had a chance to rest their bodies. 2 Teams to Watch out for By: The Halftime Buzz, ( @halftimebuzz ) Miami Heat Headlined by 5-time all-star Jimmy Butler and an experienced coaching staff, the Miami Heat are undoubtedly a team to watch out for in this year's highly anticipated NBA Playoffs. Butler, the tea...
Read more

Why Clyde Edwards-Helaire Has Superstar Potential

Image
Clyde Edwards-Helaire      After an incredibly abnormal NFL draft that began on April 23, there were some questionable picks leaving many eager fans with concerns. We are going to break down one of the most highly regarded rookies and his potential going forward in the National Football League.      Arguably, the most out of the ordinary selection of the first round belongs to the reigning Super Bowl champion, Kansas City Chiefs. Although Andy Reid has proven to be one of the most respected offensive minded coaches over his 28 years coaching in the NFL, yes 28, his selection of running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire has been creating a lot of discussion. Prior to an unmatchable season by the LSU tigers, home of the new Chief as well as 12 other newly drafter NFL players, Helaire was not even spoken about as a first round draft pick. However, led by the magic of Joe Burrow and Steve Ensminger, the offensive coordinator, positional players on LSU gain ed lar...
Read more

The Future of the Milwaukee Bucks

Image
The Already Successful Milwaukee Bucks By: The Halftime Buzz, (@halftimebuzz)      Before this season's sudden postponement due to Covid-19, the Milwaukee Bucks were on a roll. The Bucks posted the best record in the NBA, going 53-12 overall and 28-3 at home this year. This was in large part due to their superstar PF, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and his stellar play on the defensive side. But, to say that Antetokounmpo is the only reason the team was this successful would be blatantly incorrect. Actually, Milwaukee has loads of talent on their roster that efficiently complements Antetokounpo's prowess. First and foremost, Khris Middleton has been the Robin to Antetokounmpo's Batman for the past five and a half seasons, and has been named an all-star in consecutive seasons. Furthermore, Brook Lopez has also been a pleasant boost to this forceful Bucks roster. Lopez is a formidable presence in the paint that can also stretch out opposing defenses with his shooting touch. Additio...
Read more

The New Look Arizona Cardinals

Image
The Revamped Arizona Cardinals      Boy, did the Arizona Cardinals have an offseason to remember. The Cardinals and their head coach, Kliff Kingsbury, have made a clear and concerted effort to let Kyler Murray know that this is his team, even going into just his second season in the NFL. As a team that went 5-10-1 last season, the Cardinals conveyed their commitment to Murray through their strong offseason, both offensively and defensively.      First off, Arizona kicked off free agency with a BOOM. This was the blockbuster trade that sent David Johnson to the Houston Texans and DeAndre Hopkins to Arizona. This was a miraculous trade for the Cardinals as they were attempting to dump Johnson's pricey contract for draft capital, but they actually ended up receiving one of the NFL's most accomplished wide receivers in the process. While David Johnson was once a star running back for the Cardinals, in 2019 he was demoted to a backup when Kenyan Drake started p...
Read more