AFC North/South & NFC East/West Season Preview 2025

Welcome to another edition of the Pine Pony Podcast! Join us as we navigate through some preseason notes, discuss impactful trades, and dive deep into our AFC North, AFC South, NFC East, and NFC West predictions. We talk about teams like the Browns, Packers, 49ers, and Commanders, and players such as Aaron Rodgers, Trevor Lawrence, Tyreek Hill, and more. Don't miss our insights into the quarterbacks' performances, team rosters, and what to expect this NFL season. Also, catch some fun banter about college football and unexpected player moves!

Chapters

• 0:47 Preseason Highlights and trades
• 10:23 College Football
• 12:40 AFC North
• 23:49 AFC South
• 36:47 NFC East
• 46:29 NFC West

Transcript

0:00

Welcome, welcome to another edition of the Pine Pony podcast. As always, you got me the OG hanging out with my friend fantasy uncle Joshua Persia. What's up buddy? How you doing? Hey, yo. Hey, yo. I'm very excited to be back. I didn't know if we were gonna be able to get this episode in. It's been a whirlwind, an emotional rollercoaster, but you know what, at the end of the day, we made it here, so I'm happy to talk ball one more time. Yeah, man, it's kind of a, a crazy setup. We had to, we had to do one by phone'cause the power cord died and maybe the computer might be toast. So. We'll see what happens with that. So testing new waters here. But anyway, nonetheless we're gonna talk a little bit of quick preseason and then we gotta get into the A FC North and south and then we'll double up with the NFC East and West just because we missed last week.'cause as I said, the computer failure. All right man, just some preseason notes I had, man, the the Browns quarterbacks kind of traded spots. You know, one game Dylan Gabriel had was crappy, and then the next game was good, and then vice versa, for sure. Do. However, though it does kind of suck. Like urs, they got rid of four of the five offensive linemen that were guarding for him. You know, it's kind of like they were setting him up for failure, right? I'm like, when, when they, they traded away Kenny Pickett. I was not expecting that. I was like, wow, somebody really wants to give something for Kenny Pickett. I, I was like, okay. I, I guess they lucked out there, there, there was a lot of rumors that they actually wanted Kenny Pickett to kind of win the job. I guess at the end of the day, he just lost, he lost out to Flacco, so. Start of the season, it's gonna be flacco to start the season. And, and I do not expect him to keep the job that long. I don't think they're gonna be a good team. So as soon as that record, you know, is gets a couple games down, they're, they're gonna wanna be checking out their young guns, you know, super Bowls every year. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it's, we don't expect flacco to be in there long, but I mean, the dude could, you know, turn back the clock, you know, you never know. So wait to see the Browns will should be interesting. Also, we got a couple of trades. The Packers traded for some depth on the O Line. Traded for 2020 seventh round pick to the Eagles for a three time Super Bowl offensive tackle. Darien Kenard, he's three for three in the NFL career, so I think maybe he might be the good luck charm to get us over the hump and, and maybe get four Super Bowls for him. That's pretty wild, man. How about that? He is, he is, he's not a loser. He doesn't know how to lose. He's won Super Bowls every year. Well then let's, let's see how much of that can rub off. Oh. And then we got the chiefs. They traded a sixth round to the Jets for the defensive tackle. Derek NAD and a Seventh Round Pick. Any thoughts on that? No, I don't think that moves the needle too much. Well, I got a needle mover here, 49 ERs picked up Brian Robinson Jr. From Washington. That's pretty, that's a pretty, pretty nice little backup for when CMC undoubtedly gets injured. Yeah. Thi this one was a pretty spicy move. Like you know, podcasts like ours that's always looking at you know, betting and fantasy and DFS and, and all of that stuff. It's like, whoa. All right. So Brian Robinson jr's out and. They, they brought him in to the 49 ERs to be the backup. And, you know Shanahan said directly that they want, they brought him in to be the direct backup. So this, this pretty much like, kind of forces down Isaac Godo into kind of like a meaningless spot. Unfortunately, if you got him sitting on your bench, you might as well switch him out for someone with more upside. And then when you look over to the commanders, it's like, okay, so this is pretty spicy over here. They, they got Chris Rodriguez, who they drafted a couple years ago. Of course they got Austin Eckler who's getting up there in age, but he's still pretty good as a pass catching third down specialist. But then they got this seventh round rookie running back who they actually rested last game. So Eckler and. Jako Krosky Merritt, that's his name. They arrested him and they had Chris Rodriguez and Julius Chestnut actually play in that final game. So what that, what that's telling me is that this seventh round, a pick that they just made is actually a starter already. This is pretty interesting. This is definitely juicy for fantasy season long wagers, all that shit. I like it. Oh man. Yeah, dude, this is a juicy. I love that explanation, man. That's that's great stuff, man. I'm dying laughing. Oh. And then how about this though? The Vikings traded away. Sam Howell basically signaling, signaling they the regret that they had on that pick, and, but then they turned around and pick up a journeyman in Carson wi. Yeah, I think this is pretty obvious. Sam how can't stick on a roster anywhere he goes. The past couple seasons, unfortunately, it's never gonna happen for him. They, they wanted to get someone that they could rely on to be at least, you know, capable. Carson Wentz was decent in the spots starts that he's had the past couple seasons, including last year with the chiefs. I think that this makes sense for them. I was actually surprised to see that they got something back for Sam. How so? I think for the, for the Vikings, this makes a lot of sense. You've got Yvette in the room now, knows the ropes, and he could kind of help your second year, you know, basically his rookie season. Unfortunately, JJ McCarthy missed all of last season, so I think this just makes a lot of sense for the makeup of that team right now. Never know, Hey, we, we haven't seen him throw a single actual game pass yet. You know, he could suck. You don't know. I, I think this is, this is bad for Kenny Pickett when, when you cost the team absolutely nothing because you're still on your rookie contract and they still wanna trade you away. Yeah, I kind of see the Vikings could be down there hanging out with the bears in last place this year, man, if things turned south for JJ McCarthy, never know. Very true. Very true. Alright and then a couple of other, oh Kenny Pickett, he's on his fourth NFL team and, and yet still playing under his rookie contract, man. Oh man. What you think about that man? That shit's hilarious. I mean, it's bad. I get it. That was a crowded ass cubi room. In Cleveland, so I get it. Someone had to go. But you know, he just keeps not, not stepping up. Every time he's in the QB competition, he loses that competition and you know, this is probably who he is. He's probably just a back of the roster Would not surprise me if he's out of the league three years from now, you know? Yeah. Or he is gonna be clipboard Jesus and just be a forever bench riding third string, maybe second string quarterback from time to time. Hey, that's our kind of guy, pine Pony Podcast supports the bench players. Look, I will hold a clipboard for half of a million a year. Oh yeah. Yeah, I definitely would. No doubt. All right, and then, so Micah Parsons was caught sleeping on the sideline during the preseason game. Not a good look for him, but I will, I would love for the rumors that the Packers are trading for him to be true. Okay. How about that? Oh, man. Could you imagine? Oh man, I, I think there'd be a lot of people bumping the packers up in their power rankings. That's for sure. Yeah, for sure. Him and Luke Van Ness. That would be dynamite duo. And then last but not least. Shiloh Sanders got waived by the Bucks. That's pretty interesting. Fun fact though, as soon as he got waived, the Canadian League to Toronto Argonauts, if you remember them from an earlier episode said that they have the negotiating rights to Shado Sanders if he ended up not making it in the NFL. Well, they have also now acquired Shiloh Sanders negotiating rights. So if in fact he wants to go to the Canada League, they, they will be the only ones that are able to negotiate with them. So I just thought that was funny there in love with the Sanders kids. Basically taking like the Jerry Jones sort of strategy of like, well, what, what kind of things can I do to, to be in the news and just have people talking about my team for whatever little reason? I think it's good. I think it's a, a good idea, even if. They don't even really care about trying to bring in these guys. You know what I mean? A hundred percent. A hundred percent. And then before we get to the big topic, I just wanted to touch on the college football started last week. Last weekend I did watch the Iowa State ca, Kansas State game. And it was, it was good, man. It was, it was a dynamite game, defensive game up until about the third quarter, and then the fireworks started popping off. You know, glad to be football's back, but, you know, we got the big boys this week. You know, Clemson, LSU. And then also, let's not forget the Hawaii kicker who just two weeks ago learned how to kick a field goal through YouTube. I mean, dude, one, Oh, wow. Wow. yeah, that's pretty awesome. Like they, he won the game for them, but just learned how to do it, man, that's, that's incredible, man. Go Hawaii, let's go one and oh. So you mentioned the Clemson LSU game. Are you feeling pretty confident right now? Do you think that you guys can knock off LSU start the season here? Yeah, man. Of course. Well, yeah, why wouldn't it be, I mean, we got Heisman contender, Cade k Clubnick, you know, a better offensive line defense is. Defense is looking a lot better. You know what wide receivers this year will be? You know, my opinion will be the best that we've had in a while. So, you know, all, all the signs are pointing up. I mean, everybody's got us in, you know, Heisman contention national Title contention, you know, so. But yeah, man, I mean, that's what I think about Clemson. You know what? What do you think? Yeah, man, I think that things are, things are looking good to start things off. I mean, it's a lot of expectation for Cade Clubnick and I think as long as he. Is that Heisman level player that we're expecting, then I think that things are gonna go well for them. Well, and not to mention that the Browns are currently projected to be drafting Cade Club, Nick one, number one, overall. So, you know, he is always got that going for him. Wow. All right, so let's, let's get on into it, man. Speaking of the Browns, let's start off with the A FC North. We'll start off with the Baltimore Ravens. They finished last year, 12 and five, winning the division. You know, showing a pretty, one of the most balanced offense in NFL history, I guess, and this year I, I've got'em, their, their schedule's a little bit tougher. They've got the ninth hardest in the league. So while I do think they will contend to win the division again, I could see them being a 10 or 11 win team. So I, I'm gonna go err on the side of caution. 11 wins, but I could see them at 10. Too conservative my friend. I've got them going 12 and five. Yet again, I think that there's. There's nothing to worry about with this team. I think that they're really strong as far as the coaching's concerned. I think most of their main players, both on offense and defense are coming back and the that offensive line I was worried about start of last season, actually performing better than I thought they would. And on top of it, they added to it in the off season. I always liked that. I think the game really does start with the trenches and they're a team that never forgets that. The one thing I would, I would caution is the expectation that Derrick Henry is necessarily going to get a thousand touchdowns like he did last year. I think that Lamar Jackson actually had like the, the lowest rushing touchdown total that he's ever had in his career. I think it's likely that even if Derrick Henry. Is still just as good as he was last year, that he ends up getting a few more of those touchdowns vulture away from him. And of course, he's at an age where it wouldn't shock anyone if he kind of took a step back too. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, you also gotta think though, they're playing two times a year this year. MVP caliber, Aaron Rogers. Don't forget his stats last year were the same as Josh Allen. So you know, they've got that, and like you said, can Henry, you know, continue what he started last year because he is another year older and I mean, eventually the gas is gonna start running out on him, you know, so. Is it this year? Maybe, probably not, but it could be towards the end of the season. We'll see, you know, they'll start out strong for sure. But, you know, maybe I'm just a little naive. We'll see. All right, man. And then the next team I've got is the, my second favorite team. The, the Fighting Mike Tomlins, the Pittsburgh Steelers. You know, I, again, they have Aaron Rogers this season they went 10 and seven with the, the, the ghost of Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. So I don't see them doing that much better than ten seven. But I do think, and maybe this is my bias. I think they got a pretty solid roster and I think they could actually do some damage with Rogers. I got'em. I'm gonna say 11 and six man competing to win the division. You heard. Wow, okay. Yeah. I, I definitely do not see them as a, an 11 win team. But if you remember last year when we were doing this. I basically said I refuse to bet against Mike Tomlin. He always goes 500 or better, and so I picked him to be nine and eight, and they actually got one more win than that. So it's the same thing. I really don't love, you know, the sort of dynamic between Aaron Rogers and Arthur Smith and Mike Tomlins. It, it, it's like, I just don't, I just don't see how it's gonna work that well. He does not like to work with receivers like DK Metcalf, and he's gonna have no choice but to depend on DK Metcalf and so. Like in my mind on paper, this just does not seem like a great situation. But again, I'm going nine and eight because I know he always finds a way to get at least to nine and eight period. So I'm not betting against them. I'm going to say they're gonna get nine wins and they're gonna be a fringe playoff team like they always are. Wow, man. Breaking my heart here, man. He's got fry moth dude. He's got the mo, he'll just toss it to the tight end all day long, man. He, he won't, he he'll get. Yeah. I, I will say that part, that part does. Aligned pretty well getting John U. Smith to pair with fryer in those two tight end sets. I think I think Aaron Rogers really loves those kind of formations and he has no problem using tight ends. And both of those guys are actually pretty good after the catch. So lots and lots of screens in their future is what I'm guessing. Yeah. Yeah, that, that's basically how I see it too. They, they are going to have a decent offense despite the offensive line woes, but the problem is not just the offensive line. It's going to cost them drives here and there, but then also that defense is just, there's no reason to think they're gonna be any better. Yeah, a hundred percent. A hundred percent old man Rogers. That's, that's all he can do is dink and dunk. Now he ain't got it no more. Just kidding. He's got it enough to get to 11 wins. Because I'll be pissed if he's the first one to get like the Mike Tomlin under 500, you know. Okay. One of the tougher teams to kind of figure out, I think in this division this year is the Bengals. So they went nine and eight last year basically because Joe Burrow wasn't there early on. But he's been there now, so, you know, he should, they should return to form. However, I watched that preseason game and that offensive line looked like straight Dodo, like they need to replace, they, they need to pull a D on Sanders and just fucking kick'em all out. Like, just get a whole new bunch.'cause if that's what we're gonna see on the field weekend and week out. It's gonna be tough. It's gonna be tough for him. Even though everybody's got Jamar Chase super high. You know, I'm, I'm high on those guys. I wouldn't be mad if you took'em. Like I understand why they're gonna be throwing the ball a lot. So, but with that being said, they got a 14th toughest schedule. So middle of the pack, I don't see them getting more than 10 wins. So I'm gonna say, I'm gonna say they're gonna have the same last year, nine and eight fringe playoff team and could sneak in on like a wild card nine and eight. It. They will pass a lot. There'll be plenty of fantasy production for Chase Higgins, and of course Burrow himself. But the thing is, just as a team, are they gonna consistently win with that formula? Half the time, that's what I'm thinking. And I, I had them down for eight and nine. I actually think it's more likely that they don't make the playoffs than they do. I know that he, he, he is a great quarterback. You know, he should be in everyone's top five, in my opinion. But I mean, they really did build a team with two wide receivers, a quarterback, and then nothing else. They got Trey Hendrickson on the defense, and guess what? He ain't happy. He wants to be traded. So, you know, it's just, I think that. Things are gonna be harder for them than they should be just because they don't invest anywhere outside of that, that passing game. And, and part of that is that it's, it's just a pretty tough division. When you, you look at all those teams, you expect all of them to be pretty competitive. Yeah, absolutely. Well. Every other team is tough, except for this last team, the Cleveland Browns, they're just a nightmare. It seems like even though they've got all these good players, they, they still suck. They still go back to their old ways. They went three and 14 last year. The defense was great, but the offense could not do a thing. Watson looked like crap when he played every other QBI looked like crap, but they should have never got rid of Flaco from the year before. But they've got'em back and that to me just proves that they still don't know what they're doing. I think Kevin Stefanski has fumbled this whole quarterback situation, you know, putting, as we spoke about earlier, putting these trash players out there, you know, to, to guard Shado and expecting him to, to just, you know, make plays. That was kind of weird. And then what's Deshaun Watson doing? I don't know. He's just, he's Is he on the team? Is he off the team? I don't know. So anyway, I don't have him finishing much better. I'm, I'm gonna be generous here. I think they get the five wins. So five and 12. Okay. Yeah. For me, I was, I was going back and forth debating should it be four and 13, five and 12, but. I settled on four and 13. I just think they're gonna be really bad. I don't have faith in, in the coaching staff. I don't have faith in that defense. I don't have faith in that offensive line, and I doubt any of the 18 quarterbacks that they have are actually worth a damn. So I don't see great things happening for them. I think the best thing that can happen for them is that they just hit that 1 0 1 next year and hopefully they could get themselves a viable quarterback. Yeah, a hundred percent. It kind of sucks that they gotta go for another quarterback'cause they drafted. To two people that just aren't good. Just aren't good. Alright, then we'll switch over to the A FC South. Looking up at the Houston Texans, they went 10 and seven record last year, winning the division title. You know, this, this team it, what's not the like about'em? They've got a great coach. Good, good qb. You know, Nico Collins, when Tank Dale gets back, you know, all the guys strength of schedule is favorable to them. They face opponents with the combined win percentage of 0.481, so under 500. So it's the third easiest in the league. Yeah, I, I could very well see with looking at the rest of the division. I could see them winning the division again. And possibly even improving the record to 11 and six. Yeah, I really like Dko Ryan's I love what he's done, but that defense, they're one of the best in the league already, and the expectation is for some of those young defensive. Pieces can actually take a step forward. I think they're gonna have one of the best defenses in the league. And I like how they brought in a Christian Kirk basically to be the tank dale sort of replacement for this season. But also at the same time they, they drafted Jayden Higgins in the second round, and then in the third round they, they drafted another. Wide receiver. I, I honestly forgot his name. But the point is just that they, they've taken shots at younger guys. And in the meantime they got Christian Kirk. The, the only problem I have really with their offense is that offensive line was bad last year, and that was with man, who was that? They had, they let go of someone that's off this off season from the offensive line. So the offensive line actually got worse. And so that's, that's the only thing I, I dislike about this team. But I think the defense is gonna be so good that they're still gonna be competitive. I had them going 10 and seven. It would not surprise me if they actually outpaced that, but. I'm just going to predict the 10 and seven. I think that we're going to basically see CJ Sprout. CJ Stroud rebound a little bit from last season and he'll probably be right in between his rookie season and his kind of sophomore slump season has been all in the agent. Yeah, man. But looking at those running backs, man. Whew. Man, this team is stacked. All right. And then the disappointing Jacksonville Jaguars, yet another Clemson quarterback that just can't hack it in the NFLI am a not on the Trevor Lawrence train any, any longer. I don't even care about his coaching staff. I gave him too many excuses for not anymore. Trevor. You either make it or break it this year, buddy. So they, they ended last year, four and 13 fired the head coach and the gm. And you know, the odds of them winning the 20, the Super Bowl is like plus 7,000. So, you know, maybe, maybe it takes something like that on a long shot if you're feeling lucky. Yeah. But their schedule, because their schedule's the sixth easiest. So again, another bunch of teams under 500 last year, and they bring back Brian Thomas Jr. Who had a good season, and then the pairing of TETN and Tank Bigsby. They brought in Travis Hunter, which should, should really help out Trevor Lawrence. And they've got Bri Strange, who's shown, shown some promise up on the, you know, gonna be the starter this year versus the backup role. Oh, man. They, they drafted him in the second round, three seasons ago. He's just been the backup, but he's actually pro promising. Athlete in that he's got that size, speed combo that you always love to see. Hopefully he spent the past couple years developing those skills as a blocker and a pass catcher. We'll see. But it's the sort of player that has some upside to him. I really like what, what they've done sort of bringing in Travis Hunter as another potential weapon for Trevor Lawrence. They brought in di. Dami Brown, who is low-key, a pretty good field stretching sort of specialist. And I think that you could easily squint and see how Liam Cohen really turns this offensive round. But I agree with you. It's really make or break with Trevor Lawrence. It's like, how many passes are we gonna give this guy? We're still kind of holding on hope that he's that guy he was supposed to be coming out of college. You know. He's all out of excuses, man. He, he really has to put up this year, or I, I'm just gonna say he's a bum. Maybe not a bum, but, you know, a low level starting quarterback is what I've seen from him so far. Alright. And then the next team I was gonna say, yes, sir. My, my my sort of prediction for them is basically that they rebound. From last season and they, I think that they're gonna be more like a bubble team. I could see them going 10 and seven, and maybe they're, they're like 11 and six, or maybe they're just like eight and nine. I, I could see it going a lot of ways, but my best guess is that they're 10 and seven and that they do sneak into the playoffs. And then the next team we got coming up is the Indianapolis Colts. They ended last year, eight and nine second in the division. You know, still we got a question mark at quarterback. You know, you got dude making fun of. Anthony Richardson on the sideline patting his head saying, take me out, coach. I'm tired. I'm tired. And they, I guess they, I guess he took it a while. I think he pushed him or something on the sideline, so that was interesting. But you know, wide receiver core is, it is what's interesting to me. You know, they picked up the tight end Tyler Warren, but still all they have is Michael Pittman Jr. Josh Downs, Alec Pierce. You know, some of those guys, they're just mid-tier to me, other than Pittman Jr. He's the only one I can really trust. And so they'll probably be trying to lean a little bit more on Jonathan Taylor and in the passing game, Tyler Warren. However, I still think, you know, they're a fringe team and even with the quarterback figured out, I think they're probably more like a a nine and eight team, even with Daniel Jones, Daniel Mack Jones as the qb. I could definitely see that it, it's gonna be interesting to see what happens here because so much of the offensive wolves were blamed on Anthony Richardson last season, and I think that makes sense. I mean, he was legitimately bad, but I, I think, I think. Daniel Jones, while he will be more consistent and a bit more reliable, it's not like he's amazing either. So it'll be interesting to see how much difference things can make on offense. I do think from like a a, a, A player props or fantasy perspective, this is better for all of those receivers. The, the Tyler Warren hype has been basically through the roof. The, the local beat reporters are saying that they seem to have most plays as him as the first read, which is kind of like the Brock Bowers treatment. I'm not sure if I trust that'cause you know, preseason is preseason. But Tyler Martin has a ton of upside here if they really do see him as that game breaking sort of mismatched guy. And they're gonna keep him on the field a hundred percent of the, the plays. As a rookie, then the sky's the limit. You know, certainly Daniel Jones has had issues in the intermediate and, and the long game. But no, no issue doing a a two step. You know, drop off or whatever, out routes or whatever, stuff like that. He loved hitting up Wonell Robinson. I think that Tyler Warren could be that sort of player for him in this, in this offense. You know, the rumors are that they got Alec Pierce on the trading block. I think that makes a lot of sense. He, he basically plays the same role that Adenine Mitchell would play. They spent a second round pick on Adenine Mitchell last year. They probably would love to see him be, so the, the rumor is that they've got Alec Pierce on the trading block. I think this makes a lot of sense. I think that he would play basically a really similar role to Adam. I, Mitchell, they drafted him in a second round last year. A lot of people thought he was a first round talent. They probably really want him to. To step up and be a starter and, you know, play more into the offense. So it'll be interesting to see where Alec Pierce goes. I think that rumor is absolutely legit and I think that there are teams that would have interest in a field stretching specialist like Alec Pierce. That being said, back to the Colts, I'm basically expecting them to go eight and nine. My guess is that they do not make the playoffs. I don't think their defense is gonna be good enough, even if the Daniel Jones experiment sort of works out. But again, I think that the, the ceiling is really capped on this offense With Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones being the options, I don't think either of them will actually keep that starting job, and both of them ultimately will just disappoint. Yeah. Good. I like that. Good assessment. I completely agree. So last team for this division, Tennessee Titans another team three and 14, and this year they get one of the easiest schedules, 29th, easiest, so, you know, four 50, well below 500 teams. And they've got the rookie QB Cam Ward who I'm, I'm not necessarily sold on yet, quite yet. He's kind of a boom or bust kind of guy for me right now. And, and you know, if you. I prefer the way Jackson Dart's been playing in the preseason over Cam Ward. So, and then, but they do have Calvin Ridley, Tyler Lockett, you know, pretty two guys. And then on the offensive line, Peter Crosky and JC Latham some notable guys there. So I do see maybe some improvement. I still think it's not a playoff team quite yet. I got'em five, five wins. Five and 12. Yeah, it's definitely gonna be a boom and bust sort of situation with Cam Ward. I completely agree with you. I think if he's good, all of a sudden you could see a lot of things falling into place here. I do think that both Tajay Spears and Tony Pollard were really good for them last year. I like that they brought them both back. A couple of guys that were injured early last year on the offensive line are. Theoretically fully healthy. Now they drafted a couple more guys. Hopefully that offensive line is finally not gonna be such a weak spot for them. But really it will all boil down to Cam Ward if he's good. You could see him getting the ball to guys like Chiari, DK, Alec aor, and of course Kelvin Ridley. They still got Chico Conwell who ha has quietly. Sort of become more dynamic each year as a blocker especially. But the thing is that that offense really is just, is only gonna go as far as Cam Ward can take them. My personal opinion is that I was never really sold on him as a prospect. I think he ended up getting pushed up to that first overall guy just because there was no one else to even consider in that spot. It was a weak QB class. He was the beneficiary. I'm not feeling great about him though. For me, I just have them as a six and 11 team. I could see things working out. If he's legit, I'm doubting it right now. Yeah. I really don't mind. I'm down to do it. It's, it's probably gonna keep her setting me, but I feel, I feel like we've already put so much effort into doing this. All right, then the switching gears over to the NFC East, we're gonna hit up the Super Bowl Champions, Philadelphia Eagles. They went 14 and three, obviously winning the Super Bowl, and they do have to defend the crown, so everybody's gonna give'em their best. They do have the fourth toughest schedule in the NFL but the tush push remains. Saquon Barkley's still there. AJ Brown, Devonta Smith you know. The offensive line. We'll see. I, I think it's, it's large in part the same, so it should be good. But you know, if, see if they can continue doing the tush push as well as they have been at some point they've got, it's gonna suck. Right. Anyway, I, the division doesn't really scare me outside of Washington, so I, even with that tough schedule, I still see them in the playoffs winning the division at 12 and four. That's pretty similar to my assessment. I got them going 13 and four. I don't think they're taking a step back. They have done such an amazing job of team building and they're just so stacked with talent all over the roster. And the crazy thing is they, they win the Super Bowl last year and it's like they never even had to try that hard on offense. They were the. The the least pass heavy, I guess you would say. They passed the least amount of times and had neutral pass rate. And then of course, they were hardly ever in a neutral game situation anyways. Almost every second half they were, they were already in the lead, so I felt like they, they just went on cruise control to the Super Bowl. I think they're gonna do something similar again this year. They might end up getting some challenge there. They might end up having to pass a little bit. But when you've got Devonta Smith, AJ Brown, Dallas, Godard, Saquon, Barkley, as you're passing options, you really don't mind that, you know? I think that there's just going to be another obvious contender once again. Yeah, for sure, for sure. And then we got the Dallas Cowboys. They finished last year, 11 and six, but I don't, that's a fake news. 11 and six man, Mike McCarthy had the coach's ass off to get there and this year is gonna be fifth hardest schedule. And really, it all depends on Dak Prescott. You know, see if he can continue on his run from last year. And CD Lamb being a top five wide out who, you know, has to have the ball. But they do have, also have George Pickens and Jake Ferguson. Pretty solid tied in, came outta last year. Running back is a little sketchier for me. JTA Williams, miles. Sanders you know, not as good as PO. Pollard. And, you know, Zeke in his prime, in my opinion. But especially in this name now on this team. So, defensive wise, we gotta see what happens with Micro Parsons. I see them right around probably the same record wise, I'm gonna say 10 and seven. Yeah, I think that makes a lot of sense. I love how they added George Pickens to the mix. I think that he's the perfect compliment to CD lamb in the passing game. I, I also completely agree about the running back situation. Not good. Both Avante Williams and Miles Sanders have just been really inefficient anytime they've actually made it onto the field in the past few years. That being said, I do think there's a chance that. The rookies that they drafted at the end of the draft might end, end up being difference makers for them insofar as they could actually win the job. I think Jayden Blue is a speedster out of Texas with clearly a high athletic upside. You know, how good is he in running that kind of scheme? How good is he with pass blocking? I don't know. But also your boy Phil Mafa. Has had really good vibes in training camp. People seem to think that he has done really well with the opportunities that he's gotten. I think Javonte Williams is going to be the starter out of the gate just because they can rely on him as a good pass blocker, and all of his assignments are gonna be good in that. I would not be surprised if some combination of Jade on Blue or Phil Moffitt ends up with that starting job by the end of the season. I could also just see them trading for like a TRA CTN might be on the market. Brie Hall might even be on the market. I could see them making a move like that. I think right now they've got their hands full with the Micah Parsons deal, I. I do think that he is a needle mover for them. I do think that they need to make him happy, get him back on the field and not sleeping on the sideline or whatever's going on there. All that being said, I think that there's a lot of promise here. I love the direction that the offense is going in. With the, both the offensive line and bringing in George Pickens. Dak and CD Lamb are both fully healthy, at least at the moment, so. There. There's pretty good upside here. I think that the 10 and seven mark is pretty good. I think that they probably get 10 and seven or 11 and six, and they do sneak into the playoffs. That's, that's what I'm guessings. A shocking 12 and five. All right. Next team we got up is the Washington Commanders. They went 12 and five last year. Yeah. Shocking.'cause Jayden Daniels coming into the league, setting it on fire, as you said, as we said earlier, got rid of Brian Robinson, but they still got Austin Eckler. Scary. Terry's gonna be there. Picked up Deebo Samuel. Zach, er, the corpse of Zach Earth still lives on. You know, I, I don't see much changing for this team. I like Jayden Daniels there, Dan Quinn. That's a good combination. Yeah, I see them with another 12 and five record. Yeah. Yeah. I like it. I, I had them at 11 and six, but basically doing the same thing. I do think it's likely that Jayden Daniels will have something of a sophomore slump just because all the teams got much better tape on him now. I do like the fact that they eventually were able to bring Terry Mcco back. I did. Even like the fact that they traded away Brian Robinson, not necessarily, I think that he's a bum or anything, but I think it just shows how much confidence they have in the rest of the backs there. And I think bringing in a guy like Laramie Tonsil never hurts. I, I could see an upgrade to the trenches on both sides this year. And I just really like where this squad is going. So while I do think it's likely that Jayden Daniels is probably not quite as efficient this year. I still think they're gonna be a pretty good team. Yeah, I think that that makes a lot of sense. I actually had them at seven and 10. A slight improvement from last year. All right. And then we got the New York Giant Football Giants three and 14 last year. However though, they, they bring in Russell Wilson, Jamis Winston for what's the morale, and then they got Jackson Dart, which Jackson Dart's looking pretty good, man. Russell Wilson better watch out because the moment he messes up dart's stepping in you know, with Malik Neighbors, wonell Robinson, Darius Slayton, you know, they got a pretty solid team this year. So it, it's just definitely a team to keep your eye on. Especially fantasy wise. You could all see, sudden see some of these guys really be solid, mid-tier people with a good quarterback. I've got them still. Probably six wins. Six and 13, right? Or six and 11. I'm not really a believer in Russell Wilson where he's at in his career anymore. I will admit Jackson Dart did look better in the preseason than I thought he would. I really was out on him coming outta college and, you know, I don't wanna make too much of the preseason, obviously, but I will admit he looked better than I thought he would. That being said, I, I just don't love the state of the offensive line. I don't love Russ Wilson. I, I think there's a chance that Jamis Winston gets in there and of course he throws a lot of picks. I will say though, they do have a good front on the defensive side now they were able to bring in Abdul Carter. So between Abdul Carter. And the other really good pass rushers. I do think they will have a consistent pass rush, one of the best in the league. So certainly that helps. But there's really not much outside of their pass rush and maybe Malik neighbors that I'm really loving about this team right now. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. All right. Going over to the NFC West, we'll start out with the San Francisco 49 ERs. This, yeah, fucking cat. Really fucking up my momentum. Anyway, they started the, they went six and 11 last year. Got a pretty easy schedule this year. You know, kind of running it back with the same cast of characters, Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Iuk, you know, George Kittle. They don't have Deebo anymore, but they did it. You know, Ricky Pearsall coming back second year should be a lot better this season. And I expect it to be the Ricky Pearsall show over there at least while Brandon and I uchs out. And then maybe a little Joe Juan Jennings sprinkled in with George Kittle. So as far as record wise, and I, my bias is taking over. I don't, I don't, I think they could be seven and 10. Wow, I heard that. Yeah. I, I appreciate your honesty there. Like, man, I don't know. I, I can't think of them outside of fuck them. I agree with some of what you said though. I, I think that it is going to be the Ricky Peral show. It certainly to start the season. Jowan Jennings has what can only be described as a non-contract injury right now. And so he might actually start the season on the ir, not because he's actually injured, but because he's refusing to show up and play. I think that's a really weird situation because they, they just paid him last off season. And he's basically saying, well, I was better than I thought I would be, so now you gotta pay me more. Like at any rate, they will start the season without Juwan Jennings and Brandon IU in most likelihood. So it's wheels Up for Ricky Pearsall. Obviously, George Kittle is going to be a a. A constant, a frequent target for them in the past game. So I love those guys in DFS settings and all sorts of different production metrics there. As far as the team themselves, though, I'm worried about the offensive line and on defense, it seems like they, they keep losing pieces. I do think that they're going to be a competitive team, but I think that they actually do take a step back. I have them at nine and eight as a fringe team. I think it's likely that they get in the playoffs, but really just because I have a lot of faith in that coaching, I'm not actually loving the, the complete roster as much as I did in previous seasons. Yeah, I love that, man. You talk all bad about the 49 ERs all you want around me. Going to the Rams team, probably expected to win the division. They went 10 and seven last year. Picked up Devonte Adams still got two, two Atwell, puka, Kyron Williams, I mean, Tyler Higby. They've got a stacked roster there. Their strength and schedule is middle of the road. So I, I mean, I kind of this team goes with Matthew Stafford for me. I think they are hiding and downplaying his back and time will tell after he continues to get hit every week, you know, or play football every single week. So he could start out strong and end on a little slow side, or I could be completely wrong like I was last year and they could just dominate the whole season. We'll see. But I think they, I think they still go 11 and six. Going to the. Yeah, this this Stafford situation has got me spooked, man. I'm not gonna lie to you. It sounds a lot to me, like what we were getting out of the 49 ERs last season and what that situation taught everybody last season was that Oh. Before the actual games start, they could say anything they want. They can straight lie their asses off of when the games are actually going. They have to turn in, I think it is by Thursday or by Friday. They have to, they have to turn in their official designations for the players or whatever, but in the preseason, they could say whatever the fuck they want. And so like the sort of weird sort. Media games that they've been playing with Stafford. Like, oh, let's make it look like he's out there throwing. And then the beat writers are like, oh, he, he wasn't actually doing much and he's not practicing. And they're, they're saying, oh, if we had a game right now, I'm sure he would play. I mean, that's what they said about CMC last year. Different team. But you get what I'm saying is that you just never know. Sean McVay is not one of the coaches that's actually honest about these things, so you just never know. My guess is that it is a legitimate issue that, that the, the sort of spinal nerve like compression or the nerve issue that he's got going on is not the sort of thing that's just gonna go away with a couple weeks of rest. So I think even if he is able to get out there week one, I think there's a high likelihood that he ends up. Hurting his back at some point in the season and having to miss time potentially. A lot of time. I'm just not sure, but I'm not feeling too confident in it. I think there's a really good chance that Garoppolo plays a lot this season. Huge downgrade for that entire offense, in my opinion. I do not have a bunch of Garoppolo faith. And so. For me, I have them as a border team. I have them at nine and eight. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that I don't think Stafford will either start the season or stay healthy for them. Try to get'em as late as possible. Yeah. Maybe don't trade for pka right now. Like some people it like to do. Yeah. I I am not feeling great about this team right now. I don't mind the, the coaching change necessarily. I don't think Kubiak is done as a play caller or, you know, can't hack it, whatever, yada yada. Yeah, absolutely man. I, we, it, it is a scary situation over there. I'm not, you know, might, might be, stay away from some of the wide outs or try to get'em as late as possible. Alright. Going to Seattle, they were 10 and seven last year as well. Missed the playoffs due to Tiebreakers. However, though Gino Smith is out, DK Metcal is out, Tyler Lockett is out. And they brought in Sam Darold with, you know, coaching strength. The schedule's probably middle of the road. I, I love the running back here. Cooper Cup, he's fine. You know, he is a good vet to have on your team. Outside of that man. I mean, Tory Horton's the rookie, he's not even guaranteed to play. You know, I'm not in love with AJ Barner, and to be honest, I'm not in love with Sam. Darn. I think he was in the right place at the right time with the right coaching staff in Minnesota, and I think he should have stayed there. And so I see them taking a little bit of a downgrade, and I think they're gonna be eight and nine. I think the bigger problem is, is Sam darn legit. Was he just in a qb friendly system? I mean that we've seen a lot of different guys look good in that system. I'm not saying that he can't, you know. Turn that page the way that Gino Smith did, or some of these guys that have, have had later year, later career breakouts. But it would not shock me if he's just buns and throwing lots of interceptions. Again, this was one of, if not the worst offensive line in the league last year. They brought in a couple guys, but the expectation is still that that's going to be a weak spot for them. Sam Donald is. Historically really bad under pressure, so I don't think this is a great fit for him. And then on top of that, they traded away DK Metcalf. And so you're, you're left with JSN and not much else. And in fact, who, the guy that they were expecting to be starting opposite of him. Actually looked so bad that being MBS, they actually cut MBS earlier today because he really looked that bad. And so now they're probably gonna be relying on rookie Tory Horton complete wild card. Maybe he. He ends up being good, but my guess is that even if he does end up with a decent career, it'll be in seasons to come, not his rookie year. And so I just don't have a lot of faith in this offense. The defense, it was like kind of like league average last year. Maybe there'll be something similar to that. I'm just not feeling great about the Donald situation, the offensive line situation. The only thing that you actually feel good about are their running backs. We know how running backs go. Running backs can't do anything If the rest of the offense ain't humming, you know, you need an offensive line to run around, you need the threat of, of a passing game. I think you, you're just gonna need more than JSN and a j Barner or, you know, I, I guess they, they got had a. Day three, rookie tight end. I forgot his name, but I don't expect him to be a huge deal rookie season either. You know, for me, I just had them going six and 11. I think that's, I think that should be what your expectation right now. Wow. Ouch. Ouch. Breaking hearts. Whew. All right. And then the final team. The Arizona Cardinals, they went eight and nine last year. You know, kind of righted the ship a little bit. You know, they got a middle of the road scheduled this year. Marvin Harrison looking good in the off season, bulking up you know, impressive there. Really high on tr Trey McBride. I'm high enough on him that I traded for him recently in the dynasty league and they got Zay Jones, which I like James Connor. So, offense is looking good. Black Ops seven look like it's gonna suck. So, you know, arrow pointing up for me in the Arizona Cardinals, I have them competing for the division title at 11 and six. Nice. Yeah. I actually was going to have them at 11 also, and then I was like, this is gonna be a hot take. So I was surprised to hear you say it as well. I just really love. The, the way that everyone's sticking around on offense, except that they're upgrading one of those guard spots, which never, never hurts. And then, you know, Maserati Marv is coming into his second season. And the thing about Marv is that, from what I could tell, there's nobody who was more disappointed in his rookie season than he is. And what I love is that whenever he talks about it. He doesn't put the blame on anyone else. He doesn't try to say, oh, this situation was just X, Y, or Z. He literally says like, I could have done better, I should have done better. I gotta be stronger at the point of, of contention. And he followed that up by showing back to camp this year with like 12 pounds of muscle. So I love the kind of attitude he's got. I do think that he will be better than he was his rookie season, and so it's gonna be good for that offense. And I do think that they will be a competitive team. I don't think they're gonna be on the same level as the Eagles, but I think that they're going to be in the mix for a playoff spot there. Awesome. Awesome. Nice to be on the same page. I like to surprise you every now and again. Well, nonetheless gonna have a lot of editing to do on this show, so we gotta get to that. As always, you can hit us up on threads. Instagram Blue Sky at Pine Pony Podcast 22. And then email the Pine Pony Podcast twenty2@gmail.com and that's it. A.