00:00And welcome back to Newswire here on Sports Grid. Hey, time to check in with Jacob Kamaker from USA Today.
00:06It's been a couple of weeks, maybe even a month since the NFL draft. Now it's time to take a
00:11look at the schedule and see if Jacob has any opinions early on what he has seen transpired. Jacob, great
00:16to have you back here on Newswire. I know we'll be talking a lot later in the summer, but schedules
00:22come out yesterday. Let's take a look at some of the teams that released them and see how they potentially
00:27affected the season win totals.
00:30And I know that you've submitted that you want to talk about some with us. So let's start with the
00:33Indianapolis Colts. Their win total is seven and a half. Great start for the Colts last season and a horrendous
00:40finish. Oddsmakers are telling us this is not going to be a great year for them. We know that they're
00:47going to have quarterback issues at least to start the season. I don't know how they'll finish the season. What
00:52did you make of anything in terms of scheduling that came out this season? And do you think that this
00:56is a pivotal year for the Colts?
01:00I do think it's a pivotal year for the Colts, Craig. I mean, Shane Steichen and Chris Ballard are facing
01:05a lot of pressure to deliver, but I'm just not sure it's going to happen for them. I mean, you've
01:09got Daniel Jones coming off the torn Achilles and yeah, he might be ready for week one, but we've seen
01:14among all injuries in the NFL torn Achilles, especially for a quarterback is one of the toughest to overcome.
01:20And do they have an easier schedule on paper than most teams? Yeah, I think they have, they rank about
01:25eighth or ninth in strength of schedule, but that start to the season is pretty brutal. I think they have
01:30the Ravens, the Chiefs, the Texans out of the gate, the commanders, if they're healthier, could be better this year.
01:36So I'm not sure if the Colts could, you know, stumble out of the gate, maybe not win their first
01:40three games and end up in a situation where like, hey, they're suddenly behind the eight ball.
01:45They've got a quarterback still trying to get into a rhythm. So I just don't like the situation for the
01:50Colts this year.
01:50I think it's a tough spot for them. So I'm going to be going under on their win total. I
01:55think they have some good personnel, but their weaknesses with the quarterback uncertainty and their lack of proven pass rush
02:01just scare me off enough to say that, hey, this could be a surprisingly bad season for a team that,
02:06you know, we all thought was going to make the playoffs last year before Jones got hurt.
02:09Yeah, definitely so. And hopefully for Jones, he ends up coming back, cashing in once again, maybe on a long
02:14-term contract.
02:15OK, so the Lions, that was a real big surprise for me last season, just seeing them fall as fast
02:20as they did.
02:21I thought the Lions could have been a Super Bowl contender, but they definitely were not the case.
02:25They've tinkered a lot this offseason, very specifically with protection of Jared Goff, which they just could not do in
02:32those losses last year.
02:34Their win total, 10 and a half. Of course, their schedule comes out. They get a lot of primetime games
02:40and national games, Jacob, going into the 2026 season.
02:45Yeah, Craig, I couldn't believe this when I looked at the Lions. They have the easiest measured strength of schedule
02:51for the upcoming season, despite playing in the NFC North.
02:54And that just makes it so that, you know, last year, obviously a disappointing season, but it was a blessing
02:59in disguise for them to finish as the last place team in that division because they drew three easier matchups
03:05with their non-rotating last place schedule there.
03:08So the Lions are going to have an upper hand on a lot of the non-divisional teams they play.
03:12The NFC North games are always going to be tough. They're always going to be back and forth.
03:16I feel like the teams almost always end up splitting those series is what it feels like. But you look
03:21at what the Lions have done to that offensive line, signing a solid center in Cade Mays, spending a first
03:26round pick on an experienced right tackle, Blake Miller, to help Panay Sewell shift to the blind side.
03:32I think the blocking is going to be better. I think the offense is going to be operating better than
03:36it was last season with, you know, that was their first year without Ben Johnson and the John Morton pairing
03:41there didn't work out.
03:42They're going to give Drew Petsing a shot as their offensive coordinator. But I like what the Lions have done.
03:47And I think this schedule is going to allow them to get a lot of wins. So I'm expecting a
03:51bounce back here. I'm going to go over this win total.
03:54I think they're an 11 or 12 win team that should be in the hunt for that NFC North title
03:59once again.
04:00Okay, let's move on to the Cincinnati Bengals here, Jacob. And boy, if the Bengals could ever get off to
04:06like a three and one start or a four and one start, you would think that they would be formidable.
04:10But unfortunately for them, it's been injuries. Joe Burrow again last year. But the oddsmakers are telling us that if
04:16Burrow is healthy, the Bengals are making the playoffs.
04:19Their win total is nine and a half. Starting off a season, we have not seen this from oddsmakers in
04:25a really long time with them being so bullish on Cincinnati.
04:29So what gives, Jacob, going into the year? Why is Cincinnati, why do they have such a high win total?
04:34Yeah, so I think it's, again, a strength of schedule situation. I think the Bengals rank third easiest in terms
04:40of schedules this year behind only the Lions.
04:43And I believe the Saints rank number two overall right now based on projected win totals for this upcoming season.
04:49And I think to your point, the big question about the Bengals is can they avoid stumbling out of the
04:54block?
04:54Because they've been notoriously slow starting under Zach Taylor.
04:58They tried to play their starters a little bit more in the preseason last year to kind of reverse that
05:02trend.
05:03But obviously, we didn't see the full effect of that because Joe Burrow couldn't stay healthy.
05:07But when Burrow has been on the field, this team has been a consistent winner.
05:12So I think anybody who wants to bet the Bengals over is banking on Burrow, staying healthy.
05:18And these big-time defensive acquisitions like Brian Cook at safety, Dexter Lawrence on the defensive line,
05:24Boye Mafe on the edge, like those guys should help improve what was a dreadful stop unit last season.
05:30So I like the Bengals. I think they can do better.
05:33But it's all going to depend on if Joe Burrow can stay healthy.
05:36I'll back that for now. That might be a fool's errand, Craig.
05:40But I think it's got to happen at some point, right?
05:43You would think, but it just hasn't. And that's really the key here.
05:47But Burrow, when he's healthy, I mean, he's as good as any quarterback, honestly, in the NFL.
05:50He's that good. Speaking of quarterbacks, Arizona has none.
05:53So their win total is set now at four and a half after their schedule has come out.
05:58Outside of Miami, most think that Arizona will be the worst team in the NFL.
06:02It could be one of those two. And their schedule isn't easy.
06:07And they really didn't do a lot this offseason to make me think that they're going to be much better
06:12than they were a year ago.
06:13Kyler Murray is, of course, gone. He wasn't even playing at the end.
06:17This whole Michael Wilson, Jacoby Brissett combination, that was great.
06:20But they weren't winning any games with that.
06:23So does anything change this year?
06:25And basically, I guess if I had to ask you, Jacob, Miami or Arizona being one of the worst teams
06:30in the NFL, who will it be?
06:31I'm going to take the Cardinals as the worst team for the reasons you mentioned.
06:35They just don't have a quarterback.
06:37And do I like some of their offensive weapons?
06:39Sure. I like Jeremiah Love. I like Marvin Harrison Jr.
06:41I like Michael Wilson. I like Trey McBride.
06:43But if you don't have someone who can consistently get them the ball, they're not going to win a lot
06:47of games.
06:48And they're playing in the NFC West, one of the toughest divisions in football,
06:51with three legitimate Super Bowl contenders from last season who all won 12 games,
06:55and the Seahawks who won the actual Super Bowl.
06:57So I just don't see the Cardinals having much success at all.
07:01I think they're not fully tanking, but they're going to be hoping to get an early pick
07:04to get a quarterback in next year's draft.
07:07And there are a lot next year.
07:08All right. Thanks again, Jacob.
07:10Have a good weekend.
07:10We'll catch up again before training camp begins in July.
07:13Thanks again.
07:14Sounds good, Craig. Take care.
07:16All right.
07:16Jacob Kamaker from USA Today.
07:19Bye.
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