PORT JEFF, NY- Greetings. Let’s talk some ball! Here’s what we have for today. Juan Soto Sweepstakes, NFL Mid Season Review
Juan Soto Sweepstakes
The Mets and Yankees appear to be the front-runners to sign Juan Soto to a historically large contract this offseason. It would of course be very disappointing for either team to miss out on Soto, however should the Yankees not be able to come to a deal with him it would be a particularly difficult pill to swallow. The Yankees gave up key pieces to go all in on Soto for just the one year. They came very close to cashing in, however falling just short in the World Series. Not having Soto on this team would be extremely detrimental to their future. Soto added a dynamic to this lineup that they hadn’t had for many years and replacing that type of production is almost impossible. As for the Mets, this is all gravy. They’re coming off their remarkable run to the NLCS and are poised to make another run at several top of the line free agents and can position themselves as one of the top teams in baseball thanks to owner Steve Cohen who will spend whatever it takes to win a championship. I’m not sure the same can be said for their crosstown rival.
NFL Mid Season Review
NFC: Best of the bunch.
Detroit Lions.
Aside from a week 2 loss to the Bucs, the Lions have dominated any team in their path on their way to a 7-1 record. The career resurrection of Jared Goff in Detroit is nothing short of remarkable and can be attributed to the incredible culture and scheme from Head Coach Dan Campbell and OC Ben Johnson who will certainly have his pick at any Head Coaching job this offseason. While Goff has been excellent, he’s surrounded by perhaps the most talented group on offense in football. The Lions currently posses the top ranked O-line in football, two stud Running Backs in Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, and the games most underrated receiver in Amon-Ra-St-Brown, who certainly has a case to be made for being considered a top five Wide Receiver. After their crushing loss in the NFC title game a season ago, the Lions seem poised to go even further and take this team to heights it’s never seen before.
Washington Commanders
Led by superstar rookie QB Jayden Daniels, the Commanders have taken the league by storm going 7-2 and looking like the best offense in football. I expect Daniels as well as their defense who new HC Dan Quinn has done an excellent job with, to continue to improve as the season goes on. It wouldn’t shock me one bit to see this team represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. That’s how special a player Daniels is.
Philadelphia Eagles
After a nightmarish end to the 2023 season that saw the Eagles lose five of their last six games. The Eagles appear to have finally figured things out. Particularly on offense. Some thought the offense would take a step back with Jason Kelce retiring, however they’ve done the total opposite. After a slow start to the year that can mostly be attributed to injuries, the Eagles are fully healthy and seem poised to battle with the Commanders for the NFC East title. Much like the Lions, the Eagles have a strong case for the best offensive group of players in football. Jalen Hurts is healthy again and looks the same as he did in their Super Bowl year. AJ Brown and Devonta Smith continue to form one of the best WR duos in the NFL, and perhaps most importantly, Saquon Barkley has looked incredible in his first year in Philly and has given them a new element they hadn’t had in years past. If I was voting today for the Offensive Player of the Year, I’d cast my vote for Barkley.
AFC
Kansas City Chiefs
Despite countless injuries and subpar play from Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs just find ways to win games. There isn’t too much to be said. The Chiefs added DeAndre Hopkins who looked excellent last week in their OT win against Tampa. I don’t think they’ll go undefeated because they simply can’t keep escaping these close games. At least I think so. The Chiefs are the new Patriots, the regular season means very little. Andy Reid will almost certainly have his team peaking at the right time and they’ll be favored to win their third straight Super Bowl.
Baltimore Ravens
Thursday night’s win against the Bengals pretty much sums up who the Ravens are. They have the best offense in football by almost every metric, yet they have one of the worst defenses in football. Something that isn’t a normal characteristic of a John Harbaugh coached team. I expect the Ravens to tighten things up defensively as the weather gets colder. Lamar Jackson is my MVP pick through to this point and Derrick Henry certainly has an argument to be considered as well. I expect the Ravens offense to be even more prolific as they wear teams down during the most difficult stretch of the season.
Buffalo Bills.
This isn’t a typical Josh Allen led Bills team that we’ve seen in years past. Typically Josh Allen would make incredible plays all game long and at the worst point he’d make the most mind boggling mistakes that would cost his team the game. However we’ve seen a totally different offense this years. It’s a far more run focused offense which doesn’t need Allen to do everything himself. This change in scheme has led to Allen turning the ball over far less with just two interceptions to this point in the season. Ironically, I think the Bills need a mixture of this years Allen with years past. Their offense isn’t explosive enough to compete with Buffalo or KC, however if Allen can continue to limit the turnovers while being just a little more aggressive as he was in years past, I think the Bills can go to the Super Bowl.
