Team Preview: Tennessee Titans

 It is safe to say that the Tennessee Titans do not want to repeat their last place finish in the AFC South from a year ago after they finished the season at 6-11. Some notable offseason transactions though have made the Titans a little more competitive from a year ago. 

It was a nightmare of a season in 2023 for Tennessee, but throughout the struggles, they may have found their franchise quarterback in Will Levis. Levis played in nine games last season and showed some very intriguing signs when he took over the helm of the Titans. 

Tennessee put Levis in a much better situation to succeed this year with some of the new weapons they added for him. Despite losing longtime Titan, Derrick Henry, the Titans offense looks a lot better than it has in previous years. 

To replace Henry, they went out and added a star running back in Tony Pollard for the next three years. But this isn't even the biggest headline in the new acquisitions on this offense. To pair along with DeAndre Hopkins, the Titans also signed Calvin Ridley to a massive deal and Tyler Boyd as well to fill out the receiver corps. 

Along with their rival Texans, the Titans are atop of that prestigious list of best receiving corps in the NFL. The Titans not only upgraded immensely on offense, but the defense is looking sharper as well. One of the biggest defensive acquisitions was when Tennessee got their hands on L'Jarius Sneed to take over their cornerback room. After winning two Super Bowls with the Chiefs, Sneed has made his name as one of the NFL's premier cornerbacks. 

The Titans finished in the middle of the pack in total defense last season, but with the addition of Sneed and others, their ranking will certainly boost up. Tennessee has certainly added some talent, but will that talent translate from paper to the field? 

Team Preview: Houston Texans

One of the most exciting teams in the NFL, the Houston Texans come into the 2024 regular season with very high expectations after winning the AFC South a season ago. After a superb first season with CJ Stroud at the helm, the Texans are now viewed as a top contender in the AFC. 

Going into last season, critics thought that it would take time for these young Texans to gel together, and boy were they proven wrong. Houston's improvement from the 2022 season to the 2023 season is something extraordinary and remarkable to embark upon. They turned a 3-13-1 record into a 10-7 and division title in just one calendar year. 

People knew what CJ Stroud was capable of, but no one thought he would adjust and takeover the NFL this easily. The Texans easily had one of the best offenses a year ago and during the offseason they got greedy and added to their powerhouse. They did that by acquiring two veteran pro bowlers with a ton of experience on this young Houston team. 

They signed Joe Mixon in free agency, and traded for Stefon Diggs, one of the league's premier wideouts. Houston never really had a solidified RB1 last season and now they have that in Mixon. And adding Diggs to this receiving group arguably gives them the best receiver corps in the league. Diggs now joins Tank Dell and Nico Collins to headline this outstanding Texans offense. 

Houston also made a huge transaction on defense after acquiring Danielle Hunter. Hunter was fifth in the NFL last season in sacks with 16.5 and will now be paired with Will Anderson Jr. as one of the scariest defensive end duos in the league. DeMeco Ryans is absolutely salivating over what this dynamic duo can bring to this defense. 

Along with a young team comes a young coaching staff led by DeMeco Ryans. Ryans was a nominee for Coach of the Year a season ago and should make another strong case for it this season. Houston was also able to keep Bobby Slowik as their offensive coordinator after strong interest from other teams for their head coaching position. Slowik was the main cause behind the revitalization of this Houston offense in just one year.

The other teams in the AFC South improved, but I still expect the Texans to walk away with this division pretty easily. They easily had one of the best offseason's out of the rest of the 31 teams and will carry their momentum from 2023 into this upcoming season. 

Team Preview: Detroit Lions

To wrap up the NFC North, the Detroit Lions come into the 2024 season looking to avenge their first division title in over three decades. The Lions come into this new season with a lot of familiar faces and many regard them as legit contenders just a season after their NFC Championship game appearance. 

This offseason for the Lions was mainly centered around locking down their cornerstone pieces. They were able to extend three of their biggest franchise pieces for over $440 million combined over the next four seasons. These players included Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Penei Sewell. 

For the past couple of seasons the Lions have had one of the most productive offenses in the National Football League and they are making sure that production continues well into the future. The Lions underwent some big changes on the defensive side of the football as well. 

Detroit essentially is coming into this new season with a brand new secondary. They got rid of Tracy Walker and Cam Sutton, while CJ Gardner-Johnson moved on to a new team as well. They were able to bring in Carlton Davis from the Bucs, draft Terrion Arnold out of Alabama, and sign Amik Robertson to a two-year deal. 

There weren't many weak spots in the 2023 Lions, but Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes certainly thought that the secondary was one. After a 12-5 record a season ago, things will only get more challenging for Detroit as their entire division around them has improved along with them. 

The biggest thing for Detroit last year was getting over that large hump. They hadn't won a playoff game in over three decades before last season and came up just short of a Super Bowl appearance as well. The Lions will definitely find themselves back in the postseason, but it will not be as smooth sailing as it was in 2023. 

Team Preview: Green Bay Packers

After a surprising season in 2023, the Green Bay Packers head into the 2024 with an improved roster, looking to seize the NFC North once again. The Packers, lead by franchise quarterback Jordan Love, have a real shot at success in the NFC this season. 

The maturity and growth of Green Bay from a season ago will be the most important factor in 2024. In 2023, the Packers had "by far" the youngest roster in the entire National Football League. Despite this, they were a score away from going to the NFC Championship game. 

Jordan Love has taken over the franchise quarterback role, since Aaron Rodgers departed Green Bay, and has thrived in this new position. Despite having to work with an inexperienced receiver room and not having that true number one wide receiver, Love made all of his weapons better throughout the 2023 season. 

The Packers made a change to their running back room this offseason after letting go Aaron Jones and replacing him with Josh Jacobs. Green Bay is hoping Jacobs brings a big spark to this offense to help out Jordan Love in his second year as starting quarterback. With the Packers having one of the best young coaches in the NFL, I'm looking forward to seeing how Matt LaFleur incorporates Jacobs into this young and dynamic offense. 

Other than the revamping of the running back room, the Packers made only a few key changes to the defense this offseason. They signed safety Xavier McKinney and released linebacker De'Vondre Campbell. Other than that, the team looks a lot similar to the team we saw get to the NFC Divisional Round. 

Although Aaron Rodgers left Green Bay in the dust just over a year ago, fans in upstate Wisconsin have not had to wait anytime at all for a rebuild of their beloved Packers. I expect the Packers to be real threats in the NFC and definitely improve from their 9-8 record just a season ago behind the leadership of Jordan Love. As Jaire Alexander said, "The Pack is Back." 

Team Preview: Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears have arguably had the most talked about offseason in the NFL after turning their roster from a mediocre team a season ago, to a potential playoff contender just a calendar year later. 

The biggest news surrounding the Bears this offseason was their quarterback dilemma, but that quickly was solved on March 16th. On the 16th, the Bears traded Justin Fields, making it clear of what they were going to do with the first overall pick. It gave the Bears one of the most hyped up prospects ever in Caleb Williams out of USC. 

Plenty of people were upset with the Bears moving on from Fields, and plenty were ecstatic about landing Caleb Williams. Personally, I think that Fields still had a lot more to prove, but to pass up on a guy like Caleb Williams is very risky. Chicago has done almost everything in their power to help their potential rookie phenom succeed with the weapons they have acquired. 

Chicago went out and acquired Keenan Allen from the Los Angeles Chargers and drafted Rome Odunze out of Washington to pair with DJ Moore in the receiver room. These two transactions have already given the Bears deep consideration for one of the best wide out rooms in the league. The Bears went out and signed D'Andre Swift to the backfield as well. Chicago is making it difficult for Williams to fail in this situation. 

The Bears defense which previously was the best overall defense against the run game in 2023 made some adjustments as well. The safeties room got a big upgrade after signing Kevin Byard and Jonathan Jones. The secondary in general could potentially have a big year after extending Jaylon Johnson as well. Losing Justin Jones could loom large for the Bears, but aside from him the defense got better. 

Regardless of these new additions for Chicago, at the end of the day they still play in arguably the toughest division in all of football. The NFC North is no joke this year and all four teams have the ability to make the playoffs. These new Bears teammates are going to have to get to know each other fast if they want to hit the ground running in 2024 and win a playoff game for the first time since 2011. 

 

Team Preview: Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings come into the 2024 NFL season with a new-look offense and in arguably the toughest division in the entire league as well. Let's preview what the Vikings will look like come September. 

The biggest story of the Vikings offseason was the quarterback position after losing their franchise quarterback, Kirk Cousins. Cousins was at the end of his contract and elected to sign a four-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons in free agency. This forced the Vikings to trade up in the draft and select JJ McCarthy from the University of Michigan to potentially be their next franchise quarterback. 

But there is some drama over whether it will be his name called as the starter on Week 1. The Vikings also signed Sam Darnold to their quarterback room. Darnold and McCarthy will be actively competing for the starting position all summer and it will be interesting to see if Kevin O'Connell puts McCarthy right out there, or eases him into NFL action. 

The Vikings upgraded at running back as well after signing longtime division rival, Aaron Jones, to man the running back position. Minnesota also took care of business after locking down superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson for the next four years. On paper, if the Vikings can generate success out of either Darnold or McCarthy, this offense could be dangerous in 2024. 

Minnesota upgraded slightly on the defensive end of the football in the offseason as well. Having multiple first-round picks paid off for them as they were able to snag Dallas Turner later in the first round. The signings of Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel certainly have gone under the radar, but will be key to the success of this defense. Both of them made their presence felt on their previous teams. 

After a pretty solid offseason and a good coaching staff to support this team, the Vikings will still have an uphill climb this season because of their division surrounding them. Every team in the NFC North collectively got better and the inexperience of the quarterback position for the Vikings is what separates them from the rest. 

The NFC North consisting of the Lions, Packers, Bears, and Vikings. may be the most intriguing division in the NFL to follow this season. There is not one bad team in this division and unfortunately only seven teams from the NFC can make the playoffs, even though all four of these teams have playoff potential. 

I am looking forward to seeing if the Vikings can surpass the expectations that they are met with currently as finishing last in the NFC North. The biggest questions needing to be answered is will JJ McCarthy succeed at the professional level? Will it be Darnold or McCarthy starting Week 1? September can't come soon enough for Minnesota. 

The NBA Finals is Set

 

The NBA Finals is ready to tip off in just two days as it will feature the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks. The Celtics had an historic year and were the odds on favorites to win the Eastern Conference. The Mavericks, on the other hand, were a surprise team to represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals. 

The Mavericks become only the second ever number 5 seed to make the NBA Finals and the first since the Miami Heat in 2020. After beating the Clippers in six games, the Thunder in six games, and the Timberwolves in five games, the Mavs have advanced to their first finals since 2011. 2011 was their one and only other appearance in the finals. 

The Celtics had a much easier journey to this point than the Mavericks did as they breezed their way through the Eastern Conference. They were met with a lot of looming injuries to their opponents as they defeated the Heat in five games without Jimmy Butler, the Cavs in five games after Donovan Mitchell missed the final two games of the series, and swept the Pacers with Tyrese Haliburton missing the last two games of the series as well. 

Despite the paths that these two teams took, the storylines for this series could not get any bigger. Obviously, it's the NBA Finals, nothing gets bigger than this in the basketball world. But what we are really excited to see is Kyrie Irving back in Boston once again. Irving told the Boston fans that he would be re-signing with the Celtics back in 2019, not on the other side of a finals matchup in 2024. 

Since the end of the 2019 season, Boston fans have treated Irving with anything but respect and have fully displayed their pure hatred for Kyrie after his comments that were purely lies to them. I'm looking forward to seeing how he responds to the hostile Boston crowd for multiple games in this series. 

For years on end this duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have struggled to obtain an 18th banner for the Celtics, but this year will be their best chance. This is the best Celtics team since 2008, the last time they won the NBA Finals, when they are fully healthy. Getting back Kristaps Porzingis is series changing for this team. 

The Mavs have been on a great run this postseason after running into superstar after superstar looking to eliminate them. Facing Tatum and Brown will be nothing new for these Mavs with their experience this playoffs. I believe that the duo of Doncic and Irving is more-seasoned and outweighs the duo of Brown and Tatum. Both teams have extremely good depth and will need it if they want to lockdown the Larry O'Brien Trophy. I expect a great series between these two teams that will hopefully go six or seven games.