By: Liam Henriques
The NFL season is coming up and that has everyone wondering which teams will be the biggest over and underachiever this year. Obviously there are a lot of teams that don’t do as well as expected or might do better than expected, but I’m picking one team from each category. So let’s get into it.
The New Orleans Saints will be the biggest underachiever this upcoming season. The Saints in recent years have been constantly pushing for a Super Bowl appearance but have just not quite got there. This upcoming season they won’t get near the Lombardi Trophy and I predict they won't even make the playoffs. While expectations might be lower as Drew Brees has retired and they are sort of in a rebuilding stage, I still think they will underachieve. With Brees gone, there’s going to be mayhem. Does Sean Payton play Jameis Winston, Taysom Hill, or even fourth round draft recruit Ian Book, none of which in my opinion are that good a replacement for Brees.
Maybe Alvin Kamara will be the key for their season but a running back can’t carry a team that far. They have some decent wide receivers in Juwan Johnson and Michael Thomas but with no good qb to throw to them they're useless. The Saints defense is looking pretty good with star cornerback Marshawn Latimore, first round draft pick defensive end Payton Turner, and second round linebacker Pete Werner but I would argue still not anything special. You can tell from their draft picks that their defense is where management is focused. All in all, they're rebuilding now and maybe in a few years they will be back to their best but as for right now they are going to be pretty underwhelming this upcoming season. They will finish with a 6-11 record.
Moving on to which team will defy all the odds and overachieve in the 2021 NFL Season, my prediction - The Arizona Cardinals. Kyler Murray is a stellar quarterback. He’s very underrated because he has been stuck in a mediocre Cardinals team. However additions such as AJ Green, draft pick Rondale Moore, and DeAndre Hopkins from last season will make for some solid people to throw to. They also got James Connor in at running back from the Steelers and we all know Kyler can run the ball himself anyway. They also have a decent offensive line that can protect Kyler, nothing special though.
That said, the Cardinals Defense is looking outstanding. They signed star defensive end JJ Watt from the Texans, picked linebacker Zack Collins first round in the draft, signed cornerback Malcolm Butler from the Titans, and also already have players like Chandler Jones. Based on these players and more it does look like the Cardinals will have a first class defense and maybe even an offense to match. The Cardinals have not made the playoffs since 2015 so expectations of late have not been that high, however to be fair to them their division consists of the Seahawks, the Rams, and the 49ers and all have been very solid teams in recent years. To even make the playoffs this year would be really good as the Seahawks and Rams are looking strong as well. The Cards also have T-13 hardest schedule in the NFL which is definitely not a walk through, but also isn’t a schedule that cancels out their shots at the playoffs.
Put it this way, if the Cardinals can make the playoffs with a pretty tough schedule and a tough division then that says a lot about their team. They will finish with a 11-6 record and make the playoffs. Who knows, maybe even a shock Super Bowl push?
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