3 Teams to Watch in Season 33

These 3 teams will show improvement in season 33 and likely surprise the unititiated (queue Bane voice). Later I will have 3 teams that will show decline in season 33. Enjoy.

Steelers

This one pains me because no one is more obnoxious on GroupMe or Twitter than Steelers guy. Add that to the fact that he brags about using 4-4 as his base defense, and you’ve got a recipe for a Least Fun to Play dynasty.

However, the Steelers have a lot going for them this season. First, they went from the hardest schedule in the league last season to top 10 easiest this year. In addition to playing the NFC North, they also went from playing first place teams (thanks Killah) to third place teams in the schedule formula.

You can also assume that after a season of remaking the team, he will now have a team that is more suitable to his style. The Steelers were somewhat unlucky last season, under performing their Pythagorean Win Expectation by a game.

I’m not a huge fan of letting talented players go such as Le'Veon Bell and Ryan Shazier, but the pickup of Broyles gives the Steelers a big play threat in the backfield that Bell wasn’t ability to at his advanced age. They are hoping the signing of defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and drafting of defensive end Sam Santos will make up for the loss of Shazier to keep the defense formidable.

Doman will need to improve on his 25th ranked AY/A to see this team go anywhere. While Jameis Winston rumors continue to swirl, the addition of rookie receiver Alveron Wiley should in theory help either way.

Taken all together, the easier schedule, team identify, and unluckiness from last season, the Steelers – to the chagrin of many – should challenge for a playoff berth next season.

Packers

Another team that doesn’t do himself any favors in GroupMe. Ian has been a RedZone troll since Mans created his alter ego last cycle.

None the less, the Packers benefit from both playing in the NFC North, and the Lions deciding to skip the offseason. The 4 teams with the easiest schedules in the league are Packers, Bears, Lions, and Vikings. Out of the 4, the Packers schedule was hardest last season. As a result, only the Ravens and aforementioned Steelers have bigger drops in schedule difficulty this season.

The Packers are an older team, but still have talented players across the board. They have arguably the deepest receiving corps in the league and Aaron Rogers is still an elite QB. The additions of two rookies, running back Everette McKinnon and tight end Joey Koets, should give Rogers some help on that side of the ball.

Lastly, the Packers were the unluckiest team last year, finishing 2 games under their Pythagorean Win Expectation. If the Packers don’t do anything else but get lucky in a few games, they will be challenging for a division title in the less than stellar NFC North.

Cardinals

Let’s get the obvious out of the way. The Cardinals got grade A screwed out of a playoff berth last season. If VB can avoid pissing off the commissioners again – which is the only explanation for the rear-end pounding they received – the Cards should make the playoffs without any other factors.

But wait, there’s more. The Cardinals have the 8th easiest schedule in the league next year (thank you NFC North). And while they had a fairly easy schedule last season – second easiest in the NFC West behind the Rams – they still have the 10th biggest drop in schedule difficulty from last season.

Outside of S2W shenanigans, they were unlucky in the games that they weren’t royal screwed over in. The Cards finished one and half games under their Pythagorean Win Expectation. Expect the Cards to be better in close games this year.

The Cardinals didn’t make as many splashy moves as the Rams and 49ers, but they did well to maintain their veteran (read “old”) core by snagging up Julio Jones in free agency. The drafting of safety Cullen Duncan will help them in the future, but he’ll likely be playing behind Mathieu and Earl Thomas this season. But good heavens, this secondary is stacked.

Don’t be surprised if you see three teams from the NFC West make the playoffs this season. Not only will the Cardinals make the playoffs, they will challenge for the division crown.