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by Mario Granata John Harbaugh faces a team that he hasn’t had to face since becoming the head coach in 2008…a team in repair. Its nice to have all the pieces in place when you take over a squad, which is the reason why he had 4 ten win seasons in his first 5 years. In more recent times, he has had only 1 ten-win season in the past 4, and despite an 8-8 season in 2016, his job might be in jeopardy. Drastic measures have to be taken for his aging squad. 
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by Mario Granata Since taking the helm in 2014, Mike Zimmer completely changed the face of the Vikings franchise. He went 7-9 in his rookie campaign, then 11-5 in his second seasons before storming to a 5-0 start in 2016, and all this AFTER losing his starting quarterback. Quarterback Sam Bradford had a solid season considering that his starting running back got hurt, and his leading receiver was a 5th round draft pick. What will Zimmer have up his sleeve as the Vikings head into 2017? 
by Mario Granata
Pederson, Reich and Schwartz, three names that seem more suited for a law firm, negotiated the Eagles to a 7-9 mark in 2016, and in all respects, started to build the foundation of winning in Philadelphia. The three gentlemen in question, coming from the Chiefs, Chargers and Bills, respectively, are all individuals who know what it is going to take to win in the NFL. They have just about stripped away all the remnants of the “Chip Kelly Experiment” and are moving forward. 
By Paul Wanecski Normally not many head coaches can weather a storm of three consecutive 7 win seasons but Sean Payton is anything but normal. Mickey Loomis has to be nearing the end of his time in New Orleans, saved likely by the uncertainty surrounding ownership. With that said, the Saints have a lot to accomplish in this draft. 
by Paul Wanecski, Mario Granata and Ryan Lasal
Reruns are a mixed bag, depending on whom you talk to. In Buffalo, New York over the past 17 years, the same episode would play out. Bills hire a coach. Coach doesn’t win. Bills fire coach. Rinse and repeat. However, with the addition of Sean McDermott, there is something that is new in the air around One Bills Drive. It starts from the top down and it screams of accountability. While coaches have tried to implement their “system” McDermott is hell-bent on making sure he is the man, and if you look down the timeline of successful coaches, they were the final word in what happened with their team. McDermott seems poised to take that role. The question is, will it actually transfer to wins? 
By Paul Wanecski Another season, another winless playoff record (the last victory was in 1991). In fact, a large part of the Bengals roster was born after 1991, meaning they have never been on this planet during a time when a Bengals playoff win occurred. In the last eight seasons, head coach Marvin Lewis has led his team to the playoffs six times, finishing the regular season first in the division three times. 2016, even with decent production, still earned the Bengals the ninth overall selection in this year’s NFL draft.  by Mario Granata Going from a 15-1 record to 6-10 usually gets head coaches fired in the NFL. However, Riverboat Ron was able to keep his head above water, which is certainly a make-or-break year for him. How did the Panthers fall so far so fast? The easy explanation would be that their offense scored 8 less points a game, and their defense gave up 6 more points. But even then, you would think that a team who was so good should at least be 8-8, right? While schedule does play a part in a team’s turnaround, execution in crucial situations was the Panthers undoing in 2016. 
By Paul Wanecski
It wasn’t as bad as it looked for the Chargers last year. While they did suffer (and gave the Cleveland Browns their only victory of the season), according to the scoreboard they were in most games. In games that were decided by a touchdown or less, they were 1-8. In the division they are in, with the Chiefs, Broncos, and Raiders, you simply can’t let close games like that slip. 
by Mario Granata The New York Jets took a turn for the worse in 2016 after a promising 2015 campaign that saw the Jets improve to a 10-6 record. They dropped to 5-11 due to the simple fact that their offense couldn’t put points on the board and their defense couldn’t stop anyone. The last time that the Jets had the 6th pick was in 2015 where they took Leonard Williams. Is another Leonard on their board for them at 6?  By Paul Wanecski Last season, the Los Angeles Rams went all-in on Jared Goff. Unfortunately, the Rams have yet to win any of the 7 games he started. Not many people felt like Goff was a plug-and-play guy, primarily former head coach Jeff Fischer. Now that the team is under rookie head coach Sean McVay (and without a first round pick this year after trading it away to draft Goff), the Rams are taking an offense that was near dead last across the board and trying to find a way to inject it with some life.  |