JaguarsTalk: The AFC South - Worst to First
JaguarsTalk: Validation and it feels so good (sung to the 1978 tune Reunited, by your favorite and mine, the incomparable, Peaches and Herb). This one is kind of a tear jerker.
People don’t like a know-it-all. Nobody enjoys hearing “I told you so.” If ever someone was correct about something, the better man would sit quietly, satisfied in his own knowledge that he was right and others would eventually realize. The lesser man, upon being proven correct, will take every chance to share the fact that he was right. Today, JaguarsTalk, is the lesser man.
I had a completely different column in the hopper for this fine First Coast morning, however, upon waking and reading a news article titled, “NFL’s bad teams in 2021 have a shot in 2022: Who will go from worst to first?” it seems imperative that I take this moment to alert you, our faithful readers, of this news. The article begins by listing the eight teams who came in last place in their respective divisions in 2021. This list includes the Baltimore Ravens. This shouldn’t be. The Ravens were a much better team than their 2021 record shows. They were decimated by injury and the ridiculous NFL covid protocol. The Ravens started the season 8-3 and ended the season 8-9 (stud QB Lamar Jackson was injured against the Browns in week 13 essentially killing any chance the team had of turning it around in 2021). Armed with this information one could confidently project that, out of the teams who lost their division last season, it would be Baltimore who had the best shot of winning it in 2022. This is where we pick up our pencil, look into the camera and do our best Lee Corso impression, “not so fast, my friend,” lest we forget about the Super Bowl contending Cincinnati Bengals, who also reside in the AFC North. Now let's take a look at the rest of the division losers.
We have the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers have arguably the best running back in the NFL in Christian McCaffrey, and a new starting quarterback in Baker Mayfield. But the Panthers also have Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Bucs to get past if they have any shot at going worst to first. That hurdle, my friends, is not a leap Carolina is poised to make in 2022. Maybe after Tom's next retirement. The Denver Broncos continued their losing ways in 2021 by spending the season in the basement of the AFC West. But let’s be totally honest here, there aren’t many teams in existance who wouldn’t be in the basement of the AFC West. When you are playing the Chargers, Raiders, and Chiefs you need to be a Super Bowl caliber team to win that division. Even with all the changes Denver has made this year they won’t be going worst to first. Homers like the Benetts, including both Colt and the late Rooster, would tell you that Denver will still finish last in 2022. The curse of being in one of, if not the, strongest division.
The Lions of Detroit aren’t exactly in a weak division either; however, it really wouldn’t matter. They are, after all, the Detroit Lions. The Packers won't be quite as fierce as last season after losing WR Davante Adams, but the Vikings are always strong. Best case scenario is that the Lions end the season second to last ahead of the Bears. Like I said though, they are the Detroit Lions, so that probably won’t happen. Next we dive into the division that throughout the 90s was always the strongest in the NFL, the NFC East. Just the sound of it used to strike fear in the hearts of opponents. Now it’s more like the NFC Least. The Cowboys have been an “almost made it” team for years and the Redskins don’t even exist anymore. Dan Snyder’s goofy new name team is a bit improved but will never win a Super Bowl. Do I seem bitter? Because I am. Very, very bitter about my once proud Washington Redskins. The Eagles, though, have a shot at slightly improving in 2022 depending upon the play of their young quarterback, Jalen Hurts. What I don’t see, however, is the Giants winning the division. Even though it is not a super strong division, we project three teams in the NFC East will make a half hearted run for the division lead and thus the playoffs. The Giants can’t even seem to get the once sensational Saquon Barkley to run, so they aren’t the team going worst to first this year. The Seattle Seahawks, with Russell Wilson, managed to finish dead last in the NFC West division, without Wilson there is no way they could come in ahead of the Cardinals, Super Bowl champion Rams, and the upswing 49ers. Seattle will be going from worst to worse than worst in 2022. It is a shame to waste such a freakish talent like DK Metcalf.
Next up on the loser board. I feel like the spokesman for Impractical Jokers. Is it just me or does everyone always route for Sal to lose and be placed in some haunted house type punishment? Anyway, next up on the loser board are the Jets of New York. This one is interesting, but only until you look at their competition. Sports writers have been praising the Jets offseason acquisitions and draft as the next coming. The Jets will be this year's Cincinnati, they say. I have to pull another Corso here. It doesn’t matter what the Jets did in the offseason, they have to get past the Bills and NYJ is just not good enough to beat Buffalo right now. Even the Patriots and Dolphins are getting better, so it’s not as if getting past them will be a cake walk for Jets QB Zach WIlson and his hot mom. This brings us to the final division loser of the 2021 season. The reason all of you read this column (thanks Dad). Your Jacksonville Jaguars were the bottom of the AFC South barrel in 2021, and, ironically, the AFC South was the bottom of the barrel as far as NFL divisions go. So what has changed this year that will allow the Jaguars to go from worst to first? Well, let us begin with the fact that the writer of the article I woke up to believes that Jacksonville has the best chance, from the group of losers, to win their division this year. When I read this it made me tear up, just a little, but in a good way. Not like when I hear about Kid Rock putting Sheryl Crow's picture away. That just brings about sloppy sobs. Every. Single. Time. This article is confirmation for JaguarsTalk. It shows that we have been right from the beginning (or at the very least it shows that this writer and JaguarsTalk are both wrong, but I choose to vehemently ignore that possibility).
This is the time in the column where we here at JaguarsTalk become the lesser man and triumphantly exclaim “we told you so.” We’ve been saying that Jacksonville’s 2022 team has a shot at winning the AFC South. We have been saying that the Jaguars have a shot at one of the last spots in the playoffs. Now, we finally have others jumping aboard our bandwagon. I’m not gonna lie to you folks, it feels good to be right. Please keep in mind that JaguarsTalk has also been saying that the Jags divisional success will not be based solely on the team's improvement but coupled with the fact that the AFC South division is just flat-out poop in shoulder pads. The skill set of the AFC South, as a whole in 2022, ranks up there with the skill set displayed by Brian Fantana when trying to date Veronica Corningstone after bathing in Sex Panther cologne (stop looking puzzled and go watch Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy). Literally every description of the pungent Panther odor, in that movie scene, could also apply to the AFC South this year. They were bad last year and, minus the Jaguars, the AFC South is worse this year.
Geoff Clark, Outkick’s sports betting expert, believes that “the Jaguars have the best shot at going from worst to first and winning the AFC South.” It’s as if Clark were an avid reader of JaguarsTalk. He certainly should have cited our columns in this story. Must have been a slight oversight on his part. He went on to say, “the most obvious answer is the Jacksonville Jaguars. Trevor Lawrence is a stud, and his rookie season was a throwaway year considering Jacksonville’s head coaching turmoil.” But it doesn’t stop there. Clark continues to state what JaguarsTalk has often written, “the Jaguars hired a head coach with proven success and a Super Bowl title in Doug Pederson.” I feel like Ron Popeil… But wait there’s more. Clark went on to exclaim, “Jacksonville’s front office acquired mad talent to put around Lawrence, capitalizing on his rookie contract. Not to mention, 2021 first-round selection and Clemson teammate running back Travis Etienne should be healthy entering 2022.” This guy is just regurgitating everything we’ve ever written and we love it. “The final reason Jacksonville looks like a promising ‘worst to first’ contender is the AFC South: The Jaguars division is unquestionably the softest in the NFL. The Tennessee Titans could regress after winning a bunch of coin flip contests in 2021 and parting ways with star wide receiver A.J. Brown this offseason. The Indianapolis Colts have a new starting quarterback for the fifth consecutive season and are by no means a lock for the division or AFC playoffs. And the Houston Texans are a dumpster fire with one of the least talented rosters in the league.”
I mean come on folks, this guy is like a 1988 Joe Biden presidential campaign, full of plagiarism. I kid though (about Geoff Clark not Joe Biden). Clark didn’t plagiarize JaguarsTalk, but what he did do was solidify that we know what we’re talking about. He underscored the fact that when you read JaguarsTalk you are reading what the absolute sharpest football minds have to say. Geoff Clark proved that JaguarsTalk knows what’s on-fleek (are the kids still saying that?) and what isn’t. Most importantly, he paved the way for us to say “we told you so.”
If you (wrongly) disagree and think that the Jags do not have a shot at winning the AFC South please feel free to share your (incorrect) ideas with everyone in the comment section below.