WORST to FIRST: What team (or teams) that finished LAST in their division in 2017 will finish FIRST in 2018?

[VanS]

Last year it was the Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Rams that went from LAST place in 2016 to FIRST place in 2017.  This seems to happen almost every year.  

The team I'm most confident in going from WORST to FIRST is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  I love the way they drafted this year.  Vita Vea is a beast.  Ronald Jones II could win Offensive ROY.  The two corners they drafted (Carlton Davis and MJ Stewart) look like instant impact players.   The Bucs defense should be really good in 2018.  I know there are questions about the QB position.  But there were those same questions in Jacksonville last year going into the season and they found a way to overcome them.  Jameis Winston is definitely better than Blake Bortles so the Bucs defense won't need to be as good as the 2017 Jaguars to have a successful season.  I'm just a big believer in the Bucs going into 2018.  I believe they will go from last place to first place in 2018 and win the NFC South.

My other dark-horse team that can go from last to first is the New York Jets.  They have a lot of talent on defense.  Plus I'm not so confident in the New England Patriots going into 2018.  This might be the year they lose their grip on that division.  So if I had to pick a second team to go from LAST to FIRST in 2018, I would definitely pick the New York Jets. 

[patriotsheatyan]

I decided to get this started by voting for all of them.

 

Chicago: This years Rams and Eagles. Good defense and running game, young QB steps up with new receivers and they are an incredibly balanced team.

Browns: Already solid defensively and likely better this year, strong offensive line, great receiving duo, and a QB coming off a playoff berth.

Broncos: Only three years removed from a Super Bowl Championship, Great defense, new QB who had a great year in Minnesota, great receiving duo.

Texans: QB was posting MVP caliber numbers as a rookie last year, great receiving duo, elite defense with Watt and Merciless back.

Giants: Two Time Super Bowl winning QB, elite WR, elite RB, elite TE on offense, with a defense that was elite just two years ago.

Jets: Three QBs so one of them can probably amount to something. The Bills and Dolphins could be awful, Brady is old. The Jets were underestimated last season and are probably being underestimated this year.

49ers: Elite QB who is 9-0 and led them to 5-0 last year. What more to say?

Buccaneers: Great offseason, great offensive weapons, Winston finally breaks out. 

 

 

Final standings

1: Texans

2: Browns 

3: Broncos

4: Jets

1: Giants

2: 49ers

3: Bears

4: Buccaneers

[AlNFL19]

58 minutes ago, VanS said:

Last year it was the Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Rams that went from LAST place in 2016 to FIRST place in 2017.  This seems to happen almost every year.  

The team I'm most confident in going from WORST to FIRST is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  I love the way they drafted this year.  Vita Vea is a beast.  Ronald Jones II could win Offensive ROY.  The two corners they drafted (Carlton Davis and MJ Stewart) look like instant impact players.   The Bucs defense should be really good in 2018.  I know there are questions about the QB position.  But there were those same questions in Jacksonville last year going into the season and they found a way to overcome them.  Jameis Winston is definitely better than Blake Bortles so the Bucs defense won't need to be as good as the 2017 Jaguars to have a successful season.  I'm just a big believer in the Bucs going into 2018.  I believe they will go from last place to first place in 2018 and win the NFC South.

My other dark-horse team that can go from last to first is the New York Jets.  They have a lot of talent on defense.  Plus I'm not so confident in the New England Patriots going into 2018.  This might be the year they lose their grip on that division.  So if I had to pick a second team to go from LAST to FIRST in 2018, I would definitely pick the New York Jets. 

I don't like the Bucs' chances. They're basically 0-3 in their first three and they play in a stacked division.

 

And the Jets won't win the East. I hope. 

 

I voted Houston because if Jacksonville falls off they'll be right there.

[KhanYouDigIt]

Bucs are starting 0-3. They won’t recover from that, especially in that division.

I will say the Texans have the best shot. 

[RaidersAreOne]

If/when Watson comes back 100%, I think Houston can take that division.

[stl4life07]

The Bucs will start off slowly without Winston and won’t recover in a tough NFCS division. 

The most trendy pick is the Niners. They are still in rebuilding mode with a QB who only has 7 starts under his belt. They paid a ton of money on him as well as McKinnon who was supposed to be the successor after AP but failed then was pushed to 3rd string behind Cook and Murray. The jury is still out on him to be “the guy” especially if the pressure is on him to be the “Freeman” of Shanny offense. We haven’t seen Garcon and Jimmy G duo in an actual game. The defense needs to have Foster actually on the field and I want to see how back Sherman really is from his Achilles injury.

My prediction though is the Giants. They upgraded at coach, back, oline, linebacker, and they are getting their key guys back from injury. This was an (11-5) team in 2016 that got better personnel and coaching wise. So if any team will go from worst to first it’s the Giants even in a tough NFCE division.

[Jimmy Austin]

Say, I wonder if all the people on here who is saying it's a lock the Bucs go 0-3 can help me out with the lottery. They will be gigantic underdogs in those games, but they have a chance. Nothing is a lock in the NFL. 

Any of these teams have a shot to pull it off but the few teams I like are: 

Giants - Love this offense and think the defense will bounce back. I also think Eli will have a very good year.

Bucs - This team is not as bad as people think. They have a very underrated roster. Also, the NFC South is a very unpredictable division. 

 

 

[Thomas5737]

8 minutes ago, Jimmy Austin said:

Love how people on here think it is a lock the Bucs go 0-3. I wonder if those people can help me with the lottery next week since they are so certain.

Odds of winning the lottery are 175 million to one, the odds of Tampa Bay losing their first three games is probably 150 million to one so these two things aren't equal.

But seriously they will probably be 2 score dogs each game. Sure, anything could happen but it will take one of those any given Sunday scenarios for them to win one so I don't think anyone is off base by predicting them to start 0-3. That would be like someone correctly predicting a number between 1 and 3 and two of the answers are correct.

[Forge]

If I had to say, I'd say the broncos. The defense is still fine, and if Keenum can just do what he did last year, they'll be in an okay position. The Chiefs i expect to take a step back as while Mahomes may ultimately be an upgrade over Smith, I don't think that's happening this year. I don't know what to make of the raiders as of yet, but I don't think I'm going to be making anything great. The chargers seem like a team that could legitimately battle for the top spot in the afc, but man, constant injuries, some up and down play throughout the season...though they look great on paper, it's just hard to trust them sometimes.

I'd say the texans have the next best shot, because their putrid play last year was due in no small part to injuries. So if they are a healthy team (that is obviously a big if), that team is a lot better than they were last year. They certainly have to get the offensive line squared away, as that is a major issue. 

After that, am I crazy for thinking the Browns? Obviously, they have a huge hurdle to get through in Pittsburgh but the Ravens and Bengals don't really scare me a whole ton as I view their upside on both as being largely league average. It would still require a ton of luck, obviously (win some close games, Pitt falls off course due to injuries or maybe someone bottoming out), but at least I kind of see a path there to it happening? 

For the other teams, I don't know...I just think that it's a really uphill battle. I don't love the suspension for Winston to start the season, and though the roster does seem to be improved, I feel like we have been saying that for the Bucs for years now and they continue to underwhelm. The 49ers aren't ready yet, in my opinion, and I think the Rams are just going to be too good. The Jets have the Pats, and I'm not betting against the latter until they fall off. 

The Giants are intriguing to some extent, but I don't love Eli, still not sure where that defense is and while the additions of Solder and Hernandez will help, they are also replacing Pugh and Richburg. The Eagles are also the defending super bowl champs, of course. The Bears are an up and coming team, but like the 49ers, I think that it's just too early / too soon for them. 

[Jimmy Austin]

16 minutes ago, Thomas5737 said:

Odds of winning the lottery are 175 million to one, the odds of Tampa Bay losing their first three games is probably 150 million to one so these two things aren't equal.

But seriously they will probably be 2 score dogs each game. Sure, anything could happen but it will take one of those any given Sunday scenarios for them to win one so I don't think anyone is off base by predicting them to start 0-3. That would be like someone correctly predicting a number between 1 and 3 and two of the answers are correct.

That lottery jab was a joke, howdy. 

I should of just omitted to any response to people on here predicting the Bucs going 0-3. I will say this. Nobody knows how these teams will fair. Yeah, on paper the Bucs first 3 games look tough, but again nobody knows how these teams will do. Teams go up and down in a hurry these days. The Bucs could go 0-3. They could even go 3-0, that might seem like a 1% chance, but not zero. Anything can happen in the NFL. That is why we play the game, because it could be anyone's game.  

[Thomas5737]

39 minutes ago, Jimmy Austin said:

That lottery jab was a joke, howdy. 

I should of just omitted to any response to people on here predicting the Bucs going 0-3. I will say this. Nobody knows how these teams will fair. Yeah, on paper the Bucs first 3 games look tough, but again nobody knows how these teams will do. Teams go up and down in a hurry these days. The Bucs could go 0-3. They could even go 3-0, that might seem like a 1% chance, but not zero. Anything can happen in the NFL. That is why we play the game, because it could be anyone's game.  

Sure, but if you don't want to hear about predictions this probably isn't the right thread for you. There were people predicting the Browns to go 0-16 last year which is crazy to predict for any team. They were underdogs for every game though so on a game by game basis it wasn't a crazy prediction there just weren't any of the any given Sundays last year for them. Odds are the Bucs will start 0-3. You can pencil that in. Use the eraser if something crazy happens but you probably won't have to.

[VanS]

8 hours ago, AlNFL19 said:

I don't like the Bucs' chances. They're basically 0-3 in their first three and they play in a stacked division.

 

7 hours ago, KhanYouDigIt said:

Bucs are starting 0-3. They won’t recover from that, especially in that division.

 

5 hours ago, Thomas5737 said:

But seriously they will probably be 2 score dogs each game. Sure, anything could happen but it will take one of those any given Sunday scenarios for them to win one so I don't think anyone is off base by predicting them to start 0-3. That would be like someone correctly predicting a number between 1 and 3 and two of the answers are correct.

You guys do realize that whenever everyone starts to count a team out like this, they end up surprising everyone?  

I personally have them starting the season 2-1.  I think they beat New Orleans in the season opener and Pittsburgh in week 3.  I'm not high on New Orleans going into 2018.  Every year there's a team was great the year before that everyone thinks is gonna be great again and then they just fall off (look back at Dallas and Oakland last season).  And we all know Pittsburgh typically starts the season off slow playing up or down to their opposition (see the game against Chicago early last year).

Don't be so quick to count out the Bucs.  They have a very talented roster and Ryan Fitzpatrick is good enough to start for a short period of time.  Remember last year he went 2-1 starting in place of an injured Jameis Winston.

[VanS]

6 hours ago, Jimmy Austin said:

Say, I wonder if all the people on here who is saying it's a lock the Bucs go 0-3 can help me out with the lottery. They will be gigantic underdogs in those games, but they have a chance. Nothing is a lock in the NFL. 

Any of these teams have a shot to pull it off but the few teams I like are: 

Giants - Love this offense and think the defense will bounce back. I also think Eli will have a very good year.

Bucs - This team is not as bad as people think. They have a very underrated roster. Also, the NFC South is a very unpredictable division. 

 

 

5 hours ago, Jimmy Austin said:

That lottery jab was a joke, howdy. 

I should of just omitted to any response to people on here predicting the Bucs going 0-3. I will say this. Nobody knows how these teams will fair. Yeah, on paper the Bucs first 3 games look tough, but again nobody knows how these teams will do. Teams go up and down in a hurry these days. The Bucs could go 0-3. They could even go 3-0, that might seem like a 1% chance, but not zero. Anything can happen in the NFL. That is why we play the game, because it could be anyone's game.  

Looks like your memory lasts past what just happened last year.  I'm glad someone else realizes that things change pretty quickly in the NFL.  Like you said, the Bucs have a talented roster and the NFC South is always unpredictable.  The team you least suspect will win it ends up winning it almost every other year. 

I remember at this time last year I was really liking the Saints chances to win the division.  Mainly cause they drafted several players I really liked heading into the draft (like Alvin Kamara).  But almost everyone else had them in LAST PLACE.  The Falcons had just come off a Super Bowl berth so they were everyone's favorite.  The Bucs were the trendy team last year in the division that people thought would win it.  And the Panthers were two years removed from a Super Bowl berth so people were even giving them a chance to have a bounce back season after not making the playoffs in 2016.  The team nobody was giving a chance to in that division last year was the Saints.  They had come off back to back 7-9 seasons and the defense looked as lost as ever.  And as we all know they ended up turning it around in 2017 and winning the NFC South.  Now they're everyone's pick to win the division in 2018.

This year, the team nobody is giving a chance to is the Bucs.  I don't get why people can't learn from the past and realize you can't count out the team in this division that people are giving the least respect to heading into the season.

[Thomas5737]

25 minutes ago, VanS said:

6 hours ago, Thomas5737 said:

But seriously they will probably be 2 score dogs each game. Sure, anything could happen but it will take one of those any given Sunday scenarios for them to win one so I don't think anyone is off base by predicting them to start 0-3. That would be like someone correctly predicting a number between 1 and 3 and two of the answers are correct.

You guys do realize that whenever everyone starts to count a team out like this, they end up surprising everyone?  

I personally have them starting the season 2-1.  I think they beat New Orleans in the season opener and Pittsburgh in week 3.  I'm not high on New Orleans going into 2018.  Every year there's a team was great the year before that everyone thinks is gonna be great again and then they just fall off (look back at Dallas and Oakland last season).  And we all know Pittsburgh typically starts the season off slow playing up or down to their opposition (see the game against Chicago early last year).

Don't be so quick to count out the Bucs.  They have a very talented roster and Ryan Fitzpatrick is good enough to start for a short period of time.  Remember last year he went 2-1 starting in place of an injured Jameis Winston.

You're entitled to your opinion. Yeah, they beat the Jets and Dolphins last year with Fitz but that isn't the same as beating the Saints (0-2 with Winston and Winston/Fitzpatrick) Eagles and Steelers. Everyone counted out the Browns last year and guess what? They were right. I'll sig bet you that they don't start 2-1 and if you win I'll sig anything you want and if I win you don't have to do anything.

[TitanSlim]

As much as it pains me, if Watson is anything close to last year and they stay relatively healthy, I think the Texans would be my choice. The AFC South should be a dogfight this year though.