Joyful Fourth of July, NFL followers! It is Tyler Sullivan right here and, if you understand me, I am a disciple of Invoice Belichick as a follower of the New England Patriots. What does that imply? No. Days. Off. And that features the Fourth of July. Don’t fret, I’ve a cookout this afternoon, however I, in fact, wanted to present you guys all the most recent happenings within the NFL earlier than the grill could be sparked up.
Not solely does the vacation have a good time the birthday of America, but it surely additionally brings us one step nearer to the nation’s favourite sport: soccer. We’re simply weeks away from groups opening up coaching camp and, imagine it or not, lower than a month away from the Corridor of Fame Recreation kicking off.
Alrighty, earlier than we get rolling with the publication, we ask you to subscribe to the publication proper right here and ensure to inform your pals to hitch as properly.
1. Chiefs, Jets headline key remaining storylines of 2024
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Consider it or not, we’re already midway by 2024. As we attain the halfway level of the yr, CBSSports.com determined to look down the street and see what might be in retailer for us within the second half of 2024 particularly because it pertains to the sports activities calendar. Varied writers had been requested about their area of interest spots, together with myself who was tasked with figuring out two NFL-related storylines to stay up for. I landed on the Chiefs try for the NFL’s first-ever three-peat and the looming return of Aaron Rodgers from his torn Achilles.
Will the Chiefs set themselves up for a three-peat? Is it loopy to say that the back-to-back Tremendous Bowl champions bought higher? Effectively, on the offensive facet of the ball Kansas Metropolis actually set itself up this offseason for a attainable three-peat. After the huge receiver room was affected by drops, the Chiefs double-dipped on the place this offseason bringing aboard Marquise Brown in free company and utilizing their first-round choose on Xavier Worthy. Not solely does that increase the ceiling of the wideout room, however each move catchers are flat-out burners. That reinjects a component to the Ok.C. offense that hasn’t been felt because the days of Tyreek Hill. Pair that improve with the truth that the Chiefs retained defensive sort out Chris Jones and also you’re this crew persevering with to be within the thick of the Tremendous Bowl dialog
Will Aaron Rodgers keep wholesome lengthy sufficient to stay as much as the hype with the Jets? If every part goes proper, the Jets have the construction of a crew that may go on a deep playoff run. Nonetheless, the elephant within the room is that they’ve a 40-year-old quarterback coming off of a season-ending Achilles damage. How Rodgers bounces again (or does not) may find yourself being a defining word of the 2024 season. New York did a splendid job this offseason solidifying arguably its greatest weak spot alongside the offensive line, including three starting-caliber tackles. In the event that they create a wall in entrance of Rodgers, the four-time MVP has weapons in place to select aside defenses. And even when Rodgers is just 80% of his former self, that is higher than any quarterback the Jets have had in many years. If he cannot recreate the magic, it is the most recent chapter in what has been a tragic state of affairs for the franchise on the place.
Should you’re within the different non-NFL storylines to be careful for to wrap up 2024, click on the hyperlink right here.
2. Tom Brady reveals certainly one of his greatest regrets from legendary profession
You’d assume that after being the winningest participant in NFL historical past and broadly thought of the best of all time you’d have zero regrets about how your profession panned out. Effectively, that is not precisely the case for Tom Brady. The legendary quarterback not too long ago appeared on “The Pivot” podcast and acknowledged that one of many greatest regrets from his 23-year profession was presumably taking the sport a bit too severely.
“What I’d have modified was … after I see these younger gamers, I see Patrick (Mahomes) on the market at quarterback, operating round, having enjoyable, I am like, ‘I was like that! What the hell occurred to me?'” stated Brady. “I simply bought too critical. However once more, I can solely look again and assume, ‘OK, if I do it once more — which I am going to by no means do it once more — I’d be totally different, however the actuality is you could’t. So that you simply be taught from it and go, ‘OK, within the subsequent section of life, get pleasure from it a little bit extra.'”
One may argue that Brady’s seriousness did assist gasoline him to seven Tremendous Bowl titles throughout his profession, but it surely’s by no means a foul factor to let free and have some enjoyable each on occasion, so this can be a affordable acknowledgment. In any occasion, Brady cannot be upset with how issues finally turned out for him as he is a no-doubt Corridor of Famer and arguably the most effective ever.
3. Rating the highest 25 gamers in NFL historical past
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With this being the sluggish interval on the NFL calendar, it is given us a while to dive into numerous tasks. The most recent from Bryan DeArdo is the daunting job of rating the highest 25 gamers in NFL historical past. Whilst you might imagine it is a straightforward train, you would be mistaken. Every of those legends that DeArdo mentions has a case to be on the very high of this checklist and the splitting of hairs is like microscopic surgical procedure when these résumés. However, an order must be rolled out and that is precisely what we have now under.
This is a have a look at DeArdo’s high 5:
- Tom Brady, QB (2000-2022)
- Jerry Rice, WR (1985-2004)
- Jim Brown, RB (1957-1965)
- Walter Payton, RB (1975-1987)
- Peyton Manning, QB (1998-2015)
One factor you may be noticing is that there aren’t any defensive gamers inside DeAdro’s high 5. Effectively, he has New York Giants legend Lawrence Taylor as his biggest defensive participant ever and the move rusher lands at No. 6.
DeArdo on Taylor: Taylor was so dominant as a rookie that he received each Defensive Rookie of the Yr and NFL Defensive Participant of the Yr honors. 5 years later, Taylor received league MVP whereas main the Giants to their first Tremendous Bowl title. Taylor’s ferocious move rush revolutionized the sport whereas making left sort out one of many league’s most essential positions.
To learn your entire high 25 checklist, click on right here.
4. Fourth of July: NFL groups with probably the most fireworks getting into 2024 season
In fact, we needed to get a little bit festive on the Fourth of July, so our Cody Benjamin went by the league and recognized 9 groups which have probably the most fireworks getting into the 2024 season. As you would possibly anticipate, “American’s Group” within the Dallas Cowboys landed on Cody’s checklist, however solely on the No. 3 spot.
Dallas Cowboys: Since when has Jerry Jones’ franchise not been synonymous with NFL fireworks, for higher or worse? Dak Prescott and Mike McCarthy are each underneath the microscope as Jones appears for playoff outcomes, however the expertise continues to be there on either side of the ball, significantly out huge and off the sting, to make a splashy distinction.
As for the highest spot, we go right down to South Seashore the place the Miami Dolphins are atop Cody’s checklist.
Miami Dolphins: While you assume fireworks, you assume explosions. And Miami is surely probably the most electrical crew in the case of sheer offensive firepower, boasting observe stars at each operating again (De’Von Achane) and wideout (Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle), with Odell Beckham Jr. added to the combo for good measure. Throw in strain on Tua Tagovailoa and Mike McDaniel to lastly recover from the hump in an enormous spot, and you have got your self must-see TV.
Whilst you await the new canine to get off the grill, try your entire checklist of groups right here.
5. 2024 NFC West race: Can anybody problem the 49ers?
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The NFC West has routinely been one of many hardest divisions within the league, however the San Francisco 49ers have not too long ago gained an edge over their rivals. The Niners have received back-to-back division titles and claimed the NFC West in three of the final 5 seasons. Not solely that, however the franchise has not less than reached the NFC Championship in every of the final two seasons as properly. With that in thoughts, CBS Sports activities’ Garrett Podell dove into this division to see how the opposite golf equipment may unseat San Fran in 2024.
This is Podell’s synopsis of how the Seattle Seahawks may enter the NFC West dialog:
Seattle lengthy had the oldest head coach within the NFL, however now it has the league’s youngest after hiring Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald (age 36) to steer its squad. His 2023 Ravens unit grew to become the primary in NFL historical past to steer or co-lead the league in scoring protection (16.5 factors per recreation allowed), sacks (60) and takeaways (31, tied for first with the New York Giants). Now he’s tasked with rebuilding a Seahawks protection that ranked twenty fifth in scoring protection two years in a row, together with a 23.6 factors per recreation common in 2023 (23.6 factors per recreation).
Seattle was thirtieth in complete protection (371.4 complete yards per recreation), and far of that injury got here on the bottom the place it ranked thirty first in speeding yards per recreation allowed (138.4), forward of solely the Cardinals (143.2 speeding yards per recreation allowed). That is why they spent the sixteenth total choose within the 2024 NFL Draft on Texas defensive sort out Byron Murphy II. The second-team All-American was stable towards the run, and his 17% quarterback strain was the best for any defensive sort out in school soccer final season.
Offensively, the Seahawks have the weapons to contend. Extensive receiver DK Metcalf earned his second profession Professional Bowl choice in 2023 with one other 1,000-yard receiving season (1,114) whereas rating in proportion of catches that went for both a primary down or a landing (78.8%) and fourth in yards per catch (16.9). The regular Tyler Lockett stays, 2023 first-round choose Jaxon Smith-Njigba enters his second NFL season, and Kenneth Walker is ever elusive (his 76 tackles prevented had been the third-most within the NFL final season).
If Seattle can do a greater job defending quarterback Geno Smith — its 40.2% quarterback strain charge allowed was the eighth-worst in NFL — and play a stronger model of protection throughout the board, the Seahawks might be a risk within the NFC West in 2024.
To learn Podell’s case for the remainder of the division, click on right here.
6. Additional factors: Giants thought of D’Andre Swift in free company
Need extra NFL information? Listed here are another noteworthy headlines from throughout the league: