Author: Doug Hamm

For years fans have complained about only four teams making the College Football Playoff. Rather than go to eight teams, the NCAA decided to expand to twelve schools with the top four conference winners rewarded with a bye. Each Power 4 conference is guaranteed a spot plus at least one school not in the Power 4. The remaining seven spots go to at-large teams chosen by the playoff committee. It sounds simple, but it creates quite a few issues. 5th or 6th Place In previous seasons, teams that finished 5th or 6th would complain about not making the top four.…

As we enter Week 14 of the NFL season, 11 teams have eight losses, and none of these teams will make the playoffs. This was expected for teams like the Patriots, Panthers or Titans. For other teams like the Bengals, Jets, and Bears, expectations were much higher. Obviously, their fans are not happy with how the season has unfolded. Once you are out of playoff contention, it’s time to turn your attention to the NFL Draft. If you are a fan of one of these 11 teams, should you want to finish the season on a strong note? Or would…

The NFC North is the strongest division in the NFL. Their current record is 34-14. No other division has 30 wins. The AFC West has 29 wins. Third place is the NFC East with 25. In fact, the Lions, Vikings, and Packers alone combine for 30 victories. When you study these three teams, they all share one important thing. They are all well coached. Detroit Lions Lions head coach Dan Campbell is the current favorite to win Coach of the Year. I am not sure how he wins it. That award usually goes to a coach whose team is one…

Coming into the 2023 season, the Jets had Super Bowl aspirations. They had acquired Aaron Rodgers, one of the best quarterbacks of all time,  in a trade. Former second-overall pick Zach Wilson had not worked out. The Jets knew they had an elite defense. They just needed better quarterback play to become a contender. Aaron Rodgers would tear his Achilles four plays into the 2023 season. Wilson took over, but the offense continued to struggle. Despite the defense ranking third in yards allowed, the Jets would finish 7-10. But with a healthy Aaron Rodgers, the Jets were expected to compete…

The 2024 Miami Dolphins were 2-4 through six games. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had missed four of them with a concussion. The Dolphins lost three of those games, and their offense wasn’t the same without Tua. He returned for a Week 7 home game against the Arizona Cardinals. After leading by nine in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals scored the final 10 points to win 28-27. The Dolphins then became 2-6 after a close loss to the division-rival Bills in Buffalo. Things weren’t looking promising. Going 2-7 would all but eliminate the Dolphins from the playoffs. Miami traveled to Los Angeles…

Brock Bowers is having a historic rookie campaign. He is on pace to break the record for most catches by a tight end in a season. We are not talking about catches for a rookie. That record was 86, broken last season by Detroit’s Sam LaPorta. Bowers is on pace to break the record for any tight end in any season. Zach Ertz, playing for the Philadelphia Eagles at the time, holds the record with 116. Bowers is currently on pace for 119. There’s more. The record for most catches by a rookie wide receiver is 105. Puca Nacua of…

In Part 1, I wrote about quarterbacks drafted between 2005 and 2015. In this article, I will focus on the years 2016 to 2018. As I said in the last article, drafting the right quarterback can turn your franchise into a contender for years. However, drafting the wrong quarterback will set your franchise back, and you still need one. General managers who draft the wrong QB don’t usually last long in their position. SEC QB Falls in the draft As expected, the 2016 draft saw Jared Goff (Rams) and Carson Wentz (Eagles) go first and second overall. After that, the…

Quarterbacks are tied to a general manager’s success now more than ever in today’s NFL. Drafting a quarterback that fails to live up to expectations when a better one is available is a sure way to lose your job. In my last article, I went over how general managers will reach for a quarterback in the draft’s first round. In this one, we will go over quarterbacks who were drafted when a better one was available. In Part 1, we will focus on the years 2005-2015.  Like I said in my last article, Nick Foles is the only quarterback to…

In today’s NFL, the quarterback is the most important position on the field. Without a top-10 QB, it’s next to impossible to win the Super Bowl. Gone are the days when you could win a championship with game managers like Trent Dilfer in 2000 or Brad Johnson in 2022. It’s been over 20 years since those two won it all. Only one quarterback who is not a likely Hall of Famer has won a Super Bowl (Nick Foles in 2017 for the Philadelphia Eagles) since then. Just look at the final eight teams from last year’s postseason. In my opinion,…

We conclude the Midseason Division Breakdown with the NFC West. This division is like no other in the NFL. The difference between first and last is just one game. Many expected the defending NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers to win the division and possibly run away with it. That has not been the case, and all four teams could still be in the division race going into the final week. Surprise at the Top The Arizona Cardinals had a rough 2023. Star quarterback Kyler Murray missed more than half the season and they went 1-8 without him. They finished last…