Ranking NFL teams set to struggle in 2023: Current and former Patriots may be in for a tough run

Good luck finding an NFL fan base on their favorite team at the moment. when I have predicted records for every NFL teamAnything other than 17-0 for any franchise Meet nothing less than contempt and ridicule. Brinson Model™ aims to please!

The three-toed sloth can count the number of winning seasons the Browns have had since returning to Cleveland in 1999… on one foot. However, Browns fans are in for a stroke if you suggest a 7-10 is on the table.

Around this time last year, My good friend Jason La Canfora identified five bands he thought It’s been in the worst shape and it’s been on the hardest ride of 2022. It’s pretty much it nailed it: Chicago and Houston had the top two picks overall in the draft, while Carolina and Atlanta were “engaged” in an ugly NFC South race before posting top 10 picks (Carolina would trade up to No. 1 overall) and Washington, well, they made their way to another impressive season of Snyder-esque.

Now it’s my turn to find the five teams primed for the grueling ride of 2023. This year has been much more difficult: I personally excel at what the Falcons do and three of the five JLC teams from last year – Carolina, Houston and Indy – ended up drafting a quarterback. With the selection of the top five. Unless you really hate the prospect of, uh, odds, you have to feel optimistic about decent rosters adding young quarterback talent at the top of the draft.

Ultimately, this list will likely be a mix of teams that will struggle in 2023 as well as teams that have long-term questions about the overall direction of the franchise. The Washington Captains are an automatic addition to this list if Dan Snyder still owns the team in week one, but if he’s already selling, I can’t get them to point mistake direction.

1. Arizona Cardinals

I’m not going to lie and suggest I start alphabetically here: Cardinals profile as is far The worst team in soccer for 2023 and it’s not particularly close. Arizona has a first-year general manager and a first-year head coach, both of whom have some interesting mistakes early on. Monty Osenfurt reported charges for messing with Jonathan Gannon leading up to the recruitment process, which essentially cost his team a top 100 selection. Gannon declined to meet with the media after Arizona’s first draft day and also told Arizona reporters Everyone wanted to fire him because The Eagles weren’t raiding enough. Maybe it was a lie. For a team that may struggle to compete this year, this isn’t an ideal way to start things off with the press and fans.

Quarterback can be a mitigating factor here but Kyler Murray is recovering from a torn ACL late in the season. It would be a very big surprise if he was ready to go by the first week. There is an additional question about whether or not the Cardinals Wants to be ready. Arizona has a first-round pick of its own and Houston in 2024 – factor in a new system and Caleb Williams/Drake Maye both definitely playing for the Desert Birds.

Oh, and there’s the whole annoying issue of the former vice president’s staff Terry McDonough accuses owner Michael Bidwill of “gross misconduct, which includes cheating, discrimination, and harassment.

Arizona has its own level in these rankings at the moment.

2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Placing the Bucs here is less an indictment of the organization’s long-term health than it is a snapshot of where Tampa is at the moment. The Bucs won the Super Bowl in 2020 after the bold acquisition of Tom Brady — not to mention the rest of the roster well established by GM Jason Licht — and have made the playoffs in the past two years, even amid a coaching change from Bruce Aryan to Todd Balls.

But with Brady retiring this season, the bill came due for Tampa’s immediate and possibly long-term future. Baker Mayfield is in town on a one-year deal and the Bulls bench warmer isn’t being talked about enough. Arians won the Super Bowl; A disastrous season for the longtime defensive coordinator could certainly lead to Tampa changing head coaches in the next offseason (or before).

There’s still a lot to like about this roster, especially on the defensive side and you won’t hear anyone complaining about Tampa’s passing either. But the offense wouldn’t have been the same without Arrian and now without Brady pulling the trigger, it’s impossible not to worry about how 2023 will play out for this team.

3. Tennessee Titans

Totally ready to look like an idiot when Mike Vrabel won his division and landed the top seed in the AFC a few months from now. But 2023 profiles as a potentially tough ride for the Titans as they transition from Ryan Tannehill — in the final year of his contract — to Will Levis, who drafted him with this second-round pick out of the season. Levi’s situation doesn’t guarantee him franchise material in the future (see: Willis’ owner last year of Tennessee) but he does feel like someone is betting Vrabel on his future unlike now-ousted GM John Robinson.

The problem for Tennessee fans is not that the team is going to be “terrible” or one of the worst teams in the league, but that there is a fragility in how the Titans are built. The offensive line has never been as good as when Derrick Henry was ripping through his 2,000-yard seasons. Tannehill may play 17 games and play them well, but it’s very likely that he will end up riding the pines at some point in the season so Tennessee can see what they have in the rookie. Rough spots are to be expected if this is the case.

On the offensive level, it’s hard to see the Titans score that many points on a weekly basis. Defensively they are better which gives them credit. It’s hard to win a lot of 16-13 games – it’s just the fragile nature of football when you let the lines get alright.

Henry is in the final year of his deal, too. He and Tanny might make a big push to break the bank, but the Titans – as we’ve known them for the past few years – are switching identities during the 2023 season, which could make things a little tricky along the way.

4. New England Patriots

What could be wrong?? Greatest dynasty in the history of pro sports, as much in the dumps as it has been over the last 25 years with Bill Belichick kind of back/maybe against the wall, why don’t I just pile in here expecting to never get burned by the greatest coach in football history pro or otherwise?? ?

The Pats replaced Matt Patricia and Joe Judge with Bill O’Brien, which is a very useful and obvious upgrade in terms of running the offense. I still wouldn’t sell the offense going to be above average, though. Jojo Smith-Schuster, Devante Parker, and Tyquan Thornton are not the 1927 Yankees receiving corps. Rhamondre Stevenson could be an elite running back but things are thinning out after him on the depth chart. Mac Jones still has a lot to prove to a lot of people!

Defensively no one questions Belichick, especially when he steals Christian Gonzalez later in the first round. It wouldn’t be surprising at all if Bats looked a lot like the Titans. But that goes back to the fragility of things in the NFL when you want to run the ball and play defense in 2023. And it gets exaggerated for a team like the Pats in a division like the AFC East, where Buffalo lasted for three years. Of dominance, the Dolphins are a serious contender if their QB is on the field and the Jets just added Aaron Rodgers. I’m optimistic in New England this year, but 2023 will very likely be a long season for Pats fans.

5. Las Vegas Raiders

Let’s get everyone associated with the Patriots dynasty out why not?!? It felt like the Raiders took one step forward and one step back all out for the season. Adding Jimmy Garoppolo to replace Derek Carr was the perfect analogy for this team: They made the ultimate lateral move, even if it would benefit the team in the long run due to Jimmy’s fit into Josh McDaniels’ system.

I’m a big fan of both Jakobi Meyers (1-year deal essentially) and Josh Jacobs (franchise label) but expecting the latter to produce in the same way he did last year takes a lot, especially with the frustration of one more song-of-the-year deal potentially lingering . Even if the offense explodes, the Raiders could easily have the fourth best offense in their division.

Tyree Wilson is a very attractive addition as a fast pass forward, but will he see meaningful action this season with Chandler Jones playing the (potential) final year of a questionable contract? It’s hard to find a course where the Raiders defense is much better than last season.

The partition is stacked flat only. The Broncos should almost be better, the Chargers offensive coordinator upgrade should generate immediate benefits and the Chiefs remain, well, the Chiefs. Last year people were calling for McDaniels to advance in the middle of his senior season, so what happens when the division is loaded and the Raiders fight back this year? Tom Brady probably won’t have to fire McDaniels In his first year as a Raiders minority owner, but the idea is too embarrassing to think about.