What team is being hyped that I think is going to not be very good? The Baltimore Ravens.
That report that came out earlier in the off season when the team reported to OTAs and Lamar Jackson was surprised that they had a new offense....very alarming that the guy they believed would be their franchise QB was surprised that they were changing offenses.
Lamar Jackson is a below average NFL passer. The Ravens are still quite weak at WR. They lost most of their pass rush from last season, and the heart and soul of the defense (CJ Mosley). I think they are the third best team in the NFC North by a good margin, and probably win six games.
My surprise team? The Buffalo Bills. I don't think the unseat the Patriots, but I think they have a good, solid, deep team and they will challenge for a wild card spot.
I think the Chiefs step down a bit with all the defensive defections. 11-5.
I think the Tampa Buccaneers aren't very good. I think Winston won't be able to match what Palmer did, and their running game will be too weak to compensate. 7-9.
The Packers are going to bounce back and go 10-6, the Bears are going to go 9-7 (because the Bears rarely put together back-to-back really good years).
I see the NFC West playing out like this:
Rams (12-4)
Seahawks (10-6)
Niners (8-8)
Cardinals (7-9, 3 wins in the NFC West)
The Rams stay around the same, the Seahawks around the same. The Niners win more, but I think they realize this year that Garappolo isn't the franchise savior and is more in line with Andy Dalton.