By John Fredericks
Contributors: Jack Fredericks and Nate Perry
Well, here we are again! Welcome to the first NFL 2022 edition of GodzillaWins.com, our NFL football preview! Here is our NFC NFL PREVIEW!
We are adding a special feature this season – and you will love it: a weekly Godzilla Wins handicapping show! Each Saturday morning from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM our live radio show will feature both our college and NFL picks of the week with our top-shelf analysis. We’ll give the why, the why nots and we’ll take some phone calls, too.
Our distinguished panel: Jack Fredericks (my oldest son) from Tunica MS and #NoPickNate Nate Perry from the Golden Nugget in Reno, NV.
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2022 NFL PREVIEW – NFC
NFC EAST
Dallas Cowboys – Draft Kings odds to win the division +140
How many yards will the undisciplined Cowboys get penalized again this season? What game will Mike McCarthy get fired if Dallas chokes out any of the first five games? Will the real Dak Prescott please stand up? When will Jerry Jones’ head explode?
Inquiring minds want to know, especially with Amari Cooper out of the picture.
The Cowboys were the most penalized team in the NFL – on both sides of the ball. They were the most penalized team for offensive holding, tied for first in offsides, and second for unnecessary roughness. Most worrisome: The Cowboys committed the most pre-snap penalties across the league.
This team has a lot of questions to answer. Prescott was the tale of two seasons last year: first half like Johnny Unitas- second half more like Parkway Joe Pisarcik. Cowboy fans and their sycophant media acolytes all blamed it on a calf injury. How convenient.
Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence are legit edge rushers and should be one of the best pass-rushing combos in the NFL. They are the Doomsday Defense’s true backfield disruptors. They better, because the ‘Boy’s secondary sucks. They got lit up last season like a Halloween Jack-O-Lantern on mischief night in Detroit. Add to it a suspect interior D-Line and its spells opposition points-lots of them!
Jack: I love the Cowboys. The Godzilla is worried about the penalties, but I have faith that last season was an anomaly and that the team will iron out any disciplinary issues. I like Dak more than Jalen Hurts and, while AJ Brown is a true game changer in Philly, I just don’t trust that the Birds can get it done. Cowboys have a solid defensive pass rush. Mike McCarthy is the most boring play caller on planet earth. Everybody laughs at them for their playoff miscues. This team is poised to win fourteen games for no reason and then lose to the Lions in the first round.
Nate: Coaching is the elephant in the room and Mike McCarthy needs to get it figured out quick or I’m not sure he makes it through the season. Both coordinators coming back was a little bit of a surprise – and they both seem poised to take over the job, should McCarthy continue to muck things up. The penalties have to change, game management needs to be better, play-calling has to be better – everything that he’s responsible for as head coach needs to improve for this team to stay competitive. Maybe they take that leap, but how can you trust it?
The defense, long an issue in Big D, is probably the most reliable aspect of the team right now as we’ve yet to see how the offense looks with the loss of Amari Cooper. Every season, we hear all about how Zeke is in the best shape of his life, explosive, blah blah – and all fans got from him last year was a pedestrian performance from the highest paid RB in the league who was overshadowed by backfield running-mate Tony Pollard.
I want them to do well. I really do. But this just feels like a season where they have all the potential and find a way to screw it up again.
Philadelphia Eagles Draft Kings odds to win division +160
AJ Brown is a game changer for the birds. As a die-hard never-ever-miss-a- game Titans fan, Brown would literally single-handedly take over games when the Titans needed him most. He’s a money player, a gamer, and a clutch deliverer if there ever was one. He makes the Eagles the team to beat in the NFC. One man with unbridled courage can make a majority.
The Eagles have a championship roster. Except for one position: quarterback. Therein lies the Eagles’ concern: Jalen Hurts.
Hurts is an average quarterback with a so-so arm and a run-of-the-mill release time. Sure he can run, but the league has evolved through the Donavan McNabb and RG III days. To win now in the NFL, you have to throw the ball down the field at an elite level. Hurts is the Joe Flacco of the NFC. In baseball terms, your journeyman .250 hitter. The good news: if the kid can get to the next level, the Eagles become a very dangerous threat to win the NFC.
Close your eyes and envision these receivers: Brown running around deep, with DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert running crossing patterns. I could pass to these guys.
Hurts will have ample time, as the Eagles’ O-line and pass protection is one of the best in the league.
The other thing I like about this team is they beat the bottom feeders, winning nine games last year against teams with losing records. That matters.
We will see if Hurst can step up. The Eagles’ defense is average, most of their wins will come by lighting up the scoreboard. I like their chances in a somewhat pathetic division.
Nate: As a Cowboys fan, first, and someone who is generally reluctant to agree with John, second, it pains me to agree with him here. I think the Eagles have one of the best rosters in the league, top-to-bottom if you exclude Hurts from the conversation. The O-line is elite, defense is improving, and the skill positions noted above are fantastic. This is a dangerous team, particularly if Hurts improves just slightly as a passer.
Hurts is what a modern NFL quarterback looks like in a lot of ways: mobile, elusive, fast, and good at making things happen when a play breaks down. If he can solve the accuracy problems, watch out.
Washington Commanders Draft Kings odds to win the division +500
If Carson Wentz is the answer, it must be a really stupid question.
If Dan Snyder’s IQ goes down a point-he’d be a potted plant.
To make matters worse, the silly name change is why this team is doomed. They caved to the woke mob. At least “Washington Football Club” was in your face defiant.
Commanders of what? Joe Mancin’s house boat on the Potomac?
They do have a decent corps of receivers in Jahan Dotson (rookie), Terry McLaurin and Curtis Samuel.
Their defense was over-hyped last year and I ate the popcorn like a schmuck. Not again. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice I’m a moron.
Wentz is as over-rated as this defense. 6-11 or 5-12.
Jack: I thought Dan Snyder changed the name of the team to the Commodores. Is anyone excited to see these guys play? Carson Wentz will be coaching high school football at some prep school next year. Better luck in the future, Commodores.
New York Giants Draft Kings odds to win the division +800
Daniel Jones is the poster child of inconsistency. Great wideouts, no cigars. One play wow, the next — pick six. Plus it’s the Giants.
But in a brilliant move the front office goes out and gets Brian Daboll, who coached Josh Allen in Buffalo. Can the magic wear off on Daniels?
Second best move the Giants made was stealing defensive lineman Kayvon Thibodeaux in the fifth round of the draft. Remember, Mel Kipper, Jr. on ESPN had him at number one for a number of months.
This is a last-place team.
Jack: I’m still mad at the Giants for benching Eli Manning and disrupting his consecutive start streak.
Picks to Win Division
John: Eagles
Jack: Cowboys
Nate: Eagles
NFC NORTH
Green Bay Packers Draft Kings odds to win division -190
Is Aaron Rodgers still playing? Yes? Then the answer is easy: Packers win the division again.
Rodgers is back to form, going on Wisconsin TV and blasting his rookie receivers, calling them out for lack of work ethic and preparation, and threatening to never throw them the ball until they shape up.
This is what leaders do. He essentially said (I’ll paraphrase), “Hey you overpaid pampered rooks, I’m Aaron Rodgers and right now you suck. I ain’t throwing you crap.”
It’s vintage Rodgers. Plus he told the NFL to shove the vax up their stiff suit asses.
How do you not love this guy? He is the antidote to political correctness. Old school. He lost Davante Adams and now he has to deal with the likes of Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs (I know what you’re thinking: “Huh? Who?”)
If Doubs and Watson can give Rodgers some good routes — his passing offense will go like it always does- down the field. Just get open, look for ball, catch ball.
The Packers’ O-line is uncertain, but if their two big beef guys stay on the field they give Rodgers what he needs to get the ball out.
Know what the surprise in the NFC this season? The Packers’ defense. Like the Titans – they have quietly compiled over time a cadre of pro bowl caliber defenders: Kenny Clark, Preston Smith, Rashan Gary, and now first-rounder Devonte Wyatt. But can they stop the pass? Jaire Alexander and Adrian Amos are the best defensive back tandem in the NFL. Their defense is elite.
If Rodgers gets time: THE PACK IS BACK.
Jack: I don’t trust any quarterback who loses in the playoffs and immediately thinks that the way to gain an edge is to enter another psychedelic dimension through the use of copious amounts of Ayahuasca. Rodgers would rather be on Barstool Sports than play quarterback for the Pack Attack. He’s asleep at the wheel and they’ll still win eleven games. I’ll pass. Bad football.
Nate: I’m gonna go ahead and see myself off of the Aaron Rodgers bandwagon. He is the best QB in the league, sure, and Jordan Love is right behind him waiting to inherit the throne. They’re all set at quarterback, but I’m just not sure where he’s going to get help from for everything else. This is a fine team on paper and quarterbacks can do a lot to elevate teams simply by virtue of being there and taking pressure off the defense.
Here’s my big concern: Aaron Rodgers is a career malcontent. The guy is just a pain, and he’s whiny, and he will always find something to complain about – and not typically in a constructive way. I can’t recommend laying -190 on this team when it remains to be seen how much of his toxicity leeches into the rest of the locker room. They’ve pulled it together in the past, but it might be too much for this young receiving core to respond to.
Minnesota Vikings Draft Kings odds to win division +260
The Vikings are a playoff team. Kirk Cousins is never flashy, always solid. Their offensive line keeps them from getting out of the first round.
Let’s take a peek at Cousins’ offensive weapons: Dalvin Cook, Ty Chandler, Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen – just to name a few.
Kevin O’Connell, the Vikes new head coach who escaped from Washington– like Cousins—and he knows him well. They were there together for a few years.
But again, the O-Line is their anchor. And the Minnesota defense doesn’t intimidate anybody. They can’t compete with the Packers or Rams.
Jack: Nate and I are on the Vikings train. They play in a dome. It’s cold. Kirk Cousins throws seven-yard passes. I’m banking that they win some of these two-minute drills and eek out a division win. The odds are great at +260. Even if you don’t win the bet, the adrenaline rush of watching the Vikings lose every game in the final two minutes is worth it. Place a large wager and feel alive for once.
Nate: I think this would be my pick to win the division. Cousins is steady, they have fantastic skill players on offense, and they should be able to hold it together well enough on defense. This could look like a horrible take after Aaron Rodgers wipes the floor with them, but at +260 they have to be worth a hard look right now. The secondary is a concern, especially when you face A-Rod twice a season, but the defensive line isn’t anything teams will be able to walk through.
They don’t seem to be plagued by the same level of internal strife as Packers (toxic QB), Detroit (100 years of ineptitude), or Chicago (mismanagement bordering on criminal). So, this is a team I’ve got my eye on.
Detroit Lions Draft Kings odds to win the division +1,000
The Lions lost a boatload of games last season in the final 2:00. They also went through locker room drama late in the season as it leaked that head coach Dan Campbell was about to get fired. Campbell is ranked by CBS Sports as the 30th worst head coach. Ouch.
The best line of the NFL 2021 season belongs to Lions QB Jared Goff, when asked by a Lions beat reporter after blowing another lead in the last minute, “What does this team have to do to learn to win?”
Goff’s response: “First, we have to learn how not to lose.”
Classic. Cold but true.
This might the year the lowly and laughable Lions do just that.
Jared Goff did lead his team to a Super Bowl not too long ago. Their strength lies in the O-Line – one of the best in the NFC.
Defensively, it’s a dumpster fire. No secondary and very suspect linebacker group lead to a lot of opponents’ big plays, which burned Detroit all season long.
I like Dan Campbell – but he nor his general manager did anything to bolster this defense. #Sad.
Jack: The lions are a sexy pick this year and I’m on the bandwagon. I think they beat the Packers and finish second in the division. Sure, Jared Goff isn’t totally incompetent. I’m picking them for a wild card spot in an NFC North upheaval. I urge you to go see what the odds look like for a playoff appearance and throw $20 on it.
Nate: Now that I’ve complained a little about Detroit in the above section, I’m going to turn around a discuss some reasons that Detroit fans may finally be able to at least have some hope for the future. I’m falling into the age-old trap of thinking that every team on Hard Knocks is the best team ever, filled with young talent, led by a talented head coach.
Now, those things aren’t necessarily true, but I think Dan Campbell could be on his way to changing the culture. The defense is and will likely remain a serious work in progress, but the offense is turning into something that could be very good. Jared Goff gets to play behind a really solid offensive line that should provide him with opportunities to get the ball to playmakers. They are probably still a ways out from being competitive in this division, let alone the NFC, but they’re getting there. Every year there is a team that makes a huge leap, and it’s not outside the realm of possibility if you like 10-1 odds for the division.
Chicago Bears Draft Kings odds to win the division +1,500
OMG, this is a nightmare. Justin Fields is running for his life. The offensive line is putrid. To make matters worse, the Bears have the worse receiving corps in the league by a longshot. They are just pitiful
Defensively, the Bears are very young, unproven, and untested.
The defense is the worst in the league. This is going to be a long, horrid season for Bears fans. This is a 3-14 team on a good day. Do they play the Texans? Good matchup. The Chicago fire comes to reality. Gut this team and start over. It’s a disaster. Go for the number one draft pick in 2023. It’s their best option.
Picks to Win Division
John: Pack
Jack: Vikes
Nate: Vikes
NFC WEST
Los Angeles Rams Draft Kings odds to win division +130
Who can dethrone the Rams?
Magic Matthew Stafford just added a new weapon as Allen Robinson suites up with Cooper Kupp to give the Super Bowl champs the best 1-2 punch in the NFL. Robinson can for the first time combine his elite skill with the pinpoint throws of a future hall of fame quarterback. The Rams will score a lot of points….if…
They can protect and aging, slowing, slogging Stafford. Old man Andrew Whitworth packed it in after last season’s Super Bowl win, leaving a big hole in the O-Line.
Last season, too many defenses thought they had to blitz the Rams to get to Stafford. He torched them. When they sat back and rushed four- here was the result: Stafford threw 28 touchdowns to 16 interceptions when not facing a blitz. With a weakened offensive line – why blitz?
The Rams’ defense is not going the carry the team week in and week out – but it’s solid. Everyone knows about their Donaldson-driven pass rush. Will Stafford stay healthy? If he does, the Rams win the division. If not – SF lurks.
San Francisco 49ers Draft Kings odds to win the division +150
What happened to Jimmy Jesus? Why did head coach Kyle Shanahan kick him to the curb like so much road kill? It’s called Trey Lance, the Bay Area’s new heartthrob. Poor Jimmy G, he got the ‘Niners to the NFC championship game and they bailed on him for the next new shiny object.
If toy boy Lance can avoid catastrophic plays as we saw in pre-season game one – the 49ers could go all the way. But he’s a rookie. The last rookie to lead his team to a Super Bowl? Dan Marino-Dolphins, 1985. LOL. What, Lance is a second-year guy? Semantics- for all intents and purposes he’s a rook.
Fact: the 49ers have the best defense in the league with a powerhouse defensive line.
They generate consistent QB pressure without blitzing (take note, Stafford). Their D is simply lights out.
A rookie QB with a suspect O-Line? Laken Tomlinson bailed for more money and Alex Mack hung up his spikes. Oh-oh. Sack city and pick sixes coming someone’s way to a visiting stadium near you!
Lance played one year at QB in college. Wake up folks.
Jack: The Niners are my pick to come out of the NFC. Why? Because two quarterbacks are better than one. Jimmy Jesus wins all the time and Trey Lance is supposed to be good (or is he supposed to be bad?). They have a nasty defensive line. I trust Kyle Shanahan and I’m bored by the Rams. Give me the ‘Niners all the way, baby!
Nate: Niners feel overpriced here and it seems clear to me that the Rams are the cream of the crop for all the reasons John mentioned above.
Ultimately, teams juggling quarterbacks struggle. Carrying that much talent around often feels like a burden at QB. The starter is always looking over his shoulder, worried that he’ll get replaced and the team is carrying two people at a position that can only be filled with one body. Almost always it seems better to turn that excess talent into something that is actually usable via trade. SF can’t seem to figure out how to leverage Jimmy G into something more valuable to a team that seems dead-set on handing the keys to the car to Lance. Until that situation is sorted, I don’t love their chances against the defending Super Bowl champs.
Arizona Cardinals Draft Kings odds to win division +400
Here is all you need to know about the Cardinals:
- The Cardinals put a watch film time mandate in Kyler Murray’s new contract because Murray blew off studying game film last season – he was busy on Nintendo
- After it got leaked to the media, Murray got upset and complained to the Cardinals that it was disrespectful and insulting to him and was questioning his work ethic (yeah, dude because you’re a lazy ass)
- Cards cave to their “star” and take the clause out
- Murray goes back to Nintendo
Conclusion: The inmates are now running the Cardinals’ asylum.
This is phony team with a clueless coach who is known for choking and collapsing at the end of a season. Cards will be the biggest NFL bust this side of Denver.
Murray to his coach: “I don’t need no stinkin’ game film!”
Coach to Murray: “Oh, Ok, Kyle, I’m sorry, can I get you a hot cup of coffee or a cold soft drink?”
Jack: Where do the Cardinals play again? Scottsdale? Moab? La Cruces? Does it even matter? This team is winning six games. Don’t worry Phoenix, basketball season starts in October.
Seattle Seahawks Draft Kings odds to win division +2,000
Hahaha. I’m so sick of Sneaky Pete Carroll. Mr. Woke Left-winger who supports Seattle’s lawlessness while living in a secured gated mansion with guards. Another Marxist elitist who’s full of crap. Oh, and did he ever apologize for cheating his way to a national championship with USC? For the woke crowd, rules never apply to them.
The new gunslinger in town? Geno Smith!
The good news? They have no pass rush and the legion of boom is now the kitty litter of gloom. I put them with the Texans and Bears battling for the first pick in next year’s draft. They need a quarterback. Don’t put it past old cheatin’ Pete to sandbag a game or two in December. After all, if they can steal an election, they can steal a number one draft pick.
Nate: What is there to say about this team? They were only remotely competitive because Russell Wilson was an absolute magician with the ball. Geno Smith is, well, not a magician.
This team is going to be bad. The only bright spots for this team are things that they won’t be able to utilize. The receiving corps and tight ends are solid, but they will walk onto the field with the worst QB situation in the NFL who is protected by a very bad offensive line with no running backs to take the pressure off anything. The defense has some bright spots at safety, but they are dreadful almost everywhere else. This will be a long, dark, dreary season for Seattle fans, and it won’t just be because of the weather.
Picks to Win Division
John: Rams
Jack: Niners
Nate: Rams
NFC SOUTH
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Draft Kings odds to win division -250
Tom Brady. Who needs training camp? The Bucs have the best offense known to man. The O-Line is a patchwork, but it seems like it will hold up for their 45-year-old quarterback. Nobody on that line wants to be the one to give up the sack on Brady. It reminds me of the New York Jets O-Line during Joe Namath’s days when his knees were gimpy. The guy who got beat and got Broadway Joe sacked had to walk home from Shea Stadium.
This is a solid veteran roster without many holes.
Todd Bowles’s defense is blitz crazy, and he brings it. The Bucs may have the best blitz schemes in history.
I’ll go with Brady one more year. Until…next year.
Nate: File another one in the don’t overthink it category here. This team has the best roster in football from top to bottom. They lose Marpet and AB from the receiving room and replace them with equal, if not better, receivers in Shaq Mason and Russell Gage. If anything, their roster keeps getting better. TB12 has proven himself ageless, and any bet on another team to win this division would be a bet that he gets injured.
The defense will be nasty once again.
And, oh, all this team has done with Tom Brady the last two seasons is win a Super Bowl and 23 games. Fade at your own peril – or hope somebody slips some gluten or tomatoes into Tom’s protein shake.
New Orleans Saints Draft Kings odds to win division +310
It’s time. For. Jameis Winston to step up. And I believe he will. This Saints team is the real deal.
Sean Peyton is gone, but sometimes change is good. Most of the coaching staff remained intact. The Saints’ defense is elite and very athletic, with speed, depth, and size. Like so many clubs, trouble abounds on the offensive line, the one main weakness of the Saints.
They have a plethora of weapons, including Alvin Kamara, Mark Ingram, Michael Thomas, Jarvis Landry, and rookie Chris Olave. They will contend.
Carolina Panthers Draft Kings odds to win the division +900
If Baker Mayfield stays healthy and plays to his cache as a No. 1 pick, the Panthers can make a modest run. This is a potential 7 to 9-win team. They can’t stop anybody.
Baker is a love him or hates him kind of quarterback. He underperformed in Cleveland and it was time for a change of scenery. Remember he was sub-par last season but he was hurt almost from day one.
The Panthers are not an easy draw on any given Sunday. Their head coach has one year to prove he’s not Charlotte’s NFL version of Lou Holtz.
Then there is Christian McCaffrey, tied in second with Jonathan Taylor as the best back in the NFL (Derrick Henry being number one). If he stays healthy for the first time since 2019 – lookout. This is a quiet but deadly duet-Baker and McCaffery.
The Cats’ defense is a real problem. They allowed 27 points per game or more in five out of their final six games. And they lost players. They stopped no team of any significance. Mayfield is a huge upgrade from Sam Darnold.
Head coach Matt Rhule is on the hot seat. A lousy start and he’s the first coach to get canned in 2022.
Atlanta Falcons Draft Kings odds to win the division +3,500
Welcome to the big top! It’s the second year of the Atlanta Clown Show! Grab some popcorn and cotton candy and watch the biggest comedy show on turf! Or even better, get drunk every Sunday if you’re a Dirty-Birds die-hard.
Their three-ring circus offense features the Maestro- Marcus Mariota! He’s a human wet rat in a hoodie!
Over and under on Mariota getting hurt is three games. Take the under.
It’s a big tent! step right up and see the bearded lady on defense! Don’t forget Arthur Blank, ready to give away Home Depot gift cards to your lucky winners!
Atlanta Clown Show.
3-14.
Picks to Win Division
John: Bucs
Jack: Bucs
Nate: Bucs
NFC Champion Picks
John: Pack
Jack: Niners
Nate: Bucs
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