Despite the Giants’ struggles, Joe Schoen got a four-year extension. (Giants.com)
This week, KC tight end Travis Kelce will marry Taylor Swift at MSG; Baltimore Ravens DL Calais Campbell’s mother was murdered… allegedly by his brother; and Blais Taylor, a former DE in college and NFL scout, has been found guilty of murder. Other football related news items we’re tracking include…
A Likely Breakout
In December, the New York Giants were embroiled in a six-game losing streak that included a bunch of excruciatingly tight setbacks. Well, that skid extended to nine games before the G-Men finished on a high note and won their final two. And, disturbingly, New York’s 4-13 final record represented an improvement over their 2024 mark (3-14). Baby steps…
Yet, for a four-win team, the Giants have their fare share of marquee games next season. They kick the schedule off with a Sunday night matchup against division rival Dallas and then travel to L.A. to play the Rams on MNF in Week Two.
Week 10 will see New York take on another division rival, playing Washington in a Thursday Night Football contest before another Monday Night Football appearance in Week 16 in Detroit.
To say it’s been a slog for the Giants in recent years doesn’t seem to do it justice. Joe Schoen took over as GM in 2022 and guided the team to a playoff appearance and even a trip to the divisional round. However, since then New York not only has failed to make the playoffs, but it has a combined record of 13-38 over the last three seasons.
And yet, Schoen was recently penned to a four-year extension (which surprised plenty of peeps) even though many believe that new coach John Harbaugh is really running things now. Having said that, there’s seems to be a legitimate connection between the pair.
On the field, we’re expecting the Giants to have a much more dangerous group of tight ends. Theo Johnson took a nice step forward as the No. 1 option last year, pulling in 45 receptions and five TDs, but he’ll cede that role next season to former Raven Isaiah Likely.
Likely could shatter his career bests in receptions and yardage in 2026, and is a tremendous sleeper in this offense. Consider him a low-end TE1 with upside as a top six player at the position.
Will the Titan Attack Finally Improve?
We’re not sure what the FanDuel odds would have been for this one, but after the struggles of 2024, somehow the Tennessee Titans’ offense had gotten even worse as of Week 12.
Things did get somewhat better after that, but not much: the Titans finished 30th in points and 31st in yardage. Still, through Week 11, they had managed 20 or more points just three times, but then hit that mark five times over the final seven games, so there was some progress.
But a second straight 3-14 finish – this one including a season finale in which Tennessee suffered its worst loss ever to rival Jacksonville — was a bitter pill to swallow.
Things were so bad that when QB Cam Ward got hurt in the final game, the Titans turned to veteran backup Brandon Allen, who hadn’t appeared in a game the entire season until then. The results were predictable.
So perhaps the biggest question facing the Titans this year is: how much further can Ward develop beyond being a bottom of the barrel QB2 (and how much can rookie WR Carnell Tate help him get there)?
The answer to that will likely dictate how much, if any, Tennessee progresses this season.
RotoRob Tune of the Day
American sunshine pop band Every Mother’s Son was active from 1966 to 1968. In 1967, the released their second single, “Put Your Mind at Ease,” and the B-side was “The Proper Four Leaf Clover.”