Mike Glad is Interested in Surprises the NFL May Have in Store for 2021-2022
Mike Glad loves football, and the NFL is always a unique and almost operatic situation, with trades, unexpected successes, shocking failures, and much more transforming each season. Here are a few predictions that Glad believes could be very interesting to play out in 2021-2022.
What Glad Thinks Will Happen This Season
First of all, Mike Glad believes that the Patriots will improve under Belichik this year. Though losing Tom Brady was a heady blow, he believes that the team will start to turn around under Cam Newman. The team isn’t going to be as powerful as it was in the Brady days, naturally, but they will become more competitive and impressive. Intelligent draft picks help to give Belichick the best chance of success.
And in their division, he also expects the Bills to take another leap forward under Josh Allen. His breakout season last year is just the beginning for this skilled quarterback. His incredible leaps in accuracy, alongside an improving defense and running game, could push the Bills far into the playoff this year. Will they get past KFC? That remains to be seen but could be possible this season.
Are there any teams that he expects will take a sudden plunge? Pittsburgh is likely to struggle under Big Ben again this year, especially since they haven’t done much to plug up the holes in their secondary, improve their running game, or give Ben more support. The Steelers were a surprise success early in 2020, and Mike Glad believes their season-ending slump will continue.
Glad also believes that Urban Meyer’s first year with Jacksonville will be primarily a bust for this incredibly successful college-level coach. Meyer’s draft picks were both savvy and silly, and there’s a lot of rebuilding to be done on this team. A scorched Earth policy may be necessary to get them back to relevancy, and Meyer may be the man to do it. However, don’t expect miracles just yet this season.
The biggest “will he, won’t he?” story of the 2021 season centers around Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers gave the team an MVP-caliber season last year but was disrespected by getting his replacement drafted while he is at his peak. Rodgers has expressed obvious interest in going elsewhere, and many teams have been biting at the bit to get him on their team.
So will he or won’t he go to Denver? Mike Glad thinks it is a good time for Rodgers to move on to a new organization. The Packers got many good years out of Rodgers but have done little to give him the support he needs to succeed. And as he is still in his prime and capable of playing at a high level, it would do a team like Denver well to get him.