Roman: Hi, I’m Roman Acosta, former sports editor here at Talon Marks.

Ebube: Hi, I’m Ebube Okoji, I’m a former staff writer at Cerritos College.

Samuel: I’m Samuel Chacko, I was the former news editor and now editor in chief for Talon Marks.

Roman: Welcome to episode one of “Mark our Falcon words.” Today, we’ll be talking about our thoughts and takes on this NFL season.

Samuel: Hey everyone, it’s Samuel here. Just want to quickly chime in here and say this podcast was recorded a couple of weeks ago, before any of the regular season games of the NFL were played.

Samuel: If you have any suggestions for any big topics in sports, politics, opinion or even news you want us to talk about in this podcast, feel free to put a comment on our story on Talonmarks.com. It should be under the multimedia section, which has our podcast name and episode number and hopefully you enjoy this podcast!

Samuel: Let’s talk about some of our predictions here for the NFL season.

Roman: Let’s talk about the AFC. First up, we have the AFC West.

Samuel: I think I think the Chargers might come out of the AFC West. They have a good defense. You have Khalil Mack that is there. You have Justin Herbert. Obviously, you have Keenan Allen and Mike Williams there that are going to hog up a lot of the targets.

Samuel: You got, again, you signed Sony Michel, to a good deal. So if anything happens to Austin Ekeler, you still have a decent running back stuff and you still have a decent defense. So probably the favorites.

Ebube: I say the Kansas City Chiefs. Those are my boys. Yes, you lost Tyreek Hill, but you cannot count out Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. I think this year is Mahomes year. Him and Kelce, those two have been great over the past few years, they won a Super Bowl.

Ebube: But with Hill gone, I would love to see how they both play now.

Samuel: They also got Juju Smith-Schuster too, a great target.

Roman: For me. It’s really hard. To me, it’s a coin toss about who really wins that division because you have the Broncos, you have the Raiders, the Chiefs and everyone in that division.

Samuel: They can’t all make the playoffs.

Roman: Right. This whole off-season, those teams went to work. They went out acquired like the Raiders. They acquired Davante Adams, Chandler Jones and they have a new head coach.

Samuel: Josh McDaniels (head coach).

Roman: So Derek Carr Carr is poised for probably what would be his best NFL season ever.

Ebube: And the Broncos getting a quarterback. Pro Bowl quarterback.

Ebube & Samuel: Russell Wilson

Ebube: He’s definitely a great addition to his team.

Samuel: Especially with the receivers. You got Jerry Judy, you got Cortland Sutton, out there, very underrated class. Even though you lose someone like Noah Fant to the Seattle Seahawks, you still got good receivers even though it’s a running back by committee, when it comes to Melvin Gordon.

Samuel: You still have someone like Javonte Williams is a young, ascending, running back who’s been amazing.

Ebube: This is a young team that can hurt some that can hurt this league. I believe in the Broncos.

Roman: Alright, but other than that, I say. It’s going to come down to the Raiders and Chiefs again.

Samuel: Okay.

Roman: I’m still undecided.

Roman: Let’s talk about the AFC South.

Samuel: I believe the Colts are going to win the AFC South because, again, they got snubbed out of the playoffs (last season). But I definitely believe that you now have a decent quarterback in Matt Ryan. You still have someone like Michael Pittman, who’s an amazing receiver, very underrated, and you also have a decent defense.

Roman: And not to forget Jonathan Taylor, who took the league by storm last season behind that amazing Colts offensive line. You know, I really see them when in the south, there’s really nobody else to stop them.

Ebube: You to say the Colts. But for me, the Titans, Derrick Henry has been unstoppable for the past few years. There is no defensive back (DB) or safety (S) the that can stop this man. Him and Ryan Tannehill; Those two are like Kit-Kat and Twix, delicious. Those two are going to be a force to be reckoned with.

Samuel: Interesting pick you got, Derrick Henry, which just came off an ACL injury. You gut Treylon Burks, who is considered to be a quote-unquote, AJ Brown, who they traded away. And I think it’s an interesting pick. I’m just worried about Derrick Henry’s health and the receivers that they have there because their receivers are not the greatest when you think about the Tennessee Titans.

Roman: Right, they bring out they picked up Robert Woods, matter of fact, still is coming off an injury. And Eli Harold III, I believe, outside linebacker who recently just in practice, he’s out for the season. So it really is just a matter of how difficult they’re going to be able to bounce back from that.

Samuel: Ok, well, let’s go on to the AFC North. For me,

Ebube: AFC North?

Samuel: Yeah

Ebube: It’s done; the Ravens. The Ravens are for sure going to bounce back. We’ve seen Lamar Jackson win the MVP a couple of years ago, too. And I believe he has a say in this. The Bengals might be close, but the Ravens are going to edge on this one.

Roman: Right. I have to agree with you guys. The Ravens are going to be on top because I’m not sure about the Bengals. You know, they went off this offseason and got productive. I saw in the Super Bowl their O-line needed help. They had no answer from Donald and Von Miller.

Roman: So unless their O-line steps it up, I believe they acquired former cowboys, offensive linemen. But, I really don’t see how with the Bengals’ O-line, if it looks the same as last year, I have the Ravens on top of that.

Samuel: Well, I’ll make it quick here. I am a homer, but I’m going to see the Baltimore Ravens. I don’t see anybody in the division beating the Ravens. We have someone like Lamar Jackson who’s very dynamic. Pay the man, please!

Samuel: You’ve got a lot of running backs coming back from injury. We’ve got again, you got a good running back to J.K Dobbins. You obviously got Lamar, you’ve got Gus Edwards. You have plenty of running backs in that room. Receivers, they’re dead.

Samuel: You pretty much have someone would someone good for Minnesota (played for the University of Minnesota in college) who’s called the Rashod Bateman, who was drafted maybe a couple of years ago. That’s it. That really good, tight end, a good offensive line.

Samuel: They traded to Hollywood Brown for a good center, the best center in the draft. They have a really scary defense, especially with Kyle Hamilton, who’s going to be a box safety and a lot of people coming out from injury, which is a concern. But again, their team is very, very stacked against anybody in that division.

Roman: Right. But who needs the receiver in Baltimore when you have Mark Andrews out there, that man is unstoppable.

Roman: All right, let’s talk about the east.

Samuel: The AFC East.

Ebube: The Buffalo Bills

Roman and Samuel: No doubt, no doubt.

Samuel: Is this even a discussion? The Buffalo Bills have a very easy division. The patriots might get close.

Ebube: But, the Buffalo Bills will make it out but I feel the Miami Dolphins will give them a run for their money with additional Tyreek Hill and Tua.

Roman: Don’t forget Jaylen Waddle. I mean, the kid is a stud that with that speed and with the addition of Raheem Mostert, at running back, the Dolphins probably have the fastest skill positions in the league. So watch out for them.

Roman: Now, let’s move on to the NFC. Let’s start with the West.

Samuel: From the West is a bit tough to grade this division, but if I had to, Rams easy choice. Even though you lose somebody like Von Miller still have a pretty static defense. You still have Jalen Ramsey, still have obviously Aaron Donald. You still have a decent offense.

Samuel: You do still have Bobby Wagner who did sign with them, which is pretty. It’s an interesting deal, to say the least. You got Matthew Stafford but again, the arm injury is a bit concerning but it sounds like he’s one hundred percent healthy.

Samuel: You have Cooper Kupp, you might get a lot out of Allen Robinson again. Might actually be pretty scary because you’ve got a double team with Kupp. You might get somebody like Allen Robinson to be very productive this season.

Roman: Right. And even there were rumors about Odell Beckham Jr. who is a free agent and is currently awaiting it was rumored. I want to get rumored. I’m not the official source. But whoever may win Thursday night’s game between the opposing Rams he would consider resigning.

Samuel: And it was also rumored that the Rams still kept Odell’s locker. So maybe that to itself, who knows.

Roman: Right. But I feel like that is going to come down to the wire again. It’s going to be the 49ers and Rams battling for that division.

Ebube: I think the NFC West is a really good one because out of those four teams, you can’t pick a clear winner because they’re all good

Samuel: Other than the Seahawks.

Ebube: Teams like the 49ers, Rams, Cardinals and I will not. You mentioned the Seahawks. Yes, they lost Russell Wilson, but I will still not doubt them. They have players who were pretty good. I don’t know some of them, but I know the Seahawks. We have Pete Carroll. He does his magic behind the scene.

Ebube: But for me, the 49ers are making out this one, not the Rams. I’m sorry, guys. The 49ers.

Roman and Samuel: Bold take. Bold take.

Samuel: Let’s go on to the NFC South here and for the NFC south again, this should be pretty straightforward,

Samuel and Roman: Buccaneers are winning.

Samuel: No doubt they’re winning this division because you got, again, got somebody like Tom Brady. So they have good receivers, even though Godwin might not play in week one and you still got someone like a target hog Mike Evans and Julio Jones, obviously, we don’t know how much healthy he can be.

Samuel: But their defense, again, still really solid defense. Nothing has really lost since they won that Super Bowl. So, it’s not surprising Bucs are going to win this.

Ebube: And I feel if Gronkowski does resign with the Bucs, I feel they might have a good chance in making the Super Bowl and winning the Super Bowl.

Samuel: All right. Well, let’s move on to the NFC North. We got Packers, Bears, Lions and Vikings.

Samuel: I’ll go with the hot take here. I think the Vikings win this. They have really explosive offense. They got Kevin O’Connell, who, again, is the head coach now. Great, great mind offensively. Defense, it’s a bit worrisome. Vikings haven’t had a very good defense for years and years, the purple people eaters.

Samuel: But, they’re going on an explosive offense. Hard to stop Justin Jefferson and then having everybody else with Dalvin Cook. You got Alexander Madison,

Roman: Adam Thielen at the number two. Right. I think it’s really, you know, it keeps defense up really. How do you gameplan you stop to commit to stopping the run with David Cook or do you play the passing game trying to cover Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson?

Roman: Kirk Cousins is a decent quarterback. You know, I really feel as if the Vikings’ strong suit is their run game. Kirk Cousins. It’s a bit questionable, but I feel like he does pretty good this season.

Samuel: He gets the job done.

Roman: However, I’m a little biased, you guys know that I am a Packer fan, I really feel confident all the additional draft picks we use that we used, we got to two defensive players from Georgia who just recently won a championship.

Roman: So I’m really confident that our defense is going to be even better without Za’darius Smith who last season was hurt and didn’t really play until the playoffs.

Roman: But I really feel like even with losing Davante Adams that we have probably the best running back in the league with AJ Dillon and Aaron Jones. Only thing is I feel as if what those rookie wide receivers, they all know defensive coordinators will know, OK, we got to commit to stopping the run here in Green Bay.

Roman: But Green Bay has been effective in running the ball with that big back in AJ Dillon. You know, I really feel as if the Packers once again, they win this division.

Ebube: I’m with you on that one Roman, and I do believe the Packers are going to win this one. They might have lost the Davante Adams, but you still cannot count on Aaron Rodgers. That man, he’s been in this league for how many years now?

Roman: 18. He’s on his 18 year.

Ebube: You can’t count this man. He’s like for me, I see him as a Carmelo Anthony. Reliable, he’s a guy that you need someone to give you a run for our money. That’s the guy I would go for. But don’t forget that you have Jordan Love behind him too. I feel this year might be his year.

Roman: For the Bears, they lost Khalil Mack. They still have Robert Quinn, who’s a pretty good defensive end. I really feel like they’ll be more dominant defensively. You know, Justin Fields is so young. I feel like he picks it up more this season, but they’re still kind of young. They’re probably going to be going into a rebuild soon. So I really feel like they’re going to be off a couple of years.

Roman: And for the Lions, you know, I feel like nobody could hate the Lions as much as they lose. That team still has some grit to them. And, you know, they’re always going to want to try to finish strong no matter what. I give my shout-out and props to the Lions.

Samuel: All right, well, let’s move on here to the last section, which is NFC East, and for me personally, again, a lot of people call it the “NFC least”

Roman: *Laughs*

Samuel: I would say tough choice here, but I’ll go I’ll go with the Eagles. They have a stacked defense. They were very great drafter this season with the NFL draft. You came in with great defensive tackles. You came in with great corners, all that sort of stuff.

Samuel: Then you have Jalen Hurts, who has been doing the greatest, other all fantasy, but hopefully, he’ll pick things up. You got AJ Brown was a tough receiver who as long as he’s staying on the field, he will be amazing. And again, we’ll see how they incorporate Miles Sanders into the mix. But we’ll see.

Roman: And they still have Devonte Smith, the Slim Reaper. So I really feel as if this round, Jalen hurts has more tools and they’re going to be able to do a lot of damage. You know, the defense, we already know how their defense is.

Roman: They have Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox, who they just recently resigned after a day. It was funny because this offseason, he was released and then got back like within a day. So it was just kind of funny how that worked.

Roman: But, yeah, they also have Darius Slay, who’s really good cornerback because he can shut starting wide receivers out. So I really feel like it’ll come back down between the Eagles and the Cowboys.

Roman: But I have the Eagles on top.

Ebube: I’m going with the [Washington] Commanders.

Samuel: Oh!

Ebube: Yes, in the name, the Commanders are going to command this division. I feel they are going to give the Cowboys a run for the money.

Ebube: But I will not also doubt the Giants because they have Daniel Jones, who we saw last year wasn’t the best. But we know we can do some damage and we have Saquon Barkley coming back too, also can do some damage.

Roman: We’ll see how that fares later on this season. Hopefully, we continue to produce more sports predictions, podcasts along the way, midway through the season.

Samuel: This podcast will also be on opinion and about more of the politics as well. So it’s [the podcast] more of a blend of sports and politics. Whatever happens the most and whatever is the biggest topic we will definitely talk about.

Roman: Thank you for listening. This is Roman Acosta

Samuel: Samuel Chacko

Ebube: Ebube Okoji

Roman: And this has been episode one of Mark our Falcon Words. Thank you, and have a good day.