Summertime in the NFL, a period when those Gatorade bottles generally feel more than half-full as optimism tends to run high within teams and among their fans as training camps open everywhere.
After years of predicting win totals throughout the league at this juncture, I’ve belatedly realized it’s perfectly encapsulated by Journey’s anthemic “Don’t Stop Believin’,” perhaps more so in 2023 than before most seasons.
Don’t stop believin’.
Hold on to that feelin’.
Yes, “that feelin'” can be pervasive in July, when the free agent and rookie additions to each club feel like game changers, coaches and players are still spouting upbeat platitudes about what their team could ultimately become … but before injuries and a few losses have taken the bloom off the rose.
Some’ll win, some will lose.
Some are born to sing the blues.
Ah, the inescapable laws of math. While so many fans (and even media members) view teams in their largely optimized summer states – and maybe err on the side of a 10-, 11- or 12-win (or more) season – the reality is, for everyone of those campaigns, there exists a corresponding five-, six- or seven-win (or worse) stinker.
