We're at the unofficial halfway mark of the 2017 NFL season and after eight weeks of action, much of what we believed to be true has been dispelled.
Here are five things we've learned so far this season:
Offseason champions are regular-season disappointments
The darlings of the offseason couldn't translate all of that good juju into regular-season success.
The New York Giants were hailed as potential Super Bowl contenders after adding Brandon Marshall, but the season fell apart almost as soon as it started. The Giants are lucky to already have a victory heading into Week 9.
The Oakland Raiders were said to have added the missing piece to a championship-caliber club when they brought Marshawn Lynch out of retirement. The opposite is true, as the Raiders occupy the space at the bottom of the AFC West standings. They already have more losses than they did all of last season.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been just as disappointing as the other two teams. After loading up on targets (DeSean Jackson, O.J. Howard, Chris Godwin), the Bucs still can't run the ball or get it into the hands of Jackson consistently. They'll need another five-game winning streak just to get back into it.
We should have listened to Dabo Swinney
In hindsight, the league should have known from the start that Deshaun Watson would be a stud.
The Houston Texans quarterback threw the most touchdown passes by a rookie in one month in NFL history when he exploded with 16 in October.
Watson has proven to be everything the Texans asked for in a quarterback, and everything Brock Osweiler and Tom Savage weren't. Although, that shouldn't be a surprise, considering that, as a collegiate, he eviscerated Alabama's defense in back-to-back national championship games.
Nonetheless, he was the third quarterback taken in this year's draft, despite his college coach's declaration he should go first overall.
Dabo was right about the likely Rookie of the Year.
Former outposts are hot destinations
Searching for a possible playoff destination? Might I interest you in a trip to Buffalo, Jacksonville, or Los Angeles?
Kelvin Benjamin, Calais Campbell, A.J. Bouye, and Sammy Watkins have all relocated to these spots.
The Bills, Jaguars, and Rams are in the thick of the playoff races in their respective divisions.
The Bills, who seem to always start off hot, are a half-game back of the New England Patriots in the AFC East. Their early success could make for two juicy December matchups with the Pats.
The Jaguars own the league's best pass defense and rushing offense, as well as a share of the lead in the AFC South.
The Rams are tied for first in the NFC West on the backs of their superior point differential.
Safe to say this would be tough to envision before the season started.
Don't ignore your offensive line
Offensive linemen are used to being forgotten. They're often the least appreciated group on a football team.
A number of teams tried to go it this season without addressing glaring holes on their offensive fronts. Each of them have discovered after half a season that it was a poor decision.
The Seahawks hoped George Fant could make the conversion from basketball power forward to left tackle in 20 months. That experiment was shelved when Fant suffered a season-ending injury in the preseason. The Hawks then moved 2016 third-round pick Rees Odhiambo over from the other side of the line. The returns have been disappointing.
Seattle had but one touchdown from a running back before trading for Texans All-Pro left tackle Duane Brown on Tuesday.
It's never too late to atone for your mistakes.
The Giants and Cincinnati Bengals should heed that advice, as they own two of the bottom-six running games and also have only registered one score from a running back this season.
Draft success doesn't correlate to immediate improvement
The Browns and 49ers were both applauded for their work at the 2017 NFL Draft. Their shrewd moves and picks have not led to better performances on the field, however.
The two franchises combined to have three wins last season. Halfway through this season, they're both flirting with winless campaigns.
It appears it was unwise to rush to call them improved clubs as they both appear to have even worse rosters than the ones they fielded last season.
(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)
