I don't know the methodology here or if it's subjective opinion. I would just say that it's pretty rare for every beat writer to keep up with the nuances of the one team they follow... guys who try to cover an entire division are an even worse hit rate...
So almost all the guys claiming to have an opinion on all 32 teams... it's one of those vast as an ocean, deep as a puddle things.
For example, I just listened to a piece that Nate Tice had on the AFC South and when he got to the Colts, he and a co-host were talking about how Daniel Jones won't be playing under center because of his Achilles and how that is going to significantly hamper the playbook, hurt Jonathan Taylor, etc...
As if Jones hasn't been basically full-go since mini-camp.
And if that wasn't enough, he threw in gems like, "They signed Charvarius Ward last year, who had a nice year... pretty healthy year, if I remember correctly, as well."
I mean, if that's the type of perception guys are working with... it makes perfect sense why they think the 7-game slide is the true indicator and the first 10 games were the anomaly - which equals a bottom 1/3 team prediction from most people.
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