VanS

I would play all the games as normal with full stadiums. I don't buy all this fear-mongering. Its time to get back to living life.

I see Joe Burrow as just another Andy Dalton. But with that said, Andy Dalton did make it to the playoffs his first 5 years in the league largely thanks to a very talented roster assembled around him. I think that will be the case for Joe Burrow in 2020. The Bengals despite going 2-14 didn't have a depleted roster. There are a lot of quality players on that team. Joe Mixon, AJ Green, Tyler Boyd, Geno Atkins, Carlos Dunlap, William Jackson III, and Jessie Bates are all either stars or emerging stars. And then you have a guy like Tee Higgins who they took in the 2nd round this year who I had ranked as the best WR in the 2020 draft class. Outside of the QB position, the Bengals are a very talented team.

It happens almost every year. Last year it was the 49ers who went from the second overall pick in the draft to the Super Bowl. The last place teams in 2019 were the Miami Dolphins, Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Chargers, Washington Redskins, Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers, and Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals look like the obvious choice but I think the Cincinnati Bengals have a good chance as well. I have been high on them going into the last 2 NFL seasons. I even thought in 2018 they had a Super Bowl caliber roster outside of the QB position. A lot of those players I touted in 2018 as being super talented are still on the roster. It wouldn't surprise me if they finally put it together this year like the 2019 49ers finally put it together on defense after years of picking defensive lineman high in the draft. The 2020 Cincinnati Bengals have a shot at going from worst to first.

I think that division could get 2 playoff teams with the other 2 wildcard teams coming from the AFC East and North. I really like Denver this year. I wouldn't put it past them to beat out Kansas City for the division. They signed a lot of quality players this off-season and have drafted well the last 3 years. IMO they have one of the more talented rosters in the league. Lotta that talent is young and unproven but I really like their potential.

Same here. That Broncos team is sneaky loaded and set up for a great season. I could see them going 12-4 and winning the AFC West.

And last year Lamar got zero hype and ended up being the MVP. I think you might be onto something. The breakout young QB is typically someone most don't see coming. With that said, I actually like Kyler a lot and think he has a chance to be the MVP this upcoming year.

I did say I probably do need to watch him play some more. So its possible my opinion changes. All I can do is give you my initial impression and I wasn't wowed. Maybe he's more Stefon Diggs than Tyler Lockett. Nonetheless, that's a solid WR in my book and not a star.

I'm an eye test guy so I don't care about stats like that. Stats are only useful when you don't watch a player or team play. If I watch a player throughly enough, I never care about what the stats say because they lack context. I'll trust what I saw from the tape over the number. Maybe I need to watch Terry McLaurin more. I really didn't watch too many Redskins games. But from the little bit I did see, he just didn't stand out. He definitely doesn't remind me of another Antonio Brown or Marvin Harrison. To me he looked like a Tyler Lockett level receiver. Solid but nothing special. I think ya'll are just get enamored by first impressions. Just because a guy has a good rookie season or is better than initially anticipated doesn't mean he's headed for perennial stardom. True stars are rare. I didn't see many 2019 rookies that looked like true stars despite promising rookie years.

I didn't think much of last year's WR class BTW so being the best or second best doesn't mean much to me. I'm not sold on AJ Brown and DK Metcalf either. I think we'll see a regression from several of the top rookie WRs from last year.

Size. Elite playmaking ability.

Is Jimmy Garoppolo still their starting QB? As long as they have a mediocre QB there is always a chance they can be beaten by teams with superior QB play. Also the NFC West is one of the tougher divisions in football making it really tough to repeat. And the Cardinals played the 49ers really well last year in their matchups. I can see the Cardinals going 12-4 while the 49ers go 11-5.

Terry McLaurin never really jumped out to me as a future star last year. He looked to me like a solid WR at best. Sorta like Tyler Lockett.

Hopkins definitely helps but I think a Lamar Jackson-esque breakout season was coming regardless. I think Kyler has ELITE talent and the Cardinals look poised to win the NFC West. They are my surprise team in 2020 (along with the Denver Broncos).

What? They were the favorite in the Super Bowl that year and had the regular season MVP. This is like saying the 2013 Broncos weren't a good team cause they got blown out in the Super Bowl. The 02 Raiders looked like a juggernaut heading into that Super Bowl.

They went 13-3 regular season with 2 wins over the 14-2 Jaguars. Also beat the eventual Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams in the regular season. That was a great team. And they followed it up with another dominant season in 2000 where they were arguably the best team in football inspite of the Ravens beating them.