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Goldfish's Slightly Too Early 2019 Season Predictions - All 32 up


goldfishwars

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1 minute ago, iknowcool said:

How do they strike you as a 5-11 team?

Terrible secondary combined with lack of true receiving options and an inconsistent quarterback.  Maybe the line can be salvaged this year with Moton / Greg Little manning the tackle spots but I have some serious concerns about Carolina

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17 minutes ago, footbull3196 said:

Terrible secondary combined with lack of true receiving options and an inconsistent quarterback.  Maybe the line can be salvaged this year with Moton / Greg Little manning the tackle spots but I have some serious concerns about Carolina

It's probably going to be Williams manning the tackle spot, who was great in 2017 but unfortunately got hurt in 2018, not Little. 

I strongly disagree with the Panthers having a terrible secondary too.  I think that opinion has been formed my some from past years, but it doesn't really apply anymore.  Bradberry has been a solid corner for years now and Donte Jackson had a strong rookie season.  Reid also stepped in nicely last year and earned his extension.  The free safety spot is weak, but overall the secondary is in good condition especially with Cockrell returning.  Our pass defense numbers weren't very good last year, but that had less to do with the secondary (other than Munnerlyn sucking, who we released, and the rotating door at the other safety spot) and more-so to do with A) a terrible defensive coordinator who we demoted and B) a porous pass rush.  

We answered A by having Rivera (having always been one of the best defensive minds in football) become our defensive coordinator and there was noticeable improvement last year ie. MNF or SNF game against the Saints last year where we completely shut them down.  B remains to be seen, but we invested heavily in improving the pass rush and on paper it's one of the strongest groups in the NFL - McCoy, Burns, Irvin, and Miller were all acquired through free agency or the draft.  Pairing them with guys like Short, Poe, and Addison should in an ideal world lead to at the very least an above average pass rush, but admittedly we still have to see them do it first.  Based off the fact that the Panthers defense has often been more good than not, the level of talent in the front seven (even if you aren't a big fan of the backside, you have to admit our front seven is among the best in the league), and Rivera's experienced at DC, I don't think there should be a lot concern for that side of the ball.  I'm pretty confident they will be at least a top 15 unit barring injuries.

I don't agree with the "lack of true receiving options as well", but that has more to do with my own personal projections for some of our players so I can see why some people would be skeptical.  DJ Moore is going to be a good one though, that I have no doubt about.  When he was officially moved to the #1 WR spot last year after we finally got tired of Funchess, he performed like one of the better receivers in football despite having to deal with a noodle-armed Cam.  He actually led all WRs last year in forced missed tackles per reception:

https://pantherswire.usatoday.com/2019/05/15/panthers-d-j-moore-pro-football-focus-missed-tackles-2018/

Samuel also had some shine and we have some okay contributors behind them like Wright and Hogan, plus McCaffrey.  But LIS, I understand the skepticism.  I think it depends on Olsen.  If he's healthy, I'm way less concerned about the guys Cam can throw to.  If he isn't healthy, we will need Ian Thomas to be a lot more consistent than he was last year.

I don't really see how the Bucs hold up well in comparison.  NFL is tricky so they certainly could be better, but for all the issues you listed with the Panthers, I think they all apply for the Bucs and even more-so.  Their offensive line has even more questions.  Their secondary is undoubtedly worse.  And for as inconsistent as Newton can be, he's consistent in comparison to Winston and to this point a better QB.  That could all change based on how the season plays out but as of now, I think it would be really difficult to make an argument for the Bucs over the Panthers.  We're just a more experienced and talented team all-around.

Edited by iknowcool
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24. New York Jets

Image result for jets darnold

What’s New in 2019:

Adam Gase got hired as head coach and weirded everyone out at the weird press conference and then immediately worked to push out the GM who hired him. Just as the Jets appeared to be heading for sunnier days, dysfunction reigned once more. Tiny Dowell Loggins was brought in at OC and furious Boomer Gregg Williams was hired at DC. Joe Douglas came onboard as GM and took full financial advantage of a team really needing a GM at the wrong time of year. Le’Veon Bell signed in FA, eventually and their new head coach was apparently not happy about that and he wasn't happy at his two girlfriends who stole his jewellery. CJ Mosley was the other big FA name brought in by the previous GM to help at linebacker and there were smaller FA deals for Jamison Crowder, Brian Poole and Ty Montgomery. Quinnen Williams was the headliner of a well-received draft class. 

Roster Strengths:

Defensive Line – Leonard Williams, Quinnen Williams and Henry Anderson is a really nice starting trio to be able to field. That’s going to be a handful to deal with if they can all stay healthy. 

Inside Linebacker – Avery Williamson and CJ Mosely could be the best duo they’ve been able to field since the early Rex Ryan days

Safety – As good as any safety duo any team should be able to put out in 2019 in Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye

Roster Weaknesses:

Offensive Line – Not enough was done to make this unit better in the off-season. Kelechi Osemele is a nice pick-up in FA, but he himself is coming off a real down year in Oakland under Tom Cable. Jonotthan Harrison, Brian Winters and Brandon Shell are all scheduled to start next year and that is not ideal. 

Edge – It’s been a troublesome spot to fix and Jacahi Polite had too weird of a draft process to assume he can just come in and fix things

Corner - Trumaine Johnson's play didn't match the contract in his first season and the other spots will be won in camp 

Breakout Player:

Chris Herndon – The Jets haven’t had a reliable tight end target in a good while and Herndon had a promising rookie outing with 39 catches and 4 TD’s for 500 yards. That’s a nice base to build up from.

How they can win in 2019:

Much of the gloss of Adam Gase’s career has come off after an uninspired three season stint in Miami where he went 23-25. Prior to that, he had gained a big rep as an offensive guru as Peyton Manning’s quarterback coach and OC in Denver and followed that up with a one year stay in Chicago where Jay Cutler wasn’t a nightmare. This could be his last chance to cement himself as a head coach in a while and the team will go as the offense does in 2019. That means the dysfunction which has marred the start of his career in New York needs to stop once they get into training camp. The offense has the weapons to be good if they can find a way to mute the impact of a below par offensive line and Sam Darnold can take a next step with a new offensive scheme to grow into. 

Most of the ingredients of a very strong defense are here, with a surprisingly strong spine when you go down the depth chart. That is something Mike Maccagnan cannot be criticised for putting together. Gregg Williams has to get them to play well as a cohesive unit and that means the huge FA money they’ve thrown on this side of the football needs a return with those players in particular needing and wanting to play well. The defensive front could be a monster if it plays to its potential and could really help the flanks if it can be consistently disruptive. 

Predicted record 2019:

6-10 - A little too much chaos early on to predict bright things to the Jets this year, but they should be headed in the right direction with Joe Douglas pulling the strings from here on.

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14 hours ago, goldfishwars said:

25. Jacksonville Jaguars

Predicted record 2019:

6-10 – They’re absolutely talented enough to do well again, but they have six tough games out of the gate to navigate and a whole offensive identify to find. 

1

I think this is fairly reasonable.

The Jaguars can make the playoffs, but it's going to take Foles being good Foles, at least one of the WRs or RBs breaking out, the OL staying healthy, and the defense staying healthy for a third straight year while seeing little regression. That's a lot of things that need to break their way, and I don't really see it happening. 

And even if everything breaks their way, you have to wonder if they'd even be that good. Their magical run in '17 only saw them go 10-6 in the regular season and that included them going 5-1 in games against backup QBs. The defense is clearly going to be worse than that unit, and the offense probably didn't do anything to make up the ground between the efficiency that unit saw and where they would have to be to go 11-5 vs a full slate of starting QBs.

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28th. Oof.

Can't argue, really. Too many unknowns; the secondary and pass rush especially. And the oline and backfield are huge question marks, returning pretty much the same groups from a subpar effort last season. Then there's the Jeckyll and Hyde Jameis.

We'll find out this year if we actually have a talented team but have suffered through years of horrible coaching or if we're just bad.

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On 6/27/2019 at 2:55 AM, goldfishwars said:

Predicted record 2019:

5-11 - Man, I just think there's more to football than focusing your efforts on being hard to beat and sometimes low-risk football bring back low rewards. 

How have they focused their efforts on being hard to beat?

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5 hours ago, pwny said:

I think this is fairly reasonable.

The Jaguars can make the playoffs, but it's going to take Foles being good Foles, at least one of the WRs or RBs breaking out, the OL staying healthy, and the defense staying healthy for a third straight year while seeing little regression. That's a lot of things that need to break their way, and I don't really see it happening. 

And even if everything breaks their way, you have to wonder if they'd even be that good. Their magical run in '17 only saw them go 10-6 in the regular season and that included them going 5-1 in games against backup QBs. The defense is clearly going to be worse than that unit, and the offense probably didn't do anything to make up the ground between the efficiency that unit saw and where they would have to be to go 11-5 vs a full slate of starting QBs.

Is it weird I see similarities between Jacksonville and San Fran?

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23. Denver Broncos

Image result for flacco broncos

 

What’s New in 2019:

Another team with a fresh suite of coaches. Defensive guru Vic Fangio finally gets a crack to run an NFL team after a renaissance in Chicago and former 49er quarterback coach Rich Scangarello gets a shot at running an offense, presumably to install the Shanahan template. Ed Donatel comes over with Fangio as DC from Chicago where he coached the defensive backs and Mike Munchak comes in as offensive line coach in what could be a fantastically underrated pick-up for someone making a sideways move. A new veteran quarterback arrives to replace the previous free agent veteran in Joe Flacco and Denver and Elway seem unusually excited about him. They made improvements to the offensive line in picking up FA Ju'Wuan James and Dalton Risner through the draft, although they have the net loss of center Matt Paradis to deal with. They signed Kareem Jackson and Bryce Callahan to start at corner and big-time tight end athlete Noah Fant headlined their draft class. 

Roster Strengths:

Edge – Undoubtedly the jewel on this defense is Vonn Miller and last year’s top five pick Bradley Chubb, who quietly accumulated 12 sacks in an otherwise lost season. There's very little behind them on the roster, so their health is paramount. 

Corner – Karrem Jackson comes over after an up year in Houston, Chris Harris is used to being one of the game’s premier talents and Bryce Callahan was one of the league’s best slot corners in Chicago. That should be a nice trio.

Elsewhere – At safety, Will Parks and Justin Simmons is pretty solid and they have a decent back-up situation there too which is rare for most teams. Philip Lindsay goes into year 2 after a fantastically unexpected rookie season at running back.

Roster Weaknesses:

Quarterback – It feels like Denver is way more invested in a Joe Flacco renaissance than even Joe Flacco might have been expecting. They’ve been talking him up an awful lot this off-season. I’d just love the guy to rip it more often, that huge arm rarely got a workout in Baltimore in the last few seasons. If he doesn’t become more aggressive, then they’ve got a rookie quarterback who won’t be afraid to turn it loose – but that comes with a different kind of risk. 

Breakout Player:

Courtland Sutton – Last year’s 2nd round pick had a decent start to his career, with 42 passes caught for 700 yards and 4 touchdowns. He’s expected to step-up in year two with no Demaryius Thomas in town.

How they can win in 2019:

Rich Scangarello has an enormous job on his hands to get this offense ticking over, he's never had a role this big before and he's never called plays in the NFL before. Outside of that, a lot really does fall on the quarterback because the Broncos have to navigate through some pretty horrible looking defenses on their schedule, which is one of the hardest in the NFL in 2019. The offensive line looks more improved on paper, but their biggest addition could come via Mike Munchak who turned Pittsburgh into a powerhouse. Improvements from Garrett Boles feel like a key component part to that situation. Drew Lock has some fundamental flaws to work through before he steps on to an NFL field in year one, so Flacco has to both stay healthy, and play well. The passing offense needs the experience of a healthy Emmanuel Sanders too and workout how to get the most out of first rounder Noah Fant and their other young receivers. If the new outside zone scheme takes, then there are two running backs in Phllip Lindsay and Royce Freeman who are well suited to it. Lindsay's health and workload will be a talking point. 

On defense, Fangio should obviously be a plus to and an exciting pass-rush which should flourish further under his tenure. Josey Jewell and Todd Davis at linebacker are the key cogs here as have all players at the linebacker position in a Fangio defense so they have to be up to that challenge as there's not a lot of quality depth around them. Elsewhere, the ingredients are there at cornerback but they just have to get it to gel together.

Predicted record 2019:

6-10 – Jon Elway had a very good offseason without receiving a lot of praise for it. I think it could be an up and down year in the win column and that will be the fault of a rough schedule and a lack of consistency at quarterback. Otherwise a serious uptick in overall performance should not be a surprise for a team who seem to be heading in the right direction.  

Edited by goldfishwars
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13 hours ago, goldfishwars said:

24. New York Jets

Adam Gase got hired as head coach and weirded everyone out at the weird press conference and then immediately worked to push out the GM who hired him. Just as the Jets appeared to be heading for sunnier days, dysfunction reigned once more. Tiny Dowell Loggins was brought in at OC and furious Boomer Gregg Williams was hired at DC. Joe Douglas came onboard as GM and took full financial advantage of a team really needing a GM at the wrong time of year. Le’Veon Bell signed in FA, eventually and their new head coach was apparently not happy about that and he wasn't happy at his two girlfriends who stole his jewellery. CJ Mosley was the other big FA name brought in by the previous GM to help at linebacker and there were smaller FA deals for Jamison Crowder, Brian Poole and Ty Montgomery. Quinnen Williams was the headliner of a well-received draft class. 

Well, I know one team I won't be rooting for this year. And I was just starting to like them again after the Ryan era too. xD

I think the Jets could surprise some people with the talent they've got on their team, but you said the magic word: dysfunction. Even great teams ('93 Oilers for example) are eventually brought down by that.

Edited by y*so*blu
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7 hours ago, candyman93 said:

Is it weird I see similarities between Jacksonville and San Fran?

Maybe offensively but I dont see it on defense. 2 unproven QBs with high expectations, 2 RBs that have played well but injuries derailed 2018 and loads of WRs that are lackluster. They have Kittle though

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22. Houston Texans

Image result for texans gaine o'brien

 

What’s New in 2019:

Brian Gaine was given his orders after what seems like a power struggle with Bill O’Brien, who advocated him for the job just one year ago and two weeks after he applauded Gaine's bold move for drafting Tytus Howard in their draft war room. That, and a subsequent bungled play for Nick Caserio has left a shadow over a quiet off-season with little movement on the roster and a controversial draft class headlined by two small school offensive linemen. That class now does not have the GM who brought them in around. Former tight end coach Tim Kelly takes over as the new OC, which isn't a sentence you normally like to hear. On the FA side, Tashaun Gipson who was steady in Jacksonville comes in to bolster the safety position alongside Jahleel Addae was was no good with the Chargers in his final season there. Bradley Roby comes in to help at corner after his career in Denver went south. Matt Kalil was the big FA offensive line move and....yeah.

Roster Strengths:

Quarterback – Deshaun Watson has been a big hit in Houston, playing way above the low expectations some had for him when he was coming out.

Defensive Front – The supporting cast doesn’t matter an awful lot when you can field Watt, Clowney and Mercilus together at the same time

Elsewhere – DeAndre Hopkins remains a fairly lone, but extremely bright spot at receiver. Benardrick McKinney is quietly very good at inside linebacker.

Roster Weaknesses:

Offensive Line – The guys got almost got Watson so beat up he couldn’t travel to games by plane last season and they’re only two small school prospects better this season. It’s hard to believe that’s not a big reason why Brian Gaine isn’t employed as the team’s GM any longer.

Receiver (Depth) – There’s not a lot to hang your hat on outside of De’Andre Hopkins, who is a walking hat stand. Will Fuller flashes every time he hits the field, but has missed 17 games in three seasons and is recovering from a torn ACL. The Tight end position doesn’t have a clear starter either.

Breakout Player:

D’onta Foreman – He suffered a torn Achillies in his promising rookie season and spent 2018 recovering from that injury which can be a death knell for some running backs. The early reviews are looking good for his return and it would be good for the team if he could beat out the painfully average Lamar Miller for the starting gig.

How they can win in 2019:

The Texans have won the AFC South in three of Bill O’Brien’s five seasons, including last year when they were a surprise 11-5. Stability at the head coach spot is usually a plus and he’s used to delivering an effective offense with a less-than-ideal personnel situation. For that to happen again, they need their rookie offensive lineman to win jobs on the offensive line through ability and they have to play well enough to prove those weren’t just picks for the future. At receiver, they have to find something outside of Hopkins who can do more than flash potential. A consistent weapon at tight end would be nice, be it any of the recent three draft picks spent there. A running game built around a healthy D’Onta Foreman would also be a plus.

The front seven look set, but the star men on defense need to stay healthy as this defense will go as they do. There’s a lot of middling talent around them and there’s also lot of maybes at corner this year. I don’t know how much Jonathan Joseph has left, but he seems to be getting by on smarts alone at this point. Aaron Colvin battled through injury and poor form in his first season in Houston, he has to bounce back from that and Bradley Roby could do with finding that early Denver form. The team also spent a high pick on Lonnie Johnson, so we’ll see how that situation shakes out. At safety, Justin Reid played very well in his rookie season and needs to find a playing partner who compliments his skill-set.

Predicted record 2019:

7-9 – The Texans have a very hard schedule in 2019 and there are just too many questions that need answering to expect a better return than this at this point. Still they've exceed low expectations before, but from top to bottom this is not a well-balanced roster. 

Edited by goldfishwars
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5 minutes ago, Daniel said:

Well, there's the first surprise.  I did not expect to see the Texans that low on the list.  Disfunction city and a bad draft, but Deshaun Watson, JJ Watt, Deandre Hopkins, and Clowney make for a very talented group.

I think there will be bigger surprises.

BOB isn't a good coach and the Texans play in very competitive division. 

 

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Just now, SBLIII said:

I think there will be bigger surprises.

BOB isn't a good coach and the Texans play in very competitive division. 

 

Don't get me wrong, I was screaming from the rafters that the Texans were overhyped last year, and there was no way they'd win that many games.

I was wrong.

They've got similar problems this year, the only difference I see is whether luck goes against them, and whether the other teams win more division games.  The latter was already a split with the Titans and the Colts, so unless both of them shut the Texans out, it'd have to be bad luck (likely with Watson) hitting them for them to go 7-9 IMO.

But I was wrong last year.  I could be wrong again.

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