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

[SBLIII]

3 minutes ago, Danger said:

Honestly thought the same thing.

IDK what it is, but Patriots fans around here seem to have a weird respect for the Eagles team over the last number of years, even before Super Bowl 52. It's weird to me.

Fly Eagles 🦅 

[SteelKing728]

8 hours ago, Blackstar12 said:

Barely above average lol.

He's a top 15 QB, yes. I'm not a huge Kirk Cousins fan but he's a valuable QB to have on your team.

Just like Stafford, Winston, Watson etc.

[goldfishwars]

3. Los Angeles Rams

What’s New in 2019:

No huge changes, the quarterbacks coach Zach Taylor left to become the Bengals head coach and is replaced by Zac Robinson who will naturally become an NFL head coach in a year's time. Otherwise they are as they were in 2018 on the coaching front. Personnel wise, it’s a similarly settled outlook with veterans Eric Weddle coming in from the Ravens and Clay Matthews coming in from Green Bay for perhaps a last pop at a Super Bowl run. The draft was really focused on supplementing positions rather than filling needed holes.

Roster Strengths:

Wide Receiver – There’s not a lot of proven depth behind them, but the trio of Cooks-Woods-Kupp has more than enough to power this passing game

Offensive Tackle – Andrew Whitworth was close to elite again in a season he turned 37. He’ll turn 38 this season after flirting with retirement. Rob Havenstein has been extremely solid locking down the right side since he was drafted.

Defensive Line – Aaron Donald continues to press-on as the best defensive player in the league and Michael Brockers has been a reliably good foil for him. They’ll have to find a third name to add out of recent draft picks Tanzel Smart, Sebastian Joseph-Day and Greg Gaines.

Secondary – The Rams are crazy stocked at the back end with Peters-Talib-Robey-Coleman manning the corner spots and Weddle coming in to team up with John Johnson at safety. They’ve wisely spent high picks there too, to groom behind the vets in David Long and Taylor Rapp.

Kickers – Normally wouldn’t get a mention, but Hekker and Zuerlein really do give the whole team a plus

Elsewhere – I mean, normally would cite the running back position but we’ll have to see how the Gurley thing plays out. If he can manage on a reduced workload, then that’s great. There’s a chance (small?) that he’s effectively done and nobody wants to talk about that after they chucked money at him that they can’t get out of.

Roster Weaknesses:

Edge – They re-signed Dante Fowler who’ll probably never justify that 3^rd overall selection, but was better than the alternative last year. Assuming Clay Matthews plays inside, then you’re cycling through recent mid-round picks and hoping that a Trevon Young or a Justin Lawler breaks through.

Interior Offensive Line – Not necessarily a weakness, but there will be a huge drop in experience at guard and center. Jon Sullivan retired after his expiry date came up and Roger Saffold left for the Titans. That leaves Brian Allen, who they seem to like at center and last year's 3rd round pick Joe Noteboom pencilled in whilst transitioning to guard.

Breakout Player:

Gerald Everett – Probably the choice of many last season, but the Rams roster is so settled it’s difficult to pinpoint a different name. That’s mostly because Everett’s physical skill-set is primed to succeed in this offense. Rumors suggested the team went looking for trade partners for Tyler Higbee in the off-season, so an expanded role is potentially there for him in 2019. 

How they can win in 2019:

I think on offense, they need to prove there isn’t some magical defensive formula which defeats their concepts because they were beaten up in the playoffs and out-thought in the Super Bowl. Part of that might be realising how important Todd Gurley was to their success and how much that injury situation hampered them. Part of it might be varying the formations up a little in 2019. At running back they’ve re-upped on Malcolm Brown and brought in a home-run hitter in Darrell Henderson, who could be a fascinating X-factor addition. Henderson averaged over 10 yards per carry on outside zone runs at Memphis and could be one to watch this year. The interior offensive line has to reward the faith they are showing, that’s not a given - but it's a position group which has turned unheralded talent into quality line play. 

On defense, Wade Phillips outwitted Josh McDaniels and Tom Brady for much of the Super Bowl too and has to replace the hole left by Ndamukong Suh who wasn’t always playing to his  full potential on every snap during his one season there. We’ll see if is his departure has a meaningful impact. The Rams ranked 23^rd on run defense and could do with some improving. Greg Gaines, a more natural fit at nose, excelled as a run defender (if little else) with the Huskies could help there. Cory Littleton was good in coverage last year, but wasn’t stout enough. Perhaps Clay Matthews can come in and take some of that burden from him. The secondary is primed to excel once more. 

Predicted record 2019:

13-3 – It’s difficult to see anything other than another successful year for Sean McVey and company. Whilst there’s some work to do, they have a friendly schedule to fall back on if needed. They can also lean on a settled and motivated roster led by a core group of veterans.

[stl4life07]

8 hours ago, goldfishwars said:

3. Los Angeles Rams

What’s New in 2019:

No huge changes, the quarterbacks coach Zach Taylor left to become the Bengals head coach and is replaced by Zac Robinson who will naturally become an NFL head coach in a year's time. Otherwise they are as they were in 2018 on the coaching front. Personnel wise, it’s a similarly settled outlook with veterans Eric Weddle coming in from the Ravens and Clay Matthews coming in from Green Bay for perhaps a last pop at a Super Bowl run. The draft was really focused on supplementing positions rather than filling needed holes.

Roster Strengths:

Wide Receiver – There’s not a lot of proven depth behind them, but the trio of Cooks-Woods-Kupp has more than enough to power this passing game

Offensive Tackle – Andrew Whitworth was close to elite again in a season he turned 37. He’ll turn 38 this season after flirting with retirement. Rob Havenstein has been extremely solid locking down the right side since he was drafted.

Defensive Line – Aaron Donald continues to press-on as the best defensive player in the league and Michael Brockers has been a reliably good foil for him. They’ll have to find a third name to add out of recent draft picks Tanzel Smart, Sebastian Joseph-Day and Greg Gaines.

Secondary – The Rams are crazy stocked at the back end with Peters-Talib-Robey-Coleman manning the corner spots and Weddle coming in to team up with John Johnson at safety. They’ve wisely spent high picks there too, to groom behind the vets in David Long and Taylor Rapp.

Kickers – Normally wouldn’t get a mention, but Hekker and Zuerlein really do give the whole team a plus

Elsewhere – I mean, normally would cite the running back position but we’ll have to see how the Gurley thing plays out. If he can manage on a reduced workload, then that’s great. There’s a chance (small?) that he’s effectively done and nobody wants to talk about that after they chucked money at him that they can’t get out of.

Roster Weaknesses:

Edge – They re-signed Dante Fowler who’ll probably never justify that 3^rd overall selection, but was better than the alternative last year. Assuming Clay Matthews plays inside, then you’re cycling through recent mid-round picks and hoping that a Trevon Young or a Justin Lawler breaks through.

Interior Offensive Line – Not necessarily a weakness, but there will be a huge drop in experience at guard and center. Jon Sullivan retired after his expiry date came up and Roger Saffold left for the Titans. That leaves Brian Allen, who they seem to like at center and last year's 3rd round pick Joe Noteboom pencilled in whilst transitioning to guard.

Breakout Player:

Gerald Everett – Probably the choice of many last season, but the Rams roster is so settled it’s difficult to pinpoint a different name. That’s mostly because Everett’s physical skill-set is primed to succeed in this offense. Rumors suggested the team went looking for trade partners for Tyler Higbee in the off-season, so an expanded role is potentially there for him in 2019. 

How they can win in 2019:

I think on offense, they need to prove there isn’t some magical defensive formula which defeats their concepts because they were beaten up in the playoffs and out-thought in the Super Bowl. Part of that might be realising how important Todd Gurley was to their success and how much that injury situation hampered them. Part of it might be varying the formations up a little in 2019. At running back they’ve re-upped on Malcolm Brown and brought in a home-run hitter in Darrell Henderson, who could be a fascinating X-factor addition. Henderson averaged over 10 yards per carry on outside zone runs at Memphis and could be one to watch this year. The interior offensive line has to reward the faith they are showing, that’s not a given - but it's a position group which has turned unheralded talent into quality line play. 

On defense, Wade Phillips outwitted Josh McDaniels and Tom Brady for much of the Super Bowl too and has to replace the hole left by Ndamukong Suh who wasn’t always playing to his  full potential on every snap during his one season there. We’ll see if is his departure has a meaningful impact. The Rams ranked 23^rd on run defense and could do with some improving. Greg Gaines, a more natural fit at nose, excelled as a run defender (if little else) with the Huskies could help there. Cory Littleton was good in coverage last year, but wasn’t stout enough. Perhaps Clay Matthews can come in and take some of that burden from him. The secondary is primed to excel once more. 

Predicted record 2019:

13-3 – It’s difficult to see anything other than another successful year for Sean McVey and company. Whilst there’s some work to do, they have a friendly schedule to fall back on if needed. They can also lean on a settled and motivated roster led by a core group of veterans.

I love your write up about the Rams. I can see (13-3) because this team is hungry and healthy. The NFC is brutal but I do think the Rams will finish as one of the final four teams standing in the NFC fighting for that chance to play in the NFCCG for the right to represent the NFC in the Superbowl. Btw I do like your breakout player for the Rams but I also want people to take notice of Noteboom who will be replacing Saffold at LG. I think he could be in for a breakout season as well. 

[TENINCH]

19 hours ago, Blackstar12 said:

Barely above average lol.

When is the last time an average QB threw for 4,000 yards, 30 Touchdowns, and 10 Ints? All this with a very poor offensive and an offensive coordinator that didn't have a clue as to what he was doing. 

[FinSting]

18 hours ago, Danger said:

IDK what it is, but Patriots fans around here seem to have a weird respect for the Eagles team over the last number of years, even before Super Bowl 52. It's weird to me.

Any non-homer NFL fan would give respect to what Pederson has done in Philly. I like watching the Eagles play, it's 100% effort which to me signifies great coaching. 

[24isthelaw]

20 hours ago, Boltstrikes said:

Pats too low IMO. They own that #1 spot and live rent free in 31 franchises heads. They will pull their usual and look mortal till about November when The Patriot real regular season starts. 

Their situation at TE and WR is very tenuous. Julian Edelman, a rookie WR, and.......?

I think putting them at #4 in spite of a question mark that size, is a ringing endorsement of the rest of the team personally.

[Blackstar12]

10 minutes ago, TENINCH said:

When is the last time an average QB threw for 4,000 yards, 30 Touchdowns, and 10 Ints? All this with a very poor offensive and an offensive coordinator that didn't have a clue as to what he was doing. 

So no blame for Kirk being god awful against winning teams ok lol. If the Vikings disappoint again this season  better put more blame on Cousins.

Edited July 10, 2019 by Blackstar12

[TENINCH]

1 minute ago, Blackstar12 said:

 

What does that have to do with Cousins in 2018 as a Viking? We didn't lose to good teams because of Kirk.

700 plus yards against Green Bay. 7 Touchdowns and 1 int

300 yards against Philadelphia. 1 touchdown 0 ints

359 yards against New Orleans. 2 touchdowns 1 int

 422 yards against the LA Rams. 3 touchdowns O ints

[Cheesehawk]

6 minutes ago, TENINCH said:

What does that have to do with Cousins in 2018 as a Viking? We didn't lose to good teams because of Kirk.

700 plus yards against Green Bay. 7 Touchdowns and 1 int

300 yards against Philadelphia. 1 touchdown 0 ints

359 yards against New Orleans. 2 touchdowns 1 int

 422 yards against the LA Rams. 3 touchdowns O ints

The Vikings were 1-6 against teams with a winning record last year. Pretty much proves the point @Blackstar12 is trying to make. 

 

[Blackstar12]

2 minutes ago, TENINCH said:

What does that have to do with Cousins in 2018 as a Viking? We didn't lose to good teams because of Kirk.

700 plus yards against Green Bay. 7 Touchdowns and 1 int

300 yards against Philadelphia. 1 touchdown 0 ints

359 yards against New Orleans. 2 touchdowns 1 int

 422 yards against the LA Rams. 3 touchdowns O ints

It’s not all about the final box score.Also don’t know how much of that is garbage time touchdowns.  From watching a few Vikings games last year he left a lot of plays on the field. He’s the leader of the team that many thought were one of the best in NFC. 

[VikeManDan]

Kirk does need to develop or find a "clutch" factor. A hopefully improved OL and more productive running game will help him out. 

Statistically he was an above average QB in 2018, however, 8-7-1 was completely unacceptable. He doesn't shoulder all of the blame but he does shoulder some. 

[Elky]

Fail to see how a team that  we neutered in the Super Bowl and lost a bunch of key players is somehow better than us.

Edited July 10, 2019 by Elky

[TENINCH]

40 minutes ago, Cheesehawk said:

The Vikings were 1-6 against teams with a winning record last year. Pretty much proves the point @Blackstar12 is trying to make. 

 

Lot more blame goes to our defense and our former offensive coordinator. 

[TENINCH]

43 minutes ago, Blackstar12 said:

It’s not all about the final box score.Also don’t know how much of that is garbage time touchdowns.  From watching a few Vikings games last year he left a lot of plays on the field. He’s the leader of the team that many thought were one of the best in NFC. 

Not sure how many would feel that way with a barely above average QB.