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

[Tetsujin]

24 minutes ago, ET80 said:

This year? This team seems significantly worse, and I'm a believer in Josh Rosen.

They might be a little worse, personnel-wise. But a different coaching staff (especially defensively) should help.

[Deadpulse]

1 hour ago, freak_of_nature said:

A popular trend the past few years to predict Miami as the worst team. That never works out.

They might not have the worst record, but thats not what this list is. 

[Daniel]

Yeah, hard to dismiss it as a trend when the Dolphins are one of the weakest teams on paper and are completely changing up their personnel.

[24isthelaw]

Tremendous thread goldfishwars!

[ET80]

2 hours ago, freak_of_nature said:

They might be a little worse, personnel-wise. But a different coaching staff (especially defensively) should help.

Different doesn't necessarily mean better; This could be another Steve Wilks-type hire for all we know. Even if the defense gets shored up, the offense could be so bad that it's useless to field a good D, as the O isn't going to put up points.

The track record for former Patriots coordinators is abysmal - Bill O'Brien is the best of that bunch, and he's horrible (trust me on this). So, it shouldn't be an assumption that it's going to lead to more wins.

[goldfishwars]

30. Arizona Cardinals

What’s New in 2019:

Man, I mean a lot and probably too much. We have a first time head coach, whose first gig in the NFL comes with his current role. It’s still wild to see a guy fail upwards by getting fired by his college team and supposedly swarmed over by NFL teams within the same year. Former Packers OC Tom Clements will be the team's de-facto offensive coordinator and Vance Joseph comes over from Denver to take on the DC duties after being fired as their head coach. I would imagine Joseph will have somewhat of a free reign there. 

In free agency, JR Sweezy and Marcus Gilbert were signed to bolster the offensive line and Charles Clay was brought in to compete for tight end snaps. On defense, Terrell Suggs and Brooks Reed were brought in to help with the outside pass-rush, Darius Philon to help the defensive line, Jordan Hicks signed to help the linebacker spot and Robert Alford and DJ Swearinger to help the secondary. A brand new QB comes into replace last year’s brand new rookie QB and he headlines a rookie class which was surprisingly exciting especially given the GM’s recent record.

Roster Strengths:

Running Back – At running back, there’s an all-pro talent in David Johnson who was written-out of the offensive playbook last season for no good reason at all. 

Wide Receiver – I mean, kinda - there's a lot of names there at least. There will be a lot of heavy receiver sets in most Cardinals offensive plays next season and the Cards added three intriguing draft picks in speedster Andy Isabella, big play Hakeem Butler and route runner KeeSean Johnson to join future HOF Larry Fitz and last year’s 2^nd round pick Christian Kirk (plus Kevin White??) already present. Outside of Fitz, it’s inexperienced, but it’s also exciting and has a nice blend of skills. 

Elsewhere - Chandler Jones has been rolling since coming in via a trade which didn't then work out in the Pats favor for once and Patrick Peterson should be his reliably top tier self after he returns from a four game suspension. 

Roster Weaknesses:

Offensive Line – Still plenty to work through, with all spots pretty much available to be won outside of DJ Humphries on the left side and that’s if he can sustain good health after missing 18 games over the past two seasons. 

Tight End – There's gonna be an epic battle between Ricky Seals-Jones, Charles Clay and Maxx Williams for the starting gig

Breakout Player:

Christian Kirk – Kirk had an up and down rookie season, but has an inside track with the new offensive scheme given his experience in an Air-Raid offense at A & M and his former teammate there Kyler Murray is now his new quarterback. Even in a crowded receiver corps, he can handle the load as a high volume target in a pass-heavy attack.

How they can win in 2019:

Firstly, there's a huge amount on the plate of a first time head coach. He has a new system to implement and Arizona has seen a fairly dramatic roster overhaul since the off-season began. Secondly, whether it is by the quarterback’s elusiveness or through the better health/ability of the offensive line, they need to protect Kyler Murray who is going to have a full schedule for a rookie quarterback and he's got to be up to that task. The new scheme perhaps could shield him from some of the defensive pressure they couldn't hold back in 2018, but the ball is going to be in the air, whether that’s on a screen to David Johnson, or a stick throw to Larry Fitz. It’s an incredibly young roster on offense, so getting those guys ready to play early is fairly crucial to their success in 2019. If they can achieve that, that same new scheme could leave defensive opponents confused and slow to catch-up. The Cards have a favorable schedule early, so that's where that advantage may show up. 

Arizona had the worst run defense in football in 2018, that feels like priority number one. Perhaps the move back to a 3-4 will help, Chandler Jones is expected to partner Suggs at outside linebacker, leaving an interior of Darius Philon, Rodney Gunter, Corey Peters and rookie Zach Allen to rotate through, but they to deliver the improvement. Jordan Hicks seems like an upgrade over what they’ve had at linebacker in recent seasons and they might get him a decent full-time running partner in Haason Reddick who has failed to flourish in a utility role since he was their first pick in 2017. Priority number two is finding a full-time running partner opposite Patrick Peterson, whose suspension leaves them extremely vulnerable at the back-end for six games especially if Robert Alford, who was terrible last year, has to take on his role. It might be Byron Murphy, their 2^nd round draft pick who could be more comfortable playing in the slot early. Either way, they are going to to need him to come out of the gate hard. 

Predicted record 2019:

4-12 - I think there might be a little too much to do in a quick turnaround here, but if they finish 2019 with a rosier looking 2020 on the horizon then the Cards will probably be happy with that. 

Edited June 26, 2019 by goldfishwars

[FinSting]

Sweet readin'.

I was kinda forgetting about the NFL after the Quiet Time of June, patiently waiting for training camps, and sadly cringing when reading stuff today like the Bengals 1st rd pick o-lineman being out for the year after surgery. 

I'm thinking the leadership skills of Fins coach Brian Flores will be on full display this season and Miami will win more games than expected (which in this thread, 3 wins would be overproduction). One of my good friends is a lifelong Pats fan and he was always raving about Flores being a quietly awesome coach, coaching up players to give max effort. 

The o-line was awful last year, the d-line was awful last year...nowhere to go but up. Bring on those 2 TE sets, bring on that hybrid 3-4. 

But if Rosen can't beat out Fitzmagic...bad juju. 

[goldfishwars]

29. Oakland Raiders

What’s New in 2019:

Last year's crop of coordinators remain for another season. Antonio Brown was brought in via a trade for way less than his on-field production suggests. Trent Brown was given a huge pay day to come in and play tackle and LaMarcus Joyner comes in from the Rams to play in the secondary. They've happily invited in some well-known locker room cancers (AB, Ritchie Incgnito, Vontaze Burfict - more on the field with him) from other teams and a draft class of high caliber ‘leaders’ with three low-risk first round selections this year. We’ll see which crop can run the asylum the most effectively. It's a weird way round to do things. 

Roster Strengths:

Wide Receiver – Antonio Brown alone gives Derek Carr a reason to shake out himself out of the conservative slump he’s found himself in. Tyrell Williams is another big play threat on the outside. There’s room for a threat to develop underneath if those two can be a consistent menace on the perimeters. 

Offensive Line (Kind of) – Brown, Jackson and Hudson can give them a pretty good right side of the line if that’s where Brown ends up. Kolton Miller was awful in his first year, but there’s plenty of time for him to improve. Left guard is a vacancy right now. Let’s face it, the line will have to overcome the single worst offensive line coach in the NFL.

Defensive Tackle – Maurice Hurst, Johnathan Hankins, PJ Hall and Eddie Vanderdoes returning from an ACL should give them a pretty decent inside rotation. Hurst and Hall could both take next steps.

Elsewhere - The secondary is better stocked than it has been in recent seasons, but there’s a reliance on recent draft picks to get it done at corner. 

Roster Weaknesses:

Tight End – There isn’t a proven tight end on the roster, so they need to find one from within. Gruden has talked up hybrid receiver/TE Darren Waller, but he has 18 catches in four NFL seasons so I’ll believe that when I see it.

Edge – The Raiders probably need immediate returns from surprise high pick Clelin Ferrell, because Arden Key was poor in his first season and outside of development pick Maxx Crosby there’s very little else to get excited about.

Linebacker – It’s been a tough position for the Raiders to get right. Brandon Marshall is serviceable, but it’s fringe level talent elsewhere around him.  If Vontaze Burfict is starting a lot of games next season, that’s not a sign things are getting better.

Breakout Player:

PJ Hall – A 3^rd round pick last year, who was pretty raw coming out and then had to play too many snaps in his first season. The fact he looked pretty good on that first year workload bodes well for his second full season.

How they can win in 2019:

An improved roster in 2019, but a dog of schedule to overcome especially early on where they face Broncos, Chiefs, Vikings, Colts, Bears and then the Packers. They really need to ride that storm out so that morale isn't impacted. That means improved performances are going to need to be significant enough to translate that into an improved wins total. Winning early becomes important too, because malcontents in the locker room are known to cause issues when things aren’t going to plan. Those wins can be won on offense with a more aggressive Derek Carr and a consistent running game featuring a rookie feature back who has never been a feature for a full season. He's been at his best when he's had a good offensive line as they did pre-Cable who has never coached a top 10 offensive line in the NFL. 

On defense, they need to overcome the same issues as the Giants in that they have a young secondary and an unproven pass-rush.  They face Pat Mahomes twice, Phillip Rivers twice, Aaron Rodgers, Deshaun Watson and Andrew Luck in seven games during their schedule this year. The back-end needs to be ready to go and that probably means immediate returns on Trayvon Mullen, their 2nd round selection, starting opposite Gareon Conley who came on himself late last year. 

Predicted record 2019:

4-12 - They've got a hell of a job to prevent this from turning into a circus after Hard Knocks is finished. Sadly that could be the most entertaining they get this year as the roster is a little top-heavy to get through that tough schedule and brutal run of away games.

[MrOaktown_56]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9

3 hours ago, goldfishwars said:

29. Oakland Raiders

What’s New in 2019:

Last year's crop of coordinators remain for another season. Antonio Brown was brought in via a trade for way less than his on-field production suggests. Trent Brown was given a huge pay day to come in and play tackle and LaMarcus Joyner comes in from the Rams to play in the secondary. They've happily invited in some well-known locker room cancers (AB, Ritchie Incgnito, Vontaze Burfict - more on the field with him) from other teams and a draft class of high caliber ‘leaders’ with three low-risk first round selections this year. We’ll see which crop can run the asylum the most effectively. It's a weird way round to do things. 

Roster Strengths:

Wide Receiver – Antonio Brown alone gives Derek Carr a reason to shake out himself out of the conservative slump he’s found himself in. Tyrell Williams is another big play threat on the outside. There’s room for a threat to develop underneath if those two can be a consistent menace on the perimeters. 

Offensive Line (Kind of) – Brown, Jackson and Hudson can give them a pretty good right side of the line if that’s where Brown ends up. Kolton Miller was awful in his first year, but there’s plenty of time for him to improve. Left guard is a vacancy right now. Let’s face it, the line will have to overcome the single worst offensive line coach in the NFL.

Defensive Tackle – Maurice Hurst, Johnathan Hankins, PJ Hall and Eddie Vanderdoes returning from an ACL should give them a pretty decent inside rotation. Hurst and Hall could both take next steps.

Elsewhere - The secondary is better stocked than it has been in recent seasons, but there’s a reliance on recent draft picks to get it done at corner. 

Roster Weaknesses:

Tight End – There isn’t a proven tight end on the roster, so they need to find one from within. Gruden has talked up hybrid receiver/TE Darren Waller, but he has 18 catches in four NFL seasons so I’ll believe that when I see it.

Edge – The Raiders probably need immediate returns from surprise high pick Clelin Ferrell, because Arden Key was poor in his first season and outside of development pick Maxx Crosby there’s very little else to get excited about.

Linebacker – It’s been a tough position for the Raiders to get right. Brandon Marshall is serviceable, but it’s fringe level talent elsewhere around him.  If Vontaze Burfict is starting a lot of games next season, that’s not a sign things are getting better.

Breakout Player:

PJ Hall – A 3^rd round pick last year, who was pretty raw coming out and then had to play too many snaps in his first season. The fact he looked pretty good on that first year workload bodes well for his second full season.

How they can win in 2019:

An improved roster in 2019, but a dog of schedule to overcome especially early on where they face Broncos, Chiefs, Vikings, Colts, Bears and then the Packers. They really need to ride that storm out so that morale isn't impacted. That means improved performances are going to need to be significant enough to translate that into an improved wins total. Winning early becomes important too, because malcontents in the locker room are known to cause issues when things aren’t going to plan. Those wins can be won on offense with a more aggressive Derek Carr and a consistent running game featuring a rookie feature back who has never been a feature for a full season. He's been at his best when he's had a good offensive line as they did pre-Cable who has never coached a top 10 offensive line in the NFL. 

On defense, they need to overcome the same issues as the Giants in that they have a young secondary and an unproven pass-rush.  They face Pat Mahomes twice, Phillip Rivers twice, Aaron Rodgers, Deshaun Watson and Andrew Luck in seven games during their schedule this year. The back-end needs to be ready to go and that probably means immediate returns on Trayvon Mullen, their 2nd round selection, starting opposite Gareon Conley who came on himself late last year. 

Predicted record 2019:

4-12 - They've got a hell of a job to prevent this from turning into a circus after Hard Knocks is finished. Sadly that could be the most entertaining they get this year as the roster is a little top-heavy to get through that tough schedule and brutal run of away games.

Hard to argue with most of this. I don't understand how we keep getting rekt with these super hard schedules. I thought Key wasn't bad for a rookie. He came on late and has supposedly added weight so we'll see. Still, we're certainly looking at at least 1 edge/LB in FA next year.

This year will tell us where we stand/what we have, especially on defense. And with Cable for that matter. You can pencil in Incognito at LG though. He's already been taking 1st team reps. Miller played 12 games last year with a sprained MCL. He was decent before the sprain. Afterward, he was beyond horrible, but it's hard to fully blame him playing hobbled like that. If the offense isn't top 10, I'll be very disappointed. I'm expecting a lot from our guys on that side of the ball.

Next year we can turn heads if we can splash our 2 1sts and land an easy schedule. This year, too much working against us.

[ET80]

I actually like the Raiders as a sleeper 10-6 team; Derek Carr has the talent to become a top 10 QB, some would argue that he got there a few seasons ago.

Carr with a revamped WR and OL unit can hang with a very talented AFCW, and they can be one of those surprise contenders for a #6 spot in the WC.

[Buckweath]

Yeah the Raiders probably shouldn't be that low.

I definitly could see them finishing above the Broncos in the AFC West.

They won't be a good team but they will be improved.

[ClutchDJ]

I’m rooting for Daniel Jones to do good.

 

I think there’s a decent chance AZ goes at least 7-9.

[ramssuperbowl99]

5 hours ago, goldfishwars said:

Roster Weaknesses:

Tight End – There isn’t a proven tight end on the roster, so they need to find one from within. Gruden has talked up hybrid receiver/TE Darren Waller, but he has 18 catches in four NFL seasons so I’ll believe that when I see it.

Edge – The Raiders probably need immediate returns from surprise high pick Clelin Ferrell, because Arden Key was poor in his first season and outside of development pick Maxx Crosby there’s very little else to get excited about.

Linebacker – It’s been a tough position for the Raiders to get right. Brandon Marshall is serviceable, but it’s fringe level talent elsewhere around him.  If Vontaze Burfict is starting a lot of games next season, that’s not a sign things are getting better.away games.

You have to note that Tom Cable is coaching Richie Incognito in this section. They're going to fight each other at least a couple dozen times this year.

[SBLIII]

There is some pretty good depth in the league this year.

[Daniel]

1 hour ago, ET80 said:

I actually like the Raiders as a sleeper 10-6 team; Derek Carr has the talent to become a top 10 QB, some would argue that he got there a few seasons ago.

Carr with a revamped WR and OL unit can hang with a very talented AFCW, and they can be one of those surprise contenders for a #6 spot in the WC.

I would put the Raiders really low if I were ranking teams if for no other reason than I don't see a ton of wins for them in that schedule.  KC and the Chargers should give them four losses, and there seems to be a noticeably higher level of talent in Denver too, who happens to be first and last opponent, when they're still figuring it out and when wild cards might still be theoretically in play.

Then the rest of that schedule is just brutal.  They've got the Packers and Texans early, so Watson and Rodgers will still be healthy, the Titans late, so Simmons and Casey will both be on the field.  The only thing going for them is that their three "easiest" games (Bengals, Lions, Jags) are all at home.