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

[Pugger]

Just now, SBLIII said:

Not last year.

I did say "was".    

But in his heyday he was an absolute monster.

[Nabbs4u]

9 hours ago, Bearerofnews said:

I believe 2019 is gonna come down to 2 units. DBs and WRs and im not crazy about the eagles on either. I dont know if Wentz will be any good coming back from back to back injuries. NFCE will be much much improved and i think Eagles biggest strenght, dline is going to struggle this year. It's just a Jags circa 2018 vibe for me.

It all comes down to injuries. Not just Wentz but the entire Team. You mention DB/WR and I'm curious why? There are far worse Units out there QB are throwing to in 11/12 Personnel then

Alshon, DeSean, Agholor,  Ertz, Goedert, Howard, Sanders.

 

Now DB's on the other hand is a concern but only because of the amount of players returning from injury. However due to the absurd amount last year the Eagles might of found two 1st year Gems in ruff with Avonte Maddox and Cre'von LeBlanc. Both played well above expectations last season when forced to start. Which only helps when adding them back with Darby, McCloed, Mills, Douglas and most of all Sidney Jones in 2019. 

Eagles legit had open tryouts basically in season for being a CB on the roster. It was comical the amount that suited up and played DB. Think it was 11 ,12?

[FrantikRam]

On 7/10/2019 at 2:54 AM, 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.

 

Good write up. Most people are down on Allen/Noteboom filling in for Sullivan and Saffold, but people don't realize that Sullivan was pretty bad last year. Saffold was great, so those will be tough shoes to fill.

I disagree about the friendly schedule though - the Rams will travel the 2nd most miles in the NFL while also playing the Seahawks twice, Ravens, Bears, Cowboys, Saints - six games against playoff teams from last year. I think the Ravens will be bad, but then we also play the Browns, Steelers, Falcons, Panthers and Niners twice - all of whom project to be better than they were last year.

When you combine the amount of travel with the number of projected good teams that we will face, it's probably one of the tougher schedules in the league. Only games against Arizona (two), Tampa and Cincy seem like "easy" games (if there is such a thing in the NFL). 

[Kiltman]

11 hours ago, Bearerofnews said:

Real? I havent seen many in the national media high on them. I might be wrong, but from what i recall, most had them in the low teens.  Not top 2.

 

no clue, the only narrative all offseason was will he be healthy all year...that's all you ever hear.

All the minor narratives like stretching the field and runningback were both thoroughly washed away with the addition of Desean, Jordan Howard and Miles Sanders.

 

Hard to argue against the potential of the team that has so many weapons a great oline and a QB two years removed from MVP level play. The Eagles have a chance to put up some crazy numbers collectively this year.

 

[Kiltman]

On 7/10/2019 at 1:11 PM, Elky said:

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.

Interested to see which way the Rams go this year. 
McVay either lives up to what people think of him, learns from his mistakes and helps make Goff better.
Or the unravelling you saw in spots last year, most notably in the Super Bowl, continues.

Staying the same probably won't be good enough

[vikingsrule]

Might be a tad optimistic for the Vikings, but they have a talented roster no doubt. However, the story has mostly been written on Cousins and I don't think the OL made significant strides this offseason from a pure talent standpoint. I loved the Bradbury pick but both OG spots could be very bad. O'Neill is solid, nice to see him getting recognized. Maybe Kubiak's system makes the group better, who knows. From a talent standpoint, I'm still not happy with the OL.

Depth at WR does concern me. The Vikes can't afford an injury to Diggs or Thielen as all the backup WRs are #5 types at best, and we know Treadwell is a bust. Adding Irv Smith to the mix is intriguing. A healthy Cook in Kubiak's ZBS could also be dangerous.

Defense should continue to be top 5. While I get your concerns with Griffen, Stephen Weatherly played pretty well and shouldn't be overlooked. I wouldn't be shocked if Weatherly signs a new deal during camp, seems to be an up and coming player but likely isn't a 10 sack guy.

DT is also an interesting area. Shamar Stephen was brought back to replace Richarson, but Stephen is a bigger bodied guy. behind him, they've got a bunch of young players who fit the mold of a lighter pass rusher, which MN needs to find along the interior. 

Edited July 11, 2019 by vikingsrule

[goldfishwars]

1. Philadelphia Eagles

What’s New in 2019:

On the coaching side, everything is as it was in 2018. On the playing personnel side there was a few savvy veteran moves, Malik Jackson comes across from Jacksonville where never got to the highs he reached in Denver. Former Eagles Desean Jackson and Vinny Curry flew back to the nest and Jordan Howard signed from the Bears to help out at running back. Zach Brown comes over from divisional rivals Washington and that could be a very underrated move. Similarly Andrew Sendejo could become an important player in the safety rotation after becoming a solid starter in Minnesota. The draft class was brief, but they’ll hope they’ve locked down the left tackle spot for years after Jason Peters’ retirement and also given the run game a boost it needed.

Roster Strengths:

Wide Receiver – The Eagles go four deep effortlessly with Alshon-Desean-Agholor and now Arcega-Whiteside joining the fun via the draft. That’s a basketball team of receivers, all with their own unique skill-sets and they are going to be extremely difficult to match-up on.

Tight End – Speaking of being difficult to match-up on, the Eagles also have two starting caliber tight ends in Zach Ertz and last year’s rookie Dallas Goedert

Offensive Line – Four Pro Bowl caliber starters in Peters, Kelce, Brooks and Lane Johnson. Isaac Suemalo was serviceable last year and they drafted a 1^st round rookie in Andre Dillard who might not even need to play a snap in 2019. They go deep at the backup spots too.

Defensive Line – Fletcher Cox would be a lot more talked about if Aaron Donald wasn’t in the league and now he gets to team up with Malik Jackson inside which feels unfair. Tim Jernigan is still on the roster and Hassan Ridgeway comes over from the Colts. At end, Derek Barnett gets a shot at full-time starter opposite the reliably good Brandon Graham. Vinny Curry returns to spot both and they expect some returns this year from their investment in Josh Sweat.

Quarterback – The would-be MVP of the league in 2017 had he not got hurt and was troubled again with a back problem in 2018. Those unconnected injuries are a concern and hopefully the latter doesn't turn into something lingering because he's very special and I'm sure the Eagles will have done their homework before extending him early with a 30m per year deal. 

Roster Weaknesses:

I’ll be honest, I couldn’t find anything glaring. This team is unbelievably well put together.

Breakout Player:

Derek Barnett – He was effective in 2018 before hurting his shoulder, but should see an uptick in playing time in 2019 usurping Michael Bennett’s role on the team. It’s a huge opportunity to see if he can deliver on the 1^st round promise the Eagles saw in him.

How they can win in 2019:

I mean, Carson Wentz has to stay healthy and outside of that there’s no real deep analysis needed because pretty much everything else is there for this Eagles offense to succeed. I say ‘pretty much’ because I guess there has been some niggling issues in the run game, primarily with players at the running back spot. They’ve bought over Jordan Howard from Chicago, who was good in a fixed early down role there and he’ll be pushed by 2^nd round selection Miles Sanders who does a bit everything and also Corey Clement who does his best work in the passing game. In the passing game, we could easily witness something special. 

On defense, they’ve got to shut down the pass and absorb the losses of Michael Bennett and Chris Long at edge. The Eagles were one of the worst pass defenses last year due to poor luck with injuries more than anything else. They need to work through what they have at corner where Ronald Darby has been consistently dinged, Jalen Mills was hurt and Sidney Jones was bad before he went down. They learned a bit about the players who stepped in due to absence last year in particular with 4^th round rookie Avonte Maddox who rose to the occasion. If they can find some combinations that work with better luck this season, then they’ll be all the better for it. At linebacker, Zach Brown and Nigel Bradham feels solid and they’ll look for an expanded role from coverage specialist Kamu Grugier-Hill, but it’s perhaps the one roster spot which remains a little thin.

Predicted record 2019:

14-2 - A cleaner bill of health should be on the cards in 2018, because it would be hard to repeat what they went through last year even if they tried. If that comes at the quarterback position, then they should be back in the Super Bowl mix because the roster is phenomenal

[NVRamsFan]

Pretty fair assessment of the Rams. You and I have talked about the oline leading up to the draft. I get that you question our replacement for Saffold but McVay and Kromer have a plan and the Rams draft ahead of a position being a need. Last year Noteboom and Allen were taken to give them a year to learn without having to slot in a rookie. Both were given a lot of first team practice and are further ahead than people outside of the Rams realize. I’m not saying Noteboom is going to step in and it be a flawless transition but there is a lot of confidence from the coaches in him and Allen. Let’s not forget that Saffold was a good lineman, not the pro bowl caliber player he is now, and he was improved by the coaching and scheme. The same guys that did that, resurrected Blythe and somewhat Sullivan feel confident in these two second year players. Looking at this years draft you can count on Evans and Edwards to be the depth at Guard and tackle. One of them will be the successor to Noteboom next year with him replacing Whitworth.

 

There are a lot of question marks at edge for sure. How much will Clay provide! Fowler in spite of not putting up big sack numbers had a good run with the Rams. Ebukam has some huge games and some games you had to check he was even active. One guy you didn’t mention that I saw was Obo Okowronko. He was basically red shirted last year and will have a shot this year.

Lastly thank you for mentioning special teams. Coach Bones is very good at what he does and we love the guy. Returner is up for grabs imo. Will Henderson get a shot there or will one of the UDFA unseat JoJo Natson. That might be the only real camp battle outside of the Edge depth.

[JBURGE]

I like the Eagles a lot, but.... 14-2 is a little rich for me

@Falcons
@Packers (TNF)
@Vikings
@Cowboys
vs Bears
vs Patriots (off Eagles bye)
vs Seahawks 

I think that 2 losses is optimistic as personally I don't see them as being far and away a better team than most of those listed. Just my 2 cents, but a great list!

[Shanedorf]

1 hour ago, goldfishwars said:

Fletcher Cox would be a lot more talked about if Aaron Donald wasn’t in the league and now he gets to team up with Malik Jackson inside which feels unfair.

That's a hell of a DL stable they have in Philly and Howie keeps adding more. Jackson was a HUGE get for the Eagles
Doubt they get to 14-2, but they clearly have one of the best rosters in the league.

[Shady Slim]

i am just not sold on the eagles this year tbh... last year they overachieved and this year i just think they’ll underachieve, still win the division probably bc it sucks but still i don’t see them going deep in to the nfc

[KellChippy]

23 minutes ago, Shady Slim said:

i am just not sold on the eagles this year tbh... last year they overachieved and this year i just think they’ll underachieve, still win the division probably bc it sucks but still i don’t see them going deep in to the nfc

I could understand  an argument that they overachieved in the playoffs, but not the regular season, especially the first half of the year.

[Blackstar12]

That Eagles secondary still concerns me.

[ninjapirate]

6 minutes ago, Blackstar12 said:

That Eagles secondary still concerns me.

yeah cant win a superbowl with those guys.... oh wait.

[Nabbs4u]

2 hours ago, Blackstar12 said:

That Eagles secondary still concerns me.

As mentioned above, that secondary who helped make and Yes get abused in the SB (Brady 🍺) wasn't on the field the vast Majority of last season. Only Malcolm Jenkins remained. 4 Starters (nickel CB included) were missing!