3 reasons for optimism/pessimism for your team heading into this season

[RaidersAreOne]

What are the top factors you think will make your team a threat this season? What will be the main aspects holding you back?

Optimism

1.  
2.  
3.  

Pessimism

1.  
2.  
3.  

[scar988]

7 minutes ago, RaidersAreOne said:

What are the top factors you think will make your team a threat this season? What will be the main aspects holding you back?

Optimism

1.  
2.  
3.  

Pessimism

1.  
2.  
3.  

Optimism:

1) the offense might finally get going in both the pass and run with all the right pieces here

2) The defense might finally have a pass rush with improved IDL

3) The secondary could be really good with Jerry Gray coaching it and adding Okudah and Jessie Bates

 

Pessimism

1) The edge rush still isn't where it needs to be

2) If Ridder bombs, the offense is toast

3) The wide receiver depth is rough if London and/or Pitts miss significant time.

[AFlaccoSeagulls]

Optimism

1. Greg Roman is gone, meaning our passing game should be MUCH better!
2. Offensive weapons should all be healthy and Todd Monken should know how to utilize them properly
3. Offensive line should be very good.
4. Justin Tucker

Pessimism

1. CB's have the potential to be really bad outside of Marlon Humphrey
2. Run game without Greg Roman is a huge question mark
3. Pass rush is entirely dependent on young guys stepping up or not being busts

 

Edited July 31, 2023 by AFlaccoSeagulls

[TitanLegend]

Optimism:

1. Mike Vrabel - Maybe the best resume of all coaches in the league when it comes to doing more with less. As long as Vrabel is leading this team, we'll have a shot.

2. Defense - Should once again be the strength of the team, and returns Landry from injury.

3. Division - The AFC south is a steaming pile of garbage. None of the Jags, Colts or Texans scare anyone(much as the Titans don't).

Pessimism:

1. Offensive line - Tannehill is decent enough. Henry is on the decline but still good. Hopkins is a nice add. Burks and Chig should have good years. But none of that will matter if the o-line is as bad as it looks like it can be.

2. Regression - If Tannehill, Henry and Hopkins all(or some combo of) decline more than expected, a lot of the potential decent aspects of the offense I listed above disappear.

3. Rest of the AFC - We can win potentially the South with the team we have. Doesn't really matter though since the other divisions best teams are exponentially better.

[Soko]

Optimism:

1. Bill O’Brien is in, Matt Patricia is out. The former wasn’t a good HC, but he at least knows how to coach an offense at the NFL level. Mac Jones has flaws but showed actual QBing ability as a rookie - with a real OC, the offense should be much better than it was in 2022.

2. The defense is still potent. In 2022, the defense lost it’s top two corners and there were questions regarding what the team would look like. While things certainly aren’t perfect on the defensive side of the ball, the 23’ team looks to pickup where they left off - with a little influx of talent. Matt Judon’s still a near-elite pass rusher. Josh Uche got on the field and showed he knows how to get to the QB. Kyle Dugger’s looking to continue his development as a player. The defense has the pieces (and the coaching) to be a strong unit again in 2023.

3. The team looks to have finally turned a bit of a corner as far as adding young talent goes. A few years ago, the recent Belichick/Caserio drafts were pretty brutal. The top of their drafts brought in guys like Sony Michel, Isaiah Wynn, N’Keal Harry, Joejuan Williams, and Duke Dawson. None of those guys are on the team, among many others. It showed in the team’s depth and lack of talent. While it’s still early, and NE isn’t without its personnel issues, the Pats are poised to get a lot more out of their last two draft classes than any of those prior. In some ways, they already have.

Pessimism: 

1. The offense still lacks some top end talent. Most QBs and top offenses are linked to an elite or top end receiver (or more) - NE doesn’t have that. Devante Parker isn’t that. Kendrick Bourne isn’t that. Tyquan Thornton isn’t that. Juju Smith-Schuster isn’t that. Is that a passable cast of guys that you say “yep, they’re NFL wide receivers”? Sure. But none of them scare a defense. 

2. The offensive line isn’t proven. Onwenu and Andrews are the only proven players along the offensive line, everyone else ranges from a question mark to a long shot. Trent Brown is the master of inconsistency. Cole Strange is somewhat promising but is far from a proven staple. Right tackle, whether that be Reiff or McDermott, is going to be rocky again. Hopefully the playcalling can protect this group (which it absolutely failed to do last year) but with the OL whisperer gone, NE can’t expect chicken out of chicken **** forever.

3. The division (and conference) are going to be a bloodbath. Miami is a dangerous team when Tua is healthy, their offensive firepower is hard to deal with. The Jets are a strong defense, have the pieces offensively, and added Rodgers. The Bills have been on top of the division for years now. And then there’s still the Burrow led Bengals, elite Chiefs, upcoming Trevor Lawrence Jaguars, and an elite talent in Herbert. NE can improve across the board in 2023 and still miss the playoffs.

[JaguarCrazy2832]

Optimism:

1. Division is bad

2. Finished strong

3. Trevor year 3 jump

Pessimism

1. We SUCKED in the first half

2. OL could be a problem 

3. We had great injury luck last year 

[onejayhawk]

Chiefs

Optimism

1. Mahomes
2. Been there, done that
3. 9 rookies who are no longer rookies

Pessimism

1. Repeating is freaking hard. 
2. Chris Jones is holding out
3. At WR we only have MVS and a cast of no names

[Superduperman]

Pro: Lions have a roster full of young guys with talent, including a few who are showing signs of breaking out.

Con: They ain't done broke out yet.

Pro: They have a dynamic coach who everyone wants to play for.

Con: The coach has yet to show consistency in managing his part of the game at championship level.

Pro: They have been ultra-aggressive in identifying weaknesses and hammering them with bold moves.

Con: They have a lot of moving parts for a team that's confident about continuing to take steps forward, and let's face it, we really have only a ten-game stretch to go on.

[MikeT14]

Optimism

1. The Unknown of Sam Howell - A lot of people think he has a lot of talent. No one knows yet. We've only had mediocre at best QB play since Cousins though.
2. Eric Bienemy
3. New ownership bringing new optimism

Pessimism

1. See "The Unknown of Sam Howell"
2. A great defensive front four that's never been great together
3. Playing against 3 playoff teams last year in the division. 

[BroncoSojia]

Pros:

1. Sean Payton

2. That and an upgraded oline should have the offense looking better

3. Top 10 secondary 

Cons: 

1. Russ could be completely cooked

2. The Edge and DT position are major major question marks

3. Tough division

 

[malak1]

Optimism

1. Division seems wide open
2. Justin Fields seems poised to have a good year
3. It’s hard to be as bad as we were last year.

Pessimism

1. Many new pieces that need to figure out how to be a cohesive unit on both sides of the ball
2. Defensive line is unproven/bad
3. We’re the Bears

Edited July 31, 2023 by malak1

[candyman93]

Optimism

1. Watson could ball out

2. I’m very excited about our WR core

3. Our special teams should be dramatically improved due to Bubba Ventrone

 

Pessimism

1. Watson could be garbage 

2. Our defense could still be bad

3. Cade York scares me, dude was awful against the Ravens and Chargers

[ET80]

Optimism:

1. DeMeco Ryans is here. This isn’t Lovie Smith or David Culley, this is a qualified candidate who brings much needed culture to the building. It’s not about this season, it’s about the future.

2. Will Anderson is here, too. He’s often described as another DeMeco Ryans, a locker room leader with a football IQ that matches his intensity. On the field, however - Ryans says that Anderson is much better than he ever was as a player (and Ryans had a pretty remarkable career for the Texans and Eagles). Anderson will be playing the Nick Bosa role in the Texans wide 9 front, alongside a surprisingly good DT rotation and with a talented (yet unproven) secondary behind him. At this point, Anderson has to be the prohibitive front runner for DROY. Personally? I think Anderson will be in the *DPOY* discussion at points this season.

3. Derek Stingley Jr is in a system that plays to his strengths. Despite playing in an archaic Cover 2/Cover 3 system, Stingley had a moderate rookie campaign, not giving up a TD to opposing WRs in the 12 games he played. In a more aggressive man coverage scheme (and with vet Jimmie Ward providing overwatch at S opposite Jalen Pitre) Stingley will be in position to play his best style of football. Will he overtake Sauce Gardner as the best CB from this class? Highly unlikely. But he’ll establish himself as a fine CB in his own right.

Pessimism:

1. Will the real CJ Stroud please stand up? We all saw the eye popping numbers at OSU. We all saw him as the only QB to test that vaunted Georgia defense. We also know he was throwing to five different first round picks, including last seasons’ OROY and a guy who will probably be in the Justin Jefferson/JaMarr Chase tier of WRs once he’s drafted next year. So, now that the WR composition is not on the same level, how will Stroud respond? How is history going to remember this #2 pick? I personally think he’ll be fine long term, but this particular season isn’t going to look too good on the stat sheet.

2. You gave up WHAT for Will Anderson? Despite my obvious bullish view on Anderson as a player, trading up for him was a significant investment. Depending on injuries and under/over performers on the schedule, this pick could be a top 5 pick. The Texans are hedged by the Cleveland Browns first round pick so they’ll still bring in a high end/top 32 player next draft; However, the possibility of pairing Stroud with Marvin Harrison Jr is pretty low now. (Emeka Egbuka, however…)

3. So… who is doing what, now? Between Ryans, OC Bobby Slowik and DC Matt Burkes, only Ryans has experience as a “top guy on the org chart” as the DC for the 49ers for two seasons. Both Burkes and Slowik have nice resumes and experience working with key positions the Texans are depending on (Stroud/Anderson, to be specific) but neither has any play calling experience or in-game adjustment experience. Burkes will at least have one of the best defensive play callers ahead of him with Ryans, but Slowik is on an island with this. Texans GM Nick Caserio traditionally wears a headset on game day (and has been doing so since his days with Bill Belicheck in New England) but even he doesn’t have the in-game experience to call and adjust to the game. Who is going to make these calls come game day?

[Danger]

Optimism

1. Jalen Hurts coming off a fantastic season and post season run (minus a single fumble), and has that mindset to always better himself.
2. The Eagles are building a really nice young core and are set up to be good for the long run.
3. Howie Roseman is still the best in the business if you ask me.

 

Pessimism

1. We're replacing both coordinators. Even though Gannon was very reactive and conservative, he still had success (except when he checked out during the Super Bowl because he already had the Cards job)
2. Jalen Hurts COULD fall back down to Earth
3. Super Bowl Loser hangover?

 

 

[Daniel]

18 hours ago, TitanLegend said:

Optimism:

1. Mike Vrabel - Maybe the best resume of all coaches in the league when it comes to doing more with less. As long as Vrabel is leading this team, we'll have a shot.

2. Defense - Should once again be the strength of the team, and returns Landry from injury.

3. Division - The AFC south is a steaming pile of garbage. None of the Jags, Colts or Texans scare anyone(much as the Titans don't).

Pessimism:

1. Offensive line - Tannehill is decent enough. Henry is on the decline but still good. Hopkins is a nice add. Burks and Chig should have good years. But none of that will matter if the o-line is as bad as it looks like it can be.

2. Regression - If Tannehill, Henry and Hopkins all(or some combo of) decline more than expected, a lot of the potential decent aspects of the offense I listed above disappear.

3. Rest of the AFC - We can win potentially the South with the team we have. Doesn't really matter though since the other divisions best teams are exponentially better.

I think I'll go in a different direction for the Titans:

Optimism:

1. New Coordinator: Downing was ******* terrible, to the point that Warren Sharp said he had to be a double agent sabotaging the Titans.  Kelly isn't a superstar OC, but he's proven to be competent, and competent is a huge step up.

2. Offensive line: Very much a question mark, as TL points out, but Andre Dillard is almost certainly a huge upgrade at LT, which isn't hard, since Daley put up statistically the worst LT season that is statistically recorded.  Between that, the signing of Brunskill, the drafting of Skoronski, and NPF coming to his second season, the line will struggle early, but should be a much stronger group overall than it was last season (though that's not saying that much).

3. Schedule: The Titans play the Colts and Texans twice, along with the NFC South, which looks even weaker than the AFCS to me.  That should make things easier.

Pessimism:

1. Injuries: The Titans have been a very strong team for the last few years, with a tendency to shoot themselves in the foot by getting their best players off the field for long periods.  It's become a trend, and I will believe that it's over when I see it.

2. Aging Core: Henry, Tannehill, Byard, and Autry are all another year older.  Dropoffs are coming.  It may not be steep yet, but it is there.  All will be 30 or older by the season's end.

3. Stubbornness: Vrabel has shown a troubling tendency to not change things that aren't working.  If the wheels begin to fall off in one way or another, don't expect a course correction until it's way too late.