2019 NFL Offseason thread

[caketastydelish]

I'm honestly not even sure what you mean... I'm just making predictions. There isn't a motivation behind them other than I think they'll come true.

 

[Sommerswerd]

OK. Do you have any predictions about the Eagles this year? What about the Cowboys? The Saints? Broncos? Giants? Raiders? Browns? Anyone besides the 49ers. Lets take a break from 49ers predictions, videos and articles for a bit.

 

[caketastydelish]

Spoiler Fine, I'll give an analysis for every single team. :

AFC East:

1) Patriots: The hardest to predict. They lost a lot of important players, but they also had what was most likely a great draft. It's hard to know if Tom Brady getting a year older will have an adverse effect. I bet they'll be slightly not as good, but still a dominant team. One place that I do disagree with the "experts" is about the Patriots having such an easy schedule. Their division rivals have massively improved (see below). The Giants are, on paper "an easy team" but history says counting the Giants out against the Patriots is a mistake. The Browns are loaded with talent, and the Ravens statistically have one of the most decisive home-field advantages in the league. Eagles, Cowboys, and Chiefs I think will all be hard games. Not saying they have a particularly difficult schedule, but "they have one of the easiest schedules in the league" I think is a bunch of steaming BS.

2) Bills. They've seriously beefed up their offensive line, and that alone makes a big difference. I expect a big step forward.

3) Jets. Sam Darnold seemed to have finally got the hang of it by the end of last season when in December he put up statistically great numbers, and I expect that to carry over into his Sophomore season. Also: They got what, in my opinion, is the best player in the entire draft. There's no way they didn't get better.

4) Dolphins. They have a new head coach (who has never even been a head coach before), which makes it almost impossible to predict. And different quarterbacks as well. Is Fitzmagik going to show up or the usual guy? Is Josh Rosen going to play? How would he be? Too many uncertainties to have a good idea. But they probably won't do THAT well considering they're in such a crowded division.

AFC North:

1) Browns. Should easily be the favorites to win the division. This team is legit. It's obviously been well over a decade since the Browns have been this good. Aside from their great free agent additions/trades, I can't even believe Greedy Williams was available where he was when they got him. I think they ended up with the best corner in the draft. Combine him with Denzel Ward and they have easily one of the better set of cornerbacks in the league. OBJ? Sheldon Richardson? Oliver Vernon? Kareem Hunt? Jesus

2) Ravens. They added some playmakers to their offense to help Lamar Jackson. But is Jackson himself that great? I think he'll make strides in his Sophomore Season. They should be solid overall.

3) Steelers. Meh. They lost Antonio Brown and we know that will hurt (only question is how much). And yes they got a new linebacker but we don't know if he is a legit replacement for Ryan Shizer. Overall I expect them to be about the same as last year.

4) Bengals. Andy Dolton does significantly better with a good offensive line, and I think he has that now. They will improve. They still don't have a chance to beat the Browns, though.

AFC West:

Chiefs: About the same as last year, if not better. They obviously lost weapons on offense, but I think their defense has legitimately improved. Critics can bring up the fact that they lost good players on defense which only equals out to the players they gained, but I don't believe that to be true. Frank Clark is a straight up improvement over one tricky pony Dee Ford. I'm at least somewhat qualified to make this call as a Seahawk fan. He was easily our best pass rusher and it wasn't close. Best of all: I don't think he's reached his ceiling yet. And given the contract they signed him, they will have him for his best years.

"Losing" Eric Berry hurts, on paper, but not in actuality when he wasn't even there the vast majority of the 2018 season. I highly doubt Honey Badger will have that problem.

Andy Reid is one of the best coaches in the league and is lightyears ahead of armchair generals and even journalist. Remember, everyone thought he was insane for giving up two first round picks for Mahomes and then not even playing him his first year. Andy Reid had the last laugh then and he will now too.

Raiders: Obviously better. But how much? Tom Cable is still their offensive line coach which means they can hope for a mediocre o-line at best, even with the new influx of talent. Their defense has improved but that isn't saying much considering where they were coming from. They might as well suck one more year so they can get better draft picks for their fresh start in Vegas. I'm sure they'll still have a losing season.

Broncos: Better. Their defense I expect to be about the same, but their offense notably better. Joe Flacco is an improvement over Case Keenum, and I anticipate that Noah Fant and Dalton Risner will be instant impact starters that will improve their offense all the more. How is the new head coach going to be? They've improved but I think their ceiling is 9-7.

Chargers: As good as last year, if not better. Their first two picks out of the draft alone means this defense is going to be for real. Loaded on both sides of the ball, they are contenders to not only win the division but perhaps win the Super Bowl. And it should be a given that the first round pick, in particular, will be legit. Almost all of their first round picks in recent years have made the pro bowl, and this is coming from a team with a nearly non-existent fanbase. But I strongly think Nasir Adderly will also be very good, thus giving them one of the better secondaries in the NFL.


AFC South:

1) Colts: At least as strong as last year, if not better. Their offense line won't be quite as good (there's only one direction you can go if you're at the very top), but otherwise I expect them to be at least as good as last year, and in some cases better. Overall, a solid team. They have a scary amount of cap space for a team that just went to the playoffs.

2) Titans: Improve. Their offensive line is better, and now they are loaded at wide receiver as well (Corey Davis, Humphries, A.J Brown). If Mariota doesn't put up good numbers this season he will not get a particularly lucrative extension, nor would he deserve it.

3) Texans: get significantly worse. I think their attempts to improve the offensive line was feeble at best. They were lucky last year thanks to lack of injuries, but I doubt luck will strike twice. The team has hardly gotten any better if at all while all three of their division rivals did. I expect them to hit rock bottom in AFC South.

4) Jags. Improve considerably. They had an amazing first two picks of the draft, with luck being on their side no doubt. And Nick Foles might not be worth what they're paying him, but there's absolutely no doubt in my mind he's an upgrade over Blake Bortles. They are contenders. Expect them to put up better numbers than last year on both sides of the ball. Especially offense.

NFC

NFC East:

1) Giants. This is still a bad team. I expect them to be as bad as they were last year. Perhaps even worse.

2) Redskins. The Redskins of last year were a completely different team while they had Alex Smith versus without him. Case Keenum is an improvement over their laughable backup taking the snaps during that time period, but he's not as good as Alex Smith. Dwayne Haskins I'm sure is better than that as well, but it's hard to know if they'll even give him the starting role. Overall they should be fairly solid.

3) Eagles. Loaded team. They will be contenders to make the playoffs at the very least.

4) Cowboys. This will be the best Cowboys team assembled since Dak Prescott's rookie year. And considering the lack of time left on his rookie contract, they are very much in "win now" mode as well. I think the Cowboys should be considered favorites to win NFC East.

NFC North:

1) Vikings: No better than they were last year, and perhaps an outright decline. I wasn't impressed with their free agency/draft at all.

2) Bears. The defense won't be quite as good as last year. Overall I expect a decline.

3) Packers. It's so difficult to know because I don't know how the new head coach is going to be. On paper, they're better (particularly defense), but I'm not a big fan of their new head coach so who knows what the hell will happen?

4) Lions. By far making the biggest step forward. Their defense finally found their identity in the last part of the 2018 season, as the players finally got adjusted to Matt Patricia's scheme. They've also remarkably improved thanks to free agency and the draft. I actually wouldn't be terribly surprised if the Lions won the division. One of the best sleeper team's in the NFL.

NFC West:

1) Rams. A decline from last year. Still a solid team, but not as good as last year. That was simply unsustainable.

2) Seahawks: About the same as last year. This feels like another 10-6 season.

3) 49ers. You already know what I think of the 49ers, so I won't bother.

4) Cardinals. They will improve (you can only improve if you were rock bottom), but they won't improve THAT much. Their new head coach is awful.

NFC South:

1) Saints. They won't be quite as good as last year. At least their regular season record. That said, I highly doubt a BS call will screw them in the playoffs twice in a row. Expect age to start to show from Drew Brees.

2) Panthers. They will do very poorly. Probably even worse than last year.

3) Falcons. Quite a bit better. Last year they had exceptionally bad luck as it pertains to injuries on their defense (exceptionally bad or good luck is unlikely to happen twice in a row). And their offensive line is better, at least on paper, to the point of no comparison. This is a solid team.

4) Bucs. Their new head coach alone means the team got better. They were also aggressive in the draft to improve their defense. If and only if the Saints get a lot worse, they could even be contenders to win the division.

 

[caketastydelish]

One thing I forgot to say: Belichick is going to call the defensive plays for the Patriots in the 2019 season due to the lack of an available defensive coordinator. Patricia went to the Lions and Flores just went to the Dolphins.

I wonder if this will have a negative impact on the Patriots defensive performance (I am being completely serious). While there's not a doubt in my mind that Billy B is more than capable of calling defensive plays, what troubles me is this:

Between defensive coordinator duties, and being a head coach, isn't that too much? Surely, that's too much responsibility for one guy. There are only 24 hours in a day and while on the field specifically, that's too much going at one time for one guy to do by himself, hence why they have different coordinators, to begin with.

The last time Billy B did this was for the 2010 and 2011 seasons... neither of which the Pats even went to the Super Bowl, let alone won it.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I'm back from my latest ban, and undoubtedly will be getting another fairly soon. The only thing I really regretted while I was banned was this thread, so if y'all wouldn't mind moving this discussion over to Ideas are Like Stars I'd appreciate it. Management there is on vacation, but we should have a sports subforum as soon as he gets back.

 

[rah]

Welcome back. Always kind of boring when you're gone.

Belichick can do both jobs in his sleep due to his experience.

 

[caketastydelish]

Interesting theory. We will have to see what the Pats defensive performance actually is this upcoming season.

Edit: another Pats thing that piques my curiosity is how their offense will perform this upcoming season. He’s already declined because of his age and that will probably only get worse. On the other hand, he will clearly be surrounded with better weapons.

“But they lost Gronk”. Gronk was significantly worse this last season than earlier in his career.... I’m even willing to quit that’s why he retired despite that being a young age for a tight end to retire. Brady was the worst QB in football against blitzes last year although he was also blitzed the least. Should be interesting to see if other teams adjust.

 

[caketastydelish]

Trivia time (no cheating please)

Which division has the youngest quarterbacks overall? By this I mean add up each of their ages, all 4 of them. But don’t google anything. Just see if you know off the top of your head.

 

[rah]

NFC west

 

[caketastydelish]

No, that is not right.

 

[rah]

What do you expect when you tell us we can't google it. At least you know I didn't cheat.

 

[caketastydelish]

Do you want me to go ahead and say it ?

 

[rah]

I'll let others take a guess first. It's not going to change my life. But yeah, I'm curious.

 

[Sommerswerd]

AFC North

EDIT: No wait! NFC West (LOLs I forgot about Big Ben's old ass)

 

[rah]

He already said nyet when I guess that.

 

[caketastydelish]

Yes, it’s not NFC West. And of course, also not AFC North.

 

[Serutan]

The problem with the question is that not all starters are set in stone yet - to wit if Eli doesn't start the season then it will likely be the NFC East.
As currently constituted, my guess is the AFC South.

 

[caketastydelish]

NFC East was the answer. It is imminent that Jones is getting the job. He’s already outperformed Eli in OTAs so far. My bet is they sit him for one year, max.

I guess it was a bad question. I was already counting all first round pick QBs to be starters. FWIW I didn’t count Drew Lock (not that it would have mattered) because he wasn’t a first rounder and Elway made it pretty clear Flacco is their guy for the time being. New York doesn’t seem to be as stubborn on Eli as Denver is with Flacco. In fairness, the Broncos just traded for Flacco so it would have been dumb for Denver to already be eager to get rid of him.

And the Redskins just got Case Keemun but I don’t think they anticipated Haskins just falling into their lap like that. And Flacco is better than Keenum.

 

[Sommerswerd]

Denver's QB selection since Elway has been pretty kookydukes ... It's almost like Elway doesn't want anyone usurping his legacy.

 

[caketastydelish]

Perhaps. But I will say they got a pretty good value for Drew Lock. Pre draft he was considered first round talent and literally every mock draft I checked (and I checked a lot) had him going in the first round. Some even had Elway taking him with their first pick without trading down. With their first three picks (and Flacco) they’re all but guaranteed to have a better quarterback, tight end, and offensive lineman than last year. 3 starters. Not bad value at all.

Honestly I think Elway didn’t want Lock that bad to begin with but with incredible value at that point in the second round it was too good to pass up.

This was one of the best drafts he’s ever had.