Offense: Last year, everything went right for the Falcons offense. It was historically great. Led by MVP quarterback Matt Ryan. He was more then great last year, and I expect nothing less this year despite the loss of Kyle Shanahan. The running backs are also really good. Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman make up for the best 1-2 duo in the NFL. The wide receivers are really good, led by Julio Jones, who is a beast. Sanu and Taylor Gabriel are also good to round out the group. The tight end group is not very strong, with Austin Hooper and Jacob Tamme being limited. The offensive line is really strong, led by Alex Mack who was the key piece they needed, and Jake Matthews. Overall, the offense should be REALLY good once again.

 

Defense: The defensive line is okay, with D. Poe being a really good addition and Grady Jerrett being a stud. Lacks balance and depth though. The linebacking core is really good. Vic Beasley is a stud. 15.5 sacks led the NFL last year. Deion Jones was a beast as a rookie and will continue to get better. The cornerbacks are good with Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford. The safeties are a strength for the defense. Rocardo Allen and Keanu Neal are both really good. Overall, this defense is really fast and has major upside.

 

Schedule

 

Week 1: @Bears: W

Week 2: vs Packers: W

Week 3: @Lions: L

Week 4: vs Bills: W

Week 5: BYE

Week 6: vs Dolphins: W

Week 7: @Patriots: L

Week 8: @Jets: W

Week 9: @Panthers: L

Week 10: vs Cowboys: W

Week 11: @Seahawks: L

Week 12: vs Bucs: W

Week 13: vs Vikings: W

Week 14: vs Saints: W

Week 15: @Bucs: L

Week 16: @Saints: L

Week 17: vs Panthers: W
Prediction: 10-6

 

Offense: The offense begins and ends with superman himself, Cam Newton. It’s all mental with him. When he plays with swag and confidence within himself, he can be the best player in the NFL. He has to be MVP Cam for this team to be successful, and I believe he can be. Just has to take care of his body. The addition of Christian McCaffery will be huge, as he is both a great running back, and a hell of a receiver, giving Cam another reliable target. The wide receivers are okay, Kelvin Benjamin needs to progress and lose some weight. The rest of the guys are average but we have seen Cam do some great things with average. Greg Olsen, the tight end, continues to be mr. reliable, and Cam’s go to guy. Every year this guy seems to break 1,000 yards and 7+ touchdowns. The o-line is shaky, lets see if the addition of Matt Kalil helps things. Overall, they have some nice pieces, but this offense and team starts and finishes with Cam Newton and his confidence.

Defense: The defense is very solid once again. The defensive line is good, led by Kawann Short and Mario Addison. Vernon Butler, last years first round pick will look to start this year, and I really like the depth there. The linebackers are great when healthy. Luke Kuechly is a top 10 football player in the NFL and by far the best linebacker, he just needs to stay healthy and try to avoid concussions. Thomas Davis has resurrected his career and has been consistently great, while Shaw Thompson is an athletic freak who is great in coverage. All three linebackers can really cover, which is huge in a pass happy NFL. The secondary is good as well. The corners are a little shaky, outside of stud James Bradberry and Captain Munnerlyn. I like Daryl Worley though. Depth isn’t great but the unit has potential.  The safeties have a chance to be really good with two proven guys, Mike Adams and Kurt Coleman. Overall, this defense has a chance to be very good to great, with potential in all three levels of the defense.

 

Schedule

 

Week 1: @49ers: W

Week 2: vs Bills: W

Week 3: vs Saints: W

Week 4: @Patriots: L

Week 5: @Lions: L

Week 6: vs Eagles: W

Week 7: @Bears: W

Week 8: @Bucs: L

Week 9: vs Falcons: W

Week 10: vs Dolphins: W

Week 11: BYE

Week 12: @Jets: W

Week 13: @Saints: L

Week 14: vs Vikings: W

Week 15: vs Packers: W

Week 16: vs Bucs: W

Week 17: @Falcons: L

 

Prediction: 11-5

 

Offense: At QB, we have a little bit of a controversy.  Mike Glennon sucks. Let’s be honest. Never gotten the hype around him. Mitch Trubisky, who has looked good in preseason, needs to start ASAP. Jordan Howard at running back is the star of the offense and the star of the team. He was 2nd in the NFL in rushing yards. The wide receivers are horrible. Kevin White was a great prospect, but hasn’t been able to stay healthy his entire career. Cameron Meredith is clearly the best receiver and will have a nice year this year. Behind him are washed up players trying to salvage their careers. Tight end is okay I guess, Zach Miller is okay, nothing special. Hopefully rookie Adam Shaheen can develop. The Tackles are a mess, but the interior o-line with Kyle Long, Josh Sitton, and Cody Whiteheir are all really good.

 

Defense: I really like this defense. Like really like it. Akiem Hicks, Eddie Goldman, and Jonathan Bullard makeup a strong interior defensive line, and Leonard Floyd, Sam Acho, Pernell Mcphee,  Willie Young all are very good, especially Floyd being the star of the defense. They can all really rush the passer. The Linebacking core is also really good led by Jerrell Freeman and Danny Trevathan. The struggle of the defense is the cornerback group. Prince Amukamara and Bryce Callahan are average, and there is no depth behind them. The safeties are good with Quinten Demps and Adrian Amos. Overall, I love the potential of this group.

 

Schedule

 

Week 1: vs Falcons: L

Week 2: @Bucs: L

Week 3: vs Steelers: L

Week 4: @Packers:L

Week 5: vs Vikings:L

Week 6: @Ravens: L

Week 7: vs Panthers: L

Week 8: @Saints:L

Week 9: BYE

Week 10: vs Packers: L

Week 11: vs Lions:W

Week 12: @Eagles:L

Week 13: vs 49ers: W

Week 14: @Bengals:L

Week 15: @Lions:L

Week 16: vs Browns:W

Week 17: @Vikings:L

 

Prediction: 3-13

Offense: At the most important position in sports, the Lions have one of the best in Matthew Stafford. With big numbers, and a clutch gene that led to 8 come from behind victories last year, he is now firmly in the discussion as an Elite QB. The running backs are average. I like Theo Riddick as a Pass catching back and Ameer Abdullah has nice potential as a change of pace back, but they don’t have one guy to take the ball 15-20 times a game and take pressure off of Stafford. I like the potential at wide receiver, as I expect Golden Tate to have a huge year. Marvin Jones blew up early, but struggled late in the year. Don’t love the depth behind those two as they lost Anquan Boldin to free agency. They did a lot to help protect Stafford, by adding TJ Lang and Ricky Wagner. If former first round pick Laken Tomlinson improves and Taylor Decker comes back from injury, this o-line has the potential to be quite good. Eric Ebron is a solid option at tight end but still has not lived up to his potential as a huge mismatch. Overall, this offense will heavily rely on Stafford once again.

 

Defense: The Defensive Line is average. Ziggy Ansah was great 2 years ago, but battled injuries last year and struggled. Let’s hope he gets back on track. Kerry Hyder was good last year but needs to improve on adding balance to his game instead of just being a pass rusher. Ngata is getting old in the middle and is not the same. A’Shawn Robinson has been good so far in limited time, but has to prove he can do it with effort 100% of the time. The Linebacker core isn’t great either. Jarrad Davis was a fabulous pick, but they need more then him to be good and the guys they have right now will not cut it. The secondary is solid. I love Darius Slay, and Nevin Lawson is solid opposite, but they don’t have much after that. The Safeties are quite good, with both Glover Quin and Tavon Wilson being productive and receiving grades of 80+ on PFF.

 

 

 

Schedule

 

Week 1: vs Cardinals: L

Week2: @Giants: L

Week 3: vs Falcons: W

Week 4: @Vikings: L

Week 5: vs Panthers: W

Week 6: @Saints: L

Week 7: BYE

Week 8: vs Steelers: L

Week 9: @Packers: L

Week 10: vs Browns: W

Week 11: @Bears: L

Week 12: vs Vikings: W

Week 13: @Ravens: L

Week 14: @Buccaneers: L

Week 15: vs Bears: W

Week 16: @Bengals: L

Week 17: vs Packers: L

 

Prediction: 5-11

Strengths 
Defensive line: Linval Joseph just got PAID, and for good reason. He’s a beast. God only knows why the Giants let him go. Besides him is tom Johnson who is pretty solid. Everton griffin has blossomed into a star on the edge and opposite is Danielle Hunter, who is an up and coming star in this league.  With nice depth, this d-line is looking very scary. 

Secondary: Yes, I am linking the cornerbacks and safeties together. Xavier Rhodes and Terrance Newman continue to play very well. They lockdown the opponents receivers. Rhodes has entered top 5 corner talk and for good reason. He is long and fast and can get in receivers heads. If Trae Waynes can be more consistent, they can be a top 5 group. Safety Harrison Smith is a hard hitting intimidator who is the leader of this defense. Sendejo is solid opposite him. 

Linebackers: Despite the down year last year, I am a firm believer in Anthony Barr. Let’s hope he goes back to the playmaking Anthony Barr instead of 39.2 PFF Anthony Barr. Next to him is Eric Kendricks, one of the best cover LB’s in the NFL. The rest of the core is sketchy, but I like the core group at the position, giving it loads of potential. 

Weaknesses

Quarterback: Every metric says Sam Bradford had a good year last year. He broke the NFL record for completion percentage. He received an 83.4 on PFF. But I’m not buying it. I just saw a ton of short passes and lack of explosive plays. He holds the team back in my opinion. Not a fan. 

Offensive line: God this o-line truly sucks. Listen to these names. Reiff-Berger-Easton-Boone-Remmers. If they don’t mesh like I expect, prepare for Sam Badford(did it on purpose) to get injured.

Neither 

Running back: Loved Dalvin Cook coming into the league. If he keeps his head on straight, the skies the limit for the kid. Explosive play after explosive play at FSU. Just hasn’t proven it in NFL yet. Latravius Murray will start early but soon hit the pine  for the more talented rookie. 

Wide receivers: Really like the potential of this group. Stefan Diggs is a really good player, Adam Theilin was more then solid last year, and last years first round pick Laquan Treadwell has loads of potential, despite struggling his rookie year. 

Tight end: Kyle Rudolph had a career year last year, but with his backup Rhett Ellison gone and Rudolph being injury prone, this couldn’t be a strength for me. 

Schedule 

Week 1: vs saints: W

Week 2: @steelers: L

Week 3: vs bucs: L

Week 4: vs lions: W

Week 5: @bears: W

Week 6: vs Packers: W

Week 7: vs Ravens: W

Week 8: @Browns: L

Week 9: BYE 

Week 10: @Washington: L

Week 11: vs rams: W

Week 12: @lions: L

Week 13: @falcons: L

Week 14: @Panthers: L

Week 15: vs Bengals: W

Week 16: @Packers: L

Week 17: vs Bears: W 

Prediction: 8-8

Strengths

 

Quarterback: Tom Brady is the GOAT and the most accomplished player ever, but A-Rodgers is the most talented QB I have ever seen in my lifetime. His Dominance is unbelievable. No other words needed. 

 

Wide Receivers: Jordy Nelson and the end zone always find a way to pair up for 10+ touchdowns a year. Devante Adams broke out last year and Randall Cobb is a good option out of the slot. They have great depth at the position as well. 

 

Offensive Line: PFF ranked it the 8th best offensive line in the NFL. The two tackles, David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga are both beasts and the interior o-line more then holds their own. 

 

Defensive Line: Mike Daniels is a beast and Kenny clark is ready to step in as a starter. Clay Matthews and nick Perry are proven stars off the edge. 

 

Weaknesses

 

Running backs: Ty Montgomery played okay last year, but I highly doubt how he will do as the main guy, and I don’t love the depth behind him. 

 

Cornerbacks: Jesus. It’s the worst group of corners in the NFL. Guys like Davon House, Damarion’s Randall, and Kevin king lead this group. I don’t think any of you know who those names are. They really struggled last year and will continue to struggle. 

 

Linebackers: Jake Ryan and Blake Martinez are okay but nothing special. Definitely a weakness because of the lack of depth. 

 

Neither

 

Tight End: Marcellus Bennett is a really good tight end, but he isn’t a top 10 so the position can’t be a strength. 

 Safety: Haha Clinton dix is a stud and Morgan Barnett is pretty good but the lack of depth will hurt. Clinton Dix is a stud but he isn’t in the Eric Berry, Landon Collins group to make it a strength. 
Schedule 

Week 1: Vs Seahawks: w

Week 2:@falcons: L

Week 3: vs bengals: W

Week 4: vs bears: W

Week 5: @Cowboys: W

Week 6: @vikings: L

Week 7: vs saints: W 

Week 9: vs lions: W

Week 10: @bears: W 

Week 11: vs Ravens: W 

Week 12: @steelers: L

Week 13: vs bucs: W

Week 14: @browns: W 

Week 15: @panthers: L

Week 16: vs Vikings: W 

Week 17: @lions: W 
Prediction: 12-4

Strengths

 

Offensive Line: Another offensive line in the NFC east that is big, mean and physical. Led by two dominant tackles, Trent Williams and Morgan Moses. Both are big, both are mean and for sure both are dominant receiving grades of 92.3 and 85.1. Brandon Scherff has been good since his top 5 pick in 2015 and the rest of the line is fine.

Tight end: Jordan Reed, when healthy, is up there as the biggest mismatch in the NFL. He is as athletic as a wide receiver, has the hands of a wide receiver but the body of a tight end. If he stays healthy, he will keep defensive coordinators up at night. Vernon Davis is more then an adequate backup.

 

Weakness:

Running back: Fat rob kelly and Rookie Samaje Perine. LOL. They are really determined to pound it with the big boys, but are one dimensional on offense with no legitimate no. 1 option.

 

Interior d-line: Love Jonathan Allen, but until he proves himself, they have a revolving door every year of average players. This year its Terell McCain and Ziggy hood.

 

Neither

 

Quarterback: “You like that.” Actually I do. Kirk Cousins, despite his choke jobs over the years, Cousins has really grown on me and has consistently proven he is a franchise QB. They need to sign him to an extension ASAP.

 

Wide receivers: Love the potential in this group. Serious Man crush on Jamison Crowder and Terelle Pryor was great last year. Can’t be a strength with uncertainty on how Josh Doctson will play.
EDGE Rushers: Ryan Kerrigan continues to be a force, but the loss of Trent Murphy hurts. Preston Smith will have to step up.

 

Linebackers: Two guys, Mason Foster and Zach Brown are coming off career years. But they need to string together good seasons before I consider them a strength

 

Secondary. Im a giants fan, so I HATE Josh Norman, but I’ll admit he is pretty good. DJ Swearinger was a good signing but the lack of depth in the secondary is concerning.

 

Schedule

 

Week 1: vs Eagles: W

Week 2: @Rams: L

Week 3: vs Raiders:W

Week 4: @Chiefs: W

Week 5: BYE

Week 6: vs 49ers: W

Week 7: @Eagles: L

Week 8: vs Cowboys:W

Week 9: @Seahawks: L

Week 10: vs MIN: L

Week 11: @Saints: W

Week 12: vs Giants: W

Week 13: @ Cowboys: L

Week 14: @Chargers: L

Week 15: vs Cardinals: L

Week 16: vs Broncos: W

Week 17: @Giants:L

 

Record: 8-8

Strengths

 

Defensive line: The defensive Line is pretty great. Fletcher Cox has been a beast since he entered the league. He is a terror for opposing offenses. The Eagles traded for Timmy Jernigan to get a guy opposite Cox, and boy was it a good trade for them. He has shown major potential early in his career and will make life even harder for interior offensive lineman. On the outside, while Brandon Graham doesn’t get too many sacks, he is beloved by PFF for his constant pressure, receiving a 93.9 grade. Opposite him is Vinny Curry who is pretty good and a guy I have always thought was underrated. Add in first round pick Derek Barnett and the Eagles have a loaded D-line.

 

Safety: Malcolm Jenkins has been very good over the last couple years for the eagles and the heart of the team. He is a do it all kind of guy who has always impressed me. Rodney McLoud, the free agent signing from the Rams last year, was very good in his first year to no ones surprise. The depth is very good as well.

 

Offensive line: Let’s start with the Tackles. Jason Peters has been consistent for years and despite getting older, continues to be very good. Lane Johnson is the key piece though, and whenever he plays, the Eagles win. The interior offensive line has Jason Kelce, Brandon Brooks, and Stefen Wisniewski, three veteran guys who get the job done. The combination led to PFF grading them as the best oline is the NFL

 

Weaknesses

 

Running Back: I don’t love Legarrette Blount. I feel like the 18 touchdowns was way more the team he was on then him. PFF agrees, as they gave him a horrible 52.4 grade. Darren Sproles is fine, but he can’t be the best RB on your roster. Ouch.

 

Cornerbacks: Trading for Ronald Darby was good if you get rookie Darby instead of second year Darby. Behind him are guys like Patrick Robinson, Jalen Mills, and rookie Rasual Douglas. Definitely a weakness.

 

Neither
Quarterback: Don’t love Carson, don’t hate him. He is fine. Think he is more Joe Flacco then Big Ben. Looked great early, but struggled mightly late.

 

Wide receiver: I have never been a fan of Alshon Jeffery because he can’t stay healthy, but if miracles do exist and he lasts a full season, him and wentz can be great together. Torrey smith and Nelson Agholor have to step up with the departure of Jordan Matthews

 

Tight End: Zach Ertz is a solid starting tight end. But he is not good enough to be a strength. Solid Depth behind him.

 

Linebacker: Love Jordan Hicks. One of the best young linebackers in the NFL. Nigel Bradham was very good last year but he has never been consistently great. Behind those two, there is nothing to brag about. The reason why Linebacker isn’t a strength is because of the lack of depth.
Schedule

Week 1: @Redskins: L

Week 2: @Chiefs: L

Week 3: vs Giants: W

Week 4: @Chargers: L

Week 5: vs Cardinals: W

Week 6: @Panthers: L

Week 7: vs Redskins: W

Week 8: vs 49ers: W

Week 9: vs Broncos: L

Week 10: BYE

Week 11: @Cowboys: L

Week 12: vs Bears: W

Week 13: @Seahawks:L

Week 14: @Rams: W

Week 15: vs Giants:L

Week 16: Vs Raiders: L

Week 17: vs Cowboys: W
Prediction: 7-9

 

 

 

 

Strengths

 

Running backs: The suspension will hurt, but Ezekiel Elliot has cemented himself asa top 3 running back in the NFL after a phenomenal first season. With 1631 yards and 15 touchdowns, the numbers just further prove how good he is. The teams identity is running. And with Zeke missing the first 6 games, someone needs to pick up the slack. Darren McFadden and Alfred Morris are the two guys behind Zeke and one needs to step up for this team to be Viable in Zeke’s absence.

 

Offensive line: It is well documented how good the Cowboys Offensive Line, and trust me, it lives up to the hype. They have three guys who make the argument of being the best at their respective positions, and the other two guys, La’el Collins and Jonathan Cooper, have shown potential.

 

Quarterback: This one is kind of on the edge but Dak showed me just enough in his rookie year to give me confidence in his ability to lead this Cowboys team. He doesn’t do one thing great, but he does everything well and just has a poise about him and a natural ability to lead. I have full trust in Dak.

 

Weaknesses

 

Defensive line: This defensive line is a bunch of no name guys and Taco Charlton. I do not like any of these names. David Irving, Stephen Paea, Cedric Thompson, and the pot buddies Demarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory. Ew just Ew. They will struggle to get pressure on the QB or stop anyone.

Cornerback: They lost Morris Claiborne and Brandon carr and replaced him with average Nolan Carroll. This unit has major potential because they drafted Jourdan Lewis and Chidobe Awuize, two guys I liked quite a bit.  Orlando Scanderick has been solid throughout his career, and Anthony Brown flashed in his rookie year. But with no number 1 corner in a division full of talented receivers, they will struggle.

 

Linebacker: Sean Lee is unbelievable but next to him is Jaylon Smith and Anthony Hitchens. Last year, people didn’t know if Smith would ever play again. Now he is penciled in to be the starter. Very Risky. And Hitchens is a scrub. So, it’s a weakness despite the greatness of Sean Lee.

Neither

 

Safeties: Love Byron Jones, but Jeff Heath is shaky, even though he played well in the playoffs.

 

Tight end: Witten still gets it done, but he is getting old and there isn’t much behind him.

 

Wide Receivers: Dez needs to stay healthy and this would be a strength. Love Cole Beasley.

 

Schedule

week 1: vs Giants: L

Week 2: @Broncos: W

Week 3: @Cardinals: L

Week 4: vs Rams:W

Week 5: vs Packers:L

Week 6: BYE

Week 7: @49ers:W

Week 8: @Redskins:L

Week 9: vs Chiefs:W

Week 10: @Falcons:L

Week 11: vs Eagles:W

Week 12: vs Chargers:W

Week 13: vs Redskins:W

Week 14: @Giants:W

Week 15: @Raiders:L

Week 16: vs Seahawks: W

Week 17: @Eagles:L

 

Prediction: 9-7

 

Overview: With Zeke’s Suspension, I had to down the Cowboys a game. The Offense looks legit led by Dak, Zeke, Dez and the Oline. But the defense has a lot of new parts and not enough fire power to be average.

 

 

 

Strengths

Secondary: Yes, I am grouping the cornerbacks and the safeties. This group is special. They declared themselves the NYPD last year and for good reason. The signing of Janoris Jenkins scared me a little bit at first I’ll admit it, but he was well worth the price. He was spectacular and really became an elite corner, with 5 interceptions and a high grade on PFF. Across from him will be 2nd year player Eli Apple, who looked like he belonged as a rookie, and Dominique Rodgers- Cromartie in the slot, who is aging like fine wine, as he had the highest grade of any corner on the roster on PFF at 89. Then the best player on defense Landon Collins leads to secondary. He does everything, and him improving led to the giants defense going from horrible to great. Darian Thompson and Andrew Adams will battle out for the other starting job and both seem capable.

Defensive line: They threw a bunch of money at their defensive line, and it seemed to solve their issues. Olivier Vernon isn’t great, but he is really good and spectacular against the run and JPP, when healthy, was great. Damon Harrison stood out, as the best player on the Dline, and a complete black hole for running backs. Helped improve the giants run defense dramatically. Dalvin Tomlinson, rookie from Alabama, will replace Jonathan Hankins. Hankins is the only loss on this defense, and while it’s a big one, he was asking for a lot of money and the giants just couldn’t dedicate 1/3 of its salary to the defensive line. It is definitely a strength for this football team.

Wide Receivers: I’ll say it again. Odell Beckham is the best receiver in the NFL. Just on the field, he has the most talent out of any player at his position. He’s spectacular. Sterling Shepard has been excellent in camp and is just a really good football player and Brandon Marshall’s numbers speak for themselves and he brings a red zone threat and height to the core.
Weaknesses

Tackles: We know Ereck Flowers sucks. Why don’t the Giants move on? I don’t know. He’s not good because despite his immense talent, his mechanics are horrific. Bobby Hart is a below average right tackle and their is not much depth behind them.

Running back: They have a lot of C+ running backs which screams running back by committee which concerns me. Paul Perkins is fine but nothing special, Shane Vereen is what he is, a receiving back, and Wayne Gallman is a rookie. Looks like the Giants will be relying heavily on the pass game this year.

Linebackers: They have a bunch of guys. Keenan Robinson, BJ Goodson, Jonathan Casillas, and Devon Kennard. A bunch of eh.

 

Other positions (Neither strengths nor weaknesses)
Quarterback: Eli will have his good days and his bad days, but it is clear the end is near. I think that he has a run left in him though.

Tight end: Evan Engram will be a great addition as a receiving tight end and Rhett Ellison is one of the best blocking tight ends in the NFL. Only problem is depending on which tight end is on the field will give away whether it’s a run or pass.

Interior offensive line: Justin Pugh and Weston Richburg are both really good but both tend of get injured often. John Jerry and DJ Fluker will battle it out for the RG position.

Schedule

NYG @ DAL

DET vs NYG

NYG @ PHI

NYG @ TB

LAC vs NYG

NYG @ DEN

SEA vs NYG

LA vs NYG

NYG @ SF

KC vs NYG

NYG @ WAS

NYG @ OAK

DAL vs NYG

PHI vs NYG

NYG @ ARI

WAS vs NYG

Predicted record: 11-5

 

Overall thoughts: This roster is loaded, and if the OLine gives Eli enough time, this offense will be great and this defense will be as good as last year, even though the schedule is very tough.