Looking Forward To 2018 NFL Season (Each Teams Opponents,Draft Order,Etc.)

[Mike75]

Another team to watch out for in NFC are Green Bay now that Thompson is gone they will be more active in free agency. There were numerous times thru the years where all they needed was a player or two but he was so against free agency that last year it all came to a head and Rodgers,McCarthy and others gave their two cents and i dont blame em. If you are a Packers fan Thompson leaving is great news.

[Mike75]

Tennessee is a very interesting case if you are on the outside looking in. From '99 thru '11 they had seven winning seasons and postseason appearances,13 win season on three seperate occassions,three division titles,two AFC title game and one Super Bowl appearance. Then they had 4 straight losing seasons from '12 thru '15 that included 2-14 in 2014 and 3-13 in 2015.

 

A real fan is someone who sticks with their team through hell and high water. I still attended games in 2014/2015 those two years there were plenty who might've gotten tired of losing but not me i'm a diehard. It made the 2017 season so much sweeter when we not only made the postseason but also won a game. In two years we went from picking first in the draft to being two games away from going to the Super Bowl.

 

There were two main ingredients that changed the direction of the Titans that was the addition of QB Marcus Mariota and GM Jon Robinson both came from winning and i think both were hell bent to keep it going when they joined forces on the Titans and 2016 was their first year together and GM Robinson got to work revamping the roster and restoring Titans to their winning ways.

 

It helped that he was able to trade the teams first pick to the Rams for a big haul of extra picks in the draft. In the 2016 and 2017 drafts the Titans got RB Derrick Henry,OT Jack Conklin,WR Tajae Sharpe,WR Taywan Taylor,WR Corey Davis,TE Jonnu Smith,S Kevin Byard,CB Adoree Jackson,CB LeShaun Sims,NT Austin Johnson,LB Aaron Wallace,LB Jayon Brown and in free agency RB Demarco Murray,WR Rishard Matthews,WR Eric Decker,TE Luke Stocker,OT Dennis Kelly,OG Josh Kline,S Jonathan Cyprien,DT Sylvester Williams,LB Erik Walden,CB Logan Ryan,CB Tye Smith,LB Brynden Traywick.

 

Getting a good young QB Mariota in the draft and bringing in a smart young GM Robinson was the perfect combo and their first year together in 2016 was a winning record of 9-7 including wins vs Detroit,Green Bay,Kansas City,Denver,Houston and Miami all playoff teams that Titans defeated. The second year together they improved with another winning season 9-7 this time with not only making the playoffs but winning a playoff game at Kansas City a very tough place to play on the road.

 

So coming off of two straight winning seasons and a playoff win the Titans wanted former coach Mike Mularkey to change his staff on offense he refused and the team let him go and hired another head coach Mike Vrabel.

 

Now Tennessee goes into the 2018 season coming off of two straight winning seasons and a playoff victory and this will be Mariota/Robinson's third year together as Titans.

 

Anything is possible and all things achievable.

[Mike75]

More games to look forward to in 2018..............

 

 

Green Bay Packers at Seattle Seahawks

Pittsburgh Steelers at Oakland Raiders

New Orleans Saints at Dallas Cowboys

S.F. 49ers at L.A. Chargers 

Atlanta Falcons at Green Bay Packers

S.F. 49ers at KC Chiefs

Indy Colts at New England Patriots

Philadelphia Eagles at Jax Jaguars

Tennessee Titans at Dallas Cowboys

Arizona Cards at Denver Broncos

S.F. 49ers at Green Bay Packers

 

 

Green Bay Packers at New England Patriots   Rodgers vs. Brady

Pittsburgh Steelers at New Orleans Saints        Roethlisberger vs. Brees

NFC title rematch: Minnesota Vikings at Philadelphia Eagles

AFC title rematch:  New England Patriots at Jacksonville Jaguars

SB I wanted to see Minnesota Vikings at New England Patriots

Dallas Cowboys at Houston Texans  Prescott vs. Watson

Oakland Raiders at S.F. 49ers   Carr vs Garropolo

Philly Eagles at N.O. Saints    Brees vs. Wentz

L.A. Chargers at L.A. Rams      Battle of LA.....Rivers vs. Goff

N.E. Patriots at Detroit Lions   Belichick takes on former DC Patricia

N.E. Patriots at Pittsburgh Steelers   great AFC game

N.Y Giants at Indy Colts   a great one when both Mannings played....Hope its Luck vs Manning

Tennessee Titans at NY Giants    Back in '06 NY led TN 21-0 after 3 quarters. TN scored 24 in 4th to beat NY

Carolina Panthers at Pittsburgh Steelers   Newton vs. Roethlisberger

Arizona Cards at KC Chiefs   Alex Smith could be leaving KC another great vet QB could mean good things for AZ

[Mike75]

Very early prediction we can bump it one year from today......

 

A very early guess

 

2019 NFC AFC Title games

 

NFC title game......San Francisco 49ers vs. New Orleans Saints

 

AFC title game.....L.A. Chargers vs. New England Patriots

[Mike75]

Cardinals fans are in a panic over Larry Fitzgerald‘s “uncertain” future. Cardinals president Michael Bidwill has one word for them: R-e-l-a-x.

“My gut says everyone needs to relax,” Bidwill said Tuesday, via Darren Urban of the team website. “Let Fitz go through his process, and give him a few weeks to make his decision. He’ll let us know.”

The star wide receiver signed a one-year extension through 2018 a few months ago. And in his 14th season, Fitzgerald showed he still has plenty left in the tank. He caught 109 passes for 1,156 yards and six touchdowns despite playing with three quarterbacks.

But his head coach resigned, and his starting quarterback retired. That has left uncertainty about whether Fitzgerald will return in 2018.

[Viejo Dinosaur]

Green Bay could be looking at Ingram and possibly Bell from Pitt as a long shot....

[fifty cint]

Who gives a shit about NFL SHIT PRODUCT

[Mike75]

Green Bay could be looking at Ingram and possibly Bell from Pitt as a long shot....

 

Packers with Bell would be lethal.....

[Mike75]

Rapoport Titans have interest in Eagles DeFillipo as OC and ex Cards Bettcher as DC

 

 

[Mike75]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Derek Carr is looking forward to not only being reunited with new Oakland Raiders coach Jon Gruden, but also being pushed by the notoriously hard-to-please quarterback guru.

 

"I want him to be really hard on me because I want to win," Carr told ESPN at a Pro Bowl practice on Wednesday. "He can pat me on the back and tell me he loves me, which he does, and he will. But at the same time, I want him to be hard on me and let's talk about, 'Hey, if we grade out at 90 percent, let's talk about the 10 percent I didn't do well.'"

 

Carr went through Gruden's QB Camp show on ESPN in 2014 before the Raiders drafted him out of Fresno State in the second round. Carr has played for Dennis Allen, Tony Sparano and Jack Del Rio in Oakland and he has been the Raiders' starter since his rookie season.

 

He has only missed two games, both to injury, and regressed last season; his Total QBR dropped from 54.6 in 2016 to 47.2 in 2017.

 

"Three broken bones in your back," Gruden said in his introductory media conference on Jan. 9. "I think that is a reasonable reason why you might not have the same season you had a year ago."

 

Carr, meanwhile, said he found out about Gruden officially replacing Del Rio on the Internet.

Quarterback Derek Carr said he's eager to be pushed by new coach Jon Gruden. "I want him to be really hard on me because I want to win," he said. Cary Edmondson/USA TODAY Sports

 

"Obviously it's hard to lose a coach; that's not fun for anybody because you care about him and you have a relationship with him," Carr said. "But as players, we just have to keep moving on. And now that we have coach Gruden, we're fired up, we're excited. Especially as a quarterback, to have a guy like that, his mindset. I spent time around him, I've known him for years now. We have a pre-existing relationship, so that's nice to have. I'm just really looking forward to growing under him.

 

"It's a good thing that me and Coach Gruden think the same way. Him and I are more similar than people even know. We just are ... him and I think the same way, we watch, we study the same way and all those kind of things."

Gruden, though, is famous for waking up at 3:17 a.m.

 

Carr?

 

"No, I get a little more sleep than he does," he said. "I get a little bit. Not much more, but I get a little bit more. I'm up early. I like to be the first one in there to have some quiet time and to study and do things a certain way, and he's kind of the same way."

[Mike75]

[Mike75]

                 Marcus Mariota's Three Year Career In Tennessee And How He Has Fared So Far In The NFL

 

 

Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota is always at his most creative when forced out of the pocket, but even he could not have envisioned what would prove to be the critical play of the Titans’ shocking 22-21 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in an N.F.L. wild-card playoff game earlier this month.

 

Mariota, as he so often does, found himself on the run. His team was trailing by 18 points in the third quarter in the hostile environment of Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium one of the loudest toughest places to play in the NFL. Pass protection collapsed, and as Mariota scrambled toward the line of scrimmage, he appeared to throw the ball away, conceding yet another drive.

 

But when Darrelle Revis of the Chiefs batted the pass back toward Mariota, the quarterback snagged it out of the air. And as Kansas City’s defenders struggled to comprehend what they were seeing, Mariota sprinted forward for a touchdown that went into the books as a 6-yard pass from Mariota to Mariota.

 

 

Mariota is a prowess in the red zone for his three year career he has 40TD and 0INT and in 2016 the Titans were ranked first in the league in red zone success. His rookie year he became the first QB to ever have two games with 4TD and 0INT.

 

 

In an on-field interview after the game, Mariota calmly congratulated his defense, while taking little credit for the shocking touchdown.

“I was just in the right place at the right time,” he said after crediting Revis with having made a good play on the ball.

 

The play made Mariota the second quarterback in N.F.L. history to complete a touchdown pass to himself and first ever in the playoffs. And the play started a remarkable turnaround in which the Titans reeled off 19 consecutive points to get their sixth playoff win since joining the league in 1999 and end the season of the A.F.C. West champion who haven't won a playoff game since 1994 nearly 25 years ago.

 

"You’ve got to believe in each other.” Derrick Henry, the Tennessee running back who gained 156 yards on 23 carries, including a 35-yard touchdown run.

 

The game was not particularly impressive statistically for Mariota, who completed 19 of 31 passes for 205 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, but in the end he did all of the little things necessary to extend drives and will his team to victory. Mariota spread the ball around to eight receivers — including himself — and deftly avoided Kansas City’s pass rush, aside from two sacks. Some QB's have the stats others just make plays like Mariota.

 

"He actually knows when to run and when to pass the ball when scrambling," Patriots defensive back Duron Harmon told reporters in trying to explain what separates Mariota from other mobile QBs. "It's a very unique skill because a lot of guys, once they get scrambling, they're not even looking downfield anymore. They're just looking to run. But, he always has his eyes downfield, always knows when to run, when to throw the pass, and I would say his touch on the ball, too, that gets people open when he's scrambling is really good."

 

With his scrambling ability he was able to run for an 87 yard TD vs Jax the longest run of 2015 by any player and in the same game Mariota was the first QB in NFL history to pass for at least 250 yards 3 touchdowns and rush for more than 100 yards in the same game. Cam Newton did it two weeks later and Colin Keapernick a year later.

 

 

 

Another impressive feat came a year later against of all teams the Packers and Aaron Rodgers. On the Titans first offensive snap RN Demarco Murray ran 75 yards for a TD. Next possession two long passes including a 41 yarder to TE Delanie Walker set up another TD. By the end of the first quarter it was 21-0. By halftime 35-10 and those 35 points were the most points scored in a half that season and the 47 total points were the most scored against Green Bay since 1986 thirty years prior.

 

Mariota led all NFL QB's with four 4th quarter comebacks and five game winning drives 2017. It takes a good QB to go down the field in the last minute of a game and lead your team to a win and he did that on multiple occassions not only in 2017 but in his first two seasons as well. He has had eight 4th quarter comebacks and nine game winning drives in his short career so far.

 

Mariota was also the first QB in modern NFL history with six four-TD performances in his first 22 career games. Very impressive for a QB in his first two seasons. Also in his rookie year he had four games with at least three touchdown passes at the time Mariota was only the second rookie after Peyton Manning to do so. Eventually Dak Prescott and Deshaun Watson did so as rookies as well.

Mariota has accomplished a lot over his three year career. The Titans had been having problems in their division rivalry with the Indianapolis Colts losing games as far back as 2011 due to great QB play by Andrew Luck and his predecessor Peyton Manning but this offseason the team vowed to get better not only against Indy but the division as a whole. Not only did the Titans finally get a win vs Indy but they swept the Colts winning both games and went 5-1 in the division overall.

 

Also Mariota has made the Titans a better team helping them improve every year since joining in 2015. His rookie season the team won three games. The next year they won nine games a six game improvement. In his most recent season they improved again not only winning nine games but making the postseason and winning a postseason game as well.

 

Finally to end this article ironically we will go back to the very beginning....of Mariota's career that is.

 

Of all the things Mariota has achieved the multiple accomplishments in his very first game are the most impresive.

 

 

 

Mariota's very first game gained a perfect passer rating of 158.3, making him the first quarterback in NFL history to attain a perfect passer rating in his first regular season game. Mariota became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw four touchdown passes in the first half of his NFL debut too. He is also the youngest quarterback to reach the perfect passer rating in his first game as well. No other QB did this in their first game not Bledsoe,Watson, Prescott.....or Brady either. Key word first game.

 

 

 

 

[Sharp Square]

Great stuff as always Mike! 

[Mike75]

Great stuff as always Mike! 

 

Thanks!!!   What games are you looking forward to this upcoming season?????

 

 

 

AFC EAST

New England Patriots

Home: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings

Away: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tennessee Titans

 

Buffalo Bills

Home: Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Chargers, Tennessee Titans

Away: Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Baltimore Ravens, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings

 

Miami Dolphins

Home: Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Oakland Raiders, Tennessee Titans

Away: Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Cincinnati Bengals, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings

 

New York Jets

Home: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings

Away: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans

 

 

AFC NORTH

Pittsburgh Steelers

Home: Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, New England Patriots

Away: Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans Saints, Oakland Raiders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

 

Baltimore Ravens

Home: Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, New Orleans Saints, Oakland Raiders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Away: Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Tennessee Titans

 

Cincinnati Bengals

Home: Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, Oakland Raiders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Away: Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers

 

Cleveland Browns

Home: Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, New York Jets

Away: Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, New Orleans Saints, Oakland Raiders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

 

AFC SOUTH

Jacksonville Jaguars

Home: Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskins

Away: Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans, Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants

 

Tennessee Titans

Home: Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Baltimore Ravens, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins

Away: Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Chargers, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants

 

Indianapolis Colts

Home: Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants

Away: Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins

 

Houston Texans

Home: Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants

Away: Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins

 

 

AFC WEST

Kansas City Chiefs

Home: Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers, Oakland Raiders, Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars, San Francisco 49ers

Away: Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers, Oakland Raiders, Cleveland Browns, Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks

 

Los Angeles Chargers

Home: Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders, Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, San Francisco 49ers, Tennessee Titans

Away: Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders, Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks

 

Oakland Raiders

Home: Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks

Away: Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Miami Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers

 

Denver Broncos

Home: Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Oakland Raiders, Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks

Away: Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Oakland Raiders, Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers

 

 

NFC EAST

Philadelphia Eagles

Home: Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Washington Redskins, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings

Away: Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Washington Redskins, Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans

 

Dallas Cowboys

Home: New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans

Away: New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Seattle Seahawks

 

Washington Redskins

Home: Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts

Away: Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Arizona Cardinals, Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans

 

New York Giants

Home: Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans

Away: Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, San Francisco 49ers

 

 

NFC NORTH

Minnesota Vikings

Home: Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, San Francisco 49ers

Away: Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks

 

Detroit Lions

Home: Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Carolina Panthers, Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Seattle Seahawks

Away: Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers

 

Green Bay Packers

Home: Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers

Away: Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Seattle Seahawks, Washington Redskins

 

Chicago Bears

Home: Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Away: Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers

 

 

NFC SOUTH

New Orleans Saints

Home: Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns, Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskins

Away: Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants

 

Carolina Panthers

Home: Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Seattle Seahawks

Away: Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskins

 

Atlanta Falcons

Home: Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants

Away: Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskins

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Home: Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Washington Redskins

Away: Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants

 

 

NFC WEST

Los Angeles Rams

Home: Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles

Away: Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, New Orleans Saints, Oakland Raiders

 

Seattle Seahawks

Home: Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Minnesota Vikings

Away: Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Oakland Raiders

 

Arizona Cardinals

Home: Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Oakland Raiders, Washington Redskins

Away: Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Minnesota Vikings

 

San Francisco 49ers

Home: Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, New York Giants, Oakland Raiders

Away: Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

[Mike75]

With 2 TD recs, @Titans TE Delanie Walker is the #ProBowl Offensive MVP............

 

 

- AFC Captain

- Two Touchdowns

- AFC Comeback Win

- Pro Bowl MVP

- Scored TD in each of his three Pro Bowl appearances (2016, 2017, 2018)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mike75]

Tom Brady or Bill Belichick: Who contributed more to Pats' dynasty?

 

There came a point over the past couple of years when Tom Brady began to be described as the greatest of all time. You can even call him the GOAT, although calling someone a "goat" out loud still feels like something you'd need to start apologizing for halfway through. You can certainly make a case that Brady is the best quarterback who has ever lived, or pick Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Johnny Unitas or one of a handful of other options. Obviously, Brady belongs in the discussion.

 

His coach also has a strong case for his own honors. Bill Belichick has won seven Super Bowls, including five as head coach of the New England Patriots. A win on Sunday would make him the first person in league history with eight Super Bowl rings. He has pieced together 15 consecutive 10-win seasons in a league in which the previous record was eight. Since 2001, the Patriots have won 209 games, 30 more than any other team. Given the era in which he competes, you wouldn't be wrong to say that Belichick is the greatest head coach of all time.

 

You can probably see where this is going. It's impossible to directly compare Brady and Belichick, given that they have different jobs and each played a huge role in the other's success. It would be foolish to suggest that Belichick could have accomplished everything he did over the past 17 years without Brady, or vice versa. Unless we live in the alternate dimension in which Belichick passes on Brady to draft Tim Rattay, we'll never get to see if Belichick or Brady could have done it alone.

 

A question we can ask, though, is this one: Between the two of them, has Belichick or Brady contributed more to the success of this Patriots dynasty? It's impossible to answer definitively, but the questions we ask on the way to finding a solution might be illuminating in themselves. You'll also find at least one fact that might influence your opinion of whether the dominant duo are going to beat the Philadelphia Eagles to win another Super Bowl.

 

Let's run through a few questions and see what each tells us in pitting (arguably) the greatest head coach of all time against the greatest quarterback of all time:

 

 

1. How has Brady performed without Belichick during his career?

Brady has spent his entire professional career with Belichick as his coach, so we have very little data here. At Michigan, Brady was a successful passer, although his 20-5 record over his final two seasons had some help from a defense that ranked 14th in the country during Brady's junior season. He threw a total of just 618 passes over those two starting campaigns in an offense built around running back Anthony Thomas, who has been out of the NFL for more than a decade.

It's pretty clear the league didn't think much of Brady's success. He had a third-round grade coming out of school and fell to the end of the sixth round, where the Patriots took him with the 199th selection. Things have gone pretty well since.

 

2. How has Belichick performed without Brady during his career?

The 65-year-old served in various roles for the Colts, Lions, Broncos and Giants between 1975 and 1984, but let's start with 1985. As a defensive coordinator, Belichick was excellent. During his six-year stint as defensive coordinator with the Giants under Bill Parcells, Belichick's defenses finished with an average rank of just over fifth in points allowed and placed seventh or better in each season between 1986 and 1990 by DVOA. (There is not yet DVOA data for the 1985 season.) His defenses helped win two Super Bowls while holding two of the league's best offenses below their season averages.

 

Belichick later took over a Jets defense that ranked 29th in points allowed and immediately delivered three consecutive top-10 finishes from 1997 to 1999 before famously (and perhaps apocryphally) resigning as "HC of the NYJ" and leaving the Jets to take over with the Patriots. Belichick certainly had an excellent mentor in Parcells, but it's worth noting that Parcells didn't field a single defense that ranked in the top 10 in points allowed without Belichick involved during his time with the Patriots (where Belichick spent 1996 as a defensive backs coach) and just one in four years with the Cowboys.

 

By all accounts, Belichick was one of the best defensive minds of his generation. His first run as a head coach was far more forgettable. Taking over a 3-13 Browns team, Belichick managed to coax Cleveland to a 6-10 record in Year 1. It was a promising start, but the Browns went 7-9 in each of the next two seasons before finally breaking through with an 11-5 season and a playoff win in 1994. And yes, if you're wondering, Belichick is the last Cleveland Browns coach to win a playoff game.

 

One 5-11 season later, though, and Belichick was unemployed. Art Modell fired Belichick as the Browns moved to Baltimore to wild critical acclaim, with Belichick seen as a pariah within the local and national media. Belichick struggled to find a consistent solution at quarterback, finding success only after replacing Bernie Kosar with veteran import Vinny Testaverde. His drafts also were mediocre, with five years of picks delivering just one Pro Bowl player in safety Eric Turner. It's impossible to say Belichick was an effective head coach in Cleveland.

 

You would imagine Belichick learned from his mistakes during his first time as a head coach, but he didn't enjoy immediate success with the Patriots.

 

He took over a team that had gone 27-21 under three seasons with Pete Carroll and went 5-11 despite the presence of Drew Bledsoe on the roster. It was only when Bledsoe went down with a sheared blood vessel in his chest two games into the 2001 season that Belichick turned things over to Brady, who took over until the AFC Championship Game. A Brady ankle injury forced Bledsoe back into the game, and Belichick's special teams blocked a field goal and returned it for a critical touchdown before two late Patriots interceptions sealed a 24-17 win.

 

Since then, Brady has started 273 of New England's ensuing 292 games, missing just 19 regular-season contests. Fifteen of those came during the 2008 season, when Brady tore his ACL during the first half of the season opener. Belichick was forced to turn over things to the unheralded Matt Cassel, and while Cassel was handed the reigns to what had been one of the most devastating offenses in league history, Belichick couldn't coax the same brilliance out of a similarly unheralded backup.

 

The 2008 Patriots missed the playoffs, although their absence masks what was still a very good team. Those Pats are the only team in the 16-year history of the league's current playoff structure to miss the postseason with an 11-5 record. They finished ninth in overall DVOA and seventh in offensive DVOA despite missing Brady for virtually the entire season, although both marks were down from leading the league the previous season. The defense, coincidentally, was the weak link of the 2008 team. New England finished 17th in defensive DVOA.

 

Eight years later, the Deflategate scandal led Brady to be suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season. With months to prepare, Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels coached up Jimmy Garoppolo, who played six excellent quarters of football before going down with a shoulder injury. The Pats then won a third game with rookie Jacoby Brissett under center before being shut out by the Bills 16-0 in Week 4.

 

In all, Belichick has gone 13-6 (.684) in 19 games without Brady at quarterback for the Patriots. To put that in context, no other team in the league besides Belichick's Patriots has posted a winning percentage higher than .684 since Belichick and Brady joined forces in 2000. Nobody would argue that Belichick doesn't need his Hall of Fame quarterback, but the Patriots have been extremely good even without Brady at the helm.

 

3. How has Belichick performed after losing members of his staff?

Admirably. During his time with the Patriots, Belichick has changed his offensive and defensive coordinators a combined eight times. When Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia likely leave this offseason to become head coaches, it will mark the sixth and seventh time a Belichick coordinator has left to become the head coach of an NFL team or a major NCAA program. The only Belichick coordinator to leave the team without becoming a head coach is Dean Pees, who left after his contract expired.

 

Belichick has yet to fire a coordinator in 16 years on the job. Furthermore, Belichick spent three seasons in this run without an offensive coordinator and three more without a defensive coordinator. It's staggering that Belichick has been so consistently impressive while shedding coaching talent and a testament to his ability to develop young coaches from within. McDaniels joined the staff as a coaching assistant in 2002; Patricia joined two years later.

4. How has Brady performed when the Patriots have moved on from key members of the offense?

Again, it's difficult to give anything but glowing praise here. The Patriots have gone through several offensive iterations during their run with Brady, both in terms of style and personnel. Just three of the 10 offensive starters who lined up alongside Brady against the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI were starting against the Panthers two years later.

 

Belichick mostly avoided investing in skill-position talent (aside from Corey Dillon) during the early days of the Brady-Belichick era, preferring homegrown players such as Deion Branch and David Givens and ageless veterans such as Troy Brown and Kevin Faulk. The Pats did invest first-round picks in tight ends such as Daniel Graham and Benjamin Watson, but by 2006, Brady was throwing to a 35-year-old Brown and low-budget castoffs such as Reche Caldwell and Doug Gabriel.

 

Things changed in 2007, when the Patriots blitzed the league with a spread attack built around imports such as Randy Moss, Donte' Stallworth and Wes Welker. The Moss-Welker core lasted four years before Moss was shipped off to Minnesota in 2010, which was also the year the Pats drafted Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski. The versatile tight ends became the focal point of New England's attack until 2013, when Hernandez was released by the team after being arrested in connection with a homicide.

 

Welker and fellow veteran Brandon Lloyd left after 2012 and were replaced by the combination of Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola. Edelman and Gronkowski have been the focal points of the offense ever since, along with a bevy of useful running backs and veteran secondary weapons such as Chris Hogan and Brandon LaFell. Brandin Cooks was acquired this offseason, giving the Pats their most high-profile wideout acquisition since the trade for Moss a decade ago.

Belichick and Brady's first Super Bowl win came in February of 2002, when they beat the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI as a big underdog.

 

Through all of this, Brady has remained remarkably consistent. His numbers improved dramatically during that 2007 season and have stayed at a high level ever since. Brady lost a Hall of Fame wideout (Moss), a hyper-productive slot receiver (Welker) and an athletic freak at tight end (Hernandez) and he didn't skip a beat.

 

The one concern you might have as a Pats fan, though, is how Brady hasn't been the same quarterback without Gronkowski in the lineup. Since the Arizona product entered the league in 2010, Brady's drop-off with and without Gronkowski is stark. The 40-year-old has posted a 106.5 passer rating and a 77.9 Total QBR with Gronk on the field but has mustered only a 90.3 passer rating and a 62.1 Total QBR when Gronkowski has been sidelined.

 

A 90.3 passer rating is still pretty good, but we're looking at the difference between Aaron Rodgers (who has a 105.8 passer rating over that time frame) and Matthew Stafford (90.6). Gronk matters, and the Patriots would be a drastically different team if their star tight end isn't able to recover from a concussion and play Sunday. New England's two lowest-scoring performances of the 2017 season came against the Buccaneers and Dolphins, which were the two games Gronkowski missed.

5. Have the Patriots been more dependent upon their offense or defense during their run of dominance?

This is the critical question. It's too simplistic to assign Brady sole credit for the offense and Belichick full credit for the defense, but you get the idea. Have the Patriots been driven by their offense or their defense?

 

You can see how dominant the Patriots' offense has been for what amounts to a 14-year run of success; it hasn't ranked below seventh since 2003 and has 11 top-five finishes over that stretch. You also can see how the defense has struggled to keep up; after an impressive run early during the Belichick-Brady era, the Pats haven't posted a top-10 rank in defensive DVOA in more than a decade and produced the worst defense of the Belichick reign this season.

 

So ... Belichick or Brady?

Well, the simple answer is both. It would be impossible to choose between Belichick or Brady, and there's no way the Patriots of the past 17 years would be the Patriots with one or the other in a different city.

 

The more nuanced answer? Well, Belichick has had a coaching run up there with some of the greats in the history of football, and he has done it in an era in which it's more difficult to build and sustain success under the salary cap. He could very well go down as the greatest coach in modern American sports. There's not a single team in the league who wouldn't fire its coach to hire Belichick tomorrow.

 

And yet, there's a reason top-level quarterbacks get paid about twice as much as top-level coaches. Brady has been the cornerstone of an offense that has managed to cover for a decent-or-worse defense over the past decade, even while swapping out key offensive pieces over and over again. He continues to play at a high level after turning 40.

 

Belichick certainly deserves some credit for providing Brady with the infrastructure to succeed, especially early in the future Hall of Famer's career, but who else could have led the Patriots back from down 28-3 in the Super Bowl?

 

Brady is the best draft pick of all time, arguably the greatest quarterback of all time, and the most important piece of this Patriots dynasty.

[Mike75]

New England

 

Total Offense-Ranked 1st

Points- 2nd

Passing- 2nd

Rushing- 10th

 

 

Total Defense-Ranked 29th

Points- 5th

Passing- 30th

Rushing- 20th

 

 

Philly

 

Total Offense-Ranked 7th

Points- 3rd

Passing- 13th

Rushing- 3rd

 

 

Total Defense-Ranked 4th

Points- 4th

Passing- 17th

Rushing- 1st

[Mike75]

Main thing to look at in New England vs. Philly......

 

 

OFFENSE--POINTS SCORED

Patriots-2nd

Eagles-3rd

 

 

DEFENSE--POINTS ALLOWED

Patriots-5th

Eagles-4th

 

 

In points scored and points allowed both teams rank very closely together and this is on both offense and defense meaning the two teams are very similar not only in scoring points but also in how much scoring they allow. Should bode for a very close game.......

[Mike75]

[Mike75]

[Mike75]

[Mike75]

                                                   2018 NFL Offseason Power Rankings

 

 

1. Eagles

2. Patriots

3. Saints

4. Vikings

5. Steelers

6. Rams

7. Packers

8. Jaguars

9. Falcons

10. 49ers

11. Chiefs

12. Titans

13. Chargers

14. Panthers

15. Bills

16. Seahawks

17. Cowboys

18. Raiders

19. Cardinals

20. Lions

21. Texans

22. Ravens

23. Redskins

24. Broncos

25. Dolphins

26. Bengals

27. Bucs

28. Giants

29. Colts

30. Bears

31. Jets

32. Browns

[Mike75]

Green Bay could be looking at Ingram and possibly Bell from Pitt as a long shot....

 

 Steelers might be letting Bell go,I keep thinking about how if he went to Packers they'd have a killer offense.

[Mike75]

Every year a team who missed the postseason the prior season makes it.

 

2018 i predict 49ers in NFC and Chargers in AFC to make noise in postseason.

[Mike75]

Here’s a look at the full order of the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft:

1 Browns 0-16
2 Giants 3-13
3 Colts 4-12
4 Browns (from Texans) 4-12
5 Broncos 5-11
6 Jets 5-11
7 Buccaneers 5-11
8 Bears 5-11
9 or 10 49ers 6-10 (coin flip)
9 or 10 Raiders 6-10 (coin flip)
11 Dolphins 6-10
12 Bengals 7-9
13 Washington 7-9
14 Packers 7-9
15 Cardinals 8-8
16 Ravens 9-7
17 Chargers 9-7
18 Seahawks 9-7
19 Cowboys 9-7
20 Lions 9-7
21 Bills 9-7
22 Bills (from Chiefs) 9-7
23 Rams 11-5
24 Panthers 11-5
25 Titans 9-7
26 Falcons 10-6
27 Saints 11-5
28 Steelers 13-3
29 Jaguars 10-6
30 Vikings 13-3
31 Patriots 13-3
32 Eagles 13-3