What teams are poised to take a step back this season?

[Shanemansj13]

You're right...For some reason I thought they won it with 9 wins.

They probably will back track a little...I never know how to project the Ravens...everytime I think it's a sweep year...they do something like LY.

I'm with you on Jackson...that style of play won't get 10 wins this yr and we don't know if he can be as effective playing more conventional.

Yeah for sure, projecting them is hell. I still expect them to contend for the division and they will find a way to have a top 10 defense uggh lol

Lamar is just the question mark.

 

[Red_Chaos]

Bucs? Huh? They were 5-11 last season. How much further back can they go?

i dont see them winning more than a game or 2

 

[Fountain City Blues]

Hill, Hunt? Who cares. It's a quarterback league.

For the Chiefs it comes down to can Patrick Mahomes immense talent overcome Andy Reid's immense buffoonery.

Reid is a top 3-5 coach, and has been advancing NFL in the offense, more often at the lead of it than not- despite criticism for it [remember when he was criticized for passing it too much, and now everybody does it?] for the better part of 20 years.

The slander Andy Reid gets about his intellect is just straight up weird given what he has actually achieved on the field, and brought to the NFL.

Reid being a buffoon makes about 28 or so other HC's buffoons. It's just nonsense.

 

[NWPATSFAN]

Whitworth is retiring most likely, Talib will be 34, so he won't command a whole lot or he retires. Littleton and Brockers won't command a lot, being non pro bowlers

You just have to reload in the draft, that is what separates the elite franchises from standard franchises. We're moving into a palace next year with one of the richest owners. He has no reason not to put effort into keeping a good product on the field. Not to mention, being southern California it helps attracts talent.

Yeah good luck with that.

Those were just the guys off the top of my head. They'll all be wanting to get paid. That's all Talib does. $54M doesn't go that far if you need to replace that many staters along with Goff who will butt r*pe Kroenke. Who's replacing Suh, at what cost?
You don't just replace talented vets, probowlers or not thru the draft. FA can be hit or miss. Oh and not everyone wants to be in/around LA. Many of us can't stand that area. SD now that's a different story. Even SF to a lesser extent. Stop kidding yourself.

 

[Battlelyon]

You trust your coaching staff to do its job and reload in the draft, you develop players. Like the Rams have done with Kupp, JJ3, Everett, and will do with Brian Allen, Joseph Noteboom, Greg Gaines, and Henderson.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

With the Chiefs it's an emphatic yes, the better question is where they fit in amongst SB contenders, imo. I don't think they are the favorite like they ended up being last year. Tyreek Hill is too good.

Bears are gonna be dogged with Trubs until he makes a jump, if ever, but they really should be playoff contenders.

Some other teams named in here like the Rams seem likely given how teams pretty much copied the Lions outside of the Bears (who just bludgeoned them with brute force talent) and it was largely getting beat schematically, imo. That's troubling, especially when they got straight shut down by a D that is a lot more finesse than it is talent for 4 full quarters. Goff is a big question mark for me. What is he really? This isn't so much a dig at McVay as much as I wonder how much he can carry Goff when he isn't up to task.

Saints seem like a candidate to regress as well; or at least, fade down the stretch. Not convinced Brees can go all 20 anymore if need be for a SB run.

Chargers had some close game luck which feels hard to ignore.

This is kinda silly as almost by definition, 12 win teams should be expected to take a step back, but still.

Texans seem like a good bet to regress. How much punishment can Watson really take before he gets a hit he can't play with? That offense has major issues as far as surviving a 16 game season goes.

 

[boogiewithstu2007]

I guess what I haven't conveyed well enough is Suh can eat up blocks, he can still tackle but he doesn't collapse a pocket nor get into the backfield like he used to. Having said that I think TB paying him $10M is crazy. Unless there are a lot of incentives in it.

There are plenty of big bodies who can clog up the middle for a lot less. Danny Shelton signed for $1M incentive based with NE. Is Suh 10x better than Shelton? I don't think so.

Yeah he's not worth the massive price tag... He'd be good to have for a reasonable price

 

[Judge Fudge]

Really shocked everyone expecting Rams to take a step back.

Same. I say Patriots, not huge, and Cowboys

 

[Brees#1]

Everyone in the NFC will regress except Philadelphia. As for the AFC, Houston, LAC for certain, maybe KC. NE, Indy, and Baltimore can improve.

 

[jerseyhawksfan79]

Everyone in the NFC will regress except Philadelphia. As for the AFC, Houston, LAC for certain, maybe KC. NE, Indy, and Baltimore can improve.

I see Philly staying the same.