Sunday, September 1, 2019

2019 NFL Season Predictions - NFC & AFC West


2019 NFL Season Predictions

NFC West

Los Angeles Rams (12-4)

The Rams are coming off of an awful showing in the Super Bowl and played their absolute worst football at the wrong time. A lot of teams carry that into the following season and have no idea how to recover, which translates to losses on the field. I believe the Rams are one of the few teams that will bounce back strong and once again be one of the teams to beat in the NFC. The roster is stacked on both offense and defense, and they all seem to have identified the mistakes from the Super Bowl to help them grow. Aaron Donald is coming off of a monster season and should continue the dominance on the defensive line this year. The Rams have made some minor tweaks in their roster to help them at depth if they suffer any injuries throughout the course of the season. I expect the Rams to come into this season with a bad taste in their mouth from last year and are ready to move on and make another run at a Championship!

Seattle Seahawks (9-7)

The Seahawks seem to keep freefalling every season because the defense has slowly fallen apart. They have tried their best to rebuild, but so far it has not worked out. They just traded for Jedeveon Clowney and it’s a good move, but I don’t think it makes them a much better team in general. On offense it’s all on Russell Wilson’s shoulders, which isn’t a bad thing since he is one of the best quarterbacks in the league, but homeboy has an awful offensive line, a very thin lineup at receiver, and nobody at running back. Have fun with that Russell! The Seahawks will be able to keep their heads above water just because of Wilson, other than that this team doesn’t have much of a shot at anything this season.

San Francisco 49ers (8-8)

I’m not sure how confident I am in Jimmy Garoppolo as a starting quarterback. He really hasn’t started that many games and he missed most of last season due to injury. In the preseason he was throwing some of the stupidest passes for easy interceptions, and I’m fully aware that preseason doesn’t count at all, but these throws were pretty awful. The 49ers are also very weak at both the wide receiver and running back positions which does not do him any favors. The defense is also questionable given that their first round pick Bosa has been injured since training camp and hasn’t played much at all. The 49ers have had nothing but injuries to multiple players the entire offseason and I have a feeling that theme will continue throughout the regular season.

Arizona Cardinals (4-12)

I am not sold on anything that involves the Cardinals! Kyler Murray does not excite me, Kliff Kingsbury is some-how a coach in the NFL when he failed in college, and the rest of the team is straight garbage. Well besides Larry Fitzgerald of course, but unfortunately for him the rest of his team will not make this an enjoyable season for him or Cardinals fans!

AFC West

Los Angeles Chargers (11-5)

I think the Chargers are going to pick up right where they left off last season. Towards the end of the season they really started to put things together and look like a solid team, but just came up short. Philip Rivers continues to play at a high level and seems to get more hungry every season because it seems most everyone forgets about him since he hasn’t done much in the postseason. The running back position is up in the air due to the ongoing contract dispute with Melvin Gordon, but I don’t think it’s a big deal if he ends up not playing this season. Don’t get me wrong he is a good running back, but Philip Rivers runs this offense and that’s obvious. Where the Chargers may surprise everyone will be on the defensive side of the ball. This year Joey Bosa is coming in healthy and ready to play, along with Melvin Ingram at linebacker it’s going to be a tough task for any offensive line to stop the both of them. I expect the Chargers to dominate the league this season and be one of the teams to beat in the playoffs!

Denver Broncos (10-6)

The Broncos are one of my sleeper picks that will make some noise this season. I think Joe Flacco is exactly the type of the quarterback they need for now. He has looked solid this preseason in the offense and seems to fitting in well with the rest of his team. I don’t expect him or the offense to light anyone up, but I think they will be able to hold their own and score when necessary. Where the Broncos will dominate will be on the defensive side of the ball. They have a new head coach whose specialty is on the defensive side of the ball. I expect him to take this already stout defense to another level. It’s going to be really difficult for any running back to break through the linebackers and Vonn Miller has continued to be a nightmare for any and all opposing quarterbacks and I expect him to thrive under Nick Fangio. The Broncos should make things interesting in the AFC this season.

Kansas City Chiefs (8-8)

I know this is definitely not going to be a typical take amongst everyone else on this upcoming season, but Andy Reid teams usually take a step back after a season in which they dominated. I fully expect that to happen to the Chiefs this season. The offense was not nearly as explosive after they cut running back Kareem Hunt last season and I don’t think they did anything to improve that aspect of the offense. The Chiefs signed LeSean McCoy, but I think he is way past his prime and probably won’t last the season without suffering an injury. The defense has also taken a step back from last season, and they weren’t even that good last year. They added in Tyrann Mathieu at safety and everybody is acting like this is some big deal and it may be if there were a few other halfway decent players on the defense with him, but there are none to be found. Andy Reid has consistently fallen short his entire coaching career, but for some reason he always gets brought up as some type of genius. I have never understood this because he has accomplished a whole lot of nothing when it comes to the postseason and I don’t see that changing this year!

Oakland Raiders (6-10)

Antonio Brown hasn’t even played a snap for the Raiders and he’s caused nothing but drama since his arrival. The rest of the team seems to be handling his diva behavior pretty well and I’m sure he will have a decent season for them on the field, but he is not going to help them grow as a team. The rest of the offense is fairly mediocre. Derek Carr has not been the same since he broke his ankle a couple seasons ago and the ground game remains a question with a rookie looking to take over the starting role this season. The defense is more than likely going to be a dumpster fire at this rate. They picked up Vontaze Burfict this offseason, but is that dude actually going to be able to stay on the field all season or go throw another temper tantrum and get suspended? Even if he doesn’t get suspended, he is not a difference maker on the defense. The Raiders are in a tough division and just aren’t that good, I expect another long season for the Raiders! Give Oakland the goodbye it deserves!

No comments:

Post a Comment