I thought it would be fun to look at all the best and worst cases for teams heading into the season , so let's do this. I'll start with the .... Packers. 



BEST CASE SCENARIO - Aaron Rodgers stays healthy all 16 games and he and the offense led by Jimmy Graham and Davante Adams man a top three passing offense while the young guys also step up. Mike Pettine is able to bring the defense to a top twelve unit in the league and take pressure off from Rodgers come the postseason. Kevin King takes a step into being a #1 cornerback and Jaire Alexander is a key piece. The Packers cruise to a 12-4 record , win the NFC North and win the Super Bowl. BONUS BEST CASE: The Saints regress this season and lose enough games to garner the Packers a top ten pick on top of their Lombardi Trophy. 


WORST CASE SCENARIO - Aaron Rodgers gets hurt again and we see Deshone Kizer or Brett Hundley lead this offense yet again , the defense doesn't take any steps under Pettine and our young guys look like nothing more than average starters or busts. We finish fourth in the NFC North while watching the rival Vikings take home the Lombardi trophy. Add to that , the Packers still manage to keep McCarthy around and alienate Rodgers even further , leaving his future in Green Bay somewhat in question. 

Interesting thread. I'll do Texans since it's the two opposing scenarios are very apart.

Best case scenario - Watson will obviously cool down at least slightly but best case is he establishes himself as a franchise quarterback. Will Fuller has a breakout year in tandem with Watson given the Texans a WR2 option that alleviates the pressure off Hopkins. The offensive line is average, assisting the run game. D'Onta Foreman rotates with Miller after establishing himself. JJ Watt will not be DPOY even in best case scenario IMO, but a 10-15 sack season is not beyond him. Clowney stays fit all year (and performs). Romeo Crennel finally gets something out of Kevin Johnson at corner. Honey Badger is back to his best. The Texans could be an 11-5 team in this highly unlikely best-case scenario and nothing is beyond them in the play-offs with this high-powered defense.

Worst case - Watson struggles with a poor offensive line and his scrambling is not as effective now that defenses have tape on him. Running game struggles with poor O-line and BOB's weird obsession with trying to get chunk yardage on every run play. JJ Watt is a shell of himself and the Texans pass rush becomes overly reliant on Clowney, who misses game time due to injury issues. The Texans continue to struggle in the secondary without quality at corner. They go 6-10.

Best Case: The Raiders, with Chucky back coaching the Silver & Black, will have a more sealed up defense. Mack and Irvin providing that rush that keep QBs on their toes. Carr stays healthy, and Cooper stays productive. And if The Beast can have a rushing season at or better than last season. And considering the Chiefs are questionable this year, and the Broncos not ready to contend yet. I can see the Raiders competing with the Chargers and maybe the Chiefs for a division title, or at least earning the Wild Card. 11-5

Worst Case: Gruden loses his touch, Carr gets hurt again, and Lynch gets stuffed. But fortunately, with the teams in their division not the best of the bunch, their record won't be as catastrophic. 6-10

JJ Watts best case scenario is certainly capable of being DPOY. I think the Texans have a pretty good best case scenario. They also have one of the bigger gaps depending on health and Watson.

I don't think there's a team with a higher ceiling and lower floor than the Texans. They have a very unbalanced roster - a few absolute superstars but very poor depth.

The Giants are very tough to predict. They've made a lot of seemingly sensible moves to address last season's disaster - but it's difficult to see them really tearing things up with such a tough schedule. They are in the rather strange situation where they could be a good team but have a cap of about 8 wins.

Best case: Expectations are high this season so it almost feels like SB or bust with Brees on his last legs. The Saints defense continues to make strides this season taking a load off the offense and giving the Saints their most balanced team since 2009. Alvin Kamara proves to be the real deal and the featured Saints back for years to come. Brees continues to play like he has since joining the team and the Saints will take home their second Lombardi trophy.

Worst case: Drew Brees gets injured during the season, the defense implodes under the pressure, Kamara has a sophomore slump and the Saints finish last in a tough division. Brees retires in the offseason and with no first round pick in the 2020 draft, they miss their best opportunity to draft a future franchise QB as their top ten draft pick is owned by Green Bay.

That trade up for Marcus Davenport still seems like such a bizarre decision. He might turn out to be a stud but boy there's a lot of pressure.

Best Case - All the off season bullshit is put behind the team, the defence holds its own and Josh Allen shows the world he’s legit. Buffalo grabs a wild card spot for the second year in a row.

Worst Case - they go full Buffalo and finish 6-10. Not good enough for a wild card and not bad enough for a decent pick. They lose more key players in the off season, Josh Allen is a flop and the draft is a shit show as usual.

I think worst case for Buffalo is worse than 6-10 , I could see that team being a dumpster fire and if Allen isn’t ready they are in contention for the #1 pick. One of my least favorite rosters in the NFL from top to bottom.

WORST CASE SCENARIO - Aaron Rodgers gets hurt again and we see Deshone Kizer or Brett Hundley lead this offense yet again , the defense doesn't take any steps under Pettine and our young guys look like nothing more than average starters or busts. We finish fourth in the NFC North while watching the rival Vikings take home the Lombardi trophy. Add to that , the Packers still manage to keep McCarthy around and alienate Rodgers even further , leaving his future in Green Bay somewhat in question. 

Bonus- The Packers don't extend Rodgers and franchise him, pissing him off even further.

Yeah that's what I meant by alienating him and leaving his future in doubt. It's a weird situation , obviously he deserves to get paid and I don't disagree with anything he's said but I think the Packers as always are frugal about their cap future. I think a deal gets done , no way does Goot want to go down the TT route and run our hero QB out of town. Even though Favre deserved it and it was a little different situation.


Anyways a new team , the Cleveland Browns:


BEST CASE SCENARIO - Tyrod Taylor brings some stability to the position and the entire team looks like a competent NFL unit for the first time in years. Josh Gordon returns to his old for and Jarvis Landry is a catch machine underneath and this offense looks poised and ready for young superstar Baker Mayfield to take over next season. Miles Garrett takes his final step into becoming the best pass rushing in the NFL and Ogbah capitalizes on the other side of him for a pro bowl caliber season - and overall they bring this defense to middle of the pack and help hide the young secondary. And most importantly , the best case is they will be playing a meaningful game come Week 17.

WORST CASE SCENARIO - Tyrod gets hurt and Baker isn't ready to take over the team and the bumps and bruises of the NFL season take their toll on him and the word bust starts creeping into Cleveland fans heads again. Josh Gordon misses at least half the season and Jarvis Landry catches 130 balls but doesn't even break 1000 yards. Defensively Miles Garrett hits a wall and gives fans worries he may never become the elite pass rusher they envisioned and the secondary and young CB's struggle while Cleveland is on their way to another 3 or less wins and Hue Jackson is fired by Week 9 - handing the reigns over to Todd Haley.

My team, The Rams.

Best Case: Todd Gurley establishes himself as the best RB in a crowded league of great backs, Jared Goff takes the next step as a QB and shows the No. 1 pick was well-spent, and the influx of Defensive Talent (Talib, Peters, Suh) meshes well with the existing core and compensates for the lack of depth and experience at linebacker. The team improves on last year's mark, goes 13-3 (losses to @ Seahawks, @ Saints and 1-1 vs. Vikings and Eagles), secures a first-round bye as the No. 2 Seed and goes to the NFC Championship vs. the Eagles.

Worst Case: Gurley crashes to Earth; Goff shows 2016 was his true colors; the defense is a dumpster-fire; Donald sits out due to lack of contract; and wunderkind Sean McVay is on the hot seat heading into 2019 with a 5-11 Rams Squad (which despite the collapse was still able to take down the Bears, Cardinals x2, Seahawks at Home, and Packers because they always beat someone they shouldn't) and a Top-10 NFL Draft Pick.

Now for the Giants.

BEST CASE- Barkley has over 1500 rushing yards and over 2000 All-purpose yard and is a lock for rookie of the year. Odell stays healthy and playing for a groundbreaking new contract has one of the all-time great seasons for a wide receiver. The O-line holds up, Flowers gets released by mid-season and the defense returns to form. As a result of all this Eli returns to his 2011 form and the Giants are once again legit playoff contenders with at least an 11-5 season

WORST CASE. Barkley gets hurt in game 1 and is out for the season, Odell battles injuries all year, throws one his typical tantrums and has a sub-1000 yd season. Both Solder and Fernandez turn out to be flops, the Giants extend Ereck Flowers' contract after he stinks up the field at right tackle this time, and the Giants O-line remains as porous as ever. The defense puts up the same half-assed effort as last year. Eli gets crushed all year, and plays even worse, dropping him to the bottom 5 starting QB's in the league. The Giants remain in the basement of their division and win no more than 4 games.

Donald sits out due to lack of contract

I wouldn't blame him one bit. The fact the Rams signed all of these big free agent to huge deals yet haven't taken care of the very foundation of their defense(who also happens to be the best defensive player in the league) is 100% a slap to Donald's face.

Aug 24, 2018 20:47:03 GMT thereallt said:

Donald sits out due to lack of contract

I wouldn't blame him one bit. The fact the Rams signed all of these big free agent to huge deals yet haven't taken care of the very foundation of their defense(who also happens to be the best defensive player in the league) is 100% a slap to Donald's face.

I agree completely. He’s arguably the best defensive player period (DPOY coming one, maybe two years late).

Aug 24, 2018 23:50:11 GMT KJ said:

Aug 24, 2018 20:47:03 GMT thereallt said:

I wouldn't blame him one bit. The fact the Rams signed all of these big free agent to huge deals yet haven't taken care of the very foundation of their defense(who also happens to be the best defensive player in the league) is 100% a slap to Donald's face.

I agree completely. He’s arguably the best defensive player period (DPOY coming one, maybe two years late).

There is no "arguably" Aaron Donald is THE MAN when it comes to defense. The only guy that can seriously challenge him is Watt if he returns to form.

There’s a guy in black and silver who I would argue has a reason to be called the best defensive player in the NFL. Khalil Mack, who coincidentally is getting the same (maybe a little less disrespectful) treatment from his team when it comes to a contract.

Also, I’m 100% sold on the Giants winning the NFC East this year. The Eagles will not even make the playoffs. The Cowboys and Redskins will be equally below average. There’s a worst case scenario for the Giants, but Eli is going to have an MVP-like season thanks to his weapons.

Aug 25, 2018 9:30:49 GMT KING KID said:

There’s a guy in black and silver who I would argue has a reason to be called the best defensive player in the NFL. Khalil Mack, who coincidentally is getting the same (maybe a little less disrespectful) treatment from his team when it comes to a contract.

Also, I’m 100% sold on the Giants winning the NFC East this year. The Eagles will not even make the playoffs. The Cowboys and Redskins will be equally below average. There’s a worst case scenario for the Giants, but Eli is going to have an MVP-like season thanks to his weapons.

Mack had a bad year last year. He’s out of the conversation until he rebounds.

*Edit - Bad by “best defensive player in the league standards”*

Philadelphia Eagles

BEST CASE SCENARIO - Carston Wentz comes back and doesn't miss a beat , continuing on his tear from his MVP Caliver season last year. The Eagles whoop up on a weak NFC East. Doug Pederson continues to be an offensive juggernaut and the defense lands in the top five , resulting in a back to back Super Bowl champs.

WORST CASE SCENARIO - Wentz struggles in his first year back from a blown up knee, the rest of the injuries on offense continues to mount and the defense eventually folds and can't carry the load. The Eagles go 8-8 but miss the playoffs and questions about if their stud franchise QB ever being the same begin to echo throughout the NFL.

Aug 25, 2018 15:25:08 GMT KJ said:

Aug 25, 2018 9:30:49 GMT KING KID said:

There’s a guy in black and silver who I would argue has a reason to be called the best defensive player in the NFL. Khalil Mack, who coincidentally is getting the same (maybe a little less disrespectful) treatment from his team when it comes to a contract.

Also, I’m 100% sold on the Giants winning the NFC East this year. The Eagles will not even make the playoffs. The Cowboys and Redskins will be equally below average. There’s a worst case scenario for the Giants, but Eli is going to have an MVP-like season thanks to his weapons.

Mack had a bad year last year. He’s out of the conversation until he rebounds.

*Edit - Bad by “best defensive player in the league standards”*

To be blunt I don't think Mack deserved it the year he won.  The Raiders defense was the drizzling shits that year.

Donald makes his defenses better.   The same cannot be said of Khalil Mack

Aug 24, 2018 5:16:32 GMT UT said:

I think worst case for Buffalo is worse than 6-10 , I could see that team being a dumpster fire and if Allen isn’t ready they are in contention for the #1 pick. One of my least favorite rosters in the NFL from top to bottom.

No worst case is definitely 6-10 because they pick like 10th again and draft someone that ends up a bust or aren’t able to fill a key role they need to fill.

If they pick in the top 5 that’s a good thing.

Aug 24, 2018 1:55:01 GMT @admin said:

That trade up for Marcus Davenport still seems like such a bizarre decision. He might turn out to be a stud but boy there's a lot of pressure.

Might find this interesting @theshow,