THE ROAD TO SUPER BOWL LIV
MIAMI, FLORIDA

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

THE CHAMP IS HERE!



What better way to start then with the defending Super Bowl Champions. I'm going to start this with the AFC and why not start with the Patriots. The team that has defined the NFL for over a decade now. Can they continue their dominance or will this year be the end of a dominant run?

Tom Brady and the New England Patriots walked out of Super Bowl LIV as your Champions, yet again. Tom Brady and Bill Belicheck are now 6 time Super Bowl Champions. TB12 has also improved to 6-3 in Super Bowls with his only losses coming against Eli (2x) and Philadelphia. After losing in a shoot out the previous year, the recent Super Bowl was the complete opposite. A 13-3 low scoring affair. A year in which the Patriots were supposed to take their step down and bow out to up and coming teams, they beat them all. They defeated the Chargers and then defeated the Chiefs in a game of Heads or Tails. They capped it off with a dominating performance against the high flying Rams.


Now, the New England Patriots come into the new season with a new look. The Gronk, Rob Gronkowski, has retired. To replace him, they have signed Benjamin Watson after the Austin Seferian Jenkins didn't work out. Watson will be starting the season on a 4 game suspension. Another notable pick up was Demaryuis Thomas after losing Chris Hogan. However, the question remains is if DT will even make the roster. Re-signing Dorsett, having Edelman and making a sneaky good draft pick in N'Keal Harry are all roster spots that could push DT out if he's not healthy enough to fit in with the Patriots system.


Another solid draft pick they made was drafting RB Damien Harris who is putting in the work as Sony Michel recovers from injury. The fact that the Patriots spent a high capital draft pick (again) on a RB has got to make you wonder how injured Sony really is. Either that or they are going to implement that 3-headed RB system they went for last season before injuries got in the way. They can pull it off with Sony/White/Harris. Which that could spell the end for Sexy Rexy Burkhead if that's the case. One thing that is always certain with the Patriots is that you NEVER know what they're going to do with their RBs. However, I  do think that the system that they are working on will have the Patriots as a top tier running team. With Brady getting older, I expect the running game to be in the top 10 this season; maybe even top 5.


The Patriots have made it to 3 straight Super Bowls and are being set up wonderfully for another run at it. First off; they have the (tied for) second easiest SOS heading into this season. The first 7 games of their schedule go like this: Steelers, Dolphins, Jets, Bills, Redskins, Giants, Jets. Those 7 games are all winnable and are followed by games against the Browns and Ravens before they get a perfect Week 10 BYE. 

Basically, the New England Patriots can start this season off with a 6-1 or 7-0 start. Even if they split the Browns/Ravens, this team is possibly going into the BYE week at 7-2 at worst. But 9-0 is also a strong possibility. After their BYE week, things get tougher. Their first 4 games out the gate are Eagles, Cowboys, Texans, Chiefs. Four games that the Patriots can realistically all lose. They then wrap their season up with winnable games against the Bengals, Bills and Dolphins. So, let's look at it in full.


BOLD games are wins. ITALIC games are losses.


Steelers
Dolphins
Jets
Bills
Redskins
Giants
Jets
Browns
Ravens
Eagles
Cowboys
Texans
Chiefs
Bengals
Bills
Dolphins



PREDICTION:
12-4 record




I can see them starting off the season hot. Looking unstoppable. Julian Edelman will be on fire to start the season, as will the running game. After slaying Eli in their final show down, the Patriots go for the season sweep of the Jets. After winning the previous match up on a GW FG as time expired, the Jets come out firing for the next game and defeat the Patriots by a pair of touchdowns. That ends their undefeated season, but they bounce back to silence the red hot Browns the following week. Letting the whole NFL know that they are still the top dogs. They beat the Ravens and head into their bye week with a 8-1 record; top of the NFL. However, they come out of the BYE on a funk and lose back to back games to the top two teams in the NFC East. They beat the Texans the following week to get back on track. However, they are knocked off their tracks immediately after with the rematch against the Chiefs. The Chiefs come out hot and don't let up. It gets easy after that as they destroy three of the worst teams in the NFL to secure a 12-4 record and head into the playoffs feeling good about themselves.

Biggest fear going into the playoffs is the terrible competition they end their season with. The Bengals, Bills and Dolphins will surely all finish in the bottom 10 of the NFL this year. Will they be ready? Stupid question because it's Bill Belicheck and TB12, but it's a fair question. After going through an after BYE stretch of getting punched in the mouth by playoff contenders, the Patriots are still able to secure enough wins to secure yet another AFC East crown. 

If the Patriots can stay healthy (mostly Edelman, who you can never be too sure will be able to play 16 games), they can go far once again. People want to wonder how they'll do Post-Gronk, but last year was a Post-Gronk kind of year anyways. The Patriots will be good and will be a playoff team once again. I don't see Michel playing 15-16 games; wouldn't be surprised if he loses starting gig. Edelman might not play a whole season, either. Only way they miss the playoffs is if the injury bug hits them hard. I see them getting to the playoffs.

Can TB12 go for 7? Share your thoughts and predictions on this team?

Please refrain from talking about other teams until they've been posted. Let's talk about the Patriots to start things up!










Fantasy Football- 12PPR ADP (7/11/19)
New England Patriots
Sony Michel (4.06)
Julian Edelman (4.08)
James White (7.04)
N'Keal Harry (8.11)
Tom Brady (10.04)


With Sony falling to the 4th round, it seems a lot of people are getting nervous about him. He was a 3rd round pick not too long ago, but the injury (albeit minor) must be scaring people off. If you went RB/RB/WR to start your draft and you're looking at Sony or Edelman, you're in a good spot either way. I like both guys at their current ADPs and find Edelman to be a huge steal. Injuries scare me from him, but if he's there at the 4.08 spot, I'm taking him 95% of the time.

James White falling to the 7th round feels a bit fair. Maybe slightly high. He will be involved in the passing game, again, but wasting a 7th round pick on a possibility of a replay of last season is not something that I would normally mess with come draft day. Latavius Murray and Jordan Howard are going a little after him. If you went WR/TE/QB in the early rounds, James White isn't the worst thing for your roster.

N'Keal Harry is a rookie a lot of people are high on. However, rookie WR's don't blow up the charts. Not since the 2014 WR rookie class has WRs made much noise as rookies. I'm not banking on Harry to make that noise. I do think he'll be a good WR for the Patriots, but taking him 8th round is still way too high for me. Allison, Fitzgerald, Dede and Sutton are all going after him. Even rookie WR DJ Metcalfe is going after him. Too high of a risk for me.

Tom Brady in the 10th round is what it is. I'm never drafting him to be my fantasy QB. Maybe I'll pick him up if my QB has a tough match up and he's out there, but I've never been comfortable with TB12 as my starting fantasy QB in his 30's.


My favorite fantasy draft pick on this team: Julian Edelman (4.08).

Miami (almost) always split with New England.

My Pats prediction is that Gronk un-retires and returns after Thanksgiving.

Jul 11, 2019 23:57:25 GMT @admin said:

Miami (almost) always split with New England.

My Pats prediction is that Gronk un-retires and returns after Thanksgiving.

Even after the weight loss?

Famous last words, but I can see the Pats having it a little tougher this year. Allen and Darnold are well positioned second year QBs and both teams already have some pieces in place. I know if history tells us anything the Pats will just go 12-4 because they can, but I think (lol hope) this is the year they start to tail off.

Jul 12, 2019 6:54:29 GMT Todd said:

Jul 11, 2019 23:57:25 GMT @admin said:

Miami (almost) always split with New England.

My Pats prediction is that Gronk un-retires and returns after Thanksgiving.

Even after the weight loss?

Famous last words, but I can see the Pats having it a little tougher this year. Allen and Darnold are well positioned second year QBs and both teams already have some pieces in place. I know if history tells us anything the Pats will just go 12-4 because they can, but I think (lol hope) this is the year they start to tail off.

I don't see that being a big deal really. Feel like a dude like Gronk could easily put back half of those 20 pounds he lost if he wanted to. Playing at a lower weight might even compensate for his body breaking down a little bit, if making him less of a blocker. 

I was thinking about splitting the season series with Miami, but this Miami team is bad. They split last season on that fluke of a play at the end of the game with the laterals and Gronk trying to make a game saving tackle. If the Patriots split with Miami this season, it’s because of that last match up where they have already secured home field advantage or a BYE.

Of course, there is a world where the Patriots fall apart and finish 9-7 this year. It’s hard to see with this easy schedule, though. But that world exists where Allen and Darnold can both split the season series with them and the Patriots struggle after their BYE week. There’s just too many easy match ups for them for me to see it.

As for Gronk returning; I don’t see it. I would mark out if it happened, but the dude is done. He was barely Gronk last season. He saved so much money throughout his career as he only spent endorsement money. I don’t see the money aspect pulling him back. If he misses the game that much, he might return the season after. I just don’t see it for this season. There’s a higher chance Josh Gordon returns, IMO.

THE ROAD TO SUPER BOWL LIV
MIAMI, FLORIDA

NEW YORK JETS

RING DING DONG!

RING-A-DING-DING-DONG!


I'm going to stick to the AFC East division and work my way down. Up next, is the New York Jets. After a disappointing, AFC East worst 4-12 record, the New York Jets come into this season with hope. The first time they've had serious hope since Rex Ryan was slaying the microphone better then CM Punk. If you ask the players on the team this season, they will tell you that this is not a team to sleep on.

A team with a completely new look heading into this season. Not only will they be wearing new jerseys this year, but they give 2nd year QB Sam Darnold a new weapon. Arguably the best RB in the NFL; Le'veon Bell. After sitting out the whole season during a contract dispute with the Steelers, Bell comes in fresher then ever. Not since Eric Dickerson has a RB moved teams in the prime of his career. To be honest, the similarities between the two are definitely there. Both left in their primes because of contract disputes. Both were superstars when doing so. Dickerson was replaced by Charles White; Leveon Bell by James Conner. He would go on to post 3 straight seasons of 1,000 rushing yards in Indianapolis and help lead this team to it's first winning season AND playoff berth in 10 years. Right now, the New York Jets have not been in the playoffs for 8 seasons. Can he, like Dickerson, help stop that drought?

The signing of Bell comes with 2 worries, though. The first one being games missed. There is this aura that follows Bell and it's his unavailability. Because the best ability is availability. We discussed him missing all of last season and that's fine. It was a contract stance he took. However, there is that 2015-2016 time frame where Bell has dealt with injuries and suspensions. Suspensions are hard to predict and random, but to say you think Bell will get suspended again is foolish. However, injuries are always a concern. According to 'Sports Injury Predictor', Bell has a 57.5% of being injured in 2019. Not to mention, as per the same chart, he has a probability of 1.3 missed games in 2019. Now this isn't a guarantee, but to know your star RB comes into this season with those probabilities has to be scary. This is the unpredictability part of the Bell signing.

The second worry is much more scary and can also be shown throughout history. So we move on to another new addition to the new look Jets in Head Coach, Adam Gase. The big eyed fish that they captured is supposed to be a QB whisperer and help Sam Darnold evolve in his early career. However, when it comes to runningbacks, he goes from a QB whisperer to a RB silencer. His reluctance to feed Kenyan Drake the ball last season although he was putting up great numbers has to put fear into anyone expecting Bell to put up Pittsburgh-like numbers in green and white. Instead Gase fed the dinosaur Frank Gore instead of going with the up and comer in Kenyan Drake. He ignored the pleas from the fans of Miami and did it his way. There's also the rumor that Adam Gase didn't really want Bell to be signed also. That's a mix of negative things that has to limit your temptations of watching Bell have a monster season.

However, as a QB whisperer, we get to see what he can do with Sam Darnold. As he will be for his whole career, the main topic will be how he is comparing to fellow sophmore QBs in Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield. Hell, even Josh Rosen is now in his division in Miami. If Gase is who they say he is, Sam Darnold will take a step forward instead of falling into a sophmore slump this year. Many are projecting Robby Anderson to have a break out year this year, too. The way the Darnold/Anderson connection finished off last season has many hopeful. As does fellow sophmore TE Chris Herndon. The growth these two will be doing together is exciting for the Jets nation. I'm honestly tired of hoping for something out of Quincy Enunwa as he is always injured, so I wont even speak about him. However, they did bring in Jamison Crowder as a WR. A guy who the Redskins were hoping would get better while there. Is it an exciting signing? Not really. It's still some possible help for Sam Darnold.

The new look Jets have another new look on their team and it's the meanest, greenest Defensive Coordinator in the NFL; Greg Williams. To say I was happy to see him sign with the Jets is an understatement. I was ecstatic when he joined this team. With 3rd overall draft pick Quinnen Williams, Avery Williamson and newly acquired (possibly overpaid) CJ Mosley joining this team who already has Jamal Adams and Leonard Williams; I am VERY excited for this Jets team! There is a strong possibility, in my mind, that this is a top 3-5 defensive team in the league this season.

Now let's move onto the Jets schedule. They come into this season with the (tied for) 2nd easiest SOS (Strength of Schedule). Their opponents from last season had a .473 winning %. There is a 5 way tie for 2nd easiest SOS and one of those teams is the aforementioned New England Patriots. Not many people believe in SOS from the previous year, but it's something I will constantly talk about when talking about teams for this upcoming season. Also, along with the 49ers, the Jets have the first BYE week of the season with the brutal Week 4 BYE. Yuck. Talk about a long second half for this squad. So anyways, let's go check out the schedule.


BOLD games are wins. ITALIC games are losses.


BILLS
BROWNS
PATRIOTS
EAGLES
COWBOYS
PATRIOTS
JAGUARS
DOLPHINS
GIANTS
REDSKINS
RAIDERS
BENGALS
DOLPHINS
RAVENS
STEELERS
BILLS


PREDICTION:
10-6 RECORD




Unlike their counterpart in New England, the start of the schedule for the Jets is BRUTAL! Sam Darnold is immediately tested to open up the season and is smacked in the face with Josh Allen and then Baker Mayfield on Primetime. That is followed by a road game in Foxborough against New England, which if they can pull off the upset, they can go into their early season BYE week feeling really good! I just don't see it. I can see them, like last season, getting off to a hot win against division rivals Buffalo to open up the season. I see that win being followed by 4 straight losses. The Browns, Patriots, Eagles and Cowboys are a hell of a 4 game stretch to go to. They'll snap their 4 game losing streak with a huge win against the Patriots. I see them sweeping Miami and splitting with New England and Buffalo this season. After losing to Eli Manning in the final NYvsNY showdown between the two teams, I see the Jets going on a late season tear that puts them right in the playoff picture. That exciting Bell vs Steelers game in Week 16 will be huge and will have Bell with his best performance of the season. A final game loss to Buffalo puts the Jets in a similar position to years ago where they lost the season finale to Rex Ryan and the Bills and finished 10-6 (last winning record) and missed the playoffs. This record still puts the Jets in jeopardy of missing the playoffs.

Maybe it seems like I'm reaching having a team go from 4-12 to 10-6 in one season, but I really believe in this team. I especially believe in that defense. A loss to end the season pulls them away from being tied for the division lead and puts them in a Wildcard game. I can very well see them taking that 6 seed, but the AFC will have a bunch of good teams all fighting for a division title/wildcard spot. Especially looking into the AFC West. If they make the playoffs, it will be huge. Do I see a Super Bowl run? No, but crazier things have happened in sports.

This team will live and die with that defense. The games they lose will be because of continuous growing pains for Sam Darnold. They might lose 1 of those 6 games in blowout fashion, but I guarantee you majority of their losses will be 10 points or less this season. This team will be competitive and we'll see if they can snatch up a playoff spot. After spending all of last season chilling and training in Miami, how fitting would it be for Bell to be back in Miami playing in the Super Bowl a year later?






FANTASY FOOTBALL- 12PPR ADP (7/12/19)
NEW YORK JETS
Le'Veon Bell (1.08)
Robby Anderson (6.11)
Chris Herndon (14.04)
Sam Darnold (14.10)





As you can see, there are not many people on the Jets offense ranked high on the draft board. The ADP goes up to 210 and the Jets only have 4 players that rank. Jason Myers was an MVP for fantasy last season, but he's not even the kicker for them this season. So, let's talk about the four players.

Le'Veon Bell is someone I am honestly trying to avoid in fantasy football this season. Him ranking in the bottom third of the first round isn't bad value. I would just be upset if I had to pick him. Too much scares me of him with Adam Gase as his HC. However, he is sandwiched in between Deandre Hopkins (7) and Davante Adams (9). So unless you want to start your draft with a WR in the first round, you're taking him OR reaching for either James Conner or Joe Mixon. At the 8 pick in the draft, Bell has to be the guy to take. Not a bad ADP and if he can get you to the championship game; you're getting Le'veon Bell against the Steelers(!) in that game. That is awesome and can win you the whole chip, if he can get you that far.

Robby Anderson going in the back end of the 6th round is because A LOT of people see him as a breakout candidate this season. A few WR names going after him are DJ Moore, Allen Robinson, Dante Pettis, Christian Kirk and Sterling Shepard. So if you think Anderson has a better year then those guys; go for it. They are all break out candidates at that point. However, I would pass up on him unless I went RB heavy. Why? Because these are the RB names going slightly after Robby Anderson to start the 7th round; James White, Latavius Murray, Jordan Howard, Royce Freeman, Ronald Jones and a half a season of Kareem Hunt. I guess at the 6.11 mark, you will normally get the 7.2 pick 2 picks later so you can still grab one of the available RB's, but I would definitely play it safe and snatch a RB at the 6.11 spot before grabbing Anderson. Especially considering that the ONE person who picks TWICE after that pick will possibly skip on Robbie Anderson for one of the other up and coming WR's or available RB's. I'm most likely passing on Anderson at his ADP, but wouldn't mind him landing to me in the 7th/8th round.

Chris Herndon in the 14th round is amazing. If you believe he will get better this season and don't like to draft TE's early, you might have a huge steal on your hands. A lot of people are getting higher on Herndon though and might reach for him in the 11th round to fill up their TE spot with a valuable starting TE. As the 14.04 pick in a 12 man PPR; SIGN ME UP!

Sam Darnold is also going in the 14th round, a few picks after fellow sophmore Chris Herndon. I have nothing against drafting Sam Darnold especially if you believe in his growth under Adam Gase. If I'm drafting Sam Darnold in the 14th round, I'm drafting him to be my QB2. More then likely, I'm not grabbing him. He could be a huge sleeper, though. He is the second to last QB on the APR, only ahead of Derek Carr. That's not a slight on him as a lot of QB's go undrafted and are there for you in Free Agency. If Sam has a monster season and you got him in the 14th round, there is a strong possibility you're in the championship game.

As for a bonus; I am going to be contemplating taking the Jets as my starting D on fantasy. It would pay off huge if they are who I think they are on that side of the ball this season. Which is a top 3-5 defense. Also, an FYI, when I list my favorite fantasy player of the teams; I do it by what I see them doing with their current ADP.


My favorite fantasy draft on this team: Chris Herndon (14.04)

THE ROAD TO SUPER BOWL LIV
MIAMI, FLORIDA

BUFFALO BILLS






STAND UP AND SHOUT!


The Buffalo Bills come into their 50th season in the NFL. A huge landmark. Wouldn't it be special to win it all now? If the Toronto Raptors can win an NBA Championship; why not the Buffalo Bills? Right, RT ?

After making the playoffs, the Buffalo Bills came into Year 1 of post Tyrod Taylor Buffalo with rookie QB Josh Allen. They finished the season 6-10, but that was a great 6-10 record because it got people really believing in Buffalo. #7 overall pick Josh Allen (not to be mistaken with this years #7 draft pick Josh Allen) was their savior. Their breath of fresh air. Their breath of hope. There's a picture of him leaping over a Vikings defensive player (I believe Anthony Barr) which is incredible. That monstrous upset over the Vikings where they dominated was followed by being shut out the following week against the Packers.

There was a point before this game against Minnesota where everyone truly believed the Bills could go winless. I think we forget how bad they looked. Let's start off by reminding everyone that CB Vontae Davis RETIRED FROM THE NFL MID GAME!

Check out these first half of the season happenings for the Bills. We'll start by stating that Nathan Peterman was the starter Week 1, but was removed and replaced by Josh Allen. Against Baltimore. Any rookies nightmare. Week 2 was Josh Allens first career start which is the infamous Vontae Davis game. Their BYE week was Week 11, so let's look at the first 10 games first. In the first 10 games, 7 (or 70%) of those games, they scored 13 points or less! 1 of those 3 games that they scored over 13 was Week 2 against the Chargers where they scored 20. But numbers can lie. Because they had 13 points UNTIL they scored a garbage time TD with 42 seconds left in the game to bring it to 40. So if there wasn't a garbage time TD, the Bills would have had 8/10 games with 13 points or less. Guess what? It gets worse. In the first 10 games, 5 (or HALF) of those games they finished with single digit scoring! Weeks 7 through 9, they combined for a total of 20(!) points. Their shut out loss Week 4 to Green Bay was their first time being shut out in a game since 2008! A whole decade. This is how bad this Bills team was to start.

They followed those first 9 games by absolutely embarrassing the Jets in Week 10 scoring more then double of those 3 games with a 41-10 ass kicking. Some would say that dominating the Jets and following it up with a BYE week was the moment the new look Bills were officially born. After the BYE week, they would only have 1 more game of 13 points or less and that was Week 16. After starting the season 3-7, they'd go on to finish the final 6 at 3-3. WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN 4-2 (!!!!) if Charles Clay didn't drop the TD pass against Miami Week 13. Just an incredible turnaround for the 2nd half of the season.

Before we get into free agents they signed on the offensive end; I want to first focus on their defense. I know I predicted the Jets to be a top 5-10 defensive team in the NFL this season and it's a real possibility. However, completely under the radar, the Buffalo Bills finished 2nd in defense last year. That is second only to the Bears! That's an incredible achievement and this year should not be any different for them. There is a legit chance that two teams in the AFC East can finish in the top 5 in defense this year. The Bills went defense by taking monster Ed Oliver with the 9th overall pick. They know where championships are won and that's on defense.

The real problem for this Bills team last year was on the offensive side. Minus Josh Allen, you can pretty much admit that everyone else was terrible. As we mentioned earlier, Charles Clay dropped a game winning catch in the end zone that could've turned a 6-10 record to a 7-9, but with Ed Oliver on their roster, they can't be too down about it. Their running game was horrible as Lesean McCoy had the worst season of his career. Their WR core was a "who's who" until Robert Foster had those 4 straight games of 90+ receiving yards. Many are expecting him to possibly break out this year, but the Bills weren't banking on that happening alone. So the Bills went into free agency and acquired a pair of above average WRs. They acquired Mr. Reliable Cole Beasley who got paid by leaving Dallas. They also signed speed demon John Brown from Baltimore, who could possibly shine with his speed and Josh Allen's arm this year. They also bought in dinosaur Frank Gore, who I've now mentioned 2 times already and haven't even gotten to Miami yet. How the hell is Frank Gore going to come up 3 times in the AFC East discussions in 2019?!

The offensive pick ups of the Bills aren't these great big name shiny pick ups, but their 3rd round draft pick RB Devin Singletary could be the X-Factor and the man to kick Shady and/or Gore to the curb. He is not being talked up enough and maybe he doesn't get to shine until late in the season or next season, but he is the future for the Bills. He led Division 1 FBS with 32 rushing TDs last season and 33 overall. He came from a smaller school in Florida Atlantic, but he is the real deal. He will be their starting RB by mid season.

The Bills SOS is ranked 24th easiest with an opponents winning % at .480 last season. They start and end the year with games against the Jets where Allen/Darnold get to have their show down. Their BYE week is Week 6, which isn't the worst spot, but it leaves them with a long 11 game second half stretch. However, if they have a second half like last season, it might not be too bad of a thing. Let's take a look at their schedule.



BOLD games are wins. ITALIC games are losses.


JETS
GIANTS
BENGALS
PATRIOTS
TITANS
DOLPHINS
EAGLES
REDSKINS
BROWNS
DOLPHINS
BRONCOS
COWBOYS
RAVENS
STEELERS
PATRIOTS
JETS


PREDICTION:
8-8 RECORD



Much like last season, I see the Bills getting off to another slow start. They start their season off with back to back games against fellow NY teams with Jets and Giants. I see them losing both of them, before bouncing back with a dominating Week 3 performance. I have a feeling they may split the season series with the Patriots, but I'm not going to bank on it. After their BYE week, I see them beating the offensively weaker teams and even pulling off a huge upset against the Cowboys. Them beating the Jets to finish up the season puts them at .500 and gives the fans some pleasure, especially if they once again knock the Jets out of the playoffs.

Even though I see them missing the playoffs, an 8-8 record is a step in the right direction. Devin Singletary shining will be huge for this teams future. Josh Allen staying healthy and getting better is an obvious must. However, if they do make a run for the playoffs again, they will need to get better on offense. They worked really hard on rebuilding their O-Line which is good for the running game. It's also important so they can keep Josh Allen healthy and force him to not have to scramble as much. Needless to say, this team has a bright future and if 8-8 is their destiny this season, then it's still an improvement and something to be excited about for next year. 

FYI; Josh Allen had the most scrambling yards last season, which isn't that good of a thing. This O-Line needs to click.




FANTASY FOOTBALL- 12PPR ADP
BUFFALO BILLS
Lesean McCoy (8.11)
Josh Allen (12.09)
John Brown (14.09)




From a fantasy football perspective, this is definitely a team you do NOT want to trust. If I need a RB2 and McCoy is staring at me in the 8th round, there is a 95% chance I am passing up on him. I am of the belief that he is finished and not the Shady of the past. I believe the McCoy we saw last season wasn't a guy distracted from all the offseason drama. I believe it was the new him. Frank Gore will be stealing carries. Singletary will be stealing jobs. I am avoiding McCoy at all costs, unless he falls to the 10th round, then maybe.

Josh Allen was a league winner in fantasy football last season. So in the 12th round, people are drooling. I don't blame them. Rushing yards for a QB is a beautiful thing in fantasy football. As I mentioned earlier, he had the most scrambling yards last season and he produced points. This season, they're improving on the O-Line to avoid him having to scramble but with a subpar WR core, I wouldn't be surprised if he's still running around trying to find someone that is open. I don't mind Josh Allen at this ADP, because he has top 10 potential. However, if I'm rostering him, I'm definitely grabbing another QB as well. He has a high ceiling, but a very low floor. I'd rather play it safe.

John Brown is going 2 years after his QB and I think that's foolish. If Allen/Brown can become a long bomb connection throughout the season, this is going to be an absolute steal this late. However, in fantasy football, John Brown is known for another thing and that is inconsistency. So he may have a 30 point game one week, but the next two weeks will be followed by single digits. However, in the 14th round, it's not the worst shot to take. I'm not too excited for any of these 3 that have ranked in the top 210. I'm most likely not rostering any of them.

My favorite fantasy player to draft on this team: John Brown (14.09)

Jets will be a very interesting watch, I like the look of them. They need a pash rush, that would be my biggest concern but they've addressed the areas they needed to. They stood to benefit from Bell as much as any franchise in the league and they got him. I like the fit. Gives Darnold another weapon and if he takes the standard year 2 step up that top prospects often take, I like the Jets for 9 wins.

BREAKING NEWS










New York Jets Tight End, Chris Herndon, has been suspended for the first four games of the 2019 NFL season for violating the leagues substance abuse policy. This stems from an arrest in June 2018 when Herndon was involved in a two-car crash in Rockaway, NJ. He would go on to plead guilty to driving while intoxicated in January.

He will miss Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills, Week 2 against the Browns, Week 3 against the Patriots and Week 5 against the Philadelphia Eagles. He will return in Week 6 against the Cowboys.

Unfortunate, but expected news. I forgot about it when I did my write up on the Jets and Herndon. I'm hoping he gets his life together, considering this is eerily familiar to the way Austin Seferian Jenkins spent the beginning of his career dealing with alcoholism. Hopefully this is more to do with age (23) and immaturity and doesn't become a bigger problem. 

THE ROAD TO SUPER BOWL LIV
MIAMI, FLORIDA

MIAMI DOLPHINS






FISHING FOR THE FUTURE



Good bye Ryan Tannehill! Hello Ryan Fitzpatrick....? Or should we say hello to Josh Rosen? Nobody knows! Not even the new Head Coach, Brian Flores.

The AFC East is going through the "Post TB12" rebuild and the Dolphins are at the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to rebuilding. The Dolphins are also heading into their landmark 50th year in the league. Last season, the Dolphins finished 2nd in the AFC East with a 7-9 record. Some might say that winning 7 games without Ryan Tannehill, losing Suh and after trading Jarvis Landry and Jay Ajayi is amazing! Surely, it's respectable. However, I like to investigate those numbers. All 7 of the Dolphins wins last season were decided by, check this; 7 points or less! None more spectacular then the last second lateral, Gronk breaking final play. I am unable to avoid the temptation, so here it is. The play.... in GIF form!










That would stop the Patriots from clinching the AFC East that week. It also put the Dolphins at 7-6 with some hope that the Dolphins might creep into the playoffs. However, the Dolphins would go on to lose their final 3 games after that. So if you want to talk about last seasons highlight, that was certainly it.

A year in which new Head Coach of the New York Jets, Adam Gase, refused to go to Kenyan Drake because Frank F'n Gore (here he is again!) was his crush, a year in which "headaches" such as Jay Ajayi were traded, the Dolphins still managed to gut out some wins. However, another losing record was too much. Another year of no playoff win was too much. The Miami Dolphins went a different direction and grabbed a new Head Coach from a division rival. The signing of Brian Flores has been talked up and have some people hoping that the Miami Dolphins are not as low as they seem in the rebuilding mode. Brian Flores put together a masterful defensive game plan and kept the red hot Rams to 3 points in the Super Bowl. It got him this job and it got people hoping. However, if we're going by recent track records of Bellicheck assistants becoming Head Coaches, this is going to be a fail.

Heading into the 2019 season, the Miami Dolphins have signed for/traded for two new QBs. They have journeyman, gunslinger Ryan Fitzpatrick and a rookie fail from last year, Josh Rosen. Two complete opposites on the age spectrum and skill level. Nobody has any idea who will be starting, but everyone knows it can't be too good. The O-Line of the Miami Dolphins has a real chance of finishing bottom of the NFL. The WR core of the Dolphins is super thin. At WR they are trotting out the likes of (preseason beast, regular season bust) Davante Parker, Kenny Stills and Albert Wilson at WR. Mike Gisecki at TE. Terrible options. Only bright side is that Kenyan Drake may get the work load many feel he deserves. If that don't work, then maybe Kalen Ballage can make a name for himself in the NFL. However you look at it or whoever is throwing the ball, this offense is going to be putrid.

Brian Flores is known for his defense, but minus Minkah Fitzpatrick and Xavien Howard, this defense isn't scaring anyone. His main goal should be building up 1st round (13th overall) pick DT Christian Wilkins into an NFL player. If they can rebuild this franchise from the defense up, they could be in good position in a few years. As of right now, it looks like a long road.

That long road has many people in the NFL circles speculating that the Miami Dolphins are heading into this season with one thing in mind; TANKING! Although the GM denies those claims and thinks the Dolphins are good enough to get 8 wins this season (which is ridiculous to have a .500 record as belief of your team), nobody is buying it. As a matter of fact, the Dolphins are being speculated to head into this season with one thing in mind. TO DRAFT TUA TAGAVAILOA! What does that mean for Josh Rosen? It means that next off season could see him ONCE AGAIN be traded for a #1 overall draft pick at QB. I see that in his future and Josh Rosen will be in a different uniform once again next season.

Tanking is the speculation. To tank, you must lose a lot. If they are truly not tanking, could the Dolphins actually play in the Super Bowl and host it in Miami?! Crazier things have happened, but this would be way too fucking crazy for me to see happen. I say; NO CHANCE!




BOLD is for wins, ITALIC is for losses.




RAVENS
PATRIOTS
COWBOYS
CHARGERS
REDSKINS
BILLS
STEELERS
JETS
COLTS
BILLS
BROWNS
EAGLES
JETS
GIANTS
BENGALS
PATRIOTS




PREDICTION:
2-14 RECORD




The hardest part about predicting this teams schedule was to actually find games that they will win. I have this feeling that my 0-6 AFC East record I have for them might be off. There is a chance they pull off one win against either the Bills, Jets or Patriots. I'm sticking with their 0-6 formula and the fact that I truly believe they are the worst team in the NFL this season. I'm going to give them two wins. The last time the Dolphins beat the Ravens was the miraculous year where they nearly ended 0-16, but beat Baltimore in the final week of the season to stop that. That was the only time the Dolphins have beat the Ravens in the last EIGHT tries! Only two wins in ten games; one of the two in OT. So for me to pick them beating the Ravens is foolish. But 1-15 just felt dirty to do. So I'll bank on Fitzpatrick being the Week 1 starter and doing to Baltimore what he did to New Orleans last season and just shocking them with bomb after bomb after bomb after beard! Fuck it.

Realistically, there is the winnable games against the AFC East and they can even beat the Giants in Week 17. There is that weird world where the Dolphins can somehow, someway walk out of this season with 6 wins or another 7-9 record. I'm basing my prediction off of the fact that I see them getting that #1 overall pick in next seasons draft and the story of Josh Rosen's NFL career being replaced by #1 overall picks.

The 11 game losing streak to end the season that I am predicting will test the patience of the Miami franchise with Brian Flores. It will certainly be an embarassment to the franchise. Their Week 16 game will be their biggest game of the year as they face another awful team in Cincinnati. The winner of this game will be the loser. This will go down as the Tua game. Fortunately for Miami, they will suck ass. My not so hot take is that the Miami Dolphins finish as the worst team in the NFL and get the #1 overall seed in the upcoming draft.







FANTASY FOOTBALL- 12PPR ADP
MIAMI DOLPHINS
Kenyan Drake (5.01)
Kalen Ballage (14.04)
Kenny Stills (14.07)
DeVante Parker (14.08)




Kenyan Drake is a top pick in the 5th round. If you went WR heavy in the first 3 rounds, snatching Kenyan Drake in the start of the 5th round feels like a steal. If you truly believe, like I do, that they will hand him the whole load to see if he can handle it this season, then you just got a RB1 in the 5th round. That is a beautiful thing. RB's going slightly before him are Mark Ingram, Chris Carson, Phillip Lindsay and Sony Michel. If you miss out on those guys and end up with Drake, I would be satisfied. Heck, I think I would take him over majority of them. I'd put him ahead of Carson and Lindsay honestly. Slightly ahead of Ingram, too. I love Drake at this value. The reason being the next guy up.

Kalen Ballage in the 14th round is a MUST if you drafted Kenyan Drake. I mean, even if I didn't draft Drake, I'm highly contemplating drafting Ballage on this terrible offense. The question mark always remains if Kenyan Drake can even handle the work load. So there is a possibility that Ballage gets a lot of play and could even take over that offense if Drake isn't doing his thing. Even though this offense is so bad in my eyes, I am deeply in love with their RBs ADP. This is what makes it so hard for me to decide who I would rather have, because I would be aiming for both.

The 14th round has 3 players of the Dolphins going. Kenny Stills is going one pick ahead of DeVante Parker in these drafts. Basically, you're able to snatch up either or late in the 14th round. Whoever you believe in more. With Ryan Fitzpatrick as a starting QB, I am liking the prospects of Kenny Stills in the 14th round. The fact that Parker only shines in preseason games is reason why I am just avoiding that roster blob every single draft. I don't trust him, like him and will never see him on my roster. He is a year or two away from being out of the NFL, in my opinion. He just can't do it.


I might pick Stills as my WR in the 14th round, but to be honest, by this point in the draft I probably already have 4 WR's on my roster. Not to mention, 2 of them are probably locks as starters. The 3rd is in FLEX contention with possibility of outshining my 2. The 4th is in the same category as my 3. I doubt I'm taking a guy like Kenny Stills as my 5th WR on my roster. 4th would be a possibility, but this late in the draft I am looking at up and comers and handcuffs. Guys like Kalen Ballage for example. At WR, I would rather try my luck with rookie WR Andy Isabella of Arizona. I would take Bills WR John Brown over both of these guys, too. I don't see myself ending up with any WR of the Miami Dolphins.

When I picked my favorite ADP of the Dolphins, I decided to play it safe. I would say Ballage is a steal in the 14th round, but I would be banking on Drake to either get injured or fail. You don't want to bank on that with a guy on your mind to draft. So playing it safe is getting a guy who is a strong candidate for top 10 RB in fantasy PPR in 2019 in the 5th round.



My favorite fantasy draft on this team: Kenyan Drake (5.01)

2019 PREDICTION:



NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS- 12-4
NEW YORK JETS- 10-6
BUFFALO BILLS- 8-8
MIAMI DOLPHINS- 2-14


A familiar name remains at the top. The New York teams continue their climb. Miami sets themselves up for their true future QB in the upcoming draft. 

THE ROAD TO SUPER BOWL LIV
MIAMI, FLORIDA

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS






HEADS OR TAILS?


Yes. Heads or tails.

That is the game inside the game that decided the game. In one flip of a coin, Matthew Slater of the New England Patriots called it right when he shouted, "Heads". It took the New England Patriots 13 plays after the coin flip to drive down the field and win the game and go on to the Super Bowl, where they would win their sixth. It was that coin flip that sent the Kansas City Chiefs home. A simple game of heads or tails decided the shoot out. That's how sports work. Something so simple decides a game that is anything but simple. That and a simple "offside call".

A record breaking season which saw 2nd year QB Patrick Mahomes win the MVP award and saw the Kansas City Chiefs have the top seed in the AFC with a 12-4 record. They did all this with a FIRST YEAR starter at QB, a FIRST YEAR General Manager and a FIRST YEAR Offensive Coordinator. All of this is incredible and really shines a light on how damn good of a Head Coach Andy Reid is.

All 4 of their losses in the season (5 if you count the playoffs) were decided by a TD or less. Including a 2 point conversion that would win the game for the Chargers. That's pretty incredible. However let's play devils advocate real quick. I would like to point this out: All 4 losses they suffered in the regular season were against playoff teams (Patriots, Rams, Chargers, Seahawks). Out of the 12 wins in the season, only TWO of them were against playoff teams (Ravens, Chargers). So was that 12-4 season really that impressive or was it just because of a very easy SOS? Honestly, beating Oakland and Denver twice is not impressive. Beating Arizona, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Jacksonville is not that impressive. The schedule was extremely easy and simple for this team.

But it was not the most simple season. Andy Reid did his best to make sure that the main focus of this team was the game of football and the future. He traded headache Marcus Peters away before the season began to the Los Angeles Rams. He traded Alex Smith to the Washington Redskins in return for Kendall Fuller. This Chiefs team did everything they could to avoid headaches and then the 'Kareem Hunt Saga' happened. In one video, everything changed. They were forced to get rid of star RB Kareem Hunt for the betterment of the team. Everyone expected that to be the end of the Chiefs Super Bowl chances, but this is when Andy Reid's genius was shown. The fact that he made career backup Damien Williams look like an absolute stud in replacement of Kareem Hunt was magical. This is also the time where Patrick Mahomes sealed his MVP award. The Chiefs released a star and rode all the way to the AFC Championship game.

So here we are again; another season approaching where the main focus should be on football. Except, it's not. Because now a ghost of "drafting bad characters" has resurfaced. This time it's the 'Tyreek Hill Saga' aka the voice recording aka child abuse. We are in the middle of July and the NFL has still not made a decision on if Tyreek Hill will be suspended and if so; for how long. Speculations and rumors have been going around that it will be around 3-4 games. However, rumors and speculations are not guarantees and the Chiefs have to prepare without him for now.

The Chiefs are going to be relying once more on Patrick Mahomes to be the MVP caliber player. Maybe he is to the NFL what Steph Curry was to the NBA. This game changer who revolutionized how the game of football is played. His arm is a cannon, he can make the most unorthodox plays. He has arguably the best TE to throw to in Travis Kelce to throw the ball to. Sammy Watkins is still there looking to prove that he was worth his draft capital. They used their first pick of the draft (a 2nd rounder) to draft speedster WR Mecole Hardman to help in the slot. Damien Williams can still thrive under Andy Reid and if he breaks down or doesn't work out, they are able to rotate to Carlos Hyde or rookie RB Darwin Thompson. Honestly, that RB committee does not excite me nor should it. A lot of people are high on Damien Williams, but I am not.

So how will relying on Patrick Mahomes work out? Well if we use history to tell us how this season will go for Mahomes, we would have to look at the likes of Dak Prescott and RG3. They both had spectacular seasons in their first year as starters and then had very nasty regression. Regression is expected out of Mahomes, but how much will he regress? Or will he be this born to be superstar who does not regress and remains spectacular? That is what we will find out.

The biggest question mark for the Chiefs is how their defense will respond this season. After being awful last season, they made a splash in their secondary by signing one of my favorites in 'The Honey Badger' Tyrann Mathieu. They also decided to release Justin Houston and trade away "Mr. Offside" Dee Ford. Weird moves for a team struggling on defense. They acquired Alex Okafor and Emmanuel Ogbah to try and help. If you ask me, this defense has slightly improved, but is an average defense going to be enough to compensate for an offense that may regress? I don't know.

After an easy year of games in 2018, the Kansas City Chiefs head into 2019 with the (tied for) 5th hardest SOS. How will they fare this season? Let's find out!


BOLD is for wins. ITALIC is for losses.


JAGUARS
RAIDERS
RAVENS
LIONS
COLTS
TEXANS
BRONCOS
PACKERS
VIKINGS
TITANS
CHARGERS
RAIDERS
PATRIOTS
BRONCOS
BEARS
CHARGERS


PREDICTION:
9-7 RECORD





Well, I guess this is my first hot take of the season so far. I have the Chiefs going 3-3 in their division. Sweeping Denver, splitting with Oakland and losing BOTH games to the Chargers including Week 17. A game that will; get ready; KEEP THE CHIEFS OUT OF THE PLAYOFFS!

That is how I feel. Blame it on Kareem Hunt. Blame the Madden curse. Call me a mad man! I see regression for Mahomes this season, an offense that falls apart a bit and a lost season for the Kansas City Chiefs. A 9-7 record is not going to be enough to get them to the playoffs. Sorry, mikec .

If it makes everyone feel better, I am in the minority in this opinion. I could be completely wrong and the Chiefs could still be that explosive team. Mahomes could be back to back NFL MVP. This could be the year that Andy Reid finally (and deservingly) wins that elusive Super Bowl ring he has been so close to for so long. Maybe this is the year of the Kansas City Chiefs.





FANTASY FOOTBALL- 12PPR ADP
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
TRAVIS KELCE (2.06)
DAMIEN WILLIAMS (2.07)
PATRICK MAHOMES (3.02)
TYREEK HILL (4.03)
SAMMY WATKINS (6.02)
CARLOS HYDE (8.11)
MECOLE HARDMAN (10.07)
DARWIN THOMPSON (13.10)



My goodness! Look at the amount of Chiefs players being targeted in drafts. It shows that this offense is still an offense that people believe in.

Travis Kelce is the highest pick for this team. The new Gronk of fantasy football. They say if you grab one of the 3 TE's, you have a huge advantage over your opponents. I am most likely never picking a TE in the 2nd round, not even Travis Kelce.

Damien Williams is going a pick after Kelce and say what you want, but I do NOT trust him. No chance I am wasting a second round pick on him. People believe in Andy Reid and are drafting his history with this pick. However, I feel if you are drafting him, you should take Hyde (8.11) AND Thompson (13.10). You do not want to rely on an unproven RB with your 2nd round pick. I know I don't.

Patrick Mahomes going in the 3rd round is another big deal. Mahomes absolutely dominated fantasy football last season and the QB2 to him wasn't even close(!!!!) to catching up to Mahomes. People are banking on equal play and are okay with a slight regression, because even a slight regression would still end him as the QB1. It's definitely an intriguing pick to open up the 3rd round. Considering this is the area where the person with the first or second pick in the draft are picking and they most likely already have either Barkley, Zeke, CMC or Kamara. If you can snatch someone great with that 2nd pick and scoop up Mahomes with the flip, I am not mad at it. Picking QBs this high still frightens me a bit.

Tyreek Hill is going early in the 4th round and that will all change once the NFL makes their decision on a suspension. So that puts me in a situation where I can't really comment on it.

Sammy Watkins is going in the 6th round and Hardman is going in the 10th. All this changes if Hill is suspended for 4 games. So hard to decide who to take. Either way, the one man that will guarantee to benefit is the one I am worried about drafting so early in Travis Kelce. 


My favorite fantasy draft pick on this team: Patrick Mahomes (3.02)

Not too worried about the Strength of Schedule in the preseason (worth remembering the early highlights on last year’s Chiefs schedule were the Steelers, Jaguars and 49ers... and none made the playoffs), or the comparison to last years 2-4 against playoff teams (which becomes 3-4 against winning teams and 4-5 against winning teams when including the playoffs),

I’m pretty comfortable projecting them to win another AFC West crown this season against a stagnant division.

Jul 14, 2019 1:27:03 GMT mikec said:

Not too worried about the Strength of Schedule in the preseason (worth remembering the early highlights on last year’s Chiefs schedule were the Steelers, Jaguars and 49ers... and none made the playoffs), or the comparison to last years 2-4 against playoff teams (which becomes 3-4 against winning teams and 4-5 against winning teams when including the playoffs),

I’m pretty comfortable projecting them to win another AFC West crown this season against a stagnant division.

I hear what you’re saying, but I am not sold on this team being dominant again. Like I said, Dak and RG3 are perfect examples/comparisons to Mahomes. If he proves it again this season, then he shuts me up and he’s an animal. But if Hill is suspended for 4 games, the Chiefs are going against Jacksonville and Baltimore and they have good to great defenses. If they don’t have to worry about the Cheetah, they can shut down Kelce and let Mahomes try and beat them with Sammy Watkins and a running back group that doesn’t strike fear into me.

I respect Andy Reid as a HC, but I just don’t see how this year with this group is going to be able to duplicate what they did last season. A 1-3 start for the Chiefs would not surprise me.

I have faith Mahomes will be fine , not to the same level but he will still be amongst the best in the NFL. Their defense scares the shit out of me though and that could lead them to a lesser record if Mahomes isn’t all world. Also Dak and RG3 aren’t good comps.

I’ve always pulled for KC but I hope they lose every game while Hill plays for them.

Yeah Dak and RGIII are really weird comps. Griffin was a runner primarily who wasn’t nearly as effective passing and Dak won a lot of games his first year but wasn’t anything like a 50 TD season.

The defense we will have to see about. Switching to a 4-3, lots of new pieces, we will see.

Dak and RG3 comparison; it’s not so much the game play. What Mahomes did last season is something those two guys could only dream of. It’s about coming into the league as an unknown and putting up win after win. Dak and RG3 both played great their first year as starters. Led their team to the playoffs. Then the following year they regressed.

Defenses will figure him out this season. Those unorthodox throws that made people’s jaws drop could now be across the body throws that are intercepted. Again, this is just my opinion and my prediction on what I see.

Watson regressed last season after his unbelievable start. It happens. I think Watson has a better year then Mahomes this season too.

Watson regressed statistically but he was clearly much improved in a lot of areas, particularly his precision between the numbers.

Jul 14, 2019 13:03:53 GMT Todd said:

Watson regressed statistically but he was clearly much improved in a lot of areas, particularly his precision between the numbers.

Which is why I think he has a better season then Mahomes this year. I know all his statistics and will focus on it more when I get to Houston. So here’s a spoiler; I think Watson finishes as the QB1 in fantasy football this season and puts up monster numbers.

I have no faith in Bill O'Brien to deliver that but I hope you're right.

Jul 14, 2019 11:58:06 GMT KING KID said:

Dak and RG3 comparison; it’s not so much the game play. What Mahomes did last season is something those two guys could only dream of. It’s about coming into the league as an unknown and putting up win after win. Dak and RG3 both played great their first year as starters. Led their team to the playoffs. Then the following year they regressed.

Defenses will figure him out this season. Those unorthodox throws that made people’s jaws drop could now be across the body throws that are intercepted. Again, this is just my opinion and my prediction on what I see.

Watson regressed last season after his unbelievable start. It happens. I think Watson has a better year then Mahomes this season too.

RGIII was the second pick in the draft and an injury at the end of his first season is what ended him more than anything else.

Mahomes was a top ten pick, so not particularly like the lucky Dak pull for the Cowboys. He also was never remotely as good.

It’s just a weird take. Mahomes season was more like Marino in 84 than the season the other two had. He may never top that year, but barring injury I’d say the comps suggest he’ll be pretty good.

(And Watson’s regression is at least in part explained by an injury too, not defenses figuring him out.)

All good points and hard to argue against mikec.

THE ROAD TO SUPER BOWL LIV
MIAMI, FLORIDA

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS






BOLT UP!


Because it's now or never. At least that's how I see it. Philip Rivers will be turning 38 years old this December. This man will have his jersey retired. He will go down as the greatest QB in Chargers history when he is done. He may also have to retire one day knowing that he never won or played in a Super Bowl. Something fellow draft classmen Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger have done and won.... multiple times. 

This team came into last season as a team known for choking. They played great football last season and earned themselves a Wild Card spot with a fantastic 12-4 record. They were without Hunter Henry for last season and also watched Melvin Gordon and Keenan Allen both suffer injuries; MG missing a few games. Even with a wonderful 12-4 record, this black cloud continued to follow them. Because at 12-4, it was only good enough for a 5th seed and Wild Card game. Still, it was their first playoff berth since 2013. They would go on to win their Wildcard game by defeating the Baltimore Ravens. Then the world watched to see if this was truly the year Philip Rivers would wipe away his ghosts. After defeating the Chiefs for the first time in 10 games, the Chargers were going to try and knock the Patriots out of the playoffs and advance into the AFC Championship game. A magical story was about to be told, but it wasn't magical. The Patriots handled their business and the Chargers were sent home.

That brings us to here. That brings us to 2019. The Chargers come into this season as the most complete team, in my opinion. From offense to defense, they are stout on all ends. Hunter Henry is returning this season. Everyone is hyping him up, because everyone assumes Rivers/Gates will translate to this TE. Keenan Allen is heading into another year of feeling disrespected as a legit WR1. Mike Williams has another year of NFL experience under his belt. After scoring 10 TD's with minimal receptions last season, maybe he can become more involved in the actual passing games this season. The defense remains very good to great. Bosa will be better, Ingram will be better; everyone will be much better.

The only question mark heading into this season right now is a contract situation involving Melvin Gordon. The man is looking for a contract extension and trying to make high end RB money. The honest question remains; has he really earned it? I mean, let's look at his stats:




2015: GP (14), ATT (182), RuY (641), Rec (32), ReY (192), 0 TDs, 6 Fumbles
2016: GP (13), ATT (254), RuY (997), Rec (41), ReY (419), 12 TD's, 2 Fumbles
2017: GP (16), ATT (284), RuY (1.105), Rec (58), ReY (476), 12 TD's, 1 Fumble
2018: GP (12), ATT (175), RuY (885), Rec (5), ReY (490), 14 TD's, 1 Fumble




Those are his stats throughout his 4 year career. Only once (2017) has he played all 16 games of the season. He has missed 9 games throughout his career. Yes, he has progressed and has gotten better every single year. He was about to have a career year last year, but got injured. He says that he "knows his worth". He wants money in the same range as Gurley, Bell and David Johnson. What do you guys think? Has he earned that kind of money with that sample size and injury history? 

Most likely he gets it. I'm not against him getting it. I don't know if Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson are the answers at RB if they are forced to trade Melvin Gordon because of the contract. However, you are locking yourself into him for at least another 4-5 years if you give him the extension you want which is going to go to the Post-Rivers era. It's definitely an interesting situation that the Chargers in. 

So I'm basing my predictions for this upcoming season with the idea that the Chargers will give Melvin Gordon his contract extension. The Chargers head into this season with a middle of the pact SOS. They have the best SOS in their division. That's especially important considering the Raiders and Broncos have the top two hardest. So the Chargers are being primed for a big run this season. Forget SOS, they get an amazing BYE week in Week 12. Everything is being handed on a platter to the Chargers right now. Can Rivers lead this team (and his 34 children at home) to Miami and do what his draft mates have done and win a Super Bowl? Wouldn't that be electric?

BOLD are for wins. ITALIC for losses.


COLTS
LIONS
TEXANS
DOLPHINS
BRONCOS
STEELERS
TITANS
BEARS
PACKERS
RAIDERS
CHIEFS
BRONCOS
JAGUARS
VIKINGS
RAIDERS
CHIEFS


PREDICTION:
13-3 RECORD





This might be the time where we say that SOS doesn't really mean much. I say this because this is a tough ass schedule even thought it's "middle of the pact". I can easily swing two more losses onto the Chargers right here, but I truly believe that this is going to be a big year for them. I have them sweeping the Broncos and Chiefs (including knocking them out of the playoffs Week 17) and securing the #1 seed in the AFC. After starting the season off with a loss, they bounce back to win 6 games in a row. I have their win streak snapped by that nasty Bears defense. I don't think the Chargers come out looking too good offensively in this game. I feel that loss to the Bears will be brutal enough where people automatically stop the hype train for the Chargers winning the Super Bowl.

The following week I see them beating the Packers, because that's how the Chargers respond to adversity this season. However, I see them suffering their final regular season loss 4 days later when they face the Raiders on a short BYE. I think the short break mixed with the knowledge that their next game is a MNF showdown with bitter rivals; the Chiefs. It's just a mix of those distractions.

Again, a 13-3 season isn't that farfetched after their 12-4 season last year. I expect a decline by the Chiefs (as noted before) and I expect the Chargers to capitalize on it. After going 1-9 against the Chiefs in the last 10 games, I am going with a new streak starting and the Chargers sweeping the season series. That sounds farfetched and I honestly doubt that happens, but I'm going for it! It's my hot take and I expect a great season by the Chargers this year!

Barring injuries, of course.




FANTASY FOOTBALL- 12PPR ADP
Los Angeles Chargers
Melvin Gordon (1.07)
Keenan Allen (3.06)
Mike Williams (5.06)
Hunter Henry (5.12)
Philip Rivers (9.05)



I could've added Ekeler (11th round) and Jackson (13th round) to the list, but I feel I should start capping this shit at 5 people. Both guys become super important and skyrocket up the draft board if Melvin Gordon is gone, though. However, they kind of had their chance last year and they couldn't really own it.

Anyways, Melvin Gordon is going early. People love him. He is a PPR stud. Especially at the red hot start he had last season, where he may have finished as the top fantasy player. He was injured in a crucial time for fantasy football players and he apologized to his people. Going in between WR's Adams and Hopkins and two picks after David Johnson may sound disrespectful. I love David Johnson as a top 5 player in fantasy this season, but I think Melvin should be at least 6 before WR's are taken. Still, you have the injury worry. I'm taking Gordon at the 7 spot 90% of the time.

Keenan Allen, oh, Keenan Allen. How I've loved you for too long. I've had him on my huge money league team for two years now. Two years straight. Super stud two seasons ago as a late round steal being my WR2 to Antonio Brown. I ended up losing in the Semi Finals that year, because AB got injured against the Patriots during the game. Well, last season, Keenan Allen did the same thing to me in the Semi Finals. Getting injured early in the game and getting me ZERO points in my semi finals game that I lost by 11.2 points. So although 3.06 is great value for Keenan, I am personally unable to trust him again. However, all bias and history between us aside, he is going in the early 3rd along other stud WRs such as TY Hilton and Mike Evans. If you're in that predicament, you are picking 1 of those 3 as your WR1 or WR2 depending on what you did with your two picks. It's tough, because all three are talented, but I would rank Keenan 3rd behind those two if I was picking. TY-Evans-Keenan, for me for this year.

Mike Williams is going exactly two rounds after and talk about a reach! Listen, I loved Mike Williams coming out of college. Last season was a break out season if you consider he scored 10 TDs. I just can't help but wonder if the volume will ever come to him? Or will he just be a huge red zone target who will never get more then 50 receptions a season? Am I picking Mike Williams in the 5th round who could really just be a 'TD or Bust' type of WR? Not at that draft capital. Not in the 5th round. Not as my WR2 or WR3. Calvin Ridley, Tyler Boyd and Chris Godwin are ALL going after him. I would take all three of them ahead of him, because those 3 are due for "break out" years where I can't see Mike Williams getting more then 55 receptions in a season. Not happening for me in the 5th round.

Hunter Henry is an interesting case. With this upcoming fantasy season, there's really a tier A of 3 TE's (Kelce, Ertz, Kittle) who are all being picked in the first three rounds. The next tier features guys like Hunter Henry. Unproven but healthy. As I stated earlier, everyone is riding him because they are assuming we get Rivers/Gates all over again. This player is a huge unknown. Some unknowns hit and some bust. Late in the 5th round with a TE doesn't seem like the worst gamble to take. However, with TEs being so terrible, I'd set my sights elsewhere if you want to play it safe. Sure, HH and Rivers can have a wonderful connection, but I'm going to avoid taking that chance this early in the draft.

Philip Rivers is a year in and year out fantasy stud. You know what you're getting out of him. He's always going to be a late round pick up and he's always going to get you a steady amount of points. It's always good to have Rivers on your fantasy team if you're built well all around. He keeps the ship floating for you. 9th round for a QB isn't too bad, especially considering he went even later last year. If I can get 8 solid players beforehand, I have no issue grabbing Rivers in the 9th round. He's going slightly ahead of Cam Newton and Jameis Winston. That's where it becomes tricky. Even though Rivers will get you passing yards and TD's, those other two can produce rushing yards and rushing TDs on top of passing yards. Tough decision.



My favorite fantasy draft pick on this team: Melvin Gordon (1.07)

KING KID I am so with you on the Chargers. I think they will finish with the best record in the NFL. However, once playoff time comes, I don’t have enough faith in them to make them my Super Bowl pick. They have one of my favorite rosters in the league though.

Fair warning - if you don’t have the Packers going 16-0 and winning the Super Bowl I’m locking and deleting this thread.

#tyrannyisforwinners

Also I like the Chargers roster a ton but I still don’t like Rivers that much and can’t see him ever going over in a big game.

Jul 17, 2019 17:38:40 GMT UT said:

Fair warning - if you don’t have the Packers going 16-0 and winning the Super Bowl I’m locking and deleting this thread.

#tyrannyisforwinners

No, no. This year is finally the Saints’ year. I can feel it.

Jul 17, 2019 17:41:33 GMT @theshow said:

Jul 17, 2019 17:38:40 GMT UT said:

Fair warning - if you don’t have the Packers going 16-0 and winning the Super Bowl I’m locking and deleting this thread.

#tyrannyisforwinners

No, no. This year is finally the Saints’ year. I can feel it.

No chance.

Though I could see the Saints get a super apology season from tbt refs and get away with a bunch of shit after they fucked them over.

Good enough for another 2nd place finish in the NFC , behind the Packers.

I'd love to hear what you guys think about Melvin Gordon and his contract threat. Do you guys think he deserves to be paid on the level of DJ/Gurley/Bell? Do you guys think his 4 years in the NFL warrant that with injuries put into it? UT @theshow

This question is for anyone and everyone, but since you two are here, I'd like to hear. I'm honestly 50/50 on it.

I don’t know. I don’t blame him for taking his stance but I also don’t blame the Chargers for being reluctant.

Honestly if I were the Chargers I’d trade him for as much as a team was willing to give and move on. I think that’s the safest bet.

I heard the Packers as potential trade partners and I would be incredibly annoyed. I love Gordon and have since the Badgers but I just don’t trust running backs.