2022-2023 NFL Season (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

Preseason football starts today.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Thanks for starting the new thread, Robert.

I am not sure what to expect from the Steelers this season. They somehow made the playoffs last season with a team that had no business being there -- of course, without the NFL adding a 7th playoff team last season, they wouldn't have made it. Camp reports indicate that Trubisky is struggling, so the QB situation may not be improved over last year's struggle with an over-the-hill Big Ben. The team did reshuffle the offensive line some, but didn't make a major investment in that area -- so it remains to be seen how much improvement there will be in an area that was very weak last season. Without significant QB and OL improvement, it's going to be tough to run the ball with Najee Harris as they plan.

In the tough AFC, I will really be surprised if Pittsburgh can squeak into the playoffs again. I expect Baltimore to be better this year and battle Cincy in the AFC North, all four AFC West teams should be playoff contenders, the AFC East may be tougher -- Buffalo should win the division, you can never count New England out of a playoff race, and Miami may actually be competitive. Even the AFC South should have two legitimate playoff contenders in Tennessee and Indy.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I'm looking forward to this season more than I have looked forward to a football season in a long time. Mostly because the AFC looks like it could be fun to watch this season. Particularly the AFC West, where I agree with Scott, barring injury issues, all 4 teams should be fantastic. Where the Chiefs and Mahomes have been the favorite since he has taken the reigns, I think this season the Chargers and Raiders may really give them a serious challenge and we will see what Wilson brings to the table for the Broncos.

Every AFC West game, particularly division games will be must see TV. I think it will be exciting to see the four AFC West QBs dueling it out for that division. The Chiefs remain the favorite because I think it is a deal where if you want to be the man, you have to beat the man and until another team proves it, the Chiefs sit atop that division. They will have to be good in every game this season though because AFC West teams this year are stacked. I look forward to seeing what McDaniels does with Carr, they seem the perfect fit of QB and coach.

In the AFC East, I think the Bills look to be a at least a few steps ahead of the rest of their division and Allen proved himself to be one of the best QBs in the league at the end of last season. He was awesome at the end of the year and was red hot to close out the season. The Patriots are installing a new offense and word so far is Mac Jones does not like it and is struggling mightily with it. Matt Patricia now runs the offense and this may be a bad thing. One of the comments Jones made was the new plays they are installing are totally experimental and they don't know if they will work. They are literally trying them to see what happens and what happens is often there are unblocked defenders in the play design and they have to watch tape to discover how to fix the plays. It sounds sloppy and the opposite of the offense they ran under McDaniels. Patricia seems to be maybe the wrong guy for that job and I thought he would go back to running the defense. I guess the old in Bill we trust is the motto.

The Dolphins, after failing to land Brady and Peyton, seem at least somewhat improved. Tua has a pair of dangerous WRs that should play to his strengths in the short passing game. Just get the ball in their hands and let them run with it. The Dolphins do have to have a pretty strange vibe around the team. Basically, they all know the QB and head coach are not the first choice of the team and could be gone next season. They wanted them both replaced this season. Tua is playing to prove his worth this year and perhaps auditioning for the next team he will play for. They could be better or they could sink in the sea of bad vibes.

The Jets are the bottom of this division. They have to improve all around. Their young QB had a rotten season last year and seemed to get no help from what appears to be a terrible coaching staff. Now they get to try again but they look like one of the worst teams in the AFC.

The AFC North is topped by the Bengals. In truth they played above their heads last season and it was quite a season for them. It began with cries to fire the head coach and ended with them 3 points from winning the Super Bowl. They begin as the favorite to win the division. Behind them are the Ravens, who were not very good last season nor was their QB Jackson. He is said to be looking better so far this season but this is before any game action. They should be there to challenge the Bengals.

The Steelers are transitioning from their longtime superstar QB to a journeyman and a rookie. So, far what is coming out of the Steelers camp does not sound promising. Their OC recently said that Rudolph is very much in the competition to win the starting job. If that is not just smoke and Rudolph really is playing better than or with the other two guys...well...that is scary because he kind of stinks. The rookie needs to find his feet but Trubisky should be playing better than Rudolph by a mile. Again, game action will tell the tale, so hopefully the Steelers QB situation becomes more clear soon. The Steelers offense is said to be designed for Trubisky and Pickett and yet word from reporters watching camp is Rudolph clearly was better than Trubisky and Pickett to start and then once they put on pads Pickett got better and Rudolph faded a bit but was still better than Trubisky. I look at it this way, at this point Rudolph does have the advantage of knowing and being more comfortable with the team. As they play some games though the other two QBs should pass him by quickly. If Rudolph is the Steelers starter in game one of the regular season, it means the entire season will be a tryout for the other two QBs. Rudolph just is not a starter quality QB, he is more career back-up. So, if he wins the job it means Trubisky really is having issues.

The Browns should be able to take third in the division no matter who plays QB for them but really, I think that is their ceiling this year. Personally, I see the Watson move as a mistake no matter when he gets on the field. Honestly, the entire league should have passed on Watson for this season. I realize his talent level creates interest but the Browns could have rode Mayfield one more season then drafted another guy.

In the South two teams stand out, the Titans and the Colts. The Titans have to remain the favorite to win the division. The Colts continue their path of trying veteran QBs to see if one of them can elevate the team to the playoffs and beyond. They shipped Wentz off to the Commanders and give Matt Ryan a try this time. Ryan was fading but could still play in Atlanta. His best days are behind him but he still has a skill set and may play a bit better with the Colts.

The Texans and the Jaguars look to be just also rans this year. The Jags have Lawrence, their young superstar QB that had to endure an utter disaster in his rookie season. Really, job one for them is turning that around for the kid before they ruin him. It is the same task the Jets face except the Jets still have the same head coach. The Texans will be playing for a high draft pick and seeing if Davis Mills has the potential to develop into a starting QB. Some feel the kid is going to be a surprise and prove he is an NFL starter.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

The NFC seems much more clearcut. Essentially, I would expect the 4 division winners to remain the same:

East: Cowboys
North: Packers
South: Buccaneers
West: Rams

Pretty simple to see these teams likely repeat as division winners because they have the 4 best QBs in the conference. Likely the Super Bowl representative from the conference comes from one of those 4 teams.

So, all there is to figure out really is of the remaining teams who can make the playoffs and potentially challenge these teams.

First up is the Cardinals. They bombed out at the end of last season after looking really good for most of it. Their QB, Murray, is under pressure this year to play a full season. His performance dropped off at the end of last season and he was most certainly part of the reason they folded. He doesn't think so but now he will need to prove it.

Next up, the Eagles. A lot of people seem to feel Jalen Hurts is ready to make a giant leap forward this season. He will need to if the Eagles want to make the playoffs. I do not think the Eagles have what it takes to challenge the Cowboys for the division but they may be in the playoff hunt.

Next, the Saints. A talented team with a big question at QB. Now, Winston can sling it with the best of them but he also can throw interceptions like nobody's business and he seems injury prone at this stage. If he goes down and the Saints are playing his back-ups they are not a playoff team.

Now, once you get beyond these teams the questions really start to mount.

The Vikings can score points but gave up a lot too. Cousins can get hot at QB but seems to be approaching his end with the Vikings. They could suddenly play better but does not look like that is likely.

The 49ers are pretty well stacked with talent and should be a playoff contender but they have made the switch to their young QB Lance. I thought in that draft he looked the most promising as a prospect but NFL competition was a huge step up for him. He seems to have the arm and likely head for the game but can he adjust to the NFL level of play. He looked pretty lost when they had him in games last season and that the speed of the NFL overwhelmed him. He has the coach and the team to make the most of his talents. Garoppolo is not participating in any team activities which is not due to injury but because the team intends to ship him out before the regular season starts. So, Jimmy is the last big QB chip that will fall that could impact some other team.

The Commanders have a roster that should allow them to challenge for the division IF they can get some good QB play. Last year they had nothing at QB. This year they have Wentz, who shows flashes, is injury prone, and was so disliked by the Colts players and coaches they could not wait to get rid of him after a single season. So, there is the question. Can Wentz integrate with his new team, provide leadership, stay healthy, and show off a skill set that wins games. If he works out, I think the Commanders may be a playoff team. If he is the usual Wentz, he is probably off to another team after this season.

The last team in the NFC that is intriguing is the Panthers. They got a giant goose egg in terms of QB play last season and because of that they were pretty bad. Now they have Bakr Mayfield on a mission to rehab not just from an injury plagued 2021 but also his reputation and prove his worth as a starter. The head coach is on the hot seat and if this is another terrible year they will fire him. So, Mayfield and Rhule get to ride this one out together and both have everything on the line. Can Mayfield get the Panthers into the playoffs is the question. He is going to have to if Rhule is going to continue to coach the Panthers.

Fans of the Giants, Bears, Lions, Falcons, and Seahawks...I am thinking prepare to draft high in 2023 because there just is not much that says your team will be competitive.

 

[Jeffrey D]

The NFC seems much more clearcut. Essentially, I would expect the 4 division winners to remain the same:

East: Cowboys
North: Packers
South: Buccaneers
West: Rams

Pretty simple to see these teams likely repeat as division winners because they have the 4 best QBs in the conference. Likely the Super Bowl representative from the conference comes from one of those 4 teams.

So, all there is to figure out really is of the remaining teams who can make the playoffs and potentially challenge these teams.

First up is the Cardinals. They bombed out at the end of last season after looking really good for most of it. Their QB, Murray, is under pressure this year to play a full season. His performance dropped off at the end of last season and he was most certainly part of the reason they folded. He doesn't think so but now he will need to prove it.

Next up, the Eagles. A lot of people seem to feel Jalen Hurts is ready to make a giant leap forward this season. He will need to if the Eagles want to make the playoffs. I do not think the Eagles have what it takes to challenge the Cowboys for the division but they may be in the playoff hunt.

Next, the Saints. A talented team with a big question at QB. Now, Winston can sling it with the best of them but he also can throw interceptions like nobody's business and he seems injury prone at this stage. If he goes down and the Saints are playing his back-ups they are not a playoff team.

Now, once you get beyond these teams the questions really start to mount.

The Vikings can score points but gave up a lot too. Cousins can get hot at QB but seems to be approaching his end with the Vikings. They could suddenly play better but does not look like that is likely.

The 49ers are pretty well stacked with talent and should be a playoff contender but they have made the switch to their young QB Lance. I thought in that draft he looked the most promising as a prospect but NFL competition was a huge step up for him. He seems to have the arm and likely head for the game but can he adjust to the NFL level of play. He looked pretty lost when they had him in games last season and that the speed of the NFL overwhelmed him. He has the coach and the team to make the most of his talents. Garoppolo is not participating in any team activities which is not due to injury but because the team intends to ship him out before the regular season starts. So, Jimmy is the last big QB chip that will fall that could impact some other team.

The Commanders have a roster that should allow them to challenge for the division IF they can get some good QB play. Last year they had nothing at QB. This year they have Wentz, who shows flashes, is injury prone, and was so disliked by the Colts players and coaches they could not wait to get rid of him after a single season. So, there is the question. Can Wentz integrate with his new team, provide leadership, stay healthy, and show off a skill set that wins games. If he works out, I think the Commanders may be a playoff team. If he is the usual Wentz, he is probably off to another team after this season.

The last team in the NFC that is intriguing is the Panthers. They got a giant goose egg in terms of QB play last season and because of that they were pretty bad. Now they have Bakr Mayfield on a mission to rehab not just from an injury plagued 2021 but also his reputation and prove his worth as a starter. The head coach is on the hot seat and if this is another terrible year they will fire him. So, Mayfield and Rhule get to ride this one out together and both have everything on the line. Can Mayfield get the Panthers into the playoffs is the question. He is going to have to if Rhule is going to continue to coach the Panthers.

Fans of the Giants, Bears, Lions, Falcons, and Seahawks...I am thinking prepare to draft high in 2023 because there just is not much that says your team will be competitive.

Much like Murray is facing pressure to step it up, Hurts will feel the heat from the Philly fans, if his numbers don’t dramatically improve, now that they signed the WR from Tennessee for big money.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Rudolph just is not a starter quality QB, he is more career back-up. So, if he wins the job it means Trubisky really is having issues.

Exactly. I think the Steelers offseason plan was for Trubisky to start at the beginning of the season, with Rudolph being the early season backup in case of injury so as to not throw the rookie Pickett into the deep end right away. If Rudolph ends up starting the season while Trubisky is healthy, it can only mean that Trubisky really crapped the bed in preseason.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Fans of the Giants, Bears, Lions, Falcons, and Seahawks...I am thinking prepare to draft high in 2023 because there just is not much that says your team will be competitive.

Talking with some of my golfing buddies who are Lions fans, they are listening to Dan Campbell's gung-ho talk and once again drinking the Lions Kool-Aid. Their fans are so gullible.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I'm a Giants fan and like most of us realize the Giants are in total rebuild until they find a QB.

 

[Jeffrey D]

Talking with some of my golfing buddies who are Lions fans, they are listening to Dan Campbell's gung-ho talk and once again drinking the Lions Kool-Aid. Their fans are so gullible.

Is Goff’s contract expiring soon? I doubt he’s their long term solution, and I’d be surprised if even they think he is.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Much like Murray is facing pressure to step it up, Hurts will feel the heat from the Philly fans, if his numbers don’t dramatically improve, now that they signed the WR from Tennessee for big money.

Hurts is getting a lot of hype for this season but with the hype comes the expectations and the pressure. I thought the Eagles were not really settled on Hurts being the guy. I thought this season was meant to be a make or break one for him where they decide if they need to bring in the next guy. I think Philadelphia is generally pretty quick to move on if they don't feel they have the right guy.

To me Hurts looks like a guy that can start in the NFL but not a franchise QB. He seems like an interim player to me that you ride until you can find a franchise guy.

The league has a bunch of young quarterbacks that will be attempting to get better. Wilson with the Jets, Lawrence with the Jaguars, Jones with the Patriots, Lance with the 49ers. These guys all enter their second season with a lot to prove. Jones looked like the best of them last season but I think he got the best coaching. Now he has Patricia running the offense...this seems a bad thing at the moment.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

So, the biggest of the preseason games this weekend seems pretty clear, it is the Seahawks at the Steelers. Why? Well, because the QB situations for these teams are so murky right now. In this game all the potential starting QBs are said to be playing for both teams and they are going to be trying to figure out who among them looks the best.

So, if you are going to watch a game and give your thoughts this really is the prime game to watch if you would like to talk about who you think won these QB battles.

As of this moment the guys that are leading these QB battles are not guys you want to see starting for your team. At the moment Gino Smith and Mason Rudolph are the camp leaders at QB for the Seahawks and Steelers. These are guys that are career back-ups at best and if you don't have a guy on your roster that can beat them out...well...you have a problem.

Smith is going to start the game for the Seahawks as I understand it and the Steelers have not yet named a starter for the game but the claim is they really want to start Trubisky but so far...rumors are he has been the third best QB in camp. This means the Steelers could have a battle between Rudolph and Pickett for the starting spot. Some are saying Pickett has had the best flashes of the three of them but none of them have shown any consistency.

So, this game is step one in finding out who will be starting in Seattle and Pittsburgh. Of course the Seahawks remain one of the teams that could be open to trading for Jimmy Garoppolo.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Speaking of Jimmy Garoppolo...

Word is so far Daniel Jones has looked horrible in Brian Daboll's offense. Really, stinko city. The Giants were supposedly looking at Mayfield and Garoppolo. If Jones continues to look dreadful, the Giants likely remain an option for Jimmy G but I seriously doubt at his $24 million number he is owed this season. I would guess they would trade for him only at a large discount on that salary.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

The other New York QB is also not faring so well. It is said Zach Wilson is struggling with the Jets so far in camp. Not a good thing but also, it's the Jets, so not unusual. The Jets were all kinds of terrible last season and Wilson looked like he was getting almost ZERO help from the coaching staff. Hopefully, the kid can get turned around or maybe eventually traded.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Where are you getting these reports from?

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

This may be the biggest QB surprise so far, or maybe not for some...

Word is that Sam Darnold is outplaying Baker Mayfield in Carolina. Now Darnold, as with Rudolph in Pittsburgh, has the advantage of knowing the team and offense better than his competition. So, maybe Mayfield gets better as he goes. The rumors are though that Darnold looks perhaps as good as he has ever looked right now. Maybe the competition is helping him.

I believe they did say it was going to be a QB competition in Carolina, but I think most people assumed those were just words and it was Mayfield's job to lose.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Where are you getting these reports from?

Reading around the NFL stuff. Some from NFL.com guys some from local papers. It's interesting but early as the first preseason slate really kicks off tonight.

The 49ers are said to be playing hardball with trading Garoppolo but I don't see many/any teams being willing to eat his entire salary.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

There are supposedly huge concerns in New England right now, not only about how their new offense is not going well but also that Mac Jones has a severe lack of weapons to help him. Plus I mean, Matt Patricia is the guy calling the plays.

 

[Robert Crawford]

All of this talk doesn't mean anything until the season starts up. Right now, it's just noise depending on anonymous sources that might have a secret agenda or two. Furthermore, for the Giants and Jets who are rebuilding, it's not about how these QBs look in the first half of the season as much as it will be during the second half of this 17 game season.

 

[Jeffrey D]

So, the biggest of the preseason games this weekend seems pretty clear, it is the Seahawks at the Steelers. Why? Well, because the QB situations for these teams are so murky right now. In this game all the potential starting QBs are said to be playing for both teams and they are going to be trying to figure out who among them looks the best.

So, if you are going to watch a game and give your thoughts this really is the prime game to watch if you would like to talk about who you think won these QB battles.

As of this moment the guys that are leading these QB battles are not guys you want to see starting for your team. At the moment Gino Smith and Mason Rudolph are the camp leaders at QB for the Seahawks and Steelers. These are guys that are career back-ups at best and if you don't have a guy on your roster that can beat them out...well...you have a problem.

Smith is going to start the game for the Seahawks as I understand it and the Steelers have not yet named a starter for the game but the claim is they really want to start Trubisky but so far...rumors are he has been the third best QB in camp. This means the Steelers could have a battle between Rudolph and Pickett for the starting spot. Some are saying Pickett has had the best flashes of the three of them but none of them have shown any consistency.

So, this game is step one in finding out who will be starting in Seattle and Pittsburgh. Of course the Seahawks remain one of the teams that could be open to trading for Jimmy Garoppolo.

That’s scary that Lock can’t secure the job over Smith in Seattle. I don’t think Smith can play in the NFL, even as a backup.

 

[Jeffrey D]

All of this talk doesn't mean anything until the season starts up. Right now, it's just noise depending on anonymous sources that might have a secret agenda or two. Furthermore, for the Giants and Jets who are rebuilding, it's not about how these QBs look in the first half of the season as much as it will be during the second half of this 17 game season.

I doubt Jones is in NY after this year, but for the sake of Jets fans, I hope the team doesn’t give up on Wilson this quickly. The team has done the yearly QB draft picks in recent memory, to absolutely zero success. Wilson should be their guy for the next 2 seasons.