Most of these confessions have been about one of the seven Tournaments of Champions I've run, the most recent of which is awaiting its championship game this weekend. I'm also picking up a seventh year of my Pigskin Pick 'Em contest, renewing my weekly column with Adam Quinn where we pick NFL games.
But the honor of being my 1000th Confession goes to my preview series for the 2018 NFL season, in particular my picks for the NFC West. Let's get to it!
NFC West
Common opponents on schedule: NFC North, AFC West
2017: 11-5 (1st), Lost in NFC Wild Card Round
If you click on "NFC West" down at the bottom with my labels, you will get a look at my picks from prior years. You can look at my picks from last year and laugh at me for picking the 2017 Rams to finish 4-12, in part because, "Jared Goff isn't that good." Oops. Goff was a star of the 2017 campaign, and he's got one of the best running backs at his side in Todd Gurley, along with a new toy in Brandin Cooks to go alongside Robert Woods. Meanwhile, the Rams went out and really upgraded their defense, bringing in Ndamukong Suh, Marcus Peters, and Aqib Talib. It's meant money diverted away from Aaron Donald, but if he doesn't continue his holdout into the regular season, this defense is going to destroy people. Combine that with a strong offense, and I've got the Rams winning the West once again.
2018 Prediction: 11-5
2017: 6-10 (4th), missed playoffs
I'd pegged the Niners as an awful team, and through ten weeks I was on pace for them to match my prediction. Then they decided to start Jimmy Garoppolo, who they'd acquired midseason from the Patriots, and won every single one of his starts. That pace is unsustainable, but there's no reason why he can't lead this team back to a postseason berth, especially with the addition of Jerick McKinnon in the backfield. Meanwhile, if Richard Sherman is fully healthy following his defection, the defense will be heavily shored up. Combine this altogether, and I have the Niners in the postseason.
2018 Prediction: 10-6, Wild Card
2017: 9-7 (2nd), missed playoffs
The Seahawks still have some decent weapons on offense with Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett catching passes from Russell Wilson, but running back is a question mark with 2017 7th rounder Chris Carson listed atop the depth chart. The defense though, is where the bigger problems lie. The Legion of Boom is now just Earl Thomas, though Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright remain to solidify the linebacking corps. But the loss of Michael Bennett as well will pose a problem, and the combination of these things will take its toll on the 12th man this year.
2018 Prediction: 6-10
2017: 8-8 (3rd), missed playoffs
Sam Bradford's league tour continues to the desert as he'll lead the Cardinal offense in 2018. He's got David Johnson in the backfield and the ageless Larry Fitzgerald out wide to help lead the way on offense, but if Bradford gets hurt, you'd have to rely on either Mike Glennon or rookie Josh Rosen, and I'm not thrilled about either option. This defense is pretty good with Chandler Jones anchoring the line and Patrick Peterson lining up at one corner spot, but overall, I'm just not sold on this group. They were lucky last year to some degree even with the injuries, and I think that luck comes back down to earth this year.
2018 Prediction: 5-11
No comments:
Post a Comment