Toughest team (1 Viewer)

[Blackjacks]

So I'm watching Denver tonight and I can't just can't tell if they are going to be a 4-12 team or 9-7.

I don't like their talent or their defense but something about McDaniels just works on the field.

I think he is a horrible evulator of talent but his play calling is second to none.

Help with Denver and who is the team you just don't know about going into the year.

 

[Carter_Can_Fly]

The Redskins, Raiders, and Eagles all due to the QB changes.

 

[drfeelgood]

The Carolina Panthers is mysterious to me right now. I'm surprised out how good their young defense looks. Their offense on the other hand hasn't looked good in the preseason. They have mainly the same offensive group that shined near the end of the year so maybe they just look different without Smith, Otah, and Stewart playing right now, and from doing vanilla stuff. Their special teams does not look good. Last night the commentators said Carolina is the third youngest team in the NFL, and if John Kasey wasn't on the team, they would be the youngest team in the NFL. I'm not sure what to make of this team right now. Will their offense click like it did near the end of last season, and is their defense really as good as it looks?

 

[Happy Ragnarok]

There have to be 15 teams where I'm not feeling super confident either in predicting where they'll finish, or how their important fantasy contributors will produce.

With Denver, I feel like 95% confident that they'll be somewhere from 6-10 to 8-8, and see nothing fantasy wise worth getting worked up about.

 

[Chaka]

So I'm watching Denver tonight and I can't just can't tell if they are going to be a 4-12 team or 9-7.

I don't like their talent or their defense but something about McDaniels just works on the field.

I think he is a horrible evulator of talent but his play calling is second to none.

Help with Denver and who is the team you just don't know about going into the year.

Sean Payton down? Even ignoring the resumes of other coaches what has McDaniels done to warrant such a compliment?

 

[Blackjacks]

So I'm watching Denver tonight and I can't just can't tell if they are going to be a 4-12 team or 9-7.

I don't like their talent or their defense but something about McDaniels just works on the field.

I think he is a horrible evulator of talent but his play calling is second to none.

Help with Denver and who is the team you just don't know about going into the year.

Sean Payton down? Even ignoring the resumes of other coaches what has McDaniels done to warrant such a compliment?

Look at NE with him and without, look at Denver last year with K. Orton at the helm and very good offensive #'s. There is something about McDaniel, i can't quit put my finger on it, but I think is very special.

 

[VICK-tory]

The Carolina Panthers is mysterious to me right now. I'm surprised out how good their young defense looks. Their offense on the other hand hasn't looked good in the preseason. They have mainly the same offensive group that shined near the end of the year so maybe they just look different without Smith, Otah, and Stewart playing right now, and from doing vanilla stuff. Their special teams does not look good. Last night the commentators said Carolina is the third youngest team in the NFL, and if John Kasey wasn't on the team, they would be the youngest team in the NFL. I'm not sure what to make of this team right now. Will their offense click like it did near the end of last season, and is their defense really as good as it looks?

This is a great answer,I can say that either 11-5 or 5-11 won't surprise me.

 

[FDC]

I think Carolina might be more predictable than first thought.

It will likely be same thing as recent years- if they are forced to pass they will struggle to win. If they find themselves with a lead, watch out. However Moore should turn the ball over less which should suit well for their style of play. I think Carolina's schedule of playing NFC West and AFC North suits them well. To me they are a 9-7 team with upside.

 

[DoubleG]

The Bears number of wins thread had me realizing the same thing. With the addition of Peppers and Urlacher back healthy, the defense has looked decent (in the ARZ game, they had basically stifled the Cards offense until the TD drive that had the Cards converting 3 3rd and 7+ in a row. I really don't see that happening in the regular season). The offense at times looks to be moving the ball well, then suddenly falls out of sync and stalls. Cutler and the RBs have looked solid of not good most of the time, the WRs sometimes good, other times not. Again, in the Cards game, there was a play that Hester had a ball on his fingertips, only to drop what would have been a sure 6. It's hard to tell what either unit is going to look like. Special teams have been awful in preseason...but that has historically been a strength of Bears teams, so I think that is more an outlier than indication of decline.

I wouldn't be shocked if this team finished 5-11 given their division. If the offense cant quite get in sync, the special teams dont get it together and the defense can't lock down 3rd and long, 5-11 or worse is a possibility.

But I also wouldn't be shocked to see them go 10-6. If the offense (especially the WRs) get on the same page, the defense plays consistantly and special teams plays up to their usual level of competance.

 

[FDC]

Fantasy wise both KC and Cincy are the hardest to get a read on for me.

I could see both teams airing it out all season or running the ball all season. Given Haley's pass happy past you would venture to guess they would be pass happy but their strength in talent is at the RB position and is what worked last season. I am not completely sold on either QB right now. There are headcase concerns on both teams at the skill positions. Haley and Lewis seemed to have shown split personalities in the past offensively. There just seems to be a ton of questions surrrounding both teams.

 

[Iraqi Information Minister]

I have a lot of misgivings about my Vikings. They're very talented of course, but I think Favre might have caught lightning in a bottle last year, the defensive backfield is still a question, the offensive line might actually be WORSE than last year, and of course there's Rice's injury. Plus their schedule is pretty rough.

They might get to 11 wins and might also be just a .500 team.

 

[RushHour]

The Carolina Panthers is mysterious to me right now. I'm surprised out how good their young defense looks. Their offense on the other hand hasn't looked good in the preseason. They have mainly the same offensive group that shined near the end of the year so maybe they just look different without Smith, Otah, and Stewart playing right now, and from doing vanilla stuff. Their special teams does not look good. Last night the commentators said Carolina is the third youngest team in the NFL, and if John Kasey wasn't on the team, they would be the youngest team in the NFL. I'm not sure what to make of this team right now. Will their offense click like it did near the end of last season, and is their defense really as good as it looks?

This is a great answer,I can say that either 11-5 or 5-11 won't surprise me.

It's Carolina pretty much every year for me LOL....but I agree with the OP about the Broncos.

 

[Masked Vigilante]

I'd add the Bengals to the list. Are they good enough to compete with the big boys in the AFC? Or will they go back to being the mediocre Bungles?