Season 77 RZBR Anonymous Owner Survey

by adelfish | 3 years ago | 0 Comments

Red Zone Bleacher Report 

Anonymous Owner's Survey - Season 77 Edition

Welcome all to the Anonymous Owner Survey to kickoff the Madden 23 cycle, an article that has become a tradition around our beloved league. Hopefully we will start seeing more of the previews in the coming weeks, with our personal favorites being 'Drinking the Yaterade' by Field Yates and the 'Quarterback Rankings' by Chris Simms.

What is the Anonymous Owner Survey?

We polled the league on some questions heading into the new cycle, and they range from on-the-field to off-the-field, getting a true take from Red Zone owners as we give them full anonymity. In the past, we have received some true 'hot takes' in response to the questions. We always encourage honesty, but sometimes this process becomes a way for owners to vent or get stuff off their respective chest.

Without further ado, let's get into the survey!

#1) - What is your excitement level heading into the Madden 23 cycle?

Ah, the beauty of graphs.

This is a great sight to see. With 20 participants, 50% of them are 10/10 excited for the league to start, with the lowest number being 7/10. My take is that anyone who votes for 7/10 would have a direct correlation with the next question in the survey.

#2) - What is your excitement level of your division mates heading into the Madden 23 cycle?

See what I mean?

Less than half of the 20 participants are perfectly fine with who they drew for their division. We have 25% of the participants essentially saying they dislike or hate their division. Trust me, if I was in the AFC North, I'd give this question a '1' as well. 

Division mates can make or break the cycle; are they active, are they sim, are they 'hellbent on winning'? All of these factors can certainly impact your excitement.

#3) - What is your satisfaction with the current rules and CBA heading into the Madden 23 cycle?

11/20 of the participants are 9+ on the happiness scale for this question, which I would consider a big win for the league. The league will start a cycle for the second straight year with a 'new face' to the commissioner team, with Jake who joined the leadership group in the middle of last year. Starting a new cycle as a group, there will likely be some rule adjustments coming in the next few weeks. 

Biggest issue on their plate is the trade committee, will they or won't they keep it? 6/20 of the submissions seem underwhelmed or concerned with the current CBA, maybe that is a factor?

#4) - How optimistic are you about the current leadership and commissioners heading into the Madden 23 cycle?

I ask this question every year, and the responses are always mixed. You can never take feedback too seriously, as some responses will be based on your most recent interaction with leadership.

With that beign said, We have 11/20 submissions giving a grade 9 or better, which is a good number to see. Two responses at the '3' could be chalked up to bad beef in the past, and then 5 responses in the '5-7' range are passing to barely passing grades.

From a leadership standpoint, this is pretty good for the new crew.

#5) - Which combination of Team + Coach is your favorite heading into the cycle? Why?

To help organize these next few, I grouped responses.

Moji - 5

-'Moji and the Chargers. Multi-SB winning head coach with possibly the most talented team in the league is an easy choice.'

-'Moji and the Chargers. I choose Moji because he is hungry after a dry cycle and has a team that is stacked at damn near every position. He will be a tough matchup for almost everyone.'

-'I'm honestly torn between Moji/Chargers and King John/Browns. Moji has the pedigree and is a perennial winner. This Chargers team is absolutely loaded on the defensive end, while this may be the first time since Moji's stint with Green Bay that he starts a cycle with his franchise QB. (Editor's Note - Moji had Joe Burrow last year and traded him) 

With John, Cleveland is built to fit his style of play - great defense, young mobile QB, incredible o-line, and one of the best rushing attacks in the league. I think both coaches have what it takes to make deep runs with teams that are already built to fit their scheme (or in John's case, Coach Suggestions).'

-'Moji and the Chargers. Team foundation is great and Moji will only improve it.'

-'Moji/Chargers. He has his style of quarterback from the jump.'

Ramesu - 2

-'Ram and the Chiefs. Great team, great user. He is positioned for early success without being too old to sustain it.'

-'Ramesu and the Chiefs is going to be a major problem once he builds around Mahomes. One of the best GMs in the league checks the box of the best quarterback in football to begin a cycle.'

Kelly - 2

-'Kelly in the weak NFC conference. I see him going pretty far each season'

-'Either Kelly/Carolina or Terry/Tampa Bay. Kelly has a young team that fits his playstyle (some of us remember what he could do with receiving back Swagner, and now he has CMC) and should groom them perfectly over the course of the cycle. I think Terry wins early in the division with a stacked team, but Kelly takes the reins in a couple seasons when the Bucs start getting older.'

Spittah - 2

-'Spittah and Tampa.'

See above under 'Kelly' for the second response.

BM - 2

-'BM and the Lions. Good user, good GM, very winnable division and conference.'

-'Lions and BM. Speed, youth, and potential to build a really good squad.'

JP - 2

-'The combination of JP and the Titans is the first one that comes to mind. JP loves his Titans and seeing him use them will be very fun to watch, especially which direction he takes them and how much love the new rookie will receivie following Tannehill's departure.'

-'I'm excited about JP going to Tennessee. He is always more invested with his own team, and I think he could have an Andy-like jump with Henry in the backfield.'

Warren - 2

-'Mayne Event in Buffalo. He was really starting to come on at the end of last cycle, and he is an extremely underrated team builder (that whole safety trade deal was overblown). I can see him challenging Adel in the East after a few seasons.'

-'Warren and the Bills. Warren didn't have the best cycle last season, but he had some flashes, and going to a talented Buffalo team could be his chance to break out.'

Other Coaches Receiving 1

-'Adam and the Jets. Let's see how he builds a team from scratch.'

-'Jim and the Cardinals.'

-'Kad and the Bears. He's going to be so bad. (Editor's Note - I love how this answer was either a complete misinterpretation of the question, or this owner saying his favorite team/coach heading into this cycle is Kad because he is going to fail.)

#6) - Which combination of Team + Coach is your LEAST favorite heading into the cycle? Why?

White Greg - 4

-'White Greg + the Giants. He is a below average GM (who thinks he is above average) and is inheriting one of the worst rosters in the league. The Giants roster is not only devoid of talent, but very expensive. He has a lot of problems to solve.'

-'Giants and White Greg.'

-'WG and the Giants. Bottom tier roster, bottom tier user.'

-'Giants and White Greg. That team is really bad. WG is pretty bad. I don't think he'll have the patience for this cycle.'

Kad - 4

-'Kad and the Bears. Kad stinks. The Bears stink. Fields is young enough to turn around but I don't see Kad GM-ing appropriately to help him.'

-'Kad and the Bears, beecause he fuckin stinks and gonna get dog walked Week 1.'

-'Kad and the Bears. Kad has to build this team into a competitive roster, when has he ever done that?'

-'Kad and the Bears are my least favorite combination. That Bears roster is completely a rebuild outisde of Justin Fields, and I just don't think Kad has the ability, not passion, to truly build a roster to make runs late in the cycle. That team is a project for any user, but an unproven team-builder with very little success on the field, equipped with one of the worst rosters, this will be an enduring cycle for Kad.'

KFox - 3

-'KFox and Baltimore. It will be interesting to see how he utilizes Lamar and if he can get his full body of work out of him.'

-'KFox and the Ravens. Gonna be such a fucking cry baby when he can't admit to his cheese.'

-'KFox and the Ravens. Don't think he is gonna be able to play the Ravens style of football. Jim is a close second, style of play is just too different.'

Jim - 2

-'My least favorite combination would have to be Jim and the Cardinals. These two just feel like oil and water because of the Cardinals offense being vastly different from Jim's preferred scheme. Also this will be another cycle without me having Isaiah Simmons.'

-See above under 'KFox' for honorable mention

Spittah - 2

-'Spittah + Tampa Bay. As if Spittah couldn't get anymore LFTP, let's allow him to get a stacked secondary and one of the fastest linebackers in the game out of the box. This will be extremely frustrating for all of his opponents. We need to be in constant contact with the Lord in asking him to keep his division mates engaged despite the constant battles with a perennial LFTP candidate on steroids. (Editor's Note - This felt personal).

'Spittah and the Bucs.'

Longville - 2

-'Longville and the Eagles. The first couple of seasons will be alright, but I have no faith in Longville to replace aging players on this team, and I expect this roster to completely fall off by about the halfway point of the cycle. Honorable mention is Jim, I think Arizona is a terrible fit for his playstyle.'

-'Longville in Philly. He will ruin any good thing the Eagles have.'

Other Coaches Receiving 1

-'Silk and the Rams. He'll offload players with big contracts to free cap, and in doing so he'll trade these players to good users and in return his picks that he acquires will be late round picks.'

-'Lions and BM.'

-'Blueprint in Seattle. Doubling down is never good, especially when your 1st stint didn't go so hot.'

-'Beech and the Broncos. He is going to waste Russell Wilson and be third fiddle in the AFC West to Ram and Moji the entire cycle.'

#7) - All the talking heads point to the Panthers and Buccaneers running the NFC. Any under-the-radar NFC teams you're buying stock in?

Lions - 10

49ers - 8

Cardinals - 3

Saints - 3

Vikings - 3

Cowboys - 1

Commanders - 1

-'The Vikings. Spencer is in a division with 2 unproven bumpkins, and BM who was up and down last year (with a tricky situation in Detroit). Spencer's got momentum from last cycle.'

-'Lions, Vikings'

-'I think after previous season successes, Andy is being criminally underrated for the NFC race.'

-'This is a good one, everyone's talking about how top-heavy the NFC appears, because of the well known coaches in the AFC, but I believe that we awill see a few names breakout this year. I'm buying stock in Andy and the 49ers, OT and the Saints, and BM with the Lions.'

-'49ers, Vikings, and Lions are all teams that can compete, lead by users that are now more than capable of making playoff runs.'

-'49ers for sure, Andy's team is stacked and he showed he is capable on the sticks.'

-'49ers.'

-'Niners and Cardinals.'

-'Andy, Spencer, and BM all have a chance of making a Super Bowl this cycle. I wouldn't be surprised to see 2 of these 3 make one.'

-Lions. This young team has speedsters at WR, a nice young OL, and a solid RB. Defense needs work but this Lions team under BM is going to be a problem.'

-'The obvious answer is Andy/SF, but give me BM. He has a good young core in Detroit that should develop nicely.'

-'BM and Spencer for sure.'

-'BM/Lions.'

-'Detroit, give him a year to build up that roster and they are going to be a problem.'

-'Easy pick is the 49ers, but give me Jim and the Cardinals. I think he is sick of hearing about how he is going to struggle on offense, and will his practice mode early and often.'

-'The Cardinals.'

-'Gimme my man Trent in NOLA!'

-'Saints. OT is a sleeping giant.'

-'Lions, Cowboys, 49ers.'

-'Commanders.'

#8) - Which rookie quarterback/coach combination would you bet on to have the best rookie season?

How about that, half of the submissions believe that Matt Corral will win the job over Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold in Carolina. I'm very surprised that Sam Howell only received 1 vote, he could excel in Glenn's high-octane passing offense. 

#9) - Who is the most overrated coach coming into the Madden 23 cycle? Why?

Moji - 3

-'I believe the most overrated is Mr. Commish himself, Moi. After having a very competitive AFC last season, the cracks started to show that he would not be making it to the dance. With the AFC even stronger this cycle, it will be interesting to see if he rises to the occasion.'

-'Moji. He couldn't make shit happen last cycle and guy talks like he's so good. He's not.'

-'Moji. Yeah, he made the playoffs last year here and there, but was really not an elite user. I think a lot of people are buying into him due to the Chargers roster, but I am not buying it with the conference. Expecting an above-average to good cycle, again.'

Spittah - 3

-'Spittah. He's made the conference ship against Andy, and one Super Bowl which he lost.'

-'Spittah. While he frustrates his opponents by his defense, it is really just him clicking a lot of buttons and taking advantage of the game. I do not believe that this takes as much skill as it does time on YouTube...'

-'Spittah. I think he is a solid head coach and is going to make the palyoffs more often than not, but to expect him to run the NFC alongside Kelly is wild.'

Spencer - 3

-'Spencer. He had one flash in the pan season last year and believes he belongs in the top 10.'

-'Spencer, he had Kyler Murray last cycle at QB to bail him out on plays, he doesn't have that in Kirk Cousins. He'll need to make adjustments to play in the pocket. Defense is aging atsome key spots, and how soon will he move on from Kirk?'

-'Bama Boys. These guys have done nothing to earn the hype.'

RFox - 3

-'RFox. Won't ever make noise in the playoffs.'

-'Rondell Fox has to be the most overrated. Though he turned the corner and had success with the Bills, he failed in the playoffs. Couple that with him using a QB without escape artist, I think he comes back down to earth fast.'

-'RFox. Coming off a weak division with a great team, need to see sustained success.'

Jake - 2

-'Jake. Too many new users forget how volatile he is and how a bad start in a season or cycle can derail him altogether. Not saying it will happen, but it wouldn't shock me to see him consistently finishing 3rd in the AFC South all cycle, and never winning the division over Astin.'

-'Jake. With a tougher division he is not going to have anywhere near close to the success he had last year.'

Andy - 2

-'Andy. Think he just had one good cycle, don't believe he is a top tier coach.' 

-See 'Bama Boys' under 'Spencer'

Other Coaches Receiving 1

-'Adel, no Lamar will hurt more than he will admit.'

-'JP.'

-'This is a spicy question, but it's hard to tell right now. Ask this again after the first season of the cycle is over.'

-'Kelly.'

-'King John.'

#10) - Who is the most underrated coach coming into the Madden 23 cycle? Why?

Andy - 4

-'Andrew. Was not really respected last year for all the good he did, especially GM-wise in Tennessee. Needs to find some consistency, but like Spencer, has plenty of opportunity in that division.'

-'Andy. He gets flack for his playoff failures, but he was probably a top ten coach last cycle. With a better team and a weaker conference, this could be his time to shine.'

-'Andy. He deserves way more respect for what he did last cycle after the Alabama bro trip.'

-'Andy.'

Glenn - 3

-'Glenn, he can compete and put up numbers, however he needs to cut down on the interceptions thrown and distribute more evenly amongst his receivers. Commanders have a decent squad to compete out of the box, just can't give the opposing team the ball with a short field.'

-'Glenn. He'll have Scary Terry cooking like Jake did last year.'

-'Glenn. His passing style impressed me last cycle and I believe he was slept on by many.'

-'If the commissioners don't kick Glenn out of the league, he is going to win the NFC East at least 4 times this cycle. He's good, and he can throw the ball all over the yard.'

Monty - 3

-'Monty. People forget how good that terrible Giants team was before he traded away Saquon and took a break from the league.'

-'Monty. In a super tough AFC South division boasting multiple SB winners from last cycle (and JP), it will be no cakewalk winning that division. However, with a ball of clay team and some good free agency moves and draft picks, that team could be formidable in due time under a coach that emphasizes helping the QB position.'

-'Monty. He is a great user and an above average GM. The way his cycle ended last year soured some on his body of work.'

Other Coaches Receiving 1

-'JP. He can make some noise just off Derrick Henry alone.'

-'Silk.'

-'Atom. He is a very good user, he can prove himself in the AFC East this year.'

-'Coach Spence with the Vikings. While he didn't have a very consistent cycle at the top, he did show spurts where he was damn near unbeatable last year. I believe that he comes into the cyclewith a chip on his shoulder and really buys into his team's play style. Look for him to make noise in the NFC all cycle long.'

-'Mayne Event. Man had some solid play last year, and that Bills team is nice.'

-'Black Ass Magic and the Lions. A veteran who always plays tough and has the hardware to show for it, playing in a very wide open NFC with a young and talented Lions roster. Once BM builds that team to his liking, I think he can make several runs at a title.'

-'Blueprint.'

-'RFox. Incredibly talented coach.'

-'King John doesn't get enough credit for drafting and development.'

#11) - Which coach receives the first big suspension of the cycle?

White Greg - 7

Glenn - 5

King John - 2

Those are your top 3 vote-receivers for this category, and I think the league got this right. Pretty safe bet to go with either Greg or Glenn to receive that first juicy suspension.

Others receiving 1 vote: Tiko, Terry, Silk, RFox, KFox, Blueprint

#12) - If coaches in the Red Zone were on the 'hot seat', who would be your pick to be 'first coach fired' of the cycle?

Glenn - 6 

Beech - 3

White Greg - 3

Robo - 2

There are your owners who received multiple votes, with Glenn coming out on top. This is likely due to the threat of removal from the league if he screws up on stat distribution again.

Others receiving 1 vote: Jim, KFox, Monty, Pat, Silk, Tiko, 

#13) - Most likely coach(es) to claim their first career RZ title?

Andy continues to be the pre-cycle favorite to get over the hump, coming in with over half of the votes (11), with Terry and King John right behind at 7.

Surprising that RFox finished with 0?

#14) - Which Madden 22 winner will NOT win a championship in Madden 23?

Ouch.

90% of the league believes that Jake takes a step back this cycle with Jacksonville, with the remaining 10% leaning towards Ramesu. No doubt this should form a chip on Jake's shoulder.

#15) - What is your biggest hot take heading into the Madden 23 cycle?

-'One of the commissioners is going to quit (either leadership or the league altogether) at some point this cycle'

-'We will see the most parity in Red Zone history. Every season will have at least 3 new division winners.'

-'The NFC will win 2 of the 3 first RZ Bowls this cycle.'

-'The new FA bidding with players preferring specific team attributes is the Madden 'confidence era' all over again. The players will prefer going to good teams, the rich get richer, and there will be even more separation from the top and bottom then ever before.'

-'Astin won't sniff a Super Bowl.'

-'Silk will reach a Super Bowl.'

-'Glenn will win the NFC East more than any of his division rivals this cycle.'

-'My hot take is that we see more Super Bowl winners in the NFC than the AFC.'

-'The 'weak' NFC will end up taking home more Super Bowls than the 'OP' AFC. And it won't be close...'

-'Media is going to be elite this year!'

-'Interceptions across the league will be the highest we've ever seen in RZ. With some coverage and overall DB awareness getting a well deserved boost, I suspect in the first year alone we see 17+ quarterbacks hit the 25 INT threshold.'

-'RZ will have no more than three users with a chip. Parity is dead.'

-'A 1st time RZ Bowl winner in season one of the cycle - TSpittah. Also, Glenn wins the NFC East in the first season.'

-'Jake will get so pissy he retires from being a commish.'

-'WG will bounce back.'

-'Javontae Williams for MVP in Season 77.'

-'Monty and the Texans will have the best cycle out of anyone in that division.'

-'Jake won't win his division once this cycle.'

-'Ramesu and the Chiefs miss the playoffs in Season 77.'

-'The 3 commissioners we start the cycle with will not be intact at cycle's end.'

---------------------

I hope you enjoyed this meaty Owner Survey. Thank you for ALL who participated, this was a fantastic turnout!!