1 BIG Thing To Watch For Each Team This Cycle

 

 

 

Arizona Cardinals

 

Can Coach Spencer find a formula for success with Kyler Murray?

 

I think the short is answer is sort of, Spencer can be very solid but I’ve never seen anything specifically stand out where I go he’s one of the better coaches at doing X for example. Kyler Murray has as many Redzone MVP awards as any player that I can remember between Coach Adel and Coach Ramesu so will Spencer be able to keep him on his award winning ways? I would expect Spencer to take advantage of his ability to move and the Cards spread offense to create some easy opportunities to do so. However as we all know guys who can make the throws from the pocket tend to dominate the league so Spencer has a huge question to answer in that respect. I don’t see Kyler winning any MVP’s this cycle but the Cards could be a wildcard team if Spencer figures it out. 

 

San Francisco 49ers

 

How Does Coach Kelly Fair without his first round pick the first two seasons?

 

If Kelly is as good as everyone thinks he’s going to be this might not be a big question. The way I look at it is you are a distinct disadvantage not having a first round pick for the earliest part of the cycle. This 49ers team is very talented, but there is only so much money to go around. Jettisoning Porn Star Jimmy at the end of the season will save some in the short term but the question remains how will Kelly keep up the talent level on this roster given the depleted resource pool. Kelly will likely get into the draft somehow at the expense of a veteran if I had to put my money on it. 

 

Los Angeles Rams

 

Can Coach Tiko finally get over the hump?

 

Tiko has an ultra talent Rams team, but see the above situation that Kelly is in and you will see a carbon copy in LA. This team is loaded and Tiko went a step further bringing back a fan favorite during my tenure in Matt Milano. This Rams team has a weird super bowl or bust feel around them to me based on where they are in terms of their best players being right at the end of their primes outside of Jalen Ramsey. The Linebacker and Safety play will be key on defense to determine if LA could possibly be the best unit in the league. Will the marriage between Stafford and Tiko work out offensively, I don’t think they will be world beaters and will lean heavily on that defense to help them win the majority of their games. 

 

Seattle Seahawks

 

When will coach Blueprint have his annual youth movement?

 

It has already begun a bit with veteran Duane Brown finding his way out of town. Russell Wilson will end up somewhere else to finish his career more than likely. I will be intersted to see if Coach Blueprint goes to his heavy offense driven drafting like he did last cycle with Baltimore getting his QB/RB combo for years to come due to the Lamar Jackson trade. Bobby Wagner is another name I could see coach BP parting with shortly. With a new scouting system coming into place that may make it harder to pinpoint the truly elite talent it will be a gamble but one Blueprint seems to be okay taking most cycles. Many have panned coach Blueprint for his seemingly weird deals in the past but count me as a believer and someone who anxiously awaits the future to unfold to see how he competes in this loaded division. 

 

 

NFC North

Chicago Bears

 

How does Coach JP fair with building the team around Justin Fields?

JP is super excited to have a young Quarterback and he did a real good job with Josh Allen last cycle. My question is how do you keep history from repeating itself? I don't think he ever put the pieces in place around Josh Allen to make a real deep run last cycle. He lost alot of different players and never had a way to replace them, like Stefon Diggs for example. So how do you avoid leaving Justin Fields targetless and running of for his life you may ask? Well the way I look at it he has to invest in protecting Fields and likely spend some money in free agency to bring the complimentary parts required to go around Allen Robinson. This defense needs some help on the backend but I really think he needs to get this right for Fields to be successful. Fields has a chance to be the most successful of the first year guys this cycle if JP can put it the right supporting cast together. The defense will have to be rebuilt later on but if JP can spend the better part of the next two offeseasons suring this thing up on offense they could easily be a top 10 offense all cycle. 

 

Detroit Lions

Which Brandon Beech are we getting to lead this team?

Are we getting an invested Beech who even if some stay it was by luck barged his way into being a RZ Bowl champ with the Patriots or the Beech who has no idea what is going on with his team and the lague in genearl? That long winded question is what it really comes down to. I feel like with the biggest treasure trove of assets in terms of draft picks that this team is in a great spot to succeed. I hate the Quarterback but that can be fixed over the next season or two with one of those high draft picks. The Rams draft picks are not as attractive as they once were since Coach Beat was repalced with Coach Tiko but they should still none the less provide a few starters for Coach Beech to plug in and develop. If Beech does what he did early last cycle and stays in it to win it for the long term I can see him having some success in this division. I don't see him beating Astin quite often but JP, and Glenn on the other hand will have a dog fight every time they see this Lions squad.

 

GreenBay Packers

How does Coach Glenn handle the Aaron Rodgers situation?

How Glenn decides to handle the Aaron Rodgers situation to me wiill make or break his cycle. He should be out there trying to get a team that has a window to trade for him right now. I feel like Glenn needs to know he is a little while away from competing so getting everything you can for the big time players on this roster should be his focus. Aaron Jones, Davante Adams, and anything of value on the backhalf of their prime needs to be gone for prime value yesterday. I think Glenn will be better than he had been in previous cycles but I would not go as far as him making the playoffs. Get some draft picks for Aaron Rodgers Glenn, call Tauph, Jake, Monty, Andy, or any number of users that could use an upgrade to their QB TODAY, and don't let him hit free agency a shell of himself in a couple of season please. 

 

Minnesota Vikings

Coming off of a cycle where he wasn't as successful as usual how does Astin get back on track in Minnesota?

Kellen Mond will be the big key in this pciture, the former Jimbo Fisher protge in college needs to be the man for Coach Astin to make this cycle worthwhile. He is cleary going in the direction where Mond will be the starter, so what can we expect? I expect him to struggle a little bit early this game seems to not be kind to these lower rated Quarterbacks but his determination will keep the team going and Mond developing. He did a similar thing with Tyree Jackson and won a lot of games when he was with the Chargers. I trust Astin to move on from the older guys and keep this rostering churning  young and talented. Dalvin Cook should be a huge part of his offense although I must say I don't ever remember Astin having a world changing back like Cook could be for him portentially. Keep it on the ground and win on the strength of what you have on defense would be the way I look at it. Dump Kirk Cousins and spend that money on the rest of this roster while you can in free agency. Astin will be just fine, will he win superbowls... that will define his cycle in my eyes. 

 

NFC East

Dallas Cowboys

How does Coach Patrick Allen deal with the impending financial mess at his doorstep?

Pat has a huge task on his hands trying to keep this roster good while still trying to keep it young. Lots of money owed to the likes of Demarcus Lawerence, Dak Prescott, Amari Cooper, Zeke Elliot, Zack Martin, and Tyron Smith. Outside of Lawernce that is a lot of money that is dedicated to aging players on the offensive side of the ball. If they are going to keep all of these guys they should expect to be in shootouts constatnly. Also looking at the defense they have some pieces in the front four guys, the linebackers are fantastic, but that secondary is a huge question mark. I want to see how Pat can solve those issues with a limited amount of money to be able to freely spend. If I am Pat, Tyron Smith and Zeke Elliot would free up about 35 million between the two of their contracts just next year so I would be looking to get picks for those players. Regardless I want to see how good the Cowboys can be this year, if they falter it might be time to sell high on just about everyone they possibly can. 

 

Philadelphia Eagles

How does Coach Tauph capitlize on the extra draft picks he has for this year?

Draft number one of the cycle is going to set the tone for Tauph's entire cycle, he has three first round picks and he needs to nail them in order to get this team to the top tier squad I would fully expect to be run by him. I believe in this Philly team and think that what Tauph does here will define his cycle and eventual superbowl championship status. What does he do at the QB postion? I don't think that Hurts is the answer at all but he will find the answer whether that comes via trade or drafting his replacment to make it work. There are some young offensive line pieces and two young wideouts on this team so they are built for the long term. I already see Tauph trying to trade Fletcher Cox and reinvigorate this unit with some fresh young talent. I truly feel like the sky is the limit for the Eagles if they hit on this draft. 

 

Washington Football Team

Who plays QB1 for the WFT long term?

I believe in Jake and think he along with Tauph is knocking on the door of being immortalized as a champion in the Redzone annales. Howerver there is a huge question mark at the most important position in the game... the Quarterback postion. Where does Jake go long term to stablize his offense? I know he is going to be able to run the ball like crazy, Gibson will be this cycles Guice that I am sure of. Where does Jake find the passing game needed to get to the big game and win it? I think it will be via the draft, the issue is I don't see him picking that high and would shocked to see another Kam Killlings style deal after it basically left him for dead last cycle that he went Urban Meyer and had to retire due to (mental) health issues caused by the job. So will a game manager be enough to get him there or will he need an established veteran maybe someone who could tell everyone in DC to relax or someone who you wouldn't want to leave alone with a massage therapist, only time will tell there. However it is just not Jake's style... but I hope he makes it a priority.

 

New York Giants

How does Coach Monty catch up to the talent on the other three teams in the division?

Monty has started making moves to compete in the future instead of now. That is a good sign that he understands building for the future is the way to go. If you go back and look at what Beech did last cycle there I was real impressed when he was engaged.  I fully expect Monty to come on during the second half of the cycle but it will require a lot of shrewd GM moves on his part. He has started selling early which is always a great thing to do when you realize the other three teams are better than you right now, of the four users he is surely the most unproven of the bunch as well. I think he will have some bumps in the road early but be set up for the major come up later in the cycle if he can continue show the progress of building this roster over the first couple of seasons. He likes Daniel Jones but I am not sure I am convinced. If  he stays with the DJ experminet to long it will stunt his growth as a team, move on and move up.

 

NFC South

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

How does life after Tom Brady look in Tampa?

Tampa for the first season or two should be the favorite to win it all, they are as good a team as you could have taken in the game to start off. Roc will need to push his chips to the table now if he wants to follow up on his late cycle success and move that from Tennessee down to Florida. Veteran QB's to fill that gap will likely be the move as the draft picks Brady tends to leave behind are usually out of the reach for a young QB prospect who does not come with his own issues and shortcomings. Kyle Trask would be a smart bet to come in and do some easy things but he would never provide the type of Quarterback that could lead this profilic offense to great heights. Roc could go into rebuild mode and get his guy in the draft but it would be a matter of getting the pieces he already had over again and we are limited by the amount of moves we can make as a front office as well. Long story short Roc has to start planning for the future now if Tampa is not going to be first or second season darling alone. 

 

Atlanta Falcons

Can Coach IJ rehsapre this roster out of finanical puragtory and bring the Dirty Birds back?

Coach IJ needs to restore a swagger to this Atalanta Falcons squad that was stolen by the New England Cheatriots in the 28-3 superbowl comeback. He has his long term big time playmakers in Ridley and Pitts but this defense is in need of a talent infusion with young players. This is not the Dan Quinn defense it was when he got there the first couple of years. Figuring out how to get out of Matt Ryan's contract and freeing up the amount of cap space it takes to get into this rebuild will be key early decisions for Coach IJ. Cam Newton seems like a great stop gap option for him if he is around during the offseason but picking high and hitting those picks for the first season or two will be key to see how he will be durning the entirety of the cycle. I think IJ needs to focuse his rebuild on the offensive line, Atlanta has long had an issue with this group and he needs some time to be able to acclimate whatever young QB option he eventually lands on. 

 

New Orleans Saints

How does Mayne Event move past the Jameis Winston / Taysom Hill Era?

Having played the Saints I can see they are an elite singal caller away from being there every single year. This team has a good defense, now with that being said they could use some help at the linebacker position. Taysom is a great gadget player but is way overpaid for what he bring the offense in a non preseason situation. Jameis has long has problems with Accuracy but gives them the best chance to win right now. I thiink Aaron Rodgers if he could swing it would give this team the home run threat they need to win titles. Lots of younger players on new deals along with some vets that would have to be moved in order to make that happen but I could see Glenn and Mayne Event both winning this trade if they make it happen. It is tough being in the same division with Tom Brady and the Bucs but now is the time to go for it if you are the Saints before everything starts to regress on them.

 

Carolina Panthers

What does Ramesu do with CMC?

Christian McCaffery is the most dynamic player on this roster and is in a good spot with a great coach in Ramesu. That being said I have heard rumbling that he might trade him. Unless he is going to get an A1 playmaker for Darnold out of the deal I don't think he will ever see the true potential that Sam has and waiting for that pick to develop/mature could be another huge issue for Coach Ramesu. Ehat he does here will define his cycle to me, if you make a trade and miss on it you set yourself back from a team building perspective for quite a while. This Panthers team has taken a huge step forward and I expect Ramesu to try and keep that type of forward moving momentum going big time. I hope he does not trade CMC but if he decides to there is a certian coach out in Jacksonville who might be eager to acquire the services of the superstar back, as well as many others I would assume.