You Can't Win Or Lose Your Division In March - However, the NFCW

[mgteich]

I wouldn't want to be a Seattle fan. They have been the top team in the NFCW for years.

IMHO, the 49ers and rams look to be much stronger in 2019, and ARIZ is likely better than Seattle.


If we add April, CLE is likely to go from a winless team to a contender for their division in one year.

 

[Hyped]

I am even more worried about the AFC South...which we play in 2018:

Tennessee - Got better with Dion Lewis, Malcom Butler, and some OL upgrades.

Houston - DeSahun Watson and J.J. Watson returning...plus they picked up Honey Badger/Aaron Colvin and upgraded thier OL a bit.

Jacksonville - Upgraded at TE with ASJ/Niles Paul...replaced Colvin with Hayden...upgraded the OL too and also picked up Moncrief.

Indianapolis - The worst team in the division and they are getting Andrew Luck back. Picked up Ebron too.

I think we will be lucky to go 3-1/2-2 vs. this division.

 

[Steve102]

I wouldn't want to be a Seattle fan. They have been the top team in the NFCW for years.

IMHO, the 49ers and rams look to be much stronger in 2019, and ARIZ is likely better than Seattle.


If we add April, CLE is likely to go from a winless team to a contender for their division in oner year.

Cleveland is gonna win some games this year. I dunno about contender.

 

[mgteich]

Cleveland is gonna win some games this year. I dunno about contender.

Their division is a weak one.

 

[mgteich]

As the first Bill taught us, worry about the division first. The rest of our division also has to play the teams in AFC South.

But, you are correct, this will affect our likelihood of being the #1 or #2 seed.

I am even more worried about the AFC South...which we play in 2018:

Tennessee - Got better with Dion Lewis, Malcom Butler, and some OL upgrades.

Houston - DeSahun Watson and J.J. Watson returning...plus they picked up Honey Badger/Aaron Colvin and upgraded thier OL a bit.

Jacksonville - Upgraded at TE with ASJ/Niles Paul...replaced Colvin with Hayden...upgraded the OL too and also picked up Moncrief.

Indianapolis - The worst team in the division and they are getting Andrew Luck back. Picked up Ebron too.

I think we will be lucky to go 3-1/2-2 vs. this division.

 

[maust]

Houston - DeSahun Watson and J.J. Watson returning...

Who is J.J. Watson? What position does he play and why can't I find any stats on him?

 

[maineman209]

Who is J.J. Watson? What position does he play and why can't I find any stats on him?

J.J. Watson, St. John Bosco, Shooting Guard

 

[maineman209]

Who is J.J. Watson? What position does he play and why can't I find any stats on him?

Or maybe he's referring to the actor who's most famous for his bit part in this movie?

House on Bare Mountain (1962) - IMDb

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

3rd downs are going to suck against the Rams. Donald and Suh bringing heat with Peters and Talib covering your top 2 wideouts? Crap.

Regards,
Chris

 

[Hyped]

Who is J.J. Watson? What position does he play and why can't I find any stats on him?

D-Oh!

 

[HawaiianPatsfan]

3rd downs are going to suck against the Rams. Donald and Suh bringing heat with Peters and Talib covering your top 2 wideouts? Crap.

Regards,
Chris

Don’t got to drop back very long to throw the ball on 3rd when it’s 3rd and short. Think they gave up an average of like 5-6 rushing yards on 1st and 2nd second down last season. They also don’t have any coverage LB’s. I can totally see Shanahan and Jimmy out schemeing them using quick passes to RB’s on 3rd down.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Houston is our toughest competition in the AFC

 

[MassPats38]

After how quickly the AFC West went sour last season from the prior year, I won't be giving the AFC South juggernaut status after a few free agent moves.

10-6, 9-7, and 2 4-12 teams do not inspire fear, and let us not forget that division has sucked for quite a while at this point. Bad teams find ways to squander talent. I am not giving any losses to that division until they show something on the field.

 

[Kontradiction]

Houston is our toughest competition in the AFC

Assuming their defense improves and Watson picks up where he left off in his rookie campaign? Sure. I can see that.

 

[maineman209]

Don’t got to drop back very long to throw the ball on 3rd when it’s 3rd and short. Think they gave up an average of like 5-6 rushing yards on 1st and 2nd second down last season. They also don’t have any coverage LB’s. I can totally see Shanahan and Jimmy out schemeing them using quick passes to RB’s on 3rd down.

Probably the best strategy for beating a wicked "3rd-down defense" is to simply get all of your first downs on 1st or 2nd down. If you never put yourself in 3rd down situations, you never have to deal with that 3rd-down defense.

Easier said than done, of course. But this does show that "3rd-down conversions allowed" can be a misleading measurement of defensive success when taken in isolation.

For instance, a defense allows an opponent on 3 conversions on 8 3rd-down attempts - a 38% conversion rate. Not bad.

But then, if the opponent made 29 total first downs in the game ...?

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Assuming their defense improves and Watson picks up where he left off in his rookie campaign? Sure. I can see that.

I don’t think they are better than NE but there is really no one else in the AFC I’m too worried about.

 

[varjao]

Houston is our toughest competition in the AFC

I hear that every year.

Their playmaker on the defense can't last 8 games and Watson is coming from a major surgery and has a lot to prove. BoB hasn't been exactly a great coach to overcome these barriers. Houston still need to mature and teams that take too long to mature don't succeed in the NFL because their window gets closed. I use Jacksonville as the opposite example, they put the pieces together and move up quickly to a different tier in the league. Houston seems to be progressing on baby steps, I know they finally found (?) their QB last year, still, I'm reluctant to give them any realistic shot.