I’ve done a few different formats for preseason predictions in the
past, and this time around, I’m going to kill some amount of birds with some smaller
amount of stones and put real football and fantasy football predictions into
one place. I’ll start with fantasy
stuff, including how I did with last year’s picks. This is going to be long-winded, so let’s
just get to it.
Last year I only listed guys that I liked for the season, so let’s see
how that went.
QB
Peyton Manning – Well, that
turned out awesome.
Matthew Stafford – I feel
like I have kind of a “thing” for him, and he did me pretty well until the last
few weeks, at which point he tanked my fantasy team in the championship.
Tony Romo – I definitely
have a “thing” for Romo. He just never
finishes outside the top 10 if he’s healthy, and he proved that last year.
Eli Manning – Well, that
turned out awesome, for my Eagles fandom, at least. Poetic with Peyton’s season though.
VERDICT: THUMBS UP!
RB
David Wilson – I wasn’t actually
high on him, it was more of a circumstantial thing based on the way my mock
drafts were going, and he ended up having a career-ending injury. I didn’t actually end up owning him so I don’t
feel too bad about this one.
Reggie Bush – I didn’t end
up owning Bush either, and although Joique Bell took a lot of looks away from
him, he had a pretty good per-game output.
Lesean McCoy – I love this
man.
Jamaal Charles – I really
like this man.
Matt Forte – That whole
Bears team had a strong season, with Forte establishing himself as one of the
high-floor options at the top of the draft..
Chris Ivory – I noted at the
end of my blurb about him that “injury / Jets-ness could ruin it”, and that
pretty much sums it up. Had some
moments, but never really got going, and now Chris Johnson is overshadowing
him.
Fred Jackson – This was a
huge win, with Spiller not being hurt but just not being as explosive as last
season, and Jackson continued to defy age.
Lamar Miller – Womp. That Dolphins offense was brutal for most of
the year thanks to an offensive offensive line, and with some added talent
there and a new Eagles-South system, I am pretty high on them this year.
Stevan Ridley – He was
brutal, no two ways about it.
Maurice Jones-Drew – The offense
as a whole was terrible, but I can’t dodge this one.
Ryan Mathews – He was
somewhat undervalued last year and delivered a top-15 season. He might have the same outcome this year.
Daryl Richardson – Now at
the back end of the Jets’ roster. You
tell me.
VERDICT: MEH+
WR
Steve Smith – This was
another one of those players where the draft situation dictated my interest, so
I don’t feel terribly, but he was pretty useless. Except in the fatherhood department,
apparently.
Miles Austin – Yeah, not so
much. Spoiler alert: I’m falling into
the same guy-opposite-Dez trap this season.
Torrey Smith – He barely
scored any touchdowns, but had a whole lot of targets and yards in a Ravens
offense that massively disappointed. You’ll
hear from him again soon.
TY Hilton – He had a
breakout season, although it’s hard to say how that will translate to this
coming season because there was so much ineptitude in the running game and so
many injuries in the passing game.
Greg Jennings – Last year: “He
can’t be THAT useless, right?” Yep, he
sure can.
Mike Wallace – This was
another only-if-the-situation-arises guy, and all of those guys bombed. However, as I said before, I think a bounce-back
is coming.
Reggie Wayne – I was on my
way to being WAY right about him before he tore his ACL.
Danny Amendola – I guess I
underestimated the value of Brady’s trust, and overestimated the value of a guy
who is hurt for half the year.
Antonio Brown – If only I
actually ended up drafting him. Just
watch him play and you know he’s a stud.
Larry Fitzgerald – Well, the
Cardinals’ offense had a nice rebound, but Fitz ceded a lot of the action to
Michael Floyd.
Andre Johnson – Considering how
much the team as a whole flamed out, this worked out pretty well.
Jordy Nelson– Liked him last
year, love him this year.
Dwayne Bowe – I have a
problem. And I said the same thing last
year! And I’ve already drafted him this
year!
Pierre Garcon – Leading the
league in receptions? Sounds solid to
me.
Kenny Stills – Didn’t have
consistent week-to-week production, but was certainly useful for a guy drafted
as late as he was.
VERDICT: MEH+
TE
Jermichael Finley – Man, two
guys with what currently looks like career-ending injuries? Bummer.
Kyle Rudolph – The passing
game for the Vikings wasn’t great in general, but Rudolph didn’t have the TD
production he had the year before.
Jordan Cameron – He faded a
bit down the stretch, but this was obviously a win.
Brandon Pettigrew – Don’t
even.
Ed Dickson – Tried to sneak
this one by with Dennis Pitta’s injury, but he ended up ceding looks to an
over-the-hill Dallas Clark.
VERDICT: THUMBS DOWN
OK, now we’ve taken a look back.
I feel like I did pretty well for the most part, with some of those guys
that failed suffering brutal injuries that we weren’t in a position to
anticipate. Now let’s look to the
future. I’ll give my predictions for
each team’s record, and one positive or negative fantasy player opinion for
each team. Let’s see how that goes.
NFC East
(10-6) Eagles (Low on Zach
Ertz – too many mouths to feed, Celek’s not dead yet)
(8-8) Cowboys (High on
Terrance Williams – see Austin, Miles)
(7-9) Giants (High on Rashad
Jennings – had a nice late ’13 and Giants run a lot)
(7-9) Redskins (Low on
Desean Jackson – not “the guy”, goes back to boom / bust)
NFC South
(11-5) Saints (High on Drew
Brees – I know, but he’s a guaranteed 5000/40, take him 1st)
(8-8) Buccaneers (High on
Doug Martin in the late 2nd; new coach, more receiving threats)
(8-8) Falcons (High on Roddy
White – came on strong late last year, now has fresh start)
(6-10) Panthers (High on Cam
Newton – terrible offseason, but he’s going way late)
NFC North
(11-5) Packers (High on
Randall Cobb – pace for 100 catches last year, now healthy)
(9-7) Bears (High on Jay
Cutler – Trestman clearly “gets” him, another year of comfort)
(7-9) Lions (Low on Matthew
Stafford – just not sure he’s that good, Megatron-dependent)
(7-9) Vikings (High on
Adrian Peterson – would take him 1st; offense around him improved)
NFC West
(13-3) Seahawks (High on
Russell Wilson – Harvin expands offense, rushing raises floor)
(10-6) 49ers (High on Colin
Kaepernick – Crabtree healthy, more weapons, worse defense)
(8-8) Cardinals (Low on
Larry Fitzgerald – getting up there, Floyd emerging)
(5-11) Rams (Low on Zac
Stacy – no passing threats, Benny Cunningham getting looks)
AFC East
(12-4) Patriots (Low on
Julian Edelman – other weapons healthy / more experienced)
(8-8) Dolphins (High on Mike
Wallace – more creative offensive scheme, bounce-back year)
(6-10) Jets (High on Eric
Decker – Geno’s not awful, and Decker was useful with Tebow)
(4-12) Bills (Low on Sammy
Watkins – Rookie receiver, questionable QB, bad team)
AFC South
(10-6) Colts (High on Reggie
Wayne – looks good after surgery, Luck trusts him)
(7-9) Titans (High on Jake
Locker – was solid when healthy last year, underrated receivers)
(7-9) Texans (High on Texans
D – won’t be as much of a pick-6 frenzy, plus Clowney/Cushing)
(5-11) Jaguars (High on
Marquise Lee – really late option, but talented with little competition)
AFC North
(10-6) Bengals (High on Andy
Dalton – 5th in ‘13, drafted 15th in ‘14; too many weapons to fail)
(9-7) Ravens (High on Torrey
Smith – see above; too much involvement for low TD total)
(6-10) Steelers (Low on Le’Veon
Bell – Blount involved, not explosive enough if job is split)
(4-12) Browns (High on Miles
Austin – so sue me)
AFC West
(11-5) Broncos (Low on
Peyton Manning – Welker out, Ball unproven; not ‘till late 2nd)
(10-6) Chargers (Low on
Keenan Allen – had a lot of lucky TD games, lots of WR injuries in ’13)
(8-8) Chiefs (High on Travis
Kelce – Smith likes short passing, has to throw to someone)
(4-12) Raiders (Low on
Maurice Jones-Drew – this team’s just awful)
NFC Playoffs
Eagles def. 49ers
Packers def. Bears
Saints def. Packers
Seahawks def. Eagles
Seahawks def. Saints
AFC Playoffs
Chargers def. Bengals
Colts def. Ravens
Patriots def. Colts
Chargers def. Broncos
Patriots def. Chargers
Super Bowl
Patriots def. Seahawks
