The Annual "Who's Your Favorite Team" Thread

[Friarfan]

Usually start this thread every year just to get a pulse on everyone's team.

1. Who is your favorite team, and how will they finish this year?
San Diego Chargers - Ugh, they'll probably go 7-9 or 8-8. No playoffs but just good enough to miss out on a top 10 pick.

2. Who is your team's sleeper?
Although probably not a real "sleeper" anymore, Vincent Brown looks to work well in the new McCoy offense and seems 100% healthy after coming off of last year's broken ankle. Denario Alexander doesn't seem to have convinced anyone that he's put his (lengthy) health issues behind him as his ADP in mock drafts seem to indicate, so he might be considered a nice sleeper.

Antonio Gates is definitely on the downside of his career and is going as a TE2 in most drafts, which I think is a bit low. He's shed quite a bit of weight this offseason due to a gluten-free (see "fad") diet and says his chronic foot issues are behind him. He might have another productive season left in him but, due to the O-line woes, might be called on to block a little more than in the past.

3. Who will disappoint?
Hard to say that Ryan "Clavicle" Mathews is going to disappoint anyone and, if you are disappointed by him, you just haven't been paying attention.

With the o-line still a mess, Philip Rivers will be hard-pressed to get back to the 2006-2010 numbers.

4. How would rank the Offense?
It's looking like Max Starks and King Dunlap aren't going to be the answer at left tackle and 2013 first-rounder right tackle DJ Fluker's pass-protection isn't nearly as good as his run-blocking. With that said, Mike McCoy is implementing a shorter passing game than the downfield "attack" of Norv Turner and is getting Rivers to go to a 3 step drop so as to avoid Mrs. Rivers and his 6 kids from making funeral arrangements.

It seems the new regime isn't convinced that Mathews is the "man" either and Danny Woodhead has been brought in to share the load. They've also brought Ronnie Brown back to be a third down guy.

The receiving corps seems to be the strength of the team and Brown and Eddie Royal will get the slot/underneath work and Alexander, rookie Keenan Allen and Malcom Floyd will stretch the field. Last year's big free agent signing, Robert Meachem is just a spare part and only being kept around because of the financial implications of getting out from under his contract (thanks, AJ!)

Allen might turn out to be the steal of the draft, but it won't be this year.


5. How would rank the Defense?
The Chargers will have about 8 new starters on the defense this year due to injury (Melvin Ingram) and free agency. The linebacking corps and defensive line are woefully thin and I'm not sure if Mantei Teo is going to translate to anything but a bust. Losing Quentin Jammer (who the previous regime should have moved to safety two years ago) and replacing him with Derek Cox is nothing but a positive. While he was a standout during most of his career, the past two years Jammer made Charger fans look back fondly on the Elvis "Toast" Patterson years.

Eric Weddle is one of the premier safeties in the league and pairs nicely with Atari Bigby.

List your teams.

[Erik]

1. Who is your favorite team, and how will they finish this year?

Philadelphia Eagles. They can't possibly be any worse than last year, but this is a total rebuilding year. 5-11 or 6-10.

2. Who is your team's sleeper?

New coach Chip Kelly plays things close to the vest, and will not necessarily run the offense exactly like he did at Oregon. He tries to design the best plays for the players he has. The common thread is that he wants things run at a fast pace so the offense can have as many plays as possible. This could mean some very good numbers for a lot of people on this offense, independent of how the team plays as a whole. One thing Kelly has done is feature athletic tight ends who create matchup problems. He has gone out and gotten two guys in this mold, former Texan James Casey and 2nd round pick Zach Ertz. Brett Celek is still technically #1 on the depth chart but he will be used mainly as a blocker. Casey and Ertz could be very sneaky late-round picks, especially in PPR leagues.

3. Who will disappoint?

As mentioned above, Celek will be little more than a blocker. I also don't trust Michael Vick to do well in this offense. He will probably go into the year as the starter, but above all else, Kelly's offense requires a QB who makes good, quick decisions, and that is by far the worst aspect of Vick's game. If he doesn't suffer a serious injury first (always a possibility with him), I can see Vick being replaced in midseason by Nick Foles or Matt Barkley once they are out of it.

4. How would you rank the Offense?

As stated above, there will be plenty of plays to go around, and the potential is there for significant production from RBs LeSean McCoy and Bryce Brown, TEs Casey and Ertz, and WR DeSean Jackson. With Jeremy Maclin gone for the year, WR2 may take a back seat to the TEs, but speedy Damaris Johnson may have the skillset to do well in Kelly's offense. It will be among the league leaders in plays run. With Vick at QB, it should also be among the league leaders in turnovers. But the yardage totals could be very nice.

5. How would rank the Defense?

Awful. It may be even worse than least year, as the team is transitioning from a 4-3 to a 3-4 but doesn't yet have many players suited to the 3-4. It will be among the worst in the league statistically and should be avoided in all fantasy formats.

[chancellor]

1. Who is your favorite team, and how will they finish this year?

Green Bay Packers. 10-6. I hope. Losing Bulaga will cost at least one game, IMO, and that assumes Rodgers survives more than a handful of weeks.

2. Who is your team's sleeper?

Jarrett Boykin, WR. He's the 4th WR, but with Jordy Nelson already hurt, he'll get a lot of reps in the pre-season, and will be a very capable #3 WR in the Packers system. And that means a lot of yards and some TDs.

3. Who will disappoint?

Jermichael Finley, because he always does. So much talent, so little production. But the guy who worries me most is Aaron Rodgers. He's going very early in a lot of mocks - first round in many - and with Bulaga out, the pass blocking in front of him can best be described as "criminal". There's some decent run-blockers on the OL (Sitton in particular), so I fully expect McCarthy to really try and establish something of a running game this year with their two rookie RBs. Between the risk of injury and fewer attempts, I'd not go early on Aaron Rodgers.

4. How would you rank the Offense?

Even with a bad OL, it'll still crank out a pile of yards and points which are spread around pretty efficiently. James Jones, IMO, is the value play from what I've seen in mock drafts and auctions. They'll look to use Cobb in many ways, too, but he's pretty highly regarded in the mock world. The knock on Jones in the past was lacking concentration that led to drops, he clearly improved on that last year. And he's a physical beast with power and speed.

McCarthy claims - again - that the Pack will run more. However, this time, he just might have the tools to do so. I saw Lacy up close at the scrimmage, and the pic of him on the net is either a photoshop or awful angle. Slender? Uh, no. But that heavy? No way. He's showing very good block reading skills and has excellent explosiveness into holes. Franklin's also been good, and I suspect the Pack will use them in tandem, with Franklin getting more 3rd down/passing situations.

5. How would rank the Defense?

Scary, in fantasy terms. Datone Jones looks like he'll be a pass-rushing asset, but I think that will just improve the Pack from "horrifying" to "pretty bad" in terms of sack totals. Unless the pass rush improves a lot more than I think, ints will be at a premium, too. The Pack does have good PR people, so there's some point opps there. But I still see this as a bottom half defense in fantasy terms.

[off_the_wall]

1. Who is your favorite team, and how will they finish this year?

Minnesota. 8-8


2. Who is your team's sleeper?

WR- Cordarrelle Patterson. Still raw like sushi but is the most electric guy on the offense, not named Peterson. That being said, a case of the dropsies and he could be strictly returning kicks all year.


3. Who will disappoint?

QB Ponder. I have no faith in him and the reports out of camp thus far haven't inspired much hope either. Cassel could by the starter by Canadian Thanksgiving, if not before.

WR Jennings. Hasn't been an Iron Man in recent years so him staying healthy could be the key to the offense.


4. How would you rank the Offense?

Solid but middle-ish in the league. If Ponder doesn't succeeded, its all on him now, with the best RB in the league, a top 5-10-ish O-line plus Rudolph is emerging as viable TE threat plus the additions of WR Jennings, and rookie Patterson. If they can get anything consistent out of the QB spot, the offense will be improved over last season.

5. How would rank the Defense?

Middle of the pack but improved over last year.

Safety Harrison Smith goes into his 2nd year.
LB Desmond Bishop is healthy and proves a free agent steal, help solidifying a previously weak LB corp.
CB Xavier Rhodes starts from day 1 and makes fans forget about Winfield.

[dslaw]

1. Who is your favorite team, and how will they finish this year?

Skins. 10-6


2. Who is your team's sleeper?

Not much here. Cousins will get his playing time at QB but unless you carry a backup QB to play 3 full games he isn't worth rostering. Expect a big year from Garcon who is healthy but I don't know if he qualifies as a sleeper in most leagues. Morris will get the bulk at RB, the other WRs are pretty meh, TE is Fred Davis and no one else. If Davis doesn't respond well from his injury last year Logan Paulsen will be a late round flyer. He will be a 5 catch, 50 yard, hopefully 1 TD every week.


3. Who will disappoint?

I will say RGIII, just because of the knee. I haven't had any drafts and don't know his draft position but I am thinking it will be high since the recovery is going well. I just expect him to miss a couple of games this year which is something you don't want from a high pick. I don't see anyone else going overly high so they can't really disappointing. Morris is probably in the top 10 RBs but not top 5 so he should be ok if picked as 6-10 RB.

4. How would you rank the Offense?

Dependent on the o-line. If Williams stays healthy all year and the rest of the line is solid (just ok, no one will be good) and healthy the team will be able to run Morris and RGIII and also pass block. Last year it was patchy on the o-line and Seattle finally exposed them once RGIII and Liechtensteiger (sp?) were out.


5. How would rank the Defense?

Not good, about the same as last year. 24th in points allowed and 28th in yards but were 5th in turnovers. Fletcher is one year older but Orakpo is back and they will need a pass rush with their secondary. Orakpo + Kerrigan could be a good pass rush duo resulting in more turnovers and hopefully fewer yards. Perry Riley doesn't get the press he deserves. Averaged 8 tackles a game last year and had 3 sacks.

[Erik]

The new regime looks terrible to me so far. They've compounded having, again by FAR, the worst returning veteran squad in the NFL by having one of the worst drafts as well. They are floundering and appear to have absolutely no idea how to right the ship. GM McKenzie seems to be way, way in over his head and has not done anything at all to improve the team for the present or for the future. Sad times for Raiders fans.

This is consistent with Rotoworld's take on them, but Rotoworld likes hyperbole so I wasn't sure how much stock to put in it. I guess they weren't kidding.

NFC West division games always seem to have surprises, so I would think the Raiders will eke out a win or two in the division, even if they can't beat anyone else.

[dslaw]

1. Who is your favorite team, and how will they finish this year?

Skins. 10-6


2. Who is your team's sleeper?

Not much here. Cousins will get his playing time at QB but unless you carry a backup QB to play 3 full games he isn't worth rostering. Expect a big year from Garcon who is healthy but I don't know if he qualifies as a sleeper in most leagues. Morris will get the bulk at RB, the other WRs are pretty meh, TE is Fred Davis and no one else. If Davis doesn't respond well from his injury last year Logan Paulsen will be a late round flyer. He will be a 5 catch, 50 yard, hopefully 1 TD every week.


3. Who will disappoint?

I will say RGIII, just because of the knee. I haven't had any drafts and don't know his draft position but I am thinking it will be high since the recovery is going well. I just expect him to miss a couple of games this year which is something you don't want from a high pick. I don't see anyone else going overly high so they can't really disappointing. Morris is probably in the top 10 RBs but not top 5 so he should be ok if picked as 6-10 RB.

4. How would you rank the Offense?

Dependent on the o-line. If Williams stays healthy all year and the rest of the line is solid (just ok, no one will be good) and healthy the team will be able to run Morris and RGIII and also pass block. Last year it was patchy on the o-line and Seattle finally exposed them once RGIII and Liechtensteiger (sp?) were out.


5. How would rank the Defense?

Not good, about the same as last year. 24th in points allowed and 28th in yards but were 5th in turnovers. Fletcher is one year older but Orakpo is back and they will need a pass rush with their secondary. Orakpo + Kerrigan could be a good pass rush duo resulting in more turnovers and hopefully fewer yards. Perry Riley doesn't get the press he deserves. Averaged 8 tackles a game last year and had 3 sacks.

Just because of how they laid down v. KC last week I didn't want to wait until year end to see where I went wrong.
Record - currently 3-10 but games v. Atlanta, Dallas, NY Giants left. Could be anywhere from 6-10 to 3-13 as Skins are in total disarray but all three opponents are beatable. Total disarray is an understatement. General Hospital wouldn't use the script of Snyder v. Shanahan because it is unbelievable. I thought 4-2 in division (they are 0-4), 3-1 vs. AFC West (they went 2-2), 3-1 vs. NFC North (they went 1-3) and 0-2 vs NFC West (currently 0-1).
I did get the sleeper correct as in none. Reed was a surprise at TE but he only played 1/2 the year so he didn't help that much. Garcon is having a good year but while he isn't the top WR off the board he probably didn't last too long.
I don't know if RGIII did disappoint, he was 13th is QB scoring in my league, but Morris definitely did. He was 20th in scoring in my league for RBs. Skins were behind so much that Morris just didn't get the carries. A couple of games he would have 11 carries for 70 yards at halftime and wind up with 13 carries for 71 yards. If you told me RGIII was healthy all 13 games I would have expected much better than 13th QB. The flip side of Morris getting no carries meant RGIII passed a lot which led to his stats being better in fantasy than he actually was in real football.
The o-line is miserable. Good health as the same 5 have started every game but when you suck and are still starting that says something. The quick passing game of 2012 hid deficiencies on the line, those quick slants and seam routes are being covered and they actually have to block for more than 1 second and they just can't do it. Trent Williams makes the pro bowl but I don't know why. He is ok but not great, the other 4 on the line are all below average.
Defense and special teams were horrific. The salary cap penalty really hurt in special teams and that goes away next year so hopefully something can be done this off season. They allowed 4 TDs on kick returns plus who knows how many that were returned inside the 30 or 40 where the D was put in a hole. The D is 22nd in yards against, 18th in turnovers with 19 but lead the league by giving up 31 points per game.

I still like RGIII (even if Cousins is getting the start this week) and Morris, Garcon and Reed seem to be good players and are all draftable next year in fantasy leagues. But o-line sucks, the defense needs about 8 new players and special teams needs a complete overhaul. A new coach will help, please bring in someone like Russ Grimm instead of a retread like Shanahan (10 years in Denver post Elway/Davis results in a 1-6 record in the playoffs but he gets $7M a year?). At least we have a very high draft pick next year. Oops, nevermind. This team has too many holes to fill to be a contender unless they get very good free agent deals since they are so far under the cap right now combined with a good draft. I guess those years I spent laughing at Cowboy fans because Jones was driving that team into the ground is being returned. I am not sure this team will ever be a consistent contender until Snyder is removed from football decisions which means until he sells the team.

[Pogues]

1. Who is your favorite team, and how will they finish this year?

Philadelphia Eagles. They can't possibly be any worse than last year, but this is a total rebuilding year. 5-11 or 6-10.

Psst...Erik...I think you meant to have those win and loss totals reversed...right?

[Erik]

Sure, why not.

I don't think anyone saw this version of Foles coming, nor the improvement on defense. (Overall stats are still not great yardage-wise, but they've been markedly better starting in Week 5.)