Ceiling and floor for AFC South: Colts, Texans, Titans, Jaguars: The most competitive division PML has ever seen?
The Madden 23 cycle is less than 2 days away and every team has high hopes of competing for a Super Bowl title. The optimism is what makes PML great, especially for long shots like Arod, Cammy, Nef, and Vet. Can any of these teams defy the odds and enter the prestigious group of PML Super Bowl winners?
Every team hopes to put themselves in a position to not only compete, but hold their spot in the Premier Madden League. What is a teams realistic ceiling in season 1? How good can each team be with their current roster, user, and divisional foes? Or how badly can things fall apart?
Lets dive into the AFC North
Colts: Bubba
Texans: Problem
Titans: Datboi
Jaguars: HypeMike
Colts
Ceiling: 10-7, Make playoffs
An abnormally low ceiling for Bubba. Two cycles ago he played in the AFC South and was not able to separate himself from the pack. I do not expect it to happen this cycle with the competitive nature of his division. A solid and top user, Bubba and the Colts will scrap and claw for playoff appearances- a far cry from last season. Those deep crossers of M22 will not be there with Matty Ice under center sporting an 85 throw power. Solid defense and a strong run game with Jonathan Taylor running behind a top offensive line is the formula for Bubba this cycle. The season 1 development of Paye, Rodgers, and Cross on the defensive end will also prove critical for long-term cycle success.
Floor: 6-11, Miss playoffs
A true humbling experience could be in store after dominating most of the M22 cycle. Are the Colts and the current roster cut out to Bubba’s style of play? Matt Ryan will hold Bubba back from playing a true Bubba style of football. 4 games vs Problem and Datboi, two of the best Madden players in the world will be a problem (no pun intended). HypeMike isnt exactly a walk in the park in its own right. Bubba may find himself on the other end of the spectrum this cycle.
Texans
Ceiling: 13-3, Win Super Bowl
How can this not be the ceiling from the Madden GOAT? I put him in the same position as Kmac. Quite possibly the worst CFM roster in the league, but his user skill, football IQ, and big game experience will disguise the flaws and deficits in the roster. A schedule that consist of Spdot, Cook, Datboi, Jefe, Bubba, HypeMike, Wimmy, and Jefe should give us a more accurate picture of this ceiling as we progress through the season. Word on the street is hes ready to put some content into them as well. Could be a scary combination.
Floor: 9-8, Miss playoffs
All that above sounds pretty cool, but lets remember there is a realistic floor in Houston this season because Davis Mills will be tossing the pigskin for the Houston Texans. His accuracy ratings aren’t terrible, and we seen Problem adjust to a QB with no throw-power, but the competition in this division and the rest of the schedule could make every game a struggle for the Madden-pro. Could this happen? Its PML- yes.
Titans
Ceiling: 15-1, Win Super Bowl
Datboi enters PML as the #9 competitive player in MCS. We haven’t heard much from him in chat, or any plans to provide content, but one thing is for sure, he was blessed with the best roster in the division, and in my opinion, its by quite a margin. This ceiling is very dependent on Datboi’s willingness to pound the rock with Derrick Henry. In addition to King Henry, we’re handing this particular user a rookie QB with 94 throw power and 92 speed in Malik Willis. Ay ay ay, things could get very ugly, very fast for those on the Titans schedule. Look for Caleb Farley (95 speed CB) to evolve into an elite ability CB by seasons end- making matters worse for opposing teams as the DatBoi and his Titans go for Super Bowl glory in their first PML season.
Floor: 11-6, Win a playoff game
A lot of question marks surround DatBoi and his willingness to not only buy into PML, but also make it a priority. This will ultimately decide the ceiling and floor for the Tennessee Titans in season 1. The road will be difficult, and the competitive player will have to adjust to simulation style gameplay on the fly. Not certain of his CFM/sim style experience, but that is a factor to keep an eye on early in the season.
Jaguars
Ceiling: 11-6, Win division
Is anyone counting HypeMike out? In a division full of pro-players, HypeMike will certainly need to grind if he wants to stay competitive with the field. The Jaguars are not a plug and play team by any means, but they do have several young pieces that will blossom into superstars, and if anyone is capable of developing these said players, its HypeMike. But back to season 1 expectations. Can the Jaguars realistically win 11 games when their easiest opponent is Bubba? The ceiling is where HypeMike allows himself to reach for. In my opinion he is capable of beating any user in this league in any given load up. I set a ceiling of 11 games and a division crown as I predicted on the breakfast show. A hot take? Maybe, but I don’t think anyone would bet against it.
Floor: 5-12, Miss playoffs
After all the optimism I just wrote up, it wouldn’t shock me for HypeMike to spend the season developing the young players and preparing for a bigger run in season 2. He openly has done this in the past with the Lions emphasizing speed and abilities for future seasons to fit his scheme. I hope this is not the case as we are all very excited to watch this division play out this season.
