I came into this cycle and season with a plan on how to run my team and expectations on how I’d do up until the trade deadline. This is what I expected and what has really happened.
Broncos Trade
Expectations: I made plans to trade Marshon Lattimore and Marcus Maye to Denver for their first round pick, Quinn Meinerz, Caden Sterns, a third round pick, and a fourth round pick
Reality: Through some trade rejections it unfolded into two separate trades instead of one big one. In the process I still traded Marshon Lattimore and Marcus Maye to Denver and still received their first round pick, Caden Sterns, a third round pick, and a fourth round pick but I unfortunately lost out on Quinn Meinerz. This was an acceptable loss but still unfortunate since we saw him as a young guy who could anchor our line knowing we also had plans to trade Ryan Ramczyk. Caden Sterns has recorded 42 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 pass deflection, and 1 interception he returned for a touchdown.
Jets Trade
Expectations: I had made a deal in the Dms to send Ryan Ramczyk to the New York Jets for John Franklin-Meyers, a third round pick, and a fourth round pick
Reality: This trade had one round of rejection and was an easy fix as we were still able to unload the aging star right tackle in exchange for John Franklin-Meyers and a third round pick, but I did lose out on the fourth rounder. Once again, less than we originally had planned but an acceptable loss. John Franklin-Meyers has recorded 18 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks which is solid for a defensive tackle.
Free Agent Acquisitions
Expectations: We had plans to sign veteran help at wide receiver, linebacker, safety, kicker, and defensive line over the course of the first weeks.
Reality: While we signed Breshad Perriman and Sammy Watkins, they have done little to nothing as AT Perry has stepped up, Perriman has 2 catches for 46 yards. We signed Jaylon Smith and Christian Kirksey to help the linebacker room and while Kirksey has been just a backup with 5 tackles, Jaylon Smith has been a starter and has done surprisingly well recording 24 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, and a forced fumble and fumble recovery. We also elevated Jonathan Abram from the practice squad to help in the defensive back room and he’s been a rotational player with 20 tackles and a forced fumble. The defensive line has seen the least impact adding Kyle Phillips and Josh Paschal to be backups in the edge rushing room, they have not seen the field yet. We also changed kickers from Blake Grupe to Riley Patterson to currently Zane Gonzalez. Riley Patterson went 10/10 on extra points after he replaced Grupe who was a perfect 5/5 on field goals but 6/7 on extra points. Gonzalez is 10/10 on extra points since becoming a Saint and 8/10 on field goals with the only misses being completely my fault overplaying the wind and a lag miss, he is also 2/2 from outside 50 yards. The free agent acquisitions have gone pretty great either as depth pieces or if they’ve seen the field.
Week 1 vs Titans
Expectation: Comfortable win
Reality: It was a comfortable win where Derek Carr had a perfect passer rating and the run game was highly effective. It was also a terrific defensive showing
Week 2 @ Panthers
Expectation: Close win
Reality: People had this as a lock but even when I was at my peak with the Colts last cycle JT plays me close. Whether it’s my play style or his I wasn’t expecting anything crazy but with the better team and season 1 JT I was expecting to win. I lost by 3 as we threw 3 interceptions on only 57% completion and averaged just 4 yards a carry on the ground. Defensively, we held the Panthers in check but the lack of a pass rush led to some big plays and kept us from winning.
Week 3 @ Packers
Expectation: Toss up
Reality: It came down to the wire as expected and we pulled out a 3 point win. Chris Olave was hurt early in the game but the passing offense rolled even without him as Derek Carr completed 76% of passes for 228 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. Alvin Kamara also ate on the ground with 8.6 ypa for 103 yards and 2 touchdowns. Defensively we weren’t consistent but we forced two interceptions and Bryan Bresee ate up the middle with 10 tackles, 2 TFL, and 1.5 sacks from the DT spot. We were able to take advantage of what we knew about HypeMike and get a big win after dropping a division game
Week 4 vs Bucs
Expectation: Close win
Reality: We lost in overtime by 3 because the defense looked like a strainer against water not being able to stop anything through the air or on the ground. Baker Mayfield dominated with a clean pocket and Rachaad White was beating everyone to the edge. Our offense fought hard to make several comebacks and force overtime despite some wasted opportunities in the red zone but ultimately we lost in the trenches. We had the ball in sudden death in overtime close to FG range and got bullied at the line and not wanting to settle for a tie, went for a fourth down near mid field and didn’t convert leaving the Bucs just 15 yards away from FG range and they got there. A disappointing 0-2 start in the division despite a good fight.
Week 5 @ Patriots
Expectation: Close win
Reality: We got the close win with our fourth game in a row decided by 3 points. Spdot is a great user but we definitely had the team advantage and our defense stepped up big time in a rainy game where Derek Carr couldn’t hit many passes and the run game was bottled. We held Mac Jones to 57% on passes and the Patriots as a whole to 280 yards. Once again we botched opportunities though just were able to pull out the stops we didn’t get the week before and get back on track again with a win.
Week 6 @ Texans
Expectation: Close loss
Reality: I always go into games knowing I can win and the Texans loss to the Steelers and close game against the Falcons had me feeling opportunistic but still, the Texans are ran very well despite their lack of talent and it showed. I picked myself to win on the prediction show because no one is going to pick against themselves, but my lack of confidence could be heard. We kept it close for a little over half the game but the Texans made no mistakes and our third mistake of the game cost us with a pick six to go down three scores. It was an unfortunate blowout continuing the streak of losses following wins with the lone bright spot being Chris Olave getting 200 yards and upgrading to superstar earlier than we had hoped.
Week 7 vs Jaguars
Expectation: Comfortable win
Reality: Even before I knew I was playing the CPU I was expecting an easier game because Tbandit is still figuring things out this cycle. He has the skill but doesn’t have the game plan and it’s shown in his record. Thanks to Evolve we knew how to take care of the CPU with man coverage heavy defense and quick passes to avoid the All-Madden pass rush. It was the comfortable win we expected with Derek Carr having a near perfect game, Alvin Kamara eating up getting to the edge consistently, Juwan Johnson emerging as a tight end with potential to be the secondary option to Olave, and Demario Davis eating up runs left and right on defense.
Week 8 @ Colts
Expectation: Comfortable win
Reality: Once again we got the comfortable win we expected and finally strung together two wins in a row for the first time this season rising to 5-3 and a cushion above .500. CB gave a h*** of a fight on offense and defense having the lead until we tied it up at 24 to end the half, but Derek Carr stepped up throwing for 405 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 1 interception while earning superstar as a 32 year old. It won’t change much but good to see out of him. The turning point though was a Caden Sterns pick six that we never looked back from and compounded with a Pete Werner pick six the very next time out. Chris Olave continued to show how good he is with two long agressive touchdowns breaking tackles and bursting through defenders. We had trouble containing Jonathan Taylor and containing Deforest Buckner but getting those timely turnovers forced Anthony Richardson and the Colts to pass and we walked away with 5 interceptions. Isaiah Foskey also had 2 sacks showing he can be a franchise edge rusher as Cameron Jordan ages.
Conclusion: Our team building is going almost as good as expected getting younger and gaining picks while still competing this year as we sit at 5-3. We did expect to have 6 wins at this point but the players are progressing well, especially Chris Olave and that is important to see. We do want to win in the trenches more as we are taking too many sacks while not getting after the quarterback consistently on defense. Bryan Bresee has been injured so he may help that, while Trevor Penning was out for a bit which could have contributed to some added sacks. Time will tell but we are trending in the right direction, putting things together, and no longer have to worry about trades for this season. The unfortunate injury to Baker Mayfield also has us in prime position to seize the NFC South division title this season with 4 divisional games left that we will have circled to come back from our 0-2 start.
Goals For The Rest of The Season:
– Win 12 games
– Win the NFC South
– Win a playoff game
– Continue Making Great Content (And using the points to upgrade my guys)
– Have at least one defensive player reach superstar between Isaiah Foskey, Bryan Bresee, John Franklin-Meyers, and Paulson Adebo
– Get production from my established vets to help them avoid dev regression (looking at you Cameron “Edge Threat” Jordan with 1 sack and 9 total tackles through 8 games)
