Sleeper team 2022

[Procus]

Eagles no longer qualify as a sleeper - there's too much hype.

I'm going with Washington.  With all the focus on Wentz' faults, he should get a mulligan for 2020 if you ask me.  The entire OL went down that year, and when entire OL's go down, teams go in free fall.  Remember 2012?  As for the Colts, his stats were pretty good, but he came up short at the end.  Seems like by the latter part of the year, it was clear things weren't going to work out in Indy.  Irsay can be a bit of a kook, and I can see how somebody like Wentz could butt heads with him.  And there is some talent in Washington this year - a very good skill set the likes of which he probably hasn't seen since 2017.

So that's my prediction - expect Washington to make some unexpected noise.  Thoughts?

 

[Cochis_Calhoun]

10 hours ago, Procus said:

Eagles no longer qualify as a sleeper - there's too much hype.

I'm going with Washington.  With all the focus on Wentz' faults, he should get a mulligan for 2020 if you ask me.  The entire OL went down that year, and when entire OL's go down, teams go in free fall.  Remember 2012?  As for the Colts, his stats were pretty good, but he came up short at the end.  Seems like by the latter part of the year, it was clear things weren't going to work out in Indy.  Irsay can be a bit of a kook, and I can see how somebody like Wentz could butt heads with him.  And there is some talent in Washington this year - a very good skill set the likes of which he probably hasn't seen since 2017.

So that's my prediction - expect Washington to make some unexpected noise.  Thoughts?

 

Wentz is a low end average QB outside one 13 game stretch in 2017,  he stunk against every decent team we played in 2019 as well as 2020, he choked in Indy, he's broken 4000 yards once in his 6 year career as a guaranteed starter, he's basically a ginger Ryan Tannehill, he can put it all together every now and again but he's never going to do it consistently.

Cue Down Under Mike with a snarky comment about low end QB's in 5..4...3...2

[toolg]

I can't make heads or tails of Carson Wentz (he was once a MVP-caliber QB, right?)... But Washington sucks. NFC East belongs to either Cowboys or Eagles. That's it.

I want to like the Lions. But they're the classic team that gets too much noise after being on Hard Knocks. 8 wins is a big step up for them. Instead my sleeper team pick is: Carolina.

[Procus]

10 hours ago, toolg said:

I can't make heads or tails of Carson Wentz (he was once a MVP-caliber QB, right?)... But Washington sucks. NFC East belongs to either Cowboys or Eagles. That's it.

I want to like the Lions. But they're the classic team that gets too much noise after being on Hard Knocks. 8 wins is a big step up for them. Instead my sleeper team pick is: Carolina.

I'll tell you what I don't like about him - he wound up being a me first kind of a guy in a lot of ways.  He did change a lot during his time here.  I remember him as a fresh faced kid with the cute HS girlfriend.  He then swapped her out for a hotter model which to me was a bad sign that the hype and fame was affecting him.  Hurts unquestionably trumps him in two ways - his contract is much more team friendly, and he's a much better teammate and generates better energy for the entire roster.  Wentz came off as being McNabbish - selfish in some ways.   We'll see how it all plays out on the field - and it usually plays out in ways we don't expect.

[Guest]

Carolina

[toolg]

12 hours ago, Procus said:

I'll tell you what I don't like about him - he wound up being a me first kind of a guy in a lot of ways.  He did change a lot during his time here.  I remember him as a fresh faced kid with the cute HS girlfriend.  He then swapped her out for a hotter model which to me was a bad sign that the hype and fame was affecting him.  Hurts unquestionably trumps him in two ways - his contract is much more team friendly, and he's a much better teammate and generates better energy for the entire roster.  Wentz came off as being McNabbish - selfish in some ways.   We'll see how it all plays out on the field - and it usually plays out in ways we don't expect.

That's certainly part of it. As Wentz sat on the sidelines when Foles led the team to victory in SB52, you could see the fire building inside. He wanted to win another ring for himself. It wasn't so much about the team anymore. He lost them and they split. Then there was the knee injury that knocked him out in 2017; that turned into the back injury. I don't think he's ever been physically right since. If anyone was going to get Wentz right again, I thought it had to be Coach Reich. Then he lasts in Indy only one year, ups and downs. Yet Reich seems to say the right things about Wentz in public. I can't make out if the front office just decided to take an offer for Wentz while they had the chance, and Reich went along... Or if even Reich gave up. Nobody goes to Snyder's team in Washington to get right. I can't figure it out. Wentz was an MVP for one season, then never again. I compare it to Cam Newton - he was the most dynamic QB in the league until all the hits caught up to him. Then he lost the aspects of his game that put him over the top. Only Wentz's star faded even faster. How much game does he have left? Anyway, not to make it all about Wentz... But I had to get that off my chest.

[EricAllenPick6]

13 hours ago, Procus said:

I'll tell you what I don't like about him - he wound up being a me first kind of a guy in a lot of ways.  

Yeah, I agree with all of this.  I'm gonna take it one step further.  Post 2017 Carson reminds me of the 49ers version of Alex Smith.  He's a guy that has a tremendous amount of arm talent and for the most part he plays really well.  However, there's that one series, one play that he makes the most mind-bogglingly bad decisions that it ends up costing his team the game.  Alex went to KC and Andy fixed him.  Can Carson be fixed?  I don't know.  

Anyhow, big negative on DC being a sleeper team.  Too much off the field drama.  

I keep hearing noise about the Saints being a sleeper -- I don't know how much I believe that. 

[toolg]

1 hour ago, EricAllenPick6 said:

I keep hearing noise about the Saints being a sleeper -- I don't know how much I believe that. 

I think the Saints have a good shot to beat the Bucs for the division title. Do they even count as a sleeper?

[Guest]

16 minutes ago, toolg said:

I think the Saints have a good shot to beat the Bucs for the division title. Do they even count as a sleeper?

I have several board bets, one that the Saints win at least 5 games during their toughest stretch of the schedule, and one that they win at least 10 games.

[Bwestbrook36]

27 minutes ago, toolg said:

I think the Saints have a good shot to beat the Bucs for the division title. Do they even count as a sleeper?

I don't get where the Winston is good now BS came from. He played well for a handful of games then got hurt for the season and now he lost Payton as coach. In other words Winston probably still sucks

[NYEagle]

I'm rooting for the Saints to go 1-16!!

[EricAllenPick6]

49 minutes ago, Bwestbrook36 said:

I don't get where the Winston is good now BS came from. He played well for a handful of games then got hurt for the season and now he lost Payton as coach. In other words Winston probably still sucks

Yeah, my thoughts exactly.  Sean Payton is gone.  Jameis Winston is still Jameis Winston.  This looks like a 8 to 10 win football team, which is about what they were last season.  Peter King has them at 12 wins and playing in the NFCCG.  Anything is possible, but that's a bad bet.  

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, EricAllenPick6 said:

Yeah, my thoughts exactly.  Sean Payton is gone.  Jameis Winston is still Jameis Winston.  This looks like a 8 to 10 win football team, which is about what they were last season.  Peter King has them at 12 wins and playing in the NFCCG.  Anything is possible, but that's a bad bet.  

The offensive coordinator has been with them for 14 years and is still in place, they have a ton of skill position talent, and they have been top 10 in yards allowed and top 5 in points allowed the last two years.

[toolg]

7 minutes ago, downundermike said:

The offensive coordinator has been with them for 14 years and is still in place, they have a ton of skill position talent, and they have been top 10 in yards allowed and top 5 in points allowed the last two years.

Dennis Allen has been with the team since 2015. It's not like the Saints are starting over with a brand new coaching staff.... Everybody stays and moves up a notch. The Saints were 9-8 last year while dealing with a bunch of injuries. Before that they were a perennial 10-win playoff team with a broken down Drew Brees leading them. And the roster got arguably better this year. Maybe a lousy Winston at QB leads this team into the crapper... But that would be total disaster. Not sure how anybody is sleeping on this team.

Anyway the Eagles have the Saints first-round draft pick this year. I'm rooting against them, but they're going to be in the playoffs. It happens every time. 

[Guest]

1 minute ago, toolg said:

Anyway the Eagles have the Saints first-round draft pick this year. I'm rooting against them, but they're going to be in the playoffs. It happens every time. 

That is exactly where I am at.  I project the Eagles having a higher draft pick than the Saints pick.

[Bwestbrook36]

1 hour ago, downundermike said:

The offensive coordinator has been with them for 14 years and is still in place, they have a ton of skill position talent, and they have been top 10 in yards allowed and top 5 in points allowed the last two years.

Yeah well Winston had a loaded bucs team too..... 

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, Bwestbrook36 said:

Yeah well Winston had a loaded bucs team too..... 

They allowed the 4th most PPG at 28.1.

Winston was 7-9, and lost games the Bucs scored 26, 31 and 34 points.

 

[Bwestbrook36]

1 hour ago, downundermike said:

They allowed the 4th most PPG at 28.1.

Winston was 7-9, and lost games the Bucs scored 26, 31 and 34 points.

 

We shall see, I don't see him all of a sudden being a good QB 

Winston throwing 30 interceptions isn't going to help a defense either

[dawkins4prez]

On 9/6/2022 at 10:01 AM, toolg said:

I can't make heads or tails of Carson Wentz (he was once a MVP-caliber QB, right?)... But Washington sucks. NFC East belongs to either Cowboys or Eagles. That's it.

I want to like the Lions. But they're the classic team that gets too much noise after being on Hard Knocks. 8 wins is a big step up for them. Instead my sleeper team pick is: Carolina.

Panthers have a surprisingly good roster when you look at it on paper.

[dawkins4prez]

3 hours ago, downundermike said:

The offensive coordinator has been with them for 14 years and is still in place, they have a ton of skill position talent, and they have been top 10 in yards allowed and top 5 in points allowed the last two years.

Yeah Saints are a team I've really gone back and forth on abunch of times.  They could win the South, they could be 7-10.

[Procus]

5 hours ago, EricAllenPick6 said:

Yeah, my thoughts exactly.  Sean Payton is gone.  Jameis Winston is still Jameis Winston.  This looks like a 8 to 10 win football team, which is about what they were last season.  Peter King has them at 12 wins and playing in the NFCCG.  Anything is possible, but that's a bad bet.  

Jameis Winston will win you games.  Dennis Allen laid an egg with the Raiders.  There's a lot of talent on the team, but I don't know that you go real far with Winston and Allen leading the charge.  To me, is a big drop off from Sean Payton and Drew Brees.

 

[LacesOut]

Jets, maybe?

Broncos?

Raiders?

I really don’t see any in the NFC though.

[Bwestbrook36]

10 hours ago, toolg said:

Dennis Allen has been with the team since 2015. It's not like the Saints are starting over with a brand new coaching staff.... Everybody stays and moves up a notch. The Saints were 9-8 last year while dealing with a bunch of injuries. Before that they were a perennial 10-win playoff team with a broken down Drew Brees leading them. And the roster got arguably better this year. Maybe a lousy Winston at QB leads this team into the crapper... But that would be total disaster. Not sure how anybody is sleeping on this team.

Anyway the Eagles have the Saints first-round draft pick this year. I'm rooting against them, but they're going to be in the playoffs. It happens every time. 

A broken down hall of Fame brees is still better then a draft bust Winston throwing interceptions at an alarming rate. With a low completion percentage, he is like Jalen hurts without legs. 

Their defense is getting older and lost some good secondary players, lattimore can't cover everyone. 

[SkippyX]

Vikings (10-12 wins)

Lions after Jameson Williams gets on the field (thankfully not this weekend) They might wind up 8-9 but they will be in the hunt.

I would not be surprised if the Packers head into January needing to beat both of them to win the division.

 

Its not like I think they are awesome teams, just good in a bad NFC.

Its the same reason I think the Eagles might be an 11 win talent team that wins 12 or 13 with a powder puff schedule.

[SkippyX]

1 hour ago, Bwestbrook36 said:

A broken down hall of Fame brees is still better then a draft bust Winston throwing interceptions at an alarming rate. With a low completion percentage, he is like Jalen hurts without legs. 

Their defense is getting older and lost some good secondary players, lattimore can't cover everyone. 

I'm not in love with the Saints without Sean Payton but Winston had 14 TDs to 3 picks last year throwing to a bunch of #3 WRs.

Saying every year will be like 2019 is not supported by his career.