Interesting article at the slowest days of the American sports calendar... 25 predictions of the next three years of the NFL.
So here are some reactions, and some counter-predictions...
1) Brady takes more snaps than Garoppolo.
YES. Tom Brady, at this point, is the centerpiece of what might well be a final assault by Goodell and Football-Over-Life types at making football the only meaningful sport left -- the assault to create a new tin god, even larger than Foolish and Wretched One. There's a reason Brady and Belichick are still in the NFL.
As such, some counter-predictions:
1A) Brady gets #6... and probably #7.
1B) Garoppolo either remains the understudy or plays elsewhere.
2) The Raiders will win a Super Bowl before leaving Oakland.
NO (see #1A), BUT... The league HAS TO make the Raiders relevant while Oakland is falling apart, lest something happen that effectively destroys the franchise before going to Las Vegas can save it. The two-year (at minimum) lame-duck period could be fatal to the Raiders if the city falls apart first.
3) No work stoppage for the next CBA.
AND NO REAL NEGOTIATIONS EITHER, SINCE THE PLAYERS HAVE NO POWER.
3A) The standard NFL career will be over by age 30 once this current crop of older players leaves.
3B) If you don't have Most Favored Status, you can forget about making any real money.
4) Legion of Boom dissolves.
IT ALREADY IS. The only real use left of pushing the Seahags is the Football Over Life crowd, and, frankly, there are at least two other teams that can do that better at this time.
4A) The NFC is going to enter a period of subservience to the AFC, largely due to the Patriot/Brady-Belichick dynasty.
5) Odell Beckham Jr. will earn more than $20 million/year on his next contract.
ONLY AWAY FROM THE GIANTS. If you don't think there's strong hints from the league that any team which takes OBJ will lose games for making that decision, you haven't been paying attention. He's so talented, he will get the money -- for some 6-10 team as OBJ gets 2-4 fines a year before he's finally suspended.
5A) OBJ will be suspended for on-field conduct this season.
6) Kirk Cousins will be $30M+/year on his next contract.
7) Aaron Rodgers will be worth more.
MORE ESPN "IT'S ALL ABOUT THE QUARTERBACK" HYPE. More on this at #10, but I think Rodgers gets his money to be the NFL's job-boy -- Cousins won't.
8) Eli Manning will be the last "Class of 2004" QB left.
SEE NUMBER 5. If the Giants have any real desire to be pushed, OBJ has to go elsewhere. The other two remaining are Rivers (and that whole situation with the Chargers is just a mess -- they might as well have awarded LA an expansion franchise once the stadium starts and folded San Diego!) and Rothlesberger (who appears to be about gone).
9) Marijuana policy rewrite.
NO. Can't see it, because the slavemaster owners want as much control over their herds of cattle as they can get.
10) Brees retires after he breaks Peyton's passing yards record (two years, he needs 5,830 yards).
EITHER THAT OR PLAYS ELSEWHERE. The biggest drawback to "It's All About the Quarterback" can be found in New Orleans. Until this year, Brees was the only name they had, and he holds a litany of NFL records of passing proficiency on a losing team. The Saints have no defense...
10A) And no real future. The Saints, at best, are a muddle team for the foreseeable.
6A/10B) So, ESPN hype aside, this is why Kirk Cousins won't see $30M/year.
11) Winston wins an NFL playoff game before Mariota.
11A) AND I THINK IT HAPPENS THIS YEAR.
The poster boy for "legitimate rape as long as it's football", Rapeis Winston is a perfect house-boy for the MAGA Football League. With Cam being beaten down and the situation in New Orleans, the table seems set for Tampa to snag a wild-card and best a #4 seed NFC West team to make this happen.
12) NFC East "no repeat" streak continues. (13 years)
NOT UNLESS THE DRUGBOYS GO 6-10. See my other article on this one.
13) Bills playoff drought ends. (17 years)
SOMEONE HAS TO, BUT... The fact the team is stable in Buffalo (at least as stable as you can be in Buffalo) speaks well, and, once you get past New England and Oakland, the entire NFL gets murky in an awful hurry.
14) Cleveland's won't. (14 years)
JUST FOLD THE DAMN BROWNS ALREADY! Since their last playoff appearance, they have one winning season, one season with seven wins, and one with six. Last in the division six years in a row and eight of the last nine. It is bad NFL business (yes, all of the teams make money) to allow this situation in Cleveland to continue. (And they aren't alone.)
15) Dak Prescott will continue to outshine the rest of the 2016 QBs.
SEE #12 AND MY PREVIOUS ARTICLE. The Cowboys are the perfect Trump-corporate team, if the floating PR nightmare doesn't come up for them at the wrong time. Word is that the Ezekiel Elliot suspension (which would be the fifth for the team this season) is forthcoming soon.
16) DeShaun Watson will outshine the 2017 QBs.
THERE'S A REASON CLEMSON BEAT ALABAMA... Even if it was to have another team than Alabama out there, now the NFL has to at least help Watson along. And Houston paid a pretty penny to get him.
17) Helmet technology will be a big story.
NEXT!!! If you think any real advancements in helmets would even help these days, you're a fool.
18) Sam Bradford is leaving Minnesota next year.
IF HE CAN FIND A TEAM TO TAKE HIM. If there's a case FOR "It's all about the quarterback", it's how this guy is getting $18,000,000 this year.
19) Bill O'Brien leaves Houston after this run of division titles ends.
19A) AND RETURNS TO PENN STATE AFTER THEY ARE RIGGED A NATIONAL TITLE (THIS YEAR).
20) Star players exchange fewer years for more guaranteed dollars per year.
IF THEY'RE GOING TO STICK AROUND IN A DISPOSABLE-PLAYER NFL, THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE TO. See #3.
21) Jaguars, Rams, and Cardinals looking for quarterbacks next year.
FIRST TWO OUGHT NOT TO BOTHER, BUT PROBABLY RIGHT. The Jaguars are a failed franchise, and the Rams are getting there fast. One has to wonder if the NFL was so embarrassed by that quit-job that the Rams did on Jeff Fisher last year that they greased the skids to put a hold on the new stadium another year.
22) Falcons will play in at least one of Super Bowl LII(E), LIII(E), or LIV...
CAN'T SEE WHY NOT Someone has to. Question on this year is the Drugboys, and the next two is how that whole situation in Dallas continues.
23) TV network deals will be a major story.
OBVIOUSLY. However, the rise of streaming video like Twitter Sports is going to be a factor, as well as whether the league can placate White Republican America (the NFL's main fan demographic, as evidenced by the Trump-Kaepernick ratings slide).
24) Teams are going to try to make games more fan-friendly (cut prices at concessions, cut some ticket prices, etc.).
THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE TO OR FANS ARE GOING TO WATCH ON TV.
25) Joke one about the Jets finding their new QB.
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