Tag: outlook

6 games that will shape the Rams’ 2024 season

The Rams’ schedule this season is not easy and these 6 games could decide Los Angeles’ fate

Well, folks, the opening week of the NFL season is finally here. Teams all across the league are set to begin their journey towards taking home the Lombardi Trophy in February.

For the Rams, that journey begins this Sunday night, as Matthew Stafford and company travel to Detroit for a rematch of last season’s wild-card tilt. Obviously, in the NFL, every single game is important. With only 17 games, the room for error is minute, especially in the more competitive divisions in the league. Despite this fact, there are typically a handful of games that shape a team’s season, and, for the Rams, I believe there will be six such games.

Here are the six games that will shape the Rams’ season:

Week 1 at Detroit Lions

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This is a no-brainer in my eyes. The storylines, the wild-card game from last season, and two teams who are seen as contenders in the NFC. Los Angeles looks to avenge the 24-23 loss in the wild-card round against Detroit and prove they belong in the conversation to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.

Week 5 vs. Green Bay Packers

(Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

Yes, the second season-shaping game is yet another opponent from the NFC North in the Green Bay Packers. Much like Detroit, media members and fans alike are very high on the Packers. With the emergence of Jordan Love and an unexpected playoff run last season, Green Bay is seen as one of the top dogs in the conference.

Week 9 at Seattle Seahawks 

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As many know, every divisional showdown is important. With that being said, Week 9 in Seattle has the potential to hold some serious weight in the race for the NFC West. Seattle’s new head coach Mike MacDonald with instantly bring improvements to the Seattle defense and, with a crowd as rowdy as the 12th Man, winning in Seattle becomes increasingly difficult. Wins in hostile environments prove the resiliency of a team, Week 9 will give LA a shot to prove such.

Week 10 vs. Miami Dolphins

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Back-to-back huge games for the Rams, as Tyreek Hill and the Miami Dolphins come to town for a showdown on Monday Night Football. Jalen Ramsey returns to LA for the first time since his departure, which is poetic because the Rams secondary will be put to the ultimate test. The aforementioned Hill and Waddle both bring incomparable speed to stretch defenses to their absolute limits. The Rams defense will be put to the test on national television against what is projected to be a high-powered Miami offensive attack.

Week 12 vs. Philadelphia Eagles

(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Philadelphia comes to town for a Week 12 Sunday Night Football tilt that will surely impact the seeding in the NFC playoff picture. During the offseason, much like the Rams, the Eagles focused on reinforcing what was a below-average from last season. On Philadelphia’s offense, the free agent acquisition of Running Back Saquon Barkley will almost certainly bring one of the most balanced offensive units in the entire league.

Week 15 at San Francisco 49ers

(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

If all goes to plan for the Rams in the 2024 season, then this Week 15 matchup in San Francisco will be for the NFC West crown. The Rams notably struggle against the 49ers (we’ll always have the NFC Championship), however, this year may be a different story. Los Angeles should be able to run the football on what looked like – at times last season – a vulnerable San Francisco run defense. Nevertheless, it would not shock me if this week 15 game gets flexed into a prime-time spot given the potential for divisional ramifications at stake.

PFF ranks Saints’ salary cap situation worst in the NFL

Pro Football Focus ranked the New Orleans Saints’ salary cap situation as the worst in the NFL, but the Saints have bigger problems than their finances:

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It’s a day that ends in Y, so there’s a national football writer criticizing the way the New Orleans Saints work around the salary cap. Pro Football Focus analyst Brad Spielberger ranked the Saints’ cap outlook as the worst in the NFL — trumpeting the exact same conventional wisdom that was wrong when these warnings were sounded a decade ago.

Spielberger surveyed all 32 teams and considered factors like team age, unspent salary cap space, prorated spending through signing bonuses, and draft resources over the next three years to forecast each squad’s fortunes. Because the Saints borrow from the future to improve their roster today, they were not looked upon favorably.

Here’s what Spielberger had to say in putting New Orleans at the bottom:

Saints fans are sick of reading negative headlines about how the team constructs their roster, and they have every right to be. The ramifications are often overblown and the credit card bill seemingly hasn’t come due just yet. However, the fourth-oldest roster in the NFL ranks 20th in our top 51 veteran valuation and 34-year-old veterans Cameron Jordan and Demario Davis rank third and ninth, respectively, on the team in production value.

Another draft class like the 2017 group would go a long way in keeping this train on the tracks, though an abysmal NFC South division should get the Saints back in the playoffs.

So there’s your problem — the Saints simply need to have an all-time great draft class to replace their aging stars with young talent, the kind of crop that comes around once in a generation (which fans hadn’t seen since 2006). It’s that easy. Right?

Jokes aside, poor drafting and developing of talent has hamstrung New Orleans more than any salary cap maneuvering. Missing big on early-round draft picks like Marcus Davenport set the franchise back several years. Davenport’s poor performance meant the Saints had to try and replace him with Payton Turner, who flopped even harder through his first two years, and now they’re hoping a third pick (Isaiah Foskey) can be the answer. And that’s all devoted at fixing the long-term issues at just one position.

We can’t overlook the Saints’ horrific outing in the 2020 draft, either. They talked up their quality-over-quantity approach only to cut one of their four rookie draft picks by midseason (Tommy Stevens) and trade another after just three years (Adam Trautman). A third player from that four-man band, Zack Baun, has nearly been unplayable. Cesar Ruiz was a liability until last season which ended with an injury.

New Orleans’ cap outlook is improving in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, having been stricken harder than most due to the economic fallout and depressed salary cap. If they can at least piece together a couple of average draft classes and stop burning valuable picks on players who aren’t worthy of them, they’ll be in good shape. But as we’ve seen before that’s easier said than done.

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Updated 2023 Saints salary cap outlook after Michael Thomas contract restructure

The Saints still have a lot of work to do after restructuring their contract with Michael Thomas. Here’s their updated 2023 salary cap outlook and top 10 cap hits for 2023:

The New Orleans Saints shaved more than $14 million off their books in a contract restructure with Michael Thomas, setting up the former All-Pro wide receiver for a split in March. Thomas is likely going to be released with a post-June 1 designation, which would create the greatest savings against the 2023 salary cap, but that’s something to worry about on another day.

In the meantime, we have a better idea now of the Saints’ salary cap outlook for the coming offseason. Thomas lowered his 2023 cap hit from $28.2 million to just over $13.1 million, which brings their current cap commitments down from $283 million to about $267 million, give or take a couple million dollars. That’s still well over the projected salary cap for 2023; multiple reports have said it will settle at around $220 million, with an influx of new broadcasting rights deals padding the NFL’s coffers.

So at the end of the day, the Saints still have a lot of work to do after this contract restructure with Thomas. Over The Cap’s estimates have New Orleans in the red by more than $38.7 million. Here are some of the top salary cap hits they’ll need to address in the weeks and months ahead:

Will Chiefs’ goal-to-go success continue in 2022?

The #Chiefs were the third-best team in goal-to-go situations in 2021. Will the success continue with a new-look offense in 2022?

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While the Kansas City Chiefs had their offensive struggles last season, they still boasted one of the most successful offenses in the league. They ranked fourth in the league in points scored, improving from their sixth-place ranking in 2020. One of the reasons for that improvement was the team’s success in goal-to-go situations.

According to Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis, the Chiefs were the No. 3 team in the NFL in goal-to-go efficiency last season. What exactly does that mean? It means that once they got inside of the 10-yard line, they were one of the likeliest teams to turn that opportunity into points.

Will this goal-to-go success change for Kansas City in 2022, though? The team has undergone some drastic changes on the offensive side of the ball, losing key contributors such as Tyreek Hill, Darrel Williams, Byron Pringle and Demarcus Robinson in free agency.

Williams led the team in goal-to-go carries last season, with 20 from inside the 10-yard line. Six of those carries resulted in touchdowns, which was tied for the eighth-most in the league. Hill was targeted nine times within the 10-yard line, resulting in six receptions for six touchdowns as well. Those two pieces alone account for 72 points scored in goal-to-go situations in 2021.

On the flip side, Kansas City still has Travis Kelce, Mecole Hardman and Clyde Edwards-Helaire in the fold. Kelce caught 9-of-9 possible passes in goal-to-go situations resulting in six touchdowns. Hardman caught 3-of-7 for two touchdowns. Edwards-Helaire carried the ball within the 10-yard line seven times, resulting in four rushing touchdowns. The team also added Ronald Jones, who had nine carries in goal-to-go situations resulting in four touchdowns. JuJu Smith-Schuster, while injured most of 2021, should help in this area in 2022. In the 2020 NFL season, he tied for the ninth-most receptions in the league in goal-to-go situations, recording six total touchdowns on seven catches.

Even with the holdovers and the additions the team made, Kansas City will have to make up some ground in goal-to-go situations to maintain their recent level of success.

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Will pending free agent CB Charvarius Ward be back with the Chiefs in 2022?

Coming off the best season of his young career, Charvarius Ward should be looking to cash in. Will the #Chiefs be able to afford him in free agency?

The Kansas City Chiefs are out to improve their roster during the course of the 2022 NFL offseason. Part of that will be retaining key players on offense, defense and special teams. One player who poses a tough decision for Brett Veach and company is CB Charvarius Ward.

The team shipped off a late-round draft pick for Ward in an unprecedented draft pick for undrafted free agent trade ahead of the 2018 NFL season. He spent the majority of his rookie season riding the bench as a healthy scratch until an injury to Kendall Fuller opened an opportunity for Ward to get some starting time. Ever since then, Ward has been a defensive fixture in Kansas City, starting 41 regular-season games over the past three seasons.

This past year was one of his best statistically, with 67 tackles, two tackles for loss, two interceptions and 10 passes defended in 12 games started. He allowed just a 77 passer rating into his coverage with 36 receptions allowed all season long. Pro Football Focus even named him the team’s most improved player from 2020 to 2021.

With all of this in mind, Ward is due for a big payday should he hit free agency. It’s going to force the Chiefs into a bind, one where they’ll have to decide if this cornerstone of their defense for the past three seasons can be extended on a long-term contract. Projections from Spotrac show that Ward could earn up to $9.9M per year annually on the open market in free agency this offseason. That’d probably be a little rich for the Chiefs, but it’s not out of the question that they could make it work if they wanted to.

Speaking to reporters at the end of the season, Veach was complimentary of Ward and the job he’s done for the team. He said they’d like to talk to Ward, but he quickly changed the discussion to focus on young corners L’Jarius Sneed and Rashad Fenton. Specifically, on the CB situation in free agency, Veach mentioned that it’s not a cheap position. Reading between the lines, it feels like he’s expecting Ward to hit free agency and to be paid a lot by another team. It also sounds like the team might not be too active in the CB market in general.

I have to wonder if the team’s success identifying cornerback talent in the late rounds and undrafted free agency has Veach a bit overconfident in their ability to replace a key piece like Ward. That said, there is at least some evidence that suggests Kansas City has the better of their cornerbacks from 2021 under contract in 2022.

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Jaguars positional needs and 2021 review: Quarterbacks

Breaking down the quarterback position in Jacksonville heading into 2022.

The 2022 NFL offseason is upon us, and it’s a crucial one for the Jaguars. They’re coming off a 3-14 finish that gave them the worst record in the league for the second year in a row.

Here at Jaguars Wire, we will begin to take a look at where each position group stacks up heading into the offseason in the coming weeks. Given the fact that the top priority for the front office is building around Trevor Lawrence, it’s only fitting that we start this series off with the quarterback position.

Here’s a review of Lawrence’s rookie season and the outlook moving forward.

Will pending free agent WR Byron Pringle be back with the Chiefs in 2022?

We kick off our free agent outlook series with a #Chiefs receiver coming off of a career year.

Once again, the Kansas City Chiefs find themselves looking to re-tool their roster and situate themselves for another Super Bowl run. They fell short of that goal this year, and unlike their Super Bowl LV loss a year ago, the weakness in roster construction isn’t quite as glaring.

Brett Veach will have a decision to make on a number of unrestricted free agents this season, many of whom contributed to the success of this franchise for years now. One of those players is veteran WR Byron Pringle, who is coming off a one-year $2.1 million restricted free agent contract tender.

An undrafted free agent by the way of Kansas State in 2018, Pringle worked his way up from being a practice squad player and special teamer to a key rotational piece in the K.C. offense. The team has invested a lot of developmental time in Pringle, who will turn 29 years old during the 2022 NFL season. That investment has paid off so far.

Pringle posted a career year from a statistical standpoint in 2021, with 42 catches on 60 targets for 568 yards and five touchdown grabs. He also was the team’s starting kick returner with 25 returns for 621 yards in 2021. He played nearly 50% of the Chiefs’ offensive snaps in 2021 after having never played more than 27% in a single year prior.

During the playoffs, Pringle’s performance was even more impressive. In three playoff games this season, he caught 12 passes on 17 targets for 82 yards and three touchdowns. He’s actually now tied with Marcus Allen, Mike Garrett, and Knile Davis for the fourth-most postseason touchdowns in franchise history.

Pringle was the No. 3 receiving option for Patrick Mahomes the majority of the season, but it wasn’t all sunshine and roses. Outside of Travis Kelce, Pringle led the team in percentage of dropped passes per target according to Pro Football Reference’s tracking. A total of 6.7% of Pringle’s regular-season targets were dropped in 2021.

There’s a chance that Pringle is back in free agency despite any shortcomings. He proved this season that he is capable of being a productive option in this offense. At the same time, he might have played his way out of what Kansas City views as an affordable free-agent contract.

The Chiefs already have nine receivers under contract for 2022 that aren’t named Tyreek Hill. That group includes players like former fifth-round draft pick Cornell Powell. It includes Daurice Fountain who was active for each of the three postseason games for Kansas City this year. It includes several new additions by the way of reserve/future contract too.

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Chiefs salary cap outlook heading into 2022 NFL offseason

Here’s where the #Chiefs’ salary cap currently stands heading into the 2022 NFL offseason and some of the moves the team can make to create space:

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The Kansas City Chiefs are shifting focus to the 2022 NFL offseason after a disappointing conclusion to their 2021 campaign. The first thing on the agenda for GM Brett Veach is to get the salary cap in order.

According to the latest projections from Over The Cap, the Chiefs are expected to have around $14.2 million in salary-cap space to start the 2022 NFL offseason. They’ll have much more cap space after they do some housekeeping moves. That includes roster cuts, conversions and extensions that will free up cap space and give the team flexibility when free agency opens in March.

Patrick Mahomes’ contract, contrary to popular belief, isn’t an impediment to Kansas City’s salary cap situation. The Chiefs can create $22M in salary cap space for 2022 by converting Patrick Mahomes’ roster bonus into a signing bonus. This would effectively lower Mahomes’ cap number for 2022 from over $35 million to right under $14 million.

Expect the Chiefs to do this before March 18, when Mahomes’ roster bonus is due. The team also could use this tactic with Chris Jones, who has an $18 million roster bonus on March 18 as well. Travis Kelce has $750K in per-game roster bonuses that the team could restructure. Tyreek Hill also has a roster bonus that could be converted, but the Chiefs would be better off extending him given his contract is up in 2023. That could reduce his 2022 cap number and help the front office plot out the future.

There are two roster cuts that most expect the Chiefs to make: DE Frank Clark and LB Anthony Hitchens. The team can save $8.4M by releasing Hitchens at any time and the team will only incur $4.2M in dead money. The scenario for Clark is a little different, though. They can save significantly more on Clark if they designate him as a post-June 1 cut. Here’s what those numbers look like courtesy of Over The Cap.

Player Dead money pre-June 1 Savings pre-June 1  Dead money post-June 1 Savings post-June 1
DE Frank Clark  $13.6M $12.7M $6.8M $19.5M

With these two roster cuts alone, the Chiefs could create as much as $27.9 million in cap space. Add Mahomes and Jones roster bonus conversions to the mix and the team could be looking at over $60 million in created cap space in addition to the $14.2 million they’re already expected to have.

Given the group of pending free agents and the improvements Kansas City needs to make to continue to maximize their window, it’s safe to say that they’re in a good spot for the 2022 NFL offseason. They need to be cautious, though. Restructuring contracts is simply a delaying tactic and can result in serious salary cap implications down the line.

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Notre Dame gets great news for 2022 defensive line

Notre Dame got great news for their defensive line in 2022 on Wednesday. Will the news get even better in the days to come?

Notre Dame’s defensive line got great news for 2022 on Wednesday as vyper Justin Ademilola announced he’d be returning to school for a fifth year.  Ademilola finished second on the team in sacks in 2021, recording 5.5 while also making 35 total tackles.

His 5.5 sacks trailed only Isaiah Foskey who we still await word on the future of at Notre Dame.  One would figure if others on the defensive line are to stay and with Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa being out of eligibility, that Ademilola’s numbers would rise by default.

Regardless of what his numbers look like in 2022 this is great news for defensive line coach Marcus Freeman as his defense for next year starts to really take shape.

Related:  

An early look at Notre Dame’s 2022 football schedule

2022 Notre Dame transfer portal tracker

Notre Dame football coaching staff tracker 

Notre Dame’s updated road map to College Football Playoff

What do you think should need to happen to get Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff?

Notre Dame checked in sixth this week in the College Football Playoff rankings with two teams ahead of them set to play this weekend and another pair set to play next weekend.  It seems like the Irish have a great shot at making the CFP for a third time in four seasons upon hearing that, right?

To quote Lee Corso, “Not so fast, my friend!”

Although those are the facts today, seemingly everything you hear appears to be hell-bent on a one-loss Big 12 champion (Oklahoma or Oklahoma State) moving past Notre Dame.  The Irish will have to hope for whoever wins the Bedlam matchup this weekend to fall in next weekend’s Big 12 championship.

Here is the updated Notre Dame road map to the College Football Playoff after the week 12 CFP rankings were released with all percentages courtesy of the FiveThirtyEight college football tracker.