Tag: position grades

Grading every Patriots’ positional group heading into 2024 offseason

Handing out positional grades for the Patriots ahead of the 2024 offseason

The New England Patriots had a bad season that ultimately led to Bill Belichick losing his job and the team picking 3rd overall in the 2024 NFL draft.

Now that the Super Bowl is over, we can officially turn the page to the offseason. It’s time to look at the Patriots’ roster with a closer eye as an important offseason begins.

We’re going to take a look at each position group and the players currently under contract as of Monday after the Super Bowl. Things will without a doubt change in the coming weeks, but this is a nice way to reset and also recognize the work needing to be done.

Cowboys’ Snap Counts, Positional Grades from Week 1 win over Giants

A closer look at who played, how much and how well in Sunday’s dominating performance over the New York Giants. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Cowboys got the best of both worlds on Sunday night. The biggest concern for many writers and fans was that head coach Mike McCarthy held out the majority of his starters throughout the entire preseason. This strategy, to make sure key players stayed healthy, did not work out well in 2022. Dallas was lethargic and off rhythm when they faced Tampa Bay in Week 1, and late in the 19-3 loss QB Dak Prescott broke his hand and was knocked out for five weeks.

In the 2023 opener against the Giants, the rust for the offense was still there. Combined with the horrible weather the passing game was relatively stymied once again. Only this time, the defense was able to not just play well, but out of their minds. This allowed Dallas to run a weather-induced safe offense to shake off some rust. The blowout 40-0 win also allowed Dallas to go deep into their bench and get substantial game reps for players who got the brunt of the preseason work and were able to maintain a strong level of play throughout.

Here’s a look at who played, how much and how well in the team’s big victory.

Falcons midseason report card: Grades for each position

#Falcons midseason report card: Grading each position group midway through the 2022 NFL season

Through the first nine games of the 2022 NFL season, the Atlanta Falcons (4-5) have been better than most analysts predicted. Not only are they tied for the best record in the NFC South, their running game is averaging 162.9 yards per game (third-most in the NFL).

The Falcons are favored by 2.5 points over the Carolina Panthers (2-7) in Week 10. Before we completely shift gears to Thursday’s game, though, let’s hand out some midseason report cards.

Below are grades for each position group after nine games. Make sure to cast your vote in our Falcons fan poll under each grade.

Grading every LSU position group through five games

Here’s how we’d evaluate things approaching the halfway mark of the season.

Five games in, LSU sits at 4-1.

The theme this year has been fresh faces. From [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] to freshmen starting offensive tackles to a novel group of corners, LSU is breaking in the new.

At 4-1 in a rebuilding year, there aren’t many complaints from an expectations standpoint, but you can still find plenty of areas where this group needs work.

It’s been a mixed bag this far with some inconsistent performances from game to game. Over the last four weeks, it’s been enough for LSU to get the win.

With the schedule getting tougher, starting this week with Tennessee, LSU will need to find some more consistency.

Here’s how each position group grades out five games into the season.

Cowboys report card, snap counts from 32-18 win over Chargers

Dallas graded well in a dominant performance vs the Chargers. KaVontae Turpin may have put the league on notice with two huge touchdowns. | From @ProfessorO_NFL

After losing their first preseason game, 17-7, to the Denver Broncos, the Dallas Cowboys traveled to Los Angeles for a pair of joint practices and a game against the Chargers.  The Cowboys and Chargers both chose to rest most of their starters on Saturday night, allowing the opportunity for their young players to showcase their abilities.

Following a frustrating loss the week prior, the Cowboys were looking for a better outing with an emphasis on reducing penalties. Outscoring the Chargers 32-18, the Cowboys were penalized eight times, a sizable reduction from the 17 infractions in their first preseason game.

With this game in the books, here are the snap counts and grades for each positional group. See who passed and who has more work to do.

 

Cowboys report card, snap counts from 17-7 preseason loss to Broncos

Taking a look at the Cowboys who played, how much, and how well, by position against the Denver Broncos on Saturday night. | From @ProfessorO_NFL

The Dallas Cowboys 2022 campaign got off to a rocky start against the Denver Broncos in the first week of preseason.  With a long list of starters sitting out, the Cowboys leaned heavily on their young players to carry the load.  The young depth of the team was put to the test with many players getting their first taste of NFL game action, on the road with altitude and intermittent rainfall adding to the challenge.

The Cowboys were unable to generate much in the way of a passing game, throwing for just 58 yards in the first half, finishing with 175 for the night. Adding to a largely ineffective passing game, the Cowboys were penalized 17 times for 129 yards.  Let’s review the team report card to see which positional groups passed and who failed.

Report card and snap counts: Cowboys’ Week 18 performance showed depth in key areas

Here’s who played, how much and how well as Dallas took it to their division rival’s backups in Week 18. | From @Zeke_Barrera

Hanging 50 points for the second time in three weeks, the Cowboys ended their 2021 regular season with their second-ever Week 18 (remember the Emmitt Smith shoulder game?) in spectacular fashion. The Dallas offense kept churning out touchdowns in what quickly devolved into a tune-up and exhibition game, with both teams set for playoff matchups.

It was a thrashing the Cowboys have handed out before, pushing the tempo while relentlessly running up the score, looking like one of the best teams in the league. The question becomes whether they can repeat it a few more times when it matters most, taking this team further than any of its recent counterparts.

Here’s how the Cowboys graded out in Week 18, along with the playtime percentage breakdown.

Cowboys’ report card, snap counts vs Arizona in Week 17

Dallas had a rough go against the Cardinals, unable to get a big win and secure playoff seeding with just one regular season game left. | From @Zeke_Barrera

The Dallas Cowboys came up just short in their chance to earn a statement win against one of the league’s premier teams. In a flip of the script from the week before, Dallas was outclassed in nearly every phase of the game, committing penalties, a turnover, and allowing the Cardinals to hog the ball and put up points.

Every unit this week ranged from average to poor, despite a few inspiring individual performances. While this Dallas team can likely hang with anyone, it’s definitely concerning they haven’t found themselves on the winning side against most of the best competition they’ve faced this season.

Here’s how the Cowboys graded out in Week 17, along with the playtime percentage breakdown.

Cowboys’ report Card, snap counts vs Washngton in Week 16

The Cowboys exerted their dominance over Washington, smashing them 56-14 in what was their most complete performance on the season yet.

The Cowboys put a beatdown of epic proportion on the Washington Football Team in Week 16, flexing their might and reminding the rest of the league how dangerous they can be when fully clicking. Dallas played the Grinch and ruined Washington’s Christmas, despite giving them exactly what they asked for.

It’s A’s all around for almost every part of this team, who finally delivered a complete performance from top to bottom. They’ll just need to keep this same energy rolling come playoff time, and hopefully embark on a big Super Bowl run.

Here’s how the Cowboys graded out in Week 16, along with the playtime percentage breakdown.

Report Card, Snap Counts Week 14: Cowboys @ Washington

The Cowboys snapped Washington’s four-game win streak in Week 14, re-establishing their divisional dominance. Who played best in the win? | From @Zeke_Barrera

The game began a lot better than it ended, but the Cowboys were still able to escape Washington with a commanding division lead entering the final part of their season. One side of the ball graded out significantly higher than the other, reversing the trends and expectations from earlier in the season, but still a welcoming development.

All year it’s seemed a struggle for the entire Cowboys team to get on the same page, but that same optimism and potential still remains if they’re able to finally get in-sync. It may not have happened in Week 14, but it was still plenty good enough to get the win.

Here’s how the Cowboys graded out in Week 14, along with the playtime percentage breakdown.