Post by Purple Pain on Jul 11, 2023 11:00:12 GMT -6
As always, make your own predictions here in Danchat's Purple Pain Accountability Thread.
Purple Insider: Bold 2023 Vikings and NFL predictions (part 1)
Others of interest:
10. Sean Payton will not turn around Russell Wilson and the Broncos will win six games
11. The Detroit Lions will go 12-5 and fans will call themselves “Campbell Crazies”
13. The Vikings’ surprise win will come against the Eagles and surprise loss versus the Broncos
14. Kevin Stefanski will be fired by the Browns
15. The Jets will make the postseason but Aaron Rodgers will blame someone else for losing in the first round
16. Despite a playoff appearance, the Vikings and Kirk Cousins will not have any talks about an extension in March
17. The Vikings’ offensive line will improve in pass blocking to the top 15 but they will rank just outside the top 10 in scoring
18. The Packers and Bears will miss the playoffs but Jordan Love and Justin Fields will do enough to earn at least one more year from their respective clubs
20. Akayleb Evans will be considered the best of the 2022 Vikings draft class
22. The 49ers will make the playoffs and still won’t know who their QB is for 2024
23. Alexander Mattison will gain 880 yards and catch 40 passes and the Vikings won’t regret cutting Dalvin Cook
25. Sean McVay will step away from coaching after missing the playoffs to get $1 billion from Amazon to be a broadcaster
Purple Insider: Bold 2023 Vikings and NFL predictions (part 1)
1. The Cincinnati Bengals will win the Super Bowl
I can feel the rage increasing from Kansas City Chiefs enjoyers but it’s really, really hard to win the Super Bowl in back-to-back years. The Patriots did it in ‘04 and ‘05 and nobody has won two years in a row since. Let’s also not forget that the Bengals were inches away from a chance to beat the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game and defeated them in 2021 to make The Big Game. They have beefed up on the offensive line and Burrow’s weapons have a case for being the best in the NFL. They’ve been close a number of times in their history, it’s time for Cincy to finally get over the Super Bowl hump.
2. Byron Murphy Jr. will be one of the best signings of the NFL offseason
Little was made of the former Cardinal cornerback coming to Minnesota but he has an opportunity under Brian Flores to fulfill his potential. There were ups and downs and shifts in role, personnel etc. during his time in Arizona and his first four years still featured a lot of solid play. Now he can lock into his spot and, at just 25 years old, continue his development and be a leader on the Vikings’ young defense. Plus he’s only taking up $2.8 million on the cap this year. Bang for buck.
3. The Giants and Dolphins will regress and miss the playoffs
Let us not forget that the Vikings were not the only team to make the postseason with a negative point differential. The Giants were outscored en route to their magical 9-7-1 season. Or at least magical in comparison to recent seasons. They ranked 15th in scoring and 17th in points against and did not any game-changing receivers (outside of tight end Darren Waller). They look like the same team only with Saquon drama. The Dolphins surprised everyone with their Mike McDaniel offense last year but opponents won’t be taken off guard this time around. They could also be a pretty good team and still miss the playoffs because the AFC East is more like AFC Beast.
4. Arizona will pick No. 1 in the 2024 draft (and take Caleb Williams)
The Cardinals’ roster is in brutal shape and they are starting poor Colt McCoy, who doesn’t deserve this. DeAndre Hopkins is gone, they have a complete noob at head coach and I’m not sure they fixed the floorboards in the weight room that the NFLPA survey revealed. Kyler Murray is out with an ACL injury and if things are bad enough they may never bring him back and aim for the next Andrew Luck-level prospect in Williams rather than sticking it out with Murray’s $50 mill per year contract (plus video game costs).
5. Anthony Richardson will run for over 1,000 yards
Jim Irsay has pretty much made it clear that he didn’t draft Anthony Richardson to sit him on the sidelines for a year, even if that might be best for A.R. right now. It’s going to be a rollercoaster but one thing he has going for him is a coach who knows how to work with a running QB. Richardson’s most likely path to evening out some of the early struggles by smashing over people and this Cam Newton-sized fella will probably do it effectively.
6. The Texans will be in the playoff hunt in the final two weeks of the season
Houston actually hired a serious coach in DeMeco Ryans and they have been quietly putting together a club of guys who can play. They added to the secondary and have Robert Woods to help CJ Stroud early on. The AFC is way too tough for the Texans to be playing deep into January but they are going to have some folks saying, “Hey those Texans are on the way,” by the end of the year.
7. Taylor Heinicke will start at least 6 games for the Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons seem to believe in Desmond Ridder. Maybe they will be justified in ignoring other offseason options and sticking with the third-rounder out of Cincinnati. However, if he looks anything like his starts last year, the ex-Viking and Commander will be under center scrambling around with an awesome group of weapons around him.
8. KJ Osborn will have more catches than Jordan Addison
The fantasy world seems to be buying Addison as the clear-cut WR2 but Osborn has been a very reliable weapon for Kirk Cousins for two seasons, which should play into the target share, particularly at the beginning of the season. In the long run Addison has the better pedigree but not every receiver is Garrett Wilson right away. It might take some time to adapt to the size/speed considering Addison is undersized. Nobody’s saying he will bust, this is just about 2023 targets.
I can feel the rage increasing from Kansas City Chiefs enjoyers but it’s really, really hard to win the Super Bowl in back-to-back years. The Patriots did it in ‘04 and ‘05 and nobody has won two years in a row since. Let’s also not forget that the Bengals were inches away from a chance to beat the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game and defeated them in 2021 to make The Big Game. They have beefed up on the offensive line and Burrow’s weapons have a case for being the best in the NFL. They’ve been close a number of times in their history, it’s time for Cincy to finally get over the Super Bowl hump.
2. Byron Murphy Jr. will be one of the best signings of the NFL offseason
Little was made of the former Cardinal cornerback coming to Minnesota but he has an opportunity under Brian Flores to fulfill his potential. There were ups and downs and shifts in role, personnel etc. during his time in Arizona and his first four years still featured a lot of solid play. Now he can lock into his spot and, at just 25 years old, continue his development and be a leader on the Vikings’ young defense. Plus he’s only taking up $2.8 million on the cap this year. Bang for buck.
3. The Giants and Dolphins will regress and miss the playoffs
Let us not forget that the Vikings were not the only team to make the postseason with a negative point differential. The Giants were outscored en route to their magical 9-7-1 season. Or at least magical in comparison to recent seasons. They ranked 15th in scoring and 17th in points against and did not any game-changing receivers (outside of tight end Darren Waller). They look like the same team only with Saquon drama. The Dolphins surprised everyone with their Mike McDaniel offense last year but opponents won’t be taken off guard this time around. They could also be a pretty good team and still miss the playoffs because the AFC East is more like AFC Beast.
4. Arizona will pick No. 1 in the 2024 draft (and take Caleb Williams)
The Cardinals’ roster is in brutal shape and they are starting poor Colt McCoy, who doesn’t deserve this. DeAndre Hopkins is gone, they have a complete noob at head coach and I’m not sure they fixed the floorboards in the weight room that the NFLPA survey revealed. Kyler Murray is out with an ACL injury and if things are bad enough they may never bring him back and aim for the next Andrew Luck-level prospect in Williams rather than sticking it out with Murray’s $50 mill per year contract (plus video game costs).
5. Anthony Richardson will run for over 1,000 yards
Jim Irsay has pretty much made it clear that he didn’t draft Anthony Richardson to sit him on the sidelines for a year, even if that might be best for A.R. right now. It’s going to be a rollercoaster but one thing he has going for him is a coach who knows how to work with a running QB. Richardson’s most likely path to evening out some of the early struggles by smashing over people and this Cam Newton-sized fella will probably do it effectively.
6. The Texans will be in the playoff hunt in the final two weeks of the season
Houston actually hired a serious coach in DeMeco Ryans and they have been quietly putting together a club of guys who can play. They added to the secondary and have Robert Woods to help CJ Stroud early on. The AFC is way too tough for the Texans to be playing deep into January but they are going to have some folks saying, “Hey those Texans are on the way,” by the end of the year.
7. Taylor Heinicke will start at least 6 games for the Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons seem to believe in Desmond Ridder. Maybe they will be justified in ignoring other offseason options and sticking with the third-rounder out of Cincinnati. However, if he looks anything like his starts last year, the ex-Viking and Commander will be under center scrambling around with an awesome group of weapons around him.
8. KJ Osborn will have more catches than Jordan Addison
The fantasy world seems to be buying Addison as the clear-cut WR2 but Osborn has been a very reliable weapon for Kirk Cousins for two seasons, which should play into the target share, particularly at the beginning of the season. In the long run Addison has the better pedigree but not every receiver is Garrett Wilson right away. It might take some time to adapt to the size/speed considering Addison is undersized. Nobody’s saying he will bust, this is just about 2023 targets.
Others of interest:
10. Sean Payton will not turn around Russell Wilson and the Broncos will win six games
11. The Detroit Lions will go 12-5 and fans will call themselves “Campbell Crazies”
13. The Vikings’ surprise win will come against the Eagles and surprise loss versus the Broncos
14. Kevin Stefanski will be fired by the Browns
15. The Jets will make the postseason but Aaron Rodgers will blame someone else for losing in the first round
16. Despite a playoff appearance, the Vikings and Kirk Cousins will not have any talks about an extension in March
17. The Vikings’ offensive line will improve in pass blocking to the top 15 but they will rank just outside the top 10 in scoring
18. The Packers and Bears will miss the playoffs but Jordan Love and Justin Fields will do enough to earn at least one more year from their respective clubs
20. Akayleb Evans will be considered the best of the 2022 Vikings draft class
22. The 49ers will make the playoffs and still won’t know who their QB is for 2024
23. Alexander Mattison will gain 880 yards and catch 40 passes and the Vikings won’t regret cutting Dalvin Cook
25. Sean McVay will step away from coaching after missing the playoffs to get $1 billion from Amazon to be a broadcaster
... and neither is this Chris guy.