WGL All or Nothing: Season 2 – Who’s Who? by @KevTaughtMe

“The Top 5”

1. Seahawks (Mole) – It is undeniable to say you are not at all impressed with the undefeated season. We all know the knock on Mole already, and it’s that he has had the game longer, he has the best team, he has the Playbook Of Eli, we get it. 19-0 can’t be taken away. Just to avoid an upset is impressive. 3 consecutive wins over the Cardinals, an NFC Championship with a dominating performance over the Buccaneers, and another dominating performance for a Super Bowl victory against the Patriots will be their story Season 1. Season 1 is over though, and now Seattle is walking around with a target on their back. In this NFC, a lot of us are carrying weapons.
   
   
2. Buccaneers (Jabbo) – After having a midseason crisis and huddling over .500 to regain balance, this team showed up in the NFC Championship Game with a disappointing showing, but closing the season with strength. After finding their stride and moving forward one can only believe the team has gotten better and so has the user. Look out for the Buccaneers to clean up their mistakes they made last season and rally for revenge. They have new weapons on the team and a new philosophy all around the ball. All of this sounds familiar though, so let’s hope they don’t fall off the high horse, again.
3. Patriots (Justino) – Last year the Patriots did one thing impressively. We don’t care about the numbers from last season because of how they acquired them. It’s dirty money. You have to respect the Patriot way though, finding what works and making the opponent write it on the board hundreds and hundreds of times. So with that said, you have to respect the fact that they forced the ENTIRE LEAGUE to sit down and figure out a creative and unorthodox way to stop them. Unfortunately for him, the League stepped up to the plate and handed him the solution. Now he hit the chalkboard and came up with something new, so he claims.. Only time will tell. But he sits at #3, because we stopped the play and have yet to see the “new” offense, because Tom Brady retired, and because Jimmy Garoppolo is his new starting QB.
4. Raiders (Ocho) – This Raiders ownership has been under fire since Day 1. Calls went out as being overrated at the start of last season. Then, they were winning. But, they weren’t beating anybody of quality, and once they did run into someone who fought back, they lost. They showed up in the playoffs however after winning their division, beating the Titans with some last second heroics (or some last second idiotics by Pass), locking in a spot in the AFC Championship game. In that game, vs the Patriots, they were exposed. They could not pass, they could not read the defense, they could not display any user skill, they were stuck in the mud against a real user. With a 1^st place schedule, they might be stuck in the mud a LOT next season.
5. Cardinals (Tripp) – Mole’s not-quite-tough-enough-yet little NFC West brother.. Tripp almost had him once… and that was the last time we seen Tripp in THAT kind of form. Aside from those two games he seen no true challengers. That said, he played well throughout the season in the form he should have had given his schedule. Carson Palmer was in the MVP race, but he is no longer with him. A tougher schedule, and a consensus backup QB, may separate Tripp even further from the Seahawks.

Divisional Breakdown

AFC North

The Ravens (Nasty Rah) will continue on top of this division this season. The Browns (Duggus) may fizzle out, as a lot of people claimed that their run last season was a false hope. The Browns beat the Ravens TWO TIMES last season, but unfortunately failed most of the other places. The Steelers (Wumbo) took a lot of close losses last season, and only pulled 1 win forward. If he can close those losses, and if he can fight off the rest of the guys, he can fight for his wildcard spot. “WildCard Wumbo” is born. Last, we have the Icy Hot Bengals (Juice), who can never make their mind up about being great or not. He finished 8-8, but gave Wumbo his only win. 1^st place was 9-7, 2^nd and 3^rd place were both 8-8. Somebody needs to separate themselves from mediocrity.

Division Winner: Ravens 9-7

Wild Card: None

AFC East

The Jets (Nick) had a once upon a time style run through a schedule that can’t be called “easy”, but he ran out of gas and it got ugly at the end of the season. He wasn’t even sure about making the playoffs at the end of it all. However, he won a big divisional matchup vs the Patriots (Justino) to prove himself early and set the league on fire. These Jets crashed in the playoffs against the Titans though, still settling for a backseat in the AFC East. New England is going to come back with the same mindset and cause trouble for the Jets in a division where the other 2 teams have shown themselves as non-factors (sorry Musik, Ross). The division split was 1-1 last year, so maybe it will tilt in the favor of one this season. The Bills (Ross) came close to .500 and if improved, could fight for Nick’s wildcard spot. The 3 win Dolphins (Musik), they need a lot. Don’t ask me what though, I have deadlines to meet.

Division Winner: Patriots 13-3

Wild Card: None

AFC West

Honestly, I don’t believe in the Raiders (Ocho). I don’t believe in the Chiefs. I don’t believe in the Broncos. I don’t believe in the Chargers. But somebody has to win the division, I guess? Oakland had a great season on paper, vs one of the easiest schedules we have yet to see. The Chiefs (Chandler) still struggle greatly with fundamental aspects of the game, and they definitely can’t pass the ball. Unfortunately, they aren’t disciplined enough to establish and stick to a run game, either. They prepared this offseason to be great, and the Raiders are going to be tested all year. I suspect a turn of the tables. The Broncos (Danny) stink, as a GM and a user, I don’t know how he has fallen so far. He must be going through US Women’s Soccer withdrawal, but he may find his old form soon. There’s too much talent in Denver to say for sure. The Chargers (DJ {Poker DJ})put themselves in a multi-year rebuild mode. They had potentially the best draft class this past offseason, so maybe they use that to turn the plane around.

Division Winner: Chiefs 11-5

Wild Card: Raiders 10-6

AFC South

Last year, the Titans (Pass) won the division under questionable circumstances, and the Commissioner had to send down proper sanctions for this. His record is impressive though, and a close eye will be on the competition this season. This division is not to be slept on, it is almost as tight as the NFC East (Tighter =/= Better). The Jaguars (Pun) slid in at 2^nd place and proved to be a threat, but they could not clean up their mistakes they made at midseason. Taking two division losses to the Titans, they need to show they are the best team in the South this coming season. An 8-8 Colts (Jay Nasty) was a win away from coasting over .500, but they failed at the task. With a proper push, the Colts can put themselves into Wild Card contention. To do that though, somebody from above must fall. Fortunately for Jay, the Texans (RevPopOff) are already at the bottom! So you can’t get much lower. By the way, I want to emphasize that 2-14 is Rev’s actual record, and he had the team all season, and he is responsible for every single loss that that this Texans team has, regardless of what he claims.

Division Winner: Pun 12-4

Wild Card: Pass 10-6

NFC North

I’ll start by saying that the Packers (Evan) playoff spot was a fluke due to the “Force Win Era”. They didn’t belong there and they don’t belong in the contention of top players. The Vikings (Big Lloyd) proved to be a formidable opponent for some of the season, but his attendance is not where we need it to be. So the top two players are both a bit of a mess, and unfortunately somebody has to come out on top. The Bears (Legend) and the Lions (RyteOnQ) are two bottom feeders, but they have the weapons to set up trap games. Alshon Jeffery and Calvin Johnson can cause hell for corner 1 on 1, but I’m not sure if these guys know what they’re doing at all.

Division Winner: Vikings 9-7

Wild Card: None

NFC East

Self-proclaimed the “Division of Death” for whatever stupid reason, this has been a tight race from start to finish and I expect some separation from one of these teams this season. The Redskins (Henn) had a slow start last season but still managed to come back into a potential playoff spot. They split the series 1 to 1, but I expect Henry to jump to the Alpha spot in the NFC East this season since he is looking in the eyes of a 3^rd place schedule. This means he will play mostly easy opponents but will have tough division matchups. He was smashed however, in the last game of the season by the Cowboys (Buddee), who did take the playoff spot. The Cowboys have only gotten better as far as personnel goes, but as a user, who knows? Sporting a 10-6 record last season was more impressive then Dallas gets credit for, due to the toughness of his schedule. His opponents last season sported a 118-90 combined record. A punishing performance to close the season left us confused with a rough 1^st Round bounce out of the Wild Card. This year should be a true test for the Cowboys, with a growing Redskins team and a Giants (Chino) team with a lot to say. These Giants just don’t have much to do. They weren’t built for the long haul unfortunately, and they coughed up too many big games over the course of the season. At 9-7 they fit in with a 2^nd place schedule this season, which should be fairly competitive waters for them. The most interesting part of this division, is the Eagles (Brannin), and their last place schedule. This team is not bad, and neither is the user. Rumors of relocation abound, they may be playing with a lot of heart before heading to their new home. If they can’t win, they may be taking some debt. Somehow, 2 of these aforementioned teams will not make the playoffs.

Division Winner: Eagles 11-5

Wild Card: Cowboys 9-7

NFC West

The Seahawks (Mole) obviously have the title belt. They have a lot of players returning. They are looking to do it again, and it’s really just that simple. The real mystery of the NFC West is whether or not the Cardinals (Tripp) is going to do the rest of the league a service and knock the Seahawks block off, or is he going to phone in help from others in the NFC? He came close once last year, but the last two outings were both ugly. Obviously he is capable of winning these Divisional matchups, but in crunch time he seemed to flail last season. The Rams (Khaze) and the 49ers (Traphouse Pac) had a combined 6 wins last season. I think they may be out of the race for the NFC West. But, uh, maybe they’ll have a good game against each other?

Division Winner: Seahawks 13-3

Wild Card: Cardinals 11-5

NFC South

In my perspective, the South has rivalries galore because of splits last season. The Buccaneers (Jabbo) won the division, in a tight race with the Falcons (Spruill). They split 1-1, but the Bucs won it when it counted and clinched a first round bye in the playoffs. The Falcons finished with an 11-5 record, and made it to the Wild Card, but got bounced by a Packers team who shouldn’t have even been there. Both sides of the split victories were ugly, but the Bucs plan to keep winning the rivalry moving forward and obviously the Falcons may feel the same way, but we won’t know for sure until they step on the field. The Panthers (Unk) got pulled away from his usual Coach Boone Offense, in favor of a more pass heavy Ted Ginn style attack, and it cost him. At 6-10, it’s unlikely he will turn it all around as he promised after losing to the Bucs late last season, but he did dominate them earlier in the season. The Saints (Ray Walls) pulled up at 6-10 also, but he did take teams down to the wire more than a few times. Look for the Falcons & Bucs to lead, with the Panthers & Saints scrapping for 3^rd place.

Division Winner: Buccaneers 12-4

Wild Card: None

Poised to Rise

Redskins (Henn): Facing a 3^rd place schedule. The division race is super right already, and almost all of his competition, is facing even tougher competition. He will have to deal with the All Madden Cowboys, the NY Giants, and the Mexican Eagles, but outside of those guys, he should sail rather smooth I believe.

Eagles (Brannin): He has it even easier than Henn, in the same division. He has the last place schedule. Now, his team is a band of misfits because he was throwing everybody out of the city, but the Redskins were already a band of misfits from the start so we can call it even. These Eagles could content for a Top 2 NFC East Spot if the Cowboys & Giants fail to produce.

Steelers (Wumbo): After going 1-15, Wumbo can’t really do much of anything but get better.. He has a last place schedule in the worse division (AFC), so there is a number of winnable games. He had a successful offseason, and Le’Veon Bell is still the man in Pittsburgh. With some other weapons locked and loaded, look for Wumbo to give Duggus, Juice, and even Rah a fight. If for some reason Wumbo finds a way to go 0-16, then pretend you never read this.

Jaguars (Pun): More competition with the Texans may help Pun in the AFC South. The Texans are going to hand the Titans more trouble on their plate to deal with, which is of course going to happen to himself. Maybe he can deal with it better and capitalize. This Jaguars team just missed the playoffs last season, I don’t see this happening again. I pick the Jaguars to firmly hold a Wild Card spot this year.

Chiefs (Chandler): No respect from the league here, but he deserves it. He clinched a playoff spot with a 10-6 record and beat out the Jaguars for the spot. That’s impressive. His playoff showing was NOT impressive. It was one of the worst displays of passing the football I have ever seen and he still barely lost. More weapons and a stronger Chiefs defense could bring Chandler success. And as the Raiders are getting a tough schedule this year, Chandler will see familiar faces and probably, better success.

Poised to Fall

Titans (Pass): Recently Pass’ antics have cost his games. He took a mean playoff to the Overraiders and because of his playcalling, more teams may catch on this season. Watch out for the Titans to give up more games due to the lack of good playcalls, and a turnover prone option offense.

Jets (Nick): Nick fell from grace last year after midseason and got banged out of the playoffs first round. He lost an ugly game to his division rival. The Jets have not upgraded this season. They may just be in big trouble.

Raiders (Brandon): Although ranked #4 in the Top 5 based on last year, simply because you can’t pick your own schedule, the Raiders are overrated. The Raiders opponents combined records last season was 95-113. That wasn’t as much of a cake walk as the Cardinals had, but it was definitely a cake walk. The Raiders will get caught in traffic. They WILL NOT win the AFC West.

Cowboys (Buddee): The NFC East is just too cramped for space.. These 4 are all middle of the pack users, with wins and losses evenly spread amidst one another. The Cowboys are by far the best team in the division and in the league, but the fact that it doesn’t make them a lock in for the division says a lot in itself. Henn, Brannin, and Chino are coming for his jugular two times each this season. He’s also going to be playing Jabbo and Mole. He has a lot to worry about in his path, while others in his division are looking to take advantage of his plight.

Cardinals (Tripp): Want to see an interesting number? 86-122 combined opponents record last season. Tripp was only tested by his own division opponent, and lost all 3 times. He beat the Cowboys also, but no memorable W’s over big time opponents come to mind. Now with a 2^nd place schedule, he will face the likes of the Falcons, Giants, and the Vikings, and the Cardinals may appear a bit different than we expected them to be.