Expectations

[Bill]

For all intents and purposes training came and preseason are over.  Other than setting a few of the last of the 53 man roster we know who is going to be on this team.  As a fan I would like to know what you all expect.  Best case and worst case.  Baring any injuries to the starting 25 or so.  If Mack goes down, or Mitch all bets are off.  A receiver or running back gets lost all bets are off.  But if this team can keep it's core in tack what are yo'ur realistic expectations for this season.  What would be successful season or a failure.

For me, not making the playoffs or losing in the first round again would be a failure.  Making the NFC championship would be a success.  Not winning it all would be disappointing but seeing every phase working together and improving would be something I could hang my hat on.  I think we have a three year window to win it all.  But I want to see Pace and Nagy building something we have not seen since the 80's.  A successful formula that continues to build on every year.  A front office and coaching staff that is stable for ten plus years.  A system that is not dependent on just one draft class or a few generational players.  Something that shows continued team building every year and a system that replaces those players that got us started.  Not dependent on a few great players but a system that can plug in new players every few years.   

 

 

[AZ54]

If we're healthy... Superbowl.  

[adam]

15 hours ago, Bill said:

For all intents and purposes training came and preseason are over.  Other than setting a few of the last of the 53 man roster we know who is going to be on this team.  As a fan I would like to know what you all expect.  Best case and worst case.  Baring any injuries to the starting 25 or so.  If Mack goes down, or Mitch all bets are off.  A receiver or running back gets lost all bets are off.  But if this team can keep it's core in tack what are yo'ur realistic expectations for this season.  What would be successful season or a failure.

For me, not making the playoffs or losing in the first round again would be a failure.  Making the NFC championship would be a success.  Not winning it all would be disappointing but seeing every phase working together and improving would be something I could hang my hat on.  I think we have a three year window to win it all.  But I want to see Pace and Nagy building something we have not seen since the 80's.  A successful formula that continues to build on every year.  A front office and coaching staff that is stable for ten plus years.  A system that is not dependent on just one draft class or a few generational players.  Something that shows continued team building every year and a system that replaces those players that got us started.  Not dependent on a few great players but a system that can plug in new players every few years.   

 

 

Bill,
Injuries are the wild card with any team, so it's hard for me to worry about that variable. Roster vs Roster, we are definitely a Super Bowl caliber team. Getting a first-round bye is the key to long term playoff success. 

Anything less than the NFCC would be a disappointment for me. However, it's hard for me to imagine losing like we did against the Eagles again. Our offense is better and technically our defense should be better (2nd year of Mack and Smith w/ training camps, Floyd with 2 arms, and HHCD vs Amos). So even if we have a tougher schedule (as do all the NFCN teams), I see us coming in around the same amount of wins.

Looking at the other divisions, the East is going to have DAL and PHI, the South is going to have NO, ATL, and CAR, and the West is STL and SEA. So there shouldn't be any one team running away with the conference, which is good for us. 11-12 might get a bye this year. 

In the end I expect no less than 10 wins and would not be surprised if we won 13. 

If we start out with a win against GB at home, it will set the tone for the entire season. We then get extended rest before playing in Denver. Then we get an extra day to travel to Washington. I really expect us to start 3-0. Week 4 is tough against MIN, but it's at home and Cousins is 13-23-2 on the road compared to 23-17 at home. Week 5 is in London against the Raiders, so we could easily be 5-0 heading into the bye. That would allow us to only need to go 6-5 the rest of the way for 11 wins which should be completely reasonable.

After the bye, things get interesting. We have one of the toughest 3 game stretches with NO, LAC at home followed by a game in Philly. I am hoping for 2-1 but would not be surprised with 1-2.  We then get Detroit at home (win) and then play LAR in LA, followed by NYG at home. We should be 8-3 (at worst at this point) going into the short week Thanksgiving game against the Lions. We then get a few more days off, then face Dallas at home in December. We should be favored in both of those games. We then close out the season at GB, vs KC, then at MIN. If we are a SB contender, we need to win 2 of those games. 

 

[killakrzydav]

12-4

superbowl us vs. Pats

Break Brady in half and send him off to retirement 

[DrunkBomber]

As everyone else has said health is the biggest key.  We also have a difficult schedule so things could go a lot of ways.  As of now I am really liking how the roster is constructed, I just have the same gripe I did last year about backup QB.  I understand not wanting to add unneeded pressure on Mitch by having a backup that people will be calling for the second Mitch has a bad game or two.  But at the same time, Chase Daniel is not an NFL QB imo. He looks lost when he plays in regular season games, and with how much of Mitch's game revolves around his mobility, it would be nice to either have a legitimate veteran game manager to keep the ship afloat if he gets banged up a few games, like last year.  Or at worst a young guy with upside.