I am very confident. Why? We have good/great players. Too many to list.
No rookie will play a significant role early in 2026. Unl2025 when we relied upon TyLeik Williams and Tate Ratledge. Or even Mahogany.
Health. Yes, safety is concerning. But Alim being healthy is BIG for me. Hutch healthy off-season.
We are not relying on aging 30+ year old veterans anymore. Glasgow is gone, Reader is gone. Anzalone is gone. Decker is gone. There is room for experience but age can grab you in this sport.
Why didn’t we win more in 2025? The above reasons, injuries and a collection of small plays that killed us late. The TD for the Pack on 4th down. The RB catch V. the Steelers (Anzalone coverage). SweepV. Vikes.
Not very confident. I think we’re a borderline wild card team, like last year. That’s more confident than I was going into free agency and the draft though. We had some glaring holes last season, and then created more by losing key players to trade and FA. I think Holmes did a solid job filling some of these roles on paper, but he was never going to fill them all in one off season.
I expect our elite talent at skill positions will provide a few wins, and weak lines on both sides of the ball will result in a few losses. Overall I just want to see vastly improved line play by the end of the season while remaining in WC contention in December. Expecting a return to the top of the division in 2027.
Offense will be solid. Defense will sadly be 17-20 in the league. We will back into the playoffs. Won’t get past a healthy Stafford in LA or going to Seattle … unless there is some crazy misfortune for those two teams.
This is where I’m at, but add to it these thoughts:
*Was safety adequately addressed?
*What’s gonna be the deal with the new OC? I’d feel more confident if they had gone with a proven commodity. If this guy does a good job, he’s getting poached right away anyway so the consistency argument seems to almost admit that there were better guys out there
*I’m happy that they addressed the oline, but how long until they jell?
I have zero idea what’s up behind the scenes. I know nothing for nothing and sometimes less than that, but that is a worry. Anzalone, Montgomery, Decker, and even GG. Like, these guys were warriors for this team and vet leadership is very valuable.
IMO, that was a problem. It’s not like the team was better. There was no proof that DMo wasn’t needed. They were worse. All season I’m yelling for the guy to get more playing time. And run in the short yardage situations especially with a lesser OL.
Monty was getting 12+ TD’s a season. 1,000 yards, and an injury kept him from repeating it. Gibbs 900 yards, 1,400+ and 16 TD’s. Like, that’s unreal. It’s no wonder the offense was among the best in the league not even including the passing game. Even in a diminished role DMo gets 700+ yards and 8TD’s. How are they going to make up for it? And that wasn’t enough. I have zero faith in Pacheco who couldn’t do anything all those years with the Chiefs. It’s a must for him to step it up. Gibbs has to be protected and not burn him out especially with power running.
Will they throw it more? I don’t like that idea.
Sorry, I feel like I’m starting another David Montgomery thread. But its a worry for me for sure.
I really wish I could explain it but I have this weird dread for this season. I like the moves that we have done but it just doesn’t feel like its enough. I thinks it the unknown of what’s going on with Kerby and Branch. I 100% hope I am wrong because I would really like to see this team in the Superbowl before I die lol.
If all three are league average - the ceiling is probably 11 wins and one playoff wins.
If Petzing hits, Kerb and BB are even 90% of their former selves by December and the O-line is top 10, then a Superbowl is not out of the question.
If 2 or 3 of those are below average, then we could be looking at serious questions come the off-season.
There’s a significant range of outcomes in play here as there are as many unknowns this year as last. If I was to guess, I think the first scenario is most likely. That’s where the weak schedule will help boost the win total by the extra 2-3 versus last year and make this a playoff team.
It’s not really weird. Both safeties are hurt, could be a downgrade there. You have Rolder replacing Anzalone. McNeill was terrible last year. The DC was really bad. You really have to be a glass half full guy to even project good things from this unit.
