Outlook? You might want to stay rooting for the Ravens until Buttchin McGuin gets run out of town! I jest (kinda) ... I think we have an awesome young team. Dynamic "JESUS WITH CLEATS" Deshaun Watson - and really it all starts and ends there. This team has been carried by the defense during the Bill OBrien era, and until Watson was signed by all time great GM Rick Smith it was an embarrassing display of QB Carousel extraordinaire! Im sure you can remember that even in Maryland! Yall ended up with Mallet, who was cut here because he overslept and missed a meeting! Just like 3rd round RB D'Onta Foreman was just cut for being late to a meeting! Bill Obrien doesnt really care if you're good at football, but you better be good at obeying orders and bowing down thats for sure. Media members have to recite the rosary and splash themselves with holy water before every interview with OBrien for fear that Satan will sprout from his chin dimple and suck everyone back down into the depths. Makes it fun though. Possibility of good football mixed in with sheer terror!
We've had the worst line in NFL football history for the last few years. Lucky for us though we finally drafted the two tackles that the team needed since the interior of the line could at least be serviceable, but wait oh yeah .. OBrien would rather take those tackles and play them at guard this year. He'll trot out two wash outs at the bookends because that is obviously the better option to protect Deshaun, makes sense yeah?
Lets, see .. we have the best WR corp in football probably, but we employ a 1970s high school football passing game. Hope you love bubble screens - they're the best!! OBrien came from the Patriots the years they were killing the league with 2 TE sets and of course he will do that here, we've drafted like 10 TEs over the last 2-3 years, but yea wait again. Obrien doesnt really use the TE that much. You'll probably get one early pass if you're lucky, will usually go for a huge gain, and then it disappears. Just like Obriens courage during games. Dont expect great clock management, sucks at using the challenge flag, and likes to run everybodys favorite 13 ISO like 15 times a game. Fun stuff.
Thank god for our defense. JJ Watt first ballot HOF, what else can you say. Dude comes back from a backiotomy and just terrorized the league again. Overall #1 pick JD Clowney is probably the most balanced and complete edge defender in football, but a good portion of our contributors here see him like a piece of meat, who is undeserving of a big payday, and as such he is on the cusp of being traded and quite possible the worst time you could trade a premier player. NO VALUE to trade, but it would seem that the relationship is broken beyond repair and so bye bye JD it was swell.
Romeo Crennel is probably the most competent coach we have and for that the defense tends to keep us in games. Bend, but dont break kinda philosophy I guess, we do give up big plays, we decided that our homegrown Tier 1 CB Kareem Jackson was not worth the money he was commanding after a career year, but we did decide to pay up similar "prove it" money to Bradley Roby and you know what I hated it at first, but it looks like he might be OK. We'll see cross fingers. Father Time on the other side MY BOYYY JJO!! Still putting in work! Had a great year last year and as long as he doesnt have to face TY Hilton we should be OK. Secondary strength is at the safeties, we just signed the .. get ready .. TIGHT END WHISPERER!! OHHHH SCARRYY! LOL so yeah, Gipson will replace Honey Badger who said 'screw you guys im going to KC' ..
We have a great kicker .. Kaimi Fairbairn! he's awesome. great weapon. We just spent 1 Million bucks on a backup punter, who might just become the full time punter even though our last years punter was pretty good .. make sense? Not to me either, but hey someone will kick the punts I guarantee you that.
Overall special teams have been a disaster for this franchise since inception, its gotten a little better i guess?? Not really inspired by what i've seen so far this preseason so i've already ordered a couple of extra remotes for this year.
So yeah .. welcome to our dysfunctional gang! Im the resident sourpuss - might be a midlife crisis im experiencing or something, but whatever I have a hard time supporting stupid moves.
Have fun! be ready for a little hazing, but remember we do have an ignore feature and it can make your experience here enjoyable.
PS: I really like Lamar Jackson.
PSS: I forgot about our kick ass linebackers duhh .. definite strength all of them even the backups are good.