INTRO: A new idea I had in order to help me go through the NFL team's rosters and examine all the personnel and coaching changes, etc., one-by-one. I'm going to look at two teams head-to-head in seven key categories (my bias on what is 'key'). The team that gets my vote in each category gets a 'win'…the first team to 4 wins moves on to the next round. Just a quick, hopefully fun, way to take the temperature of each team heading into the 2023 preseason.
The seven categories…it's actually six because one category is so important that it's worth double:
1-2) The quarterbacks comparison…the winner of this gets 2 wins, or if too close to call it could be a 1-1 split.
3) O-Line -- Judging which team has the better O-Line…the most critical aspect of a team after the QB.
4) Cornerbacks -- After O-Line, I think the most critical position is shutdown corners (or not having any).
5) Head Coach/Organization -- A battle of which coaches will get in the way less, to some degree but also an edge given to teams that will attract free agents or be a desired destination in trades…and what teams are filling the stadium for home games, etc. Everything rolled into one judgment call.
6) Offensive Weapons -- Which team has the better, scarier RB-WR-TE group.
7) Kicker -- If it comes down to #7, of course the kicker should make the determination...as the kicker often determines the winner of a 59+ minute war prior with a last second make/miss.
As we lead into each category and tap a winner -- I'm also listing the major add/loss for each team in the offseason so far, just to eyeball it as a list.
Is this a brilliant way to judge teams over another? Who knows! But it struck me as something fun to do while studying each team this preseason, after the majority of offseason moves have been made.
DET major adds: LB J. Campbell, TE LaPorta, RB Gibbs, DB B. Branch, CB Sutton, RB Montgomery, SAF Gardner-Johnson, CB Moseley
DET major losses: RB Swift, RB J. Williams, CB Hughes, WR Chark
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MIN major adds: WR Addison, CB Murphy, DE Davenport, TE Oliver, DE Lowry
MIN major losses: RB D. Cook, LB Za'D Smith, DT Tomlinson, WR Thielen, CB Peterson, LB Kendricks
QB (2x): Kirk Cousins vs. Jared Goff. I know what you're thinking…aren't they the same guy? Kinda. So, no reason to get long-winded about it -- call it a draw, but I like Goff better but not by much.
Tied up (1-1) off the jump.
O-Line: The Vikings' O-Line should be better given some of the names it has, but it's not as good as the Lions' group no matter how you slice it.
Lions take the (2-1) lead.
CBs: Emmanuel Moseley-Cam Sutton duo for Detroit vs. Murphy-Booth/Evans. Oddly, surprisingly…Minnesota gets the nod. Byron Murphy is the best CB in this evaluation…and 2nd-year corners Booth or Evans could be the 2nd-best here if they stay healthy.
Back to a draw (2-2).
HC/Organization: Dan Campbell is a story/unique scene, but he's not someone players are going to go race after to wanna play for. He's a unique bird that will likely wear out his welcome in another year or two, but he's going good right now. Kevin O'Connell is a coach that players do WANT to play for.
The coaching edge and the whole organization edge goes to Minnesota. The NFL did that survey of the 32 teams for 'quality of employer' ratings and the Vikings got the highest grades. Players WANT to go to Minnesota…not really to Detroit, for multiple reasons.
Vikings pull ahead (3-2).
Weapons: TEs are probably a push, the ex-Lion Hockenson vs. the rookie LaPorta. The RBs favor Detroit because Alex Mattison might be the worst Week 1 starting RB in the league. Montgomery-Gibbs is a decent enough duo. If it's close with the TEs + RBs being judged…then the Vikings go and get the win by the sheer magnitude of having Justin Jefferson.
In a total surprise to me…the Vikings advance to the NFC Final Four over Detroit (4-2).
Kicker: The Lions are having a three-man tryout for their kicking job, while the Vikes have a very experienced, accurate kicker from under 50 yards in Greg Joseph. Have to go Joseph here.
Minnesota, easier than I expected, with a (5-2) drubbing of Detroit.
Upcoming Matchups (next round):
MIA v. CIN in the AFC Final Four
JAX v. KC in the AFC Final Four
PHI is headed to the NFC Final Four
MIN is headed to the NFC Final Four
TB v. NO for the NFC South
SF v. SEA for the NFC West
