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.
KC major adds: OT J. Taylor, DE Omenihu, DE Anudike-Uzomah, WR R. Rice, OT W. Morris, OT Donv. Smith, LB Tranquill, SAF M. Edwards
KC major losses: OT O. Brown, WR JuJu, OT Wylie, SAF Thornhill, DT K. Sanders
---------------------------
CIN major adds: LT O. Brown, TE I. Smith, DE Murphy, CB Turner, SAF Battle, RB C. Brown
CIN major losses: SAF Bates, TE Hurst, SAF V. Bell, RB Perine
Yes, the same AFC Final as last year. Pretty radical, right? But you tell me…who is definitively better than either of these teams in the AFC? Buffalo? No way. Miami…maybe, but Tua v. Mahomes v. Burrow…slim chance (but a chance). The Bengals and the Chiefs are the best of the AFC again, and no one but Miami (to me) is even close.
But which one is better for 2023? Let's find out…
QB (2x): Wow, Burrow v. Mahomes. How to decide? I'm not. I could make an argument for either of these guys as the best QB of this year…this era…likely all-time greats.
For the NFL, I'm a Burrow > Mahomes guy…but I know both are great. Burrow beats Mahomes almost every time they matchup the past two years, but Mahomes won (stole) the last one. Two great QBs…no reason to pick just one here.
We start out tied (1-1)
O-Line: Cincy stole Orlando Brown away from KC…but KC replaced him with Jawaan Taylor. Both teams have reason for hope to win this, if at full strength…but KC has proven to be the better of these two O-Lines for two years now -- lower sacks allowed % (of pass attempts) and a much higher yards per carry for the run game.
KC takes the (2-1) lead.
CBs: Awuzie, Taylor-Britt, Hilton vs. Watson-Sneed-McDuffie…I like the Cincy trio better, especially because I don't like McDuffie. If I consider Joshua Williams to rise up/breakout for KC, it makes it more of a debate -- but Cincy has hot rookie D.J Turner in the reserve as well. It's a lean to Cincy (with a healthy Awuzie).
Tied up (2-2).
HC/Organization: Kansas City has more of a vibe of a place players want to go to chase titles. Cincy, oddly, isn't getting the same vibe despite how great they've been the past two seasons. Plus, Cincy ownership has been notoriously cheap/bad. Andy Reid is better than Zac Taylor, but Taylor has an ace in the hole in D-C Lou Anarumo. Edge to the Chiefs overall.
The Chiefs are on the verge of the trip to the Super Bowl in this with a (3-2) lead.
Weapons: Backfield…advantage KC's starter and their depth. Tight End…strong advantage KC. WRs…Cincy a big advantage. How to decide.
I just thought of this on the spot…
OK, if I were an NFL GM right now, building a team for 2023, in a fictional world, and I could have three players off either of these teams 'weapons' list…who would I take? The team with the most of the 3 picks -- wins this round.
1: Ja'Marr Chase, CIN…a playmaker that can boost any QB.
2: Travis Kelce, KC…how much is Kelce…how much is Mahomes?
3: Isiah Pacheco, KC…he can do it all -- run for speed and power, can block, and is a decent receiver out of the backfield.
KC takes the series (4-2), in a surprise to me…I thought Cincy might take this because they are the uncrowned 2x Super Bowl champs the past two seasons. But in this little 'game' of ours, KC moves on…and if it's against Philly, that will be a repeat/boring finale. Sorry, the chips are falling the way they fall.
Kicker: If I needed a kick at the buzzer from 45-yards away, I would take Evan McPherson to make that kick.
KC winds up a narrow (4-3) winner. It's really a draw/tie between the two. Whichever team can stay healthy, in reality, is the better team.
Upcoming Matchups (next round):
PHI v. SF in the NFC Finals
KC moves on to the Super Bowl
