2020 NFL Thrills and Chills, Part I

By Glenn Guzzo

Here’s a brief summary of the highlights and lowlights of Strat-O-Matic’s new football ratings:

ARIZONA

Offense:

Oh Yeah!        WR Hopkins still catches everything. This time he has LG help from 3 receivers.

Oh No!            Time stops for no one – not even Larry Fitzgerald.

Defense:

Oh Yeah!        66 SS Baker and sacking ROLB Reddick (6*)

Oh No!            Turnover-starved D that is Short Gain City vs the run

Special Teams:

Oh Yeah!        Punter Andy Lee is still great (still 44 yds at #9) … good KO coverage.

Oh No!            Yawn for everything else

ATLANTA

Offense:

Oh Yeah!        QB Ryan, great on FP and SP, has TWO WRs with max FP, SP and LP catches

Oh No!            Without 2,3,11,12 rolls, RBs may not free the passing game

Defense:

Oh Yeah!        Good to Excellent run D stingy between the tackles with 6-rated LT Jarrett

Oh No!            Very Poor pass D w/two 0s, two 4s in secondary

Special Teams:

Oh Yeah!        +1/2/3 punt coverage … 2-7, 11, 12 Good on FG up to 54 yds

Oh No!            Missed XP on 11 AND 12

CAROLINA

Offense:

Oh Yeah!        Boom! WR Moore, the best deep-threat in the set, explodes with 36 LG chances … Two more WRs have max FP catches. Good thing, because …

Oh No!            … Without oft-injured McCaffrey, there is no receiver help at TE or RB

Defense:

Oh Yeah!        Run D will force fumbles (e.g. 2-6 ER w/0 LB)

Oh No!            Very Poor pass D and an overall D with no 6s or asterisk sackers

Special Teams:

Oh Yeah!        #2 KOR man Cannon has a 98-yd return … EZ kickoffs on all but  2, 12 … Charlton’s long-distance punting

Oh No!            Missed XP on 11 AND 12 … LG on punt coverage

CHICAGO

Offense:

Oh Yeah!        Montgomery’s +80, +57 and 4 LG chances on LB/OT

Oh No!            Otherwise, almost no quick-score ability

Defense:

Oh Yeah!        LOLB Mack (46 w/ 2* sacks) and LILB Smith (64 w/8 rush)

Oh No!            Otherwise, it’s Monsters of the Mediocre on team cards

Special Teams:

Oh Yeah!        Patterson KO TD … +15/12/21 KO coverage important because …

Oh No!            … 16 for-sure KO runback chances

DALLAS

Offense:

Oh Yeah!        RG Martin (7,6) … Big-play WR triplets Cooper, Gallup, Lamb …

Oh No!            … Will have to carry all the pass-catch load … 0 run block at C, both OT

Defense:

Oh Yeah!        LE Lawrence (6 with 8 pass rush)

Oh No!            Charge this Poor pass D AND run D with criminal negligence.

Special Teams:

Oh Yeah!        KOR Pollard (TD and more) … strong, consistent P Niswander

Oh No!            Missed XP on 11 AND 12 (PK Zeurlein is better at FG than XP)

DETROIT

Offense:

Oh Yeah!        TE Hockenson’s 2-tmd catches … Stafford’s downfield passing …

C Ragnow (7,6)

Oh No!            Ball! 2-8,12 Fumbles Right for RBs; #9 on Must Runs

Defense:

Oh Yeah!        RE Okwara’s 11 pass rush

Oh No!            This defense rests … 9 chances LP for “defender X or LG” and only 0s at CB, SS in this Very Poor pass D w/LG at #4 on SP 3 Men … Poor run D (zero fumbles, three 0s on the DL)

Special Teams:

Oh Yeah!        Agnew PR TD … Big-foot P Fox (still 50 yds at #8) … +1/2/3 KO coverage …

Prater FGs Good 2-7 at 59 yds

Oh No!            Missed XP on 11 AND 12

GREEN BAY

Offense:

Oh Yeah!        Can’t defend them all: Pitch/catch duo Rodgers/Adams as good as it gets, with two other big-play WRs and a pass-catching TE. RB Jones runs for tough yards and big yards (33 chances for SG or better) and can catch, too … And THREE OL with 7,6: C Linsley, LG Jenkins, LT Bakhtiari

Oh No!            This page intentionally left blank

Defense:

Oh Yeah!        Good Pass D with two 6s and a 5 in secondary, yet …

Oh No!            3 LB and RCB with 0s in coverage

Special Teams:

Oh Yeah!        Ultra-accurate FG man Crosby (and 2-6,12 Good to 57 yds)

Oh No!            Take a knee: Not worth the risk to return kicks; blocked punt; missed XP on 11;

terrible KO, PR coverage

LOS ANGELES RAMS

Offense:

Oh Yeah!        Kupp: Max FP/SP catches and the only SE with a 4 run block …

OL pass block is all 7s and 5s

Oh No!            For all that, it will take a cagey coach to lift this lackluster offense.

Defense:

Oh Yeah!        Good to Excellent pass D AND run D w/2 asterisk sackers and 66 FS Johnson

Oh No!            00 ROLB Ebukam

Special Teams:

Oh Yeah!        If you can’t say something nice – then don’t

Oh No!            HIT somebody: Awful KR/PR coverage and blocked punt …

Missed XP on 11 AND 12

MINNESOTA

Offense:

Oh Yeah!        Three-head monster: HB Cook (51 chances SG or better and a FP threat), WRs Jefferson (27 LG chances, 2-tmd catches), Thielen (max SP, 17 LG chances)

Oh No!            They may need to score suddenly with MIN’s fumble/INT problems.

Defense:

Oh Yeah!        The team pass D cards are quite good

Oh No!            No fumbles, many yards and no 6s or 5s on DL in this Poor run D

Special Teams:

Oh Yeah!        Umm, uh, just keep the ball until you score a TD, all right?

Oh No!            Missed XP 10-12! … blocked punt … LG on KR coverage

NEW ORLEANS

Offense:

Oh Yeah!        No longer great, Brees’ passing still good enough to free Kamara for his

39 Wrong runs of SG or better, especially w/7 pass block at both OT

Oh No!            Michael Thomas’ LP (2-6 combos, 24 long) says it all about the decline of Saints offense.

Defense:

Oh Yeah!        4 men with a 6, plus sacking RE Hendrickson (3*)

Oh No!            If you want to get the ball back fast, leave your FS out of the LP zone. Then you can return a kickoff

Special Teams:

Oh Yeah!        Deep KO on all but #3 … superb KO, PR coverage

Oh No!            Only 2-4 Good on FGs beyond 49 yds

NEW YORK GIANTS

Offense:

Oh Yeah!        TE Engram (2-tmd catches, LP LG) … RB Gallman 39 chances SG or better … QB Jones +80, +34 and 13 SG chances ER Wrong

Oh No!            Poor pass blocking incl LG Lemieux (0 run block and pass block) makes downfield passing difficult. Better get the D to guess Wrong

Defense:

Oh Yeah!        RE Williams (6 w/2* sacks) on DL w/two 5s

Oh No!            OT yardage: SG at 7 and 8 w/0 LB

Special Teams:

Oh Yeah!        Great Gano on FG, including 2-6, 11,12 Good to 55 yds

Oh No!            XP miss on 11 AND 12 …blocked punt … LG on KO coverage

PHILADELPHIA

Offense:

Oh Yeah!        House party: RB Sanders can score from almost anywhere (+82 and LG on #4 ER; +74 on #11 OT; LG on LB)

Oh No!            Broken OL (no pass block better than 4) will make it tough on the air game. Did you question why Eagles dumped Wentz and went WR #1? These cards will give you the answer.

Defense:

Oh Yeah!        LE Graham (6 with 1* sacks) and LT Cox (6)

Oh No!            Just not right: 0s at RT, RLB, RCB

Special Teams:

Oh Yeah!        +2/5/3 punt coverage

Oh No!            XP miss on 11 AND 12 … blocked punt

SAN FRANCISCO

Offense:

Oh Yeah!        Max FP/SP catches for TE Kittle; blocking stalwarts at TE, FB, both OT

Oh No!            Way too many fumbles, INTs for an offense with so few playmakers

Defense:

Oh Yeah!        Good pass D with a 6 (66 MLB Warner), three 5s in back seven

Oh No!            No team suffered worse injuries than SF’s D; it shows in Poor run D

w/zero fumbles

Special Teams:

Oh Yeah!        If P Wishnowsky gets it away, deep kicks and solid coverage

Oh No!            Blocked punt … XP miss on 11 … LG on KO coverage

SEATTLE

Offense:

Oh Yeah!        If Wilson-to-Metcalf scares you (it should), WRs Lockett, Moore can exploit

single coverage … Minimum RB fumbles

Oh No!            … But there’s pass block issues except for 7-rated LT Brown

Defense:

Oh Yeah!        Good to Excellent run D w/three 6s (66 MLB Wagner, 66 SS Adams and

46 FS Diggs) plus four 5s

Oh No!            Sleeping in Seattle? In Poor pass D, LP 0 Men is a nightmare

Special Teams:

Oh Yeah!        P Dickson: still 49 yds at #9 … Fine KO, PR coverage … Myers reliable FGs

Oh No!            XP miss at 11 AND 12

TAMPA BAY

Offense:

Oh Yeah!        WR Evans leads a pack of seven receivers with LG or max/near-max catches …

QB Brady has 15 complete chances LP Wrong … RB Jones +98 ER Wrong

Stalwart OL has three 7s on pass block, a 6 and four 5s on run block

Oh No!            If RBs don’t explode Wrong, they won’t get far

Defense:

Oh Yeah!        SUPREME run D w/seven 6s and 5s vs run … 66 ILB David …

sacking LBs White (10), Pierre-Paul (11)

Oh No!            Five pass-coverage 4s in back eight

Special Teams:

Oh Yeah!        27 deep KO chances still might not discourage returns, because …

Oh No!            … +53/50/52 KO coverage, LG on PR coverage – YIKES! …

XP miss on 11 AND 12.

WASHINGTON

Offense:

Oh Yeah!        McLaurin max FP/SP catches …

Oh No!            But there’s that problem of who is going to get the ball to him (Brandon Allen

beats Smith and Haskins)

Defense:

Oh Yeah!        Good pass D w/5s at both corners … Limited yards on run D

w/RE Sweat (6 with 10 pass rush), three 5s on DL

Oh No!            Run D forces zero fumbles

Special Teams:

Oh Yeah!        P Wray (still 47 yds on #9) and top PR, KR coverage

Oh No!            XP miss on 11