Discussion 2023 NFL DREAM TEAM Discussion

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As a Vikings supporter I think Cousins is a legit candidate for the most overpaid QB in recent times. Deshaun Watson will probably take the gong in the end but Cousins problem is that he is a non completer. Not a choker, that is too harsh. And his stats are not bad at first glance but he just failed to deliver too many times when he just needed to get the job done. And he had quality WR and RB, and for much of his time at the Vikings, a reasonable offensive line. He has the ability to do anything Mahomes or Allen can do. He just does not do it when he needs to. Better to have a rubbish QB and know that you need to replace him than to die (or almost die) the death of a thousand cuts with Cousins.

Probably a reasonable chance he gets injured this season again and Penix gets a go.
 
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As a Vikings supporter I think Cousins is a legit candidate for the most overpaid QB in recent times. Probably a reasonable chance he gets injured this season again and Penix gets a go.
He's already injured and might not even recover enough to start the season. Fair chance Penix grabs his opportunity and keeps it if that happens.
 
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Hi all

Still slightly early days but 12 of us here from SCS are currently on Sleeper (draft app), NFL. This next season will be our 3rd season. Congrats to @massarotti for winning our Redraft league last season

I’d love to see if there are any other SCS members interested in either redraft or dynasty

Redraft we could potentially look at 2 more coaches to increase our league size to 14

We are also about to launch our inaugural dynasty league this coming season, and we have 13 (backbone I have counted), so am looking for 1 more to make 14

If you enjoy the fantasy side of NFL (draft), vastly different to RDT, feel free to ask questions if you are interested!

View: https://youtu.be/e4ZdOcAXVCc?si=dDpm7D570fpCOO7h
(the draft format)
 
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Not sure if special teams are considered part of a team defence but this kickoff rule change could see more plays this year than touchbacks.

The upcoming NFL season will feature what may be the most significant change to gameplay in professional football in years: a dramatic alteration to rules around the kickoff, one of the game's most iconic plays.

Kicko***, which occur about 10 times every NFL game and thousands of times over the course of each season, have long been the subject of scrutiny due to a heightened risk of injury for players.

But while alterations to kicko*** over the past decade or so helped make them safer, they had also made the play largely perfunctory. "It is an exciting day," said Darren Rizzi, the special teams coordinator for the New Orleans Saints, who helped develop the new rules. "We feel like we've revived a dying play."

Under the new rules, the kicking team's kicker will continue to kick from the 35-yard line. But rather than be flanked by his teammates, the rest of the kicking team will line up at their opponent's 40-yard line, eliminating the traditional running head start. The returning team will field up to two returners in the backfield, and the rest of the team will line up in a new "set up zone" between the 30- and 35-yard line.

Besides the kicker and returners, no players from either side will be allowed to move until a returner touches the ball or the ball hits the ground. Fair catches, in which a returner could signal that they would catch the ball but not attempt a return, will no longer be allowed.

Another major aspect of the change is the elimination of a team's ability to call a surprise onside kick, a special form of kickoff in which a team attempts to kick the ball to one of their own players. Because onside kicks are typically unsuccessful, they are usually relegated to desperation scenarios at the end of a game. But teams had occasionally opted to take their opponents by surprise by attempting an onside kick earlier in the game. That option is now gone, as teams must announce an onside kick attempt in advance.

Still, team officials felt that the change was worthwhile; the new rules were approved by a vote of 29-3. "We feel like we've made this play a heckuva lot safer for the players. We're going to eliminate some of the big collisions," Rizzi said.

For years, as greater awareness of injuries have influenced football, kicko*** have been under the safety microscope. Players sprinting down the field would collide at high speeds, and injuries disproportionately occur during returns.

In response, in the 2010s, the league tweaked kickoff rules to reduce the likelihood of returns by incentivizing what are known as touchbacks.

When a kicker boots the ball into the endzone, the opposing team's returner can choose to kneel rather than attempt a return; the result is called a touchback, and the returning team would receive the ball at the 25-yard line. (Under the new rule, touchbacks will now be placed at the 30-yard line.)

A touchback occurs automatically if the ball sails out the back of the endzone entirely. After a rule change in 2011 that reduced the distance from the kickoff to the opposing end zone, the league reported that the number of concussions on kicko*** was reduced by 40%.

In the 2023 season, about three-quarters of all kicko*** resulted in a touchback, a dramatic reversal from the pre-2011 era, in which roughly 80% of kicko*** were returned.

The result: Players were safer, but the kickoff itself had largely become what team officials called a "dead play." "I'm all for it," Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid told the Associated Press. "You have 2,000 dead plays. Nobody wants to see that. It'll add excitement and newness."

The new kickoff rules were pioneered by the XFL, a minor professional football league that featured a variety of altered rules designed to make games faster and more exciting. (The league has since been folded into the USFL.)

The alteration is also expected to increase the value of special teams players — the players on any NFL squad who typically haven't yet made the cut for a full-time spot on an offensive or defensive lineup. For many players, a special teams position is a way to prove their worth on an NFL roster.
 
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Giants TE Darren Waller to retire from NFL (msn.com)

Giants TE Darren Waller to retire from NFL
Story by Adam La Rose, Pro Football Rumors
• 15h •

...........Plenty of snaps will be available to 2022 fourth-rounder Daniel Bellinger once again. He served as New York’s starter as a rookie, but his role diminished last season with Waller in place. The Giants added Theo Johnson in the fourth round of this year’s draft, and he will aim to carve out at least a rotational place in the team’s offensive plans. Veterans Jack Stoll and Chris Manhertz are also in the picture at the tight-end spot............
 
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Vikings primed to have a 1-2 punch at running back (msn.com)

Vikings primed to have a 1-2 punch at running back

The Minnesota Vikings struggled massively to run the football in 2023.........They addressed the position in a major way this o***eason by signing running back Aaron Jones away from the Green Bay Packers and that theoretically will take the Vikings rushing attack to another level.

It isn't just Jones that will be a big impact. Ty Chandler is going into his third season as a Viking and is impressing Harrison Phillips, calling the two running backs a one-two punch.

“I see us as having a one-two punch at running back (Aaron Jones),” Phillips said, “almost like they have in Detroit. I don’t know if that’s what’s happening on the offensive side, but I know that we have two true No. 1 running backs. I’d buy stock in Ty Chandler if I could.”​
Chandler...........if he fixes his pass-blocking issues, the Vikings will be able to trust him as a legitimate top option.
 
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Ranking Each Rookie QB's Opportunity to Succeed by Landing Spot (msn.com)

Ranking Each Rookie QB's Opportunity to Succeed by Landing Spot
  • The right environment is crucial for a young QB's success in the NFL, affecting their development and trajectory.
  • Jayden Daniels has plenty of ability, but the Commanders are the worst initial landing spot of the six rookies.
  • With weapons like Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson, J.J. McCarthy is being placed in a great spot to succeed.
As a first round pick at the game's most important position, quarterbacks are met with immense pressure when they first get into the NFL. While plenty already have the skill set and traits to succeed, a large part of taking that next step can come down to their landing spot and environment.

The right coaching, fit, and surrounding talent are crucial to rookie passers building in the right direction and sticking in the league..........
 
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