Tag Archives: NFL Predictions

DeShaun Watson or Shedeur Sanders As Starting QB in Cleveland??

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Let’s start this off with a few questions: If DeShaun Watson has a good 2026 with 4,000 yards and 30TDs would you re-sign him to another large contract?? You do realize this is the 5th and final year of his $230 million contract that has embarrassed the brass of this organization. If your answer is no you wouldn’t why would you start him? What is the upside??

The desire to end their status as a laughingstock of an organization alone should have them start Sanders. The other reason is the status and stature announcing Sanders is the starter will infuse confidence in him that he has a chance to grow into the position without totally looking over his shoulder.

Once you get past the stats its about where can a player grow to from where we are. We still have the preseason and a chance for Sanders to grow off the field with the projected starters in a complete season of rebuild out on Lake Erie. How much can he improve the rest of the preseason as a starter and over the season with a 24 year old player?

Allow him the chance to flourish from a leadership perspective with the youth movement happening among offensive players in their 1st & 2nd year. His voice in the locker room will have weight and he should be able to play more free without fearing every mistake will cause him to be replaced.

Once we’re in season and Sanders play isn’t going well or you’re not seeing the progression expected, then you can pull him for an experienced Watson.

Just a thought…

Taylor Blitz Favorite To Win Super Bowl LXI- Post Myles Garrett Trade

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…and NBA fans are saying OKC can’t trade Chet Holmgren for not showing up in a championship series. Enter Jared Verse! Now this is a seismic trade sending shockwaves through the league: Myles Garrett for Jared Verse to bolster the pass rush! In my article before the draft I had outlined they bolstered their secondary with 2 new corners traded for with Kansas City in Trent McDuffie & Jaylen Watson. This is annexed below.

Now they add a closer to bolster their championship run who has only been to the playoffs 3 times in his career. Garrett’s hunger will be needed to bolster a defense that only had 5 sacks in 3 postseason games. They had 47 on the year but heat on QBs dissipated in the playoffs with Sam Darnold throwing for 346 yards and only sacked him once in the NFC Championship Game.They’re giving up a young pass rusher in DE Jared Verse and what sucks is he was in the “Friday” remake promo right before the draft. Now he is being banished to the brown water of Lake Erie in Cleveland vs the blue ocean right outside Los Angeles. That is a painful pill to swallow. However the trajectory of the Rams putting the pieces together to win Super Bowl LXI can’t be underscored.

Garrett is a 2 time NFL DPoY, 1 time Taylor Blitz DPoY and the ink just dried in the NFL record books with last season’s 23 sacks. Keep in mind Verse only recorded 7.5 sacks in 2025. *sucks teeth*…upon further review Verse only had 1 sack in 3 postseason games combined last year. The truth is Myles Garrett is a Reggie White level future Pro Football Hall of Famer not just another good player. With the Eagles trading away WR AJ Brown today to the Patriots the NFC runway is clear barring any injuries…When the clock struck :00 to conclude last year’s NFC Championship Game, the Rams were the 2nd best team. Once the confetti fell on their division rivals in Levi Stadium it was time to dissect what was needed to beat the champion Seahawks. With the ink drying on Seahawk receiver Jaxson Smith-Njigba’s 4 year $156 million contract the Rams needed to upgrade at corner and didn’t wait for the draft. In 3 games Smith-Njigba scorched Ram corners for 27 rec. 349 yards and 2 TDs. He led the NFL with 119 rec. and an NFL leading 1,793 yards with 10 scores and will be a problem for years to come. Yet the Rams pulled off the move of the offseason (up until Garrett) trading for 2 time All Pro Chiefs CB Trent McDuffie. Then brought in his teammate Jaylen Watson to man the corner on the other side.

These two were fresh off playing in 3 straight Super Bowls and faced the AFC’s best receivers during that run. No 1st round corner the Rams could draft would grant anywhere near that success so that “f*ck them picks” mantra has reared its head again. Brilliant move and these new corners were unsung heroes on last year’s 10th ranked defense which was 12th against the pass. They should immediately improve the Rams who were 17th & 19th respectively. This is the blanket LA expects to throw over the rest of the NFC West:

 

McDuffie & Watson had 58 passes defensed with 6 interceptions behind one of the weakest pass rushes in the NFL in Kansas City. Notice how many plays Watson made in the video blitzing? Now these two will be able to jump routes as Jared Verse (7.5 sacks) ooops scratch that….. Myles Garrett (23 sacks), Byron Young (12 sacks) & Kobie Turner (7 sacks) spearheaded a rush that had 47 sacks in ’25 compared to just 35 garnered in KC. Their leading sack artist was Chris Jones with just 7 sacks. This is what they have to counter Smith-Njigba and Kupp in Seattle.

The front seven needs a boost at Linebacker. This has been the weakest position over the last 3 years and has to be shored up for this defense to make the final leap. We’re talking no more than a top 10 to 12th ranking in defense with Stafford and the firepower on offense. Reigning MVP QB Matt Stafford (4,707 yds/ 46TDs) is hoping Puka Nacua (129 rec. 1,715 yds 10TDs) returns from rehab ready to go. Once he and DeVante Adams (60 rec. 789 yds 14TDs) can get a full season together should easily repeat as the NFL’s #1 offense. Barring injury this looks like a full sprint to Super Bowl LXI on their homefield in Sofi. Lets see who and what is addressed in this year’s draft:

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Top Ten QBs For 2026! Countdown 10 – 6!

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As we assess what we expect to see in the upcoming NFL season, everyone is ranking players on where they stand. Here this is a moving target as several players are coming down from career years while others have begun to make names for themselves. At least in NFL circles. This is not an all time standing for these men, its time to offer Taylor Blitz Times Top Ten for the upcoming season:

#10 – Sam Darnold: Achieved for winning Super Bowl LX for the Seattle Seahawks after reviving his career the season before in Minnesota. He resurrected his career with big games down the stretch where in ’24 he stumbled. In microcosm:

  • ’24 Vikings season: 361 of 545 – 4,319 yds 35TDs 12 ints. (7.92 yds per att.)
  • ’25 Seahawks season: 323 of 477 – 4,048 yds 25TDs 14ints. (8.48 yds per att.)

The truth of the matter is that gaudy 8.48 yards per attempt is 2nd in the league to Drake Maye. If you’re new here I wrote out on Dec 9th “The Lie Behind Passer Rating & Several Useless Statistics” where I told you yards per attempt is the statistic that equates to team success not passer rating… well #1 and #2 in yards per attempt faced off in LX or 1st vs 11th in passer rating. He’s elite now after a Phil Simms-esque season. Keep in mind he outdueled League MVP Matt Stafford in the NFC Championship Game to get there. He is returning with his receiving corps intact for ’26 too.

#9 Caleb Williams: No one grew more during the ’25 season than the former Heisman Trophy winner from Southern Cal. Williams with 5 – 4th quarter comebacks came of age similar to John Elway back in 1986. In his 1st playoff he had to make it happen on 4th and 8 and made a legendary throw for the 1st down.  Make that 6-4th quarter come from behind wins as they vanquished the Packers 31-27 in the Wild Card to cement a changing of the guard in the NFC North between the 2 teams.

He almost had a 7th when he had the biggest moment in the playoffs with his 4th down scramble throw to Cole Kmet to tie the game with :18 seconds left to force overtime against the LA Rams. Williams had the Rams on the ropes going to overtime tied 17-17.

For the season Williams was 330 of 568 3,942 yards 27 scores with 7 interceptions or 6.9 yards per attempt. He needs to improve on YPA and his 58% completion percentage in his 2nd full season under Ben Johnson. Keep in mind back in Detroit when Johnson was working with Jared Goff as his OC he improved by 1,193 yds and 10TDs than the season before. Don’t underestimate the value of great offensive coaching. Goff was in his 7th year where Caleb with a greater arm is entering just his 3rd. If last year he was 1 overtime interception from the NFC Championship Game, where would improvement of this magnitude put him in 2026?? Winning in the playoffs and magic moments for an improving QB and the skies the limit…

#8. Joe Burrow: Its been 4 years since Burrow led the Bengals to Super Bowl LVI and he has missed a total of 17 games in the last 3 years and coincidentally they haven’t made the playoffs all 3 years. This includes his spectacular ’24 when he was 460 of 652 for 4,918 yards and 43TDs. So which guy will we see? The MVP level ’24 Burrow or the Joe that missed at least 7 games in both ’23 & ’25?? The injuries are mounting up and if we have a 3rd season in 4 years where he’s missed significant time, we may have already seen the best of Burrow and he won’t be in the Top Ten. This doesn’t include the calf strain where he sat out the entire ’23 preseason.

He isn’t here for his ’25 season where his stats slipped to 1,809 yards 17TDs and 5 interceptions. He is about to turn 30 and journeyman Joe Flacco nearly equaled his stats (1,664 yds 13TDs/ 4ints) in relief. He still has the incomparable Ja’Marr Chase (125 rec/ 1,412 yds / 8TDs) and Tee Higgins as his active targets, Burrow can finish anywhere from #1 to outside the Top Ten. Which Burrow will we get??  Again, that Super Bowl visit was a long time ago and Burrow turns 30 this season….

#7. Dak Prescott: Sigh… now listen, I’ve been critical of Dak in previous articles and the tic where he comes up short in meaningful regular season games and playoffs still remain. I thought Dak never looked better than last year’s 404 of 600 attempts for 4,552 yds and 30 touchdowns. Number 4 gave you the feeling the Cowboys were never out of the ball game. Now they’ve re-signed George Pickens (93 rec. 1,429 yds 9TDs) to a 1 year “do it again” franchise tag. He is going to go all out to secure a long term deal. With CeeDee Lamb (1077 yds 3TDs) Jake Ferguson (82 rec 600yds/8 TDs) and Javonte Williams (1,201 yds rushing 11TDs) #4 can stand back and orchestrate and the Cowboys are capable of 40 points per game easy.

They’ve landed some players on defense and he won’t be asked to do as much if they start forcing some turnovers. If there is 1 quarterback who has the tools in place to alter the way history will think of him, its Dak’s 2026 season. Now come January…*sucks teeth*  your mission, should you choose to accept it…

#6. Jalen Hurts: Now with his Super Bowl LIX championship & MVP shining on the mantle, Hurts has to have a bounce back year to remain on the trajectory of the last 4 years & 2 Super Bowl appearances or he can slide right out of the elite. In year’s past he beat you with his arm and legs but threw the ball scared in 2026, failing to throw AJ Brown & Smitty open. His anticipation wasn’t there and he kept playing scared to turn the football over. This led to a fractured relationship with his best wideout and speculation is he can be traded any day now. But take a look at something:

  • ’24: 248 of 361- 2,903 yds 18 TDs 5ints / 150 car. 640 yds 14 TDs
  • ’25: 294 of 454- 3,224 yds 25Tds 6 ints / 105 car. 421 yds 8 TDs

Hurts was brilliant both running and passing leading the Eagles to the championship in ’04 with the NFL’s 2nd ranked rushing attack. They plummeted to 18th illustrated by Saquon Barkley falling from 2,005 yards to 1,140 yards. Once in obvious passing situations their opponents could clog the intermediate routes and Jalen was too cautious to take shots. Now that he is the $252 million dollar man he has to get over that and changing OCs for the 5th straight season. Another season of turmoil in ’26 could result in barely making the playoffs and slipping in the quarterback hierarchy possibly out of the Top Ten.

You can’t go entire halves of football with ZERO completions and Hurts did so twice. The Eagles punted on 72 drives in ’25 where they only had to 54 times in 2024.Third down percentage dropped from 40.28% to 36.73%. Hurts is making the big bucks to convert these to 1st and sustain drives. He has a ton of equity having been to the Super Bowl twice in the last 4 seasons but like Joe Burrow time starts to eat away at those memories. Less since he has won it all but things in the rear view mirror start fading…

The Eagles have lost a lot of pieces on the defensive side and may be forced to score more. Tactically this will lead to more interceptions but Hurts will have to take more chances.

Thanks for reading who is the bottom half of your Top Ten?

 

 

Taylor Blitz Favorite To Win Super Bowl LXI- Pre Draft: LA Rams

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When the clock struck :00 to conclude last year’s NFC Championship Game, the Rams were the 2nd best team. Once the confetti fell on their division rivals in Levi Stadium it was time to dissect what was needed to beat the champion Seahawks. With the ink drying on Seahawk receiver Jaxson Smith-Njigba’s 4 year $156 million contract the Rams needed to upgrade at corner and didn’t wait for the draft.

In 3 games Jaxson Smith-Njigba scorched Ram corners for 27 rec. 349 yards and 2 TDs. He led the NFL with 119 rec. and an NFL leading 1,793 yards with 10 scores and will be a problem for years to come.

Yet the Rams pulled off the move of the offseason trading for 2 time All Pro Chiefs CB Trent McDuffie. Then brought in his teammate Jaylen Watson to man the corner on the other side. These two were fresh off playing in 3 straight Super Bowls and faced the AFC’s best receivers during that run.

No 1st round corner the Rams could draft would grant anywhere near that success so that “f*ck them picks” mantra has reared its head again. Brilliant move and these new corners were unsung heroes on last year’s 10th ranked defense which was 12th against the pass. They should immediately improve the Rams who were 17th & 19th respectively. This is the blanket LA expects to throw over the rest of the NFC West:

McDuffie & Watson have 58 passes defensed with 6 interceptions behind one of the weakest pass rushes in the NFL in Kansas City. Notice how many plays Watson made in the video blitzing? Now these two will be able to jump routes as Jared Verse (7.5 sacks), Byron Young (12 sacks) & Kobie Turner (7 sacks) spearheaded a rush that had 47 sacks in ’25 compared to just 35 garnered in KC. Their leading sack artist was Chris Jones with just 7 sacks. This is what they have to counter Smith-Njigba and Kupp in Seattle.

The front seven needs a boost at Linebacker in this year’s draft. This has been the weakest position over the last 3 years and has to be shored up for this defense to make the final leap. We’re not talking no more than a top 10 to 12th ranking in defense with Stafford and the firepower on offense.

Reigning MVP QB Matt Stafford (4,707 yds/ 46TDs) is hoping Puka Nacua (129 rec. 1,715 yds 10TDs) returns from rehab ready to go. Once he and DeVante Adams (60 rec. 789 yds 14TDs) can get a full season together should easily repeat as the NFL’s #1 offense.

Barring injury this looks like a full sprint to Super Bowl LXI on their homefield in Sofi. Lets see who and what is addressed in this year’s draft:

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What Constitutes A 1st Round Selection?

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The 2026 NFL Draft is upon us and most of the speculation has faded as who will be the #1 overall pick. Dan Orlovsky is catching flack for his take on ESPN that Ty Simpson is a better pro prospect for Klint Kubiak’s system to be installed in Vegas.

Look at the fallout we have from last year watching Shedeur Sanders fall from the 1st round and hearing in white conservative circles he didn’t belong in the 1st round. When clearly most pundits had him being drafted there.

Truth of the matter is 1st round selections when it comes to quarterback is a crapshoot like any other position. For every Patrick Mahomes (2018), you have a Mitch Trubisky. Or last year with Cam Ward, Jaxson Dart, and Shedeur. Or more famously 1998 Peyton Manning & Ryan Leaf. ’99 Donovan McNabb & Tim Couch. What about ’93 with Drew Bledsoe vs Rick Mirer. It came down to who you wanted to see behind center or the intangibles you felt a young signal caller would bring to your team.

Yet looking at the comparison above you’d think it would be a cake walk with Shedeur’s stats but the NFL game is a different beast. I championed his being given a fair chance to play. He has to beat out DeShaun Watson and impress a new coach to seal the starting position. With Mendoza he will have to come in and learn with Kirk Cousins how to play under center as well as the shotgun. He may not start in year 1 until late unless they come out struggling after the 1st 5 games.

One aspect is how fast will he be able to learn to play from center. Turning his back to the defense to fake the handoff to Ashton Jeanty then turn and fire on time. This was one of Orlovsky’s points and there have been several QBs who have struggled with this nuance in the NFL vs their college days. Its taken Justin Herbert & Trevor Lawrence time to really get the timing down on this and are still works in progress. Hell Shedeur is having to deal with it in Cleveland after an up & down year. Trust me a rookie with 5 pass plays under center.

Caleb Williams is still working on his footwork from Center in Chicago with HC Ben Johnson. So this claim isn’t without merit and a rookie Mendoza will have to make this transition to work in the NFL. Is he a clear can’t miss 1st rounder?? I answered that in my last article.

Las Vegas Raiders you’re on the clock…

Super Bowl LX Fallout: Sam Darnold & The Moving Goalpost

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Its amazing how some in the media don’t want to anoint Sam Darnold to an elite status calling him Trent Dilfer etc. Over the last 15 years coverage of the NFL has turned into fan-boy central with most media only supporting the players of their favorite teams. Its cheap and it robs players of coverage they’ve earned and cheats them out of accolades. Once a player they don’t covet turns their career around several don’t want to admit he should be seen differently. It shows they were wrong or need to see it differently and they let their egos get in the way.

Don’t listen or watch these idiots!

First off Sam Darnold had a moderate perfromance in Super Bowl LX and came out a champion. He went 19 of 38 for 202 yards and a 4th quarter TD pass to AJ Barner which showed the Seahawks were about to be crowned. Detractors kept waiting for Darnold to fold but wait….he already made his bones when he struck down NFL MVP Matt Stafford in the NFC Championship. You can’t overlook his 25 of 36 for 346 yards and 3TDs when you picked him to lose. Well he had a defense and a running game. Well in that game Walker only had 19 carries for 62 yards not the MVP performance (135 yds rushing) we had from him last night.

They’re not in position if he didn’t take over the NFC Championship Game then play a supporting role in LX. He and Walker III flip flopped these roles and as a team came through with the biggest win in their careers. Compare his performance with Tom Brady’s first win in XXXVI. He went 16 of 27 for 145 yds and 1 TD but media acts as though he threw for 500 yards in all his Super Bowls.

Last week the national media on ESPN and elsewhere no one wanted to anoint him with that performance treating it as an abberation. Performances in championship games are not abberations and they need to be lauded or I’d be a hypocrite anointing Doug Williams Super Bowl XXII MVP performance. Its not about having to do it all the time but doing it when your team NEEDS you to.

You CAN’T downplay great performances just because Darnold proved you wrong lighting up Golden Child Coach Kyle Shanahan 41-6 in the NFC Divisional Playoff. Then you stayed silent with your firngers crossed he would falter in the NFC Championship Game to offer “I told you so” then were thwarted. Now he “didn’t turn the ball over” in the Super Bowl vs he made the plays to win the game where other more celebrated QBs like Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson haven’t been.

  • Super Bowl LX – Darnold: 19 of 38 for 202 yds 1TD
  • Super Bowl LVI – Stafford: 26 of 40 for 283 yds 3TDs 2 Ints *Super Bowl MVP*
  • Super Bowl LIX – Hurts: 17 of 22 for 221 yds 2TDs  1 Int  *Super Bowl MVP*

Here are the stat line for 3 of your Super Bowl winners in the last 5 years and only Stafford has been considered elite by the sporting press. His LVI win seems to have erased a decade of marginal play and blew him up to being an elite QB but it hasn’t for Darnold and hasn’t for Hurts. The elite mantra has followed Stafford ever since propelling him to this year’s MVP in the eyes of the voters. Even though he hasn’t always played elite over the last 4 seasons.

So they are moving the goalpost on Sam Darnold, not Taylor Blitz Times. His win last night validates his complete career and draft status. Period. He never has to answer to those lows again now that he’s scaled the mountain. You cannot talk to me about the potential of Justin Herbert, Trevor Lawrence, Bo Nix, Baker Mayfield, or any of the “Rudy try hard” types who can’t win 2 playoff games or even show up in the conference championship game.

Its time to cover players for what they’ve performed and not “cheerleading” about their perceived potential. When you get it wrong, re-evaluate how you got there and make changes when new informati0n about a player comes in. Don’t dismiss it because it doesn’t fit the narrative of your slanted view. This type of b.s. with the national media / writers not only cheated football with the Pro Football Hall of Fame vote this year, it allows them to roll the goalpost out to 150 yards in the covering judgment of Sam Darnold.

This is completely wrong… you’re supposed to cover players for who they are and what they have accomplished. Not cover them as you wished they’d be had you been in their shoes. Now they’re waiting for next year’s performance for their “Aha…see!” moment. Disgraceful…

Darnold is an elite quarterback and he has a chance to grow as Tom Brady did from his Super Bowl XXXVI stats (16 of 27 145 yds 1 TD). By the way “It was a different league then) doesn’t count as an argument since they beat The Greatest Show on Turf who amassed 7,075 yards in 2001 which is still 4th highest in NFL history.

Congratulations Sam Darnold on your elite status and Super Bowl LX  champi0nship