So we have one of the best

[FrodosFinger]

…backfields in the league now.
…WR corps in the league now
…QBs, per last years performance, in the league now
…DB’s, with the addition of Spoon, in the league now

Anyone else projecting a win or two above last season but know in your mind that there’s potential for higher…much higher?

I’ve typically been a pessimist when it comes to predictions. And I know this sounds crazy….I see us taking 13 games and making a very deep run in the playoffs.

Super Geeked for this season.

I like 11 wins minimum. They were a couple of nail biter losses away from 11 last year and Geno has been putting in a lot of offseason work with JSN and believe it or not Eskridge. The defense got instantly better by dropping Barton and adding Wagner, Bush, Love, Reed and Dre’Monty Jones. Nwosu and Taylor are about as solid as you get when healthy

 

[bileever]

Unlike last year, when most of us thought it would be a down year, the predictions this year are all over the map. Lots of reasons for optimism, and I can see the potential in the new players we've acquired. But right now, it's just potential, and all the fan bases around the NFL are jazzed up right now because everyone is undefeated.

But because even good players take a while to adjust to the NFL, I don't know if the team will gel this year. I think the defense especially is a work in progress and still has missing pieces. So my own prediction is that we'll be closer to last year's record and I can't see us getting more than 10 wins this year.

I mean, are we better than the Lions or the Giants? I think we're right there, in the middle of the pack, maybe upper half, but below the Eagles, the 49ers, Vikings and the Cowboys (yes, the Cowboys). I think we're contenders, but so are the Saints, Lions, Giants and maybe the Panthers and Falcons.

What helps a lot is that the Rams and the Cardinals appear to be struggling again this year. So for now, the NFC West isn't the trial by fire that it used to be.

So I hope that I'm wrong, and that those of you predicting 11, 12 and even 13 wins are right. It could happen, right?

 

[keasley45]

12-5 .

9ers return to earth.
Dallas implodes
Detroit underperforms
Giants are slow out the gate.

Eagles are our only comp in the NFC.

 

[toffee]

Depends on how we put together the interior on both. Need the run stuffers for sure, we have edge guys up the Ying Yang now,, Our linebackers have to be able to play down hill and aggressive to the line and not be in wait and react mode. On offense, Center has to get sorted out, and if Bradford is the guy it will take a few games.

I am thinking rough out of the gate as far as look great a few plays burned on others, same on offense a few series where we look unstoppable and then we are shut down as oppositions throw veteran tactics at our youngsters and get in their heads some.

We could be 3 and 5 out of the gate, but like every year, seems like games 8 - 16 we go on a tear. So 9 and 7 0r 10 and 6 are not to far of a reach, if stuff clicks we could be 13 and 3.

I am more unsure about our front 7, and DL in particular, less worried about OL. I like to think that our OL should at least be the same as last year, which wasn't great but good enough to power our top 10 offense? Our front 7 have a lot of new faces, but some moves were a bit puzzling, like Jarran Reed to replace Shelby Harris? other than being 1 year younger, Harris had better stats?

 

[RiverDog]

I like 11 wins minimum. They were a couple of mail biter losses away from 11 last year and Geno has been putting in a lot of offseason work with JSN and believe it or not Eskridge. The defense got instantly better by dropping Barton and adding Wagner, Bush, Love, Reed and Dre’Monty Jones. Nwosu and Taylor are about as solid as you get when healthy

We were also a couple of nail biting wins away from 7-10, too.

 

[FrodosFinger]

We were also a couple of nail biting wins away from 7-10, too.

Those were earned the hard way. The officiating in the Saints and Falcons losses were both egregiously poor. This team will guaranteed have at least 10. I say 13-4 though as it stands now with how our roster has been stacked these past 2 years

 

[NoGain]

We have a tough schedule this year. I did my first dive into it recently, and, barring an awful slew of injuries, I feel pretty confident that a 9-8 record is our baseline. 12-5 and I'm a very happy fan. That's kind of my W/L range at this point time. Gotta wait and see what happens at training camp and what final roster moves they make to think any more than this about it.

 

[RiverDog]

Those were earned the hard way. The officiating in the Saints and Falcons losses were both egregiously poor. This team will guaranteed have at least 10. I say 13-4 though as it stands now with how our roster has been stacked these past 2 years

I thought you said 11 wins minimum. But now, you're down to 10?

I'd be very careful issuing guarantees of any kind, especially this time of year. I certainly wouldn't be betting very much money on what can only be described as a hunch.

Like the above poster said, I think that a good baseline is a 9-8 season. I think that there's as much of a chance that we'll go 14-3 as there is that we'll go 5-12. There's a lot of variables, ie injuries, how well our opponents fare, when we catch teams on our schedule.

For example, if you look back at their individual results from last season, we were very fortunate to have caught the Lions and Jets when we did, before one team figured it out and got hot and while the other team was in the middle of a belly flop.

This season, we don't play the Niners until Week 12 then play them a 2nd time in Week 14. Our entire season could hinge on those two games, yet we play them late and we play them close together. That could be a huge advantage, a huge disadvantage, or no advantage at all for either team.

 

[keasley45]

We were also a couple of nail biting wins away from 7-10, too.

But when you look back, do you feel like we lost games we should have won, or won games we should have lost.

I feel like it's more the former. We should have never lost against the Raiders, Falcons or Bucs, for example. But you're right, it was a play this way or that that determined most of the games.

 

[FrodosFinger]

I thought you said 11 wins minimum. But now, you're down to 10?

I'd be very careful issuing guarantees of any kind, especially this time of year. I certainly wouldn't be betting very much money on what can only be described as a hunch.

Like the above poster said, I think that a good baseline is a 9-8 season. I think that there's as much of a chance that we'll go 14-3 as there is that we'll go 5-12. There's a lot of variables, ie injuries, how well our opponents fare, when we catch teams on our schedule.

For example, if you look back at their individual results from last season, we were very fortunate to have caught the Lions and Jets when we did, before one team figured it out and got hot and while the other team was in the middle of a belly flop.

This season, we don't play the Niners until Week 12 then play them a 2nd time in Week 14. Our entire season could hinge on those two games, yet we play them late and we play them close together. That could be a huge advantage, a huge disadvantage, or no advantage at all for either team.

5 wins are you insane? Lmao

 

[RiverDog]

5 wins are you insane? Lmao

I'm not predicting 5 wins. My best guess is 9-8. I said 5 wins as I feel it is just as likely as 14 wins, which IMO is equally insane.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

We were also a couple of nail biting wins away from 7-10, too.

you could say that about a lot of teams

 

[RiverDog]

But when you look back, do you feel like we lost games we should have won, or won games we should have lost.

I feel like it's more the former. We should have never lost against the Raiders, Falcons or Bucs, for example. But you're right, it was a play this way or that that determined most of the games.

I'm of the belief that those things have a tendency to even out. Take a look at our opener vs. the Broncos. We were a huge beneficiary of a boneheaded game mismanagement by Nathanial Hackett and won on a missed FG. Had they played their cards right, they could have been looking at a 50 yd fg attempt instead of a near record 64 yarder. We also won a game in OT vs. the Rams that could have gone either way. We caught the Lions before they caught fire and the Jets after they were well into their tailspin after they had gone 5-2 to start the season. We could have very easily ended up 7-10 or worse depending on how the chips fell.

It all depends on your point of view. Glass half empty or glass half full?

 

[RiverDog]

you could say that about a lot of teams

Without a doubt!

 

[SoulfishHawk]

that month starting with the Germany game. Ouch

 

[FrodosFinger]

We have a tough schedule? Everyone does in the NFC. If we’re not upper echelon in the conference (considering how the roster has been built and structured over the past 2 seasons) then I don’t know who is. The Lions and Vikings are not better than the Hawks. No team in the NFC South deserves any cred over Seattle. SF and Philly both lost key pieces. Look ….Pete and John really did a meticulous job in rebuilding a stout roster in such a short amount of time: Listen to what I say!! I will guarantee 11 wins. That’s the easy part. We just need to put together another SB run. Anyone that doesn’t see it coming is blind

 

[Sgt. Largent]

I predict 2-3 games better in the standings . Of course they'll struggle early and figure it out

Not sure if the Hawks can afford to struggle early with how brutal their schedule gets in mid November.

I'm hoping we're at LEAST 5-3 going into that November to early December stretch against the Rams, Niners (twice), Cowboys, Eagles, etc

 

[AROS]

The Brutal November Stretch has me concerned, but barring injury, I feel confident we are looking at a 10-12 win team this year.

 

[MORGULON]

Not sure if the Hawks can afford to struggle early with how brutal their schedule gets in mid November.

I'm hoping we're at LEAST 5-3 going into that November to early December stretch against the Rams, Niners (twice), Cowboys, Eagles, etc

You might be correct. That doesn't stop them from having issues early unfortunately. I hope they figure things out early

 

[Year of The Hawk]

But when you look back, do you feel like we lost games we should have won, or won games we should have lost.

I feel like it's more the former. We should have never lost against the Raiders, Falcons or Bucs, for example. But you're right, it was a play this way or that that determined most of the games.

That is the way of the NFL now. Parity. Even the winning teams have plenty of close games. Nobody is dominating and rolling over everyone every week. Just not designed that way. I personally like looking at it like we lost games we could have won. This is after all the team I am rooting for