Another fantasy season is now on the records leaving us scratching our heads pondering last year’s results and wondering who is going to be that next fantasy stud in 2020.
But before we jump into that, I’d like to take a look at some of my Bold Predictions from last year and judge how they graded now that all is said and done from the 2019 NFL Season. Enough of that…….let’s get started with critiquing my predictions from 2019.
1) The Red Rifle – Andy Dalton (Cincinnati Bengals)
My prediction that Andy would throw for 4000+ yards in 2019 certainly raised a few eyebrows and rightfully so as that is why we refer to them as BOLD predictions but had the Bengals coaching staff been more aware of their weaknesses, capitalized on their strengths and found the ability to overcome injuries…..I would have nailed this one as Dalton was on his way to passing for 4500 yards before getting benched only to return after missing three games and ending the season with just under 3500 yards tossing the rock.
I will reluctantly take an A- here not only because I included the disclaimer that his main receiver and the rest of the offense stays healthy which didn’t happen and the Bengals coaches didn’t do him any favors. Dalton, in my opinion, will never get the respect he deserves unless he gets another unforeseen opportunity which doesn’t seem likely.
2) Comeback Player of the Year – Joe Flacco (Denver Broncos)
Ok I missed badly here but again, these are supposed to be bold predictions but Flacco was set up to have a break out year but Joe suffered a neck injury half way through the year and never returned to the field.
Aside from that……I still didn’t come close to the bullseye as Tennessee Titans QB Ryan Tannehill surprised most and ended up earning that title and rightfully so. It will be interesting to see if he can continue his success in 2020 with Derek Henry toting the rock and A.J. Brown catching his passes. I am cautiously optimistic that he will.
I will give this prediction a D- considering Joe wasn’t able to compete a full year to prove my point.
3) Fantasy Rookie Of the Year (FROY) – Miles Sanders (Philadelphia Eagles)
I totally bought into the Miles Sanders hype last year and have absolutely no regrets other than I believe I was a year early on my expectations as Assistant Head Coach and former NFL Eagles RB Coach Duce Staley recently stated that there is no limit on touches when it comes to Miles out of the backfield. Does that mean he will have 400 touches next year? I highly doubt it, but it does mean he will be given every opportunity to be the fantasy producer that I thought he could be last year.
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Give me a D+ as I do believe he did get a vote for NFL rookie of the year.
4) Best Buy – Peyton Barber (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
I simply have no explanation on this prediction other than I had a gut feeling and felt he would have gotten more opportunities than he did but that offense just wasn’t with it and didn’t function as I predicted.
Peyton did manage to produce with the 53 carries in those first five games with an average of 4 YPC and crossed the goal line 3 times but the Buccaneers just couldn’t find a rhythm on offense which is why they let Barber go to the Redskins, signed QB Tom Brady and talked TE Rob Gronkowski out of retirement to partner him with his old friend behind center.
The additions of Brady and Gronk along with replacing Head Coach Dirk Koetter with Bruce Arians after agreeing to a trade with the Cardinals and soon after hiring Byron Leftwich as their Offensive Coordinator and Todd Bowles as their Defensive Coordinator certainly makes things interesting in Tampa as they themselves realized they were going nowhere fast.
I have to give myself a D here as I wasn’t predicting Barber to be a top 15 running back but rather a nice addition to rosters later in drafts in seasonal leagues or a buy low candidate in dynasty leagues.
In Summary:
My 2019 predictions weren’t great but they were BOLD which goes to show just how much the preseason hype can be misleading based on opportunities and/or injuries which none of us can truly predict in August……especially in 2020.
But if we all had the same expectations of players and teams then none of this would be relevant or entertaining so stay tuned as I will be making my 2020 predictions in the near future and look forward to hearing from you and your opinions!
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