Madden 17 Season Preview - Womas64's Blog

Womas64's Blog

Madden 17 Season Preview

Posted on September 26, 2016 at 03:41 PM.

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Welcome to the 2018 Pre-Season! Last year was another great year in Jacksonville as the Jags took home their second consecutive Lombardi Trophy. Head Coach Dan Stivala has rocketed up the ranks of NFL history, and looks to continue his early dominance as he re-defines the expectations for young head coaches throughout the league.

Let's take a look at the AFC South, where our Franchise is set. First up, our champion Jaguars:

Last year's record: 12-4, Super Bowl Champions

How can you improve from the top? This is the question they will have to answer in Jacksonville this year. Amidst injuries to Blake Bortles and Allen Robinson, the Jags were able to maintain their winning ways, only dropping 2 games back from their 2016 14-2 campaign. RB Lincoln Dawkins absolutely flashed in their outside running game, posting the 6th highest rushing total for a game in league history. Defensively, the Jags continue to be one of the most sound units in the league, developing skill at every level.

Defensively, the Jaguars were #2 in total defense last year, re-instating the cliche that defense wins championships. With a mix of youth and experience on the D-Line, speed at linebacker with Ryan Shazier, and arguably the next top corner in the league in Jalen Ramsey, the Jaguars have everything you need in a defense. Look for the next rookie starter in Conway to compliment Ramsey on a unit that looks to lead the Jags to another year of stinginess and disruption.

Offensively, the Jags return with a very similar unit from 2017. They look to get Robinson back to 2016 form, and keep Bortles upright and his jersey clean. With Dawkins as a constant threat to go the distance, he should keep safeties involved in the running game enough to get the rangy receivers in Jacksonville downfield for a balanced offensive attack. Bortles has become exactly what the Jags imagined he would be coming out of UCF, and he looks to continue his Roethlisberger-esque career in 2017. With the same weapons returning, and HC Dan Stivala dialing up the plays, look for more of the same out of the league's elite Jaguars.

Prediction: 13-3, AFC Championship Bid

It's hard to imagine a Super Bowl at this point without JAX or DAL, but with more competition across the league, and some depth issues this could actually be a year we do not see the Lombardi Trophy in the Sunshine State.

Next we look to Tennessee to find a team that may finally be done making deals...for now.

Last year Tennessee fire-sold their offensive line to drastically add more talent at WR and CB. It proved fruitful as Julio Jones came in from Atlanta and did not miss a beat (Makes you wonder what the Falcons were thinking..). Jones led the league in several receiving categories and took away the AFC's Top WR award. The main story in Tennessee is whether or not Marcus Mariota can hold on the football this year. His 10 fumbles were sigficantly down from his staggering 17 in 2016, but that number will have to continue to drop before Head Coach Nick Rubino can start sleeping better at night.

On the ground, Derrick Henry continues to develop into one of the more terrifying backs in football. Following his Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign with at 1400 yard, 14 TD sophomore season, Henry looks to step into the foreground as perhaps the top-RB in 2018.

Question marks for the offense include:

Can that offensive line come together quickly enough to allow this offense to grow?

Will Mariota and Derrick Henry learn to TAKE CARE OF THE FOOTBALL?

Defensively, the Titans sport one of the games youngest stars in Demarco Rosemund in the middle of the defense. Adding Patrick Peterson last year along with athletic rookies at CB and on the D-Line, the Titans have showed scary signs of dominance to come. As the leagues #1 defense last year, the question in Tennessee is can they do it again?

Prediction: 11-5, AFC Championship bid

Due to Jacksonville's dominance, and their inconsistent success, the Titans have gone under the radar in most predictions. Expect a big year from Mariota has he is bound to fumble less, and find Julio more in a full 16-game season. Can the Titans finally move Jacksonville out of the spotlight and make their way into the dance? We'll have to see.

Lastly, we'll take a look at the Indianapolis Colts. Head Coach Tom Nicholes may be on the hot seat this year after not following through on the 2017 promise to make the post-season. After an 8-8 year, the Colts are committed to their plan of developing young talent, while also trying to put the best team they can around Andrew Luck.

Offensively, the Colts left a lot to be desired for a second year in a row. finishing in the back half of the league in total offense, the Colts will look first to their offense to lead them to victories. For the second year in a row, Andrew Luck threw 31 TD passes, only he threw 8 more interceptions in 2017 (21). Lativius Murray underwhelmed defenses, not reaching 1000 yards rushing, and only averaging 3.7 yards a carry. Despite his record-tying 5 TD performance against Cleveland, he left much to be desired.

TY Hilton posted a career year for the second year in a row, holding out promise and hope for a receiving unit that needs to play more consistently in 2018. With Donte Moncrief leaving in trade, Dorsett and Harper look to take bigger strides, with second year TE Noah Westbrook hoping to break out at the TE position.

Defensively, the Colts have made moves to get younger and faster, cutting Trent Cole, D'Qwell Jackson and the Week 8 trade of Patrick Robinson last year. They've added speed at LB, and look for Vincent Jammer to make an immediate impact at CB.

Prediction: 10-6, AFC Divisional Round

With the added athleticism on defense, the unit hopes to keep the Colts in games long enough for Luck to work his magic. He has a considerable amount of weapons at his disposal, but can the offensive line be strong enough to carry the team in crucial situations? It could be a rough year for Coach Tom Nicholes if the team does not improve. Will Irsay even be paying attention?

That's our 2018 Pre-season Preview. Good Luck!

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