Taking a break from Shadowrun writing to talk a little football and consider the implications of the off-season trades on a league stumbling towards parity. Football guru Mike Mayock released his well researched mock draft on the eve of the real draft. It confirmed what everyone else suspects: The QB’s aren’t top pick material, so any major team additions are going to come from the line on out. That leads to my own surprises for 13.
The Seahawks will be better than ever: Everyone knows what a ripple effect is. The Seahawks off season moves will have a ripple effect on that division, making it tough for the Niners to maintain dominance and tougher for the Cardinals to be relevant at all. The Rams are still a question mark–even with the consolidation of every man named Long in the league. If they turn out to be relevant it can seriously shake up the NFC playoff race. That all comes down to what kind of playmaker they can snag in the draft. Miami is offering Davone Bess, and the Rams could use a guy like him stretching the field.
The Giants are average still: But as long as they get hot at the right time, they can run the table. This goes double for the Packers who suffer from the same affliction. I think the Giants are going to look to address this by drafting a few guys who can hang in there and maintain intensity for 16 weeks. I don’t think, from a personality standpoint, they’ll go for the Honey Badger, but they should. The more likely move will be to improve the line on both sides and rely on the existing talent to mature. It worked for Cruz and now there is a backfield full of RB’s who need to step up