Antoine Fuqua Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked", a weekly series where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted related superlatives. This week, I'm profiling the work of Antoine Fuqua-whose latest project "The Equalizer 3" is in theaters now. 

Antoine Fuqua's Filmography Ranked:

13.King Arthur (C-)

12.Infinite (C)

11.The Equalizer 2 (C)

10.The Replacement Killers (C+)

9.Brooklyn's Finest (C+)

8.Tears of the Sun (B-)

7.The Equalizer (B-)

6.Southpaw (B-)

5.Olympus Has Fallen (B)

4.Shooter (B)

3.The Guilty (B+)

2.The Magnificent Seven (A-)

1.Training Day (A+)

Top Dog: Training Day (2001)

While Fuqua has made a number of commercial hits and cult favorites over his 25-year feature directorial career, none of his other films have come close to matching the cultural impact or awe-inspiring brilliance of Training Day. It's such a tense, menacing and unapologetically nasty corrupt cop thriller that it permanently reset the bar for the entire subgenre. This incredible accomplishment wouldn't have been possible if not for Fuqua's kinetic direction, Ethan Hawke's terrific performance as the ambitious and even-keeled yet naïve LAPD officer Jake Hoyt-whose interest in transferring to the narcotics department leads to the most consequential day of his entire career and most notably, Denzel Washington's work as the unhinged, arrogant and superhumanly intimidating villain Det. Alonzo Harris will be the stuff of legend for the rest of time.  

Bottom Feeder: King Arthur (2004)

Fuqua's take on this legendary folk tale is really done in by the stiff lead performances from Clive Owen, Keira Knightley and Ioan Gruffudd and some questionable pacing for an action-heavy medieval adventure flick. Other than that, it's a similarly mediocre, "gritty" take on King Arthur as the one Guy Ritchie delivered over a decade later in Legend of the Sword that really only shows signs of life when Stellan Skarsgard is on the screen fulfilling his Skarsgard duty of being an entertainingly detestable villain that the audience can't wait to see die.  

Most Underrated: The Magnificent Seven (2016)

This one gets a lot of heat for being a remake of a remake, but I sincerely believe it's among the best westerns the 21st century has produced to date. The heroes (Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'onofrio, Byung-hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Ruflo, Martin Sensmeier) bring the charisma, the villains (Peter Sarsgaard, Cam Gigandet, Jonathan Joss) chew the scenery, the shootouts are immense, Mauro Fiore's cinematography is stylish and Fuqua directs with energy and gusto galore.  

Most Overrated: The Equalizer (2014)

American action movies released over the last 30-40 years is probably the only area of film history that I feel really well-versed in since I've logged an unholy amount of hours watching and obsessing over them. When it comes to the 2010's specifically, a film that is often listed as a standout among the general public is The Equalizer.  For me, it's not even the best action vehicle that Fuqua and Denzel Washington made during this decade (my preferred Fuqua/Washington vehicle of the 2010's may or may not be the one I just gushed about above). While Washington gives a seriously awesome performance as retired government assassin Robert McCall-whose forced back into action when he kills the Russian mobster pimp (David Meunier) of a teenage prostitute (Chloe Grace Moretz) he knows from a local diner after finding out she was in the ICU after being beaten within an inch of her life and the action has a gnarly slasher-esque brutality to it-particularly in its hardware store-set finale- that allows it to standout from other films in the genre, some shockingly slow  pacing and a puzzling decision to spend more time developing the Russian mob aspects of the story over focusing on McCall and his reluctant return to the killing business downgrade it from a good to passable action movie.         

2023 NFL Preview: AFC West

 Denver Broncos

2022 Record: 5-12 (4th in AFC West)

Head Coach: Sean Payton (1st season)

Notable Additions: T Mike McGlinchey, DE Zach Allen, G Ben Powers

Notable Departures: DE Dre'mont Jones, RB Latavius Murray, K Brandon McManus

Biggest Reason for Excitement: The 2022 Season is Over

Safe to say, things didn't go as planned with the Broncos in 2022. What was initially viewed as a golden opportunity to end their playoff drought that has been in place since they won the Super Bowl in 2015 and return to being a contending team quickly turned into a downright ugly season where almost nothing went right. 

New quarterback Russell Wilson looked like a shell of his former self as he struggled with accuracy-especially downfield (his 60.5 CMP% was a new career-low and a full 4% lower than his career average), displayed shaky decisionmaking (11 INT's in 15 games-which marks only the 2nd time in the past 5 seasons and 5th time in 11 NFL seasons that he's thrown double digit picks) and had a ton of trouble of finding the endzone (19 total TD's, which is 8 less than the new career-low he had set in 2021). Wilson's poor play, a shaky offensive line, an ineffective running back committee that only got worse after Javonte Williams tore his ACL, LCL and the posterolateral corner in his knee in early October and horrendous playcalling proved to be the recipe for the worst scoring offense in the league as they averaged a paltry 16.9 PTS per game (they did fair a bit better in yardage as they ranked 19th in passing, 21st in rushing and 21st in total YDS).  A combination of poor clock management, terrible execution and good old fashioned choking caused them to go 4-10 in 1-score games including a whopping 0-3 in OT. 1st (and likely, last time) head coach Nathaniel Hackett was so bad at managing games that someone in the front office had to coerce Jerry Rosburg-who hadn't coached since 2018-out of retirement to handle timeouts, whether or not to go for it on 4th down or kick/punt, etc. Hackett wasn't even able to make to the end of the season due to a combination of ineptitude and the locker room turning on him. And perhaps most impressively, they went 3-11 after starting the season 2-1. Just really horrendous stuff all-around. 

The good news for everybody in The Mile High City is that this nightmarish book has closed and they can look forward to a new season with a new coach in Sean Payton, somewhat retooled roster and  restored sense of optimism for the future (or at least the piece of mind that things likely won't be as bad as they were in 2022 again).

Biggest Reason for Concern: Sean Payton's Attitude 

Defector writer Drew Magary tweeted out something a few weeks back that made me have an epiphany. The tweet in question-which was referring to Sean Payton's now infamous ban of players wearing "Gilligan" hats on the sideline during preseason games- read as follows: "I know this is an overstatement, but there's been a strong whiff of Urban Meyer coming out of Denver for the past month". I couldn't agree more. Payton has been peacocking around Denver like he's introducing the concept of winning to his players. In addition to the whole "NO FUCKING GILIGAN HATS ON MY WATCH" lecture, he did an interview with USA Today where he basically called Hackett a disgrace to coaching, gloated about firing Russell Wilson's personal throwing coach and tearing down the separate office he had in the facility and jerked himself off over what he accomplished with the Saints. Has nobody told Payton that Wilson also 1 won Super Bowl and unlike him, has appeared in another once since?

Nobody would argue that Hackett did a good job last year, was well-respected in the locker room, or even that he doesn't deserved to get harshly criticized, but why the fuck would this team-which largely consists of the same guys-buy into Payton's system after hearing what he said in this interview? He's basically told these guys that they aren't shit and he's fucking awesome whenever he's spoken publicly since he got hired! Bill Belichick is the only head coach in the league that has the amount of hardware required to get away with being so openly smug and arrogant and even he's dialed it back a bit of late due to how the team has performed post-Tom Brady. 

Here's the harsh truth about Payton: He's a guy that's been coasting off a single run that came at a time where the people of New Orleans needed things to smile about as they were rebuilding from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina for almost 15 years now. Aside from that 2009 season, his time in New Orleans should be defined by being a good regular season coach that shit his pants in the playoffs time and time again alongside his future Hall of Fame QB Drew Brees (his playoff record post Super Bowl is 5-7 and he's also never won multiple games in the same postseason during the stretch). Not to mention, the guy quit on the Saints after spending 1 fucking season without Brees. What the hell does that say about his character and true coaching ability when he can't win at a high level despite being a self-proclaimed offensive guru then immediately walks away because he views trying to win with an "average QB" (Jameis Winston) as too hard of a challenge? Payton better put his money where his mouth is and dramatically turn this team around right away or he'll run the risk of tarnishing his glowing reputation or maybe even become a laughing stock in Denver just like that fucking rube Nathaniel Hackett.  

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: A Resurgent Comeback Season from Russell Wilson

Wilson's legacy beyond his time with the Seahawks and Payton's tenure in Denver will be defined by how he fares this season. The signs of decline appear to have been there for Wilson in back-to-back seasons as a decade of getting assaulted behind terrible offensive lines (this is a problem that followed him to Denver as he got sacked a career-high 55 times in just 15 games) seem to be causing his body to break down. He's sustained injuries that caused him to miss time in back-to-back seasons (a broken finger in 2021, throwing shoulder ailment last year) after not missing a single start from 2012-2020 and his zip on the ball and poise under center just wasn't was it used to be. Considering his smaller stature and age (he'll be 35 in November), it's entirely possible that his best days are behind him.

What will it take for Wilson to get back to his old self? Simple: Re-establish the running game, allow him to make plays on the move and put him in situations where he can make quick throws to regain his shaken confidence and accuracy. Whether this is attainable with the Broncos current personnel remains up in the air. The additions of Ben Powers and Mike McGlinchey in free agency could conceivably improve the offensive line enough to prevent Wilson from getting killed or rushing throws to prevent himself from getting killed and the return of Williams at running back could be a godsend if he returns to the NOS-powered bulldozer he was as a rookie in 2021, but the loss of Jerry Jeudy-who is easily the most versatile receiver they have-for at least the first couple games of the year with a hamstring injury and both K.J. Hamler and Tim Patrick for the year is the sort of hiccup this group doesn't need in the passing game right now. Even vintage Wilson wasn't the type of quarterback that Payton was accustomed to working too, but he's going to have to try and find a way to build an offense around what Wilson can do at this point of his career in order to make this arranged marriage work on any sort of level.   

Bottom Line:

Despite the arrival of Sean Payton and some relatively splashy free agent pickups, I still believe the Broncos are well behind most of the other teams in the AFC and will only finish above 3rd place in the division if the Chargers really Charger it up this year and/or the Chiefs experience a Space Jam-esque situation where aliens drain all their talent to try and beat the Looney Tunes in a football game.

Kansas City Chiefs

2022 Record: 14-3 (1st in AFC West)

Head Coach: Andy Reid (11th season)

Notable Additions: T Jawaan Taylor, T Donovan Smith, ILB Drue Tranquill

Notable Departures: T Orlando Brown Jr., WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, S Juan Thornhill

Biggest Reason for Excitement: They're Still the Team to Beat

The most painful part of winning a Super Bowl is realizing that running it back with the same roster and coaching staff the next season is impossible. For the Chiefs, this meant losing starting left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., starting right tackle Andrew Wylie, starting wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, starting free safety Juan Thornhill and starting defensive tackle Khalen Saunders in free agency, cutting ties with Frank Clark after 5 mostly respectable seasons with the team and experiencing the unprecedented move of OC Eric Bieniemy leaving a winning situation to take the same position with the much less talented Commanders. After all the dust settled following a busy spring, the Chiefs still find themselves in the best position possible.

Patrick Mahomes is back under center and fully healthy heading into the season, Andy Reid is returning to the sideline for the 11st season in KC after reportedly briefly considering retirement after last season, Steve Spagnuolo was handed another toy to blitz with in Kansas City's own Felix Anduike-Uzomah-who racked up 20.5 sacks during his final 2 seasons at Kansas State and Bieniemy ironically got replaced as OC by the very man he replaced as OC in Matt Nagy. Really the only causes for concern right now are bringing in two new tackles in Donovan Smith and Jawaan Taylor to anchor the ends of their o-line after having a great collective unit over the past couple seasons and Chris Jones engaging in a holdout over his contract situation (more on that in a minute). Still, the gap between the Chiefs and everybody else is clear right now and it's going to take a number of key injuries or some sudden regression for them or some massive improvements from other teams to change that.      

Biggest Reason for Concern: Chris Jones' Ongoing Holdout 

The talk of Chiefs training camp has been Jones' holdout. The 4x All-Pro is entering the final year of the 4 year/$80 mil/$60 mil guaranteed deal he signed in July 2020 after being handed the franchise tag that March and after living up to, if not outperforming that deal and entering his age-29 season, he wants to take advantage of his last chance to really cash out in the pros right now.

The question that I have for Brett Veach and Clark Hunt is what's stopping you from paying Jones? As silly as it may sound to the casual fan, Jones is unquestionably the Mahomes of their defense. Everything that they do well starts with Jones' ability to get after the quarterback, disrupt plays in the backfield and just generally be a wrecking ball that opposing offenses need to focus a ton of their energy on. On top of that, he's coming off a career year where he logged 15.5 sacks, 17 TFL's, 77 QB pressures and finished in 2nd place in Defensive Player of the Year voting. The fact that they've let this issue hang over their heads for over a month now is quite frankly staggering and it's opening up the door for the organization to be taught some uncomfortable lessons about Jones' value to this team as they stare down the barrell of him sitting out for the beginning of the season. 

Thinking about the composition of this defense without Jones is pretty frightening. Before getting into the broader implications of his absence, just take a gander at the rest of the defensive tackle group. With the aforementioned exit of Saunders in free agency, their non-Jones depth chart on the interior is topped by Derrick Nnadi-who has 4 career sacks in 5 seasons with the Chiefs, 4th year pro Tershawn Wharton-who has 5 career sacks and is coming off an ACL tear and rookie Keondre Coburn-who was selected in the 6th round. Barring Coburn proving to be a late-round steal, this group seems like a long shot to be adequate, let alone effective. Veach doesn't seem to have much confidence in them either since he went out and swung a trade with the rival Raiders for 2nd year player Neil Farrell on Tuesday afternoon. If you're panicked about defensive tackle without Jones, why not call up him or his agent and work out the terms for the new deal. This shit does not need to be happening right now!

As for the broader team, there's a ton of things that have to be considered when looking at the defense without Jones. Can their young defensive back group of L'Jarius Sneed, Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson, Bryan Cook and Justin Reid hold up to the increased action they'd get from the quarterbacks have cleaner pockets to work? Are George Karlaftis, Mike Danna and Amudike-Uzmoah good enough to serve as the engines of a pass-rush? Will Nick Bolton, Willie Gay, Leo Chenal and newcomer Drue Tranquill be able to stop the run as well they have in the past now that their paths to the backfield are smaller and more congested? You can't just remove a player with Jones' impact from the field and expect it to be as business as usual out there. Whether it's for a week or a month and a half, Jones' absence will be deeply felt out there and the shot callers on this team will pay for their refusal to give him a new deal.    

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Having Another Playmaker Emerge in the Passing Game Alongside Travis Kelce

2022 was the brightest Travis Kelce has ever shined as a pro as he posted an insane 110 REC/1,338 YD/12 TD line (the reception and TD totals marked career highs) in the 1st season since 2015 where he wasn't playing alongside Tyreek Hill. While no one replicated the constant home run-hitting threat of Hill, Kelce was aided in the passing game by a resurgent JuJu Smith-Schuster, new splash play specialist Marquez Valdes-Scantling and later in the season, Jerick McKinnon and trade deadline acquisition Kadarious Toney. With Smith-Schuster leaving for the Patriots in free agency and the oft-injured speedster Mecole Hardman also not being retained, the Chiefs will once again have to figure out the hierarchy behind their star tight end. 

Starting off with the easy stuff, McKinnon and Valdez-Scantling will continue to serve in their specialist roles. Both guys are too limited in what they can do to be top dogs (particularly Valdez-Scantling-whose route running and hands can be horrid at times), but they should get regular targets and make some visits to the endzone.

Skyy Moore is the most likely candidate to receive a significnat uptick in action in 2023 as he's set to take on the slot WR role that was vacated by Smith-Schuster. The 2nd year pro remains kind of an enigma given his limited snap count as a rookie, but he was able to make a handful of nice plays throughout the year that teased his potential. His route-running and shiftiness after the catch made him a huge asset at Western Michigan and if that translates to the pros, he could be in line for a breakout year.

The wild cards in this unsettled hierarchy are Toney and rookie Rashee Rice. In an ideal world, Toney would be a featured part of their offense as the 2021 1st round pick has the speed, YAC ability and versatility that Reid covets in his receivers. The problem is that the kid has yet to prove he can stay healthy in the league-appearing in only 19 games over 2 seasons and some injury issues have already popped up this year as he suffered a partial meniscus tear at the start of training camp, which puts his Week 1 availability into question.

Rice was the top beneficiary of Toney's absence as he got plenty of run with the 1's in practice as well as is in the preseason games. His contested catch ability, body control and physicality would provide the Chiefs with a different type of receiver than they've had recently, but as they showed last year with Moore, they're willing to let rookie WR's spend the bulk of their time sitting and learning. The brutal drops he had in live game action during the preseason-which were a huge issue for him in college-also could hurt his chances of seeing the field as a rookie.

Saying that there's pressure on this group to deliver would be a panicky overstatement considering how good Kelce continues to be. However, another receiver or two emerging as reliable playmakers would make Kelce's job easier and if that were happen, the 34-year old's run of dominance could end up getting extended due to not having to carry as much of the offensive load as expected.      

Bottom Line:

Barring injury or some really bad luck, it would be stunning if the Chiefs weren't well-positioned to compete for their 3rd Super Bowl victory of the Reid/Mahomes-era come January.

Las Vegas Raiders

2022 Record: 6-11 (3rd in AFC West)

Head Coach: Josh McDaniels (2nd season)

Notable Additions: QB Jimmy Garoppolo, WR Jakobi Meyers, CB Marcus Peters

Notable Departures: QB Derek Carr, TE Darren Waller, CB Rock Ya-Sin

Biggest Reason for Excitement: Josh Jacobs Ending His Holdout and Returning to the Team

Taking a cue from the deal the Giants gave Saquon Barkley, the Raiders formally welcomed back to the fold last weekend when he inked a 1-year deal worth up to $12 million after being away from the team since getting the franchise tag in March. With Jimmy Garoppolo set to replace Derek Carr under center, Jacobs appears set to have a huge role in the offense that could possibly even see him exceed the massive 393-touch workload he received last season. If his impact can at least match that of 2022 where he ripped off 1,953 scrimmage YDS and 12 rushing TD's and ease Garoppolo's transition to the team, the Raiders could end up exceeding expectations this year.

Biggest Reason for Concern: That They Didn't Do Enough To Fix Their Pass Defense

When the Raiders turned in the 7th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, I figured there was no chance in hell it wasn't Christian Gonzalez. He was the consensus top-corner available and a top 5-10 prospect overall, they were coming off a season in which they had the 4th worst pass defense in the league and their best corner from 2022 (Rock Ya-Sin) had already left for the Ravens in free agency. It just made too much damn sense! A few minutes later, the pick was announced and as soon I heard "Tyree Wilson, defensive end, Texas Tech" come out of Rodger Goddell's mouth, I let out a stunned "WHAT!" in the direction of my television. Edge is the top position of strength for the Raiders on defense and as freakish as Wilson's raw skill set is, his presence on the Raiders won't move the needle for them in 2023.

Their ignoring of the DB position didn't stop at passing on Gonzalez. The Raiders made another 3 picks in rounds 2 and 3 before they finally drafted their lone corner in Maryland product Jakorian Bennett, who I quite frankly know nothing about besides that he wasn't a #1 corner in college (Giants 1st round pick Deonte Banks held that honor) and his 4.3 40 at the Combine turned some heads, but he is projected to start in Week 1, so that's something!   

Their drafting approach served as an extension to their lackadaisical approach to free agency. After signing former Eagles safety Marcus Epps to a 2-year deal right out of the gate, they basically just dug around the couch cushions a week after free agency started and found guys like Duke Shelley-who didn't even make the final roster-and David Long to fill out their available roster spots. Hell, they didn't even bring in their biggest name/final projected starter (Marcus Peters) until right before camp started in July! Sure they had some cap issues to navigate after being saddled with all the dead money left on Derek Carr's deal, but that doesn't excuse their passiveness. Available corners like Patrick Peterson, Byron Murphy and Cameron Sutton weren't out here re-setting the corner market with their deals, the Raiders just chose to sit back and cheap out-which is actually a beautiful tribute to Josh McDaniels and Dave Zeigler's former bosses Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick.

This approach could very well end up costing them. Peters is a notoriously trick-or-treat player who is coming off a particularly painful season with the Ravens where he was getting his ass handed to him in coverage on a weekly basis, Epps was a so-so player in Philly who benefitted from being surrounded by high-end talent up front and alongside him in secondary and Long struggled to get on the field while he was with the Rams and when he did see action, it typically wasn't pretty.

With Nate Hobbs and Trevon Moherig regressing following their strong rookie seasons in 2021, there's not a single area of the secondary that can be counted onto deliver right now and in a division that is home to both Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert, that should scare the ever-loving shit out of the Raiders. 

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Jimmy Garoppolo Staying Healthy

Jimmy Garoppolo's play has become kind of a punchline over the years since he's the dictionary definition of a competent game manager that won't cost or win you games. But the thing is that no matter how unsexy or vanilla his play is, he's done exactly what was asked of him with both the Patriots and 49ers and that's part of why he carries a 40-17 record as a starter heading into this season. Given his existing relationship with McDaniels from his days with the Patriots and a group of receivers in Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers and Hunter Renfrow that are well-suited to play with a QB that gets the ball out quickly and efficiently and puts them in a good spot to make plays, Garoppolo should have no problem continuing to be his steady self in Vegas.

There is one huge risk that comes with employing Garoppolo as a starting quarterback as the 49ers learned all too well during his nearly 6 seasons there: He has a very hard time staying healthy. Excluding 2017-where he was traded from the Patriots on Halloween and didn't play until a month later, 2019 was the only season during his time with the 49ers where he started every game and 2021 was the only other one where he missed less than 3 with injury. The other 3 he ended the year on IR with a torn ACL, high ankle sprain and Lisfranc sprain respectively. As Garoppolo approaches his 32nd birthday in November, his odds of sustaining an injury that he doesn't bounce back from are only getting higher.

So what's the backup plan if Garoppolo gets hurt? Well, none other than another old buddy of McDaniels: Brian Hoyer! The nearly 38-year old is hot off his 3rd stint with the Patriots and his lone taste of game action last year against the Packers before he suffered a massive concussion that sidelined him and eventually caused him to lose the backup job to rookie Bailey Zappe was a pretty prudent reminder of why he wasn't given a chance to be a full-time starter again after being traded from San Francisco to New England in the deal involving the man he's currently backing up. Rookie Aidan O'Connell is also on the 53-man roster, but he's considered to be a project QB and it would be pretty surprising if he saw playing time in a non-emergency situation this year (although, a couple games with Hoyer under center could change that).

That shaky backup situation is precisely why Garoppolo remaining healthy has never been more imperative. This isn't San Francisco where Kyle Shanahan has about a 50/50 chance of turning anybody who started at quarterback for a D1 college into an acceptable pro signalcaller for 6-8 weeks at a time. McDaniels entrusted Garoppolo to be the clear starter here because he trusts him to run and excel in his system more than any other available QB would. That's a big gamble for McDaniels and Zeigler to make after a pretty horid debut season in Vegas last year, but it speaks volumes towards how much belief they have in Garoppolo's ability to turn the ship around. And who knows, if Garoppolo can do it, he might finally be viewed as more than a game manager by the masses.  

Bottom Line:

2022 was another black eye for McDaniels as a head coach and with the fate of this year's team largely boiling down to Jimmy Garoppolo's health, Josh Jacobs' ability to repeat his monster 2022 campaign and the play of their defense that is largely unproven at best and straight-up foul at worst, this could be the last season he ever gets to be a head coach in the NFL.       

Los Angeles Chargers

2022 Record: 10-7 (2nd in AFC West)

Head Coach: Brandon Staley (3rd season)

Notable Additions: ILB Eric Kendricks, DE Nick Williams

Notable Departures: ILB Drue Tranquill, S Nasir Adderley (retired), G Matt Feiler 

Biggest Reason for Excitement: The Hiring of Kellen Moore as OC

Joe Lombardi's time with the Chargers came to an end 2 days after they lost to the Jaguars in the Wild Card Round. While his contributions to Justin Herbert's development during his 2 years as OC deserves some praise, his often overly conservative playcalling that caused Herbert to mostly throw short of the sticks regardless of the game situation and questionable usage of the small., shifty Austin Ekeler as an inside runner were detrimental enough to the operation that he had to get axed.

When it came to finding a replacement for Lombardi, Staley and the front office went in the complete opposite direction with the hiring of Kellen Moore. Ironically, the reason that Moore lost his job with the Cowboys is because Mike McCarthy felt he was too aggressive. No one in the Chargers building will be telling Moore anything like that. His willingness to push the ball down the field and utilize Herbert's special arm strength and the vertical talents of Mike Williams, rookie Quentin Johnston, Gerald Everett and Jalen Guyton-who will start on the PUP list as he continues to recover from the torn ACL he suffered last season-will actually be a welcome sight after 2 years where they didn't do that nearly often enough.

The most impressive thing about the Cowboys offenses under Moore wasn't their aggression or vertical ability, it was their balance. Moore was able to keep defenses on their toes by mixing the rush with the pass, deep shots with chain-moving plays and uptempo with ground-and-pound concepts, and it lead to units that ranked top 5 in scoring every year he was there except for 2020 when Dak Prescott went down with a broken ankle in October. Moore is precisely the modern NFL mind the Chargers offense needs to take the next step and imagining what he'll be able to do with somebody in Herbert that already has a 5,000-YD/38 TD season under his belt after considerably improving Prescott's output while he was in Dallas is incredibly exciting.     

Biggest Reason for Concern: Brandon Staley is Still Around

Calling for Staley's head after 2 winning seasons and 1 playoff appearance isn't totally fair. However, the man's addiction to analytics continues to get in the way of the entire operation. He's overly aggressive when he doesn't need to be, kicks when he should be going for it and vice versa and worst of all, never takes accountability for his mistakes when the media asks him about them following a loss or narrow victory. On top of that, his X and O's have also failed as he is a defensive coach by trade (he still calls the defensive plays now) and yet often times when this team screw up, the defense taking their foot off the gas or making the wrong playcalls served as a key component of the collapse. His seat has to be scorching hot after what transpired in Jacksonville in January and if his decisionmaking continue to get in the way of things in year #3, he'll most likely be seeking employment elsewhere in 2024. 

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Change Who They Are

Do you know how bad your history as a team has to be to be up 27-0 in the final minutes of the 1st half of a playoff game and nobody watching is confident that they'll ultimately win the game? Well, that's exactly the kind of perpetually soul-crushing operation the Chargers have been running out in Southern California since 1960 and when the slow motion car crash that was their 2nd half performance came to an end, they went home with a 31-30 loss to the Jaguars. Let's be clear: the Jaguars didn't do anything impressive to get themselves back in the game, they just didn't pack it in when they were down by 27 and the Chargers did the rest for them.

It doesn't matter whose coaching the team or whose playing for them, losing in the most painful ways imaginable or having the entire team get injured to ensure that the team has a justifiable reason why they didn't have the opportunity to lose in the most painful way imaginable is the Charger Way. It's why no one was shocked when Dan Fouts and co. got steamrolled by the 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX, Marty Schottenheimer went 0-2 in the playoffs with teams led by Philip Rivers, LaDanian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates or the aforementioned collapse last year. It's just what everybody knows the Chargers to be and there's no reason to believe that things will ever change. 

If you're the kind of optimistic individual that doesn't believe in curses or institutional suckiness in sports, this Charger team is qualified as any to put a stop to this horrific tradition. Justin Herbert is already a top 10 QB in the league and has the potential to elevate into top 3-5 within the next few years, and be the best quarterback to ever put a Chargers uniform on when it's all said and done, their arsenal of offensive weapons (Ekeler, Keenan Allen,Williams, Everett, Joshua Palmer, Johnston) is very good, if not borderline elite when healthy, the offensive line is in a good position to bounce back after an up-and-down 2022 now that Rashawn Slater is back at left tackle and Jamaree Salyer-who fared pretty well as Slater's primary replacement for most of his rookie season in 2022-is kicking inside to his natural position of guard and while far from perfect, their defense has enough talent (Joey Bosa, Khlil Mack, Derwin James, Asante Samuel Jr., Michael Davis, Morgan Fox, newcomer Eric Kendricks) throughout its ranks to be good enough to go on a run. They just need to find a way to show up when it matters and not succumb to their inner Chargers. I don't know how they're going to do it or if it's even possible, but that's the only way they're ever going to live up to their vast potential.    

Bottom Line:

Stop me if you heard this before about a Chargers team but they're a deeply talented group that will have to overcome their own bad luck, stupidity and engrained culture of losing in order to live up to their potential.  

Predicted Standings:

1.Kansas City Chiefs (13-4)

2.Los Angeles Chargers (10-7)

3.Denver Broncos (6-11)

4.Las Vegas Raiders (4-13)

10 Most Anticipated Albums of Fall 2023

10.Doja Cat-Scarlet (Release Date: September 22)

9.A$AP Rocky-Don't Be Dumb (Release Date: TBD)

8.Silent Planet-Superbloom (Release Date: November 3)

7.TesseracT-War of Being (Release Date: September 15)

6.The Callous Daoboys-God Smiles Upon the Callous Daoboys (Release Date: October 20)

5.End-The Sin of Human Fraility (Release Date: October 27)

4.Dying Wish-Symptoms of Survival (Release Date: November 3)

3.Bring Me the Horizon-Post Human: Next Gen (Release Date: TBD)

2.Kvelertak-Endling (Release Date: September 8)

1.Dying Fetus-Make Them Beg for Death (Release Date: September 8)

Also Plan on Listening To:

Royal Blood-Back to the Water Below (Release Date: September 8)

Sylosis-A Sign of Things to Come (Release Date: September 8)

City Morgue-My Bloody America (Release Date: September 15)

Kid Cudi-Insano (Release Date: September 15)

Mitski-The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We (Release Date: September 15)

Night Verses-Every Sound Has a Color: In the Valley of Night Part 1 (Release Date: September 15)

Thy Art is Murder-Godlike (Release Date: September 15)

Cannibal Corpse-Chaos Horrific (Release Date: September 22)

KEN mode-Void (Release Date: September 22)

Jorja Smith-Falling or Flying (Release Date: September 29)

Carnifex-Necromanteum (Release Date: October 6)

Beartooth-The Surface (Release Date: October 13)

Black Pumas-Chronicles of a Diamond (Release Date: October 27)

Spiritbox-The Fear of Fear (Release Date: November 3)

Chris Stapleton-Higher (Release Date: November 10)

Denzel Curry-Designed by Angels (Release Date: TBD)

Drake-For All the Dogs (Release Date: TBD)

Lil Uzi Vert-Luv is Rage 3 (Release Date: TBD)

Offset-Blame It On Set (Release Date: TBD)

10 Most Anticipated Movies of Fall 2023

When looking at the fall movie release schedule for the United States and Canada, there's a real feeling of uncertainty that's reminiscent of 2020/21. Back then, the schedule was being upended due to an ongoing global pandemic. Now, things are getting disrupted by the incurable disease of corporate greed as the billionaire CEO's of the biggest studios in Hollywood refuse to give up a fraction of their companies annual earnings (and more importantly, their own $100+ million annual salaries) or to put safeguards in place to protect against the potential looming threat of AI to help provide the people that allow them to make so much money with some financial security and assurances that their jobs won't eventually be replaced by robots.

Since the strikes have impacted productions and/or the promotion of films to varying degrees since May 2nd when the WGA hit the picket lines and subsequently, continuously lowered the odds of many productions that were originally slated for release in 2024 of keeping their dates or possibly even being released in the calendar year at all, delays of films that are picture locked or deep into post-production to take the place of those films that have yet to wrap shooting on the calendar are inevitable. Over the past month and a half, Challengers, Drive-Away Dolls, Kraven the Hunter, Dune: Part II and the currently untitled new Ghostbusters film have all been removed from the fall slate and been dispersed throughout the 2024 calendar. There are all but guaranteed to be more titles that join them in the coming weeks and while it's hard to pinpoint exactly what could be on the move at the moment, films currently slated for release in November and December boast the highest risk of a delay given the distance from the start of their marketing campaigns and their current release date.

As currently constructed however, the 2023 fall slate is a pretty exciting one. Auteurs (Michael Mann, Jonathan Glazer, Gareth Edwards) that have been away from movies for a bit are set to return with the types of bold dice rolls that cinephiles want to see from them, major franchises are getting fresh entries that aren't serving as a requel or reboot of their original entries (The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, Wonka, Saw X) and the prospective awards slate might be the biggest and most diverse that the industry has seen in the 2020's to date as everything from prestige biopics (Maestro, Priscilla, Rustin) to an original dramedy about a group of unlikely people coming together at the holidays (The Holdovers) to whatever the hell Yorgos Lanthimos has been cooking up over the last few years (Poor Things) are set to debut on the festival circuit over the coming weeks. Here are the 10 movies expected to release from September-December that I'm most excited to watch. 

10.The Bikeriders (December 1):

While I haven't loved all of Jeff Nichols' (Mud, Take Shelter) movies, a character study focusing on the formation, corruption and eventual demise of a midwestern motorcycle club during the 60's seems like something that's right in his wheelhouse creatively. Not to mention, the ensemble cast he put together for The Bikeriders (Tom Hardy, Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, Michael Shannon, Boyd Holbrook, Damon Herriman, Mike Faist, Norman Reedus, Toby Wallace, Emory Cohen, Beau Knapp, Karl Glusman) might be the single most talented group of actors he's ever worked with.   

9.The Iron Claw (December 22):

What I wrote above about The Bikeriders could be copied-and-pasted here. Sean Durkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene, The Nest) seems like just the filmmaker to be tasked with making a powerful movie about the triumphs and tragedy that defined the pro wrestling careers and personal lives of the Von Erich family while the actors playing the members of the family (Zac Efron, Harris Dickinson, Jeremy Allen White, Holt McCallany, Stanley Simons, Maxwell Jacob Friedman) all have the charisma and fearlessness to capture all the nuances of these characters no matter how light, dark or gray they end up being. 

8.Dumb Money (September 15):

Is it arguably too soon to be making a movie about the Gamestop short squeeze saga that generated a ton of headlines in the spring of 2020 and still really hasn't been resolved as of today? Perhaps. Will that prevent Dumb Money from being good? Of course not. YouTube/Reddit stock market pundits and the retail investors they inspired effectively sabotaging the efforts of hedge fund managers and their counterparts to cash-in on the failure of a major company makes for a mighty compelling dramedy hook and with the diverse skill sets of the actors (Paul Dano, Pete Davidson, America Ferrara, Anthony Ramos, Nick Offerman, Seth Rogen, Vincent D'Onfrio, Sebastian Stan, Shailene Woodley, Myha'la Harrold, Talia Ryder, Dane DeHann, Rushi Kota) and director involved (Craig Gillespie), it could end up being this decade's answer to The Big Short.  

7.Rebel Moon: Part One-A Child of Fire (TBD theaters/December 22 streaming):

A decade after his commitments to DC and Disney's acquisition of LucasFilm killed his efforts to make a Star Wars movie, Zack Snyder has reworked his original pitch into a full-blown original space opera trilogy entitled Rebel Moon. Freeing Snyder from the restrictions of Star Wars lore and the perpetually disgruntled chorus of online voices that allegedly are fans of the franchise is a blessing in disguise as he gets the opportunity to really run wild with the creation of his own world. Based on what was disclosed in the behind-the-scenes Vanity Fair piece a few months back and the first teaser trailer that was released last week, he did just that as the first film A Child of Fire appears to be visually stunning, ambitious in its worldbuilding aspirations and full of huge intergalactic action setpieces. Hopefully the rumored limited nationwide theatrical run similar to what Netflix did for Glass Onion last year comes to fruition because it would be a shame if something this huge in size and scope ended up exclusively showing on small screens.  

6.Poor Things (December 8):

I've never been more convinced that Disney doesn't know what they're picking up the tab for over at 20th Century/Searchlight then when the 1st trailer for Poor Things was released back in May. There's just seemingly no fucking way that the Mouse House Brass would willingly give notorious sickos Yorgos Lanthimos and Tony McNamara-teaming up for the 2nd time after The Favourite-tens of millions of dollars to make a movie that more or less turns the premise of Frankenstein on its head by making it about a woman (Emma Stone) who seeks to escape the clutches of the possessive brilliant scientist (Willem Dafoe) that brought her back to life in order to see the world and discover who she is. The film also appears to have a quirky surrealist fantasy vibe and reportedly fully earns its R-rating with ample amounts of sex, gore and miscellaneous disturbing material. Poor Things is set to debut at Venice (and possibly Telluride) this weekend and I can't wait to get a better idea of exactly what kind of insane shit Lanthimos and McNamara got away with here when the initial reactions arrive.     

5.Dream Scenario (November 10):

Anytime Nicolas Cage shows up in a non direct-to-VOD movie is reason to celebrate. When the movie in question is something that allows him to really tap into his eccentric, twisted sensibilities then there's grounds to throw a full-blown fucking parade. Dream Scenario marks one of those instances where a large planned gleeful procession of marching individuals and honking vehicles seems appropriate. In this dark fantasy satire from Norwegian filmmaker Kristoffer Borgil (Sick of Myself), Cage plays a struggling college professor who becomes an overnight celebrity after appearing in people's dreams. Joining Cage on this oddball endeavor is the likes of Michael Cera, Julianne Nicholson, Tim Meadows, Kate Berlant and Ari Aster-who serves as a producer. If Dream Scenario hits the right absurd and/or bleak notes, it could be one of the funniest movies of the year.        

4.Saltburn (November 24):

Promising Young Woman is one of the most daring and compelling films that's come out in recent years and I can't wait to see what kind of madness Emerald Fennell has in store for her second film that focuses on a young man (Barry Keoghan) whose infatuation with his college classmate (Jacob Elordi) is tested when he's invited to spend the summer at his eccentric aristocratic family's lavish summer estate.  

3.Next Goal Wins (November 17):

Given how Next Goal Wins' journey to get into theaters has gone so far, it'll likely get bumped into 2024 shortly. Regardless of whether it receives another delay or not, Taika Waititi's return to smaller movies looks like it could have the makings of a great sports dramedy and it'll be nice to see both Michael Fassbender and Elisabeth Moss appear in something that isn't overwhelmingly dreary for once. 

2.Killers of the Flower Moon (October 20):

Martin Scorsese's latest based on David Grann's 2017 novel of the same name about a string of murders committed on the land of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma in the 1920's after oil was discovered there drew raves out of Cannes back in May, is said to be a massive early contender for a slew of awards at this year's Oscars and has produced two of the best trailers of the year so far. Getting the chance to see an epic Scorsese crime drama on the big screen again after The Irishman was (mostly) relegated to Netflix only further juices the hype surrounding this.  

1.The Killer (October 27 theaters/November 10 streaming):

No disrespect for taking some time to make an unlikely passion project in Mank, but the gritty version of David Fincher will always be my favorite and that's exactly what we're getting with The Killer. His first re-teaming with screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker since Seven is said to be a psychological drama/action thriller hybrid about an assassin (Michael Fassbender) who has to fight off his employers as well as his own mind to complete a job that he shares a deeply personal connection to. Safe to say, The Killer sounds like it has the makings of another Fincher classic and I'm beyond excited to see what he did here.   

Also Plan on Seeing:

The Equalizer 3 (September 1)

El Conde (September 8 theaters/September 15 streaming)

My Animal (September 8)

A Haunting in Venice (September 15)

Expend4bles (September 22)

It Lives Inside (September 22)

The Creator (September 29)

Dicks: The Musical (September 29)

Fair Play (September 29 theaters/October 13 streaming)

Saw X (September 29)

Foe (October 6)

Freelance (October 6)

The Marsh King's Daughter (October 6)

Reptile (October 6)

Totally Killer (October 6)

Anatomy of a Fall (October 13)

Divinity (October 13)

Nyad (October 20 theaters/November 3 streaming)

The Holdovers (October 27)

Pain Hustlers (October 27)

Priscilla (October 27)

American Fiction (November 3)

Quiz Lady (November 3)

Rustin (November 3 theaters/November 17 streaming)

The Marvels (November 10)

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (November 17)

May December (November 17 theaters/December 1 streaming)

Please Don't Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain (November 17)

Thanksgiving (November 17)

Maestro (November 22 theaters/December 20 streaming)

Napoleon (November 22)

Eileen (December 1)

Leave the World Behind (December 8)

The Zone of Interest (December 8)

Anyone but You (December 15)

Wonka (December 15)

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (December 20)

All of Us Strangers (December 22)

Ferrari (December 25)

The Burial (TBD)

Fantasy Football 2023: Most Overvalued Players

Quarterback: Deshaun Watson (Browns) (ADP: Yahoo!: 87.1 ESPN 77.9)

Somewhere in the 7/8th round is hardly a steep price to pay for a quarterback in fantasy. However, what the hell did Watson show when he returned to the field last season to prove he's worthy of even a modest investment in the draft? His ADP being at least a couple of rounds higher than Geno Smith, Kirk Cousins and Daniel Jones-who were all low-end QB1's last year-while he was barely even a QB2-is laughable.   

Dishonorable Mentions: Tua Tagovailoa (Dolphins), Aaron Rodgers (Jets), Brock Purdy (49ers)

Running Back: Jonathan Taylor (Colts) (ADP: Yahoo!: 14.4 ESPN: 28.8)

There should be an asterisk on this since Taylor's has already tumbled out of the 1st round mix as the Colts attempt to trade their disgruntled star back who has missed nearly all of training camp with an "injury" and his ADP will likely continue to do so as long as remains on the roster in Indy. Still, a guy with an uncertain immediate future has no business going so high at a position where the top of the draft board is already largely defined by volatility and stomach-churning leaps of faith.    

Dishonorable Mentions: Rhamondre Stevenson (Patriots), Breece Hall (Jets), Najee Harris (Steelers) 

Wide Receiver: Cooper Kupp (Rams) (Yahoo!: 7.5 ESPN: 8.4)

If both Matthew Stafford and Kupp can return to the field healthy after finishing 2022 on IR (Stafford had a neck ailment and suffered 2 concussion in less than 1 month while Kupp had a severe high ankle sprain that required surgery), the duo will likely cook just like they have in nearly every game they've played together over the past 2 seasons. That's a big if though-especially with Kupp pulling his hamstring a few weeks back and only returning to practice yesterday-and taking that kind of monumental risk in the 1st round just feels reckless no matter how massive the reward could be. 

Dishonorable Mentions: Davante Adams (Raiders), Tee Higgins (Bengals), Marquise Brown (Cardinals)

Tight End: T.J. Hockenson (Vikings) (ADP: Yahoo!: 41.5 ESPN: 46.6)

Tight end inflation has receded quite a bit in 2023 after fantasy players got price gouged for TE1's due to the lack of sizzle at the position behind Kelce, Kittle and Andrews last year. The lone player whose productivity doesn't aliign with his going rate this year is Hockenson. While Hockenson should have a fine year as the clear #2 option in a pass-heavy Vikings system, investing such a high pick in a guy that only averaged 8.7 YDS per reception during his 10 games with the Vikes last year (he averaged 15.2 YPC in 7 games with the Lions) and has never gotten more than 6 TD's in a season just screams horrible value (especially in standard leagues).    

Dishonorable Mentions: Evan Engram (Jaguars), Greg Dulcich (Broncos), Gerald Everett (Chargers) 

Defense/Special Teams: Buffalo (ADP:  Yahoo!: 87.8 ESPN: 102.8 )

Buffalo's defense lost much of their fantasy usefulness after Von Miller tore his ACL on Thanksgiving Day in Detroit and their sack and takeaway rates immediately plummeted. With Miller still on the shelf to start 2023, longtime DC Leslie Frazier stepping away from the team and question marks existing throughout their entire unit, they don't appear to be in great shape to start this year either and subsequently don't deserve to be viewed as the top 3/4 D/ST group the fantasy sites have pegged them to be.    

Dishonorable Mentions: Philadelphia, Kansas City, Cincinnati 

Dennis Quaid Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked", a weekly series where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted related superlatives. This week, I'm profiling the work of Dennis Quaid-whose latest project "The Hill" releases in theaters tonight.  

Dennis Quaid's Filmography Ranked:

20.Legion (D)

19.Movie 43 (D)

18.American Underdog (D+)

17.What to Expect When You're Expecting (D+)

16.Kin (C-)

15.Frequency (C-)

14.Any Given Sunday (C-)

13.Soul Surfer (C)

12.The Parent Trap (C)

11.The Intruder (C+)

10.The Day After Tomorrow (C+)

9.Strange World (B-)

8.Flight of the Phoenix (B-)

7.G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (B-)

6.Footloose (B-)

5.Far from Heaven (B-)

4.The Rookie (B)

3.The Words (B)

2.Vantage Point (B)

1.Traffic (B)

Top Dog: Traffic (2000)

While there are quite a few thrillers centered around the drug trade that are more tense and haunting than Traffic, it's still a compelling, well-acted film that gracefully tells an interconnected story from the perspectives of multiple people (cartel boss, Mexican police, DEA agent, American judge) that are either actively help maintain or attempt to disrupt this powerful global business.  

Bottom Feeder: Legion (2010)

When movie nerds pull out the classic jargon-y insult "January Movie", they're referring to stuff like Legion. Cheap-looking VFX/action, an overly serious tone for a deeply silly story that effectively boils down to the fallen angel Michael (Paul Bettany) teaming up with a small band of human survivors (Lucas Black, Tyrese Gibson, Adrianne Palicki, Charles S. Dutton, Willa Holland, Quaid, Kate Walsh) in a desolate Nevada desert town to try and prevent God from exterminating the human race and constant monologues about faith, virtue, etc. is a nightmarish combination that makes Legion a deeply misguided attempt at creating a fun genre movie.

Most Underrated: The Words (2012)

As cheesy and melodramatic as it sometimes is, The Words is an interesting film that reckons with the steep cost of lying and stealing credit for someone's else creative work. Bradley Cooper and Jeremy Irons are terrific as the thief and true author of a lost manuscript that was turned into a best-selling novel respectively and the romantic aspects of the story are able to hit both their joyous and bittersweet notes on account of how strong the chemistry between Cooper and Zoe Saldana is (they dated in real life for a time for a reason folks!) 

Most Overrated: The Parent Trap (1998)

The Parent Trap is a relatively inoffensive family romcom that was responsible for putting Lindsay Lohan on the map and further elevating the profile of veteran screenwriter Nancy Myers-who made her directorial debut here and went onto helm a number of beloved films including The Holiday, It's Complicated and Something's Gotta Give. However as a millennial, The Parent Trap has been propped up as a timeless classic by a ton of people from my generation since it came out and although I understand that the love for it is rooted in nostalgia, I just really don't agree with all of the heightened praise its received over the years.     

2023 NFL Preview: NFC South

 Atlanta Falcons

2022 Record: 7-10 (4th in NFC South)

Head Coach: Arthur Smith (3rd season)

Notable Additions: S Jessie Bates, DE Calias Campbell, DT/DE David Onyemata

Notable Departures: CB Casey Hayward, CB Isaiah Oliver, QB Marcus Mariota

Biggest Reason for Excitement: The Arrival of Bijan Robinson

With Arthur Smith being firmly on the hot seat entering his 3rd season in Atlanta, GM Terry Fontenot decided to give the head coach a piece that could help him stick around in Atlanta long-term when they selected Bijan Robinson in the 1st round of this year's draft. Smith-who runs arguably the most run-dominant offense in the NFL right now-probably lovingly embraced Fontenot once the pick was sent in to the league and spent the next 72 hours on a euphoric football bender drawing up plays for the young back. 

At a time where the running back position is in a state of crisis, Robinson is the rare back that a team could conceivably build their entire offense around in the modern NFL. He's a patient runner with excellent vision and the toughness/elusiveness to shed tackles and make defenders miss in the open field, and his pass-catching/route-running skills are so refined that he's capable of flexing out to the slot on a regular basis. At the bare minimum, Robinson is the most electrifying, well-rounded RB prospect to enter the league since Saquon Barkley and the possibilities of what he can do in an offense that has a good line and a pair of exciting passing game weapons in Drake London and Kyle Pitts have to be a source of endless excitement for Smith.     

Biggest Reason for Concern: Desmond Ridder Doesn't Allow Them to Open Up Their Offense

Nothing crippled the Falcons more in 2022 than Marcus Mariota's limitations as a passer. Their stopgap QB's shaky completion percentage (61.3%) and reluctance to throw the ball downfield led to a low-volume pass offense that gave rookie Drake London-who looked great when the ball came his way-very few meaningful opportunities per game and regularly relegated receiving weapon Kyle Pitts to blocking duty. That kind of baffling utilization of precious passing game resources is frankly unacceptable in the modern NFL and if the Falcons hadn't ended up winning 7 games last year, there's at least a decent chance Smith would've gotten fired because of it.

Going into 2023, there's a glimmer of hope that this won't be the case once again given how Desmond Ridder played once he became the starter in the final quarter of the season. Specifically in the final 3 games, Ridder looked pretty assured as a passer as he cleared 200 YDS twice and did a good job of feeding the ball to London whenever he was open-he eclipsed 90 YDS in 2 of those games and was targeted 8+ times in all 3. The team ended up going 2-1 in these games and it was clear even in that small sample size that Smith was more comfortable with calling pass plays with Ridder under center than he ever was with Mariota.

There's a couple of pressing concerns surrounding Ridder's passing ability being strong enough to provide the team with the freedom they need to really open up the offense 1. 4 games is far too small of a sample size to draw any meaningful conclusions about the offense-especially since the Falcons weren't playing for anything by that point of the season. 2.London is really the only receiver he has playing experience with since Pitts was sidelined with a torn MCL while Ridder was the starter last year and the only other veteran receiver returning from last year's team is KhaDarel Hodge (Mack Hollins and Scotty Miller are expected to be the other top targets next to London and Pitts this year). Failure to open up the offense is not an option for Smith or Ridder-whose job security beyond this season is completely fluid given that they only invested a 3rd round pick in him, so it would advantageous for all parties to find a way to make this offense a more efficient, dynamic product that makes proper use of all of the personnel they have at their disposal ASAP.  

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Their Defense Coming Together

Anecdotally, it feels like it's been at least 2 decades since the Falcons have had a good defense (in reality, 2017 was the last time). A number of good players such as Keith Brooking, Brent Grimes and post-Jets John Abraham have rolled through there during this stretch, but it always seems like they're giving up between 28 and 42 points and getting burned for multiple big plays in nearly every game. Last year was no different as they ranked between 23rd and 25th in the league in the majority of the important defensive metrics. Since Smith was ultimately retained, DC Dean Pees voluntereed to be the one to go to the guillotine instead announcing his "retirement" from coaching in January.

Pees' exit helped usher in what might be the single most significant change the Falcons defense has seen in recent memory. On the coaching side, Ryan Nielsen-who served as the Saints co-defensive coordinator in 2022 and defensive line coach from 2017-21-was brought on to be the new DC, longtime DB coach Jerry Gray-who most recently served as the DB coach/passing game coordinator for the Packers over the past 2 seasons-was hired as a defensive assistant/assistant head coach and they let go of the entire defensive staff from last season outside of linebackers coach Frank Bush and low level assistants Matt Pees and Lanier Goethie. 

Nielsen is set to keep the defense in a 3-4 base alignment and as a Dennis Allen acolyte, his Cover 2-driven system won't be too radical of a departure from what they ran under Pees. As long as the results are better, the brass probably won't care if the scheme looks more or less the same.   

What really makes this approach to defense different is how aggressively they attacked the free agent market to find new starters. Headlining their additions is 2020 All-Pro selection Jessie Bates. The veteran safety had his ups-and-downs during 5 years with the Bengals, but he's a certified ballhawk whose highs are as high as any safety in the league and the constant threat of INT's (at least 3 in all but 1 season of his career) he provides will be much appreciated on a Falcons team who only had 10 picks a year ago. 

 The defensive line also got a boost with the surprising addition of Calias Campbell, who opted to come to the Falcons over a more clear contender after the Ravens cut ties with him back in March. While he's not quite as impactful as he was during his time with the Cardinals and Jaguars during the 2010's, he remains a rock solid inside/outside defensive lineman who can contribute as a run-defender, pass-rusher and respected veteran leader in the locker room

Rounding out the spoils from their big spring shopping spree are David Onyemata, Kaden Elliss, Bud Dupree and Jeff Okudah. Onyemata and Elliss have the previous experience with Nielsen in New Orleans that should allow them to make a smooth transition as well as provide support for their new teammates who are picking the system, Dupree is coming off a pair of injury-riddled, underwhelming seasons with the Titans but his previous success as a pass-rusher with the Steelers makes him an intriguing dice roll for them to make and early positive reports out of camp indicate that he could be in line for a bounceback season and Jeff Okudah-who has had a rough landing in the NFL with prolonged stretches of poor play and suffering a torn Achilles in his 1st 3 pro seasons after being selected 3rd overall by the Lions in the 2020 draft-will have the golden opportunity to start anew with the Falcons as he enters the final year of his rookie deal.

Between these new pickups and the returning players that appear set to join the starting lineup (Troy Andersen, Dee Alford), the Falcons will have just 4 returning starters from 2022 across their entire defense (Grady Jarrett, A.J. Terrell, Richie Grant, Lorenzo Carter). As drastic as this is, such a high degree of change was needed for this group to start fresh after stinking up the joint over the past 2 seasons. Whether it makes much of a difference remains to be seen, but they have the right idea and the track records of the majority of these players are strong enough to be relatively optimistic about their ability to make some notable progress.              

Bottom Line:

In this wide open NFC South, the Falcons appear to have the strongest overall collection of players, thus making them the favorite to win the division for the 1st time since 2016.

Carolina Panthers

2022 Record: 7-10 (2nd in AFC South)

Head Coach: Frank Reich (1st season)

Notable Additions: RB Miles Sanders, WR Adam Thielen, S Vonn Bell

Notable Departures: WR D.J. Moore, OLB Corey Littleton, RB D'Onta Foreman

Biggest Reason for Excitement: Frank Reich Being Hired as Head Coach

Replacing the great Ron Rivera with a career college football bozo in Matt Rhule that was completely overmatched in the pros from the jump was a colossal misfire that started the David Tepper-era in Carolina off on a horrible note. For his 2nd HC hiring, Tepper and GM Scott Fitterer went in a much more sensible direction by going with Frank Reich. The Panthers were looking to rebuild their offense after 4 straight seasons of struggling immensely on that side of the ball and given Reich's track record dating back to his time with the Eagles, he's a good person to trust with that gig.

 Prior to last season's Matt Ryan/Sam Ehlinger-led disaster that got him unjustifiably fired in November, his offenses during his time with the Colts ranked in the top 10 in scoring during 3 of his initial 4 seasons with the team (the outlier was in 2019 when Jacoby Brissett was thrust into the starting role in late August after Andrew Luck's sudden retirement and they still finished 17th) and given his success with all sorts of personnel situations over the years (leaning on Jonathan Taylor in 2021, letting Luck chuck it 40 times per game in 2018), he's gone against the stubborn, ego-centric nature of coaching football by adapting his system/playcalling tendencies to the players that are on the roster. While this season has the potential to be really ugly given the state of the roster right now, Bryce Young's future is in great hands with Reich at the helm.            

Biggest Reason for Concern: Bryce Young Not Being in an Ideal Position to Succeed

The QB-needy Panthers burning a bunch of draft capital to trade up from #9 to #1 to select Young is a move that not too many people are going to have an issue with. However, including their established #1 wideout D.J. Moore-who was under contract for the next 3 seasons-in the deal is a total head-scratcher. Top receivers aren't exactly easy to find in the NFL and there's no better friend that a young QB can have than a legit star at the position (why do you think the Bears were so motivated to get Moore from the Panthers in their trade for the #1 pick after giving Justin Fields so little WR help in his 1st 2 seasons?). Trading the one you had away just feels counterintuitive to an operation that is seeking to drastically reinvent itself on the offensive side of the ball. 

Getting rid of Moore is just the most obvious, self-imposed symptom of a greater problem for the Panthers: They're not putting Young in a great position to succeed right away. I believe that the collection of talent surrounding him on offense right now is easily among the least imposing of any group in the league right now. 

The Moore-less receiver group is now led by 33-year old Adam Thielen-who looked like he was running in mud last year with the Vikings, D.J. Chark-whose constant bumps and bruises have prevented him from building on the potential he flashed during the 2019 season with the Jaguars and rookie Jonathan Mingo-a Combine/Pro Day standout who is a gamble to say the least after putting up unimpressive numbers (112 REC/1,758 YDS/11 TD's in 41 games over 4 seasons) and battling multiple injuries while at Ole Miss. A quick look at the career output of new starting running back Miles Sanders will reveal that he greatly benefited from the emergence of Jalen Hurts and increased dynamism of the Eagles offense a year ago as he not only set new career highs in rushing YDS (1,269) and TD's (11) but demolished his previous ones (867 and 6 respectively). Safe to say, he's at a heightened risk to fall back down-to-earth now that he's part of an offense that doesn't have that kind of firepower on it. Hayden Hurst was an alright safety valve at tight end for the Bengals last season, but that's basically the ceiling for him. And to top it all off, their offensive line (Ikem Ekonwu, Taylor Moton, Austin Corbett, Brady Christensen, Bradley Bozeman) will be continuing their process of trying to gel together after a not exactly horrendous, not exactly great debut (to be fair, having the rare luxury of having continuity at all 5 spots along with position coach James Campen being retained by Reich should benefit them).

Young's struggles in the preseason only lend more credence to the questions surrounding his supporting cast on offense. If what we've seen far from this group is indicative of what their offense will look like in the regular season, the Panthers could end up handing the Bears the top pick in the draft in back-to-back years.             

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Their Defense Stepping Up and Allowing Their Offense to Go Through Growing Pains

The only real antidote to a lack of offensive firepower and a rookie quarterback dealing with the difficult transition to the NFL is a strong defense. While the Panthers finished 19th in scoring defense, 18th against the run and 22nd against the pass last year under Phil Snow and Rhule at the beginning of the year and Steve Wilks and Al Holcomb for the rest of it, they did have a group of young ascending stars in Jaycee Horn, Derrick Brown, Brian Burns and Frankie Luvu that shined. That foursome alongside the new veteran additions of Vonn Bell, Shy Tuttle and Justin Houston and longtime defensive captain Shaq Thompson could provide new DC Ejiro Evereo with the solid foundation he needs to build something special.

Building something from scratch will be a new challenge for Evereo. When he got to Denver last year, he pretty much just had to not mess with what Vic Fangio had left behind and it worked as the Broncos once again had one of the better defenses in the league. While that is admittedly pretty insulting to Evereo's coaching ability and downplays his efforts to maintain the group's level of play and help Patrick Surtain II make a huge leap in year #2, a coach's job is much easier when there's already a blueprint in place and people talented enough to execute it. 

What Evereo needs to do to make this group shine is to get other players to step up and support their stars. The pass-rush next to Burns and Luvu (Houston, Marquis Haynes, Yetur Gross-Matos) needs to be more consistent. The corners surrounding Horn (Donte Jackson, C.J. Henderson, box safety convert Jeremy Chinn) need to stop providing defenses with the luxury of being able to avoid throwing in the direction of the 2021 1st round pick by providing them with easy alternative ways to move the ball downfield. Other guys on the interior (Tuttle, DeShawn Williams, Henry Anderson) need to take advantage of the gaps that Brown creates to help stop the run. There's potential all over this group-especially with guys who have the type of athleticism that Chinn, Jackson and Gross-Matos have-it'll just be up to Evereo to get them to play smarter and harder than they've played in the past.

In the modern NFL, expecting a team to hold their opponents to less than 17 points per game may be a bit ambitious. But if Evereo can get this group in the sweet spot of 17-20 per game, then the Panthers could be in a great spot to tough out some wins and have a spot of legitimately competing in their division. 

Bottom Line:

Short of Bryce Young coming in and popping right away, the 1st year of the rebuild appears destined to be a rough one in Charlotte.               

New Orleans Saints 

2022 Record: 7-10 (3rd in NFC South)

Head Coach: Dennis Allen (2nd season)

Notable Additions: QB Derek Carr, RB Jammal Williams, DT Nathan Shepard

Notable Departures: DE Marcus Davenport, DT/DE David Onyemata, ILB Kaden Eliss

Biggest Reason for Excitement: Derek Carr Bringing Stability to the QB Spot

The 1st 2 seasons of the post Drew Brees-era in New Orleans certainly haven't lacked in drama. Due to a combination of injuries, benchings and good old fashioned experimentation, the Saints have been forced to use a platoon approach at QB that has seen the likes of Jameis Winston, Andy Dalton, Taysom Hill, Trevor Siemian and for 1 painful Monday Night Football game versus the Dolphins in December 2021, Ian Book draw starts. While this revolving door didn't lead to a total collapse (they're a slightly below average 16-18 since Brees retired), it did cause a frustrating lack of continuity and chemistry that damaged the overall effectiveness of their offense. This offseason, they decided to embrace a strategy that they at least hope will put an end to their prolonged run of rapid turnover at the position by signing Derek Carr to be their new starting quarterback.

As Raiders fans can attest to, getting excited about Carr is a fool's errand. His toughness has been a constant source of scrutiny throughout his career, he has a gift for making some of the ugliest unforced errors that lead to INT's that you'll ever a pro QB make and he has precisely 2 winning records, 1 playoff start and 0 playoff wins under his belt in 9 NFL seasons. Not exactly the kind of resume that will get somebody into Canton one day. However, the man is still an average-to-slightly-above average NFL starting quarterback and a boring, competent quarterback is exactly what the Saints need right now. 

       What Carr can do that Winston, Dalton or any of the other jabronis they've trotted out there over the past 2 seaons can't is be a steady presence at the position. Outside of the back injury that ended his career-best season in 2016, Carr has avoided major injury in his career thus far. That's probably the #1 reason the Saints pursued him. Staying in the lineup allows for the development of chemistry with receivers and keeps the playcalling consistent, which is imperative for a group that is heavily relying on 2nd year players Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed and newcomers Jammal Williams and rookie Kendre Miller to make plays.  

Outside of his ability to stay on the field, Carr is a pretty accurate passer with a quick release and good enough arm strength to hit receivers downfield on the regular. Given Winston's gunslinger status and Dalton's dink-and-dunk approach, a QB who can make most of the throws on the field consistently should make a substantial difference on their passing attack. This really is a bizarrely perfect marriage between player and team and it could give Carr the true sense of home and belonging that he never really found with the Raiders.    

Biggest Reason for Concern: Getting Their Offensive Line Back on Track

 The days of the Saints having a powerhouse offensive line are over and 2022 was a crippling reminder of just how far they've fallen. Aided by left tackle Trevor Penning effectively having to redshirt his rookie season after being sidelined from late August to late November with a torn foot ligament, the Saints group (save for stalwart right tackle Ryan Ramcyzk of course) played pretty poorly-allowing 38 sacks and failing to aid a single running back on the roster that got regular touches to get above 4 YDS per carry as their rushing offense finished 19th in the league. While Penning returning at full health and sending James Hurst back to the bench is enough to inspire some belief that they'll be better in 2023, the fact that their entire interior line from a year ago is coming back (Andrus Peat, Ceaser Ruiz, Erik McCoy) is reason enough to have some pause before choosing to buy into this group.  

While Doug Marrone is a good enough offensive line coach to make a notable positive impact on a player's performance, I'm not confident that guys like Ruiz and Peat's games can be fixed by coaching at this point. They've consistently below average NFL lineman who have been around for long enough to prove any improvements to technique or discipline they've made over the years have made a minimal difference in their overall play. There's just a point where a player is what they are and I think both of these guys may be at the point. 

McCoy, on the other hand, is somebody who has proven he can be good in this league. He was actually a borderline top 10 center in both 2019 and 2020, but he's regressed to a below-average level in the past 2 seasons as he's gotten flagged more often and struggled to serve as an anchor in the run game like he did in the past. A return to 2019/2020 levels for McCoy would make a huge impact on this group, especially as they try to reinvent their running game with the additions of Williams and Miller alongside Alvin Kamara.

Getting this group back to the glory days where guys like Jahri Evans, Zach Strief and Ben Grubbs were popping people in the mouth and ensuring Drew Brees got hit roughly twice per 100 dropbacks isn't necessary or attainable. But if they want to lower the odds of Carr becoming the latest Saints QB to get hurt and successfully revitalize the running game, they're going to need to be much better than they were in 2022.     

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Remaining Steady on Defense

What kept the Saints semi-competitive last season was the play of their defense. Outside of their struggles against the run (24th in the league), they were pretty great-finishing 2nd against the pass, tied for 5th in sacks and 9th in scoring defense. The path to repeating that success could present some problems as they had some pretty notable losses in the offseason. Longtime starting defensive lineman David Onyemata and Kaden Eliss-who had a breakout 2022 with 7 sacks-left for the Falcons in free agency and while the impact is lessened since Allen is the defensive playcaller, co-defensive coordinators Ryan Nielsen and Kris Richard are both gone and have been replaced by Joe Woods-whose previous 2 seasons with the Browns did some real damage to his previously pretty damn good track record as a DB coach/DC.

On the plus side, their starting secondary (Marshon Lattimore, Alontae Taylor, Bradley Roby, Tyrann Mathieau, Marcus Maye) is a full-go to start the year after collectively missing quite a bit of time last year, they addressed their defensive interior with the additions of run-stuffers Nathan Shepard and Khalen Saunders and rookie Bryan Breesee to fill Onyemata's hybrid DT/DE role and the departure of Marcus Davenport allows Carl Granderson to enter a full-time starting role on the edge-which he is well-deserving of after posting 8 sacks, 9 QB hits, 9 TFL's and 50 combined tackles in 2022. At the end of the day barring injury-they'll likely improve against the run and regress against the pass and as a pass-rush. As long as the collective group remains solid on the whole, they'll be in a good spot as a team.  

Bottom Line:

Given the current state of the NFC, respectable play from Derek Carr and their defense should be enough to boost the Saints into the playoff picture.  

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

2022 Record: 8-9 (1st in NFC South) 

Head Coach: Todd Bowles (2nd season)

Notable Additions: QB Baker Mayfield, G Matt Feiler, S Ryan Neal

Notable Departures: QB Tom Brady (retired), T Donovan Smith, G Shaq Mason

Biggest Reason for Excitement: Jamel Dean and Lavonte David Re-Signing in Free Agency

Committing to Tom Brady netted the Buccaneers what they hoped it would all along: A Super Bowl ring and the potential to win more for as long as he was there. Now, they're facing the consequences that came with signing Brady: Being in complete disarray now that he's gone. As they seek to pick up the pieces from this blessing turned curse, it's pretty cool that their top free agents Jamel Dean and Lavonte David opted to return to the team amidst all the uncertainty. 

David remaining loyal to the Bucs isn't overly surprising. He's been with them for his entire career and at age 33 going on 34, retirement from football isn't too far off, leaving the place he's called home for the past 11 years can't be overly appealing-especially since he has a ring. Plus, this is a man who had the distinct pleasure of playing under Greg Schiano, Lovie Smith and Dirk Koetter to start his career. It's going to take some truly world class losing for this era to end up being the ugliest he's seen at Raymond James Stadium.

Dean, on the other hand, is kind of a shock. This offseason marked his 1st chance to really cash out in the NFL after playing on the modest rookie deal he earned as a 3rd round pick in 2019 and given how thin this free agent corner class was, he could've went to a number of different teams that have better odds of competing at a high level in the near future including the Lions, Vikings and Steelers. Sticking with Tampa shows that he has a sincere belief in what Todd Bowles and Jason Licht are building here while also providing the Bucs with the much-needed boost of having a physical outside corner whose improved in each season he's been in the league. Key members of the corps remaining in the fold once their current deals expire is going to be huge in shaping the future of this team and these two leading the charge and staying put is an encouraging early sign that they won't all go darting out of the building now that #12 isn't around.     

Biggest Reason for Concern: Quarterback

The 2023 Brady succession plan came down to a QB competition between Baker Mayfield and 2021 2nd round pick Kyle Trask. Yesterday, it was revealed that Mayfield had won the job. What version of Mayfield shows up for Tampa will dictate the reaction to this news. 

If the 2022 Rams/2020 Browns version of Mayfield shows up, they'll be fine. That Baker had some playmaking juice, generally made the right decisions while throwing downfield and showed some grit in crunchtime situations. If the 2022 Panthers/2021 Browns/2019 Browns Mayfield is the one they're stuck with, the cannons on the endzone pirate ship might get turned on him. That version of Baker plays sloppy, idiotic football and brings zero confidence or hustle to the huddle. As we witnessed with the absurd disparity in play we saw when he went from Carolina to LA last year, both outcomes are equally possible and there's no way to figure out which version of Mayfield they're getting until we see him on the field in real game action come September.

A crucial determining factor that can't be ignored when evaluating this situation is that we don't know just how much weight Mayfield is going to be asked to pull in this offense. New OC Dave Canales has never held this position before and thus, we have no clue what his scheme or playcalling preferences are. His status as a longtime Pete Carroll assistant could mean that he shares his affinity for running the football or maybe his background as a QB/WR coach makes him favor the pass. 

What will be expected of Mayfield on the whole is similarly ambiguous. He could be a game manager. He could be unleashed as a regular ass quarterback making any and all throws across the entire field. It could be a combination of the two. Only Canales and Mayfield know for now and that's more than enough reason to alarm, confuse and intrigue the legions of Bucs fans out there as they take this next step into the great unknown without TB12.     

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Finding An Identity Outside of Tom Brady

Piggybacking off the ambiguity of what their offense will look like and what will be expected of Mayfield, what the hell is this team going to be about post-Brady? Will Bowles feel compelled to put his fingerprints on the operation and focus on defense and running the ball over dropping back to pass 50 times per game? Are they going to embrace the ways of Shanahan and McVay and commit to running an offense that prioritizes simplicity and efficiency with schemed-up play action passes and RPO's to make things easier for everyone or will they keep some of Brady's famously complex offensive principles in place? Will they be better suited for gritty rock fights where points are at a premium or track meets where everybody is gliding into the endzone? Are they going to nickel-and-dime there way down the field with chunk plays or will they take some downfield shots and utilize the home-run hitting ability of Mike Evans and rookie Trey Palmer? Will somebody step up to lead and subsequently have the team molded in their image? There are no wrong answers. They just need to find something that works for them and embrace it so they can begin to figure out who they really are as a group and not just how they complement Brady without stepping on his toes or forgetting to bow down to his greatness 24/7.   

Bottom Line:

The Bucs have a good enough defense to remain in games. Whether the offense can do enough to help them win is another story entirely. Any outcome between 4 and 11 wins all feel likely to me right now. 

Predicted Standings:

1.Atlanta Falcons (10-7)

2.New Orleans Saints (8-9)

3.Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-10)

4.Carolina Panthers (4-13)

Fantasy Football 2023: Most Undervalued Players

Quarterback: Anthony Richardson (Colts) (ADP: Yahoo!: 121.6 ESPN: 135.0)

Despite him being named the Week 1 starter over Gardner Minshew, Richardson's fantasy draft stock has remained more or less stable due to the concerns over his passing ability and the general status of the Colts offense with all of the drama surrounding Johnathan Taylor and his availability at the moment. As valid as those concerns are, similar problems didn't derail Justin Fields from being a QB1 last year-who only ended up throwing for 2,224 YDS and 17 TD's as part of a bottom 3 passing offense in football. Richardson has a better collection of pass-catchers surrounding him in Indy (Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce, Josh Downs, Isaiah McKenzie, Jelani Woods, Mo Allie-Cox) this year than Fields did in Chicago in 2022 and an offensive coach with a good track record in Shane Steichen, which gives him a great chance of producing better passing numbers. Add his potentially lethal rushing skills into the mix and you haver yourself a potential top 5-10 overall fantasy QB going at a high-end QB2 price in the 10th-11th round.    

Honorable Mentions: Geno Smith (Seahawks), Jared Goff (Lions), Kenny Pickett (Steelers) 

Deep Rookie Sleeper: C.J. Stroud (Texans)

Running Back: Rachaad White (Buccaneers) (ADP: Yahoo!: 82.7 ESPN: 61.3)

Running back is such a revolting mess in fantasy this year that I'm opting to wait until the middle rounds to take an RB2 in most situations that don't involve picking at the tail-end of the round or an unexpected tumble down the draft board for a guy like Bijan Robinson, Nick Chubb or Saquon Barkley. My favorite player going in this range right now is White. The 2nd-year pro out of Arizona State took the starting RB job from Leonard Forunette in the back-half of last season and showed show promise (129 CAR/481 YDS/1 TD, 50 REC/290 YDS/2 TD's) as a dual-threat back despite some positng blah yards-per-touch numbers (3.7 yards per carry, 5.8 yards per reception). With either Baker Mayfield or Kyle Trask set to be their starting quarterback and a not particularly daunting group of backs sitting behind him on the depth chart (Chase Edmonds, rookie Sean Tucker), his usage and pass-catching upside should be high in an offense that seems primed to feature a heavy dosage of runs, short passes and RPO's. 

Honorable Mentions: Dalvin Cook (Jets), Khalil Herbert (Bears), Javonte Williams (Broncos)

Deep Rookie Sleeper: Tyjae Spears (Titans) 

Wide Receiver: George Pickens (Steelers) (ADP: Yahoo!: 97.3 ESPN: 87.6)

Kenny Pickett has been turning heads with his performance throughout camp and in the 1st 2 preseason games. If Pickett's passing ends up considerably improving in year #2, Pickens stands to have the most to gain. The 22-year old mustered up a pretty respectable line (52 REC/801 YDS/4 TD's) in a rookie season where his splash playmaking ability was routinely held back by the erratic play of the Steelers quarterbacks and the connection he showed with Pickett down the stretch as he put together 6 50+ YD performances in the final 8 games of the season could end up being retroactively viewed as a  QB1/WR1 tandem laying down the framework for a special on-field relationship. 

Honorable Mentions: Skyy Moore (Chiefs), Jahan Dotson (Commanders), JuJu Smith-Schuster (Patriots)

Deep Rookie Sleeper: Cedric Tillman (Browns)

Tight End: Chigozem Okonkwo (Titans) (ADP: Yahoo!: 124.4 ESPN: 160.4)

Unless DeAndre Hopkins gets cloned, somebody else on the Titans is going to need to catch some passes this season. Especially now that Treylon Burks has managed to get himself hurt again, Okonkwo is the clear leader to fill this obligatory supporting role. He was an effective player once he entered the starting lineup late last November-notching 24 REC, 278 YDS and 2 TD's in the final 7 games and his YAC ability makes him standout in a passing attack that is mostly made up of jump-ball/possession wideouts. 

Honorable Mentions: Dalton Schultz (Texans), Sam LaPorta (Lions), Tyler Higbee (Rams)

Deep Rookie Sleeper: Michael Mayer (Raiders)

Defense/Special Teams: Miami (ADP: Yahoo!: 115.8 ESPN: 124.7)

Losing Jalen Ramsey indefinitely is an unfortunate early bad break for this retooled Dolphins defense. However, I don't believe it's a death kneel by any means. Vic Fangio has rapidly and radically transformed every group he's coached in the past decade and there's still enough talent (Xavien Howard, Christian Wilkins, Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb, Jevon Holland, David Long Jr., Jerome Baker, Kader Kohou) among the Dolphins ranks to be a high sack/high takeaway/low points allowed unit that flat-out terrorizes their opponents and delights their fans and fantasy owners.     

Honorable Mentions: Green Bay, Washington, Carolina

Isla Fisher Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked", a weekly series where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted related superlatives. This week, I'm profiling the work of Isla Fisher-whose latest project "Strays" is in theaters now. 

Isla Fisher's Filmography Ranked:

16.Scooby-Doo (D)

15.Rango (C)

14.Keeping Up with the Joneses (C+)

13.Bachelorette (C+)

12.The Brothers Grimsby (B-)

11.Life of Crime (B-)

10.Definitely, Maybe (B-)

9.Rise of the Guardians (B)

8.I Heart Huckabees (B)

7.Nocturnal Animals (B)

6.Wedding Crashers (B+)

5.The Lookout (B+)

4.Now You See Me (B+)

3.Tag (A-)

2.The Beach Bum (A-)

1.Hot Rod (A+)

Top Dog: Hot Rod (2007)

When I stepped into the AMC Liberty Tree Mall 20 in Danvers, Massachusetts on a rainy day in August 2007, I didn't know that my life would change forever. Comedy was a genre of movie that spoke to me from an early age and especially once I became a teenager, I had a tendency to gravitate towards the particularly silly and absurd projects (stuff like Anchorman, Zoolander and Super Troopers were all favorites of mine by this point). This love of silly, absurd comedy grew exceptionally once I experienced the magic The Lonely Island gang (Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Akiva Scheffer) and the cast of like-minded lunatics (Fisher, Danny McBride, Bill Hader, Will Arnett, Chris Parnell, Ian McShane, Sissy Spacek-the latter two of which I still can't believe agreed to appear in something like this) they got to appear in their movie made. Hot Rod is effectively 85 minutes of full-blown bizarre comedic anarchy. No joke or plot point is too silly, strange or surreal to throw out there and since everybody in the film is on the same weird wavelength, the comedy is so effortless, fearless and consistently effective that it almost feel like it was made on the fly by a virtuoso improv troop giving the greatest performance of their careers.  

Despite all of the love I have for this movie, it wasn't until somewhat recently that I realized it was my favorite comedy of all time. Not only has it held up astoundingly well, but quite frankly, I think it shaped my sense of humor more than any piece of popular culture I've ever consumed. The love I have today for comic voices such as Tim Robinson, Eric Andre and Patti Harrison can be traced back to the comedic DNA of Hot Rod. I'm so glad this movie exists and I'll always have a borderline unhealthy amount of pride that I was one of the few people that saw and loved it in theaters before it became a cult sensation on home video/pay cable a couple of years later.  

Bottom Feeder: Scooby-Doo (2002)

Plenty of people in my generation are really fond of Scooby-Doo and upon a rewatch as an adult, it's completely possible that I would join the club (it was written by the great James Gunn after all). However as a kid, I thought this movie was awful. I actually explicitly remember thinking shortly after I saw it that I would've had more fun if I'd stayed home and watched some episodes of Scoob-Doo, Where Are You? on Cartoon Network instead of going out to see the movie-which is about as scathing of a review as a 10-year old could conceive.  

Most Underrated: The Beach Bum (2019)

Harmony Korine really did the unthinkable with The Beach Bum. The polarizing surrealist hedonistic auteur made a full-blown stoner comedy that isn't just hilarious and psychedelic, but legitimately heartfelt and life-affirming. A couple rays of sunshine omitting from Korine's unapologetic degenerate soul is a beautiful sight to see and hopefully this won't be the last time he shows this side of himself in his work.   

Most Overrated: Rango (2011)

Like Scooby-Doo, bestowing this dishonor upon Rango needs to carry an asterisk since I haven't seen the film in over a decade. As cool as it is that Gore Verbinski basically made a trippy western for kids, I felt that Rango didn't offer much more outside of striking animation and the occasional moment of inspired weirdness.