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junker-town · 5 years ago

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Here’s where we predict 5 NFL quarterbacks in limbo will land

Cam Newton and Jameis Winston will both be playing for new teams in 2020.

Cam Newton, Jameis Winston, and Andy Dalton are among the available quarterbacks. What’s next for them?

During the 2020 NFL free agency period, we’ve seen a number of quarterbacks who will continue their careers elsewhere. Tom Brady left New England for Tampa Bay, Philip Rivers is heading to Indianapolis, and Marcus Mariota landed with the Raiders.

Although most of the big-name guys have found a landing spot, there are still a few quarterbacks who haven’t been picked up just yet. Let’s take a look at five of them — whether they’re free agents or not — and predict where each one might end up next.

Cam Newton

Newton’s time with the Panthers ended on a sour note. First, he called Carolina out on Instagram after the team announced it was granting him a trade, insisting that he didn’t want to be traded. He was released by the Panthers less than a week later.

Newton passed a physical before his release, and if he’s healthy, he is still a starting quarterback in this league. He’s just 30 years old and is one of the best dual-threat QBs the NFL has ever seen. He holds the record for rushing TDs by a QB, with 58 so far in his career.

Prediction: New England Patriots

After losing Brady in free agency, New England’s quarterback room consists of Jarrett Stidham, Brian Hoyer, and Cody Kessler. The Patriots could also draft a quarterback in the first round, like Utah State’s Jordan Love.

Newton would be a big upgrade over any of them. He has playoff experience, leading the Panthers to four postseason appearances and one Super Bowl. He could give the Pats some extra playmaking ability with his legs, which they didn’t have with Brady. OC Josh McDaniels could find some new creative ways to add Newton’s skills to their playbook.

Trading for Newton would have been too expensive, so New England might have been waiting for him to become a free agent (and until the team doctors can examine Newton themselves). The Patriots don’t have much cap space, but restructuring some contracts would free up some money.

Jameis Winston

Winston was the No. 1 overall pick in 2015, but his career didn’t quite pan out for him in Tampa. During his five seasons with the Bucs, he threw 88 interceptions and fumbled 50 times, while compiling a 28-42 record as a starter.

He also led the NFL in passing yards last season and has shown flashes of being a successful quarterback, making him the most risk-reward player left in this free agency. He’s best at throwing long passes in tight windows.

Prediction: Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars traded away Nick Foles to Chicago, leaving Gardner Minshew as the starter and Joshua Dobbs as the backup. Winston, despite his turnover issues, is a better and more experienced quarterback than both.

Jacksonville will likely want to see what it has in Minshew, though. As a rookie, he started off hot early when he came in for an injured Foles in Week 1. In the first five weeks of the season, Minshew threw nine touchdowns and just one interceptions, and had an average passer rating of 105.6. He started to regress in the middle of the season, however, and he was benched when Foles returned. Minshew eventually replaced Foles again and finished the season 6-6, with 21 touchdowns, six interceptions, and a 91.2 passer rating.

If Minshew doesn’t prove to be the Jags’ QB of the future, having a veteran like Winston to lean on would be a good backup plan. His strong arm would also complement Jags wideouts DJ Chark Jr., Chris Conley, and Dede Westbrook. Not to mention, this would mean Winston can stay in Florida, where he’s been since the start of his college career.

Andy Dalton

The Cincinnati Bengals will end up drafting quarterback Joe Burrow at No. 1 overall. So it’s no surprise that the Bengals have already been willing to work with Dalton on a trade. Dalton is set to make $17.7 million in 2020, which is the last year of his Cincinnati contract. The Bengals can try to trade Dalton to a team willing to take on some of that remaining salary, keep him as an expensive backup, or release him.

Last season, Dalton was benched on his birthday after Cincy’s 0-8 start, but his career hasn’t been a complete failure. He had a winning record in his first five seasons with the Bengals and took them to the playoffs four times. He was even playing at an MVP level in 2015 until a thumb injury derailed his season.

Prediction: New York Jets

Right now, the Jets’ quarterback room is pretty young. Sam Darnold is entering his third year as the starter, and the only other quarterback on the roster is Mike White, another member of the 2018 draft class.

In his rookie year, Darnold sat out three games due to a foot injury. Longtime veteran Josh McCown, who helped serve as a mentor, filled in for Darnold. Last year, Darnold missed three games due to his mono diagnosis and subsequent enlarged spleen. In his stead, the Jets relied on Luke Falk and Trevor Siemian, both of whom are no longer on the team.

If Dalton ends up in New York, he could be a valuable resource for the 22-year-old Darnold like McCown was. Perhaps more importantly, he could be a proven starter off the bench if Darnold gets injured again.

Joe Flacco

Flacco was waived by the Broncos at the start of the new league year with a failed physical designation. Last season, he was placed on injured reserve due to a herniated disc in his neck. Flacco went 2-6 as Denver’s starter before his injury, and he threw for just six touchdowns and five interceptions. The Broncos are moving forward with Drew Lock, who went 4-1 over the last five weeks of his rookie season.

It’s been a tough couple of years for Flacco, to say the least. He dealt with a hip injury in 2018 and was usurped as Baltimore’s starter by future NFL MVP Lamar Jackson. The Ravens traded Flacco last offseason. and the Super Bowl MVP 47 was released roughly a year after he was signed.

Prediction: Unsigned

Due to the coronavirus outbreak in the United States, the NFL has decided to suspend physicals during free agency. The fact that Flacco has already failed a physical and would have to wait to be examined by a new team makes it unlikely he’ll be signed anytime soon.

Flacco is 35 years old too, and there are plenty of younger quarterbacks available both in free agency and in this year’s draft class. Don’t be surprised if Flacco is unemployed at the start of 2020.

Josh Rosen

Rosen’s NFL career hasn’t exactly gone as planned. After getting drafted at No. 10 overall by the Arizona Cardinals, Rosen went 3-10 as their starter in 2018 and was traded to Miami during the 2019 draft. With the Dolphins, Rosen started three games over veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick, but Fitzpatrick took the job back after Rosen’s two-pick, five-sack outing against Washington in Week 5.

The last time Rosen saw the field was in Week 10, when Fitzpatrick was briefly evaluated for a concussion. In six games in 2019, Rosen completed just 53.2 percent of his passes and threw one touchdown and five interceptions.

Prediction: Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins haven’t said much about Rosen recently. It’s no secret that Miami will draft a quarterback (Tua Tagovailoa, most likely), and Fitzpatrick has already turned down retirement to come back for the second year of his deal with the Dolphins.

So where does that leave Rosen? There just really isn’t a market right now for him. But he’s only due around $2.2 million in 2020, so keeping him wouldn’t cost Miami much. Plus, having Rosen as a backup regardless of who starts in 2020 isn’t a terrible option to have.

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ecoorganic · 4 years ago

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Mailbag: Future Changes to NFL's TV Packages, Impact of Canceled College Games

Plus, the impact a canceled college season has on the NFL, what to expect from Gardner Minshew in Year 2, whether this season will be seen as legitimate and more.

It’s a sad day in the football world. Blue-blood programs that are 41 (Michigan), 33 (Penn State), 32 (USC) and 30 (Ohio State and Nebraska) years older than the NFL itself won’t be playing this fall. And no matter who you blame, it’s a shame that

we’re here.

The slow death march college football seems to be on will absolute reverberate in the NFL world. We’re going to get to that, and a whole lot more, in this week’s mailbag. …

From Brock Ascher (@BrockAscher): What happens to NFL TV rights in the near future? Will I ever be able to get rid of DirecTV? Will I ever be able to buy a one-team out of market package?

Brock, my guess is the over-the-air packages will probably remain the same. I think Thursday night is the one variable in all this, with the potential Disney snaps it up so it can put either MNF or TNF on ABC, with the other staying on ESPN, ideal for them for cable-fee reasons. (My guess is Fox is finished with TNF.) The biggest difference you’d notice could come in structure. I was told by two execs that the NFL has discussed jettisoning the divvying up of Sunday afternoons by conference (the cross-flex would be a precursor to that).

It’d give the NFL more flexibility and, in this scenario, you could have Fox and CBS simply split up the games, via some sort of “draft.”

After that, we can dive into how streaming (where the younger audience lives) plays into all of this, and how the Sunday Ticket package you’re referencing factors into that. AT&T now owns DirecTV, which has the Ticket through 2022. The Ticket is vital to DirecTV's survival. How much does AT&T care about that? We’ll see, because the NFL has discussed the idea of moving the Ticket to a streaming service, where a younger audience lives.

You can imagine what the Ticket would be worth to ESPN-Plus, Peacock, HBO Max, DAZN or Amazon Prime. How many people would jump on those services if the Ticket was there? Based on DirecTV’s numbers, the answer is a lot. And part of the NFL’s concern about production quality in doing something like this may have been alleviated with how smoothly Amazon Prime’s venture into creating such a product for the Premier League over in the UK went.

As for the a la carte end of this, we’ll see. I think that’s coming, but it might be further down the line, and whoever were to win the Ticket rights would be involved in all of that. The bottom line here: Media’s changing fast, and the NFL is preparing for that.

From Jonathan Barakat (@jonathanbarakat): How do you think Gardner Minshew will play this year? Will he exceed expectations? Also what do you think of D.J. Chark coming into his third year?

Jonathan, I’ll give you what I like and what I don’t like about Gardner Minshew’s situation.

What I like: Minshew gets to play for Jay Gruden, who’s immediately made a big difference for young quarterbacks in both his previous NFL homes (Kirk Cousins in D.C. and Andy Dalton in Cincinnati), and in one of those cases actually did it with a rookie coming off the lockout, which is somewhat analogous to this situation. Also, D.J. Chark gives Minshew a strong No. 1 target, and Doug Marrone will use the run game to support him.

What I don’t like: It’s pretty clear where Jacksonville stands on Cam Robinson, and having an issue at left tackle isn’t great—particularly in a year when it’s going to be tough to work out offensive line issues on the fly. Also, the viability of the run game rides largely on Leonard Fournette, who hasn’t been the most reliable guy over his first three NFL seasons. And beyond Chark, there are question marks at receiver and tight end.

So all in all, it’s not a complete mess, but not really setup for Minshew to have a breakthrough sophomore campaign.

From Roberta Wears A Mask You Should Too (@AceandJasper): How will the teams take care of season ticket holders who won't get to sit in their front row seats even for a game or two?

Most teams are rolling payments over or refunding—and I can’t imagine any haven’t already given their season-ticket holders the choice to opt out and hold on to the rights to their seats in 2021. I think, at this point, we know that the season isn’t going to start with full stadiums anywhere. How will it end? That’s four months from now. And I think the last four months should be enough to keep anyone from making predictions that far ahead.

From Erik Ghirarduzzi (@eghirarduzzi): Given the circumstance around this season, currently known and ones yet to come, how legit would a SB winner be? There are teams at a competitive disadvantage, through no fault of their own, already and the season hasn't started.

Erik, this is a great question—I do believe this year will be remembered, if it’s completed, like the strike years of 1982 and ’87. In ’82, teams played nine games, the divisions were temporarily abolished, and a 16-team playoff was staged. In ’87, just six quarterbacks broke 3,000 yards passing, and just two backs reached 1,000 yards rushing. In both years, interestingly enough, Joe Gibbs led Washington to a championship.

Now, I don’t think the season necessarily will be cut to nine games (as ’82 was), nor will you have the oddity of replacement players en masse (like ’87 had). But I do think there’ll be aspects of the season that will go sideways, and the NFL, to its credit, knows it and is preparing for that.

So how are ’82 and ’87 remembered? I think most people who didn’t live it (I was way too young, 2, to remember the former, and have faint memories of the latter) probably wouldn’t look at championships or accolades from that year (John Elway was MVP and Reggie White DPOY in ’87) much differently. But it doesn’t take much Google acumen to discover how weird all the numbers from those seasons look.

To me, that feels like the likely result of this year.

From Dan Heiserman (@HeisermanDan): Has any player in history ever been on more teams than Josh McCown?

Speaking of Google, Dan, I didn’t know the answer to this and was legitimately interested, so I looked and found that legend-of-the-aughts J.T. O’Sullivan was on 11 (!) different NFL teams (Saints, Packers, Bears, Vikings, Patriots, Panthers, Lions, Niners, Bengals, Chargers, Raiders), which unbelievably matches McCown’s number (Cardinals, Lions, Raiders, Dolphins, Panthers, Niners, Bears, Bucs, Browns, Jets, Eagles).

A little more bumping around the internet showed that kicker Bill Cundiff was, at one point or another, with 13 different NFL teams (Cowboys, Bucs, Packers, Saints, Falcons, Chiefs, Lions, Browns, Ravens, Washington, Niners, Jets, Bills). And I’m sure there are other backup quarterbacks and kickers—playing positions where careers are longer, which facilitates this sort of movement—out there like these guys.

All of them must have pretty cool jersey displays in their basements.

From SUPER BOWL SUPER BROWNS HELL YEAH!!! (@WAH3rd): Should I still go back to the party barn and start drinking at 7 a.m. and yell at people on Saturdays this fall like I used to?

This is a very specific message just for me and a lot of other people who were in legit mourning on Tuesday night—and this will be absolutely be one of the Lane Avenue casualties (right there with the Varsity Club) of the depressing news we all got. It’s hard to describe the Party Barn if you don’t know what it is already, so I won’t try.

And the answer is yes.

From Skeeter6265 (@skeeter6265): Do you think Ohio will beat Michigan?

I was very excited for Michigan to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its last win in Columbus—that was in the fall of my junior year—this November. Maybe that team can have a Zoom reunion to commemorate it now.

From FootballFan64 (@FFan64): With college coaches out of the running for NFL openings since their season is moving to the spring, which NFL coordinators do you expect to be coveted for any newly vacated HC positions? Who is this year’s Matt Rhule?

Well, Football Fan, I’m not sure that colleges playing in the spring (if that even happens) would prevent NFL teams from making runs at coaches at that level. If, and again it’s a big if, college football goes in the spring semester, my guess would be the season would start in February (you can’t just start the season the minute kids get back to campus). The NFL coaching carousel is spinning at the beginning of January. So there’d be time.

The NFL coordinator names you’ll hear most are some of the usual suspects from the last couple cycles—Patriots OC Josh McDaniels, Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy, Ravens coordinators Greg Roman and Wink Martindale, 49ers DC Robert Saleh and Saints DC Dennis Allen would be on that list. I’d also just keep an eye on Falcons DC Raheem Morris, Chiefs pass-game coordinator Mike Kafka and Titans OC Arthur Smith as names that could pop up.

As for the next Matt Rhule, the NFL will continue to have interest in Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley, and Ohio State’s Ryan Day is beginning to be held in that sort of regard among those in the pros. But both those guys have jobs that are very well-paying and, in reality, better than the majority of jobs they’d find in the NFL. Stanford’s David Shaw and Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald have long been on the radar of the league, but haven’t shown much appetite for leaving their alma maters. And Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck is a fun name to keep an eye on.

From Shawn Tangen (@SMTangen): How is Kevin Warren viewed within NFL circles?

Shawn, I’d say it’s pretty mixed. And I got some pretty strong reaction from certain corners of the NFL about the Big Ten commissioner (and former Vikings executive) after the conference canceled its season on Tuesday.

Warren was a polarizing figure inside the Minnesota locker room during the Adrian Peterson scandal of 2014—Peterson felt like Warren betrayed him to the point where Warren’s promotion to COO was a sticking point in the star’s contract negotiation. That was a situation that coach Mike Zimmer had to manage, and ultimately defuse, on the ground with the players, and it’s just one example in his NFL past where he’s rankled co-workers.

On top of that, many NFL people felt like Warren’s move to the Big 10 was with designs on eventually making a run at becoming NFL commissioner down the line. In that regard, the final result of his management of the last week (a result we won’t have for a while) will probably go a long way in determining whether those aspirations are realistic or not. I’d just hope his decisions here weren’t made with that in mind.

From Brycen Papp (@BrycenPapp): Do you think this season will be a massive shift in the way the draft process works? Will the NFL lower the requirements for college players to be draft eligible to two years instead of three?

Brycen, I think there will be a shift to the draft process to a degree, and we’re going to get into that in the GamePlan on Thursday. But I do want to get into your question on the NFL’s age requirement, because it’s a fascinating one—and something we covered extensively on the podcast this week.

I believe many of the best players in the Big 10 and Pac-12, from places like Ohio State, Oregon, USC, Penn State and Michigan, will sign with agents now, and go into draft prep. Because of that, and how the Big 10/Pac-12 shutdown devalues this college season, I think we’ll also see some attrition from the other conferences. That could lead to some players who only played two years of college football and skipped the required third year out of high school, going high in next April’s draft.

That, in turn, could open the door in the future for players with two good years on their resume skipping their junior year to protect themselves and prepare for the draft—in the same way Christian McCaffrey skipping his bowl game in 2016 gave others cover to do the same. At that point, the idea that players need three years of development to be NFL-ready gets broken down, and now you have guys taking a “gap year” instead.

Which isn’t good for the players, for college football or for the NFL.

It’s important to remember here too that it’s not college football keeping guys in school for three years. It’s pro football. The three-year rule is an NFL rule. And when Maurice Clarett and Mike Williams sued to become eligible for the draft in 2004, it wasn’t a school, a conference or the NCAA they sued. It was the NFL. So the ball would be in the NFL’s court on this one, if the situation comes to a head.

From Sam Perrone (@samjp33): Do you think the NFL would be willing to move the draft if the college football season bleeds into the spring?

I think, Sam, the NFL will do whatever it needs to in order to support the golden goose that is college football. Why? College football is very good for the NFL. And primarily for three reasons.

1) It’s a free minor league. The NFL, unlike the other sports, doesn’t have to fund a complex minor-league system to develop college-aged players. The expense of doing so in a sport like football would be astronomical and the opportunity to monetize it, as we’ve seen with other start-up leagues in the past, would be pretty limited.

2) It’s a marketing monster for star players coming in. Say what you will about Tim Tebow and Johnny Manziel—they were legit sports-world celebrities before they lifted a single dumbbell in preparation for the draft. Everyone knows who Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovialoa and Chase Young are. Ezekiel Elliott and Saquon Barkley were household names as collegians. And all of that is great for the NFL on so many different levels.

3) College football is the foundation for the NFL’s tentpole offseason event. The draft is The Draft because of college football. We’ve been watching most of the top players for years. It marries two wildly popular entertainment entities. The draft itself wouldn’t be nearly the event it is without college football.

So, in order to protect the sanctity of a spring college football season (as much of a sham as it might be) would the NFL be willing to move the draft back a few weeks? Well, of course it would be.

• Question or comment? Email us.

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auburnfamilynews · 6 years ago

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We're taking an early look at Auburn's opponents for the 2018 regular season. This 12-part series will feature analysis and occasional insight from beat reporters who cover the teams Auburn will play this year.

LSU

Game date & time: Jordan-Hare Stadium, Sept. 15 at 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS

2017 record: (9-4, 6-2 SEC)

Coach: Ed Orgeron, second year (15-6 at LSU, 31-33 overall)

Betting line: Auburn by 12

Returning starters: 5 offense, 5 defense, 2 specialists

Most important returning players: QB Myles Brennan, TE Foster Moreau, DB Andraez "Greedy" Williams, LB Devin White, S Grant Delpit

Most critical departures: DE Arden Key, RB Derrius Guice, WR DJ Chark, QB Danny Etling

Insight from LSU beat reporter Brody Miller (@BrodyAMiller):

How has the offense changed yet again from Matt Canada to Steve Ensminger? It's hard to pretend anybody knows exactly what the offense will look like. Ensminger admitted in June only 50 percent of the offense was implemented through spring ball. Ed Orgeron said at media days much of what LSU can do throughout the year will be dependent on what the quarterback shows he can do week one against Miami. What we do know is what they tell us, and they tell us it's going to a much more pass-oriented offense than what LSU is used to. One can expect to see the Tigers go with four- or five-receiver sets, which is another change. Ensminger said he considers the receivers to be the strength of the offense, and he wants the play-calling to reflect that. The phrase he used was, "It's gonna be a throw first and run when they give it to us." The aggressive move to sign graduate transfer Joe Burrow from Ohio State reflects that mindset, which leads us to our next question.

Is there any chance Joe Burrow isn't the starter at this point in the season? If you're a man who believes in the power of the gambling bookmakers, BetDSI placed odds of +130 on Burrow being the starter. Those odds, theoretically, imply he has less than a 50 percent shot in the four-man race with Myles Brennan (+270), Lowell Narcisse (+360) and Justin McMillan (+510). In reality, it's certainly Burrow's job to lose. Orgeron is saying all the right things about it being an even race to start camp and that everyone will get equal reps at first, but LSU wants Burrow to take this job. He fits what Ensminger wants, which is an accurate quarterback, and clearly none of the other three showed the staff enough in spring if they went for Burrow so hard this summer. I would say +130 is good bet to take, but there's definitely a chance he doesn't win it.

Who is most likely to emerge as LSU's top running back and wide receiver? LSU definitely sees it as a running back by committee situation, which is another rarity for LSU after seemingly having a star NFL-level rusher every year. Ensminger, always one to be blunt, flat-out said they don't know who the running back is. Clyde Edwards-Helaire is most likely to be No. 1 on the depth chart after a good spring. He's the one coaches point to most, but Nick Brossette will get carries and Ensminger said Lanard Fournette (Yes, Leonard's brother) could be the physical third-down back. Freshman Chris Curry is the wild card name to watch. At receiver, Texas Tech-transfer Jonathan Giles is likely the No. 1 guy. He's been given the prestigious No. 7 jersey, and reports in the spring were the LSU defensive backs couldn't defend him. Receivers coach Mickey Joseph said last month nobody has clearly become the guy, but Giles or Justin Jefferson seem most likely.

Who takes over for Arden Key and Donte Jackson? K'Lavon Chaisson will take over for Arden Key. He was a highly-touted prospect coming in and filled in when Key was out last year. He's shown flashes of hitting his massive potential. Whether he reaches it in 2018 remains to be seen. Cornerback is the main question mark -- aside from that darn quarterback position. Stanford graduate transfer Terrence Alexander is likely who LSU hopes steps up and is probably the front runner there. LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda has spoken highly of his intelligence and quickness, but we will know more when camp comes. Kary Vincent is going to come in and try to beat out Alexander for that spot, and Aranda thinks he's earned a chance to compete for it, but it's probably Alexander's to lose.

If LSU loses to Miami, what would a win or loss against Auburn mean? If LSU beats Miami, what would a win or loss against Auburn mean? After loss to Miami: A loss to Auburn would probably make LSU 1-2. No matter how much people might be preparing for a down year and know the schedule is tough, the optics there are awful. I'm not saying it would be right or wrong, but a 1-2 start would cause a lot of noise for Orgeron. That could create a scenario in which LSU might be 3-6 going into Arkansas. A win would basically mean starting the season 0-0. I don't think many people would reasonably expect LSU to win both the Miami and Auburn games away from home. If LSU splits those two, the season is essentially on an even keel. After win against Miami: Refer to my last point if they lose to Auburn. LSU will be a decent underdog going into Auburn, so if it beats Miami and loses to Auburn, things will basically be going as expected. If LSU beats both Miami and Auburn? Well, that will have probably meant Joe Burrow was the star people want him to be. Orgeron will look great for bringing in Burrow, and he will have just won two marquis road games. His stock will be at its highest. LSU will still have a brutal final nine games, but Orgeron will have gained the capital to make it through some losses.

Auburn story lines:

Avenging last year's loss The collapse in Baton Rouge will be the motivating factor for those who endured the blown 20-point lead, but there will be plenty more on the line in this SEC opener.

SEC opener As referenced, this is the SEC opener for both teams and will be a chance for both to set the tone for several weeks. Both Auburn and LSU could enter at 2-0 off big non-conference wins, giving the winner the early lead for contending in the West with Alabama. Both could be 1-1 with a loss to Washington and Miami, respectively, and in need of a big win to get momentum started. Or one could be 2-0 and the other is 1-1, in which case the opportunity is there to deliver a potentially devastating blow to postseason hopes or to rebound from an early loss.

Where the offensive line stands Center is seemingly the only position truly up for grabs entering the season but after two games, including one that could see a lot of personnel rotation against ASU, any adjustments to the offensive line could be done by the end of this week.

Running back rotation Similarly, if a second and third back emerged during the first two weeks a pecking order may be clear heading into this game. Against Dave Aranda, the more certainty Auburn has the better.

Javaris Davis vs. Greedy Williams Two of the best cornerbacks in the SEC should be a showcase of man-to-man coverage and both can be gamebreakers. Who Aranda chooses to line Williams up against will have a big impact on Auburn's passing strategy.

LSU story lines:

Ed Orgeron's status Even after a nine-win season there is chatter about Orgeron due in large part to LSU's offensive struggles and the replacement of Matt Canada after one year. If LSU comes in at 1-1, regardless of how Auburn is doing there will be plenty of talk about Orgeron being on the hot seat with another loss.

Steve Ensminger returns to Auburn Auburn's former offensive coordinator has been back to the Plains before with LSU but not as the play-caller. Just as Orgeron became the interim head coach after LSU's loss at Auburn in 2016, Ensminger became the interim OC for the rest of that season.

How is Joe Burrow leading a different style of offense? Assuming Burrow does indeed win the job, how different is LSU's offense and is he the right fit to lead it?

Running back rotation It's hard to believe given LSU's pedigree of running backs that there's no clear starter entering the season. Against a very good Auburn rush defense, LSU may need to hope it found answers during the first two weeks.

Les Miles It was after the 2016 loss, which had one of the most dramatic finishes in a rivalry full of them, that Miles lost his job. If LSU is 1-1 and the heat is turning up on Oregon as mentioned, the analogies to Miles will be made all week.

An Auburn win would mean:

Starting SEC play on the right foot and improving to either 2-1 or 3-0. Auburn will be in line got two more wins and the Oct. 6 trip to Starkville becomes even bigger in the SEC West race.

An Auburn loss would mean:

This will depend a lot on what happens in the season opener. If Auburn were to fall to 2-1, it would be a seemingly missed opportunity against an LSU team that most expect to be rebuilding on offense. However, as last year illustrated, one SEC loss won't derail Auburn's hopes entirely. But if Auburn enters at 1-1, falling to 1-2 would be a brutal way to start the season and be devastating for its playoff hopes.

James Crepea is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @JamesCrepea.

from Auburn Sports Impact http://www.al.com/auburnfootball/index.ssf/2018/07/auburn_opponent_early_scouting_12.html

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