Football season has started!!!!!!! There is definitely that feel in the air. I went to a party tonight and at least half the people I ran into were talking about Sunday football. It's a great feeling. We had 2 overtime games and 4 more games decided by a touchdown or less! That is good football. Currently, we have a game between the Colts and Broncos(never count out Luck) and 2 more games tomorrow night! Football means more ratings, more tailgating, or enjoying games with friends(even checking occasional scores at work!)
You know, like any sports, football is a continuous story. That's why its so interesting. Many questions we have going into this season include if Seattle will repeat, how will Peyton do, who is the Jets quarterback, or how will Andrew Luck continue progress. All teams have their own stories, as well as the league. If you want the top story lines, in my opinion, here they are:
Will Seattle have enough to repeat? We have not had a back to back champion since the Patriots 10 years ago. The only team to win more than once in the past 7 years are the Giants. Even though the 'Hawks lost a couple of key defenders, they still have a top flight defense. They showed it against ARod(Aaron Rodgers) and the Packers on Thursday night. Even though Russell Wilson is no Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, or Tom Brady, he does have enough to carry a team. Only time will really tell if the Seahawks have enough to repeat.
Who will be this years Kansas City? Last year, Kansas City had a nice turn around year with Andy Reid and Alex Smith. The year before Houston and Washington also played well. Every year we have the expected teams like the Patriots, Packers, and Peyton's teams(Indy or Denver). When Houston played well 2 years ago, they had a great defense. Kansas City had a pretty solid defense. Even the 9-7 Super Bowl champion Giants, had a good defense. I am sure that this years surprise team will have a good defense. They will not necessarily need a good quaterback, but just good quarterback play(Look at Matt Schuab).
Will the Giants rebound with a completely new offense(kind of)? The personnel is a mix of keepers and newbees, but the offensive schemes will be completely different. Eli Manning had 1 offensive coordinator his whole career, now there's Ben McAdoo. With McAdoo, there will be a West Coast Offense. I believe Eli will adjust. Even though he was a QB coach in Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers succeeded with his help. What Eli really needs is protection from his offensive line. The defense will be top flight defense, let's see what happens with the offense.
Do Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have one more run left in them? Tom Brady isn't getting any younger. Belichick doesn't have his tight end rotation he's used to having. Will we see the Belichick teams of old with a really good defense or an 18-1 team of a great offense. I respect Tom Brady's ability completely, but I believe he inherited Drew Bledsoe's team when he really won those Super Bowl. That first Super Bowl was very much like in 1990 when Phil Simms went down and Jeff Hostetler took over, but Hostetler never became the quarterback Tom Brady has become. Let's see if Belichick has enough in him to devise something other than SpyGate.
These are only some of the headlines going into the 2014 NFL season. There will never be a dull moment in the NFL, at least not for a while. Let's see how some of these story lines turn out. Who knows, maybe we will be surprised by a few of them. All I have to say is that some of Roger Goodell's decisions should be smart, whether its about domestic violence or drug abuse. Roger look at making the right decisions immediately. In the mean time, the NFL is doing a great job with all the positive feedback.
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