NFL

It seems as though every year we go through this with the NFL, and rightfully so.  They review the current state of the game and try to figure out how to make if more competitive or safer.  With today’s athletes it’s almost a necessity.  After all, they’re bigger, faster and stronger than they ever were, and as man, and the game itself continue to evolve it’s the NFL’s job to ensure continued success and competitiveness.

This week it was rumored that the NFL may soon do away with the kickoff.  WHAT???  That would be a travesty in my opinion.  The kickoff is one of the most exciting plays in the NFL and in collegiate football as well.  And the fact is that if the NFL does away with the kickoff, it will no doubt trickle down to both the collegiate and high school ranks as well.

Imagine some of the plays that we may not have seen if it weren’t for the kickoff.  The “Music City Miracle” in 2000 that propelled the Tennessee Titans to a win over the Buffalo Bills and a berth in Super Bowl XXXIV.  We wouldn’t even know who Devin Hester is right now.  Not to mention that he was the first player to ever take the opening Super Bowl kickoff (Super Bowl XLI) back for a TD.   And we would have missed the 99 yard job done by Desmond Howard in Super Bowl XXXI, which is the longest in Super Bowl history.  And let’s not forget that without Kenyon Drake’s kickoff return in the CFB Championship game, Alabama could not have claimed the title.

I’m all for player safety, but I’m also a traditionalist.  There are some things that should not be changed or eliminated, and the kickoff is one of those things.  It requires coaches to strategize about it, there are players who are specialists because of it, they’ve even made it a position on the Pro Bowl team.  And quite honestly, if you remove the kickoff there are players that will never see the field in college or pro football.

Football is a violent, contact sport based on moving forward as fast as possible and throwing your body at your opponent to prevent them from scoring.  There’s only so much you can do to make it safer.  And I just don’t feel that removing the kickoff is going to give you the “bang for your buck” that the NFL is looking for.

As the anticipation builds, and we get closer and closer to the start of another exciting NFL season, the NFL Network released its top 100 players going into the 2016 regular season.  What’s key here is that these players are voted on by the players themselves.  As we take a deeper look into the top 10 we have 4 receivers (one of those being a TE), 3 QBs, 2 defensive players, and 1 RB.  The lone RB, being none other than Adrian Peterson, which is no surprise to anyone.

The top 10 players are:

1. Cam Newton
2. Tom Brady
3. J.J. Watt
4. Antonio Brown
5. Adrian Peterson
6. Aaron Rodgers
7. Luke Kuechly
8. Julio Jones
9. Rob Gronkowski
10. Odell Beckham, Jr.

As we look at the makeup of this top 10, there aren’t any real surprises, but it gives us a snapshot of how the league has changed over the years and become a more wide open, high scoring, passing league.  I could remember a time when you’d have maybe 5 RBs and maybe only 1 or 2 receiver types.  With all of the rules changes over the years, teams are taking advantage of those changes by placing a premium on receivers and the always important QB position.

This season’s #1 player is Cam Newton, which just so happens to be his jersey number.  Last season, Cam had what many would consider a dream season.  The Panthers buzzed through the regular season going 15-1 and won the NFC Championship and a berth in Super Bowl 50, only to be stymied by the Broncos defense.  Cam was also named MVP and was the first player in the history of the league to have 30 passing TDs and 10 rushing TDs.

As we get ready to go into the 2016 season, these 10 guys will pretty much have a bullseye on their backs, but they are all pretty much accustomed to that.  Each of them is either the best, or one of the best players on their respective teams.  And as the season unfolds, some of these guys will rise up the ladder, while other could possibly fall out altogether.

I expect Aaron Rodgers to return to his old self with Jordy Nelson returning from injury.  Tom Brady will be Tom Terrific again, as usual.  And I look for Odell Beckham, Jr. to improve even more this season now that he has a threat on his opposite side in the likes of rookie Sterling Shepard.  We’ll review this list again after week #8.

So let’s talk about the AFC.  After last year’s victory by the Broncos, the AFC has now won 3 of the last 4 Super Bowls.  In total, the NFC leads the AFC 26 – 24 in the 50 Super Bowls played to date.  Last year the typical cast of characters made the playoffs, teams like the Steelers, Patriots, Broncos, Bengals, and Texans.  Joined by the Kansas City Chiefs who went on an 11-game win streak to close out the season as the hottest team in the league.  But the AFC title game came down to two familiar foes in the Patriots and Broncos, with the Broncos winning out and going on to win the 3rd Super Bowl in franchise history.

So what’s in store for the AFC this season?  With the retirement of Peyton Manning, and Brock Osweiler leaving in free agency, there is a lot of uncertainty at the QB position for the defending champs this season.  Mr. Butt Fumble himself, Mark Sanchez, is currently the starting QB and recently drafted rookie Paxton Lynch is not ready for prime time.  Last season’s league leading defense is still intact, but the issue is going to be whether or not they can score.  Time will tell.

The AFC front runners should continue to be the Patriots, Broncos, Steelers, and Bengals.  But there are a couple of teams that are expected to make a pretty big splash due to some great off season moves in free agency and the draft.  In addition to the front runners, expect to hear noise from the Raiders, Jaguars, Colts, and Texans.

The Raiders made some real progress last season.  Derek Carr continued to improve as the teams franchise QB.  The drafting of Amari Cooper lived up to its billing with him breaking several franchise rookie receiving records.   The addition of Michael Crabtree added to Carr’s arsenal of weapons.  Khalil Mack became the first player to be named all-pro at two positions, OLB and DE.  The sky’s the limit for the Silver and Black this season.  With the free agent signings of Kelechi Osemele, Bruce Irvin, and Sean Smith, the Raiders have solidified the defensive side of the ball, and are primed to break their 13 year post season draught.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are poised for a breakout year this season.  Blake Bortles made some real progress as the Jags’ franchise QB.  And the Allens (Hurns and Robinson) showed signs of becoming one of the most prolific pass catching duos in the league.  TJ Yeldon showed signs of becoming a go to RB, and the signing of Chris Ivory in free agency has solidified that backfield.  Telvin Smith is healthy and the steal of the draft, Myles Jack, make the Jags a force to be reckoned with.

With Andrew Luck battling injury for most of the season, the Colts struggled throughout the season on offense.  However, 2016 should be different in many respects.  Luck is healthy, and the core of the team returns.  Matt Hasselbeck though injured himself, was able to guide the Colts to a respectable 8-8 record.  With a healthy Luck and the return of last year’s team intact, I expect the Colts to be playoff bound once again.

They still have JJ Watt and DeAndre Hopkins.  And they signed Brock Osweiler, and Lamar Miller in free agency.  They also drafted speedster Will Fuller.  The Texans appear to be in good shape.  The biggest question for them is whether or not they can finally get past the first round of the playoffs.  I have a strong feeling that this is their year to make a breakthrough.  Will they win it all?  NO.  But they definitely win a first round game.

It’s almost here!  The moment that a lot of us have been waiting on.  NFL training camp will open in a few weeks, and fans across the nation will throw on jerseys, car flags, lawn flags, you name it.  You’ll know exactly who’s a fan of whom.

The Super Bowl was thought to be a crowning of what many thought was the best team all season (Carolina Panthers).  But the Broncos had other thoughts.  A turnover by the MVP, Cam Newton, resulted in a quick score for the Broncos.  From there, they never looked back.  Carolina’s offense never got on track, and Von Miller and the rest of the Bronco defense made sure of it.  The victory gave the Broncos their 3rd Super Bowl trophy in franchise history and helped Manning win the 2nd of his decorated career.

So what’s in store for this season?  Who will the contenders and pretenders be?  The defending NFC champs return mostly everyone from last year’s squad with the exception of all-pro corner back Josh Norman, who was lost to free agency.  This season they will have the services of Kelvin Benjamin who missed all of last season with a knee injury.  On the surface there’s no reason to believe that the Panthers can’t repeat as conference champs, but sometimes a Super Bowl collapse can have long lasting ramifications.

Your NFC front runners should continue to be Carolina, Arizona, Seattle, and Green Bay.  I would expect some noise to be made by teams like the Los Angeles Rams, New York Giants, Washington Redskins, and Minnesota Vikings.

The Rams return to L.A. after spending the last 2 decades in St. Louis.  They used the #1 pick in this year’s draft to take Cal QB Jared Goff, and have last seasons offensive Rookie of the Year in Todd Gurley.  The defense is solid, so the question is whether or not the rookie can get it together quickly and lead the team to a playoff berth.  The good thing is they have a guy like Gurley that they can lean on to keep the chains moving.  He’s one of those backs that gets stronger as the game goes on, which is perfect for Jeff Fisher.  He will definitely “feed the beast”.

The New York Giants experienced some growing pains under Offensive Coordinator Ben McAdoo’s system last season.  They started rough, but the offense turned the corner about mid way through the season and became really solid.  McAdoo is now the head coach, replacing Tom Coughlin.  With Eli now comfortable in the system, and weapons like Odell Beckham, Jr. and newly drafted Sterling Shepard, I think the leagues DBs need to be on notice.  This could become one of the most prolific pass catching duos in the league.

The Redskins finally found their franchise QB in Kirk Cousins, and moved on from the RGIII era.  Kirk had a fantastic season for the Skins last year, getting them into the playoffs for the first time since RGIII rookie season.  With the pass catching trio of Garcon, Jackson, and Reed, there’s no reason why this squad can’t capitalize on last year’s success.  In the off season they added all pro CB Josh Norman which will definitely help their pass defense.  On offense they added TE Vernon Davis, maybe he can get back to the form that helped the 49ers make the Super Bowl a few years ago.  In addition, they drafted Josh Doctson from TCU, who can flat out fly.  Things should be quite exciting in the nation’s capital this season.

The Vikings surprised a lot of people last season.  I don’t think they’ll sneak up on anyone this year.  They were 1 missed field goal away from upsetting the Seattle Seahawks in the wild card round.  All of their stars like Teddy Bridgewater, Adrian Peterson, Stefon Diggs, and that young, fast, athletic defensive front 7 all return.  Through the draft, they added Laquon Treadwell out of Ole Miss, who may have been the best wide out in the draft.  All this coupled with moving into their brand new stadium in downtown Minneapolis should make this season pretty special up north.