Photo Credit: Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports
With the NFL regular season just around the corner, it’s time to take a look at what to expect. As is always the case with professional football, the offseason was full of twists and turns, from injuries to quarterback controversies to surprise cuts. Here are a few themes to keep your eye on as the season gets underway on Sunday, September 11th.
I. Questions At Quarterback
This is football’s most important position for a reason. Teams live and die by their quarterbacks every day. Just take a look at the Cleveland Browns, a team that has featured a carousel of quarterbacks since the turn of the millennia, during which time they have made the playoffs just once.
During the offseason, the Browns acquired former Washington Redskins QB Robert Griffin III, who spent much of his time in Washington plagued by injuries. Both sides of the new partnership are hoping that the new arrangement will prove to be revitalizing for all parties involved.
Back in the nation’s capital, Kirk Cousins will be taking over the helm of the Redskins full-time after sparking a fire in the team and its fanbase last season with his “you like that?!” vigor and well of enthusiasm. In 2015, he posted a solid season and even managed to get the Redskins into the playoffs, though they took an early bow after facing the Green Bay Packers. Fans are hoping that Cousins will continue to grow and eventually lead the ‘Skins back to their former glory.
In Denver, people were surprised to see that journeyman quarterback Mark Sanchez will not be the Broncos’ starter when the season rolls around. Instead, the defending Super Bowl champs will be putting their 2015 seventh round draft choice Trevor Siemian into the seat most recently occupied by legendary QB Peyton Manning, who retired in the offseason. 24-year-old Siemian beat out Sanchez to become the first-ever QB to start Week 1 for a defending Super Bowl champ with zero regular season NFL passes thrown.
Perhaps the most famous of quarterback questions comes from the New England Patriots, where backup Jimmy Garoppolo will be thrust into the starting role when Tom Brady sits out his four-game suspension for his alleged role in the Patriots’ alleged scheme to deflate footballs in the AFC Championship game two years ago. Garoppolo has had a decent preseason, though he has paled in comparison to Brady, the only quarterback able to make anything work on either side in the Patriots’ preseason matchup against the defending NFC Champion Carolina Panthers.
II. Key Injuries
All of Vikings nation was shocked as Teddy Bridgewater went down in practice with a non-contact injury to his left knee that ended his season. An ambulance subsequently picked him up, presumably taking him to the hospital for evaluation. Minnesota will have to wait until next season to see if Bridgewater is their franchise quarterback.
Much further south, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is injured again, this time with a broken bone in his back, after spending much of 2015 recovering from a clavicle injury. Unfortunately, he is expected to be sidelined 6-10 weeks, but the team is hoping he could return by Week 3 against the Bears. Dak Prescott, who has been praised by coaches and teammates alike, will step in to take the veteran’s place.
III. Teams To Watch
After several changeups in the league, there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding many teams. In a post-Calvin Johnson era, the Detroit Lions will need to find a way to replace his offensive dynamite and focus on winning games, something with which they struggled in 2015 after starting the season with five straight losses.
New head coach Chip Kelly will face an uphill battle with the San Francisco 49ers, a team that has been floundering since the firing of Jim Harbaugh and the subsequent mass exodus of players to retirement and free agency.
Trod-upon AFC East teams the Miami Dolphins, New York Jets and Buffalo Bills will all be vying for the top of the division now that the New England Patriots are facing four games without their star, though it remains to be seen if any of the rest of the East will manage an incursion.
In all, this upcoming season is gearing up to be yet another twenty weeks of nonstop entertainment and plenty of great football.
