Later this week, the National Football League will begin its 103nd season in Tampa, as the Dallas Cowboys take on the defending Super Bowl Champions Tampa Bay Buccaneers (man, that feels great to say that). So you may or may not be wondering what my thoughts are on the upcoming season. Well, hard to say; last year we kinda didn't know what to expect because there was no preseason due to the ongoing pandemic. This year, we had preseason games, but there was one fewer game (we get a 17th regular season game to make up for it), and not all the top stars participated (Aaron Rodgers and Tua Tagovaiola come to mind). However, we will have full stands full of (hopefully) vaccinated crowds, so the ghost town atmosphere of playing in empty venues such as Met Life Stadium are gone. In other words it will feel like football season again. Sooooo, let's get to it.
NFC South
Last year's Super Bowl champions hail from the NFC South, but they didn't win the division. That honor belonged to the New Orleans Saints, who lost to Tampa in the divisional round (and trust me, Bucs fans haven't let Saints fans forget about it either). This year will be drastically different in NOLA with Drew Brees hanging up the cleats and heading to the broadcast booth. In his place will be the former QB1 of the Bucs, Jameis Winston.
Whether Winston eats Ws like crab legs in the French Quarter or serves up turnovers like he did in his time here in Tampa remains to be seen. Going off the small sample sie of the preseason, probably the former. Meanwhile in Atlanta, Matt Ryan is still slinging the football around, but he no longer has Julio Jones. In Charlotte, Sam Darnold (hopefully mono free) takes over the quarterbacking duties, and it will be interesting to see how they fare with a healthy Christian McCaffery for a full season. Saving the best for last, the immortal Tom Brady and the Bucs return all their starters from the Super Bowl winning campaign, which hasn't happened this millennium. Here's the scary part; they may be even better than last year. That spells doom for the rest of the division; but, this is football, and you never know what happens over the course of a season.
NFC North
Mr. Discount Double Check, Aaron Rodgers, is back in Green Bay after rumors of him being traded during the offseason. Which means the division should be theirs for the taking. Two storylines to watch for will be Justin Fields's emergence with the Chicago Bears, and how Jared Goff will fare with Detroit.
NFC East
Dak Prescott returns for Dallas after injury curtailed his season last year. He should be good to go against Tampa Thursday night even if their offensive line will be shorthanded...again. As for the rest of the division, will Jalen Hurts or Joe Flacco be the signal caller for Philly? Which Giant team will we see in 2021, the underachievers of last year, or oe that can live up to their potential? Was last season in Washington a fluke for the Football Team?
NFC West
This may be the most competitive division in the league. All four teams could possibly win it. The defending champs Seattle Seahawks have Russell Wilson and plenty of talent on both sides of the ball, but will it be enough to outlast a VERY stingy Rams defense. Speaking of which, LA has Matthew Stafford now. Arizona could be a dark horse with the addition of JJ Watt. And as for San Francisco, will Kyle Shanahan's two quarterback rotation of Jimmy Garappolo and Trey Lance actually work? Though it looks like Jimmy G will get the week one nod.
AFC East
Welcome to the new AFC East, run by Bills Mafia whether you like it or not. I have the over/under of tables destroyed at 200.5 for the season, and with good reason; Josh Allen is the real deal. Other than possible stadium issues getting in the way, 2021 should be smooth sailing. For Miami, rumors are already swirling that Tua is already a bust. The Dolphins are saying all the right things, but the specter of Deshaun Watson getting traded to them looms large.
The Cam Newton era in Foxborough is over, as he was cut in favor of the first round pick Mac Jones. Whether or not the Pats will improve remains to be seen. And the Jets, sigh. Will this team ever catch a break?
AFC North
The last time people were this excited over the Cleveland Browns, I was in junior high school and Bernie Kosar was their quarterback, and with another season of Baker Mayfield throwing to OBJ and with Nick Chubb running the ball, watch out. Ben Roethlisberger returns for his 18th season with Pittsburgh, and Lamar Jackson hopes to return to his MVP form. As for Cincinnati, how good is Joe Burrow? We didn't see much since last year was injury shortened, and he didn't take a snap in the preseason.
AFC South
This is Tennessee's division. The Colts have COVID and injury issues, the Jaguars have first overall pick Trevor Lawrence, first year head coach Urban Meyer, and that's about it. Second-round pick Travis Etienne is already done for the year, and thousands of delusional fan-girls hearts were broken when Tim Tebow was released after the first preseason game. I'm a Gators fan, and I didn't think that experiment was going to work. Houston? What a mess; that's all I'll say.
AFC West
The Chiefs are still the team to beat in this division, if not the entire AFC. I think if anything last season taught us is that Tom Brady isn't going to pass the torch anytime soon, so Patrick Mahomes will have to snatch it from him. Look for the LA Chargers to potentially give KC a run, though EVERYTHING has to break in their favor for that to happen. The Broncos will have Teddy Bridgewater under center for them, and the Raiders will finally have fans at Allegiant Stadium this season, but that's about the only good thing about them.
Who Takes Home Lombardi in Los Angeles?
Here's who I pick from the NFC:
South: Tampa Bay
West: Los Angeles
North: Green Bay
East: Dallas
WC: New Orleans
WC: Seattle
WC: Arizona
and from the AFC:
East: Buffalo
West: Kansas City
South: Tennessee
North: Cleveland
WC: Baltimore
WC: Los Angeles
WC: Miami
My Super Bowl pick:
Tampa Bay over Buffalo
Oh, I Mentioned More, Didn't I?
Since Gameday is rapidly approaching, my opening night pick:
Tampa Bay over Dallas but the Cowboys will cover the 8 point spread.
CT
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