Summer has come to an end but on the bright side, football season is upon us. With the unusual offseason there is a ton of suspense and questions surrounding this coming NFL season.
One of the biggest unknowns is if the Philadelphia Eagles are going to the Superbowl. The front office has put together a good team on paper and many Eagle fans have already booked their trip to Disney World. The organization has also made Michael Vick the “top dog” and with the additions of Nnamdi Asomugha and Cullen Jenkins their defense will be hard to pierce.
The Eagles might have made the best offseason moves in the NFL but they still have to play in one of the hardest divisions in football. This will be their toughest obstacle this season and the NFC East might drain the Eagles players leaving them with nothing left in the tank come playoff time.
A team that will surprise many is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Josh Freeman has another season under his belt while Mike Williams and LaGarrette Blount have turned into two extremely valuable weapons. Their defense also got much stronger from the draft.
You can look to see Tampa Bay making the hurdle into the playoffs winning the wild card. One can only hope that at least one of the Buccaneers home games will be televised this season.
Since the Eagles are not going to the Superbowl from the NFC, that leaves the Green Bay Packers. The defending Super Bowl Champions will take the NFC crown for the second year in a row.
Aaron Rodgers has turned into one of the best quarterback’s in the NFL and do not forget that the Packers are getting their running game back with Ryan Grant. This is just one more weapon at Rodgers’ disposal.
A.J. Hawk is another year older and look for an increase in the 13.5 sacks that he had in 2010. Do not be surprised when Hawk wins the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award after helping Green Bay run away with the NFC North title.
The AFC also has many mysteries. One can only wonder if the New York Jets have it in them to make it to the AFC Championship for the third year in a row.
All signs are pointing to them not being able to and it would not be surprising if they miss the playoffs all together. They took a major down grade at wide receiver this offseason. Mark Sanchez’s favorite target, Braylon Edwards was replaced with inmate 09-R-3260: Plaxico Burress.
It is a joke that people are labeling Burress as the Jets redzone savior. They would be better off throwing the ball to Rex Ryan. Imagine trying to tackle him especially with that “not even a little bit trashy” tattoo on his leg.
Even with all the questions, the one certain thing in the AFC is that the Denver Broncos will be awful. The main reason is that Kyle Orton is their starting quarterback and there’s not much help behind him with Tim Tebow. I know I am in Florida and people in this state think that Tebow is God’s gift to earth but he was probably the worst quarterback drafted in the first round since JaMarcus Russell. Josh McDaniels put this franchise behind at least five years or however long it takes them to give Brady Quinn the starting job.
The Superbowl champion will come out of the AFC and it will be the San Diego Chargers. With Philip Rivers at the helm and weapons such as Antonio Gates and Vincent Jackson, the Chargers will be unstoppable. Look for Ryan Mathews to have a breakout year and emerge as a top running back. The defense also added Bob Sanders and if he can stay healthy, San Diego will have one of the most punishing defenses in the League.
Rivers will throw for over 4000 yards for the fourth year in a row and win the NFL Most Valuable Player award. It’ll go great next to his Superbowl MVP award on the mantle.
This season will be packed with thrills and many surprises. Come November, no one will be thinking of the offseason that could have ruined football forever.
Joe Beaudoin can be reached at jbeaudoin@spartans.ut.edu.