Well folks, we’ve officially made it! Week 1 of the NFL season starts today! It is just a mere matter of hours before kickoff as I sit here and write this and I, like many others, cannot wait! A lot of off-season changes, new additions added in the draft, returning players, and as always questions heading into the first week of the season. Without wasting any time, let’s just get into it!
I will just start these blogs the way I always do when talking football and that’s kind of going over my teams first and most densely. I, for one, am happy that the Cowboys actually have done quite a bit to at least seemingly bolster their defense in the off-season and am excited to see how those adjustments play out on the field come Sunday night. Rashan Gary being added to the defensive line should definitely help that already recently adjusted line. Another big-bodied edge rusher back there to create some chaos alongside Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark up front who were also just acquired last season. Cobie Durant should hopefully provide some much-needed help in the cornerback department as well, working alongside Daron Bland who should hopefully finally be healthy again this year. Then of course, there’s Von Miller. Defensive legend at the linebacker position, former Super Bowl MVP. I’m not necessarily saying Von is anywhere near that player anymore, but he’s still a neat acquisition to have brought onto the team and if nothing else should add some overall leadership to the defense as a whole. Aside from that, I am really hoping Dak just comes out slinging it like he did last year and goes off. Who better to have out there to throw it to than a hungry Ceedee Lamb and George Pickens as well? He has a chip on his shoulder coming into this year too, got heartbroken in the off-season and returned to training camp early so I feel akin to him at the current moment and he’s one of my favorite players in the league and damn it! I’m ready to see the Boys out there again, it’s an exciting time of year!
Then, there’s the Browns. Oh, the Browns. Shame on them. Just for merely existing as a franchise at this point. If they can pull a win out over the Jets or the Dolphins this year then I’ll be proud at this point, I think. I’ll give them some credit and let’s go over some of the off-season moves at least. Stefanski’s time with the team is done. He’s outta here! As the head coach of the team. I actually liked Coach Stefanski, but the last year was especially abysmal on the operating side, not sure that’s entirely his fault but the blame will always fall back on the coaching first typically. They got a entirely new coaching staff this off-season actually. Clean slate. Todd Monken at head coach, Travis Switzer offensive coordinator, Mike Ruthenberg defensive coordinator, and Byron Storer special teams coordinator. Like I said, a literal entirely new coaching staff, which is just crazy to me but hey they really cleaned house so we shall see what changes or adjustments look to be made. If any. I also don’t necessarily blame them for keeping Deshaun Watson as the starter coming into the season, at least for the time being. You’ve already royally screwed yourselves by saddling yourself to him and this contract so you might as well at least let this play out since he’s coming into the year both healthy AND eligible to play…finally. If he starts slinging it and looking like Watson of old then that’s cool and if not and he still looks like last season out there, then you know he’s probably truly cooked and you need to just start Shedeur now and let him adjust and grow on the field. The team is likely not going to be great anyways, now is the time to do some experimentation on the field and just feel out what works and what doesn’t.
Outside of my teams though, the NFL has been a whirlwind this offseason and the Rams defense is at the helm of that madness. For starters, some people have forgotten, but they got Trent McDuffie from the Chiefs earlier on in the off-season so he’s going to be a game changing new addition to the backfield. Then of course one of my guys, Myles Garrett finally got away from the Browns and signed with the Rams and it breaks my heart to not see him in that uniform anymore, but he’s already spent a good chunk of his career in Cleveland, had some literal record-breaking seasons with the team, and now he deserves his chance to go chase a ring and be on a really good and winning team. The man has earned his stripes and proven that it doesn’t matter if the team he is on is 2-15 or 15-2, he is a monster and he’s gonna show out regardless. Aside from acquiring the beast that is Myles Garrett, the Rams OG Beast Aaron Donald also came out of literal retirement and rejoined the team to join him on the defensive line. I call unfair, but that’s just me. In all seriousness though, that team is looking nasty on both sides of the ball coming into this season and I’m really not even a Rams fan. May be early Super Bowl favorites, which is crazy for me to say considering they share a division with the literal reigning Super Bowl champions in the Seahawks. The Seahawks did lose some pieces in the off-season though as well, most notably the Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III to the KC Chiefs.
The ever-disgruntled AJ Brown also finally got the trade people have been speculating he would get for a while and left the Eagles for the Patriots. That’s good for Drake Maye though, they came so close last year (easy schedule or not) and Maye hasn’t had a good, clear-cut WR1 on the Pats yet so that could change the complexity of that offense entirely this year as well. Kyler Murray is finally getting away from the drowning Cardinals and getting a 2nd shot to lead a team at QB for the Vikings. He has Justin Jefferson over there, heck Jordan Addison as well, and those are talented receivers. Jefferson arguably the overall most talented receiver in the league currently. Excellent targets out there to be throwing the ball too so if you can’t get it done with them, you may not be able to get it done. That’s bad news for the youngin’ JJ McCarthy though, who not only lost his starting job with the Vikings after a tough first year, but fell all the way to the third string spot at QB. Hopefully just some tough love and growing pains in his career, but the NFL is a tough place and not everyone succeeds at that level. Time will tell. Maxx Crosby damn near left the Raiders this off-season as well, the Ravens all but put pen to paper before they backed out and grabbed Trey Hendrickson from the Bengals instead. So, that has to be a little awkward coming into the year, you know Maxx is feeling unhappy with the organization as a whole at this point and is somewhat trapped seemingly. Not the first time we’ve seen that sort of situation in the NFL either and won’t be the last. Hopefully the excitement of rookie QB Fernando Mendoza being on the team kind of lifts spirits both in the locker room and in the stands for Raider Nation this year. He seems like such a clean and polished kid to be on such a notably rough and grimy organization, but the stark difference could be the beauty of the situation in this circumstance.
If I didn’t mention your team in this post, don’t you worry. The season is long and I’ll be talking some football throughout the entirety of it so there’s a good chance I will somewhere down the line. I was just trying to hit on some of the biggest changes coming into the new year and what notable players shifted to where and how that could change the outlook for the team they’re on. If you’re a fan of the Cowboys or the Browns, then I’ll certainly be hitting on those 2 teams in every NFL related post throughout the season because those are like my teams, but I also just talk over the league in general because I love football and keep up with everything going on with every team the best that I can. That’ll do it for this one though folks! Make sure to like the page on social media or come back to my website often to keep up with all my latest posts over NFL football, WWE wrestling, horror movies, and more! Thank you and until next time, be good to one another!
