Fresh turf, 24 packs, and wings; football season is back! That being said, it was an offseason that figures to be as interesting as the regular season. Many fans have questions going into their respective team’s first games.
There were clear cut winners and losers in this year’s offseason that can translate to large success or a catastrophe during the regular season. Arizona Cardinals fans will learn the true meaning of patience this season as the team goes into the season with a quarterback controversy. There’s a saying that goes, “If you have two starting quarterbacks, then you don’t have one.” In other words, the Cardinals have a strong defense and a solid running game, but they have two first string quarterbacks and will be forced to make a big decision soon.
On the other hand, the Cleveland Browns have a tough, long mountain to climb and the light is far, far away. President Mike Holmgren was brought in to be the savior of the organization, but things haven’t exactly panned out. The defense has holes as well as the offense. On the positive side both teams have absolute studs at the running back position in Beanie Wells and rookie first-round pick Trent Richardson respectively.
The clear cut winners of this offseason and division favorites aren’t new faces. The Packers will once again be one of the top tier teams when week 16 rolls around as well as the Patriots, Giants and Falcons.
The Packers will always be all right as long as cornerback Charles Woodson and quarterback Aaron Rodgers are playing for them. The team returns plenty of starters on each side of the ball as well as a solid and reliable kicker in Mason Crosby.
The Patriots remain dangerous and helped their cause by holding on to tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. Quarterback Tom Brady is back for another year under center and will be just as productive as years before. The running game has questions as well as the secondary, but if you can get to the Super Bowl with the worst ranked defense, then it can only get better this year.
The Giants shocked the world last year again winning from the wild card position and becoming the 2012 World Champions. By default, you can never count the defending champs out and the Giants made sure to hold on to an every down threat in Victor Cruz.
The Falcons have one of the most dynamic offenses in the NFL with wide receivers Roddy White and Julio Jones on opposite sides. Quarterback Matt Ryan is in position to move from good to elite this season with the offensive arsenal that he has. The Falcons defense will be solid as well.
Two surprise teams that you should watch out for are the Houston Texans and the Detroit Lions. The Texans and Lions look to continue the recent success from last season and improve on it this season. Both teams played in a postseason which is something that both franchises had been envisioning for a while.
One sure thing is that this season will be like a roller coaster; interesting and exciting. Fans of football in general will be treated to a wonderful season full of hard hits, lots of flags and referee mishaps.
