Kick-off is finally upon us.
After enduring seven months of trades, signings, draft picks, preseason skirmishes and deflated footballs, the NFL returns to the business of playing games this week.
All of the above have contributed to a tumultuous offseason for the league and some of its biggest stars, but when the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night and the fourth banner of the Bill Belichick/Tom Brady era is unfurled at Gillette Stadium, much of what went before will be forgotten as the focus for fans of America’s Game finally returns to the field of play.
Yes, there will still be talk of Deflategate and the NFL’s handling of disciplinary cases, and the spectre of concussions and how they are handled will continue to hang over the sport every time someone takes a blow to the head, but for the moment let’s purely look at the games themselves, and the ten storylines we are most looking forward to seeing unfold this season.
1. Will the New England Patriots miss a beat?
The Super Bowl champions have rarely been out of the news all summer, what with former tight end Aaron Hernandez’s conviction for murder and the seemingly never-ending controversy over whether quarterback Tom Brady conspired to deflate the footballs used in January’s AFC Championship victory over Indianapolis.
Just when it seemed as though back-up Jimmy Garoppolo would be called upon to lead the Patriots through their early schedule, the decision of a New York court to vacate the four-game suspension handed down by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell last week means Brady will be on the field to face the Steelers this week, and if anyone has it in them to be unaffected by the courtroom circus, it’s Brady and these Patriots.
Brady and his offence will need to be at their best too, with concerns about the prospects for a secondary that has lost starting cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner.
The NFL also seem determined to take Deflategate to the next stage of the appeals system, meaning Brady will continue to have this hanging over his head as he goes for a fifth ring, and a Super Bowl appearance in his home town of San Francisco.
2. Can the San Francisco 49ers rebound from a year of upheaval?
Even the Patriots are thankful they didn’t have the 49ers offseason. After three years of incredible success under Jim Harbaugh that included a losing appearance in Super Bowl 47, things fell apart in Year 4 as behind the scenes friction led to Harbaugh leaving the franchise for his college alma mater Michigan, while the progress of athletic quarterback Colin Kaepernick stalled.
Surprise hire Jim Tomsula, the team’s well-liked but inexperienced defensive line coach, delivered a nervous opening press conference that convinced nobody he was ready to lead an NFL team, and despite improving perceptions since then, he will have a tough job matching last season’s 8-8 record after an unparalleled exodus of players.
Stalwart running back Frank Gore, the team’s longest-serving player, departed for Indianapolis, while four key players hung up their boots entirely. Defensive line beast Justin Smith was expected to retire at 36, but the decisions of All-Pro linebacker Patrick Willis (30), his likely replacement Chris Borland (24) and offensive tackle Anthony Davis (25) to walk away left the talent locker looking bare well before the release of pass rusher Aldon Smith after he added to his lengthy rap sheet when he was accused of a hit-and-run in July.
Yet, despite retaining just seven of the 24 starters from that Super Bowl defeat by Baltimore, there are reasons to hope in the Bay Area. There appears to be plenty of young talent still in the squad, especially on defence, and the emergence of Australian former rugby league star Jarryd Hayne, who made the final 53-man roster last weekend after some exciting preseason displays, is a badly needed feelgood story.
3. Will the new extra point rule prompt more two-point attempts?
The NFL has moved the snap of the extra point from the two-yard line back to the 15-yard line in a bid to make the post-touchdown play at least a little more difficult.
The kick will now be the same as a 33-yard field goal, which typically has a 95 per cent conversion rate as opposed to the 99 per cent success of previous extra points, a 50-kick difference over the course of the season.
It’s a subtle difference but one which could provoke more coaches to gamble on a two-point conversion, which will continue to be snapped from the two-yard line.
One other slight change is that missed kicks or two-point plays are now live balls, which means the defence can score two points if they return a failed attempt to their opponents’ end zone.
4. Can Seattle overcome the Super Bowl losers’ curse?
No team has returned to a Super Bowl the year after a defeat since the Buffalo Bills lost four in a row in the early 1990s, and Seattle already overcame one Super Bowl hangover by getting back last season as defending champions.
With Russell Wilson under centre and Marshawn Lynch carrying the ball, the Seahawks running game will again be a powerful force, and the addition of Pro Bowl tight end Jimmy Graham gives them a new weapon in the passing game, but the offensive line remains porous and the infamous Legion of Boom secondary will be without two of its Super Bowl starters to begin the season.
Cornerback Byron Maxwell left for Philadelphia in free agency, while big-hitting safety Kam Chancellor has missed all of training camp and is yet to report as he seeks an improved contract.
5. Can long-time rivals finally get past New England in the AFC?
The Indianapolis Colts have improved each year under head coach Chuck Pagano, reaching the AFC title game last season, and Andrew Luck looks ready to challenge Aaron Rodgers for the title of ‘QB you’d pick to start a franchise with’.
But despite getting hosed by the Pats in the play-offs once again, general manager Ryan Grigson doubled down on offence, drafting receiver Philip Dorsett in the first round and adding veterans Gore from the Niners and Andre Johnson from Houston, leaving the defence potentially exposed once again.
Elsewhere, the Denver Broncos and Peyton Manning (pictured) are back for another run, but the chances of Father Time catching up with the great quarterback increase with each passing season.
However, Denver appears to be preparing for that eventuality, with new head coach Gary Kubiak’s run-first offence designed to take some of the pressure off Manning and a defence that can be expected to become one of the league’s finest under new coordinator Wade Phillips.
6. Can Aaron Rodgers work his magic without his top receiver?
There have been plenty of serious injury blows suffered throughout training camps. The Pittsburgh Steelers lost top center Maurkice Pouncey for half the season, while Houston lost starting running back Arian Foster for at least the opening month.
The biggest blows have come at receiver, however. Carolina lost second-year wideout Kelvin Benjamin for the season to a torn ACL, while Green Bay Packers No.1 Jordy Nelson suffered the same fate.
That the Packers remain second favourites (behind Seattle) to win the Super Bowl is a testament to the greatness of Aaron Rodgers, who can be expected to makes stars of young receivers Davante Adams and Ty Montgomery as they pick up the slack opposite the speedy Randall Cobb.
The question is whether he can do enough to win it all without the sure hands and pinpoint route-running of Nelson?
7. Will the spectre of relocation haunt San Diego, St Louis and Oakland?
None of these teams are considered potential champions, but San Diego should be play-off contenders and St Louis has a young defensive core primed for a breakout season, while even Oakland Raiders fans are seeing shoots of recovery after 12 years without a winning season.
Moves to bring at least one, and probably two, of these teams to Los Angeles are gaining steam and each has presented a stadium plan to the league (San Diego and Oakland’s is a joint venture).
That shouldn’t really have an impact on the field, but whichever teams inch closer to departing their current homes are likely to lose some fan backing and it will be interesting to see how they respond.
8. Can Chip Kelly finally get Philadelphia a play-off victory?
Touted as a coaching genius, head coach Kelly’s arrival from the college ranks was hailed by many as the catalyst for big things in Philly but he is entering his third season and does not yet have a play-off win to his name.
Kelly was handed control over personnel this summer and made a number of unconventional moves as he attempts to mould his ideal squad, so the second-guessing will snowball if the Eagles don’t claim a place among the NFC’s elite this year.
Offensively, the Eagles should be a scoring machine, but much depends on whether Kelly can resurrect the career of former No.1 overall pick Sam Bradford, the quarterback netted in a trade with the St Louis Rams, where he endured an unhappy and injury-plagued five years since he was drafted.
9. Who will be playing quarterback for Washington…?
Next week? Next month? Next year? No matter what those in charge of the Washington team would say, forward planning, on and off the field, appears to be anything but a strength in the capital.
Former second overall pick and rookie of the year Robert Griffin has lost his starting quarterback job to understudy Kirk Cousins after the club made a right mess of dealing with a concussion suffered by Griffin in preseason, leading to speculation that head coach Jay Gruden wanted the oft-injured star demoted all along.
That in turn led to reports that Griffin (pictured), who will be due a guaranteed $16million next season if he was to suffer a serious injury before then, would be cut from the squad completely, but he remains a rather controversial back-up.
Things are so bad in Washington that a run at the number one pick is not out of the question, when a new QB will likely be installed – whether Gruden will around to coach him is another matter entirely.
10. Watching the rookie quarterbacks
Much like in 2012, when Griffin followed Andrew Luck in the top two spots in the draft, this year’s one and two are also going to be starting in Week 1, and will face each other as Tampa Bay take on Tennessee.
Florida State passer Jameis Winston, who was dogged by controversy throughout his college career, leads a Tampa offence withbig targets such as Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans to aim at, and his gunslinging tendencies should ensure plenty of excitement at Buccaneers games as he gets to grips with the NFL.
Selected behind him was Oregon QB Marcus Mariota (pictured), who was thought to be less prepared to transition to the pro ranks but has really impressed with his level of play throughout preseason. The Titans are unlikely to be any good in Mariota’s rookie season, but if he continues to show good anticipation and the ability to read NFL defences there will be plenty of optimism in Nashville.
