Oh yes, its that time of year again. The NFL Season is back, and I for one am overjoyed that I can finally spend my sundays watching football. However, to be completely honest, while there are always the perennial league powerhouses, it seems to me to be very difficult to make any accurate predictions about the season outcome, mostly due to the fact that it seems the old guard of players at this time are "passing the torch," if you will, to the younger rookies. This is the year that new names such as Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota, Carson Wentz, Jared Goff, and other rookies will be exciting to watch. However, here are just a few bold predictions for this season.
1.) The Buffalo Bills will make it to a wild card position. Yes, I said it, I honestly believe that the Bills have the chance to make it to the playoffs this year. After a string of seasons averaging a record of 8 and 8, the Bills have finally found a reliable quarterback in Tyrod Taylor, have an impressive defense, a solid wide receiver in Sammy Watkins, and a stout running game led by LeSean McCoy, I believe the Bills can make the playoffs. While the Patriots will do just good enough to take the AFC East, the Bills will look solid this year.
2.) Tom Brady begins to show signs of his age. If not this season, then next season for sure, but Brady cannot do this forever, and with the Jets, Bills, and Dolphins becoming ever more frustrated with New England's dominance, Brady will be in the crosshairs of these three teams. Brady will still be solid, but I am on the lookout for a situation similar to what happened to Peyton Manning last year in the near future for Brady.
3.) The Giants take the NFC East. They have one of the easiest schedules in the league this season, the Eagles are a mess, Kirk Cousins is far less impressive than the Redskins think he is (he's good, but he's no Brady or Rodgers), and with the Cowboys forever trying to nurse Tony Romo back to health, I think the Giants finally have a chance to take the NFC East. Many of their losses last year were in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. If the defense can hold on in winning situations, the Giants will take the NFC East. It won't be pretty, but it can happen.
5.) The Broncos will be surprisingly good without a veteran quarterback. While I am not bold enough to dream of another Superbowl for the Broncos, Trevor Simian showed surprising poise, and besides two interceptions, looked surprisingly good for a rookie. It is hard to pin down exactly where the Broncos will be when the dust settles, but I think they will sure make some noise.
6.) My last prediction for today: Tony Romo plays less than half of the games this season. Romo is already out for a significant amount of time this season, and we know the Cowboys will put him back in before he is ready, because they did it last year, and sure enough, he ended up breaking his collarbone for a second time. He is good when he is on the field, but he is so injury prone, and I think retirement is getting closer and closer for Romo. With a back injury already this season, I would not be surprised to see an injury again when Romo comes back.
Enjoy the NFL Season everybody, it sure is going to be an interesting one.
