The 2015-2016 NFL season will be underway in a matter of hours. The season kicks off Thursday night when the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the defending Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots. Before long, all thirty-two teams will take the field. Going into each season, every fan, player, and coach has the same goal – hoist the Lombardi Trophy and to give the head coach a Gatorade bath on the first Sunday in February.
The biggest headline in the offseason has been the deflate-gate saga. It has stretched on longer than the duration of an actual NFL season, and now that it seems to have finally ended, everyone has ended up covered in dirt. Commissioner Roger Goodell looks like a bumbling fool as he handed out one of the most extreme punishments for a seemingly minor offense. Four-time Super Bowl winning quarterback Tom Brady has had his name dragged through the mud. He will go down in history as one of the best quarterbacks ever, but the haters will have the necessary ammunition to try and tear him down. Pats fans expect a revenge-seeking Brady to have a career year, but it will be interesting to see how the season goes for him.
Within the past year or so, the issue of domestic violence has repeatedly popped up. Ray Rice, the man who hit his fiancé in an elevator, still does not have a team to call home. Arguably the best running back of this century, Adrian Peterson didn’t play last season because he was involved in a scandal of his own revolving around his hitting of his son. This season, Peterson is going to suit up and the world is waiting to see if he'll return to his old self. Peterson will return to a Vikings team that is looking to make a splash this season.
Other players that made major headlines that football fans are excited to see play out include the top two draft picks Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota. Winston was 2013 Heisman Trophy Award winner and Mariota won it this past year. The former Florida State University quarterback was the first overall pick and almost instantaneously won the starting job in Tampa Bay. On a similar page, Mariota is going into the season as the starter. These two highly anticipated debuts will take place against one another. One of these two rookie quarterbacks will start off the season with a victory.
The biggest non-legal, positive storyline of the offseason is the fate of the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles, led by head coach Chip Kelly, has finished 10-6 in each of the past two seasons, but they missed the playoffs last year. Kelly realized that the Birds were in no shape to compete for a Super Bowl so he rebuilt the team. Philly lost five Pro Bowlers this off-season, including Nick Foles, LeSean McCoy, Jeremy Maclin, Trent Cole, and Evan Mathis. Five other starters from last season are no longer on the team. The Eagles did bring in former first overall draft pick Sam Bradford, Pro Bowl running backs DeMarco Murray and Ryan Matthews, and defensive stars Kiko Alonso and Byron Maxwell. The team seems poised to make a deep run and possibly contend, but they will only go as far as Bradford’s surgically repaired knees will take them.
Other big headlines from the offseason include the mass exodus from San Francisco. The 49ers lost their head coach Jim Harbaugh, who brought the team to three straight NFC Championship Games before finishing last year 8-8. The Niners roster has seen more changes than just about any other team, but the difference between them and the Eagles is that they haven’t found suitable replacements. Every year, when coaches are deciding how much time the starters should get in the preseason, one of two top tier players consistently gets hurt. This year, that player was Green Bay wide receiver Jordy Nelson who tore his ACL. Nelson, a top five receiver, is done for the year. Even though he will be missed, quarterback Aaron Rodgers should be able to find a way to succeed.
Like every season, there is excitement in the air as the football season starts back up. Many believe this is will be their year, but only one team will come out victorious from Superbowl 50.
*I predict that the Packers will beat the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl 30-24*
