the godfather
We’ve all been waiting so long. Every week that passed by without an NFL Sunday made me yearn for seven hours of commercial-free football, but finally, it is here. On Thursday night, the Bills and Rams will kick off the NFL season, and I think I speak for everyone when I say I’m so ready for my Sundays to be completely wasted for the next four months. But, a lot of shit has gone down in the last seven months since the Super Bowl, so I thought I’d give a quick off-season rundown before games get underway.
New QB’s
I can’t remember the last time we had as much change at the quarterback position throughout an offseason as this past year. Matt Ryan is now leading an Indianapolis Colts team with probably way too high of expectations, but as long as he plays better than Carson Wentz (not a very high standard), the Colts should be solid. Baker Mayfield gets a second chance with a middle-of-the-road Panthers team who will be lucky to win seven games this year, but who knows if he will remain the starter over Sam Darnold for the entirety of the year. NVP Mitch Trubisky also will get an opportunity for redemption with the Steelers who are just hoping to ride the Najee-Harris-train all the way to a wildcard birth. Russell Wilson is the new face of Broncos country (let’s ride), and with their star-studded wide receiver core, expect Russ to really cook this year. Carson Wentz, Marcus Mariota, and Drew Lock all have new homes, but except for Commanders, Falcons, and Seahawks fans, no one really cares. And of course, Jacoby Brissett will be quarterbacking the Browns, that is as long as he doesn’t take a visit to a local massage parlor.
Players in Time-Out
NFL stars DeAndre Hopkins, Calvin Ridley, and Deshaun Watson all will face suspensions for PEDs, gambling, and misconduct respectively. Out of all these wrongdoings, you would think that gambling would hold the least gravity, but it’s actually quite the opposite. Calvin Ridley is suspended the entire year, while Hopkins is out for six weeks and Watson for eleven weeks. Hopefully, we won’t see any more major suspensions this year, at least for the players on my fantasy team.
Miscellaneous
The playoff overtime rule was changed to allow both times a possession each in the wake of the controversial Chiefs-Bills AFC Divisional playoff game, which I think every NFL fan can agree with. Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field was renamed Acrisure Stadium after a twenty-year run. RIP. And finally, NBC changed their Sunday Night Football logo, and I don’t know how to feel about it. Regardless, enjoy opening week; hopefully, this season will be one to remember.
