Jeremy Hayes
Journal Staff
Football is back, the lockout is lifted, and it is time for the season to get underway. With too many stories to count, it is going to be a chaotic year. Let me catch you up with what you need to be aware of around the league.
The Green Bay Packers will be back and fully healthy coming off their Super Bowl victory. Tom Brady has a new weapon in Chad Ochocinco, and will have Nate Solder to protect him. Cam Newton will start for the Carolina Panthers, but can he handle it?
This brings up more questions surrounding this crazy NFL season. Will Peyton Manning see the field after getting more surgery on his neck? Will a team tank in the standings on purpose to get high-praised Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck? Can a team in the NFC West finish better than 8-8?
All around the league you will see games that are either blowouts, dominated by offense, or dominated by defense. Reason being, the lockout has shaken up all of the rosters across the National Football League. In the preseason, most teams looked very unsteady, but once the season gets started, we should have some great games on hand later in the year. Do not judge teams in the opening week, because a team that gets blown out might become the Super Bowl XLVI champion.
For player predictions, Tom Brady will have a down year, but still lead in most statistical categories. Josh Freeman’s young Buccaneer offense will be one of the best, moving him up in the ranks for quarterbacks.
The Ray Lewis era will come to an end, and Detriot’s Ndamukong Suh will rise as the dominant defensive figure in the NFL.
For team predictions, the Colts will miss the playoffs. Seattle will win less than 7 games. The Jets will not win the division, but land a wildcard spot. The Texans will make the playoffs for the first time ever.
My Super Bowl prediction is New England and Green Bay will play the first ever overtime in Super Bowl history. The Patriots will win in walk-off fashion, winning 41-35.
This off-season has been one of the most eventful in history, so hopefully we get the same out of the 2011 football season .
