Best & Worst Of NFL Week Three

Lots of things that went down in week three in the National Football League. Four teams sit here without a win on the year, Oakland, Houston and Arizona. Miami (another surprise), Kansas City and the Los Angeles Rams are all unbeaten at this point. Week three produced first wins on the year for a lot of teams, the two biggest surprises being the Browns and Bills. We had record breaking and break out performances and some performances that saw players and teams stumbling. That's just the tip of the iceberg. Here's some of the best, and worst, performances from week three.

Best:
Cleveland Browns
Not much explanation needed here. It's been 634 days between wins but the Cleveland Browns finally got a win. For the first time since December of 2016 the Browns pulled out a 21-17 win over the Jets. Baker Mayfield threw for over 200 yards, taking over for Tyrod Taylor, who was injured. Mayfield was nearly flawless in the victory, helping the Browns erase a 14-0 deficit. Sure there were some stupid penalties taken by the Jets, but the Browns did what a good team should do, and that was take advantage of mistakes made by the Jets. Hue Jackson has named Mayfield the starter for week four, which is something that has been coming since the end of the first drive. Cleveland finally got a win and it was a huge sigh of relief for Browns fans everywhere. They have a win under their belts and things are starting to look up a little in Cleveland.

Worst:
New England Patriots
Things in Patriots land don't look too good at the moment. New England sits in last place in the AFC East following their 26-10 loss to the Lions, which by the way was the first career coaching win for former Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. So now, not only are the Patriots on a two game losing streak, but its the first time since December of 2002 that they've lost two straight games by double digits. New England's offense tried to spread the ball around but connected on just four of ten passes for 43 yards. The Pats managed just 12 first downs in this contest, which is the fewest in the Brady-Belichick era. Lets not jump the gun right now. It looks gloomy for the Patriots at 1-2. But its a long season, with 13 more games to go. New England should be able to right the ship, but boy did they look sloppy against the Lions.

Best:
Khalil Mack, Linebacker Chicago Bears
Chicago pulled out a win by the skin of their teeth on Sunday. The Bears walked away with a 16-14 win over Arizona and Khalil Mack was a huge reason for that. They were down 14-0 at one point and managed to fight their way back to 14-13 win over the Cardinals. On a Sam Bradford run in the fourth quarter, Mack tracked him down and hit him, forcing a fumble. The Bears, who trailed 14-13, took possession and went on a long drive for a field goal and the lead. By the time all was said and done, the Bears find themselves alone atop the division. This is a big reason why the Bears went out and got a guy the talent level of Mack/ On that one play, he proved to the Cards, and the rest of the league once again, why he's one of the best defensive players in all of football

Worst:
Clay Matthews, Linebacker Green Bay Packers
Clay is regarded to be one of the best linebackers in all of football. During the first nine years of his career, Clay had been flagged for four roughing the passer penalties. He's now been flagged for that three times in the first three weeks of the season. The last two calls have been outrages. First was the call on Kirk Cousins of Minnesota last week, then their was the hit on Alex Smith of Washington this week. It looked like a normal sack against Smith this week, which for some stupid reason was flagged. The league is calling it for Matthews falling on Smith with all his body weight, which the league is trying to cut down on. I feel bad for Matthews here because the league is trying to in a way baby the Quarterbacks. Its trying to get linebackers to change their game and a few have gotten hurt because of the NFL's rulings in this regard. Its stupid and I feel bad for Clay Matthews basically being the guy in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Best:
Carolina Panthers Run Game
Carolina showed up on Sunday and beat up on the Bengals to the tune of a 31-21 win. Now it's often talked about how the league is a quarterback driven league. This game, however, proved that an effective running game can be vital to a team success in this league. Christian McCaffery lead all running backs with 184 yards on the ground, on 28 carries. Cam Newton was also a factor in that run game effectiveness, rushing for two scores of his own. Carolina knows that the offensive line isn't that great, but they've managed to scheme their way around it and used that perfectly to beat the Bengals.

Worst:
Minnesota Vikings Offense
This was supposed to be a rout. Buffalo was a bad team, or supposed to be a bad team. Going into the Vikings-Bills game Sunday, Minnesota was a 17 point favorite. Somebody forgot to tell the Bills that. Buffalo walked away with a 27-6 victory. Minnesota had no offensive flow going at all, as Kirk Cousins was pressured most of the day and turned the football over three times. Hell Jared Allen, the Buffalo Quarterback, had more rushing years then the entire Vikings offense. This may have been a case of getting a little ahead of themselves. Week four is a Thursday Night matchup for the Vikings against the Rams, which could be an early potential playoff preview. It won't stay that way, however, if the Vikings keep playing the way they did against the Bills. Stay focused on the task at hand and don't ever get too far ahead of yourselves.

Best:
Calvin Ridley, Wide Receiver Atlanta Falcons
The rookie wide receiver out of Alabama is expected to play a big role for the Falcons in becoming a third weapon in that offense. He scored his first NFL touchdown last week. This week, in Atlanta's 43-37 overtime loss to the Saints, he proved to be a force for this Falcons club. I know it was in a losing effort, but look at the numbers for Ridley. Seven catches for 143 yards (second most in the NFL this week behind Jordy Nelson of Oakland) and three touchdown catches. Those three scores, all of which came in the first half, managed to match what Julio Jones did all of last year. He was reeking havoc for the Saints defense, who had to take their shut down corner off Julio to Ridley, which is a sign of respect for the rookie.

Worst:
Dak Prescott, Quarterback Dallas Cowboys
Heading into this game, Seattle had looked horrible on defense. They were allowing over 500 yards through the air. This week, in their 24-13 win over Dallas, the defense looked like the Legion of Boom once again. Dak Prescott was sacked five times for 31 yards, and he finished with just 168 yards passing, going 19 of 34 throwing, connecting with one touchdown and two interceptions. Through the first three games, Dak has a total of 498 passing yards. Let's put it this way, I think Ryan Fitzpatrick of the Bucs is averaging that through the first three games. Dak has been pretty terrible through the first three games. He’s struggling like crazy to connect with his receivers outside the hash marks. The Dallas offense is barely alive right now. If not for Ezekiel Elliott, things would be even worse.

Baker Time In Cleveland?

It's been a long time coming for the Cleveland Browns and their fans. Twenty games and 634 days is a long time to wait between victories. December 24th 2016 was the last time the Browns tasted victory, a 20-17 win over the then San Diego Chargers. Now that pain and suffering has ended thanks to their 21-17 win over the Jets on Thursday night, The man responsible for that was first overall pick in this years draft, Baker Mayfield.

He proved on Thursday that he can lead this Browns team. Now the question is, is this really Baker's time?

Browns coach Hue Jackson hasn't made the announcement yet as to who's going to start week four against the Oakland Raiders. it would be pretty stupid on Jackson's part not to go back to Mayfield after the performance he had against the Jets. Mayfield went 17 of 23 for 201 yards. He didn't throw a touchdown or interception on the day either. Not tossing a TD was a bit of a downer, but not throwing a pick was great. He showed a lot of poise and maturity for a guy in his position. His first drive after taking over for Tyrod Taylor with 1:42 left in the first half was pretty impressive, marching the team down the field to set up the field goal that got them on the board.

Tyrod was taken out of the game after dealing with apparent back issues and a concussion, his 3rd in about 13 months or so. But there's more to it then that. Cleveland was calling for Baker well before he got into the game. The Browns offense was going nowhere fast and they needed a spark to get them going. It may have taken an injury to Taylor to give him the chance, but he was able to take his shot and run with it.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention. Mayfield did what he did against the Jets without working with the first team offense before Thursday.

You can call it a struck a luck or you can it pure skills. Whatever you call it, you have to tip your hat and admit how impressive of a display it was. now the question remains, who are the Browns going to start against the Raiders next weekend? Smart money should be on Baker. Look Tyrod did what he could with this offense, and give credit where iot's due they looked alright over the first two games of the season. Should have had at least one win already if it wasn't for their crappy kicking game. The fans were calling for the change to be made at quarterback even before Tyrod got hurt, which should have been an indication to Hue right there that something had to change. Had the Browns not made the switch, who knows, they still maybe searching for the first win in over 635 days.

They've got that first win under their belt, and their now actually higher in the standings then the Pittsburgh Steelers, which is a sentence I never thought I'd actually write. It makes perfect sense to keep Mayfield under center. Cleveland has had a revolving door of quarterbacks since the franchise came back into the league in 1999. Thirty one in total since 1999. Cleveland hasn't had one guy under center for an entire season since Tim Couch in 2001. They may have finally found their guy in Baker Mayfield. Now let him take the reigns and run full blast with this team. You know you got a capable backup in Tyrod Taylor should he stumble, but the only way he's going to get comfortable with this team is if he gets his snaps in. Now's the time. This is Baker's team, this is Bakers time!

Best & Worst of NFL Week Two

Wee two is in the books in the NFL, and it was a pretty bad week for kickers, among others. Kickers missed a total of 19 kicks, 12 field goals and seven extra points, more on that to come. Vontae Davis had enough and called it quits. While we had stinkers, like the two New York teams, there were other teams that had themselves a day. Kansas City had themselves a huge day, as did Tampa Bay. We got another tie this week as well, what else could happen. So with all that being said, here's some of the best and worst from around the NFL in week two.

Best:
Patrick Mahomes, Quarterback Kansas City Chiefs
With the way the first two games have gone, think this one was a given. In the KC 42-37 win over the Steelers this week, Patrick Mahomes was nearly flawless. He finished the day going 23 of 28 for 326 yards. Solid numbers. What really pops off the page is the fact that Mahomes threw for six touchdowns this week. You read that right he threw for six touchdowns this week. To make that even better, throw in last week's start, and Mahomes has 10 TD passes over the first two games of the year. That's an unreal number to think about. Those ten TD's in the first two games are a Super Bowl-Era record for QB's. And he's done it on a total of 55 pass attempts the first two games. Small part of me thought that the Chiefs might take a step back going from Alex Smith to this kid, but looks can be deceiving. He's been very good over the first two games and if KC keeps this kind of pace up, they are going to be a very hard team to handle.

Worst:
Jamies Winston, Quarterback Tampa Bay Buccaneers
He hasn't played a snap yet in the NFL and with the way the first two weeks of the season have gone, he may not get a chance to take a snap this season. Winston was supposed to be the guy under center for the Bucs, but got suspended the first three games for off the field issues. It opened the door for Ryan Fitzpatrick and he has kicked it in full force. Fitzpatrick went 27 of 33 for 412 yards another four touchdowns and a pick. The Bucs are also 2-0 to start the year. I'm sure that Tampa and Fitzpatrick will come back down to earth at some point, but until they do, Winston is out in the cold. I mean Winston is a franchise player, there's no doubt about that. But right now, for the sake of the Bucs, it might be smart to stick with a hot hand and Fitz has that hot hand at the moment. He good at throwing a deep ball, which is something Winston needs to work on.

Best:
Bradin Cooks, Wide Receiver Los Angeles Rams
He may not have found the back of the endzone on this day but Bradin Cooks had a day to remember. He did haul in seven catches for 159 in the 34-0 win over the Rams. He is starting to show what has been know for a long time, he's one of the top wide outs in all of football. He's got 246 receiving yards on just 12 catches through the first two games in a high powered offense. He's good, really, really good.

Worst:
New York Giants Offensive Line
Well, the early returns for this line aren't very good. During the offseason, New York tried its best to make improvements on one of its biggest weak spots in that offensive line. They signed Nate Soilder and drafted Will Hernandez. None of that mattered, or did any good for that matter, Sunday night against Dallas. The Cowboys walked away with a 20-13 win, with the Giants offense looking very sloppy. The line being a big reason for that problem. The Dallas front line had its way with the Giants. Saquon Barkley, for all his brilliance, was only able to generate 28 yards on the ground, but he did manage to catch 14 passes for 79 yards, most of which came in garbage time. New York, as a team, averaged 2.1 yards per carry, while Eli Manning was sacked six times for a loss of 59 yards. This is not a knock against the Cowboy defense, it did what it was supposed to do. Are they a top of the heap defense? No. Are they solid? Yes. The Giants offensive line is in that bad of shape right now. If Big Blue wants to get anywhere this year, that line has got to play better.

Best:
Phillip Lindsay, Running Back Denver Broncos
Going into the season, it looked to be almost a lock that Denver was going to have a rookie taking the bulk of the load at running back. Royce Freeman was projected to be the guy to take the job, but instead Phillip Lindsay has taken control as the feature back in Denver. In week one, he had 102 rush yards. This week, in Denver's 20-19 win over the Raiders, Lindsay had 14 caries for 107 yards and had another catch for four yards to finish with 111 total yards for the day. He's been showing a lot of speed and quickness, making defenders look just silly on certain plays. At the moment, it looks like the Broncos have a solid and consistent run game which they've been looking for over the last couple of seasons.

Worst:
NFL Kickers
NFL teams better have Dan Bailey on speed dial after kickers had a horrible day om the job. On Sunday, in total, 19 kicks were missed. Twelve field goals and seven extra points went by the board. That’s not the record for most missed kicks in a single day, but a lot of Sunday’s were dramatic. Browns kicker Zane Gonzalez missed two extra points and two field goals. One of the extra points would have given the Browns a 19-18 lead; one of the field goals would have tied the game at 21. They lost, 21-18. Rookie kicker Daniel Carlson missed not one but two overtime kicks in Minnesota’s 29-29 tie against the Packers. It's days like this that a guy like Dan Bailey, who for the record is the second most accurate kicker in NFL history, could be on speed dial for a job and quickly.

Best:
Steve Sarkisian, Offensive Coordinator Atlanta Falcons
Play down in the red zone had been a big problem for the Falcons. They heard it near the end of last season, they heard it during the off season. They even heard it a bit during the opening night loss to the Falcons. All that talk went away on Sunday. Atlanta got inside the 20-yard line four times, and scored four touchdowns. That fueled a 31-24 win over Carolina. Matt Ryan's numbers compared to the opener were way up in this game as he totally flipped the script and had two touchdowns and 272 yards passing. Sarkisian called the right plays at the right times and got the Falcons offense right back on track. With how tight this race in the NFC South could look this year,m it going to be a fun year to watch that division.

Worst:
First Year Head Coaches
Jon Gruden, Matt Patricia and Steve Wilks are still in search of their first wins on the year. Jon Gruden’s Raiders blew a big fourth-quarter lead at Denver, and then Gruden showed some remarkable lack of self-awareness by blaming the Raiders’ pass rush for not getting pressure late. That's what happens when your bosses let go one of the best pass rushers and defenders in the game today. For Steve Wilks in Arizona, the Cards look like the 2nd worst team in the league right now, behind the Bills. Not only is Arizona off to an 0-2 start, they got blasted 34-0 by the Rams on Sunday in a flat out embarrassing effort. Then there's Matt Patricia in Detroit. He not only got beaten soundly by the Jets in week one but lost 30-27 to the 49ers. The team doesn't really feel comfortable with him and over the next three weeks the Lions have to deal with New England, Dallas and Green Bay. Things don't look good in the Motor City right about now.

Best:
Tavon Austin, Wide Receiver Dallas Cowboys
As a whole, things haven't been great for the career of Tavon Austin. He was picked 8th overall in 2013, with that comes high expectations. He's averaged a little over 38 yards a game in his career, which is a low number for a guy taken 8th overall. Dallas had been saying all summer that Austin was going to be their big gun, but he had just one touch for one yard in the opener against the Panthers. Now, in the Dallas 20-13 win over the Giants, he had himself a pretty good day. Austin got the party started by scoring the game’s first points on a gorgeous 64-yard catch and run for a touchdown. He added another 15-yard reception, along with a 15-yard run, to finish with 94 yards and one of the two touchdowns scored in the game by Dallas. He may not have hit the high water mark just yet, but based on what was done against the Giants, it looks like it a solid step in the right direction.

Worst:
Vonate Davis, Corner back Buffalo Bills
Maybe it a poor attitude on his part. Maybe its the team he plays for. Whatever the exact reason was, is not known yet. We do know this much. Davis had enough. Nine years spent in the NFL is a solid career, three with the Dolphins and six with the Colts. Last year, Davis played in only five games with the Colts due to injuries. This year, he signs with the bills, plays in a blowout loss to the Ravens and can't even make it through the entire second game of the year against the Chargers. He retired at halftime. No that's not a joke, and no that's not a typo. He removed himself from the game at halftime against the Chargers and retired. That's how bad things have gotten in Buffalo when a player retires mid game. Davis just figured he wouldn't destroy his body anymore at the end of his career and just save himself from misery and hang up the pads now. That's how you know the Bills are that bad with players retiring in the middle of a game.

Best Of David Wright

Its a sad day for Mets fans, but we all knew it was coming. In a press conference held early Wednesday, the Mets announced that David Wright would be activated for the final homestand of the season. It starts September 25th vs the Braves and concludes September 30th vs the Marlins. The final time in which Mets fans get to see the captain in uniform. The team has already announced the Wright will play 3rd base for the final time on Saturday September 29th. It will be the final start of his career, one in which he has been the face of the Mets franchise since he came into the big leagues.

Wright is the team leader in every offensive category except batting average (3rd), triples (T-8th), stolen bases (4th) and on base percentage (4th). He's the king of the record books for this team. It sucks to see the way his career has gone down. Here's a look back at some of the best moments of David's career.

Starting it off was July 22nd, 2004  when David cracked his first big league hit:


We'll get back to more moments with the bat in a bit, but we wanna show off his defense a little. Like on August 9th of 2005 when he did this against the Padres:


OK now back to the offense we go. May 19th 2006, subway series. It was a wild night in Queens with the Captain capping it off.


Then we get to the two most emotional at bats he's had. First up was what kick started the captains return back in the Magical year of 2015. It was August 24th in Philadelphia, David announced he was back in a big way.


Finally, we move to October 30th of the same year, in game three of the World Series, Wright showed the home crowd just how much it meant to him playing in the fall classic.


It really sucks to see a guy who has done so much for this Mets franchise have his career wind down the way it has. It would have been even sweeter had the team been able to beat the Royals in 2015, but they won tow division titles and made it to the NCLS twice and fall classic once during Wrights career. He may not be headed to Cooperstown but will without a doubt be heading into the Mets hall of fame and should have his number retired when all is said and done.

So thanks for the Memories David, we look forward to the final game on September 29th., Hopefully it can give Mets fans like me one final thrill.

Best & Worst Of NFL Week One

Football is finally back. When the regular season gets going, it a good way to see what were really getting from our football teams. I know it's only the first week and a whole lot can change over the final sixteen weeks of the season. If this first week was any indication, its going to be a fun year. We had a shootout in New Orleans, Chicago blowing a big lead, the Jets dominating in Detroit and it was a rough week for brand new NFL head coaches. All of that and more went down in the first week of the year. Here's a look at some of the winners and losers from week one.

Best:
Aaron Rodgers, Quarterback Green Bay Packers
Not only was it rough to watch the Bears take a 20-3 lead on the Pack, but Aaron Rodgers got carted off early on with what looked like a knee injury. But Rodgers managed to get himself off the floor, help get the Packers off the floor and walk away with an improbable 24-23 win at home. When Rodgers went down, Khalil Mack started going bonkers against DeShone Kizer. Rodgers comes back into the game and goes off the rails. He went 20 of 30 for 286 yards and three touchdowns. All of that came IN THE SECOND HALF ALONE. Those numbers just from the 2nd half were better then 19 other starting QB's had in an entire game. Let that sink in for a second. And erasing a 20 point deficit was tied for the largest deficit overcome in Rodgers career, and he did it all on one leg. His performance on Sunday showed you, me and the rest of the football world why the Packers made him the highest paid Quarterback in the game.

Worst:
Nathan Peterman, Quarterback Buffalo Bills
After the year that the Bills had last season, this is not how you wanted to try and build off of it. Then they named Nathan Peterman the week one starter, which was a sign of bad things to come. He threw five picks in his first game against the Rams last year in the first half alone. This year wasn't much better. Buffalo was routed by the Baltimore Ravens 47-3 and Peterman didn't finish the game. He went 5 of 18 for for 24 yards and two picks. Bufflo suffered the worst season opening loss in franchise history and gained just two yards of total offense in the first quarter. The Bills were a mess in the opener and unless Josh Allen is a miracle worker, I don't see things getting any better for Buffalo.

Best:
Ryan Fitzpatrick, Quarterback Tampa Bay Buccaneers
FitzMagic manages to show up against the Saints on Sunday. If somebody had said that Fitzpatrick would outplay Drew Brees I would have said you were crazy. But that's what happened in the Bucs 48-40 win in New Orleans on Sunday. In a game in which he was nearly perfect, Fitzpatrick wen 21 of 28 for 417 yards and four touchdowns, all without throwing a pick. Only guys to throw for more yards this week were Philip Rivers and Drew Brees. Fitzpatrick was on top of his game, including a beautiful TD pass to DeSean Jackson to kick the scoring off. Sure it was just one game, but just imagine if he plays like this again over the next two games. If he does that, Tampa is going to be in a tough spot once Jameis Winston comes back from suspension.

Worst:
Sam Bradford, Quarterback Arizona Cardinals
Sam Bradford is going to be good in Arizona. Right? Didn't look like that way in week one. Bradford has two top playmakers to play with in Larry Fitzgerald and David Johnson, he had trouble getting them the ball. Combined, the two had 12 catches for 106 yards. Oh yeah, the rest of the club had eight catches for 47 yards. And that was on 15 targets. Washington rolled to a 24-6 win over the Cards (and by the way congrats to Adrian Peterson on his 100th career touchdown). Bradford was bad, and it wouldn't surprise many if Josh Allen gets playing time and even starts in the very near future.

Best:
Joe Mixon, Running Back Cincinnati Bengals
In a game in which the two starting quarterbacks seem to cancel each other out, somebody needed to step up. In the Bengals 34-23 win over the Colts, Andy Dalton and Andrew Luck (who looked OK in his first start in a year and a half) kind of negated each other. Somebody had to step up, and someone did in the form of Joe Mixon. Mixon rushed for 95 yards and a touchdown on just 17 carries and added another 54 yards on five receptions. With some of the weapons that the Bengals have in the likes of AJ Green and John Ross, you throw in a guy like Mixon, they got something to build off of. If they can keep this pace up, the Bengals could be a big surprise coming out of the North.


Worst:
Jon Gruden, Coach Oakland Raiders
Jon Gruden is back on the NFL sideline and it hasn't started very good. Hell it kind of went sour before the Raiders even took the field. It started with Kahlil Mack doing well Mackian things against the Packers Sunday night. Then the Raiders took the field in their opener on Monday night against the Rams. Didn't end well as the Rams walked away with a 33-13 win. Again it's only one game, but things haven't gotten off to that great a start for Gruden and the Raiders.

Best:
Tyreek Hill, Wide Receiver Kansas City Chiefs
Have yourself a day young fella. in the Chiefs 38-28 win over the Chargers, Hill was all over the place. It started with a fantastic 91 yard punt return, continued when he hauled in a 58 yard touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes and concluded with a goal line score late in the half. In total, Hill finished with 268 all-purpose yards and those three touchdowns. it was one of those performances that coaches, and fantasy football owners, dream about. Hill was feeling it on Sunday.

Worst:
Matt Patricia, Head Coach Detroit Lions
It's funny but for some reason, a disciple of Bill Belichick never seems to fair very well as a head coach on their own. He got beat up pretty good in his coaching debut as the Lions got whooped 48-17 by the Jets on Monday Night. I don't know what it is but coaches who leave under the all seeing eye of Belichick can't seem to get it done on their own. Not only did the Lions get whooped by the Jets, but there's even reports floating around that Lions players are already unhappy with the culture that Patricia has started to create in the Motor City. if that's already starting in week one, it's going to be a long year in Detroit

Best:
James Conner, Running Back Pittsburgh Steelers
If there was any fault in the game of James Conner in the season opener against the Browns, it was the fumble late in the game that allowed Cleveland an open window. Cleveland was able to come away with a 21-21 tie against the Steelers. Conner still had himself a great day, finishing with 34 carries and 192 rushing yards, the most in the NFL in week one. He also had a pair of touchdown runs in this game as well. He had vision all over the field, and made more then a few defenders look really silly. That's how you know you got a good runner on your hands. It's not quite the same as having Bell in the lineup, but Conner did pretty well for himself.

Worst:
Le'Von Bell, Running Back Pittsburgh Steelers
The biggest thing he's missed out on so far is a huge payday, as sitting out the opener cost Bell $855,000. His replacement, James Connor, did pretty well for himself, see above. But Bell comes out a loser here, and so do the Steelers, because maybe having Bell in the lineup could have cut down on the six turnovers that the Steelers had in the ballgame. There's no telling how much longer Bell is going to be out, but the more he sits out, the more he's hurting himself. Looks like the steelers might be OK without him.

2018 NFL Season Preview

The time has finally arrived. After a long long wait, the NFL regular season is finally upon us. We are ready to go with the kickoff to the 2018 season in the National Football League. Everybody starts off the year with a clean slate and one goal in mind, to hoist the Vince Lombardi trophy as champions of the game of football. Lots to get caught up on before we dive into the full blown season preview. There are some tweaks that have been made to the rules for this year. There's plenty of new faces around the league in new places, while others have decided to hang up the pads. Here we go, lets start with some of the new rule changes.

What is and isn't a catch around the league have been more clearly defined. A catch takes place when a player has two feet down or any body part other than the hands, and they have control of the ball. To go along with that, they must make a "football move" such as making a 3rd step, reaching/extending to the line to gain, tucking the ball away, warding off defensive players, or have the ability to perform such an act. Finally, the rule for receivers who were going to the ground during the catch process has been deleted. Then there's the rule of hitting with the helmet. Can't lead with the crown of the helmet or its a personal foul penalty.

The 2017 season saw the end of some pretty good careers. Kam Chancellor, Antonio Cromartie, Dwight Freeney, Devin Hester, Nick Mangold, Carson Palmer, Darrelle Revis, Jason Witten, Martellus Bennett, Matt Forte, DeMarco Murray, Victor Cruz, Eric Decker, and Brent Celek have all called it a career. We've also got some new faces in new places around the league. First the trades. Cleveland reloaded by adding Jarvis Landry and Tyrod Taylor in separate deals, then sent DeShone Kizer away to Green Bay. Kansas City dumped off some talent by trading away both Alex Smith (to Washington) and Marcus Peters (to Rams). Denver got rid of some talent as well by trading Aqib Talib (to Rams) and Trevor Siemian (to Minnesota). Los Angeles made a splash by getting Brandin Cooks from the Patriots, while the Giants also made moves by acquiring Alec Ogletree from the Rams and dealing away Jason Pierre-Paul to the Bucs.

Some big names switched uniforms during the offseason. Sam Bradford (Minnesota to Arizona), Teddy Bridgewater (Minnesota to Jets (traded to saints)), Kirk Cousins (Washington to Minnesota), Case Keenum (Minnesota to Denver), Isaiah Crowell (Cleveland to Jets), Carlos Hyde (San Francisco to Cleveland), Dion Lewis (New England to Tennessee),  Danny Amendola (New England to Miami), Allen Hurns (Jacksonville to Dallas), Jordy Nelson (Green Bay to Oakland), Allen Robinson (Jacksonville to Chicago), and Sammy Watkins (Rams to Kansas City), Jimmy Graham (Seattle to Green Bay), Austin Seferian-Jenkins (Jets to Jacksonville), Marcedes Lewis (Jacksonville to Green Bay),  Mike Pouncey (Miami to Chargers), Justin Pugh ( Giants to Arizona), Weston Richburg (Giants to San Francisco), Nate Solder (New England to Giants), Josh Sitton (Chicago to Miami), and Travis Swanson (Detroit to Jets) were all on the move. That was just offense.

On defense, Vinny Curry (Philadelphia to Tampa Bay), Sheldon Richardson (Seattle to Minnesota), Ndamukong Suh (Miami to Rams), Muhammad Wilkerson (Jets to Green Bay), Demario Davis (Jets to New Orleans), Trent Murphy (Washington to Buffalo), Tahir Whitehead (Detroit to Oakland), Avery Williamson (Tennessee to Jets), Malcolm Butler (New England to Tennessee), Morgan Burnett (Green Bay to Pittsburgh), T. J. Carrie (Oakland to Cleveland), Marcus Gilchrist (Houston to Oakland), Trumaine Johnson (Rams to Jets), Tyrann Mathieu (Arizona to Houston), Rashaan Melvin (Indianapolis to Oakland), Patrick Robinson (Philadelphia to New Orleans), and Richard Sherman (Seattle to San Francisco) all changed cities during the offseason.

So now that we got that all caught up, here's how things go down. This is how we see the divisions playing out for the 2018 NFL Season.

NFC:
NFC East:
1. Philadelphia Eagles (12-4)*
The defending Super Bowl Champions look to defend their title and get it off on the right foot by winning the NFC East.  Carson Wentz is still on the mend, and won't be ready by the beginning of the season. Nick Foles is no slouch, he did just win MVP of the Super Bowl. he's still got plenty of weapons to throw to, so putting points up on the board, at least on paper, doesn't seem like its going to be much of a problem for the champs. They have one of the best lines in the game, on both sides of the ball, so that shouldn't be much of an issue. They leave a little weakness, in terms of depth, at the linebacker position.  Should everybody stay healthy this year, and Wentz come back as strong as he did before the injury, then the Eagles should have no problem showing that last year's title win wasn't a fluke.

2. New York Giants (9-7)
There's no way this team is going to be as bad as the 3-13 finish they had last season right? On paper, they shouldn't. Not with the offseason they had. Nate Solder was signed as a free agent and they drafted Will Hernandez, both of whom will be a huge boost to that weak offensive line. Still question marks with the other three spots on the line, but they should be solid enough. They locked up Odell for five more years and they added another weapon in the backfield in Saquon Barkley. Barkley could add stability to a position that has been lacking for some time now with the Ginats in that they haven't had a good running game in who knows how long. It not just the improvements that have been made on the offense, because the defense has get their new additions to be effective. Oliver Vernon and Alec Olegtree have to come in and make a big impact right away to get the Giants defense off the floor. Big Blues has the pieces, but can they all click to make a big push? We shall see.

3. Dallas Cowboys (8-8)
This will seem like a bit of a step back for the Boys but they will still be a solid football team. Dak is still gun slinging behind the best offensive line in the entire league. It going to be a little different for Dak, not having reliable targets to throw to in Dez Bryant and Jason Witten. Fear not Dallas fans, the Boys reloaded the receiving core. Tavon Austin was brought in via trade and Allen Hurns was brought in via free agency. Oh yeah, they also have a full season of Zek Elliott. Defensively, Demarcus Lawrence is going to be causing problems for opposing passers off the edge. Combine him with the ability of Sean Lee at linebacker, this Cowboy's defensive unit is capable of creating big takeaways. This team has a lot of potential going for it, but for some reason I just got a feeling Dallas may slip a little this season. They may even be outpaced by the Giants.

4. Washington Redskins (5-11)
There's a great mix of veterans and young blood in Washington. Alex Smith has taken over under center, replacing Kirk Cousins. He's got a nice mix to get the ball to, with Jordan Reed and Jamison Crowder leading the pass catching core. Adrian Peterson was just signed near the end of camp, showing that he wants to try and prove that he's still got something left in the tank. But the line is meh at best in D.C. and there are still some holes to try and be filled but there just doesn't seem to be an answer for right now. Meanwhile, on defense, Washington has something to look forward to. The Redskins are solid in their defensive front seven, and Orlando Scandrick was added to start opposite Josh Norman at cornerback. Looking at the Redskins roster makes me realize that there's too many holes and uncertainties to make me think that the Skins are going to have a winning record.

NFC North:
1. Minnesota Vikings (12-4)*
Minnesota came within a game of playing in the Super Bowl a season ago and are looking to go back with another deep playoff run this year. A few changes have been made to that offense. All three quarterbacks they had on the roster from last year, Sam Bradford, Case Keenum and Teddy Bridgewater are in new cities. So enter Kirk Cousins to take over under center, which gives new offensive coordinator John DeFilippo something different to work with. Dalvin Cook was also brought in to help bolster a weak spot in the run game for the Vikings this year. The core group that lead the charge last year on offense is still here, so putting points up on that board might not really be a problem. Sheldon Richardson was brought in to bolster the pass rush. Minnesota has the horses to be able to come away with this division, but its going to be close.

2. Green Bay Packers (11-5)(WC)*
Bounce back year on the market right now for Green Bay. Last seasons 7-9 mark was a down year for the Pack, the injury to Aaron Rodgers hasn't helped things. Now Rodgers is healthy and ready to rock and roll and prove to the rest of the league that he's back and worth every single cent that the Pack are going to be paying him. It feels weird not having Jordy Nelson be one of the top targets for Rodgers to go to, but adding Jimmy Graham to the lineup will pick up that slack. Throw him in with Davante Adams and Randall Cobb as Rodgers targets, with Ty Montgomery running the ball, scoring won't be all that hard for Green Bay. On the other side of the ball, Muhammad Wilkerson is going to help the Pack cause havoc to the opposing QB and mess with the run game. Green Bay is going to be fighting with Minnesota for the division all year long and will be a playoff team.

3. Detroit Lions (9-7)
New head coach Matt Patricia has some new pieces to work with in Detroit. Matthew Stafford lost Eric Ebron as his go to tight end but still has Golden Tate as his favorite target over the top in the pass game. The biggest thing that Detroit needed to address from last season was the run game. They did that this offseason by adding LeGarrette Blount in free agency and Kerryon Johnson through the draft. What cost the Lions last year was where the defense finished a season ago. They had the 27th ranked defense in the league, something which a defensive guru like Patricia is going to have to try and fix immediately. That defense could be what holds Detroit back from a playoff spot this season.

4. Chicago Bears (6-10)
New coach Matt Nagy is looking at a team to try and rebuild. Adding Khalil Mack and locking him up long term are huge for loading up what has been a hallmark in Chicago for a long time. The Bears have been known for their defensive play and adding a guy like Mack is a huge boost to that. The offense still has some catching up to do with the rest of the division, but they've made steps in the right direction. Mitchell Trubisky started showing signs of being the coveted franchise quarterback he was in last year's draft, so its something for the Bears to build off of. That, and the fact that they shelled out heavy for Allen Robinson and Trey Burton in the offseason. They have added talent, but the Bears are still playing catch-up with the rest of the division.

NFC South:
1. New Orleans Saints (13-3)*
New Orleans could quite possibly be the team to take out the Eagles in the NFC this year. They're one of the more balanced teams in the game. Sure, they're going to be without the services of Mark Ingram, who's suspended for the first four games of the year. Alvin Kamara should have no problem coming in there to pick up the slack. Michael Thomas and Ted Ginn Jr. are going to get the bulk of the touches from Drew Brees in the passing game. No telling how much more the future hall of famer has left in his arm but its at least two more years. Coach Sean Payton got the team set up to rock and roll this year on offense. Hell the defense got better when the team traded up for defensive end Marcus Davenport in the first round of this year's draft. This could be the best team in the division and can only really go up this year.

2. Atlanta Falcons (12-4)(WC)*
Expect the Falcons to be making noise in the NFC last year. Matt Ryan played at a higher level two years ago when he won the MVP, but last year seemed to bring him back down to earth a little bit. This year, he got a new weapon to play with in the form of Calvin Ridley, who the Falcons took in the first round. Put him with Mohamed Sanu and Julio Jones, it can make for a scary proposition for the opposing secondary to have to try and defend against. To help balance that out will be Tevin Coleman and Devonta Freeman in the run game. They've got a young and hungry defense that's going to be tough to try and stop. With Vic Beasley and De'Vondre Campbell leading that defensive charge, it going to be a tough draw. With both sides of the ball operating at the level they could be this year, Atlanta is going to be a major threat in the NFC this season.

3. Carolina Panthers (7-9)
Things seem to be changing all the time down in Carolina. Eric Washington is the third different defensive coordinator that the Panthers have had in the last three years. Washington has to try and get more out of his three biggest defensive stars in Julius Peppers, Dontari Poe and Luke Kuechly. On paper, this defense has enough talent to keep the Panthers in a few games.; The question remains how well can the offense hold up? New Offensive Coordinator Norv Turner has a lot on his plate this year. He's gotta try and get Cam Newton back to an MVP level. Newton has Christian McCaffrey and Greg Olsen to work with as weapons but not much else. Sometimes that might be enough but not in this top heavy division.

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-10)
Jameis Winston is going to miss the first three games of the regular season due to a suspension, which means that Ryan Fitzpatrick gets the starting nod to kick off the year for the Bucs. Once Winston comes back, coach Dirk Koetter has to try and get his team going in the right direction. Winston is the future under center and he's got some weapons to work with in Mike Evans, DeSean Jackson and Cameron Brate to catch the ball and a decent running game to complement it. Ronald Jones is going to be counted on to have a big year in order for Tampa to compete. The newest draftee to Tampa, Vita Vea, is expected to team up with Jason Pierre-Paul to cause some trouble for the opposition. Otherwise the Bucs defense looks suspect. Don't expect a lot of noise to really be made in Tampa this year.

NFC West:
1. Los Angeles Rams (12-4)*
Los Angeles won the division with 11 wins a season ago and they actually got a little bit better in the offseason. Head coach Sean McVay has some new toys to play with on the offensive side of the ball. Yes Sammy Watkins is now in Kansas City, but Brandin Cooks was brought in to take some pressure off Jared Goff, Todd Gurley, Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp. It gives the Rams another added element to work with for this explosive attack. Aside from having lack of depth at the linebacker position. Still, defensive coordinator Wade Phillips has plenty to work with. Ndamukong Suh, Marcus Peters, Aqib Taiib and Aaron Donald? That's going to be tough to face off with. Sure the holes in the Rams armor are there, but they aren't big enough to really be stopped. The greatest show on turf is going to be a heavy hitter in the NFC this year.

2. San Francisco 49ers (10-6)
This year, the Jimmy G show will be on full display. Jimmy Garoppolo has some pressure on him to prove that not only he can start, but that last year was no fluke. To help out, Jimmy has weapons to work with in the form of Pierre Garcon, Alfred Morris, Jerick McKinnon and George Kittle. Couple that with a solid O-Line and the 49ers might be in pretty good shape down the road. On the other side of the ball, adding Richard Sherman makes things interesting. Sherman is trying to get his game back and prove he still one of the elite defenders in the game of football.

3. Seattle Seahawks (8-8)
There's no denying that the Seahawks are carried by Russell Wilson. He going to have to do a lot for Seattle this year. He lost Jimmy Graham and Thomas Rawls. Rashaad Penny was selected in the first round of the draft, which should help the running game. Brandon Marshall was also brought in to help stabilize the receiving game and to try and get his career back on track. On the other side of the ball, the Legion of Boom is no more. Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor are gone. leaving Earl Thomas unhappy. Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril are gone from their front, as well. Coach Pete Carroll can boast some promising youth on defense, but there won't be true contention as Seattle tries to forge a new identity.

4. Arizona Cardinals (4-12)
This may not be the best year for new head coach Steve Wilks to be coming into. Carson Palmer called it a career, so Sam Bradford takes over under center. Given the past history of Bradford though, rookie Josh Rosen could see plenty of snaps during the regular season. Arizona still has one of the best all around backs in David Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald is still out to prove he got something left in the tank. While the offense maybe able to provide some hope, I'm not sold on the defense in the desert. It going to be a long season for the Cardinals because of a run down defense and an offense that's holding together. In order to build a team back up, you need to tear down first and that's what the Cardinals are starting to do.

AFC
AFC East:
1. New England Patriots (12-4)*
This is going to be business as usual for the Patriots. Plenty of turnover for the Pats. Danny Amendola, Bradin Cooks, Malcolm Butler, Dion Lewis, Nate Soilder are all gone to other teams and David Harris, Martellus Bennett and James Harrison retired. Tom Brady, even at 41, can still find a way to do things that are beyond description. To go along with that, they still have the best tight end in the game in Rob Gronkowski. Chris Hogan will be the top target, while Rex Burkit and James White will be doing the bulk of the rushing duties for the AFC Champs. New England's defensive line leaves something to be desired. They have the linebacker core and the secondary that should be enough to power them to a division title. Its going to be business as usual in New England as the Patriots should be able to wrap up another division title.

2. New York Jets (9-7)
The Sam Darnold Era has begun in New York. The Jets took him 3rd overall and after making a move to send away Teddy Bridgewater at the end of camp, it was all set for Darnold to take over as the starter for Gang Green. Isaiah Crowell and Bilal Powell will be taking the carries in the backfield, while Terrelle Pryor, Jermaine Kerse, Robbie Anderson and Quincy Enunwa will be handling pass catching duties. There still a few questions for me on the offensive line, so it will be interesting to see how the offense can adjust. The defensive front, lead by Lenoard Williams, could be something as could the secondary. It might be enough for the Jets to bounce back from back to back 5-11 seasons and actually post a winning record for the first time in three years.

3. Miami Dolphins (7-9)
Miami depleted their roster this offseason, which is going to make it tough to compete in the division this year. Ryan Tanahill is coming off a knee injury, so who knows with his health, or with the play of Brock Osweiler as his backup. Jarvis Landry and Jay Ajayi both got traded, taking away a couple of the biggerst weapons that Miami had. Frank Gore will be handling the rushing duties, while Danny Amendola and Kenny Stills will be the top targets. The defense leaves a lot to be desired, which is going to be hurting the Dolphins. Don't get your hopes up Miami, this could be a rough year.

4. Buffalo Bills (6-10)
Congratulations Buffalo, you made the playoffs last year. This year won't go so well. Nathan Petermen is the opening day starter and will soon give way to Josh Allen, who might have a good career ahead of him. Chris Ivory and LeSean McCoy will handle the rushing attack, with Kelvin Benjamin being the primary passing target. The defense got an overhaul, something that MIGHT keep games close. Buffalo took a step back in the offseason and will fall in the standings this year.

AFC North
1. Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4)*
Pittsburgh has a new offensive coordinator in Randy Fichtner, and he got a little bit of work ahead of him this year. Ben Roethlisberger isn't getting any young and has only a few good years left. He still has the other killer B's with him in Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell. What is slowing me down on Bell being effective is the rfact he's on the exempt list and is going to miss playing time, so Stevan Ridley is going to pick up the slack. And Brown is going to get a bulk of the targets, but he's got help in the receiving game in Darrius Heyward-Bey and JuJu Smith-Schuster. Then you got Cameron Heyward, who's going to be counted on to lead the pass rush. Pittsburgh doesn't exactly have the steel curtain that they had in the 70's, but this defense could be good. Very good. This defens could actually surprise a few people and really be able to do more then hold its own. The Steelers could be one of the heavy favorites to come out of the AFC this year, they're that good.

2. Baltimore Ravens (8-8)
Baltimore looks like they could be moving up. They have a possible future replacement in place for Joe Flacco, who is getting up there in age and doesn't have much left in the tank. Bringing in Robert Griffin III as a backup might not be a bad idea, but with his health injury past who knows. They have the future of the franchise behind both guys in Lamar Jackson, the former Heisman winner. Jackson is going to be waiting a while to start though. As far as this year goes, Michael Crabtree and Willie Snead are going to be counted on a lot to help Flacco in the pass game. There's a lack of trust from my point of view in the run game, which is going to put more pressure on Flacco to throw, which over the long term could hurt. C. J. Mosley is going to be counted on to lead a defense that could be average at best.

3. Cincinnati Bengals (7-9)
The more things change the more they stay the same. Marvin Lewis starts his 16th year as Bengals head coach and is looking to try and change the culture in Cincy. A little hard to do that if Vontaze Burfict starting the season on a suspension. The defense is meh at best even with Burfict here, but he's been a problem since he got into the league. Andy Dalton remains the franchise quarterback, and A.J. Green remains one of the best receivers in the game. The Bengals may have something in the run game in Joe Mixon. It always seems like the Bengals have that potential to be right there with the Ravens and Steelers but I just have his feeling that Cincy comes up short.

4. Cleveland Browns (4-12)
Can't believe I'm about to say what I'm going to say but here goes. The Cleveland Browns will win two games this year. They've won one game in the last two seasons. Lot of turnover in Cleveland. Tyrod Taylor will try and show Baker Mayfield how to play in this league. Jarvis Landry can play a big impact in this Browns offense. Cleveland might have a defense that could be decent at best. Could be a long way up for the Browns, but they can't get any lower then what they did last year. This will be a small step in the right direction for the Browns but they will eventually get there.

AFC South:
1. Jacksonville Jaguars (12-4)*
Doug Marrone and company are going to be back at the top of the division. There really isn't much turnover for the Jags, who went all the way to the divisional round last year. Blake Bortles still calls the plays under center, while Leonard Fournette will be handling all or most of the touches in Jacksonville. There has been turnover at tight end and wide receiver, with Austin Seferian-Jenkins leading the tight end crop. Allen Hurns and Allen Robinson are both gone, meaning that Jaydon Mickens, Donte Moncrief, and Dede Westbrook are going to have to pick up the slack in the receiving department. Lets not forget about the Jags defense. Michael Bennett, Calais Campbell and Jalen Ramsey are just some of the playmakers that can lead this explosive defense. Jacksonville's D can hang with the best of them around the NFL and if the offense can come close to matching the level it's D can potentially play at, then watch out. Jacksonville is going to be a major force to be reckoned with, not only in the AFC, but the entire NFL.

2. Tennessee Titans (10-6)(WC)*
New coach Mike Vrabel has some new toys to work with in Tennessee. Dion Lewis has been added to join Derrick Henry to what could be a lethal run game, while Darius Jennings and Rishard Matthews are going to be counted on bigtime with Marcus Mariota in the passing game. Lewis and Henry can only do so much so Mariota is going to have to be good in the air attack, which is something he showed last year that he can do. Then on the other side of the ball, Malcolm Butler was brought in to help out the secondary. Adding him brings in another level of depth and can add more looks for packages that can throw off the opposition. Tennessee is going to be a tough challenge to play against this year and are going to be in it, for the most part, with the Jaguars.

3. Houston Texans (9-7)(WC)*
It was pretty easy to see the difference in the Texans last year when Deshaun Watson was playing compared to when he got hurt. DeAndre Hopkins has been saying all training camp long that he feels he's underrated in this league, so now he got a chance to back up the talk and prove he can be that guy who can hang with the big boy receivers in this league. Oh yeah the Texans have a pretty good defense, lead by J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney, Bringing in Tyrann Mathieu was a nice addition for the Texans. They have the potential to sneak into a playoff spot this year. Should everybody be able to stay healthy, the sky could be the limit for a team that was in the playoffs just two years ago.

4. Indianapolis Colts (6-10)
New head coach Frank Reich heads into this season with a lot on his mind. Namely, can his starting quarterback stay healthy? Andrew Luck has been dealing with shoulder issues over the past couple of seasons and can't seem to stay on the field. here's also no telling how bad the Colts would be if Luck were to suffer another setback in his year-long recovery from shoulder surgery. Expect Indianapolis to be competitive with Luck; he's that good. T.Y. Hilton and Eric Ebron are going to be key. Defense in Indy is OK at best, but if everything goes right for the offense, then the Colts can be able to hang around for a little while in this AFC South race.

AFC West:
1. Los Angeles Chargers (11-5)*
Anthony Lynn is back for his second year as head coach of the Chargers. This year will go better then last year, when the Chargers got off to a dreadful 0-4 start and couldn't recover. Not much has changed on the offense this year. Phillip Rivers is back for another year, Charger fans better hope he can stay healthy because Geno Smith is the backup and that's a whole different argument we won't get into now. Rivers has solid targets to work with in the form of Melvin Gordon running the ball, while Keenan Allen and Travis Benjamin will be hauling in the passes. On the other side of the ball, Los Angeles looks to be in good shape. When you have guys the talent level of Joey Bosa, Melvin Ingram and Casey Hayward, it makes for a scary field to go up against. The Chargers won't have the same problem in close games this year, not with how well they played at the end of last season. Los Angeles takes the division this year.

2 Kansas City Chiefs (9-7)
New era to begin in Kansas City as Patrick Mahomes takes over for Alex Smith as the full time starter. He needs to have a big year if the Chiefs are going to try and stay in the race in the West. Mahomes has the weapons around him to work with. He got Travice Kelce, Tyreek Hill and Kareem Hunt. Hunt is also a bit of a question to see if he can find his grove again like he had at the start of last season. Defensively, Kansas City gets a returning and healthy Eric Berry, which is good. But Marcus Peters and Derrick Johnson are both gone. This defense feels like it could take a step backwards as does the whole team for that matter. It feels like it might be the start of a rebuild in KC.

3. Oakland Raiders (8-8)
Chucky is back on the sidelines. Jon Gruden is back to coaching and trying to get the Raiders back to their 2016 wild card form. There's a few changes to this Raiders club. Khail Mack is now a Bear and Michael Crabtree is now in Baltimore. Jordy Nelson and Doug Martin were brought in on offense to try and help out Marshawn Lynch, Amari Cooper and Derek Carr. This defense looks decent at best, so its something that Gruden is going to have to work on. Oakland has a mix of veterans and young guns in the lineup, which will make for an interesting mix. This team isn't a contender right now, but it will be interesting to see if Gruden can get the Raiders going in the right direction by the time they move to Las Vegas.

4. Denver Broncos (5-11)
If Denver wants to be anywhere close to a playoff team, or even look like a playoff team, Case Keenum needs to be good. Or he has to at least be better then the mess that was the quarterback situation we saw there a year ago in Denver. Vance Joseph's team will lean heavily on defense and the running game to get back on track after the coach got a reprieve after a disaster of a season. Bradley Chubb and Von Miller will keep Denver competitive, but the offensive limitations will keep it from reaching John Elway's Mile-High standards.

Super Bowl: Saints vs Steelers!