What to look out for in this year's NFL season

The Game Room
1

I’m a Swedish football fan so even though I read nfl.com regurarly and sometimes si.com/nfl and so on, I’m not exactly in the middle of the NFL buzz here.

I love the game as it is, but the season is more entertaining if you have some details to look after and stories to follow.

What I’m especially excited about this year is (quite obviously) how **Manning **will perform with the Broncos (and how Broncos will perform with Manning) and how the Tebow/**Sanchez **situation in Jets will work out. Also, of course, it’ll be interesting to follow **Luck **in Colts.

Quarterbacks only! That’s how shallow my view is… Give me some NFL meat to chew during season. What’s your stories, what developments are you following more closely, what are your tips for others to look out for this season?

Thanks!

2

Expect the most screwed up officiating you can imagine. The real refs are on strike, so they’ve been using some replacement guys that are stinking up the place in preseason games. If the NFL doesn’t cut a deal with the real guys this week, things are going to get ugly in games that matter.

3

Look for a Browns fan to run onto the field and attack coach Pat Shurmur sometime around week 6.

4

This. The low-stakes preseason officiating has been just downright horrendous, and it’s only going to get worse when the games start to mean something. I think (hope) we’ll see multiple coaches fined every week for honest evaluations (or, as the NFL terms them, “inappropriate comments”) on the officiating.

5

Watch how awesome the Saints will be despite their missing coaches and pre-season turmoil. Their talent, especially on offense, is just unreal.

6

Look for TEs to continue their rise throughout the league in receptions, yards, and especially redzone TDs.

RBBC continues to evolve into specialty down backs. IOW, an RB for 1st and 10, another for short yardage early downs, yet another for long yardage situations. Already seen throughout the years, but becoming more common place and more specialized. Of course, some teams will continue to have multi-use star RBs, so YMMV.

More very long FG attempts, not just in final seconds, but as a fairly reliable offensive tool.

Multiple star WRs on one team continue to frustrate Ds. Superstars in each slot on one play? Who do you double?

Ds will be called for more penalties as the NFL uses replacement refs while still implementing rules changes benefiting a more wide open offensive scheme.

As usual, YMMV. This is all IMHO.
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7

In season coaching changes are rare in the NFL, look for the Arizona Cardinals to perhaps be one of those teams that does make a change. Since Kurt Warner’s retirement, the QB position has been an absolute mess. As of now, they’re the only team without a starting QB. It will probably be Kolb with all the money he was paid.

8

I had no idea…! You see, I need this.

Yes, that’s another “story” for sure, I’ve been following the bounty affair quite closely and it’ll be interesting see how Saints manage.

Many good points NoClue, thanks, but I pick this one for a follow up: Which teams in particular have more than one star receivers in your opinion?

Thanks, missed this one, will keep an eye on the poor Cardinals.

9

Multi star receiver teams (I’m including TEs in this mix) :
Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears (if Cutler could aim better)

Dallas Cowboys (triple threat with TE)

Detroit Lions (yeah, Megatron is awesome, but Nate would star anywhere else)

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans (with Daniels as TE)

Indianapolis Colts

New England Patriots (triple threat with TE)

New Orleans Saints (triple threat with TE)

New York Giants

San Diego Chargers (triple threat with TE)

Washington Redskins

As you can see, I’m expecting this year to be a VERY pass happy year.
YMMV, anyone can discount or add to my views of what makes a person a star or even superstar WR or TE. Of course, this will probably now be the year we see multi RBs with 2K+ yards, just to spite my half-assed predictions. :wink: