 |
| The Eagles celebrating at US Bank Stadium in February |
Hey, all so seeing as the NFL kicks off tonight I thought I would do a quick preview. It's been 7 months since the NFL season finished with an unbelievable result in Minnesota. Still, the Philadelphia Eagles kick off their defence tonight against Super Bowl 51 runners-up Atlanta Falcons in Philadelphia. The Eagles have had their pre-season dominated with who would be their quarterback would it be Nick Foles who was the MVP in the Super Bowl or contender for NFL MVP Carson Wentz. Well, this week they decided to give the job to Foles because they are unsure about Wentz after his injury at the end of last season. Also for Atlanta, they are seen as one of the favourites as their offence seems to have improved, and they now have a defence that can match their high powered teammates and put less pressure on Matt Ryan and Julio Jones.
 |
| Nick Foles is back and starts against the Falcons. |
Meanwhile, the runners-up of the Super Bowl are seen as favourites but marginally compared to last season when everyone thought they would go undefeated which ended by opening night. They lost their defensive coordinator to the Detriot Lions. Then their offensive coordinator who had been a head coach previously with the Denver Bronco's was initially leaving but refused the offer given to him but the Indianapolis Colts and stayed in New England. Their quarterback Tom Brady returns although it looks like his offence seems to be weaker compared to last year however he could prove everyone wrong again.
 |
| Arron Rodgers is back for the Packers. |
 |
| Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliot have to recreate their rookie year magic. |
The NFL is split into two conferences the NFC and the AFC. In the NFC it seems to be anyones for the taking with the Eagles and Falcons being favourites. One of the other favourites is the Dallas Cowboys with third-year players Ezekiel Elliot and Dak Prescott at the helm. Another two favourites are the Green Bay Packers as Arron Rodgers returns and is given a 100 million dollar contract and has new weapons on offence and the defence has a new coach in charge. Meanwhile their division rivals the Minnesota Vikings want to progress one step further than they did last year. Also in the NFC, the LA Rams are trying to get back and go a couple of steps forward than last year losing in the opening round of the playoffs. Also in the same division is 5 time Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers and they have one of the top stars in Jimmy Garoppolo starting and one of the most feared defenders Richard Sherman playing for them.
 |
| Big Ben and Antonio Brown start on Sunday. |
Meanwhile in the AFC along with the Patriots, in the hunt are the 6 time Super Bowl champions Pittsburgh Steelers with Big Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown. But no Le'Veon Bell as he is currently sitting out, which means he's not training or playing a game until he gets a top money contract. Another favourite is Jacksonville as the team got so close to the Super Bowl but let it slip out of their hands. Another favourite is the LA Chargers as they look to take advantage of a weaker AFC West. Though everyone is keeping an eye on potential underdog the Cleveland Browns as they have invested money in the right players, they need now and get a top college quarterback. And have shown that they want to be a better team than they have been the last two years as shown in HBO series Hard Knocks.
 |
| International series is back at Wembley with three games. |
London is hosting 3 matches this year with all three at Wembley stadium after one of the games, which was supposed to be at Tottenham's new stadium was cancelled and rearranged. All three games are games that show substantial potential the first game is the Seattle Seahawks vs the Oakland Raiders, two former Super Bowl Champions going at each other is a good start. Then the so-called London team, Jacksonville Jaguars, take on the Philadelphia Eagles which at the time caught interest as the announcement was made before the conference championships. Which both sides were in and thought it would have been the Super Bowl rematch, a coup de grace for the fans and the last match is the LA Chargers returning after being away for a decade and the Tennesse Titans. And this year the matches are in back to back weeks, which they did last year but they did two games back to back in one month then again the next month not three in a row. It looks like the NFL see potential outside North America to put a team here on this side of the Atlantic.
I'll be back with the review of the opening game tomorrow.
KRO Mark
Comments
Post a Comment