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Right now, we’re all having a fabulous summer, and in just a few months the NFL 2021/22 season gets underway. The defending Super Bowl champions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers open the proceedings officially on September 9.
If you can’t wait until then, you might want to get your teeth into the three pre-season games that each team will play before the start of the season.
Just like any league, fans can expect surprises and high drama, on and off the grid. Here we’re going to concentrate on the grid side of things and look at a few teams who could surprise us all this season, and at some of the players who might help them achieve it.
Las Vegas Raiders
A lot has been made of Derek Carr’s record of losing more than winning, but important as the quarterback position is, teams win and lose, not individual quarterbacks.
So although eyes will be on Carr to see if he ups his game this season, fans and analysts should also note the Raiders have added some big-time attacking players in the form of running back Josh Jacobs, wide receiver Henry Ruggs and tight end Darren Waller.
In the 2020/21 season, the Raiders showed defensive frailties, and they should work on patching these up. The NFL betting odds don’t reflect too kindly on them, suggesting the sportsbooks aren’t giving them much hope, however, they racked up the points, so there’s no reason why they couldn’t generate quite the upset this season. They just need to sort out that defense though.
New England Patriots
The Patriots may have lost Tom Brady to the Buccaneers, but they still have the greatest NFL manager there’s ever been: Bill Belichick. Their last season was lousy by their standards, but that doesn’t mean their capability of lifting the Lombardi Trophy has died.
Brady’s departure left a gaping hole in the team, so filling up that spot has been important. Wide receiver and tight end are also positions that have raised question marks, but which Belichick has looked at by signing tight ends Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry, and wide receiver Nelson Agholor.
The move signifies a return to Belichick’s notably successful two tight-end-package and the placement of more weapons around quarterback Cam Newton. Henry, Smith and Agholor will all be players to watch to see if Belichick’s strategy paid off.
Cincinnati Bengals
Let’s be honest: the Bengals struggle last season. Their quarterback, Joe Burrow, suffered an injury mid-season, but is expected to be back in action in Week 1, much to the delight of the fans. That’s one reason to get excited.
The next is the overall offensive line, a line that is tremendously talented. They have receivers in the form of Tee Higgins and Tyler, who both look to have improved in the 2020 season, and when it comes to backs, Joe Mixon and Gio Bernard are productive.
Like the Raiders, the Bengals have some work to do defensively. They’ve been developing their offensive line, however, becoming one of the teams that has provided most support for their quarter. In the off-season draft, they added wide receiver Ja’ Marr Chase. They’ve also signed offensive tackle Riley Reiff.
If they can improve their defensive line, they could really give teams some trouble on the grid when the season starts.
Dallas Cowboys
Now, a lot of people out there on the internet couldn’t wait to poke fun at the Dallas Cowboys because of the their poor play-off record in the 21st century and the way they exited the 2020 playoffs, but should you ever write off the most valuable sports team in the world?
The Cowboys’ season was disastrous, quite frankly. Early on, they lost their quarterback Dak Prescott in Week 5 to a highly unpleasant ankle injury. Even so, they still posted plenty of points, which they were needing to do just to keep in games. It didn’t come easily, though. They really felt Prescott’s absence.
That’s because the Cowboys were suffering the same issue as the Raiders and the Bengals: defensive weaknesses. If Dallas are going to correct this and build a Super Bowl-winning team, a few cheaper contracts are going to have to be renegotiated, especially to accommodate Dak. Zeke and Amari Cooper are both almost at the top end of their salaries but retaining all three could be hard.
The “triplets” strategy netted the boys from Dallas much success during the 1990s. The trio of Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin helped the team to three Super Bowl wins in four years. Now the Cowboys are trying to bring it back and experience glory days again with the partnership of Dak, Zeke and Cooper, who are possibly the best combination of wide receiver, quarterback and running back in the NFL. They have everything it takes to carry the Cowboys to victory, but how will contract negotiations go down?
It’s no surprise to hear the Kansas City Chiefs are the favorites to win the Super Bowl, but the teams above could deliver a surprise. Several have been working on their offensive lines, and if they can bring the defensive lines up to the necessary level, there could be a few upsets in the NFL this season.
