Who will stop the reign? 1. What changes have the Patriots made?
The Super Bowl chase begins as NFL training camps open, but the defending champion Patriots have only gotten stronger
When quarterback Tom Brady capped last season by hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy at NRG Stadium after engineering an epic comeback victory over the Atlanta Falcons, he further cemented his rich legacy. And the New England Patriots were saluted again as resilient and formidable. As NFL training camps open this week, the Patriots arguably are even more dangerous after coach Bill Belichick and executive Nick Caserio executed a series of personnel moves intended to upgrade a deep roster. As a five-time Super Bowl champion as a head coach and three-time coach of the year, Belichick’s relentless taskmaster personality was on display throughout the offseason. As the rest of the league tries to catch up with the Patriots, here are 10 things to watch across the NFL landscape:
They have one of the most talented receiving corps Brady has had to throw to during his storied career.
The AFC East franchise acquired wide receiver Brandin Cooks in a trade from the New Orleans Saints to form a terrific tandem with Julian Edelman. Cooks caught 78 passes for 1,173 yards and eight touchdowns last season, and Edelman caught 98 passes for 1,106 yards and three scores.
The Patriots have so many receivers that veteran Danny Amendola is battling for a spot behind Chris Hogan and Malcolm Mitchell.
When tight end Martellus Bennett signed with the Green Bay Packers, the Patriots signed Dwayne Allen to replace him and team up with Rob Gronkowski.
New England also signed former Buffalo Bills running back Mike Gillislee.
Defensively, the Patriots made a huge move when they signed former Bills cornerback Stephon Gilmore to a five-year, $65 million contract. New England has one of the top cornerback duos in the game with Gilmore and Malcolm Butler.
In the front seven, the Patriots lost defensive ends Chris Long and Jabaal Sheard, but they added Kony Ealy, Derek Rivers and Deatrich Wise to go with Trey Flowers, linebacker Dont’a Hightower and safety Devin McCourty.
2. Will the Falcons bounce back?
They ran out of gas in the second half against the Patriots amid some questionable strategy from former offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, the new San Francisco 49ers coach.
Could the Falcons be traumatized by a history-making collapse as they squandered a 28-3 lead that is engraved on the Patriots’ diamond Super Bowl rings?
Perhaps so. It was a devastating loss that has depressed the players and coaches throughout the offseason.
Last year, the Carolina Panthers didn’t make the playoffs after losing to the Denver Broncos. In the previous six years, the Super Bowl losers each made the playoffs the following season.
Atlanta is well-equipped to rebound from this disappointment with quarterback Matt Ryan and receiver Julio Jones playing catch and complemented by elusive running back Devonta Freeman The Falcons have a fast, aggressive defense. They have the ingredients to make a serious playoff run again and perhaps get back to the Super Bowl.
3. What’s with all the Dallas Cowboys’ drama?
Is it fake news or real turmoil? Typically, everything with the Cowboys is magnified.
There has been a lot of negative headlines associated with the Cowboys lately. Most of it has been the ongoing soap opera that stars running back Ezekiel Elliott. Elliott was not charged with a crime after an investigation into a bar fight. He has not been charged with domestic violence after accusations were made against him, but the league is investigating and contemplating a potential suspension.
If the Cowboys can get the focus back on the excellence of Elliott on the field along with young quarterback Dak Prescott and the best offensive line in the NFL, they could emerge as the best team in the NFC.
The spotlight won’t dim for this team. Taking their cue from owner Jerry Jones, the Cowboys do a nice job of compartmentalizing off-field issues and taking care of business on the field.
4. What’s going on with Colin Kaepernick?
Despite putting up some respectable numbers last season for the San Francisco 49ers, the controversial quarterback is seemingly unemployable. The closest Kaepernick got to a job was when he auditioned for the Seattle Seahawks, but they passed on making him the backup to Russell Wilson.
Why isn’t Kaepernick on an NFL roster? Clearly, NFL teams don’t want to deal with the public-relations fallout sure to follow Kaepernick’s arrival after he protested during the national anthem last
season.
Kaepernick is good enough to be on a team, but his career is in limbo for reasons that have nothing to do with his football skills.
It might help if Kaepernick articulated publicly that he is not seeking a huge contract to be a backup and expressed a strong desire to continue playing football.
True or untrue, there is a perception in NFL circles that Kaepernick is no longer as passionate about the sport and is more focused on social issues.
5. What quarterback battles bear watching?
There are several competitions that will be waged during training camp. That includes the Denver Broncos evaluating the merits of Paxton Lynch and Trevor Siemian. That is the most relevant one.
The Cleveland Browns enter camp with former Texans bust Brock Osweiler the early favorite to beat out Cody Kessler and rookie DeShone Kizer.
The woeful New York Jets are expected to start Josh McCown but will give Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty a shot.
Former Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer is expected to start ahead of Matt Barkley and rookie C.J. Beathard in San Francisco.
The Texans named Tom Savage the starter, but that won’t stop the countdown to whenever rookie Deshaun Watson is deemed ready to step in.
The Chicago Bears have Mike Glennon in place until rookie Mitchell Trubisky is ready. And Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith clearly has the edge over rookie Patrick Mahomes.
6. How’s the health of Cam Newton and Andrew Luck?
Both of these franchise quarterbacks are coming off serious shoulder injuries.
The Panthers’ Newton has resumed throwing after suffering a torn rotator cuff. Luck had a torn labrum repaired and recently began throwing again. Luck, a Stratford High School graduate, begins camp on the physically unable to perform list. The Colts are hopeful he will be ready for the start of the regular season.
7. Is Washington at war with its quarterback?
This is a puzzling and dysfunctional situation. Team president Bruce Allen revealed contract details and portrayed quarterback Kirk Cousins as greedy while repeatedly mispronouncing his first name and calling him “Kurt” after the team was unable to sign the franchise player to a contract extension.
Although no deal was anticipated, no one expected Allen to trash Cousins publicly the way he did.
It was ugly, to say the least. Cousins took the high road after Allen released this statement, but it’s hard to fathom him wanting to be there much longer.
“We made Kirk an offer that included the highest fully guaranteed amount upon signing for a quarterback in NFL history ($53 million) and guaranteed a total of $72 million for injury,” Allen said. “But despite our repeated attempts, we have not received any offer from Kirk’s agent this year. Kirk has made it clear that he prefers to play on a year-to-year basis.” How can you blame him at this point?
8. Does anyone care about the Chargers?
Fan apathy in Los Angeles isn’t anything new. It could reach new lows with the ho-hum arrival of the Chargers from San Diego after joining the Rams in relocating.
The Chargers needed a lot of time to sell out tickets to their temporary 30,000seat stadium in Los Angeles.
The Chargers will need to win a lot of games to win fans over. That will all hinge on quarterback Philip Rivers, who has been to the playoffs only once in the last seven seasons. The defense is a bright spot, especially pass rushers Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram.
9. Are the Seattle Seahawks on the same page?
Feisty cornerback Richard Sherman finally acknowledged that he did curse at quarterback Russell Wilson during practice after initially denying an ESPN report.
Sherman is eager to win another Super Bowl, but a proud defense is getting older, and financial issues could hit that unit next offseason.
10. When will Le’Veon Bell show up?
As a franchise player, the Pittsburgh Steelers running back isn’t obligated to report to camp until he signs his franchise tender (one year, $12.1 million). He declined an offer for a long-term contract extension last week.
Because Bell has not signed, he can’t be fined for missing camp. There is little motivation for him to show up right away, but Bell is expected to report in time to get ready for the first real game.