Why You Should Be Excited About the 2019 NFL Season
When I wrote about March Madness a few months ago I said that Spring was my favorite time of the sports year. That remains true but after the long Summer months, Fall can never come soon enough. September and October bring the starts of three of the top four sports in America while the baseball playoffs are right around the corner. Unfortunately over the last few years I have to admit that this sense of excitement has wavered for me. It wasn’t just one thing but with the obvious decline in quality in the NFL, the Orioles being contenders since 2012, and being distracted by college starting each year, the season just lost some of its luster.
This year however, that feeling has returned. The Orioles are god-awful, I worked a 40-hour/week job for the first time, and I’m getting ready to start my final year of college, all of which contributed to one of the more grueling and draining Summers of my life. With all that, Fall is looking pretty great once again, but there’s one reason that trumps all of those. Call me crazy, but I think the NFL will be really, REALLY good this year. Let me take this division by division to really show you how the hype is well deserved.
NFC EAST:
The Super Bowl champions are back and arguably better than last year. Carson Wentz will be healthy for week one, and the rest of the team remained largely intact. Although the Eagles will still probably win it, they’ll face some stiffer competition this year from a division that was otherwise pretty bad last year. The Sure the Redskins have lost a few key players, but their new quarterback in Alex Smith is coming off a career year and has the experience to maximize the output from any offense. Plus Josh Doctson could be quietly one of the biggest breakouts this year after a largely unnoticed yet productive rookie campaign. The cowboys will have Zeke behind that monster line again so they’ll at the very least be in most of their games, and a third year of Dak Prescott certainly won’t hurt. The Giants have an exciting new coach and drafted a generational talent in Saquon Barkley, whom many expect to lead the league in rushing, touchdowns, and a bunch of other fun categories.
NFC SOUTH:
This was already the most fun division in football last year and I can’t foresee a decline from any of the teams. The Falcons were in the Super Bowl two seasons ago and boast what has to be the best wide-receiver trio in the NFL with the addition of consensus-stud Calvin Ridley. They also sneakily have a monster d-line and might be one of the best few teams in the NFC. The Panthers have FINALLY surrounded Cam with talent and I especially like the addition of DJ Moore (#HeATerp). The Buccaneers played at their absolute floor last year based on the talent on their roster, meanwhile Jameis being healthy for the first time is a plus. It didn’t help that they played in such a tough division but Mike Evans is elite and will be a force again this year, while Brent Grimes will continue to be a top-5 cornerback that not enough people talk about. The Saints actually won the division despite being like its third best team last year, and were one monumental rookie gaffe away from the NFCCG. Drew Brees had a down year and is due for a positive statistical regression, and Alvin Kamara is one of the most electric young football players in the game.
NFC WEST:
Sure Seattle lost quite a few of its key players, but Russell Wilson is still here and in his prime. You can basically pencil him in for at least one magical escape-jobs from the pocket every single week, so he keeps them in the conversation for contention. This may sound weird, but they also have a rookie punter in Michael Dickson who is one of the best i’ve ever seen, and you should actually watch out for. The Cardinals finally have their young quarterback of the future in Josh Rosen, who I think is the most NFL-ready of the first-rounders from this year. David Johnson is still arguably the best player in the game and the injury he sustained last year was a wrist injury, so his elite athletic ability wasn’t really affected. The 49ers have to be the trendiest pick to improve this year with Jimmy-G in the fold. It helps that they actually have some decent options for him with Marquis Goodwin showing his potential as a real #1 instead of just a deep threat and Pierre Garçon still inexplicably producing, plus former Raven favorite Kyle “I had to look up how to spell his name” juszczyk. The Rams were the most explosive team in the league last year, and Jared Goff in his 3rd year with this offense is downright scary. (Imagine saying that at this time last year, lol) Robert Woods just goes to show that leaving Buffalo can do wonders for your career *cough* Marshawn Lynch *cough* and could be a top receiver in the league opposite Brandin Cooks. Todd Gurley is the best player in the NFL right now and you won’t convince me otherwise.
NFC NORTH:
Mitchell Trubisky is already the second best quarterback the Bears have ever had, which is sad for them but exciting for us. Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen are among the best running back duos in the league and Allen Robinson is way better than people remember when he’s healthy. He’s healthy now. The Lions have Golden Tate and Marvin Jones, who by all accounts shouldn’t produce as much or consistently as they do but here they are, plus Matt Stafford is still slinging it around. They don’t win all of them, but I feel like the Lions play in way more close, exciting games than other teams. The Packers still have Aaron Rodgers and that’s all you really need to watch that team. Don’t Forget that Jimmy Graham is still the biggest red zone threat in the league. The Vikings took what was arguably the most complete team in the NFL and significantly upgraded their quarterback. They have the most exciting skill position group since Dante Culpepper was the quarterback, and Dalvin Cook is still a stud.
AFC EAST:
The Dolphins are considered an afterthought this year but they have Tannehill back and the last time he was in the lineup they made the playoffs. Kenyan Drake showed that he could be a legit number 1 last year, and the receiving corps is revamped with Danny Amendola arriving. Sam Darnold could very well be the best Jets quarterback ever and he’s a rookie. Look out for Robby anderson, and Terrell Pryor is much better than he played last year. I’ll be honest with you, the Bills are the team I think out of the entire NFL that doesn’t really excite me. However, I am very often wrong about these things, and fully admit that it is entirely possible they surprise some people. Josh Allen will obviously be the key, and he has an absolute cannon, which can’t really hurt. Plus, Shady can still run with the best of the league. Listen, I’m not gonna sit here and try to tell you that the Patriots aren’t winning this division, because of course they are. None of the other teams have closed the immense gap in any real way, and I think if anything said gap grew this offseason. The only real weak point on this team has been the running back position, and they added arguably the best rookie outside of Saquon in Sony Michel. Even their defense improved, it’s ridiculous.
AFC SOUTH:
I say this 100% literally and without hesitation: This is the best the AFC South has EVER been. Gone are the days where one team would dominate for years at a time. We’ve entered a time where any attempt to predict the standings in this division is a fool’s errand. The Jaguars were in the AFCCG and they could very well finish anywhere. Leonard Fournette is one of the best violent runners in the game and his trajectory is looking upwards. Blake Bortles has the best account on twitter and is coming off the best year of his career, almost beating Brady in the playoffs. The Titans pulled off one of the most exciting playoff comebacks i’ve seen last year, and they’re returning their best players. Kevin Byard and Corey Davis will both be breakout stars this year; bank on it. The Colts have a surprisingly good roster for their record last year, and they’re getting Andrew Luck back. Unbelievably, Vinatieri is still going strong in year number 23 (i’m not even 22). Houston is buzzing with anticipation of a full year of Deshaun Watson and I can’t say I blame them. He’s probably the most intriguing second-year quarterback based on the electric, albeit small sample size we witnessed last year. However good you think Deandre Hopkins is, he’s better. Nuk might be my favorite receiver in the game at the moment.
AFC WEST:
The Chargers seem to always start slow and make an amazing run to come up just short, and they start the season against three straight playoff teams from last year. “They’ve got the talent, but can they put it together?” is something we’ve said about them every year since like 2008. However they still have a top-ten running back, top-ten wide receiver lining up opposite a finally healthy Mike Williams, and Philip Rivers who is the most consistent quarterback in the league. Also Casey Hayward might be the best corner in football. The Raiders have a healthy Derek Carr for the first time since he was under consideration as NFL MVP, and Amari Cooper showed last year that his floor is still better than a lot of players’ ceilings. Khalil Mack is still there so this team will be a force. Denver has a legit starting quarterback for the first time in three years, and Just in time for the end of the DT–Emmanuel Sanders window. Von Miller lining up with Bradley Chubb is just unfair, and Royce Freeman is one of my favorite rookies. Answer this question for me: if you took the top offense in the NFL with elite playmakers at every position and replaced its meh quarterback with the second coming of Brett Favre, would that excite you? If your answer, like mine, is ABSOLUTELY, then let me introduce you to the 2018 Kansas City Chiefs. Adding Patrick Mahomes‘ arm to the offense with Hill, Kelce, and Hunt is just asking for some of the most fun you can have watching football.
AFC NORTH:
Cleveland has the best roster they’ve had in at least a decade. Tyrod, Baker, and the resurgence of Josh Gordon have a lot of eyes trained towards them as they’ll look to win multiple games for the first time since 2015(!!), plus the secondary is filled with playmakers unlike most of their years. Marvin Lewis inexplicably retained his job, but the Bengals still have Andy Dalton and one of the best receivers in the game in AJ Green. Regardless of his off the field trouble, Joe Mixon is a great primary running back and anchors their already-solid offense. Joe Flacco is legitimately healthy for the first time since 2015, and most importantly FINALLY has people to throw to. His top 5 options to throw to are all new this year, and I’m not sure i’ve ever seen Hayden Hurst drop a ball. Alex Collins is one of the best in the league at running north/south, and his second year in this offense will be awesome. Personally, I despise the steelers, but there’s no denying that they have two generational talents on offense, and somehow got ANOTHER great wideout in the draft in James Washington. Their record last year didn’t properly capture how close most of their games were last year, and they’re always fun to watch, even against the browns.
Every team got better this year, and it seems like aside from the AFC East, all the divisions are up for grabs to varying degrees. There’s been an infusion of young, elite talent into the game at basically every position, and they’re hungry for the season to start to show what they’ve got. Join me, won’t you?
