By SIN Blitzers
TEXAS TWO STEP : “Hey slick in your time we ever do the Texas Two Step?”
“Yes Sir.” Will Smith and Josh Brolin Men in Black 3
Mark Halpern
Both the Texans and Cowboys enter the season with Super Bowl aspirations. Let’s start with the Texans, a team that had a phenomenal season last season. CJ Stroud had an amazing rookie season. The emergence of Tank Dell and Nico Collins was huge, but now they add Joe Mixon and Stefon Diggs to the mix, and this offense should be fun to watch. Defensively young stars like Will Anderson and Derek Stingley lead the way. Jonathan Greenard led the team with 12.5 sacks, but he’s now in Minnesota and ironically was replaced by Danielle Hunter, who had 16.5 sacks last season.
The Texans take on the team they beat to win the division last season in the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts will have Anthony Richardson back behind center, after missing the bulk of last season with a shoulder injury. But the key to stopping the Colts will be to stop Johnathan Taylor, who in his career has 811 yards and eight touchdowns in six games against Houston.
Prediction : Texans 31 Colts 17
As for the other Texas team, the Cowboys travel to Cleveland to play the Browns. Our last image of both of these teams was getting their rear ends kicked during wild card weekend, the Browns at the hands of the Texans and the Cowboys at the hands of the Packers. But it’s a new year, which means expectations are high. For Cleveland to be successful this season, they need Deshaun Watson to revert back to what he was in Houston, because last season (I know he got hurt) but Joe Flacco outplayed him and led the Browns to the playoffs.Without Nick Chubb though this Browns offense will look a little different. The Trevon Diggs vs Amari Cooper matchup is one I am looking forward to, but the key guy for me is David Njoku, that’s the guy the Cowboys have to stop, he had 882 yards and six touchdowns.
Now for the Cowboys quarterback, I believe Dak should be paid and we’re still waiting for that but Ceedee got his and he’ll play on Sunday. The quartet of Ceedee, Jalen Tolbert, Brandin Cooks along with Jake Ferguson will have to come up big this season, as we don’t know what to make of the running game.The question is going to be how will the Cowboys offensive line handle Myles Garrett? Defensively for the Cowboys it’s no longer Dan Quinn in the box, he’s now coaching Washington, Da’ron Bland (Mr. pick six) is out and how will Trevon Diggs look in his first game action since tearing his ACL? We know the Cowboys Defensive line should play well led by Micah Parsons.
Prediction : Cowboys 24 Browns 14
Battle Of Florida
By Mike Rifkin
The NFL season opens up with a lot of intriguing matchups, none might not be more intriguing than the Dolphins going to Jacksonville to play the Jaguars. There are a lot of similarities between the two teams, for one both teams collapsed at the end of last season and allowed a division title to slip away (although the Dolphins were still a wild card), both teams hired new defensive coordinators, and both teams invested a lot of money in their franchise Quarterbacks.
Trevor Lawrence signed a five year 275 million dollar contract with 55 million dollars guaranteed. Tua Tagovailoa signed a four year 212.5 million dollar contract with 53.1 million dollars guaranteed. These two quarterbacked their respective colleges in the 2019 National Championship game. A game that saw Lawrence’s Clemson Tigers beat Tua’s Alabama Crimson TIde 44-16. Lawrence threw for 347 yards and three touchdowns, while Tua threw for 295 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Now with both guys signing long term deals the pressure is on both of them to perform at a high level.
Keys to the game
Jags
- Stop the run – last year Miami was sixth in the NFL averaging 135.8 yards per game rushing, while the Jags gave up 103 yards per game.
- Keep Trevor Lawrence up – Lawrence was sacked 35 times last season, and Miami was third in the NFL with 56 sacks. They might not have Bradley Chubb, but Jaelan Phillips potential return could bolster the Dolphin pass rush.
Dolphins
- Containing Travis Ettiene – Ettiene had over 1,000 rushing yards last year and added almost 500 yards receiving. It’ll be on Jordyn Brooks and David Long to contain Ettiene.
- Young Corners : Yes, the Dolphins let go of long time corner Xavien Howard during the offseason. They signed Kendall Fuller to go opposite Jalen Ramsey, but Ramsey has had a hamstring issue which might mean more playing time for Ethan Bonner and Storm Duck.
Prediction
Dolphins 27 Jags 17
New Direction
Mike Rifkin
The Titans and Bears both had very aggressive offseasons, but for the same reason. The Bears for the second consecutive season had the number one overall pick (thanks Panthers) and took Caleb Williams to hopefully be their franchise quarterback. The Bears spent the offseason spending around Caleb bringing in D’andre Swift, Keenan Allen and drafting Rome Odunze to go on an offense with DJ Moore and Cole Kmet. And defensively re-signed Montez Sweat after acquiring him from Washington.
As for the Titans they fired Mike Vrabel after last season and hired Bengals Offensive Coordinator Brian Callahan to coach. The Titans also lost franchise icon Derrick Henry in free agency and replaced him with Tony Pollard. Pollard along with second year back Tyjae Spears will split the load in the backfield. Through free agency the Titans brought in Tyler Boyd, who played for Callahan in Cincy and signed Calvin Ridley from the Jags. All of this to help second year Quarterback Will Levis, if Levis plays well the Titans may have found their franchise quarterback.
In a battle of two teams wondering if they have their franchise QB, only one can come out on top.
Prediction Bears 33 Titans 20
Bengals vs Patriots Preview
By Bill Murphy
Well, folks it is once again time for Bengals Football. Last year the Bengals had a roller coaster of a season finishing 9-8 and last place in the AFC North . The Bengals’ issues consisted of the wrist injury to quarterback Joe Burrow . Now going into this season , the Bengals lost some pieces over the offseason such as Offensive Coordinator Brian Callahan who took the head coaching job in Tennessee, followed by Tyler Boyd. A new season has begun In CIncy and they will be facing off against the New England Patriots in their first game with a New Coach , Jerod Mayo and QB Jacoby Brisett .
Keys To The Game
Bengals :
Offense : Burrows pass game taking advantage of the Patriots depleted pass rush .
Joe Burrow despite being injured last year threw for 2,309 yards . Burrow has a full arsenal of weapons aside from Ja’marr Chase and Tee Higgins , he also has running back Chase Brown, wide receiver Andrei Iosivas , wide receiver Jermaine Burton and tight end Mike Gesicki . This going to have to take advantage of the Patriots pass rush which is depleted from last year with Christian Baramore being out due to a blood clot and Matt Judon being traded to the Falcons in the offseason .
Defense : Linebackers
The key for the Bengals defense are linebackers Logan Wilson and Germaine Pratt . Wilson came off a year with 78 solo tackles and 57 assisted tackles, two forced fumbles and four interceptions . Pratt came up with two sacks , two interceptions and two force fumbles . This duo will have to play a major role against New England’s best offensive options Hunter Henry and Rhamondre Stevenson.
Patriots :
Offense: Offensive line containing Trey Hendrickson
Trey Hendrickson had a very solid defensive year last year with 18 sacks tied for second behind TJ Watt. The Patriots added free agent left tackle Chukwuma Okorafor and moved Mike Onwenu to tackle . Containing Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard will be a huge thing for this offensive line .
Defense : Secondary must contain Higgins and Chase
All five of the defensive backs for New England will be back this year. They had 36 sacks last year which made them a real pain for quarterbacks . Another player that needs to be watched out for New England is corner back Christian Gonzalez . Coming off a season ending injury last year he had one interception and one sack . Gonzalez is going to be covering Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins trying to contain them both.
Prediction : Bengals 28 Patriots 10
Rematch
We’re ending Sunday with a rematch from the NFC Wild Card round and one of the best games of the playoffs. The storylines write themselves as Matthew Stafford and the Rams go to Detroit to play Jared Goff and the Lions. The Lions are coming off their most exciting season in decades, they were a few plays away from going to the Super Bowl and now they have expectations. They have an elite offense with Goff, Amon-ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams (hopefully a full season), Jahmyr Gibbs, and Sam Laporta. The Lions secondary was their weak spot last season, but after adding Carlton Davis, Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw that position was bolstered. And they’ll be tested right away against Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua.
Just like the playoff game, I expect this to be high scoring. Goff can throw for over 300 yards and two touchdowns, Stafford might do the same.
Prediction :Lions 38 Rams 31
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