B's NFL Preview

Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come. Tomorrow night, at about 8:25 the NFL season will be underway. There are so many intriguing storylines heading into this season as there always are, but the thing that I love about this NFL season is that the field is wide open to win the Super Bowl for the second year in a row. There are at least two true contenders in both conferences and here I am going to have my weekly rankings for games, teams, and a player of the week along with a team of the week.

The three biggest questions I have going into the season are:

1. Can Tom Brady's offensive line lead him to the promised land one final time this season?

2. How will Russell Wilson do in his new city (Denver)?

3. How bad will the loss of Davante Adams (Oakland Raiders) affect the Packers?

All of these questions will be answered in due time and at the middle of the season I will have an update for all of them. The one thing that isn't a question but something to watch is the wild card race in the AFC from week to week. There are some really good rosters that aren't going to be able to play in the postseason. For example, three of these teams are going to miss the playoffs: the Bengals, the Ravens, the Colts, the Titans, the Raiders, the Dolphins, the Broncos or the Chargers. The Bills and the Chiefs are the only locks I am giving to win the division but this year's AFC will be one of the best conferences in terms of top to bottom how good the teams are in the history of the NFL.

POWER RANKINGS

1. Los Angeles Rams - Super Bowl Champions. I know the Bills have a really good roster but so does the Rams. They lost a few pieces big pieces like Von Miller and Andrew Whitworth but that does not concern me since they have the best roster top to bottom in the league with an experienced Quarterback who just won the Super Bowl in Matthew Stafford. I love how good this team is, but I love how well they play together. It is not easy to do that when you have a team full of stars, but Sean McVay has somehow got this team to be a good, strong cohesive force.

2. Buffalo Bills - They are incredible. They have been so close to beating the Chiefs in back to back years and those playoff losses have left this team hungry for a ring. The only concern about this team people had was their defense and they just signed one of the greatest linebackers to ever play in Von Miller who has two Super Bowl rings now. We can talk about their offense but it is not much that needs to be said considering they scored 40+ points in both of their playoff games last year. This team could very well go all the way and if I was picking a team to win the AFC this year it would no doubt be them.

3. Kansas City Chiefs - They lost their best receiver in franchise history this offseason, but Tyreek Hill was surrounded with talent in Kansas City. The Chiefs have some wide receivers who really impressed last year, especially Mecole Hardman. Their front office went and got Juju Smith-Schuster in free agency this offseason and he's fully healthy which means this league is in trouble. Their defense will be good again, I don't think it will be top five, but they have some veterans who will come in handy for big games and the postseason when it comes. Their division is the best it has ever been so if they can come out of it, nobody will want to see this team come playoff time.

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Tom Brady. That is all you need to know about the Bucs, that Tom Brady is their Quarterback. He won't have as good an offensive line as he has in the past, but I don't think that will matter much until the playoffs and this issue is the reason there is such thing as the trade deadline. Their defense is really good and the younger guys finally have at least two years of experience which means it won't be as easy to score on their secondary as it has in the past.

5. Green Bay Packers - I kind of showed that I have doubts about their offense, but we all know how good Aaron Rodgers is so if he can receivers to get the ball to they are going to be a very dangerous team. He lost the best receiver in the game so it is very hard to make up for that loss, but on the bright side they still have a great running back in Aaron Jones. In addition, their defense is going to be very good, and is a defense that most NFL experts are saying is the best defense in the league.

6. Los Angeles Chargers - This team is young but last year they showcased what they can do. They have talent across the board and they are at the helm of a great Quarterback in Justin Herbert. He had a really good year last year and I am expecting him to pick back up right where he left off. They barely missed the playoffs last year but I feel confident that they will make it back.

7. Phillalphia Eagles - A very young team again, but they added a bunch of solid pieces in the offseason to become a team that is going to be really good this year. They have a quarterback that has always impressed me in Jalen Hurts and an offense that while still young is going to be a force to be reckoned with, especially their receiving core. Having a really good running back in Miles Sanders doesn't hurt either. Their defense has been good for years and I expect it to be good once again this year, Eagles fans are going to hate me for saying this but the NFC East is their's to lose given all the drama surrounding Dallas right now.

8. Cincinnatti Bengals - I don't think they are getting anywhere near the credit they deserve as the reigning AFC Champions. They had a defense that had question marks around it in last year's playoffs step up at every moment it needed to leading to their spot in the Super Bowl. I don't expect this team to go back there, but given what we saw last year, it would be foolish to think that this team couldn't go back to the Super Bowl and isn't going to be able to compete with the likes of the Chiefs or the Bills. They will be a strong team once again this year, do not sleep on them.

9. New Orleans Saints - Another year where the Saints are going to have a really good defense. They also are going to have a good offense with Jameis Winston back but they are going to have to makeup the loss of Alvin Kamara for the first six games. Mark Ingram being back with the Saints is big and honestly I think he'll have a good year, especially when Kamara comes back. The biggest news for them though, is Michael Thomas suiting up this weekend for them. Now it is another if and I hate hypotheticals but should he stay healthy, Jameis Winston is going to have one heck of a year with this guy to throw to.

10. Baltimore Ravens - For these guys it's all about health. Last year they were decent when they weren't healthy but also were blown out by the Bengals when they were healthy. I think if they stay healthy and that is a huge if, but if they manage to do that then they'll be a playoff team and maybe even a contender for the AFC Championship. They have one of the best Quarterbacks in the game in Lamar Jackson and they have a really solid Tight End. My question is what receiver will step up to make Lamar's job a lot easier. He has not had the best support in his passing game during his time in Baltimore, so as a fan of the game I am hoping for his and Baltimore's sake he can find some help.

Game of the week: It would be very easy for me to say that the game of the week is the Rams and the Bills, considering they are both in my top two, but that speaks for itself. I am all about the game inside the game, and the bigger picture of what a game means in the moment and down the road.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Dallas Cowboys (Sunday 8:25, NBC): The Dallas cowboys have almost always started off hot in the past ten or so years but always find themselves missing or leaving the playoffs early. This year I believe will be no different, but last year their year started off with a heartbreaking loss to this very same Tampa Bay Buccaneers who's quarterback skipped a big chunk of the NFL's Training Camp. I don't think it will be that big of a factor but considering that not much has changed about these two teams since the last time they met, I think we will be in for a treat Sunday night. I am really excited to watch Dallas' defense and how it defends the juggernaut of an offense that Tampa Bay has. The other thing to watch for is if Dallas has cut down on penalties, because they set a few ugly records for penalties which cost them numerous times down the stretch in close games.