Football is back tonight! That feels wonderful to say. We have the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs taking on the up-and-coming Detroit Lions on NBC in what should be a captivating, high scoring affair.
I honestly can’t remember a time I was this excited for a football season. Last year was awesome, capped off by a legendary Super Bowl, but I expect the theatre to reach new heights this upcoming season.
I was thinking about putting together a power rankings list, but that’s not nearly as thrilling as firing off some hot takes. Also, there’s so much beauty in posting one of these at this stage of my blog. I’m basking in the anonymity. If I’m right, I have written evidence to refer back to and take my victory lap. If I’m dead wrong, the handful of readers I currently have probably won’t remember, care, or both! And that’s totally cool with me. So I’m swinging for the fences here and hoping you scoff at a minimum of two out of the five.
New York Jets Make the AFC Championship Game
I’ll admit it, I’m a sucker for the hype. I’m buying what GM Joe Douglas is selling above asking price. I’m gobbling up the behind the scenes propaganda of HBO’s “Hard Knocks” series. I just think this is going to be an incredibly fun team that wins a bunch of games in a row.
QB play is ultimately what held the Jets out of the playoffs last year and now they have an all-time great calling the shots. He has his guy Nathaniel Hackett as the offensive coordinator, he seems to be invigorated and already super comfortable in New York. You could say he was just average last year, but I think the league is about to be reminded how good Rodgers really is when he’s dialed in and pissed off.
Rodgers joins a roster that’s absolutely loaded at the large majority of positions, especially on defense, which should be a top 5 unit. On offense, he has an elite tailback tandem behind him in Breece Hall and Dalvin Cook. We’ve already seen him thrive in an offense with two different kinds of RBs at his disposal in Green Bay. And then there’s Garrett Wilson out wide, who looks to me like a young and spry Davante Adams wearing #17.
I’m drawing the line at making the AFC Championship game mostly because I wonder if head coach Robert Saleh can outsmart the class of the AFC when it counts. The Bills, Chiefs and Bengals are all well coached behemoths jonesing for a Super Bowl Appearance.
Pittsburgh Steelers Win The AFC North
The Steelers aren’t winning the AFC North. I’m not entirely sure why I’m including this one here. I just sort of feel compelled to do so. To be fair, it always feels like the Steelers are never that bad under head coach Mike Tomlin. Death, taxes, black & yellow relevance.
It’s only a real stretch because of the indirect shade I’m throwing the Ravens and the Bengals’ way. They don’t deserve that. One of the two probably wins this division 8/10 times, but something is telling me not this year. I just don’t feel like the talent on the offensive side of the ball in this division drastically outweighs Pittsburgh’s. Is that absurd to say? George Pickens is a freak athlete ready to explode and Najee Harris, Diontae Johnson and Pat Freiermuth are all capable of making big plays. Every single report out of training camp has been overwhelming positive and apparently they have some more studs in the pipeline, headlined by Jaylen Warren.
The biggest discrepancy is obviously at quarterback and if Kenny Pickett flops, this take will be beyond pathetic. We shall see.
Dameon Piece Finishes The Year As A Top 3 Fantasy Running Back
Pierce is an absolute workhorse and nobody’s talking about it. Deservedly so I guess, he got hurt towards the end of last year and Houston was dreadful. Myself included, watching any other game took priority over watching the Texans.
I swear he reminds me of Marshawn Lynch a little bit. He’s one of those old school, physical, angry runners that refuses to go down. He was sidelined for a portion of his rookie year and it’s still astonishing how many different clips I could plug here.
Houston will probably be lousy again this year, but not as bad as they were in 2022. The offensive line lost a piece or two recently, but should be greatly improved and developments out of camp are indicative of Pierce being an every down back. As long as he stays healthy, he could casually bulldoze his way into the top 3 running back conversation by season’s end.
He also acts the part of an upper echelon running back. You can’t overlook that. His charisma, his presence and his swagger fit the bill. Do you think a bottom of the barrel, irrelevant player would be wearing a pink shirt, flashy necklace and interview his head coach with such poise and without stutter?
Trevor Lawrence Wins Most Valuable Player
I’m all in on Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars this season. I feel like people forget how highly touted of a prospect he was because of his lackluster rookie year. The naysayers conveniently choose to remember Lawrence struggling, but turn a blind eye to Urban Meyer making a mockery of himself and a mess of the Jaguars in 2021.
This year, he’s poised to take the next step in the middle of what should be a very dangerous offense. They got a taste of the playoffs last year and I’m thinking they’re ready to rock in 2023. Doug Pederson is a magician with the playbook and has a shiny new toy in Calvin Ridley, along with a plethora of weapons to distribute the ball to.
The Jaguars’ division also isn’t all that intimidating, which makes their schedule fairly soft. Don’t look now, but Lawrence will be getting favorable matchups to put up monster numbers on a weekly basis.
Regardless if he wins MVP or not, I think it’s going to be very hard not to include his name in the same breath as Jalen Hurts, Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes after this season.
Carson Wentz Returns To The NFL For A Playoff Run
This is more of a manifestation than a prediction. How funny would this be? The Philadelphia castaway, the failed project, the bruised and battered journeyman returns with vengeance. It’d be comedic gold. It’s a hero arc that the talking heads in the major media outlets dream of.
It’s safe to say Carson is ready to get back in the saddle, too. Reports have surfaced he’s not ready to hang up the cleats and searching for a new home. Perfectly on brand, he’s marketing himself in the best way he knows how. A little bit confusing, a little bit cringe, but oddly intriguing.
Football is a violent sport and unfortunately, injuries happen all the time. It was just last year the San Francisco 49ers found themselves in a pickle after Brock Purdy tore a ligament in his right elbow and backup Josh Johnson suffered a concussion. Head coach Mike Shanahan later revealed the plan was to yank Philip Rivers out of retirement (who was apparently on board) to face the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, had the 49ers gotten past the Eagles in the NFC Championship game.
I’m half joking with this, but it’s not like we haven’t seen teams be in a pinch for a serviceable quarterback before. You know what they say, the most entertaining outcome is also the most likely…
geryblogs 
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