The NFL regular season kicks off in 2 weeks. Is it me, or did it seem like this off-season drug on forever???

The most obvious question starting every season, is who’s going to win the Super Bowl? But, with every new season we ask a few other questions as well like……. What team is going to fall apart and just suck? What team is going to improve the most? Who’s going to win the MVP? Which coach is going to get fired first?

There was no “big name free agent” signing this season. The closest you could come to that was Saquon Barkley leaving the Giants for division rival Eagles. In my opinion, Philadelphia moving to Barkley, from last season’s back D’Andre Swift, is a lateral move at best to begin the season.

At the quarter back position, it was Kirk Cousins leaving Minnesota for Atlanta. Coming along with the move, was a whole heap of trouble and stupidity on everyone’s part. Beginning with Cousins admitting at his introductory press conference on LIVE TV, that he broke the rules, by talking to the Falcons head athletic trainer, the day before he signed.

It later came out, that the Falcons violated league rules by contacting wide receiver Darnell Mooney and tight end Charlie Woerner, early as well. The league “punished” the team by stripping away a 2025 fifth-round draft pick and fined the team $250,000. They also fined team General Manager Terry Fontenot $50,000. This was a complete slap on the wrist and a joke.

The best free agent signing goes to the Jacksonville Jaguars, for landing safety Darnell Savage on a 3-year, $21.75 million dollar contract. While fellow safety Xavier McKinney got the most money at the position group; Savage is just as good and cost half the price. Darnell brings veteran and playoff leadership to a young secondary room, and to a team that was just barely out of the playoffs last season.

The best game of the season might actually be the very first game of the regular season. Thursday Night, September 5th, on NBC Peacock (don’t get me started). We have a rematch of last season’s AFC Championship Game. The Baltimore Ravens travel to play the two-time Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. Game starts at 8:20 PM.

The Ravens are coming into the game looking for revenge, but also a change in attitude on offense. They went out and signed bruising running back Derek Henry. That’s added on top of quarterback Lamar Jackson‘s running ability, as well as his improved passing numbers. All they need now is for their wide receivers to actually go out there and do something. They always have a great defense and that’s the case with star safety Kyle Hamilton and linebacker Roquan Smith.

The Chiefs had a very noisy off-season. The Kelce-Swift gambit is still going strong, wide receiver Rashee Rice is facing jail time for 8 felony charges against him, as well as kicker Harrison Butker coming under fire for his personal religious beliefs.

The Chiefs have the best quarterback in the league with Patrick Mahomes. But, the team does have some questions going into the season. Who else besides tight end Travis Kelce is catching the football? They do have the best defensive tackle in the game with Chris Jones. He just dominates wherever he lines up.

Could these two teams meet once again in the conference championship game?

The best off-season coaching hire is easily the Tennessee Titans bringing in offensive line coach Bill Callahan. The old man’s son Brian was hired as the new head coach, and the allure of working for his son, was too much. It’s an excellent move by itself, even more so when you look at how bad the offensive line play was last season. Bill is going to come in there and fix that up, right, quick and proper.

The Top Ten Players in the NFL are always debatable and let’s be honest, biased to an extent. The facts are simple here. Regardless of position they are; QB Mahomes, WR Jefferson, HB McCaffrey, DE Garrett, DE/OLB Watt, DT Jones, WR Hill, QB Jackson, QB Allen, LT Williams. Whatever order you deem suitable, probably has a valid argument.

It’s an offensive heavy list with seven of them being from that side of the ball, and with the league office wanting it that way, it won’t be changing much. That’s also what makes the three defensive players on the list, so special. They find ways to affect the game, despite all the new rules changes to continue to occur. Enjoy them while you can folks.

The “Suprise and Watchout” team seems to be the Chicago Bears. Lots of people are talking about rookie quarterback Caleb Williams and that he has players at the skill positions, to help him more in his first season, than previous quarterback Justin Fields had in his whole stint.

Looking at the Bears roster, they have a decent team. Their wide receiver room has potential to cause serious problems for opposing secondaries. The offensive line finished well last season and is ranked 11th overall. If Williams just distributes the ball and cuts down mistakes, he’ll do alright in his debut season.

Their starting defense has some great young players. Defensive end Montez Sweat had 12.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and 51 total tackles. He also signed a contract extension. Linebackers Edwards and Edmunds make a great pair, that covers sideline to sideline. They’re biggest problem has always been quarterback play and injuries. They finished 7-10 last season. If they can hold up through the first half of the season, they’ll be playing for a possible division title because all 6 of their division games, fall after Week 10.

As for my predictions, I think at the end of the day, it’s almost all going to go chalk. The Chiefs get the #1 seed, followed by Ravens, Bills, Texans winning their divisions. The Dolphins, Browns, and Jaguars getting the wildcards. It’ll all weave it’s way to exactly what we had last season. Chiefs vs Ravens. Again.

In the NFC, they’ll be a bit of noise. The 49ers secure the #1 seed, by a hair. The Cowboys and Lions will be chalk, winning the east and the north. I’m picking the Atlanta Falcons to win South. The Wildcard teams will be the Packers, Eagles and Rams. The conference championship will be the just like last season. Lions vs 49ers.

Not all is lost though, as my Super Bowl bold prediction is.

The Detroit Lions vs the Baltimore Ravens.

Yes, I’m going the complete opposite of everything last season.

Lamar Jackson is going to get all the pundits and sports media, to shut their pieholes about how he chokes in the playoffs.

The Ravens running game of Henry and Jackson wear down a rugged and tough Lions defense, to pull away in the 4th quarter.

Ravens win 38 – 24.

by – Sean McKenzie

Follow me on X (Twitter)…..JoeAmerican6771 and OhioMan1776.

Stats and information courtesy of…..NFL, ESPN, spotrac, pff, and profootballreference.

Pictures courtesy of…..msn, yahoosports, heavy, and usatoday.