Off Season News

The first two weeks of the NFL season have gone by and there is a lot to talk about. The league had an interesting off-season. Some players were in question whether they were going to report to training camp and play for their respective teams at the start of the season. Teams that underperformed last year restructured their management and coaching and are looking for a brand new beginning to this season.

Some of the players that were in question were Deshaun Watson and Aaron Rodgers. These two players are highly regarded around the league. Aaron Rodgers is the reigning Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Deshaun Watson is an elite quarterback (QB) and rising star in the league. In many people’s eyes both of these players are top 10 QBs in the league. They both were in question whether they were going to report this offseason because they did not like how their organizations handled things.

Other teams had to rebuild their staff, including the Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Atlanta Falcons, and the Jacksonville Jaguars. All of these teams hired someone new for the coaching and general manager position. The Houston Texans traded or did not try to re-sign any of the stars that they had and left Deshaun Watson out to rot. The Detroit Lions have always been bad with management in their organization and fired both Matt Patrica and Bob Quinn, who many believe ruined the future of this team due to poor draft picks. The Atlanta Falcons have not looked anywhere near the same since the tragic melt down in the Super Bowl in 2017. Lastly, the Jacksonville Jaguars, had similar problems to the Lions, but also managed to lose all of their stars, including Jalen Ramsey, Allen Robinson, and Calais Campell. 

Overview of the first two weeks of the season

In week 1 the Packers got dismantled by the Saints. People were questioning Aaron Rodgers and asking if he even wanted to play after that horrible performance. He had a QBR of 36.8 and threw for 133 yards with 0 touchdowns (TD) and 2 interceptions (INT). However, Aaron Rodgers, as usual, bounced back in week 2. He threw for 255 yards with 4 TDs and 0 INTs and his QBR was 145.6 and the Packers won. Houston won their first game against the Jaguars without Deshaun Watson but lost last week against the Browns. 

The Jags and Jets started their rookie quarterbacks and so far it has been anything but good. Both teams have started off 0-2 and while everyone expected that the rookie QBs have struggled. Trevor Lawrence, the number 1 pick in this year’s draft and QB for the Jags has 4 TDs on the season but has 5 INTs to go with it. Zach Wilson, the number 2 pick in this year’s draft and QB for the Jets has 2 TDs on the season and 5 INTs. It is expected that both of the rookie QBs would struggle out the gate. They both are on teams that are not well managed and are bottom feeders in their divisions year in and year out. However, both were drafted 1 and 2 in a quarterback heavy draft and in hope that they would be the face of the franchise. So far it has been anything but. Will they bounce back in week 3? 

Outside of that the NFL season has been off to an exciting start. The top dawgs look like they have come ready to do battle. The Chiefs are heavy favorites to win the AFC but had a tight game against the Browns and lost to the Ravens making them 1-1. The Rams and Bucs are 2-0 as everyone expected but the Panthers and Raiders are a bit of a surprise both teams being 2-0 and handling business in week 2. The Cardinals are looking very strong beating the Titans hands down in week 1 and outlasting the Vikings in week 2. Their QB Kyler Murray is playing on an MVP level with an average QBR of 121, throwing for 7 TDs and nearly 700 yards in the first 2 weeks. The NFL season is back and off to an interesting start. Can’t wait to see what’s in store for week.