On Wednesday night, the eternal rivals took each other on under the bright prime time lights of the MetLife Stadiun in New York, with the Super Bowl champions, Giants hosting the Cowboys in the season opener.
The Cowboys managed to overcome the Giants home crowd to take an important first-up win: and given its the ever competitive NFC East, the win could go a long way to establishing the Cowboys' playoff credentials this season.
After all, there's Michael Vick and the always exciting Philadelphia Eagles & if Robert Griffin III explodes from the start as I tip him to, the Washington Redskins could be in it too - they really only needed a decent quarterback for what is quite a good team on paper already.
The NFC East could be the division to watch but there are a few other reasons why the 2012 NFL season could be the most open and greatest yet.
1) Depth at quarterback - if last year was a golden year for quarterbacks, this year could go platinum. The 2012 NFL draft had the best senior QB class in years with Luck going 1st in the draft and RG3 going not too after. Add the outstanding Cam Newton from last year's draft to the list along with the regulars (you know like that Rodgers guy, and Brady dude, etc) and there are too many good QBs to choose from. I feel a bit sorry for you Cardinals fans, then stuck with John Skelton and Kevin Kolb.
2) Manning Senior is Back - the best quarterback of his generation is back after over a year on the sidelines. He may no longer be in blue and white but trust me, Peyton Manning will be out to show in blue and orange that he's not a spent force and that the Colts were wrong to let him go. And this is bad news for the likes of the Raiders, Chiefs and Chargers in what was already an up-and-down division. Manning could be the right quarterback for a Broncos team that was actually rather good and was perhaps held back by the limitations of Tim Tebow. And of course, Denver is already familiar with mid-30 year old quarterbacks; no they relish them if you recall a Mr Elway.
3) Bounty Gate - make no mistake, the smash-for-cash antics of Gregg Williams' teams have definitely given the NFL a bad mark that they have been quite quick to wipe out from memory. While Williams and head coach, Payton have been sidelined for the season, the guilty linesmen including Saints defensive captain, Justin Vilma, have had their penalties rescinded on appeal meaning they will line up for the Saints as they aim to break the Super Bowl host curse. Nevertheless, all that drama often results in teams eager to show that their game is clean. And that could only be good news for fans as well as players whose health has been of greater concern in recent years after a spate of early retirements due to multiple concussions.
4) AFC North - The AFC's answer to the NFC East. The AFC North is undoubtedly the most brutal division of them all and if last season is anything to go by - the rise of the Dalton-Green duo at the Bengals along with the ever flexing muscles of the Steelers and Ravens - it will be as brutal as ever. The Steelers and Ravens have had issues in the off-season in offense but one reckons they should be in the business end of the season in January.
5) Jim and John - the chances of this brotherhood making the Super Bowl are ever better now. The San Francisco 49ers appear to be a better balanced team than last season having made some great acquisitions in the O - Mario Manningham and Brandon Jacobs have joined from the NY Giants. The 49ers were already excellent during Jim Harbaugh's first season as head coach on the west side of the Bay with undoubtedly the best defence in the NFC. Brother John has issues to sort out with the Ravens' offence but in Ray Lewis et al, the defence speaks for itself. My early early tip for the Super Bowl - and one that the media will love.
The season finally kicks off proper on Sunday. Are you ready for some football?
No comments:
Post a Comment