Who’s Ready For Some Football!

Source: CBSSports.com

It’s that time of year again! Football is back! With the new NFL season kicking off tonight, I thought I would say what I am looking forward to this season and also what teams besides the Chargers I’ll be watching and keeping an eye on: (click the linked teams to see my more detailed evaluation of the team and how I think they’ll do this season.)

Source: Chargers.com

San Diego Chargers: After seeing what they looked like on the field during preseason, this team looks shaky still. Now I’ll start with Philip Rivers he still has the INT bug on him from last season. Now some of it can be put on weird occurrences or on the WR being in the wrong spot. Though, other times he is still making questionable throws and decisions with the ball. Other than that, Philip is still a great QB. He just need to clean that up for the Chargers to have a better season than last. I’ll also be watching the offensive line like the rest of you this season. They have had me worried for awhile now. They do not have a solid line at all. The left side blindside is a big risk. Now in the last preseason the line held up for rivers when he was in. The regular season is a whole different story once all the starters on both teams play the full game. I have a feeling Rivers might be hurried and sacked a lot this season. If the offensive line can’t hold up during the season, these new offensive weapons will be for nothing. I like the rest of the chargers fans can’t wait to see the new weapons in action.

I’m also excited to see how the defense plays this year. On that side I’m going to be watching Cason this season. After his not so good play last season I want to see if he has fixed his game for this year. Also, be watching the Defensive line and ends to see if they can finally have a good pass rush. The D-line needs to get good push up front to close pockets to let the rushers through. Of course then there is Ryan Mathews – he has got to be more durable this season with him saying he wants to step up and is ready to get the bulk of the carries this season. Starting the season with an injury is not good. Let’s hope he is fully healed and ready for the season. Then there is Nate Kaeding. He needs to comeback from last season’s injury and prove to us all he can make the kick with the game on the line. IF the Bolts get into the playoff race he has to prove he can make it when the season is on the line.

source: 49ers.com

San Francisco 49ers: This team is pretty much on everyone’s radar now after last season. I’m excited to see how this team has improved with the new additions to this aggressive defense and run game team. Now Alex Smith has seemed to have a good grasp on the offense now and can finally have some stability in a coach. Now is the time for them to bring it all together and make another playoff run.

I’m excited to see Randy Moss in this offense and seeing if he shows up this season. So far reports from players say he has. We’ll see. The running game will be great to see with the addition of Jacobs and LaMichael James. I want to see James do well. I’m a fan of the Oregon Ducks – watching him there was awesome. He will get a type of Darren Sproles type role but that is what he excels in doing. So it will add another weapon to what they already have. I also want to see Vernon Davis repeat and have a great season again this year. I think we all remember his awesome TD catch against the Saints last season in the playoffs.

Source: Buccaneers.com

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Now I am going to keep an eye on this team. With a new coach and defensive players and offensive players I want to see how Greg Schiano will handle this team. In the preseason, their defense looked good and aggressive and on the attack. Now at other times they look a little too aggressive and a have gotten out of position to make plays. It’ll be interesting as the season goes on how they learn as they go from week to week. Also the other big question with this team is Josh Freeman. During this preseason he has looked good in spots and bad in other. It’ll be interesting to see if he either gets better or struggles. With the addition of Vincent Jackson it is very important for him to get better. That leads me to the other problem from last season. The offensive line, they have been up and down this preseason. They need to be able to hold strong for Freeman but also for the run lanes for the run game to take some pressure off of Freeman and mix it up.

source: DenverBroncos.com

The AFC West: Now the big news of course Peyton Manning I want to see just like everyone else how he comes back from his neck injury along with the new team the Denver Broncos. Being a Chargers fan I’ll get to see his play twice. Still, to me he looks weird in the Broncos uniform. To me it looks like he is wearing a Halloween costume. Though I guess he is in the horse animal family with moving from being a Colt to being a Bronco. So does that mean Colts fans will still cheer for him? Cause he is still with a horse team. LOL!

Anyway, moving onto the other teams in the division the Chiefs to me have been quite. It’ll be interesting to see where this team is at when the chargers play them in the first meeting this season. Now for the raiders I haven’t heard much either. I know from the “highlights” of their preseason games not much exciting is going on. I could be wrong though I’ll see once the chargers play them on Monday Night.

Source: DetroitLions.com

The NFC North: This division is going to be so fun to watch! Finally you have the Detroit Lions who can contend with the Packers and Bears. Now the Bears of course have got Brandon Marshall which Jay Cutler is happy about. It’ll be cool to see where they are at with the rest of their division. Of course the Packers and Lions will get most of the headlines but the Bears are looking to come out strong. As for the Vikings well let’s see how Adrian Peterson does this season after his knee injury.

Source: HoustonTexans.com

Other teams I’ll be watching: Houston Texans (defense, offense, Foster, Johnson), New Orleans Saints (handling the coach/team situation), Washington Redskins (RG3) , New York Jets (obvious reasons), Baltimore Ravens (just like watching them play), Pittsburg Steelers (new system), Colts (Andrew Luck), Tennessee Titans (improvement and QB), Atlanta Falcons (can they put it all together this season), Cincinnati Bengals (improvement), Carolina Panthers (haven’t seen much of their games. Want to see more of them.)

It’s kickoff week, people! Who’s ready for some football! Leave in the comments what teams you are looking forward to watching this season or just what you want to see from your favorite team this season. Or if you are excited just to have football back on Sundays, Mondays, and now Thursdays! It’s been a long wait! The season is finally here, let’s go!