Day 1: Biggest Questions this NFL Season

After a long tumultuous summer filled with skepticism and doubt, the NFL season has finally arrived.

To kick off the season tonight we have the defending champs, the Kansas City Chiefs, facing off against the Houston Texans in what will be a rematch from this last postseason. Due to COVID-19 ravaging the country there were no preseason games and offseason training has been very limited. This has raised some eyes for NFL fans like myself who don’t know what to really expect this season. Nonetheless, football is here finally, and with that comes many questions that I have for this season:

How will the games look?

Big question fans like myself are wondering is what will the games look like as far as the presentation goes. As many know, most NFL teams will go this year without having fans in the arena as other sports have. There are a select few teams that will however host fans, including the defending champions tonight, so we might not see exactly how that will look until Sunday games. You look at the good job the NBA has done with their bubble and how they have rigged it to give us the best viewing experience possible. I think the NFL will face challenges that will just be out of their control which worries me about the entertainment product we will be getting.

Since the NFL will not be going the bubble route and will instead be playing in their stadiums, we will be seeing nothing but empty seats which will be depressing in my opinion. It’s nothing like having the fans there generating energy for the home team to bring home the win or giving them some sort of advantage, i.e. the Saints’ dome or the 12th man for the Seahawks. Instead, the NFL will be pumping in crowd noises at a set decimal level with personalized chants for every team. How this will look in an empty stadium might not matter depending on how NFL cameras are able to catch the game but it seems inevitable that it will diminish the product for some fans.

Also, the commentators will have a lot of responsibility to make the games as enjoyable as possible. When you watch some sports you see a similar problem of how analysts struggle to figure out when to talk, when not to, and when they’re just talking too much. With how slow baseball goes, you just hear the commentators just dragging on with useless topics because nothing is really going on, or during deadball situations in the NBA they will just bring up random stuff like pickleball, thanks Jeff Van Gundy, because it is so quiet when there is no action going on. So that said, these analysts have a lot on their shoulders to make these games as fun as possible to watch, but with the quality of analysts we have to call NFL games we shouldn’t have too high hopes for that.

Can Lamar Jackson and Ravens take the next step in the Playoffs?

A lot of eyes will be on the Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson this season. As the full-time starter for the Ravens last year, he played big and dazzled for that team leading them to a 14-2 record last year, while winning MVP honors. The team had one of the better offensive attacks matched with a ferocious defense that left them with a lot of lopsided wins. But as the story from his rookie season, all that success came down to an abrupt halt in the postseason which leaves many questioning can Lamar lead the Ravens to a Super Bowl.

The way the Ravens lose in both playoffs under Lamar is the reason why this is such a big question for me. As I stated, Lamar has a ton of success in the regular seasons but a recurring theme so far for Lamar is being down big in a game and not being able to come back from it, situations he found himself in his two playoff games. And when you compare him to other young up and coming QBS he’s the sole one that doesn’t have that big playoff win under his belt. Dak Prescott has won a playoff game, Deshaun Watson had an epic comeback last postseason, and Mahomes is the reigning SB MVP so his contemporaries are already proving that they can at least lead you to a win in the playoffs, Lamar hasn’t yet.

Now all those failures don’t fall solely on Lamar cause when you look at how the team is constructed they aren’t built to be in those types of come from behind battles. They don’t have an elite receiver that you can push the ball downfield for and that could be what is holding the team back, someone excellent who you can pair with Lamar to help him develop as a passer. But if the Ravens decide to coach Lamar differently this season with less designed runs you could be decreasing the impact Lamar has on a game. Only time will tell for the Ravens but one thing for sure, Lamar has to win a playoff game this season.

Can the Bucs buy themselves a championship?

The Tampa Bay Bucs have done A LOT this offseason as far as bringing guys in. The biggest piece obviously is the GOAT Tom Brady along with his trusted sidekick Rob Gronkowski. But they also brought in Shady McCoy and Leonard Fournette to buffer up that run game. Some of their moves on defense have been underrated but resigning key guys like JPP and Suh along with keeping Shaquil Barrett is key for this team as they had one of the better defense the second half of the season.

Now with all those big flashy moves you still have to execute on the field and without preseason games to gauge your team that could be a challenge for this team. You have to wonder are the reps in practice going to be good enough to make this a well-oiled offense we are used to seeing under a Brady. Not to mention they are in a competitive division led by the Saints who have gotten better with some of their moves. The Falcons shouldn’t be slept on either as they are some moves on defense away from being back in the SB possibly. And when you look outside the division the task is that much daunting with the powerhouse teams in the NFC. Much to say, I don’t believe the Bucs are making it to the Super Bowl.

Cheers to another NFL season, and prayers to the players. Kickoff tonight is 8:20 p.m.