JIM LANG’S 10 NFL THINGS

Are you ready for some football? Covid is still here, but at least we have the NFL to give us an escape from the stress and anxiety of day-to-day life.  

With that in mind, here are 10 things I am thinking about heading into week 1 of the regular season.  

1 – The defending champs – As a big wrestling fan, I have always loved the mantra of Ric Flair, ‘To be the best, you have to beat the best.’ The same applies in the NFL. The gold standard going into the 2021 season is Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Free from drama and relatively injury free, Brady (the ageless wonder) and the Bucs are not about to give up their Super Bowl title without a Hell in a Cell like dog fight. For all their weapons on offence, the Bucs front seven is very underrated. Just ask Patrick Mahomes what he thinks of Shaq Barrett and the Bucs D? The Bucs are well coached, they have depth on both sides of the ball, and they have (a still very motivated!) Tom Brady as their starting quarterback.  

2 – Old goats – From Tom Brady to Aaron Rodgers to Ben Roethlisberger and many others, there are a number of key players across the NFL either pushing 40, or in their 40’s. Rams offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth turns 40 in December and Montreal’s own, Long Snapper L.P. Ladouceur, has already turned 40. This is where sports science, diet, training, and knowledge plays a big factor. Also, the love of the game. Tom Brady doesn’t need money, heck, he hasn’t needed a paycheck for years. He works so hard every off season because he stills loves to play and compete. If any player is healthy enough and still loves to play, go for it.  

3 – Young guns – The flip side of age is youth. And the NFL has an impressive crop of young players coming into the league this season. To nobody’s surprise, the rebuilding Jacksonville Jaguars named their coveted first over-all draft pick Trevor Lawrence as their new starting quarterback. Justin Fields of the Bears and Trey Lance of the 49ers have the potential to be impact quarterbacks in the NFL. On the final day of August, the Patriots released veteran Cam Newton and then named rookie Mac Jones their new starting quarterback. And in my opinion, Chase Young of the Washington Football team has what it takes to be one of the top defensive players in the NFL for years to come.  

4 – The Washington Football team – Ay yes, I was just talking about Ron Rivera’s team. I like the addition of Ryan Fitzpatrick. He’s a veteran quarterback and will work well in Rivera’s system. It doesn’t hurt that the NFC East is, how shall I say, a tad dysfunctional. Chase Young headlines a solid defence and Logan Thomas is a legit, Pro Bowl caliber tight end. They can run the football effectively, they have talent in the receiving corps and if the hot and cold Fitzpatrick can minimize his ‘cold streaks’, Washington will be, at worst, a Wild Card team in the NFC.  

5 – Patrick Mahomes – This is a man on a mission. Losing a Super Bowl has given a hyper-competitive Mahomes even more incentive to train and study and work towards getting back to the big game next February. It doesn’t hurt that Mahomes still has Pro Bowlers like Travis Kelce to work with. The AFC West isn’t horrible, but the Chiefs are clearly the class of the Division and still one of the top teams in the AFC. Don’t be surprised to see Mahomes as a finalist as the league’s MVP and the Chiefs back in the Super Bowl at the end of the season.  

6 – A 17 game season – One extra game doesn’t look like much on paper. But ask any player around the NFL and one more game is one more chance they could suffer a serious, potentially season ending injury. The upside is that teams now have a little more wiggle room at the start of the season. Before, you go 0-2 to start the year, and your odds of making the playoffs are slim. Now, you go 0-2, and you still have 15 games to turn it around. It will be fascinating to see which teams are able to capitalize on that extra game to make the post-season.    

7 – Injuries – The season hasn’t started and there are a number of injuries around the league to keep an eye on. The biggest involves Colts quarterback Carson Wentz. Wentz underwent foot surgery this summer and it looks like he will be good to go for week one. Whether or not Wentz can stay healthy for any entire season is the big question in Indianapolis. Wentz has a long list of injuries and surgeries before he even arrived in Colts camp, and now this. The Saints are not sure when receiver Michael Thomas will be healthy enough to play. If they’re lucky, they might get Thomas back by week 3. If I was a Cowboys fan, I would be a little concerned for Dak Prescott’s shoulder.  

8 – California dreaming – Matt Stafford going to the LA Rams is a marriage made in football heaven. Thanks to Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey, the Rams already have one of the very best defensive units in the NFL. The addition of Stafford gives the Sean McVay and the Rams a large upgrade at quarterback. And because of their excellent defence, Stafford and the Rams offence don’t need to score a ton of points to win games. Stafford will be surrounded by the likes of Tyler Higbee, Robert Woods, DeSean Jackson and Cooper Kupp. To fill the void at running back, the Rams picked up Sony Michel from the Patriots for draft picks. I don’t think Jared Goff is a bad quarterback, I just think Stafford is a major upgrade at quarterback and makes the Rams a better team. The 49ers are no slouch either, setting up two fantastic division matchups this season.  

9 – Fantasy football sleepers – I am looking for receivers Emmanuel Sanders in Buffalo and Jalen Reagor in Philadelphia to have productive seasons. I really like Tampa Bay tight end Cameron Brate as a depth player on my fantasy team. Brate caught 34 passes for 282 yards in the regular season, then he caught 19 passes for 175 yards in only four playoff games. I LOVE receiver Michael Pittman Jr from the Colts. Outside of some of the top rookie quarterbacks coming into the league, look for Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts and Dolphins receiver Jaylen Waddle (more young guns!) to put up some impressive numbers this year.  

10 – Covid – Even though Covid is still here, the NFL is not about to let a pandemic get in the way of another season. So much so, Commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL have laid down some very strict and punitive rules for players and teams that violate the league’s Covid protocols. If a team has a Covid outbreak and it causes a game to be cancelled, the team with the outbreak forfeits the game. And that is just the start. The team with the outbreak will also cause players from both teams to lose a game check! The NFL is telling everyone to get vaccinated and follow their Covid protocols, or else! One thing is for sure, they will not alter the schedule in any way to accommodate a team that had a Covid outbreak.   

Rod will like this one, in week one of the 1978 NFL season, Roger Staubauch threw a 91-yard touchdown to Tony Dorsett as the Dallas Cowboys beat the Baltimore Colts 38-0. Somehow, I don’t see the Cowboys pulling off a win like that in week one this season.  

That is all for now, I am looking forward to sharing my thoughts with everyone throughout the season. I will talk to you next week. Loving it!  

(Follow Jim on Twitter at @JimLangSports)