10 Myths About 2016 NFL Season
It was a long, cold, dreary summer without the NFL, but at last the season is once again upon us. As the first kickoff looms many questions still hover over a once again unpredictable season: What will the Patriots do without Brady? Is Jordy Nelson as important as Packers fans seem to think he is? Did everyone in the Bay Area forget how to play football at once or was this a gradual thing? Will Carson Palmer shatter on impact? Will Tony Romo ever step on the field in Dallas again? The Chicago Bears are still a team, right? We did our best to address the biggest myths heading into the 2016 season.
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The Patriots Will be a Train Wreck Without Tom Brady
False: The Patriots are still the Vegas favorites at +700 for good reason: They still have the best coach of all-time, the best tight end of all-time, and 12 games with the best quarterback of all-time. They also operate very well when pissed off, something the league learned during the 18-1 season following Spygate. Now they're on year two of Deflategate, and even if pretty boy Brady backup Jimmy Garoppolo and the makeshift running game gets out of the gate slowly (they open in Arizona, but then have three home games, followed by Tom's return against the Browns), everyone should remember that New England went 2-2 to start three of their four Super Bowl winning seasons. They'll be fine.
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The Broncos Will be Fine Without Peyton Manning
Also False: The Broncos were barely fine with Manning, and now Denver has named their 2015 third-string option Trevor Siemian their 2016 tarter and placed him precariously behind a stitched together offensive line. Their defense still makes them dangerous in the AFC West, as does their average strength of schedule (including hosting their three toughest out-of-division opponents), but Kansas City's 10-game regular season streak and the rise of the Raiders could spell disaster in Big D.
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The Raiders Will Rise
True: Oakland is seeking its first winning season since losing in the 2003 Super Bowl. They may still be a year or two away, but they finished 7-9 last season in a tough division with two 11-plus win teams, they beat Denver and were within a touchdown in six of their losses. Now QB Derek Carr, LB Khalil Mack, and WR Amari Cooper headline a young and talented squad under head coach Jack Del Rio that's a year stronger and more experienced. If they can figure out their running game and start hot on the road they might be able to leapfrog either the Broncos or Chiefs in the wildcard.
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Cowboys QB Tony Romo Will be Back This Season
True: But only if Dallas is hovering around 4-4 on the strength of rookie RB Ezekiel Elliot and the recently impressive offensive line. If the Cowboys are floundering at, say, 1-7, there's no need to rush Romo back from such a serious injury. Same if they're succeeding with rookie QB Dak Prescott, who is already a darling in Dallas after throwing for five touchdowns and completing 78 percent of his passes in three preseason games. Of course, Jerry Jones would personally torture Romo on national TV if it means a few extra wins and a national audience talking about 'dem Cowboys, so anything is possible.
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The Arizona Cardinals Will be Even Better This Season
False: The Cardinals have won 10 games for three straight seasons under Bruce Arians, including going 13-3 and winning nine straight games in 2016. In that time, Arians has turned Carson Palmer from a pane-glass window in an MVP level quarterback, revived Larry Fitzgerald's career in the slot, and transformed David Johnson into Marshall Faulk 2.0. And that's just on offense. But recent history shows Arizona is a house of cards (pun intended) that can't afford to suffer a single serious injury. A difficult schedule that closes on the road in Seattle and L.A. gives them little room to breathe.
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Antonio Brown Will Recieve at Least One MVP Vote
False: Would you believe more placekickers have won MVPs than receivers? What about offensive tackles? Would you believe Jerry Rice grabbed 22 touchdowns in only 12 games in 1987 and lost to Elway's 19 passing TDs (and 12 INTs)? Brown has been the best receiver in the league for a few years, including an average of 1,677 yards and more than 10 touchdowns during the last three seasons. But even if he eclipses 2,000 yards, and even if he grabs 25 TDs, and even if the Steelers go 14-2 and destroy the AFC North, everyone will believe it was on the arm of Ben Roethlisberger.
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The Packers are NFC Favorites
Probably: The Cardinals are the sexy Super Bowl pick and Seattle and Carolina seem to be smart betting options, but Green Bay was 10-6 last year and nearly made the NFC title game, coming up an odd coin toss and a Larry Fitzgerald highlight short. Now Aaron Rodgers gets his favorite target back in Jordy Nelson, along with a fit Eddie Lacy, and the league's easiest schedule. If they can deal some of their depth at wide receiver to shore up their defensive line we might finally get the Rodgers v. Brady Super Bowl showdown we've all been anticipating for the last five years.
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The Redskins Will Repeat as NFC East champions
True: It would be the first repeat in the division since 2004, but Vine clip star and occasional Washington QB Kirk Cousins seemed to put it all together in the second half of last season. The team won its final four games and six of their last eight, and during that span Cousins averaged more than 275 yards passing and had four games with at least three touchdowns. SI's MMQB called Washington's offense one of the "best designed" in the NFL, which is pretty nice to hear when you also add star cornerback and Odell Beckham Jr. agitator Josh Norman to one of the league’s best secondary's. All that plus Romo's injury, Eli Manning's new coach, and Sam Bradford's existence, arguably makes Washington the team to beat in the NFC East.
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Andrew Luck Will Remember How to Play Football
True: Luck threw for 40 touchdowns and nearly 5,000 yards two seasons ago before injuring every part of his body: bum shoulder, torn abdominals, and lacerated kidney. He was 2-5 as a starter, compared to 6-3 for Matt Hasselbeck and holy-shit-is-that-Josh-Freeman (it was!), but Luck took Carolina to OT and beat the then-undefeated, now Super Bowl champion Broncos when he was healthy. If he can survive sitting behind his miserable offensive line he’ll earn his title of league highest paid player.
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The Lions are Doomed Without Calvin Johnson
False: The Lions are doomed, but not because of Megatron. No, it's mostly because they're the Lions and according to the Detroit Free Press, the offensive line "continues to struggle with basic tasks like run and pass blocking." Those are, by our estimates, the two important types of blocking. Johnson was good for drawing focus and bailing out QB Matt Stafford, but even he couldn’t save this team. Detroit's starters have not scored a touchdown in preseason and the defense has given up 90 points, Stafford has zero time to throw, the long snapper somehow landed on the IR, and despite having one of the easiest schedules, tied for 27th, it’s still tougher than division rivals Chicago and Green Bay.