Men everywhere seem to be just a little happier8212;an extra pep accompanies their step and more smiles are gracing their faces. Is there something to blame for this unusual phenomenon?
It could be the color of the leaves. Perhaps a sweet autumn breeze can invigorate the mind as well as the body.
Or it could be that after nearly eight long months, the NFL is back!
Week one is in the books and after checking the tube on every possible occasion, a couple of things are clear:
The Bengals, Chiefs, Lions and Rams are going to suffer through another long, pathetic season.
On the flip side, the contenders are already emerging.
Drew Brees is leading a Saints offense that nobody can stop.
Ray Lewis finally had his prayer answered8212;the Ravens have an offense. Joe Flacco heads up a Baltimore team that can dominate on both sides of the ball.
Adrian Peterson is the best running back I have seen since Terrell Davis, and he doesn’t just run over defenders, he punishes them. If Brett Favre can throw to his own team more than the opponent, then the Vikings will be scary.
With a quality crop of good teams, who is the team to beat?
If there’s one thing you can count on when it comes to the NFL, it’s parity. Out of the clear blue sky, franchises suddenly resurrect themselves and make huge strides (see last year’s Cardinals).
In the past 10 years, only once has the previous year’s winner or the runner-up appeared in the next season’s Super Bowl8212;that being the ’05 New England Patriots, who won back-to-back titles.
This year, we will have a rematch of the ’08 Super Bowl, but this time, the Patriots will beat the New York Giants and officially become the team of the decade.
Two seasons ago, the Pats were one fluke Hail Mary away from being crowned the greatest team of all time.
Last season, Tom Brady was injured in the first half of the first game and the Patriots were still competitive. They ended up 11-5 with a quarterback that hadn’t started a game since high school.
Now Brady is back. He is healthy, ready and he still has that sour taste in his mouth from ’08. Remember earlier when I said nobody could stop the Saints? The Saints could only wish to have an offense like New England’s.
Brady stands behind the best offensive line in the business. Randy Moss and Wes Welker form the best receiving duo in the game to drive opposing coaches crazy. This is the team that made the term “running back by committee” popular and will come at teams with several stud backs.
Throw Joey Galloway and Fred Taylor into that equation, and it’s almost not fair.
The defense is missing a couple of key components, but it still gets the job done. Vince Wilfork, Adalius Thomas and Jerod Mayo are fierce and make the Pats 3-4 scary. The secondary gets a huge boost with the addition of Shawn Springs.
Put all this talent together, along with Bill Belichick’s mind, and the Pats will hoist the Lombardi Trophy for the fourth time in nine years this February.
You heard it here first.