2023-09-07 15:25:07
At least for the top teams last season, everything remained the same when it came to playmakers. Patrick Mahomes starts his mission to defend his title against the Lions. The Chiefs want to be the first team since the New England Patriots under Tom Brady in the 2004/05 season to bring the Lombardi Trophy “back to back” to Kansas City. Speaking of Brady: This time the 46-year-old pulled off his second resignation in the spring. For the first time in 23 years, a season will take place without the seven-time Super Bowl winner.
It’s not just last year’s finalists Philadelphia Eagles and their playmaker Jalen Hurts who want to prevent Mahomes and Co. from repeating. Joe Burrow and his Cincinnati Bengals, as well as the Buffalo Bills led by Josh Allen, are once again standing in the way of the Chiefs as their toughest competitors. This includes San Francisco, where the former “Mr. Irrelevant” Brock Purdy, after recovering from an elbow injury, is supposed to prove that he wasn’t a flash in the pan, also one of the hottest final candidates. The 58th Super Bowl will take place on February 11th in Las Vegas.
Archyde.com/USA Today Sports/Kirby Lee Mahomes (r.) and the Chiefs are also the favorites for the Lombardi Trophy this year
Experienced veterans in a new environment
Thanks to a spectacular swap deal, the New York Jets also joined the ranks of title candidates in one fell swoop. The 1969 Super Bowl winner guided superstar Aaron Rodgers, who after 18 successful years no longer felt sufficiently valued by the management of the Green Bay Packers, to the “Big Apple”. Similar to Brady in 2020 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the 39-year-old, who was voted Most Valuable Player (MVP) four times, should become the missing piece of the puzzle in a highly talented team and the battle cry “JETS – Jets, Jets, Jets” will no longer cause mild smiles among opponents. but give you goosebumps again.
Rodgers is by far the most prominent, but not the only established quarterback who is expected to bring a breath of fresh air after a change of location. The Las Vegas Raiders brought Jimmy Garoppolo on board after he was out of contract with the San Francisco 49ers due to a new foot injury. The 31-year-old, who led the 49ers to the finals in the 2019/20 season, replaced volley Derek Carr, who was retired after nine seasons as a starter for the team with the distinctive robber logo. The New Orleans Saints said thank you and quickly secured the services of the 32-year-old.
Archyde.com/USA Today Sports/Robert Deutsch Rodgers is the most prominent veteran to be seen in new gear next season
Speaking of robbers: The retirement of NFL legend Brady also left the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a vacancy on the quarterback market. Baker Mayfield finally got the contract. The former college star was given a second chance to live up to his previous praise. In 2018, the 28-year-old was drafted as a potential “savior” by the Cleveland Browns as number one. Mayfield became an star, but could never really fulfill the hopes of golden times on Lake Erie.
Big pressure on beginners
The pressure of great expectations also weighs on those playmakers who are starting their first season as starters this year. The biggest one might be Jordan Love in Green Bay. Because the 24-year-old has to prove that he can fill the deep shoes of “Hall of Famer” Brett Favre and Rodgers. The duo gave Packers fans the unique situation in the NFL of being able to admire two superstars as playmakers for around 30 years.
Love also plays as a representative of general manager Brian Gutekunst’s future. He invested a lot in the 2020 draft to secure the rights to Love. This made Gutekunst extremely unpopular, especially with Rodgers. A personal animosity that culminated this year in the farewell of the playmaker who led Green Bay to the last of four Super Bowl titles in 2011. Gutekunst could follow the quarterback if he backed the wrong horse with Love.
AP/Mike Roemer It’s not just the die-hard Packers fans who want Love to make a full impact in Green Bay
While Love was able to learn from a superstar for three years with the Packers, top quarterback picks in this year’s draft are thrown into the proverbial deep end by their teams. With the Carolina Panthers, Bryce Young has to prove that he was rightly chosen number one without a long adjustment period. The same fate befalls CJ Stroud, who was chosen immediately after Bryce, because the Houston Texans are also going into the coming season with their hoped-for “franchise quarterback”.
Raimann also protects the new starter
Bernhard Raimann is also looking after a rookie in his second season in the National Football League. This year, Anthony Richardson will distribute the balls behind the offensive liner for the Indianapolis Colts. With the playmaker chosen as number four, neo-coach Shane Steichen is setting a real example for a new start. Because in the last two years the experiments with the veterans Carson Wentz and Matt Ryan went badly wrong.
By the way: The example of Trey Lance also shows that an early draft position is not necessarily a blessing or a guarantee of golden times. Drafted by San Francisco in 2021 as number three and potential face of the five-time title winner, the 23-year-old is starting the new season as a substitute for the Dallas Cowboys. A broken ankle in the second game of last season and the unexpected rise of Purdy – taken last in the draft in 2022 – ended Lance’s time in California.
National Football League
Donnerstag, September 7: Kansas City Detroit 8:21 PM Monday, September 10: Cleveland Cincinnati Baltimore Houston Pittsburgh San Francisco Indianapolis Jacksonville Washington Arizona Minnesota Tampa Bay New Orleans Tennessee Atlanta Carolina New England Philadelphia LA Chargers Miami Denver Las Vegas Chicago Green Bay Seattle LA Rams NY Giants Dallas Montag, September 11: NY Jets Buffalo
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