Any Given Monday

By Hamish Girvan

The 2023 NFL season kicks off on Friday PM NZ time and it doesn’t seem that long ago since Rhianna performed her epic halftime show and Super Bowl XVII.

The off season always provides the narratives for the season ahead and the biggest one is no doubt aloof and future Hall of Fame quarterback, Aaron Rodgers,  joining the much maligned and underwhelming New York Jets. The team has a history of acquiring players who will take Superbowl to Broadway City however it has never quite panned out. They have solved a quarterback problem with Rodgers arrival but can he take them to the next level in the now competitive AFC East division once owned by the New England Patriots (expected to be the division cellar dwellers this season).

We will see this weekend how much progress has been made however is Hard Knocks curse real ? (The New York were the 2023 Hard Knocks team)

This will also be the first season since 2001 where one Tom Brady is not under centre for any NFL team. Like many veterans his final season finished with a whimper and his Tampa Bay spot has been taken by Baker Mayfeild. Prediction that a top 5 draft pick awaits the Buccaneers next season.

 

The reigning Super Bowl Champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, look as though nothing will change in terms of having too much of a fallback however back to back Super Bowls are as rare as a Detroit Lions playoff appearance. They will be there or thereabouts barring any Patrick Mahomes injury. They are not a one man team but some different pieces to the puuzzle this season may make them not quite as dominant as usual.

A number of new head coaches have their work cut out for them in their first season, none more so than Shane Steichen at the Indianapolis Colts. Not only does he have a rookie quarterback in Anthony Richardson but their main offensive player, Running Back Jonathan Taylor, has kind of gone on strike after demanding a trade which never happened then saying he’s unable to play the first four games. Watch this space however Steichan may have to do without him for the season if this carries on.

 

Some other storylines to watch

 

• Can new head coach Sean Payton fix Russelll Wilson, the Denver Broncos quarterback ?
• How many games will the Arizona Cardinals win ? Prediction is none as the season tank already started with them trading a number of their key players before the season begins
• Will San Franscico 49ers reject quarterback Trey Lance take the field for the Dallas Cowboys ? He’s currently the 3rd string quarterback on the Cowboys depth chart
• How many games will it take before Aaron Rogers starts calling out the New York Jets organisation as incompetent ?

From a broadcast viewpoint NFL coverage in New Zealand is pretty good this season. ESPN will have at least one live game broadcast on Monday mornings and the usual Monday and Tesday PM matchups as well as the Friday PM game (Thursday nights in the USA)

New sports streaming platform, TVNZ on Demand will have two live matches a week and one delayed during the regular season, plus 12 playoff games and the Super Bowl.

https://twitter.com/NFLAustralia/status/1689138745076015104?s=20

 

There is also the NFL streaming service now via DAZN however at approx $320 for 12 months (it’s becoming expensive for hard core fans)

The NFL app also has delayed short game highlights

Division winner predictions:

 

NFC East – Dallas Cowboys

NFC West – San Francisco 49ers

NFC North – Minnesota Vikings

NFC South – New Orleans Saints

 

AFC East – Miami Dolphins

AFC West – Kansas City Chiefs

AFC North – Baltimore Ravens

AFC South – Jacksonville Jaguars

 

Lets gooooooo………………….

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