The New York Giants and Buffalo Bills already officially kicked off the NFL season in the Hall of Fame game, but the meat of the season is really getting started this weekend when the rest of the Week 1 preseason games start.
Although most of them won’t be on national television, it’s worth looking out for these 10 storylines in media reports, highlights and the full games, for those of us who can bear watching four quarters of a preseason game.
What will Tampa Bay’s new offense look like?
Many analysts have already selected the Buccaneers to be the comeback team of the year after having the worst offense in the league last season. They added Mike Evans in the draft to run next to Vincent Jackson, Doug Martin is healthy now and they signed Josh McCown.
McCown has a history of being generally bad prior to playing with Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall, and new head coach Lovie Smith has a history of being a run-first guy. Lots of unanswered questions here, with Martin’s health and McCown’s play, but they’ll be answered sooner, rather than later, especially with McCown.
Johnny Manziel capturing everyone’s attention
Saturday night, when the Browns take on the Lions on NFL Network, all eyes will be on Cleveland’s sideline, waiting to see when Johnny Manziel is going to take his first snap. Will it be with Josh Gordon to throw to? Will it be with the second team?
Brian Hoyer will start this one, but Manziel is sure to get in the game in the second and third quarters, and whether he puts on a show or flounders, it’ll be great drama one way or another.
Blake Bortles flies under the radar
Because of Manziel’s popularity, the fact that Bortles was picked No. 3 overall seems to be overlooked. Chad Henne got a new contract this offseason, so he’ll presumably be the starter in Week 1 of the regular season, but seeing how Bortles develops in the preseason is an underrated storyline, that should be getting more notice because of where he was picked.
Teddy Bridgewater continues to compete for starting job
Bridgewater went from the guy who no one wants, to the guy who everyone wants, but not until after he was drafted. The former Louisville Cardinal road the draft roller coaster harder than anyone in recent memory, but his competition in Minnesota isn’t very tough.
If Bridgewater turns out the be the best quarterback in this draft like many predict him to be — he’ll at least have to start out by beating Matt Cassel for a job.
Jay Gruden takes over in Washington
One of the most-followed storylines last season was the falling out in Washington. It started with rumors of Robert Griffin III fighting with Mike Shanahan, led to Griffin being benched for the last few games of the season in favor of Kirk Cousins and continued with both Shanahans leaving Washington and being replaced by Jay Gruden.
Gruden inherited what was already an above-average offense, and they added DeSean Jackson in the offseason and made some improvements on the offensive line. Unfortunately, the defense is on track to be one of the worst in the league once again, so Gruden will need to create a high-powered offense to be competitive this season.
Johnson, Decker and Vick all contribute to new-look Jets offense
Geno Smith is presumed to be the starter for the Jets this season. But no one would be surprised if Michael Vick stole the job from him in the preseason. New York also added Chris Johnson to run the ball and Eric Decker to be the No. 1 receiver.
Things to watch here include the battle between Vick and Smith at quarterback, what Johnson looks like in his later years outside of Tennessee, and if Decker can be productive outside of a Peyton Manning offense.
Andy Dalton deals with pressure of new contract
A six-year, $115 million deal sounds like a lot of money. When you find out the deal is just $17 million guaranteed and is basically a year-to-year deal, it doesn’t sound all that bad for Dalton.
Still, if he comes out against the Chiefs on Thursday and throws two interceptions in the first quarter, Dalton and the Bengals are immediately going to come under fire from fans who just glance at the total $115 million. The Internet basically melted down on Monday when the deal was first announced, so no matter what the fine print says, Dalton is going to be under a lot of pressure this season, even in the preseason.
How bad will Dallas’ defense be?
The Cowboys already had an awful defense, and that was before losing Sean Lee for the season and cornerback Morris Claiborne for at least part of it. Dallas is always going to come up in national football talk, but they could be destined for mediocrity again.
Tony Romo showed that he can lead a productive offense with Dez Bryant, Jason Witten and DeMarco Murray, but none of that will matter if they’re expected to score 50 points a game. If someone on defense can step up for the Cowboys, they could be a competitor again in the NFC East, but it looks as if the defense is destined for the basement again.
Panthers try to salvage receiving corps
Carolina is widely considered to have the worst offseason of any team in the league. The defense is still one of the best in the league, especially up front, but the Panthers will have to figured something out in the passing game.
They had to rebuild their entire receiving corps, starting with the athletic but stone-handed Kelvin Benjamin. Carolina also brought in Jerricho Cotchery and Jason Avant. If the Panthers can’t salvage something from that group, they could be in trouble in an otherwise improving NFC South.
Darrelle Revis makes Pats a title contender
Beside the Denver Broncos, the Patriots could be the next contender for the AFC title. Revis seems to be on a one-year rental program for New England because of the way his deal from the Buccaneers is structured, but having him for one year could be enough for the Patriots to get over the hump.
On offense, Rob Gronkowski will really help the offense, but having one of the three best corners in the league on defense can only help. New England already quietly finished as the 10th best scoring defense last season, and having Revis in the secondary makes them a real Super Bowl contender.