It’s here—NFL Training Camp has arrived and teams are ready to put on the pads and smash each other in Oklahoma drills. The Buffalo Bills kick off training camp on Sunday and 31 other teams will follow course a few days later.
While there are piles of storylines to sort through as we enter camp, a few stick out for us to watch out for over the coming weeks. From Johnny Manziel to Hard Knocks, its going to be another entertaining time in the football calendar.
Manziel-Mania Moves On the Field
It only took a few days after the Cleveland Browns drafted Manziel—fans and the media instantly dove right into his life off the field and the Internet was filled with pictures of Manziel partying, drinking and rolling up a dollar bill. Questions about Manziel’s maturity, dedication and work ethic were the hot topic on ESPN and NFL Network.
Finally, training camp has arrived and the Manziel talk can move to his on-field play. Manziel will be in Cleveland working with the team every day, studying his playbook and working to pull the starting job away from Brian Hoyer. Manziel showed a lot of skill in college and there is good reason to believe that will translate very well to the NFL. While he needs time to develop, Cleveland shouldn’t hold him back if he is the best quarterback on the roster after camp ends.
What will be a key going forward for whoever starts at quarterback for the Browns is whom they will have to throw the ball to. Josh Gordon will very likely not be seen this year. This leaves 30-year-old Miles Austin, slot receiver Andrew Hawkins and Nate Burleson as the Browns’ top wide receivers. They are going to need everyone stepping up this season and a real shining star in training camp.
Quarterback Battles Across the League
Some of the most exciting stories to follow during training camp every year are the quarterback battles. Two players going at it every single practice, splitting first-team reps and beat writers tweeting and writing updates furiously. Once again we will have some great battles over the next month—the Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers all will be focal points of training camp.
In New York, we will witness Michael Vick try and stay healthy as he tries to show head coach Rex Ryan why he needs a veteran behind center this season. If it weren’t for injuries, Vick might still be starting with the Philadelphia Eagles, but he can’t stay healthy and the injuries have been piling up.
He is taking on Geno Smith, who struggled mightily most of last year, but was surrounded by a bad offensive line and wide receivers who couldn’t get open or catch the football. Smith should be the favorite to win right now, but Vick could easily step in and never look back.
Tampa Bay is in a similar situation to the Jets with a veteran quarterback in Josh McCown taking on second-year quarterback Mike Glennon, who started 13 games last season as a rookie. McCown came out of nowhere in Marc Trestman’s offense with the help of two massive wide receivers, now Tampa Bay hopes to replicate that with Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans. McCown should hold the edge as starter and with the help of coordinator Jeff Tedford, play well enough to keep this team together.
The battle that could be very fun to watch will take place in Minnesota, as Matt Cassel takes on Teddy Bridgewater. Cassel took the job from Christian Ponder during the 2013 season and was decent enough to earn a new contract from the Vikings. He was the favorite to start before the draft, but that all changed when Minnesota traded up to the final pick in the first round to draft Bridgewater.
Bridgewater was top quarterback in the draft but fell due to concerns over the size of his knees, a poor Pro Day and his small frame. He was the most pro-ready quarterback in the draft and already has shown signs that he can start immediately for the Vikings. Offensive coordinator Norv Turner has raved about Bridgewater’s commitment and improvements so far and it bodes well for his chances of starting Week 1.
Hard Knocks: Atlanta
It’s back—football fan’s favorite television series, “Hard Knocks”, has returned to HBO for another season. For months there was talk about which team would be featured on the sports documentary series, the Atlanta Falcons announced their training camp would be featured.
Last year, Hard Knocks followed the Cincinnati Bengals and gave fans an inside look into the best team in the AFC North last season. From moments like running back Giovani Bernard driving around his girlfriend’s mom’s car to James Harrisons hatred for the cameras. The inside looks bonded football fans with the Bengals and helped grow the fan base.
Now the Falcons are the stars and while they aren’t even one of the most popular teams in the NFC South, there will be plenty for fans to enjoy. Every week people will tune in to see Roddy White’s outgoing personality, Steven Jackson finding to keep his career going and so much more.
Matt Ryan has always been one of the quieter quarterbacks in football, but the national stage might help him earn more respect and attention from fans outside of Atlanta. We will also get to see rookies like Ra’Shede Hageman and Devonta Freeman, as HBO hopefully goes into Hageman’s life story and puts a mic on Freeman.
This was a great decision by the Falcons—it will energize the fan base as they get a closer look at their favorite team, while giving Atlanta’ players and coaches the chance to show everyone why last season was a slip and they are ready to take the leap back into playoff contention.
NFC Best?
The Super Bowl champions, NFC runner-up and a 10-6 team that missed the playoffs—welcome to the NFC West, the division that seems to get better every week. The Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals will all be going out it this year, but you can’t count out the St. Louis Rams either.
For the defending champions, the road to a repeat begins now as Richard Sherman, Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch return to the practice field. While Seattle remained quiet in free agency and lost some 2013 starters like Golden Tate and Brandon Browner, they brought back Michael Bennett.
This is still a roster well prepared to defend their title. While Lynch is getting older, they have Christine Michael ready to take over, and the return of left tackle Russell Okung will be a big help. As long as they have their stars together and young guys ready to step up, they will have another great season.
San Francisco came oh so close once again to the promise land but fell just short of the franchise’s sixth Super Bowl ring. It was another eventful offseason for the 49ers—they killed it in the draft with immediate-impact rookies like Jimmie Ward and Carlos Hyde, while adding key veterans line Antoine Bethea and Steve Johnson. This team is loaded at running back, wide receiver, offensive line and defensive line.
The two big questions this season—can their front-seven and safeties do enough to cover up their weakness at cornerback? Can Colin Kaepernick step up versus the Seahawks and come through? If the answer to both of these questions is yes, we could be looking at the next Super Bowl champions.
If they could just find an upgrade at quarterback, there is a real chance we could be talking about the Cardinals as the best team in the NFC West. Arizona made tremendous improvements along the offensive line by signing left tackle Jared Veldheer and getting back 2013 first-round pick Jonathan Cooper on the field, after he missed all of last season. They have found their lead running back in Andre Ellington and now have a strong duo of wide receivers with Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd.
An improved offensive line, strong running game and high-quality wide receivers is just icing on the cake with their defense. Arizona hopes cornerback Tyrann Mathieu can do some training during camp after tearing his ACL and LCL last year. They drafted strong safety Deone Bucannon filling a major need, and Kevin Minter should do fine filling in for Daryl Washington. The one thing holding them back though is Carson Palmer—while Bruce Arians’ loves to air it out, Palmer isn’t that player at the age of 34. He threw 22 interceptions last season with six fumbles. Arizona should still fight like mad in the NFC West, but will likely finish as a wildcard team this season.
Finally, the St. Louis Rams could be the team to show real signs of progress this season. Sam Bradford remains a huge question, but should be helped out by an offensive line with Jake Long, Greg Robinson and Rodger Saffold. They also drafted running back Tre Mason to form a nice 1-2 punch with Zac Stacy. The big question is just at wide receiver and if Chris Givens and Tavon Austin can be consistent enough to make this passing offense something opposing defenses even have to think about.
Defensively, you won’t find much better than what the Rams have to offer. Aaron Donald fell into their laps with their second first round pick and they quickly scooped him up, continuing to add to a dominant defensive line. Now when their opponent’s offensive line gets in position, they will look up and see Robert Quinn, Michael Brockers, Donald and Chris Long staring right at them. That front four will just make things easier for James Laurinaitis to clean up the middle of the field, while Alec Ogletree makes plays with his speed.
The Rams aren’t a playoff team at this point and wins in the NFC West will be arduous to come by. There is enough talent here though to have a similar fate as the Cardinals last season—dramatic improvement and a record above .500, but fall short of the playoffs.
Holdouts Galore
It wouldn’t be training camp if you didn’t have starters holding out for various demands, so of course that will be something to keep an eye on over the coming weeks. While the Jimmy Graham situation may have been settled, there are still plenty of players to talk about.
While Andre Johnson won’t elaborate extensively on his situation with the Houston Texans and if he will play for them this season, he is enjoying his time away from the team and training on his own. The 33-year-old wide receiver who had a Pro Bowl-caliber season last year with 109 receptions, 1,407 yards and five touchdowns. He has spent 11 seasons with the Texans but as they work on another rebuild, he is ready to get out of Texas.
You can’t really blame him either—he showed last season he still has plenty of gas left in the tank and can be a top option for a quarterback. Even if the Texans were a fringe playoff team, the idea of having Ryan Fitzpatrick as your quarterback is frightening. Houston is playing hardball though and as of now refuse to budge on moving him. This is certainly a storyline fans in Houston, Cleveland and New England will want to keep an eye on.
The 49ers are having multiple holdouts—after giving extensions to Kaepernick and Joe Staley, tight end Vernon Davis and Alex Boone are reaching out their hand to get some extra cash added to their accounts.
While you’d certainly think that one of Kaepernick’s favorite targets has leverage against San Francisco, reality paints a much different picture. Even if San Francisco wanted to extend the 30-year-old’s deal, Aldon Smith and Michael Crabtree area ahead in line. San Francisco doesn’t need to extend Davis—they can keep him for the next two seasons and let him walk after the 2015 season. They might decide to end the holdout and give him an extra million or two in bonuses or incentives over the final two years, but he isn’t getting a new contract.
As for Boone, well he will have to join Davis at home as the 49ers’ training camp goes on. If he is serious about holding out until he gets a new contract. While Boone might have a little more standing ground because he is a part of the 49ers’ dominant offensive line and not as easily replaceable, he is still on thin ice. General manager Trent Baalke has no intention of giving out new contracts to a player that already has one. Boone might be better off ending his holdout and showing the 49ers why he is worthy of a pay raise.