The NFL would like the focus in 2019 to be on celebrating its 100th season.
Sorry.
While league history is a popular and fun topic, what happened last January in the NFC Championship Game ensured that the spotlight will be on officiating and replays.
After a huge missed penalty (or two) that essentially kept the Saints out of the Super Bowl and helped the Rams get there, there was little chance that attention could be drawn away from the guys with the whistles and their impact on the matches. Commissioner Roger Goodell, the league’s powerful competition committee and a large majority of owners recognized this – and did something.
Coaches can now challenge pass interference calls and non-calls under the replay review system. Just like other instances of the game, the replay booth will start all reviews in the last two minutes of both halves and throughout an entire overtime period.
As former NFL defensive back Adam Archuleta, now a games analyst for CBS, notes: “They opened a huge can of worms. »
Of course, the Browns’ improvements — some people are eyeing Cleveland (yes, Cleveland) as a Super Bowl contender — is a ripe topic. The same goes for head coaching changes, including the return of Bruce Arians to the sideline a year after his retirement.
There are older quarterbacks, from Tom Brady, 42, to Drew Brees, 40, to Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning and Philip Rivers, in his thirties. And new QBs such as Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray.
Don’t forget these big stars in new places: Le’Veon Bell, Odell Beckham Jr., Earl Thomas and Antonio Brown.
And let’s ignore Brown’s complaints about his helmet and frozen fingers.
But we all know what will attract attention.
INTERFERE REVIEW — Gene Steratore spent 13 years as an NFL referee and also served as a college basketball official. Now, with CBS as the official analyst, he knew that some sort of change in the review system would emerge from the Rams-Saints debacle.
“First understand that they made the call in real time,” says Steratore. “This will remain the standard and basis on which decisions will be made on all games. Then we get to the replays, which are of course in slow motion, and you get a different look (than an official might get in real time).
“Then there is the determination of what meaningful contact is. Did this stop anyone from doing a play? Was it incidental? This adds some subjectivity to the process.
Archuleta, unsurprisingly for a former safety, categorically disagrees with adding anything to the replay system, particularly pass interference penalties.
“It’s not good for the game, which is not supposed to be played in slow motion or refereed that way,” he says. “I don’t want them to stop matches in critical moments. Professional football is an exciting and emotional sport and stoppages take away from that.
Realistically, Archuleta admits he knew something was going to happen after the New Orleans debacle. He accepts the coaches’ challenge as the most logical way, but he doesn’t have to like it.
Adding pass interference will change strategies for using challenges. An early false spotting of the ball, for example, might not result in a red flag being thrown because a coach realizes that a late DPI or OPI call or non-call would have much more impact. ‘impact. Indeed, there might be less overall disruption from challenges, as coaches reserve them for second-half needs that may never arrive.
“Coaches are going to get burned by this, challenge plays that won’t be overturned because of judging, and they’ll be without timeouts or challenges later in the game,” the Temple coach said. fame, Tony Dungy. “I think it’s going to be a disaster.”
CAN EVERYONE PLAY DEFENSE? — With spread offenses overtaking the college game – and college defenses – it was only a matter of time before scoring records fell in the pros. Nothing much is expected to change this season with rules designed to increase point production; players on that side of the ball are better prepared for the NFL when they reach it; and fans’ insatiable appetite for shootouts. Fantasy Football fanatics can rejoice.
Still, the final Super Bowl score was 13-3, and there are several teams whose defenses can successfully determine their fate. The Rams, Chargers, Ravens, Bears, Cowboys and Bills could fall into this category.
Chicago, which led the league with 27 interceptions in 2018, believes the Monsters of the Midway have been reborn. The Bears are ready to prove it.
“Takeaways on the field and on the practice field also correlate to takeaways on the field in the game,” star edge rusher Khalil Mack said. “You know what I mean? So it goes hand in hand. When you work on winning the ball back in practice, it happens naturally in the game.”
OLD QBS, CHILD QBS — Brady and Brees and Roethlisberger and Rivers and Manning are 194 years old, 87 seasons in the NFL. Each of them remains starters, even if Manning’s hold on the Giants’ position is tenuous.
It’s fair to think that, with the exception of Manning, seeing any of these four oldies but goodies in the Super Bowl next February — especially Brady, who is aiming for an unprecedented seventh Lombardi Trophy — wouldn’t be a shock.
“I’m ready to go this year and that’s really what matters. That’s where my focus is,” Brady says. “It’s a unique situation I find myself in. I’m in my 20th year with the same team. I’m 42, so pretty much uncharted territory for everyone. I’m going to go out there and do my best this year and see what happens.
At the other end of the maturity chart are young people. We once saw a prodigy, Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, mesmerize the league and win MVP honors in his second year, first as a starter. Now the spotlight could be on Cleveland’s Mayfield, the Jets’ Darnold or the Ravens’ Jackson, second-year college pros whose team’s rise depends largely on their further progress.
CHANGES ON THE SIDELINE
Eight clubs jumped on the coaching carousel, including one head who changed teams as Adam Gase moved from the Dolphins to the Jets. Also new at the position are Brian Flores (Miami), Zac Taylor (Cincinnati), Freddie Kitchens (Cleveland), Vic Fangio (Denver), Kliff Kingsbury (Arizona), Matt LaFleur (Green Bay) and Arians (Tampa Bay).
Most intriguing might be the Bucs’ new boss, a proven QB guru who is trying to turn Jameis Winston into a winner in a showcase year for 2015’s top overall rookie.
“I’m going to work anyway, but it’s always a plus when your head coach believes in you,” Winston said of the 66-year-old Arians. “Each coach brings something different. I’m just really excited to start working with them.
CHANGES ON THE FIELD — New faces in new places seem to have a major impact, and if those effects are positive, their teams could find themselves in the playoffs.
Bell would seem like the perfect person to bring in to help Darnold take the next big step. After a year off, Bell will have to prove he’s worth the money the Jets paid and the Steelers wouldn’t. At his best, there is no better all-around running back in football.
When healthy and at his best, Thomas finds the right spot to be – and puts his defensive teammates in those positions as well. There are few stronger leaders in the game, and he also has added motivation after things went south in Seattle.
Beckham is a magnificent talent with baggage and a fragile psyche. If he’s the playmaker and not the pout, the Browns have a price.
As for Brown, well, the numbers he’s been putting up for nearly a decade can’t be ignored. Unfortunately, neither can the drama he brought from the Steelers to the Raiders.
But that makes us watch, doesn’t it?
