Are you ready for some football?
The NFL season kicked off September 10th with the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots beating the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night. Football used to be reserved for Sundays and Mondays but now takes up three nights a week.
A lot has happened since the New England Patriots beat the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX. (The NFL might be the only people on earth still using roman numerals). Here are some offseason highlights (and lowlights), along with a Week 1 recap.
Tom Brady won the latest round in his battle against NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in Federal court over the “Deflategate” controversy where Brady and the Patriots were accused of underinflating (foot) balls. Goodell had Brady and the Pats investigated and dropped the hammer on Brady with a 4-game suspension, which amounts to nearly $2 million in salary. Brady fought back, refusing to accept any suspension or admit to wrongdoing. It appears that we have two outcomes so far: 1) Brady is taking no prisoners on the field this season and 2) more appeals and billable hours are on the way.
Adrian Peterson, the star Minnesota Vikings running back who accepted a plea deal on child abuse charges in November, is back with his team, though you wouldn’t know it from his Week 1 performance. Ray Rice, another former star RB, who hit his fiancée (and now wife) in an Atlantic City casino last year, is still looking for employment despite groups calling for the former Baltimore Ravens standout to receive a second chance.
Heisman vs Heisman: Jameis Winston, the 2014 Heisman Trophy winner, is playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the worst team in the NFL last season, but maybe the team with the most colorful uniforms. (Bring back the orange creamsicle unis please). The Bucs were defeated in their opener by 2015 Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota and the Tennessee Titans.
Peyton Manning decided to take a break from SNL and making hilarious commercials to return to the Denver Broncos for possibly his final season. He will try to win an illusive second Super Bowl ring and catch his little brother Eli Manning, who himself has two rings and possibly taunts his big brother daily. Thank goodness Eli inked his new contract with the NY Giants as he is getting roasted for his late game blunder versus the Dallas Cowboys.
On a warm and fuzzy note, it was nice to see that Green Bay Packers’ great, and future Hall-of-Famer Brett Favre went back to upper Wisconsin this summer and kissed and made up with his former team and fans. He left with some bad blood when the team finally went with his backup, Aaron Rodgers, whom Favre refused to mentor. Rodgers had to wait for three years but don’t feel sorry for A-Rod, as he won an MVP and Super Bowl ring and is dating Olivia Munn. Life ain’t bad for number 12.
Another Super Bowl winning quarterback, Seattle Seahawks’ Russell Wilson, had a rough season start losing in overtime to the St. Louis Rams. Wilson just signed a mega contract worth over $87M and can now go on lots of expensive dates with his new reported girlfriend, Ciara.
Not to get defensive, but reigning Defensive Player of the Year and HBO’s Hard Knocks star Houston Texans’ own J.J. Watt is looking to reek havoc on NFL QBs this year and elevate the Texans to the playoffs.
Speaking of playoffs…put it on your calendar – Super Bowl 50 will take place February 7, 2016 at Levi’s Stadium, south of San Francisco. Advertisers have started putting money in the piggy bank as the cost of a 30-second commercial is estimated to be around $5 million.
Remember at TINK Sports we watch the games so you don’t have to.
See you next time…
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