I want to start this one by saying that my mid-kid (11th grade) got his first college football offer. It is a big moment for him and the start of really good things moving forward. I see more offers in his future–especially if he is able to excel in camps this summer against premium talent. He’s 16 now and coming full into his confidence and athleticism following the setback of a knee injury. Big things ahead.
Moving on.. Let’s talk about the NFL. We can start with the upcoming (likely) sale of the Washington Commanders from a scumbag owner to someone more in line with the outwardly suggested values and ideals of the NFL, but I don’t want to go there yet. Instead I want to speak on the topic of hype. It is the hallmark of professional sports. We build fanbases with hype, we use hype to fill stadiums, and we get very loud about it in the preseason when every team has a chance to be the team. Now is the time where the sportswriters are talking from a positional of supposed knowing (read: opinion) about how teams ought to be ranked. Mind you, we haven’t really even started pre-season OTAs. However, these writers are in the know about which teams are gonna be fantastic and which will not. I can tell you from a coaching perspective, until you put the pads on–until you are staring across the field at the opposing squad with the final seconds of week three trickling away, you know nothing.
Week 3 is a specific statement, because we’ve seen teams interact with various other teams and can get a gauge of how they are built and how they are playcalling and how that all adds up to a level of ability. Late season surges are almost always a result of schedule or people returning from injury. Generally you see that stuff pan out early on.
I’m running out of time here so I’ll sum up with this: It is way too early to crown division champions. Here is what we know: Some very good teams stayed intact while others got even better. The schedule is going to make this specific season more competitive than last and for the NFC East especially, it is going to be a much tougher road. But I don’t know… I’ll tell you in week 4.