1. Truth/Exaggeration
-Given the Seahawks acquisition of Jadeveon Clowney, nobody should be surprised if the Seahawks either give the Rams a season-long run for their money in the NFC West or win that division altogether
-Regardless of how far the Dallas Cowboys go in 2019, they will regret in the long run not extending Dak Prescott before Zeke Elliott
-With the Dolphins trading away Laremy Tunsil, one of the NFL’s rising young stars at a premium position, it screams to you that not only are they tanking 2019, they are tanking for a QB in the 2020 draft whether that be Tua Tagavoiloa or Justin Herbert
-Houston Texans ownership must fire Bill O’Brien if the Texans don’t make it to the AFC Championship game this season
2. Packers at Bears
-While most people are eager to see how Aaron Rodgers looks in this Matt LaFleur offense tonight (and rightfully so), I am even more eager to see how this Packers defense looks. Brian Gutekunst has quietly built a unit that I believe has the potential to surprise and take the league by storm this year. Up front, you have the UNDERRATED Kenny Clark on the inside hunting QB’s with new companions in Preston and Za’Darius Smith coming off the edge. And in the secondary, you have a rising young star at corner in Jaire Alexander, former Bear Adrian Amos, and freakish athletic rookie safety Darnell Savage. While flaws remain at ILB (especially in pass coverage), I think this can be a top-10 scoring defense this season. Do you?
-The Bears made one of the best picks in the 2019 NFL Draft by potentially stealing RB David Montgomery in the third round. I foolishly lambasted them for trading Jordan Howard before the draft. Looking at Montgomery’s college tape and minimal, albeit VERY impressive preseason outing, this guy is already a better football player than Jordan Howard. Howard is just a two-down grinder who doesn’t offer anything in the passing game. Montgomery is PHENOMENAL in the passing game, both in receiving and in blitz pickup. It certaintly seems the Bears are counting on the rookie from Iowa State BIG TIME to help ease the burden off of Mitchell Trubisky. Do you think the Bears have found their new Matt Forte, and if so, would you be willing to give him a heavier workload than Jordan Howard ever had in his three seasons as a Bear?
-Game-deciding matchups
-Prediction
3. Steelers at Patriots
-There is a bit of a concern on the Patriots when it comes to the OL. C David Andrews is likely out for the entire 2019 season after being hospitalized with blood clots. To fill the void, the Patriots acquired C Russell Bodine from Buffalo in a rare in-division trade. Bodine’s past tape has been below average at best. And in Week 1, he faces a STOUT Steelers interior front (Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuitt) plus the guy who I predicted to win NFL DROY in 2019, LB Devin Bush. Could this mismatch lead to a Steelers upset in a close game?
-Last season, James Conner made Le’Veon Bell expendable, but little did we know at this time last season that Bell wouldn’t be the only major Steeler offensive weapon leaving town. The Steelers were fed up with Antonio Brown’s off-the-field antics (and he showed you why almost daily this summer) and thus shipped him to the Raiders. That said, shipping away a likely future Hall of Fame WR likely doesn’t improve your offense, but JuJu Smith-Schuster is a star in the making, Conner is back healthy, and Vance McDonald looks primed for a breakout season at TE. Do you think this Steelers offense still has more than enough firepower to keep up with the Patriots?
-Game-deciding matchups
-Prediction
