Time to kick off the debate
American-Statesman columnists Kirk Bohls and Cedric Golden take on several hot-button NFL topics, from the Cowboys and Texans to who’ll win it all:
1. Who’ll win the Super Bowl?
Bohls: New England, of course. The Patriots are loaded with an angry Tom Brady, a healthy Rob Gronkowski and a defensive infusion. They’re all more motivated than ever. The Pats will beat the Eagles in another Super Bowl thrill- er, 34-31.
Golden: The Packers. No Jordy. No problem. Aaron Rodgers will lead Green Bay past Andrew Luck and the Colts, 47-41 — the most exciting Super Bowl ever and the fifirst to go overtime.
2. How will the Cowboys and Texans do this season?
Bohls: The Cowboys will miss DeMarco Murray, which will put more pressure on Romo. Dallas will go 10-6, make the playoffffs as a wild card, and lose in the second round. Houston’s search for quarterback consistency goes on and on and on. Arian Foster, Jadeveon Clowney and
Vince Wilfork all struggle with injuries, and Houston fights just to get to 8-8.
Golden: The Cowboys will go 11-5 and all the way to the NFC championship game, where they’ll run into problems at Lambeau Field. As far as the Texans go, “Hard Knocks” will be the highlight of the season. Houston will finish 6-10. Foster’s absence and the lack of a playmaker at quarterback is too much to overcome.
3. How many combined yards will Darren McFadden and Joseph Randle produce?
Bohls: The two backs will combine for 999 yards while Murray, the prodigal son, goes over the 1,000-yard mark.
Golden: It will fall short of Murray’s 1,845 yards for sure. They’ll top 1,100 combined yards, which will make this offense far less potent than 2014.
4. Who’ll win comeback player of the year?
Bohls: Sam Bradford, coming off two torn ACL surgeries, will come of age in Philly. He does a good job of protecting the ball, and the Eagles’ offense will thrive as one of the league’s best.
Golden: Adrian Peterson. He has his sights set on 2,500 yards, but will gladly settle for 1,800 yards and 12 touchdowns.
5. Which of the eight Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks will take the biggest dip this year?
Bohls: Peyton Manning. Let’s see: Decreased arm strength. Increased wear and tear. Nonexistent mobility. No more Julius Thomas, although Owen Daniels will fill that void. I see Peyton in his final days as a marquee player.
Golden: Drew Brees. He lost his best redzone ( Jimmy Graham) and deep (Kenny Stills) threats. The Saints will suffer as a result. That streak of seven straight years with 33-plus touchdown passes will come to an end.
6. Which Longhorn not named Jamaal Charles will have the best season?
Bohls: Earl Thomas. He’s coming off torn labrum surgery and didn’t play in the preseason, but Seattle has cleared him to play for the opener. I’m counting on him coming through with another great season.
Golden: Justin Tucker. He’ll soon be the league’s highest-paid kicker. No kicker out there is more clutch, and he’ll kick Baltimore to a division title.
7. Who’ll be the offensive and defensive rookies of the year?
Bohls: I’m thoroughly impressed with Detroit tailback Ameer Abdullah. And look out for defensive end Vic Beasley, a pass-rushing maniac who’ll star for the desperate Atlanta Falcons.
Golden: Oakland wide receiver Amari Cooper will catch 75 balls for more than 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns. On defense, Jets tackle Leonard Williams will be a monster alongside Muhammad Wilkerson.
8. What percentage of conversions will end up being 2-point tries, not extra points?
Bohls: I don’t expect a drastic upsurge in 2-point tries, Chip Kelly aside. I think with the move to 33-yard extra points, the number of 2-point tries will increase to 10 percent.
Golden: By season’s end, 45 percent.
9. And the MVP goes to …?
Bohls: Brady. Who else? He’ll play with extra fire this year and prove once again he’s one of the best — if not the best — quarterbacks in NFL history.
Golden: Luck. New additions Andre Johnson and Frank Gore will make his job so much easier. Look for 5,200 passing yards and 47 touchdowns.
10. Who’ll be the defensive player of the year?
Bohls: J.J. Watt will make off with the award for the second year in a row. He’s that good.
Golden: Clay Matthews moved to inside linebacker last year and remained Green Bay’s best pass rusher. He’ll be even better this year — 12 sacks, 75 tackles.
11. Who’ll start more games: RGIII or Johnny Manziel?
Bohls: Griffin will start more games, but they may not all be for the Redskins. Can you say trade bait?
Golden: Griffin gets the nod because Kirk Cousins, aka “the turnover machine,” is nowhere near as good as Jay Gruden thinks he is. And Colt McCoy’s a health risk. Griffin will start at least eight games; Manziel will get four starts in Cleveland.
12. Who’s the NFL’s second-best coach?
Bohls: Baltimore’s John Harbaugh, the winner of the I’m Almost as Good as Bill Belichick Award. He has more playoff wins since 2008 than anyone in the league. He’s won a Super Bowl.
And he’s winning with Joe Flacco.
Golden: Kansas City’s Andy Reid, who wins wherever he goes. The Chiefs may even get a touchdown catch from a wideout this year.
13. Which NFL coach will be the first to get fired?
Bohls: Has Marvin Lewis been pink-slipped yet? He should be. The Bengals coach is the Kirk Ferentz of the NFL.
Golden: Gruden. His treatment of Griffin will finally get him the ax in Washington.
14. Who’s the next star running back in this league?
Bohls: Denver’s C.J. Anderson, as the Broncos transition from a passfirst team to a more balanced offense under Gary Kubiak.
Golden: Jeremy Hill, who supplanted Gio Bernard in Cincinnati last year and hasn’t looked back. Great combination of speed and power.
15. Who’s your fantasy league sleeper?
Bohls: Colts rookie receiver Phillip Dorsett. He’ll be a secret weapon for Luck.
Golden: Blake Bortles. Jacksonville’s horrible, but he’ll double his 11-touchdown output from last season.
16. What was this year’s biggest offseason gamble?
Bohls: Dallas not drafting a running back. Jerry Jones is rolling the dice in a big way.
Golden: The Texans should have gone for a bigger name at quarterback. Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett won’t scare anyone in the AFC South.
17. Which first-round pick will be the biggest flop?
Bohls: Cardinals offensive tackle D.J. Humphries (No. 24), who’s been beaten by pass rushers consistently in the preseason.
Golden: Redskins linebacker Shaq Thompson (No. 25). Snaps will be hard to come by.
18. Name one nonplayoff team from 2014 that will make it this year.
Bohls: Miami. A clear wild-card team. Ryan Tannehill has quietly developed into an above-average quarterback, and the addition of Ndamukong Suh will bolster a pass rush that already had Cameron Wake.
Golden: Kansas City. The Chiefs added Jeremy Maclin at receiver and get Derrick Johnson back from his torn Achilles.
19. Name one playoff team from 2014 that will miss out this year.
Bohls: Carolina. The Panthers could implode early because of injuries.
Golden: Pittsburgh. The Steelers have too many holes to fill.
20. How has “Deflategate” impacted Roger Goodell’s legacy?
Bohls: He’s still the owners’ pride and joy, but how many more PR hits can he take? He’s despised by the players, ridiculed by the press and hated by the Patriots. Otherwise, he looks good in a suit.
Golden: It’s made him a caricature. He has three years to try and re-establish some goodwill with players and fans.