USA TODAY International Edition
UPS AND DOWNS FOR 2015 SEASON
Rodgers, Winston look at good news; Cowboys don’t
Ten bold predictions for the 2015 season:
1. Aaron Rodgers will get his third MVP and second ring: The former isn’t all that bold. Rodgers, 31, won it last year and is playing the most important position at an incredibly high level for the Green Bay Packers. But can he match Bart Starr ( and pass Brett Favre) with a second Super Bowl win after losing top receiver Jordy Nelson to a knee injury in the preseason? The call here is yes — if Rodgers can stay healthy. He was coming back from a broken collarbone in the 2013 playoffs and had a severe calf strain last year. At 100%, Rodgers is hard to beat. Even at far less, the Packers were the better team for 55 minutes in last year’s NFC title game at the Seattle Seahawks before things came unglued.
2. The Dallas Cowboys will miss the playoffs: The loss of DeMarco Murray might hurt the Cowboys more than anyone realizes, even behind that imposing offensive line. The ability ( and willingness) to stay balanced regardless of game flow was a big part of the Dallas Cowboys’ identity in 2014. Can offensive coordinator Scott Linehan lean on some combination of Joseph Randle, Darren McFadden, Lance Dunbar and newly acquired Christine Michael — an explosive athlete who struggled to figure out how to be a pro in Seattle — the same way? Orlando Scandrick’s knee injury knocked out one of the defense’s best players for the year. The cocktail of personalities in the locker room is potential cause for concern. And Chip Kelly’s remodeled Philadelphia Eagles are no pushover in the NFC East.
3. Jameis Winston will throw 20 interceptions but still be offensive rookie of the
year: Like Peyton Manning, who was the runner- up to Randy Moss in 1998 despite throwing 28 interceptions ( and 26 touchdown passes), Winston figures to be a high- volume performer in his first year. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers would prefer that to having the No. 1 pick turn into a riskaverse game manager, provided Winston understands the wrong risk at the wrong time can cost his team a ballgame. In three preseason appearances, Winston had no touchdown passes and two interceptions but also showed off his strong arm and ability to make pro throws. Just six quarterbacks have won rookie of the year, and another bumper crop of receivers figures to provide a challenge. Dark horse: Seattle’s Tyler Lockett, who moves like Antonio Brown.
4. The Indianapolis Colts will take a step back: No team with Andrew Luck at quarterback figures to crash and burn. But in what is viewed as an “all- in” season for the Colts, it’s worth noting how many of their new additions — Andre Johnson, Trent Cole, Frank Gore, Todd Herremans — are on the decline. Can a defense in desperate need of differencemakers get enough juice from the return of 34- year- old Robert Mathis, who missed last season because of a drug suspension and a torn Achilles? The call here is they come up short of the Super Bowl, which might be disappointing enough in itself to cost coach Chuck Pagano his job.
5. The St. Louis Rams will return to the playoffs: They haven’t been there since 2004. Coach Jeff Fisher’s first three seasons have been marked by mediocrity ( a 20- 27- 1 record) and insufficient quarterback play, with Sam Bradford appearing in seven games the last two seasons because of knee injuries. In March, the Rams swapped Bradford for Nick Foles, who should need only to provide competent QB play to support one of the NFL’s most feared defensive fronts and a running game led ( eventually) by top draft pick Todd Gurley. The big question: How will Foles fit behind an inferior line to the one that protected him in Philly?
6. Jay Gruden will be the first coach fired: A new general manager, a surprise quarterback change and a notoriously impatient owner all add up to trouble for Gruden, a fine offensive coach who might not have time ( or support) to build the program he wants with the Washington Redskins. Marty Schottenheimer got only one year. Steve Spurrier and Jim Zorn got two. Joe Gibbs and Mike Shanahan got four, but they both arrived with Super Bowl rings in tow. Benching franchise quarterback Robert Griffin III in favor of Kirk Cousins will be Gruden’s defining moment, one way or another. The call here is it’s his downfall, and that has as much to do with the way owner Dan Snyder runs the show as anything.
7. The Baltimore Ravens will get revenge on the New England Patriots: After 12 consecutive 10- win seasons, it’s foolish to bet against the Patriots winning the AFC East again, despite a roster with significant question marks and an offseason’s worth of distractions for a quarterback who generally covers them up. But the Ravens have been consistent, too, with six trips to at least the divisional playoffs in coach John Harbaugh’s seven seasons, the outlier
a teardown year after winning Super Bowl XLVII. The Ravens have a score to settle with Tom Brady, whose quip after last year’s eligible- ineligible flap — “Maybe those guys gotta study the rule book and figure it out” — came a week before Deflategate became a word. The teams don’t meet in the regular season. With the best defensive personnel in the AFC North, the Ravens have the opportunity to finally put any playoff matchup on their home field.
8. The AFC West will be decided in San Diego: That’s where the San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos meet in the regular- season finale Jan. 3. The call here is Denver — division winners before Week 17 each year since Peyton Manning’s arrival in 2012 — needs to win this one on the road to make it five titles in a row ( including one with Tim Tebow). The Broncos probably will get it done. They’re 6- 1 against Philip Rivers and the Chargers since Manning’s arrival. But an improved division figures to make things more interesting.
9. The Seahawks defense will be even better: Drafting Frank Clark added another supreme athlete to the front seven, and the signing of cornerback Cary Williams helps solidify a secondary that lost Byron Maxwell in free agency and was shorthanded in training camp. Key question: Will tone- setting safety Kam Chancellor end his holdout and show up sooner rather than later? If so, there’s no reason to think this can’t be the Seahawks’ best D yet. And even without him, Seattle is loaded.
10. The Cleveland Browns will get the No. 1 pick: They play in a brutal division, will start a 36- year- old quarterback who’s on his seventh team and lack playmakers The offensive line remains solid, and they’re talented on defense, particularly in the secondary. But it’s hard to see how a team that averaged 18.7 points a game last season will score more with Josh McCown under center. Instant impact from the rookie class might be the Browns’ only hope to avoid hitting rock bottom, again.