Q&A: "Inside the NFL" analyst and "QB killa" Warren Sapp surveys the NFL season ahead

Seemingly always busy on Twitter, former seven-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Warren Sapp (@QBKILLA) was in New York on Wednesday morning to join Showtime's "Inside the NFL" cast in ringing the opening bell at the NYSE.

Sapp is entering his third year as an analyst for "Inside the NFL" (airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m.). On his way to the airport, he spoke by telephone with amNewYork (@amnysports) about the NFL season that kicks off Thursday -- and tweeted with us just minutes later:

Who will be the first coach to get fired?
I know Lovie Smith is squarely on the hot seat. Tom Coughlin, the seat's a little warm in New York. And nobody's seat's ever safe in Oakland. So those are three places you can look.

Who will be the surprise team this year?
The team with the best chance, I'm thinking, would be Detroit. They're not going worst to first because Minnesota and Green Bay are in that division. But they're going to be the most improved team from last year to this year.

Which team will tumble from the elite?
Arizona. They're the only NFC team that's won a playoff game two years back-to-back.

What is the Week 1 matchup that you're most excited about?
Jets-Baltimore. I want to see if Ray Lewis can stand up because that offense is loaded. They're flat-foot loaded in Baltimore. ... They filled out a whole new receiving corps with Anquan Boldin and [T.J.] Houshmandzadeh... And there's [tight end] Todd Heap. And [Joe] Flacco is a more than capable quarterback. I'm looking for that Week 1, because there's never been a team with this much hoopla and bravado as the Jets. When your coach is like, "soon-to-be champion," and all of a sudden they're popular across America, I like that. But let's see what you got.

What do you think of the Giants' defense?
I love what they did getting the safeties Antrel Rolle and Deon Grant. But I don't like the deal with all the specialties. 'I don't like to rush on the left side, Coach.' 'I only can play the right hand, Coach.' 'I don't like to play three-technique, Coach.' 'I can't do this, I can't do that.' They're specialized people. When you're a defensive lineman, you play anything. They're all the same positions. It's either your right hand on the ground or your left hand on the ground.

So, you think these players complain too much?
No, they're a specialized defensive line and I think there's no such thing. When you have specialized defensive linemen, you put a guy in there to [pass] rush, I'm gonna run the ball. You put a guy in there that can stop the run, I'm going to throw the ball. You can "opposite" what they do.

Which NFL position is the most underrated as far as its importance to winning?
The kickers. [Laughs.] ... They're not athletes, they don't work, they're only at practice three days out the week, all of that. They're the least thought about but the most important. They're the only football players that have to think.

Punters included?
Them too. [Laughs.] All kickers. The field-position game is big, too.

As far as college, who do like winning the national title this season?
The University of Miami (Sapp's alma mater).

The U?
Yeah.

What sort of relationship have you developed with Jim Brown, Phil Simms and Cris Collinsworth after two seasons of "Inside the NFL"?
I think our locker room atmosphere on the show kind of goes right along with the locker rooms that we cover. We go at each other, we agree with each other, we rip each other's head off, we joke, we laugh. I mean, it's just like a locker room. That's what we like to visualize on the show. We give you the inside and hard-hitting facts and some good jokes, at times. [Laughs.] We try to give it all to you.

Is commentating something you want to do for a long time, or do you maybe want to get back involved in the league as a coach?
I'm just taking it one day at a time, my friend. I definitely don't want to coach, though.