Tom Rock

READY FOR TAKEOFF? It isn’t often that a team with the longest active playoff drought in the sport becomes the most fascinating one in the league in the span of one short offseason, but that’s what has happened to the Jets with the acquisition of Aaron Rodgers. He gives them instant credibility and a quarterback who has four MVP awards; they give him a place to play after it became clear the Packers were done with him. All eyes will certainly be on the Jets to see how this high-profile marriage works. The result figures to be spectacular, either because of success or implosion. 
 LOVE IS IN THE AIR. Speaking of Rodgers and the Packers, Green Bay is moving on to its next quarterback. The team has had an unmatched three-decade span of continuous Hall of Fame-caliber play from that position, having been led by Brett Favre and Rodgers from 1992 through 2022. Now they hope Jordan Love, who they drafted as a surprise first-round pick in 2020, is the next link in that chain. He has big cleats to fill and a city used to playing games deep into January waiting to see if he can do it. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/M2ExNmViMzQtOGNkOC00" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/M2ExNmViMzQtOGNkOC00', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/M2ExNmViMzQtOGNkOC00"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/M2ExNmViMzQtOGNkOC00/2d738b53-f443-46ec-87de-3f6f087ce7e3?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" /></a> 
 DYNASTY IN THE MAKING. No NFL team has come close to the success Kansas City has had since Patrick Mahomes took over as starting quarterback in 2018. They have won two Super Bowls, appeared in a third, and never had a season end any sooner than overtime of the AFC Championship Game. But it takes three titles to be a dynasty — sorry, we&nbsp;don’t make the rules —&nbsp;and that leaves Mahomes and his pals needing at least one more in the next year or two to find themselves among the truly elite in NFL history. 
 RETURN OF THE ROAR. Last we saw the Lions they were the darlings of the NFL, a scrappy 9-8 team that was eliminated from postseason contention on the final day of the regular season but still managed to go out and beat the Packers (and, yes, send Rodgers out of Lambeau) in a nationally-televised&nbsp;finale. Now coach Dan Campbell and his fireballs are dealing with something rare in Detroit: Expectations. Can their grittiness carry them to a first playoff berth since the 2016 season and possibly a first postseason victory since January of 1992? 
 NEXT STEPS FOR QBs. The next generation of exciting, exceptional, and, yes, well-paid quarterbacks is about to hit its prime. Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, Justin Herbert, they’re all entering their mid-20s, all on their second pro contracts, and all still looking for their first Super Bowl title. Throw in Trevor Lawrence, who is a few seasons behind them in NFL experience, not to mention the still-improving and still under-30 Mahomes, and we may be about to encounter a new Golden Age of league-wide quarterback play that could even surpass the most recent era dominated by Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and others. 
 BACKS TO WORK. Front offices no longer value running backs based on how the position was treated this offseason, but coaches still know the recipe for winning includes running the ball. So, while these past few months were spent low-balling the likes of Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, Joe Mixon and Miles Sanders in contract negotiations —&nbsp;along with threats to do so against Jonathan Taylor while Ezekiel Elliott and Dalvin Cook scoured Indeed.com looking for work —&nbsp;once the whistle blows they’ll all be back to being among the most important players on the field for their teams. Until next offseason anyway. 
 FIELDS OF DREAMS. After two seasons struggling as a one-man offense in Chicago, quarterback Justin Fields finally has some playmakers around him and figures to make one of the biggest single-season jumps in the league at his position. Having D.J. Moore as his primary target after the Bears traded the first overall pick to Carolina for the receiver and other considerations will undoubtedly help. Fields has spent most of his NFL career as a player who can create amazing highlights but not wins. This year, if the victories match the verve he has already shown, he could emerge as the league’s next superstar. 
 DENVER DO-OVER. The Broncos won the 2022 offseason when they acquired Russell Wilson in a trade from the Seahawks and hired Nathaniel Hackett as their new coach. Then Mile High expectations in Denver sunk to new lows. Now former Super Bowl-winning coach Sean Payton is back from a brief retirement in the broadcast world to try to straighten things out and get Wilson back on track. Whether he can do that with so many questions surrounding Wilson’s steeply declined play from a year ago could go a long way in determining both of their legacies. 
 YOUNG GUNS. Considering the best rookie quarterback a year ago was the one taken LAST in his entire draft class, this year’s top-heavy crew of picks turned projected starters has a lot to live up to. Three of them —&nbsp;Bryce Young in Carolina, C.J. Stroud in Houston and Anthony Richardson in Indianapolis —&nbsp;were taken with the first four selections in April and now figure to provide franchise-altering play. It’s unlikely all of them will deliver, which means they are in a three-way race to see who gets to head down the path toward Peyton Manning and who takes the road toward Ryan Leaf. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/MzdlMDJkMDAtYTVlOS00" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/MzdlMDJkMDAtYTVlOS00', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/MzdlMDJkMDAtYTVlOS00"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/MzdlMDJkMDAtYTVlOS00/5a972705-8990-4dfd-b444-b26d9c0beba2.jpeg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" /></a> 
 KICKOFFS DIMINISHED. The exciting spectacle that was the opening kickoff to a game or a season has been reduced to near insignificance with a newly written rule that allows the receiving team to fair catch the ball anywhere inside its 25 for a touchback. It’s better for the safety of the sport but taking the thrill from a moment that used to be charged with such anticipation —&nbsp;not to mention the possibility of 90 to 100-yard scoring plays or at least momentum-shifting dashes on all the ensuing kickoffs —&nbsp;will make football a little less fun.

READY FOR TAKEOFF? It isn’t often that a team with the longest active playoff drought in the sport becomes the most fascinating one in the league in the span of one short offseason, but that’s what has happened to the Jets with the acquisition of Aaron Rodgers. He gives them instant credibility and a quarterback who has four MVP awards; they give him a place to play after it became clear the Packers were done with him. All eyes will certainly be on the Jets to see how this high-profile marriage works. The result figures to be spectacular, either because of success or implosion. LOVE IS IN THE AIR. Speaking of Rodgers and the Packers, Green Bay is moving on to its next quarterback. The team has had an unmatched three-decade span of continuous Hall of Fame-caliber play from that position, having been led by Brett Favre and Rodgers from 1992 through 2022. Now they hope Jordan Love, who they drafted as a surprise first-round pick in 2020, is the next link in that chain. He has big cleats to fill and a city used to playing games deep into January waiting to see if he can do it. DYNASTY IN THE MAKING. No NFL team has come close to the success Kansas City has had since Patrick Mahomes took over as starting quarterback in 2018. They have won two Super Bowls, appeared in a third, and never had a season end any sooner than overtime of the AFC Championship Game. But it takes three titles to be a dynasty — sorry, we don’t make the rules — and that leaves Mahomes and his pals needing at least one more in the next year or two to find themselves among the truly elite in NFL history. RETURN OF THE ROAR. Last we saw the Lions they were the darlings of the NFL, a scrappy 9-8 team that was eliminated from postseason contention on the final day of the regular season but still managed to go out and beat the Packers (and, yes, send Rodgers out of Lambeau) in a nationally-televised finale. Now coach Dan Campbell and his fireballs are dealing with something rare in Detroit: Expectations. Can their grittiness carry them to a first playoff berth since the 2016 season and possibly a first postseason victory since January of 1992? NEXT STEPS FOR QBs. The next generation of exciting, exceptional, and, yes, well-paid quarterbacks is about to hit its prime. Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, Justin Herbert, they’re all entering their mid-20s, all on their second pro contracts, and all still looking for their first Super Bowl title. Throw in Trevor Lawrence, who is a few seasons behind them in NFL experience, not to mention the still-improving and still under-30 Mahomes, and we may be about to encounter a new Golden Age of league-wide quarterback play that could even surpass the most recent era dominated by Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and others. BACKS TO WORK. Front offices no longer value running backs based on how the position was treated this offseason, but coaches still know the recipe for winning includes running the ball. So, while these past few months were spent low-balling the likes of Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, Joe Mixon and Miles Sanders in contract negotiations — along with threats to do so against Jonathan Taylor while Ezekiel Elliott and Dalvin Cook scoured Indeed.com looking for work — once the whistle blows they’ll all be back to being among the most important players on the field for their teams. Until next offseason anyway. FIELDS OF DREAMS. After two seasons struggling as a one-man offense in Chicago, quarterback Justin Fields finally has some playmakers around him and figures to make one of the biggest single-season jumps in the league at his position. Having D.J. Moore as his primary target after the Bears traded the first overall pick to Carolina for the receiver and other considerations will undoubtedly help. Fields has spent most of his NFL career as a player who can create amazing highlights but not wins. This year, if the victories match the verve he has already shown, he could emerge as the league’s next superstar. DENVER DO-OVER. The Broncos won the 2022 offseason when they acquired Russell Wilson in a trade from the Seahawks and hired Nathaniel Hackett as their new coach. Then Mile High expectations in Denver sunk to new lows. Now former Super Bowl-winning coach Sean Payton is back from a brief retirement in the broadcast world to try to straighten things out and get Wilson back on track. Whether he can do that with so many questions surrounding Wilson’s steeply declined play from a year ago could go a long way in determining both of their legacies. YOUNG GUNS. Considering the best rookie quarterback a year ago was the one taken LAST in his entire draft class, this year’s top-heavy crew of picks turned projected starters has a lot to live up to. Three of them — Bryce Young in Carolina, C.J. Stroud in Houston and Anthony Richardson in Indianapolis — were taken with the first four selections in April and now figure to provide franchise-altering play. It’s unlikely all of them will deliver, which means they are in a three-way race to see who gets to head down the path toward Peyton Manning and who takes the road toward Ryan Leaf. KICKOFFS DIMINISHED. The exciting spectacle that was the opening kickoff to a game or a season has been reduced to near insignificance with a newly written rule that allows the receiving team to fair catch the ball anywhere inside its 25 for a touchback. It’s better for the safety of the sport but taking the thrill from a moment that used to be charged with such anticipation — not to mention the possibility of 90 to 100-yard scoring plays or at least momentum-shifting dashes on all the ensuing kickoffs — will make football a little less fun.

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