NFL Season Preview

Its that time of year once again. All the talk has come and gone, players have been shifted around, but we're all set and ready to go. The 2016 National Football League has arrived and everybody is ready to go. Over the next seventeen weeks, the 32 teams around the league will do battle for a shot to play at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, with the biggest prize in all of Football on the line. Since we last left you after the Super Bowl back in February, some great careers have come to an end. Charles Woodson, Marshawn Lynch, Charles Tillman, Jared Allen, Peyton Manning, Calvin Johnson, and Greg Jennings have all hung up the pads and called it a career. It will be a little strange watching football this year and knowing that these guys on the field.

And while we have seen the end of a couple of careers, we have also seen some old faces move to new places. We've seen some big names move teams. Defensive players like Josh Norman (Panthers to Redskins), Janoris Jenkins (Rams to Giants), Prince Amukamara (Giants to Jaguars), Sean Smith (Chiefs to Raiders), Casey Hayward (from Packers to Chargers), Eric Weddle (Chargers to Ravens), Rodney McLeod (Rams to Eagles), Malik Jackson (Broncos to Jaguars), Olivier Vernon (Dolphins to Giants), Damon Harrison (Jets to Giants), Demario Davis (Jets to Browns) and Bruce Irvin (from Seahawks to Raiders) have switched to new teams.

Meanwhile on offense, we've seen Mitchell Schwartz (Browns to Chiefs), Russell Okung (Seahawks to Broncos), Kelechi Osemele (Ravens to Raiders), Benjamin Watson (Saints to Ravens), Coby Fleener (Colts to Saints), Rishard Matthews (Dolphins to Titans) Travis Benjamin (Browns to Chargers), Marvin Jones (Bengals to Lions), Mohamed Sanu (Bengals to Falcons), Lamar Miller (Dolphins to Texans), Matt Forte (Bears to Jets), Alfred Morris (Redskins to Cowboys), Chris Ivory (Jets to Jaguars), Brock Osweiler (Broncos to Texans) and Robert Griffin III (Redskins to Browns) have all switched cities.

There are a few notable rule changes that are being put into effect for this season. Allowing the offensive and defensive play callers on the coaching staffs to use the coach-to-player communication system regardless of whether they are on the field or in the coaches' booth. Permanently adopting the extra-point rules enacted in the 2015 NFL season. Extra point kicks will be from the 15 yard line, and defenses can return blocked PAT's, fumbles or interceptions on two-point tries for a two-point defensive conversion. The league will now outlaw all chop blocks anywhere on the field. Previously, the chop block was legal when an offensive lineman chops a defensive player "while the defensive player is physically engaged above the waist by the blocking attempt of another offensive teammate". Expand the definition of a "horse-collar tackle" to include tackles where a player is grabbed by the jersey at or above the name plate and dragged to the ground. Teams making the act of calling time-out when not permitted to do so subject to a delay-of-game penalty (5 yards). Thanks to Odell Beckham Jr and Josh Norman from last year, Players committing two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the same game will be automatically ejected from the game.

So now that we got that out of the way, lets get down to the meat and potato's for this discussion. With all the new faces in new places, it will make for some very entertaining football this year. That being said, here's how we at Solly & Steve On Sports see the 2016 NFL season going down!

Matthew 'Solly' Solomon
NFC East: New York Giants
NFC North: Green Bay Packers
NFC South: Carolina Panthers
NFC West: Arizona Cardinals
NFC Wild Card: Minnesota Vikings
NFC Wild Card: Seattle Seahawks
AFC East: New England Patriots
AFC North: Pittsburgh Steelers
AFC South: Houston Texans
AFC West: Kansas City Chiefs
AFC Wild Card: Cincinnati Bengals
AFC Wild Card: Oakland Raiders
NFC Championship Game: Cardinals def Packers
AFC Championship Game: Steelers def Patriots
SUPER BOWL LI: Cardinals Def Steeelers 30-27!

Steven Carollo
NFC East: New York Giants
NFC North: Green Bay Packers
NFC South: Carolina Panthers
NFC West: Arizona Cardinals
NFC Wild Card: Seattle Seahawks
NFC Wild Card: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
AFC East: New England Patriots
AFC North: Pittsburgh Steelers
AFC South: Indianapolis Colts
AFC West: Kansas City Chiefs
AFC Wild Card: Cincinnati Bengals
AFC Wild Card: Oakland Raiders
NFC Championship Game: Packers def Panthers
AFC Championship Game: Patriots def Steelers
SUPER BOWL LI: Packers def Patriots 38-34!

"3rd Mic" Dan Delaney
NFC East: New York Giants
NFC North: Green Bay Packers
NFC South: Carolina Panthers
NFC West: Arizona Cardinals
NFC Wild Card: Washington Redskins
NFC Wild Card: Seattle Seahawks
AFC East: New England Patriots
AFC North: Cincinnati Bengals
AFC South: Jacksonville Jaguars
AFC West: Denver Broncos
AFC Wild Card: Pittsburgh Steelers
AFC Wild Card: Houston Texans
NFC Championship Game: Cardinals def Packers
AFC Championship Game: Patriots def Steelers
SUPER BOWL LI: Patriots def Cardinals 28-24!

That's how we see things in the NFL going down this season!