The NFL Roundup - Week 1

Written by John Edward Betancourt

(Doug Miller/New York Times)

After weeks of preseason to whet every football fans appetite, the main course has arrived and Kickoff Weekend 2016 is here at last. Every game counts once again, every moment must be about perfection as thirty two teams begin the long and winding road toward Super Bowl LI in the hopes of being crowned the league's champion. It's going to be an incredible weekend filled to the brim with stunning games and fascinating stories and before the season gets underway in Denver tonight, here are the top storylines we will be keeping an eye on over the next few days.

Will Cam Newton be able to bounce back after his abysmal Super Bowl 50 performance?
Sure he was the league MVP last year, and led his team to a 15-1 regular season record and an NFC Championship, but all of that was forgotten in Super Bowl 50 when the player who refers to himself as 'Superman' discovered his 'Kryptonite' in the Denver Broncos Defense. The Denver D rattled the man to his core, forcing turnover after turnover and dropping him to the turf with sack after sack and well...Cam was not his usual self in that game. He looked confused, he rolled around on the ground in frustration and even walked out of the press conference right in the middle of his interview. He was the exact opposite of the league MVP in that final game and continues to take criticism for it which has all of us wondering which Cam will show up in Denver tonight. Will the one filled with bravado arrive and put on a clinic, earning a little revenge along the way, or will the Broncos pick up where they left off instead and start the year off right by forcing a few turnovers via the sack? My money is on Cam sticking with par for the course, and allowing the Broncos to get the best of him.

What kind of offense will the New England Patriots unveil without Tom Brady at the helm?
We really have come to expect a fast paced, high scoring outright prolific offense from the Patriots when Tom Brady lines up under center, but with his suspension underway, it's the Jimmy ​Garoppolo show now and well...can he run the offense in the same fashion as Brady? Judging from the preseason I would outright say no, which means I have a funny feeling that the Patriots are going to move to a more conservative and traditional offense that requires #10 to use the run to set up the pass, but when it comes to Coach Belichick you never quite know. He no doubt has a few surprises up his sleeve but more than likely, he won't ask much of Garoppolo, he just needs the QB to manage the game, maintain sustained scoring drives and not turn over the ball. Which means it should be an interesting and low scoring four weeks for the Patriots offense. 

Will the Cleveland Browns come out of the gate in aggressive fashion?
I posed the idea that maybe, just maybe Hue Jackson's new look Browns may make a statement or two in the preseason to make a point that the days of being a pushover team have gone the wayside, but instead we were merely treated to a few quality drives and nothing more. Preseason may not have been the right time after all for Coach Jackson to show to the league that he means business and things are changing in Cleveland, which now has me wondering if their season opener in Philadelphia is that right moment. After all, they're on the road, and they need to win and win big to wipe away the awful memory that was last season, so don't be surprised to see the Browns make good use of RGIII's arm strength and take a few shots down the field, or hit a little harder on defense because this team really does need to make a statement that they are headed in the right direction and what better way to do it than to go into someone else's house with a chip on their shoulder and slap the Eagles around a bit.  

Just how 'pro ready' is Dallas Cowboys Quarterback Dak Prescott?
We learned a lot about Dak Prescott in the preseason. For starters, the kid has a cannon of an arm and his mechanics are outstanding since he was able to make big play after big play in relief of Tony Romo. But the preseason is the preseason and rookies are rookies and everything changes when the regular season arrives. For starters, it's vanilla coverage and looks from the defense in preseason simply because none of those games matter. But now that he is facing a Giants defense looking to start off the season with a win, they are going to throw everything they can at the young man to confuse and bewilder him. How he responds is the key and I for one hope he torches that New York defense and rises to the occasion because that would be outright awesome. But in reality, his day will mostly consist of flashes of brilliance and few a rookie mistakes, but if he can handle the tough parts well, then he's on his way to becoming a polished professional.

Newly minted Denver Broncos Quarterback Trevor Siemian needs to have a solid first career start.
I trust John Elway and Gary Kubiak's decision to start this former seventh round draft pick, but there's an uneasiness surrounding the position in Denver, which is unfortunate news for the new guy, because while we can talk all day about how the decision makes sense, Broncos fans have zero patience with their quarterbacks. When they're doing well, they're beloved and the toast of the town, but when they falter, the fans unleash their fury...just ask Peyton Manning since he was booed last year before Coach Kubiak pulled him. Either way, it means that Siemian needs to play well, pick up third downs and not make stupid throws, otherwise the honeymoon and grace period Denver fans will give the kid won't last that long and he really doesn't need the 'well should they turn to Lynch' talk to start right at the beginning of the season. 

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