The 2012 NFL preseason kicked off on Sunday, as we are officially in season with teams taking the field. Still a month away from the regular season, teams will be using this month or iron out game plans, solidify roster spots, and prepare to make a run at the 2013 Super Bowl which will be held in New Orleans.
And while all 32 teams in the league have storylines in their own right, let’s take a look at five of the teams with the some of the most interesting headlines, or compelling competitions in this preseason.
New York Giants
When you are the champions, you get a spot in this line up, regardless of the fact that the Giants have had a relatively quiet offseason for a Super Bowl champion. The Giants are the champs until another team dethrones them. And really when looking at it, there is no reason that they should not contend for the NFC East and another Super Bowl this season. Eli Manning has certainly asserted himself as an elite quarterback. But charged with the task of trying to repeat a Super Bowl championship is quite difficult. Watching how the Giants respond and play in the preseason as the get ready for the regular season will certainly be interesting.
New York Jets
We aren’t going far away from the Giants when it comes to another team to watch during the preseason. In fact, we aren’t even leaving the same stadium. The New York Jets seem to make headlines every offseason, whether it’s making a bold prediction, starring in a TV show, or bringing in notable players. In this case, it happens to be the latter. With Tim Tebow coming to town, I think every NFL fans, whether you love or hate the Jets, are interested to see the schemes and plays designed for Tebow in the Jets packages. Hopefully we will all get to see plenty of Tebow in the preseason games.
New Orleans Saints
The Saints unquestionably had the most turbulent offseason of any team in the NFL. The bounty scandal which rocked the league left the Saints without their head coach Sean Payton on the sidelines for the entire season. Not to mention the loss of Jonathan Vilma for all of 2012 as well. New Orleans did finally sign quarterback Drew Brees to the richest deal in history, at the last minute. So with New Orleans fans now able to breath, it’s time to take the field and see how this team will respond to all of their adversity.
Denver Broncos
I think all sports fans are excited for the debut of Peyton Manning in the Denver Broncos attire. It will certainly be weird at first, but at the end of the day, seeing him back on the field is good for the NFL regardless of your team affiliation. And we might actually see more of Manning than we would in a normal preseason, since he missed all of 2011 with the neck issue. Many are predicting the Broncos to be a serious Super Bowl contender, and they will be fun to watch garnering plenty of attention in the preseason.
Indianapolis Colts
The Colts begin the A.P era of their organization. After Peyton. Indianapolis hopes that Andrew Luck is the answer to their problems from a season ago, in which the team wound up with the No.1 draft selection. Luck was the player chosen to help lead this team back to relevance. And boy does he have some shoes to fill.. If Luck is even close to the player Manning was in Indy, than they will have drafted themselves a great quarterback. But remember these things can take time. After all, Peyton had a horrible rookie season. But watching Luck be the signal caller in Indianapolis will take some getting used to as well.