5 Things To Consider for the NFL's Return - Chris "Preach" Smith

Happy days are here again now that the 132-day long NFL Lockout is
officially over. And that means there's going to be an absolute
hurricane of activity for every one of the 32 teams in the league,
let alone all the sports media personnel, fans and various bars and
restaurants who lost some sleep over football being on hiatus. So
in honor of that, here's five things to really think about now that the
preseason is beginning.


1)Get ready for the Brett Favre specualtion to go
    nuclear.

If you haven't already heard, ol' Number 4 himself has been
linked to the Philadelphia Eagles to back up Michael Vick and
linked to the Washington Redskins. All in the past 48 hours.
His agent claims it's all speculation. I beg to differ. You and I
both know somehow, some way, Favre wants to play again
despite his public statements. Just when we thought we'd
seen the last of him sliding slowly to the frozen turf up in
Minnesota last season, here he comes again. We all know
you'd rather not go through training camp and play, Brett.
What we know and you don't seem to know is, you should
hang it up. For good. There's no more bullets in the revolver,
gunslinger. But it's almost the norm to wonder if he's coming
back this time of year.


2)Donovan McNabb will play for Minnesota. And still be the
Rodney Dangerfield of the NFL.

Let's face it, few players get crapped on like D-Nabb. It's been
like that his whole career, never mind that he's been a Pro-Bowl
caliber quarterback for his career up until last season and he's
taken a team to a Super Bowl. He still has some gas in the tank,
but not for as much money as Washington threw at him last
season before cutting him. He'll go to Minnesota only because
they need a starting QB who won't break down(like another
rumored choice, Matt Hasselbeck) and he'll be someone who'll
groom another backup, rookie Christian Ponder. The only thing
bad about this is that he may not have Sidney Rice to throw to.
And if he's still there when they move to Los Angeles, there's a
nice retirement bonus.


3)Rex Ryan will predict that the New York Jets are the best team in
the NFL. And may wind up doing something he may regret later.

Yep, Imperius Rex will make bold statements, swagger and crack
wise once again as the HC of the Jets. He's already predicted a
Super Bowl for the 3rd year in a row. But he may make a move with
the front office that will haunt him this season. The Jets have a
serious situation regarding free agents. Mainly, Santonio Holmes
and Braylon Edwards. That's a no-brainer though; keep Holmes,
get another WR on the cheap. But the D-Line will take a hit, with
Kris Jenkins retiring and Shaun Ellis all but gone. Then there's the
fact that everyone's screaming at them to pay free agent Nnamdi
Asomugha whatever he wants. Problem is, you'd have to let your
other corner, Antonio Cromartie go. I see the Jets making a move
like this but with NO backup plan. They've hyped up their fanbase
so much that they have to make Dallas Cowboys-like splashes.
And how many Super Bowls has Dallas been since the '90's? They
need to really be smart here, but I have a feeling that won't happen
here.


4)Randy Moss. Terrell Owens. Chad 'Ochocinco' Johnson. All three
will see some playing time this season. Only one will have an impact.

It's almost sad to see all three of these guys who used to put fear
in the hearts of defensive backfields be nothing more than Gatorade
connoisseurs. Granted, T.O.'s coming off surgery and #84 has no team
as of yet but I think they'll all wind up seeing more time this year. My
bet is, since T.O. will be a late addition this season, he's going to go to
someone looking for that edge nearing the playoffs. In that case, look
for the Jets, Steelers and(yes, I'm going here)the Bears. Ochocinco
will toil for the Bengals, but he won't get any real shine because they
still don't know who their quarterback will be since Carson Palmer is
willing to eat potato chips and drink pale ale for the whole season
rather than play for Cincinnati again. So that leaves Randy Moss. I see
him in Minnesota. I know, it sounds crazy but what do they have to
lose? He's probably looking to find a spot to play well, and he'd have
McNabb throwing to him if that goes down which would almost be like
the days when Daunte Culpepper used to tell him to go long. And he'd
be in the NFC North, where the only team that would pose an issue in
the defensive backfield would be Green Bay. It's better than him going
to Tennessee again.


5)Troy Polamalu will reach Ronnie Lott levels of defensive intimidation.

Troy Polamalu's already one of the most dominant and dynamic
defenders in the league without question. But he was hurt for a
while last year. I see him coming back as an absolute BEAST this
season, more so since Ike Taylor will likely be gone. Troy's the
type to put the team on his back with his defense, and with the
AFC Central really being a slugfest between them and Baltimore
this season, look for him to have that same kind of impact Ronnie
Lott had with the Niners during their dynasty.