NFL OVERVIEW: Preseason Thoughts

Preseason in the National Football League has finally come to a close and the regular season soon begins, although injury, and ineligibility seem to be an issue for teams around the NFL. The very first NFL game of the 2017-2018 season begins September 7th, 2017. The Kansas City Chiefs will be taking on the defending super bowl 51 champions the New England Patriots. New England is a top five offense in terms of yards from the 2016 season. The Chiefs have a lot of talent on this years roster. Tyreek Hill’s speed and Travis Kelce’s elusiveness will help the Chiefs drastically.

Also breaking news around the league is that Ezekiel Elliott will in fact play Sunday, September 10th vs the New York Giants. If  Elliotts six game suspension stands starting week two he will not be allowed to play until the suspension is served. If Elliotts suspension stands the games he will miss are against the Denver Broncos, Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, Green Bay Packers, San Francisco 49ers, and the Washington Redskins. Elliott being able to play Sunday against the Giants adds another offensive weapon to the Cowboys team. Remember that Dallas lost to the Giants twice in the regular season last year, so Elliott being able to play is huge for them. Head coach of the Dallas Cowboys Jason Garrett will practice Elliott unless told otherwise. Garrett stated, “Ezekiel Elliott will practice until someone tells him not to.”

A big matchup  Sunday, September 10th will be two rivals clashing heads. The Seahawks will take on the Packers at Lambeau Stadium in Green Bay. The focus on this matchup will be the quarterbacks. Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers are both top notch veteran quarterbacks. Both are pretty mobile guys that know how to move around in the pocket and outside the pocket when needed to.

The NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is also moving towards making the game more enjoyable to watch, and are trying to cut out commercial breaks, but the games will only be shortened by a few minutes. Last year the average NFL game lasted for 3 hours and 7 minutes. Another change that was made in the offseason was celebrations. Players can now express themselves more than they could before. They can now celebrate on the ground, use the football as a prop, and do group celebrations. Although, twerking is still prohibited sorry Antonio Brown.