It’s my favorite season of the year: football season.
There’s nothing better than having the excuse to eschew all weekend responsibilities to sit
down, ingest whatever your heart desires and consume as much football as possible over the
next few months.
Aaron Rodgers is on the Jets, Tom Brady is apparently retired, Arizona is a dumpster fire,
Jacksonville might be great and that’s barely scraping the depths of storylines going into the
2023 NFL season.
Here are my predictions for the 2023 NFL season as it relates to the hobby.
Justin Fields Time
I am all in on Justin Fields. I have to be.
I’m a Bears fan that sat through Jay Cutler’s four-interception performance against DeAngelo
Hall and still have to admit that Cutler is the best QB in franchise history (statistically). Let me
have this.
Fields has everything you could want from a collectability side: college pedigree, high-upside
and the potential to save a moribund franchise.
MVP: Josh Allen.
It’s now or never with this aging Bills roster surrounding Allen. If he can lead his side to a
division title in the toughest division he’s ever played against, I expect all of the national pundits
to be pushing the “Josh Allen for MVP” narrative.
DPOY: T.J. Watt.
It’s time for this Watt to add another trophy to his collection. If his defense can lead Kenny
Pickett and company to the playoffs, Watt will be at the center of it.
OPOY: Trevor Lawrence.
Breakout season incoming.
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Bijan Robinson. Dark horse: Evan Hull, Colts.
If Bijan Robinson stays healthy, he will be a monster in Arthur Smith’s offense. I haven’t been as
excited to see a non-quarterback make his NFL debut since Penei Sewell.
I’m taking the upside play on Hull if the Jonathan Taylor situation doesn’t get resolved swiftly.
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Will Anderson. Dark horse: Joey Porter Jr.
Anderson is going to get a whole lot of tackles under DeMeco Ryans.
Biggest Surprise: Carolina Panthers, NFC South Champions.
The combination of Frank Reich with Bryce Young and a weak NFC South has all the makings
for the Panthers being the surprise team of 2023.
Biggest Disappointment: Year Three of Mac Jones.
Remember when it was rumored that Kyle Shanahan traded up in order to select Mac Jones
instead of Trey Lance? Well, that would have worked out better than the actual selection but
Jones remains a largely mediocre NFL quarterback. The AFC East is incredibly strong this
season and all signs point to a fourth place finish for the Patriots.
With a proper offensive coordinator in-place for New England in 2023 with Bill O’Brien, this is a
make-or-break year for Mac Jones and I don’t see it ending well.
Purchase for the future: Millwall Supporters’ Club 2023/24 membership
If you care about a soccer club, you should join their supporters’ group. It always benefits a club
to have a healthy group of supporters who are willing to consistently create an atmosphere at
matches. The Millwall Supporters’ Club sends out cards for each member to keep, a nice thing
to have as more and more stadiums go away from distributing paper tickets.
Random Memorabilia Item of the Month: 2023 BMW Championship hat
I was surprised a few years back while attending a previous BMW Championship when I
learned that each PGA Tour event didn’t sell its own course-branded gear. That changed in
2023 when Olympia Fields Country Club decided to add their logo to certain items at the
tournament. Naturally, I had to buy a hat with the club’s logo.
Adieu
See y’all next month. I’ll have seen Messi in-person by then. I wonder if that will change me?
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