Nice to Meet You
So I’ll be honest, I’ve done this before. I’ve written articles for online consumption but they were far more ‘click-baity’ and if I’m honest, it was not overly satisfying. I started this site purely as an outlet for my thoughts and general waffling about the NFL with no aim to make anything from it. If I find a few people who enjoy my writing and engage with it, great, if not, then I still got to write.
Alongside me is someone I’ve known for years, Tom will be writing as well, whatever takes his fancy (prepare yourself for all the linemen articles) and between us it’s about storytelling, conversations, and a love for the game the brought us together.
The next admission. We are British, not American. With that I expect will come, well who knows, but it may not have quite the American flavour we are all used to when we consume our NFL fill. You will also see more u’s in words, flavoUr, coloUr etc. I will though do my best to spell Defense with an S but I make no promises I won’t just flip-flop between that and Defence.
Every week I’ll be putting out this article, The First Down, with a few storylines/narratives that have grabbed my attention over the week. I’ll follow it up with one on a Tuesday reflecting on the week. What will Tom bring? God knows! But it’ll be fun to find out.
Anyway, that’s enough for an introduction, as the season goes on I expect naturally you’ll learn more about us both. So onwards…a few things I’ll be watching for this first week (yes I know this has come out after the first game).
Rookies
Everyone is eager to see the shiny new toys, especially in week 1 where they all represent the mystery box that could ignite a team’s season. Realistically the large majority will end up nothing more than role players at best. That said, there are a few I cannot wait to see.
I’m a Ravens fan, what that means is that for the last 2 months I’ve been conditioned to believe that Ja’Kobi Lane is the next coming of Christ. Even if he cannot hit those heights, I’d settle for the next coming of DeAndre Hopkins (the pre-Cardinals version).
I’m also a Washington Huskies fan, the result of that is that I am also over-invested in Denzel Boston and Jonah Coleman. Neither start in great circumstances. One behind a former Raven, who admittedly struggles to stay healthy, the other relying on two (at least) quarterbacks who between them I’m not sure would realistically make a Britball team these days. Boston, along with his rookie running mate K.C. Concepción, do at least have the chance to shine brightly against a backdrop of utter trash.
Eschewing the obvious defensive choices, I am interested to see how Mansoor Delane does in Kansas City, as well as Dillon Thieneman in Chicago. Yes they are both first round picks, but i think they are both going to be extremely important to how their respective Defence’s perform this year, and subsequently, those franchise’s playoff hopes.
The list could go on but nobody really wants to see the same regurgitated rookie list that can be found on any number of articles. A slightly deeper cut though, keep an eye on Keith Abney II in Detroit. Their backend is in pieces and he has a real chance to make an early impact.
The Fight for the Number 1 Pick
Manning-watch starts here, and no, not the one hosted by Peyton and Eli. Any number of teams will be secretly hoping that, whilst putting on an acceptable display, the march towards Arch begins this week. Feel free to read in place of Manning any number of draft-eligible quarterbacks at this point. I’ve just gone for brand recognition. Right now, today, I don’t think Manning will be taken as the first quarterback in the Draft next February, that said, I am not brave enough to nail my colours to any mast just yet.
It would be great if college can throw up a number of quarterbacks this year that make teams excited. No disrespect to Cam Ward or Fernando Mendoza, but one QB classes just aren’t as exciting.
For the supporters of every team that has a quarterback then we can call this Jeremiah Smith watch instead. Potentially even Malachi Toney watch. It’s early in the season and we have a week of college to go on, no particular hot takes yet here.
Pretenders?
I can’t help but feel that for all the excitement around New England that they’re just an average team with a great young QB. There was nothing in the game against the Seahawks that really makes me feel they will make much noise in the AFC. They may get to the playoffs, but they will be one and done. They just lost to Drew Lock, admittedly with a huge helping hand from the Seattle Defense, but come on! I really just don’t get it. I love Drake Maye but the rest of that roster just isn’t it.
The NFC North is going to be a bloodbath, this is no hot take. But is it really just a bloodbath to be given the honour of shining the Rams’ cleats? I don’t think it’s that clean cut. It’s going to take something special to remove the Rams from contention, and that something may lie in the form of the Seahawks again, but I have a feeling one of these NFC North teams will look extremely like the real deal sooner rather than later. For the sake of my wife, and a happy household, I hope it’s the Vikings. Kyler is going to be fine…hopefully!
Whilst we touch on recent Lombardi winners, I think this year is going to end up to be another slog for the Chiefs. I just don’t see how they keep up on offense with the other AFC top tier contenders. Patrick Mahomes can’t just do it alone, and a mixture of Rice/Worthy/the corpse of Travis Kelce just isn’t enough and no, Cyrus Allen isn’t the saviour. Kenneth Walker III will make a difference, but it won’t be enough. I’ve not ever bet against Mahomes before a snap is made, but this is the year. Third place in the AFC West is calling out to them.
Both the Cowboys and Bengals are relying on rebuilt defenses in an attempt not to tank the efforts of two of the league’s most explosive offenses. Do I think either will be particularly effective? If I had to pick one, I’d say the Cowboys. Christian Parker has been getting hype for a number of years now and despite what we saw last year, I think they were closer to being not awful than the Bengals were. I also have extremely high hopes for Caleb Downs, nobody on the Bengals Defense excites me in the same way. With all that said, The Bengals trio of Burrow, Chase, and Higgins may well prove to be enough to drag them to the playoffs but at this point I’m going to say not.
Great Players
Whilst I am a diehard Ravens fan, that doesn’t mean I don’t also enjoy watching great players across the league. Justin Jefferson is due some passable quarterback play, please God! Seeing someone that talented wasted, as he was last year, is an injustice. Don’t let the 1,000 yard season fool you, nobody was happy about how 2025 went for ‘Jettas’ (honestly, some nicknames are awful!).
No other quarterback scares me as a Ravens fan quite like Joe Burrow. If he was on any other team I would be rooting for his success. Whilst I would happily watch the Bengals lose weekly, I just can’t help but enjoy watching Burrow’s play when he is humming. He really is a pleasure to watch. Him and Ja’Marr Chase provide fireworks on a weekly basis and anybody who loves the NFL has to appreciate that level of mastery of the game.
Finally, although there are many more I could name, I want to mention George Kittle. Has a nicer guy ever played in the league? Probably, but that isn’t the point. There is something about the juxtaposition of his character and the way he plays on the field that is just really enjoyable. I feel like he would be a great guy to have a drink or 5 with, but once he is on the field and the ball is snapped, he is all business. The minute the play is over, back to drinking buddy again. That’s how the game should be played and he does it better than anyone else.
Lastly, what I really want to see is a return of the Farmers Insurance ads, of all the thousands of adverts I’ve let flow over me I have never found a catchier jingle. I miss that and I miss J.K. Simmons. Sunday’s are just not the same without him.
Anyway that’ll do for now. It’s week 1 and at the time of writing this whole thing is a Schrödinger’s season.
I’ve realised I didn’t introduce myself as the start, bonjour, I’m Adam. Nice to meet you. I hope this finds its way to some eyes before it is horrendously outdated but if it doesn’t then whoever sees it in months to come can have a laugh at how bad this one Brit’s takes were.
Oh, one final thing. Whilst the site gets up and running there may be some placeholder posts that are yet to be updated. Ignore those for now, content is coming!