As the upcoming NFL season approaches, fans are buzzing with excitement. Every team starts 0-0 and anything is possible. Here’s a look at headlines that will be major topics of discussion for all 16 AFC teams heading into the season.

New England Patriots (12-4): Deflategate (again)

Might as well get this one out of the way. Yes, an appeals court upheld the 4-game suspension Brady triumphed over prior to last season, so New England has been preoccupied with “Free Tom Brady” chants at Fenway Park throughout the summer. Now, it’s become a waiting game to see if Brady brings his case to another level, or accepts the punishment. Regardless, Patriots fans are not happy with this one, and they’ll be talking about it all season long.

New York Jets (10-6): Fitzpatrick, Foles, or…Manziel?

The best bet for the Jets would be to get Ryan Fitzpatrick re-signed in a hurry. He had great chemistry with Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker as the trio (almost) led the way to a playoff berth for the Jets. Should they fail to retain him, Nick Foles will probably be expendable although the Jets haven’t contacted the Rams about a swap…yet. Obviously, Johnny Manziel is not a serious speculation here as anybody with a brain can foresee the drama that would ensue in the Big Apple with the crazed QB. If Tim Tebow failed there, Manziel would be an outright disaster.

Buffalo Bills (8-8): What will Rex Ryan promise this year?

Before last season Bills head coach Rex Ryan guaranteed a playoff berth for a franchise that hadn’t seen one since 1999. Simply put, the promise wasn’t kept. Ryan never fails to provide NFL fans with his boisterous attitude and maybe he enters this season with another promise, albeit a more reasonable one. If nothing else, you can’t fault a coach who has the utmost confidence in his players. Don’t ever change, Rex.

Miami Dolphins (6-10): Tannehill leading a team to over .500

Ryan Tannehill has been largely, and somewhat unfairly, criticized throughout his 4 year NFL career. It’s true that he has never led a Dolphins team to a record above .500 (7-9, 8-8, 8-8, and 6-10 consecutively), but he manages to post decent stat lines year in and year out despite Mike Wallace being the best target he ever had. The Dolphins dumped head coach Joe Philbin last year, and enter this season with Adam Gase at the helm. Sometimes it only requires changing some personnel and team ideology to get a team on track. I’m not saying they’ll unseat the Patriots as the Division Champs, but Miami has the talent on paper to at least get past 8-8.

Cincinnati Bengals (12-4): Exacting revenge on Pittsburgh

The Bengals were within 1:30 of their first playoff victory since ’91. That is, until a Jeremy Hill fumble, followed by combined 15-yard penalties by Pacman Jones and Vontaze Burfict, and a 35-yard Steelers field goal ended the season for a team that couldn’t and still can’t get out of its own way. This will stand as the worst minute and a half in Bengals team history, especially against their most hated rival. There’s no way September and December 18th aren’t both already circled on Cincy’s calendar. Although they’ll be without Burfict (serving a three game suspension) for the first matchup between the two teams, expect both games to be as hard-hitting as any you’ve ever seen.

Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6): Antonio Brown and 2k yards

A full season of Big Ben with Brown, based on their 2015 numbers, puts the receiver at 2162 yards and in their last 16 games together, Brown has 152 catches for 2039 yards. The receiving record (currently at 1964 by Calvin Johnson) and 2k yards are ripe for the taking in 2016. Brown believes he can be even better than he was before following some footwork training in his Dancing With The Stars appearance, and Roethlisberger has put in his own work to slim down and prepare for the season. It requires both players staying on the field, but maybe they’ll make it happen.

Baltimore Ravens (5-11): An entire roster’s worth of injuries returning

The Ravens were granted with the worst case of the injury bug the NFL has seen in a long time. The plethora of players to hit the IR list was the most on a John Harbaugh-led Ravens squad. Fans are anticipating the returns of Joe Flacco, Terrell Suggs, Steve Smith Sr. (who refused to end his stellar career on an injury) and Justin Forsett among others. Baltimore has a great chance at becoming a relevant playoff contender without even considering the addition of this year’s #6 overall draft pick OT Ronnie Stanley (not to mention the drive to win Smith Sr. a Super Bowl).

Cleveland Browns (3-13): No Manziel, but what will RG3 do?

How could the Browns situation get worse? Well, it couldn’t really. Out is Johnny Manziel and in is Robert Griffin III along with Hue Jackson who seems to work wonders everywhere he goes, kind of like Bruce Arians. The problem is, RG3 may be just damaged goods at this point and moving to the AFC North certainly won’t make his life easier. He’ll have to plan on using his legs to evade the predatory likes of James Harrison, Terrell Suggs, and Vontaze Burfict now. I’d say the odds of the oft-injured Griffin missing time this year are pretty high and the odds of him ending Cleveland’s QB carousel are low, but it’s still a much needed improvement over Johnny Football.

Denver Broncos (12-4): Repeating, with one major difference

The one and only problem with winning the Super Bowl is that your fans expect you to do it again the following season. Repeating is always a daunting task, and the Broncos haven’t made it easier for themselves. They retained a good chunk of the dominant defense that paved the way for Peyton Manning’s swan song. However, the major difference is the man expected to be under center, Mark Sanchez.  Not that Sanchez can’t be better than the decrepit Manning was last season, but there won’t be that same rally mentality, similar to what the Ravens may have around Steve Smith Sr. this year. Von Miller might have to prove his super-human abilities throughout an entire season for the repeat to happen.

Kansas City Chiefs (11-5): Time to make Jamaal Charles the #2?

Although this is not a serious question, it is remarkable what the Chiefs accomplished after losing Charles in Week 5 against the Bears last season. They proceeded to lose their next game, then rattled off 11 straight wins including a 30-0 postseason shutout in Houston. Turning a 1-4 record into 11-5 while subtracting the best player on the roster is an anomaly, and something previously thought to be impossible. The Chiefs proved doubters wrong and will gladly welcome the NFL’s all time yards-per-carry leader back into the fold. Chiefs fans have a lot to look forward to if Charles can keep both ACLs intact this season. Even if he can’t, it’s no sweat to KC anymore.

Oakland Raiders (7-9): Don’t try to copy the Rams. It won’t work

Raiders fans are one of the loudest and proudest fanbases in the league. Despite this and the recent leaps and bounds made by management over the last few years, rumors of relocation still rear their ugly heads. This is, in a word, disappointing, seeing as the Raiders have finally drafted and developed a good base for an offense, and have a star in Khalil Mack on defense. Las Vegas continues to be the speculated landing spot and -ahem- “certain businesses” are interested in seeing Raiders ownership follow through on the move. Remember how angry Rams fans were about the move to L.A.? Imagine that rage/bitterness x1000, and that’s how Raiders fans would react.

San Diego Chargers (4-12): Last place finish again?

On paper, the Chargers are better than average at QB, tight end, wide receiver and possibly running back depending on if Melvin Gordon can make strides (and how Danny Woodhead complements him).  They have the makings of a solid offense and their defense is always at least middle of the pack.  However, it seems that the other teams in the division have at least made bigger changes in the offseason, or just look better on both sides of the ball.  The Chargers could end up making a run at the playoffs, but the road will be tough considering the improving competition they’ll face on the way there.  Unfortunately, consecutive last place finishes isn’t out of the question.

Houston Texans (9-7): DeAndre Hopkins with an NFL-caliber QB

Hopkins has established himself as one of the NFL’s best wide receivers over the last two seasons. Astoundingly, he accomplished this while catching passes from Ryan Fitzpatrick in 2014, and a dreadful combination of Ryan Mallett, T.J. Yates, Brian Hoyer, and Brandon Weeden in 2015. Hopkins stands out as a skilled receiver who can thrive no matter who throws the ball to him, and now he’ll have Brock Osweiler throwing to him. Say what you will about the contract Houston gave him, but Brock should at least be able to outperform all 4 Texan QBs from a year ago; this can only bode great things for the improving Hopkins (who also happens to turn 24 years old today).

Indianapolis Colts (8-8): Healthy Andrew Luck (and all his weapons)

Colts fans can’t wait for this season to begin. Wunderkind Andrew Luck will finally/hopefully be rearing to go and return to a team that boasts plenty of talent on offense. Indy addressed the pressing need of O-line at long last, after recognizing the effects of not protecting their QB properly. Luck has been criticized in the past for not performing well against the league’s best teams, but you can’t argue against the overall numbers he’s put up when healthy (or the greatest neck beard in pro sports). Colts fans are expecting great things from their #12, and not having to face the Patriots in the regular season this year doesn’t hurt either.

Jacksonville Jaguars (5-11): The debut of two Top 5 draft picks

The only team with a Top 5 draft pick in both of the last two drafts, Jaguars fans get to see both of these picks make their NFL debuts at the same time.  DE Dante Fowler Jr., the #3 overall pick in the 2015 draft, lost his first season following an ACL injury. He joins this years #5 overall pick CB Jalen Ramsey in an attempt to bring respectability back to the Jacksonville defense.  For a team that has been overshadowed by division rivals Houston and Indianapolis for quite some time, fans are hoping for productivity from two coveted draft picks.  Is this the year the Jaguars finally end their seemingly never-ending rebuilding phase?

Tennessee Titans (3-13): MM, DM, and young potential breakouts

Marcus Mariota and DeMarco Murray are set to become what the Titans hope is a foundation for a powerful offense. Murray must be elated to be out of Philly and joins a team with a much better O-line suited to his style of north/south running. Mariota put together an all-around decent rookie campaign even without much help from a running game, and will have Murray take some much needed pressure off of him. His main target will probably be Pro Bowl tight end Delanie Walker in most cases, but Titans fans are looking at Dorial Green-Beckham and draft pick Tajae Sharpe (Go Minutemen!) as potential breakout candidates this season.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to keep an eye out for the second part of this post, focusing on NFC teams.

-Paul

Photo taken from Flickr Creative Commons.  Brook Ward’s photo can be seen here.

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