All the answers to your questions about the 2017 NFL season
Sure things are a rarity in the NFL.
The New England Patriots win. They have won eight in a row when opening the season at Gillette Stadium.
The Cleveland Browns lose. They have lost 12 straight openers.
And — pay attention Browns — somebody whips a U-turn. In 13 of the past 14 seasons, at least one NFL team has gone from last place to first in its division.
Mostly, though, the league is a mystery. Here are some questions heading into this season:
Heading into training camp, it looked as if the defending Super Bowl champions had built the perfect team. How goes it for the New England Patriots?
August was the cruelest month. New England lost both receiver Julian Edelman and its top draft pick, defensive end Derek Rivers, to season-ending knee injuries. There were also the retirements of linebacker Rob Ninkovich and receiver Andrew Hawkins. Still a great team, but the Patriots took a big step backward.
Can the Atlanta Falcons avoid a Super Bowl hangover?
With their historic collapse in their rear-view mirror, the Falcons are ready to make another run. They’ve got the same potent offense and a glistening new stadium. They need to do a lot better than they did the only other time they appeared in a Super Bowl. That was in 1998, when they lost to Denver. Those Falcons went 14-2 and won the NFC. But the season after that they stumbled to a 5-11 finish.
With J.J. Watt back, are the Texans a super defense?
If Watt is back to his former self after the back problems that sidelined him last season, Houston should be tremendous. The Texans had the No. 1 defense without him in 2016, but gave up too many points and didn’t force enough turnovers. Watt was healthy for the first two games last season. The Texans were 2-0 with nine sacks and had forced three fumbles. Without Watt, it took them seven more games to get another nine sacks, and they forced only four more fumbles the rest of the season.
Are we headed for Dak Attack II?
The football world will be watching as second-year Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott looks to get the job done again for the Cowboys, possibly without last year’s fellow super-rookie Ezekiel Elliott, who’s fighting a six-game suspension by the league. The Cowboys might have the best offensive line in the league — although the Raiders, Redskins and Steelers would have something to say about that — and Pro Bowl receiver Dez Bryant. They also have a defense that allowed just 83.5 yards rushing last season, best in the NFL.
Buffalo hasn’t made the playoffs since 1999. Is Tyrod Taylor the quarterback to get the Bills there?
It doesn’t help that his best receivers are either playing elsewhere or retired. Taylor’s not in a great position to succeed this year. Losing Sammy Watkins (Rams) and Anquan Boldin (retired) really hurt. They don’t really have a proven guy to stretch the field, so Tyrod is probably going to be facing a lot of blitzes and will be forced to make a lot of fast decisions. They’re not going to be able to defeat defenders one-on-one a lot.
Are Raiders games going to be even more weird?
The situation in Oakland could get really uncomfortable, seeing as the Las Vegas-bound Raiders are going to be a lame duck in their current city for two and maybe three seasons. Then again, back in 1980, there were loud rumblings that the Oakland Raiders were going to leave for Los Angeles. That team overcame the distraction and wound up beating Philadelphia in the Super Bowl … then moved to L.A. a year later.
Who catches the biggest break in Week 1?
It has to be the Rams. They play host to Indianapolis with Scott Tolzien — and not Andrew Luck — at quarterback. Tolzien is 0-2-1 as a starter, and the Colts are a vastly diminished team without their leader Luck, who’s still recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. For the Rams, that takes the sting out of Aaron Donald’s contract holdout — for a week, at least.
Is Green Bay going to dig another hole?
Hey, the Packers must be doing something right. They and New England are the only teams to make the playoffs the past eight years. But why all the heartburn in Green Bay? Because the past five years, the Packers have had to scramble to bail themselves out of trouble. They got off to a 4-6 start last season; went through a stretch in 2015 when they lost four of five; and started 1-2 in 2014, 5-6-1 in 2013, and 2-3 in 2012. Some people think Aaron Rodgers should play more in the preseason, but coach Mike McCarthy clearly isn’t one of those. Rodgers threw 13 passes for 49 yards in exhibition games this summer, fewer yards than any regular starter but Cam Newton.
Now that Detroit has backed up the Brinks truck and made quarterback Matthew Stafford the highest-paid player in history, what do the Lions have to worry about?
Stafford’s blind side. They’ve got Greg Robinson, the onetime No. 2 pick who flamed out with the Rams, starting at left tackle.
Which rookie will we all be watching this fall?
Tony Romo. He’s not a rookie quarterback, but a first-year analyst for CBS. It’s not an easy job, even though the former Dallas Cowboys star won’t be sore the day after games. Broadcasting isn’t for everybody. Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana tried it after retiring, and it never felt like a good fit for him. “It was different being in the studio,” said Montana, who briefly was on NBC’s game day show. “But it was so funny. Because a lot of times I felt like they don’t really care whether you’re right or not. As long as you’re loud and argumentative and definitive, they don’t care. They didn’t really want me to analyze the game. They wanted me to tell a joke or make fun of somebody or something.”
Who’s the dark horse team to keep an eye on?
Tennessee. Not only were the Titans No. 3 in rushing last season (136.7 ypg), but also they’ve given Marcus Mariota some good receiving targets in Eric Decker, and rookies Corey Davis and Taywan Taylor. They also have former USC star Adoree’ Jackson, who figures to be a star in the return game.
How important is it to begin the season with a win?
Last year, nine of the 12 playoff teams were winners on the first weekend.
It’s worth noting that San Francisco has the longest such winning streak and is on its fourth coach in four years. And last season, the 49ers opened by shutting out the Rams, 28-0, and won just one more (against the Rams) the rest of the way.
Can Pete Carroll corral all the personalities on the Seahawks and get them all moving in the same direction?
He’s done it before. In fact, Carroll’s teams seem to be at their best in tumultuous situations. Offensive line is still an issue with this group, as it has been for several years, but the Seahawks might have the best front seven in football. Russell Wilson looks to be at the top of his game, and the NFC West is a very winnable division. Watch for Seattle to make another postseason run.
Best early grudge match?
New Orleans at Minnesota in Week 1, with running back Adrian Peterson facing the Vikings.
“In my mind, we’re starting and ending the season in Minnesota,” Peterson told reporters, referring to this season’s Super Bowl city. “Of course I want to stick it to them. I want to stick it to everyone we play. But going back to Minnesota, playing the Vikings? Yeah, I want to stick it to them.”
Can Miami’s Adam Gase and Jay Cutler rekindle the kind of offensive magic they created in Chicago?
That’s the goal, as Cutler had the best year of his career in 2015 when Gase was his offensive coordinator. The Dolphins have an outstanding receiver in DeVante Parker and a big-play running back in Jay Ajayi, so it wasn’t crazy for Cutler to come out of retirement to join this team. He’s going to be playing behind a patchwork offensive line, though, and Cutler never really has been a winner when games count the most.
Is Marvin Lewis nearing the end as Cincinnati’s coach?
He needs to produce in the postseason. He’s 0-7 in playoff games, and, as Marty Schottenheimer can attest, sometimes that becomes the big story and it’s difficult to drown out that noise.
Are we going to see a Cardinals curtain call?
This could be it for one or more of this Arizona trio: quarterback Carson Palmer, 37; receiver Larry Fitzgerald, 34; and coach Bruce Arians, 64. Retirement talk has swirled around all of them.
Two teams in Los Angeles means … ?
You’ll want to stay off the freeways on Sept. 17, and Dec. 10 and 31. That’s when the Rams and Chargers will play host to simultaneous home games. That almost never has happened with two NFL teams in the same city (or immediate region), mostly because the Jets and Giants have shared a stadium since the early 1980s. It’s very rare for the Raiders and 49ers to be playing home games at the same time.
So what happens in the Super Bowl?
Pittsburgh beats Seattle.
Follow Sam Farmer on Twitter @LATimesfarmer
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