As the sun sets on July and an August dawn breathes life into a fresh NFL season, optimism breeds excitement from the coasts stretching into the heartland. It is the realization of Cubs fans' eternal cross to bear "There's always next year".   As fans, we now stare next year directly in the eyes, in the hope that this is it, the year our team hoists Lombardi (except all you Lions and Raiders fans). 

 

What inspires us to throw caution to the wind and lay our hopes on the line? It's the moves made in the offseason, the draft, the free-agent signings, and the coaching changes which lead us to believe our team is the team to beat in 2009. 

 

The moves made by management will surely pay off; the additions of Bart Scott, Mark Sanchez, and Rex Ryan will lead the J-E-T-S to the postseason for the first time since 2006, Matt Cassell will be the savior in Kansas City, T.O. will rescue Buffalo from the depths of the AFC East, and Darius Heyward-Bey will manage to escape the Coliseum alive.

 

These moves all carry the requisite question marks, but that only makes this time of year all the more sweet. The off-season and training camp would be hardly as much fun if we knew the effect Ben Roethlisberger's pending legal action will have on the Steelers in their bid to repeat, or whether Tom Brady can come back from reconstructive knee surgery to lead a Patriots team on another Super Bowl run.

 

Other than the moves themselves, where does this hope spring from? Is it the need to envision good in a world that seems increasingly evil and cold, is it the knowledge that every year a new gamebreaker emerges from the shadows in the mold of Dante Hall and Devin Hester, or does the reality that 7 of the 12 playoff teams from last year had not made the playoffs the previous season? 

 

I'll take option d, all of the above.

 

 

Without further ado, let's go On the Mark with our 2009 Season Preview.

 

The 5 BIG Questions:

 

1) Denver.  How will the messy Jay Cutler fiasco and subsequent fallout affect the best young offense in the league? Where do the Broncos find themselves with an unhappy Brandon Marshall, who tried to shoot his way out of town in the same manner as Cutler?  The offense should still be one of the top 10 in the NFL with the beardless Kyle Orton under center, and if Orton can keep Marshall happy with another 100 catch season the trade request should 'fade into Bolivian.'

 

As far as the other side of the ball is concerned any changes to shore up the sieve that was last year's defense should pay dividends, especially the addition of the perennial Pro-Bowler Dawkins at safety. Can Brian Dawkins provide the talent and leadership that the Denver defense is so desperately in need of? These moves might not all pan out but rookie head coach Josh McDaniels better hope they do and quickly, nothing could be more damaging to the young coach than stumbling out of the gate.

 

2) Minnesota.  As if the Vikings QB situation wasn't messy enough now they face a team divided by a guy who never stepped foot into the locker room.  With several key veterans hitting the recruiting trail in an ill-fated attempt to land Favre how does either QB trust his teammates? The other issues at work here are obvious can Tarvaris Jackson stay healthy and play mistake-free football for an entire season? Can career clipboard holder Sage Rosenfels avoid the potholes he's so used to driving an offense over when he gets a chance to play? 

 

Everything T-Jack has said about the Favre saga shows that he may finally be mature enough entering his fourth NFL season to finally grab the reins of a talented Vikings offense, but he's already sprained his MCL on day two of camp. Unless Rosenfels morphs into Trent Dilfer, a 31 one year old with no prior starting experience shouldn't be trusted to lead a team with Super Bowl potential. If T-Jack wins the starting job, as he should, there is some serious "me against the world" potential after the drawn out Favre-a-palooza.  If Rosenfels starts it's all over for the Vikes and Brad Childress, who still doesn't have a contract extension despite public support from team owner Zygi Wilf.

 

3) New England.  Can the Patriots continue their dominance of the decade?  Bill Belichick's team faces more question marks than usual heading into the 2009 season, but if any franchise knows how to silence doubters it's the Pats. 

 

By all accounts Tom Brady's return from injury is on schedule and he should be ready to play in pre-season games, however if he suffers a setback, the untested Matt Gutierrez is the likely replacement. The defense has two big holes to fill with Rodney Harrison finally calling it a career, and the versatile Mike Vrabel departing as part of the trade sending Cassel to Kansas City.

 

The offense will also need to adjust as McDaniels moved west to the Broncos, but if Belichick has proved anything over the years he can reload his coaching staff the way he reloads his roster. The Pats should be back in the playoffs this year after coming up just short last season.

 

4) Pittsburgh.  Is Pittsburgh ready to repeat? By all accounts the Steelers have learned from the poor defense of their Super Bowl XL triumph in Detroit as they look to avoid another championship hangover. Ben Roethlisberger's pending legal action seems to be something the team is paying little mind to, which should bode well for their fortunes. 

 

With one of the NFL's most talented young coaches in Mike Tomlin and little in the way of roster turnover the 'Burgh is poised to reign over the AFC North yet again. However, James Harrison must prove that he is more than a one year wonder on defense, and Santonio Holmes must build off his tremendous Super Bowl performance. 

 

The division should once again be tough with the Ravens and Ray Lewis looking to build off a strong first season by Joe Flacco, and the Browns looking to Brady Quinn as they try to return to their form of 2007.  At the end of the day the Men of Steel look primed for another strong season as they exude the appropriate amount of swagger mixed with the focus of a champion.

 

5) NFC West.  What will happen in quite possibly the most overlooked division in the league, the NFC West?

 

A healthy Matt Hasselbeck and the fourth overall pick Aaron Curry in Seattle should give the Seahawks a legitimate chance to climb back to the top of a division that earlier this decade they unquestionably owned.

 

Could a rejuvenated Alex Smith throwing to the uber-talented Michael Crabtree and the reformed Vernon Davis under the discipline of Mike Singletary restore some of the shine to the once proud franchise? If the disciplinarian Singletary can avoid any more pants dropping incidents and the quarterback situation works itself out, the Niners will be a contender in the division.

 

The Cardinals' bid to overcome the Super Bowl loser's curse was hampered by the off-season turmoil of Anquan Boldin's contract demands and trade request coupled with Kurt Warner's brief foray into free agency. The Cards overachieving last year set lofty goals which will not be reached again in 2009. 

 

The only sure thing out west is that the Rams will be making another top five selection next season as the rebuilding continues in the Gateway City.

 

Many more questions are abounding throughout the league - who will win the NFC East, the most rugged division in the league? Will Indianapolis and Tennessee battle for supremacy in the AFC South once more? Can the Texans make "the jump" or will the Jaguars overcome last season's rash of injuries? 

 

Will Cutler lead Chicago in the NFC North, or will the Packers switch to a 3-4 return them to the top of the division as Minnesota defends its crown? Is LT done as a premier back in San Diego? Can the Dolphins build on last year's 11-5 squad or will they come crashing back to earth? 

 

No one knows the answers to these questions, and it would be no fun if we did. Every team has a clean slate and a dream, most of which will be shattered by week eight; this is why we revel in the fresh start each training camp offers.

 

As always, more questions than answers and THAT is why we love the end of the NFL off-season and the kick-off of camp around the nation. That's On the Mark.