Newsday's football writers get you set for the start of the 2021 NFL season with a deep dive into the Jets and Giants, plus more from around the league.

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Robert Saleh has so many phrases he uses when letting his players know the standard and culture he wants. 
The first-year Jets coach said he could "recite a million," but his two go-to ones are "All Gas, No Brake" and "Go to bed better than when you woke up." 
The Jets are following Saleh’s lead and trying to meet those goals and standards every day. It’s a good start for a franchise that hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2010 season and is coming off a miserable 2-14 campaign. 
But the Jets have some ways to go before they end the NFL’s longest current playoff drought, and no one in the organization is making that an edict. 
"Nice try," general manager Joe Douglas said. 
Douglas has assembled the youngest team in the NFL. The Jets have placed the offense in the hands of rookie quarterback Zach Wilson. He is one of the 21 first or second-year players that make up nearly 40% of the Jets’ roster. 
The young kids will have to grow before the Jets can show they're a playoff contender. 
"We embrace the urgency at which everybody wants to win," Saleh said. "But at the same time that can’t affect your decision making for the long haul of the goal of winning championships for extended periods of time. 
"That urgency in the past has led to spurts of success and lengths of failure. We’re trying to get that reversed, to where we have long, long runs of success." 
The Jets’ history is littered with broken promises, broken dreams and broken hearts. In the 52 seasons since playing in and winning their only Super Bowl, the Jets have made the playoffs just 13 times. 
But everyone in the organization believes there are good things coming and that they’re finally constructing a team the right way. 
Douglas has been methodical in his approach and has positioned the Jets to make moves in free agency and trades for the right player. The consensus inside and outside of the Jets’ building is Saleh is the right man to be leading the team. 
The passionate ex-49ers defensive coordinator has rejuvenated and breathed life back into the franchise after Adam Gase’s two-year tenure sucked the air out of it. 
Saleh is fired up for the challenge and believes positive change is coming for the Jets. 
"I just believe that we’re going to build this thing the right way," Saleh told Newsday. "When everybody is on the same page and everybody has a common goal and people are doing things without agenda and all the focus is on doing everything that we can to help the players get better, you can’t help but feel like the organization is going the direction which is common with teams that win championships. 
"I believe in all my heart we’re going to get there one day." 
Almost all new 
The Jets had to purge after one of the worst seasons in franchise history. 
The head coach, offensive coordinator (Mike LaFleur), defensive coordinator (Jeff Ulbrich) and all their position coaches are new. The Jets have 25 new players; 26 if you include linebacker C.J. Mosley’s return after opting out last year. 
Both systems are new. LaFleur brought in the West Coast offense with the outside zone blocking scheme. Saleh runs a 4-3 front, meant to disrupt quarterbacks. 
The QB and the offense 
Wilson, the 22-year-old boyish-faced, strong-armed No. 2 pick from BYU, replaces Sam Darnold and is a major reason for optimism. The Jets have been extremely impressed and elated with Wilson’s work on and off the field. He devours film and is curious about every aspect of the offense and the defenses he will be facing. But the Jets don’t want to put everything on Wilson’s shoulders. 
LaFleur will lean on the run game behind a beefed-up offensive line that added veteran tackle Morgan Moses and rookie guard Alijah Vera Tucker. The Jets likely will use a running back-by-committee approach with veteran Tevin Coleman, Ty Johnson, rookie Michael Carter and second-year pro La’Mical Perine. 
This system, which features pre-snap movement, screen passes and jet sweeps, should take some heat off of Wilson and open up the play-action game. 
The Jets have vastly improved at receiver. They signed a No. 1 receiver in Corey Davis and also added Keelan Cole. They drafted the exciting, versatile rookie Elijah Moore, who can be a swiss army knife in this offense. 
Saleh and the 4-3 
His aggressive, attacking defense is proven: the 49ers wreaked havoc on quarterbacks and offenses. But losing new edge rusher Carl Lawson for the season to a ruptured Achilles definitely hurt. 
Saleh knows how to adjust. 
The Jets will use a rotation up front with Shaq Lawson, John Franklin-Myers and Bryce Huff on the edge and Quinnen Williams, Foley Fatukasi and Sheldon Rankins on the interior. 
Veterans Mosley and safeties Marcus Maye and LaMarcus Joyner will be asked to do the heavy lifting in the back seven while a number of young players get their feet soaked. 
The Jets could start two rookies at linebacker (Jamien Sherwood and Hamsah Nasirildeen) and are extremely inexperienced at cornerback. Bryce Hall, a fifth-round pick last year, leads a group with four rookies and two second-year players. 
Speaking of youth . . . 
Wilson, Vera-Tucker, Michael Carter, and Moore are the rookies expected to play prominent roles on offense. On defense, it’s Sherwood, Nasirildeen, and corners Brandin Echols, Isaiah Dunn and nickelback Michael Carter II. 
The Jets are expecting growing pains. 
"There’s going to be some mistakes," right guard Greg Van Roten said. "There’s definitely a learning curve." 
Rankins, who played for a Super Bowl contender in New Orleans, said the Jets need time. 
"We’re going to compete. That’s the one thing I can guarantee you," he said. "You’re never going to turn a game on and say they look like they’re not in it. Young quarterback, young playmakers all over the place, pretty much everybody’s new to all of this. It’ll take some time. It’ll work itself out." 
Fast and physical 
No matter what, Saleh wants his team to "play fast and play physical." If they do that, it will cover up for some of their expected mistakes. Saleh is preaching patience, but not that much. 
"Teams have gone the direction we have and have had success," Saleh said. "But with rookies and a young team, there’s going to be growth cause there’s going to be so many, "A-ha" moments. But what you’ll see is a group of young men that play their absolute tails off. They’ll run, they’ll hit and they’ll be excited to play this game." 
It’s a start.

New York Jets

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Meet the new Jets: Robert Saleh has vision to make them relevant again

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Tom Rock

Daniel Jones has thrown thousands of passes since the last time he played in a game that mattered. From the barnstorming workouts he organized with teammates in the spring to his private drills at home in Charlotte to the past few weeks of training camp and preseason work with the Giants, he’s been grinding away at his craft. His arm is like a perpetual motion machine, never tiring, always ready to do more. 
That’s what impresses people the most about Jones. 
"He works his tail off," wide receiver Sterling Shepard said. "Over the offseason, he's nothing short of that. We were throwing almost every week. We would have different throwing camps. That guy's going to come to work with an attitude every day. He wants to be great, and he's been working toward that." 
But of those thousands of passes, there is one that sticks out. It’s the one that, in many ways, exemplifies what Jones’ career has been through his first two seasons. It came on third-and-goal from the 1 in the final preseason game late last month, the Giants inches away from capping what had already been a sharp and efficient eight-play drive. He rolled to his right, saw tight end Evan Engram open and threw a no-look pass across his body. 
Had he hit Engram it would have been one of the highlight plays of the summer for any quarterback on any team and sent the Giants into the regular season on a roll. 
Instead, the ball was two yards behind Engram and intercepted. It overshadowed all of the other throws he made that night, all of them that he made in the months leading up to it. And it was just the latest face-palm moment from the quarterback who likely leads the league in that emoji. 
Take away that one pass and Jones is a fine-tuned engine ready to make the third-year jump that the organization is counting on him to execute. Include it and there are concerns that he may never become the franchise quarterback they need. 
In many ways, that’s what this season is all about for the Giants. Single plays here, little moments there, tiny opportunities that can be missed or taken advantage of, all of them adding up to a 17-game stretch that feels as if it will be a hinge year in the direction of the franchise. It’s why head coach Joe Judge has spent a great deal of time this summer preparing the Giants to vanquish their biggest enemy: Themselves. 
"He says it all the time: ‘You can’t start winning until you stop losing,’ " veteran tight end Kyle Rudolph said of Judge’s steady message. 
Are the Giants ready to do that? 
"We’re all 0-0, so we haven’t had an opportunity to lose or win," safety Logan Ryan said. "But we’re going to see." 
Judge isn’t talking about games when he wants to rid the team of losing, though. He’s talking on a more granular level. Drives. Plays. Decisions. 
"There’s a lot of parity in this league," Judge said. "There’s a lot of talent. The league is structured that the worst teams have the earliest draft picks, you get compensatory picks for players you lose in free agency. There are good coaches on every team, there’s good players on every team. It’s too close of a competition … Mistakes kill your chances of winning." 
Jones is not alone in making them. Over the course of the coming months there will be times when he throws the wrong pass, but there will also be players who run the wrong route or drop a would-be completion, or miss a tackle or blow a coverage that results in points for the opponent. If they can be mitigated, the Giants have a chance to break out of the funk they have been in over the past few years, having lost 10 or more games in six of the last seven seasons and have made the postseason once in the last nine campaigns. 
"We're trying to make sure we're sound across the board, playing as 11, and if we do that I think we could be one of the best," linebacker Blake Martinez said. 
Jones has almost all of the attributes that a team looks for in its quarterback. 
"There are just so many positives about him," offensive coordinator Jason Garrett said. "Start with who he is as a person, his approach, his competitive spirit, his smarts, his toughness, all of that. And then he has athletic ability. He's big, he can throw the ball, he can move around and make plays with his feet. I think we've all seen that." 
We’ve also seen the dark side, those terrible moments that are often ill-timed and can be team-crippling. 
If Jones can eliminate them — if the Giants can eliminate them — then this season could be a special one that perhaps sees their return to the postseason and potentially springboards them to the kind of sustained success Judge has been after since he arrived in early 2020. 
If Jones and these Giants can’t, it may be time to wonder if they ever will.

New York Giants

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Is this the year Daniel Jones and Giants take that next step?

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Zach Wilson doesn’t want to join the list of Jets’ supposed saviors who never led the tortured franchise to great success. He wants to be one of many players who helped turn around the Jets. 
That’s what made Robert Saleh’s message on draft night so meaningful to the 22-year-old quarterback. 
"This organization is going to lift you, not the other way around," Saleh told Wilson over the phone. 
Those words gave Wilson a sense of relief and belief that the right team drafted him. 
"I was excited about that," Wilson told Newsday. "Just because you have your doubts of, ‘Am I just going to be the next insert of Sam [Darnold] leaving and then I come in and people just think the day is saved. 
"That message that Saleh gave was you’re one of 53 guys. I think that’s so cool because it’s just like I can just do my job. I don’t have to worry about anything else. I just go in there and do what I know how to do best. I don’t need to press or do too much or think." 
Make no mistake: the pressure is on Wilson. He knows it. Saleh knows it. But Wilson laughs when he’s asked if he feels it. 
"Not at all," he said. 
Wilson has a calm approach and excels at being in the moment. That should help him because intense scrutiny is coming. 
The Jets picked Wilson second overall and handed him the keys to the franchise. Wilson is expected to be the quarterback who ends the Jets’ playoff drought — they haven't qualified since the 2010 season — and eventually takes them to the big game, which they haven’t been since Super Bowl III. 
"No doubt I want to be that guy," Wilson said. "But it goes back to I don’t think I necessarily need to and it’s a team thing. It stems from Coach Saleh and the culture that he’s creating that it doesn’t have to be me that flips things around. I don’t have to have that mindset of I need to win this game, or I need to do this." 
The Jets believe Wilson can be that guy or they wouldn’t have given up on Darnold three years after proclaiming him that guy. 
They trust Wilson’s process, demeanor, decision making and overall talent. The Jets also are putting Wilson in a better position to succeed than they did with Darnold. 
Wilson has more talented skill players, a better offensive line and the Jets are using a run-heavy system. All of this should afford the former BYU star more of a chance to develop and do what so many ex-Jets quarterbacks couldn’t. He’s already impressed his veteran teammates. 
"He’s really grown," center Connor McGovern said. "He’s taken huge strides from OTAs to now and he looks like a real professional quarterback. I’m expecting big things." 
Linebacker C.J. Mosley, said, "You haven’t heard his voice a lot but his play speaks so loudly … It’s exciting to watch, especially to see a rookie quarterback come in with the talent he has and put it to use Day 1 and keep growing and keep growing." 
Wilson has been compared to Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes because he can make plays off-script and throw the football at all different arm angles. That was in college. Wilson has to prove he can do it in NFL. 
He played well in the preseason: two touchdown passes, no interceptions and led four scoring drives in six series. Starting Week 1 at Carolina, Wilson will see first-team defenses for the first time. 
Wilson spends so much time watching film and in meeting rooms that the Jets believe he will always be prepared and quickly correct any mistakes. They’re confident he can handle what he faces on and off the field. 
"The way he’s built, the way he’s wired and the way he studies tape, the way he sits in the film room I can’t imagine him even knowing what Twitter is. I know he’s got all that stuff, but someone else must be running it," Saleh said of Wilson's social media accounts. 
"He’s built the right way. He’s got the right mindset and we’re going to learn a lot about each other. We believe that he’s going to be fine. Now he’s got to go do it." 
But Saleh, as he did on the draft night call, said it won’t be up to his young quarterback alone. 
"Everybody pins everything on the quarterback," said Saleh, the former 49ers defensive coordinator. "[I wanted] to let him know it’s not his job to get us to the Super Bowl. It’s the organization’s job to lift the entire team up. Not just him, but the entire team up so we can get there one day."

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No pressure, kid: How Jets coach Robert Saleh's words put Zach Wilson at ease

No pressure, kid: How coach's words put Zach Wilson at ease

Jets Packers Football

Besides sacks and tackles and Super Bowl titles, Justin Tuck was known for racking up quite a few keen insights and prescient predictions during his Giants career. A graduate of Notre Dame and Wharton, he’s a very smart man. 
But he has likely never been more wrong about anything than he was on May 16, 2012. 
That was the night he and the rest of the 2011 champs received their rings for winning Super Bowl XLVI. For many it was their second such token of a title in four years. Tuck was already looking forward to the next one. 
And why not? They had a 31-year-old quarterback who was a two-time MVP of the big game, a Hall of Fame caliber head coach and a solid nucleus of players who knew how to win. They were dizzy from success. 
"Our thing now is we want to make it a dynasty," he said that night at Tiffany &amp; Co. 
Tuck wasn’t alone in that belief. Louis Riddick, now an ESPN analyst on Monday Night Football, was the director of pro personnel with the division rival Eagles in 2011. He was bracing for a very long and sustained run of excellence from the Giants. 
"How they were constructed then, how Ernie [Accorsi] had laid the blueprint for Jerry [Reese] to build a sustainable winning franchise, was something that you thought would just carry on and they would continue to restock the football team along those lines," Riddick said. "You just felt as long as that blueprint was executed over and over, and there was no reason to think it wouldn’t, that they would always be there." 
This season the Giants will celebrate the 10-year anniversary of that 2011 Super Bowl-winning team with the solemn recognition that it did not become a dynasty. So much to the contrary, even team co-owner John Mara said he has "mixed emotions" about the season-long tributes that will take place at MetLife Stadium. Sure, they will honor a worthy team, but they will also serve as a reminder of just how miserable the past decade has been and how long the Giants have gone without winning, well, much of anything. 
Since they walked off the field in Indianapolis that February night in 2012, having beaten the Patriots, 21-17, they have posted a record of 57-87. Six of those nine seasons have ended with double-digit losses. Only two have ended with a winning record and only once have they reached the postseason, making it as an 11-6 wild-card in 2016. 
Few teams have fallen off a cliff like they did. They currently have the fifth longest streak of consecutive seasons without a playoff win following a Super Bowl victory in league history. They have four years to notch that postseason victory or else tie for the fourth-longest with – gasp! – the Jets. 
Had someone foretold that future to Mara when he was hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, the one he felt proved the upset win over the previously unbeaten Patriots four years earlier was not a fluke and helped reestablished the Giants as one of the premier franchises not just in the NFL but all of sports, he might have choked on the confetti falling around him. 
"There is no way I would have believed that," he told Newsday. 
For the players who won that championship, it has been difficult to watch the team struggle. 
"It’s getting to the point now where it’s embarrassing," said Chris Canty, a defensive lineman with the Giants from 2009-12 and now a radio host and NFL analyst for ESPN. "As a Giant alum I don’t want to be embarrassed by the franchise I played for. I want them to step up. I want them to be good." 
Said David Diehl, the left tackle on the two most recent Super Bowl teams: "It’s been tough for every one of us with the pride we have in the organization and being ‘once a Giant always a Giant,’ as Wellington Mara said. Even though you stepped away from the game you still have that passion and love and understanding of what it takes to bring it to a championship level." 
So how did the Giants get here, to the point they are basically celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the last time they had anything to celebrate? 
"You have some draft picks that end up not being productive, you have free agents who aren’t as productive as you thought they would be, and that’s a bad combination," Mara said. "Eli obviously got older and we didn’t give him enough to help him, either with the offensive line or with skill players around him. The pass rushers we had started to retire and we weren’t able to replace them. It’s a combination of all of those things. We thought we had it back in 2016, but that was just a mirage I guess." 
Riddick said the Giants’ inability to restock their strengths — a dominant offensive line and "waves and waves" of pass rushers — in the draft classes from 2011-14 led to their downfall. A string of busts that included Marvin Austin, DeMontre Moore and Jay Bromley were unable to become the next generation of line of scrimmage enforcers. Throw in skill position picks that didn’t work out like David Wilson and Rueben Randle and, despite his dynamic abilities, even Odell Beckham Jr., and 10 years without a playoff win goes by pretty quickly. 
"You saw the cracks and the foundation starting to deteriorate," Riddick said. "That goes a long way toward explaining how things crumbled… You can see where the decay took place. The guys who drove the bus for that [2011] team, the guys who made the Giants who they were, they were never replaced." 
Added Carl Banks, a Super Bowl champion of the previous generation and the team’s radio analyst for the past 14 years: "When you can’t keep your roster the way you want it, when you don’t draft the way that you should to supplement and complement the strengths of your team to protect the areas that are starting to get weak, that’s what happens. When you allow an offensive line to age and not put people in the reserve who are able to step up and develop and move forward into a starting role, that’s what hurts teams." 
Not everyone has a concrete reason for the despair. 
"It was the football gods, they just weren’t in our favor," wide receiver Victor Cruz sighed. "Things happen. Injuries happen. Our timing wasn’t right. So many things have to go in your favor throughout each season to be successful. Those next couple of years just weren’t for us." 
The one thing the past decade has taught many of those who will be feted in the coming months is just how special their championship season was. The fact they were 9-7 in the 2011 regular season and won the division and the Super Bowl then had the exact same 9-7 record the following year but didn’t even make the postseason illustrates how thin the line can be between parades and pouting, rings and ruing. 
"It shows you how difficult it is to win in the NFL," said Kevin Boothe, the starting guard for the team. "It’s very easy to assume that you are going to be in the playoffs or you’ll win 12 games or be in the divisional championship every year, and you quickly realize that it’s not very easy. What we saw in New England, that’s an anomaly. The difference between winning and losing at this level is so thin and a lot of things have to break your way for you to ultimately win the Super Bowl." 
Did he recognize that at the time? 
"Probably not as much as I should have," he said. "Once you win it or you win twice you say ‘That was fun, let’s do that again.’ The more time you are removed from it the more your appreciation for it grows and you realize how truly difficult it is to achieve those things." 
There is one thing nearly all of those who will be returning to the stadium this year seem to agree on, that the Giants are headed in the right direction. They all like Joe Judge — perhaps because he reminds them of Coughlin — and they are fond of the foundation he is building. 
"I think the team is in a good position now to turn that page," Cruz said. "On paper they have a team that is competitive, I feel like it’s a team that can go out and compete at a high level." 
That certainly would help take the sting out of the celebrations that are on the calendar for the rest of this year. 
"It is a very stark reminder for me and a lot of people in our organization that things have not gone well since that season ended," Mara said of the 2011 reunions. "It has been a very painful stretch. It makes it all the more important that we start winning games." 
That’s a far more humble mandate than Tuck’s desire to become a dynasty. But it reflects what has been a far more humbling decade than anyone could have imagined.

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Giants' 10-year Super Bowl XLVI anniversary comes as bittersweet

Giants' Super Bowl anniversary comes as bittersweet

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1. Zach Attack: Rookie quarterback Zach Wilson passed his training camp and preseason tests with flying colors, but it’s for real now. Starting Sunday, Wilson will face first-team NFL defenses and see different blitz packages and coverages for the first time. The No. 2 pick has proven to be a quick study. The Jets believe in Wilson has it all. He just needs to keep developing and stay calm, poised and grounded amid all the pressure and expectations he’s carrying. 
2. Defense can’t rest: Robert Saleh won’t let it, that’s for sure. But there are a lot of question marks on the defense. Losing edge rusher Carl Lawson for the season was a major buzzkill. Now some unproven players have to step up on the edge in Saleh’s 4-3 scheme, and Quinnen Williams has to take another big step on the interior. The Jets could start two rookie linebackers (Jamien Sherwood and Hamsah Nasirildeen) and are extremely young and inexperienced at cornerback. Teams will throw on the Jets' young corners. Saleh’s defensive genius will be tested. 
3. Protect the franchise: The Jets’ offensive line has underperformed in recent years. They beefed it up with rookie left guard Alijah Vera-Tucker and durable veteran right tackle Morgan Moses joining left tackle Mekhi Becton, center Connor McGovern, right guard Greg Van Roten and swing tackle George Fant. This group could do well in coordinator Mike LaFleur’s outside zone blocking scheme. But giving Wilson the protection that he needs to make plays and stay healthy will be critical. Eyes will be on Becton after an unimpressive training camp.

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Three keys to Jets' 2021 season

Three keys to Jets' season

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1. Barkley's return: Saquon Barkley is back. Will the explosive plays that made him the second overall pick and 2018 Offensive Rookie of the Year be back, too? The reality is Barkley has not been the same since early in the 2019 season when he suffered a high ankle sprain. He was able to function in the second half of that season and eked out a 1,000-yard year, and his production was awful in the game and a half before he tore his ACL last September. The Giants aren’t the only side counting on Barkley coming back in pre-injury form. The running back himself is in the fourth year of his five-year rookie deal and needs to prove he can still be a transcendent talent if he wants to land a transcendent second contract here … or elsewhere. 
2. Line it up: The Giants have essentially gambled the season on the development of their young offensive linemen. If second-year tackles Andrew Thomas and Matt Peart, guards Will Hernandez and Shane Lemieux, and center Nick Gates – all 25 years old or younger – can start to live up to the faith the front office has shown in them the Giants should be able to function as an offense. If they can’t, then the 2021 season can pretty much be chalked up as another in a series of disappointments due chiefly to the inability to protect the quarterback and open holes for the running backs. 
3. Under pressure: The one weakness on the defense is edge rusher where the Giants are hoping someone will step up and provide some sack numbers. Last year they managed to rack up 40 last year, but 21 of those came from defensive lineman (including 11.5 from Leonard Williams) and another 4.0 were from the players in the secondary. The only outside linebacker with more than 1.5 sacks all year was Kyler Fackrell, and he left in free agency. The Giants may have to rely on defensive coordinator Patrick Graham’s schemes to put pressure on quarterbacks more than individual dominance, but it would be nice if Lorenzo Carter, Oshane Ximines or rookie Azeez Ojulari could flirt with double digit sack totals this season.

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Three keys to Giants' 2021 season

Three keys to Giants' season

Patriots Giants Football

Bob Glauber

It’s Tom Brady’s world. We’re just living in it. 
The most wildly successful quarterback in NFL history, and perhaps the greatest athlete of any sport in any era, Brady continues to stretch the bounds of possibility. Even at age 44. 
He comes off a remarkable seventh Super Bowl title, in his first year with the Bucs after a legendary 20-year career with the Patriots, and he shows no inclination to leave the sport any time soon. 
Which leaves us looking — again — at Brady and Tampa Bay as the early favorites to win it all. 
Welcome to NFL 2021, which in some ways looks a lot like NFL 2001, the year Brady began to build his legend into what might be the most remarkable sports story of our time. 
Or of all time. 
You want to bet against Brady and figure Father Time has finally caught up to him? Go ahead. We’ve learned not to underestimate a quarterback whose skills haven’t eroded, nor has his will to win. Brady is every bit as intense a competitor now as he was when he first took over for Drew Bledsoe. And he never, ever, takes anything for granted. 
"This team, at the end of the day, has done nothing," Brady said of the 2021 Bucs. 
The chase is everything to Brady. Even after all these years. 
"It’s really fun for me," Brady said during training camp. "I love physically to train and put myself in a position to compete. I love that mental aspect of the sport, and I have a lot of fun doing it." 
It won’t be easy to repeat, however. Brady knows better than anyone how tough that can be. In fact, he’s the last quarterback to win back-to-back titles after the 2003 and 2004 seasons in New England. No team has repeated since then. 
There will be plenty of competition at or near the top of the NFC, even if the Bucs remain the class of the conference, Drew Brees is no longer playing and the NFC East remains mired in mediocrity. The team with the best chance of beating out the Bucs? The same team as last year. 
Look no further than the Packers and their own star quarterback. It was an offseason of drama and intrigue for Aaron Rodgers, who took a page from Brady by setting himself up for a potential exit from the only team for which he’s ever played. But before Rodgers has the option of leaving Green Bay, he is focused on becoming a repeat Super Bowl champion. For all his individual accolades — he’s coming off a third career NFL MVP season — Rodgers has only one Vince Lombardi Trophy victory on his resume. 
What better way to finish off his career in the place Lombardi made famous than capturing another championship? 
Another Bucs-Packers matchup in the NFC Championship Game? Why not? 
The teams in the talent-packed NFC West might beg to differ, and with the Seahawks a perennial playoff team, Russell Wilson has his own quest to win another Super Bowl title. But he also has to fend off the 49ers and especially the Rams, who have gone for broke by swapping Jared Goff for Matthew Stafford in hopes of getting back to another Super Bowl and getting a first championship ring for wunderkind coach Sean McVay. 
It’s a bit more competitive at the top in the AFC, but you have to like Patrick Mahomes’ chances of getting back to the Super Bowl for a third straight year. Kansas City rebuilt an offensive line that collapsed under the weight of injuries last season, and Mahomes looks as good as ever. He’s the best the NFL has right now, and unless Kansas City flubs a shot at winning the AFC West yet again, he’s the odds-on favorite to get back to the big show. 
Josh Allen’s Bills might be the biggest threat, as Buffalo continues to take major steps forward each year in hopes of getting to the top. And if the Browns can build on last year’s success under coach Kevin Stefanski, maybe long-suffering Cleveland fans can finally exult. 
But unless and until the Bucs are no longer standing in the playoffs, it’s still Brady’s world. Even if he may not think so. 
"We’ve got to keep earning it," he said. "I don’t think there’s any aspect of me that thinks what I’ve done last year means anything. I’ve got to do it this year." 
And off we go. 
Enjoy the best league going. The NFL rarely disappoints. Just like Brady.

Columnists

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What will ageless Tom Brady do for encore? Expect another super effort

Glauber: Never underestimate the immortal Tom Brady

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1. The continued emphasis on young quarterbacks. The NFL has never been more willing to play young quarterbacks, and that will especially be the case this year. This season will join 2012, when five rookie quarterbacks started Week 1, as the only seasons in the Super Bowl era that three rookies started in Week 1. The AFC East will start four quarterbacks – including Zach Wilson of the Jets – under the age of 25 for the first time since 1985. Incredible. 
2. The Browns to be legitimately good for a second straight year. The Browns’ fan base has been disappointed so often since the team was re-established in Cleveland in 1999, so let them get to the playoffs a second straight year. In fact, let them make a meaningful postseason run to help even the scales of karma. 
3. A change to the touchback rule on fumbles out of the end zone. This has been a topic of debate for years, and let’s hope the powers that be give serious consideration to allowing the team that fumbles in the end zone to at least retain possession, instead of awarding it to the defensive team at their own 20. 
4. No forfeits. The NFL is threatening forfeits to teams that have a COVID-19 outbreak so significant that they’re unable to field an adequate roster, especially when there’s an outbreak among clubs with multiple unvaccinated players. The NFL managed to get through last season in its entirety even before vaccines were available. Here’s hoping for a repeat this season. 
5. Dak Prescott wins comeback player of the year. It was a horrific ankle injury against the Giants that ended the Dallas quarterback’s 2020. What a great story to see him get back to his old self and give the Cowboys a legitimate shot at a playoff berth. 
6. Aaron Rodgers enjoys a fairy tale season. He wasn’t sure if he’d retire or not after the Packers selected heir apparent Jordan Love. But how great would it be to see Rodgers follow up on his MVP season with a Super Bowl run. 
7. Patrick Mahomes continues to be the most electrifying player of our time. This guy’s joie de vivre on a football field is the best thing about the NFL right now. May he play at this level for another decade or more. 
8. Daniel Jones turns into the quarterback the Giants need him to be. The stakes couldn’t be higher for Jones and the Giants. If he rises to the moment and shows he can be this team’s franchise quarterback, they’ve got a chance. If not, then they must face the unfortunate possibility of having to start over. 
9. The Jets show real signs of sustainable progress. The Robert Saleh-Zach Wilson-Joe Douglas partnership sure seems right. 
10. The Rams become as good as we think they can. This team defines the go-for-it-all mentality after trading for Matthew Stafford. May the former Lions quarterback thrive in Sean McVay’s offense and electrify the Los Angeles market.

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