10 NFL Games we’re most looking forward to in 2015
By Andrew Garda
Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots, Week 1 (TNF)
No Tom Brady. No Le’Veon Bell. No LeGarrette Blount.
This game has lost some of its luster, which begs the question – why is it on the list?
Well, it’s on the list because it lost some of its luster. Because there will be no Brady, Bell or Blount.
Because we have no idea how either team will react.
Now, Brady is appealing his suspension, per USA Today’s Nate Davis. Either the appeal will be dealt with before the season or Brady could be able to play while it’s being handled. All things being equal, we think the league will handle the appeal as soon as possible, likely cutting it down, though still including the first week.
Bell and Blount are gone, and that won’t change.
That leaves some intriguing angles to this game.
Jimmy Garoppolo enters his second year with a good chance that he will be starting in Week 1 against a Steelers pass rush which was not all that great last season (ranked No. 27 in the NFL against the pass) which makes this an interesting barometer to measure his progress so far and perhaps give a small glance at what the future might hold for the Patriots post-Brady.
Almost as interesting is who will replace Blount. Both Shane Vereen and Stevan Ridley are gone, leaving Travaris Cadet and James White to fill the void while Blount is out for the first game.
On the other sideline, we’ve got the absence of Bell, who will be replaced for several games by the aging DeAngelo Williams. After several seasons of marginal production in Carolina, the former Panthers running back had an awful, injury plagued 2014. It will be interesting to see what he has left in the tank and how the Steelers balance out carries for him, Dri Archer and potentially Josh Harris and how it affects the offense.
When the Steelers lost Bell for the playoffs, they were a different and less effective team.
And this is how we kick off the 2015 NFL season.
Next: Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers, Week 2 (SNF)