Looking Forward to the 2010 NFL Season

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With all the coverage surrounding the annual Brett Favre retirement saga, the Albert Haynesworth conditioning test, Darrell Revis' holdout, and the Terrell Owens/Chad Ochocinco pairing in Cincy, I thought I would give a short list of the five things I am most looking forward to for the 2010 NFL season.

1A. The Pete Carroll Era in Seattle

As a lifelong Seahawks fan and a Trojan alum, this couldn't have been a better match. While I was sad to see Pete leave SC, I would rather him go to Seattle than anywhere else. His past stints in the NFL have been overvalued and I think the next couple of years will give us a more accurate picture of his coaching abilities at the professional level. He has full control of personnel, a great owner with money, a great fan base, in a great city. The team? Not so great. The Seahawks have veteran leadership at quarterback, a solid defense built around franchise-caliber players like Aaron Curry and Lofa Tatupu, and young talent like Russell Okung and Earl Thomas. I am not realistically expecting the playoffs in year one, although that would be awesome. But I am expecting signs of improvement.

1B. Fantasy Football

For obvious reasons.

2. New Places, Same Faces

A lot of marquee players shuffled around in the off-season, and I cannot wait to see which moves worked and which moves didn't. I am most excited to see Donovan McNabb in Washington. I have always been a huge McNabb fan, and I hope he gets the support he deserves while playing for the Redskins. Some other acquisitions that I am excited to see are Anquan Boldin in Baltimore, Julius Peppers in Chicago, Brandon Marshall in Miami, and yes, Terrell Owens in Cincinnati.

3. J-E-T-S

I am really excited for Year 2 of Mark Sanchez in New York. Last year the Jets had an amazing run to the AFC Championship game, and as challenging as that was, it may be even more challenging this season. The league always finds ways to adapt. Teams like the Patriots will be healthy again and gunning for the young Jets. Can Rex Ryan conjure up some more magic to inspire his team? Sanchez certainly hopes to improve off of his rookie campaign and all signs in camp point to a more composed, experienced quarterback and leader. They lost two very important pieces in their vaunted rushing attack in Leon Washington and Thomas Jones, so the burden will be on Shonn Greene and newly acquired veteran LaDainian Tomlinson. The defense also improves with the pickup of Antonio Cromartie to play opposite of Revis Island. But how will Revis and his holdout affect the team? Gotta love it all.

4. Rookies

It's always great to see the young kids out of college jump into the pros and find their footing. Sam Bradford should get the nod in St. Louis and we will see how his shoulder holds up, as well as his mental fortitude because the Rams will undoubtedly be a cellar dweller. I already mentioned the Seattle rookies. Then there's the men in the middle like Ndamukong Suh and Gerald McCoy. Finally, I can't wait to see the playmakers like Eric Berry, C.J. Spiller, and Dez Bryant.

5. Adrian Peterson

He's my favorite player in all of football (inches ahead of Ed Reed). He's the best running back in the game. The most dynamic player on the offensive side of the ball. And he is sponsored by Muscle Milk. I can't wait to see my boy ALL DAY suit up and run over defenses. Oh yeah, and the opportunity to see Brett Favre try again to win the Super Bowl might be cool, too.