A few brief thoughts ...

 ... on the NFL, because the NFL is BACK, baby!

Got off to a whiz-bang start last night when Jalen Carter SPIT IN DAK PRESCOTT'S FACE, after which Jalen's Super Bowl champion Eagles spit in Dak's Cowboys' faces, 24-20. But, look, the Cowboys outgained the Iggles! And Dak out-passing-yard-ed Jalen Hurts! And the Iggles had 110 yards in penalties, which proves once again the officials will punish anyone who dares beat the Chiefs!

(Which the Iggles did, remember, in the Super Bowl)

Anyway, it's time once more to fill your Sundays and Monday nights and Thursday nights and -- this week anyway -- Friday nights with NFL action. To place your prop bets that the Saints will surely kick a field goal on This Very Drive. To curse yourself for deciding to start Joe Flacco instead of Joe Burrow in the home opener for your fantasy team, Mahomie Don't Play That.

A few thoughts, as it all begins again ...

* The Senior Bowl happens on October 12.

That's when the Pittsburgh Steelers, quarterbacked by 57-year-old Aaron Rodgers, play host to the Cleveland Browns, quarterbacked by 72-year-old Joe Flacco.  It will be Walker Night in Heinz Stadium. The featured stadium cocktail will be an Old Fashioned. Rodgers will reach back to his youth, when he was only 42, to throw a couple of touchdown passes in a 27-12 Steelers win.

Shedeur Sanders will make a brief appearance for the Brownies. He won't play, he'll just make a brief appearance on the sideline, wearing a cowboy hat and Wrangler jeans and a clipboard slung low on his hips.

* Daniel Jones will be the Colts starting quarterback. Until he's not.

Despite assurances from head coach Shane Steichen that Jones is his season-long QB1, precedent tells us this will not be so. Jones will play until he proves he's still the same "meh" dude he was with the Giants, and then Anthony Richardson will play until he throws another souvenir into the stands and/or gets hurt. 

Then Jones will reappear long enough to remind Steichen why he benched him in the first place. Then Riley Leonard will get a shot. Then, heck, maybe they bring back Bert Jones or someone.

* Kansas City will not make it to the Super Bowl again, no matter what the Grassy Knoll Brigade thinks.

All signs point to a step back for the Chiefs, even if they do get all the calls because the zebras are on their payroll. Travis Kelce, preoccupied by wedding plans (Gardenias or African violets?), will take a step or two back himself because that's how many steps he's lost. This means Patrick Mahomes' only safety-valve option will be either the ghost of Otis Taylor or the ghost of Fred Arbanas.

Which leaves the road to the Big Roman Numeral open for ...

* ... Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens.

Or, maybe ...

* ... Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.

Could this finally be the year for the Ravens/Bills?

"Don't we hear that every year?" you're saying now.

Well, yes. But this time it could really, really happen. Really.

* Who will be the league's breakout rookie?

If you said Jaxson Dart of the Giants, you're wrong. I mean, it's the Giants.

Cam Ward of the Titans?

No. Because, again, the Titans.

Tyler Warren of the Colts?

Nope. See above.

I'm picking Ashton Jeanty, stud running back from Boise State. Yeah, he's playing for the Raiders, who are still the Raiders. But there've been hints he could be special in a Christian McCaffrey/Saquon Barkley sort of way. We'll see.

And last but not least ...

* The NFC North.

Undisputedly the toughest division in football, it will be a gorgeous bloodletting from Week 1. The Lions are still as nasty as ever; to prove it, head coach Dan Campbell  floated the idea of having an actual lion lead the team onto the field each week. The Vikings have J.J. McCarthy back. The Packers stole Micah Parsons from Dallas. Even the Bears might be formidable if new head coach Ben Johnson can get them to stop doing Bears things.

Monday night they open against the Vikings. Then it's on to Detroit to face the Lions. Be there or be square.