Features

NFL back in the spotlight

Author: John Harris
Date: 17/09/2009
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Baseball may be America's favourite pastime but nothing beats the return of football to excite sports fans on the other side of the Atlantic.

Seventeen weeks of intense, bone-crunching and electrifying action involving 32 teams from the length and breath of North America makes the new NFL season a truly enthralling proposition.

The question on most people's lips this year is can anybody stop the Pittsburgh Steelers from winning a second successive Super Bowl?

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The New England Patriots have been installed as the favourites in the online betting markets, but plenty of smart money is on the Steelers winning for the third time in five years.

Led by superstar quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, they began the new season with a 13-10 victory over Tennessee and proved that good teams are able to grind out victories even whey they are not playing well.

'Big Ben' has improved his game in every department since the Steelers' Super Bowl victory in 2006 and, with his formidable defensive unit kept in place during the off-season, Roethlisberger has everything he requires for a career season.

Meanwhile, most of the Patriots' hopes rest on the shoulders of the returning Tom Brady.

The talismanic quarterback missed most of the 2008 season after damaging knee ligaments in the fourth game of the campaign.

How well he is able to link up with key wide receiver Randy Moss will define how successful Bill Belichick's side are this season and whether they can win a fourth Super Bowl inside seven years.

Elsewhere, the majority of the off-season media coverage has concerned the return of two quarterbacks - and for very different reasons.

Brett Favre has come out of retirement for the third time to join the Minnesota Vikings.

Having returned one last season with the New York Jets, the legendary former leader of the Green Bay Packers will be hoping to bow out on a high with a second Super Bowl ring.

However, at 39 years of age, Favre may find the task of leading a middle-ranking side a tall order.

At the other end of the spectrum, NFL welcomes back Michael Vick to the fold following a much-publicised 23-month jail term for his part in a dog-fighting ring.

Formerly of the Atlanta Falcons, the three-time Pro Bowl selection was controversially allowed to return by commissioner Roger Goodell earlier in the month and the Philadelphia Eagles swooped to sign him to a two-year contract.

Some Eagles fans have publicly denounced the acquisition and Vick is certain to receive a hostile reception on the road if and when he steps in for first-choice quarterback Donovan McNabb.

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