As the National Football League (NFL) begins its 2009/2010 season, fans of all 32 NFL teams prepare to cheer on their teams.
Starting on September 10th, each NFL team will participate in a sixteen game season in hopes of winning footballs ultimate prize, the Super Bowl.
With the new season beginning, the critical question for most fans is which team made the biggest and best off-season transactions to help them win the Super Bowl.
The two teams that most New York fans would like to see win the Super Bowl are the New York Giants and the New York Jets.
Yet both teams made very different off-season moves in order to have the best chance at winning the Super Bowl.
The move that most helped the New York Giants during teh off-season may have actually hurt their chances in the Super Bowl.
During the off-season the Giants released whom many have known to be their star player, Plaxico Burress.
At the end of the 2008/2009 season Burress accidentally shot himself in the leg.
The Giants released Burress when brought up on charges of possession of an illegal weapon.
Months after his release from the team, Burress and his lawyers accepted a plea deal that will put him in prison for two years.
Burress recently started his sentence at the Ulster Correctional Facility on Wednesday, September 23rd.
With time off for good behavior, Burress could walk out of prison on June 6, 2011.
The Giants’ most significant goal during the off-season was to address the loss of possibly their best player.
Some think that with the drafting of Wide Receiver Hakeem Nicks, the Giants may be able to cope with the loss of Burress.
“I think that the Giants are going to do above average this year because their defense is solid,” said senior Brian Lopez.
However, with the loss of Burress, along with the decision not to renew the contract of Amani Toomer, most fans feel that the Giants will have a tough time reaching the Super Bowl this season.
The New York Jets major move of the off-season was drafting quarterback Mark Sanchez out of the Univeristy of Southern California.
An even bolder move by the Jets was making Sanchez the team’s starting quarterback.
“I thought it was a smarter choice to start Sanchez because he has more talent than the alternate quarterback Kellen Clemens. It was pretty much a given because of Sanchez’s performance in the pre-season,” said senior Paul O’Hara.
This is a huge turnaround from the Jets starting quarterback last season, Brett Favre.
The Jets are going from a veteran to a rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez, who has no NFL experience.
Brett Favre also made major headlines during the off-season. After ending his run with the New York Jets, Favre announced his retirement.
Just weeks after announcing his retirement, Favre announced that he was signing with the Minnesota Vikings.
This move gives the Vikings a tremendous advantage in getting to the Super Bowl, as they now have one of the greatest
quarterbacks of all time and one of the best running backs playing in the NFL today, Adrian Peterson.
With the addition of Favre, many feel that the Vikings have an extremely good chance of getting to the playoffs and eventually winning the Super Bowl.
While Brett Favre made a huge impact during the off-season by coming out of his short lived retirement, the biggest statement during the off-season was made by Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Two seasons ago, Michael Vick was put in jail on charges of running and investing in a dog fighting ring. This off-season, the Eagles made the controversial decision to hire Vick as a backup quarterback.
One week into the season, the decision to hire Vick is looking to be a wise one as Eagles starting quarterback Donovan McNabb is out of action with bruised ribs.
“Despite me not agreeing with what Michael Vick did, the Eagles organization made a good decision hiring Michaels Vick now that Donavan McNabb is hurt,” said Physical Education teacher Mr. Dennis Barret.
These major off-season moves were all made by teams in order to position themselves to win the Super Bowl.
No matter which teams make it to the Super Bowl, all 32 NFL teams hope that they made the best moves possible in order to win footballs ultimate game.
