Brady ready for business as NFL season opens

The New England Patriots and superstar quarterback Tom Brady launch their drive for a fifth Super Bowl title on Thursday with a resounding victory already in the books.

Brady lines up against the Pittsburgh Steelers a week to the day after a judge overturned his four-game suspension in the "Deflate-gate"saga in a ruling widely seen as a rebuke to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

However, the perception of executive ineptitude as well as concerns over domestic violence, concussion dangers and the emotive issue of team relocation have done little to dent the sport's popularity.

All will be shoved to the sidelines when the race to Super Bowl 50 at the San Francisco 49ers' Levi's Stadium on February 7 begins.

"It's time for me to do my job," Brady said.

New England will be trying to become the first team to repeat as Super Bowl champions since their own back-to-back triumphs in 2004 and 2005.

They denied Seattle a second straight crown with a dramatic victory in the championship showcase in February, but the Seahawks insist they've moved on from the last-play heartbreak in Phoenix and are ready to challenge again for the National Conference crown.

- Colts, Packers in the hunt -

Expect the Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens and Denver Broncos to have something to say in whether the Patriots again emerge from the American Football Conference, while in the National Football Conference the Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys and Carolina Panthers are top contenders in their divisions.

The Packers, led by quarterback Aaron Rodgers, will get a quick shot at revenge when they host the Seahawks in an NFC championship game rematch in the second week of the season.

In another conference championship rematch, Andrew Luck and the Colts host New England in Indianapolis seeking to avenge their loss in Foxborough in the game that brought the world "Deflate-gate."

For Indianapolis, 2015 is being painted as a "Super Bowl-or-bust" season, with the Colts counting on Luck to continue the progress that saw him take them deeper into the post-season in each of his first three campaigns.

The marquee quarterback match-up of Brady v Peyton Manning highlights week 12 when Manning's Broncos host the Pats in Denver.

The Broncos' title hopes rest squarely on Manning's 39-year-old shoulders. A revamped offense under new coach Gary Kubiak should ease wear-and-tear on the veteran star, who starts the year with 69,691 passing yards and needs 2,148 to surpass Packers legend Brett Favre atop the all-time list.

Manning isn't the only QB eyeing a milestone. New Orleans' Drew Brees needs four touchdown passes and Brady six to become the fourth and fifth signal-callers to throw 400 TDs in a career.

Dallas Cowboys' Jason Witten needs 57 catches to join Tony Gonzalez as the only tight ends with 1,000 career receptions.

In Tampa Bay and Tennessee, all eyes will be on a pair of rookie quarterbacks taken first and second in the NFL draft.

The Bucs' Jameis Winston and the Titans' Marcus Mariota will be trying to have the same immediate impact that Luck and Washington's Robert Griffin had when they led their teams to the playoffs in the same year they were drafted one-two.

- International appeal -

In San Francisco, Australian import Jarryd Hayne is in the spotlight. Having played his way into the 49ers' 53-man squad, the former rugby league star is already putting the NFL on the map in his homeland.

Niners coach Jim Tomsula called Hayne's successful leap a "tremendous achievement".

"It's the true story, the American way or the Australian way," Tomsula said of Hayne's appeal. "Work hard, keep driven, and you've made it."

It's a go-get-em philosophy the NFL continues to market to great effect overseas, and this year again sees it take it's bone-crunching brand of action to Britain for three regular-season games in London.

The number might have been more but for the demands of this year's Rugby World Cup, with talk of a London NFL franchise getting louder every season even as the league targets growth in neighbors Mexico and Canada and distant China.
Source: AFP