Sam Acho Exclusive: Trevor Lawrence is a 'sneaky' MVP candidate

Former NFL player Sam Acho shares his insights on the upcoming NFL season. He highlights the Cincinnati Bengals as a team to watch in the AFC, praising their potential with Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase, and Tyler Boyd. Acho also considers the Philadelphia Eagles, led by Jalen Hurts, as strong contenders due to Hurts' competitive spirit. He believes Trevor Lawrence could be a sneaky MVP candidate, noting his growth in the Jaguars' offence.

Discussing the Arizona Cardinals, Acho criticises their leadership and predicts they will struggle this season. He suggests the Arizona Cardinals might seek a new quarterback like Caleb Williams.

Acho also discusses various NFL divisions, including the AFC East, AFC South, and NFC, offering insights on potential playoff contenders and standout rookies. He mentions his appreciation for former Texas head coach Mack Brown and his positive impact on the team. Finally, Acho anticipates the Pittsburgh Steelers as a surprise team to watch in the NFL this season, despite initial doubts.

Sporting Post: Let's go straight in with the Super Bowl. We're just at the end of preseason, Week One is just around the corner. Is there anyone that you fancy that can have a good run this year? I know we're very early, but just at this stage, anyone that catches your eye?

Sam Acho: One of the teams that catches my eyes is the Cincinnati Bengals. Obviously, Joe Burrow is coming back from a calf injury. Maybe he'll be healthy for Week One, maybe not - but that's a team that has beat the Kansas City Chiefs a few times.

So obviously Kansas City is a staple, they’ve usually been in the Super Bowl. They've won two over the last five or so years and have been to three, so Kansas City.

But the Bengals are a team to watch out for with Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase, Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd. They have a new left tackle. Orlando Brown to help protect Joe Burrow. That's a team in the AFC to look out for.

NFC team – Obviously San Francisco is another team - you know they had four quarterback injuries last year alone and if they would have had a healthy quarterback maybe they would have gone to the Super Bowl.

But I think Philly, Philadelphia Eagles led by Quarterback Jalen Hurts has to be the favourite to go back to the Super Bowl. Why? They went last year and they lost, and I don't see Jalen Hurts as a guy who's going to rest on his laurels. I see him, the quarterback for the team, as the guy who not only competed head-to-head in the Super Bowl last year with Patrick Mahomes, but also, he doesn't blink. That's what I admire the most about him.

Trevor Lawrence is a sneaky MVP candidate

SP: You've mentioned a couple of the amazing quarterbacks Burrow, Hurts, Mahomes. MVP? If you had to pick one, who’s going to take it this year?

SA: Well, I'll go- Surprise pick - I think Trevor Lawrence. And he's like, I'll say a sneaky MVP candidate. The reason I picked Trevor Lawrence is that last year, it might have been right around the Cowboys game and I believe they won that game in over time - it was as if something clicked for him.

I remember year one it was like Urban Meyer's experiment, and it was just a really bad situation when it comes to his head coach. Well in the next year, you got a coach by the name of Doug Pederson. Doug Pederson coached the Philadelphia Eagles years ago when they won the Super Bowl, and so Doug Peterson knows how to play the position of quarterback and is a great leader. So, we saw that coach, along with a couple key pieces like a receiver and tight end guys like Evan Engram coming to this offence, and really helped Trevor Lawrence grow.

Well fast forward now he's going to be in Year Two of this offence with Pederson. Travis Etienne is now fully healthy in the backfield next to him. He's got a strong receiving core. So, I think he'll put up really gaudy numbers at the quarterback position, which could help him win an MVP.

I can’t see the Cardinals tying their future to Murray

SP: The Cardinals, and obviously it was difficult last year - Kingsbury was fired, Kyler Murray's future is in doubt, the roster - it's tough to be fair. What do you think went wrong last year?

SA: Well, it's not just what went wrong last year. It's what's still going on this year.

Obviously, Kyler Murray is not going to be ready for the first - about maybe half of the season, at the minimum four weeks, maybe more. They just released Colt McCoy, who was their real only quarterback with significant time as far as starting in the league for a significant period of time.

They traded one of their starting left tackles, so I believe what went wrong last year was the team wasn't really a team. It was almost this deal of like, ‘hey, it's our coach, Kliff Kingsbury and it's Kyler Murray’ - and there was that contract situation where they had to put in like, “you have to study this amount of hours, and if you don't, you're not going to get paid X amount”. All that drama was happening in the offseason.

I believe that's just because of a lack of leadership - whether it’s the leadership at the quarterback position, leadership at the head coach position, leadership in management, leadership in ownership - across the board, it starts from the top down.

And even now, there's been this report of the ownership, giving burner phones, burner accounts, fake phones, that can be tracked when the general manager was suspended, and he wasn’t supposed to be communicating with the team. There's so much behind the layers within this organisation where it seems as if winning, at least winning with integrity, isn't the highest priority.

So, what went wrong - leadership from the highest level also, you could say a failure of the quarterback position, and a failure at the head coach position.

I think it's time to make a change in Arizona.

SP: If and when Kyler Murray comes back, is he the guy to take the Cardinals forward long term, once they sort out their issues? Or is it time for, again, a new draft pick?

SA: Yeah, I think it's time to make a change in Arizona. We've already seen it at the head coach position with Kliff Kingsbury being fired, and a new coach being brought in, Jonathan Gannon, and a new General Manager. So, you've seen that at the top.

Now all of a sudden you have a quarterback who yes, he was a first-round pick, first overall pick, but now he's been injured the last couple years, hasn't performed, or hasn't played well, has made some huge highlights, but it may be a time for both parties to have a change of scenery. And so, I think it's going to be difficult for this new coaching staff and this new general manager to sit and say, “We're going to tie our future to Kyler Murray”.

I think they're probably going to try and tie their future to a guy named Caleb Williams, who's likely going to be the first-round pick quarterback out of USC - Heisman Trophy winner last year. I think that's what they're aiming for based off of the moves that they've made over the last few months, especially during this offseason and training camp.

SP: On to the Chicago Bears, between 2017-2018 you were there, obviously there was a big switchover. What was the change in the Bears when you were there, and it just made everything click?

SA: In the 2018 season we got a chance to be 12-4, have the number one defence in the NFL, went to the playoffs - actually lost on what was called a ‘double doink’, the extra field goal hit both of the goalposts. That was a tough way, to lose but the season was a great season.

The biggest difference was in our culture and that came because of our Head Coach Matt Nagy - he came and really just re-energised our offence. Now what made us great was our defence right? Part of it was Vic Fangio, who right now is the defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins - one of the greatest defensive minds in football.

It was our fourth year in that system. So, I came in 2015 when Vic came. And we grew and we grew, and we grew, so guys like Eddie Jackson had a Pro Bowl year. Guys like Adrian Amos, like all of those defenders on the back end, Danny Trevathan. We even signed Khalil Mac in the offseason.

Akiem Hicks had a Pro Bowl year; all of our players bought into our defence from a Vic Fangio perspective. And then Matt Nagy who came from Kansas City Chiefs, was the offensive coordinator there with Patrick Mahomes - all those guys. He brought in a new type of offensive field, right? He helped bring out the best in Mitch Trubisky. I believe Mitch Trubisky made the pro bowl that year as well with Alan Robinson at receiver. And so, part of the difference was our defence was stout, but our offence took a level up.

We are underestimating Chicago

SP: Looking at this year - that division. The Vikings were brilliant last year, but everyone kind of knew they'd get beat in the playoffs. And now, you’ve got Dan Campbell with Detroit, everyone saying that could this be Detroit’s year? Again - are they underestimated? What can be done in Chicago? Is it going to be another tough one for Chicago?

SA: We are underestimating what's going on in Chicago, and part of the reason why is I think that D.J. Moore is going to be a huge difference maker. So, D.J. Moore, one of the best receivers in the NFL even statistically top five in most categories, maybe top seven top six.

He was at Carolina when the Bears had the first overall pick in the draft. It was between the Bears and the Texans, and the Texans ended up winning their last game, the Bears lost and that gave the Bears pick number one. Well Carolina wanted that pick, so they traded D.J. Moore - their star wide receiver - they also traded Christian McCaffrey earlier in the season to go and get the number one overall pick, which was Bryce Young.

That gave Justin Fields a prominent and dominant wide receiver. Why does that matter?

Well, we've seen that when certain quarterbacks who have struggled get a dominant and prominent wide receiver, their production increases, right. It's almost like the lid is taken off. I think about Jalen Hurts when he went and got AJ Brown from Philly to go alongside with DeVonta Smith. That was a great example of a quarterback getting a receiver. Now all of a sudden, the skies open up. So similarly, D.J. Moore could be that for Chicago.

I know it's just preseason, but in Week Two in the preseason, he took a pass and took it to the house - right on a screen, ran it 50 plus yards for a touchdown. So that's what could make this offence potent.

Darnell Mooney who was their leading receiver for the last couple years, he was injured for the majority of the season last year, now he's healthy. He's fast paced down the field, deep threat, one to two lanes, and set records for Bears rookies at Receiver when healthy. He's healthy now. So now you have a receiver and Darnell Mooney - who really is like your number two receiver - but he's operated number one, so now you can actually be number two, and D.J. Moore could be number one. And now Justin Fields has a chance to really let the lid come off of his offence.

SP: Jared Goff at Detroit, they had a brilliant back end to the season - Lights out offence. Defence they obviously need to improve - are they worthy favourites for the division or would you still have the Vikings as favourites based on last year?

SA: I still have the Vikings as favourites based off last year, they're worthy to be in the conversation. They won seven of their last nine, and their defence was atrocious the first half of the season, they were 32nd overall in the league. The last six or so games they improved tremendously.

Their offence at a time was the number one offence in the league, they still ended in the seasons the top five offence or top six offence, so they're worthy of being in the conversation.

But until you get over that hump, I think you have to put a team like the Minnesota Vikings ahead of them. Even the Green Bay Packers.

Green Bay knows how to win, Detroit is learning how to win. We saw that last season, they had a chance last season to actually make the playoffs and they didn't, and so the sooner that Detroit can make that jump, the better.

But I think it's going to be based off of some of their draft picks. Guys like Jahmyr Gibbs one of the best running backs in college last year, first round pick in running back from Alabama. He'll have to have a huge, huge season. Sam LaPorta, tight end from Iowa, another early draft pick has to have a huge season, so I think guys like that will need to step up for their offence while their defence remains strong and solid.

SP: Switching to the AFC East, Aaron Rodgers is now at the New York Jets - they've got a brilliant offence core, defence they've been strong. Buffalo Bills again you can't see a massive fault as they’re favourites but can the Jets do anything? And Tua at Miami, he's got a great receiving core. How'd you see that division going? And could we see a surprise? Or are you seeing Buffalo just getting it done?

SA: I think we will see a surprise, and I don't know if that surprise will be who wins the division. Buffalo very well may win the division this year, but the surprise may actually be the Miami Dolphins.

Why is that? Well, Tua, we know last year when he was healthy, he was number one in QBR and number one in passer rating and a lot of different categories when healthy because of this Mike McDaniel offence. Then there were a lot of the injuries and concussions that we saw, which obviously you feel for him, and pray for him and all these things.

Well, what he did this offseason, two things. Number one, he bulked up, he added weight, added size, so we can take some of those hits. But number two, he learned how to fall - he actually was training, I don't know if it was jujitsu but he was learning how to fall properly so you're not getting thrown around out there. Not only do you have Tyreek Hill, who's one of the best deep threats in all of the NFL, but you also have Jalen Waddle at receiver, so two really special receivers.

But it's not just about the passing game, it’s the running game as well. Obviously, Mike McDaniel has this great kind of like zone scheme like, ‘get it and cut it downfield’, but also, they have a rookie by the name of Devon Achane who was a track star in college at A&M He is a great football player as well, who's got speed.

So, all that offensively should be potent, but why does this matter even more for the dolphins? Well, their defensive coordinator we mentioned a little bit earlier in this conversation - Vic Fangio was in his first year as a DC for the dolphins.

Last year, Vic Fangio was a consultant for the Philadelphia Eagles. Remember the Philadelphia Eagles had all those sacks, went to the Superbowl - all these things. So, my point is Vic Fangio who coached the number one defence when he was with the Bears, number one defence when he's with the San Francisco 49ers – with NaVorro Bowman and Patrick Willis, all those guys.

And then he went and consulted with a top defence in Philly. Vic Fangio will make that Miami defence significantly better, Bradley Chubb on the edge, significantly more opportunities to rush a quarterback. Jaelen Phillips, another edge rusher - significantly better and obviously Jalen Ramsey is injured. but I think that this team will actually be able to make a lot more noise when we give them credit for since we're all talking about the Jets and the Bills and all those teams.

SP: Just on Aaron Rodgers, can the Jets make the playoffs? They're pretty much minus 100 to get there, so it's very close. Can they do it? They're going to have to get to double digits to get it done.

SA: Yeah, I think they can, this might be a division where two or three teams make it to the playoffs. I know that there are other teams and other conferences right - think about the Bengals and the Ravens and the Steelers, then even the Chargers - it may not be easy especially because if you think about the AFC East they have to pay the Bills twice, the Dolphins twice, the Patriots twice, so I think that they can make the playoffs. I just don't expect it to be this thing where they run the table and all of a sudden they win the division and then bye week. I think it may be a little bit more difficult than we give credit for.

Jaguars will win AFC South

SP: Looking at the AFC South - is this the Jacksonville Jaguars time? Is this Trevor Lawrence’s time? A great coach Doug Pederson, and he's been there done it.

SA: Yes, and well, two things - the Titans are tailing off but they have infused some strength in their offence with signing DeAndre Hopkins. So, imagine DeAndre Hopkins and Derrick Henry - what as a defender are you supposed to do now? Now around the quarterback position, can Ryan Tannehill get it done? I think he can.

I think that the Jacksonville Jaguars will win this division, but it won't be as easy as we all think right. Tennessee will still be a tough, period. No matter how poorly their quarterbacks are playing. So, Jacksonville can but they will need to grow tremendously. They'll need to be a tougher football team. Defensively - to stop teams like the Titans like that's what will have to happen. I think Indy is totally rebuilding. And Houston is rebuilding. But Jacksonville can win it, but they have to go through Tennessee to do it.

Bengals will get it done in this division, but we cannot write off anyone in the AFC north.

SP: You spoke about the MVP candidate earlier, one your fancies for the Super Bowl - Cincinnati Bengals. We all knew the Steelers and Ravens run that division usually until Joe Burrow came. Can the Bengals get it done in that division?

SA: Bengals will get it done in this division, but we cannot write off anyone in the AFC north. I mean, the Steelers we love to write them off, but Mike Tomlin I don't think he's ever had a losing season, right? That’s in his 17 however many years like, you can't write them off at the quarterback or at any in the division.

The Ravens, new offensive coordinator, right? What if Lamar Jackson could stay healthy for the whole season, not just 10/11 games. And then the Browns? The Browns are an under the radar sneaky team if you're not aware, they will come and they will surprise some people.

So, I don't think anyone in that division can be written off. Specifically the Browns because DeShaun Watson might be coming back into his own after missing 700 days of football and coming back Week 11 of last year, their defences added pieces. I think they just got Za’Darius Smith. So I wouldn't write anyone off.

Dallas vs Philadelphia is the NFC Championship game

SP: We'll just switch to a couple divisions in the NFC. Philadelphia, Dallas - is that how you see it? Could Dallas give a big push?

SA: They 100% could. I think Philly still wins. But Dallas gave Philly a big push last year ands lost in the playoffs in an unfortunate manner. But they're pushing each other. And I really believe that Micah Parsons is going to be the difference maker come playoff time for the Dallas Cowboys.

Now, will they be able to overcome Philly? I mean that could be your NFC Championship game, right there - if we're if we're being honest. Like I really think that that's what we might see.

As we're talking, Philly's not going anywhere. Jalen Hurts is not going anywhere. But neither is Dallas, and neither is Micah Parsons.

So honestly, I think that's your NFC Championship game right there, and it'll depend on how that plays to see who wins that game and goes to the Super Bowl. Micah Parsons, I think if he stays healthy is going to be a dominant force in the playoffs and the regular season, he hasn't really gone to the playoffs yet.

I think he will do well in the playoffs because they decided to go with Stephon Gilmore to help lock down the other corner to go along with Trevon Diggs.

Micah Parsons will be DPOY

SP: While we're talking about Parsons, is he going to be your defensive player of the year? Bosa as well is an unbelievable defensive player, but do you have Parsons to take it?

SA: I do have Parsons taking it, I think Bosa and Watt should be on that list. Watts did have some injury issues. Watt - I think he's gonna have another dominant year, they have a really, really good edge rusher Alex Highsmith on that team as well - Really good, young kind of up-and-coming dude - So if you try to single him out, he's gonna get more sacks as well.

Long story short, it could be Watt could be Bosa. But I think Parsons is going to put it all together and find that next gear - all the great players have like another gear they can go to - and I think Parsons is going to bring that out this year.

I want to see greatness from Geno Smith again

SP: Looking at the AFC West, you've got the 49ers. McCaffery is obviously a phenomenal running back. Do you see the 49ers winning that? I actually think Pete Carroll can have another good season, as well as Geno Smith. No one likes going to Seattle on the road. I think Seattle can run them close. But how do you see that going?

SA: Yeah, I see San Francisco winning the division.

I'm still not fully sold with Seattle. Remember Geno Smith last year he said “hey, you all try to write me off and I never wrote back”. I want to see it again - I want to see that greatness from Geno Smith again, combined with, what are they going to do on the defensive side of the ball.

So that's Clint Hurtt, defensive coordinator, right? They’re kind of coming into his own in that defence. If you can't shut down San Francisco, it's gonna be hard for you to go and win that division.

Arizona I don't think has a chance. LA Rams, I think you know, after that Super Bowl, it was almost like “Alright I'm gonna retire, Head Coach is gonna retire, also for the players, because nobody wants to be there anymore”. But San Francisco and Seattle I think are one and two. And I think it's in that order.

Derek Carr can get it going but this Saints team has been based on their defence.

We need to watch out for Atlanta

SP: We'll just quickly touch on the enigma that is Derek Carr at the New Orleans Saints. That's a tough place to go. Their defence kept them on track last year. This division, I think like the NFC North, is wide open. I think any one of the four you could say apart from Tampa have got a chance. How do you see that one going? Is Derek Carr going to get it going?

SA: Derek Carr can get it going but this Saints team has been based on their defence.

Even towards the end of Drew Brees’s career - that defence, led by Demario Davis and Cam Jordan and now Tyrann Mathieu, that defence is going to keep them in every single game and, more than that, like I know some of these guys right, Cam Jordan and I came out in the same draft class and I usually see Demario every offseason - they believe they can win the division on defence alone. They know they need better play at quarterback. That's why they went and got Derek Carr.

I think Derek Carr will give you better play at quarterback, but it's not really about them. I think it's more about what will Atlanta look like behind Desmond Ridder? What will Atlanta look like with Bijan Robinson at running back and Cordarrelle Patterson can do it all, back, returner, receiver?

And then defensively? Atlanta just signed a couple of veterans defensively that know how to win, a guy like Calais Campbell knows how to win whether you win the race, winning with the ravens, when he was with the Jaguars, led them to the AFC, led him to the playoffs and I believe AFC Championship game. They now have some guys in that division who know how to win.

I think we'll be able to tell early who's going to come out in this division. If Atlanta starts off and they're really strong - we need to watch out. If they're struggling and Ridder isn't the guy now you have some issues.

Saints no matter who's a quarterback, they can find ways to win. We saw that last year and the year before, so they're gonna be there but Atlanta has a higher ceiling because of their offensive weapons.

SP: We'll just touch on Patrick Mahomes again, he keeps getting it done offensively. We know Kansas can score 30+ every game. Chargers - can Herbert not only get them to the playoff? And then is there anything for Denver or Las Vegas?

SA: Denver and Las Vegas? It's still Kansas City's division, period. They've won it five if not six straight years - it's still their division. The Chargers will be better and Kellen Moore - their new offensive coordinator who just came from the Dallas Cowboys - I think can help make that offence more consistent.

I know they've had some injury issues last year, even when quarterback Justin Herbert was injured, a lot of their receivers were injured at different times of the year. They've added depth at receiver with Quentin Johnson in the first-round pick from TCU. But I think that Kellen Moore will be a difference maker then now Brandon Staley, who's their head coach, who was the defensive coordinator and my linebacker coach in his first year in NFL and went on to be a defence coordinator for the Rams number one defence.

I think now that he'll be calling the plays defensively, they will be better. At the end of the day, you cannot be the best until you've beat the best. They had to prove they could consistently beat the best, not go 1-1 or tie them in the regular season like they have in years past.

Jahmyr Gibbs will be special

SP: Who's the rookie you're most excited to watch this season?

Jahmyr Gibbs is the rookie I'm most excited about watching. I got a chance to spend time with his former running backs coach Tashard Choice, who is now the running backs coach at Texas. He was his coach at Georgia Tech, Tashard Choice played for the Cowboys, but he coached Jahmyr Gibbs and A’Shaun Robinson in college. And he said even out of high school those two guys were easily his number one and number two as far as recruits, and fast forward they were the two first running backs picked.

So, he will be special, like what he did at Alabama and Georgia Tech - but in space was special, as a receiver was special with the ball in his hand. So, I couldn't be more excited about watching Jahmyr Gibbs do what he did in college in the NFL.

Best defence and offence picks - 49ers and Eagles

SP: Who’s your number one offence and number one defence this year?

SA: Number one defence. I'll say San Francisco and this is partly because they were number one last year, but more so because at every level they have stars. And what I mean by that is on the defensive line Nick Bosa is a star, right, like the best or one of the top two or three edge rushers defensive lineman in the NFL.

And then add Eric Armstead on the inside, but then at the but then at linebacker Fred Warner. Fred Warner is a star - he's the best linebacker in the NFL off the ball.

Then you go to the back end. And even a guy like Hufanga who’s a safety who's been actually training in the offseason with Troy Polamalu, right. So, he’s out of USC I believe, and like, he is a budding star.

So, no matter what level of that defence, you see stars, and then I got a chance to watch their training camp. They're gonna be good. I get it - Steve Wilks in at DC it's no longer DeMeco Ryan's but I'm gonna pick them as my number one defence.

Number one offence, it's statistically Philly. I'll go Philly, based off of Jalen Hurts, based off of DeVonta Smith, AJ Brown. Long story short, I'll go Philly.

Playing for Mack Brown

SP: What made playing for Mack Brown so special? Do you have any fond memories or stories that stick out quickly?

SA: What made it special was how honest he was. He was always fair. And you knew where you stood with Mack Brown. It wasn't this thing of “is he saying something? And does he mean it?” He said what he meant, and he meant what he said and that's what I appreciated the most. And I still do about Coach Brown. If you said something that was incorrect or you did something wrong, you would know about it. But he did it with love. He didn't do it. Trying to berate you or get rid of you actually cares about his players. So that was the best thing. He is honest, and he cares about his guys.

SP: How was he able to navigate the tough environment at UT with others like Charlie Strong and Tom Herman

SA: He wasn't necessarily like a head coach when you think of like X's and O's, but he was like a president/CEO/owner type-like mindset like he allowed his coaches to do the coaching.

So, he didn't care who got the credit, but his coaches took accountability. He hired the best coaches and they reported to him - it wasn't a deal of like “well I want all the credit”. Mack Brown wants to win, period. And so, he allowed guys like Will Muschamps to come and be the defensive coordinator. He allowed guys like Oscar Giles, who was my defensive ends coach, coached a bunch of guys who are in the NFL now, to do their jobs and he kept them accountable and then by the intrinsic property, they kept us accountable.

Intrinsically like we kept ourselves accountable because they were keeping us accountable.

SP: Being on the media side now as you are, do you think he has time in front of the camera helped rejuvenate his career and obviously, knowing Mack, how much longer can he keep this up?

His time in front of the camera really did rejuvenate his career because I believe it reminded him of how much he misses being around the players. That's what I heard from some producers, people who worked with him they said “man, he was great at his job here behind camera, but he missed being with the players and he lights up around the players”.

I remember him doing dances - remember that ‘soldier boy’ dance like before one of our games on a team meeting, he's doing that dance like he just has so much joy and energy and so I think being behind camera reminded him where he belongs which he believes it's on the field with the players.

And I think he still has a couple more years in him. I mean, he's got one of the best quarterbacks in college football and a guy named Drake Maye, who's probably going to be top 2 pick in the draft this year, so I think as long as his teams are still winning and he's still coaching good players, I think he'll still coach.

NCAAF: Texas is learning to embrace the hate

SP: Is Texas back? And is Sark finally the man for the job?

SA: This is the year Texas is supposed to win the big 12. It's another year in this system, Sarks third or so year and now all of a sudden, Quinn Tucker Ewers is more established, bigger, stronger as a quarterback - more mental fortitude.

Long story short, this should be the year - because Texas is learning to embrace the hate. People don't like Texas - we want to beat Texas, right? I went there, I spoke to the team a couple weeks ago. His motto is embrace the hate.

Even the big 12 commissioner told Texas Tech and Joey McGuire “Hey, I want you to go and beat Texas like you did last year by kicking them out of the big 12”.

So, there's a lot of hate coming Texas’s way for whatever reason whether it's deserved or not, and he's learning how to embrace it again. Mack Brown embraced it, I think Sark does as well, so I think that'll be the real tale, especially as it goes to the SEC if you win the big 12 this year.

Are they back? It doesn't even matter this year because they got next year to really show when they joined the SEC.

I think the Steelers are going to be a team that nobody wants to play.

SP: Who’s going to be the surprise team of the NFL this season?

SA: I think the Steelers. As crazy as it sounds, as weird as this sounds, in a division with the Bengals and the Ravens. I think the Steelers are going to be a team that nobody wants to play.

Couple of reasons - start off the defensive line. They’ve got this tight end named Darnell Washington who was a rookie from Georgia, 6”7, 280 and a monster - Mike Tomlin is going to utilise him. Trust me. Kenny Pickett in his second year is going to be better.

I think the Steelers are a team that we all wanted to count out last year, and they made a really nice run towards the end, Kenny Pickett got in his groove. Pittsburgh as a team that nobody's gonna want to play.

Check out our guide to the best NFL betting sites.