Big Match-ups in Week 2

[BwareDWare94]

Tonight:
 
Broncos @ Chiefs
 
Why We'll be Watching:
Travis Kelce--the young tight end continues to shine as a dominant force when healthy. He takes all kinds of pressure off of Alex Smith and Kansas City's running game and makes the Chiefs a much more dynamic offense.
 
Denver's Defense--what a star studded, well-coached grouping. Holding Baltimore to 13 points is impressive, even if Joe Flacco likes to all but disappear in first halves a lot of the time. Denver has a nice secondary and great group of pass rushers. If they stay relatively healthy, it's going to be hard to score on them, period.
 
Jamaal Charles--elite running backs are so rare that we can't help but watch when one is one the field.
 
Prediction:
 
Chiefs 24 Broncos 10
 
Denver's defense will keep them in the game but Peyton's continued struggles will showcase how far he's declined.
 
 
Sunday: 
 
Patriots @ Bills
 
Why We'll be Watching:
Who doesn't like to see Rex Ryan take on Tom Brady? 9 times out of 10 it's a great game, and in many of those instances Rex elevated a lesser team to compete with the Patriots.
 
Gronk--the things he can do to any defense are devastating. Will Rex find a way to keep him in check?
 
Tyrod Taylor--Is this kid the real deal or are the Bills bragging up fool's gold?
 
Prediction:
 
Bills 30 Patriots 23
 
This game smells like an early season upset, only to lead to a less competitive win for the Patriots when these two teams hook up again.
 
 
Chargers @ Bengals
 
Why We'll be Watching:
Keenan Allen--15 grabs in a single game is incredible, and we need to see what he can do against a better defense, though I find Cincy's secondary a little more succeptible than Detroit's.
 
Tyler Eifert--Is this the next dominant TE in the NFL? I think so, and you should, too. This is the only piece Andy Dalton has been missing so far and maybe this is what it takes to make the Ginger Laser more effective in big games.
 
Has Geno Atkins returned to form?--only more games will tell.
 
Prediction:
 
Bengals 23 Chargers 20
 
I'm seeing a highly contested, potential OT game.
 
 

 @ 

 
Why We'll be Watching:
Wait, who's actually going to watch this game?
 

 
 

 @ 

 
Why We'll be Watching:
Carlos Hyde--is week 1 a mirage or will this little bulldozer continue to roll?
 
Can Big Ben snag Pittsburgh one win before Bell's return?--after a week 1 failure, he certainly needs to or the Steelers will be in trouble.
 
How does SF's defense look against a QB who isn't scared?--I'm excited to find out. Also, seeing Navarro Bowman back in the game is wonderful.
 
Prediction:
 

 33 

 30
 
I really liked what I saw out of SF in week 1, with the exception of Kaepernick the passer. I thought they'd be terrible but I was wrong. I expect them to compete in the NFC West if they stay healthy.
 
 

 @ 

 
Why We'll be Watching:
Chip Kelly draws eyes--there's no other way to say it. Sam Bradford shouldn't have the accuracy issues Nick Foles had, so I'm excited to see if this offense can click on all cylinders for longer stretches of time.
 
Romo sans Bryant--lots of people credit Tony Romo's weapons for his success and forget that he's made careers for guys in the past--Patrick Crayton was allowed to develop from practice squad caliber player into a quality NFL starter thanks to Romo. Laurent Robinson would possibly still be in the league had he not jettisoned to Jacksonville for a bigger contract, only to be lead into the vicious hits that ended his career. Cole Beasley would have disappeared with lesser QBs. Let's see what Tony can do without Dez.
 
Who's defense shows up?--that's always the question with Cowboys/Eagles.
 
Prediction: 
 

 34 

 24
 
I think Dallas has better team, and it'll show in week 2. 
 
 

 @ 

 
Why We'll be Watching:
Lots of people want to see Seattle at 0-2--it'll likely happen, too.
 
Sherman/Rodgers--Sherman snagged one from Aaron when he was challenged in the NFCCG last year. Let's see what happens when they tangle again.
 
Lynch/Lacey--what's more fun to watch than two hard-nosed backs leveling defenders over and over again?
 
Prediction:
 

 27 

 24
 
Seems like the kind of game Russell Wilson will pull out of his ass IF he's as good as some people think he is. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt once. 

 

[elcheato]

I disagree on everything here other than the Bengals

Edit: I may have picked the Chiefs too, I don't remember

 

[BwareDWare94]

I could have explained my picks a bit more but I figured I always end up going into TL;DR territory.

 

[BwareDWare94]

I picked KC because I think Peyton's all but done and feel that Kelce/Maclin make Kansas 10X more dangerous on offense. I also expect Justin Houston to have a pair of sacks.
 
I picked Buffalo because they've upset New England early in the season before, and it was when they had even lesser teams. This game being in Buffalo, I see a second surprise win for the Bills.
 
I picked Cincinnati because, historically during Dalton's run, they've won a good majority of their games against lesser or closer-quality opponents. San Diego going down 21-3 to Detroit said more about them than their comeback did.
 
I picked San Francisco because Pittsburgh's defense is scary bad, and their offense was almost punchless without Bell and Bryant. Teams don't overreact to Antonio Brown's receptions--they just try to minimize them. I also really liked how San Fran's OL held blocks and moved a very good Vikings D Line. I suspect they'll have an easier time with a lesser DL.
 
I picked Dallas because their defense really impressed me last week, especially their secondary. I expect a surprisingly low scoring first half that explodes in the second.
 
I picked Seattle because I have a hunch. 

 

[cruzg24]

The Broncos still have an elite offense and this is Peytons swan song. Alex Smith is the definition of a game manager and he can never play from behind.

I do agree wih the Buffalo pick considering its in Buffalo.

Agree with Cincy

I expect Big Ben to light it up against that defense and get the win. He "makes" WRs

Agree with Dallas although Murray will have a good game

The Packers will get their revenge and the Seahawks arent entirely healthy in the secondary and Chancellor isnt back there. So expect a big game out of Lacy which will open up the passing game.

 

[Hurricane Season]

I wouldn't say TE is something Dalton has never had before. He's had Jermaine Gresham.  He was by no means an elite tight end, but he was a solid, reliable target. 

 

[bosoxlover12]

I picked Buffalo because they've upset New England early in the season before, and it was when they had even lesser teams. This game being in Buffalo, I see a second surprise win for the Bills. 

Where is this coming from?? While I do think we could lose, because we are generally weaker in Wks 1-4 than 5-17 in the past 3-4 years, and Buffalo has a good team, where has this "Buffalo has upset the Patriots early" thought process come from.

The Bills are 3-23 against the Patriots in the Belichick era. 3-23!!! One win was Week 17 last year against our backups. Another was the Lawyer Milloy game, where they beat us 31-0... in 2003. They have one other win, which was an OT 34-31 victory back in 2011. That's all the wins in this millennium they've had against the Patriots. Why both you and CC thought that the Bills always beat the Patriots early is beyond me, because Brady is currently tied for 2nd for most wins against any opponent, only behind Favre v Detroit at 26 (and he played a lot longer than Brady has).

The Dolphins are the ones to give us the most upsets. Rex Ryan's Jets gave us a lot of competitive games (and some not... Butt fumble), but they never really won that often either.


But Buffalo has no winning history against the Pats under Belichick, so to say otherwise is silly

 

[BwareDWare94]

Where is this coming from?? While I do think we could lose, because we are generally weaker in Wks 1-4 than 5-17 in the past 3-4 years, and Buffalo has a good team, where has this "Buffalo has upset the Patriots early" thought process come from.

The Bills are 3-23 against the Patriots in the Belichick era. 3-23!!! One win was Week 17 last year against our backups. Another was the Lawyer Milloy game, where they beat us 31-0... in 2003. They have one other win, which was an OT 34-31 victory back in 2011. That's all the wins in this millennium they've had against the Patriots. Why both you and CC thought that the Bills always beat the Patriots early is beyond me, because Brady is currently tied for 2nd for most wins against any opponent, only behind Favre v Detroit at 26 (and he played a lot longer than Brady has).

The Dolphins are the ones to give us the most upsets. Rex Ryan's Jets gave us a lot of competitive games (and some not... Butt fumble), but they never really won that often either.


But Buffalo has no winning history against the Pats under Belichick, so to say otherwise is silly

 
they've upset New England early in the season before. The problem is that I said "when they've had lesser teams" after that. My bad.
 
Nevertheless, man you really need to not take things so literally. It's not like I up and lied, saying "The Bills have beaten the Patriots at least 5 times early in the season" or something.

 

[elcheato]

The Browns have upset the Patriots before too, but just like with the Bills, it's irrelevant

 

[bosoxlover12]

What bothers me about it is that it is such an untrue statement, its not even funny. The Bills have as many wins against the Patriots since 2000 as Mark Sanchez does. They have as many wins in that time as JJ Watt has games with receiving touchdowns. They have as many wins as the Jaguars have had winning seasons in that time period.
 
 
I could easily go on. If you said Rex Ryan plays the Patriots tightly, that would be a far more realistic than what you said. The Bills win less than 12% of the time they play the Patriots. When you say "they've won against them early in the year before", and using the basis that they've only won twice, that's like saying the Packers would beat the Chiefs, because you know, Super Bowl I and II. Its a lazy fucking answer to say why you think Buffalo will win.
 
 
A better answer to why the Bills would beat the Patriots: "The Bills with a superior defensive line to the Patriots young interior OL could cause tons of pressure to Brady up the middle, which could cause major problems for TB12. The Pats have also not done well in year's past with mobile QBs, so Tyrod could potentially be problematic for their defense"

 

[BwareDWare94]

I wrote this entire piece in less than 10 minutes. I've been slacking on posts so I wanted to add something substantial to spur discussion, but I also didn't want to venture into TL;DR territory because it just results in a DOA thread. 
 
You are right, but you're also talking about your team and one of its rivals. 

 

[cruzg24]

TLR?

DOA thread?

Im such a noob...

 

[bosoxlover12]

If you read what I said bware, I never once said the Bills couldn't win the game. I've frequently said it will be close, but we could definitely lose the game

It was the reasoning that irked me. While you did this in a short period of time, you could have been still less lazy

 

[BwareDWare94]

TLR?

DOA thread?

Im such a noob...

 
If I post ten paragraphs and somebody replies tl;dr, it means "too long; didn't read."
 
DOA is a medical term: Dead On Arrival. I meant it in that most of my threads that start with longer posts never go anywhere, and why would they? Who wants to read a book unexpected?

 

[cruzg24]

Ok thanx for the clarification. I actually really liked the length of this thread in relation to others you have posted. Keep posting and I will keep reading.