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BwareDWare94
Where were you when the world stopped turning?
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Sunday: Minnesota Vikings @ New Orleans Saints
What to Expect:
The Minnesota Vikings were absolutely embarrassed this past Sunday. The Patriots are a good team (great, if they weren't so damn sloppy right now), but Minnesota isn't 23 points worse. The Vikings started off strong, then fell victim to Matt Cassel's poor play, which I expect to continue in New Orleans. Cassel won't throw 4 picks, but he'll struggle to get the Vikings to double digits before halftime, even against an atrocious Saints defense. Adrian Peterson figures to play, as of now, but we can only hope the league intervenes and makes sure Matt "Asiago Ranch" Asiata makes his second consecutive start at tailback for the Vikings. Cordarrelle Patterson was kept quiet against the Patriots by the combination of Darrelle Revis and Cassel's poor play. I expect something of a rebound performance, as I'm sure Norv Turner is kicking himself for using Patterson as a decoy so often last Sunday, giving the ball to players like the candidly mediocre Jarius Wright. Defensively, the Vikings appeared very poor against the Patriots, but a lot of that had to do with short fields and drastic momentum swings created by Cassel's inability to throw to players who weren't wearing New England jerseys. I expect the defense to show up strong, this week, but it won't be enough.
The Saints were also embarrassed this past Sunday, but in a drastically different way. They lost to the Cleveland Browns, which ranks right up there with things like getting shut out by any member of the Minnesota Twins pitching staff, or being the one hottie in New York that Derek Jeter won't make a pass at. Nevertheless, Drew Brees is coming off of two sub-par performances to start the season, and I look for him to be aggressive, early. The Saints are without Mark Ingram, but their other backs are more than up to the task, especially if the passing game will keep extra men out of the box. The Vikings have been notoriously bad against Tight Ends in recent years, so Jimmy Graham could have a career day. Defensively, the Saints are starting the resemble the 2012 unit, and not the vastly, miraculously improved 2013 unit piloted by Rob Ryan.
Prediction: Saints 30 Vikings 20
In a drastically different game from last week for Minnesota, a late field goal shuts the door on the Vikings, giving the Saints their first win of the season. The Vikings will fight hard, and will trail by double digits twice before coming within a touchdown at 27-20, but the Saints are a clearly better team that is suffering through a slow start that will be a mere mirage in a few weeks. Cassel throws 2 picks in the game, and falls victim to a forced fumble due to the a struggling Vikings offensive line that came into the season very overrated. The Vikings only hope is that Matt Kalil starts to look like a 3rd pick, not a 3rd round pick.
Sunday: Green Bay Packers @ Detroit Lions
What to Expect:
The Packers know how to give their fans a scare--falling behind 21-3 to an offense led by Geno Smith had to take the air out of Lambeau, but after that point, the defense toughened up and helped the Packers pull off a comeback win. Aaron Rodgers is another quarterback who's had something of a slow start to the 2014 season, but that shouldn't continue against a questionable Lions secondary. Defensively, the Packers showed up in week 2, eventually, and shut down the Jets for the latter half of the game. Sam Shields is a remarkably inconsistent corner. He could play very well one week, get burned the next. One way or another, he's usually fun to watch. Shields and Clinton-Dix add an exciting element to the Packers secondary, forcing football fans to watch somebody other than #52 on that side of the ball for Green Bay.
I can't overlook just how good the Panthers defense is, but it still baffles me that Detroit can't play well on offense unless Calvin Johnson is a monster in that particular game. Reggie Bush. Joique Bell. Golden Tate. Eric Ebron. Joseph Fauria. There is no shortage of weapons in Detroit--don't let Stafford supporters talk you into thinking otherwise. We're talking about an offense that should be efficient, regardless of who they're playing, but the Lions just couldn't put points on the board against Carolina. Matt Stafford has defined the term enigma in his short NFL career (pretty soon, "short" won't be the term, anymore). Needless to say, #81 better put up 100+ and score a couple of times with Green Bay coming to town. Defensivey, the Lions sport a fierce front 4 and a nice set of linebackers, but their secondary remains a question mark. I really like Slay and Quinn, but it's hard to get too excited about anybody else on the back end of Detroit's defense.
Prediction: Packers 19 Lions 17
In a startlingly low scoring game between these two foes, field goal kicking will decide the winner, and the Packers get the nod, here, as they'll have more sustained drives thanks to the brilliance of Aaron Rodgers. Calvin Johnson will have a better week than last, scoring twice, but it won't matter.
Monday Night Football: Chicago Bears @ New York Jets
What to Expect:
The Bears are coming off an impressive comeback victory against the 49ers, thanks in large part to the heroics of Brandon Marshall, along with the baffling inconsistency of Colin Kaepernick. Offensively, the Bears have mostly sputtered, but started to show signs of becoming a well oiled machine in the second half of last week's game. Cutler started finding all of his weapons, with the exception of the clearly hurting, nowhere near 100% Alshon Jeffrey. Hopefully Jeffrey can start healing and showing up more as the weeks move forward. Defensively, while the Bears lost the irreplaceable Charles Tillman, they may have found a nice new piece in the secondary. Kyle Fuller had a breakout game against the 49ers, and Chicago fans can only hope that he continues to play well. Perhaps most surprising about the Bears defense, so far, is that they aren't as bad as many people proclaimed. Mel Tucker demands a lot of his defensive unit, and with the pieces in place he should be able to make significant improvements from last season. Hopefully he can find a replacement for weak link John Bostic, and soon.
The Jets come in to week 3 reeling, having squandered a double digit lead against a superior opponent. Geno Smith is still developing, and is the kind of QB who should have sat for several years before even sniffing the starting role. Unfortunately for him, the Jets have one of the worst QB situations in the league, as Mike Vick has long since proven that he isn't consistent enough--not to mention far too turnover prone--to handle starting duties. There's no better option, so New York has to press on with young Geno and understand that he's not going to be very good, a lot of the time. A bright spot on the Jets offense is the propensity of Chris Ivory to find the endzone. Ivory provides a nice contrast to the style of Chris Johnson, and I look forward to the day that the underrated Bilal Powell rejoins this backfield. By season's end, the Jets could have the best 1-2-3 RB grouping in the league, if Ivory can somehow find a way to stay healthy, which he doesn't seem to do. Defensively, the Jets are figuring out their secondary as Dee Milliner recovers from a preseason injury, though he's been active, at least in week 2. The front 7 is still ferocious, and with Rex Ryan calling the shots, this defense is capable of a great performance on any given week. They'll need to be great against Chicago.
Prediction: Jets 23 Bears 20
The Bears will suffer from a strong feeling of deja vu on Sunday, as they'll have to swallow another loss to a seemingly inferior opponent from the AFC East, and it'll even come with the same score as week 1's Bears/Bills matchup. Geno Smith won't be great, but he'll be good enough, and the Jets running attack will shorten the game, not allowing Jay Cutler and his big targets to build any kind of rhythm. Look for a late Nick "what the" Folk field goal to seal the deal.
What to Expect:
The Minnesota Vikings were absolutely embarrassed this past Sunday. The Patriots are a good team (great, if they weren't so damn sloppy right now), but Minnesota isn't 23 points worse. The Vikings started off strong, then fell victim to Matt Cassel's poor play, which I expect to continue in New Orleans. Cassel won't throw 4 picks, but he'll struggle to get the Vikings to double digits before halftime, even against an atrocious Saints defense. Adrian Peterson figures to play, as of now, but we can only hope the league intervenes and makes sure Matt "Asiago Ranch" Asiata makes his second consecutive start at tailback for the Vikings. Cordarrelle Patterson was kept quiet against the Patriots by the combination of Darrelle Revis and Cassel's poor play. I expect something of a rebound performance, as I'm sure Norv Turner is kicking himself for using Patterson as a decoy so often last Sunday, giving the ball to players like the candidly mediocre Jarius Wright. Defensively, the Vikings appeared very poor against the Patriots, but a lot of that had to do with short fields and drastic momentum swings created by Cassel's inability to throw to players who weren't wearing New England jerseys. I expect the defense to show up strong, this week, but it won't be enough.
The Saints were also embarrassed this past Sunday, but in a drastically different way. They lost to the Cleveland Browns, which ranks right up there with things like getting shut out by any member of the Minnesota Twins pitching staff, or being the one hottie in New York that Derek Jeter won't make a pass at. Nevertheless, Drew Brees is coming off of two sub-par performances to start the season, and I look for him to be aggressive, early. The Saints are without Mark Ingram, but their other backs are more than up to the task, especially if the passing game will keep extra men out of the box. The Vikings have been notoriously bad against Tight Ends in recent years, so Jimmy Graham could have a career day. Defensively, the Saints are starting the resemble the 2012 unit, and not the vastly, miraculously improved 2013 unit piloted by Rob Ryan.
Prediction: Saints 30 Vikings 20
In a drastically different game from last week for Minnesota, a late field goal shuts the door on the Vikings, giving the Saints their first win of the season. The Vikings will fight hard, and will trail by double digits twice before coming within a touchdown at 27-20, but the Saints are a clearly better team that is suffering through a slow start that will be a mere mirage in a few weeks. Cassel throws 2 picks in the game, and falls victim to a forced fumble due to the a struggling Vikings offensive line that came into the season very overrated. The Vikings only hope is that Matt Kalil starts to look like a 3rd pick, not a 3rd round pick.
Sunday: Green Bay Packers @ Detroit Lions
What to Expect:
The Packers know how to give their fans a scare--falling behind 21-3 to an offense led by Geno Smith had to take the air out of Lambeau, but after that point, the defense toughened up and helped the Packers pull off a comeback win. Aaron Rodgers is another quarterback who's had something of a slow start to the 2014 season, but that shouldn't continue against a questionable Lions secondary. Defensively, the Packers showed up in week 2, eventually, and shut down the Jets for the latter half of the game. Sam Shields is a remarkably inconsistent corner. He could play very well one week, get burned the next. One way or another, he's usually fun to watch. Shields and Clinton-Dix add an exciting element to the Packers secondary, forcing football fans to watch somebody other than #52 on that side of the ball for Green Bay.
I can't overlook just how good the Panthers defense is, but it still baffles me that Detroit can't play well on offense unless Calvin Johnson is a monster in that particular game. Reggie Bush. Joique Bell. Golden Tate. Eric Ebron. Joseph Fauria. There is no shortage of weapons in Detroit--don't let Stafford supporters talk you into thinking otherwise. We're talking about an offense that should be efficient, regardless of who they're playing, but the Lions just couldn't put points on the board against Carolina. Matt Stafford has defined the term enigma in his short NFL career (pretty soon, "short" won't be the term, anymore). Needless to say, #81 better put up 100+ and score a couple of times with Green Bay coming to town. Defensivey, the Lions sport a fierce front 4 and a nice set of linebackers, but their secondary remains a question mark. I really like Slay and Quinn, but it's hard to get too excited about anybody else on the back end of Detroit's defense.
Prediction: Packers 19 Lions 17
In a startlingly low scoring game between these two foes, field goal kicking will decide the winner, and the Packers get the nod, here, as they'll have more sustained drives thanks to the brilliance of Aaron Rodgers. Calvin Johnson will have a better week than last, scoring twice, but it won't matter.
Monday Night Football: Chicago Bears @ New York Jets
What to Expect:
The Bears are coming off an impressive comeback victory against the 49ers, thanks in large part to the heroics of Brandon Marshall, along with the baffling inconsistency of Colin Kaepernick. Offensively, the Bears have mostly sputtered, but started to show signs of becoming a well oiled machine in the second half of last week's game. Cutler started finding all of his weapons, with the exception of the clearly hurting, nowhere near 100% Alshon Jeffrey. Hopefully Jeffrey can start healing and showing up more as the weeks move forward. Defensively, while the Bears lost the irreplaceable Charles Tillman, they may have found a nice new piece in the secondary. Kyle Fuller had a breakout game against the 49ers, and Chicago fans can only hope that he continues to play well. Perhaps most surprising about the Bears defense, so far, is that they aren't as bad as many people proclaimed. Mel Tucker demands a lot of his defensive unit, and with the pieces in place he should be able to make significant improvements from last season. Hopefully he can find a replacement for weak link John Bostic, and soon.
The Jets come in to week 3 reeling, having squandered a double digit lead against a superior opponent. Geno Smith is still developing, and is the kind of QB who should have sat for several years before even sniffing the starting role. Unfortunately for him, the Jets have one of the worst QB situations in the league, as Mike Vick has long since proven that he isn't consistent enough--not to mention far too turnover prone--to handle starting duties. There's no better option, so New York has to press on with young Geno and understand that he's not going to be very good, a lot of the time. A bright spot on the Jets offense is the propensity of Chris Ivory to find the endzone. Ivory provides a nice contrast to the style of Chris Johnson, and I look forward to the day that the underrated Bilal Powell rejoins this backfield. By season's end, the Jets could have the best 1-2-3 RB grouping in the league, if Ivory can somehow find a way to stay healthy, which he doesn't seem to do. Defensively, the Jets are figuring out their secondary as Dee Milliner recovers from a preseason injury, though he's been active, at least in week 2. The front 7 is still ferocious, and with Rex Ryan calling the shots, this defense is capable of a great performance on any given week. They'll need to be great against Chicago.
Prediction: Jets 23 Bears 20
The Bears will suffer from a strong feeling of deja vu on Sunday, as they'll have to swallow another loss to a seemingly inferior opponent from the AFC East, and it'll even come with the same score as week 1's Bears/Bills matchup. Geno Smith won't be great, but he'll be good enough, and the Jets running attack will shorten the game, not allowing Jay Cutler and his big targets to build any kind of rhythm. Look for a late Nick "what the" Folk field goal to seal the deal.
