Me
|
Eli
|
||
WEEK
3
|
13-3
|
13-3
|
11-5
|
TOTAL
|
33-15
|
30-18
|
30-18
|
MUST WATCH GAMES
Ravens at Steelers/Lions at Seahawks
For
the first time in franchise history, the Ravens are off to an 0-3 start.
The Steelers
are without Ben Roethlisberger for 4 to 6 weeks due to a sprained MCL and bone
bruise on his left knee and will have Michael Vick under center.
Monday
night features the Seahawks hosting the Lions. Detroit is coming off a 24-12
loss on Sunday night to the Broncos while Seattle finally hosted their home
opener with a 26-0 win over the Bears. Safety Cam Chancellor finally ended his
holdout and that helped the Seahawks win their game.
As
for 0-3 starts, it is not good. The
last team to start 0-3 and make the playoffs was the 1995 Lions. After
starting 0-3, Detroit upset defending champion San Francisco (on a Monday
night) in their fourth game and beat the Browns who were facing rumors about
their future in Cleveland at the time. The Lions then lost 3 of their next four
to drop to 3-6. Rumors were circulating that ownership was considering a
coaching change, but the Lions rallied to win their last 6 and could have won
the then-NFC Central title had Green Bay lost their finale.
Detroit
was a hot team despite their 10-6 record and having to open the playoffs on the
road in Philadelphia. The Lions lost to the Eagles 58-37; the game was over by
halftime.
Jets at Dolphins (London)
This
is the first of three games being played in London this year and the first game
to involve two teams from the same division.
The
Dolphins were stomped at home by Buffalo. After a Week 1 win at Washington, the
Dolphins are already in dire straits. This team was believed to make a run at
the AFC East and make the playoffs, but a 1-3 record before their bye week and with
5 of their next 7 games on the road including a 3-game stretch against at the
Patriots, Bills, and Eagles could have them looking at another 8-8 season.
Speaking
of London, I asked this
question last season and I ask it again: why is the NFL continuing this
London experiment? And again, I think that it has run its course and should
stop.
I
will probably ask this question again for the next two London games: Week 7
between the Bills and Jaguars and Week 8 between the Lions and Chiefs.
Giants at Bills
The Bills
are 2-1 and are averaging 33.3 points per game so far while the Giants got
first win of the season over Washington a week ago. Are the Bills for real? Can
the Giants take advantage of a weak NFC East?
Eagles at Washington
There
are only two reasons why this game is on the must watch list.
1. The
Eagles may have discovered their running game while the drama in Washington
continues. But enough about Speaker John Boehner’s sudden resignation,
Washington’s high hopes were dashed last week in a Thursday night prime time
game in New York.
2. Hurricane
Joaquin is having an impact on this game. The storm is expected to hit the
east coast sometime over the weekend and could strengthen to hurricane status.
For now, I have made my pick in the event this game is played. If the game is
postponed it would be made up when the two teams are scheduled for their Week 8
bye.
Texans at Falcons/Chiefs at Bengals/Panthers
at Buccaneers
6 of
the 7 3-0 teams play on Sunday. The Patriots are on the bye week. 3 play in the
early Sunday slot: Bengals, Falcons, and Panthers.
The
Falcons trailed the Cowboys 28-17 at halftime in Dallas. Atlanta shutout the
Cowboys in the second half 22-0 on their way to a 39-28 victory and have
already matched their win total from 2014. Wide receiver Julio Jones caught 2
second half touchdowns to go along with his 12 catches for 164 yards. Running
back Devonta Freeman rushed for 141 yards and 3 touchdowns.
The
Bengals and Ravens traded touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but the Bengals
survived and moved to 3-0. Wide receiver AJ Green made fantasy owners who
started him pleased catching 10 passes for 227 yards and 2 touchdowns.
On
Monday night in Green Bay, a Kansas City wide receiver caught a touchdown pass
for the first time in 21 regular season games. And that made me happy because I
have Jeremy Maclin on my team.
The Panthers
are 3-0 due to their defense allowing 16 points per game which is second best
in the league. Fortunately for the Panthers they haven’t faced off against a
quality quarterback. Blake Bortles, whoever is under center for Houston (Ryan
Mallett, had to look it up), and Luke McCown aren’t exactly world beaters. I
expect Carolina will be 4-0 heading into their bye and then afterwards the Panthers
defense will be challenged by Russell Wilson, Andrew Luck, and Aaron Rodgers in
3 of their next 4 games.
Packers at 49ers/Vikings at Broncos/Rams
at Cardinals
The
next 3 3-0 teams play in the late Sunday slot: Broncos, Cardinals, and Packers.
The
consensus in Denver is that a compromise has been reached in coach Gary Kubiak’s
offensive scheme. Quarterback Peyton Manning obviously operates better when he
is not under center.
Though
in the first three games, the Denver defense has been the story. A game
clinching interception secured victory against the Ravens in Week 1. In Week 2,
a fumble was recovered for a game winning touchdown. Last week, the Broncos
secondary was able to contain Lions receiver Calvin Johnson and intercept two
passes; one resulted in a touchdown pass from Manning to tight end Owen Daniels
for a 24-12 win (and made me happy because I have Manning on my team).
Denver’s
defense will again have to be up to task in trying to contain running back
Adrian Peterson who is starting to look like Peterson of old having rushed for
126 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Chargers last Sunday in Minneapolis.
The
Cardinals are off to a 3-0 start and are leading the NFC West. As long as quarterback
Carson Palmer remains healthy and plays well, Arizona could be a force to be reckoned
with come the playoffs. Remember it was injuries at the quarterback position
that led to the Cardinals to be one-and-done in the playoffs last season.
Even
though the final score showed a Packers 10-point win over the Chiefs on Monday
night, the game was not really that close. Green Bay was up 31-7 before the
Chiefs made the game more respectable. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers might be on
his way to his second consecutive MVP award having thrown for 333 yards and 5
touchdowns last Monday. So far this season Rodgers has completed 73.6% of his
passes, 771 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions.
And
the Packers have played two home games so far this season, so the streak of no
interceptions continues.
After
an impressive defensive performance against the Vikings in Week 1, the 49ers
have given up 90 points in their last two games - 43 at Pittsburgh and 47 at
Arizona - while scoring 25 in those two games. In Week 1, the 49ers recorded a
20-3 win.
Even
though quarterback Colin Kaepernick has had success against the Packers with
his two playoff wins, I cannot see him duplicating that given the lack of
supporting cast and his last game. Kaepernick’s passing stat line at Arizona
last week: 9-19, 67 yards, 4 interceptions – where two were returned for
touchdowns. By the start of the second quarter, per Pro Football Reference, Arizona
was leading 14-0 and had a 98.4% chance of winning.
Cowboys at Saints
When
the NFL schedule came out in April, NBC got this matchup for Sunday night on
the basis of the quarterbacks: Cowboys Tony Romo against Saints Drew Brees.
Injuries
have caused this matchup to change. It is now Cowboys Brandon Weeden against (possibly)
Saints Luke McCown.
NBC
might be in trouble after
all…
McCown
wanted to get his chance to show that the backup can play.
Weeden
didn’t play too terribly last week. The Cowboys run game gained 127 yards and
scored 4 touchdowns while running back Lance Dunbar caught 10 passes for 100
yards. The problem was that, as I mentioned with the Falcons previously, Julio
Jones tore through the Dallas secondary. To put it bluntly, the Dallas defense
shat the bed.
And
now the picks.
Kickoff
times are Mountain Time
Sunday
afternoon games airing in Denver are noted by (DEN)
Picks
are in BOLD
BYE WEEK
Patriots,
Titans
THURSDAY
NIGHT, CBS/NFL 6PM
Ravens
at Steelers
LONDON, CBS 7:30AM
Jets at Dolphins
FOX 11AM
Giants at Bills (DEN)
Eagles at Washington
Panthers at Buccaneers
CBS 11AM
Chiefs
at Bengals (DEN)
Jaguars
at Colts
Raiders at Bears
Texans
at Falcons
FOX 2PM
Vikings
at Broncos (DEN)
Packers at 49ers
Rams
at Cardinals
CBS 2PM
Browns
at Chargers
SUNDAY
NIGHT, NBC 6:30 PM
Cowboys at Saints
MONDAY
NIGHT, ESPN 6:30 PM
Lions
at Seahawks
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