There are now just three undefeated team in the league after as many weeks of play this season. The Green Bay Packers record surprises few people. The defending Super Bowl champions were expected to make another run to the playoffs after going the distance with several players being on IR last season.
The other two, Buffalo and Detroit surprise most people, including their own fans. Detroit was expected to be a vast improvement on the Lions teams of the past decade, but 3-0 was nowhere near an expectation, and only a few people seriously considered them to be a potential playoff team. There is still time in the season for the team to tank, but after handing Minnesota their third consecutive loss after holding a double-digit halftime lead, few doubt Detroit’s legitimacy as a top team.
The Bills, on the other hand, were in a position slightly different than Detroit’s. Nobody really knew what to expect from this year’s team as compared to last year’s Bills. They lost Lee Evans, and though Steve Johnson really emerged as a top tier receiver during the second half of last season, during which the Bills went 4-4 to finish 4-12, their options were not so obvious. In fact, I predicted another 4-12 record for Buffalo this season. As with Detroit, I still do have a chance at being wrong, but after Buffalo’s impressive come-from-behind win against New England, picking off four of Tom Brady’s passes, this seems very unlikely.
The Giants also upset a division rival this weekend. New York defeated the Eagles in Philadelphia. The game was pretty close through much of the game and the Eagles led 16-14 heading into the final quarter. But for the second consecutive week a late-game injury to Michael Vick forced Kafka into the game, and a 15-0 fourth quarter gave the Giants a 29-16 win.
Baltimore converted their second blowout win of the season a week after being upset by Tennessee. This week they were in St. Louis. Flacco had a very good game, but even more impressive was rookie receiver Torrey Smith of my own University of Maryland. He caught five passes for 152 yards and was on the receiving end of all three of Flacco’s touchdown passes. This came after being targeted just once and having no receptions in Baltimore’s games against Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Kansas City was finally part of a close game, and despite a fairly poor performance by Philip Rivers, Ryan Matthews gave San Diego a lift over the Chiefs. The final in San Diego was 20-17.
Green Bay helped many Bears fans relive the sorrow of last year’s NFC Championship Game loss by winning in Chicago 27-17. Atlanta, meanwhile, falls to 1-2 after a 16-13 loss in Tampa.
In Sunday Night Football, the Colts finally treated their fans to a good game. Though they lost to Pittsburgh 23-20, their defense finally looked more like the disciplined and, well, good unit Indianapolis had during their Super Bowl run in the 2006-07 season.
Last night’s game was not particularly exciting, but it was a very close game in Dallas, where the Cowboys out-kicked the Redskins 18-16. Washington scored the lone touchdown of the game, but a bad hold on an early field goal try took three points off the board for Washington that could have potentially changed the outcome of this game by a three or six point swing. Instead, Dallas’s six field goals were just enough to hand the Redskins their first loss of the season and force a three way tie between these two teams and the Giants, one game ahead of Philadelphia. Grossman again looked good, but the offensive line never got into a groove and he was forced to make several quick throws, many of which sailed over receivers’ heads.
I will be back later this week with my predictions for this weekend’s games. This week will be the last week with 16 games until week 10.
Thanks for reading!
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
Week 3 Predictions
Last week I ended up 11-5 for my NFL predictions. I got off to a good start, but missed a couple close games that were missed by several people. I also predicted a tie that did not play out (and though I gave near-perfect insight on how the game would play out if it did not end in a tie, I still gave myself a loss for that pick). But I missed both the Sunday Night and Monday Night games and so finished just one game better than during opening week.
I am happy with 11-5, but I will be looking to improve a little for this week. So far, I am 21-11 for the season. The following are my predictions for this weekend’s games, with my predicted winners in bold.
Sunday, September 25
1:00pm
Jacksonville @ Carolina
This matchup sets Cam Newton up to continue his impressive run to begin his rookie season, and with the Jaguars still searching for their identity as a team, preparing to start a rookie of their own, and the Panthers playing at home, this could very well be Newton’s first NFL win.
Houston @ New Orleans
Houston clearly is a fantastic team this year, but New Orleans is at home and they have a pretty good team themselves, so I give this one to the home team.
New England @ Buffalo
The Bills are flying high right now, but last week they had to come from way behind to beat the Raiders, who are not on the same level as New England. If the Bills cannot keep it close early, the Patriots will run away with this one.
Miami @ Cleveland
Chad Henne is looking pretty good so far, and though, like Ryan Fitzpatrick, he will need to continue this run before I fully believe he is the real deal, he kept Miami in the New England game and then lost to Houston by just 10 points. Cleveland is no pushover, but the Dolphins are coming off consecutive close losses to two of the better AFC teams, and I expect Miami to take those experiences and win fairly easily in Cleveland.
Denver @ Tennessee
New York Giants @ Philadelphia
If Vick had not yet been cleared to play, I would play this one safe and say the Giants will win this one. But Vick was cleared yesterday for practice and today he was cleared to play in Week 3. The Eagles know that their chances of beating New York rest on Vick playing, and I fully expect him to play. However, if he gets knocked out early I will have to take a loss on this game.
Detroit @ Minnesota
This one is an easy one. Minnesota has had two consecutive second half collapses, and Detroit is looking very good early in the season. This could be a blowout.
San Francisco @ Cincinnati
I can’t remember if it was the PTI or Mike & Mike podcast that I heard this on, but Bengals 2nd round draft pick Andy Dalton has made just four misreads in his first two games under center. That is pretty impressive. San Francisco played a very good game against Dallas, but Cincinnati is at home and they have probably the second best rookie quarterback starting on Sunday.
4:05pm
New York Jets @ Oakland
Baltimore @ St. Louis
I think Baltimore’s performance against Tennessee may have just been due to a feeling of invincibility after their record win against Pittsburgh in week 1. I still believe they can have a great season and finish the season with over 10 wins, but clearly they were not sharp against the Titans. Baltimore should not have to worry about that this week, and if they got their work done in practice, St. Louis should not be able to run with the Ravens.
Kansas City @ San Diego
4:15pm
Atlanta @ Tampa Bay
We saw a Falcons team much closer to what was expected right out of the gate last week against Philadelphia. Tampa Bay looked pretty good, but only beat Minnesota by four points.
Arizona @ Seattle
Green Bay @ Chicago
Green Bay has a good pass rush. Chicago’s offensive line sucks at their job of protecting Jay Cutler from hitting the ground. Even in a matchup between fairly evenly matched teams at home, I do not think Chicago will pull this one out.
8:20pm
Pittsburgh @ Indianapolis
We should see some continued improvement from Kerry Collins in this game, and even though Pittsburgh’s defense only had to deal with Seattle last week, I do not think Indy is that much better on offense than Seattle at this point in time, and a shutout is a shutout, no matter who it is against.
Monday, September 26
8:30pm
Washington @ Dallas
I am a little bit worried about this prediction. If Romo does not play, it would make me feel much better about this pick, and even if he does play I think the Redskins can win. But Romo played through a broken rib and a punctured lung last week and played one of the best games I have seen from him in the past three years, definitely the best from this and last season, which was cut short for him. But he had already gotten to build up some endorphins to mask that pain last week. If he has to start a game hurt like this, it might not go as smoothly as it seemed to last week when he re-entered the game.
My schedule has been very busy lately. I will be back sometime after this weekend to recap the weekend’s action, but I don’t know exactly when or how I will recap the games, so for my Facebook friends, keep an eye on my account for updates and you can also follow me on Twitter @CPuffett to find links to my most recent posts. I am also considering making a Facebook page for Puff on the NFL sometime in the near future so that I can post links on that rather than my Facebook profile and get more visibility.
Thank you for reading!
I am happy with 11-5, but I will be looking to improve a little for this week. So far, I am 21-11 for the season. The following are my predictions for this weekend’s games, with my predicted winners in bold.
Sunday, September 25
1:00pm
Jacksonville @ Carolina
This matchup sets Cam Newton up to continue his impressive run to begin his rookie season, and with the Jaguars still searching for their identity as a team, preparing to start a rookie of their own, and the Panthers playing at home, this could very well be Newton’s first NFL win.
Houston @ New Orleans
Houston clearly is a fantastic team this year, but New Orleans is at home and they have a pretty good team themselves, so I give this one to the home team.
New England @ Buffalo
The Bills are flying high right now, but last week they had to come from way behind to beat the Raiders, who are not on the same level as New England. If the Bills cannot keep it close early, the Patriots will run away with this one.
Miami @ Cleveland
Chad Henne is looking pretty good so far, and though, like Ryan Fitzpatrick, he will need to continue this run before I fully believe he is the real deal, he kept Miami in the New England game and then lost to Houston by just 10 points. Cleveland is no pushover, but the Dolphins are coming off consecutive close losses to two of the better AFC teams, and I expect Miami to take those experiences and win fairly easily in Cleveland.
Denver @ Tennessee
New York Giants @ Philadelphia
If Vick had not yet been cleared to play, I would play this one safe and say the Giants will win this one. But Vick was cleared yesterday for practice and today he was cleared to play in Week 3. The Eagles know that their chances of beating New York rest on Vick playing, and I fully expect him to play. However, if he gets knocked out early I will have to take a loss on this game.
Detroit @ Minnesota
This one is an easy one. Minnesota has had two consecutive second half collapses, and Detroit is looking very good early in the season. This could be a blowout.
San Francisco @ Cincinnati
I can’t remember if it was the PTI or Mike & Mike podcast that I heard this on, but Bengals 2nd round draft pick Andy Dalton has made just four misreads in his first two games under center. That is pretty impressive. San Francisco played a very good game against Dallas, but Cincinnati is at home and they have probably the second best rookie quarterback starting on Sunday.
4:05pm
New York Jets @ Oakland
Baltimore @ St. Louis
I think Baltimore’s performance against Tennessee may have just been due to a feeling of invincibility after their record win against Pittsburgh in week 1. I still believe they can have a great season and finish the season with over 10 wins, but clearly they were not sharp against the Titans. Baltimore should not have to worry about that this week, and if they got their work done in practice, St. Louis should not be able to run with the Ravens.
Kansas City @ San Diego
4:15pm
Atlanta @ Tampa Bay
We saw a Falcons team much closer to what was expected right out of the gate last week against Philadelphia. Tampa Bay looked pretty good, but only beat Minnesota by four points.
Arizona @ Seattle
Green Bay @ Chicago
Green Bay has a good pass rush. Chicago’s offensive line sucks at their job of protecting Jay Cutler from hitting the ground. Even in a matchup between fairly evenly matched teams at home, I do not think Chicago will pull this one out.
8:20pm
Pittsburgh @ Indianapolis
We should see some continued improvement from Kerry Collins in this game, and even though Pittsburgh’s defense only had to deal with Seattle last week, I do not think Indy is that much better on offense than Seattle at this point in time, and a shutout is a shutout, no matter who it is against.
Monday, September 26
8:30pm
Washington @ Dallas
I am a little bit worried about this prediction. If Romo does not play, it would make me feel much better about this pick, and even if he does play I think the Redskins can win. But Romo played through a broken rib and a punctured lung last week and played one of the best games I have seen from him in the past three years, definitely the best from this and last season, which was cut short for him. But he had already gotten to build up some endorphins to mask that pain last week. If he has to start a game hurt like this, it might not go as smoothly as it seemed to last week when he re-entered the game.
My schedule has been very busy lately. I will be back sometime after this weekend to recap the weekend’s action, but I don’t know exactly when or how I will recap the games, so for my Facebook friends, keep an eye on my account for updates and you can also follow me on Twitter @CPuffett to find links to my most recent posts. I am also considering making a Facebook page for Puff on the NFL sometime in the near future so that I can post links on that rather than my Facebook profile and get more visibility.
Thank you for reading!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Week 2 Recap
There was no shortage of exciting games in the NFL this past week, and as luck would have it, three of the four games I watched this weekend were very good games.
Of course I watched the Redskins hosting Arizona in the early game. The Cardinals had not won in Washington since Jake Plummer was their quarterback, and that streak barely remains after the Redskins pulled off a 22-21 victory. The most exciting part about watching this game, regardless of my feelings about either team, was that this marked the first time in recent memory that, down late in a game, the Redskins did not give up and actually put together two late drives to win a game.
Rex Grossman did not look phenomenal, but he continues to impress, and the Redskins’ running game was much improved over its week 1 showing against New York. Washington scored on a late 4th down pass to Santana Moss, and then failed to convert a two-point try. But the defense made a great stand and gave their offense the opportunity to get into field goal range, which they did, and Graham Gano hit a game winning 34-yarder inside of the two-minute warning.
Unfortunately, CBS was not airing the Ravens game on Sunday so I did not get to see any of that game first hand, but from fans I know I have gathered that Ray Rice had a pretty good game but the defense was pitiful and the offense could not get anything going in the second half against Tennessee, who ultimately won 26-13.
During the mid-afternoon session, I watched the Chargers and Patriots duke it out in Foxboro. The game was never really out of reach for San Diego, but three turnovers in or near the red zone proved to be too much of a setback to overcome. Meanwhile, the Patriots scored on all of their first half possessions. San Diego did not fall any further behind in the second half, and actually came to within one score twice during the final fifteen minutes of the game, but the Patriots came right back each time with scored of their own to keep it a two-possession game. The final score was 35-21.
There was no way I would miss the Sunday Night Game between my two NFC pre-season favorites, and the first game Michael Vick would be starting in Atlanta since he played for the Falcons. It ended up being even more exciting than I had hoped for. The game was very close in the first half, but in the 3rd quarter it appeared that the Eagles were going to run away with it. Unfortunately for Philadelphia, Vick went down with a concussion and though Mike Kafka did not play poorly, he was not nearly as effective against Atlanta’s defense as Vick was and Matt Ryan led the Falcons to a huge 4th quarter comeback to avoid starting 0-2.
Monday Night’s game was not nearly as exciting. In fact, it had the lowed Fan Rating of all the week 2 games according to NFL.com. The most interesting part of the game to me was, of course, the poor acting job by two Giants defenders when both suspiciously fell to the ground with what appeared to be cramps, at the exact same moment, while the Rams were attempting to keep some early offensive momentum by using their hurry-up offense. Unfortunately, that ‘highlight’ overshadowed a truly remarkable play made by Domenik Hixon late in the first half when he made an amazing juggling catch in the end zone. The final score was 28-16.
The game with the highest Fan Rating, according to NFL.com, was the Raiders/Bills game. Oakland led 21-3 at halftime, but Buffalo came out rolling in the second half. They had five offensive possessions in the half, and they scored touchdowns on all five, while giving up just two scores, both in the 4th quarter. The winning score came with 14 seconds left; it was a six-yard touchdown pass from Fitzpatrick to David Nelson. The play came on the heels of a very poorly thrown ball that was very nearly an interception in the end zone that would have effectively won the game for Oakland.
Overall for the week I was 11-5 for my predictions, bringing my season total to 21-11. Also, I would just like to point out that I was not too far off on my prediction for the Tampa Bay @ Minnesota game. I predicted a tie and the final score was 24-20 in favor of Tampa Bay. Now, recall that I said that the Buccaneers could win if Minnesota had another second half letdown, and that is exactly what happened. Minnesota led 17-0 at halftime and was outscored 24-3 in the second half. I did not count this as a ‘win’ for my predictions, but just wanted to point out that I was very close to it, not to pat myself on the back or anything. After all, I did incorrectly pick both games on National TV.
I will be back on Saturday with my predictions for week 3, which has some very intriguing matchups. The Redskins will look to stay at the top of the NFC East as they play in Dallas on Monday Night. The Giants and Eagles will both look to keep pace as they go at it in Philly during the early session on Sunday. The Bills will look to have a strong showing at home against the possibly unstoppable Patriots and the Packers and Bears play in Chicago in a rematch of last year’s NFC Championship.
Until then, thank you for reading!
Of course I watched the Redskins hosting Arizona in the early game. The Cardinals had not won in Washington since Jake Plummer was their quarterback, and that streak barely remains after the Redskins pulled off a 22-21 victory. The most exciting part about watching this game, regardless of my feelings about either team, was that this marked the first time in recent memory that, down late in a game, the Redskins did not give up and actually put together two late drives to win a game.
Rex Grossman did not look phenomenal, but he continues to impress, and the Redskins’ running game was much improved over its week 1 showing against New York. Washington scored on a late 4th down pass to Santana Moss, and then failed to convert a two-point try. But the defense made a great stand and gave their offense the opportunity to get into field goal range, which they did, and Graham Gano hit a game winning 34-yarder inside of the two-minute warning.
Unfortunately, CBS was not airing the Ravens game on Sunday so I did not get to see any of that game first hand, but from fans I know I have gathered that Ray Rice had a pretty good game but the defense was pitiful and the offense could not get anything going in the second half against Tennessee, who ultimately won 26-13.
During the mid-afternoon session, I watched the Chargers and Patriots duke it out in Foxboro. The game was never really out of reach for San Diego, but three turnovers in or near the red zone proved to be too much of a setback to overcome. Meanwhile, the Patriots scored on all of their first half possessions. San Diego did not fall any further behind in the second half, and actually came to within one score twice during the final fifteen minutes of the game, but the Patriots came right back each time with scored of their own to keep it a two-possession game. The final score was 35-21.
There was no way I would miss the Sunday Night Game between my two NFC pre-season favorites, and the first game Michael Vick would be starting in Atlanta since he played for the Falcons. It ended up being even more exciting than I had hoped for. The game was very close in the first half, but in the 3rd quarter it appeared that the Eagles were going to run away with it. Unfortunately for Philadelphia, Vick went down with a concussion and though Mike Kafka did not play poorly, he was not nearly as effective against Atlanta’s defense as Vick was and Matt Ryan led the Falcons to a huge 4th quarter comeback to avoid starting 0-2.
Monday Night’s game was not nearly as exciting. In fact, it had the lowed Fan Rating of all the week 2 games according to NFL.com. The most interesting part of the game to me was, of course, the poor acting job by two Giants defenders when both suspiciously fell to the ground with what appeared to be cramps, at the exact same moment, while the Rams were attempting to keep some early offensive momentum by using their hurry-up offense. Unfortunately, that ‘highlight’ overshadowed a truly remarkable play made by Domenik Hixon late in the first half when he made an amazing juggling catch in the end zone. The final score was 28-16.
The game with the highest Fan Rating, according to NFL.com, was the Raiders/Bills game. Oakland led 21-3 at halftime, but Buffalo came out rolling in the second half. They had five offensive possessions in the half, and they scored touchdowns on all five, while giving up just two scores, both in the 4th quarter. The winning score came with 14 seconds left; it was a six-yard touchdown pass from Fitzpatrick to David Nelson. The play came on the heels of a very poorly thrown ball that was very nearly an interception in the end zone that would have effectively won the game for Oakland.
Overall for the week I was 11-5 for my predictions, bringing my season total to 21-11. Also, I would just like to point out that I was not too far off on my prediction for the Tampa Bay @ Minnesota game. I predicted a tie and the final score was 24-20 in favor of Tampa Bay. Now, recall that I said that the Buccaneers could win if Minnesota had another second half letdown, and that is exactly what happened. Minnesota led 17-0 at halftime and was outscored 24-3 in the second half. I did not count this as a ‘win’ for my predictions, but just wanted to point out that I was very close to it, not to pat myself on the back or anything. After all, I did incorrectly pick both games on National TV.
I will be back on Saturday with my predictions for week 3, which has some very intriguing matchups. The Redskins will look to stay at the top of the NFC East as they play in Dallas on Monday Night. The Giants and Eagles will both look to keep pace as they go at it in Philly during the early session on Sunday. The Bills will look to have a strong showing at home against the possibly unstoppable Patriots and the Packers and Bears play in Chicago in a rematch of last year’s NFC Championship.
Until then, thank you for reading!
Friday, September 16, 2011
Week 2 Predictions
Last week I posted my predictions for the 16 games played in the first weekend of 2011 NFL regular season action. My final tally for the week was 10-6. Cincinnati and Buffalo both played much better than I had expected (and Kansas City and Cleveland both played worse than I think anyone expected). The game I felt worst about missing was the Baltimore game. I predicted before preseason began that the Ravens would go 13-3, but I had them losing their home opener to Pittsburgh. Now, granted no one expected Roethlisberger to throw three interceptions and for the Ravens to force seven total turnovers, but they blew out the Steelers’ defense, too.
I will take 10-6 for an opening weekend that was full of many surprises. In fact, I had New England blowing out Miami, but the game was even closer than the 38-24 final score suggests. Hopefully I have a little better grip on what to expect for the coming week, because here are my predictions for the games this Sunday and Monday, with my predicted winners in bold.
Sunday, September 18
1:00pm
Seattle @ Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh will be at home, so there is home-field advantage consideration here. Also, Seattle was not very impressive last week against San Francisco, and Pittsburgh will be out to mend its severely damaged ego.
Oakland @ Buffalo
This could be a very good game. I’m not willing to say that Buffalo or Ryan Fitzpatrick are the real deal because I did not see their game against Kansas City and I do not know how badly the Chiefs played. But Oakland was very sloppy and McFadden was their only high point on offense, and he did not score on Monday night. I take the Bills at home.
Arizona @ Washington
I give Kolb the edge at QB, but Arizona is a bit thin in the backfield. The Redskins would be helped if their running game can get going this week; but, if nothing else, Grossman will be facing a secondary that was torched for a Week 1 rookie record 422 passing yards by Cam Newton.
Tampa Bay @ Minnesota
No bold means no winner. That’s right, I am going out on a limb and predicting a tie. Tampa Bay was ok last week. They did not play that great on offense, but their defense held Jahvid Best to 72 yards and I think they can keep Peterson right around 100 or just under the century mark this Sunday. The Bucs did give up a lot of passing yards, but McNabb did not approach even 50 passing yards last weekend, and I do not see a significant rise in that stat coming. But, again, Tampa Bay did not particularly impress on offense. Tampa Bay could win if Minnesota has another big second half letdown in their pass defense, and Josh Freeman certainly has the ability to take advantage of that, but I am going with my gut (or limb) and predicting a tie.
Jacksonville @ New York Jets
Chicago @ New Orleans
Green Bay @ Carolina
Baltimore @ Tennessee
Kansas City @ Detroit
Cleveland @ Indianapolis
This is a tough one to call. I like Cleveland this year, but they went out and had a very poor performance against Cincinnati last week at home. Now they are in a hostile environment, against a team that would still love to be able to play in a home Super Bowl, with a quarterback who looked decent in the second half last week and has had more time to get familiar with his new offense (and the offense has had another week to get more familiar with Collins).
4:05pm
Dallas @ San Francisco
Despite Tony Romo’s late game collapse, he has been a very inconsistent quarterback in the past, and this week that could actually work to his advantage.
4:15pm
Cincinnati @ Denver
As long as the Tebow chants do not get too distracting for Kyle Orten, look for him to have another slightly above average game this weekend. Cincinnati still does not seem too sure about their quarterback situation going forward, and until they do, I do not see the Bengals winning consecutive games this season.
San Diego @ New England
I only give the Patriots the win here because they are at home. San Diego is a better team than Miami and the Dolphins had a field day on offense; just wait until you see the kind of game Philip Rivers has. On the same note, San Diego had some holes on defense against Minnesota and Brady will take full advantage of the smallest opening.
Houston @ Miami
Miami should have a good game, but Houston is riding high after blowing out the only other team in their division that seems to have a legitimate chance of winning the AFC South. Look for the Texans to take that momentum into Miami and send the Dolphins to a rough 0-2 start.
8:20pm
Philadelphia @ Atlanta
America’s Game-of-the-Week features both of my preseason NFC favorites. I do not know what Atlanta has done to correct their laundry list of problems from the Chicago game, but if they cannot stop Vick and McCoy early, they will not be able to come back when their defense finally starts to get through in the second half (as it no doubt will).
Monday, September 19
8:30pm
St. Louis @ New York Giants
This one is more just me expecting the unexpected than anything. I think the Giants do gain a bit of an advantage if Steven Jackson does not play. But for now, Jackson is still somewhere between probable and questionable for this Monday’s game in New York. Not only that, but Sam Bradford should be able to have at least as good a game as Rex Grossman did last week, so if Jackson is in, it should not be close; if Jackson does not play, it should be a good game with the advantage still going to St. Louis in my mind.
I will be back on Monday with a recap of Sunday’s action and then Tuesday with a brief recap of the Rams/Giants game. Thanks for reading!
I will take 10-6 for an opening weekend that was full of many surprises. In fact, I had New England blowing out Miami, but the game was even closer than the 38-24 final score suggests. Hopefully I have a little better grip on what to expect for the coming week, because here are my predictions for the games this Sunday and Monday, with my predicted winners in bold.
Sunday, September 18
1:00pm
Seattle @ Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh will be at home, so there is home-field advantage consideration here. Also, Seattle was not very impressive last week against San Francisco, and Pittsburgh will be out to mend its severely damaged ego.
Oakland @ Buffalo
This could be a very good game. I’m not willing to say that Buffalo or Ryan Fitzpatrick are the real deal because I did not see their game against Kansas City and I do not know how badly the Chiefs played. But Oakland was very sloppy and McFadden was their only high point on offense, and he did not score on Monday night. I take the Bills at home.
Arizona @ Washington
I give Kolb the edge at QB, but Arizona is a bit thin in the backfield. The Redskins would be helped if their running game can get going this week; but, if nothing else, Grossman will be facing a secondary that was torched for a Week 1 rookie record 422 passing yards by Cam Newton.
Tampa Bay @ Minnesota
No bold means no winner. That’s right, I am going out on a limb and predicting a tie. Tampa Bay was ok last week. They did not play that great on offense, but their defense held Jahvid Best to 72 yards and I think they can keep Peterson right around 100 or just under the century mark this Sunday. The Bucs did give up a lot of passing yards, but McNabb did not approach even 50 passing yards last weekend, and I do not see a significant rise in that stat coming. But, again, Tampa Bay did not particularly impress on offense. Tampa Bay could win if Minnesota has another big second half letdown in their pass defense, and Josh Freeman certainly has the ability to take advantage of that, but I am going with my gut (or limb) and predicting a tie.
Jacksonville @ New York Jets
Chicago @ New Orleans
Green Bay @ Carolina
Baltimore @ Tennessee
Kansas City @ Detroit
Cleveland @ Indianapolis
This is a tough one to call. I like Cleveland this year, but they went out and had a very poor performance against Cincinnati last week at home. Now they are in a hostile environment, against a team that would still love to be able to play in a home Super Bowl, with a quarterback who looked decent in the second half last week and has had more time to get familiar with his new offense (and the offense has had another week to get more familiar with Collins).
4:05pm
Dallas @ San Francisco
Despite Tony Romo’s late game collapse, he has been a very inconsistent quarterback in the past, and this week that could actually work to his advantage.
4:15pm
Cincinnati @ Denver
As long as the Tebow chants do not get too distracting for Kyle Orten, look for him to have another slightly above average game this weekend. Cincinnati still does not seem too sure about their quarterback situation going forward, and until they do, I do not see the Bengals winning consecutive games this season.
San Diego @ New England
I only give the Patriots the win here because they are at home. San Diego is a better team than Miami and the Dolphins had a field day on offense; just wait until you see the kind of game Philip Rivers has. On the same note, San Diego had some holes on defense against Minnesota and Brady will take full advantage of the smallest opening.
Houston @ Miami
Miami should have a good game, but Houston is riding high after blowing out the only other team in their division that seems to have a legitimate chance of winning the AFC South. Look for the Texans to take that momentum into Miami and send the Dolphins to a rough 0-2 start.
8:20pm
Philadelphia @ Atlanta
America’s Game-of-the-Week features both of my preseason NFC favorites. I do not know what Atlanta has done to correct their laundry list of problems from the Chicago game, but if they cannot stop Vick and McCoy early, they will not be able to come back when their defense finally starts to get through in the second half (as it no doubt will).
Monday, September 19
8:30pm
St. Louis @ New York Giants
This one is more just me expecting the unexpected than anything. I think the Giants do gain a bit of an advantage if Steven Jackson does not play. But for now, Jackson is still somewhere between probable and questionable for this Monday’s game in New York. Not only that, but Sam Bradford should be able to have at least as good a game as Rex Grossman did last week, so if Jackson is in, it should not be close; if Jackson does not play, it should be a good game with the advantage still going to St. Louis in my mind.
I will be back on Monday with a recap of Sunday’s action and then Tuesday with a brief recap of the Rams/Giants game. Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Week 1 Monday Recap
I apologize for being a day late posting this.
Going into Monday Night Football, I was most excited for the game in Denver. I felt that that game was the more even matchup, and in the end I was probably right. However, there was plenty of excitement in the first game of the night, too.
Tom Brady recorded 517 passing yards, a fantasy player’s dream (or nightmare), good for the best single-game passing performance in Patriots history, and a spot in the top five for the NFL All-Time list.
What is easy to forget is that Miami’s quarterback, Chad Henne, also had a career game, throwing for 416 yards and two touchdowns while running for 59 yards and another score.
The defining moment of the game came with about six minutes left in the game and Miami trailing 31-17. A big play for the Dolphins was called a touchdown but then overturned on review, the ball placed on the 1-yard line. Three stops later the Dolphins are faced with 4th-and-goal, just inside the one. Miami elected to pass, and Henne threw an incompletion.
With just under six minutes to play, the Dolphins knew that a quick stop, or better yet a safety, could keep them in the game. Brady stepped back to pass, Miami rushed, and Benny Sapp let Wes Welker slip by him. Brady saw the opening, went for it, and 99 ½ yards later the Patriots had a new organization record for the longest play from scrimmage. The Dolphins would score again, but by this time the game was well out of reach.
Denver hosted the Raiders in the late game. Oakland arrived at Mile High on a seven game winning streak against the AFC West. However, they were also on a long losing streak in opening games. Meanwhile, Denver hadn’t lost a home opener since 2000. Only one of those streaks remained intact at the end of the night as Oakland earned a 23-20 win in a game that wasn’t nearly as exciting as I had anticipated.
Neither team played lights out football, though Darren McFadden was quite impressive, gaining 150 yards on 22 carries. One of his carries was probably my highlight of the game. The only other play that particularly impressed me was Janikowski’s NFL record-tying 63-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.
Late in the game, Denver fans began a Tim Tebow chant, but I didn’t see what was so bad about Kyle Orton. No, he wasn’t stellar, but he was a little above average from what I saw. He made a couple mistakes, one that should never be made (he lost his grip on the football while scrambling out of the pocket). But he threw for over 300 yards and had a pretty nice 13-yard scramble.
My next post should be up either Friday or Saturday evening, and that will have my predictions for Week 2 as well as my games-to-watch.
Going into Monday Night Football, I was most excited for the game in Denver. I felt that that game was the more even matchup, and in the end I was probably right. However, there was plenty of excitement in the first game of the night, too.
Tom Brady recorded 517 passing yards, a fantasy player’s dream (or nightmare), good for the best single-game passing performance in Patriots history, and a spot in the top five for the NFL All-Time list.
What is easy to forget is that Miami’s quarterback, Chad Henne, also had a career game, throwing for 416 yards and two touchdowns while running for 59 yards and another score.
The defining moment of the game came with about six minutes left in the game and Miami trailing 31-17. A big play for the Dolphins was called a touchdown but then overturned on review, the ball placed on the 1-yard line. Three stops later the Dolphins are faced with 4th-and-goal, just inside the one. Miami elected to pass, and Henne threw an incompletion.
With just under six minutes to play, the Dolphins knew that a quick stop, or better yet a safety, could keep them in the game. Brady stepped back to pass, Miami rushed, and Benny Sapp let Wes Welker slip by him. Brady saw the opening, went for it, and 99 ½ yards later the Patriots had a new organization record for the longest play from scrimmage. The Dolphins would score again, but by this time the game was well out of reach.
Denver hosted the Raiders in the late game. Oakland arrived at Mile High on a seven game winning streak against the AFC West. However, they were also on a long losing streak in opening games. Meanwhile, Denver hadn’t lost a home opener since 2000. Only one of those streaks remained intact at the end of the night as Oakland earned a 23-20 win in a game that wasn’t nearly as exciting as I had anticipated.
Neither team played lights out football, though Darren McFadden was quite impressive, gaining 150 yards on 22 carries. One of his carries was probably my highlight of the game. The only other play that particularly impressed me was Janikowski’s NFL record-tying 63-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.
Late in the game, Denver fans began a Tim Tebow chant, but I didn’t see what was so bad about Kyle Orton. No, he wasn’t stellar, but he was a little above average from what I saw. He made a couple mistakes, one that should never be made (he lost his grip on the football while scrambling out of the pocket). But he threw for over 300 yards and had a pretty nice 13-yard scramble.
My next post should be up either Friday or Saturday evening, and that will have my predictions for Week 2 as well as my games-to-watch.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Week 1 Sunday Recap
Yesterday was a very exciting day as the NFL kicked into high gear with its first Sunday of regular season action for the 2011 season.
I chose the Ravens/Steelers game to watch during the 1:00pm session rather than the Eagles/Rams, and I was treated to a blowout. The Ravens defense allowed seven points, but they also forced seven turnovers, and Baltimore took advantage of all of them by not turning the ball over even once! Flacco looked very good, Ray Rice was stellar, and Baltimore rolled to its easiest win over their most hated rivals in NFL history.
The Eagles took care of business in St. Louis, but it didn’t hurt that Sam Bradford, Steven Jackson, and Danny Amendola all sustained injuries during the game. Their severity will be assessed today. Vick settled down as the game wore on, but the Rams defense was gunning for him early. In fact, the Eagles didn’t really look very good at all during the first quarter, yet they led 14-7 going into the second.
Other big early games included Chicago’s romping of Atlanta and the surprise 41-7 win by Buffalo, who was visiting a Kansas City team that went 7-1 at home last year.
I got to see the Redskins win at home against the Giants during the later games, and it was a very good game. During the first half New York scored twice, but the drives following both New York touchdowns resulted in touchdowns for the Redskins. During the second half it was all Washington. It opened up with rookie Ryan Kerrigan tipping an Eli Manning pass, catching it, and running into the end zone for a touchdown.
The other three late afternoon games all have great story lines as well. Cam Newton became the first rookie to pass for 400+ yards in week 1, breaking a record previously held by Peyton Manning. It wasn’t enough, however, as the hosting Cardinals still won the game. Minnesota led in San Diego, 17-7 at halftime, but Philip Rivers helped lead a big comeback win at home. Fullback Mike Tolbert scored all three Charger touchdowns. And the game in San Francisco was much closer than the score suggests. Ted Ginn Jr. had two late return touchdowns, the first a kickoff and the second a punt. It marked the first time in NFL history a player had one of each on opening day.
The late game was the most exciting of the day. The Jets hosted the Cowboys, and Dallas looked like they would be unstoppable early on, or at least Dez Bryant looked unstoppable. Unfortunately, after the first series he left the field with an injury. He would return later but would not be very effective. Dallas led by 14 early in the fourth quarter, but Sanchez finally came to life, and the Jets’ run offense got a spark, too. When New York completed it’s comeback and the game ended, it marked the first time in Dallas Cowboys franchise history that they lost a game in which they led by 14+ in the final quarter (they have also tied once).
Tonight we have two games. Miami hosts the Patriots at 7:00pm and the Oakland visits Denver at 10:15pm. Tomorrow’s post will include recaps of those games and my Week 1 prediction results. I will then be back next Saturday with Week 2 predictions.
I chose the Ravens/Steelers game to watch during the 1:00pm session rather than the Eagles/Rams, and I was treated to a blowout. The Ravens defense allowed seven points, but they also forced seven turnovers, and Baltimore took advantage of all of them by not turning the ball over even once! Flacco looked very good, Ray Rice was stellar, and Baltimore rolled to its easiest win over their most hated rivals in NFL history.
The Eagles took care of business in St. Louis, but it didn’t hurt that Sam Bradford, Steven Jackson, and Danny Amendola all sustained injuries during the game. Their severity will be assessed today. Vick settled down as the game wore on, but the Rams defense was gunning for him early. In fact, the Eagles didn’t really look very good at all during the first quarter, yet they led 14-7 going into the second.
Other big early games included Chicago’s romping of Atlanta and the surprise 41-7 win by Buffalo, who was visiting a Kansas City team that went 7-1 at home last year.
I got to see the Redskins win at home against the Giants during the later games, and it was a very good game. During the first half New York scored twice, but the drives following both New York touchdowns resulted in touchdowns for the Redskins. During the second half it was all Washington. It opened up with rookie Ryan Kerrigan tipping an Eli Manning pass, catching it, and running into the end zone for a touchdown.
The other three late afternoon games all have great story lines as well. Cam Newton became the first rookie to pass for 400+ yards in week 1, breaking a record previously held by Peyton Manning. It wasn’t enough, however, as the hosting Cardinals still won the game. Minnesota led in San Diego, 17-7 at halftime, but Philip Rivers helped lead a big comeback win at home. Fullback Mike Tolbert scored all three Charger touchdowns. And the game in San Francisco was much closer than the score suggests. Ted Ginn Jr. had two late return touchdowns, the first a kickoff and the second a punt. It marked the first time in NFL history a player had one of each on opening day.
The late game was the most exciting of the day. The Jets hosted the Cowboys, and Dallas looked like they would be unstoppable early on, or at least Dez Bryant looked unstoppable. Unfortunately, after the first series he left the field with an injury. He would return later but would not be very effective. Dallas led by 14 early in the fourth quarter, but Sanchez finally came to life, and the Jets’ run offense got a spark, too. When New York completed it’s comeback and the game ended, it marked the first time in Dallas Cowboys franchise history that they lost a game in which they led by 14+ in the final quarter (they have also tied once).
Tonight we have two games. Miami hosts the Patriots at 7:00pm and the Oakland visits Denver at 10:15pm. Tomorrow’s post will include recaps of those games and my Week 1 prediction results. I will then be back next Saturday with Week 2 predictions.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Strong Start for the Pack
Jordin Sparks performed the National Anthem and the Green Bay crowd
gave us this dazzling sight. (Image courtesy of NBC and Yahoo! Sports)
Last night was a case of a blowout turning into a thriller. Green Bay took control early, as Aaron Rodgers became just the second quarterback in NFL history to throw for three touchdowns in the 1st quarter of a season opener.
As the game wore on, however, the Saints defense shut down a couple of key series and Drew Brees caught fire. Brees finished the game with three touchdown passes, no picks, and 419 passing yards, around 100 more than Rodgers, who also seemed to be unstoppable.
One of the top statistical stories for this game was having two quarterbacks both throw for 300+ yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions in the same game, and in a season opener on national television, no less.
However, the one story that may be even bigger was Randall Cobb, Green Bay’s rookie wide receiver. Cobb, picked in the second round out of Kentucky, is the first person born in the 1990s to play in the NFL, and he made a name for himself last night. He began his career with a 32-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers in the 1st quarter, pushing the Packers’ advantage to 21-7. Then, in the 3rd quarter, Cobb struck again, taking a kickoff out from eight yards deep in his end zone, being flipped onto his side and still staying on his feet at around the 22-yard line, then streaking down the field for an NFL record-tying 108-yard kickoff return touchdown.
That return evened the playing field just a quarter after Darren Sproles returned a Tim Masthay punt 72 yards to make it a 21-17 game.
Leading 35-27 early in the final quarter of play, the Packers finished a 12-play, 93-yard drive with Rodgers sneaking the ball into the belly of fullback John Kuhn who easily stepped into the end zone to extend Green Bay’s lead.
Drew Brees only seemed to play better during the final quarter, however, leading a quick 12-play touchdown drive that took just 3:20 off the game clock. A three-and-out forced by the Saints defense (after a failed onside kick) gave the Saints one final chance. Brees drove Green Bay’s defense back very efficiently during his final drive. He had just 1:08 to work with and no timeouts.
With just a few second left on the clock and the ball nine yards out of the end zone, Brees tried to get the ball in to Darren Sproles, but a nice defensive play by A.J. Hawk ended it…or so it appeared. On the replay, it appeared that the play could have been called either way, but pass interference was called on Hawk, who had jumped to knock down the pass and landed on Sproles just after tipping the pass down.
The Saints got an untimed play from the 1 and chose to give the ball to rookie Mark Ingram, the former Heisman winner out of Alabama. But the Packers’ defensive line took out the legs of the Saints’ offensive line and their linebackers took down Ingram before he could get anywhere near the goal line.
Final Score:
New Orleans – 34
Green Bay – 42
You can see my predictions for the rest of the weekend by clicking the link at the end of this post. Come back Monday for my thoughts on some key games from Sunday’s action and then on Tuesday for my post on the Monday Night games.
Puff's Picks: Week 1 Predictions
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Week 1 Predictions
It is football time, with 8:30pm tonight marking the start time for the first game of the 2011 NFL Regular Season.
This year I will post predictions for each game (with a couple comments for the games I expect to be fairly close. The day following the games (i.e. tomorrow for the NO@GB game, Monday for all the Sunday games, and Tuesday for the Monday Night games) I will post about the game(s) on the previous day.
The following are my predictions (I only predict scores for the postseason, my predicted winners are in Bold).
Thursday, September 8
8:30pm
New Orleans @ Green Bay
This should be a very good game, but I think the Packers have the stronger defense. I also think Green Bay's offense has the upper hand with a better 1-2 punch in the backfield.
Sunday, September 11
1:00pm
Pittsburgh @ Baltimore
I really wanted to pick Baltimore at home here, but Pittsburgh started fast last year without Roethlisberger, and I think they will start just a well with him this year.
Atlanta @ Chicago
Cincinnati @ Cleveland
Indianapolis @ Houston
I felt this way even before it was announced that Manning would be out. I think Collins will be fine in the Colts offense, but I don't think he will be winning many games that the Colts would not have won with Manning under center.
Tennessee @ Jacksonville
Buffalo @ Kansas City
Philadelphia @ St. Louis
Detroit @ Tampa Bay
This is a game I very much expect to be close, but with a defensive line as strong as Detroit's is, I don't think Josh Freeman will be able to get in the rhythm he needs to be in to lead Tampa Bay to a win this weekend. In addition, with Stafford and Best both healthy, the Lions offense will take advantage of having two very good skill position players healthy while they have them (neither have been full-season bets so far in their careers.
4:15pm
Carolina @ Arizona
Minnesota @ San Diego
Seattle @ San Francisco
New York Giants @ Washington
I do not see the Giants running away with this one, but I am very weary of trusting that the Redskins will begin the regular season at the level they performed through most of the preseason, simply based on history.
Dallas @ New York Jets
Monday, September 12
7:00pm
New England @ Miami
10:15pm
Oakland @ Denver
This one definitely has the makings for a close game. There still seems to be some uncertainty about who will start under center for Denver, though Orton has been named the starter. This uncertainty will not bother Oakland, however. They have won seven consecutive division games (yes, they went 6-0 in the AFC West last year and still missed the postseason) and Monday Night could be number eight in a row.
I am very excited for the start of the Regular Season tonight. I will be rushing home from class this evening to try and catch the tail end of the 1st quarter so hopefully I will not miss too much of the excitement. I will post a short recap of tonight's game sometime tomorrow.
This year I will post predictions for each game (with a couple comments for the games I expect to be fairly close. The day following the games (i.e. tomorrow for the NO@GB game, Monday for all the Sunday games, and Tuesday for the Monday Night games) I will post about the game(s) on the previous day.
The following are my predictions (I only predict scores for the postseason, my predicted winners are in Bold).
Thursday, September 8
8:30pm
New Orleans @ Green Bay
This should be a very good game, but I think the Packers have the stronger defense. I also think Green Bay's offense has the upper hand with a better 1-2 punch in the backfield.
Sunday, September 11
1:00pm
Pittsburgh @ Baltimore
I really wanted to pick Baltimore at home here, but Pittsburgh started fast last year without Roethlisberger, and I think they will start just a well with him this year.
Atlanta @ Chicago
Cincinnati @ Cleveland
Indianapolis @ Houston
I felt this way even before it was announced that Manning would be out. I think Collins will be fine in the Colts offense, but I don't think he will be winning many games that the Colts would not have won with Manning under center.
Tennessee @ Jacksonville
Buffalo @ Kansas City
Philadelphia @ St. Louis
Detroit @ Tampa Bay
This is a game I very much expect to be close, but with a defensive line as strong as Detroit's is, I don't think Josh Freeman will be able to get in the rhythm he needs to be in to lead Tampa Bay to a win this weekend. In addition, with Stafford and Best both healthy, the Lions offense will take advantage of having two very good skill position players healthy while they have them (neither have been full-season bets so far in their careers.
4:15pm
Carolina @ Arizona
Minnesota @ San Diego
Seattle @ San Francisco
New York Giants @ Washington
I do not see the Giants running away with this one, but I am very weary of trusting that the Redskins will begin the regular season at the level they performed through most of the preseason, simply based on history.
Dallas @ New York Jets
Monday, September 12
7:00pm
New England @ Miami
10:15pm
Oakland @ Denver
This one definitely has the makings for a close game. There still seems to be some uncertainty about who will start under center for Denver, though Orton has been named the starter. This uncertainty will not bother Oakland, however. They have won seven consecutive division games (yes, they went 6-0 in the AFC West last year and still missed the postseason) and Monday Night could be number eight in a row.
I am very excited for the start of the Regular Season tonight. I will be rushing home from class this evening to try and catch the tail end of the 1st quarter so hopefully I will not miss too much of the excitement. I will post a short recap of tonight's game sometime tomorrow.
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