Many things happened during last weekend’s set of games so let’s get right into things. First, the rookie QB’s came to play, and it resulted in a combined record of 4-1 for them. Unfortunately, the one loss was awarded to Andrew Luck and my Indianapolis Colts. Not only did they lose, they got run over, literally. It was a poor effort after such a great week against the Packers. With such a young team, inconsistency is to be expected. The other four QB’s – Russell Wilson, Robert Griffin III, Brandon Weeden and Ryan Tannehill, all pulled out the W for their team to increase their winning percentage. Bye-week teams include: Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles and the San Diego Chargers.
Let’s take a look at this week:
– Thursday night football features two NFC West rivals to see who is the “Best of the West”. These two teams are similar in multiple ways: QB who will not lose or win you games, excellent rushing attacks and stellar defenses. It may be a very boring game since neither team will be able to throw the ball, and it will be ground-and-pound for all 60 minutes. The victor may be determined in the last few minutes, so who will win?
– The Titans showed last week that they could still play, Britt came back and had miscommunications with Hasselbeck, and Chris Johnson was able to run on the Steeler D. Is he slowly coming back, or does he only try when he plays defenses that are supposed to be good run D’s? In any case, “CJ2K”, despite his struggles last year, ran for 153 yards and two touchdowns against this Buffalo defense. Can CJ be a game-changer and win the game for the Titans or will the Buffalo defense step-up?
– With DeMarco Murray out for the week, can Felix Jones step up for the Cowboys?
– Panthers suffered a terrible loss in losing their starting C Ryan Kalil for the year. Can they restart their offense and show the world that they are capable of playing with the big boys or have all the pro football defenses figured out Cam Newton’s game?
– There are only two teams above .500 in the AFC, and they play each other on Sunday. Ravens, winners of four straight, lost pro LB Ray Lewis for the year (IR – Designated to Return List) and pro bowl CB Lardarius Webb was also lost for the year. Ravens are normally a good run-stopping team but this year had been the opposite, allowing 136.5 yards per game on the ground. Is Arian “the Barbarian” going to go wild in Houston, or can the Baltimore offense step their game up?
– Rookie vs. Rookie, Brandon vs. Andrew. Indy lost last week despite the extra motivation they have in playing for their coach. Sometimes you just don’t get the right bounces. Will they turn back to their winning ways this week or will the Browns extend their win streak?
– Who would have thought this week-seven battle between the Cardinals and the Vikings would be the battle of 4-2 teams? The Cardinals started 4-0 and have lost two weeks straight, and if they let Ponder complete his short passing game and Adrian Peterson run over them, two short weeks are bound to turn into three long ones.
– Robert Griffin the Third has really brought inspiration to the Redskins locker room. That and the fact that he is an all-around talent, Redskins made the right decision in drafting him second overall in the draft this year. Are the Giants going to pay the price?
– Aaron Rodgers came back to form last week, to the dismay of my fantasy team nonetheless; you know a quarterback had a good week when he singlehandedly comes close to outscoring my entire roster. But this week he’s going into St. Louis with a much improved Ram secondary. When push comes to shove, this game may be much closer than expected.
– Is this the week Doug Martin begins to break off some long runs? New Orleans are terrible at stopping the run and cannot set an edge if their lives depended on it. They may have an addition to their linebacking core if Vilma, recently came off PUP list, is capable of playing this week and its doubtful that his legal/suspension situation is likely to be resolved, and with his appeal pending, he’s eligible to play. Truthfully, their defense will take all the help they can get.
– A team who many thought would be undefeated at this point in the season, currently sits at 3-3. The Patriots this year have had their share of disappointing losses, and if the Jets are capable enough of stopping the New England passing attack, they could push the Patriots into a losing record. That would mark the second time that the Pats are under .500 this year.
– Battle of the premier running backs are set to take center stage in Oakland where MJD will face off against Run DMC. Mcfadden has played grossly under his potential this year, but against this porous Jacksonville offense, will the game stay close long enough for him to start busting big ones?
– If not for Calvin Johnson, AJ Green, in only his second year, could widely be considered the best receiver in the game. All he does is make plays and score touchdowns. Can the Steel Curtain be the first, or will the “Red Rifle” complete passes to AJ all day?
– The Lions offense this year has sputtered at times, and as such Megatron has only found the end zone once. In comparison, this time last year he already had nine. Is this the week he starts rolling again or is this the Madden curse wearing him down?
By the way, did you see that Peyton Manning guy on Monday? I heard he did pretty well.
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