Author Archives: The Chancellor of Football

Portrait of Persistance

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Florida's steady John Brantley

There are many times in a players career where they will be at a crossroads as to what they should do or question whether they chose to attend the right school.  What happens when you replace a legend?? What must that crucible be like to go through to follow one of the most celebrated athletes in the history of college football?? For John Brantley of Florida, its been a  compelling study. He was more than familiar with the legendary Tim Tebow having played his high school ball right there in the state of Florida. In fact he broke Tebow’s record for touchdown passes by a Florida prep quarterback with 99, while attending Trinity Catholic in Ocala, Florida.

What’s made this journey so compelling is what he’s had to endure and yet remain a leader for the Florida Gators. The first thing that comes to mind is listening in stunned amazement, as he was booed at home against Miami of  Ohio. It was the first game of the post Tim Tebow era and the Gators were on their way to a 34-10 win. Yet in the second quarter the offense was sluggish and bogged down a few times. One time the camera panned in close to him on the sideline when the crowd at  Ben Hill Griffin started in and you couldn’t help but feel for him. “The Swamp” let the team have it and let’s be honest, they were on Brantley for not being Tim Tebow. We never heard that during Tebow’s years. You couldn’t help but feel for him on that day and it cast a pall over that game and the rest of an 8-5 season. Urban Meyer’s last year at the helm.

In 2010, Brantley had a sporadic year throwing for 2,061 yards while completing 200 of 329 for 9TDs and 10 int’s. Yet keep something in mind, he has always been a drop back passer and nowhere in Urban Meyer’s offense had he been developed plays that accentuated his talents. Not in the way that there were specific plays to aid Tebow early in his career. Think back to win Tebow stepped in and played as a freshman while Chris Leak was still there. They developed plays for Tebow that would grant him success early on, to build confidence and get to learn the college game. Brantley wasn’t afforded that luxury. Had he been, where would he be on the path to success right now??

Brantley scrambling for yards agianst Miami of Ohio in 2010

Yet one of the intangibles that did forge was  was  an unshakable belief in himself. A quarterback who was unsure if he’d remain in Florida’s future, stayed with his commitment and was awarded Offensive Co-ordinator Charlie Weiss. Weiss is an offensive guru with a serious hand on the pro passing game that accentuates Brantley’s strengths. At 6’3, 219 lbs as a drop back passer who can see over the rush, Brantley should throw for more than 30TDs this season. Weiss knows the passing game that will take him to the next level and beyond in the NFL. Think not?? Look, last year Kansas City Chief’s quarterback Matt Cassell was among the NFL’s leading passers with 27TDs and only 7 ints. Without Weiss, he’s thrown for 3 TDs with 5 ints in only 3 games. Seriously…not making that up.

Brantley will further develop in Weiss’ system and the SEC will be his foil as he improves on his accuracy. Do you realize that his efficiency rating is 148.1 this year as opposed to 116.4 last year?? http://espn.go.com/college-football/player/_/id/235158/john-brantley Does he have the right guy to elevate his game in Charlie Weiss?? Listen it was under his tutelage that journeyman quarterback Vinny Testaverde became a pro bowl quarterback in the NFL for the first time after 12 years. Then he developed a young Tom Brady into being a Super Bowl winning quarterback. What do you think he’ll do with a pro prospect like Brantley against 18- 20 year olds in the SEC??

With Brantley, the SEC  will be a foil as he develops his game. It’s almost a shame it had to come so late in his career but with a showdown with conference leader Alabama, what better time than to showcase his talent than now?? Showcase he’s dodged the burbs of football pundits and rival fans. Although I am a Miami Hurricane fanatic, I know a real dropback passer when I see one. He’s an excellent pocket passer who should do well in today’s game against the Crimson Tide. He will grow over the next couple of months into  a total pro quarterback prospect. Prediction…??

#12 Florida 4-0 (2-0 conf) v. #3 Alabama 4-0 (1-0 conf)

Is Alabama really ready for a quarterback who once outperformed Cam Newton?? Not, Gators!!

NFL Week 3 South: Early Season Pivotal Points

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Roddy White about to be greeted by the Tampa secondary.

Inside Our NFL rolls on. The NFL has had it’s share of rivalries. Teams that just couldnt’ stand each other and brought out the worst in their opponent. The newest NFL hatefest is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Atlanta Falcons. We’re not sure if it began with General Manager Rich McKay moving from the Buccaneers to the Falcons in 2003, but we do know it’s intense. Last week these two renewed affiliations and played another slugfest this past weekend. One where the Atlanta Falcons were called for encroachment, grabbed Tampa’s QB Josh Freeman’s leg and the young quarterback bucked like a bronco to free himself.  Nearly stepping on a couple of strewn about arms of would be defenders. One where Bucs QB Freeman was sacked, the next series his Buccaneers retaliated with an eight man all out blitz at the line of scrimmage that nearly knocked Matty “Ice” Ryan into next week. What did they do for an encore when they knocked him groggy?? Sent another for one of the most vicious sacks seen in years. In which three players arrived at the same time forcing a fumble and knocking Ryan’s helmet off. Quite simply, the Bucs outhit Atlanta for a 16-13 win.

These young Bucks (pun intended) are growing up before our very eyes. They narrowly missed the playoffs going 10-6 last year yet have started this season slowly on the offensive side of the ball. Right now Josh Freeman has completed 67.9 % of his passes yet has thrown 2TDs v. 4 interceptions. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/tam/2011.htm  He’ll have to improve on the his TD to Int ratio, in fact he was second to Tom Brady with the lowest interception ratio last year. With LeGarrette Blount and this young defense, they are playing close to the vest affairs, having scored 60 points while allowing 60. Yet should pad their 2-1 record hosting Indy, traveling to San Francisco, before an important early season divisional matchup with the New Orleans Saints. The division lead should be on the line….speaking of which, lets take a look.

NFC SOUTH W L T PCT HOME ROAD DIV CONF PF PA DIFF STRK
Tampa Bay 2 1 0 .667 1-1-0 1-0-0 1-0-0 2-1-0 60 60 0 Won 2
New Orleans 2 1 0 .667 2-0-0 0-1-0 0-0-0 1-1-0 104 88 +16 Won 2
Carolina 1 2 0 .333 1-1-0 0-1-0 0-0-0 0-2-0 60 68 -8 Won 1
Atlanta 1 2 0 .333 1-0-0 0-2-0 0-1-0 1-2-0 60 77 -17 Lost 1

Right now the Atlanta Falcons should be concerned since they are 1 miraculous comeback from  being 0-3. Now those first 3 opponents were 11-5, 10-6, and 10-6 last year respectively, yet it’s against top competition where you measure yourself. Of course it’s still early in the season but they’re being gashed on the ground. They have given up 336 yards rushing so far to opposing teams and at least 1 TD in every game. They need a defensive leader to emerge. Yes, John Abraham is good for 10-12 sacks a season (this year 2) but these defensive linemen either have to get off more blocks or their run as division champs could be in jeopardy. Especially with the “Runnin’ Carolinas” comin to town in 3 weeks. Before that they travel cross country to Seattle then come home to a rematch with the defending Super Bowl Champion Packers. Careful Atlanta this season could get away from you quick. Get back to the run.

Jonathon Stewart in a preseason game. Back when Carolina was running with regularity

Sorry kids, but last week the Cam Newton experience, was rained out last week against Jacksonville although they got their first win. What has been surprising in these first two weeks is the Panthers haven’t been able to run the football. Stewart is averaging 3.9 yards per carry to Williams’ 2.3, and did you know each hasn’t rushed for more than 100 yards this season. That’s not acceptable!! They’re not supposed to stand and watch Newton! Go keep the defenses honest. Right now it’s all about Steve Smith and the Hurricane tight end connection Greg Olsen and Jeremy Shockey in the passing game. They have 16,12, and 9 receptions respecively…couple that with 13 checkdown receptions by Stewart and Newton is distributing his passes well. Just in time because quick passing to TEs is what Ron Rivera needs when his team visits Chicago and Mr. Urlacher this Sunday. Think Greg Olsen will be fired up?? Commit to the run on the Bears or Briggs and Urlacher will make life miserable for Newton this week. Afterward they host the Saints…Stewart and Williams need to find a groove.

Speaking of the ‘Who Dat Nation” they are who we thought they were! Uh..not quite, they sit atop the NFC South  with a 2-1 record yet the only time they haven’t scored is during the writing of this article. Lost in the hoopla with the AFC’s quarterbacks in Fitzpatrick and Brady, is the fact that Brees is on pace for 5,648 yards and 48TDs so far. He has 1,059 yards passing, 9TDs to only 2 interceptions and the Saints have scored 34,30, and 40 points thus far this season. Right now he’s carrying the team on his back…er..shoulder. With their next three games on the road to Jacksonville, Carolina, and Tampa Bay, this looks like a prime spot to get Mark Ingram into the mix running the football. This is necessary to rest a defense that has 3 of it’s top 4 tacklers being defensive backs. Lift some weights frontline!!!

We will find out plenty about this division over these next three weeks…

NFL Week 3 NFC East: Diminishing Returns

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Week 3 in the NFC East had teams facing early season gut checks that a couple teams came through with flying colors and one team totally scratching it’s head. Alright, whenever our CEO sees a team that makes a high signing of free agents he always asks the same question: “Are they going to be the 1994 San Francisco 49ers or the 1995 Miami Dolphins?” The two teams contrasted by one becoming a powerful world champion and the other being a talented team with no chemistry, who exited the playoffs in an inglorious fashion. Well with the acquisition of Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Namedi Asoumgha, and several others, this Philadelphia Eagles team was to be the team to beat in the NFC.

Right now they are a 1-2 football team that is struggling to score in the red zone and Michael Vick has taken a pounding. Vick, stay away from comments about the refs in press conferences please. Just not manly. To reach the promised land they have to show up better than with the 24th ranked defense in the NFL and they should be embarrassed by their inability to tackle. Did you see the 4 missed tackles on Victor Cruz’s (who) 70 yard touchdown reception against the Giants? In fact Cruz went for 3 rec. 110 yards and his second touchdown he out jumped two Eagle defenders for it. Cruz and the Giants played last weeks game like they wanted it. Teams seem to be ready to defend Michael Vick this year by blitzing and putting hits on him. It’s like they watched the old how to defense John Elway tapes where use of the delayed blitz is getting there just as he’s making the decision to scramble for more time to pass, or decide to run. Reid had better put Vick on some rollouts and fire deep passes to Jackson to back off defenses or he won’t last the season. Now with a hurt non throwing hand could possibly be out 4 weeks?? Vick can’t miss more than 1 more game or they’ll be relegated to winning a wildcard at best. They get a San Francisco team this week that is playing spirited football. A 1-3 record looms if they look past them. Careful Philadelphia.

Speaking of the Giants….sigh Just when you count against Eli Manning he comes through with a 4TD passing day. Before we go onto the enigmatic Giants lets take a look at the standings.

NFC EAST W L T PCT NFC E NFC N NFC S NFC W AFC E AFC N AFC S AFC W
Dallas 2 1 0 .667 1-0-0 0-0-0 0-0-0 1-0-0 0-1-0 0-0-0 0-0-0 0-0-0
Washington 2 1 0 .667 1-1-0 0-0-0 0-0-0 1-0-0 0-0-0 0-0-0 0-0-0 0-0-0
NY Giants 2 1 0 .667 1-1-0 0-0-0 0-0-0 1-0-0 0-0-0 0-0-0 0-0-0 0-0-0
Philadelphia 1 2 0 .333 0-1-0 0-0-0 0-1-0 1-0-0 0-0-0 0-0-0 0-0-0 0-0-0

The Giants seem to find their formula whenever they need it, in fact this was the best they looked this season. They were after Michael Vick from the word go and on offense they ran steady and kept the Eagle defense honest. So honest they slipped heavyweight Brandon Jacobs out for a surprising 40 yard touchdown pass. Taylor Blitz Times was unsure Jacobs could even run that far, but the big man snatched the pass and scooted into the endzone. Eagle Defensive Co-ordinator Juan Castillo is still steaming over that play. However the Giants secondary was active and picked off Eagle quarterbacks 3 times. Should bode well this week when they take on Kevin Kolb and the Arizona Cardinals out in the desert.

Felix Jones and the Cowboys rushing attack had over 120 yards for the game.

How ’bout them Cowboys?? After Dallas fans have roasted Tony Romo over the last couple of weeks they were silenced by a possibly career defining game. With a punctured lung and broken rib protected by a flak jacket he was hit several times by a Redskin pass rush that was averaging 3.5 sacks per game coming in. For the first time this season the Cowboys showed signs of life rushing the football with Felix Jones 1st 100 yard game of the season. Yet this game marked the first time Romo didn’t let his teammates ineptitude derail the Cowboys train. Due to injuries to Miles Austin and Dez Bryant for a period, he had to direct traffic just to get them to line up properly and know what they were doing. He had to get on receivers for running the wrong routes and even had to jump on his center’s ass for a 4th bad snap late in the 4th quarter. Instead of throwing an ill conceived pass, on 3rd and 21, he bought time and ad libbed a rollout, and threw to Dez Bryant for the first down. That wasn’t the Cowboy playbook, that was a quarterback NOT letting his team lose even though they tried for much of the night. This is the growth that we felt Romo needed to do and his locker room and huddle will be better for it. He’s earned league wide respect during these last two weeks and look who is in 1st place all of a sudden. Diminishing returns with Romo at the healm?? Not hardly, a leader is developing.

As for the Redskins, they just came up short in a defensive struggle. Hightower ran well and Rex Grossman performed admirably. Grossman was just a victim of a Cowboy pass rush that fed off the crowd and that last drive was swamped.They lost a tough, tough divisional game 18-16 and they sure we saw some Grossman throws that reminded us of his Chicago days but for the night he was 22 of 37 for a modest 233 yards. He kept his mistakes to a modest 1 interception and didn’t have that nervous Rex look until the final drive. Yet he was draped by a DeMarcus Ware coat for much of it. So modest diminishing returns for the Redskins this week.  However if you told a Redskin fan three weeks ago that they would be a solid 2-1 after 3 weeks, trust me they would have said we’ll take it. So this week they get the St. Louis Rams and if they make it to 3-1, this could prove to be a season of vindication for Coach Shanahan.

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NFL Week 3 AFC East: Sobering Lessons

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Welcome to Inside Our NFL’s Monday after a Sunday full of NFL football that was chock full of surprises. In the AFC East we learned this entire division is going to be good, but what about Miami?? The Dolphins traveled to Cleveland in search of their first win and played the Browns to a standstill and had a 16-10 lead late in the 4th quarter. Chad Henne had his best game of the young season. In the first half alone he completed 15 of 19 passes for over 190 yards, yet only completed 4 passes in the second half and finished with 255 yards. Colt McCoy drove the Browns to a late score with a touchdown pass to Mohamad Massaquoi with :43 in the game. The Browns moved to 2-1 while the Dolphins are scratching their heads after a numbing loss, dropping to 0-3.

This Reggie Bush fumble turned the tide.

Their missing a belief in themselves and should have finished off a Browns team without Peyton Hillis. First off where is Brandon Marshall?? Second Reggie Bush is a space player, he can’t run between the tackles. He didn’t at USC and he didn’t in New Orleans. It was this fumble when the Dolphins had Bush running out of the I formation, that turned the game around when the Dolphins had a 7-0 lead and had momentum. Get Brandon Marshall the ball 15 times a game and you’ll start winning. He had 4 catches for 43 yards?? Nowhere near enough. Denver used to get him the football 100 times a season so what gives??  Their position in the standings…lets take a look

AFC EAST W L T PCT HOME ROAD DIV CONF PF PA DIFF STRK
Buffalo 3 0 0 1.000 2-0-0 1-0-0 1-0-0 3-0-0 113 73 +40 Won 3
New England 2 1 0 .667 1-0-0 1-1-0 1-1-0 2-1-0 104 79 +25 Lost 1
NY Jets 2 1 0 .667 2-0-0 0-1-0 0-0-0 1-1-0 83 61 +22 Lost 1
Miami 0 3 0 .000 0-2-0 0-1-0 0-1-0 0-3-0 53 78 -25 Lost 3

Elsewhere in the division the New York Jets traveled to play the Oakland Raiders and the second leading rusher in the NFL in Darren McFadden. The gameplan was to stop McFadden with their NFL’s 8th best defense coming into this matchup. Each game Rex Ryan’s boys start slow offensively and rely on the defense to keep control of the game. Well it’s a good thing they didn’t in this one. After the Jets moved to a 17-7 lead, the Raiders didn’t abandon the running game and were rewarded. In a surprising show of force, the Raiders ran the football down the Jets throats as McFadden exploded for 171 yards and 2TDs. McFadden ended the game as the NFL’s leading rusher. The Raiders made the Jets look slow as they showcased speed on reverses, special team plays, chasing down Tomlinson from behind after a 71 yard gain. Rex Ryan’s boys will be fine as long as they play a slow plodding game. Yet other teams are showing that they do have some speed within the division.

Where you may ask? Try Buffalo where the NFL and the New England Patriots were introduced to a team that is playing without fear. They lined up against their longtime division nemesis and promptly fell behind 21-0. This is where a team that doesn’t have a team wide belief in themselves comes apart and gets routed. Ryan Fitzpatrick calmly led the Bills back into the football game and by halftime had the score reduced to 21-17.

Tom Brady set the NFL record for most passing yards over a 3 game period as expected with 1,258. However the Bills defense picked him off 4 times yesterday, equal to his interception total for all of 2010. One of those interceptions brought the Bills all the way back to take a 31-24 lead early in the 4th quarter. What did the Bills learn about themselves?? They proved they can beat anybody playing their game.

After allowing a Tom Brady 4th down pass to tie the game at 31. Fitzpatrick on the first play hits a 5 step hitch and throw for 40 yards up the sideline over a back pedalling CB Devin McCourty. A screen pass to Jackson netted another fifteen. Then splitting into a 5 receiver look, the Bills ran Jackson on a crossing route and Fitzpatrick hit him in stride taking it more than 30 yards down to the one.  You read that right, with just over 3:00 to go instead of conservative passes this team was throwing with gusto starting with a bomb. Three plays they were down to the 1 yard line after gaining 80 yards. They are 3-0 after downing the ball and kicking the winning field goal, 34-31 and the entire NFL took notice. This team is fast and it’s fearless. They don’t know how good they can be and after breaking a 15 game losing streak to a long time nemesis, the sky is the limit. For if most pundits have the Patriots picked to make it to Super Bowl XLVI, what does that say about how good this Bills team can be now that the Patriots have been vanquished?? We will all be watching these interesting developments.

NFL Picks Week 3:

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The NFL has had a turbulent first two weeks. Teams like the Kansas City Chiefs, who were supposed to be an elite team, have slid off the map where the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions look like they want to end their decade long playoff drought. Are they for real?? Is Michael Vick going to play Monday Night? The NFL will answer those questions on the field of play which makes this game great. So lets take a look at a few of these matchups. The Buffalo Bills are 2-0 and have a showdown with the Patriots to see if they’re for real?? Perfect! You wouldn’t want it any other way.

What about the Chicago Bears who get to face their hated rival in the Green Bay Packers?? Last time they faced each other, the Packers danced off their field with the George S. Halas trophy. Do you think Bears fans forgot?? Soldier Field may get a little rowdy today when the Packers run onto the field today.

Man, how far will the Colts slide without Peyton Manning?? This is an easy answer…see the ’99 San Francisco 49ers when they lost Steve Young. They were 3-1 with him and went 1-11 without him. Peyton won’t come back and play meaningless football so if they lose a few more he’ll be shelved for the season and placed on IR. With that cap relief they can go sign a few players to help them win but if you’re a Colts fan, the era of football excellence is over.

So lets get into these games….

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Carolina Panthers: Seriously has there been a fervor over a rookie quarterback like this in modern NFL history?? Not that we can remember. Even in 1983 when Dan Marino came in and led the Dolphins to the playoffs, it was the late David Woodley who started the first 6 games. Here we are looking to see if Cam can go 3 for 3 to start his career with 400 yard passing games?? Goodness. Carolina gets their first win in front of a packed house.

Miami Dolphins @ Cleveland Browns: “Thank God” proclaim the defensive backfield of the Miami Dolphins who have been passed to death in these first two games. They are the reason the Dolphins are dead last in total defense in the NFL. Now we find out if the front seven can tackle or rather how long they will want to tackle taking on Peyton Hillis. The Browns are developing Colt McCoy slowly and want to pound the ground game at them. Like the Browns in this one, especially after last week’s win in Indy. The Dolphins won’t want to tackle —-> (that guy) in the 4th quarter.

Denver Broncos @ Tennessee Titans: The Titans woke up a few people with last week’s win, yet we should have known Mike Munchak would put it on the boys after a lackluster performance against the lowly Jags. This week the “start Tebow” chant is wrested from the ears of beleaguered Bronco Coach John Fox. This could be music to his ears. He needs to lose this game and then insert Tebow in the next week or so. The Titans are better with Hasselbeck than advertised. He’s completing nearly 70% of his passes and pretty soon they will start taking advantage of things with Chris Johnson on teams. Taking the Titans at home.

New York Giants @ Philadelphia Eagles: For some reason, we just can’t put our finger on what is wrong with the New York Giants, they are just schizophrenic. In reality they were just a more complete team than the Rams they beat last week without Stephen Jackson. The Giants want to be a diverse team and put the ball in Eli Manning’s hands but throwing at Asante Samuel and Namedi today would be the wrong recipe. The Giants will run it but won’t be patient enough They want revenge against the Eagles for knocking them out of last year’s playoffs but the Eagles are a more complete team. Even with a gimpy Vick….Eagles

San Francisco 49ers @Cincinnati Bengals: Alright a rematch of Super Bowl XXIII with Joe Monta….huh?? Alright we almost got carried away. The 49ers lost a spirited game to the Cowboys and are facing a mirror image in the Bengals in terms of trying to find out who they are. Each are 1-1 and have a new team personality. Niners under Coach Harbaugh and Bengals with Carson Palmer and Ocho gone. Still unsure if Andy Dalton is playing or not for Cincy, yet just not sold on Alex Smith on the road. Not at all. The Bengals are running the ball better and are home..that reason alone. Cedric Benson is running hard with over 180 yards in the first two games. Bengals

 

Detroit Lions @ Minnesota Vikings: Vikings have been feeding the ball to Peterson but will Donovan McNabb start completing some passes to back the Lions front seven from becoming a front eight. With the way the Lions have played on both sides of the ball. Right now the Lions are feeling it and trying to see how good they can be. That much motivation with bonafide talent and the Lions keep rolling

New England Patriots @ Buffalo Bills: This is the game of the week. Are the Bills for real? Can anyone score to keep up with Tom Brady?? Well if you have been reading we gave you a prelude when we told you that both Buffalo’s Ryan Fitzpatrick and Brady have each thrown for 7TDs and only 1 interception. The NFL’s leading rushing team is Buffalo and the 31st defense in the NFL belongs to the Patriots. The Bills Fred Jackson is the NFL’s leading rusher after two weeks. Is Belichick a genius?? Yes but he doesn’t have Rodney Harrison or Tedi Bruschi in there to stop the run. In a heated game we have Buffalo

Houston Texans @ New Orleans Saints: The Texans have been a good developing team and are going to the playoffs this year but they will struggle in this one on the road. Call it growing pains but Drew Brees and the Saints offense wins this one.

New York Jets @ Oakland Raiders: This game is going to be close. Can Jason Campbell complete passes against the blitz. We know the Jets will focus on stopping Darren McFadden, the NFL’s second leading rusher. Will Campbell step up and complete passes in the face of the blitz like last week in Buffalo or revert to throwing off his back foot in previous years??  Tentative pick in the Jets

Have to speed through the rest of the games…so we’re going to fire this up

Baltimore Ravens @ St Louis Rams: Will the real Ravens stand up? We think they will but they’re secondary is going to be tested severly. Tentative pick in the Ravens

Kansas City Chiefs @ San Diego Chargers: Now the Chargers play up and down to their competition but they can’t play that down. LOL Have to take the Chargers. Phillip Rivers and this team need this game as a growing experience and put the wood to a down division rival.

Green Bay Packers @ Chicago Bears: Alright this will be an interesting visit to Soldier Field. The Bears will be sick to their stomach and have lived with that loss. This is going to be a blood bath but we see the Packers winning a close game. Aaron Rodgers throw the ball away because Peppers will be coming!

Arizona Cardinals @ Seattle Seahawks: Kevin Kolb and Larry Fitzgerald will star in this one. Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons @ Tampa Bay Bucs: This is a reprise of the hardest hittting game of last year. It was a thing of beauty. It was 1960s hitting football with personal fouls, fights, moxie. The Falcons are on a short week and this is where the Bucs are going to gauge if they have stepped up into the elite after last week’s win in Minnesota. Going Bucs in this one…

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Indianapolis Colts: Its actually sad to watch this proud franchise founder without Peyton Manning at the helm. We have been critical of Manning getting a pass by the sporting press but never forget we’re fans of football and want to see him on the field. The Steelers just because there isn’t a contingency plan for a team to lose a Hall of Fame quarterback…there just isn’t. Steelers

Washington Redskins @ Dallas Cowboys: Tony Romo is still recovering from a punctured lung and broken rib. Yikes!! The Redskins are coming in with 7 sacks in two games. They will hit Romo and knock him out of this one. They don’t have a strong enough running attack to keep the Redskins off the field. Redskins

Those are our picks and we’re sticking to them…no matter how crazy they are. See ya’ next week folks!!

NFL Week 2 AFC North: Season of Change Seems Like the Same Old Thing, or Is It??

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When we were putting our annual previews together this summer we stated this division was about to see some change. This was clearly the last year the Ravens and Steelers would be head and shoulders above the Bengals and Browns. Its been well chronicled about the age of the Steelers defense and we have to see which was more indicative of where they will play as a unit. Was it the 170 yards they gave up on the ground to the Baltimore Ravens in week 1 or the 31 yards last week to the Seahawks?? Speaking of the Ravens… What was that egg you guys laid in Adelphia Coliseum last week in losing to the Titans?? Are you serious?? Finally get that big early season win over the Steelers to put them in the rear view and then stub your toe the next week and catch you in the standings. You’re running out of time to get Ray Lewis another ring before he retires.

As for Marvin Lewis and his Cincinnati Bengals, who knew that he’d be only a few plays away from a 2-0 start after losing Chad Ochocinco and recovering from the Carson Palmer odyssey. With rookie QB Andy Dalton playing well these first couple of weeks and Bruce Gradkowski as insurance if there is a drop, time to unload Palmer. An in-season trade to help fortify the defense and get your team to totally rally around the quarterbacks that want to be there. Would go a long way in solidifying your locker room. Keep feeding the football to Cedric Benson. His 180 yards rushing in these first two games has been the difference between going 1-1 as opposed to 0-2 and resting your defense. Face it you stole one from the Browns who should have had that game. You get a win however you can though…

AFC NORTH W L T PCT HOME ROAD DIV CONF PF PA DIFF STRK
Cincinnati 1 1 0 .500 0-0-0 1-1-0 1-0-0 1-1-0 49 41 +8 Lost 1
Baltimore 1 1 0 .500 1-0-0 0-1-0 1-0-0 1-1-0 48 33 +15 Lost 1
Cleveland 1 1 0 .500 0-1-0 1-0-0 0-1-0 1-1-0 44 46 -2 Won 1
Pittsburgh 1 1 0 .500 1-0-0 0-1-0 0-1-0 0-1-0 31 35 -4 Won 1

As for the Browns, hopefully it’s the ties that bind that will bring the coaching carousel to a close. Coach Pat Shurmur is the nephew of the late Fritz Shurmur, who was the defensive co-ordinator for present Brown GM Mike Holmgren when he coached in Green Bay. The Shurmur/ Holmgren relationship was forged during the late 80s when Mike was the offensive co-ordinator for the World Champion 49ers and the hardest defense in their division year in and year out was the Los Angeles Rams defense under Fritz. That’s the coaching pedigree. Right now he doesn’t have to draw up any exotic blitzes, just has to have his defense not give up over 100 yards a game rushing on defense. They already have the perfect antidote in having Peyton Hillis pound at rival defenses to keep opposing teams off the field. He needs a little more help from Colt McCoy, who is completing only 56.3% of his passes. He has to show some growth in this season or Hillis could break down late in the season from overuse. They need him down the stretch where 3 of their last 4 are on the road. They absolutely need a receiver to emerge, to have Hillis as the leading receiver shows the ball is getting dumped off too much. Hillis isn’t Marshall Faulk running intricate routes. Come on Massaquoi and Josh Cribbs…

When it comes to the Steelers,. this team loves to run, but their defense is going to similar to every NFL team and see a defensive slip this year. That lack of conditioning and age will have the Steelers giving up points this year and placing the game in Roethlisberger’s hands. Face it he keeps plays alive and makes things happen and with his size never gets knocked out of the game. With Emanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown able to get deep, it should open up the intermediate routes for Hines Ward, Heath Miller, and Mike Wallace. So here we would suspect you’d ask why aren’t we saying Pittsburgh should run. We don’t because we know they’ll run yet the defense may put them in a few jams where they will have to come from behind or score late. Something they have not had to put up with in the Roethlisberger. The Steelers will be a passing and bubble screen team much like they were in 2003, its a transitional year. They get a break and take on the Manningless Colts this week so the stats won’t look bad on this defense.

Well after last year’s playoff loss to the Steelers we called Joe Flacco a beta quarterback and not an alpha. We took a lot of flack for that yet it’s reared it’s head in just two weeks of this season. Lets face it, it was the 170 yards rushing on the Steelers defense as the  reason they won that game. Where Flacco has to become a more polished quarterback and more of a field general was in a game like last week. They’re losing to a team they should really be ahead of. It’s those games that you see the best quarterbacks put their team on their back if they have to and pass them to victory. Dating back to last year’s Monday Night loss in Atlanta to Matt Ryan and the Falcons we have had our eye on this. He has the chance to change our CEO’s mind in two weeks when he takes on the New York Jets then two weeks later the Houston Texans as well. He will at least be home for these games and has to come through. He’s the AFC’s version of Tony Romo, just without the big mistakes. It’s time for some absolute field generalship from him. He needs to channel his inner Unitas.