Week 2 Review of the NFL

The Marc Trestman Effect

It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but it did to me that the Chicago Bears actually look like a good football team. Granted this is only through two games of the season, but you have to look at the big picture. Their new head coach Marc Trestman has a relatively good history in the NFL as a quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator. It did take a long time for him to finally get an opportunity to be a head coach in the NFL, but it wasn’t until his success in the CFL (Canadian Football League) that teams began to take notice. The schedule for the Bears remains relatively easy, but we’ll have to see how they play on the road. It’s more manageable to win back-to-back games in comeback fashion at home, but try doing that in a hostile environment. Chicago has been prone to finishing poorly after having strong starts to a season. It will be interesting to see how new head coach Marc Trestman adjusts to those moments.

The Other Rookie QB

I never paid much attention to the hype around New York Jets rookie QB Geno Smith. With all that focus on him being the best available quarterback in the NFL Draft, everyone had put aside the only quarterback taken in the first round, E.J. Manuel. The Buffalo Bills surprised everyone by taking him instead of Geno Smith. Manuel did not wow everyone with his play at Florida State, but he looked good and could be a decent quarterback in the right situation. We all doubted it however, because it was the Buffalo Bills. Not since Doug Flutie and before him Jim Kelly have the Bills been a stable franchise. After seeing what E.J. Manuel could do in their first game against the New England Patriots, I thought this guy might actually find some success there. Granted, the Bills defense didn’t do him any favors by letting the Patriots march down the field for a last second field goal, but Manuel’s performance was good. This last one against the Carolina Panthers wasn’t as good, but it showed me with his 4th quarter heroics that he wants to win every single game. I was trumpeting the Buffalo Bills a few years ago when Ryan Fitzpatrick was at the helm. Big mistake, I know. I think this time is different. I don’t see the Bills making the playoffs or anything close to that, but they have a chance of building something that could put them in a good position to unseat the Patriots when their quarterback situation begins to change.

Two Very Different Teams

The Washington Redskins went to Lambeau Field to play the Green Bay Packers as a matchup between two playoff teams from a year ago looking to avoid an 0-2 start to this season. Both looked to be two completely different teams from a year ago. The Redskins looked sluggish and started out slow. The Green Bay Packers took advantage quickly and QB Aaron Rodgers had a field day with 480 yards passing and four touchdowns. RB James Starks became the first Packers running back to rush for over 100 yards in a game in 45 tries. His 132 yard, one touchdown day put a nail in the Redskins coffin that afternoon. The Packers are 1-1 and the Redskins are 0-2. Does that mean one will definitely make the playoffs and the other won’t? No. But what it does mean is that the Redskins are being exposed for their lack of preparedness in the first two games of the season. The Philadelphia Eagles did it to them during the first Monday night football game of the year. Washington will need to turn it around quickly in the next two weeks before their bye.

Week 1 Review of the NFL

Lucky Number Seven

It didn’t seem like there was much of a problem with the Denver Broncos with outcome being a 49-27 victory. It was a strange start to the game as it was delayed over thirty minutes due to lightning strikes in the area. Although viewers on television saw no such strikes. Regardless of when the game started it would be imperative that the Broncos win this game convincingly. The Baltimore Ravens are the defending champions and defeated Denver on their field in the divisional playoffs last season. This time around the Broncos wanted to give no chance for the Ravens to spoil their home opener. Peyton Manning ended the game tying an NFL record by throwing seven touchdown passes against the Ravens who were able to pressure him, but not enough to get Manning out of any rhythm. I don’t see this game as a sign of things to come for both teams, but it does tell you that adding WR Wes Welker with Eric Decker, Demaryius Thomas and the surprise appearance of TE Julius Thomas that the Broncos will be hard to stop on offense. Baltimore had a rude awakening, but they should be able to bounce back.

Deja Vu, Well Sort Of

The Green Bay Packers figured that 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick would try to establish the read option early and often. Green Bay was smart and did an excellent job shutting down the read option the 49ers used so well last season. However, they forgot that Kaepernick can throw the ball fairly well. He threw for a career high 412 yards and 3 touchdown passes against the Packers. Aside from the blown call of the referee crew and to the trash talking by Packers LB Clay Matthews and 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh, this was a great game. The ‘game of the week’ as Fox called it and it actually lived up to the hype. The Packers were still able to establish their offense against a stellar 49ers defense and that bodes well for them going forward. Just a note to other teams though, the 49ers quarterback can beat you through the air as well.

Welcome To The NFL

I had my misconceptions about former Oregon head coach Chip Kelly and his offense working in the NFL. I didn’t think it would look like the Oregon Ducks would be playing the Washington Redskins on Monday night, but it actually did. The only flaw I thought about was the health of Eagles QB Michael Vick. Will he be able to stay healthy for an entire season? History shows that he won’t. Although the offensive line in front of him is perhaps the best he’s ever played behind in his entire career so it could bode well for him and the Eagles. RB LeSean McCoy looks to be having a lot of fun in the read option type offense and the Redskins defense had no answer for it. Speaking of the Redskins, QB Robert Griffin didn’t look comfortable throughout the entire game. There’s still plenty of games left in the season, but he looks like his routine is out of whack and he’ll need to get that fixed in a hurry. Chip Kelly looks good after his first game, but if Michael Vick goes down will this offense work with backup QB Nick Foles?

Super Bowl Prediction

* – Division Winner

+ – Wild Card Winner

AFC

1. Denver Broncos*

2. Houston Texans*

3. New England Patriots*

4. Baltimore Ravens*

5. Cincinnati Bengals+

6. Indianapolis Colts+

NFC

1. Atlanta Falcons*

2. San Francisco 49ers*

3. Green Bay Packers*

4. Dallas Cowboys*

5. Seattle Seahawks+

6. New York Giants+

Wild Card

Patriots over Colts

Ravens over Bengals

Giants over Packers

Seahawks over Cowboys

Divisional Round

Broncos over Ravens

Texans over Patriots

Falcons over Giants

49ers over Seahawks

Championship Round

Broncos over Texans

49ers over Falcons

Super Bowl 48

49ers over Broncos

These are easily two of the most complete teams in the NFL this year. Scary thought about them is that they each have a star player that will miss some time in the early part of the season. Broncos LB Von Miller will be suspended for the first six games for violation of the substance abuse policy. And 49ers WR Michael Crabtree tore his achilles early in minicamp in the spring. If they both return later in the season to their superstar form both teams will be even better than at the start. This should be a tremendous matchup and one that many pundits are picking as well. Just know this. My last three Super Bowl predictions have had at least one of the participants right. Last year I had them both. My track record speaks for itself. Football is back!

NFC East

1. Dallas Cowboys

A new look on defense with a balanced attack on offense means playoffs.

2. New York Giants

They know what it takes to win in this division.

3. Washington Redskins

A lot has to go right for them to repeat last years success.

4. Philadelphia Eagles

The most exciting offense in college football will debut in Philadelphia.

Head Coach: Jason Garrett

Key Position: Running Back – They need to run the ball more, but they also need RB DeMarco Murray to stay healthy. Depth is an issue here, but if Murray stays on the field the Cowboys should have a balanced attack.

Key Acquisitions: LB Justin Durant (Detroit Lions), S Will Allen (Pittsburgh Steelers)

Key Rookies: C Travis Frederick, TE Gavin Escobar

Head Coach: Tom Coughlin

Key Position: Defense – Injuries and inconsistent play plagued them last year. Key additions should improve their inconsistent play. It will boil down to how much pressure they can create on opposing quarterbacks.

Key Acquisitions: DT Cullen Jenkins (Philadelphia Eagles), DT Mike Patterson (Philadelphia Eagles), LB Dan Connor (Dallas Cowboys), TE Brandon Myers (Oakland Raiders)

Key Rookies: T Justin Pugh, DT Jonathan Hankins, DE Damontre Moore

Head Coach: Mike Shanahan

Key Position: Pass Defense – The secondary was burned often last year against the pass and the Redskins faded down the stretch to rush the passer. Both phases of the defense have to pick up the slack if they want to defend their division crown.

Key Acquisitions: CB E.J. Biggers (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), LB Darryl Tapp (Philadelphia Eagles), LB Nick Barnett (Buffalo Bills)

Key Rookies: CB David Amerson

Head Coach: Chip Kelly

Key Position: Secondary – This is a rebuilt unit that will need to do what the previous one couldn’t do the last two years, cause turnovers. The Eagles were 30th in total interceptions with eight and 29th in points allowed.

Key Acquisitions: CB Bradley Fletcher (St. Louis Rams), CB Cary Williams (Baltimore Ravens), S Patrick Chung (New England Patriots), DT Isaac Sopoaga (San Francisco 49ers), LB Connor Barwin (Houston Texans), TE James Casey (Houston Texans)

Key Rookies: T Lane Johnson, TE Zach Ertz

NFC North

1. Green Bay Packers
A subpar offensive line, but QB Aaron Rodgers gets results regardless.
2. Detroit Lions
With Reggie Bush the offense should have more balance with a solid defense.
3. Minnesota Vikings
Adrian Peterson will rush for 2,000 yards again, but there will be no playoff appearance.
4. Chicago Bears
The defense will keep them in contention until the offense falters.

Head Coach: Mike McCarthy

Key Position: Run Defense – They were trounced by the read option in the playoffs last year and they will need to adjust to that quickly as their first two opponents of the season run that type of offense.

Key Acquisitions: QB Seneca Wallace (Cleveland Browns)

Key Rookies: DE Datone Jones, RB Eddie Lacy, RB Jonathan Franklin

Head Coach: Jim Schwartz

Key Position: Running Back – This position should be fixed now that Reggie Bush is aboard. Not only can he run between the tackles, he can still be a reliable receiver for QB Matthew Stafford in the flat or on screens.

Key Acquisitions: CB Rashean Mathis (Jacksonville Jaguars), DE Jason Jones (Seattle Seahawks), DT C.J. Mosley (Jacksonville Jaguars), K David Akers (San Francisco 49ers), RB Reggie Bush (Miami Dolphins), S Glover Quin (Houston Texans)

Key Rookies: DE Ezekiel Ansah, CB Darius Slay

Head Coach: Leslie Frazier

Key Position: Quarterback – A lot is riding on Christian Ponder this season. His job for one and Leslie Frazier’s. He has the best running back behind him and with WR Greg Jennings aboard he has a number one receiver to throw to.

Key Acquisitions: LB Desmond Bishop (Green Bay Packers), QB Matt Cassel (Kansas City Chiefs), WR Greg Jennings (Green Bay Packers)

Key Rookies: DT Sharrif Floyd, CB Xavier Rhodes, WR Cordarrelle Patterson

Head Coach: Marc Trestman

Key Position: Quarterback – This is the last call for Jay Cutler. A new head coach that uses a more conservative approach to passing via the West Coast offense. Will Cutler abandon his gun slinger days and make the adjustment?

Key Acquisitions: G Matt Slauson (New York Jets), LB James Anderson (Carolina Panthers), LB D.J. Williams (Denver Broncos), T Jermon Bushrod (New Orleans Saints), TE Martellus Bennett (New York Giants)

Key Rookies: G Kyle Long, LB Jon Bostic