Season overview: Week 3

After week 3 much is left to be discovered about the teams in the NFC North and around the League. The question marks on each team have shown both their potential and downside already, but the Minnesota Vikings are the only ones who have been able to overcome their flaws and remain perfect, even though it took a crazy last second pass from a legendary quarterback to a no name receiver for them to remain that way.

Minnesota's defense has been relatively stout thus far, but did struggle at points against a San Francisco team that was missing Frank Gore. Also, their other two opponents, the Lions and Browns, have proven to be two of the most anemic offenses in the league thus far. The talent on that side of the ball however is undeniable and we will see how they respond to tougher opponents. The special teams on the other hand have already given up two touchdowns in the first three games, an alarming stat that could come back to haunt them in a close game.

The offense on the other hand is still hard to get a handle on. Favre had to do much of the heavy lifting, passing for 14 of their 19 first downs in the game, but his consistency will be questioned the entire year after last season. If Adrian Peterson can stay healthy, that's a big if since he is averaging well over 20 touches per game, they can beat everyone, but I'm not ready to put them in the same level as the Giants, Eagles, and Saints, who have appeared to be the most impressive teams in the NFC so far in this young season (the Saints have gone on runs like this before however, it will be interesting if they will be able to continue to dominate later in the season).

Green Bay at a fortunate 2-1 takes on Minnesota this Sunday, preview coming in future blog, and this might mark their most difficult game too date. The Cincinnati loss does not seem as harsh this week after the Bengals knocked off the Super Bowl champs, but still it has to hurt to give up almost 150 yards on the ground to Cedric Benson. It might be a rejuvenated Benson and Bengals team but many players on defense look awkward still and out of place. The Rams who had scored seven points in the first two games, put up 17 when the game was competitive and where even winning in the third quarter. Stephen Jackson ripped through the Packers for 117 yards and it wasn't until the fourth quarter that this game became a blowout. Changes will have to be made to stop the run and actually utilize the players they have.

The Bears fans seem to have forgiven Jay Cutler for his opening day blunders, after back to back game winning drives. The team is lucky to be where they are, but have beaten the Steelers, who everyone else in the division still has to play, and a Seattle team which really slugged them in the mouth early. Cutler has definitely brought a new explosiveness and confidence to the Bears that has not been seen there for some time, but Matt Forte's 2.5 average per carry has to be disconcerting, especially sense they have played two teams, Packers and Seahawks, who have surrendered huge games on the ground. It can be seen as a good sign because their offense is only going to improve or a negative signal that they are shifting their identity and possibly asking Cutler to do to much.

The drought is over in Detroit, but another one is likely to begin next week. Their win was good to see and heartwarming, but the Redskins where ripe for an upset, as I predicted last week....had to. Jason Campbell still carved up their secondary, which did not translate into points this week, but against even relatively decent quarterbacks the outcome would have been much worse. But then again they won and that hasn't happened in a long time, so let's not dwell on the negatives.

Purple Jesus

Although Brett Favre is going to be made into a hero this whole week, it is hard to not to get caught up in the excitement that play generated. Not that it wouldn't have been amazing if anyone else would have done it, but because it was Favre it gets a few extra explanation marks. And not only that, but he played well for most of the game, while the running game never showed much consistency. The threat of the run obviously helps him every time Adrian Peterson is on the field, but still 300+ yards and 2 touchdowns should not be taken likely. Also, these were the games he was brought in to win, not the games where the Defense and running game dominate, Tavaris Jackson can take care of those, but the close slug fests

Still the Vikings play the Ravens, Steelers, and Packers twice in the next 5 weeks. If they can survive this stretch of their schedule with at least a share of the division lead if will be hard to pick against them not making the playoffs.....Unless we see Brett Favre do a repeat of last season, which will make this week 3 win fade from memory rather quickly.

Tweets and Quotes from Week 3

RyanGrant25-TOUGH sledding early on..but much needed win..guys found a way in the second half


JayCutler6-Big win for us. Seattle is a tough place to play. The guys made some big plays in the 4th qtr. Back home for the Lions. We need a big crowd

Carlos Roger (Washington Redskins)- "It's embarrassing it's like college football when you're a D1 school losing to one of those smaller schools."


TakeoSpikes51 -We let them off the hook!! As a whole,we take it for what's it worth & move on to next week against St. Louis

VernonDavis85- We lost but im proud of my teammates they did a great job! We def got what it takes to be the best!

Week 3 Pick'em

After the atrocity that was my week 2 picks, we will see if I can right the ship.

Chicago 21 Seattle 10- It won't matter if Matt Hassellbeck plays or not this Sunday. After being ripped up by Frank Gore last week for over 200 yards expect the Bears coaching staff to seriously attempt to establish Matt Forte for the first time this season. Couple with a far from impressive day from Julius Jones and the Seahawks should struggle offensively.

Detroit 17 Washington 14- The streak ends this week....maybe. The Redskins are annoying in the sense that their offense is so non-explosive, 9 points verse the Rams last week, that the Lions could very likely shut them down and cause Jason Campbell to turn the ball over. Unfortunately, the Redskins may still be holding onto the belief they have a fighting chance in the NFC East and know to make that a real possibility they must win every game against teams like the Lions.

Based on their performance against the Rams last week however, they still appear to believe they are better than they actually are and are vulnerable to Detroit if they play a good game.

Minnesota 28- San Fransisco 14- This will be appear over early, but the 49ers will stick close enough to make it somewhat interesting. Shaun Hill has played well, but has not been asked to do any heavy lifting for the team. The same can be said for Brett Favre, but Favre will remain in that role and Hill will have to carry his team at times if they are going to win. Frank Gore has a tweaked ankle and the Williams' to deal with and will force the team into several 2 and 3 in longs.

If this match-up was in week 8 I think it would be much more intriguing, because by then both teams will be forced to take their qb's out of hiding. The first time this happens for the Niners will be this week and Hill will likely struggle, although he will improve greatly in the second half and for future games against tough defenses.

Green Bay 35 St. Louis 13- The Rams have only scored seven points in two games, and even though the Packers had quite a let down last week against the Bengals don't expect the Rams to carve them up like the Bengals offense did. St. Louis and Steve Spagnola invested a lot of energy into their game last week defensively and the offense could not reward them, leading me to believe there will be an offensive explosion out of Green Bay this week, reminding us of the preseason.

Topsy Turvy

The only game that went according to plan, and my picks, this week was the Vikings and Lions game, where Detroit brought some fire early but fizzled out as the game went along. Brett Favre had another game where he was not heavily relied upon, and threw for only 155 yards, but did contribute two touchdowns, although they where 1 yard and 3 yards in length. No interceptions however, which is all that matters in games the Vikings can win with just their running game and defense.

The biggest disappointment had to have been the Packers performance against a Bengals team that lost to an expected-to-be cellar dweller Denver last week. Aaron Rogers again struggled to throw the ball down the field with an consistency, averaging under 7 yards per completion and their most explosive offensive weapon, Greg Jennings, did not even touch the ball the entire game. It seems they might have used up all there touchdowns in the preseason.

Their defense was consistently man handled, with Cedric Benson running the ball for over 140 yards. Let me repeat that, the Bengals and Cedric Benson, RAN all over their defense and controlled the game. Also, Aaron Kampman, their pro-bowl defensive end has a huge problem playing outside in a 3-4. He can not tackle in space to save his life and looks lost much of the time. His best attribute was his relentless motor that pushed him into getting hustle sacks and wearying opponents does no good when dropping into pass coverage or trying to chase down running backs, instead of blowing up plays with penetration and tackling qbs.

Toast of the Town

What a difference a week makes. After crumbling in Green Bay, Jay Cutler and the Bears return home and knock off the defending champs. In a game were they looked out-matched and dominated much of, they showed real grit and determination and held on to win. This will definitely change the feel in Chicago.....for at least a week.

Week 2 Pick'em

Vikings 24 Lions 7- Brett Favre continues his honeymoon with Minnesota early in the season. After Drew Brees tore up the Lions secondary through the air last week, expect Adrian Peterson to have a similar performance in Detroit's encore. If the Lion's couldn't run the ball against the Saints in week one, the Viking's should have little trouble squashing Kevin Smith and company on the ground. This will likely result in Matthew Stafford having to do it all himself and will probably have a similar outing as Brady Quinn last week against Minnesota.


Chicago 14 Pittsburgh 24- Having to follow a dispiriting loss to your arch rivals with the defending champs is no easy task. Coming away with a win on Sunday would make Bear's fans quickly forget about the week one loss and forgiveness will be granted to Jay Cutler. Unfortunately, the Steeler's have had since two Thursdays ago to lick their wounds and prepare for the Bear's attack, making a difficult opponent even more intimidating. Look for a good game early at Soldier Field, with Pittsburgh eventually pulling away.

Green Bay 31 Cincinnati 21- Green Bay must be careful not to have a let down this week after a huge win against the Bears. They where very lucky to escape with a win after being extremely sloppy throughout much of the game last Sunday. They can not expect to win consistently while making the same types of mistakes. Thankfully for Packer fans, Cincinnati suffered a crushing defeat after an extremely fiery game from their defense. This coupled with the struggles they seem to be having on offense should result in an easy Packer's victory with the Bengals scoring late to make the score look more respectable.

A Battle of Dunces

Although the Bears/Packers game this weekend was filled with early season drama (especially in my circle as a Mohawk/hair coloring bet was in place, pictures coming) the sheer letdown of both quarterbacks to deliver was somewhat of a disappointment.

After critics sang the praises of Aaron Rogers all preseason, including me, he was unable to sustain drives and almost all of Green Bay's points where directly set up by either their defense or special teams (they should be thanking the Bears long snapper, at the 26 yard line with the lead...really).

Somehow, Rogers performance was greatly overshadowed by Jay Cutlers 4 ints, which seemed like it could have been 7. Also, the Bears only converted 4 of 15 third-down conversions, with a passer rating of under 10 on third-down. Although his receivers did not do him any favors, which Chris Collinsworth was quick to point out...over and over, he still seemed to be trying to do to much throughout the game.

The good news is both defenses looked good, this might have been how bad the offenses where however, and it was only week one. The Bears O-line looked old and slow, Orlando Pace especially seemed about as useful as a boulder for most of the game. The Packers left tackle had one of the most noticeably bad games I have ever seen a lineman have as well getting beaten almost comically play after play.

After escaping with a win, the Packers are set up well for the next two weeks, with games against the bottom feeding Rams and Bengals (who managed to lose to Kyle Orton, so hopefully Aaron Rogers won't have to much trouble). If as predicted they can slide through this section of their schedule it will set up an interesting week 4 match-up with the Vikings who also should be undefeated.

The Bears on the other hand have to recover quickly, because Cutler makes his Soldier Field debut this week against the defending Super Bowl Champs (without Troy Palamalu, but still a top 5 defense). If they can't protect the ball it will be an even longer day for the defense who lost Brian Urlacher, and fans will see a familiar scene from the last several years. The Bears are not good enough to get to far behind in the rankings early in the season and still make a run at a playoff spot, so watch them invest a lot of energy in not just the Steelers but also the Seahawks the following week.

(photo from chargers.com, if Bears fans where starting to hate him, this picture should push those feelings along)

Week 1 reaction

While Adrian Peterson was busy dismantling the Browns defense (and crushing my soul while scoring 40 fantasy points against me) for over 150 yards and 3 scores, the media seemed to be giving Brett Favre a disproportionate amount of credit. It is true he didn't turn the ball over, but Minnesota did not sign him to be Trent Dilfer or Kyle Orton, they signed him to put another legitimate offensive threat on the field to compliment their running back duo. He was also sacked four times and seemed to be uncomfortable with contact. This said....we will use the wait and see method because it is only week one and he has only been in purple for a short time. This should squash the locker room conflicts about quarterbacks for now, even though all three probably would have gotten wins on this day.

Percy Harvin had an impressive day doing a little bit of everything for the Vikings. The coaching staff was especially creative with how they got both him and Peterson the ball in different positions, but the their outside threats where mostly nonexistent throughout the day. The defense was their normal dominate selves against a flaky Brady Quinn.

The Lions.....well.....you can't expect Matthew Stafford to succeed when trialing by 20 points and if this continues to happen get used to a stat line that includes 3 ints and a bloated number of attempts and passing yards. Mark Sanchez, like Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco last season, was successful because of the almost maddening commitment to the run and protection of their quarterbacks. Although this leaves holes in their offense it emphasized their strengths as a team.....unfortunately for the Lions nobody seems to know what their strengths are.

Bears/Packers coming tomorrow

Week One

Week one brings us Chicago at Green Bay. The main buzz that will surround this game is obviously the quarterbacks, which will add even more excitement to this intense rivalry. In the big scheme of things it must be remembered that it is only week one of 16 and we will forget about it by week 5 unless something unforeseeable happens like a season ending injury. With that said it still gives an early edge to one NFC North team and put one quarterback at ease for at least a week. Aaron Rogers has looked outstanding this preseason but the defense will be a question mark entering the first game. Jay Cutler has looked good for much of the preseason as well but the inconsistencies at the other offense positions should raise some concerns for fans.

Green Bay's season snowballed somewhat last season, spiraling out of control until it was much to late to make a move in the division. This team has the talent to make a move within the NFC and have a new defensive coordinator with talented corners and Kampman seems to be adjusting well. This should put them over the Bears not only in week one but for the entire season. I think Chicago is one or two years away and one or two pieces away until making a competitive consistent run. They will beat good teams this season but trouble scoring in some contests might haunt them throughout the season.

In other places this season the Lions and Saints play which smells like a disaster. A high powered record setting offense going against a weak defense that does not have one starting cornerback. Also, a rookie starting quarterback against an improved Saints defense that will be excited to start a season in their own weak division with a mouth watering offense to play against in Week one. Could get out of hand early and lead to Stafford actually putting up decent numbers against a soft defense who is protecting a lead by the second quarter.

The Vikings draw Cleveland who is having their own quarterback problems and whose defense will probably let Brett Favre silence some criticism early in the year. The problem is that they could likely put anyone out there against this team and they would lead Minnesota to a win. Favre does have a chance to show some of what he can do still and he still has Adrian Peterson which is what is really important.

Vikings

It seems that everything that can be said about Brett Favre at this point has been thrown around the web. The consensuses appears to be that everyone who lives in Minnesota is ridiculously overconfident and everyone else is cautious about throwing any kind of positive support behind him. The good thing for Vikings fans is that it might not matter, this is a team who won the division last season with a combo at quarterback of Tarvaris Jackson and Gus Frerotte, he can't be worse then that....can he? Although the rest of the division seems to have improved, the Vikings have looked stout on defense this preseason and still have the best player in the division.

Jared Allen and the "Williams Wall" (that's an unfortunate nickname for everyone involved) did not disappoint last season and the rest of the defense should be improved if the loss of Darren Sharper's leadership doesn't cause any trouble.....speaking of Sharper, he might have been worth keeping around if they would have known for sure Favre was coming. What better way to settle locker room controversy then having a proven leader speak up for a guy he played with back in the day and put everyone minds at ease about his last season and two off seasons.

The left side of their offensive line is also impressive with Bryant McKinnie and Steve Hutchinson and it should be noted Favre did play much better last year when Thomas Jones was able to run the ball and in '07 when Ryan Grant exploded out of obscurity to carve up defenses for a freakishly productive half year. Wide Reciever is still a question mark, but Bernard Berrian seemed to improve drastically last year and it might be the fact that Jackson was throwing to them. The wide receiver corp might go through a post-Michael Vick Atlanta Falcons receiver corp transformation this season, which actually thrives once their quarterback is equipped with things like touch and finesse. But then again maybe I'm giving Favre too much credit. Basically the Vikings looked like a team that who could win and make a run with a game manager like quarterback and rolled the dice on a play maker which could propel them over the top into the elite of the NFL or bring them back down a few notches getting them overconfident in their new toy and losing the team identity that won last season.

For me the biggest advantage for the Vikings is their early season schedule, Browns, Lions, Niners, which allows them to work out some kinks on offense against poor defenses and create some confidence for the defense against Matthew Stafford. If they can get through this easy part of their schedule untainted it might be enough to get an early lead in the division and give them enough experience to get in sync for the remainder of the season

Bears

Chicago fans are buzzing with the acquisition of Jay Cutler from Denver. Every aspect of his time in the city so far has been judged and scrutinized from his late night habits to his 90 yard plus drives in exhibition games. I know that the preseason is all we have to go by this early in the season, but one needs to remember what he is playing against. We all know that the guy can obviously play and that Josh McDaniels let go of a quarterback that was being compared to John Elway in Denver.

The conflict that arose between the two is suspicious, especially when coupled with the new developments about Brandon Marshall. Who is at fault is likely a mixture of both parties, but it must be noted that playing for a guy who did not see you as a long term solution for a team would be difficult to handle gracefully. Especially since must of the media and your fans just saw you carry a team to the brink of the playoffs with one of the worst defenses in the league. Anyway, how well Cutler gels with new teammates will be a work in progress this season, but with someone of his talent on the field at quarterback the offense will always have a realistic possibility to produce against any team.

A bigger question might be how well Cutler will respond to being second fiddle to Matt Forte and a more conservative play calling scheme then what he is used too. The run is usually a qbs best friend but without the game continuously in his hand Cutler might try to force the issue more when given the opportunity to air it out. Also, Greg Olsen and Devin Hester, along with the rest of the Bears pass catchers, will be asked to do more than ever before. Hester especially will not just be able to run streaks and reverses but must be counted on to consistently get open....and if it isn't him then who knows if any wide reciever will emerge. A positive thing going for him is that with Cutler, unlike Kyle Orton for instance, the cushion recievers like Hester will have to create can be smaller and he can compensate for them being tightly covered with his arm strength.

The Bears as a whole are extremely interesting for the reason that each side of the ball seems to be going in different directions. The defense continues to get older and slower since their Super Bowl run in '06 but still have the big names and a good deal of talent. While the defense is declining the offense has gotten a young spark with young position players at tight end, wide out, running back, and quarterback. This unit will likely continue to get better and better in the years to come and they may have a team with reversed fortunes compared to the last few years where the defense has covered for the offense for much of the season. If the units can meet at a time when both are doing well then this team could realistically be a Super Bowl contender soon.....but probably not for a year or two. This season just feels like a year to early for the Bear faithful.

Lions

The good news for the Detroit Lions is that someone has faith in their upcoming season. The bad news is it is Kevin Smith, who has quickly began to cover up his ability on the field with his Jon Kitnaish predictions and appears to be heading down the same path as his other former teammate Roy Williams and doing planned touchdown dances in 28 point drubbings against prevent defenses who have been checked out mentally for several quarters. (In fairness he does have useful information about living in Detroit, ex: "if you want to look fly go to the mall") The point being is Detroit has to go through two stages to become a winning team.

First they must win games, obviously, but the problem is many of the players with possible upside on this team have been unproven against an intense NFL defense. My point being is having a good game for many of their players last year was preying on defenses that had comfortable leads. They do have to start somewhere however, and they have several young position players with seemingly extraordinary talent including Calvin Johnson and Kevin Smith.

Secondly, they must become competitive in a league that takes them seriously and considers the Lions a threat each week. Until this begins to happen the wins they get will continue to be huge surprises over overconfident and unprepared foes and not hard fought battles with the Lions emerging on top. If they are only able to surprise teams in the upcoming season they might win a few games early but eventually someone will notice and trounce them with a scheme exposing their weaknesses and will likely lead to a season that ends up with them trading all their valuable veterans by week 9.

Matt Stafford has made some superb passes and shown flashes of brillance, but he looks slightly mechanical (in a bad way, not a Tom Brady/Peyton Manning way) and has 3 interceptions in 3 games......and he plays for the Lions.

(photo from ESPN.com)