I present to you my fourth regular season letter of the 2008 season.  I appreciate feedback of things that I failed to mention, but please don't get upset if I don't list something about your favorite player or team.  I could do a newsletter for just one team.  Trying to mention every team or player in one newsletter would be impossibility.  I hereby present to you a recap of the opening weekend in the NFL. 

Standings

AFC East                                                                        NFC East

1. Buffalo (4-0)                                                            1. New York Giants (3-0)

2. New England (2-1)                                                2. Washington (3-1)

3. NY Jets (2-2)                                                          3. Dallas (3-1)

4. Miami (1-2)                                                             4. Philadelphia (2-2)

 

AFC South                                                                  NFC South

1. Tennessee (4-0)                                                    1. Carolina (3-1)           

2. Jacksonville (2-2)                                                   2. Tampa Bay (3-1)

3. Indianapolis (1-2)                                                   3. New Orleans (2-2)

4. Houston (0-3)                                                          4. Atlanta (2-2)

 

AFC North                                                                    NFC North

1.Pittsburgh (3-1)                                                        1.Green Bay (2-2)           

2. Baltimore (2-1)                                                        2.Chicago (2-2)

3.Cleveland (1-3)                                                        3. Minnesota (1-3)

4.Cincinnati (0-4)                                                         4. Detroit (0-3)

 

 AFC West                                                                    NFC West

1. Denver (3-1)                                                            1. Arizona (2-2)           

2. San Diego (2-2)                                                      2. San Francisco (2-2)

3. Oakland (1-3)                                                          3. Seattle (1-2)

4. Kansas City (1-3)                                                   4. St Louis (0-4)

MVP of the Week:  When you’ve played as well and as long as Brett Favre has it becomes quite a challenge to do something you have never done before.  Brett Favre managed to do that by having his first 6-touchdown pass game of his career.  He was 24 for 34 with 289 yards, 6 touchdowns, and 1 pick.  At running back Larry Johnson had 28 carries for 198 yards and 2 rushing touchdowns as the Chiefs got their first win of the year.  At receiver it is hard not to go with Coles who had 8 catches for 105 yards and 3 first half touchdowns. Muhsin Muhammad had a great game too with 8 catches for 147 yards and 1 touchdown.  

Loser of the Week: Ryan Grant and Donald Driver were very disappointing in the Packers loss.  Driver had 1 catch for 8 yards.  Grant had 15 carries for 20 yards.  The Packers need to get more out of their skill players not named Jennings if they want to win tough games.  Kurt Warner is a surprising name to put on the list.  He was 40 for 57 with 472 yards and 2 touchdowns.  Those are usually numbers that make the MVP of the Week.  Problem is he had 3 fumbles lost and 3 interceptions.  That is very poor for a veteran and former MVP.  Finally, Marion Barber has to do better than 8 carries for 26 yards.  He needs more touches and he needs to be more productive with the touches he got.   Whenever Dallas gets away from running Barber, there offense suffers.  They need to learn lessons from the Giants playoff loss, not repeat them.    

Game of the Week: There were a lot of good games this week.  Washington and Dallas played a fantastic game.  Washington had a 20-17 lead in the 4th quarter.  They added a field goal with 10:48 left in the game.  On their next drive they proceeded to take a 6-minute plus drive for another field goal with 3:22.  That drive not only exhausted precious time, but also all of Dallas’s timeouts.  Dallas then scored a touchdown with 1:42 left in the game, but did not recover the onside kick.  Honorable mention to the Jacksonville and Houston contest, which was won by a Scobee field goal in overtime. Another Honorable mention to the Monday Night Game, which Pittsburgh won over Baltimore in OT.   

The Bay of Pigs:  It would have to be that Cleveland and Cincinnati game.  It improved in the 4th quarter to finish 20-12 with Cleveland winning the game.  However, Cleveland trailed 6-3 at the end of three quarters.  Part of the problem was Carson Palmer being injured.  That prevented Cincinnati from effectively passing the ball.  This is a tough group to justify.  These teams are still a long way from being competitive.   

The Mike Martz Award (Stupidity in Action): The worse game time decision I saw was Andy Reid’s decision to run the ball 4 straight times at the Chicago defense at their goal line trailing 24-20.  You would think McNabb on play action or at least one pass would have made sense.  Instead they turned the ball over on downs, couldn’t stop the Bears to get the ball back with meaningful time, and cost themselves a better chance to win the game.  The Eagles are not a smash mouth power running team and the Bears are great at stopping that.  Why he didn’t even pass it once is beyond me.   

The second decision I would question had nothing to do with the games.  Why did Arizona choose to stay East?  It seemed like a solid decision at the time.  The Cardinals stayed on the East Coast to prevent having to travel from Washington to Arizona, back to Arizona, and back to New York.  Instead of looking like they prepared for the game they looked like they took a vacation.  They had 34 points scored on them in the 2nd quarter and trailed 34-0 at the half.  Looking back, you have to wonder if the decision to stay east was worth taking a team out of their normal preparation routine.  Based on this poor performance I would say it wasn’t.   

Injury Report: There were a couple scary injuries this week.  Boldin took a vicious hit from Eric Smith in the final minutes of the Jets & Cardinals game.  He appears to be fine and his status is up in the air for next week.   

Andre Frazier was carted off the field on the opening kickoff of the Monday Night Game.  The severity of his spine injury was not known at the time I typed my letter.   

Aaron Rodgers injured his shoulder against the Buccaneers.  It is a shoulder sprain and not a separated shoulder as initially feared.  His status is questionable for next week.   

The Texans lost starting safety C. C. Brown with a broken arm for the season.  That is a big blow to a secondary already playing without Robinson.   

Finally, the Steelers are losing running backs fast.  Parker is out already with a sprained knee. Rashard Mendenhall fractured his shoulder in the Monday Night game and will be placed on IR.

Overall Impressions of Week 1:

1) Brett Favre’s big day – What do you say about a guy who you think has done everything there is to do in the NFL, yet goes out and accomplishes a career first?  Favre had thrown for 5 touchdowns with Green Bay 3 times.  The most recent was a September 27, 1998 game at Carolina.  In fact, the last time he threw 4 touchdown passes was a Monday Night Game against Carolina in October of the 2005 season.  So to say that 6 touchdown passes was a surprise would be an understatement.   

Favre had a number of things going for him.  The Arizona defense was very unimpressive.  There were a lot of plays with Jet receivers wide open.  The Cardinals turned the ball over 7 times.  That will help the offense’s cause.  Finally, he was sharp and put some perfectly thrown balls in tough places.  Other than a terrible first quarter interception he was on the money.  When you combine the three you get 6- touchdown passes.   

It’s easy to get caught up in the moment with this.   Last year McNabb had 381 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 56-21 victory over Detroit.  Detroit finished the season as 31st ranked passing yard defense and touchdown passes allowed.  Philly never played a game like that again.  They scored over 30 points only two more times that year.  The Eagles finished the season with the 17th ranked scoring offense.  McNabb would have 15 touchdowns in his other 13 starts.   

Favre had the right attitude after the game.  He was happy about the win, excited about the accomplishment, but also realized it was only one game.  He said its too early to book playoff or Super Bowl tickets.  He’s been through enough battles to realize that it only gets harder.  That is why you want a guy like that on your team.  He never gets too high with the highs or too low with the lows.  He keeps good and bad games in perspective.  He will help keep this team grounded and working toward getting better on offense.  

Still, many people were beginning to question whether he could still play or whether he made the right decision to comeback.  What this performance does do is validate that he can still play quarterback in the NFL at a high level.   The Oak Grove High School quarterback will not have to worry about Favre coming back to Mississippi midseason to take his job back.   

Every time people start asking those questions is when Favre comes up with some of his best performances.  It was nice to see an athlete who has had such a difficult off-season have another performance for the ages.   

2) Washington’s Upset of Dallas – Washington is a team that has showed me a lot in the early part of the season.  They were probably the worst looking offense in the NFL after the first week of the season in which they scored 7 points on the Giants.  They have responded by scoring 26.3 points per game in their 3 game winning streak.   

Jason Campbell has been terrific.  He has 6 touchdowns, 0 picks, 878 yards passing, and a 102.2 QB rating.  For a young quarterback learning a new system that is quite an accomplishment.   Santana Moss has been reborn with 27 catches for 421 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Portis is doing well in the running game.  He has 369 yards rushing, 4.3 yards per carry, and 3 rushing touchdowns.   

The Redskins are in a terribly tough spot.  The division is a combined 11-4, with three of the losses being division games.  3-1 would have them as the division favorite in the NFC North or West.  In the East they are a game out of last place. 8-8 or 9-7 could be good for last place in the NFC East this year.   

The schedule is about to take a turn for the better.  They play @ Philly, which is a tough game.  Then they host St Louis, Cleveland, and travel to Detroit.  They could easily be 6-2 at the half point of the season.   

They still have some tough games in the second half of the season.  They will play the division again.  They have Pittsburgh.  Winning at Dallas was a game that many didn’t expect them to get.  If they can beat Philly next week they will have gone 2-1 on the road in the division and be set up very well for the 2nd half of the season.   

3) Is the Gold Rush Back? – The phrase that pays for 49er fans is that the Gold Rush is Back.  At 2-2 the 49ers are tied for 1st place in the weak NFC West.  Do the 49er fans know something that we don’t know?   

I pegged the 49ers for 4-12 this year.  Seeing they have won 2 games already and have yet to play St Louis it seems apparent that they will surpass that.  JT O’Sullivan has played very well to start the year.  O’Sullivan has 68 completions in 111 attempts for 962 yards, 4 touchdowns, 3 picks, and a 90.0 QB rating.  That is a surprise to me, even with Mike Martz there.  Those are numbers the 49ers haven’t seen since the Jeff Garcia days.  Frank Gore has also started strong with 369 yards rushing through his first 4 games.   

The problem with the 49ers has surprisingly been their defense.  Those were thought to be the strengths of the team.   The defense ranks 21st in points per game allowed.  They rank 25th in total yards allowed, 22nd in pass yards allowed, and 23rd in rushing yards allowed.   

That is what costs them their games against the Cardinals and Saints.  Those offenses were able to put points up on the board.   Seattle also scored 30 points in their 33-30 OT loss to the 49ers.  Seattle had no receivers that game.  San Fran’s only impressive game was against Detroit.  Join the club.  Everyone looks impressive against Detroit.  

The 49ers are no longer the push over squad they have been known for the last 5 years.  Their offense has been consistently among the worst in the NFL.  Credit a lot of that to Alex Smith not being lost in a new system every year.  O’Sullivan was chosen for this job in large part on his previous experience in Martz’s scheme.  Since O’Sullivan has become the starter the team is moving the ball well and the offense as a whole is starting to hold up its end of the bargain.  The 49ers have spent a lot of free agent dollars and draft picks on upgrading the defense.  If that can come around they will win more games.   

If they were in the NFC East they would clearly be the last place club.  In the NFC West things are up for grabs.  The Rams are a lost cause.  The Seahawks may rebound if they can get some healthy receivers.  The Cardinals looked sharp in their first two games before losing the next two games.   

We’ll start to learn a little bit more about the 49ers over the next 4 weeks.  3 of their 4 games are at home.   They host New England and Philly, travel to New York Giants, and head home to play Seattle.  If they are still 4-4 or 5-3 after those 4 games I’ll start to have a little more faith.  While the 49ers will probably do no better than .500, that could still keep them in the division hunt for much of the season.  

4) The horrific St Louis Rams – St Louis continues to struggle beyond belief.  This has to be the worst defense in the NFL.  The record for points allowed in a single NFL season is 533 points, which was surrendered by the 2-14 Baltimore Colts back in 1981.  The Rams are on pace to allow 588 points in 2008.  If you go back to last year they have allowed 38.4 points per game in their last 7 games.  I have watched a lot of bad defensive football.  The 2005 Rams and 2001 Colts are the most recent bad defenses that come to mind.   The Dolphins were awful the first 8 games of the 2007 season.  However, if the Rams keep this up their 2008 unit will take the cake.  

That is what is so puzzling about the Bulger benching.  He plays on a team that is allowing 38.4 points per game in its last 7 games.  Jackson had 159 yards rushing in his first 3 games.  The offensive line has given up 13 sacks through the first 4 games.  What do you expect him to do?  Granted, 52 for 89 with 519 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 picks, and a 73.2 QB rating does not scream keep my job.  But that team is not losing because of Marc Bulger.  Joe Montana, John Elway, or Dan Marino in their prime couldn’t win with this team. 

Plus, why bring in Trent Green?  He’s a 15-year veteran that is 38 years old.  He hasn’t won a game since 2006.  Are you building for the future?  Bulger is 31-years old.  If you aren’t going to bring in a young guy to groom for the future keep Bulger in and let him work through this mess.   The team has no future with Green other than as a back up.   

Obviously management had some of the same concerns. Linehan became the first coaching casualty on Monday.   He has an 11-25 record in 2 & ¼ seasons.  The team is getting progressively worse.  The Rams can’t score points, can’t stop other teams from scoring, and are poorly prepared.  It is debatable whether everyone is playing hard. 

He had clearly lost the team.  Defensive Coordinator Jim Haslett has been picked to turn this disaster around.  The offensive nucleus still has a few years left in it.  If the Rams can find someone that can bring talent into the organization and properly motivate and teach these guys the Rams could be competitive in a few years.  Right now all they are competing for is the first pick in the draft. 

5) Rodgers comes back to Earth – It’s funny how the message boards have shifted a little bit.  After the first 3 games the Packers had clearly made the better decision.  Rodgers had yet to throw a pick, Favre’s Jets were 1-2, and the Packers were in control of the weak NFC North.  Then Favre threw 6 touchdown passes and Rodgers suffered 3 picks and a shoulder injury.  Chicago wins to pull into a tie with the Pack at 2-2.  Suddenly, Ted Thompson is an ####.   

I am pulling for the Favre trade to work out for Favre and the Jets.  I though Packer management botched that and have addressed that on a number of occasions.  However, I’d be a hypocrite if I said that 2 games were too soon to tell, but 4 games the picture was clear.  It is very early.  Rodgers will play well again and Favre’s isn’t going to throw 6 touchdowns per week going forward.  

I’m not going to get into comparisons between the Jets and Packers.  They are irrelevant.  Here are 3 problems with Rodgers that I have seen early in the season.  

a) Way too many hits – Rodgers has taken 9 sacks, which is tied for 10th most in the NFL.  The problem is that Favre took only 15 sacks all of last year.  It’s not just the sacks he’s taking, but all the hits he’s taking.  I said that durability was going to be a major concern for him in the preseason and my fear has been realized 4 games into the season.  He has to do a better job of standing upright.

Not taking hits is a product of having a quick release, staying around the pocket, and familiarity with an offense.  While Rodgers is in his 3rd year in the system it is his first year playing in it.  If Rodgers can’t stop taking hits he will miss games later in the season.  The Packers can’t make the playoffs if he’s not in there.  Their backups have no meaningful NFL experience and are not ready for primetime.   

b) Too much short passing – Rodgers is averaging 7.6 yards per attempt, which ranks 9th in the NFL.  Many people would say this is an unfair criticism.  The problem is that in the all of the downfield passes are going to one player, Jennings.  The exception to that would be the Detroit game.  Again, everyone looks good against Detroit.   

The Packers are running the screens, slants, and dump plays. The only one getting any production is Jennings.  His 482 yards receiving accounts for 50.2 % of the Packers passing yards.  Driver is second on the team with 16 catches for 174 yards.  Jennings is averaging 19.3 yards per catch.   Everyone else is around 10-12 yards per catch.   

That is a deviation from last year.  Last year the Packers had 4 receivers at 575 yards or over and had 4 players over 12 yards per catch.  Most of the players were in the 12-15 yard per catch range.  No offense can consistently succeed relying on one weapon.  This offense has to get more than Jennings involved in the passing game, particularly downfield.  If they don’t they will continue to struggle.  

c) Horrible 3rd quarter adjustments – This is as much McCarthy’s fault as Rodgers.  They both have to adjust better to what the defense is doing coming out of the locker room.  Green Bay has scored 20 points in the 3rd quarter this year.  7 of those points were on a punt return.  Teams are seeing this short passing game and making adjustments at half time.  The Packers are running the same thing and their offense is bogging down.  

In fact, they haven’t been very good in the 4th quarter either.  Against Tampa Bay their only scoring was a Woodson touchdown.  Against Dallas they got 7 points on a QB sneak late in the game trailing 27-9.  Minnesota only allowed one offensive touchdown in the fourth quarter of that game.  That was generated on Grant’s only long run of the year.  Even against Detroit 14 of the 24 points 4th quarter points scored were defensive.   

What that tells me is that the Packers are trying to run the ball and short pass the ball every play and that they think teams can’t stop that even if they know its coming.  The reason teams couldn’t stop that last year was because teams were scared to death of Favre throwing a 50-yard strike and were giving the underneath stuff.  Rodgers doesn’t have that type of credibility.  

As teams learn the Packers aren’t going downfield to anyone but Jennings they are adjusting.  McCarthy has to do a better job of adjusting to the defenses and call plays to counteract.  If quarterbacking in the NFL were just throwing 3 yards slants there would be more people doing well.  You can’t win with that conservative of an offense.  Ask Herm Edwards how that works.   

The good news for the Packers is that there are only 4 games that have passed and as long as Rodger’s shoulder is okay they can continue to improve in these areas.   Four games are too early to pass judgment, but it is early enough to make some observations.  From what I have seen so far reports of the Packers being better off without Favre were a little premature to say the least. 

A Look Ahead: 

Street Cred’s 2008 record:  37-22

1) Seattle (1-2) at New York Giants (3-0):  The Seahawks really need this game.  Branch and Engram appear to be back in the mix after missing the first 3 games with injuries.  Burress is suspended for this game, which is a big blow for the Giants offense.  If the game were in Seattle I might pick the Seahawks to steal a game here.  I think the Seahawks are not very tough on the road and I like the Giants defense right now.  I think Jacobs does just enough, Manning makes just enough plays, and the defense makes just enough stops to get a tough victory at home.  Winner: New York Giants  

2) Washington (3-1) at Philadelphia (2-2): This is another tough game to pick, due to the quality of both teams and the Westbrook injury.  In the two games where Brian Westbrook was healthy the Eagles scored 31 and 37points.  Since got injured they have scored 15 and 20 points.  His ankle is still bothering him and it is unknown whether he will play against Washington.  Westbrook is a special player that does so many things both running and receiving.  If he were 100% I would like Philly.  With as good as Washington is playing right now and how inconsistent the Philly defense has played I am going to go with Washington.  I look for Portis to have another nice day and for Campbell to continue his hot start.  Winner: Washington   

3) Tampa Bay (3-1) at Denver (3-1): This is one of the more interesting games of the week.  Tampa seems to find ways to hang in there and win games that they probably shouldn’t.  Denver is coming off a tough week in which they lost at Kansas City.  Denver has a great offense.  They are 2nd in points scored, 1st in yards gained, 1st in first downs gained, 2nd in passing yards, and 12th in rushing yards.  That’s a recipe for success.  The problem is that they don’t even have an average defense.  They are 31st in points allowed, yards allowed, and passing yards allowed.  They are 26th in rushing yards allowed.  The only defense that is worse is St Louis, which is 32nd in both points and yards allowed.  Cutler has thrown at least one pick in 3 straight games.  I think Tampa Bay has a recipe to win in Denver.  Graham is a physical back that can pound the Denver run defense, but they need to get better play out of Griese.  Griese has 6 picks in his last 2 games, has yet to complete 60% of his passes, and has a QB rating of 62.5.  I could go either way with this, so I went with the home team.  Denver always seems to play well at home.  While Graham will have a big day, I think Cutler makes more plays that Griese and the Broncos bounce back from a terrible performance in Kansas City.  Winner:  Denver  

4) Pittsburgh (3-1) at Jacksonville (2-2): Pittsburgh’s offense looks lost right now.  They have multiple running backs hurt right now.  Big Ben is taking a lot of sacks.  The defense is playing well, but they need to offense to step up to the plate.  The Steelers went 8 quarters between offensive touchdowns.  From Ward’s 2nd quarter touchdown against Cleveland to Holmes’s 3rd quarter touchdown against Baltimore; the Steelers have looked lost on offense.   Jacksonville hasn’t exactly blown the doors off the barn either, but they are getting more offensive production in the last few weeks.  I like the Jags to protect their home field and win a very physical game.  Winner: Jacksonville  

5) Minnesota (1-3) at New Orleans (2-2): New Orleans runs into trouble when they can’t get balance in their play calling.  That is true for a lot of teams, but it has been a glaring issue for the Saints.  Against San Fran they passed 35 times and ran 32 times.  Against Tampa Bay they passed the ball 32 times and rushed the ball 27 times.  Those two games resulted in wins.  On the flip side Against Washington they passed 33 times and ran the ball 19.  Against Denver they passed 48 times to 25 rushes.  The problem in this game is going to be that Minnesota stops the run so well that New Orleans is going to have to stay committed to running the ball like Fisher, Fox, and McCarthy did, even when it isn’t working.  I don’t think Sean Payton is patient enough to do that.  The other concern is that the Saints have the 22nd ranked run defense.  That bodes well for Adrian Peterson.  Brees will be able to put up some passing yards in this game, but I like the Vikings to go on the road and win this game.  Winner: Minnesota  

and the rest… 

6) Kansas City (1-3) at Carolina (3-1): I know Kansas City won their first game, but Carolina can actually stop the run and play defense.  Denver can’t.  I like the Panthers to prevail in this game and Kansas City’s offense to comeback to earth.  Winner:  Carolina  

7) Chicago (2-2) at Detroit (0-3):  Detroit has to show me something before I pick them to win.  I see Kitna throwing some picks, the Bears gaining some yards, and the Lions losing another game.  Winner: Chicago  

8) Atlanta (2-2) at Green Bay (2-2): It’s hard to pick this game when I don’t know if Rodgers is going to start.  The Pack can’t stop the run right now and Turner is off to a good start.  He leads the NFL in rushing yards.  If Rodgers can’t go the Falcons won’t have to worry about falling behind and can establish the run.  If Rodgers plays I think he makes enough plays to win the game.  If he doesn’t play the Pack will probably lose.  I say he toughs it out and makes the start.  I’m taking Green Bay, but I think it will be closer than people think.  Winner:  Green Bay  

9) San Diego (2-2) at Miami (1-2): Unless Ronnie Brown scores 5 more touchdowns I don’t see the Dolphins winning this game.  They will play competitive, but San Diego wins going away.  LT is heating up and should have a nice day.  Winner:  San Diego  

10) Tennessee (4-0) at Baltimore (2-1):  Baltimore is exceeding expectations.  The fact they took the Steelers to OT surprised me.  That said Tennessee is playing great football and Baltimore isn’t going to score a lot of points in this game either.  Winner: Tennessee  

11) Indianapolis (1-2) at Houston (0-3):  Houston has been a major disappointment to start the season.  I wasn’t thinking playoffs, but I expected them to show better.  Jacksonville was their first good game.   I like the Colts to get back to .500 this week.  The bye came at a great time for Indy with all their early season injuries.  Winner: Indianapolis  

12) Buffalo (4-0) at Arizona (2-2):  I think Arizona’s NY disaster was a blip.  They aren’t going to play that bad all year.  They aren’t going to turn the ball over 7 times.  They picked the wrong week to get sloppy with the ball against an offense that had a lot of prove.  Buffalo has been good early, but their opponents have a combined record of 4-10.  Oakland and St Louis are a mess, Seattle was really injured, and Jacksonville was a good win.  The line is even right now, and I would expect Buffalo to be favored by game time.  I think Arizona rebounds from that loss and upsets Buffalo.  Buffalo is playing on the road for a second straight week, which is a tough proposition in the NFL.  Winner: Arizona  

13) New England (2-1) at San Francisco (2-2) – You give the Hood 2 weeks to prepare and he usually comes through.  New England is 6-2 under Darth Hood coming off a bye.  The average score has been 26.9 to 11.9.  The only years the Patriots lost were 2002 and 2000.  Those happen to be the only two years the Patriots missed the playoffs.  I like the Patriots to bounce back in this game.  They’ve had 2 weeks to think about that Miami stomp down and San Fran isn’t tearing up the defensive side of the ball.  New England won’t score 49 points like we might have predicted at the beginning of the year, but they’ll score enough to win.  Winner: New England  

14) Cincinnati (0-4) at Dallas (3-1):  Palmer is still iffy and Dallas will be looking to take out the frustrations on somebody.  That lucky somebody is the 0-4 Bengals.  Dallas wins in a blowout.  Winner: Dallas  

Byes:  Cleveland, Oakland, New York Jets, and St. Louis

 

That’s all for this week.  Enjoy the opening week of football and I look forward to reading your comments this week.  

I present to you my second regular season letter of the 2008 season.  I appreciate feedback of things that I failed to mention, but please don't get upset if I don't list something about your favorite player or team.  I could do a newsletter for just one team.  Trying to mention every team or player in one newsletter would be impossibility.  I hereby present to you a recap of the opening weekend in the NFL. 

 

Standings

 

AFC East                                                                        NFC East

1. New England (2-0)                                                1. New York Giants (2-0)

2. Buffalo (2-0)                                                            2. Dallas (2-0)

3. NY Jets (1-1)                                                           3. Philadelphia (1-1)

4. Miami (0-2)                                                              4. Washington (1-1)

 

AFC South                                                                   NFC South

1. Tennessee (2-0)                                                    1. Carolina (2-0)           

2. Indianapolis (1-1)                                                  2. New Orleans (1-1)

3. Houston (0-1)                                                         3. Tampa Bay (1-1)

4. Jacksonville (0-2)                                                  4. Atlanta (1-1)

 

  AFC North                                                                NFC North

1.Pittsburgh (2-0)                                                      1.Green Bay (2-0)           

2. Baltimore (1-0)                                                       2.Chicago (1-1)

3.Cleveland (0-2)                                                       3. Minnesota (0-2)

4.Cincinnati (0-2)                                                        4. Detroit (0-2)

 

 AFC West                                                                   NFC West

1. Denver (2-0)                                                            1. Arizona (2-0)           

2. Oakland (1-1)                                                          2. San Francisco (1-1)

3. San Diego (0-2)                                                      3. Seattle (0-2)

4. Kansas City (0-2)                                                    4. St Louis (0-2)

MVP of the Week: Hard not to start with Denver’s best receiver.  Brandon Marshall had one of the best days in the history of the NFL.  His 18 receptions tied him with Tom Fears of the then LA Rams for 2nd in NFL history.  The record is TO with 20 against the Chicago Bears on December 17, 2000.   Marshall added 166 yards receiving.  Next would be Kurt Warner.  He posted 19 completions in 24 attempts for 361 yards passing, 3 touchdowns, 0 picks and a perfect 158.3 QB rating.   His main target was Boldin who had 6 catches for 140 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Finally, Darren McFadden had 164 yards and 1 touchdown in his second game with the Oakland Raiders.  The Raiders hope it is the first of many 100-yard games to come.  

Loser of the Week: Carson Palmer and Matt Hasselbeck have been two of the premier quarterbacks in the NFL the last 5 seasons.  They have looked lost to start the season and Sunday was no exception.  Hasselbeck does have a lot of injuries to his receivers, but he has to do better than 18 for 36 for 189 yards, 0 touchdowns, 2 picks, and a 42.5 QB rating. Palmer played a tough Tennessee defense, but 16 for 27 for 134 yards 0 touchdowns, 2 picks, and a 41.3 QB rating is not acceptable.  Finally, Maurice Jones-Drew is going to have to do better than 7 carries for 17 yards if the Jags are going to start winning games and contending for the AFC South. 

Game of the Week: There were two games that were better than the rest.  It seemed that Denver and San Diego would be impossible to top.  The Broncos had a 31-17 lead at the half, but gave it away.  They trailed 38-31 late in the 4th quarter. Ed Hochuli missed a fumble by Jay Cutler and ruled it an incomplete pass.  Even though the ball was recovered by San Diego and the incomplete pass was reversed, by rule the ball was placed at the spot of the fumble and given back to Denver.  Two plays later Denver scored a touchdown on 4th down with 24 seconds.  They decided to go for the win and a two-point conversion proved to be the difference in their 39-38 victory.  It was one of the most bizarre endings I have ever seen.

Then came the Monday Night game.  The Cowboys and Eagles combined for 54 first half points.  The game featured long passes (72 yards to TO), long kickoff returns (98 yards to Felix Jones), and costly fumbles (Romo fumble recovered by the Eagles in the end zone for a touchdown).  The game finally saw the Eagles Donovan McNabb fumble a handoff to Westbrook in the 4th quarter that led to Dallas’s winning score.  The final was 41-37. 

Bay of Pigs: Pittsburgh seems to be making a habit of playing in these bad weather games.  Last year they had the 3-0 game against Miami in the mud and rain.  This year they played Cleveland in extremely windy and wet conditions.  The result was a 10-6 win by the Steelers that featured very little offense.  

The Mike Martz Award (Stupidity in Action): Had Shanahan’s gamble not paid off he would have been the most scrutinized coach in the NFL this week.  That was a very gutsy call.  You can’t go against a guy with that much experience that pulled out the win.  Therefore, I would go with Eric Mangini’s conservative offense at the goal line.  Trailing 6-0 in the second half the Jets had first and goal at the 3-yard line.  Instead of allowing their future Hall of Fame Quarterback to put the ball up in the air just one time they ran three plays to Thomas Jones that netted 1 yard.  The result was a field goal.  Had they allowed Favre to throw the ball it would not have guaranteed a touchdown, but it would have put the ball in the hands of their best player.  It makes no sense to bring Favre over and not utilize his talents.  The momentum could have swung much differently had the Jets been just a bit more aggressive.  

The other call that was puzzling to me was the last meaningful play of the Eagles and Dallas.  With a 4th and very long instead of running a conventional play to pick up the first down the Eagles came out of their final timeout and threw a mid range pass that was 10 yards short of the first down that was a designed lateral play that went to Westbrook and ran out of space on the sideline.  The Eagles were starting to get into desperation mode and probably wouldn’t have won the game anyway.  Still, have your quarterback throw the ball 25 yards downfield and make a play.  It was not a very strong call coming out of a timeout that had very little chance for success. 

Injury Report: Week 1 was disastrous in terms of injuries.  Brady and Merriman suffered season ending injuries.  Colston was lost for 6 weeks.  Those are some of the most important players on those rosters.  This week the most serious injury in terms of the players’ value to the team was Devin Hester.  He suffered a rib injury in the Bears loss to the Panthers.  His status is up in the air for next week.

Brett Keisel will not be taking snaps for the Steelers anytime soon.  He suffered a calf injury and is expected to be out until November.   That hurts their defensive line considerably.

The Seahawks suffered another setback. Logan Payne tore his MCL and is now out for the season.  That means Burleson, Obomanu, and Payne have been lost for the season.  Engram, Branch, Wallace, and Morris could return in Week 5.  It has been a rough start to the Seahawks who seem to be losing all their offensive weapons.

Overall Impressions of Week 1:

1) Mile High Resurgence – One of the pleasant early season surprises has been the Denver Broncos.  Their win over San Diego was not without controversy but everyone should be able to agree that Denver has looked impressive to start the season.

Jay Cutler is quickly letting people know that the best quarterback from the 2006 Draft class resides in Denver.  Matt Leinart has lost his job to Kurt Warner and Vince Young is injured and may not get his job back from Kerry Collins.  Neither has shown he ability to be a NFL starting quarterback.  Then there is Cutler.  His 52 completions ranks 2nd in the NFL.  His 650 yards passing leads the NFL.  He is tied with Phillip Rivers for the NFL lead with 6 touchdown passes.  He has only 1 pick.  Cutler’s completing 70.3 percent of his passes and his 118.6 QB rating is 5th in the NFL.  

The Denver offense has looked very solid.  Brandon Marshall leads the NFL with 18 receptions despite the fact he was suspended for the opening game.  Rookie Eddie Royal is tied for 5th with 14 receptions.  Denver is first in total offense, 2nd in passing yards, and 10th in rushing yards.  Their 40.0 points per game is currently first in the NFL.  Compare that to last year when the Broncos ranked 21st in the NFL with 20.0 points per game due to a red zone offense that settled for field goals and it is a drastic early season improvement. 

I am well aware that only two games have been played and that the offense is probably not going to maintain its 40.0 per game pace.  I’m also aware that the Broncos main weakness in 2007 was their rush defense, which is still giving up 115.0 yards per game and their defense in general is giving up 26.0 points per game.  While they looked good against Oakland, which is starting a rookie quarterback and features a rookie running back with no standout receivers; the Broncos defense looked horrible against an experienced San Diego offense. 

Two games is not enough body of work to make a judgment about a team.  What is quickly becoming evident is that the Broncos got the best quarterback in the 2006 draft and have finally found a long-term replacement for John Elway.  The Broncos also have a very young offensive nucleus.  The average age of Cutler, Hall, Marshall, Royal, Scheffler, and Young is 24.5 with Hall being the oldest of the group at 26.  This is an offense that barring a serious injury should be dangerous for at least the next 5 seasons.  The Broncos appear to be the early favorite to replace San Diego as the dominant team in the division once the Charger’s window begins to close.

2) The Cardinals in first place – My Cardinals pick for the division title is starting to look like a pretty good pick.  The Cardinals are 2-0 on the young season.  The Rams have been horrific giving up 79 points in their first 2 games.  They are in the discussion for worst teams in the NFL.  Seattle has not looked good and has been crippled by a rash of offensive injuries.  Their defense has not been playing well and their special teams have been anything but special.  San Fran has a lot of question marks.  Arizona could build a sizeable early season lead in the division if they continue to play well. 

The Cardinals offense has been lights out.  Kurt Warner has found a rebirth in Arizona.  It started last year when he replaced Leinart.  This year he has been nothing short of amazing.  He is 2nd in the NFL in QB rating at 128.5.  He is completing over 70% of his passes.  Most importantly he has 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.  Last year he tied for 7th in the NFL with 17 picks despite only starting 11 games. 

The thing people have to remember is that he played San Fran and Miami.  Those defenses will not be confused with the 2000 Ravens.  However, it is a good sign that he is taking care of the ball.  This is as close as he has looked to the 99-01 Kurt Warner in a long time.  Fitzgerald and Boldin have been their usual impressive selves.  Edgerrin James has also been effective, but still is averaging only 3.5 yards per carry and not scored a rushing touchdown.  He will need to pick up his production. 

The good thing for the Cardinals is that they are only giving up 11.5 points per game, which is tied for 5th in the NFL.  Again, the offenses they faced are nothing to write home about, but they gave up 20 points and 37 points to San Fran last year.  To give up only 13 points to San Fran this year is an improvement.  The schedule is going to get a little more difficult, but not impossible.  They play @ Washington, @ NY Jets, and then come home to face Buffalo and Dallas before heading into the bye.  If they can go 2-2 or 3-1 against that schedule they will be no worse than 4-2 headed into the bye week and looking pretty good in the NFC West.  Weeks 9-11 will be very important for them as they play the entire NFC West those 3 weeks. 

3) Minnesota’s Quarterback dilemma – My last two stories were about successes.  On to some disappointments.  Minnesota looks to be the same team they were a year ago.  Minnesota is 4th in the NFL in rushing offense this young season.  Adrian Peterson has two 100-yard games.  The rush defense ranks 7th in the NFL.  If it weren’t for a 56 yard run by Grant they would be number 2. 

The problem is the Vikings were number one in those departments a year ago.  NFL fans expected that.  That only got them to 8-8.  Where they needed to improve was the passing offense and passing defense.  The pass defense is still 24th in the NFL.  Aaron Rodgers lit up the Vikings with an 80% plus completion percentage.  Peyton Manning remembered who he was in the 2nd half after being shutout by the Vikings in the first half.

Then there is Jackson and the passing offense.  Minnesota ranks 24th in the NFL in passing yards with 143.5 per game.  Their 64.8 QB rating is 26th.  The passing offense has produced only one passing touchdown.  They can’t convert through the air on 3rd down.  Jackson has a rating in the 40s on that critical down.

No one is expecting Jackson to be Steve Young in his 3rd year.  He comes from a small school and is still learning the game.  Also, he was injured in training camp and is still having issues with his knee.  He is showing toughness by playing through the pain. 

However, he is entering his 3rd year.  The game is slowing down for Cutler.  It is still too fast for Jackson.  It isn’t too much to ask a 3rd year quarterback to have a rating in the 80s, convert 3rd downs, and throw some touchdown passes, especially when his offense has Peterson and defenses are putting 8 and 9 in the box. 

The Vikings time is now.  They have the running game.  They have the run defense.  They can force turnover and sacks.  They will give up some big pass plays, but they have only given up 21 points per game in their first two contests.  That should be enough to win NFL games.  They have only lost by a combined 8 points in their first two games.  There is no reason for panic yet.  This isn’t the Rams who are also 0-2 being outscored 79-16. 

What is clear though is that Jackson’s knee is either too bad to play or he is too bad to play.  They have to get more out of this passing game.  If they don’t they will continue to be the same 8-8 team they were last year.  That has to improve their quarterback play quickly if they want to get into the playoffs.    

4) Oakland’s Al Davis Problem – Al Davis has always been one of the more interesting characters in the NFL.  He has been a commissioner, owner, general manager, and head coach in the AFL / NFL.  Not many people can make that type of claim.  He is one of the most influential people in league and a big part of the league’s history. 

That said he is ruining the Oakland Raiders.  Since they went to the Super Bowl in 2002 the Raiders are 20-62.  Their best finish was 5-11 back in 2004.  The lowlight of that horrific run was 2006.  The Raiders finished an unthinkable 2-14.  Art Shell really set this team back with his one year as head coach.  That circus scored a league worst 168 points in 16 games.  It was the main reason Randy Moss wanted out of Oakland. 

The Raiders made a bold move by looking toward their past.  John Madden was an excellent Head Coach for the Raiders.  He was 33 years old when he took over the Raiders in 1969.  He still has the most wins in Raiders history compiling a 103-32-7 record in 10 seasons.  Jon Gruden was just 35 years old when he took over.  He compiled a 38-26 record and laid the foundation for the Raiders 2002 Super Bowl run.

That is one reason the Lane Kiffin hiring made sense.  The Raiders weren’t going to lure a big name head coach with the way Davis runs things.  By bringing in a 32-year-old guy he could make a name for himself and the Raiders had a coach their young team could grow around.  While they only improved from 2-14 to 4-12 there was drastic improvement.  For starters, the offense scored 283 points, which ranked 23rd in the NFL.  That was a 114-point improvement and nine spot improvement from 2006.  The Raiders lost 6 games by 7 points or less in 2007.  Compare that to only 4 games in 2006. 

The Raiders may have fooled themselves into thinking they are Super Bowl contenders this year.  At best they are the 3rd team in the division.  But they should be encouraged by the fact they have Russell and McFadden, both of whom are starting for the first time this year.  The Raiders need to give Kiffen a couple years with this team and develop them the right way.  While I am not privy to how he handles the team behind close doors the product on the field has been pretty good.  They play hard and are going through the struggles that any young team goes through. 

As long as Davis continues to toy around with firing him it hurts this young team’s development and just adds to the perception that Oakland is where coaches go to die.  Handling the situation the way he is will not allow him to bring in a big name coach, because they now that coming to that no win situation will tarnish their legacy.  Al Davis is Al Davis’s biggest problem right now and how he is running this team isn’t going to get the Raiders back to their Commitment to Excellence. 

5) Jacksonville’s Disappointing Start - This is a team that many thought would contend for the Super Bowl.   It was my Super Bowl pick.  Their 0-2 start has been disappointing to say the least. 

No one has been playing well, especially on offense.  The offensive line has been reduced to shambles by injury.  That has caused the running game to sputter.  Taylor and MJD have combined for 35 carries, 97 rushing yards, 2.8 yards per carry, and 1 rushing touchdown.  Matt Jones is the leading receiver on the team with 11 catches for 130 yards and 0 touchdowns.  Joey Porter has yet to play a game.  Troy Williamson has nicely resurrected his career with two catches for 11 yards on the young season.  Garrard has a rating in the 60s and has 1 touchdown to 3 picks.  The offense is a mess right now. 

Unfortunately for them it is going to get worse, before it gets better.   They play @ Indy, Houston, Pittsburgh, and @ Denver before they get to their bye week.  If they can somehow go 2-2 against those teams they will be back in the mix.  Coming out of the bye they play Cleveland, @ Cincy, and @ Detroit.  That could be enough to get them back in a flow and playing like they did at the end of last season. 

It’s too early to hit the panic button.  The Jags have only been outscored 37-26, so it isn’t like they haven’t been competitive.  A few plays here or there and no one is talking about their problems.  I still look for the Jags to make the playoffs, but they have to get their running game going.  It’s too early to call Sunday a must win, but they really need to beat Indy if they want to stay in the AFC South race.

A Look Ahead: 

Street Cred’s 2008 record:  17-14

1) Carolina (2-0) at Minnesota (0-2):  Carolina is doing a nice job of stopping the run this year, Delhomme is playing very well, and they get Steve Smith back who the Vikings have no answer for.  Minnesota’s got a world of problems at QB and the offense can’t seem to get out of its own way.  Peterson is a great talent, but he can’t win every game on his own.  I have picked against Carolina both weeks and I can’t see doing that again.  Until the Vikings prove they can score touchdowns and not field goals, I am not picking them to win.  Carolina in a low scoring, close game.  Winner: Carolina

2) St Louis (0-2) at Seattle (0-2):  This is probably the most important game of the season for Seattle.  Seattle can’t afford to start 0-3.  They can’t afford to go 0-2 in the division at home.  They need to get a win if they want to be a serious division or playoff contender.   Even without any receivers the St Louis defense is enough to get any offense out of a slump.  The Rams season is already over.  They have given up 79 points in their first two games, can’t get Jackson on track, and can’t score.  The Rams offense has 16 points on the season.  I’m not sure I would pick St Louis to beat USC right now.  I might not pick them to beat Ohio State.  I’m certainly not picking the Rams to beat a fellow NFL team.  I am going to go with the Hawks in this one.  Winner: Seattle 

3) Pittsburgh (2-0) at Philadelphia (1-1): We only get to see this game once every four years and this year both teams are off to a good start.  The Steelers offense destroyed Houston at home in Week 1 and the defense helped them survive some nasty wind and rain.  Philadelphia is off to a great start and would be 2-0 if they hadn’t drawn Dallas this early in the season.  They are playing very well right now.  I expect this game will compete for Game of the Week Honors.  I like Westbrook to win his match up with Parker, McNabb to play just a tad better than Big Ben, and the Eagles to win a great game.  Winner:  Philadelphia

4) Jacksonville (0-2) at Indianapolis (1-1): I still haven’t lost faith in the Jaguars.  I think once they get some of their receivers and line back they will be able to start winning some games in which they dominate the opposing team.  Regardless of the injuries they aren’t playing very well right now.  They need to get Taylor and MJD on track.   Indianapolis looked much better in the 2nd half against Minnesota, but still needed to take the game down to the wire before claiming victory.  It’s hard to decide which of these struggling teams to go with.  I’m going to go with the Colts.  Indy’s run defense did not look good on Sunday, but I don't see the Jags exploiting that.  On offense they still looked lost most of the game, but came through when it mattered.  Jacksonville’s defense is going to have to carry them in this game.  This is going to be a game very similar to the Minnesota and Indy game.  Indy by a field goal. Winner: Indianapolis

5) Dallas (2-0) at Green Bay (2-0):  This will be a big test for the Packers.  While they are 2-0 they have a lot of concerns.  They blew a 21-0 first half lead to trail 25-24 with 7:41 left in the game.  Calvin Johnson ate up the Packers secondary for 129 yards and 2 touchdowns.  The Packers have shown time and time again that their physical man-to-man style on defense can’t match up with some of the bigger receivers in the NFL.  Owens is as big as they come.  The Cowboys find good ways to put pressure on the quarterback.  I expect Dallas to win a high scoring game, similar to what we saw in Dallas last year when these two teams met.  Winner:  Dallas

and the rest…

6) Kansas City (0-2) at Atlanta (1-1): Atlanta looks to be on the way to respectability.  Kansas City looks to be in the running for the first pick in the 2009 NFL Draft.  I look for Michael “The Burner” Turner to have another big game and lead Atlanta to a victory.  Winner:  Atlanta

7) Oakland (1-1) at Buffalo (2-0):  Oakland is on its way up, but the speculation with the coach is not helping matters.  Buffalo is playing very well and I look for them to get to 3-0 behind #### and the running game.  Winner: Buffalo 

8) Tampa Bay (1-1) at Chicago (1-1): This is pretty much a toss up.  These are two good defenses with offenses that don’t make a lot of mistakes.  The key is going to be which defense can control the tempo of this game.  With the Bears best weapon in Hester in doubt, I’m going to go with the Bucs.  Winner:  Tampa Bay

9) Houston (0-1) at Tennessee (2-0): Houston played Tennessee tough in both games last year, but Tennessee swept the series.  I don’t think the hurricane did any favors for Houston in terms of preparation and Tennessee looks very tough to start the season.  Tennessee uses run defense and conservative offense to move to 3-0.  Winner:  Tennessee

10) Miami (0-2) at New England (2-0): I look for New England to open it up a bit more now that Cassel has a game under his belt, they are at home, and the opponent is Miami.  Don’t expect 35 points at half time, but expect the Pats to be in the high 20s to low 30s and expect Moss to have a good rebound game.  Winner: New England

11) Cincinnati (0-2) at New York Giants (2-0):  Cincinnati is as terrible as they come.  The Giants have another tough defense and are playing with confidence.  Giants in a rout.  Winner: NY Giants

12) Arizona (2-0) at Washington (1-1):  Washington looked better on offense.  This will be the first real offense the Cardinals face this season, unless you consider San Fran and Miami to be powerful offenses.  I like Portis and the defense to do enough to keep the game close, but I like Warner and the passing offense to win the game.  Winner: Arizona

13) Detroit (0-2) at San Francisco (1-1): Neither team really impresses me.  The 49ers gave up 30 points to an offense that is on its 6th string WR.  Detroit is Detroit.  I look for Johnson and Williams to play big, but I think Gore and the 49ers offense also have a big day.  I’m going with the home team.  Winner: San Francisco

14) New Orleans (1-1) at Denver (2-0): Winner: I don’t think the Saints have the defense to stop this suddenly powerful offense.  Look for Cutler and Marshall to have another big day.  Winner:  Denver 

15) Cleveland (0-2) at Baltimore (1-0): Cleveland was able to sweep Baltimore scoring 27 and 33 points in their two games last year.  Lewis was able to get just enough rushing in those two games to allow Anderson to make some plays passing.  The Browns have looked bad.  They definitely worry me.  However, their two games to start the season were against Dallas and Pittsburgh.  With an easier opponent I look for Cleveland to get their first W.  Winner: Cleveland

16) New York Jets (1-1) at San Diego (0-2): The New York Jets are still adjusting to playing football with Brett Favre.  While he had one of his best games of the season against San Diego in Week 3 last season, I don’t see the chemistry in place with the Jets to duplicate that.  I like the Chargers to win at home as long as Tomlinson is able to go at close to 100%. Winner:  San Diego

That’s all for this week.  Enjoy the opening week of football and I look forward to reading your comments this week.  

It’s back.  This is my second preseason letter.  I didn’t do one the opening week with just the Hall of Fame Game on the slate.  Again, while I appreciate feedback of things that I failed to mention, please don't get upset if I don't list something about your favorite player or team.  I could do a Newsletter for just one team.  Trying to mention every team or player in one newsletter would be impossibility.  I hereby present to you a recap of the third week of preseason action. 

Standings

 AFC East                                                                        NFC East

1. Buffalo (1-1)                                                            1.Washington (3-0)

2. Miami (1-1)                                                             2. NY Giants (1-1)

3. New York Jets (1-1)                                              3. Philadelphia (1-1)

4. New England (0-2)                                                4. Dallas (0-2)

 

AFC South                                                                        NFC South

1. Houston (2-0)                                                            1. Tampa Bay (2-0)           

2. Tennessee (2-0)                                                       2. Carolina (1-1)

3. Jacksonville (1-1)                                                     3. New Orleans (1-1)

4. Indianapolis (1-2)                                                     4. Atlanta (0-2)

 

AFC North                                                                        NFC North

1.Baltimore (1-1)                                                           1.Detroit (2-0)           

2.Cincinnati (1-1)                                                          2.Minnesota (1-1)

3.Pittsburgh (1-1)                                                          3.Chicago (0-2)

4.Cleveland (0-2)                                                          4.Green Bay (0-2)

 

AFC West                                                                        NFC West

1.Denver (1-1)                                                            1. Seattle (2-0)           

2. Kansas City (1-1)                                                   2. Arizona (1-1)

3. Oakland (1-1)                                                         3. San Fran (1-1)

4. San Diego (1-1)                                                     4. St Louis (1-1)

MVP of the Week:  Matt Schaub had a terrific performance this week.  He went 14 for 16 for 187 yards and 2 touchdown tosses while throwing 0 interceptions.  He posted a 154.9 QB rating.  Michael Turner was very productive for the Falcons.  While he carried the ball only 4 times he had 113 yards, including a 63-yard dash. Finally, Brandon Coutu had a very nice game going 5 for 5 on field goals and 2-2 on extra points.  Included in those field goals was a 48-yard and 46-yard kick.  But Domenik Hixon had the best performance of all.  He had 2 receiving touchdowns and a return touchdown in the first quarter as the NY Giants built a 23-3 first quarter lead.  That effort propelled them to a 37-34 victory. 

Loser of the Week:  I would go with the New England defense, the Cleveland Browns, and the Green Bay Packers.  The Patriots rebuilt their secondary and linebackers this off-season.  It looked woefully inadequate Sunday Night.  Brain Griese went 8-8 on the first drive on a 17-play drive that consumed 9:38 seconds.  The Patriots trailed 17-3 at the half and 27-3 after three quarters, before losing 27-10.  Granted Tom Brady didn’t play which limited the offense, but I was not impressed with the Patriots defense against what I consider a pretty average offense.  It is probably nothing to worry about at this stage, but that needs to get fixed up.  

Then there were the Browns.  This is a classic example of how preseason scores can be misleading.  If you looked at the final you see a 37-34 game.  It looks like both teams getting in good work in a high scoring game.  Hidden in that score is that the NY Giants first team destroyed the Browns first team to the tune of a 30-3 lead in the early part of the second quarter.  That was an embarrassing game by the first string and is something they will need to address next week when they take on the Detroit Lions. 

Green Bay I will discuss later in my Impressions of the Week.

Game of the Week: I’m going to go with another preseason overtime game.  The Seahawks and Bears played to a 26-26 tie, before the Hawks broke the tie with a field goal in overtime.  The Seahawks were down 10 points entering the 4th quarter before they ran off 17 points.  Kellen Davis tied the game with 2:50 left in the 4th quarter.  Brandon Coutu nailed a 36-yard field goal early in the overtime to give the Hawks the win.  Honorable mention to the Cleveland Browns and NY Giants. 

The Bay of Pigs:  Has to be that 7-6 gem the Chargers and the Rams put up in St Louis.  The Chargers kicked a pair of first quarter field goals and the Rams scored the lone touchdown in the third quarter.  

The Mike Martz Award (Stupidity in Action):  Still waiting for the regular season on this. 

Hospital Visit:  Chad Johnson suffered a sprained shoulder.  He has already been ruled out for next week’s game and Marvin Lewis said he could be questionable for the season opener. 

Tavaris Jackson hurt his knee in the Viking’s win.  The Vikings quarterback strained his MCL.  He is expected to miss next week, but should be okay for the season opener. 

Tom Brady didn’t even travel to Tampa Bay, because of an undisclosed injury.  It is believed that he has a sore foot.  It is on the same foot that bothered him in the Super Bowl, but a different injury.  It is uncertain whether he will play in the rest of the preseason.

Overall Impressions of the Week that Was:

1) The New York Bretts – Brett Favre had about as good of a debut as one could hope for.  He went 5 for 6 for for 48 yards and 1 touchdown pass in 2 drives.   It was arguably his best preseason game since 2000 as he posted a 139.6 QB rating.  

No, he does not yet have complete command of the offense.  The Jets had about 40 plays for him to use in that game.  Two drives aren’t enough to tell if he is ready to run the offense for 60 minutes.  He needs to show he understands the offense enough to run a 2-minute no huddle offense and that his stamina is good enough to play well deep into the 4th quarter.  I expect those things to come, but you can’t learn about that in 6 pass attempts and 2 series.

However, there were two things that were clear, 1) The team and the New York Jets fan base have been electrified by this signing.  There was a very nice buzz in the air surrounding the game.  2) Favre still looks extremely sharp.  He had a 19-yard pass to Cotchery that was a beautiful touch pass down the field.  He also looked of the safety perfectly on the Keller touchdown.  About his only bad play was a sack he took on the first drive, which is still better than throwing a pick in that spot. 

It’s going to take several games for Favre to get on the same page with his teammates.  There are going to be times where it looks great and times where it doesn’t.  His first game keeps the optimism at a very high level and gives the Jets something to build on.  Excellent first start for Favre.

2) The Rams need Steven Jackson – The Rams need to get Steven Jackson’s contract figured out fast.  In 2 preseason games the Rams have looked horrific on offense.  They scored just 7 points in their 7-6 win against San Diego.  They lost 34-13 in their opener to Tennessee.

Couple things in the Rams defense.  Jackson would not have played 4 quarters in those games.  While they only had 76 yards against the Titans on the ground they did record 183 rushing yards against the Chargers.  This isn’t so much an opinion I have because the offense has struggled in preseason.  I feel they need him, because of what he has meant to their offense the last 2 regular seasons. 

Jackson got hurt in Week 3 last season.  He came back in Week 8.  The result was a 0-4 record in which the Rams scored 7 points against the Cowboys, 3 points against the Ravens, and 6 points against the Seahawks.  The only game the offense looked good in was the 34-31 loss to Arizona.

Steven Jackson is a beast.  In 2006 he recorded 2,334 yards from scrimmage, which ranks 5th in NFL history.  It was only 95 yards shy of Marshall Faulk’s 1999 NFL record.  He also scored 16 touchdowns that season.  Last year despite missing those 4 starts he still recorded 1,002 yards rushing and scored 5 touchdowns.  He scored a touchdown in 6 of the 9 games after he came back from injury.

This holdout is looking a lot like Larry Johnson last season.  It looks like it could drag into the eve of the regular season.  It will take him a couple games to warm up.  Holdouts of this nature can be a precursor to injuries. 

The Rams can’t afford that.  On paper they don’t appear particularly strong even with Jackson in the lineup.  While Holt and Bulger can move the ball through the air they won’t be nearly as effective if defenses don’t have Steven Jackson to contend with.  This offense needs a healthy Steven Jackson this season.  The Rams need to get him into camp ASAP to put him in the best possible position to do that.

3) Pack took a big step back – Lost in the Aaron Rodgers vs. Brett Favre story is that both players play with 50 other players.  The story out of this game has been that Aaron Rodgers took a step back.  Aaron Rodgers is not the only story on this team.  In terms of preseason losses this is about as bad as it gets and Rodgers was not the only concern. 

The Brown’s first team at least got thumped by the defending champions.  The Patriots lost to a playoff team without Brady.  Granted the Packers didn’t have some key players, mainly Grant and Jennings, but San Fran is a bad football team.  

The first problem is the offense did nothing to move the ball.  The Packers gained 46 yards of total offense in the first half.  Their two scoring drives for field goals featured a 4-play drive for -6 yards.  The other drive was 4 plays for 2 yards.  Rodgers was sacked 4 times.  He had several passes that were dropped, including a sure touchdown grab by Donald Lee.  The Packers managed only 101 yards rushing against a team that gave up 248 yards rushing to Oakland just a week ago.   They also lost 3 fumbles.

Then there was the defense.  The Packers allowed the 49er offense to go 15 plays for 87 yards and take off 9:15 of game clock in the second quarter.  They allowed O’Sullivan to go 8 for 17 for 154 yards and 1 touchdown and 1 interception.  The touchdown pass to Morgan was for 59 yards.

I’m not one to hit the panic button because of a bad preseason game.  Al Harris and Charles Woodson weren’t playing on that 87-yard drive.  Ryan Grant and Greg Jennings weren’t on the field.  Those are big factors.

Again, what I didn’t like is that I don’t think San Fran is a very good football team.  They ranked 32 in scoring, 32 in offensive yards, and 32nd in first downs in 2007.  They scored 6 points against the Raiders last week.  Their defense ranked 20th in points allowed and 25th in yards allowed last year.  This is a defense that should be scored on.  It is not a team that should have beat the Packers 34-6. 

The Packers have a big test in front of them.  Not only Rodgers, but the entire team is going to receive more scrutiny because of the Favre situation than possibly any team in the history of the NFL.  They played okay in a 20-17 loss to Cincy.  Then they took a terrible step back to a mediocre football team.  They need to play a good game and establish a rhythm against Denver.  They need to get Jennings and Grant on the field to get reps with Rodgers.

Denver is historically as tough of a venue as any in the NFL.  It will be good to see how they handle that atmosphere.  It’s difficult to know what to take out of Saturday’s game, but hopefully for the Packers it was just a case of a flat preseason performance.

4) Houston Texans impressing in preseason – Houston and Detroit are probably the most impressive non-postseason team in this preseason.  Seeing Matt Millen isn’t running the Texans they get the advantage.  They played very well at the Super Dome on Saturday.  Schaub went 14 for 16 for 187 yards and 2 touchdowns with 0 picks.  Rookie Steve Slaton played well with 13 carries for 57 yards and a rushing touchdown.  The Texans won 31-27.  The game before that they beat Denver 19-16.  Schaub was 4 for 5 for 29 yards. 

The Texans had a good season last year.  Despite losing Schaub for 5 starts, Andre Johnson for 7 starts, and Ahman Green for 11 starts they managed to go 7-3 outside of the division and 8-8 overall.  They won 3 of their last 4 games.  It was their 1-5 record in the division that killed them and that lone win came against a resting Jaguars team on the final day of the season.

The Colts still should be strong and the Jaguars look to be improved from a year ago.  The Titans are always going to play people tough.  I would pick the Texans to make the playoffs out of the AFC North, West, and possibly the East.  The South is going to make for tough wins in the division again in 2008.  If the Texans are going to win Schaub and Johnson must stay healthy and if Green doesn’t stay healthy Steve Slaton or Chris Brown must emerge.   Green strained his groin on the first carry of the Bronco game and did not play against the Saints.  That is not a good sign for a guy that has missed 19 games since 2005. 

This is a young team that needs to continue to improve and they look to be doing just that.  While it will be tough to make the playoffs out of the stacked AFC South the Texans are a team that I believe has a chance to compete for a final wild card spot with Buffalo, Denver, NY Jets, if they stay healthy this year.   So far they are doing the right things in preseason.

5) Chicago Bears are really struggling – I’m not sure what to expect out of the Bears in terms of wins and losses, but one thing that I expect is that this will be arguably the worst offense in the NFL this season. 

The first problem is a bad quarterback and worse quarterback.  The Bears are trying to flip a coin to decide which puts the team in the best position to not completely stink up the field.  Grossman has a 66.9 QB rating in two preseason games.  He played fairly well against Kansas City and stunk against Seattle.  Orton has a 76.4 rating and has yet to throw a touchdown pass or interception.  Neither has established himself as the front-runner.   Yet the Bears named Orton the starting quarterback for the season opener.  Hopefully he has shown more in practice than he did in the games. 

The offensive line was supposed to be in rebuilding mode behind the drafting of Chris Williams.  Fred Miller and Rueben Brown were both let go to help this line get younger.  Williams was an injury concern entering the draft, because of neck and back issues.  Chris Williams now has a herniated disc and could miss most of or all of the NFL season.  Even if he does comeback he will be way behind the curve and his rookie season is going to be a lost season at best.

Then there are the skill positions.  Marty Booker, Brandon Lloyd, Rashied Davis, Devon Hester, and Mark Bradley are expected to be the Bears receivers this season.  Matt Forte and Adrian Peterson will get the majority of the carries.  That isn’t exactly a list of skill position players that keep defensive coordinators up late at night.  Hester is a terror on special teams, but the jury is still out when it comes to wide receiver.  2nd year tight end Greg Olson is probably their most scary skill position player.  

What that translates into is 3 points scored in the first half against the Chiefs in which the offense went 8 plays for 19 yards and 5 points against the Seahawks.   Seeing the offense doesn’t score a sa