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Comments September 9, 2008
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1/1
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Giants
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1-0
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No Osi Umenyiora, no Michael Strahan, no problem so far.
The Giants opened their title defense with solid
defense– holding the Redskins
to just one score.
Plaxico Burress hauled in 10 catches for 133 yards
and Jacobs amassed 116 yards on the ground.
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2/3
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Cowboys
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1-0
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The Cowboys opened the season
with unstoppable offense in Cleveland as Romo threw for 320 yards.
Meanwhile, Dallas’ defense held the Browns’ high powered offense
to just 10 points.
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3/2
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Patriots
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1-0
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MVP Tom Brady is lost for the year.
Fortunately Matt Cassel has a strong supporting cast. And
New England has the easiest schedule in the league
on paper. Perhaps the Pats can still make the playoffs.
If so, wouldn’t it be remarkable if Brady was ready in time?
Cassel performed well enough in their win
over the Chiefs, but we’d like to see New England bring back Bledsoe who is only 37.
Could he *re-replace*
Brady? What a story that would be. Actually, last season Bledsoe turned down offers from
Carolina and Jacksonville to name a few as
he’s involved in several new businesses.
Otherwise the NFL’s 7th all time passing
yards leader turned businessman would make a nice fit
for one last hurrah with the Patriots.
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4/11
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Packers
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1-0
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The Packers were out to prove they can win without Favre, and nothing was going to stop them week 1.
Rogers had a very solid game. Although, the Packers were outgained by the Vikings.
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5/4
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Chargers
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0-1
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San Diego is off to another slow start like last season when they were overly
punished by most of the nation’s power polls, only to end up in the AFC
Championship game against New England.
Yes, they lost at home to the Panthers. But if they played this game 10 times,
they would probably win 7 or 8.
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6/8
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Titans
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1-0
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Great running game, great defense and a great kicker are what make the Titans
playoff caliber. Vince Young will miss time with a torn MCL.
Luckily the Titans have Collins to back him up…
Chris Johnson certainly adds another dimension to the Titans’
rushing attack.
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7/5
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Colts
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0-1
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Without starting center Jeff Saturday on Sunday, Manning and the Colts
offense couldn’t find any balance against the Bears’ now healthy defense,
which wasn’t overly surprising. On the other hand, the inability of the Colts’
defense to keep the Bears’ running game in check was quite surprising…
Up next? The rushing attack of Minnesota.
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8/7
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Jets
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1-0
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Step 1 complete– surviving the Miami heat. Favre’s deep ball
enables Cotchery to stretch the field, much to the delight of those drafting
fantasy sleepers.
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9/6
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Vikings
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0-1
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The Vikings fell at Lambeau despite outgaining the Packers.
Who’s kidding who? Overcoming a Packers squad with a chip on their shoulder for this week 1 game
wasn’t going to be
easy on the road.
At any rate, with a great running game and rushing defense, the Vikings project as playoff
caliber despite their (0-1) start. But their September schedule isn’t easy. The Colts are up next.
Which team will start (0-2)?
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10/13
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Steelers
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1-0
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A ferocious start for the Steelers as
Willie Parker
eclipsed last season’s touchdown total in a single
game. Last season the Steelers also blew away a poor defensive team in their opener.
But as we cautioned early last year, this doesn’t make Pittsburgh the Super Bowl champs just yet.
We know the Steelers have a great defense, but
we want to see how their offensive line performs against tougher competition.
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11/18
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Bears
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1-0
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In preseason we posed the following thought…
“Here’s to a much healthier defense. But can their offense score?”
Apparently yes they can. Not only did Chicago run
with Matt Forte against
the Colts (who surrendered the fewest points in the league last
season), but the Bears D was up to their old ways, scoring on a safety
and on a fumble return. A little Super Bowl revenge two
years removed. Props to Orton for a solid game as well.
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12/12
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Redskins
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0-1
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Washington fell on the road to the defending champs. On the positive side they held the Giants to 16 points.
On the negative side they were outgained 354 yards to 209, and
clock management was an issue when attempting to mount a late game comeback.
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13/17
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Saints
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1-0
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Reggie Bush broke out and Drew Brees had the long ball going as the Saints
scored a key divisional win against the Bucs. But they need to improve their
run defense if they’re going to win next week at Washington.
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14/16
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Eagles
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1-0
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A great start for the Eagles.
But this isn’t the first time we’ve seen Donovan McNabb light-up
a weak pass defense.
The real question this season is– how will the Eagles matchup against the Cowboys, Giants, and
Redskins?
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15/20
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Panthers
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1-0
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Delhomme wasn’t great, but he was good enough to pull out the upset
at San Diego as
Rosario stoned the Chargers on the last play of the game with his
TD grab. Let’s not forget
Chris Gamble’s return of Antonio Gates’ fumble for a TD.
And the Panthers did it all without Steve Smith.
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16/14
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Buccaneers
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0-1
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Tampa Bay got burned one too many times on the deep ball by the Saints’ Drew Brees.
They also called too few runs against a Saints team that is hurting in the run
stopping department.
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17/10
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Jaguars
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0-1
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Offensive line woes have the Jaguars reeling. Both guards were lost;
Vince Manuwai (for the season – ACL)
and Maurice Williams (out 2 months biceps rupture).
The Jags were already without Meester, and backup Collier, so were left defenseless
against Tennessee’s pass rush.
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18/9
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Browns
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0-1
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The Browns were dominated by the Cowboys in every phase of the game.
Cleveland fans shouldn’t throw in the towel just yet.
But they should be asking why they’re spending so much money on a backup
quarterback when that money could be used on their starting defense.
As for their offense– Stallworth missed the game with a strained quad.
His addition was one of the reasons we thought the Browns would
be tough for defenses to handle.
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19/22
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Bills
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1-0
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Buffalo’s defense was dominant, sacking Hasselbeck 5 times as the Bills
crushed Seattle. Granted the Seahawks were thin at receiver.
Let’s see how this story continues next week as the Bills face a Jaguars’
team hurting at offensive line…
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20/21
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Broncos
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1-0
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Cutler, Marshall, Scheffler, and Royal (looking like a young Terry Glenn)
are going to give opposing secondaries fits this season.
But how Denver’s defense fairs against teams more balanced
on offense than the Raiders is something that remains to be seen.
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21/15
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Seahawks
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0-1
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Depleted at wide receiver, the Seahawks were blown away
in Buffalo as Hasselbeck was sacked 5 times.
Making matters worse– Nate Burleson was lost for the season.
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22/19
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Texans
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0-1
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The Texans’ high hopes for ’08 were given a rude awakening as they were obliterated by the Steelers.
The good news is Indy and Jacksonville lost as well.
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23/23
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Ravens
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1-0
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Baltimore’s defense was lights out against the Bengals, as
was their rushing attack.
Joe Flacco demonstrated his secret desire to be
an Olympic sprinter.
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24/24
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Cardinals
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1-0
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Last season’s sweeping at the hands of the 49ers kept the Cardinals
out of the playoffs.
This season the Cards
were out to make sure it wouldn’t happen again–
taking advantage of 6 turnovers by the Niners
to seal the deal.
But the real question is– if the turnover battle had been even,
what would the score have been?
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25/30
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Chiefs
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0-1
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The Chiefs played the Patriots close– of course Tom Brady
left the game in the first quarter with an injury.
The Chiefs also lost Croyle. Huard filled in
admirably.
The Chiefs showed they might already
be competitive with their young squad.
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26/32
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Falcons
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1-0
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Michael Turner ran wild against the Lions to the tune of 220 yards,
and Ryan tossed a 62 yard TD bomb on his first NFL
pass. We like these players as much as the next
NFL fan, but we’re here to remind everyone that the Lions
had the league’s worst defense last season, so these
types of performances probably shouldn’t be expected every week.
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27/28
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49ers
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0-1
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The 49ers’ defense played admirably against the Cardinals,
especially considering that San Fran turned the ball over 6 times.
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28/31
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Dolphins
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0-1
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The Dolphins couldn’t get any semblance running game going against the Jets.
On the plus side Miami scored twice through the air, TE Fasano
(drafted by Parcells when in Dallas) hauled in 8 catches, and the defense
held the Jets under 300 yards.
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29/27
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Raiders
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0-1
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The Raiders were blown away in their home opener by the Broncos.
Could be another long season in store.
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30/25
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Bengals
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0-1
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The Bengals were held to 99 yards passing and 65
yards rushing at Baltimore while allowing the Ravens
to rush for a whopping 229 yards… Enough said.
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31/26
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Lions
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0-1
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Last season’s bottom ranked defense picked up right where they left off
allowing Michael Turner to explode for over 200 yards rushing in his
Falcons debut– not to mention allowing Matt Ryan to connect
on a 62 yard TD bomb with his first NFL pass.
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32/29
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Rams
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0-1
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Last season the Rams gave up the second most points
in the NFL– and things looked mighty similar in week 1
as St. Louis was torched by McNabb and crew for 38 points and
over 500 yards of offense.
Meanwhile the Rams could only muster 166 yards on offense.
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