Last week: 4 (+3) Record: 1-1 The Packers came out flat defensively week 1 and lost to the 49ers and fire on defensively and beat the Bears week 2. Both are worthy opponents, but which defensive effort was the real one? I still don’t like their reliance on forcing turnovers, but if they can continue [...]
Last week: 2 (+0) Record: 2-0 Those might have been the easiest opening two games ever. The Texans pounded on the Dolphins and Jaguars, outscoring them 57-17 and outgaining them 748-392. Now for a real test as they head to Denver to take on Peyton Manning and that no huddle offense in thin air. The [...]
Last week: 3 (+0) Record: 1-1 In 2010, the Patriots lost to the Browns. In 2011, the Patriots lost to the Bills. They won 14 games in 2010 and 13 games in 2011. It wasn’t the end of the world then and it’s not the end of the world now. It’s football. Sometimes shit just [...]
Last week: 10 (+6) Record: 2-0 The Eagles have 9 turnovers in 2 games, but they’re 2-0. How does that happen? Well, when you lead the league in points per play differential with a differential of 1.5, all of a sudden, you can overcome those turnovers. Historically, that differential is more likely to continue that [...]
Last week: 5 (+0) Record: 2-0 I wasn’t that impressed with the Falcons on Monday Night. I felt like they should have been up 20 given how badly the Broncos started and how much they turned the ball over, but they didn’t capitalize like they should have. They lost the yardage total battle and the [...]
Last week: 6 (+0) Record: 1-1 Home sweet home for the Steelers. It looks like their home/road disparity has carried over from last season. This team was -22 on the road last year and +120 at home last year. The Raiders get a chance to right the ship on the road this week as they [...]
Last week: 8 (+1) Record: 2-0 No, I’m not convinced the Chargers have suddenly become good in the 1st half of the season. The Raiders and the Titans suck. They’ll have a test this week when Atlanta comes to town. That being said, I think this is still the favorite in the AFC West. The [...]
Last week: 1 (-7) Record: 1-1 In 2010, I consistently ranked the Bears lower than most and lower than their record would have suggested because I simply didn’t trust the combination of Jay Cutler, that offensive line, and Mike Martz to consistently win 3 or 4 games in a row against playoff caliber teams, so [...]
Last week: 13 (+4) Record: 2-0 I still don’t think this team is much of a Super Bowl threat because eventually the turnover differentials will…blah blah blah regression I’m done repeating myself. Let’s focus on something positive, namely this amazing defense. This was Jim Harbaugh’s first full offseason with this team and many people expected [...]
Last week: 9 (-1) Record: 1-1 I have a feeling the Broncos are going to be one of those teams with big home/road disparities in their records this season. They have a huge advantage at home, running the no huddle against defenses not used to playing in the thin air, but on the road, not [...]
Last week: 11 (+1) Record: 1-1 Every year, there is one team that goes from 5 wins or fewer to the playoffs. I have a feeling that it’s going to be an NFC team this year, either the Rams, Redskins, or Buccaneers. I’m sticking with my preseason prediction here and putting the Rams in. They’ve [...]
Last week: 21 (+9) Record: 1-1 This is why you don’t bail on predictions after one game. I had the Bills making it into the playoffs on the good defense, good running game, conservative offense, don’t make mistakes, easy schedule model, but after their week 1 loss, I overreacted and dropped them. However, the Bills [...]
Last week: 14 (+1) Record: 1-1 The Ravens are overrated. We’ll see it this weekend. They rank just 12th in yards per play differential, despite playing one of their games against a banged up Bengals team that I think is one of the worst in the league. They clearly miss Terrell Suggs and others defensively. [...]
Last week: 16 (+2) Record: 1-1 There’s nothing wrong with losing by 3 to the Rams in St. Louis. I’ve said all along the Rams are underrated and the Rams and Redskins are pretty evenly matched. The bad news is on the injury front. The Rams lost three starters in the loss, including two for [...]
Last week: 15 (+0) Record: 1-1 Coming off an emotional week 1 win, it was reasonable and predictable that the Cowboys would be flat in Seattle. However, they wouldn’t have even won week 1 if it wasn’t for Tony Romo bailing them out time after time, in spite of all the penalties. This team needs [...]
Last week: 7 (-9) Record: 0-2 Now it’s time to start pressing the button panic. The Saints haven’t been eliminated or anything, but they’re 0-2 and only 12% of teams that start 0-2 make the playoffs. They’ll get better as the season goes on as they get used to not having Sean Payton around, but [...]
Last week: 18 (+1) Record: 1-1 I already talked about how much of a disadvantage the Giants have this week as a road team on Thursday Night football, so I’ll say something about the Buccaneers/Giants game that I didn’t have room to say in the Buccaneers’ section. I agree with Greg Schiano on going all [...]
Last week: 17 (-1) Record: 1-1 The Buccaneers have the league’s worst 2.2 yards per differential, allowing 7.2 yards per play and gaining 5.0 yards per play. So how are they 1-1 with a close loss to the Giants? Well, having the 2nd best turnover differential in the NFC, +3, has something to do with [...]
Last week: 19 (+0) Record: 1-1 Yeah, how’s that Jets’ offense doing now? After scoring 48 in the opener in a heavily defense and special teams aided effort, the Jets scored just 10 points last week and Mark Sanchez, who was 19 of 27 for 266 yards, 3 touchdowns, and a pick in the opener, [...]
Last week: 20 (+0) Record: 1-1 That’s the reason they drafted him #1. After a rough opener against a strong Chicago defense, Luck was incredibly impressive in his 2nd start, passing for 224 yards on 20 of 31, despite minimal help from his supporting cast. Under pressure on 15 of 37 drop backs, he took [...]
Last week: 22 (+1) Record: 1-1 I had the Lions much lower than most people to start the season because I thought they were one dimensional, had a bad defense, and a bad running game, and overall thought they were overall too reliant on their passing attack for wins (4 comebacks from 13+ points last [...]
Last week: 23 (+1) Record: 1-1 The league’s #2 ranked team in terms of yards per play differential: the Carolina Panthers. You can’t tell a ton from that after just 2 games and I still think they’re weak defensively where it matters, on the defensive line and in the secondary, but they have a very [...]
Last week: 23 (+7) Record: 2-0 The Cardinals are one of only 6 undefeated teams left in the NFL, but they’re by far the weakest of the bunch. They’ve been outgained in each of their first 2 games, but won anyway, and have a negative yards per play differential and are tied with Jacksonville for [...]
Last week: 24 (+0) Record: 1-1 I haven’t really moved the Seahawks much, starting them at 25, then moving them to 24, then keeping them at 24 this week. They’re a good team at home and a bad team on the road. Nothing that’s happened with this team has been unpredictable at all. This week, [...]
Last week: 11 (-14) Record: 0-2 Before the season, I had the Titans as a playoff team. I thought they had a very strong supporting cast and that Jake Locker would be an upgrade over Matt Hasselbeck, who took this team to 9-7 last year as nothing more than a game manager. I felt that [...]