NFL Favorites Takes A Hit In The First Week

Sunday, September 19th, 2010

The first NFL Sunday is in the books and if your NFL weekly picks didn’t quite go as planned, you have a lot of company. And if you think you’re feeling out of whack, imagine how the Colts and 49ers must feel.

It is not uncommon for the Colts to go down to Houston and take a beat down. The difference has always been that Indy has found a way to get off the mat and go Rocky Balboa on the Texans. Not this game. The Colts run defense made a Week One star out of the Texans running back Arian Foster, who ran for 231 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the Texans’ 34-24 win.

If you think Peyton Manning was somewhat mortal on Sunday, you would be mistaken. The Old Sheriff was on his game, throwing for 433 yards with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. But he could have used a little more help from his deputies. Some key drops by Pierre Garcon and a fumble by Austin Collie inside the Texans’ 10-yard line helped take care of a couple of Colts drives.

The loss reaffirmed suspicions that the Colts may not be able to walk over the AFC South as in years past. The Titans and Jaguars have shown an increased ability to compete and if Indianapolis’ defensive failures were more flaws than flukes, the Colts could be in for a season-long dogfight.

Meanwhile, the action came in on the side of the San Francisco 49ers. While nobody considered them a true Super Bowl team, they certainly seemed to be the best team in a bad division – and definitely good enough to take care of the Seattle Seahawks in Week One, right?

In maybe the most disappointing single team performance on Sunday, the 49ers were dazed on defense and confused on offense during their 28-6 blowout to the ‘Hawks. San Francisco marched deep into the red zone on three of their first-half possessions and tallied just two field goals and a failed fourth-down attempt.

The 49ers couldn’t even work together in the locker room after the game. Head coach Mike Singletary said the offensive confusion and burning of timeouts was the fault of headset communications problems. But quarterback Alex Smith said the problem was the coaches’ inability to signal in plays in a timely fashion.

After one week, there’s no hard facts that the 49ers can’t still win what is definitely a weak division. But the on- and off-field performances on Sunday showed that the Boys from The Bay still have a lot of work to do.

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2010 NFL Predictions: Da Bears

Friday, August 27th, 2010

Jay Cutler’s first season in Chicago did not go as planned. While he passed for a career-high 27 touchdown strikes, he also led the NFL with 26 interceptions. With Cutler not playing up to his Pro Bowl status, the Bears managed only seven wins.

Following last year, it was clear that the Chicago Bears needed more upgrades. So they brought in defensive end Julius Peppers and RB Chester Taylor. They also added Mike Martz and Mike Tice to the coaching staff.

With these additions, the Bears’ are optimistic that they can contend for an NFC North title. That is, as long as Jay Cutler has a come back back year.

Offense: While Jay Cutler took a ton of heat for Chicago’s offensive problems, he wasn’t solely to blame. His job was not easy playing behind a disappointing offensive line, and he received no help from the running game.

If Tice can get more out of the boys up front, Chicago should be able to do better than the 93.2 yards per game it gained rushing last season, especially now that Taylor has been brought in to aid Matt Forte.

Forte was not able to keep building on the 1,238 yards he gained in his rookie season. Forte most likely won’t run for that many yards this season either, but the Bears’ running game is in better shape after adding another versatile running back.

Cutler did not start to jell with the receivers until late last year. Once he did, Chicago started playing much better football. While Chicago does not have a true No. 1 wideout, Devin Hester, Earl Bennett, Johnny Knox and Devin Aromashodu are all very capable of big games. Martz should also be able to find more ways to get tight end Greg Olsen involved.

If the ground game is better, Jay Cutler will be better. He forced way too many passes last season because the offense was not able to move the football.

Defense: Chicago’s pass rush has been inconsistent the last few seasons, but Peppers should instantly shake things up. We’re speaking about a freakish athlete who has made 10.5 or more sacks in five of the last six years. His presence up front should also revitalize former Pro Bowler Tommy Harris.

Lance Briggs may now be the Bears’ best linebacker, but Brian Urlacher is still the leader of this defense. The Bears missed his leadership and big play ability greatly when he missed almost all of 2009 with a wrist injury. If Pisa Tinoisamoa could avoid the injury bug, the Bears’ have as good a linebacker group as any team in the NFL.

Charles Tillman and Zack Bowman are good cornerbacks, but Chicago needs better play from their safeties. They are hoping that their third round pick Major Wright will be able to improve the safety play from day one.

Prediction: 3rd NFC North – After adding guys like Peppers and Taylor, the Bears will be a better football team then they were last year. The question now is if they can put it all together. Jay Cutler didn’t seem to settle in up until late last season, and Chicago can’t afford their new guys to take that long. Chicago should be better in 2010, but it may be asking to much for it to overtake the Viking and Green Bay. NFL odds makers currently have listed the Bears’ at +350 to win the NFC North.

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