NFC

The Green Bay Packers running game has taken a lot of hits lately, both on and off the field. Sportswriters, bloggers and fans have all been lamenting the paltry number of rushing yards being gained. I dare to dissent and say it's been "good enough."

Everyone has been criticizing the Packers play calling for running 17 times on first down in the win against the St. Louis Rams. I dare to say that the Packers did a good job with the playcalling and were actually very aggressive on first downs. Huh? Don't worry, more on that later.

How can I come to these conclusions, you ask? Well first, you have to spend a few hours with the game tape. Last night I played back the Packers game, with heavy use of the rewind and slo-mo buttons. Because it seems to be the favorite post game topic of the Rams game, I specifically focused on the Packers running plays.

Albeit a bit bleary-eyed, I can distill the Packer's running game's struggles down to two major factors: Offensive linemen that aren't holding their blocks long enough and a running back that just takes too long to get to the line of scrimmage.

Now, there are certainly plenty of other contributing factors. Grant's lack of lateral movement, how easily he goes down when tackled very low and the lack of creativity in the running plays (seriously, 80 percent of the running plays look like the same play). But I just felt it was important to identify the top two.

Analyze the running plays closely, and you will see how many times Grant is tackled from behind or the side (often around the ankles) because an offensive lineman could not keep the backside sealed off or hold their block. Using freeze-frame, you can see that many times there are holes early on, but the Packers running plays are not designed as quick hits (with the exception of the fullback dive).

By the time Grant gets there, the hole is often gone. He then lacks the lateral movement and quickness to make a last minute change of direction. In my opinion, the Packers had two backs better suited to running in this scheme. But Tyrell Sutton is in Carolina and Kregg Lumpkin is languishing on the practice squad.

Having said all of that, after watching for hours, I'm actually not as upset with the running game as most people seem to be. If the Packers can average 3.8 YPC on 25 attempts per game, that's just about good enough. The Packers will never have the game breaking threat from the current running game, but it's OK. That's what Rodgers and the wide receivers are for.

As we all know, running the ball is necessary to keep the safeties honest and setup the deep play-action passes down the field. Although the running game didn't exactly burn it up, the plan still worked for the Packers. Every big pass play in the game was off of play action. The Rams linebackers and safeties bought the run fakes because the Packers had shown the run so much. Here are some examples:

2nd and six, Driver, 46 yard pass reception—I formation, play fake right, single coverage on Driver.
3rd and seven, Jennings, 50 yard pass reception—Shotgun with single back. Fake draw play, single coverage on Jennings.
1st and 10, Driver, 21 yard TD reception—I formation, play fake right, rollout left, single coverage on Driver.
1st and 10, Jennings, 53 yard pass reception—I formation, play fake right, single coverage on Jennings.
There were at least three other long passes attempted, two on first down. Jordy Nelson dropped one right in his hands and two were overthrown.

17 RUNS ON FIRST DOWN!!!
Now, for all of you screaming about the Packers running 17 times on first down versus 11 passes, look a little closer. Seven of those runs came in the fourth quarter, when they were protecting a lead—that's what your SUPPOSED to do! So through three quarters, the Packers were actually 10/11, run/pass on first down. And one of those runs was a reverse, which warms the cockles of my heart. In light of those facts, there is NOTHING wrong with a 17/11 pass/run ratio on first down, especially if four of those passes were long shots down the field and a fifth was a TD.

I have often accused Mike McCarthy of being too conservative, but this was not one of those times. And for the first time this season, the Packers won the time of possession battle over their opponent. Yes it was only the Rams, and yes they could stand to gain more yards on their first down runs, but it's a good start towards developing a serviceable running game.

My main criticism after watching this game is one that I have had before: the lack of originality in the running play design. The Packers' second play from scrimmage was a creatively designed play. Rodgers in the shotgun, Grant to his right. Nelson slot left, Lee tight end on the right side. Nelson goes in motion to the right. Ball is snapped, Lee blocks down on the DE, Barbre pulls around him to the outside, pitch out to Grant with Barbre and Nelson lead blocking. It worked beautifully and picked up 10 yards. They never ran it again. Every other running play to Grant was a straight hand off. But I digress—play design is a pet peeve of mine and a whole separate article.

The litmus test for McCarthy will come in situations like the Packers trailing by 10 points in the third quarter. Will he revert to his old ways and throw the running game out the window, or will he stay committed?

With the Favre-led 3-0 Minnesota Vikings next on the schedule, that test could very well come this week. The Packers' offensive line will have their hands full with the Vikings front four. That matchup will probably be the deciding factor in this game. Sorry Brett, but it's not ALL about you.

----------------

You can find more of Jersey Al Bracco’s articles on several sports websites: Jersey Al’s Blog, Packer Chatters , Packers Lounge, NFL Touchdown and of course, Bleacher Report.

You can also follow Jersey Al on twitter.

At this point in the season, as early as it may seem, we are beginning to develop a definite opinion as to who is for real and who isn't.

Dallas played in last night's Monday Night Football event and nearly lulled their fans into a stupor with their mediocrity in the first half. However, the players saw fit to earn their million dollar paychecks by half number two and managed to limp away with a win over the not-so-good Carolina Panthers.

That said, there were a few teams this week who may need to call upon the ghosts of good teams past if they ever expect to be taken seriously in the future. Or, perhaps, they just need to accept the things they cannot change and embrace the fact that they won't be squat this season, no matter what they do.

Either way, time to throw a few more stones inside the NFL's glass houses.


JaMarcus Russell needs to be benched...immediately

The Raiders are a train wreck. Seriously. A. Train. Wreck. If they aren't trying to keep their head coach out of court, then they are trying to keep their owner from making any more personnel decisions.

JaMarcus Russell is Al Davis' guy. He was his pick. He wanted him. He wanted the big arm and the big play capability. The problem is, Russell is all arm with no accuracy. He makes bad decisions followed by even badder throws and the mystery to everyone seems to be why they continue to let him self-destruct on the field?

He is so awful that it's physically painful to watch him play. He not only ranks 30th in the league amongst starters, but he has the worst completion percentage (41.8) of any quarterback in the NFL; not to mention having a quarterback rating that makes you want to slap the crap out of somebody (39.8).

39.8?!? That's not for one game...that's for the season.

What is Oakland waiting for? Divine intervention?

Russell is not going to get better anytime soon and it matters not what the Oakland contingent may try to use as an excuse for his poor play, the fact of the matter is this: he's just not any good.

It makes you wonder if his backups are worse, because there is no other explanation for Russell still getting the nod. However, if Gradkowski and company are worse than Russell, then the Raiders need to just fire everyone on their staff, commit Al Davis to an asylum, and start from scratch, because things can't get much worse from here.

The time for naivete should be over at this point; Russell is not the man for the job. He likely never will be.

Quick read: As long as Russell continues to run the offense, Oakland will be lucky to win even one more game. Let somebody else play...ANYBODY else will do.


They say Denver is for real, but the Kool-Aid ain't temptin' yet

It's nice that the Broncos have been able to send a big "take that" to the rest of the league that basically stomped on them for the way they handled the Cutler situation. However, the 3-0 start is less a measure of greatness than a matter of "who have you played?"

Cincy was sleeping and obviously, like the rest of the league, didn't take the Broncos seriously in Week One. Cleveland is awful and has yet to win a game. Oakland is...well, Oakland.

So, it may have been premature to say that Denver would be a terrible team this season, but they haven't done anything to prove that they are a team worth being sold on, either.

As the next three games approach, we shall see just how seriously McD's crew needs to be taken. Dallas, New England, nor San Diego will be as easy as Cincy, Cleveland, or Oakland.

If the Broncos expect anyone to believe that this 3-0 start is because they have been good and not lucky, then win the next two out of three.

Snap judgment: Denver's winning streak is smoke and mirrors. The dust will soon settle on this hot start.


Raheem Morris is in way over his head

The Buccaneers were supposed to be in rebuilding mode. That is obvious from the fact that they have no playmakers on their team and have a stable of quarterbacks who are either too young, too old, or too inexperienced to be running an offense.

Newly inaugurated head coach, Raheem Morris, rolled the dice in the 2009 draft by taking his former protege, Josh Freeman. Well, that's all fine and good, but Freeman isn't ready to run a fruit stand, much less a football team.

Enter Josh Johnson, the other Tampa Bay project that wasn't supposed to hit the field until a year from now. He took over against the Giants after it became clear that Leftwich had already left the building (7-of-16 for 22 yds and an INT), but didn't fair any better (4-of-10 for 36 yds) against the Giants' stout defense.

The truth of the matter is this: the Bucs are young on both sides of the ball and are not ready to compete with any team in the NFL. Not a one.

Perhaps they can keep it close for a quarter or two, but beyond that, they will crumble like a house of cards because they do not have the personnel experience to go toe-to-toe with most defenses in the league.

Tampa Bay may be good once the pieces of the puzzle begin to fit like they should, but right now they are just not playing like a professional football team. It's disgraceful that it took them over two quarters to get a first down. That's just bad. Wasn't the offense supposed to be better without Jagodzinski?

The Bucs better do some soul searching in a hurry, because their next four games will be against a mad as hell Washington team, a well-coached Philly team, a Tom Brady Pats team, and a Carolina Panthers team with some serious splainin' to do about the kind of club they want to be.

The Bucs have no chance of winning any of those games if they continue to play like a Division I-AA football team with no clue how to execute plays on either side of the ball. They'll be 0-7 by their bye week and new coach Morris may be sending resumes out to college teams.

It's gonna be a long year in Tampa.

Quick read: The Bucs may actually be worse than the Lions this year. Just sayin'.


Terrell Owens can't buy a touchdown...or a catch one, for that matter

Owens is a little miffed about how people have criticized and berated his play over the last few weeks. Former NFL safety Rodney Harrison saw fit to throw him under a bus, run him over, back up, and do it all over again when he called him a "clown" on national television.

In Terrell's defense, he can't do any more than run the routes and catch the ball. It is clear that the offense the Bills are running at the moment isn't looking to do enough passing to make a playmaker like T.O. relevant.

Funny thing, though, is that everyone knew that before the start of the season. Trent Edwards is not Tony Romo and this ain't Dallas. Terrell Owens is not going to have another 1,000-yard season with a quarterback who has no desire to throw the deep ball.

The Bills are expected to get Marshawn Lynch back this week and you can bet that on the totem pole of receivers, Terrell Owens will fall even further down than he already has this year. Edwards is simply more comfortable playing dink and dunk than airing it out; just ask Lee Evans.

For Owens part, his days of being "the man" ended in Dallas last season, when they chose to dump him before he dumped them. Terrell's ego is still likely seething from that fact and he likely hoped to make a big splash this season in Buffalo so that he could send a big "ha ha" to the Cowboys.

Well, the reality of it is, Dallas is struggling to find a big-play guy like T.O., but they don't miss him or his antics one bit. They have moved on and T.O. is now struggling to find his place on a team that doesn't have a Pro Bowler as its quarterback.

He's in for a rude awakening as he slowly starts to realize how truly irrelevant he has become.

Quick read: Buffalo is no better with T.O. than they were without and they should have changed the quarterback and the coach while they were out shopping for improvements.


The Redskins were supposed to be better...right?

If Daniel Snyder isn't careful, he will end up becoming the Al Davis of the NFC. This team was supposed to be much better, right?

During the preseason, all the chatter was about how the defensive line was going to be a monster with Haynesworth added and Orakpo drafted. No teams were going to be running all over the Skins this season. No way.

Well, someone forgot to tell the winless in 19 tries Detroit Lions that, as they methodically and without much effort converted third down after third down on Sunday and kept control of the ball for the better part of 36 minutes.

Washington couldn't get anything going until it was too late to matter, and even then they looked like a team with no sense of urgency.

Who are these Redskins?

Those who try and say that Campbell played well are deluding themselves. He had over 300 yards, yeah, but a large chunk of those yards came once the Lions started playing prevent—a scheme that has no point whatsoever, but that's another story.

As for the run game, well, where is it? Is Portis disguised on the sideline, waiting to make his appearance at a later date? He must be, because he hasn't shown himself once this season.

The Redskins have been an underachieving bunch so far and they need to wake up before they find themselves permanently situated last in the NFC East with no conceivable way of climbing any higher.

Quick read: The Redskins are not who we thought they were.

It is still pretty early in the season, but we learned a few very important things this past weekend. Reports of the New England Patriots' demise were greatly exaggerated. The San Francisco 49ers are for real. The Cincinnati Bengals have matured a lot over the past year. Here are some more observations from around the league:

Detroit (1-2) def. Washington (1-2), 19-14: It finally happened. For the first time in 20 games, the Detroit Lions have won and may be the happiest 1-2 team in NFL history. They did it by playing hard and refusing to be beaten again. On the other side, I don't know if there has ever been another team to lose a game, come out with the same record as the winning team, and feel worse than the 'Skins do right now. With everything that has gone on this year, Jim Zorn could be in trouble.

Green Bay (2-1) def. St. Louis (0-3), 36-17: Not too much to say about this game. This was one of those where the Rams stayed relatively close throughout, but you never got a sense that the Packers felt at all threatened or that anyone thought the Rams would pull out a victory. Now the Pack have a huge game against the Brett Favre-led Minnesota Vikings.

Minnesota (3-0) def. San Francisco (2-1), 27-24: There are no moral victories in sports, but this is about as close as you can get to it. The Niners proved that they will be around in December. They would have won if not for an amazing pass by the aforementioned Favre and a miraculous catch by the recently cut Greg Lewis. This was a pretty entertaining game between two pretty good teams. One of the few negatives for San Fran was Frank Gore's ankle injury.

New England (2-1) def. Atlanta (2-1), 26-10: The Pats really took over in the second half and won this game behind a surprisingly strong running attack. Tom Brady still looked a bit off, but probably the best he's looked all season. These are the types of games that Atlanta still has not learned to win and they will not be a championship team until they do.

New York Jets (3-0) def. Tennessee (0-3), 24-17: Who would have thought that the Titans would have already equaled their 2008 loss total by Week Three? It is one thing to lose when you are playing bad, but it has to be excruciating when you know you're a good team and you're playing well enough to win. However, when the quarterback's last thirteen passes fall harmlessly to the turf, something's not working. The Jets continue to play great defense and decent offense as they keep on rolling.

Philadelphia (2-1) def. Kansas City (0-3), 34-14: Kansas City's offense just looks completely lost at times. Philly put up far too many points for Kansas City to keep up because the Chiefs don't have any DeSean Jacksons or LeSean McCoys. Kevin Kolb once again played pretty well in relief and now that Philly has their bye week coming up, they can rest up some nagging injuries and Donovan McNabb should be back under center in Week Five.

New York Giants (3-0) def. Tampa Bay (0-3), 24-0: This was like a college game where the obviously better team gets called off by the coaches, so as to not embarrass the inferior team. This was domination in every sense of the word. I've said for weeks now how bad Tampa's secondary is, but on Sunday the G-Men shredded them on the ground going for over 200 yards. Nothing much to see here.

Baltimore (3-0) def. Cleveland (0-3), 34-3: You can pretty much copy and paste everything I wrote from the Giants-Tampa game and just replace Giants with Ravens and Tampa Bay with Cleveland. The Browns are horrible and the Ravens are really, really good. Again, nothing to see here.

Jacksonville (1-2) def. Houston (1-2), 31-24: Houston has to be the most schizophrenic team in the entire NFL. I am fully aware that these two teams always play each other pretty close, but Houston was coming off of a big win and, with their next few games, had a good shot to go into the middle of the season with one or two losses. Jacksonville came in and capitalized on Houston's mistakes and picked up a much needed victory.

New Orleans (3-0) def. Buffalo (1-2), 27-7: This game was actually a lot closer than the score indicated as Buffalo's defense played very well for most of the game. Their teammates on offense didn't. Trent Edwards missed a couple of deep balls and they were just pretty stagnant all day. Drew Brees & co. picked it up towards the end of the game, although they didn't explode as they had in Weeks One and Two.

Chicago (2-1) def. Seattle (1-2), 25-19: First of all, whoever thought it was a good idea for Seattle to wear those HORRIBLE jerseys should be fired and banished from the league. Secondly, I thought that Jim Mora Jr.'s little rant on his kicker Olindo Mare was ridiculous. Nobody is perfect. Kickers are going to miss sometimes. Yes he should have made the kicks, but Mora Jr. just completely threw his kicker under the bus and it just really bothered me.

As for the actual game, Seneca Wallace played pretty well in relief but made the bad under pressure-pass that was intercepted deep in his own territory. Other than that Seattle played well enough to win, but Jay Cutler and Devin Hester stepped up in the end.

Cincinnati (2-1) def. Pittsburgh (1-2), 23-20: Right now, the Steelers have two big problems. They have moved the ball pretty well all year, but they are having problems putting the ball in the paint when they get into the redzone. They should have had a much larger halftime lead than they did. The other is Troy Polamalu's injury in late game situations. Pittsburgh is having trouble stopping teams late in the game.

As far as Cincy goes, they deserve a ton of credit. They couldn't do anything for the first 29 minutes of this game. They kept their composure against a team that has had their number for years and won the game. Huge win for the Bengals.

Denver (3-0) def. Oakland (1-2), 23-3: It's time to give Denver credit. Regardless of how good anyone thinks they are or who they've played, they are now 3-0, which is more than most teams can currently say. They just destroyed Oakland as the Raiders continued to show their ineptness.

San Diego (2-1) def. Miami (0-3), 23-13: This one was relatively close as the Chargers let the Fins hang around for a while, but that all came crashing down (even though Chad Henne played relatively well, save for the interception) when Chad Pennington went down for the year. The Chargers again just looked alright, but they now start to get ready for a big game next week against the Steelers.

Indianapolis (3-0) def. Arizona (1-2), 31-10: Indy continued to produce the huge plays on Sunday night in the desert. The Colts also looked pretty good on defense against a great offense that has looked suspect all year. Arizona has to become more consistent on both sides of the ball if they want to make it back to where they were last year, much less the playoffs.

Dallas (2-1) def. Carolina (0-3), 21-7: This was a pretty sloppy game that was decided by turnovers, although they weren't Jake Delhomme's fault. As Dallas moves on, they really need to clean things up if they are going to be serious contenders in the ridiculously tough NFC East. For Carolina, they just desperately need a win. They get a much needed bye next week.

Top 12 Teams (last week's rankings in parenthesis)

1. New York Giants (1): They keep moving along with a dominating win over a bad team.
2. Baltimore Ravens (2): Again, the exact same thoughts as with the Giants.
3. New York Jets (3): Picked up a pretty good win against a tough Tennessee team.
4. Indianapolis Colts (9): Big move for the Colts as they put on a pretty dominant performance themselves against a good team.
5. New Orleans Saints (6): Victory didn't come as easily for them as it has earlier on in the year, but these are the kind of victories that are the most valuable.
6. Minnesota Vikings (7): Great victory against a very game San Fran.
7. Philadelphia Eagles (10): Good bounce back game as they head into their bye to get healthy.
8. New England Patriots (8): Same as Philly, except they did it against a good team.
9. Pittsburgh Steelers (5): They are playing well enough to win, but their own mistakes combined with the huge bull's-eye on their back is costing them.
10. San Diego Chargers (12): For one reason or another, they keep playing down to their competition.
11. Green Bay Packers (NR): It seems this year, to me at least, like they are missing something. I just have no idea what it is.
12. Cincinnati Bengals (NR): If not for a fluke play, they would be 3-0 right now. Think about that for a second.

That's all for right now. As always, picks will be in on Friday.

This weekend I traded in my Green and Gold for the Blue and White of Penn State. Once a year, we will go to a Penn State "White Out" game and put together a real "Jersey" Tailgate with about 40 friends and family.

From Friday night to Sunday morning there is no Packers talk, no TV or radio reports, no internet news or blogs. Just tailgating, Penn State football, and then a great Sunday Brunch at the famous Nittany Lion Inn.

As we hit the road for home on Sunday, usually around 12:30, my thoughts start to wander back to the Green Bay Packers. I know I won't be watching this game on TV, but in my glove compartment is my temporary savior—my Sirius Radio. God bless the NFL Network on Sirius.

Thanks to Sirius, while trapped in my car for the four hour car ride home, I can utterly annoy and then bore the three women in the car with me. Yes, to these ladies, a Packers game on radio is the perfect cure for insomnia. They are all asleep 10 minutes into the game.

For me, the dulcit voices of Wayne Larrivee and Larry McCarren are the perfect antidote to falling asleep at the wheel.  Larrivee with his picture-painting play-by-play and McCarren with his commentary and analysis, keep me wide awake and hands firmly gripping the wheel.

I've always had a love affair with radio, from a very early age. I remember listening to NY Knicks and NY Rangers games on my little transistor radio hidden underneath my pillow when I was supposed to be asleep. In my mind's ear I can still hear a very young Marv Albert calling those games. Frazier to Monroe, he spins, he shoots, Yessssss!

But getting back to the Packers, I listened to the entire Packers-Rams game while making that rainy ride home on Sunday afternoon. It was up to Larrivee and McCarren to be my eyes and tell me what I was "seeing."

After enjoying the win, I decided to try a little experiment: I would keep my impressions pure and not look for any more information on the game. I didn't watch Sportscenter, didn't look for Packers highlights on the internet, didn't hit packers.com for game stats and interviews, didn't read any Packers blogs. My impressions would not be influenced by anything other than the radio call of the game.

I do plan on getting a copy of the game and doing some "film study" (time permitting), but for now I'm going to give you my thoughts on the game, thanks to the Packers' Radio announcers:

• Stephen Jackson is a horse and we did very well containing him as much as we did. After Jackson had carried a few times, McCarren lamented (I am paraphrasing), "While unfortunate he's on the other team, it's nice to be able to watch a really good runner once in a while." Ouch. Sorry Ryan...
• Whatever happened to JerMichael Finley owning the end zone? Every time the Packers were in the red zone, I kept waiting to hear Finley's name called there. For that matter, I'm waiting to hear Finley's name called anywhere. Did he have any catches in this game? Was he ever thrown to? My "radio" impression is no.
• It wouldn't be a Packers game without a Jarret Bush penalty. Yet the Packers decide to cut Aaron Rouse when they have injuries at safety. There was an article in the local Jersey paper here quoting Tom Coughlin saying how fortunate the Giants were to find a safety of Rouse's quality on the waiver wire. Ouch...
• The Packers actually ran a quarterback draw AND a reverse in the same game?! Are you kidding me? PLEASE let this be a pattern. I am a HUGE proponent of running a few trick plays EVERY game. Let's give the other teams as much as possible to think about and prepare for. Just like Capers' approach to defense.
  
• So DeShawn Wynn is now officially nothing more than a blocker. With Jackson out, Sutton gone, and Lumpkin rotting on the practice squad, we have a one trick pony at running back. Easy for other teams to plan for? I would say so.
  
• There were lots of Packers fans at the game. Listening on the radio, it was hard to tell from the crowd noise if something good had just happened for the Rams or for the Packers. Only until the announcers' call caught up, did I really know.
• We still can't run a decent screen.
• All of that "Chillar at safety" talk wasn't so crazy. I'm curious if on the two Rams TDs he was playing at LB or in the quasi-safety position?
• I understand they are still going slow with Nick Barnett, but couldn't Bishop have gotten some more reps spelling Hawk for a series or two as well? Would there really be a drop-off?
• The Packers finally committed to the run. Of course, they decide to be as predictable as possible and continually run on first down.  Again, I haven't seen the game stats, but it felt like 70-80 percent of first down plays were running plays.
• I am not, however, criticizing the commitment to the run. Committing to the run like this will certainly make your play-action passing game more successful. I am guessing that most of the successful long completions were off play-action. Of course, Packer fans have seen sudden commitments to the run before, and it's easy to keep running when you are winning fairly comfortably. Will Mike McCarthy have the fortitude to keep running if down by two TDs in the third quarter against Minnesota?

So those are my impressions of the game after emerging from the video-proof booth otherwise known as my Jeep Grand Cherokee. I hope to be able to get a copy of the game, find the time to break it down and see how I did with my "blind impressions." Of course, if I'm totally off-base, I'll just blame Larrivee and McCarren.

----------------

You can find more of Jersey Al Bracco’s articles on several sports websites: Jersey Al’s Blog, Packer Chatters , Packers Lounge, NFL Touchdown and of course, Bleacher Report.

You can also follow Jersey Al on twitter.

Cleveland Browns @ Baltimore Ravens

The Browns are the worst team in the NFL right now. But things can change instantly. I just do not seeing it happening against Baltimore.

Ravens 31   Browns  13






Washington Redskins @ Detroit Lions

Many seem to be thinking the Lions win finally this week. So do I.

Lions 21    Redskins 17






Tennessee Titans  @ New York Jets

I cannot see the Titans losing this one. It could kill their season if thy do.

Titans 24    Jets  20

New Orleans Saints  @ Buffalo Bills

I expect the Saints to throw, but Buffalo has a decent secondary.

Bills 35    Saints 31

New York Giants  @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Bucs will have some trouble even againbst an injured Giants defense, but I can see this going to the wire.

Giants 24   Buccaneers 17




Chicago Bears  @ Seattle Seahawks

Forte is the key here, because Seattle could not stop the run last week. I don't see Seattle winning with Wallace at quarterback this week.

Bears  24   Seahawks 19




Green Bay Packers  @ Saint Louis Rams

Green Bay has to be upset after being run over by the Bengals at home last week. Champions don't do those types of things.

Packers 31     Rams 10

Pittsburgh Steelers  @ Cincinnati Bengals

I like this game. Both teams are good on defense, but rely on the pass to move the ball. I am not convinced Palmer is his old self yet, so I'm going with Big Ben as the difference maker.

Steelers 24   Bengals 13

Denver Broncos  @ Oakland Raiders

Denver has lead a charmed life so far. The problem here is that the Raiders hate them. This should be a bruising affair where injuries could be plentiful on both sides of the ball.

Raiders 20   Broncos 14

Atlanta Falcons @ New Orleans Patriots

This will be a very good game. If Atlanta gets Michael Turner going, Atlanta will be in good shape to win. I am sure the Pats are aware of that.

Patriots 38   Falcons 34

Miami Dolphins  @ San Diego Chargers

The Chargers did well against the Ravens with so many starters injured last week. They will be in better shape this week.

Chargers 31   Dolphins 17

San Francisco 49ers  @ Minnesota Vikings

I think the Niners will keep this close, but the Vikes defense will make the key play to win.

Vikings 23   49ers  17

Indianapolis Colts  @ Arizona Cardinals

Game Of The Week

Two great quarterbacks with good offenses and decent defenses duel. I just think Kurt Warner has more weapons/ options.

Cardinals 38   Colts 34

Jacksonville Jaguars  @ Houston Texans

The Jags don't get blown out. Del Rio is keeping them competitive while rebuilding. Houston, on the other hand, is ready to win now.

Texans 27   Jaguars 14

Carolina Panthers  @ Dallas Cowboys

I just have this feeling the Panthers are going to run all over that suspect Dallas run defense.

Panthers  24   Cowboys 21




Kansas City Chiefs  @ Philadelphia Eagles

SPECIAL MENTION TO WATCH HALFTIME!

Eagles 38   Chiefs 24

I think it will be close, but I don't care about that game this week. I am interested in what is happening at halftime of that game! Why? Because AL WISTERT is finally going into the Eagles Ring Of Honor.

Last week's record: 9-7

Overall record: 22-10

Lock of the Week: 1 for 2

Washington (1-1) @ Detroit (0-2): After last Sunday, I was very confident in picking Detroit to finally get a win, but I'm not feeling as confident anymore as more and more people seem to be picking the Lions here. That's never a good thing. However, Washington just has not looked good this season. They looked uninspired against a very bad St. Louis team and have looked average on offense all year. I'm still going with Detroit because they are at home and I think the Skins will play like they did last week.

Detroit wins, 24-17

Green Bay (1-1) @ St. Louis (0-2): The Rams are a bad football team. For them to win this game, they are going to have to force a lot of turnovers. That may not be as far out there as you may think because it starts with pressure from the front seven and Green Bay has given up entirely too many sacks thus far. Green Bay will halt that, at least for this week. Look for Greg Jennings to have a bounce back game.

Green Bay wins, 27-7 (Lock of the Week)

San Francisco (2-0) @ Minnesota (2-0): This game will go a long way in telling us if the 49ers are for real or not. Personally, I think they are, but they won't win this game. The Vikings are playing very well right now and although I think it will be a very tight contest throughout, Minnesota simply has more weapons than the Niners.

Minnesota wins, 26-20

Atlanta (2-0) @ New England (1-1): The Pats are coming off of a game where they did not look like the Patriots. Tom Brady was constantly facing pressure throughout the second half. I think they rectify that this week. I think that they were a little bit shocked by how the Jets played them, but there will be no such surprise against the Falcons. Atlanta is one of the best teams in the league and the Pats know that. This will be a back and forth game but New England will force Matt Ryan into one late mistake to win the game.

New England wins, 28-27

Tennessee (0-2) @ New York Jets (2-0): The Titans are the only team at 0-2 that can afford to lose their third game, but they still really need a win here. The Jets still haven't given up a touchdown yet and they've been all over quarterbacks, but a lightening-fast running back is a good way to combat that. Look for Chris Johnson to have a big game.

On the other side of the ball, I also expect Mark Sanchez to have another good game. Tennessee's secondary has given up far too many yards. In the end, Tennessee's offense will make one more play than the Jets, just due to the fact that they need it much more than the Jets need it.

Tennessee wins, 18-14

Kansas City (0-2) @ Philadelphia (1-1): This game will be much more about Philly's quarterbacks than how the game actually goes. KC's defense is not that good and Kevin Kolb now has a game under his belt (that he actually played well in). He should go over 300 yards again and this will be a blowout. As far as Michael Vick goes, I expect him to get in somewhere around ten plays and for him to accumulate about 50 total yards.

Philadelphia wins, 33-14

New York Giants (2-0) @ Tampa Bay (0-2): Tampa's secondary is horrible and New York's top two receivers have surpassed expectations so far. On a positive for Tampa, Byron Leftwich has been pretty consistent for them at the quarterback position, but again, it won't be enough. It will be a little bit closer than most think because the Giants are banged up on defense, but they have good depth.

New York Giants win, 30-17

Cleveland (0-2) @ Baltimore (2-0): Baltimore's defense has dropped off a bit since last season, but they won't have trouble with Cleveland. The Browns can't move the ball and they can't score. Baltimore, on the other hand, has been great on offense. They are moving the ball at will and that won't change in the slightest this week.

Baltimore wins, 24-10

Jacksonville (0-2) @ Houston (1-1): Which Houston do we see in this game? I think that the Texans will be closer to how they played in Week Two as opposed to how they played in Week One. Jacksonville can not afford to fall down early. They don't have a good enough offense to battle back from an early deficit. They have to keep it a low scoring game, but they won't.

Houston wins, 24-9

New Orleans (2-0) @ Buffalo (1-1): The Saints are playing on another level right now on offense. I mean St. Louis "Greatest Show on Turf" level. Obviously it is early in the year, but I think they can keep it up. Buffalo has the offense to stay with them for a few quarters, but they don't have the defense to consistently stop them.

New Orleans wins, 34-24

Chicago (1-1) @ Seattle (1-1): Chicago got a really big win last weekend at home. That combined with Matt Hasselbeck's injury went from them looking at a potentially 0-3 start to a 2-1 start being a real possibility. Seneca Wallace is a good backup, but I don't think he can withstand what Chicago will throw at him.

Chicago wins, 21-13

Pittsburgh (1-1) @ Cincinnati (1-1): Cincy has a ton of confidence coming into this game. They got a big win in Green Bay last week. They feel like they should be 2-0 coming into this game. Pittsburgh is coming off of a loss. The Bengals think they are much better than they were last year. Carson Palmer is healthy. Pittsburgh's secondary didn't look great last week without Troy Polamalu. However, the Steelers haven't lost in Cincy in eight years and the defense is still great. Willie Parker also usually plays well in Cincinnati.

Pittsburgh wins, 27-14

Denver (2-0) @ Oakland (1-1): Originally, I picked Oakland to win this game. Then I thought about how Denver's defense is actually pretty good so far and JaMarcus Russell is playing like the worst starting quarterback in the league. I don't mean to pile on, but Russell's numbers are just awful. It's also about time that I gave Denver credit for starting off 2-0 and the fact that they have a pretty good chance at being 3-0.

Denver wins, 21-9

Miami (0-2) @ San Diego (1-1): San Diego can afford to lose this game much more than Miami can. Miami's schedule is ridiculous and if they want to make the playoffs, this is a must win. San Diego is notorious for getting off to very slow starts under Norv Turner and they are in a division where they can afford to start off 1-2. Miami has to win this game.

Miami wins, 24-20

Indianapolis (2-0) @ Arizona (1-1): I think that most people would consider this an upset if Zona won, but I disagree. It's always tough for teams to make cross-country trips, especially coming off of a short week. Indy's defense was not good last week and Arizona can put up points in bunches. The Cardinals' defense will do just enough to slow Manning and company down.

Arizona wins, 33-28

Carolina (0-2) @ Dallas (1-1): I'm not a Dallas fan at all, but I think it's ridiculous how the media is jumping on Tony Romo. He had a bad game. It happens. Plus, they still only lost on a game-winning field goal. This game isn't a big game. Nor is it a playoff game. Nor is this game happening in December or January. Therefore, Romo and the Cowboys should be fine.

Dallas wins, 27-17

Another week in the books and another set of observations have been made, logged, and laid down in this blog.

The first week pointed out some potential duds in the making as this author took a swing at both Jay Cutler and Jake Delhomme. However, in week two, both found a bit of redemption as Cutler was on the winning end of a nail-biter and Delhomme, well, he didn't throw four interceptions this time.

Denver managed to beat the living crap out of Cleveland—proving that the Browns really need to start praying for another number one pick, and Eric Mangini is still the same overrated head coach he always was—just with a worse team.

However, the benefit of saying these are "snap judgments" and "quick reads" is that it makes it clear that either can be changed. Nothing is set in stone.

That said, a few quick reads and judgments for week numero dos:


Steve Slaton...Where the heck are you?

The Texans managed to waltz into Tennessee and pull their best version of "We ain't skeered" as they pounced and trounced all over the Titans for 34 points and a very impressive road victory.

Matt Schaub did his best Drew Brees impersonation as he made the Tennessee defensive backs look ridiculous to the tune of 357 yards and four touchdowns. It didn't hurt that he had a little help from his previously missing wide receiver, Andre Johnson, as the big man from the "U" hauled in 10 catches for 149 yards and two touchdowns.

Tennessee had no answer for Johnson, and Schaub used that fact to abuse Tennessee's tiny little secondary. All. Day. Long.

However, noticeably, missing from the fray was Steve Slaton. Come to think of it, Slaton has been MIA for two weeks in a row now.

The 5'9", 215 pound wunderkind who spun and juked his merry way through the competition for 1,282 yards last season managed only 34 yards on 17 carries Sunday.

Huh? This is Steve Slaton, right? The same Steve Slaton who is supposed to match or better last season's totals? Same guy?

Okay. Just checkin' because the Steve Slaton from both weeks one and two looks like he couldn't get to or through a hole if he had a post hole digger at his disposal.

Now, his fans will say that he got off to a slow start last season as well. That's true. He only had one 100-plus yard game in his first 10 starts. However, that one 100-plus yard game came against an Albert Haynesworth led Tennessee defense in week two (18 carries, 116 yards, and a touchdown).

That said, Haynesworth is gone and Tennessee's defensive line is not exactly better for his absence.

Snap Judgment: Slaton is headed for a second-year hangover.


The Patriots are starting to show some chinks in the armor

In week one, the Buffalo Bills very nearly marched right into Foxboro and laid the smack down on the Patriots to spoil the Tom Brady comeback train.

However, true to form, the Brady led Patriots rallied, remained poised, and escaped a loss courtesy of a poor decision by the Bills special teams.

This week, they faced a talented New York Jets team who has a head coach with a serious set of cajones and a penchant for saying precisely whatever is on his mind.

Brady, for his part said "talk is cheap" after hearing coach Rex Ryan's comments about the Jets looking to gain a little AFC respect.

For Brady's part, he looked pedestrian: overthrowing, under-throwing, or just not throwing to his receivers. The Jets defense harassed and harangued him into ineffectiveness and made Brady and his team look...well...beatable.

Now, to their credit, the Jets always play well against the Pats, and this could just be a case of a dog finally having his day. But Tom Brady clearly has yet to find his rhythm at quarterback and the Jets took advantage of that fact.

Snap Judgment: The Patriots reign as the untouchables of the AFC East is coming to an end.


The Lions could conceivably go 0-16 again this year

It has become alarmingly clear that even though the Lions have upgraded their management, coaches, player personnel, and defense, they are still not a very good football team.

Their defense has proved that it has the ability to play hard for two quarters of football. Problem is, they need to play all four to have a chance at winning.

In game one versus the Saints, Drew Brees erupted for six touchdowns in leading his Saints over the Lions. The first four of those scores came in the first two quarters. After half time, Detroit was able to minimize the damage a bit and hold Brees to just two touchdowns from (one in the third and fourth quarters respectively) the third quarter forward.

This past Sunday against the Vikes, the defense stood stout against Adrian Peterson, Brett Favre, and company for the first half—holding Minnesota to just seven points. However, after the half, they fell apart and allowed 20.

If the Lions don't learn to finish the drill and play hard for 60 minutes instead of 30, they will lose every game this season. Again.

Quick Read: The Lions are still a long way from being relevant in the "wins" column.


The Seahawks are in trouble

Say whatever you have to in order to get yourself through to the next game, but the Seahawks are looking like a war-torn group of elder statesman.

Matt Hasselbeck looked good in last week's return but, true to form, he is already saddled with an injury that is likely to last the whole season.

The Niners Patrick Willis was the man who put Matt out of the game on Sunday as the Seahawks suffered their first loss of the year at the hands of the Bay Area Bunch.

Even more embarrassing was the 207 yards that the Niners pasted on that lackluster defense that was able to shut down the Stephen Jackson led Rams the previous week.

What the heck happened? Was the win last week just a fluke?

Either way, this team sinks or swims on the success of it's quarterback and, from the looks of it, they won't be seeing much of him this season either.

Quick read: This season will bring more disappointment in Seattle.


Jacksonville looks bad. Just bad.

Maurice Jones-Drew: number one fantasy pick, break-out candidate, jack of all trades, etc., etc. Okay, for those of you who picked MJD over AP...you got punk'd.

Jacksonville looks inept on offense. I don't know if they know what  a touchdown is supposed to look like or not, but their offense is anemic and Garrard is not the man he needs to be in order to inspire anyone to play well. 

It's easy to say that Garrard could have been effective on Sunday if the line play had been better. Or, to point out the fact that he still managed to rack up 282 yards passing in spite of being on the ground or under pressure most of the day. 

But, here's the problem, most of those 282 yards came after the Cardinals put a ton of points on the board—it was too little, too late.

Add to that, where is that great Jacksonville defense? They just let ol' Kurt Warner stand back there and sip tea all day long while he connected with Steve Breaston and Anquan Boldin. Last time anyone checked, the Jags were supposed to be strong on defense if nowhere else.

Imagine what might have happened if coach Ken Whisenhunt hadn't pulled Warner in the third quarter...that's right...the third quarter.

Jacksonville needs to get it together fast if they expect to ever be taken seriously.

Snap Judgment: The Jags are fading from AFC relevance fast.

On to the next week.

To quote Vince Lombardi, "What the hell is going on out here?"

Carefully read between the lines of this quote by Aaron Rodgers after the Cincinnati game: "We need to have a good week of practice. Offensively, our two weeks of practice have been average. We haven't practiced the way we're capable of practicing. Young guys and old guys alike need to focus in a little more in practice and practice like a professional.

"I'm including myself in that sentence, but we're two weeks into the season now and it's time to grow up and be a pro and practice and play like it. Charles Woodson played his butt off today and kept us in the game, but we need to have eleven guys on defense and eleven guys on offense playing and wanting it as badly as Charles does. We have to follow his example."

Maybe Aaron Rodgers should be coaching this team. Or maybe Charles Woodson.  Because Mike McCarthy is not getting it done. That's really what Rodgers is saying. Sure, he's putting it on the players shoulders, but who is responsible for the team being focused in practice?

Mike McCarthy is a lousy motivator and does not hold his players accountable. He makes excuses, laments the things that were done wrong, and promises to fix it in practice, but it doesn't happen. We just see more of the same.

This isn't a new complaint from me. I'm not jumping down his throat after one bad loss. I've been saying this since his first season as Packers coach.

Play a horrible game, and you'll "work on it" in practice and be right back in there the next game—no worries about your job. Get called for four penalties and go to sleep that night knowing you'll just be asked to "clean things up."

I'm done with the penalties. I hold you, Mike McCarthy, solely responsible for that mess. The Packers are going to have a third straight penalty-ful (like plentiful) season? It's your fault, Mike. And just accepting blame in your press conferences isn't enough. Where is the discipline on this team?

And now we find out that the Packers' head coach can't even get the players to focus in practice? Players are not acting like professionals in practice? Where is the accountability? What kind of leadership abilities is McCarthy displaying for the players to not take practice seriously?

In fairness, let's give Coach McCarthy a chance to explain. Here is what he had to say about the practices after the Bengals debacle. "But you go through it every year at the beginning of the year. I don't know of how many teams that I've been a part of that just jumped right out of training camp and were having great weeks of practice.

"I thought we practiced better this week than we did last week. I thought the defense has put together two good weeks of practice, solid weeks of practice. The offense has got some work to do and I think it's carrying over to our performance. So, you have new faces, you have different things, guys doing different things during the work week.

"It's a normal progression and we will clean up the problems that we had today, we will clean them up tomorrow and I can promise you we will have a hell of a practice Wednesday."

So Coach McCarthy is saying that all his teams have had lousy practices early in the season and that's normal. Blame it on "different things, guys doing different things during the work week. It's a "normal progression." 

Really Coach McCarthy? It's normal for your QB to have to call out his teammates after game two for poor focus in practice? Normal?! Normal?! (Say that to the tune of "playoffs?!")

For a guy that was supposed to be a tough, hard-nosed Pittsburgh guy, when do you see him get in someone's face? The once a year he supposedly gets really angry is not enough for me. Sorry, but I like my coaches "old-school." When is Coach McCarthy going to do something more demonstrative than stand up at press conferences and promise to "get things cleaned up".

If you need a current frame of reference, check out the job Rex Ryan is doing with the NY Jets. He has completely changed the mindset of that team and those players. He is truly the Anti-Mangini (and Anti-McCarthy).

In a recent interview with Mike Vandermuse of the Green Bay Press Gazette, when asked about last season, McCarthy said, “Professionally it was the most frustrated I’ve ever been. Clearly the hardest year I’ve ever been through.”

Well Coach McCarthy, if you don't get this cleaned up fast, last year will start to look like a cakewalk.

----------------

You can find more of Jersey Al Bracco’s articles on several sports websites: Jersey Al’s Blog, Packer Chatters , Packers Lounge, NFL Touchdown and of course,  Bleacher Report.

You can also follow Jersey Al on twitter.

Spiars' Quick Picks resulted in a 14-2 record last week; the only thing that surprised me was the epic failure of the Houston Texans. Picking Miami over Atlanta was one of my predicted upsets; unfortunately, upset picks don't always pay off.

Featured Games

Green Bay Packers (1-0) vs. Cincinnati Bengals (0-1)—Green Bay Packers

Although Green Bay's offense was nullified against Chicago, their defense truly shined with four interceptions on a supposed "great passing attack."

Green Bay's defense will surely shut down Cincinnati's offense, considering the Bengals struggled to put up points against Denver's relatively weak defense. Also expect Aaron Rodgers and Ryan Grant to put up some numbers against Cincinnati.

Denver Broncos (1-0) vs. Cleveland Browns (0-1)—Cleveland Browns

All of the predicted woes of the Denver Broncos showed against Cincinnati. The offense struggled behind Kyle Orton. The defense appeared solid, but against Cincinnati, that is no outstanding feat.

Cleveland did well against a stout Minnesota defense; expect Brady Quinn to find his grove against Denver. Also consider that Denver struggled against Cincinnati's defense; Cleveland is notch above.

New York Giants (1-0) at Dallas Cowboys (1-0)—New York Giants

Both teams looked impressive in their last game. New York's defense continue to look great, stymieing Washington through out the game. Tony Romo deflated the Buccaneer's come back chances early in the fourth quarter.

Although Romo seems poised to have a true break out season, New York's defense will continue to shine behind the constant pressure of Justin Tuck and his fellow defensive linemen.

Other Games

Houston Texans (0-1) at Tennessee Titans (0-1)—Tennessee Titans

New Orleans Saints (1-0) at Philadelphia Eagles (1-0)—Philadelphia Eagles

Arizona Cardinals (0-1) at Jacksonville Jaguars (0-1)—Arizona Cardinals

Oakland Raiders (0-1) at Kansas City Chiefs (0-1)—Kansas City Chiefs

Minnesota Vikings (1-0) at Detroit Lions (0-1)—Minnesota Vikings

St. Louis Rams (0-1) at Washington Redskins (0-1)—Washington Redskins

New England Patriots (1-0) at New York Jets (1-0)—New England Patriots

Carolina Panthers (0-1) at Atlanta Falcons (1-0)—Atlanta Falcons

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-1) at Buffalo Bills (0-1)—Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Seattle Seahawks (1-0) at San Francisco 49ers (1-0)—Seattle Seahawks

Baltimore Ravens (1-0) at San Diego Chargers (1-0)—Baltimore Ravens

Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0) at Chicago Bears (0-1)—Pittsburgh Steelers

Indianopolis Colts (1-0) at Miami Dolphins (0-1)- Indianopolis Colts

Once again, cheers to another great week in NFL action!