Matt’s Week Three NFL Power Rankings

Week three of the NFL season is in the books and the teams are still positioning themselves. The Bills, Lions and Packers all stayed unbeaten and the Dolphins, Colts and Chiefs still can’t buy a break. Let’s see how the teams stack up from 32 to 1.

32. Kansas City Chiefs (0-3) – There is still nothing really to say about the Chiefs. They gave a valiant effort against an uninspired Chargers team. Next up is Minnesota, will anyone watch?

31. Minnesota Vikings (0-3) – If only NFL games were 30 minutes long, then the Vikings would be 3-0, but you have to play the entire 60 minutes and that is why the Vikings are 0-3. The offense doesn’t give the ball to their playmakers (Adrian Peterson and Percy Harvin) enough in the second half and there defense becomes non-existent.

30. St. Louis (0-3) – No heart. That is what I saw against the Ravens. That was embarrassing.

29. Miami Dolphins (0-3) – Had the lead until the final minute and let it slip away, just like their season. Tony Sporano better update his resume because his time in Miami is almost up.

28. Indianapolis Colts (0-3) – I was impressed with the Colts defense against the Steelers but their offense looks horrendous. They can’t play that way and beat good teams.

27. Seattle Seahawks (1-2) – Their defense played strong against the Cardinals but their offense is very poor. Will they be able to score enough points to win? We shall see.

26. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-2) – They had a chance to win a rain soaked game against the Panthers and couldn’t get it done. Expect more growing pains with rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert.

25. Cincinnati Bengals (1-2) – The offense has to play better if they are going to win games. They are young and will have to figure it out in a hurry.

24. Carolina Panthers (1-2) – The Panthers have impressed me early on this year. Their defense is hard hitting and their offense can move the ball and they have a leader at the quarterback position.

23. Arizona Cardinals (1-2) – Bad loss in Seattle to a division opponent. Kevin Kolb has to play better and not turn the ball over at the end of the game.

22. Cleveland Browns (2-1) – I like the way the Browns are playing. Colt McCoy leads the way and with him playing well this could be a good year for the Dog Pound.

21. Denver Broncos (1-2) – They played the Titans tough in Tennessee but came away empty handed. The road doesn’t get any easier with a trip to Lambeau and the defending champs. Could we get a #Tebow sighting?

20. San Francisco 49ers (2-1) – Their offense was shaky against the Bengals but they found a way to win and in the NFC West that is all you have to do to win that division.

19. Washington Redskins (2-1) – Rex Grossman has got to protect the football and the offense has got to learn to move the ball down the field better. Red Zone offense is a weakness for this team also. The defense will have to keep playing like they are to keep the Redskins in the NFC East race.

18. Atlanta Falcons (1-2) – The Falcons are a Jeckel and Hyde team. Can’t play on the road and looked good at home. They need to figure out how to get Julio Jones the ball more.

17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1) – They got a huge divisional win against the Falcons at home. Can they build on it and start rolling? We shall see.

16. Oakland Raiders (2-1) – That was a really good win against the Jets but let’s see the Raiders put it together. Beat the Pats on Sunday and I think you may have something brewing in Oakland.

15. Dallas Cowboys (2-1) – Sorry Dallas but I am not buying what you are selling. Too many mistakes by the offensive line and the receivers. They couldn’t get the ball in the end zone and had to rely on a rookie kicker for all of their points. If they continue to do that they will be disappointed.

14. Philadelphia Eagles (1-2) – Philly, you looked bad in the fourth quarter last week. Can Michael Vick stay healthy all year? That is the big question. So far through three games, he hasn’t been able to finish two of them.

13. Buffalo Bills (3-0) – Buffalo got a huge win against the Patriots but I am still not sold on them. In their last two games they have had to comeback from 18 or more points to win. They have to shore up their defense and then they will be a top ten team.

12. Chicago Bears (1-2) – The Bears had the toughest start to the season and came out of it 1-2. They need more balance on offense and the defense has to take the ball away more. Jay Cutler just doesn’t look comfortable back in the pocket; he may be seeing ghosts out there.

11. Tennessee Titans (2-1) – Good comeback win against the Broncos. Their defense played really well and Matthew Hasselbeck made just enough plays to win. Losing wide receiver Kenny Brit for the year with a torn ACL is a big loss though.

10. San Diego Chargers (2-1) – I was really not impressed by the way San Diego played against the Chiefs. They looked like they were just going through the motions out there. In the NFL, you cannot take any opponent lightly.

9. New York Giants (2-1) – Great win in Philly. Defense came to play and pressured Michael Vick and Mike Kafka all day. Eli Manning needs to play turnover free like he did and the Giants will be tough to beat.

8. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1) – Big Ben is turning the ball over too much, which will come back to haunt them when they start playing the really good teams in the AFC. The defense is starting to come together and getting pressure on the other team’s quarterbacks.

7. New York Jets (2-1) – The Jets jumped out to a early lead but gave it back in the second half. Where was the hard-nosed Jets defense? The Raiders ran all over them. Expect Rex Ryan to address that this week in practice and for them to clean it up.

6. Houston Texans (2-1) – Even with the loss on the road to the Saints, the Texans did a lot of things well. They had the lead in the fourth quarter and had their opportunities to win the game. Gotta learn to finish those games out and get wins.

5. Detroit Lions (3-0) – Great comeback win in a building the Lions haven’t won in since 1997. Calvin Johnson looks like no one could cover him and the offensive line has played well, minus the first half against the Vikings.

4. Baltimore Ravens (2-1) – They did what they had to do in St. Louis. Go and dominate. Big test against the Jets this Sunday.

3. New England Patriots (2-1) – Tom Brady gave the game away with his four interceptions, my bet is Brady doesn’t throw four more all year.

2. New Orleans Saints (2-1) – Great comeback win against the Texans. Drew Bress is playing lights out and the defense is starting to take the ball away. The Saints are firmly on track.

1. Green Bay Packers (3-0) – Good win in Chicago against a tough division opponent in the Bears. Gotta clean up the penalties and giving up big plays on defense. Jermichael Finley is unstoppable.
 
Matt
 
Editors note: See how teams are trending, through Matt's eyes, by comparing to his Week Two Power Rankings.

End of the Week NFL Picks Rewind – Week Three

Review My Picks Here

Record: 10-6

12.00 CBS Charlotte, North Carolina

Lower scoring game because they played in a monsoon but Newton was one play better than Gabbert.

Prediction: Panthers 27 Jaguars 17
Actual Score: Panthers 16 Jaguars 10

12:00 CBS New Orleans, Louisiana

Should have been a Texan win but the Saints stole it from them with takeaways in the fourth quarter and Drew Brees confidently on top of his game.

Prediction: Saints 34 Texans 31
Actual Score: Saints 40 Texans 33

12:00 CBS Orchid Park, New York

No one got this one right outside of the citizens of Buffalo, and I am sure there were a lot of Bills fans that picked the Patriots. With the win, Buffalo is proving to be a legit AFC team.

Prediction: Patriots 42 Bills 31
Actual Score: Bills 34 Patriots 31

12:00 CBS Cleveland, Ohio

Colt McCoy proved me right and led his team down the field and made the play in the final minute to snatch a victory from the Dolphins.

Prediction: Browns 21 Dolphins 17
Actual Score: Browns 17 Dolphins 16

12:00 CBS Nashville, Tennessee

Kyle Orton did not have a good game and the Titans made just enough plays to win. The win was costly with the loss of Kenny Britt for the season with a torn ACL.

Prediction: Titans 20 Broncos 14
Actual Score: Titans 17 Broncos 14

12:00 FOX Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Manning threw for 4 touchdowns and no interceptions and Michael Vick did not look like himself at all. Giants rolled in the fourth quarter and got a surprising win in Philly.

Prediction: Eagles 24 Giants 14
Actual Score: Giants 29 Eagles 16

12:00 FOX Minneapolis, Minnesota

Many people, myself included did not see this game being close, let alone go into overtime, but the Vikings did their best. The Lions came back and won a game they had no business winning. That is the sign of a good team.

Prediction: Lions 35 Vikings 20
Actual Score: Lions 26 Vikings 23 OT

12:00 FOX Cincinnati, Ohio

Again, lower scoring then I thought but I got the win. I was really impressed with the Bengals defense, regardless of the loss.

Prediction: 49ers 26 Bengals 14
Actual Score: 49ers 13 Bengals 8

3:05 CBS Oakland, California

Cross Country trip for the Jets and they looked off the whole game. They could not stop the run and that is the Raiders strong suite.

Prediction: Jets 23 Raiders 7
Actual Score: Raiders 34 Jets 24

3:05 CBS San Diego, California

San Diego took Kansas City lightly and almost got burned. I was impressed with the Chiefs fight on the road and in the division.

Prediction: Chargers 38 Chiefs 10
Actual Score: Chargers 20 Chiefs 17

3:05 CBS St. Louis, Missouri

The Ravens were dominant on both sides of the ball and the Rams looked lost and uninspired. Steve Spagnuolo is on the Hot Seat in St. Louis.

Prediction: Ravens 31 Rams 17
Actual Score: Ravens 37 Rams 7

3:15 FOX Chicago, Illinois

Good win for the Pack in Chicago but they have to clean up the penalties and defensive miscommunication.

Prediction: Packers 28 Bears 13
Actual Score: Packers 27 Bears 17

3:15 FOX Seattle, Washington

I was very disappointed in the Cardinals on Sunday. Seattle had no business being in the game with all the talent on offense with Arizona. To score only 10 points is unacceptable.

Prediction: Cardinals 35 Seahawks 21
Actual Score: Seahawks 13 Cardinals 10

3:15 FOX Tampa, Florida

The Falcons have the look of a team that will win at home but will lose on the road. The Bucs came to play and the Falcons weren’t ready and had to scramble late and couldn’t get it done.

Prediction: Falcons 34 Buccaneers 14
Actual Score: Buccaneers 16 Falcons 13

7:20 NBC Indianapolis, Indiana

The Colts did everything they could but that won’t be enough to beat a good team like the Steelers. Big Ben has to cut down on the turnovers if the Steelers want to remain competitive throughout the season.

Prediction: Steelers 20 Colts 10
Actual Score: Steelers 23 Colts 20

7:30 ESPN Arlington, Texas

Romo did play and the Redskins almost got the win. Romo played alright but made the big third down conversion late and set up the winning field goal.

Prediction: Redskins 17 Cowboys 14
Actual Score: Cowboys 18 Redskins 16

Matt

Brewers vs. Pirates 4-4 , 2 outs in the 6th Inninng

I started casually watching the Brewers earlier tonight.  I was lucky enough to see Prince hit a solo shot and Wolf get out of some sticky situations.  I saw Braun up in the 5^th, missed what happened but the next thing I see is Prince up to bat and Braun on first base.  Wind up, good pitch, *smack* and 2 run dinger was put on the board.  Yes!  I know that is the White Sox saying, but man just say it once.  It feels good.

Now I’m sitting here, hopefully caught up and won’t have to be caught up again.  Brewers up 4-3, Wolf has 2 men on base, the second of which on account of a walk.  2 on, nobody out, sacrifice bunt in order, and completed successfully.  One out, and runners on second and third.  We are now at the bottom of the order thankfully.  Six innings into this game, not even a full six, and Wolf has thrown 100 pitches.  Cedeno, who already knocked a double against Wolf in the 5^th, hit’s a line out to McGehee.  It really was a thoroughly strong hit, but luckily came right at our shaky third basemen. 

2 outs now.  Kameron Loe now warming up in the bull pen.  Wolf thrown three straight balls to Gomez.  Fourth pitch, fourth ball, and now the bases are loaded with two outs.  Alex Presley now up to bat.  Three straight balls and now I’m starting to really doubt Mr. Wolf.  Thankfully, he throws a strike.  There it goes though, high and inside pitch and we have a bases loaded walk.  Hey!  That’s not acceptable.

4-4 now, 2 outs in the 6^th with bases loaded.  Pitching change.

Mr. Loe, or Mr. Ground Out, gets what he gets most, a nice ground out to keep the potential energy that is bases loaded, just that.

Fats forward... 7th inning...

Brewers now up 6-4!

Kevin

The Good Ol’ Boys ( #gobs ) on Speeding

Singing at the top of my lungs “all these things about me, you never can tell!”  I don’t know the name of the song.  I met my wife out to dinner after work.  Since I came right from work we had to take our own respective cars home.  The drive home, I got to thinking: “they ought to just teach that you can go up to 10 miles over the speed limit.”  Why not?  You won’t get pulled over until you are going over 10 mph over the speed limit any way.  In the game of risk versus reward, there’s no risk.  Hey, there are instances where I am wrong, but that is the extreme exception and not the general rule.  And think you can fight that in court? the rare instance you are ticketed going less than 10 mph over?  You bet!

Then I thought, man alive, I don’t want people to know that I am a speeder.  I don’t want all the police to read this and then come after me.  Then the more I think of it, I don’t think any cops read this, and the ones that do, apathy and laziness would be just two of the many allies protecting me. Apathy and laziness of mankind; don't think I'm singling out quite possibly the most empathetic and hard working profession out there.

The more I think about it.  Speeding isn’t barred.  If it was, they wouldn’t make cars that fast.  They wouldn’t allow it.  When I say they, I mean the majority.  Yeah, I might get a ticket, but they aren’t going to take away my freedom.  I can go 10-15 over if I can tolerate the additional cost of insurance and the occasional ticket I receive.  

You can’t be stupid about it.  Police really just ticket stupidity.  One time I was going 17 mpg over leaving a concert in Milwaukee and I saw cherries behind me.  I pulled over to my left when I was 16 years old.  The shoulder is on the right, and the officer cemented that into my memory with a $300 citation.  Might as well have cited me for stupidity.  After all, that’s what the law is there for.  It’s not a magic number of miles per hour that makes you a criminal, it's lapse in judgement. 

If you do get a ticket, your best defense is that it was a straight road, there was no traffic, things that make it sounds like you were less of a danger to society.  Just say you were really close to home and you really had to go to the bathroom.  I never tried that; I am a little skeptical of that, but my wife swears by it (she’s been pulled over 7 times, never once getting a ticket).

That’s about where my thought process finished when I pulled in my garage.  Then I excitedly ran to the man cave and poured myself a whiskey and coke.

Let me part with this.  I did like that song.  I really liked it.  So much that I satisfied my curiosity.  And yours... 

Kevin

Upon Further Review: Packers vs. Bears

Hero of the Game: The hero of the game on Sunday was Jermichael Finley. He caught 7 passes for 85 yards and caught his first 3 touchdowns of the season. The Bears had no answers for Finley all day. The Bears played Cover 3 for the beginning of the game and finally switched to their traditional Cover 2 once Finley and Greg Jennings began to shred the defense. That is what this offense will do to defenses all over the NFL. “There’s really not too much you can do with the weapons we have and him playing like that, lights out,” Jennings said of Finley. “You want to take one thing away but you open up a can of other things.” The Packers saw the weakness of the Bears, two backup safeties in Craig Steltz and Brandon Meriweather, and exposed it. And they didn’t do it once; they did it all day long.

Goat of the Game: There is really one guy that deserves this spot and that is James Starks. He had 11 carries for 5 yards. 5 yards is not going to get it done. There were cut back lanes and times when Starks could have fallen forward for a yard instead of losing a yard and he missed them. Ryan Grant did a fantastic job of cutting back and running through contact and Starks simply did not. “Grant made excellent reads, cuts, against the playbook to make yards. Starks ran the play as drawn up and ran into the trash,” said longtime Packers contributor, Mike Clemens on a comment on one of my previous posts. Starks also had a big fumble in the fourth quarter that turned into a touchdown for the Bears on the next play. This season the Packers are going to ride the hot hand. It was Starks in the first two games and was Grant in this one. I would expect that to continue and we will see which runner has the hot hand next.

Play of the Game: Ok I know the play didn’t count but it was the play of the game. The Packers punted with just under a minute left to play and a 10 point lead. Tim Masthay’s punt sailed downfield and Devin Hester run up to the left side of the field and looked skyward for the ball. The Packers coverage team reacted to Hester and rallied around him. The ball was actually on the other sideline and caught by Johnny Knox and had open field to the End Zone. It turned into an 89 yard touchdown return and it looked like the Bears had cut the lead to 3 and would get a chance at an onside kick but that never happened. Chicago’s Corey Graham was called for a holding penalty that negated the play and gave the Bears the ball back deep in their own territory with under a minute to play. It was bizarre but scary. The play had been tried earlier in the game and Jarret Bush had downed the ball at the Bears two. The Packers special teams will have to look at this play as a great teaching tool and get their guys to check the ball as they cover the kick.

Quick Hits:

5 -- False starts, all by the offensive line. Gotta clean that up.

111.4 – Aaron Rodgers quarterback rating against the Bears on Sunday. This was the first time against the Bears in Chicago that Rodgers posted a 100 or better quarterback rating. Previous ratings were 87.6, 88.9, 92.5 and 55.4.

100 – Yards rushing by the Packers against the Bears. Three straight 100 yards or more rushing to start the year.

13 – The number of rushing yards for the Bears against the Packers. Jay Cutler’s 9 yard scamper in the final minute gave them 13 yards, their lowest total in 59 years.
 
Matt

Looking forward to the weekend?  See what the Packers should be worried about going up against @kyleortonary and the Broncos.

The Risk of Rest

Two more games. That is all we have left of the long baseball regular season. Two more games, and yet, still so much to play for.

I am talking about our beloved Milwaukee Brewers of course. True, they clinched their first division title in 29 years this past Friday night, however, with only two games remaining, they cling to a precarious one game lead over the fast charging Arizona Diamondbacks. Ron Roenicke has said he wants to give his everyday players as much time off as possible, yet still compete during the final series with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Why is holding off Arizona so important? A 55-24 record, that’s why. That is the Brew Crew’s home record this year, their best in franchise history. Holding on to the #2 seed in the National League would guarantee home field in the NLDS. Perhaps just as important, the #2 seed would ensure that the Brewers would not have to see a Philadelphia team that knocked them out of the playoffs in four games in 2008.  That same Philadelphia team took three of four from the Brewers at Miller Park just a couple of weeks ago.

So while Ryan Braun was given a “half day” last night, and other everyday players such as Weeks, Hart and Fielder may see some extra time off, (ANY time off for Prince is extra time. The man has played in every game for the last 56 years.) keeping that lead over Arizona is paramount.

A final issue the Brewers are facing is their rotation. Shaun Marcum has struggled most of the year at home (including last night), while Zack Grienke is 10-0 at home, with the Brewers not losing a single game he has started at Miller Park. Yo has been consistent home or away, but he and Grienke have similar pitching styles, so it would not be wise to have them pitch back to back games in the playoffs. Finding out where the Brewers are playing will allow Roenicke to adjust his rotation to how he sees fit.

When the dusts settles and the Brewers play their first playoff game this coming Saturday, one can only hope it is at home, and against an Atlanta Braves team that is doing just about everything it can to NOT reach the playoffs.
 
 

 
Jake

Broncos vs. Packers Early Week Report

The Packers come into this game at 3-0 and facing their first AFC opponent of the season. Last week against the Bears, the Packers ran a lot of their plays out of shotgun, and were effective. The Broncos are a middle of the road defense and I would expect the Packers to attack their secondary because of the injured Champ Bailey (hamstring) and the slow play of Andre Goodman. The Broncos also have been vulnerable with safeties Brian Dawkins and Rahim Moore. Expect for Jermicheal Finley to be a major focal point down the middle of the field for Aaron Rodgers. For the Packers defense, they will have to get pressure of Kyle Orton and stop the running of Willis McGahee. Pass rush will be key. The Packers will most likely be without starting right tackle Brian Bulaga (Bruised Knee) and running back Ryan Grant (Bruised Kidney) for the game. Also look for Derrick Sherrod to be active for the first game of his career in a backup role to Marshall Newhouse on right tackle. Newhouse did a great job against the Bears in both run blocking and pass protection. Also expected to be out will be Frank Zombo (Scapula) and Mike Neal (Knee).

The Broncos come into this game at 1-2, after losing a heartbreaker to the Tennessee Titans, 17-14. Head Coach John Fox came under fire for his fourth and one call late in the game against the Titans. This was a game the Broncos should have won but couldn’t deliver late. With the loss, Kyle Orton has now lost 17 of his last 25 starts for the Broncos. The fans want Tim #Tebow but I think he will stay on the sidelines for one more week. Orton is a good passer and the Broncos will look to get Charlie Peprah in one on one coverage against Daniel Graham and try to exploit him. Also look for the Broncos to incorporate Knowshon Moreno in the passing game and single him up on either AJ Hawk or Desmond Bishop, both of whom have had trouble in coverage. The Broncos will try to take advantage of Marshall Newhouse and throw multiple looks at him. Expect Elvis Dumervil to play and go against Newhouse as well as stud rookie Von Miller. As far as injuries for the Broncos, it looks pretty good. Champ Bailey was held out of the Titans game but is expected to play, the same goes for Dumervil and Moreno. We will get a better gauge later in the week when the injury report is released.

Matt