NFL Week 3 Preview and Picks
Houston at New Orleans - Sunday (1:00 p.m. est)
So far, there’s no problem in Houston. They’re on top of their division and the AFC. A loss to an NFC team wouldn’t be a crushing blow. But how big a win would be in the Superdome? The Saints continue to place themselves high in the “who’s the best in the NFC?” conversation. This one has the potential for using all the scoreboard lights.
How they match up:
Texans Defense vs. Saints Offense
One might be quick to notice that the Texans have been tops in passing yardage defense. Upon further review, they did that deed against the Manningless Colts and the Dolphins. Miami did throw the ball around against New England in their opener. The defense has been helped by their ball control offense. They’re averaging about 10 minutes more in possession than their opposition.
New Orleans has put up big numbers against two good looking defenses. The 30 last week against the Bears was as impressive if not more so than the 34 against the Super Bowl champs. The Saints have been capable of running the ball with a stable of backs and Drew Brees has been surgical in the passing game. This is a team that’s used to having the ball.
This matchup seems to compare the unstoppable offensive juggernaut with the immovable force. The object for this defense is not to stop the Saints, but to slow them down…considerably.
Saints Defense vs. Texans Offense
The Saints haven’t been run on much, but in most cases, that’s by design. Their pass defense is vulnerable and even though the Bears couldn’t take advantage, that was their game plan. If the Saints are to have a successful afternoon against the Houston offense, they’ll have to stop the run, since that’s the Texans’ favored method of advancing the ball.
Houston has run the ball well. Adrian Foster has been out of commission, yet, Ben Tate has rushed for over 200 yards in two games. It will be worth watching to see if Matt Schaub and the Texans are willing to go airborne more against what would seem like a porous pass defense. Of course, Jay Cutler struggled to beat this pass defense.
With a time consuming offense, it would be beneficial to the Texans to keep the ball away from Brees. Others have tried this and still been unable to keep pace.
Who to pick???
The edge for the Saints may be the dome. But this may not be the same Texans team we‘ve been used to. There are a few more facts about this matchup that we‘ve pulled the cover off of. Click here to purchase this winning NFL pick.
New England at Buffalo - Sunday (1:00 p.m. est)
The Patriot train appears to be rolling down the tracks. If there’s anyone out there that can keep pace with Tom Brady and company, speak now. The Bills? Really? Bills fans hope so. And they hope that finally, they can take one from the Pats.
How they match up:
Patriots Defense vs. Bills Offense
New England has given up a bunch of yardage and points over the first two weeks of the season. Still, they seem to come up with that big stop, the timely interception or fumble recovery to close out their opposition. Numbers haven’t been good. They did give up scores against San Diego, but also had big stops in the red zone. This is not a great Q B pressure type defense.
Who’s scored more than New England? Buffalo. Really. One would be tempted to dismiss the 41 against an ill-prepared Kansas City, but the 35 second half points and massive comeback against the Raiders cannot be ignored. No, neither of these teams can be placed in New England’s category, but Ryan Fitzpatrick and RB, Fred Jackson seem capable of scoring early and often.
The Bills have scored against both of their opponents. This Patriots’ defense isn’t as potent as the folks on the other side of the ball, but they are timely.
Bills Defense vs. Patriots Offense
As the Bills floundered over the past decade, their defense appeared to be a strong point. But, this group is mid pack at best. It they can hold the Patriots to the Bills average of 214 passing yards surrendered, they’ll have a chance to win this game. In what should be as electric of an atmosphere as can be generated in Buffalo, a few key defensive plays would get the crowd into the game.
They aren’t all hall-of-famers. They seem to be a collection of players no one else wanted. Yet, Tom Brady can pick your pocket, leave you change, and change your political affiliation before you know he’s been in your pants. It’s all precision in the Pats offense. They score on a high percentage of their possessions. And, they just don’t lose to the Bills.
You can’t stop the Patriots. As a defense, you hope he doesn’t gore you quickly. And the Bills offense needs to possess the ball and keep Brady on the sideline.
Who to pick???
New England has won 13 of these in a row. Doesn‘t every squirrel get an acorn if they‘re diligent? If you want to know if this is the time the Bills take it to the Patriots, click here and purchase this NFL pick for only $20.00.
Atlanta at Tampa Bay - Sunday (4:15 p.m. est)
The Falcons shook off a very disappointing first week’s game in Chicago and reached down to find the heart to comeback against the Eagles and even their record. Their opponents did almost exactly the same thing. They came alive in the 2nd half to do the necessary and even their record by beating the Vikings.
How they match up:
Falcons Defense vs. Buccaneers Offense
It’s no shame to surrender a sizable amount of points to the Eagles, which the Falcons did last week. And the 30 that the Bears got in week 1 were attributable to an opportunistic Bears defense. They were able to keep both teams to a reasonable third down conversion rate. The Eagles put all 31 on the board in the middle quarters. Before Michael Vick was out with an injury.
Hard to say if the Bucs offense did anything more than come alive enough to avoid an 0-2 start. The winning score against the Vikes came with 31 seconds left. LeGarrette Blount had a decent day rushing, but Tampa’s offense got just enough to win. It would be hard to say that there’s a part of this offense that is unstoppable.
One way for Tampa to have success against the Falcons is to keep the ball. They’ll have to run it better. Atlanta’s defense isn’t facing a potent offense this week, which should help them.
Buccaneers Defense vs. Falcons Offense
Their opponents have been able to keep the ball against the Tampa defense. Consider the opposition. Detroit has come out of the gate storming and Minnesota has a great ball control guy in Adrian Peterson. In order to control the Falcons offense, they’ve got to make sure Matty-ice doesn’t just push his offense down the field. Turnovers are in order.
Without the normal training regimen, some of the more successful teams of a year ago haven’t come out as strong as they might have. The Falcons are in this category. The Falcons will hit you with the big play from time to time and last week, Michael Turner provided two big ones for Atlanta. That comeback may be enough to turn the Falcons in the right direction and keep them there.
So what was it last week? Did the Bucs D come alive to save the day? Did the Atlanta offense do that? The TB defense will have their hands full against Ryan. As long as he’s back up to speed.
Who to pick???
No question this is an even game. It means taking that huge step to stay with New Orleans for the winner. Not all the information on this game is obvious. For that missing piece of the puzzle, click here and purchase the winning side for only $20.00.
Green Bay at Chicago - Sunday (4:15 p.m. est)
The return to the scene of the crime. Somewhat dramatic, but the last time this matchup was visited was in the NFC title game. Questions of Jay Cutler’s heart have been answered but not fully put in the closet. And the Packers were and are looking like a very nice champion.
How they match up:
Packers Defense vs. Bears Offense
There have been times that the Packers’ defense imposed it’s will on the rest of the league. That would not be this season, yet. They are dead last against the pass. Of course, Drew Brees and Cam Newton have proven to be skilled at getting the ball up the field. On the other hand, the defense on this team only needs to slow down their opposition.
The Bears weren’t very offensive against New Orleans. And the Saints don’t have one of the league’s best defenses. Chicago was just 2 of 12 on third downs. They weren’t much better against Atlanta, but the defense helped take the ball away and set the offense up in good field position. No one has been able to get many yards on the ground, and Cutler has struggled.
With this game in Chicago, Cutler must have a strong game to keep the boo birds from making the whole thing tougher. Until they’ve been unseated, the Pack is fully back and the Bears are looking for a way to stay in the hunt.
Bears Defense vs. Packers Offense
While Atlanta has been running a pretty potent offense, the Bears defense got the best of them on opening day. The Saints controlled the ball in their win over Chicago last week. And this defense is going to have to find a way to stop the team that outdistanced New Orleans in their opener. It’s tough to pick Aaron Rogers, but somehow, the Bears will need to do some of that.
Green Bay seems to have figured out how to attack their opposition. The plan is different from week to week, but they’ve been able to score points efficiently. Carolina would have to be happy that they were able to keep the Pack out of the end zone on three possessions that ended in field goals in the 3rd quarter, but the Packers had widened their lead to ten points by the time that quarter was over.
Rogers is another quarterback that will make turnovers rare for a defense. At the very least, Chicago must find a way to limit Green Bay, to find a way to get in front of the speeding locomotive.
Who to pick???
Pressure has to be on for the Bears. This is the team that took their chance to go to the Super Bowl from them last year. The Packers love where they are. If you want to know whether or not Jay Cutler can hold off the boo birds and win for the home folk, click here and find out for only $20.00.
Pittsburgh at Indianapolis - Sunday (8:25 p.m. est)
What a great matchup this is. Peyton Manning…Ben Roethlisberger…oops. Not this time. The Sunday Night Football folks at NBC had a good plan, but it just didn’t work out according to that plan.
How they match up:
Steelers Defense vs. Colts Offense
It has not been the traditional dominating start for the Pittsburgh defense. They were gashed for huge rushing yardage in week 1 in Baltimore. Seattle does not possess what you’d call a dangerous offense. So, even though the Steelers shut Seattle out in Pittsburgh, there are still questions. But, this opponent has Kerry Collins, not Peyton Manning. Hmm…
It’s not hard to see how the Colts’ offense struggled in week 1 against a strong Houston defense, in their house, with a quarterback that just came into the fold. The Colts had to be different without their proven leader. And while they were able to get out to a modest lead against the Browns, losing control of the game in the 3rd quarter can’t be a good sign.
For Pittsburgh, they have to watch out for the overconfidence bug, since they’ve not really shone at this point in the young season and since the Colt offense is likely to be better each week Collins is able to prepare.
Colts Defense vs. Steelers Offense
The Colts have done a good job against the run, which is becoming less and less significant quickly in the early going of the 2011 season. Teams are throwing the ball more and defenses aren’t really focusing on the run. This opponent hasn’t run particularly well. The Colts will have to find a way to confuse Big Ben. If he gets the time to choose a receiver, the Steelers offense may have a big day.
So far, the Steeler offense has sputtered. They did enough to get the win last week, but in week 1 they were clueless. Ben still hasn’t mastered hooking up with that speedy receiving corps. And the running game has just been serviceable. The Steeler way has been to do enough to stay ahead of the opposition. Like Collins on offense for the Colts, the Steeler offense is likely to improve over the first two weeks of the season.
Are the Colts about to drop off the map without Peyton Manning at the helm? The defense will be key to answering that question. The Steelers just want to have the offense look like they practice together.
Who to pick???
The Colts have lost two straight and are up against the Super Bowl runners up. The Steelers seem to be ready now. But, there are some little known facts that will reveal the sure winner in Sunday night’s game. To find out who it’ll be, click here and find out who is going to cover the point spread.
Washington at Dallas - Monday (8:35 p.m. est)
No one has gone from as low as Romo to as high as Romo in just one week. And few have gone from as iffy as Washington, to as dependable as the Redskins in one season.
How they match up:
Redskins Defense vs. Cowboys Offense
If you haven’t been paying attention to the Washington Redskins over the past few years, who could doubt your wisdom. Now, under the tutelage of Mike Shanahan, this team can play defense. The numbers may not show it, but the ‘Skins held the Giants to a serviceable score and held Arizona so that they could come back to get themselves to 2-0.
Just when folks were ready to throw Tony Romo under the team bus for blowing a late lead against the Jets, he shows up with two broken ribs and finishes off a comeback on the road managing to keep his team in the hunt. If you don’t think what Romo did was all that, ask your wife to hit you in the chest with a sledge hammer, then go out and throw a spiral to your dog.
Gutty is a term that both of these units can claim title of. The ‘Skins have been showing signs of being a shut down defense, while the Cowboys, everyone’s pick last year, have gained some respect for their victory last week.
Cowboys Defense vs. Redskins Offense
The Cowboys are near the statistical top of the league’s rushing defense. They stopped Frank Gore for virtually no gain last week. Washington has been able to get nice ground yardage in their first two weeks, and when one would least expect it. But there is that great pass rush from Dallas. Rex Grossman has had a revival type first two weeks. Can he do it again in Dallas?
This has not been a top notch offense. But they’ve been able to control the line of scrimmage when it mattered and their second halves have been great. If the ‘Skins can keep Grossman clean, there is a good chance that Washington will be able to get some points on the board. Yes, that’s a big if.
This hasn’t been a meaningful rivalry game for some time. Not to say that the fans don’t still consider Washington-Dallas a big game, but this one may be bigger than we’ve seen lately. It may sound strange to say it, but Dallas needs this game to keep pace with the Redskins.
Who to pick???
If this wasn’t a rivalry game, it might be a time when you’d say that Dallas is in the right place at the right time. But the Redskins have been looking for signature wins lately. Who could argue that this would be one? If you want to know who has the edge in this game, we’ve got some facts you may not be aware of, just click here and let us show you the winner.
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