First off you had the horrible news of Bay Area native Tom Brady tearing up his Left Knee and being done for the season. Very unfortunate really that this incident occured but then again even with a coach with as much as a genious personnel as Bill belichick will find some way of motivating the Pats and getting them back to the Postseason. I don't think they have a shot at the Superbowl but all Cassell has to do now is keep it simple and the offense will be even more effective. Then again the telling stat. Cassell hasn't started a game since High School.
Though there were also injuries to Marques Colston,Shawn Merriman and Nate Burlson (Merriman and Burlson are now done for the year) the one I want to focus on with my Bay Area bias would be Alex Smith and how he's done for the season. If Smith is ever physically able to play again, then he will definately get another shot at making an NFL roster. Tim Couch got loads. So did Akili Smith and Leaf got more chances after the Bolts. He may never fully recover from this injury though, he still wasn't fully recovered when he was competing for the starting job in preseason. Shame how much of a bust Smith turned out to be.
Oh and between all this I forgot to mention more Bay Area bad news. The Niners and the Raiders lost. Niners Defense couldn't get off the field while the Raiders looked as bad as they did in 06
Now on to the picks
Week 2 Matchups
Buffalo(1-0) @ Jacksonville(0-1) Buffalo were excellent last Week with the Special Teams and Defense really impressing but I really think that the Jags will step it up at home this week and take this one in a tight game where both teams rely on their running backs.
Chicago (1-0) @ Carolina(1-0) The Panthers had a close and slightly fortunate win over the chargers who didn't bother showing up until the 4th quarter. The Bears DOMINATED the Colts with Forte looking like a star. I think this will be a low scoring afair though as Carolina will stack up to stop the run and force Kyle Orton to beat them through the air.If the Panthers use the energy of the crowd the Bears chances of coming from behind will be slim. Carolina wins a tight one
Tennessee @ Cincinnati Vince Young is out for at least 4 weeks (if they find him!) and this could be an extremely wayward pick but even with a team that rivalled the Rams as worst performance of Week 1 the young situation will be too much for the Titans to overcome.
New Orleans(1-0) @ Washington(0-1) It was a horrible performance by the Skins on week 1 with Cammpbell showing he's not fully ajduested to Jim Zorn's new offense. The Saints are misisng Marqes Colston which makes the job a little easier for Washington's D but unlike the Giants there are far too many explosive playmakers on the Saints to make any difference.
Green Bay(1-0) @ Detroit(0-1) It was quite humourful watching the Lions make Matt Ryan and Michael Turner look like an NFC contender. Now they face Rodgers and Green Bay coming off a big Monday Night win over Minnesota. Expect a blowout in Green Bay's favour
N.Y. Giants (1-0) @ St. Louis (0-1) The worst performance by far on week 1 and really it's hard to see any positives for St Louiswell there is one Linehan will probably get the boot soon. Could be his last game coaching and expect the woes to continue here
Indianapolis(0-1) @ Minnesota (0-1) After the Bears showed them up on the Sunday Night Football opener the Colts have showed the NFL there will be a power shift coming up. Matt Forte proved they still can't stop the run in the regular season so expect a big game by Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor. All the Vikes have to do is control the clock and they win this one.
Atlanta (1-0) @ Tampa Bay (0-1) A positive start for the Matt Ryan era against the Lions but Tampa are a superior team. Tampa also had a tough loss to New Orleans while the Falcons should have beaten Detroit more comfortably. Decent start for Mike Smith but the Tampa game proves a bridge too far
Miami (0-1) @ Arizona (1-0) Arizona's Offense came through last week giving the Niners only two poccessions in the second half (5 turnovers help)and with Seattle catching the injury bug (more on that later) this is a good chance as any for Arizona to prove they can finally end a Golden State like Playoff curse. Warner leads them to the promised land of 2-0.
New England (1-0) @ N.Y. Jets (1-0) If this was Favre V Brady this game would rightly received a lot of hype. As it is it's Favre V Cassell. Never mind the uneven QB matchup the Pats as we saw several times last year are the masters of winning games they had no right to win. Bellichick switches to a running Offense which sees New England through
Baltimore (1-0) @ Houston (0-1) Baltimore surprised a few people last week with Joe Flaco proving he has the chance to become a better version of Kyle Boller but they never play well on the road and against a team that struggled against the Steelers it remains the same. One thing that really hasn't changed is the Ravens Offense. They relied on a trick play and a broken play to win the game. Luck will run out here.
San Diego (0-1)@ Denver (1-0) The Chargers bounce back and show that the Broncos aren't as good as they looked against the Raiders. I'd be shocked if Royal makes the same kind of impact in this game or that the Broncos Defense performs to the same level it did against the Raiders expecially against L.T. Funny thing about last week is Norv Tunrer lost a game he had in his hands. He won't do the same here
Pittsburgh (1-0) @ Cleveland (0-1) The Steelers should be too good for the Browns. Last year they were quick out of the blocks and it looks to be repeated this year. Against a pass defense that allowed Romo to find his Receivers all day it will be the same against Roethlisburger and Ward. After a blowout loss against the Cowboys combined with Pittsburgh crusing past Houston the Steelers will win this one
Philadelphia (1-0) @ Dallas (1-0) Game of the Week and I'd go do far to perdict whoever wins this has the best shot of taking the NFC Est crown. For what it was worth both teams were great but for a while the Eagles let the Rams hang with them and I wouldn't expect any changes. The Cowboys are the better team and they will go 2-0
Bay Area Football
San Francisco (0-1) @ Seattle (0-1) You'd think the Niners would get something here. With Seattle down to 4 wideouts Holmgren will try and get the running game going early. So what Nowin has to do is stack the box and shut down the running game and put pressure on Matt. Not so easy when you have the 12th man and a pumped up Seattle Defense trying to erase memories of the Buffalo opener.
Oakland (0-1) @ Kansas (0-1) Kansas were a goaline stand from sending the New England game into OT last week a respectable achievement even without Brady in the mix. Fargas and Mcfadden tested Denver briefly on the Monday night debacle and they could do the same here but Kansas bounce back.
Last Weeks Picks: 7-9
Total: 7-9
Irish Warriors NFL youtube Clip of the Week Highlights
A couple Bo Jackson clips. With that combination of size, speed, and power, if not for that injury, he would have been considered one of the greatest running backs ever
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