Around the League in 36 Quarters
Is it Monday yet? Nope, we still have a few more days until Jetipus Rex (any Greek drama fans out there?) returns to his former home and, hopefully, destroys his former family– but preferably not in as disturbing a manner as Sophocles’ Oedipus messed up his clan.
So until Monday, it’s time to take a look around the league and see what we and Gang Green can learn from other matchups this week.
Bengals vs Patriots
After a season riddled with injury and controversy last year, the Bengals’ offensive weapons were in top form in their preseason opener. Carson Palmer looked like his former, healthier self with over 100 yards passing in one quarter, Ocho Cinco didn’t look so disgruntled gaining 73 yards in two plays, and Chris Henry is obviously happy to be back on the field with a touchdown and C-note’s worth of yards. But it was against a Saints defense that has been the Achilles Heel of its team in the past.
Therefore, it appears the biggest item of interest in this game is how the Patriots defense will perform against a re-energized Bengals offense. We know that New England’s offense is going to be formidable, and believe that it’s defense is getting older and that the secondary may be the weak spot. Hopefully, Palmer and his receivers will strengthen such beliefs.
Eagles vs Colts
With Peyton Manning taking only six snaps against the Vikings last week, and Indianapolis benching Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark to play it safe, we didn’t get a great look at the Colts’ offense. But seeing that Manning was sacked three times hopefully has Jenkins and company licking their chops. Hopefully Caldwell will stop acting like such a wussy and will throw his starters in the fray against the Eagles for us to get a better look.
Meanwhile, Indy’s defense was not spectacular but its punter was, averaging over 49 yards per kick. That’s a bit of a concern, IMHO. When we play Indy late in the year, field position and special teams could definitely be the X factor. Luckily, we’ve got Leon and Leonhard to return those potentially booming punts, but they may not be as effective as we hope if they have to catch the ball at or near the goal line every time. So let’s pay attention to how this rookie punter does this week.
Titans vs Cowboys
Kerry Collins led Tennessee to victory in the Hall of Fame Game against the Bills, and Vince Young led the same team to glory against the Bucs the next week. So which one will be facing the Jets in the third week of the season? Whoever it will be, he’ll be backed by a potential three-headed monster backfield with speedy Chris Johnson, Lendale “no longer fatty” White, and this rookie hotshot Javon Ringer. After seeing the Raiders run all over the Cowboys last week, will the Titans offense continue to shine? Keep an eye on it.
Meanwhile, the dominating performance the Titans D executed against the Bucs (with three sacks, an INT, and two forced fumbles) is looking like that undefeated squad from last year (until they played us of course). Dallas’ offense should be much better than the Bills and the Bucs (perhaps combined), so hopefully they will truly test Tennessee’s defense and give us a peek at its weakness(es).
Falcons vs Rams
In addition to learning a bit about our December 20th opponent, this game will also shed some light on our own team as well. After our starting defense showed some spurts of pure dominance against the Rams, how the Falcons defense matches up against St. Louis may show if it was a fluke or not.
But let’s keep confident in our first squad’s performance and focus on Atlanta. Michael Turner had a big day against the Lions last week, but honestly who wouldn’t? Matt Ryan looked pretty good as well and, now that he has Tony Gonzalez and a year under his belt, the Falcons offense may indeed be dangerous (but how will they handle the cold December weather?).
The Falcons defense can be an enigma. Last year they dominated at times, but they started the preseason off with a loss to the worst team in the NFL, which didn’t have Calvin Johnson and five other starters playing nor two of the team’s top three draft picks. If the Rams offense can bowl over Atlanta, that’s a good sign for us.
Panthers vs Dolphins
It’s not fair that all of Miami’s preseason games are against opponents they’ll face in the regular season. Sweet merciful crap I hate them so much.
That being said, we learned in their matchup against the Jaguars last week that their defense has an intimidating pass rush, and we may learn that again this week against a Carolina team that gave up four sacks and multiple fumbles against the Giants. But then again, maybe it’s just that the Jaguars and Panthers are just that bad at the offensive line? We’ll see, and it may be good news come two weekends in November.
Bucs vs Jaguars
Neither of these teams delivered a stellar performance last week, and here they are facing off this week, months before we face both of them in the regular season. IMHO both squads have a hit-or-miss defense, so this week requires a focus on the offense.
Tory Holt had only one reception and Maurice Jones Drew had only one carry in the Jags’ preseason opener, so let’s hope we get a better look at these offensive weapons before we face them in mid-November. As for the Bucs, many would have a difficult outing against the Titans defense. So this week we’ll see if they have any spark in their attack
Saints vs Texans
The Saints defense looked better than usual when it took the field against the Bengals last week, and they face another offensive-heavy team this week in the Texans. We already know that New Orleans has a dangerous offensive attack, so keep your eyes on Vilma and company as they undergo another important test.
As for the Texans, seeing Schaub complete 100% of his passes against and driving a 94-yard touchdown-scoring drive against a not-so-bad Chiefs defense is a little scary. Their running game performed decently, and their defense forced three turnovers against a mediocre Chiefs offense in the rain. Up against a more talented offense this week, we’ll see how formidable, or not, the Texans defense will be. If they’re not, that’s good news for us in week one when our suspension-plagued defense will need a big game from our offense.
Bills vs Packers
The Bills eked by the Bears with a win last week thanks to five Chicago turnovers. But then again, Trent Edwards going 10/10 in pass attempts probably helped a bit. It was a much better performance than their loss to the Titans a week earlier, and it was without that guy who has a show on VH1 (or as Parcells used to call him, “the player”). So it appears the passing game in Buffalo is steadily improving, but the running game, however, not so much.
Last year, Green Bay’s run defense was borderline horrendous. So this week, let’s see if the Bills rushing yards increase. If they don’t, Rhodes, Revis and the secondary will need to bring their best game to assure victories against the Bills.
Raiders vs 49ers
Oakland had a big game against the Cowboys on both sides of the line of scrimmage, but the Raiders’ biggest moments were against the Cowboys’ second-string. Still, the Raiders offense looked like it took a 180º turn from last year’s not-so-great performances. Improvement is improvement and if Jamarcus Rusell continues to improve as the offense continues to build steam into the regular season, behind the wheels of Darren McFadden, they’ll be a stingy team to beat. Let’s hope Mike Singletary can pump up his defense to make things a bit more difficult for Oakland this week.
Tony Ho.. er I mean Romo scored pretty quickly and easily on the Raiders starting defense before calling it a night. So against a much less threatening San Francisco offense this week, we’ll see if the Raiders’ defense can be considered intimidating.
What are your thoughts dear readers? Are there other angles to these games that should gain our attention?
4 Responses to Around the League in 36 Quarters
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trevor says:
here’s my deal lately,
rest our o-line!!!! give them only a couple of series and rest woody, mangold and faneca alot
give clemens and sanchez 2 series each and give the rest of the game to ainge (he isnt doin bad)
give jerricho only a few series and really evaluate and give time to stuckey clowney and the other guys who need to solve the no. 2 spot
maintain time with keller but do not let him get hurt!
run the ball with whoever just no more than 8 rushes or so for jones or washington
try everyone at the dline we need guys to prove themselves and b able to start week 1… keep jenkins fresh
get the linebackers time, rotate em around
were set on our corners just give them some rest and whatnot but look into whose gonna make it as a safety
find a punter!!
who agrees with me with this question:
if gholston sucks this year, is it a good idea for rex ryan to tell him to put on 20-25 pounds, stay mean, and be ready to move to the d line as an end?
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NYJBeast89 says:
trevor- I disagree about the playing time. Sanchez and Clemens need to see a decent amount of time in order to access who will be behind center in Houston opening week. I think Sanchez and Clemens both need 3 or so series or roughly 1 quarter then have Ainge play the second half.
The coaching staff needs a long hard look at these 2 players against real defense. 1 or 2 series will not cut it, the decision is only a week or so away!
Clowney needs to be showcased against a premier defense, if he catches 4 or 5 passes for 120 yards against the Ravens then he is the number 2 receiver as far as I’m concerned.
I agree limit TJ and Leon, let Greene/Woodhead get the majority of touches. However it may not be possible to rest the O-Line against the Ravens, because Sanchez might be rocked if a few starters aren’t out there. I think the starters need to play until Sanchez comes out or the Ravens starters sit whichever comes first.
In other news, I am so psyched for this game!
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Daniel says:
trevor,
if Gholston sucks again this year he might as well follow Kareem Brown to TE.
“Jetipus Rex (any Greek drama fans out there?)”
Haha. Took a course a few semesters back in Greco-Roman mythology. Yeah it sucks that we have to wait until Monday to see our boys again. Heres to a job-sealing start from the Franchez.