Well we’re 3 weeks into this season and I have to say that the season is off to a crazy start, I mean who knew the defending champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers are 1-2 going into a huge matchup Sunday night against the San Diego Chargers, who have a record of 2-1. Sticking with the AFC side of things with a couple of surprise teams in the New York Jets who are 3-0 with a win over the New England Patriots going into a week 4 showdown with the New Orleans Saints. Another surprise team is the Cincinnati Bengals who go into week 4 have a record of 2-1 after upsetting the Pittsburgh Steelers this past Sunday who also have a victory at the Green Bay Packers. Also in the AFC we have arguably the best team in the AFC the Baltimore Ravens whose offense looks great under 2nd year quarterback Joe Flacco, who have the 3rd ranked offense and the 7th ranked defense have a record of 3-0 who’ll have there biggest test this week when they travel to the 2-1 New England Patriots, as Tom Brady try to get back his rhythm from missing last year with a knee injury. The we have the other undefeated team representing the AFC in the Denver Broncos, which comes as a surprise with all the off-season drama after hiring Josh McDaniel to become the coach and it was rumored that McDaniel tried to trade for Matt Cassel whom he helped coach in New England which angered franchise quarterback Jay Cutler, who get a real test after beating the Bengals, Browns and Raiders when they face the Cowboys Sunday. In the AFC there are 3 winless teams in the Kansas City Chiefs, Cleveland Browns and the Miami Dolphins and the Tennessee Titans, who were division winners last year and they have to deal with losing there quarterback Chad Pennington who hurt his shoulder and is out for the year. Also in the AFC one of the favorites are the undefeated Indianapolis Colts who have the 5th ranked offense and Peyton Manning who so far is in MVP form has passed for 983 yards, 7 touchdowns and a passer rating of 117.7. Then we have in the AFC the Buffalo Bills who are 1-2, who signed Terrell Owens this offseason was held without a reception for the first time in 185 games, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans are also at 1-2. Now onto the NFC where there are 3 undefeated teams one being the New York Giants who boast the 7th ranked offense and 2nd ranked defense going into there game in Kansas City. Next we have the Minnesota Vikings who is still undefeated after the miraculous pass by Brett Favre heading into a Monday night showdown against the team he called his for 17 years in the 2-1 Green Bay Packers, which should be an exciting game and sure to be a talked about game during the week. The we have the last undefeated team in the New Orleans Saints who possess the best offense in the league and the next to the last defense in the league are scoring an average of 40 points a game are headed into a showdown of undefeated teams with the New York Jets. The there are 6 teams in the NFC that have a record of 2-1, one being the San Francisco 49ers who lead the NFC West who hold victories over division rivals Seattle and Arizona, there only loss came Sunday in the last moment against the Vikings, but they may have problems because there leading rusher Frank Gore will miss 3 weeks because of a bad ankle. The Atlanta Falcons who’s coming off a loss to the New England Patriots will have a bye this week then travel to San Francisco on October 11th are led by Matt Ryan who boasts a QB rating of 100.4 and should continue to have a great year after the Falcons acquired future hall of famer tight end Tony Gonzalez from the Kansas City Chiefs. Now in the NFC North we have the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears with a record of 2-1, the Bears who started the year off with a loss to the Green Bay Packers when newly acquired pro bowl quarterback threw 4 interceptions have rebounded to have to good games against the Seahawks and the Steelers. Now in the NFC East the Dallas Cowboys and my favorite team the Philadelphia Eagles have a record of 2-1. The Cowboys who go into week 4 with the 4th ranked offense coming off a huge win on Monday night against the Carolina Panthers, then we have the Philadelphia Eagles, who I don’t know if I mentioned are my favorite team are coming off a win against the Chiefs led by Kevin Kolb, who I must admit is looking good for the future for the Eagles, who have alot of good quarterbacks on the roster including Donovan McNabb who is currently nursing a cracked rib since week 1 against the Panthers, they also have Micheal Vick and Jeff Garcia, the Eagles boast the 8th ranked offense and the 5th ranked defense. There are 4 teams that have a 1-2 record starting with the Washington Redskins who was the team who lost to the Detroit Lions, who happen to go winless last year are also 1-2 this year so far. Then in the NFC West we have 2 teams that are 1-2, one of the teams are the Seattle Seahawks who opened the season with a 28-0 victory over division rival St. Louis Rams then followed by losses to the 49ers and Bears, who they lost quarterback Matt Hasselback to broke ribs against the 49ers. The defending NFC champion Arizona Cardinals are also 1-2 when they opened the season with a lost to the 49ers followed by a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars and this week a lost to the Indiananpolis Colts as they go into a bye week before facing the Houston Texans as they try to get back on track and try to make a run like last year. The final 1-2 team in the NFC are the Detroit Lions, yes I said it right the Detroit Lions who won Sunday who actually look good who first 2 losses came against 2 undefeated teams in the Vikings and Saints, who seem to have a bright future with Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson along with Kevin Smith at running back. Well also there are 3 winless teams in the NFC one being the St. Louis Rams whose only bright spot is running back Stephen Jackson, they also have to deal with Marc Bulger who’s injured again looking like another long season and high draft pick for the Rams. The other 2 winless teams come from the NFC South as one of the teams are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as they travel to Washington and Philadelphia the next 2 weeks so they could be 0-5 after the next couple of weeks. Then we have the Carolina Panthers who last year was a favorite to go to the Super Bowl and was expected to be a good team this year are going into the bye week thinking how they can right the ship before Washington visit them on the 11th of October, I think personally they need a quarterback change because Delhomme hasn’t been the same this year after last years playoff game were he threw 5 interceptions. Well that’s it after 3 weeks of football which is sure to be an exciting season so until next time take care.
Excitement about Football Season
College Football
I must admit that out of all the sports I talk about or watch nothing excites me more than football, whether it’s college or the NFL, but if I had to pick one it’s probably the NFL. The start of camp and then the preseason gets me so excited it’s something I can’t describe or really put into words but I know alot of people feel the same about football season. We’ll start in college where Tim Tebow tries to lead the defending champion Florida Gators to another national championship this year and he’s also trying to become the second 2-time winner of the Heisman trophy but he’s has alot of competition not only for the Heisman but for the national championship. Teams like Texas, Oklahoma and USC are strong candidates to compete for a national championship, in Texas you have a great team led by a Heisman finalist from last year in quarterback Colt McCoy from the Big 12 conference, but also you have the returning Heisman winner from the conference in Sam Bradford from the Oklahoma Sooners, who lost to the Florida Gators in the national championship game. Then out west you have the USC Trojans who are a tough team every year even though they’ll have to replace several players who moved on to the NFL including quarterback Mark Sanchez but they also lost 3 of there top players on defense in Clay Matthews Jr, Brian Cushing and Rey Maualuga but once again coach Pete Carroll always have had great recruits and still expect them to be in the mix at the end of the year.
NFL
Once again it’s time for football season and this year the Pittsburgh Steelers will have to defend there championship which they won by beating the Arizona Cardinals, no this isn’t a typo I did say the Arizona Cardinals in a great game but we’ll start with the champions conference the AFC, the Pittsburgh Steelers will have there hands full because with the return of Tom Brady the New England Patriots are poised to take back the AFC after going undefeated in the regular season the year before last, there hopes were gone when during week 1 he went down to a season ending knee injury. Another team this year who’s hungry are the Baltimore Ravens whom the Steelers beat in the conference championship, alot of there success will be determined on the play of second year quarterback Joe Flacco because with the Ravens resigning all world linebacker Ray Lewis there defense will be fine like the previous 10 seasons. Another team that could be a contender is the Tennessee Titans but could be hurt on defense with Albert Haynesworth leaving the team to sign with the Washington Redskins for a 100 million dollars………………..once again this isn’t a typo he signed for a 100 million. Another playoff team from last year is the San Diego Chargers who will get a boost with the return of pro bowl Shawne Merriman who was out all last season with an injured knee but the teams success will depend on how effective the future hall of famer running back LaDainian Tomlinson who’s been battling injuries for the last few seasons. Other contenders from the AFC include the Indianapolis Colts who anytime they have Peyton Manning at the helm is a dangerous team but there are alot of questions this team must answer which include a change in the coaching staff and the loss of Marvin Harrison at wide receiver. The other playoff team from the previous year is the Miami Dolphins so the AFC is packed with about 8 teams who are competing for 6 playoff spots. Now onto the NFC, where the champions, Arizona Cardinals yes the Cardinals are hoping for a repeat of the teams most successful season in franchise history are still led by quarterback Kurt Warner and the all pro receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, who is still trying to get the team to give him a contract like the one they gave Fitzgerald. The runner up of the NFC were the Philadelphia Eagles, who not only are my favorites to reach the Super Bowl but they’re my favorite team added a couple of good players through the draft running LeSean McCoy and receiver Jeremy Maclin, the only questions the Eagles have are on defense with the tragic loss of defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, who took a leave and then died from cancer and we loss long time safety Brian Dawkins. Then we have the Carolina Panthers who return basically there entire roster and the only question they face is can Jake Delhomme eliminate all the mistake he’s been known to make because if he can with the running game and Steve Smith at receiver this is a serious contender also. Another team that could be a contender is the New York Giants but with Plaxico Burress not in the picture the offense could struggle even though they resigned running back Brandon Jacobs but we’ll have to wait and see. Another team on the rise is the Atlanta Falcons who added a future Hall of Famer tight end Tony Gonzalez to a great offense which include rookie of the year quarterback Matt Ryan, all pro running back Micheal Turner and pro bowler Roddy White, who is demanding a contract extension, this is the sleeper team from the NFC, but it all depends on if Ryan can continue to play at the level he played at last year. The other playoff team were the Minnesota Vikings who have issues at the quarterback position but as long as running back Adrian Peterson is healthy they always will be a dangerous team but the team need a quarterback desperately since they were unable to lure Brett Favre away from retirement. Other team in the NFC that are sleepers who didn’t make the playoffs last year are the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, New Orleans Saints and maybe the Chicago Bears.
