The Arizona Cardinals meets New York Jets Sunday night to open week 4 festivities of the 2008-09 NFL Season.
Cardinals blew a chance to go 3-0 for the first time since 1974, but they didn’t seem too fret about it. If they beat the Jets, they will be 3-1 for the first time since 1985, three years before they moved to Arizona. WR Larry Fitzgerald’s 62-yard touchdown catch was the longest scoring play of his career. Fitzgerald had 109 yards receiving, the 15th time in his career that he’s passed the 100-yard mark.
For the New York, one concern would be if Brett Favre will play on Sunday after rolling his ankle during the third quarter of the Jets’ 48-29 loss at San Diego on Monday. But coach Eric Mangini said that Favre is expected to play against Arizona. Favre has started NFL-record 256 straight regular-season games. Mangini said Favre received some treatment on the ankle when the team arrived home early Tuesday morning, and the quarterback was scheduled for more later in the evening. Favre was inconsistent against the Chargers, going 30-of-42 for 271 yards and three touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions, including one returned 52 yards for a score by defensive back Antonio Cromartie. He and some of his receivers appeared out of sync at times, something Favre has warned would take some time to perfect after playing in Green Bay’s offensive system for the past 16 seasons.
Pick the Cardinals to win by two touchdowns.
Tampa Bay faces another tough, NFC North opponent when the Bucs host the Green Bay Packers at Raymond James Stadium.
Bucs believe they can grab some momentum from their 27-24 overtime win over the Chicago Bears Sunday. The victory improved the Bucs to 2-1 and left them in a three-way logjam atop the NFC South with Carolina and Atlanta while New Orleans is 1-2. Griese, who threw three interceptions in the Bucs’ 27-24 overtime win over the Bears, attempted a club record 67-passes Sunday, completing 38 for 407 yards and two touchdowns in his second straight start.
For the Green Bay Packers, they look to bounce back after suffering a 27-16 defeat to the visiting Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. Green Bay’s season average against the run swelled to 151 yards per game. Head coach Mike McCarthy announced Monday that No. 3 halfback Kregg Lumpkin suffered a strained hamstring in the Packers’ 27-16 setback to Dallas on Sunday night at Lambeau Field.
Pick Tampa to win by 10.
Tennessee Titans look to make it four in a row with a victory over the Minnesota Vikings. The Titans/Oilers franchise has never been 4-0 in its 49-year history. The Titans are aiming to fill that power void as one of four unbeaten teams in the conference so far, say it is far too early to begin checking the standings or scoreboard watching.
Vikings Gus Frerotte got a positive feedback from coach Brad Childress after the veteran quarterback made his first start of the season. Frerotte, who replaced second-year starter Tarvaris Jackson after the Vikings fell to 0-2, completed 16 of 28 passes for 204 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the Vikings’ 20-10 victory over Carolina at the Metrodome.
Titans to route the Vikings early in the first half.
Two winless teams – Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns slug it out on Sunday and would like to earn their first taste of victory in 2008 NFL Season.
Coach Marvin Lewis pleased with the improvement in the pass offense, despite the six sacks. Carson Palmer was 27-for-39 passing for 286 yards and his first touchdown of the season. T.J. Houshmandzadeh caught the touchdown and 11 other passes for 146 yards.
“We still have to work it and make sure we’re being exact and give (Palmer) the opportunity to deliver the ball where he thinks it ought to be delivered and make sure we’re always in the right spots with everyone,” Lewis said.
The question still continues on quarterback Derek Anderson who had his third consecutive poor game in Cleveland’s 28-10 loss to Baltimore, throwing for 125 yards with three interceptions. Anderson completed 14-of-37 passes, and now has completed just 46 percent of his throws, with two touchdowns and four interceptions.
Coach Romeo Crennel said he would evaluate every position on the team in an effort to save the Browns’ season.
Jacksonville Jaguars showed everyone they can and avoided a 0-3 start. Can they make it two in a row against the Houston Texans Sunday? Another question for them is whether they can duplicate their 236-yard effort on other teams besides the Colts. Or even get 150 yards after they got a total of 131 while losing their first two games. The questions will be answered versus Texans, who will solely rely on Mario Williams plays in the backfield. Houston will need to keep up the defensive momentum to have a fighting chance against the Jags.
Atlanta Falcons will depend on the performance of quarterback Matt Ryan when they face the Carolina Panthers. Ryan stepped up in the pocket and launched a pass 57 yards in the air to a streaking Roddy White, who scored on a 70-yard touchdown. Ryan tossed a 62-yard touchdown pass to Michael Jenkins in the season opener against Detroit after setting up the play with Turner’s runs. Look for the Panthers to win this game against the rebuilding Falcons.
Denver Broncos tries to make it four in a row against the lowly Kansas City Chiefs. Coch Mike Shanahan is unlikely to change from the three-headed running back approach that he has used in the first three games. Selvin Young starts but rotates every five plays with Andre Hall. Michael Pittman has been effective near the goal line and in short-yardage situations. Denver has averaged 4.8 yards per carry so far this year. Kansas City Chiefs wants to end their woeful season with a win. They must regroup and make things happen if they want to snap their 12 game losing streak dating back to last season.
The Saints are having a tough season so far and they will be playing home against the San Francisco 49ers, which 49ers were equally bad on offense and defense. But with their 31-13 victory over Detroit Lions on Sunday at Candlestick Park, the 49ers find themselves around the top third of the league in both offense and defense. Good news for the Saints is that Saints cornerback Mike McKenzie played in his first regular-season game since Dec. 23, 2007 in Sunday’s matchup with the Denver Broncos.
San Diego Chargers have started to look better each week and this time they will face the struggling Oakland Raiders. Chargers finally played up to their lofty expectations by dismantling the Jets, 48-29. Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers added another solid performance to what has been a terrific start to the season. He was 19-for-25 passing for 250 yards and three touchdowns Monday and is the NFL’s leader in TD passes. Rivers has nine, while Denver’s Jay Cutler (eight) and Arizona’s Kurt Warner (six) follow behind. Pick the Chargers to win over the Oakland Raiders.
Unbeaten Buffalo Bills (3-0) takes on the winless St. Louis Rams (0-3) Sunday. Trent Edwards is a having a career start. He has only 12 NFL starts to his credit, but he already has three fourth-quarter comeback victories. His first came against Washington last year, and now he has back-to-back wins against Jacksonville and Oakland. In beating the Raiders he set new career highs for attempts (39), completions (24) and yards passing (279) and was particularly sharp in the fourth quarter when he went 13 of 18 for 177 yards which resulted in 17 points. On the other hand, Rams’ owner Chip Rosenbloom said changes would be made if the poor performances continued. Going back to the final three games of the 2007 season, the Rams have now allowed 33, 41, 48, 38, 41 and 37 points in six consecutive losses and been outscored, 238-86.
Pick the Bills to have an easy win over the Rams.
The Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants are the teams in the NFC to beat. The Washington Redskins might be able to hang around with them for a quarter or two, but eventually the Cowboys will pull away in this NFC East match up. WR Antwaan Randle El has 14 catches and 149 yards, putting him on pace to surpass the career-high 51 and 728 yards he set last season.
The Chicago Bears gave away the game last weekend. While the Philadelphia Eagles, beat a very tough Pittsburgh team. The Eagles have looked good even when they’ve lost this year, and this week Kyle Orton will be having nightmares about defensive coordinator Jim Johnson and his exotic blitzes. WR Hank Baskett had a career-high eight catches against the Steelers. Baskett was in the game for 41 of 64 offensive snaps, the most of any of the team’s wideouts, including rookie DeSean Jackson.
Baltimore Ravens' defense looks like it’s back while the Pittsburgh Steelers' defense hasn’t gone anywhere, so look for this game to go down to the wire. This is going to be a good old-fashioned grind-it-out football game. Two very good running teams even without Willie Parker who are also two of the best in the league at stuffing the run. Big Ben is going to have to make a play with his arm to win this game in the fourth quarter. Good news for Ravens strong safety Dawan Landry is expected to return this season after sustaining a spinal cord concussion in Sunday's 28-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns.
Cardinals blew a chance to go 3-0 for the first time since 1974, but they didn’t seem too fret about it. If they beat the Jets, they will be 3-1 for the first time since 1985, three years before they moved to Arizona. WR Larry Fitzgerald’s 62-yard touchdown catch was the longest scoring play of his career. Fitzgerald had 109 yards receiving, the 15th time in his career that he’s passed the 100-yard mark.
For the New York, one concern would be if Brett Favre will play on Sunday after rolling his ankle during the third quarter of the Jets’ 48-29 loss at San Diego on Monday. But coach Eric Mangini said that Favre is expected to play against Arizona. Favre has started NFL-record 256 straight regular-season games. Mangini said Favre received some treatment on the ankle when the team arrived home early Tuesday morning, and the quarterback was scheduled for more later in the evening. Favre was inconsistent against the Chargers, going 30-of-42 for 271 yards and three touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions, including one returned 52 yards for a score by defensive back Antonio Cromartie. He and some of his receivers appeared out of sync at times, something Favre has warned would take some time to perfect after playing in Green Bay’s offensive system for the past 16 seasons.
Pick the Cardinals to win by two touchdowns.
Tampa Bay faces another tough, NFC North opponent when the Bucs host the Green Bay Packers at Raymond James Stadium.
Bucs believe they can grab some momentum from their 27-24 overtime win over the Chicago Bears Sunday. The victory improved the Bucs to 2-1 and left them in a three-way logjam atop the NFC South with Carolina and Atlanta while New Orleans is 1-2. Griese, who threw three interceptions in the Bucs’ 27-24 overtime win over the Bears, attempted a club record 67-passes Sunday, completing 38 for 407 yards and two touchdowns in his second straight start.
For the Green Bay Packers, they look to bounce back after suffering a 27-16 defeat to the visiting Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. Green Bay’s season average against the run swelled to 151 yards per game. Head coach Mike McCarthy announced Monday that No. 3 halfback Kregg Lumpkin suffered a strained hamstring in the Packers’ 27-16 setback to Dallas on Sunday night at Lambeau Field.
Pick Tampa to win by 10.
Tennessee Titans look to make it four in a row with a victory over the Minnesota Vikings. The Titans/Oilers franchise has never been 4-0 in its 49-year history. The Titans are aiming to fill that power void as one of four unbeaten teams in the conference so far, say it is far too early to begin checking the standings or scoreboard watching.
Vikings Gus Frerotte got a positive feedback from coach Brad Childress after the veteran quarterback made his first start of the season. Frerotte, who replaced second-year starter Tarvaris Jackson after the Vikings fell to 0-2, completed 16 of 28 passes for 204 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the Vikings’ 20-10 victory over Carolina at the Metrodome.
Titans to route the Vikings early in the first half.
Two winless teams – Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns slug it out on Sunday and would like to earn their first taste of victory in 2008 NFL Season.
Coach Marvin Lewis pleased with the improvement in the pass offense, despite the six sacks. Carson Palmer was 27-for-39 passing for 286 yards and his first touchdown of the season. T.J. Houshmandzadeh caught the touchdown and 11 other passes for 146 yards.
“We still have to work it and make sure we’re being exact and give (Palmer) the opportunity to deliver the ball where he thinks it ought to be delivered and make sure we’re always in the right spots with everyone,” Lewis said.
The question still continues on quarterback Derek Anderson who had his third consecutive poor game in Cleveland’s 28-10 loss to Baltimore, throwing for 125 yards with three interceptions. Anderson completed 14-of-37 passes, and now has completed just 46 percent of his throws, with two touchdowns and four interceptions.
Coach Romeo Crennel said he would evaluate every position on the team in an effort to save the Browns’ season.
Jacksonville Jaguars showed everyone they can and avoided a 0-3 start. Can they make it two in a row against the Houston Texans Sunday? Another question for them is whether they can duplicate their 236-yard effort on other teams besides the Colts. Or even get 150 yards after they got a total of 131 while losing their first two games. The questions will be answered versus Texans, who will solely rely on Mario Williams plays in the backfield. Houston will need to keep up the defensive momentum to have a fighting chance against the Jags.
Atlanta Falcons will depend on the performance of quarterback Matt Ryan when they face the Carolina Panthers. Ryan stepped up in the pocket and launched a pass 57 yards in the air to a streaking Roddy White, who scored on a 70-yard touchdown. Ryan tossed a 62-yard touchdown pass to Michael Jenkins in the season opener against Detroit after setting up the play with Turner’s runs. Look for the Panthers to win this game against the rebuilding Falcons.
Denver Broncos tries to make it four in a row against the lowly Kansas City Chiefs. Coch Mike Shanahan is unlikely to change from the three-headed running back approach that he has used in the first three games. Selvin Young starts but rotates every five plays with Andre Hall. Michael Pittman has been effective near the goal line and in short-yardage situations. Denver has averaged 4.8 yards per carry so far this year. Kansas City Chiefs wants to end their woeful season with a win. They must regroup and make things happen if they want to snap their 12 game losing streak dating back to last season.
The Saints are having a tough season so far and they will be playing home against the San Francisco 49ers, which 49ers were equally bad on offense and defense. But with their 31-13 victory over Detroit Lions on Sunday at Candlestick Park, the 49ers find themselves around the top third of the league in both offense and defense. Good news for the Saints is that Saints cornerback Mike McKenzie played in his first regular-season game since Dec. 23, 2007 in Sunday’s matchup with the Denver Broncos.
San Diego Chargers have started to look better each week and this time they will face the struggling Oakland Raiders. Chargers finally played up to their lofty expectations by dismantling the Jets, 48-29. Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers added another solid performance to what has been a terrific start to the season. He was 19-for-25 passing for 250 yards and three touchdowns Monday and is the NFL’s leader in TD passes. Rivers has nine, while Denver’s Jay Cutler (eight) and Arizona’s Kurt Warner (six) follow behind. Pick the Chargers to win over the Oakland Raiders.
Unbeaten Buffalo Bills (3-0) takes on the winless St. Louis Rams (0-3) Sunday. Trent Edwards is a having a career start. He has only 12 NFL starts to his credit, but he already has three fourth-quarter comeback victories. His first came against Washington last year, and now he has back-to-back wins against Jacksonville and Oakland. In beating the Raiders he set new career highs for attempts (39), completions (24) and yards passing (279) and was particularly sharp in the fourth quarter when he went 13 of 18 for 177 yards which resulted in 17 points. On the other hand, Rams’ owner Chip Rosenbloom said changes would be made if the poor performances continued. Going back to the final three games of the 2007 season, the Rams have now allowed 33, 41, 48, 38, 41 and 37 points in six consecutive losses and been outscored, 238-86.
Pick the Bills to have an easy win over the Rams.
The Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants are the teams in the NFC to beat. The Washington Redskins might be able to hang around with them for a quarter or two, but eventually the Cowboys will pull away in this NFC East match up. WR Antwaan Randle El has 14 catches and 149 yards, putting him on pace to surpass the career-high 51 and 728 yards he set last season.
The Chicago Bears gave away the game last weekend. While the Philadelphia Eagles, beat a very tough Pittsburgh team. The Eagles have looked good even when they’ve lost this year, and this week Kyle Orton will be having nightmares about defensive coordinator Jim Johnson and his exotic blitzes. WR Hank Baskett had a career-high eight catches against the Steelers. Baskett was in the game for 41 of 64 offensive snaps, the most of any of the team’s wideouts, including rookie DeSean Jackson.
Baltimore Ravens' defense looks like it’s back while the Pittsburgh Steelers' defense hasn’t gone anywhere, so look for this game to go down to the wire. This is going to be a good old-fashioned grind-it-out football game. Two very good running teams even without Willie Parker who are also two of the best in the league at stuffing the run. Big Ben is going to have to make a play with his arm to win this game in the fourth quarter. Good news for Ravens strong safety Dawan Landry is expected to return this season after sustaining a spinal cord concussion in Sunday's 28-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns.