Week 2 of the 2008-09 NFL Regular Season resumes Sunday afternoon starting off with the Green Bay Packers visiting the Detroit Lions. QB Aaron Rodgers filled in the spot of Brett Favre as they trounced the Minnesota Vikings 24-19 in their first game. Aaron Rodgers did a solid job scrambling for first downs and plunging into the end zone.
Rodgers—who spent most of the past three seasons backing up Favre after the Packers drafted him in the first round in 2005—passed his first real test Monday, going 18-of-22 for 178 yards with passing and rushing touchdowns. For the Detroit Lions, even though they lost their game 34-21 against Atlanta, the team is still confident and declared that they just had a bad game. “We had a bad day - a bad day at the office, no doubt about it,” Lions coach Rod Marinelli said. “But this is a group I saw Saturday night. It’s the same group, and I like them. I like them a lot. It’s a group I feel good about, and they will respond.”
Tennessee Titans looks for a 2-0 start when they clash Cincinnati Bengals. With QB Vince Young possibly on the shelf for a while, the Titans now turn their attention to backup QB Kerry Collins, who came off the bench Sunday and completed both of his passes for 65 yards, leading to the clinching touchdown.
Collins, a 14-year veteran, is eager to get a chance to contribute over the next few weeks.
“One of the problems with being a backup is that the team wins, and you don’t really get to be a part of it,” the former first-round pick of the Carolina Panthers said.
Cincinnati Bengals T.J. Houshmandzadeh said the offense “sucked” in the Bengals’ season-opening loss. He was asked Monday if his assessment held up after watching film—and it did. The Bengals ranked dead last in NFL rankings in total offense and pass offense, 27th in rush defense and 23rd in rush offense and total defense.
After the first week into the 2008 season the Bills are pretty happy with the trade that cost them third- and fifth-round picks in 2008. Marcus Stroud played a key role in Buffalo’s dismantling of the Seattle offense as the Bills held the Seahawks to 252 yards and won in a romp, 34-10 and will be ready when they face his former team Jacksonville Jaguars.
Jaguars will be shorthanded in this game as they lost their two starting guards, Vince Manuwai and Mo Williams, for the season with injuries suffered Sunday in Tennessee. Coach Jack Del Rio announced Monday that Manuwai suffered a torn ACL in his right knee, will undergo reconstructive surgery and will be lost for the season. The Jaguars couldn’t find any running room and gave up on it quickly. Fred Taylor had 18 yards in nine carries and Maurice Jones-Drew had 13 yards in five carries. The tone was set on the first play when Taylor was thrown for a two-yard loss.
The goal for the Indiana Colts heading into Sunday’s road trip versus Minnesota Vikings is continue to improve. Indianapolis failed to stop Chicago rookie Matt Forte in the Colts’ 29-13 loss to the Bears Sunday night. Their task will get a lot tougher this week with the Vikings’ Adrian Peterson. Indianapolis’ defense has struggled in stopping the run in recent years, but there has been a sharp improvement in that category over the last two seasons. But not so in the Chicago game. For the Vikings’ side, although they lost their season opener Vikings coach Brad Childress is optimistic about Tarvaris Jackson’s improvement several times during the off season. But the only problem was Jackson did not show any real progress as the Vikings opened the season with a 24-19 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Monday night at Lambeau Field. Adding insult to their loss, Pro Bowl defensive end Jared Allen had no tackles in his first game as a member of the Vikings on Monday after being acquired from Kansas City in the offseason. “This is one of the least productive games I’ve had in my life,” said Allen, who had 15.5 sacks last season. “I’m not going to let that happen again. They did some things to take me out of my rhythm, but there’s ways I’m going to make plays. I’m just going to work harder.”
New Orleans Saints had a stellar start as they battered the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24-20. The four-point win for the Saints means 14 of the last 19 matchups between the teams since 1992 have been decided by a touchdown or less—with the Saints holding a 9-5 edge in those close contests. For their opponent this Sunday, Washington Redskins would like to bounce back from a loss they suffered against New York Giants in their season opener. WR Santana Moss didn’t have big numbers on Thursday (five catches, 37 yards), but he did score Washington’s only touchdown. Moss has 29 catches for 530 yards and five touchdowns in seven games as a Redskin against the Giants.
Things are looking good for the Atlanta Falcons as Falcons running backs Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood rushed for a team-record 318 yards behind a revamped offensive line and they will try to carry on when they meet the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team that lost their season opener. And their woes continue to pile up as Quarterback Jeff Garcia has an ankle sprain and is questionable for Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons. If Garcia is fails to play, veteran Brian Griese would likely start against the Falcons. And third quarterback Luke McCown might be back after he was the inactive against the Saints Sunday.
San Diego Chargers’ quarterback Phillip Rivers would like to translate his words into actions when they play Denver Broncos Sunday. The loquacious quarterback Rivers said he plans on speaking with Cutler, just like he has every other time in the pregame warm-ups. Rivers has long said Cutler has among the most upside among quarterbacks in the league. Also Chargers are hoping that LaDainian Tomlinson’s toe is fine. Tomlinson was seen limping slightly after the game and X-rays were taken just to make sure the two-time defending NFL rushing leader will be OK Sunday. Broncos Eddie Royal was superb in the last game; the rookie second-round pick had nine catches for 146 yards against Oakland.
The focus for Houston Texans is how to rebound from a stifling defense just like the Pittsburgh Steelers and their next opponent will be the Baltimore Ravens who dominated in their season opener, thanks to an outstanding defense that gave up just 154 total yards.
Texans quarterback Matt Schaub must focus on taking care of the ball. He threw two interceptions and lost one fumble against the Steelers. He has a tendency to force throws instead of just throwing the ball away.
Oakland Raiders try to regroup after being mobbed in their last game 41-14 loss to Denver. Oakland Raiders’ receivers struggled to get open for JaMarcus Russell until the game was well out of hand and the line often did not give the young quarterback ample time to throw.
Chicago Bears battle the Carolina Panthers as both teams are coming from wins and would like to carry the momentum in the early start of the 2008 NFL Season. Carolina are fresh of a win with the help of f DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart combined to out-gain San Diego running back LaDainian Tomlinson 139-97 on the ground in Carolina’s 26-24 win at Qualcomm Stadium. While the Bears saw a bright future in the name of rookie running back Matt Forte made a great impression on his coaches and veteran teammates with a 50-yard TD run.
New York Giants will still rely on Eli Manning, Brandon Jacobs and Plaxico Buress. The duo of Jacobs and Buress gave offense to the Giants as running back Brandon Jacobs 21 for 116 yards for the game and wide receiver Plaxico Burress who was 10 for 133 for the game), but perhaps more impressive was the fact that Jacobs had 74 yards in 11 carries in the first half and Burress while seven catches for 98 yards.
While the St. Louis Rams try to recover from their blow out loss to the Philadelphia Eagles 38-3. The Eagles had just two third-down plays that needed 10 yards or more. The Rams had six, including distances of 15, 16, 18 and 21 yards.
Tom Brady’s season ending loss is definitely a huge blow for the campaign of the New England Patriots but his teammates need to step up for another a successful season and a potential return to the Super Bowl. Their opponent this Sunday is the New York Jets, the Brett Favre will continue but Coach Eric Mangini doesn’t want his team giving the Patriots any bulletin-board material as they prepare to start untested Matt Cassel at quarterback against the Jets on Sunday.
Miami Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals collide Sunday. Things need to improve on both teams as the Cardinals must improve their red-zone offense. Last year, the Cardinals finished third in the league, scoring touchdowns 68 percent of the time they were inside an opponent’s 20. For the Dolphins side, twenty of quarterback Chad Pennington’s 26 completions weren’t to the receivers. However, tight ends Anthony Fasano and David Martin combined for 12 receptions for 137 yards and two scores. It’s the first time that two different Dolphins tight ends have had a touchdown catch in the same game since Oct. 29, 2005 at Buffalo when Randy McMichael and Will Heller both accounted for scoring catches.
Pittsburgh Steelers visit the Cleveland Browns Sunday with the Steelers entering the season with questions in their offensive line, where they have two new starters and weren’t very good at protecting Roethlisberger the past two seasons (93 sacks). Roethlisberger was sacked twice by Mario Williams, but otherwise the line played a strong game. The Steelers had 183 yards rushing and Roethlisberger had plenty of time to throw, for the most part. For the Browns, they played dismally in a 28-10 loss to Dallas, giving up nearly 500 yards in offense and allowing the Cowboys to hold the ball for almost 38 minutes.
There were two main problems: A noticeable lack of a pass rush and poor coverage in the secondary. Terrell Owens, Jason Witten and Patrick Crayton all had strong games and got open almost at will.
And Monday Night Football in the NFL Season 2008 continues as the Philadelphia Eagles play the Dallas Cowboys. Philadelphia Eagles Donovan McNabb had one of the best season-opening performances of his career Sunday, throwing for 361 yards and three touchdowns in the Eagles’ 38-3 win over the St. Louis Rams. McNabb completed passes to eight different receivers, including wideouts DeSean Jackson, Greg Lewis and Hank Baskett. All three finished with 100-plus receiving yards. Area of concern for the Cowboys is RB Marion Barber who left the Browns game in the third quarter with bruised ribs. X-rays taken after the game were negative. Coach Wade Phillips announced at his Monday afternoon press conference that Barber should be fine and ready to go for the Eagles game on Monday night.
Rodgers—who spent most of the past three seasons backing up Favre after the Packers drafted him in the first round in 2005—passed his first real test Monday, going 18-of-22 for 178 yards with passing and rushing touchdowns. For the Detroit Lions, even though they lost their game 34-21 against Atlanta, the team is still confident and declared that they just had a bad game. “We had a bad day - a bad day at the office, no doubt about it,” Lions coach Rod Marinelli said. “But this is a group I saw Saturday night. It’s the same group, and I like them. I like them a lot. It’s a group I feel good about, and they will respond.”
Tennessee Titans looks for a 2-0 start when they clash Cincinnati Bengals. With QB Vince Young possibly on the shelf for a while, the Titans now turn their attention to backup QB Kerry Collins, who came off the bench Sunday and completed both of his passes for 65 yards, leading to the clinching touchdown.
Collins, a 14-year veteran, is eager to get a chance to contribute over the next few weeks.
“One of the problems with being a backup is that the team wins, and you don’t really get to be a part of it,” the former first-round pick of the Carolina Panthers said.
Cincinnati Bengals T.J. Houshmandzadeh said the offense “sucked” in the Bengals’ season-opening loss. He was asked Monday if his assessment held up after watching film—and it did. The Bengals ranked dead last in NFL rankings in total offense and pass offense, 27th in rush defense and 23rd in rush offense and total defense.
After the first week into the 2008 season the Bills are pretty happy with the trade that cost them third- and fifth-round picks in 2008. Marcus Stroud played a key role in Buffalo’s dismantling of the Seattle offense as the Bills held the Seahawks to 252 yards and won in a romp, 34-10 and will be ready when they face his former team Jacksonville Jaguars.
Jaguars will be shorthanded in this game as they lost their two starting guards, Vince Manuwai and Mo Williams, for the season with injuries suffered Sunday in Tennessee. Coach Jack Del Rio announced Monday that Manuwai suffered a torn ACL in his right knee, will undergo reconstructive surgery and will be lost for the season. The Jaguars couldn’t find any running room and gave up on it quickly. Fred Taylor had 18 yards in nine carries and Maurice Jones-Drew had 13 yards in five carries. The tone was set on the first play when Taylor was thrown for a two-yard loss.
The goal for the Indiana Colts heading into Sunday’s road trip versus Minnesota Vikings is continue to improve. Indianapolis failed to stop Chicago rookie Matt Forte in the Colts’ 29-13 loss to the Bears Sunday night. Their task will get a lot tougher this week with the Vikings’ Adrian Peterson. Indianapolis’ defense has struggled in stopping the run in recent years, but there has been a sharp improvement in that category over the last two seasons. But not so in the Chicago game. For the Vikings’ side, although they lost their season opener Vikings coach Brad Childress is optimistic about Tarvaris Jackson’s improvement several times during the off season. But the only problem was Jackson did not show any real progress as the Vikings opened the season with a 24-19 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Monday night at Lambeau Field. Adding insult to their loss, Pro Bowl defensive end Jared Allen had no tackles in his first game as a member of the Vikings on Monday after being acquired from Kansas City in the offseason. “This is one of the least productive games I’ve had in my life,” said Allen, who had 15.5 sacks last season. “I’m not going to let that happen again. They did some things to take me out of my rhythm, but there’s ways I’m going to make plays. I’m just going to work harder.”
New Orleans Saints had a stellar start as they battered the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24-20. The four-point win for the Saints means 14 of the last 19 matchups between the teams since 1992 have been decided by a touchdown or less—with the Saints holding a 9-5 edge in those close contests. For their opponent this Sunday, Washington Redskins would like to bounce back from a loss they suffered against New York Giants in their season opener. WR Santana Moss didn’t have big numbers on Thursday (five catches, 37 yards), but he did score Washington’s only touchdown. Moss has 29 catches for 530 yards and five touchdowns in seven games as a Redskin against the Giants.
Things are looking good for the Atlanta Falcons as Falcons running backs Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood rushed for a team-record 318 yards behind a revamped offensive line and they will try to carry on when they meet the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team that lost their season opener. And their woes continue to pile up as Quarterback Jeff Garcia has an ankle sprain and is questionable for Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons. If Garcia is fails to play, veteran Brian Griese would likely start against the Falcons. And third quarterback Luke McCown might be back after he was the inactive against the Saints Sunday.
San Diego Chargers’ quarterback Phillip Rivers would like to translate his words into actions when they play Denver Broncos Sunday. The loquacious quarterback Rivers said he plans on speaking with Cutler, just like he has every other time in the pregame warm-ups. Rivers has long said Cutler has among the most upside among quarterbacks in the league. Also Chargers are hoping that LaDainian Tomlinson’s toe is fine. Tomlinson was seen limping slightly after the game and X-rays were taken just to make sure the two-time defending NFL rushing leader will be OK Sunday. Broncos Eddie Royal was superb in the last game; the rookie second-round pick had nine catches for 146 yards against Oakland.
The focus for Houston Texans is how to rebound from a stifling defense just like the Pittsburgh Steelers and their next opponent will be the Baltimore Ravens who dominated in their season opener, thanks to an outstanding defense that gave up just 154 total yards.
Texans quarterback Matt Schaub must focus on taking care of the ball. He threw two interceptions and lost one fumble against the Steelers. He has a tendency to force throws instead of just throwing the ball away.
Oakland Raiders try to regroup after being mobbed in their last game 41-14 loss to Denver. Oakland Raiders’ receivers struggled to get open for JaMarcus Russell until the game was well out of hand and the line often did not give the young quarterback ample time to throw.
Chicago Bears battle the Carolina Panthers as both teams are coming from wins and would like to carry the momentum in the early start of the 2008 NFL Season. Carolina are fresh of a win with the help of f DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart combined to out-gain San Diego running back LaDainian Tomlinson 139-97 on the ground in Carolina’s 26-24 win at Qualcomm Stadium. While the Bears saw a bright future in the name of rookie running back Matt Forte made a great impression on his coaches and veteran teammates with a 50-yard TD run.
New York Giants will still rely on Eli Manning, Brandon Jacobs and Plaxico Buress. The duo of Jacobs and Buress gave offense to the Giants as running back Brandon Jacobs 21 for 116 yards for the game and wide receiver Plaxico Burress who was 10 for 133 for the game), but perhaps more impressive was the fact that Jacobs had 74 yards in 11 carries in the first half and Burress while seven catches for 98 yards.
While the St. Louis Rams try to recover from their blow out loss to the Philadelphia Eagles 38-3. The Eagles had just two third-down plays that needed 10 yards or more. The Rams had six, including distances of 15, 16, 18 and 21 yards.
Tom Brady’s season ending loss is definitely a huge blow for the campaign of the New England Patriots but his teammates need to step up for another a successful season and a potential return to the Super Bowl. Their opponent this Sunday is the New York Jets, the Brett Favre will continue but Coach Eric Mangini doesn’t want his team giving the Patriots any bulletin-board material as they prepare to start untested Matt Cassel at quarterback against the Jets on Sunday.
Miami Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals collide Sunday. Things need to improve on both teams as the Cardinals must improve their red-zone offense. Last year, the Cardinals finished third in the league, scoring touchdowns 68 percent of the time they were inside an opponent’s 20. For the Dolphins side, twenty of quarterback Chad Pennington’s 26 completions weren’t to the receivers. However, tight ends Anthony Fasano and David Martin combined for 12 receptions for 137 yards and two scores. It’s the first time that two different Dolphins tight ends have had a touchdown catch in the same game since Oct. 29, 2005 at Buffalo when Randy McMichael and Will Heller both accounted for scoring catches.
Pittsburgh Steelers visit the Cleveland Browns Sunday with the Steelers entering the season with questions in their offensive line, where they have two new starters and weren’t very good at protecting Roethlisberger the past two seasons (93 sacks). Roethlisberger was sacked twice by Mario Williams, but otherwise the line played a strong game. The Steelers had 183 yards rushing and Roethlisberger had plenty of time to throw, for the most part. For the Browns, they played dismally in a 28-10 loss to Dallas, giving up nearly 500 yards in offense and allowing the Cowboys to hold the ball for almost 38 minutes.
There were two main problems: A noticeable lack of a pass rush and poor coverage in the secondary. Terrell Owens, Jason Witten and Patrick Crayton all had strong games and got open almost at will.
And Monday Night Football in the NFL Season 2008 continues as the Philadelphia Eagles play the Dallas Cowboys. Philadelphia Eagles Donovan McNabb had one of the best season-opening performances of his career Sunday, throwing for 361 yards and three touchdowns in the Eagles’ 38-3 win over the St. Louis Rams. McNabb completed passes to eight different receivers, including wideouts DeSean Jackson, Greg Lewis and Hank Baskett. All three finished with 100-plus receiving yards. Area of concern for the Cowboys is RB Marion Barber who left the Browns game in the third quarter with bruised ribs. X-rays taken after the game were negative. Coach Wade Phillips announced at his Monday afternoon press conference that Barber should be fine and ready to go for the Eagles game on Monday night.