Arizona vs. Buffalo
While most people look forward to exiting the desert, the Arizona Cardinals are looking forward to returning to it. It has been a long time since the Cardinals have been at the University of Phoenix Stadium and they have certainly taken their lumps along the way.
In Week 3, the Cardinals (2-2) were riding high after their victories over San Francisco and Miami to start out the year. Most people assumed that the Cardinals would continue their assault and start the season 3-0 for the first time since they were in St. Louis. Of course, the Cardinals being the Cardinals, this did not happen. They ran into a Washington Redskins team with a large chip on their shoulder and ran into their first loss. Coach Ken Whisenhunt took the unorthodox approach of remaining on the East Coast following the Washington loss because of last Sunday’s matchup against the New York Jets in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Saving a cross country trip home and back again would make sense, especially in these economically depressed times, but apparently Whisenhunt’s players did not appreciate the gesture as they allowed an amazing 6 touchdown passes to a previously uninspired Brett Favre in a 56-35 loss to the Jets.
Following the Cardinals west are the unbeaten Buffalo Bills (4-0). The Bills 31-14 come from behind throttling of the Rams cost St. Louis Coach Scott Linehan his job. Keeping the Rams plight in mind, it was perhaps Buffalo’s most complete and convincing victory of the season or at least since the season opener against Seattle. It would seem that quarterback Trent Edwards statistics have gotten better in each game this season, something that is likely to increase against Arizona’s mediocre defense. Buffalo’s concern going into this week is the health of cornerback Terrence McGee, who injured his knee in the Rams’ game and whose status is still up in the air.
Perhaps the Cardinals grew tired of hotel living and yearn for home cooking. They won their only home game this season convincingly over the Miami Dolphins, who would later dispatch the Patriots and were 6-2 at home last season.
Detroit vs. Chicago
It is the tale of two teams heading in opposite directions in this NFC North tilt of old and bitter rivals.
On the upswing are the Chicago Bears (2-2), who come into Ford Field for their one o’clock game with some new vigor and determination. After dispatching the Philadelphia Eagles this past Sunday night, the Bears realize that perhaps their only stumbling block to the division championship this year could be themselves. With the health of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers up in the air, not to mention his team’s two game losing streak, and the Minnesota Vikings continued struggles, the Bears realize that they just might be the class of the division and will only lose if they beat themselves. The Bears feel their defense is up to their 2006 standards, if not better, and have excelled at the end of their Week 4 game, rather than folding in the fourth quarter like they did in their two losses this season.
Their opponents on Sunday hope that they fit into the NFC North equation somehow. The Detroit Lions (0-3) return from their bye week hoping they did enough to bale out the sinking ship. The Lions finally parted ways with embattled General Manager Matt Millen last week and are prepared to move forward. Just how they will move forward will remain to be seen. The Lions are dead last in defense and ranked 26th in offense and it is hard to imagine Millen’s firing, while a good thing in the long run, will change these statistics.
This could be a mismatch in the making, depending on which Chicago Bears team shows up in Detroit. If the Bears team from Week 1, Week 4 and the first three quarters of Weeks 2 and 3 show up, they should not have a problem. Their defense should be able to force Jon Kitna into making his usual mistakes and turnovers while Chicago’s much-maligned offense should have some success against the Lions defense.
Be weary of crowning the Bears the winner too quickly, however. This may be a trap game for Chicago. After winning on national television over a good Philadelphia team on Sunday night, they head on the road to take on a seemingly listless Lions team with nothing going for them. The Bears have been the one NFC North foe Detroit has had success against in recent years. They swept Chicago in the team’s two games last season and are 4-2 against the Bears in Detroit since Ford Field opened in 2002.
Carolina vs. Kansas City
Panthers – 9 1/2 vs Chiefs
Oh Kansas City we hardly knew ye. After Week 3, the debate raged as to who was the worst team in the NFL. Was it the Detroit Lions who just dismissed their much-maligned General Manager Matt Millen? Was it the St. Louis Rams who kept getting blown away loss after loss or was it the Oakland Raiders whose head games with their head coach continued unabated? Despite all these teams’ problems, the consensus worst team by many NFL experts was the Kansas City Chiefs (1-3). Sure they gave the Tom Brady-less Patriots a run through the first three quarters in their opener, but had been DOA in the games after their tilt in Foxboro. There is nothing like a rivalry game to awaken a sleeping giant! Okay, perhaps sleeping giant would be a stretch, but Kansas City beating the previously undefeated Broncos may rank as last weekend’s biggest football upset. That is something considering USC, Florida and many of the other top 25 teams in college bit the dust over the weekend. Larry Johnson, remember him, ran for just a notch under 200 yards and propelled the Chiefs to an impressive 33-19 win over Denver.
The resurgent Carolina Panthers storm into this game with a 3-1 record after an exceptionally easy victory over the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday. Muhsin Muhammed and Jake Delhomme have reunited nicely on Tobacco Road and have been reenergized by Steve Smith returning. Look for the Panthers offensive attack to continue against the league’s 29th ranked defense in Kansas City. Although one can imagine Jay Cutler and his Bronco offense salivated at that same statistic and it did not work out very well for them, did it?
These teams have hardly had much history, playing each other only three times before, Kansas City claiming two victories in the series. Carolina is 2-0 at home in this young season, while Kansas City is still seeking their first victory away from Arrowhead.
San Diego vs. Miami
Chargers – 6 1/2 vs Dolphins
Having won two games in a row, the San Diego Chargers have seemingly righted their ship. Or have they? The Chargers’ wins this season have hardly been impressive. While the scores look lopsided, 48-29 against the Jets and 28-18 versus the Raiders, San Diego (2-2) let both opponents hang around in the game way too long for most fans’ liking, especially taking into account the team’s last second losses to Carolina and Denver. In both of their wins, the Chargers have fallen behind and had to fight their way back into the game.
Meanwhile, the Miami Dolphins (1-2) return from their bye week with the momentum of giving the New England Patriots their first regular season loss since 2006. Ronnie Brown went crazy and became a fantasy footballers dream in that game, running for four touchdowns and throwing for a fifth touchdown in Foxboro. The Dolphins, who looked like one of the worst teams in the NFL prior to Week 3, gained some hope with Brown’s wonderful game in the upset over the Pats. Still, it will be hard for Brown to duplicate that kind of success, even against San Diego’s 28th ranked team defense.
The key matchup in this one may be San Diego’s prolific offense against Miami’s serviceable defense. Miami will be able to score against San Diego, but will their 15th ranked defense be able to stop LaDainian Tomlinson, Philip Rivers and company enough to put them in a position for the win?
This is a homecoming for Chargers’ receiver Chris Chambers, who spent his first six years in the NFL in South Beach before a 2007 trading deadline deal sent him to San Diego. Chambers became a star in 2005 game against Buffalo when he hauled in 15 passes for 238 yards against Buffalo. The Chargers would love for Chamber’s homecoming to be just as productive.
Michigan vs. Illinois
Just when you count them out, Michigan (2-2) (1-0) makes you pay. Michigan Stadium’s 500th Game was one of the most thrilling in the stadium’s 80-plus year history. Things could not have gotten worse after the first half in Ann Arbor. Only one team in the Great Lakes State gets booed off their home field and that is the Detroit Lions, not the Michigan Wolverines, but that is exactly what happened last Saturday. Then everything changed. Trailing 19-0, Michigan scored to make it 19-7 and then incredibly scored two touchdowns in less than 10 seconds to take the lead they would not relinquish from the shell-shocked Wisconsin Badgers. Can Michigan, written off after their turnover, in addition to rain-drenched debacle in South Bend two weeks prior, be a player in the Big Ten this season? With the Wolverines knocking off the top team in the conference, and #9 team in the country, this is certainly possible. But the big test will be this week when the Fighting Illini come calling for the 501st game at Michigan Stadium.
Illinois (2-2) (0-1) had Michigan right were they wanted them last season: on ABC in Primetime and in Champaign. It didn’t work out so well for the Illini however, despite all the hype of Juice Williams and the resurgent Illini, the Wolverines beat them much like they usually do, 27-17. Illinois may have more famous rivals like Northwestern or Missouri, but their hatred for the Maize and Blue is powerful and why not? Chicago has a large Michigan alumni base which roots for Michigan and not the school at the other end of the state and the Illini is 21-66-2 since the series began way back in 1898. Their last win came in 1999. Last week, despite trying to fight back numerous times, the Nittany Lions had the right answers. Illinois has got to get back on track and no better than in this game in Ann Arbor. They must take advantage of their bitter rival in a perceived down year for them. If they can steal a victory out of Ann Arbor, look for the team to really take flight with games against Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa and Western Michigan in a stretch of five games that includes Wisconsin.
For Michigan, a win against another quality Big Ten opponent will go a long way to giving the young team some confidence in a wide-open conference.
Tampa Bay Bucs vs. Green Bay Packers
Bucs -1 1/2 vs. Packers
The Brett Favre era in Green Bay Packers is officially over, but the future of the franchise has never looked brighter in the hands of the Pack’s starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Even though the Packers suffered their first loss of the season to the extremely talented Dallas Cowboys last week it is becoming more and more apparent that the Packers faith in their young quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the off season during the whole Brett Favre ordeal is really starting to pay off. Being the first quarterback in the post-Favre era is no easy task, but Rodgers has his squad off to a 2-1 start and his high powered offense firing on all cylinders.
Although their records are identical at 2-1, the same cannot be said for Tampa Bay Bucs offense. The Bucs may be confident with their new starting quarterback Brian Griese after 67 pass attempts by the NFL veteran in last week’s overtime victory over the Chicago Bears, but with a secondary like the Packers that is jam packed with young talent and experienced veterans the Bucs will be forced to mix in more of a ground attack if they want to even have a chance to compete with Rodgers and company.
If Green Bay’s offense starts clicking early like it has so far this season by putting points with almost every possession lead by Aaron Rodgers’ surprisingly veteran-like decision making and the Packers defense can keep Tampa Bay’s air assault in check, it should be a fairly easy victory for the Packers, but if Griese can pull his boys on offense together like he did last weekend (minus the interceptions) the Bucs may have the chance of pulling off the upset of this NFC powerhouse.
Tennessee Titans vs. Minnesota Vikings
Titans -3 vs. Vikings.
Unfortunately for the Tennessee Titans, the first few weeks of the NFL season all the Titans are receiving is negative press involving quarterback Vince Young, but what you might not have heard or noticed is that the Titans are looking like legitimate Super Bowl contenders with an impressive 3-0 record to start the season.
With the best start in franchise history for the Titans and a defense that rivals the 2000 Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens, the sky seems to be the limit for Tennessee. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for their next opponent in the Minnesota Vikings who have really struggled coming out of the gate losing two of their first three games this year.
It has just been a downward spiral for the Vikings from their quarterback controversy involving the benching of Tarvaris Jackson in favor of Gus Frerotte to their banged up superstar in Adrian Peterson who is playing through a hamstring injury, it is just one thing after another in Minnesota. With their bread and butter running back health in question the Vikings are holding their breath with every carry he takes out of the backfield as a season ending injury to Peterson will basically end the teams hopes of making a playoff run this year.
As a result of Peterson not being 100% and the quarterback position in the hands of an unproven veteran expect the Tennessee Titans to stroll to a their first 4-0 start in the team’s history unless Adrian Peterson somehow has another record breaking performance like he did last season.
Georgia vs. Alabama
Georgia -7 vs Alabama
There are so many angles that could be mentioned in this early-season SEC game of the year between unbeaten Alabama and Georgia … but let’s stick to one for today: Each team’s star freshman receiver.
That would be Alabama’s Julio Jones and Georgia’s A.J. Green, who were ranked the nation’s top two wide-receiver prospects by Rivals.com and Scout.com in their senior years of high school.
Both wear the No. 8. Both are 6-foot-4. Jones has been compared to Randy Moss, Green to Terrell Owens.
“They’re two different type of receivers,” Alabama safety Rashad Johnson said. “I think Julio is more physical and probably a lot harder to tackle. This guy (Green) does a great job when the ball is up in the air. He goes up and gets it.”
So you see that these guys aren’t your typical freshmen, as both are already integral to his team’s offense. Boosted by a big first half last Saturday night at Arizona State – seven catches for 150 yards – Green leads the Bulldogs and the SEC in receiving yards with 300.
“It’s kind of surprising to have the big impact that I’ve had already, especially not knowing the system that well,” Green said. “Now, I’ve got a lot of confidence that I can go out there and play.”
Meanwhile, on a team that emphasizes the run over the pass, Jones leads Alabama in receiving yards with 132 and touchdown catches with three.
“Honestly, I went back about five classes and have not seen two wide receivers be this ready, this good and capable of an impact this early,” said Tom Luginbill, the national recruiting director for ESPN Scouts.
If Alabama is to avenge last year’s overtime loss to the Bulldogs, Saban said “a real key to the game” will be preventing Green and Georgia senior receiver Mohamed Massaquoi from making big plays.
“We have a tremendous amount of respect for those two players and the quarterback [Matthew Stafford],” Saban said. “They have shown a real capacity to make big plays downfield. That’s going to be a challenge for us. We’re going to have to jam them and keep them cut off.”
It’s not a stretch to say that whichever No. 8 has the bigger night Saturday, his team will emerge the victor.
Georgia is currently a 6.5-point home favorite on WagerWeb.com.
Purdue vs Notre Dame
Notre Dame -1 vs. Purdue
All those good feelings around the Notre Dame program following a 2-0 start evaporated last week with a 23-7 loss at Michigan State where the Irish offense again did very little.
And again, it’s the running game that is the culprit. The Irish rank 111th in Division I-A in rushing and average just 78 rushing yards a game. Their opponents average 144.3 yards.
Against the Spartans, Notre Dame rushed for 16 yards on 22 carries and allowed 203 on the ground.
“In the first three games we’ve had more success throwing than we have running,” coach Charlie Weis said (the Irish rank 69th in the country by average 208.7 yards passing per game). “You can’t make a living just being one-dimensional. You can address it by scheme, but a lot of it comes down to working your (behind) off fundamentally to make an improvement. That’s one of the main focuses we’re doing this week.”
Notre Dame resorted to an empty-backfield formation often in the second half against Michigan State, with QB Jimmy Clausen in the shotgun.
That empty-backfield offense managed just one touchdown against Michigan State, but the Irish’s yards-per-play jumped from 3.5 in the first half to 4.8 after halftime. There were 51- and 57-yard drives that ended in miscues.
So why not go to that more often?
“The problem is if your identity all stems around passing first,” Weis said. “You’re exposing yourself to a lot of problems that you’d like to avoid. If a defensive team could just pin their ears back and come after you, you’re opening yourself up for pressures, sacks, quarterback hits, interceptions.”
Clausen does have six picks this season (matching his freshman total in 149 fewer attempts) and the Irish have turned the ball over nine times. So perhaps their decision-making isn’t ready for the spread-type offense.
“I’ve forced the ball a few times and taken too many chances in the past three games and that’s one of the things that I’m working on during practice,” Clausen said. “If something is not there, if it’s not wide open, check the ball down to the backs. After watching the film where I’m throwing interceptions, the backs are wide open. I’ve just got to stop taking as many chances as I have.”
Purdue is last among Big Ten teams in total defense and 103rd among 119 major college teams, allowing 427 yards per game, so look for Notre Dame to go more to that shotgun formation this week despite what Weis has said. Coaches may lie, but numbers don’t.
Purdue, which is a 1-point underdog this week on WagerWeb.com, is 1-4 in South Bend under coach Joe Tiller and 11-26 overall.
Tennessee vs. Auburn
Auburn -6½ vs. Tennessee U
It’s bounce-back Saturday for Tennessee and Auburn, as those two battle while coming off disappointing losses last week – disappointing for very different reasons.
The Vols were dominated again by Florida and don’t resemble SEC contenders. The Tigers, on the other hand, lost a close 26-21 game to LSU and look like national players.
Tennessee is 1-2 as cries from Vol Nation for the firing of coach Phil Fulmer have begun in earnest. UT did also start 1-2 last year after a blowout loss to the Gators, but won eight of its next nine to reach the SEC title game.
“We played for the championship in Atlanta when a lot of other people had given up on us early,” Fulmer said. “We won’t give up, and we’ve got a chance to be there yet. It’s just a little bit harder road.”
The Vols haven’t started 1-3 since 1994, Fulmer’s second full season as coach, but things are getting testy in Knoxville. Remember, UT also lost to a UCLA team that was beaten 59-0 by BYU.
“We’ve won 148 football games in my time here at Tennessee and lost a little bit less than that – a lot less than that, actually – and we didn’t all of sudden get stupid as coaches,” Fulmer said. “We know what we’re doing, and we’re going to go to the practice field and correct and work and put our football team on the field with the best advantage that we can possibly have.”
Auburn (3-1, 1-1 SEC), meanwhile, can’t afford another loss if it hopes to pass LSU in the West Division and earn a trip to the SEC title game. No. 1 running back Brad Lester is “a little sore,” but should be able to play against Tennessee, Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said. Lester twisted his knee in the third quarter vs. LSU, but an MRI revealed no damage.
Auburn’s offense struggled to run the ball against a fast and physical LSU defense, gaining only 70 yards on the ground. However, the Tigers were able to put up 250 yards passing, with QB Chris Todd completing 17 of his 32 attempts.
“He played good,” offensive coordinator Tony Franklin said of Todd. “He had three plays that were really poor. Outside of that he played really well. He made numerous just really good plays and big throws. I think he got more comfortable. I think every week that he plays, you’ll see a little bit of improvement each week.”
Tennessee and Auburn are meeting for the first time since the 2004 SEC Championship Game, won 38-28 by the Tigers. Auburn leads the series 25-21-3 and is riding a three-game winning streak after a 5-0-1 stretch by the Vols from 1989-99. Auburn won 28-21 during the teams’ 2003 meeting at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The Volunteers have not dropped four straight in this series since 1961-64.
Auburn has opened as a 6.5-point betting favorite on WagerWeb.com
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