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PREVIEW

We are gearing up for what might be one of the most watched MNF games of all time as the NFL’s top offenses go head to head at the Louisiana Superdome tonight. The New Orleans Saints put their potent scoring and unbeaten record (10-0) on the line against the New England Patriots (7-3) who have become a measuring stick for success in the NFL. This may well be a possible Super Bowl preview to boot. Speaking of Super Bowls… this is the first time the Patriots are playing at the Superdome since they won it all in 2002 against the Rams on a last second Vinateri FG.

The Saints drive for a perfect season is about to face its toughest test… that is the only other team to accomplish that feat. They enter this game with the NFL’s #1 attack (420.5 YPG). Drew Brees, leads the league in TD passes (22) and 12 different players for the Saints have scored TD’s for the team coming in at a league-best 36.9 ppg. The Saints are on pace to score 590 points with would better the mark set just two years ago by tonight’s opponent (589 points).

The Patriots offense is nothing to scoff at. If there is one blemish it is the red zone offense (rank 24th in TD %). Settling for FG’s is not going to cut it against the potent Saints offense. To add fuel to this, the Saints rank 5th when it comes to red zone defense. If the Patriots find a way to crack this they should be able to put a stain on what has been a perfect season thus far.

No team has more takeaways than the Saints (29). Darren Sharper, playing out of his mind, leads the team with 7 picks. On the flip side, only one team has coughed the ball up less than the Patriots. After all is said and done tonight, that may just be the difference.

My Prediction: Patriots 31 – Saints 24

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PREVIEW

Its only week 8 but its safe to say that with a win tonight the Saints can effectively cement their position atop the NFC South. The Saints (6-0 ) hold a two game lead over the Falcons (4-2 ), the only other threat in this division. If the Falcons do pull off the win, it leaves the Colts as the only undefeated team in the league, and would make the race in the NFC South a little more interesting down the road.

The Falcons have their hands full tonight. The Saints are not just lethal with the Brees led aerial attack, but can do equal damage with the run game. The already exposed secondary of the Falcons will need their “A” game to keep a team that has scored 45-plus points in four of their first six games. On offense the Falcons still are not getting the production they need from their ground game. Michael Turner has run for only 80 yards on 31 carries in his last two games, and when he’s not doing well, Matt Ryan just gets overloaded with pressure he is not ready for. The last 2 games spell out the issue – Ryan is completing only 55.8% of his passes (38 of 68) for 383 yards, 4 TD’s, and 4 INT’s.

The Saints’ rush D is only allowing 92.3 yards per game, and their pass D has a league leading 13 interceptions – 6 by Darren Sharper, who has been playing out of his mind. The Saints offense is a thing of beauty. They have lit up the scoreboard in their last 2 games, Drew Brees is playing like an MVP candidate, and their rushing offense is averaging 154.5 yards per game. Opponents cannot just contain Brees, as both RB’s Mike Bell and Pierre Thomas give the Saints a 1-2 punch out of the backfield that is hard to stop. Both of Brees’ main targets are averaging over 15 yards per reception and the line is doing a great job giving Brees time to hit them with the passes.

The Saints will likely lose at some point, but it shouldn’t be tonight. The Falcons may give the Saints a tough time especially if the defense can pick up the big plays. In the end though, there are just too many options to see the Saints cough one up at home under the lights on Monday Night Football.

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PREVIEW

I guess you could call this one aerial attack v/s the wildcat. The 2-3 Dolphins will have their hands full against, what is considered by most, the best team in the NFL so far this season. The Dolphins running game has been nearly unstoppable this year, but it hasn’t translated into wins for the most part. They have been successful when they get a chance to play a slow, grind it out game. The Saints ground game is hardly one to scoff at. The trio of Mike Bell, Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush keep the defense honest, with each bringing a different aspect to the game.

Chad Henne has been solid in his two starts, but the Dolphins passing game can’t hold a candle to what Brees is doing with the Saints. Henne needs to play it smart, protect the ball and let the Wildcat do its thing. Brees on the other side has all the options in the world open to him. Last week he managed to get all the players involved on offense and the more he does that the more lethal they become as a team. The Saints are good because they have the luxury to go with whatever is working. Their ground game can get the job done, but if the Dolphins leave any receiver wide open like Colston was last week, the score will be out of reach in a hurry.

Both defenses give up similar numbers but the Saints aerial attack may just be too much for the Dolphins to handle even with the home field advantage. Prediction: Saints 31 – Dolphins 20

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PREVIEW

Mark Sanchez has been near perfect as a rookie QB – 4 TD’s and over 600 yards with only 2 interceptions. On this date he will need to be even better in order to compensate for the challenge the Jets D is going to be facing up against the NFL’s best offensive team who also happen to be 3-0. The Jets also need to get the running game going as they are going to need all the offensive weapons they have.

The Saint’s on the other hand, have never trailed in a game this season. A total of 15 touchdowns and a NFL-best 40 points per game makes them a nightmare for any defense. Drew Brees threw 9 touchdown passes over his first 2 games but was shut out against Buffalo. It didn’t affect the team as they managed to get things done on the ground last week.

You can’t stay perfect forever… or atleast that’s the case for one of these teams after today’s match up.

1. Falcons and Patriots – I picked the Falcons because I couldn’t get myself to root for the Pats. Why? I don’t know. Why do some people hate Lakers or Yankees? It may be the Epic Fumble Fail from the Bills – Pats game – or the fact that Tom Brady had people shot at his wedding. Somebody tried to convince me on Twitter, that Tom Brady is kind of girls’ favorite, but I didn’t buy it. C’mon, he always looks so bored during the games, with his cold stares and perpetual screaming at his receivers! I wouldn’t let anybody scream at me! Unfortunately, either the screaming helped or his bored face was just a poker bluff as Pats pulled out the win 26-10, which meant 0-1 for Kat’s picks.

2. Saints and Bills – I have made it no secret that the Bills are my team, I really like them. Did a little research, saw several games already and read a huge Football Preview magazine, so I knew, what we were facing. Drew Brees appeared as a fantasy football player’s wet dream, so I figured he would be scoring loads on the Bills. But as the Saints’ defense wasn’t the best I trusted that we might out-shoot them somehow. (Do you say ‘out-shoot’ like in basketball?) So I expected lots of touchdowns, and lots of fun. And I simply believed that I could just WILL the Bills into victory. Non-surprisingly Saints scored a TD in first 2 minutes and not long after that Bills got theirs. That was fantastic – they basically faked a field goal and planted a TD on surprised Saints. And then, I felt that something clicked, when my mild interest in the game started turning into love… Of course it had to turn into bitter tears in the end, as it was also the last good moment for the Bills, who decided to fold after that. Although they stopped the magical powers of Brees, they had no answers for the running back Pierre Thomas. Or should I say – flying back, cause it looked like that. Terrell Owens didn’t catch a single thing for the first time since his rookie season and Fred Jackson’s 71 yards didn’t help very much. Saints 27-7, Kat 0-2.

3. Colts – Cardinals. I don’t really like the Colts, so I didn’t root for them. But, after watching them for the second time, I figured out that Peyton Manning is simply a wild beast. I wonder if they only release him for the games and cage him in-between, because he is scary. He threw for 4 TDs! C’mon! Colts 31-10, Kat 0-3.

For the games I didn’t actually watch, Sunday looked like this:

1. Lions over Redskins 19-14. Well, Lions deserved a win, finally.

2. Packers over Rams 36-17. Packers are my second favorite team. Poor Aaron Rodgers had been sacked about 10 times heading in. Good for them.

3. Vikings over 49ers 27-24. Wow, saved by Grandpa Favre’s heroics and his TD pass with 2 seconds left. I saw the end of this game and it had the basketball buzzer beater quality. Freak-tastic!

4. Jets over Titans 24-17. I liked the Jets in this match-up. They are likable, Sanchez is likable. Look at this rook – he started his first 3 games and won all of them, like nobody else before. I was informed via Twitter that Jets were like 14-0 in the first quarter, then my source became quiet, so I guess the Jets blew they lead. But they held on long enough to pull out the win.

5. Eagles over Chiefs 34-14. Eagles are a better team, even without McNabb. Vick didn’t even have to put any significant numbers on the stat sheet. Talking about Vick, I found this in Sports Illustrated: ‘An animal-rescue group will donate five bags of dog food to a Washington D.C. shelter for every time Michael Vick is tackled when the Redskins play the Eagles next month.’ Beware, Mike!

6. Giants over Bucs 24-0. Giants are pretty good, Bucs are not. But to completely shut them down? Wow.

7. Raven over Browns 34-3. Browns are a really bad team. But, hey you can always cheer for Cavs when you’re form Cleveland!

8.  Jaguars over Texans 31-24. Jaguars wanted their first victory and Texan’s horrible defense delivered it to them.

9. Bears over Seahawks 25-19. Cutler debuted miserably, so he had to show up to redeem himself.

10. Bengals over Steelers 23-20. Not having Troy Polamalu and his curls must really suck for Pittsburgh.

11. Broncos over Raiders 23-3. No Cutler, no problem. Orton can make it – Denver is 3-0 already.

12. Chargers over Dolphins 23-13. Dolphins suck. 0-3 for the third time in six seasons.

For Monday night I am picking the Panthers over Cowboys. I cannot like anything George Bush thinks is good.

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PREVIEW

The last thing the New Orleans Saints have had to worry about since Drew Brees came aboard is their QB spot. The Philadelphia Eagles could only wish that was the case for them. Heading into their home opener at Lincoln Financial Field, the availability of Donovan McNabb is still up in the air. After McNabb suffered a cracked rib in week 1, it is looking more and more that Kevin Kolb will get the start for this game. And if Kolb chokes in his first ever start, the Eagles can put in Jeff Garcia who was brought in as added insurance.

Turning the attention over to the game, the Saints’ put up over 500 yards in its 45-27 victory over the Lions last week . The key there is they were playing the Lions. This week should be a more of a challenge as they go up against one of the better defenses in the league. The same defensive unit that forced 7 turnovers and 5 sacks versus the Panthers. The late Jim Johnson’s successor did his thing but against a better offense, the pressure will be on. Detroit Lions or any other team, Drew Brees and his 6 TD passes matched a record for most scoring passes in a game for a Saints QB. And the damage wasn’t only done by air as Mike Bell ran for a career-high 143 yards. For this game, the Saints should also have Pierre Thomas back in the lineup giving them another weapon on offense.

On the offensive end, the Eagles are going to have a tough time duplicating their output from last game. Even though they have lots of weapons on offense and Westbrook is still good for the big plays, the Saints will be bringing the pressure all game long on the inexperienced Kolb. The Eagles need to focus on managing the clock to give themselves a chance to run with the Saints. If the Eagles defense can step up for this game, they could rattle Brees. He is no Delhomme though so the key will be to limit how much time he has in the pocket to get rid of the ball. In turn giving the team a chance to grab a win while playing shorthanded.

One team wants to start a streak and the other is trying to break one. Philadelphia, is trying to start 2-0 for the first time since 2004. The Saints, meanwhile, have both their last two road openers and haven’t started 2-0 since 2006.

I’m ready for kickoff to see who comes out on the winning side of this coin flip…

Minnesota Vikings Prediction (11-5): *Sigh* I can’t believe I am talking about Brett Favre again! Minnesota took a gamble with this move but it will pay off over the course of the season. They have arguably the most explosive RB in the league in Peterson, add in the arm of Favre and its sure to notch a few extra wins. This division will be hard fought but the Vikings should be the team strutting into the post-season.
Chicago Bears Prediction (9-7): Jay Cutler may have an attitude but he is also one of the best young QB’s in the league – good thing for the Bears is, he plays for them now. If Matt Forte has another productive year, an upgraded O line and the thoughts of Cutler looking down field to Devin Hester have me excited to watch this team (yes Cutler is on my FF team as well so there is added incentive for him to succeed).
Green Bay Packers Prediction (8-8): Tough break for the Packers, they are good but their division got a lot better. They have a new defensive scheme in place this season which calls for adjustments, but it had to be done since it was the weak spot for them last year. Rogers is a sound QB and if he can elevate his game, it should keep the Packers in the division race though the season.
Detroit Lions Prediction (3-13): The Lions probably aren’t winning anything more than the #1 draft pick in the 2010. Rookie coach Jim Schwartz has a daunting task ahead of him and if he can direct the team to notch a few wins, that in itself should be considered a success.

Philadelphia Eagles Prediction (12-4): Its the toughest division in football and the Eagles made some major waves by signing Michael Vick. People may think I am bias here, but this team did make it to the conference championship game last year and the core offense has improved. They lost some major contributors on the defensive end, but with new defensive coordinator running similar stuff to what Jim Johnson used to, they should be fine. As for Vick, I was not a proponent of the move but don’t see him factoring in as much as people think once the season gets under way.
Dallas Cowboys Prediction (11-5): Last year was supposed to be “THE” year… well with the Cowboys that seems to be the story every year. They lost several marquee players and this is now Tony Romo’s team. With T.O gone and Jessica Simpson discarded off, all eyes are on Romo to see if he can finally deliver. The way this division is looking, its going to be a last man standing battle to the end.
New York Giants Prediction (9-7): This team was smooth sailing until Plax gone shot himself in the leg last season. Plaxico may be gone but they still have one Eli Manning who can do wonders with the ball. Insert Osi Umenyiora (missed 2008 with a knee injury), a workhorse in Brandon Jacobs and a lock down defensive unit the Giants look like they can topple any of the teams ahead of them.
Washington Redskins Prediction (8-8): Even the last place team in this division should finish around .500. Jim Zorn’s success goes hand in hand with how Jason Campbell performs. After a blazing start last season the team came back to reality and will probably remain there. In any other division this is a team good enough to make the playoffs.

New Orleans Saints Prediction (11-5): This team goes as their offense does and though Reggie Bush has yet to deliver the goods, they still have one of the best QB’s who can rack up the yards along with a good receiving core. The last few seasons, the defense and play on the road has let the team down, but in this division I don’t see them letting go of the top spot.
Carolina Panthers Prediction (9-7): They come in looking the same as last year but probably wont get to repeat their performance and win the division. A favorable schedule and no major injuries helped them, but if they see more performances from QB Delhomme like they did in the playoffs (6 turnovers against the Cardinals), they will be not be on the field in January.
Atlanta Falcons Prediction (8-8): They were the surprise team to many with their run to the playoffs last season. I struggled to put them 3rd in this division but the possibility of Matt Ryan falling into a sophomore slump, the defense failing to improve and a much tougher schedule has me doubting that this team is legit. It does help that Ryan has Tony Gonzalez as an option on the field but that may not be enough.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Prediction (5-11): Another team in full rebuilding mode. They will have the chance to bring along rookie QB Josh Freeman, restructure a once great defensive unit and hope that Cadillac Williams can bounce back from lingering injury issues.

Arizona Cardinals Prediction (10-6): The Cardinals lost (both coordinators) more than they gained this off-season. Good thing they still have Fitzgerald, because with a similar offensive scheme as last year, even an older Kurt Warner can keep this team winning. Add on a good looking rookie RB and this is still the team to beat in this division.
Seattle Seahawks Prediction (8-8): A healthy Hasselbeck and the addition of T.J Houshmandzadeh could make it hard for the Card’s to control this division. The thing that could help the Seahawks push past, is if their health holds up and the defense steps up to the challenge.
San Francisco 49′ers Prediction (6-10): Drama once again surrounds this team as rookie daft pick, Michael Crabtree is threatening to hold out for the season. Not to mention the starting QB job is still not set. Coach Singletary had a rough task last season but they managed to finish strong. Even if the defense improves, the key to their season will be in how they come out of the gates.
St. Louis Rams Prediction (4-12): I don’t really have much to say about this team except that their fans will have to endure another losing season. They did manage to pick up some solid contributors in the draft but its going to take time for the whole vision to come together.