Friday, September 26, 2008

NFL Week 4 Preview and Predictions (Redskins-Cowboys only)

NFL Week 4 Preview and Predictions
Posted by Eric G
http://blogs.phillyburbs.com

So far I think it is safe to say that the NFL season has been a fun one. There seems to be more offense early in the season than usual. Power has shifted from the AFC to the NFC. There have been several close games, including several overtime games. The season thus far is a great one.

It is hard not to rank the Dallas Cowboys as the best team in the league. The Cowboys have had one of the toughest opening schedules in the league. The Cowboys are not only 3-0, but a dominant 3-0. The Cowboys look like the real deal.

As much as I hate the Cowboys, I respect their play during the first three weeks. To soundly defeat Green Bay in Green Bay on a short week after playing Philadelphia is very impressive. The problem is that September hasn’t been this team’s problem. Let me see the Cowboys do this in December before I take them too seriously.

The Giants have been equally impressive. I wrote last week that I thought the Bengals game would be tough. I am still not convinced about Eli Manning. I think Eli has gotten some good breaks the last few weeks. I know he won the Super Bowl, but man does he put it up in bad places.

The Titans have to be the biggest joke of a 3-0 team that I have ever seen. I just can’t buy Kerry Collins doing anything special in January. The Titans may have the best defense in the league, but their lack of depth at receiver is going to hurt them as the season goes on. If the Titans can get a quarterback next season, they are young enough to contend for the next few seasons.

The Broncos are the real deal. The Broncos look flat out dangerous. It looks like the Broncos will be the high-powered team that Indianapolis has been for the last few seasons. Cutler has some great weapons and looks like he can put up points at will. I had a feeling Cutler would have a great year, but this is just ridiculous.

I think the Chargers that played on Monday are the real San Diego Chargers. While winless for the first two weeks, the Chargers could have easily been undefeated. L.T.’s toe is going to get better, and a healthy Sproles and Tomlinson out there will give defenses fits all season long. The defense will be a question to me until they can do it consistently.

Who are the real Cincinnati Bengals? I can’t believe that Carson Palmer will play this badly all season. The offense just has too many great players to play this bad for much longer. Palmer looks like he may have turned it around. Palmer had some big games against the Browns last season. The Browns may be the team he needs to turn it around for good this season.

On paper there is only one standout match this weekend. The Cowboys and Redskins will renew their rivalry for the first time since that embarrassing blowout by Washington last December. The thing you have to remember here is no matter how good or bad either team is, they always have at least one close game per season.

I would imagine that Cowboy fans are still scarred from last season’s beating. Not only did the Redskins beat the Cowboys, they destroyed them. The final score was 27-6 and the Cowboys offense was putrid that day. The starters only played a half, but the half was a sign of things to come in January.

Jason Campbell was on fire last week against Arizona. I would argue that Arizona’s secondary is slightly better than Dallas’. Clinton Portis has looked consistent all season. The Redskins hit on all cylinders last week against a very good Arizona team. Take the opener out of the equation, and Washington has looked surprisingly good.

If it wasn’t for last year’s game, I’d pick this one to be a tighter game. I think the loss still lingers and this is a big revenge game for the Cowboys. I think the Cowboys go 4-0 and win big on Sunday. The Cowboys need to get up early and take away the Washington running game. I think Washington wins their next meeting, but this one is all Cowboys.

So far I think it is safe to say that the NFL season has been a fun one. There seems to be more offense early in the season than usual. Power has shifted from the AFC to the NFC. There have been several close games, including several overtime games. The season thus far is a great one.

It is hard not to rank the Dallas Cowboys as the best team in the league. The Cowboys have had one of the toughest opening schedules in the league. The Cowboys are not only 3-0, but a dominant 3-0. The Cowboys look like the real deal.

As much as I hate the Cowboys, I respect their play during the first three weeks. To soundly defeat Green Bay in Green Bay on a short week after playing Philadelphia is very impressive. The problem is that September hasn’t been this team’s problem. Let me see the Cowboys do this in December before I take them too seriously.

The Giants have been equally impressive. I wrote last week that I thought the Bengals game would be tough. I am still not convinced about Eli Manning. I think Eli has gotten some good breaks the last few weeks. I know he won the Super Bowl, but man does he put it up in bad places.

The Titans have to be the biggest joke of a 3-0 team that I have ever seen. I just can’t buy Kerry Collins doing anything special in January. The Titans may have the best defense in the league, but their lack of depth at receiver is going to hurt them as the season goes on. If the Titans can get a quarterback next season, they are young enough to contend for the next few seasons.

The Broncos are the real deal. The Broncos look flat out dangerous. It looks like the Broncos will be the high-powered team that Indianapolis has been for the last few seasons. Cutler has some great weapons and looks like he can put up points at will. I had a feeling Cutler would have a great year, but this is just ridiculous.

I think the Chargers that played on Monday are the real San Diego Chargers. While winless for the first two weeks, the Chargers could have easily been undefeated. L.T.’s toe is going to get better, and a healthy Sproles and Tomlinson out there will give defenses fits all season long. The defense will be a question to me until they can do it consistently.

Who are the real Cincinnati Bengals? I can’t believe that Carson Palmer will play this badly all season. The offense just has too many great players to play this bad for much longer. Palmer looks like he may have turned it around. Palmer had some big games against the Browns last season. The Browns may be the team he needs to turn it around for good this season.

On paper there is only one standout match this weekend. The Cowboys and Redskins will renew their rivalry for the first time since that embarrassing blowout by Washington last December. The thing you have to remember here is no matter how good or bad either team is, they always have at least one close game per season.

I would imagine that Cowboy fans are still scarred from last season’s beating. Not only did the Redskins beat the Cowboys, they destroyed them. The final score was 27-6 and the Cowboys offense was putrid that day. The starters only played a half, but the half was a sign of things to come in January.

Jason Campbell was on fire last week against Arizona. I would argue that Arizona’s secondary is slightly better than Dallas’. Clinton Portis has looked consistent all season. The Redskins hit on all cylinders last week against a very good Arizona team. Take the opener out of the equation, and Washington has looked surprisingly good.

If it wasn’t for last year’s game, I’d pick this one to be a tighter game. I think the loss still lingers and this is a big revenge game for the Cowboys. I think the Cowboys go 4-0 and win big on Sunday. The Cowboys need to get up early and take away the Washington running game. I think Washington wins their next meeting, but this one is all Cowboys.