Today I am very happy to announce that Cippin on Sports is welcoming Chris Farmer as a freelance writer to the site.
You can check out more of Chris at his website undrafteds.com where he write about the NFL and Fantasy Football.
He is also the Arizona Cardinals writer for NFLTouchdown.com.
He can also been seen as a guest blogger at FantasyFootball.com.
If you want to know more about Chris click here.
It was a wild week 3 will plenty of drama in games that went down to the wire. Can you belive that were only one week away from the quarter mark of the NFL season? This season is flying by so far.
Here are today’s great reads:
Now three weeks in, we are learning some more about this season. There seems to be a big drop off right after the Bengals at 17 and the rest of the teams are jammed together. The big movers this week are the Colts, Broncos, and Bengals who all moved up five spots. The big loser this week is the Pittsburgh Steelers who fell eight spots after letting a 11 point lead slip away.
1. New York Giants (3-0) –
Pitched a shutout against the Bucs completely dominating them in every aspect of the game.
2. Baltimore Ravens (3-0) –
The offense is looking very dangerous and you can’t forget about their defense.
3. New Orleans Saints (3-0) +1
Pierre Thomas picking up the slack after a lackluster performance form Drew Brees.
4. Indianapolis Colts (3-0) +5
Peyton Manning is looking great and their not missing a beat without Tony Dungy.
5. Minnesota Vikings (3-0) +1
Needed a little Favre magic to get the win over the 49ers.
6. New York Jets (3-0) +1
Another win for those Jets. Big statement game against the Saints this week.
7. Philadelphia Eagles (2-1) +1
Kevin Kolb is impressing in McNabb’s absence. Could McCoy force a timeshare?
8. New England Patriots (2-1) +2
The Pats aren’t quite dead yet. Brady rebounded and they finally decided to run the ball.
9. San Diego Chargers (2-1) +4
Won without L.T. and they will need him if they want to beat the Steelers next week.
10. Atlanta Falcons (2-1) -5
The Falcons looked pedestrian against the Pats but you can’t penalize them that much.
11. Pittsburgh Steelers (1-2) -8
Lost two straight in the final minute. Could be time to worry with the Chargers coming into time.
12. Green Bay Packers (2-1) -1
The o-line looked better but then gain it was the Rams.
13. Chicago Bears (2-1) -1
Cutler looked sharp again but they’re struggling to get Forte rolling.
14. Denver Broncos (3-0) +5
Where has this defense come from? Brandon Marshall had a good game and had a positive attitude after the game.
15. Dallas Cowboys (2-1) –
The Boys get their first win their new digs without Marion Barber.
16. San Francisco 49ers (2-1) -2
A lot of bad news for the 49ers this week. Lost a heart breaker and lost Frank Gore for a coupe weeks.
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Another week down in the NFL and now we are starting to see what teams are for real and which ones aren’t. September is ending and we are heading into October, the second month of the season. It was eventful week with the Lions winning and some Brett Favre magic were only two highlights among the many. Lets get into my thoughts on the week of play:
The Lions Win!
I'm going to Disney World!
It’s been 21 months since the Lions tasted victory but that is all forgotten- at least for now. The monkey is finally off their back and they should be able to string together a few more wins this season.
Zorn on the Hot Seat
That seat just got a lot hotter after yesterday’s performance. Owner Dan Snyder is known to be very impatient and I’m sure he’s on the brink right now. A loss next week at home to Tampa Bay would probably do the trick. Even if it doesn’t happen soon he’s all but certain to be out at the end of the season unless the Skins put together a playoff run. He has probably gotten a bad shake but he knew what he was getting himself into when he took the job.
Favre Magic
On Sunday afternoon we saw vintage Favre on that final drive as he engineered an 80 yard drive in 87 seconds without any timeouts. That’s one game so far that the Vikes would have not one with Tavaris or Sage at the helm. Brett just had his ‘Viking Moment’ and gives the team a lot of momentum as the Vikings head into a huge Monday night clash against the Packers.
Vick is Back
1,001 days after playing his last regular season game Michael Vick returned to the playing field for a rather uneventful 11 plays. I’ll some up his play in 11 words; He is simply not the best Wildcat quarterback on the team. In fact, I’d rather have Westbrook, DeSean Jackson, and LeSean McCoy taking snaps in the Wildcat over Vick right now. He has a long way to go but it was a start.
Relax Bill Simmons, the Patriots are fine
In his latest column Bill Simmons pretty much said even without directly saying it that he thought the Pats were in for a long season. Well, after Sunday’s performance i wouldn’t write them off quite yet. Without Wes Welker they defeated the Falcons, a NFC contender, in impressive fashion. I think Belichick finally realized that you need to run the ball and he has a pretty good running back in Fred Taylor. The running game brought some balance to the offense and kept the defense on the sidelines. This may not be the Pats team of a few years back but they’re still a team to be reckon with.
Trouble in Pittsbugh?
Another last second loss for the Steelers and now they’re sitting at 1-2 and two games behind the first place Baltimore Ravens. And if not for a couple of Rob Bironas missed field goals in the opener the defending champs would be sitting at 0-3. One positive though, the running game looked a lot better this week. Anything would have been better than the first two weeks but Willie Parker looked good, not great. They still need last years first rounder, Rashard Mendenhall, to make an impact. It’s clear though that this team really misses Troy Polamalu. They haven’t forced a turnover in the two games without him and had two in the game where he played. They have a big game against the Chargers this week as they try to avoid going 1-3.
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Last week wasn’t my best effort as I only got two out of my four picks right, but I did nail my upset pick for the second straight week. Let’s see if I can rebound in week 3.
Week 3
1. New England Patriots (-4) over the Atlanta Falcons
The Pats are very upset in their performance last week against the Jets and will be out for a vengeance this week. This match up features arguably the best quarterback in the game, Tom Brady, to the next big thing in Matt Ryan.
Brady struggled last week but the Falcons defense is no where close to the Jets D. They won’t be able to apply the same amount of pressure and Brady will be able to sit back in the pocket and make throws. The return of Wes Welker should also benefit the Pats as he was sorely missed as Brady’s safety valve last week.
2. Chicago Bears (-2) over the Seattle Seahawks
The Bears were very impressive last week defeating the world champ Steelers holding them to only 14 points. Jay Cutler also proved why Chicago traded for him and delivered a great game.
The Seahawks look like they will be playing without Matt Hasslebeck this week and instead will start Seneca Wallace. The Bears defense will harass Wallace all game long and force him to make some mistakes. I see Matt Forte breaking out of his mini slump and having a big day as the Bears beat the Seahawks.
3. New York Giants (-6.5) over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
These are two teams going in complete opposite directions. The Bucs have looked awful in their first two games while the Giants looks like the class of the NFC.
The Bucs secondary has been ripped to shreds the first two weeks and in come Eli Manning and he red hot Giants passing game. The emergence of Mario Manningham and Steve Smith has been a pleasant surprise for the G-Men and have made them forgot about Plaxico Burress. Also I expect Brandon Jacobs to have a big game running all over the the smallish Bucs defense. I think the Giants win this game big.
Underdog Pick
1. Detroit Lions (+190) over the Washington Redskins
I know I can’t believe I’m picking the Lions, but I got a feeling this is the week. The Redskins looked bad last week as they couldn’t even muster a touchdown to the lowly Rams. They had four trips inside the 10 yard line but could only manage three field goals and after the win were met with boos from the home crowd.
It may be only two games into the season but Jim Zorn and Jason Campbell are feeling the heat. The Lions meanwhile, have lost both games, but have been competitive in both and had the lead at halftime against the Vikings. If Stafford can improve his accuracy and hit Calvin Johnson and Kevin Smith gives them some balance in the running game the Lions can pull this one out ending a 19 game losing streak. Just saw on ESPN Herman Edwards picking the Lions, might want to rethink this pick.
Final Score Lions 23 Redskins 20
It was a rough week last week as I picked the Packers who went on to lose at home to the Bengals. They weren’t the only upset though, as the Titans, another popular pick, also went down. The other popular picks, the Redskins and Vikings, survived scares but went on to win. Week 3 poses some intriguing match ups to look at.
Teams already used:
Week 1: Seattle Seahwaks: Win
Week 2: Green Bay Packers: Loss
The pick for week 3 is the Baltimore Ravens.
The Ravens have looked like a different team this year as they are showing off an explosive offense which has scored 69 points in two games. Joe Flacco has made a considerable leap in his second year and Ray Rice and Willis McGahee are forming quite the one-two punch in the backfield. Also Todd Heap has had a resurgence and is playing like its three years ago.
This week the 0-2 Browns come to town fresh off two spankings. The Browns defense is ripe for the picking allowing 61 points in their two games. Brady Quinn has looked average at best and there are already some people calling for Derek Anderson and they have had no running game to speak of. The Ravens looked impressive winning on the road a San Diego last week and even though this is a divisional game it doesn’t matter. The Ravens have the Patriots next week but guys like Ray Lewis and Ed Reed won’t allow the team to overlook this game.
Final Score: Ravens 30 Browns 13
In case you have used one of the teams I’ve picked here are some other team I like:
Giants over the Bucs- he passing game is clicking and the Bucs secondary is in shambles.
Eagles over the Chiefs- I’m a little nervous about Kolb, but after seeing what their defense did to Delhomme imagine what they will do to Cassel.
Were almost at week 3. A big week for a lot of teams not trying to go 0-3 (Dolphins, Titans, and Panthers). Also that guy Michael Vick is making his return to the field on Sunday in what will probably be the most over analyzed/talked about 10 plays any NFL player will ever play.
Here are today’s great reads:
Now two weeks in to the season we start to have some moving in the power rankings. We don’t want to crown any teams yet or count anyone out because after all there’s only been two games so far. Were still trying to figure out who are the contenders and who are the pretenders. Here’s out best shot:
1. New York Giants (2-0) ↑1
Their defense picked off Romo three times and it looks like they have some receivers in Steve Smith and Mario Manningham.
2. Baltimore Ravers (2-0) ↑1
The offense looked good again in San Diego and the defense stepped up when needed.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1) ↓2
I’m not going to slam the Steelers for losing by a field goal on the road in a game where thier kicked misses two kicks.
4. New Orleans Saints (2-0) ↑5
Can anybody stop the Saints offense after they dropped 48 on a Philly D that made Jake Delhomme look silly the week before.
5. Atlanta Falcons (2-0) ↑2
Another impressive win and great chemistry building between Matt Ryan and Tony Gonzalez.
6. Minnesota Vikings (2-0) -
Another win but they’re beating up on the Browns and Lions.
7. New York Jets (2-0) ↑10
The defensive hasn’t allowed a touchdown yet and Sanchez isn’t playing like anything but a rookie.
8. Philadelphia Eagles (1-1) ↓4
Can’t blame them for losing to the Saints with Kolb at quarterback.
9. Indianapolis Colts (2-0) ↑1
Got the job done despite not having the ball for over three fourths of the game.
10. New England Patriots (1-1) ↓5
A wake up call for Brady and the Pats. Now let’s see how they respond.
11. Green Bay Packers (1-1) ↓3
A bad loss at home and they need to fix the o-line.
12. Chicago Bears (1-1) ↑2
Now everyone understands why the Bears traded for Jay Cutler.
13. San Diego Chargers (1-1) -
Played the Ravens tough without L.T.
14. San Francisco 49ers (2-0) ↑2
Are they the real deal? Frank Gore certainly looked the part.
15. Dallas Cowboys (1-1) ↓3
What a way to open the stadium? Your franchise QB throws 3 picks as you lose at the gun to your arch rivals.
16. Arizona Cardinals (1-1) ↓1
Beat the Jags but they don’t look like the same team as last year.
17. Tennessee Titans (0-2) ↓6
Two close losses and it doesn’t get any easier as they travel to take on the Jets.
18. Buffalo Bills (1-1) -
A Leodis McKelvin away from 2-0. Fred Jackson has made the backfield a 50-50 split.
19. Denver Broncos (2-0) ↑4
Maybe they’re not so bad. But then again it was the Browns.
20. Houston Texans (1-1) ↑4
They looked like a completely different team this week but what’s going on with Steve Slaton?
21. Oakland Raiders (1-1) -
Looked about as bad as you can and still win but they’ll take it.
22. Cincinnati Bengals (1-1) ↑3
A fluke play away from a 2-0 start. Cedric Benson is playing determined football.
23. Miami Dolphins (0-2) ↓1
Dominated the Colts in time of possession but couldn’t close the deal. Have we ever seen a team so inept at running the two minute drills as the Dolphins?
24. Seattle Seahawks (1-1) ↓4
Lost Matt Hasselbeck to injury again but it doesn’t appear to be that serious.
25. Carolina Panthers (0-2) ↑1
After getting embarrassed they came back and fought hard and almost prevailed.
26. Jacksonville Jaguars (0-2) ↓7
The secondary has gotten torched two weeks in a row.
27. Washington Redskins (1-1) -
A very ugly win as they failed to score a touchdown against one of the worst teams in the league.
28. Kansas City Chiefs (0-2) -
Cassel returned but didn’t impress.
29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-2) -
The secondary again looked awful. Bryon Leftwich might lead the league in attempts.
30. Detroit Lions (0-2) -
Had a couple positives. Matt Stafford threw his first career td and they had the lead at halftime. Stafford also threw two picks and they lost by 14.
31. Cleveland Browns (0-2) -
Were shut down by the Broncos. Braylon Edwards showed some sign of life but Quinn’s job is already being questioned.
32. St. Louis Rams (0-2) -
Other than Steven Jackson this team has no play makers on offense.
Week 2 is officially in the books. A pretty entertaining finish to the Monday Night game which saw the Colts win despite possessing the ball for less than 15 minutes, a first in NFL history.
Here are today’s great reads:
