NFC South

Falcons

1. Is this the year that the Falcons finally put everything together and win the division? The team was a favorite in a lot of preseason publications last year. They are projected to finish 1st in even more this season. The O has been challenged by a lack of a solid #2 WR. WR Jenkins must get it done this year. The D has just been challenged particularly against the pass.

2. Will RB Michael “Burner” Turner return to his 2008 form? Last season he started slow and ended the season hurt. The team has others that can fill in but no one that can turn the game around with a single run like he can.

3. Will the DB play improve? The team ended up 28th against the pass. If HC Smith is going to get this team to the top of the NFCS, that has to improve a lot. One corner and one safety spot are up for grabs.

Panthers

1. Did the team make the right call in letting QB Jake Delhomme go to Cleveland and starting Matt Moore? Moore did well in relief of the horrible season Delhomme had last year. The team hedged their bet by taking ND QB Jimmy Clausen in the 2nd round. HC Fox shocked the team after the OTAs by announcing that there would be an open challenge for the QB spot.

2. Will the combination of RBs DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart stay health this year? The two were healthy most of last year but both have a history of injury. The team will lean much more on the running game with a new QB under center.

3. Will the team be able to replace the sacks and QB hurries generated by Julius Peppers now that he is gone? The D backfield depended on steady pressure up front to be effective. The current group will struggle to get as much pressure without the double and sometimes triple teaming of Peppers that left the rest 1 on 1.

Saints

1. How well will the D play without some key losses? FS Darren Sharper is hurt and may not be ready this year. LB Scott Fujita and DE Charles Grant are gone and will be hard to replace.

2. Will the WRs stay healthy this year? WRs Lance Moore and Marques Colston both missed games last year. With a tougher schedule this year QB Drew Brees is going to need the top WRs on the field.

3. Will the Saints suffer the “year after” syndrome that other first time Super Bowl winners have? This year they have a tougher schedule, won’t sneak up on anyone and have had less turn around time than other teams. The coaching staff will have their work cut out to get the team deep in the playoffs again.

Buccaneers

1. Is Josh Freeman going to be the QB the team thought he would be when they drafted him? He started 9 games last year but had a 54.9 passer rating with 10 TDs but 18 picks. The team is not good enough to win unless he is in the 85-90 range this year.

2. Will any of the WRs step up to help Freeman? The WR lineup will change again this year but the team has no sure things at the position. TE Kellen Winslow is still suffering from injuries early in his career but the team will try to help Freeman by using 2 TEs a lot.

3. Is DT Gerald McCoy the Warren Sapp this year or is he Wendy Sapp? The team needs him to be the penetrating pass rush that Sapp did in the Super Bowl years. That can make up for an aging group of DBs.

NFC West

Cardinals

1. Can QB Matt Leinart finally justify his 1st overall selection in the Draft? In a word no. Leinart has been given more chances at redemption than a crooked Congressman. He has been handed the job twice and has not been able to keep it. As insurance Coach Ken Whisenhunt brought in big armed former Pro Bowl QB Derek Anderson. Leinart is due BIG dollars in 2011. If he fails this year he is gone. Look for Anderson to be the starter before the end of the year.

2. Can the team recover from the losses of key players this year? QB Kurt Warner will be the biggest loss. He is headed to the Hall of Fame. WR Anquan Boldin was traded. WR Steve Breaston is good but no Boldin. IB Karlos Dansby is gone and IB Gerald Hayes is recovering from back surgery. They released S Antrel Rolle. LBs Travis LaBoy, Bertrand Berry and Chike Okeafor are also missing. That is a lot of spots to fill in.

3. Will the older incoming players like G Alan Faneca (13th season) and Joey Porter (12th) have anything left? They should provide some leadership in the locker room but the team needs them to produce on the field as well.

Rams

1. How soon will the 50M man QB Sam Bradford be starting? The Rams fans have not had much reason to buy a ticket for several years. Sam is the “the man” but how quickly will he become the starter? Better question yet, how long will it take him to become an NFL Quality player. He is in the right stadium and division with a majority of his games to be played indoors. He does not have an above average arm. This team needs him to be the right guy.

2. Can the Ram O line protect a somewhat fragile Bradford? For the second straight year, the team took a T high in the draft. Rodger Saffold was regarded as a steal with their 2nd round pick. The team is still trying to decide if Saffold will play LT or RT with the other side going to 09 2nd pick overall Jason Smith. OTAs took a toll on the O line with 6 guys ending up hurt including both T prospects. Smith missed games last year with a knee. C Jason Brown and RG Adam Goldberg are OK but the rest including LG Jacob Bell and last season RT Phil Trautwein are barely adequate.

3. Will the D play better with a year under their belts with the D scheme? 2008 2nd pick overall DE Chris Long should play better having to think less than he did last year converting to his 3rd D in 3 years. He started to get it in the last few games of 09. The rest of the D will know the D better this season having the same D scheme as last year.

The LB group will be wearing OSU Scarlet and Gray. MLB James Laurinaitis is a beast and should have all fellow ex-Buckeye guys around him. Na’il Diggs will start at SLB with either Larry Grant or Bobby Carpenter playing WLB. The fact that all 4 played together at OSU should help in communications.

49ers

1. Will former 1st overall pick QB Alex Smith finally look like he deserved the money? Probably not. Smith started 10 games last year and had a semi-respectable 81.5 QB rating. He is in the last year of his rookie contract. Unless he plays better, he will be elsewhere next year. The team needs him to play better than that if they are going to contend for the NFCW title.

2. Will the O line be better? The O line has given up 150 sacks in the last 3 seasons. That kills drives and QBs. LT Joe Staley and C Eric Heitmann are coming along well but LG Davis Baas is hurt again. The right side is questionable at best.

3. Will the DBs play up to the rest of the D? The lock down corner they paid big bucks to LCB Nate Clements had a bad season. He was benched but worked his way back onto the field. RCB Shawntae Spencer should be better with a year of recovery from knee surgery. The Ss play the run better than the pass.

Seahawks

1. Will the Hawks have a good enough running game to take pressure off the passing game? Justin Forsett was brought in to compete with RB Julius Jones. Jones averaged only 3.7 per attempt despite starting 14 games last year. RB Leon Washington will likely be the 3rd down back if he is recovered from a broken leg last year.

2. How long will it take for the new guys to play together? There has been a ton of turnover by the new staff. For several years it was a bad old roster. The new roster looks better but it will take some time to make all the parts work together.

3. Can the O line protect their fragile QB Matt Hasselbeck and open holes for the running game? Long time Pro Bowler Walter Jones retired. Russell Okung takes over LT. Other than LG Ben Hamilton the line is below average. OL coach Alex Gibbs is a magician and he will have to do some neat tricks to make this line perform well enough to win.

That’s what I think. Tell me what you think.

Bill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams, has officiated both football and basketball, done color on radio for college football and basketball and has scouted talent. He is a senior writer for http://NFLDraftDog.com and edits http://fryingpansports.com. He has also published several novels on

http://www.eBooks-Library.com/Contemporary/Author.cfm?AuthorID=1003

and edits http://fryingpanpolitics.blog.com.

Note: We will look at all the divisions of the NFL with this same point of view over the next few issues of Fryingpansports.com.

NFC East

Cowboys

1. Will the new LT be able to protect the blind side of QB Romo? The team cut previous starter Flozell Adams and will try Doug Free and Alex Barron at that critical position. Neither has proven he can be an effective RT let alone face the talented REs around the league.

2. Will the ground game get back to a high level in the running back by committee system? Last year there was too much Jones and not enough Barber. The line was inconsistent and the running game suffered. Beware of taking either of these guys high in your Fantasy Draft.

3. Will former 1st round pick Roy Williams ever be worth what Jerry Jones paid for him in the trade? NO and rookie Dez Bryant will have his spot before week 3 unless the injury takes him our for longer than we think.

Giants

1. Will the D line return to the top of the NFL or repeat a disappointing 2009? Going into last season, the DL was supposed to be a strength. It was not. The Giants replaced DC Bill Sheridan with new DC Perry Fewell. 2008 star DE Osi Umenyiora has been advised to get surgery to fix his hip. How will DE Justin Tuck bounce back from his shoulder injury? The D is going to have to play better and stay healthier than it was in 09.

2. Will the running game return to a high level? In 2009, problems on the O line and at RB caused the running game to disappear during games against Dallas and other top teams. If the Giants are going to become a contender again, the running game is going to have to improve.

3. Can FS Kenny Phillips recover from microfracture knee surgery and will UFA SS Antrel Rolle solidify the last line of defense? The loss of Phillips was a major factor in the D’s decline in 09. Rolle had an off year in 09 for the Cardinals and they were willing to let him go. The D will depend on the S position as much as anything if it is going to become effective again.

Eagles

1. Can QB Kevin Kolb become the QB that the team hopes he can? Probably not this year and it will be a down year for the Birds.

2. Can the running game be resurrected? In a word, no. The Eagles are talking like they have a running game but LeSean McCoy ran out of gas as a part timer last year. With Westbrook gone, he will have to carry the main load.

3. Will the D line produce sacks like they did in the beginning of the season last year? The team traded for DE Darryl Tapp and drafted undersized DE Brandon Graham in the first round. The D line ran out of gas last year. DE Trent Cole is getting older and neither LDT Mike Patterson or RDT Brodrick Bunkley are much of a pass rusher.

Redskins

1. Will Albert Haynesworth settle in at DE? 21M just doesn’t buy as much as it used to. That is what the Redskins paid Haynesworth to play NT but he wasn’t thrilled about being hit by 900+ pounds of OL every play. He lost 25 pounds so that he would be too light to play NT but still couldn’t pass the conditioning drill.

2. How good will the O be with Donovan McNabb at QB? McNabb will be a great improvement over Campbell. But he will really miss the quality receivers he had in Philly.

3. How will the OL protect an aging QB? The bookend pro bowl Ts are gone. The replacements are 4th overall pick LT Trent Williams and ex-Saint RT Jammal Brown. Brown can play LT if needed and is a 2 time pro bowler. Williams is a questionmark.

NFC North

Bears

1. How will QB Jay Cutler preform in OC Mike Martz’s offense? Cutler looked lost in a very simple O last year. Martz’s O depends on timing which has not been a strength of Cutler or the Bear WRs. Look for the Cutler/Martz marriage to end in a quick and ugly divorce.

2. Will the running game recover? 09 starter Matt Forte struggled badly and the lack of blocking up front didn’t help. Ex-Vike Chester Taylor was brought in to compete with Forte but he is not a full time guy at this point in his career either. Beware of these guys in the Fantasy draft as well.

3. Will the DBs finally come around? The coaching staff have been shuffling the lineup in the D backfield more often than they do in Las Vegas. The team has not had good coverage since they finally gave up on the oft-injured S Brown. Getting MLB Brian Urlacher will help a lot because he can cover the deep middle in the 2 deep zone.

Lions

1. How well will 2nd year QB Matthew Stafford play? He was up and down as expected in 09 but should improve with a year of experience. Forget what you hear about better WRs for the Lions. There is Calvin Johnson and a bunch of “never was” guys.

2. Will the team have a running game? 09 starter Kevin Smith is coming back from an ACL. It takes 20 months to fully recover from that injury. Rookie Jahvid Best has talent but there is no indication he can hold up for 16 games. Look for the running game to struggle.

3. How much will the D line be improved by the addition of DT Ndamukong Suh and DE Kyle Vanden Bosch? A lot! Suh is the real deal and has more pass rush than you think. Vanden Bosch is a solid pass rush guy and won’t face as much double teaming as he did last year.

Packers

1. How good will the D be without DT Johnny Jolly the year? That may sound like no big deal but Jolly played more downs than any other D lineman last year. Look for NT Ryan Pickett to move to LE leaving NT B.J. Raji to man the middle. Raji tends to wear down and there isn’t another legitimate NT on the roster if Pickett is not able to play there.

2. Will the O line look as old as it did late last season? LT Chad Clifton got old in a hurry last year. He has to play better. RT Mark Tauscher was OK but beyond that there is nothing special on the line. While there will be some challenges from the bench, there is no real depth there either.

3. Will the conversion to 3-4 continue to go as well as it did last year? The team lost multi-year pro bowl DE turned reluctant LB Aaron Kampman. The left OB looks like a problem with Brad Jones filling in for Kampman. He is solid rushing the passer but does not hold the point of attack against eh run. The rest of the LBs are solid.

Vikings

1. Will the league be able to suspend the Williams boys at DT this year or will the court fightes go on until they retire? Don’t worry Vike fans, they are safe for 2010.

2. Will MLB E.J. Henderson (leg) and CB Cedric Griffin (ACL) be ready for the season? The D suffered when these two went down last year. The biggest value of the great DT play of the Williams boys is that it frees up the LBs to make plays at the line of scrimmage. The loss of Henderson was exposed in the Vikings loss in the playoffs last year.

3. Will QB Brett —? Who cares at this point?

That’s what I think. Tell me what you think.

Bill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams, has officiated both football and basketball, done color on radio for college football and basketball and has scouted talent. He is a senior writer for http://NFLDraftDog.com and edits http://fryingpansports.com. He has also published several novels on

http://www.eBooks-Library.com/Contemporary/Author.cfm?AuthorID=1003

and edits http://fryingpanpolitics.blog.com.

Cowboys @ Vikings

Cowboys

Prior to this season the Boys folded in December. When JJ issued his threat to blow up the team and the coaching staff this season unless the Boys got into the playoffs and did well, the team got the message. This team has played a lot better than they did in previous seasons but I am not on the Boy bandwagon yet.

The O has been solid but the last two games were played against an Eagle D that seemed to give up after being in a position to win the NFC East. In the upset win over the Saints, QB Romo had a QB rating of 104. In the two games against the Eagles he had ratings of 86.1 and 106. That is a great improvement over last year when he finished the year with ratings of 44.9, 66.2 and 55.8 in the 3 losses. The improved Romo is the key to difference in this years team. The Boys will need as much passing as he can generate because they will not be able to get much on the ground against the Vikes.

RB Jones ran for 148 yards but that is misleading. Take out the two long runs and he had a 4 yard average. That is VERY average. Starter Barber is probable but is coming off a knee and won’t be close to 100%.

The other key to the turnaround is the play of the O line. The line had been living on an undeserved rep. In the latter part of the season they started to play up to that rep. They will have to against an outstanding D line of the Vikes.

The Cowboy D has also had the habit of playing up or down to the competition. The key will be pressure on QB Favre. If they can pressure him, they will have a chance. The pass D ranked 20^th giving up over 200 yards per game. Balanced offenses give them problems. The Vikes can be very balanced when they chose to be.

Vikings

The Vikes tend to throw too much on O. That habit tends to get them in trouble. QB Favre can light up the scoreboard but can also throw enough picks to kill the team’s playoff hopes. The Vikes ended the season just 2-3 in December including an embarrassing loss to the Panthers. Favre had a passer rating of 73.7 in that loss. The team ranked 8^th in passing.

The running game is solid with the leagues best back Peterson. But he has 1 100 yard game in the last half of the season. The O line had not been opening holes for the running game and Peterson has gotten beaten up. Peterson has to get over 100 yards for the Vikes to win. That is going to require the O line to play at a higher level. G Hutchinson is probable for the game. He would help the O line a great deal.

The Viking D is solid as well. It ranks 2^nd against the run but 19^th against the pass. The key to the Vikes winning the game is shutting down the Boys running game and forcing Romo into mistakes. Given enough pressure, he will make errors.

This is a very hard game to call but I think the Vikes have just enough to beat the Boys. The Cowboys will not be able to run and will not be able to keep up with Favre and the Vikes.

Jets @ Chargers

Jets

The Jets beat a Bengals team that was inexperienced in the playoffs. That is not the case with the Chargers. The game will depend on how hot Jet QB Sanchez can get. The Jets took advantage of an easy schedule and even then needed gifts from both the Bengals and the Colts to get into the playoffs. The O has the top ranked running game. That is a good thing because in the last 3 weeks of the season, Sanchez had passer ratings of 49.7, 78, and 60.2 and threw just 1 TD with 9 picks. That is not going to scare experienced playoff teams. RB Thomas is their top guy but he had only 3 100 yard games in the last half of the season. He is 31 and they hope it is not an indication that he is showing his age.

The Jets are going to have to be able to throw better than that to win.

The Jet D ranked 1^st in scoring D, passing D and yards. They are 8^th against the run. They have been playing very well under Coach Ryan. However, they have not beaten an O like they will against the Chargers.

Chargers

QB Rivers has had an outstanding season. He has a passer rating of 104. The running game is ranked 31^st which caused Rivers to throw a lot. The passing game is ranked 5^th. He has a solid group of receivers WRs Jackson and Floyd and TE Gates. The running game has Tomlinson but he is a shadow of what he was a few years ago. Neither he nor RB Sproles has gotten the running going. The Chargers used the franchise tag on Sproles. That was a mistake because he will never be able to be a starting RB. The O line came together after recovering from early season injuries. It still can not run block.

The Charger D is middle of the road in terms of yards but ranks 11^th in scoring D. NT Scott is their 3^rd guy in that spot but has come on nicely. The loss of All Pro NT Williams has reduced the ability to stop the run and the team ranks 20^th in that department. They are 11^th against the pass and have a pair of pro bowl LB in Merriman and Phillips. They have not played up to their rep this season. The D backfield is led by CB Cromartie. The D can play at a very high level but is inconsistent.

Given all that, the Chargers should be able to score on the Jets through the air. I am not sure that QB Sanchez can keep up with Rivers. The Chargers win.

Your fantasy football doesn’t have to be over. Run a pro football franchise all year long for free at http://sportsims.net/. Tell them Coach Smith sent you.

26-7.

That’s what I think. Tell me what you think.

Bill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams, has officiated both football and basketball, done color on radio for college football and basketball and has scouted talent. He is a senior writer for http://NFLDraftDog.com and edits http://fryingpansports.com. He has also published several novels on http://www.eBooks-Library/Contemporary/Author.cfm?AuthorID=1003 and edits http://fryingpanpolitics.blog.com.

Cards @ Saints

Cards QB Warner had just another day at the office. Against one of the most improved Ds in the league he went 29-33 for 379 yards and 5 TDs without a pick. The Pack had no answer for Warner. They blitzed him and he picked man to man coverage apart. They rushed 3 and kept 8 in coverage and he found holes in the zones. The O line protected Warner for the most part and sub WRs did well to make up for the loss of WR Bolden.

On D, the Cards and the Pack allowed the score board to look like the something out of Pinball Wizard. Neither D could put consistent pressure on the others QB. The Pack was so focused on Warner that they allowed RB Wells 6.5 yards per attempt. They were lucky that their O was putting up so many points or Wells would have had more than his 14 carries. If the Cards are going to have any chance to stage the upset the D is going to have to play like they did last year in the playoff run to the Super Bowl. The passing game of the Saints is equally lethal. The Cards are 23^rd in pass D. The D may be missing DE Campbell, LBs Davis and Hayes. If they can’t go the D will be in even more trouble. Get your popcorn ready, this could be a wild offensive show.

Saints

The Saint’s D coordinator Williams isn’t sleeping too well this week. He has nightmares of Card WRs running wide open through his D backfield. The Saints D had played much better this year than last but it has had a tough time against high percentage passing attack. The good news is that CB Jenkins is hampered by a hamstring but is expected to play. The bad news is that Boldin is optimistic about playing as well. The Saints are ranked 26^th in pass D. The key to the game for the Saints D will be their ability to pressure Warner better than the Pack did.

The Saints O is outstanding. They are 1^st in both yards and points, 4^th in passing and 6^th in rushing. The team stumbled into the playoffs with 3 straight losses. The O is going to have to play like they did early in the season and not in the last 3 games. They scored only 44 points in those losses. The 23-10 loss to the Panthers could have been explained by the team resting a lot of the key players but not the losses to the Boys and the Bucs. The problem was not rushing. They ran for 124 against the Bucs. The problem was not turnovers or completion percentage. The Saints may get RB Thomas back. That will help them get a running game going again.

The problem was they could not get the ball into the endzone. The game will depend on the Saints finding their scoring punch again. If they are forced to kick field goals to score, they will lose.

Both teams have a questionable D. But the Saints are struggling on O and the Cards are hotter than the sun. I will go out on a limb and pick the Cards in a huge upset.

Ravens @ Colts

Ravens

The Birds did a great job pressuring the Pats D with the running game. The O scored 33 points but got a lot of help from the Pats. They won’t get that kind of help from the Colts.

The O is going to have to get more out of the passing game. They won 3 of their last 4 games but those wins were against the dregs of the NFL. Against a team that scores like the Colts, 4-10 for 34 yards and a pick will not get it done. QB Flacco has not stepped up to the challenge like most expected him to do. The O line isn’t the problem, accuracy and lack of game breaking receivers are the critical issues. The coaching staff doesn’t trust Flacco to win games for them and they shouldn’t. He has crumbled in big games like against the Steelers. The running game is solid but won’t score often enough to keep the Ravs in the game. They will have to depend on the passing game and it will let them down.

The weakest part of the Ravs D is the pass defense. They are 5^th against the run and 8^th against the pass. They depend on pressure on the QB to control the pass. They won’t be able to get enough pressure on Manning to stop the Colts passing game.

Colts

The Colt O is devastating but it is one dimensional. They are #2 in passing but dead last in the running game. They are going to have to run the ball a little to keep the chains moving. The one advantage they have is that they can play catchup really well. Manning is playing at a very high level. The team lost 2 games but in both cases Manning and company were pulled early.

The Colt D has played great in some games and lousy in others. They rank 24^th against the run and will get a lot of practice stopping it against the Ravs. The key injuries on D are all probable. That should help as the D has suffered a lot of injuries during the season. The rest the wounded got will help them.

The key to stopping the running game has been S Sanders but he is on IR again. The Colts’ D will struggle stopping the run but will get the win due to their O.

Saturday I will discuss the Sunday games.

Your fantasy football doesn’t have to be over.  Run a pro football franchise all year long for free at http://sportsims.net/.  Tell them Coach Smith sent you.

That’s what I think. Tell me what you think.

Bill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams, has officiated both football and basketball, done color on radio for college football and basketball and has scouted talent. He is a senior writer for http://NFLDraftDog.com and edits http://fryingpansports.com. He has also published several novels on http://www.eBooks-Library/Contemporary/Author.cfm?AuthorID=1003 and edits http://fryingpanpolitics.blog.com.

Chargers 42 Titans 17

The only question on the minds of the Chargers is did they peek too soon. They have been on a hot streak for weeks. With the history of failure in the playoffs, Coach Turner needs to get to the AFC Championship game with this group this year. The team is getting older and the window to a title is closing.

Ravens @ Steelers

The Birds have what the Steelers want—a spot in the playoffs. The Ravens have a 1 game advantage on Pit and won’t give it up easily. The Raven O has been inconsistent and must be balanced to succeed. They have won 2 in a row.

The Steelers have lost 5 of their last 6 winning a surprising victory against the Pack last week. The likelihood is that was an aberration rather than a turn around for the team. The Ravens should win even on the road.

Jaguars @ Patriots

The Jags are playing well but the Pats need the win to stay on top of the AFC East. The Pats’ D is not playing well but the Jags’ O is very inconsistent. If the Jags’ O is hot, they can beat almost anyone. But the Pats should win a close game.

Broncos @ Eagles

This might be the best game of the weekend. The Broncos are holding on by a single strand of a spider’s web to the last AFC wildcard. After an outstanding effort beating the Giants, the Broncos have lost 2 in a row including a disastrous loss last week to the Raiders.

The Eagles are on top of the NFC East by 1 game over the Cowboys. If the Boys lose they will not make the playoffs. The Eagles have clinched at least a wild card spot and should win.

That’s what I think. Tell me what you think.

Bill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams, has officiated both football and basketball, done color on radio for college football and basketball and has scouted talent. He is a senior writer for http://NFLDraftDog.com and edits http://fryingpansports.com. He has also published several novels on http://www.eBooks-Library/Contemporary/Author.cfm?AuthorID=1003 and edits http://fryingpanpolitics.blog.com.

Top games of the week

GB @ MIN The battle of the QBs should be more than interesting. The Vikes come in undefeated getting a breathtaking pass for a win last week. Favre is playing well but he has to do just a little with the great running game of Peterson and Taylor. Taylor is going to have to increase his 2.4 per attempt average to get the ball much. Rogers is playing great and the D has come around using the 3-4 faster than expected. The Vikes win in a close game.

BA @ NE The Ravens may be the best team in the league. QB Joe Flacco has a qb rating of over 100 and the combination of rbs have moved the chains. The goal line back McGahee has scored 5 TDs in just 3 games and is making his fantasy owners very happy. The Pats are OK on O but their D has deteriorated badly from age and neglect. The Ravens win and it might not be close.

NJ @ NO The Jets get exposed as a good but not great team. The Saints have always mistreated scoreboards around the league with one of the most potent Os in recent memory. The D has been a problem but is playing much better. Ex-Jet MLB Vilma has been looking forward to this game for a long time. He has stabilized the D getting everyone in the right spot. The D makes Jets rookie QB Sanchez look like a rookie and the Saints win.

SD @ PT This game is a must win for the Steelers. They will know if the Ravens win their game against the Pats before the kickoff. At 1-2 the Steelers can not afford another early loss in the conference. The Chargers should get LT back this week at least for part time duty. They have to generate a rushing game to go with QB Rivers passing O. The blame for a lack of running is shared by the backs and the O line that has not been getting the push they need. Pitt is tough to run the ball against and win the game in a low scoring squeaker.

DA @ DV Paul Brown once said “I’d rather be lucky than good. Good teams lose.” No team has been as lucky as Denver. Their D is much less than suspect and their O is depending on QB Orton because the running game has been invisible. Dallas is better than it has played and needs to show us something by beating a very over rated Bronco team. Dallas wins.

Stinker of the week – As usual, there are a lot of candidates for this “award” in the week 4 schedule. CN @ CL will make the battle of Little Big Horn look close. DT @ CH will insure the Lion winning streak ends at 1. OK @ HO who cares?

But there is one game that the league should have to pay the fans to watch—TB @ WA When you lose to a team that has not won a game in over a year, you deserve to be ranked among the rankest in the league. TB isn’t much better. I feel sorry for the announcers in this debacle. It will be a very long afternoon with the ineptness broken only by plays that will show up soon in Football Follies.

That’s what I think. Tell me what you think.

Bill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams, has officiated both football and basketball, done color on radio for college football and basketball and has scouted talent. He is a senior writer for http://NFLDraftDog.com and edits http://fryingpansports.com. He has also published several novels on http://www.eBooks-Library/Contemporary/Author.cfm?AuthorID=1003 and edits http://fryingpanpolitics.blog.com.