NFL Week 3

Now that we have a few results in from week one and two in the NFL we can start making some predictions on the strong and weak teams.

This is a really interesting season with only six teams that are 2-0 after week two, twenty teams and 1-1 and another six teams are 0-2. What does this mean in simple terms? Well basically it means nothing because really it is too early in the season to determine anything from this. However if in week 6 you have twenty teams that are 3-3 that would probably mean that the league has finally achieved the parity that it has spoken about for the past decade and as the saying goes “on any given Sunday any team can win or lose”.

We will take a look at some games that I think will be really interesting this week:

Philadelphia @ Arizona: A battle of two teams that are 2-0 so far and they have gotten there in very similar ways. The Eagles have come from behind in both games to win them by one point and have allowed just 39 points. Arizona have won two close games but they have held the Patriots and the Seahawks to just 34 combined points and this cannot be ignored. If Arizona are to win this game they will have to get after Vick and cause turnovers; if they get in a shoot-out with the Eagles they could lose by 20 points. However, if they keep the game a defensive battle they have a real chance to frustrate the Eagles and win a close game.

Houston @ Denver: Houston go to Denver this week and this will be a real test for Manning and the Denver offensive line after a disappointing performance by Manning in Atlanta last week. Manning will have the top rated pass defence to contend with and at the moment for the first time in his long career he is being scrutinised after every game. Against Atlanta he threw 3 interceptions and just 1 touchdown which was extremely uncharacteristic for Manning. However in a Manning-like performance he brought Denver back from a twenty point deficit in the fourth quarter to lose by just six points. For Denver to win against this tough Houston team they will need to take care of their QB; if Manning has time in the pocket he will be able to pick apart the Houston secondary but it all starts at the point of attack. For Houston to win they will need to control the clock and keep the ball away from the Denver offence, this can be achieved with short throws by Schaub and strong runs by Arian Foster. If Foster runs for over one hundred yards and has twenty or more carries there is a very good chance that Houston can go to 3-0.