NFL Ones to Watch: Something’s Gotta Give
Thursday night saw the Chiefs steamroll over the Eagles, who now look like deers in the headlights. Astonishing. The Steelers again lost, but at least this time they looked as though they had fight in them, and Peyton is looking like the Manning of old.
This is my pick of the games with the most intriguing storylines. Games which have made it in to my ones to watch.
Thursday Night Football sees the Rams take on the 49ers. Both teams will be looking to even their records at 2-2, and it is surprising that at this stage neither team has a winning record. Both QBs (Kaepernick [49ers 53-94 689 Yards for 3 TDs]) and (Bradford [St Louis 88-141 891 yards 6 TDs]) have solid enough numbers to indicate that their teams should be doing better, and come the season’s end they will do. Tavon Austin of the Rams will likely have a big game as, for whatever reason, the Niners D isn’t the force it was in their pursuit of the Super Bowl last year – but it is better overall than the Rams’ D ranked 26th and 13th respectively.
Sunday Night Football sees the Patriots travel to the Georgia Dome to tackle the Falcons. The Patriots are perfect at 3-0 and the Falcons are another team which on numbers alone should see them with a winning record, but they haven’t got one. Their overall numbers on the O-line and passing are better than the Pats, their D (ranked 22nd) lets them down and their Rushing (21st overall) isn’t what it could be. It’s these two figures which the Pats will exploit and show a manner of calm in which they dispatched the Buccaneers in week three.
But Wait!
Another important game happening on Sunday is from the other side of the ocean (or if you are reading this in England) this side of the pond and it sees two teams without a victory meet on the hallowed turf of Wembley. Surprisingly, neither the Steelers nor the Vikings have recorded a single W this season and both teams are sitting 0-3. The surprising thing about the Steelers is that they have a top 10 defence, but the turnovers are making things hard for them. You might as well forget about any real rush attempts for big yardage to get the Steelers in the game, although coming up against the league’s 29th ranked D , it might just be the catalyst they need to get the win. This could also help stabilise the O-line to cut down on the turnovers which is the key reason why the Steelers haven’t won in 2013. The Vikings’ rushing game might be hampered by the 6th ranked Steelers’ defence. This won’t see a blowout win, as all previous International Series games have been competitive and close (apart from the two times the Patriots came), the biggest margin of victory was eight points in 2010 when the 49ers beat the Broncos 24 – 16 . Incidentally, the 49ers will be coming to Wembley in October.
Monday Night Football
Ok, who predicted that the Dolphins and the Saints would be 3-0 going into this one? Certainly not anybody I know, but the fact the Phins have done this despite having below average O and D lines, mid-range passing, and a Rush play which won’t make too much of an inroad into the 5th ranked Saints D. Smart money would be on the Saints and Drew Brees (81-127 1021 yards with 6 TDs) coming away with the win here to move on to 4-0. Is it too early to talk of a perfect season? This game is just bizarre enough that a Dolphins win isn’t out of the question.
One other story to keep an eye on is the undefeated Chiefs’ taking on the 0-3 Giants. Peripherals suggest that a Giants win is just around the corner, and the Chiefs, although improved suggest that they won’t be able to stop the Giants. As mentioned about a completely different sport though, Football, it’s a funny old game.