Monthly Archives: September 2010

The Andrew Preview: NFL Week Four

Your Top Stories

The Patriots take on the Dolphins this week after a number of very good AFC East match ups this season.

1. The NFL is investigating a confrontation between Green Bay Packers safety Nick Collins and a fan that occurred during Monday night’s game between the Packers and the Bears. A Milwaukee news station aired footage of Collins arguing with a fan as he leaves a field, followed by Collins throwing his mouthpiece into the crowd. Collins claims that the fan spit on him and used a racial slur. Still, the Packers safety apologized and said that he simply “los[t] his cool.” Green Bay Coach Mike McCarthy indicated that he believed Collins’ account of the incident and that he “support[s] Nick one-hundred percent.” Collins was involved in two plays late in the game that helped put the Bears in position to win the game and may have contributed to his frustration. First, a late game interception by Collins was wiped out by a pass interference call, and Collins’ tackle of Bears running back Matt Forte resulted in another penalty for unnecessary roughness putting. The NFL is engaged in an ongoing review of the incident.

2. With the first three weeks in the books, there is still some quarterback shuffling going around. In the final week that the Steelers will be playing without Ben Roethlisberger, coach Mike Tomlin named Charlie Batch the starter for this Sunday’s match up against the Ravens. Batch entered the season as the fourth string quarterback for Pittsburgh, but following Big Ben’s suspension and injuries to Dennis Dixon and Byron Leftwich, Batch had his chance to show his stuff this Sunday. He certainly took advantage of it, throwing for three touchdowns in the Steelers’ trouncing of Tampa Bay. Also, the Buffalo Bills cut former “quarterback of the future” Trent Edwards in favor of backup Ryan Fitzpatrick. Firtzpatrick threw for more yards in Week Three than Edwards had managed in the first two weeks of the season combined. The Jaguars, facing quarterback issues of their own, picked up Edwards  off of waivers. Edwards is expected to compete with Jacksonville QB David Garrard who has been underwhelming so far this season.

3. The agent of veteran kicker John Carney confirmed that his client would be returning to the New Orleans Saints. Carney, at 46, is expected to sign a one-year deal with the defending Superbowl Champs. The Saints entered the market for a kicker this week after incumbent Garrett Hartley missed a twenty-nine yard gimme in overtime that would have won the game for New Orleans. Instead, Hartley’s shank allowed the Falcons to march down into field goal range themselves and get the victory. Carney was a kicking consultant for the Saints last year, after being on their active roster for the majority of 2009. The twenty-two year veteran kicked his first NFL field goal in 1988.

Undefeated Teams

Chicago Bears
Kansas City Chiefs
Pittsburgh Steelers

A whopping five teams suffered their first losses this week, whittling us down to a mere three undefeated teams. The Packers lost to the Bears; the Texans lost to the Cowboys; the Dolphins lost to the Jets; the Saints lost to the Falcons, and the Bucs lost to the Steelers. Parity is king in the NFL this year. Just for reference, this time last season there were still seven undefeated teams.

2008 Detroit Lions Memorial Winless Teams

Buffalo Bills
Cleveland Browns
Carolina Panthers
Detroit Lions
San Francisco 49ers

Three teams managed to get their first win this week. The Cowboys beat the Texans; the Vikings beat the Lions, and the Rams beat the Redskins. This leaves us with five winless teams, and again, for frame of reference there were seven winless teams this time last season.

Three Big Match Ups

1. Baltimore at Pittsburgh, 1 P.M. EST on CBS – One of the big questions entering the 2010-2011 season was how the Steelers would fare without Ben Roethlisberger. Well, if the first three weeks of the season are any indication, Big Ben should get suspended every year. Though it’s included a bout of quarterbacking by committee, the admirable play from the Steeler backups and a strong defense have led Pittsburgh to an undefeated record entering the last week of Roethlisberger’s suspension. With tight wins against Atlanta and Tennessee, and a thrashing of the formerly undefeated Bucs this past week, the Steelers have shown that they can win without their star quarterback. However, they’ll face their first division foe this week, and the Ravens are no pushovers. Baltimore grinded out a tough win against the Jets, lost a close one to the Bengals, and beat their division rival Browns by a touchdown. Though Ravens RB Ray Rice is questionable for Sunday’s game with a bruised knee, expect a revitalized Ravens offense to balance their typically stout defense and give the Steelers a run for their money.

2. Washington at Philadelphia, 4:15 P.M. EST on FOX – With three teams each having only one win apiece, the NFC East aint what it used to be. Still, the Philadelphia Eagles have looked to be the class of the division in the early goings. Despite a tough loss to a talented Packer team in Week One, the Eagles have won two in a row and look unstoppable. Andy Reid was vindicated in his decision to name Michael Vick as his starter after the former Falcons quarterback helped deliver a beatdown of the woeful Jaguars to the tune 291 yards, 3 touchdowns, and a 25-point margin of victory. Philly will look to establish their dominance in the NFC East by beating their division rivals. Still, the Shanahan Redskins are not the woeful Washington warriors of old. The Skins already have one win the division over the Cowboys, and it took an impressive comeback from the Texans in overtime to beat them in Weak Two. Moreover, you can expect Washington quarterback Donovan McNabb to be very motivated to show his old team what they’re missing after having traded him in the offseason. With the animated fans in Philadelphia, it should be an entertainingly contentious homecoming for the former Eagle, and accordingly, a great game.

3. New England at Miami, Monday, 8:30 P.M. EST on ESPN – The AFC East has put on some pretty good games these first three weeks of the season, with even the winless Bills doing their part. The Jets and the Pats put on quite a show in Week Two, and Miami and New York followed it up with another nail-biter in Week Three. Let’s hope the third leg of this round robin is just as exciting as the Fins take on the Patriots at home. The Dolphins went on the road and pulled off a pair of close victories over Buffalo and Minnesota to start the season. Unfortunately, they lost their home opener to the Jets in Week Three in a heartbreaker. However, this loss gives them all the more reason to go after another all-important division victory against the Pats. New England, for its part, also has a victory over Buffalo, a loss to the Jets, and a win over one of last season’s playoff teams on its 2010 resume. These teams appear pretty evenly matched, and it should make for a quality match up in the Monday night spotlight game. Expect Brady and Moss to be ready to put on a show while Chad Henne, Ronnie Brown, and the wildcat offense will aim to do the same.

Posted in Sports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Andrew Review: The Simpsons – Elementary School Musical (s22e01)

The Season Premiere of The Simpsons features Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement of Flight of the Conchords as counselors at Lisa's Arts Camp.

The Simpsons is a television show that will forever be chasing its own shadow. I firmly believe that if your average viewer were to watch the episodes produced over the last five seasons or so, the general consensus would be that it’s generally a pretty good show. Unfortunately for showrunner Al Jean and the rest of the current Simpsons’ staff, their modern day output will always be measured against the seven or eight years when The Simpsons was one of the best shows on television, or to go one step further, if the good people at Time Magazine and your humble narrator are to be believed, the best show of all time. It can be a difficult task to live up to your own legacy.

Despite this challenge, Season 21 of The Simpsons produced a number of very good episodes, some of which even stack up pretty well against the episodes of the “Classic Era.” As has become customary, the latest season of The Simpsons consisted of a few big hits, a few big misses, and a large quantity of solidly enjoyable if unspectacular episodes in between. First and foremost, “O Brother, Where Bart Thou?” a tale of Bart’s quest for a younger brother, attained a level of quality that I did not believe the modern day Simpsons staff could reach anymore. Even with the proliferation of guest stars, usually a telltale sign of a weak episode, the story and the comedy fired on all cylinders the whole way through. It was touching, it was funny, it was well-constructed, and most of all it was entertaining from start to finish. Though Season 21’s hits managed to be a notch above those of prior recent seasons, this episode  in particular stands apart as the best of the bunch.

(more…)

Posted in Television, The Simpsons | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Andrew Review: The Office – Nepotism (s7e01)

Dwight's new duties as owner of the office building require him to rock a camel pack for hydration in the season premiere.

Season Six of The Office was, at best, hit or miss. At times the show felt schizophrenic, with stories being picked up or dropped seemingly at random. What exactly was the point of the co-managers story arc? It was unceremoniously abandoned before it had even made it off the ground. Similarly, Michael dating Pam’s mother could have been an interesting storyline, but it went from zero to sixty and back to zero in such rapid succession that the audience never really had the chance to take anything away from the characters’ interactions. To the same end, Dwight and Angela’s “love contract” had potential, but it went off the rails so rapidly and was so completely ignored and revisited at random intervals that it left us simply scratching our heads, wondering what was happening.

Additionally, we have played the “Scranton may be closing” game on the show several times in prior seasons, and the sudden presence of “Sabre” did not do much to spice things up. I love Kathy Bates, but her character just feels out of place on this show, and Gabe was little more than window dressing. Season Six was almost wholly unable to maintain any sort of momentum. Storylines were starting, stopping, and disappearing altogether at such a rapid pace for seemingly no rhyme or reason, and it kept the show from establishing any sort of rhythm. The biggest fault I have with Season Six of The Office is a lack of any sort of consistency or continuity for the season as a whole.

(more…)

Posted in Other Sitcoms, Television | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Andrew Review: How I Met Your Mother – Big Days (s6e01)

Season Five of How I Met Your Mother had some bright spots, but overall it did not match the level of quality of prior seasons. The relationship between Barney and Robin showed some promise, but after a year-long build up to the storyline, the payoff underwhelmed. While eventually we might enjoy a happy ending for these two, for the week-in week-out story of their lives, they’re both more interesting characters when they’re apart. Also, while occasionally enjoyable, the numerous celebrity cameos like Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Lopez, Alan Thicke, and Jim Nantz just felt overly gimmicky. Reliance on guest stars was a crutch The Simpsons used all too often in the midst of the show’s decline, and it may be a sign of the times for HIMYM. Similarly, while fun as standalone bits, scenes like Barney’s suit song, his and Ted’s dueling Sexless Inkeeper poems, and the sign at the Superbowl all smacked of the standard sitcom decline into cartoonishness and caricature at the expense of good characterization and storytelling. After five years, the main characters and basic premise of the show cannot, on their own, have the same impact they once did. It feels as though the writers have to resort to more and more outlandish stories and ploys to keep things fresh.

In the season premiere of How I Met Your Mother, Ted and Barney argue over who has the right to hit on a girl at the bar.

That said, Season 5 did have a number of enjoyable bits and storylines, and the fun of the underlying friendship between the main characters still continues to keep the show moving forward. One of the show’s best qualities is its ability to incorporate the quirky and creative into its episodes. The parallel blind date from “Double Date,” the “but um” drinking game from “Jenkins,” Barney’s inability to take a bad picture in “Say Cheese,” and the skewering take on romantic comedies in “The Wedding Bride” were all highlights. The season also managed to get back to some nice, down-to-earth topics amidst the wackiness. Ted and Marshall attempting to maintain their “bro-ness” despite Marshall’s married life felt like a true to life issue resolved in a entertaining, self-contained manner. Though at times it felt a bit forced, the rise and fall of Robin’s budding relationship with Don generally worked well. Most of all, the doppelgangers were a thread that ran throughout the season and not only provided a number of laughs (stripper Lily) but paid off in a big way in the season finale. Lily’s reaction to the not-quite Barney lookalike was a superb way to resolve the story arc and it started the show down the path to Marshall and Lily trying for a baby.

Note: the rest of this review contains spoilers.

(more…)

Posted in Other Sitcoms, Television | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Andrew Preview: NFL Week Three

Your Top Stories

1. Denver Broncos wide receiver Kenny McKinley committed suicide on Monday. One of McKinley’s friends discovered the body on Monday afternoon after running an errand with McKinley’s son. Authorities indicated that McKinley died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Denver coach Josh McDaniels expressed great sadness at McKinley’s passing, adding that no one within the Broncos organization was aware of McKinley’s depression. Denver will observe a moment of silence before their game on Sunday in honor of McKinley. He was 23.

The Bears and the Packers are both undefeated and will square off on Monday Night.

2. Braylon Edwards, wide receiver for the New York Jets, was arrested today for driving while intoxicated. New York police stopped Edwards due to the fact that his SUV’s windows were too tinted to see through, and they detected a strong scent of alcohol coming from the car. Police administered a breath test, and found that Edwards had a blood alcohol content of .16, twice the legal limit. This crime may be a violation of Edwards probation that stemmed from a misdemeanor aggravated assault charge in Cleveland after he punched a friend of LeBron James. Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum said that Edwards will be active for Sunday’s game against the Dolphins, though he indicated that whether or not he plays will be up to Jets coach Rex Ryan.

3. A pair of quarterback controversies captured the imagination of the league this week. First and foremost, Eagles coach Andy Reid announced that Michael Vick would start in place of Kevin Kolb. Kolb was named the starter coming out of preseason, but a concussion suffered in the Eagles’ first game of the season gave Vick an opportunity to take the field, and he shined in relief. As recently as yesterday, Reid had indicated that Kolb would return to the starting job as soon as he fully recovered from his concussion, but today he did an about-face, saying that “[w]hen someone is playing at the level Michael Vick is playing, you have to give him an opportunity.” Additionally, Jimmy Clausen will make his first NFL start this Sunday in place of the flagging Matt Moore. The former Nortre Dame quarterback will start for the Carolina Panthers in the hopes of digging them out of an 0-2 hole.

Undefeated Teams

Chicago Bears
Green Bay Packers
Houston Texans
Kansas City Chiefs
Miami Dolphins
New Orleans Saints
Pittsburgh Steelers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers

For those of you keeping track, that’s eight undefeated teams still standing after the first two weeks of the season. In 2009 there were nine at this point in the season and in 2008 there were ten.

2008 Detroit Lions Memorial Winless Teams

Buffalo Bills
Cleveland Browns
Carolina Panthers
Dallas Cowboys
Detroit Lions
Minnesota Vikings
San Francisco 49ers
St. Louis Rams

Just to keep things even, we also have eight winless teams after the first two weeks of the season. It was also even in 2009 when there were nine winless teams in week three.

Three Big Match Ups

1. Atlanta at New Orleans, 1 P.M. EST on FOX – The defending Superbowl champs have pulled out two hard fought wins in the first two weeks of the season. With the game tied and a minute and a half left in the game, Drew Brees led the Saints down the field and gave Garrett Hartley the opportunity to kick the game-winning field goal. Both the 49ers and the Vikings gave New Orleans a big fight, but each time, the champs responded and got the win. This week, the Saints will face their first division opponent, without running back Reggie Bush, and attempt to establish themselves in the NFC South this season. The Falcons, meanwhile, have played a pair of impressive games of their own. Despite a close, heartbreaking loss to the Steelers in week one, the Falcons absolutely thrashed the Arizona Cardinals by a score of 41-7. Matt Ryan threw for 225 yards, three touchdowns, and completed 66% of his passes. Now, Ryan and the rampaging Atlanta offense will take aim at the Saints and attempt to unseat their division rivals to prove themselves the class of the NFC South.

2. NY Jets at Miami, 8:20 P.M. EST on NBC – The New York Jets narrowly avoided going winless through the first two weeks of the season by coming from behind to beat the New England Patriots in one of the most exciting games of the weekend. While Mark Sanchez looked sluggish and disoriented last weekend, he came alive in week two, playing efficient football and making the tough throws when necessary. Though there’s no way to know how much the issue with Braylon Edwards will serve as a distraction, the Jets appear to have found their legs (and that includes L.T.) and will seek to notch another win in the AFC East. The Dolphins, meanwhile, have quietly amassed a 2-0 record to start the season, with a solid win over the Buffalo Bills and a close, grind-it-out win against the Vikings. The Miami defense managed to hold Adrian Peterson out of the endzone when Minnesota was on the one-yard line with the game was on the line. The Fins are currently on top and the AFC East, and a win over the division rival Jets would cement their position there.

3. Green Bay at Chicago, Monday, 8:30 P.M. EST on ESPN – This matchup can boast not only a division rivalry, but a pair of undefeated teams squaring off in the national spotlight. The Packers were early favorites to contend in the NFC and have lived up to the billing. Aaron Rodgers has firmly stepped into the big shoes left by Brett Favre and led the Pack to a strong win over the Eagles and a thirty-four point shellacking of the Bills. Green Bay appears to be firing on all cylinders and will look to make it three wins in a row to start the season. The Bears, meanwhile, have had a narrower margin of victory, but their record is exactly the same as Green Bay’s and the cherry on top would be beating the Packers to claim sole possession of first place in the NFC North. With a controversial win over Detroit and a big victory on the road against Dallas, Chicago is a force to be reckoned with and will look to show their mettle against a division rival.

Posted in Sports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Andrew Review: House – “Now What?” (s7e01)

The season premiere of House focuses on the immediate aftermath of House and Cuddy starting a relationship.

Season Six of House M.D. was assuredly a step up.  The season opening mini-movie and the final two episodes alone boosted the sixth season ahead of other recent offerings. Moreover, throughout the season, the show’s producers demonstrated a willingness to play around with or even completely abandon the usual format. These departures resulted in some of the most interesting episodes in recent years, if not the series as a whole. The episode “Wilson” shined a spotlight on House’s constant companion in oncologist Dr. James Wilson, giving us an entire self-contained story from his perspective. The episode not only showed additional depth in an already well-explored personality, but proved that the Wilson character might have been able to carry a series on his own. Similarly, the episode “5 to 9” gave us a day in the life of Lisa Cuddy, from her struggles to renegotiate the hospital’s insurance contract to her frustrating run-ins with House, to the difficulty of balancing her personal and professional responsibilities. Again, this opportunity to take an in-depth look at a character whose day-to-day life the audience has only seen brief glimpses of in the pastwas a welcome change of pace. Finally, the episode “Lockdown” broke the format by forgoing a medical mystery in favor of seeing the characters separated and thrown back together in random pairs. The episode gave the audience closure to what was an otherwise abrupt departure for Dr. Cameron, and the pairings showed us some interesting new dynamics between characters we had rarely seen interacting.

(more…)

Posted in Other Prestige Dramas, Television | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Andrew Preview: NFL Week Two

Better late than never. Again, my apologies for the delays and the brevity, it’s been a hectic week.

Your Top Stories

1. Sainz of the times in the Jets locker room. A foreign language correspondent complained of sexual harassment by members of the Jets while in the New York locker room. Clinton Portis was widely condemned for his comments defending the Jets’ behavior. Additionally, Roger Goodell criticized the Jets and their staff for allowing this and has instituted mandatory sensitivity training on the subject.

Peyton and Eli Manning will square off for the first time since 2006.

2. Quarterback injuries strike again. Michael Vick will make his first start since 2006 due to the injury to Kevin Kolb. Also, Seneca Wallace will start in Cleveland due to the Injury to Jake Delhomme. Finally, Matt Stafford is out for Detroit ushering in the exciting Shaun Hill era. Last year saw a rash of quarterback injuries; with three starting QB’s out in just the first week, will the 2010-2011 season follow suit?

3. The looming lockout. A group of four teams, consisting of Indianapolis, Dallas, New Orleans, and Philadelphia, voted to decertify the union this week. Decertification would strip the union of its collective bargaining rights, which would allow individual players to sue the NFL in the event of a lockout. The move has been widely characterized as a means for the players to gain leverage in negotiations.

Undefeated Teams

Half of the league.

2008 Detroit Lions Memorial Winless Teams

The other half of the league.

Three Big Match Ups

1. Pittsburgh at Tennessee, 1 P.M. EST on CBS – This is one of the very few matchups this week between two teams who walked away with a win in week one. Pittsburgh managed to succeed despite the absence of Ben Roethlisberger and young quarterback Dennis Dixon will attempt to carry that momentum against one of the early favorites to lead the pack in the AFC. The Titans, meanwhile, are riding the amazing running skills of RB Chris Johnson who has openly declared his intention to continue at a record setting pace this year. It’s a bit too early to tell, but this may be one of the matchups that gives us a view of what to expect in the playoffs on the AFC’s side of the bracket.

2. New England at NY Jets, 4:15 P.M, EST on CBS – Wes Welker came back in force in week one, scoring two touchdowns and looking in fine form after his injury. The Patriots may be back on a roll and are looking to get a win to bolster their AFC East credentials. The Jets, meanwhile, struggled against Baltimore in their first game of the season, and will look to right the ship and justify their Superbowl hopes. Of particular interest is the matchup between Randy Moss who has expressed dissatisfaction with his contract and standing in New England, and Darelle Revis who is shaking off the rust from an extended holdout and having to overcome a tight hamstring.

3. NY Giants at Indianapolis 8:30 P.M. EST on NBC – Oh yes, it’s the Manning bowl. The Giants came away with a dominant win over the Panthers in Week one, with Hakeem Nicks emerging as a true deep threat and favored target for Eli. The Colts, meanwhile, lost to division rival Houston, the first time that they’ve fallen to the Texans in a meaningful game. The G-Men will look to continue their winning ways while the Colts will attempt to show that last week was an aberration and they can return their dominating success of last season. Of course, Peyton vs. Eli will be a major focus of the broadcast, so expect numerous shots of Archie in the stands looking stoic.

Posted in Sports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Andrew Preview: NFL Week One

Your Top Stories

1. Revis Island and the Isle of Manhattan (rather, East Rutherford, NJ but who’s counting) are reunited once again. After a holdout that lasted throughout the preseason, New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis agreed to a four-year deal to rejoin his team on Sunday night. The holdout officially clocked in at thirty-six days, but that didn’t stop Revis from receiving a warm welcome from his teammates back at the Jets’ practice facility. While neither Revis nor the Jets have announced the financial terms of the deal, the contract is reportedly worth forty-six million dollars with as much as thirty-two million guaranteed. Revis’ agent said the deal would make the formidable DB the highest paid player in the NFL at his position.

The Saints and the Vikings will kickoff the 2010-2011 season this Thursday in a rematch of last year's NFC Championship game.

2. Matt Leinart has found a home. The former USC quarterback signed a one-year deal to become the backup quarterback for the Houston Texans. Leinart was widely expected to take over the starting job with the Arizona Cardinals after the departure of Kurt Warner, but was cut by the Cards after a rocky preseason, losing out to former Cleveland QB Derek Anderson. The Cardinals drafted Leinart in the first round in 2006, and he played twelve games as a rookie under Arizona’s former coach Dennis Green. However, in the following year under Ken Whisenhunt, Leinart broke his collarbone, and injury that kept him on the sidelines. Whisenhunt turned over the reins to then-backup Kurt Warner, and Warner’s stellar performance over the following two seasons kept Leinart largely off the field. The rumor is that Leinart and Whisenhunt did not see eye-to-eye for much of the coach’s tenure, and that this fact had a great deal to do with why Leinart was not kept on as a backup in Arizona. Leinart’s place on the Texans’ depth chart bumps out another former-USC quarterback, John David Booty, who was cut by the Texans despite a solid preseason performance, reportedly due to a nagging shoulder injury.

3. The Pittsburgh quarterback saga continues. Commissioner Roger Goodell reduced Steelers’ QB Ben Roethlisberger’s suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy by two games. This means that Big Ben will only miss the first four games of the season. Nonetheless, when Roethlisberger’s teammates voted for the team captains, Ben was not among them, despite holding the position for the two prior seasons. Instead, wide receiver Hines Ward and tight end Heath Miller will be the offensive captains for the Steelers this year. Also, Mike Tomlin selected former Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon to start for Pittsburgh in their opener against Atlanta. Byron Leftwich, who was expected to start in Big Ben’s absence, sprained his left knee ligament.  Dixon has only started one previous game, but managed to beat out longtime Steelers’ backup Charlie Batch in the preseason competition and will look to show what he can do while Roethlisberger serves his suspension.

Undefeated Teams

Everybody

But let’s take this moment to remember that the Indianapolis Colts finished with the best record in the NFL last year, entering the post-season at 14-2.

2008 Detroit Lions Memorial Winless Teams

Everybody

But let’s take this moment to remember that the St. Louis Rams finished with the worst record in the NFL last year, narrowly avoiding a record as historic as the aforementioned Lions by going 1-15 in the regular season.

Three Big Match Ups

1. Minnesota at New Orleans, Thursday 8:30 P.M. EST on NBC – The NFL kickoff game has become a fun tradition in the NFL since 2002. It’s a chance not only to showcase the Superbowl champions, but to start off the season with a competitive matchup between two top flight teams. This year, we will be treated to last season’s riveting NFC Championship game between the Saints and the Vikings. New Orleans, despite being the defending champions, have flown largely under the radar in terms of the talk around the league. Returning most of their starters, Drew Brees and the Saints will look to show a national audience that last year was no fluke, and that they’re still the team to watch. The Vikings have been in the news much more often this offseason, and not just because of the ongoing saga of Brett Favre, but due to theiralso their receiver woes. With an injury to Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin suffering from chronic migraines, the Vikes find themselves short of two of their offense’s biggest assets. Still, expect Minnesota to come out hungry and motivated to redeem themselves after last season’s heartbreaking, season-ending loss to New Orleans. Expect a great game to start off the 2010-2011 season.

2. Indianapolis at Houston, 1 P.M, EST on CBS – The AFC South has been one of the most talented divisions in the NFL over the past five years, and yet it’s continually been a story of the haves and the have-nots. The Colts, perennial contenders, have set the standard for continued success in their division. The Texans, on the other hand, have found themselves perennially and frustratingly on the cusp of contention and have fallen just short each time. Both teams have some impressive weapons. Last season, Peyton Manning threw for 4,500 yards, the second most in the league. Who was first? Houston QB Matt Schaub who led the league with 4,770 yards through the air. With these two stellar quarterbacks and talented receivers like Andre Johnson and Reggie Wayne, we should be in for quite the offensive fireworks show on Sunday. Still, despite the offensive juggernauts on each side, the defenses of Indy and Houston have come into their own, featuring stars like Mario Williams (who now seems like one of the better selections, if not the best, of the 2006 draft) and the return of Bob Sanders, disrupting passes and delivering punishing tackles. With skilled players from both teams on both sides of the ball, this should be a solid match up that will set the tone for the AFC South race.

3. Baltimore at NY Jets, Monday 7 P.M. EST on ESPN – No team has made more noise this offseason than the New York Jets. Under the leadership of the animated Rex Ryan, New York made a number of significant free agent pickups this offseason. L.T. looks to have rekindled some of the fire that once made him the top runner in the league, and other significant additions like Jason Taylor will bolster a team that has its eyes firmly set on the prize of reaching and winning the Superbowl. The Ravens, meanwhile, just picked up T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and the team that once boasted the best defense in the NFL now has a supremely powerful offense, led by Joe Flacco, that has the potential to throw the newly returning Darrelle Revis for a loop. The Ravens usually play their cards close to their chest, and this year is no exception, but don’t be fooled. Expect Baltimore to come out firing, and ready to take a little wind out of the Jets sails.

Posted in Sports | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment