Week 2 NFL Projections

 

Philadelphia Eagles 30, Atlanta Falcons 17

Atlanta won't be able to contain their former star Mike Vick in his determined return. If the Bears can put up 30 on the Falcons' D there is no reason the Eagles much greater attack can't. 2011 won't be as kind to the Falcons as many predict; the expectations are set too high.

Buffalo Bills 27, Oakland Raiders 13

This is the first time in years a game between these two would be considered relevant at all. Ryan Fitzpatrick impressed fans everywhere in a convincing 41-7 win last week, while the Raiders barely escaped with a win over the hapless Broncos.

New Orleans Saints 24, Chicago Bears 20

Defensive leader Brian Urlacher lost his mother this past week, but will be returning to play this Sunday. Even with Urlacher on the opposing side, you can't pick against the Saints to put up a decent amount of points, and the Saints D will stave off Jay Cutler's attack just enough to get the W.

New England Patriots 41, San Diego Chargers 31

No surprise if Tom Brady and Philip Rivers combine for over 800 yards in this matchup. While San Diego did allow the least yards in the NFL last week, facing Tom Brady and the gang is just a bit different than a declining Donovan McNabb.

Detroit Lions 48, Kansas City Chiefs 10

If the Buffalo Bills just put up 41 on this Kansas City D, they are going to have even more trouble with this Lions offense that has the looks of something special.

Baltimore Ravens 24, Tennessee Titans 10
Cleveland Browns 20, Indianapolis Colts 13
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20, Minnesota Vikings 17
New York Jets 24, Jacksonville Jaguars 7
Pittsburgh Steelers 17, Seattle Seahwawks 13
Washington Redskins 21, Arizona Cardinals 20
Green Bay Packers 38, Carolina Panthers 14
Dallas Cowboys 20, San Francisco 49ers 17
Cincinnati Bengals 14, Denver Broncos 10
Houston Texans 34, Miami Dolphins 20
New York Giants 23, St. Louis Rams 17

Vick Cashes In

Boy, does it help to be a gifted football player. Just a few years removed from prison, dog killer Michael Vick was signed earlier today for six years and 100 million dollars, roughly 40 guaranteed, by the Philadelphia Eagles. This comes after a season in which Vick posted a 100.2 passer rating and was awarded the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year Award.

The average person with a criminal record struggles to find any work at all, but football can take someone a long way. Formerly bankrupt, Vick will have the cash to build a mansion similar to the one in Surry County, Virginia, the site of his dog-fighting ring, Bad Newz Kennels.

By signing Vick to such a lucrative deal, the Eagles have made the decision, or statement that Michael Vick is now their franchise. The struggling offensive line will have even more of a responsibility to protect him, as he is now 100 million dollar property.

His top receiver, DeSean Jackson, now has more reason to gripe. A top ten NFL receiver, he had all the right to hold out during training camp, as he is due just $650,000 this coming season. It is a possibility the Eagles tried to free up more cap space for Jackson by signing Vick to such a long-term deal, but it didn't do much, as the Eagles are only four million under it. This is not enough to give DeSean the money he wants. There is always the consideration that if the Eagles see enough in Steve Smith they might be willing to part with Jackson altogether and have Smith and Jeremy Maclin as the primary receivers, but that is an issue for next year.

Vick's reckless style of play makes such a large investment extremely risky; whether he will last past this season is yet to be seen. He throws his body around the way Philly fans love in the nature Allen Iverson did playing basketball, but the front office will surely frown upon it. And the way the offensive line has guarded him throughout the preseason has not been encouraging, as Vick has taken numerous hits.

Vick's quality of play in the future is up in the air as well. Toward the end of last season opposing defenses seemed to pick up on his tendencies, and he finished up the year a lot sloppier than he began it. He's made reckless decisions so far this preseason as well.

All of this aside, the Eagles see enough in Michael Vick to give him a hundred mil. They see enough in him to entrust him with the task of accomplishing the one thing his predecessor, Donovan McNabb, could not: bring the Lombardi Trophy to Philly.

Is Joe Webb in the Vikings' Future?

Joe Webb -- no one had really heard of him until a few weeks ago when they found out he'd be starting for the injured Brett Favre against the Bears, or a couple days ago when he was again behind center in Philly on the first Tuesday Night Football since 1946. But after a 17-26 performance for 195 yards and guiding the Vikings, two-touchdown underdogs, to a win against the Eagles, does Joe Webb have any chance to keep the starting job?

Let's assume Brett Favre actually does retire. The Vikings will have Tarvaris Jackson, the former starter and now No. 2 quarterback who's just 27, the 24-year-old Webb, and probably either a draft pick, a free agent QB (Donovan McNabb), or someone they'd traded for. Will Webb have a chance at the permanent job? The Vikings haven't put much support into Jackson, as they picked an ailing Favre over him. Both he and Webb are scramblers, Webb looking more like Mike Vick than Vick did in Philly the other day, showing some pocket potential as well.

On that Tuesday Night game I heard Cris Collinsworth say how out of college, Webb ran the exact same 40 as Vick, a 4.33. Just a coincidence? Maybe. But there's a chance there's more to Joe Webb than being a career backup QB, or the scout team receiver he was drafted as.

Is This the Year for the Eagles?

The fans in Philly have been waiting forever. The Andy Reid era has consisted of perennial winning seasons with numerous playoff and NFC Championship appearances. Of the five NFC Championship appearances, the Birds have only gone to the Super Bowl once, in which they lost by a field goal to New England.

Every year, when it looks like the Eagles have another strong team, fans in the City of Brotherly Love get their hopes up for a Super Bowl run. Every September, as the NFL season comes around, people ask "Is this the year?" But it never has been. They've always found a way to come up short in the end. There's always been some fatal flaw. Every year, the season ends a failure.

Fans continue to flock to the Linc, selling out game after game, in hope of a Eagles victory. More times then not, they deliver. But not in the end. Someone always gets the best of them, whether it be the Cowboys like last year, or any other team.

The failure to go all the way brings change. The former faces of the team, Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook, and Brian Dawkins are all somewhere else. New, young talent has taken their place, with the likes of DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, and LeSean McCoy, as well as numerous other changes. Trent Cole remains a game-changer on the defensive side of the ball, and corner Asante Samuel, who has been in Philly a couple years now, jumps routes with the best of them.

And then there's Michael Vick. No one could have mapped out his path back, as Kevin Kolb was the presumed starter. Vick's game is better than ever, and he's taken this offense places McNabb never had.

So as a Birds fan, I have my hopes up once again, while expecting them to be deflated, but always knowing there's a chance, that this could finally be the year.

McNabb Deserves Better

Redskins coach Mike Shanahan, in the team's last game Sunday, benched McNabb for, well, he couldn't decide on the main reason. It was either that he didn't have the "cardiovascular health" or didn't know how to run the two minute offense as well, or his hamstring, whatever. But let's face it. Donovan McNabb is a better quarterback than Rex Grossman, the Redskins backup. McNabb hasn't had the greatest year, but he is still a quality alternative to anything else the Redskins have. There is really no point to what Shanahan is trying to do. A player of his stature should have the benefit of the doubt, especially when there is no one who could compete for the job. Shanahan needs to treat McNabb like any other franchise QB, because that is his only option. Putting Grossman in to throw an interception won't help the Skins' cause.