timsatt1
09-28-2007, 11:28 PM
by Rich Eisen
Best team at 1-2 through the First 3/17ths of the Season Award:
This is a tough one, but for the second consecutive First 3/17ths ceremony, it's the San Diego Chargers (http://www.nfl.com/teams/sandiegochargers/profile?team=SD). Two years ago, when the Chargers won (triumphantly!) the inaugural Best Team at 1-2 Award, it was a much simpler choice -- LaDanian Tomlinson had just come off a 246-total-yard performance against the New York Giants (http://www.nfl.com/teams/newyorkgiants/profile?team=NYG). This year, L.T. has only 229 total yards through the first three games. His frustration boiled over in full view Sunday, as he jawed with quarterback Philip Rivers (http://www.nfl.com/players/philiprivers/profile?id=RIV651634) on the sidelines ... and Rivers had started the game connecting on his first 15 passes!
http://www.chiefscrowd.com/forums/images/imported/2007/09/32.jpgSpecial to NFL.comSee Rich run... and read about his NFL Network adventures. Click here to pre-order his new book on Amazon.com.
It's tough to put your finger on why the Chargers' offense has struggled so mightily to start 2007, but very few offenses look good against Chicago and New England. And Green Bay's defense has proven it is, to paraphrase the great Judge Smails, no slouch itself. I think it's just a matter of time until they start teeing off. As for the San Diego defense, it has not helped one whit. You could make the case that's the unit that has struggled the most this year in San Diego and may be the ultimate undoing of the Chargers. Rod Woodson says many teams are spreading out their offenses to neutralize Shawne Merriman (http://www.nfl.com/players/shawnemerriman/profile?id=MER568200) and San Diego's 3-4 scheme, and the Chargers are just not adjusting very well. On NFL GameDay, Deion Sanders and Steve Mariucci said it appears the Chargers are missing Wade Phillips more than anybody else. Looking at mere statistics, it's not pretty: The team that ranked seventh in scoring defense and 10th in overall defense last year now ranks 23rd and 22nd in those categories through the first three games this year.
Still, despite their exposed flaws, they're one of the most talented teams in the league, and that's part of the reason why they take home this coveted 3/17th Award. I believe.
Plus, no other current 1-2 teams truly knock my socks off.
The Bengals? That defense still frightens me (27th against the rush and pass, 29th overall) and the offense has been turning the ball over too much for my liking. Plus, Rudi Johnson (http://www.nfl.com/players/rudijohnson/profile?id=JOH653266) may be the most frustrating player to watch the last two years. As fantasy owners know perfectly well, there has been zero consistency from him. The Jets? Perhaps. They may string some wins together, but the defense just got its first sack and first interception of the season last week -- and the Dolphins racked up 424 yards of offense in nearly coming back from 17 points down. The Giants and Eagles? Nice wins this past weekend, but both needed to show me more -- a pulse would have sufficed -- in their two losses to have won this 3/17th. Their Sunday night showdown in Week 4 is huge.
The Bears? Wow. What to make of the Bears? Lovie Smith finally pulled the trigger on Rex Grossman, whose sixth career game with at least three picks gave him an astonishing 33 turnovers (26 interceptions and 7 fumbles) in his last 17 games, including the playoffs and Super Bowl. Now it will be Brian Griese (http://www.nfl.com/players/briangriese/profile?id=GRI028314)'s team to run, and all the Bears fans will either be joyous or caught in the vicious NFL vortex of Be Careful What You Wish For. There's no turning back now, people. We'll finally find out for real if it was really Rex holding this team back. Or maybe it's the fault of a faltering running game, made impotent by either Cedric Benson (http://www.nfl.com/players/cedricbenson/profile?id=BEN508718)'s inability to be a top rock-toter or defenses putting 8 in the box to dare Rex to beat them. If Griese can soften that up and let Benson run with that chip on his shoulder, the Bears may just prove the awarding of this 3/17th wrong. Of course, Chicago's banged up defense, already without the perennially brittle Mike Brown for the year and Tommie Harris (http://www.nfl.com/players/tommieharris/profile?id=HAR548445) for the next 1-4 weeks, has its work cut out for it. Still, I like the Chargers to make some hay. And with this 3/17th Award, they clearly now have momentum.
Best team at 1-2 through the First 3/17ths of the Season Award:
This is a tough one, but for the second consecutive First 3/17ths ceremony, it's the San Diego Chargers (http://www.nfl.com/teams/sandiegochargers/profile?team=SD). Two years ago, when the Chargers won (triumphantly!) the inaugural Best Team at 1-2 Award, it was a much simpler choice -- LaDanian Tomlinson had just come off a 246-total-yard performance against the New York Giants (http://www.nfl.com/teams/newyorkgiants/profile?team=NYG). This year, L.T. has only 229 total yards through the first three games. His frustration boiled over in full view Sunday, as he jawed with quarterback Philip Rivers (http://www.nfl.com/players/philiprivers/profile?id=RIV651634) on the sidelines ... and Rivers had started the game connecting on his first 15 passes!
http://www.chiefscrowd.com/forums/images/imported/2007/09/32.jpgSpecial to NFL.comSee Rich run... and read about his NFL Network adventures. Click here to pre-order his new book on Amazon.com.
It's tough to put your finger on why the Chargers' offense has struggled so mightily to start 2007, but very few offenses look good against Chicago and New England. And Green Bay's defense has proven it is, to paraphrase the great Judge Smails, no slouch itself. I think it's just a matter of time until they start teeing off. As for the San Diego defense, it has not helped one whit. You could make the case that's the unit that has struggled the most this year in San Diego and may be the ultimate undoing of the Chargers. Rod Woodson says many teams are spreading out their offenses to neutralize Shawne Merriman (http://www.nfl.com/players/shawnemerriman/profile?id=MER568200) and San Diego's 3-4 scheme, and the Chargers are just not adjusting very well. On NFL GameDay, Deion Sanders and Steve Mariucci said it appears the Chargers are missing Wade Phillips more than anybody else. Looking at mere statistics, it's not pretty: The team that ranked seventh in scoring defense and 10th in overall defense last year now ranks 23rd and 22nd in those categories through the first three games this year.
Still, despite their exposed flaws, they're one of the most talented teams in the league, and that's part of the reason why they take home this coveted 3/17th Award. I believe.
Plus, no other current 1-2 teams truly knock my socks off.
The Bengals? That defense still frightens me (27th against the rush and pass, 29th overall) and the offense has been turning the ball over too much for my liking. Plus, Rudi Johnson (http://www.nfl.com/players/rudijohnson/profile?id=JOH653266) may be the most frustrating player to watch the last two years. As fantasy owners know perfectly well, there has been zero consistency from him. The Jets? Perhaps. They may string some wins together, but the defense just got its first sack and first interception of the season last week -- and the Dolphins racked up 424 yards of offense in nearly coming back from 17 points down. The Giants and Eagles? Nice wins this past weekend, but both needed to show me more -- a pulse would have sufficed -- in their two losses to have won this 3/17th. Their Sunday night showdown in Week 4 is huge.
The Bears? Wow. What to make of the Bears? Lovie Smith finally pulled the trigger on Rex Grossman, whose sixth career game with at least three picks gave him an astonishing 33 turnovers (26 interceptions and 7 fumbles) in his last 17 games, including the playoffs and Super Bowl. Now it will be Brian Griese (http://www.nfl.com/players/briangriese/profile?id=GRI028314)'s team to run, and all the Bears fans will either be joyous or caught in the vicious NFL vortex of Be Careful What You Wish For. There's no turning back now, people. We'll finally find out for real if it was really Rex holding this team back. Or maybe it's the fault of a faltering running game, made impotent by either Cedric Benson (http://www.nfl.com/players/cedricbenson/profile?id=BEN508718)'s inability to be a top rock-toter or defenses putting 8 in the box to dare Rex to beat them. If Griese can soften that up and let Benson run with that chip on his shoulder, the Bears may just prove the awarding of this 3/17th wrong. Of course, Chicago's banged up defense, already without the perennially brittle Mike Brown for the year and Tommie Harris (http://www.nfl.com/players/tommieharris/profile?id=HAR548445) for the next 1-4 weeks, has its work cut out for it. Still, I like the Chargers to make some hay. And with this 3/17th Award, they clearly now have momentum.