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The New England Patriots Meet the Jets in Week Five for the First Time of 2011

Everyone doubted the Jets in the playoff game against the Patriots, but New York proved they could win. New England destroyed them once in the regular season last year, but lost the first time they met up. Will it be the same fate for New England in 2011? 

The Jets are coming off the second straight year of reaching the AFC Championship game only to fall short. They know they need to win this game in order to take the division. New England has been very difficult to knock off the top of the AFC East, but a win here could give the Jets the edge they need. There's no way the Jets can reach three consecutive AFC Championship games from the wild card spot. 

 Gregg Rosenthal of NBC Sports points out the Jets are going to be beaten up by week five. 

This is the third straight road game for the Jets, and they have to do it on a short week after facing Baltimore. Yikes. 

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The Jets first road game is at Oakland, which isn't a worry for New York. However, coming off a very difficult game against the Baltimore Ravens the Jets may struggle in the early going against New England. 

The Patriots will have only played one tough game by this point. Their week two matchup against the San Diego Chargers will be a good one. However, it's at home so I don't see the Patriots having much trouble. 

Mark Sanchez will try to be better than Tom Brady, but in the end Brady will prevail. He knows what it takes to beat the Jets, and you better believe he will get it done. New York will bring the pressure against Brady, but now that the Patriots have a run game threat with Danny Woodhead and Ben Jarvis Green Ellis the Jets will be on their toes all game long.

Don't underestimate the Patriots young defense either. With two first round draft picks the Patriots will add more talent to their defensive squad. They struggled at times last year, but the experience they gained will prepare them for this year.  

I can't wait, can you? 

Prediction: New England Patriots win 38-24

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Atlanta Falcons Will Host the Green Bay Packers in Week Five

The last time Aaron Rodgers came to the Georgia Dome he showed Atlanta who was boss. Rodgers had his best game of the post season throwing for 366 yards, three touchdowns, and a QB rating of 136. Rodgers also scored a rushing touchdown in the 48-21 beat down. 

Week five of the 2011 season has Rodgers heading back to Atlanta, and once again he will dominate. The Falcons could be 1-4 at worst by this game, and having to face the deadly Rodgers would be too much for the Falcons secondary. I don't think they'll have that bad of a start, but I do see them sitting at 2-2 here. Don't get me wrong 3-1 or 4-0 is very possible, but I just don't see it happening. 

Don Banks of Sports Illustrated points out that Ryan hasn't had much success in the post season. 

The loss ended a glorious season in Atlanta with a discouraging thud, and saddled third-year Falcon Matt Ryan with the burgeoning (and perhaps unfair) reputation of a quarterback who can't win the big one (he's 0-2 in the playoffs).

 

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Ryan will try his best in this game, but I'm afraid he won't get the chance for a comeback win in this matchup. 

Once again the Sunday Night Football game dominates the weekend. There is a solid afternoon matchup between the New England Patriots and the New York Jets, but the Monday night game isn't exciting at all. The Bears at the Lions will be fun for some, but the nation would much rather see the Patriots vs Jets on Monday night. 

Atlanta will be hungry for revenge on the Packers, but Green Bay knows how to play well in the Georgia Dome. Matt Ryan will try to get the better of Rodgers, but he isn't quite the elite passer that Rodgers has become. Rodgers will once again torch the Falcons secondary. 

The Flacons offense will keep it close, but in the end the defense will blow it for them. Atlanta has to get better on defense this year, and this game will be a learning experience.  

Prediction: Packers win 31-28 

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Week Four of the 2011 NFL Schedule Headlines Great Defense

A rematch of a very hard fought week one battle from a year ago, this week four matchup of the New York Jets vs. the Baltimore Ravens will be all about defense once again. A battle of mediocre quarterbacks striving to win the big games, defense will dominant like it normally does.

The final score won't be 10-9 like last year, but it will be close. By week four most teams know what is working and what needs to be forgotten. The Jets have a tough week one game, but then two easy match-ups before they face Baltimore. The Ravens will be coming off a surprising tough game against Sam Bradford and the Rams, but they will still be ready to face New York.

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Ray Lewis will lead the way for Baltimore, which means Mark Sanchez wil be forced to try and win with his arm. Is he ready for that? I don't think so. I like Joe Flacco more in this game because he will have had more time to get better acquainted with Anquan Boldin. Together these two will hook up on key plays to win the game for Baltimore.

The Jets are vying for a Super Bowl run this year, but the Ravens are just a better defensive unit. They will do exactly what they did a year ago and shut down the Jets offense. Sanchez won't throw for over 100 yards nor will any running back rush for more than 75 yards.

Prediction: Ravens win 17-12 

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2011 NFL Schedule Gives Us Only One Solid Week Three Game 

In my eyes week three isn't all that great. Once again Sunday Night gives us quite a thriller, but the day games lack excitement. Maybe I'll do some yard work that afternoon, but then again probably not.

Some decent day games in week three include the Falcons at the Buccaneers, the Packers at the Bears, and a weak Monday Night game of Washington at Dallas. The Sunday night showdown of the Indianapolis Colts hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers is what fans will be looking forward to all day.

Big Ben Roethlisberger is arguably one of the toughest quarterbacks in the league, and he'll try his best to knock off the best quarterback in the league Peyton Manning. Which quarterback will dominate in this game?

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Peyton will have to face one of if not the toughest defense in the league. Manning is 2-2 against the Steelers and averages at least one interception per contest. He's also thrown for seven touchdowns in those four games, which isn't all that spectacular. Granted it is the Steelers solid defense he has to try and defeat, which is not an easy task. 

Hopefully the Colts can stay healthy this year because if they do then it will be a very good season for Indianapolis. I like Manning to excel in this game and exploit the age of the Steelers defense. Roethlisberger and the Steelers offense will try to compete, but the Colts will step it up in primetime. 

Prediction: Colts win 28-25

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2011 NFL Schedule Gives Sam Bradford His First Ever Monday Night Football Game

Sam Bradford proved he was more than worthy of a No. 1 overall pick. He was one victory shy of leading his team to a division title a year ago, and with a few key offseason pick ups the St. Louis Rams will be the favorites of the NFC West. 

Bradford will start in his first Monday Night Football game in week two against the New York Giants. The game pits two No. 1 overall picks against one another, and I think the younger one will win.

Eli Manning struggled a lot last year, and in the early going I see New York doing exactly the same. One thing for sure that is that this will be the first of many Monday Nigh Football games for the young quarterback, and I believe he starts off 1-0 on Monday night.  

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The New York Giants of course have a very tough defense, and the season is very far away. However, I'm throwing out the early prediction that Bradford will beat the Giants in week two on Monday night. He threw for over 3,500 yards and 18 touchdowns last year. This year his numbers will be even better because of the Josh McDaniels hire.

McDaniels loves to air out, and has had great success with no name receivers. Who knew who Brandon Lloyd was before last year? McDaniels system helped make Lloyd a stand out receiver last year.

I do think the Rams will try to pick up a veteran receiver to help Bradford. They'll have to wait, and it may be awhile before Bradford and the vet get well acquainted, but having exepreince at receiver will help the young kid.   

Bradford will beat the Giants and prove that Manning isn't as good as we all think he is. Bradford is on his way to becoming an elite player, and with a win here it'll prove to the league that Bradford isn't messing around. 

Prediction: Rams win 24-21

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2011 NFL Schedule Has Michael Vick Returning to Atlanta in Week Two

Week two has a few good story lines. Bears at Saints should be a good battle till the end. The New England and San Diego rivalry picks up again when the Patriots host the Chargers. Monday will be a good one as well with Sam Bradford starting in his first of what will be many Monday Night Football games. The Rams travel to New York to take on the Giants.

However, the best story line of week two is Michael Vick returning to Atlanta. The former Falcon will come back to the Georgia Dome and try to beat the team he turned around and destroyed all in one decade. Nobody believed in Vick, but the Eagles gave him a chance and he proved last year that he could still play. Was it just a fluke, or is he the real deal?

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This will be the Sunday night game on NBC and is sure to be a tough battle. The Flacons traveld to Philadelphia last season and were blown out by Kevin Kolb. Atlanta doesn't want a repeat of that, and with Vick back in the Georgia Dome it will be an intense atmosphere. 

Matt Ryan must prove that he is the leader of the Falcons, and Vick is a forgotten figure in Atlanta. With a win here Ryan will let the fans know he is on his way to elite status. He's fantastic at home and very difficult to beat. Ryan is 20-3 at the Georgia Dome, which is down right astonishing. 

Even though Vick ruined the Atlanta franchise for a few years things worked out in the end. Atlanta is better off with Ryan and Mike Smith coaching them. However, Vick will still be well received when he comes back to Atlanta on September 18th. 

Prediction: Atlanta wins 26-21

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The 2011 NFL Schedule Starts Off With a Decent Monday Night Game

A set of division games will be featured on the first Monday night of the season. They aren't the best games ESPN could had picked, but hopefully they will be exciting. 

The New England Patriots and the Miami Dolphins will be the 7:00 pm game, and the night game will be an AFC West battle of the Okland Raiders at the Denver Broncos. Is this the best ESPN could do for their opening Monday night games? 

The Raiders and Broncos were not very good teams a year ago, and I doubt this game will be all that thrilling. There could be a lot of offensive scoring, or a lot of struggles in this game. The fact that it could go either way doesn't appeal to me.

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The Patriots should easily destroy the Dolphins, which means not many people will be tuned in to watch. ESPN does have some great Monday night games this year, but their opening week isn't very strong. The network shouldn't expect very high ratings throughout the night. When the game kicks off of course everyone will tune in, but as far as watching the entirety of the game that won't happen. 

A much better lineup of games would have been the Falcons at the Bears, and then the Colts at the Texans for the second game of the night. Both of these games would have kept people tuned into ESPN all night long. 

Even though they aren't such appealing games, people will still watch. Hopefully we have a season next year. 

Prediction: New England wins 38-17 and Denver wins 17-14 

2011 NFL Schedule Gives Us an Emotional Game in Week One

The New York Giants and the New York Jets open their season on the 10th Anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks. It is sure to be an emotional day not just in New York, but all over the country. 

The Jets will host the Dallas Cowboys on the first Sunday night primetime game of the year, and the Giants will travel to the Washington Redskins. Clearly the better matchup is the game played in New York. It's quite fitting that "America's team" will be in New York on the historical day. 

No doubt the game will be very emotional, and will start off with a big ceremony. Rex Ryan told ESPN that the game should be focused on remembering what the day is all about.

That stadium is going to be full of emotion, not only the people from the area but in the entire country. The fact that it's the 10th anniversary of 9/11, that's where the focus should be, not me playing against my brother. 

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The NFL did the smart thing by scheduling these two teams to open their season on September 11th. It's a shame that it isn't against one another, but when that does happen on Christmas Eve that will be a good game. While that would have been nice to have the two teams of New York to go head-to-head, it is great that one is in New York, and the other is near the nation's capital. 

Teams all over the league will be remembering the day, but things will be a bit more special in New York. The Jets get the primetime slot because it's very deserving for this day. Other great week one match-ups are the Falcons at the Bears, Colts at the Texans, and the Steelers at the Ravens.

However, New York against America's team is just a right fit for this historical day. Both New York teams have a real shot at winning. The Giants are coming off a struggling year, but the emotional day will give them strength. The Jets are starting the season once again having just missed out on reaching the Super Bowl. Will this year be the year they finally make it? A week one win would greatly help.

Prediction: Jets win 24-17 and the Giants win 31-20 

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2011 NFL Schedule Has the Packers Hosting the Saints on Opening Night

The last two Super Bowl winners will be going head-to-head in week one. It's such a good matchup that NBC snagged it up for the Thursday night primetime slot of opening night.

Two of the top five quarterbacks in the league will battle it out at 8:30 pm ET on September 8th, 2011. As reigning champs the Packers have the pleasure of hosting the first game of the season. It truly is the best game of week one, and it deserves to kick off the season. Gregg Rosenthal of NBC Sports writes it will be a good or bad day for NFL fans.

It'll either be a celebratory return to football after a depressing offseason or a deeply depressing day for all football fans.

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He's exactly right and it hurts to even think about it. Let the denial phase begin folks. We're just going to pretend that there will be a season next years, especially since you just showed us an awesome line up of games this year. 

The NFL couldn't have kicked it off with a better game. The Packers will need to prove that last year wasn't a fluke, and the Saints need to prove that they can win the big games. New Orleans wasn't quite the same last year as they were during their Super Bowl run. A win here and they could give the Packers the same fate. 

Green Bay must make sure Ryan Grant has a productive game since it will be his first one in quite some time. They must also keep him healthy. The Saints will also need their running backs to stay healthy, as well as prove they can be a vital part to this offense. Drew Brees is good, but he needs run support just like every other quarterback in the league. 

Aaron Rodgers vs Drew Brees will be quite the showdown. It begins on week one, which is a time when nobody wants to lose.

Prediction: Packers win 27-24