Walker Sports: Walker-Sports NFL Week 2 Preview

Welcome to week 2 of Walker-Sports NFL Coverage. Last weekend we were perfect with our picks. That’s right four for four, not bad for our first week out. Now we will look to improve on that mark. The last week, has been chalked full of excitement around the league and I have no doubt this weekend will only build on that excitement.

Jets vs. New England Patriots: We all know it’s out there, so we might as well talk about the 800 lb monkey in the room. And thank God this game really takes care of two major pains in one game. Obviously the Patriots are not the team they were a week ago. Tom Brady is gone, and his whole career could be in jeopardy. In comes Matt Cassel and new game plan. It may seem hard to remember but there was a time the Pats relied on defense and a sound running game to win games, and you can bet that Belichick will remember his old ways very quickly. The Jets don’t handle the blitz well, and between Brett not knowing the plays and his gunslinger mentality the Patriots should be able to force the Jets into a couple turnovers.

Brett showed NYC what his magic is all about last weekend. He still has a few tricks left in the old bag. He will need every one of them if he wants to get his team over the hump. Last week the Jets looked like a team that could have used another two or three warm up games before playing in the regular season. It is obvious this is a team that is struggling to gel together. The chances are good the Jets will become a good team before the end of the season, and will probably compete for the division title. However, Sunday the odds will just be too much to overcome.

New England 20 Jets 17

Bears vs. Carolina Panthers: The Chicago Bears came out last week and shocked the league by beating the Indianapolis Colts while on the road. This weekend the Bears have a chance to prove to the world that last week was not an accident and the Bears are the real deal. The Bears found a steal when they drafted Matt Forte he caught the Colts off guard, but the Panthers are a different bred when it comes to defense. will need to take the reigns off Orton and let him toss the ball around on Sunday. The Panthers are too stout up front and with their ball control tactics time will be short and the Bears will need to throw the ball if they want a fighting chance.

The Carolina Panthers pulled out the most impressive victory of the weekend when they beat the San Diego Chargers. Even though it was only week one, that was the sort of game that can change the course of a season. And the Panthers will be able to look at that game and see that they do belong and they are on the right track to getting back to the Super Bowl. Williams is coming on as a solid producer in the backfield and he will provide a pressure release as Delhomme continues to progress and get comfortable on the field. It will be the Panthers not the Vikings that are this years sleeper team, and believe me they can make a run for it this season.

Panthers 21 Bears 13

Saints vs. Washington Redskins: The Saints managed to survive a scare against last weekend. On a high note, Reggie Bush played perhaps the best game of his short career, which included scoring the go ahead TD. However, the Saints failed to show me they were ready to turn to their 06 form by the way they played on Sunday. The long term success of the Saints is still based on Deuce returning to the lineup healthy. Even as well as Bush played on Sunday, he still cannot run the ball between the tackles and the Saints will need a back that can do that on a regular basis.

Redskins: The Skins looked horrible in the season opener. The new West Coast offense is horrible. Jason Campbell is struggling to adapt and become the true decision maker he needs to be to make the quick timing based passes this offense requires. What the Redskins do have is a defense that plays pretty well. They went down early against the Giants but they managed to hold them to field goals and then shut them out in the second half. That was done with the defensive line only combining for 9 tackles. If the Redskins can keep Bush and check and more importantly keep constant pressure on Drew Brees, force the Saints to keep Shockey in to block, then they will have a good chance in this game.

Redskins 27 Saints 20

Cowboys vs. Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles came out last weekend and destroyed the St. Louis Rams. Now the flipside to that is the Rams are a horrible team. So, 10-15 of the 38 points the Eagles put up can be called back. That being said, the Eagles are actually a good team, a very good one. Donovan McNabb looks to have lost weight and may be ready to play the best ball of his career. Add to that Desean Jackson can actually play some ball and you have the most well rounded Eagles team we have seen since they went to the Super Bowl in 2005. The Jim Johnson machine will be cranked up to full force, especially after seeing what Romo did to the Browns last weekend when given time.

The Dallas Cowboys played a great game last weekend against the Browns. Romo and the offense looked sharp. This week, they will face a tougher task when the Eagles roll into town. More importantly the Cowboys defense last week was stout but not great. They gave up several silly penalties that led to the Browns one TD on the game. There is no way the Cowboys can get away with 11 penalties this weekend if they want to come away with a victory. Helping the Cowboys out this week will be the return of Terrence Newman. With the return of the Eagles passing attack the Cowboys will need every defensive back they can get to keep the Eagles in check.

Cowboys 34 vs. Eagles 28