Games to Watch - Week 2 Sep 18, 2009 | More

Hello fellow Sharks! From now right up through Week 17, we’ll be giving our insight as to which games are the ‘games to watch’ each week. This is a heavy burden, as we know a lot of you have Sunday Ticket, too much free time, and an addiction to premium brews like Natty Lite or Yuengling. A lot of you know us from our weekly podcast on this site (the Week in Review podcast), and our “Sine Lines” sport-toon (every Mon, Wed, Fri), or maybe one of our posts in the Tank. We’re just like you, though. We love a good football game, no matter who’s playing. All times Eastern:

Week Two of the 2009 NFL season has us thinking not just about football, but planning the perfect tailgate for our team’s home opener. First, someone has to be the organizer; it just wouldn’t do for all eight guys to show up with nothing but hot dog buns. Next, you need someone to step up and take care of the refreshments; a cold beer on an even colder fall day really hits the spot, and starts the tailgate off right. Then, you need a head chef; someone has to man that grill all day and make sure the hot sausage isn’t burning and the burgers don’t come out like hockey pucks. And finally, you need someone to step up and take care of the entertainment for your pre-game festivities; some guys watch TV, some play poker, some toss around the pigskin or play a little two-hand touch.

When you do it right, it all comes together leaving you satisfied and ready for all the football games. Hey, come to think of it – that’s exactly what we do here for you every week in the ‘Games to Watch’ column. We organize your viewing for the weekend, start you off with a refreshing taste of the football to come, cook up some stats and commentary, and top it all off with a little bit of entertainment. Heck, our jobs might almost seem noble and impressive if we didn’t know how many of you print off a copy of this article at work to read while you’re in the john. :)

New England @ New York Jets – Sunday 9/20, 1:00pm

Blood’s a boiling... and it’s only week two. Go to NYC or Beantown and you have people jazzed up about their sports and the rivalries with their opponents in the Northeast Corridor. It doesn’t matter if it’s football, hockey, baseball, or basketball (wait – scratch that last one, even New Yorkers have a hard time rooting for the hapless Nicks these days) - rivalries go deep between those two cities. Week two on the NFL schedule is certainly no exception, as the Patriots travel south to the Meadowlands, where Bill Belichick faces some smack talk from Rex Ryan who says he’s not “going to kiss Belichick’s rings”. Tom Brady says, “Talk is Cheap!” and that this game certainly is going to be an intense one. Call this one the “Mayhem at the Meadowlands” or the “Slaughter in Secaucus”...but no matter what fancy name you come up with, it’s going to be a ‘Game to Watch’.

New England fans dodged heartbreak last week as “Captain Comeback” Tom Brady and company converted a turnover for a win late in the game against division rival Buffalo. This week, it’s divisional all over again as Brady (378yd/2TD/1int) and his favorite two targets, WRs Wes Welker (93yd/12rec) and Randy Moss (141yd/12rec), infiltrate the confines of the Meadowlands. Not to mention a great first game by TE Ben Watson (96yd / 2TD), who snagged as many TDs last week as he did all last SEASON without pretty-boy Brady under center. Make no mistake, while the Pats can put on an aerial display that rivals the Blue Angels, they take what is given to them, and if that involves RB Laurence Maroney (32yd / 0TD), they’ll be happy to eat up chucks of yards and clock on the ground. Defensively, the line-backing corps is a bit exposed with the loss of Jerod Mayo (knee injury), and showed signs of confusion dealing with a Bills team that by all rights should have been dominated considering they fired their offensive coordinator just a week before. The Pats still have talent in the likes of S Brandon Merriweather (8 tackles), S Shawn Springs (6 tackles), and LB Adalius Thomas (5 tackles/1 sack) – and they should look sharper with a week of play under their belt.

It’s only been one week, but the Jets’ Mark Sanchez (272yd/1TD/1int) fans are already springing up out of the marshes in East Rutherford. It’s way to early to tell if Dustin Keller (94yd /4rec), Jerricho Cotchery (90yd/6rec), or Chansi Stuckey (64yd/4rec/1TD) is going to be the go-to-guy when the game is on the line for Sanchez, but it might be moot as long as the Jets keep up the production of the ground game with the one-two punch of RBs Thomas Jones (107yd/2TD) and Leon Washington (60yd). Sanchez just simply needs to avoid the big mistakes, and let the Jets other weapons and solid defense take care of winning the game. Speaking of the Jets’ D, they find themselves 2nd in the league in yards allowed (183 total yd) and gave up just 7 points in week one. If they continue to play as stingy as a Jonas Brother with a ‘purity ring’, this team could see some post-season action. If LB David Harris (11 tackles/1 sack) and company can hold the Brady-led Pats down, they’ll make believers out of us for sure.

This is the 100th meeting of the two teams; the series stands at 49-49-1. And while we can’t guarantee much here at FantasySharks.com, we’re pretty damn sure it’s not going to be 49-49-2; so somebody is not going to take over the AFC East lead with a win this week, but the overall record between these two divisional foes. Don’t miss what promises to be a great battle between two teams with less than a little love for each other!

(Bonus fun: We also get to see if Tom Brady blows off sideline reporter Suzy Kolber again this week.)

Pittsburgh @ Chicago – Sunday 9/20, 4:15pm

The last time the Steelers and Bears met, “RUN IT!” by Chris Brown was the number one song, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie hadn’t adopted any children yet (or were even together – well, at least as far as Jennifer Aniston knew), and the swine flu was something the average American thought was a pork allergy. The Steelers ended up knocking off the Bears with a 100-yard game by Jerome Bettis with a 21-9 score. And while these teams might have new faces, their heart is exactly the same underneath – kind of like Jerry Jones, but with a less black heart and a less plastic face.*

*[Editor’s Note: -sigh- Couldn’t you guys wait until later in the season before getting us in another ‘defamation of character’ lawsuit?]

After a dismal first outing, Bears’ QB Jay Cutler (277yd/1TD/4int) bares (pun intended) the brunt of the blame for last week’s loss at Green Bay – but he VOWS that he won’t be chucking up four picks in any more games this season. Cutler felt the team (along with the city of Chicago) has too much talent to keep losing. Trying to share some of that blame was RB Matt Forte (55yd total) who felt the first game is not a reflection of the team that Chicago has. Trust us, those two weren’t the only ones to blame. WR Devon Hester (90yd/4rec/1TD) put up decent numbers, but needs to hang onto the tough passes more than he has; TE Greg Olsen (8yd/1rec) is too talented to not be a bigger part of the game plan. It’s obvious to many that Chicago has too much raw ability to be in this rough of a spot so early in the season (potentially going 0-2). Chicago will need its strong defense, minus leader Brian Urlacher (out for year with wrist injury), to hold back the Steelers’ offense. And while this reads a bit “doom and gloom”-ish for Chi-town fans, there are some spots (like Devin Hester’s TD catch and Earl Bennett’s 7 catches) where the Midwest sun is starting to peek through the Chicago clouds.

Pittsburgh had a tough first game against a strong Tennessee team, and while it was hard fought, they by no means blew away the Titans. They showed how QB Ben Roethlisberger (363yd/1TD/2int) is veteran leader who would be coveted by any team – not so much for his numbers, but for the confidence he shows in the tough game-winning situations. The Steeltown boys have transformed themselves into a primary passing team - spotlighting WRs Santonio Holmes (131yd/9rec/1TD) and Hines Ward (103yd/8rec) as one of the best receiving duos in the entire league. They also showed that their defense (232 total ypg allowed in 2008) is still one of the best in the league. Just as with the Bears though, the Steelers have their share of issues. Their RBBC Willie Parker, Mewelde Moore, and Rashard Mendenhall managed a pitiful 33 yards between all THREE of them; and an offensive line that was suspect a year ago, seems to have gotten even worse, looking completely ineffective run-blocking and alternating between giving Big Ben 6 full seconds of protection on one or two plays to giving up one of the 4 sacks they allowed on the day. With their emotional leader S Troy Polamalu out (knee injury), the ‘Stillers’ will need to play with even more heart than their gutsy performance against the Titans last week.

So come this Sunday, the number one song will likely be “I Gotta Feeling!” by The Black Eyed Peas; Pitt and Jolie are running around Ethiopia somewhere with an undisclosed amount of children dragging behind; and in Chi-town, two teams with the same warrior heart and mentality meet up after a long absence - to give all of us a true ‘Game to Watch’.

New York Giants @ Dallas – Sunday 9/20, 8:20pm

Every time we think about a Giants / Cowboys game, we can’t help but think about the X-Men movies… specifically, Dr. Xavier and Magneto. Xavier and Magneto had so many things in common, and even respected each other, but approached things so differently it made them enemies. Both extremely powerful, although in very different ways, Xavier and Magneto waged an epic battle for mutants everywhere – with neither one being able to claim victory for very long. The Cowboys and the Giants are the same way. They both have many things in common; they come from the same NFL division, they have both won multiple Super Bowls, they are both two of the better teams in the NFC this season, and they both recently ditched a problem WR (and neither one seems to be missing T.O. or Plaxico all that much so far). And if week one is any indication, they are both approaching the 2009 season very differently, but ultimately with the same goal – dominating the NFC East en-route to another Super Bowl.

The Giants approach this season knowing that one of their most dangerous weapons, Plaxico Burress, isn’t going to be able to help them out with timely redzone leaps. But that doesn’t worry the Giants overly much. QB Eli Manning (256yd/1TD/1int) doesn’t need to be flashy in this offense, he just needs to play solidly and avoid the big turnovers. The Giants offense is built around controlling the clock with two solid RBs in Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw – who not only rushed for 106 yards combined, but also hauled in 5 catches between them for another 28 yards. The WR corps are young, but show exciting promise. 3^rd year man Steve Smith (80yd/6rec) is the defacto #1 WR now, but with other young talent like Hakim Nicks (out with an injury this week) and Mario Manningham’s impressive TD grab, the Giants have plenty of talent to groom for the future. And TE Kevin Boss (62ys/3rec) looks like he could have a breakout year as well, especially against the NFC East who doesn’t do a particularly good job against TEs (with Philly being the worst offender and Washington not far behind). But the Giants biggest offensive weapon might be their defense. This Giants defensive line is one of the best in the NFL right now. In week one, they put constant pressure on the ‘Skins, even if they did only come up with 3 sacks. The Giant D even managed to score when DE Osi Umenyiora stripped the ball, recovered the fumble, and then took it on for the TD. The Giants D was one of the best in the league last year, and was 6^th in sacks – and that was WITHOUT Omeyiora who was lost for the season due to injury. Imagine how scary this D can be this year with him back in the lineup.

The Cowboys, just as dangerous and powerful as the Giants, are very different in their strengths. The Dallas offense rules the roost here, with QB Tony Romo (353yd/3TD/0int) still near the top of the NFL QB heap. (Side note: Is it just us, or does Tony Romo look like he went on a beer and Twinkie binge after breaking up with Jessica Simpson?) You might think the loss of a premier WR like Terrell Owens hurts the ‘Boys, but this is clearly a case of addition by subtraction. Without the distractions of T.O. on a weekly basis, Romo can spread the ball around to the likes of WRs Roy Williams (86yd/3rec/1TD) and Patrick Crayton (135yd/4rec/1TD), not to mention stud TE Jason Witten (71yd/5rec) – all without fear of how T.O. would react. Toss in some explosive RBs like Marion Barber (79yd/1TD) and Felix Jones (22yd) and you have yourself one of the more well-rounded offenses in the league. Too bad the same can’t be said for the Dallas D. The one bright spot is LB Keith Brooking who Dallas gets from Atlanta – Brooking averaged 121.5 tackles a YEAR since 2001, and he is off to a another great start in 2009 with 9 in week one. Don’t get us wrong, the Cowboys were a top 10 defense last year (even if that did rank them at the bottom of their own division) and they did top the league in sacks in 2008 (59 sacks). But if week one is any indication, it could be a long year for the Dallas defenders. Against a Tampa Bay team that doesn’t sport the most explosive offense, they gave up a whopping 450 total yards, including a staggering 176 yards allowed on the ground. Did we mention not a single sack or pick? Ouch!

Two very powerful opponents, both with their own unique abilities, but who approach the game in very different ways - striving for the same ultimate goal – the NFC East Championship, a week one playoff bye, and eventually the Super Bowl. And when two incredibly powerful opponents match up, you just have to sit back, grab a beer and some wings, and see who comes out on top when the dust settles. It doesn’t matter if it’s the marquee NFL match-up of the weekend, or another X-Men movie. It’s hard to tear your eyes off either one. (Though to be honest, Famke Jannsen is so hot as Jean Grey, we’d watch the X-Men movies if all they did was dust around the X-mansion.) Enjoy!