Mparas1432's Blog
Each Week for the NFL Season OS bloggers Matthew Paras and Brendan Darr will be giving their take on two conference games to watch.
New England Patriots at Tennessee Titans, 1 PM CBS
Why to watch
With the superbowl Giants losing in their debut, it will be interesting to see if the Titans can pull the upset. Tom Brady and the offense failed to click in the preseason and we’ll see if a Titans defense can stop the previously high powered offense.
In addition to the Patriots offense, the Titans offense has potential as well. There are so many pieces that need to come together in order to succeed. Running back Chris Johnson is looking to regain his former glory days, while Jake Locker is out to prove he deserved the starting job. We’ll see how Kenny Britt and Kendall Wright fit into their system as well.
Matt's X-Factor: The Patriots receiving corps
When the Patriots added Jabar Gaffney and Brandon Lloyd in the offseason, they initially appeared to have one of the best core of receivers in the league. However after the cutting down to 53, the Patriots cut Gaffney and trusty receiver Deion Branch. To make up for it the Pats traded for Greg Salas.
Salas, 24, adds more youth to an offense that was already young to begin with. Tight Ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez are 22 and 23 respectively. If Salas develops like Gronk and Hernandez did under Tom Brady then that might force Wes Welker out of New England next season.
If these players, and not to mention Brandon Lloyd and Wes Welker, sync up with Tom Brady than the Titans will have a long day ahead of them. If not and they produce 3 and outs, then the Titans could potentially pull off the upset.
Brendan's X-Factor: Kendall Wright
Rookie receivers usually struggle out of the gate, but if Wright is able to replicate some of the things Kenny Britt can do it could help in upsetting the Pats. That said, a lot will be riding on the ability of Jake Locker to get him the ball.
Final Score/Prediction:
Matt - The New England offensive train rolls on through and the Titans are on the end of it. Second year Jake Locker fails to get going with his receivers and Chris Johnson can’t handle the load all by himself in the first game of the year .
35-10 New England
Brendan - Tennessee just doesn’t have the horses to keep up with New England in a shootout. Tennessee has a nice, young offense, but even against a weak New England secondary I don’t think Tennessee will be able to exploit them without Kenny Britt. Wright was a first-round pick for a reason though. Even if Tennessee still had Cortland Finnegan around, Tom Brady would still have a field day, but they don’t. New England. Big. 42-24 New England wins.
Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos, 8:30 PM NBC
Why to watch
How could you not? After last year’s upset, Pittsburgh rolls into Denver looking for revenge. Although this time around, Denver has a new quarterback in Peyton Manning. It’s been heavily covered that Manning didn’t play last year, but that doesn’t change the anticipation level for this game. A must watch game.
X-Factor: Peyton Manning’s Timing
Matt - As the preseason progressed, Peyton Manning’s timing got significantly better. However, he’s up against one of the best defenses in the league for week 1. Manning will have to be sharp with his receivers if they want to beat a highly motivated Steelers. Look for Eric Decker and Demariyus Thomas to have big games if Manning is 100%.
Brendan - It has to be Peyton Manning, right? If he stays up-right I see no way he doesn’t have a solid return to the NFL. Especially with no Ryan Clark in the secondary for the Steelers.
Final Score/Prediction:
Matt - Another strong candidate for the x-factor section could have been the Steelers health. With Ryan Clark not playing and James Harrison most likely out as well, the Steelers defense will be overwhelmed. Offensively, a new offensive coordinator and Rashard Mendenhall also limit Pittsburgh.
Peyton Manning might need some time to mesh with Denver, but Pittsburgh will be a good starting point.
26-13 Denver
Brendan - This has all the makings of a slobberknocker. I’m excited to see the return of Peyton Manning to the league and want to see what he can do with this offense. I have to assume receivers Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas are in for big years, but maybe not so much in this game. I’d think the Tight Ends could make more of an impact without Ryan Clark around. It also is not clear if Mike Wallace will start, but should play -- but to what extent we don’t know yet. Broncos hold serve at home,
24-21 over the Steelers.
# 3
rudeworld @ Sep 9
Jets football is always something to watch.... by the way @Dast I didn't know the O's had 10 guys on the field last night... that ump needs his eyes checked go #YANKS #JETS #KNICKS #NYC
Mparas1432
21
67 Forum Posts
53 Blog Entries
78 News/Blog Comments
0 Reader Score Votes
0 Friends
0 Chalkboard Messages
0 Screenshots
0 Videos
146,365 Arena Visits
Mparas1432's Blog Categories
Mparas1432's Screenshots (0)
Mparas1432 does not have any albums to display.
Mparas1432's Friends
Recent Visitors
The last 10 visitor(s) to this Arena were:
Mparas1432's Arena has had 146,365 visits
- CarryTheWeight
- Dave Pearson
- DeermaPam
- hbupmo2ts1
- ij3sj85c8p
- ob078i39u4
- PH1LLYSFINEST13
- PilGof
- toadn5
- Vska
Mparas1432's Arena has had 146,365 visits
Working...