Sunday Countdown online: Your weekly NFL guide
Weekly Picks |
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| Ditka | Johnson | Carter | Jackson | ||
| Tennessee @ Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh | Tennessee | Pittsburgh | |
| Miami @ Atlanta | Atlanta | Atlanta | Atlanta | Atlanta | |
| Denver @ Cincinnati | Cincinnati | Cincinnati | Cincinnati | Cincinnati | |
| Minnesota @ Cleveland | Minnesota | Minnesota | Minnesota | Minnesota | |
| Jacksonville @ Indianapolis | Indianapolis | Indianapolis | Indianapolis | Indianapolis | |
| Detroit @ New Orleans | New Orleans | New Orleans | New Orleans | New Orleans | |
| Dallas @ Tampa Bay | Tampa Bay | Dallas | Dallas | Dallas | |
| Philadelphia @ Carolina | Philadelphia | Carolina | Philadelphia | Philadelphia | |
| Kansas City @ Baltimore | Baltimore | Baltimore | Baltimore | Baltimore | |
| New York Jets @ Houston | New York Jets | New York Jets | Houston | Houston | |
| Washington @ New York Giants | New York Giants | New York Giants | New York Giants | New York Giants | |
| San Francisco @ Arizona | Arizona | San Francisco | Arizona | Arizona | |
| St. Louis @ Seattle | Seattle | Seattle | Seattle | Seattle | |
| Chicago @ Green Bay | Green Bay | Green Bay | Green Bay | Green Bay | |
| Buffalo @ New England | New England | New England | New England | New England | |
| San Diego @ Oakland | San Diego | San Diego | San Diego | San Diego | |
| Week 1 Record | 13-3 | 14-2 | 12-4 | 13-3 | |
| Overall Record | 13-3 | 14-2 | 12-4 | 13-3 | |
| More picks: Our other experts' selections | SportsNation: Pick Week 1 games | |||||
Countdown Confidential
Youth movement in Philadelphia: In his first regular-season game as the Eagles' new defensive coordinator, Sean McDermott is taking a huge risk -- starting rookie Macho Harris at free safety against the Panthers.
Harris, who played cornerback at Virginia Tech, outplayed second-year safety Quintin Demps during training camp and the preseason. Demps was expected to replace a legend, Brian Dawkins, who signed with the Broncos in the offseason.
McDermott is replacing the late Jim Johnson, who led the Eagles' defense for 10 years before dying of cancer at the end of July. Johnson was reluctant to start rookies, especially in the secondary. So, this is a critical decision for McDermott -- especially against Carolina.
Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
The Eagles may be taking a huge risk by starting rookie Macho Harris at safety in Week 1.
On Sunday, strong safety Quintin Mikell, a second-team All-Pro last season, will be preoccupied with stopping the run. The Panthers undoubtedly will feed the Eagles a heavy dose of DeAngelo Williams, especially because their best run-stopping linebacker, Stewart Bradley, is out for the season with a knee injury.
That leaves Harris to help the Eagles' corners double-team Carolina's explosive wide receiver Steve Smith, who was Jake Delhomme's target 129 times last season.
Harris should remember what happened to Demps in last season's NFC Championship Game. On the Cardinals' last drive of the second quarter, Demps was penalized for a late hit on quarterback Kurt Warner. That was after Demps fell down on a 62-yard bomb to Larry Fitzgerald. McDermott gave Demps a tongue-lashing in the locker room at halftime.
So maybe Demps should have seen this demotion coming. Nevertheless, starting a rookie in the opener at a new position against this team is a big gamble for a first-year coordinator.
-- Sal Paolantonio
Air attack coming to NFC North: Gone are the days of the 13-10 slugfests between the Packers and Bears.
Sunday night, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (age 25) and Bears quarterback Jay Cutler (age 26) will meet for what could be the first of many divisional shootouts. Each is coming off a 4,000-yard season. Each will face a defense that ranked in the bottom half of the league last season. And each knows it'll take at least a few touchdowns to win.
"Face of the franchise? Jay Cutler," Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher said this week, signaling the transformation from a defensive division to one of high-scoring offenses.
With Cutler, Rodgers, Minnesota's Brett Favre and 2009 draft No. 1 pick Matthew Stafford starting in Detroit, this could be the highest-scoring NFC North we've seen.
-- Bob Holtzman
Change in location hasn't changed Owens: Forget any notion that a new address, underdog team or coaching controversy might make Terrell Owens more subdued heading into this week's Monday Night matchup against New England. On a conference call Wednesday, Owens joked he might "bring my spy camera" to Foxborough. That came just shortly after Owens had been telling people in Buffalo that the offense the Bills ran in the preseason was too conservative.
At least Owens is happy with the changes brought by new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, noting the Bills will try to stretch the field more. And he even tried to tone down the trash talk -- sort of -- when discussing a matchup with Patriots corner Shawn Springs. "I'm not going to get into it … but you can check the stats," he said.
Still, Owens is … Owens. He closed his comments to the New England media by saying, "Tell Belichick I said hello. I'll see him Monday."
-- Rachel Nichols
Week 1: Numbers Crunching
Vikings at Browns, 1 p.m.
If you are looking for a Vikings receiver to have a big game, try someone other than Bernard Berrian. Last year, Cleveland had the worst defense in the NFL against opposing No. 2 receivers, but the Browns were above-average against opposing No. 1s.
Whomever the Vikings throw to, don't expect the reception to be made in the middle of the field. Last year, only 19 percent of Minnesota passes were thrown to the middle of the field (29th in the NFL) but 30 percent of Minnesota opponents' passes were thrown to the middle of the field (second in the NFL, behind only Washington).
• More Vikings-Browns Intel Report
Jaguars at Colts, 1 p.m.
With sacks and quarterback hits combined, David Garrard was knocked to the ground 110 times last season, the most of any quarterback in the league. (This includes plays canceled by penalty.)
• More Jaguars-Colts: Intel Report
Redskins at Giants, 4:15 p.m.
Don't be surprised to see the Giants get out to a quick start in this one. Last season, the Giants had the best offensive DVOA in the league during the first quarter, while the Redskins' offense ranked just 26th.
The Giants hurried opposing quarterbacks on 16.4 percent of pass plays last season, fourth in the league -- but Jason Campbell had the second-best DVOA rating for any quarterback when hurried, behind only Jeff Garcia.
• More Redskins-Giants: Intel Report
Fantasy Corner
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| Brees |
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Week 1 projections
The numbers have been crunched for Week 1, and Saints QB Drew Brees is expected to be the top scorer.
On This Week
- Patriots QB Tom Brady sits down with Chris Berman to discuss his recovery from a torn ACL and his outlook for the 2009 season.
- Brett Favre did it again. He went from retired to unretired and is now the Vikings' quarterback. What motivates Favre to keep coming back? Why can't he let go? Greg Garber reports.
- There are 11 new coaches in the NFL this season. New coaches always look for ways to make their mark on a team. Ed Werder finds out some coaches' unusual tactics.
- Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter team up on Sunday Headlines and report all the latest news from the stadiums.
- Follow all the happenings on Sunday Countdown on Twitter here.
Video
Chat Wrap
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| Favre |
J.B. (Dunmore, PA): Mr. Mortensen: Many feel that Brett Favre was the missing link for the Vikings and a Super Bowl run. Do you see it that way or would [Sage] Rosenfels and [Tarvaris] Jackson have been able to get the job done?
Mort: I do not believe Favre is the missing link for Vikings; I would have went with T. Jackson. However, let's say Brett breaks down at some point. I do think his experience with this offense could be a really good mentoring tool for Jackson. Brett knows how to play in this offense, and Jackson should be taking notes.
Disappointed (Buffalo): Will Ralph Wilson ever bring in a big name coach? I would love to see [Bill] Cowher come here and clean house. Sick of the mediocrity and lackluster play.
Mort: Based on what the late John Butler told me when he left Buffalo and on everything since, I don't think any big-name coach would embrace or accept that job. I wouldn't pain yourself dreaming about Cowher or any other "big name." Let's see how they play this year and then go find the next great young coach.
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| Crabtree |
Benjamin (Louisville, KY): If you were his agent, what would you tell Michael Crabtree right now?
Mort: I think Eugene Parker, his agent, is a very capable guy. Sometimes, it's a little bit too much hardball, but, ultimately, the player is in control. I'm sure Parker has explain to Crabtree the facts of life. You lose a year of big wages. You loses your elite draft status. It's dangerous, but it's his privilege.
T.J.'s Take
Philadelphia at Carolina: The Panthers are built around a power running game led by perhaps the best 1-2 punch in the league, DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. The challenge for Carolina is to run against an Eagles defensive front that should be improved if everyone plays up to his potential.
The weight of stopping the run falls mainly on the two interior tackles, Brodrick Bunkley and Mike Patterson. Middle linebacker Stewart Bradley is out for the season, putting even more pressure on the Eagles to play coordinated run defense to control down and distance and therefore limit the ability of Jake Delhomme and Steve Smith to use play-action passing. The Eagles' coverage in the secondary should be improved with the addition of Ellis Hobbs. Let's remember that the focal point of Carolina's passing game will always be Smith. The question in Carolina for the past few seasons has been the offside receiver -- that hasn't changed, whether it's Muhsin Muhammad or Dwayne Jarrett.
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| Peters |
For the Eagles and head coach Andy Reid, this could be a make-or-break year after reaching the NFC Championship Game last season. The team made some changes that ought to benefit the offense right away. The addition of two new tackles, Stacy Andrews and Jason Peters, should give Donovan McNabb the protection he has missed over the years and provide him time to set in the pocket and get the ball to his playmakers. If McNabb runs less, that means he likely will be healthy for key games in December and January.
The other side of the ball may be more problematic. The Eagles' defense is dealing with other losses. The passing of Jim Johnson, one of the great defensive coordinators ever, will affect this team negatively in some way. I played for a great coordinator in Denver named Joe Collier and can't imagine what our defense would have been like without him on the sideline. Add to that the loss of the on-field heart and soul of Philly's D, Brian Dawkins, and I believe even the Eagles know there may be some early struggles on defense.
Complete Jackson column