Surprises and Rookie Spotlight

Three Surprises:

1. The Packers lost against the Bears- The Packers literally did everything they could to hand the game to the Bears. The Bears did do a great job stopping the run, but the Packers had 17 penalties, and played very sloppily. They could have easily had 3 or 4 interceptions against Jay Cutler, and Aaron Rodgers completed 76% of his passes for 316 yards and yet they only put up 17 points. I think this was just a bad game for the Packers, I still see them as super bowl contenders, and Aaron Rodgers looked pretty good.

2. Pittsburgh is 3-0- The Steelers have been able to win three games without starting QB Ben Roethlisberger, and they have beaten some pretty good teams already: Falcons, Titans and Buccaneers. They have been able to do it because their defense has been nasty. The Steelers are one team I would not want to play at all especially with Roethlisberger coming back in 2 weeks. Look out for WR Mike Wallace, he is ridiculously fast, he averaged 19+ yards per catch last year, and is averaging 26+ per catch this season.

3. Jay Cutler and Mark Sanchez playing well – Two guys that I had given up on are looking pretty good. Cutler looks better, but I think much of Cutler’s success can be contributed to the offense under Mike Martz and RB Matt Forte. Mike Martz offense’s seem to always put up good numbers, and Forte, who is the leading receiver, has helped Cutler by averaging 12.9 yards after the catch. He still seems to throw the ball off his back foot and force balls so I’m not completely sold on him. Sanchez has looked very good he is making good decisions and getting the ball out quick. Will see if he can keep it up.

Rookie Spotlight

3 Stars

Earl Thomas – Had his first 2 interceptions of his career in the Seahawks win against San Diego, looks like the next Bob Sanders (hopefully he can stay healthy though).

2 Stars

C.J. Spiller – Had a 95 yard kickoff return and a receiving touchdown, he showed that he can run by people in the chances he has been given.

1 Star

Dexter McCluster – McCluster had a big touchdown, and has helped the Chiefs start off 3-0. I was shocked when McCluster ran a 4.5+ in the 40 at the combine, he is really fast, he is one of those guys that gets faster when he puts on the pads.