TWO 2-0 MATCHUPS HIGHLIGHT WEEK AS FAVRE GOES FOR

TD RECORD, BUSH & YOUNG MEET FOR FIRST TIME SINCE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

 

Look who’s 2-0…but “you’ve got to play like you’re 0-2.”

 

It’s only two weeks old, but already the NFL season is packed with surprises.  But this being the NFL, “surprises” are really nothing unusual.

 

Detroit won three games last year, Washington five, Houston six, San Francisco seven and Green Bay and Pittsburgh eight.  They’re all 2-0 going into Week 3.  And three of them this week will confront other undefeated teams.

 

“You’ve got to play like you’re 0-2,” says Green Bay quarterback BRETT FAVRE, in his 17th NFL season.  Meaning you can never let up, never assume anything.  “As young as we are [the Packers were the youngest team in the NFL on Kickoff Weekend, 25.72 years old], there may not be an understanding of what’s ahead.  But I know what’s ahead of us.” 

 

A long season, with 14 anything-can-happen games left.  

 

But in his next game, Favre can make history just as he did in his last game.

 

In Week 2, the oldest starting quarterback in the NFL (37) became the winningest quarterback in history when he won his 149th game.  This week, with four touchdown passes – a feat he has accomplished 19 times in his career – he will become the all-time leader in the category.  Favre has 417 TD passes, three behind DAN MARINO (420).

 

Meanwhile, “down the road” a bit from Green Bay, the NFL will celebrate “Hispanic Heritage Month” (September 15-October 15) Sunday night in Chicago when the Bears host Dallas.  Five-time Grammy Award-winner GLORIA ESTEFAN will sing the national anthem live on NBC and the Grammy-winning group OZOMATLI will perform at halftime with portions of the show televised on NBC.  Many NFL teams will designate their games in honor of the month with festivities.

 

*********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

NFL FACTOID

 

MOSS GOES FOR HISTORY:  New Patriots wide receiver RANDY MOSS can make history this Sunday when New England hosts Buffalo.  With a 100-yard receiving game, Moss can become the first receiver in history to post three 100-yard games in his first three games with a new team.  He had 183 yards in Week 1 and 105 last week.     

*********************************************************************************************************************************************************************

 

 

 

 

So as fall begins on Sunday, here is just some of the NFL excitement on tap in Week 3:

 

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (2-0) at HOUSTON TEXANS (2-0)     

 

STORYLINE:  First-place battle in the AFC South!

 

…And the 2-0 Texans want to make it two in a row!  Last season, after losing nine consecutive games to Indianapolis, the Texans rushed for 191 yards on December 24 – with RB RON DAYNE providing the bulk of the production (153 yards) – in a 27-24 victory.  The Colts did not lose another game, winning all the way through Super Bowl XLI.

 

The Texans had a sizeable advantage in time-of-possession that day (35:59 to 24:01) and they will strive to emphasize that ball-control approach on Sunday.  “You’re trying to keep PEYTON MANNING off the field, but that’s easier said than done,” says Texans head coach GARY KUBIAK.  “They’ve been playing tremendous defense.  Everybody goes into a game hoping to keep them off the field.  That’s part of the process when you play Indianapolis.”

 

Key players to watch:  Colts RB JOSEPH ADDAI returns to his hometown looking to replicate his 100-yard performance of last year……and Texans WRs KEVIN WALTER and rookie JACOBY JONES will have to help pick up the slack if ANDRE JOHNSON (knee) cannot go.

 

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (2-0) at PITTSBURGH STEELERS (2-0)     

 

STORYLINE:  One does it through domination, the other by determination, but they’re both 2-0. 

 

And that’s all that matters.   

 

The 49ers, with a rebuilt defense, have won games on grit -- a comeback with three minutes left in Week 1 and a late- fourth-quarter 40-yard field goal last Sunday.  “To be 2-0 right now is huge,” says QB ALEX SMITH.  “We’re 2-0, but we have a long way to go.  It’s huge to pull out wins in these types of games the last two weeks.”

 

The Niners sacked St. Louis’ MARC BULGER six times last week, with one coming from newcomer CB NATE CLEMENTS.  But they will have to protect their own house against the Steelers, who tie Minnesota for the league lead in sacks (10) thanks to a somewhat-hybrid defense that is mostly a 3-4 but can morph into a 4-3.  Pittsburgh has allowed 10 points this season, the fewest in the NFL.

 

Strong against NFC:  The Steelers have won 11 of their past 12 games against NFC teams.    

 

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (1-1) at GREEN BAY PACKERS (2-0)     

 

STORYLINE:  A different Packers, a quixotic Chargers.  

 

The old days of BRETT FAVRE rearing back and firing the ball to the likes of ANTONIO FREEMAN and STERLING SHARPE are somewhat over.  Not that they can’t or won’t go long, but the Packers are now more into a short passing-game offense and it has helped them to their first 2-0 start since 2001.  Hey, if it works!

 

“We can be effective throwing the ball underneath to a lot of different guys,” says Favre.  “Our offense is designed to spread it out and I think it’s more effective doing it that way.”  Favre hit eight different receivers on Sunday against the Giants and connected on his first 14 attempts in the second half.  New Chargers defensive coordinator TED COTTRELL faced Favre twice a year in the same position with Minnesota in 2004-05, so he knows the QB’s tendencies.

 

The Chargers began the season in a we’re-on-our-way win over NFC Champion Chicago but then were slapped with a 38-14 defeat by New England Sunday night, so they are smarting.  As is their 2006 NFL MVP RB LA DAINIAN TOMLINSON, who has been limited to 25- and 43-yard rushing outputs this season.  Last year, he broke the 46-year NFL record of Packers icon PAUL HORNUNG (176) for most points in a season (186).

 

DALLAS COWBOYS (2-0) at CHICAGO BEARS (1-1) (Sunday night, NBC, 8:15 PM ET)     

 

STORYLINE:  “Big D” against Chicago’s big “D.”  

 

No one has outscored Dallas this year (82 points, the most in their first two games since 1971), under the direction of the league’s second-ranked passer TONY ROMO (119.3).  But the Bears -- what else? – are tough on defense, and tie for the fourth-fewest points surrendered (24).

 

“We’re 2-0 this year, and now we’re going up to Chicago like we should have last year,” says Cowboys RB JULIUS JONES, referring to the 2006 NFC Championship Game in Chicago.  “We need to take care of business.”  

 

New Dallas head coach WADE PHILLIPS brought a more attacking style to the team’s 3-4 defense and it showed last week against Miami.  The ’Boys had five takeaways, with four interceptions.  Meanwhile, they committed no turnovers. 

 

Interesting matchup to watch:  Chicago weakside LB LANCE BRIGGS (a sack and fumble recovery last week) against Cowboys FB OLIVER HOYTE, a former linebacker himself who excels as a blocker.

 

TENNESSEE TITANS (1-1) at NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (0-2) (Monday night, ESPN, 8:30 PM ET)     

 

STORYLINE:  Rose Bowl redux!  

 

Two of the stars of one of the most memorable college football games ever – the 2005 BCS national championship at Pasadena’s Rose Bowl – Titans QB VINCE YOUNG and Saints RB REGGIE BUSH – will meet as NFLers for the first time in the regular season on Monday night. 

 

Young’s Texas team broke the 34-game winning streak of Bush’s USC squad that night (January 4, 2006) with a 41-38 victory with Young scrambling untouched for the winning eight-yard touchdown with 19 seconds left.

 

Now Bush has other worries.  His team – NFC Championship Game participants last season -- is 0-2 and Young is again coming to town.  Time to get it going in the ’07 home opener!

 

“By no means are we out of it,” says Saints QB DREW BREES, who played for the Chargers in 2005 when they started 0-2, then narrowly missed the playoffs with a 9-7 record.  “It sets you back, but it’s nothing we can’t overcome.”

The Saints will have to overcome the league’s No. 1 rushing attack (211.5 yards per game), led by CHRIS BROWN and LEN DALE WHITE, a teammate of Bush in that national championship game.

2007 NFL STANDINGS

 

LAST WEEK’S NFL RESULTS (SEPTEMBER 16-17)

(Home team in CAPS)

 

                                                                       

 

2007 WEEK 3 SCHEDULE – SEPTEMBER 23-24

(All times local)

 

 

 

 

AFC NOTES

 

NFL RETURNERS SPEED INTO WEEK 3

Across the NFL, a dynamic group of kick returners is racing through a stadium near you.

Among the keys to being a great returner are speed, quickness, instincts and a good special teams unit. 

A great example of these attributes was BILLY “WHITE SHOES” JOHNSON, who showcased his return skills for more than a decade in the NFL.  A 15th-round selection by the Houston Oilers in 1974, Johnson went on to play 14 years in the league, finishing his career with the Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins.  He still holds nine Houston-Tennessee return records and is now the Falcons’ assistant strength and conditioning coach.

“It’s a special thing when you reach the end zone after a return,” says Johnson.  “You have worked so hard all week and it feels like at end of the week, it’s payday when you score.  Yes, you want a good return, but a touchdown is the ultimate.”

In the first two weeks of the 2007 NFL season, there have certainly been some ultimate moments.  There have been four returns for touchdowns (three on punts, one on a kickoff), including a record-setting 108-yard kickoff return by ELLIS HOBBS of the New England Patriots which also stands as the longest play in NFL history.

A look at the kick returns for touchdowns this season:

Coaches and players throughout the NFL know the importance of a good return game and how it can change a game’s momentum.  But good returns are not limited to just touchdowns.  Chicago Bears All-Star returner DEVIN HESTER, who set the NFL season record for most combined kick-return touchdowns in 2006 (five; three on punts, two on kickoffs), certainly echoes those sentiments.

“A return doesn’t have to be a touchdown to change the momentum of the game,” says Hester.  “Sometimes when your team is struggling, you just need to give the offense better field position.  You can’t worry about scoring every time you return the football.  You just have to be smart and try to do the best you can to help your team out.”

Being smart through preparation is the approach taken by St. Louis Rams Pro Bowl returner DANTE HALL, who is tied for first in history with six kickoff returns for touchdowns. 

“I watch film,” says Hall.  “I try to get a kicking tendency as far as the kickers and the opponent.  I get with the coaches or look at the scouting reports to see which guy is their special teams ace and we try to eliminate him.  From there it’s just instincts.”

Johnson agrees with Hall.

“You can pick up certain things to see where the kicker might kick the ball,” he says.  “You watch the kicker and the cover guys.”

After countless hours of watching film and numerous repetitions at practice during the week, game-time is when you have to put everything into action.  Once the returner steps on the field, he has his plan in place.

“Wherever the kick is we either have the right or left return,” says TERRENCE MC GEE, the Buffalo Bills’ all-time leader in kickoff returns (158) and kickoff return yards (4,276).  “It’s basically the play designed for me as to where to go, but after that it’s instinct and trying to make something happen.”

After the kick has been successfully grasped, Johnson says “a good punt returner makes the first two players miss and then is off and running.”

After creating those misses, the next component is splitting the seams -- and reaching the end zone.

When Hall reaches that final destination, it’s a unique feeling.  “I feel like I’m on a rock star or superstar level,” he says.

For Hester, it’s a chance for the team to enjoy the moment.

 “A lot of times the returner gets all the credit and the blockers go unnoticed, but without them I wouldn’t have been able to get there.  It’s a chance to celebrate with your teammates.” 

A look at the top 10 start positions for offenses after kickoffs entering Week 3: