I have no words to describe Thursday Night’s Falcons-Saints game, other than “WHAT THE HELL WAS ON MY TV?!?!?!” Messier than a Todd Haley trick play.
Anyways, to go in a completely opposite direction of the Kansas City Chiefs on third down, we move forward with this week’s primetime action. We’ll get to the slaughterhouse that is New England at Indianapolis, and New York Giants at Philadelphia.
Sunday Night Preview: Why Do I Need To Write My Prediction For This Patriots Win?
Patriots win this game. Duh.
I could end the article there and satisfy everyone. Unfortunately, I have to subject you guys to a page worth of analysis on this Sunday Night matchup.
This version of the historic rivalry (if you can even call it that in the 2010s’) takes place at Indianapolis on Sunday Night Football for the 2nd consecutive season. Last year’s matchup was a 42-20 New England victory. This time, however, the Colts have somehow managed to get even worse, which is an incredible feat. The offensive line looks even less alive, Andrew Luck is getting shell shocked and making far more mistakes, and Matt Hasselbeck is actually doing a better job, though the Colts have changed schemes, transferring from downfield passing to a more west coast style to suit Hasselbeck. Regardless, Luck cannot make this OL look better like he did with the previous units in his career.
The Patriots are off to a fantastic start, with Tom Brady playing at an MVP level again, the success story of Dion Lewis kicking in, and the domination of Rob Gronkowski and the offensive line. New England tends to destroy the Colts with a ground based attack, so don’t expect Brady and the passing game to be asked to do a whole lot on Sunday Night.
With all things considered, this should be an easy Patriots victory. Regardless of whether Luck comes back from injury to play, it won’t be enough to stand up against this Foxboro unit. Yet even looking at 3-3, the Colts getting this far is better than any of us expected from them with Luck out.
Monday Night Preview: Will This Be The Time The Eagles Offense Plays A Whole Game?
Finally, a primetime matchup that actually looks good on paper!!!
Most foolish analysts (including me) had either the Dallas Cowboys or Philadelphia Eagles winning the NFC East this year. A combination of injuries and collapses in the offense have made the New York Giants emerge as the current NFC East leaders at 3-2, where they could easily be 5-0 if they didn’t screw up their clock management in the first 2 games.
Enter Monday Night. The Eagles host the Giants, and Philly’s offense has struggled to find a consistent in scoring, a subject many middle class husbands can relate to. This becomes apparent when comparing the first and second half splits.
So what the hell is going on in the 2nd half that isn’t happened in the 1st? For one thing, Sam Bradford is better in accuracy, receivers are dropping less passes, the run game gets going somewhat, and the pass protection and run blocking look better. If only that could happen on a regular basis.
Chip Kelly has taken a lot of heat for the 2-3 start, but you shouldn’t be able to coach catching balls. Kelly has provided a very pass friendly system, but his players aren’t consistently getting it done, which has to change. Luckily, they’re at home this time around, but will that be enough against Eli Manning, who’s played very well this season? On the other hand, Odell Beckham’s health is in doubt, as is Reuben Randle.
I fear this pick will bite me back, but I trust the Eagles to finally get something going on offense, which will result in a close win. I think Eli will play a great game, great enough to keep this interesting.
At the least, we should expect a highly anticipated matchup for the first time in a while.
Brick Wall Blitz 