I say NO by far as MN may have just caught SF on a bad day.
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Actually, RG, the Cards are the biggest shocker to me.
The 'Aints may be a close second.
Atlanta has been a mild surprise.
The 'Aints may be a close second.
Atlanta has been a mild surprise.
quote:Originally posted by Timmy!:
Actually, RG, the Cards are the biggest shocker to me.
Me, too.
Not sure I would make any assumptions on any team at this point. You never really know what kind of a team you have until after the 4th or 5th week of the season.
Yesterday the 49'ers were clearly the best team in football. Tonight the league has a blueprint of how to beat them and the new power rankings will say great things about the "real" best team in football, the Houston Texans.
Yesterday the 49'ers were clearly the best team in football. Tonight the league has a blueprint of how to beat them and the new power rankings will say great things about the "real" best team in football, the Houston Texans.
Vikings at 2-1 is mildly surprising (I had them at 1-2) but Cards at 3-0 is a huge shocker. FYI, they haven't started 3-0 since 1974 when Jim Hart was QB and they were in St. Louis.
Atlanta is no surprise to me. (In FF, I drafted Matt Ryan & Julio Jones)
Look at my division predictions and you'll see I have the Saints finishing 3rd. They're in trouble but you can expect their best shot when the Packers face them. What else is new? We get every teams best shot (Except the Bears it seems).
The Niners loss today will probably be the last time they lose until Thanksgiving. They do have the Jets next week but I expect the Niners to win.
As long as Green Bay continues to win & improve, I don't care. See you in the playoffs.
Atlanta is no surprise to me. (In FF, I drafted Matt Ryan & Julio Jones)
Look at my division predictions and you'll see I have the Saints finishing 3rd. They're in trouble but you can expect their best shot when the Packers face them. What else is new? We get every teams best shot (Except the Bears it seems).
The Niners loss today will probably be the last time they lose until Thanksgiving. They do have the Jets next week but I expect the Niners to win.
As long as Green Bay continues to win & improve, I don't care. See you in the playoffs.
I just got to watch the highlights of some of these games today, and granted they are hilites, but...the Cards absolutely pounded Vick today! 
They've actually developed a bit of a team, similar to many others in the league, that are strong on defense, and just good enough on offense to take advantage of opportunities when they arise, and thus are dangerous.
And, yeah, it's early in the season, but there's no reason to believe they can't continue playing the same until we see otherwise.
Pretty much the same goes for the Texans. And the Niners.
Atlanta 'looks' a bit different in that they seem to be a bit stronger on offense, and a bit weaker on defense, than some of the teams mentioned above. They are no less dangerous, however.
Many of the other teams (primarily the Loins and Bores) are the ones that need to "prove" themselves over the long haul. Even moreso now that the injuries are piling up.
They've actually developed a bit of a team, similar to many others in the league, that are strong on defense, and just good enough on offense to take advantage of opportunities when they arise, and thus are dangerous.
And, yeah, it's early in the season, but there's no reason to believe they can't continue playing the same until we see otherwise.
Pretty much the same goes for the Texans. And the Niners.
Atlanta 'looks' a bit different in that they seem to be a bit stronger on offense, and a bit weaker on defense, than some of the teams mentioned above. They are no less dangerous, however.
Many of the other teams (primarily the Loins and Bores) are the ones that need to "prove" themselves over the long haul. Even moreso now that the injuries are piling up.
Minnesota looks like they'll be one of those 6-7 win teams that are VERY annoying to deal with. Ponder is pretty good with his throws on the move
And some of thr bed-wetting fans are still upset they won in Washington last year and didn't get RG3 and that they took Kalil over a "playmaker".
Cards, NO, then MN. Cards look good; NO looks really lost; MN's win shows they are tougher at home and have a front four that can shut down the run.
SF looked like a completely different team from the one that ran roughshod over GB -- sloppy, undisciplined, unprepared. Could be they're just another team that has high highs and low lows in the style of their red-a$$ coach. I was glad to see Harbaugh knocked down a peg, even if it was by the Vikings.
Agree with other who have said give us 4-5 weeks then we will know where these teams are. For a QB like Ponder, huge confidence boost by beating a team like the Whiners.
For the Saints, are we really that surprised considering the absolute train wreck of an off season they had? Things could not have gone much worse.
For the Saints, are we really that surprised considering the absolute train wreck of an off season they had? Things could not have gone much worse.
Teams can start hot, that happens every year. The Cards being 3-0 does not mean they will even end up having a winning season. They're playing well definitely and I give them a lot of credit, but every year we see teams start hot and then cool as the season rolls along. That's not a shock.
The Vikings, who are a mess of an organization from top to bottom, beating the 49ers is baffling. Honestly I don't understand how it happened. San Francisco has a better team, they're more talented and more disciplined, and the stats don't reflect that Minnesota played that much better. Teams do have bad days, but it doesn't really look like San Fran had a bad day. Smiths stats were excellent aside from 1 INT, but Minnesota turned the ball over also. Gore ran well as did Smith. On the flip side, Peterson had a so-so day running and Ponder had a good day for him. Minny sacked Smith 3 times, but so did GB. I don't get it.
The Vikings, who are a mess of an organization from top to bottom, beating the 49ers is baffling. Honestly I don't understand how it happened. San Francisco has a better team, they're more talented and more disciplined, and the stats don't reflect that Minnesota played that much better. Teams do have bad days, but it doesn't really look like San Fran had a bad day. Smiths stats were excellent aside from 1 INT, but Minnesota turned the ball over also. Gore ran well as did Smith. On the flip side, Peterson had a so-so day running and Ponder had a good day for him. Minny sacked Smith 3 times, but so did GB. I don't get it.
Washington started 2-1 last year including a beatdown on the Giants. Finished 5-11
Tampa started 2-1 last year including a win over Atlanta. Finished 4-12
Cleveland started 2-1 last year. Finished 4-12.
N.O. is better than 0-3 but not by much. That D is auwful. Their O can still hang 30 on anyone any given Sunday though.
Cards defense is for real.
Minny fans getting lathered up is expected. They are in Detroit next week and I hope they win that game as well. Queen fans will put their feelings about Leslie Frasier being fired on hold for a few weeks. But he's going to end up taking the blame when they finish under .500.
Tampa started 2-1 last year including a win over Atlanta. Finished 4-12
Cleveland started 2-1 last year. Finished 4-12.
N.O. is better than 0-3 but not by much. That D is auwful. Their O can still hang 30 on anyone any given Sunday though.
Cards defense is for real.
Minny fans getting lathered up is expected. They are in Detroit next week and I hope they win that game as well. Queen fans will put their feelings about Leslie Frasier being fired on hold for a few weeks. But he's going to end up taking the blame when they finish under .500.
49ers getting beat by the vikings isn't really that much of a shock. I'm sure the 49er's looked at the schedule and thought it would be easy. They game planned for Green Bay the day the schedule came out.
I gotta think San Fran did just have a bad day and the queens had a good day. The San Fran defense didn't play anything like the defense the Packers played when they met in Lambeau. Obviously it's too early in the season to draw any conclusions at this point, but it's interesting to read people's perceptions through week 3.
In 2003 MIN started 6-0 and finished 9-7.
quote:Originally posted by Grave Digger:
The Vikings, who are a mess of an organization from top to bottom, beating the 49ers is baffling. Honestly I don't understand how it happened. San Francisco has a better team, they're more talented and more disciplined, and the stats don't reflect that Minnesota played that much better. Teams do have bad days, but it doesn't really look like San Fran had a bad day. Smiths stats were excellent aside from 1 INT, but Minnesota turned the ball over also. Gore ran well as did Smith. On the flip side, Peterson had a so-so day running and Ponder had a good day for him. Minny sacked Smith 3 times, but so did GB. I don't get it.
The Vikings scored early and had a lead and when the Niners had their shot to come back Gore fumbled it away.
It didn't help that Alex Smith missed a couple of wide open TD passes.
Best place to start when looking at SF in the MN game and the GB game is turnovers. 3 yesterday for SF. None against GB.
GB saw Alex Smith's alter ego. He makes an appearance once in a while (GB in week 1, N.O. last year in the playoffs).
Minny got the real Alex Smith. under 6 yards per completion, a pick, a fumble, and some bad throws to open receivers. Pretty much the same Alex Smith that showed up in the Championship game against NY last year. That's the reality of SF. Which Smith are you getting?
I would also single out Bush starting week 1 against SF but that would be mean.
GB saw Alex Smith's alter ego. He makes an appearance once in a while (GB in week 1, N.O. last year in the playoffs).
Minny got the real Alex Smith. under 6 yards per completion, a pick, a fumble, and some bad throws to open receivers. Pretty much the same Alex Smith that showed up in the Championship game against NY last year. That's the reality of SF. Which Smith are you getting?
I would also single out Bush starting week 1 against SF but that would be mean.
I don't see how anyone can be shocked about NO. They have an interim-interim head coach, that's not good. They have some talent, but talent alone doesn't win in the NFL, like it does in baseball.
MN winning was shocking, but watching the Cards game yesterday, that is shocking. That team believes, Kolb is playing pretty good, they have one of the best WR in the game, and their D, is legit. They aren't going to beat themselves.
I'd have to say that NE 1-2 is somewhat shocking, they'll be fine, and they have played good teams, but a quarter way through the season, and at best they will be .500. Somewhat shocking.
MN winning was shocking, but watching the Cards game yesterday, that is shocking. That team believes, Kolb is playing pretty good, they have one of the best WR in the game, and their D, is legit. They aren't going to beat themselves.
I'd have to say that NE 1-2 is somewhat shocking, they'll be fine, and they have played good teams, but a quarter way through the season, and at best they will be .500. Somewhat shocking.
2-1 for any team shouldn't be that surprising. I think the Vikings caught the 49ers on the right day, as they really didn't play that well.
0-3 though, is very surprising to the Saints. This really takes the shine off Brees. If he plays like this all year, you have to drop him out of the "elite QB" pedestal.
0-3 though, is very surprising to the Saints. This really takes the shine off Brees. If he plays like this all year, you have to drop him out of the "elite QB" pedestal.
MN started the season against the teams likely to be picking 1-2 in April, so I was fully expecting a 2-1 start. That said, the win yesterday was definitely a shocker. Totally agree with CAP that we're probably looking at a very pesky 7-9 team.
ATL has all the makings of a 13-3 season, but they've had their share of regular season success lately. We'll see if it carries over.
I really thought NO would overcome the crazy offseason, but they've gladly proved me wrong. Even if they right the ship, 10-6 has to be the ceiling at this point.
AZ is hands down the early surprise. That D looks legit, and there's no wrong way to win in Foxborough. They'll come back down a bit, but 9 or 10 wins are well within reach. I took them at under 7 wins on the year, so color me shocked.
ATL has all the makings of a 13-3 season, but they've had their share of regular season success lately. We'll see if it carries over.
I really thought NO would overcome the crazy offseason, but they've gladly proved me wrong. Even if they right the ship, 10-6 has to be the ceiling at this point.
AZ is hands down the early surprise. That D looks legit, and there's no wrong way to win in Foxborough. They'll come back down a bit, but 9 or 10 wins are well within reach. I took them at under 7 wins on the year, so color me shocked.
I would not have guessed AZ starting 3-0, but even with their suspensions I am more surprised that NO is 0-3. Either Sean Payton is a really good coach, or the Saints can't win without bounties on opposing players.
Losing Williams hurt them as well. His aggressive defense has always squeezed a lot out of less talented players
I'd bet that once this season ends, there will be a lot of stories coming out of New Orleans talking about how undisciplined and unfocused the team was all year long. It's probably not so much his coaching as it is them not having any sort of steady leadership right now. The guy running the show now will only be around for a few more games before Joe Vitt takes over.quote:Originally posted by Point Brewmaster:
I would not have guessed AZ starting 3-0, but even with their suspensions I am more surprised that NO is 0-3. Either Sean Payton is a really good coach, or the Saints can't win without bounties on opposing players.