FanHouse NflWeek2Previews

To get you ready for week 2, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is the Philadelphia Eagles/Washington Redskins MNF preview.

2007 Records:
Redskins: 1-0 with an OT win over Miami
Eagles: 0-1 with a tough loss to the Packers

The Eagles are coming off a terribly disappointing loss in week one to the seemingly underrated Packers. Tonight the Birds will play in front of their loyal fans in South Philadelphia for the first time this season in an attempt to get the 2007 campaign back on track. Not only is it the home opener, it's also on the biggest stage of the regular season on Monday Night Football.

Eagles fans have been out in the parking lots doing their all important prep work for the game since the sun first came up this morning. Game time temperature should be in the mid sixties, a perfect night for football.

Some keys to the game for each team as well as a few special guests, after the jump.

To get you ready for week 2, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is the St. Louis Rams/San Francisco 49ers preview.

2007 Records:

St. Louis Rams: 0-1 (t-4th in NFC West)
San Francisco 49ers: 1-0 (t-1st in NFC West)

Last Meeting: Rams 20, 49ers 17

When the Rams have the ball: Last week was pretty much a disaster for the Rams offense. Not only did they do nothing of any substance against the Panthers, they lost two key members of their offensive line for extended periods of time. Not the way any team wants to start the season.

That could haunt them a lot this week. The 49ers switched to a 3-4 defense this offseason, and if last week's game was any indication, they're going to blitz. A lot. They sent 4+ blitzers more often than any other team in the season's opening week.

The 49ers face a much tougher test tomorrow in Steven Jackson (provided, of course, he can hold onto the ball), but they dominated a pretty dangerous Cardinals passing attack. Marc Bulger is a ball-control quarterback, but he's going to be under a lot of pressure, and the 49ers have two very Pro Bowl-worthy corners waiting.

When the 49ers have the ball: If Alex Smith is to break out as expected this year, he'll have to play much better than he did against Arizona. Luckily, this is the type of defense to gain some confidence against. The Rams are playing without their top two cornerbacks, Tye Hill (injury) and Fakhir Brown (suspension). And they've never been good at stopping the run. Ashley Lelie might fool fantasy owners into picking him up with a couple of big catches, as the Rams struggle with speedy receivers, and Frank Gore could very well run for 200 yards, especially with outside linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa out.

To get you ready for week 2, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is your Buffalo Bills at Pittsburgh Steelers preview.

2007 Records:
Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0)
Buffalo Bills (0-1)

Last Week:
Steelers 34, Browns 7
Broncos 15, Bills 14

Last Meeting:
January 2, 2007, Steelers 29, Bills 24. Third-string tailback Willie Parker proves he's worthy of a spot on an NFL roster with a 102-yard day in his first significant game action. The Bills needed to win to have a shot at the playoffs, but the Steelers backups (Tommy Maddox replaced Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback) improved to 15-1.

To get you ready for week 2, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is the Detroit Lions/Minnesota Vikings preview.

2007 Records:

Detroit Lions: 1-0 (t-1st in NFC North)
Minnesota Vikings: 1-0 (t-1st in NFC North)

Last Meeting: Vikings 30, Lions 20

When the Lions have the ball: The Vikings have a very good run defense. But the Lions' strength is passing, and I'm not sure the Vikings have enough strength in the secondary to cover Roy Williams, Mike Furrey, AND Calvin Johnson. The Lions did a pretty good job hanging some points up on the Raiders, a top five defense last year. I don't expect Tatum Bell to be as good as he was against Oakland, but the Lions still shouldn't have much of a problem scoring points.

When the Vikings have the ball: If the Lions stop Adrian Peterson, the Vikings are done. There's nary a crumb of offense to be found elsewhere. But the Lions defense is pretty soft, and the Vikings have a fantastic offensive line, so I doubt Peterson is corralled. The Lions will just have to hope they can slow him down enough to get their offense on the field.

To get you ready for week 2, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is the New Orleans Saints/Tampa Bay Buccaneers preview.

2007 Records:

New Orleans Saints: 0-1 (t-4th in NFC South)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 0-1 (t-4th in NFC South)

Last Meeting: Saints 31, Bucs 14

When the Saints have the ball: I'd hate to be a member of the Tampa defense this week. The Saints just spent 10 days stewing over their embarassing season-opening loss to the Colts in which the offense failed to score a touchdown. They're going to want to avenge their national embarassment, and beating up on a team that the Saints averaged 28 points against last season is the perfect remedy. This team's going to come out attacking early to try and build some momentum, which they never got going in Indianapolis.

When the Bucs have the ball: Jeff Garcia knows this defense, he played pretty much the same incarnation with Philly in the playoffs last year. Still, this is one of the most nondescript units in the league. Joey Galloway usually has success against New Orleans, but Cadillac Williams is probably out and the Bucs just don't have enough talent to outscore the Saints offense, no matter how poor their defense looked last week.

To get you ready for week 2, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is the Kansas City Chiefs/Chicago Bears preview.

2007 Records: (Click names for 2007 preview)

Chicago Bears: 0-1 (4th in NFC North)
Kansas City Chiefs: 0-1 (4th in AFC West)

Last Game(s):

Chargers 14 - Bears 3
Texans 20 - Chiefs 3

When the Chiefs have the ball: The Chiefs will look to score more than three points this week, but that may prove difficult against a defense that managed to shut down one of the NFL's best running backs. However, Kansas City also has one of the NFL's best in Larry Johnson, and it looks like he'll back in the full swing of things this Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Bears will look to put as much pressure on Damon Huard as possible. He was unimpressive against an inferior Texans defense, and will also be without his number one wide receiver, Eddie Kennison.

To get you ready for week 2, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is your San Diego Chargers at New England Patriots.

2007 Records:
San Diego Chargers (1-0)
New England Patriots (1-0)

Last Week:
Bears 3, Chargers 14
Patriots 38, Jets 14

Last Meeting:
January 14, 2007, Patriots 24, Chargers 21. Yeah, the Chargers would like to forget that game. Replacing Marty Schottenheimer with Norv Turner helps. I think.

When the Chargers have the ball:
I'll defer to Rob Zepeda on this one: San Diego has to establish the run -- LaDainian Tomlinson has had success against New England in his career -- and use the running game to set up the pass. Philip Rivers doesn't have the weapons Tom Brady does (wideouts, not hidden video cameras), but Antonio Gates and Vincent Jackson aren't exactly slouches.

When the Patriots have the ball:
I think Randy Moss quieted a lot of critics with last week's performance, and you know what you're getting with Tom Brady. If the offensive line can protect Brady like they did last week -- and that will be an interesting subplot -- the Pats could win going away.

To get you ready for week 2, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is your Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos preview.

2007 Records:
Oakland Raiders (0-1)
Denver Broncos (1-0)

Last Week:
Detroit 36, Oakland 21
Denver 15, Buffalo 14

Last Meeting:
November 12, 2006, Broncos 17, Raiders 13. Oh, the good ol' days: Denver overcame three Jake Plummer interceptions to beat Oakland in the Hole.

When the Raiders have the ball:
The Raiders, seemingly the first time since 2002, were able to move the ball on offense. Josh McCown, who endured boos early in the game, finished 30 of 40 for 313 yards, two touchdowns and two picks, and he led three touchdown drives that brought Oakland back from a 17-0 deficit. He broke his finger on the last play of the game, so his status won't be decided until around 3:55 PM EST Sunday. Running back LaMont Jordan looked good in limited work -- 15 carries for 70 yards -- but if the Raiders are going to have a chance, the offensive line will have to protect the quarterback. Sound familiar?

To get you ready for week 2, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is the Tennessee Titans/Indianapolis Colts preview.

2007 Records:
Indianapolis Colts (1-0)
Tennessee Titans (1-0)

Last Game(s):

Titans 13, Jaguars 10
Colts 41 ,Saints 10