You got to see a glimpse of your team in week 3...

[Go Coogs']

so what do you think?

More questions heading into the season, or is it the other way around?

For my Texans? I think I have more answers.

The offense?
- My Gawd does it look great. Nobody can stop it up to this point. With a healthy Andre Johnson and Owen Daniels running routes for Matt Schaub, this offense looks like a well oiled machine. Oh, and my post about getting Brian Vickers to fill in for Vonta Leach? Screw him. James Casey has been a blessing at fullback with his ability to lose linebackers and get open in play action. It's one thing to keep an eye on Foster (or Tate or Ward) out of the backfield, but when James Casey is running routes out of the backfield too, well...defenses are fucked. Foster will be okay, but I'm not worried if he is out a week or two now that we know what Tate is capable of. This could be the season the offense is truly elite.

The defense?
-It looks as though the Texans actually have a legitimate pass rush (14 sacks in 3 games). Mario is catching on to his new role as OLB, Barwin too. Brooks Reed is destroying 2nd and 3rd string OTs. He adds some depth to the OLB spot. The ILB position is still a concern as New Orleans and the Jets had success running up the middle on Cushing, DeMeco, Sharpton, and Adibi. They did a much better job against San Fran, but I'm a little worried teams can gash the interior. The DE play in the 3-4 set has been the best thus far. Watt and Antonio Smith are destroying everything in their paths through these first 3 games. It's been a pleasant surprise. Hopefully, it carries over to the games that actually count. The secondary has been meh. Daniel Manning missed his assignment by mistaking a Cover 2 for a Cover 4 and he got burned. Jason Allen fell down when turning his hips on a go route and gave up a 39 yard gain on a 2nd and 23. That is not good. Kareem Jackson hasn't been burned, but he's given a little too much space on underneath routes and had a few passes completed on his side for 7-10 yard gains. Glover Quin's been solid at FS. Jonathon Joseph has only played one game, but he was never thrown to on his side of the field. I guess thats a good thing. Like I said in my five burning questions, all I'm looking for is this defense to go from 31st overall to somewhere in the middle. The offense can take care of the rest.

Special Teams? They look God awful with the exception of Jacoby Jones making some nice punt returns. The kickoff coverage is terrible and the blocking during KO returns is even worse. This needs to be fixed.

Overall, things look positive heading into week 1.

[poptart]

Definitely still many questions for the Raiders.

The defense returns 10 of 11 starters (lost Nnamdi) and it has somehow looked lost in preseason.
New D-Coordinator - who had a previous stint in Oakland that wasn't so good.
Where are all the sacks we had last season?

We lack defensive depth and I don't like what I see from our LBs, aside from McClain, who looks very good.


On offense, Oakland has potential to be very explosive.
Hue & Al S. have a lot of toys to work with.
The O-Line has looked better than expected.

The kicking game again figures to be among the very best, with Jano and Lechler.

[DallasFanatic]

LOTS of questions for the Boys.

Offense looks slow out of the gate. The they move the ball pretty well only to settle for field goal attempts. That same tune has been sung for years. Throw in the fact that they will be starting 2 rookies and a second year undraftee and it spells for a very painful start to the 2011 season.

The defense looks down right awful. I know Rob Ryan can sugar coat it all he wants but the bottom line is that the front seven got butt humped every single time they took the field. Sure they held opponents to some field goals, but too many blown assignments and poor communication will get them torched severely in the regular season.

I honestly see them hovering around 8-8, give/take a game or two.

[Shoalzie]

That game against the Pats is the ultimate fool's gold...beat an elite franchise on national TV but it's still the preseason. I'm not hesitant to say they're better because they've improved greatly in the past few years since 0-16. I honestly think the outsiders are overrating this team more than even the local slappies are. Without seeing a preseason game, I said 8-8 and I'm sticking by it. The defense looks physical and intimidating for the first time since the Spielman days. Stafford looks very sharp and Calvin looks like he can have a monster season but they can't run the ball to save their lives. Best is not an every down back, Harrison and Morris are decent secondary options but they'll miss having Leshoure as the young horse to get the hard yards.

I honestly can't believe how many have jumped on the Lions bandwagon as the trendy new up-and-coming team but I think they're rushing it big time. Next year I expect the Lions to compete the NFC North and at least make the playoffs as a wild card. This year is still another year for improvement. They'd have to have a lot go their way to make the playoffs...too many playoff-caliber teams in the NFC to get past and I can't see them beating the Packers for division. To me, there's no shame in 8-8 as long as they continue to improve on defense and Stafford stays healthy and really makes strides in being this team's leader on offense. This team hasn't had a legit QB since I've been following them...I'd at least like to know that #9 can survive a full season and prove he's a player in this league.

[ucantdoitdoggieSTyle2]

This team hasn't had a legit QB since I've been following them...

They did that one year... 1995. Pretty epic.

[Shoalzie]

This team hasn't had a legit QB since I've been following them...

They did that one year... 1995. Pretty epic.

'95 was Mitchell's best year by far but he was still a bust.

[mvscal]

This team hasn't had a legit QB since I've been following them...

They did that one year... 1995. Pretty epic.

'95 was Mitchell's best year by far but he was still a bust.

He was a 4th round pick and the Lions didn't even draft him. They got the best years of his career. Hardly a bust.