In part one of our NFL week two preview, we will look at four NFL games. I’ll review the following games: Bills at Dolphins, Panthers at Vikings, Browns at Bengals, and Lions at Bears. Is there such a thing as a must win game this early in the season? For a couple of these teams, that’s a very real reality. Let’s take a look.

Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins

Last week was more of the same for the Buffalo Bills. They played a good game and then made a mistake at the end to lose it. Bills quarterback J.P. Losman needs to learn not to run around in his own end zone with the ball. His mistake led to a safety by the Patriots, which led to a Bills loss by two points. Meanwhile, the Dolphins are playing on extended rest. They discovered that despite all the hype, they still have work to do.

Pick: Dolphins Why? They have a 78.8% winning percentage in home openers.

Carolina Panthers at Minnesota Vikings

The Panthers may be without Steve Smith again. They looked horrible in last week’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Even if Smith returns, this team has issues. Now they go on the road to face a Vikings team that’s fresh off a thrilling Monday night win in Washington. The Panthers are in a must win situation. They can’t afford to go down 0-2. The Vikings are playing on a short week and that may be a factorespecially for their older QB Brad Johnson.

Pick: Vikings Why? Vikings will play good at home and Carolina will be shocked again.

Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals

Here’s a story of two teams going different ways. The Bengals are fresh off their win in Kansas City. The Browns struggled against New Orleansgranted the Saints are slightly better this season. Carson Palmer is back and looks to be as good as ever for the Bengals. The Browns are struggling to find themselves.

Pick: Bengals Why? They are the better team and at homepretty simple.

Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears

The Detroit Lions looked pretty good in their loss at Seattledefensively. As for the offense, well that was missing. The Bears shut down the Packers and handed Brett Favre his first career shutout. The Bears defense was all over the ball. The Lions must leave their friendly confines and travel to Soldier Field to play a nasty Bears team. The Bears offense is still suspect, but they should get the job done. All indicators point to the Bears winning by 7+ in this one.

Pick: Bears Why? They will score 14+ points and limit the Lions offense to field goals.

Tags: football, NFL, pro football, sportsfootball, NFL, pro football, sports

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NFL greats Troy Aikman and the late Reggie White headlined a full class of six inductees into this year’s Pro Football Hall of Fame that was announced last February. It was called the most emotional announcement of a Pro Football Hall of Fame class in history. The formal induction ceremony of the class into the Hall of Fame will be on August 5.

The other members of this year’s class are Harry Carson, John Madden, Warren Moon and Rayfield Wright. With six people being inducted this year, this class is also the biggest ever inducted since 2001.

Aikman was once renowned as the NFL’s golden boy and one of the greatest quarterbacks of his era. He led the Dallas Cowboys to three Super Bowl titles in the 1990s. Today, Aikman is a television sportscaster for the Fox network and a joint owner of the NASCAR Nextel Cup racing team, Hall of Fame Racing, along with fellow former Cowboys quarterback, Roger Staubach.

White, nicknamed the “Minister of Defense,” was one of football’s most prolific sackers ever, either in college, the USFL and the NFL.. White also earned his nickname as reference to his Evangelical Christian ordination. He died suddenly in 2004 after suffering a fatal cardiac arrhythmia caused by the sarcoidosis he had lived with for years. During the 2005 season, three teams retired White’s number 92 jersey.

Moon became the first African-American quarterback to ever be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Before him, no other African-American quarterback even got close to induction. Aikman and Moon followed Dan Marino, Steve Young and John Elway in a string of great quarterbacks to make the Hall in their first tries.

“To be the first African-American quarterback into the Hall of Fame, all African-American QBs who played before me should share in this,” Moon said. “I don’t want to make this a racial thing, but I think it is significant. It shows that we have arrived at the pinnacle of our sport.”

And, of course, there is Madden, the coach-broadcaster-video game entrepreneur who holds the record for the best winning percentage of any NFL coach with 100 victories (.759). He coached the Oakland Raiders for 10 years and won the 1977 Super Bowl.

Tags: Aikman, football, NFL, Reggie White, sportsAikman, football, NFL, Reggie White, sports

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Since 2001 the Green Bay Packers have won fewer games than the previous year. Their alarming slide came to the forefront last season when they finished a paltry 4-12. The team was riddled with injuries and problems. It looked like Brett Favre’s last season would be one to forget. However, Favre has decided to come back for a 15th season in 2006. This upcoming season has to be better than 2005, right?

Quarterbacks

Brett Favre is past his prime and clinging onto the glory days gone by. Sure, he still has some gas in the tank, but he commits far too many errors to lead the team anywhere meaningfullike the Super Bowl. What’s worse is the fact that the Packers don’t have a bona fide replacement for him. Of course, many will say there’s just one Favre. Still, the Packers are just average in this category. A QB that throws 29 interceptions and 20 TD’s just isn’t getting the job done.

Running Backs

Who’s going to step up and be the man? Ahman Green is an injury waiting to happen. Last season was cut shorthe had 255 yards. If Green is healthy, he should rush for about 1,000 yards. Still, that’s only 62.5 yards per game. 2003, when Green rushed for 1,883 yards, was a magical year and not indicative of Green’s abilityespecially now that he’s older. The rushing game for the Packers is just average at best.

Receivers

The receiving tandem is anchored by Donald Driver. Again, question marks abound. If Driver stays healthy, he figures to get about 1,200 yards receiving this season. Aside from Driver, there’s a huge gap in the receiving unit. It’s Driver and Driver. He’s the only reason why the receiving unit gets a grade of average. If he goes down, this unit is well below average.

Defense and Special Teams

The Packers have a lackluster line this season. They picked up DT Ryan Pickett, but they lost Grady Jackson. The best this line can hope for is to make a minor push. The Linebackers are slightly better and could end up being the anchor of the defense if some key players, like A.J. Hawk from Ohio State, step up. To improve the secondary, the Packers sign CB Charles Woodson. He’s not a shut down corner by any stretch, but he could give the secondary a small boost. As to the special teams, well, there’s not much to talk about. The lone bright spot, Ryan Longwell, has left the team for Minnesota. The special teams unit is below average.

2006 Predication

The Green Bay Packers have a somewhat challenging schedule in 2006. Based on 2005, there are at least 11 games they could lose. Some of their opponents include Seattle, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Miami, New England and division foes. It’s the last hurrah for Brett Favre. It’s very likely that the Packers finish somewhere in the range of 5-11 to 7-9.

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