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Is Week 2 Developing Into Nightmare Scenario For Your Team?

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What could possibly go wrong in Week 2 of the 2016 season?

You could lose your starting QB: Jimmy Garoppolo for the New England Patriots, who will miss the Week 3 game against the Texans on Thursday Night Football.

You could injure your starting RB:

We are still waiting on MRI details for these players to know whether we will see them Week 3.

You could injure one of your standout defensive players: 

You could be at the bottom of your division already.Are the weeks 2 teams letting you down?

  • AFC East:
    • Patriots 2-0
    • Jets 1-1
    • Bills 0-2
    • Dolphins 0-2
  • AFC North:
    • Steelers 2-0
    • Ravens 2-0
    • Bengals 1-1
    • Browns 0-2
  • AFC West:
    • Broncos 2-0
    • Chiefs 1-1
    • Chargers 1-1
    • Raiders 1-1
  • AFC South:
    • Texans 2-0
    • Titans 1-1
    • Jaguars 0-2
    • Colts 0-2
  • NFC East:
    • Giants 2-0
    • Eagles 2-0 or 1-1, depending on the results of Monday Night Football
    • Cowboys 1-1
    • Redskins 0-2
  • NFC North:
    • Vikings 2-0
    • Packers 1-1
    • Lions 1-1
    • Bears 1-1 or 0-2, depending on the results of Monday Night Football
  • NFC West:
    • Cardinals 1-1
    • Rams 1-1
    • 49ers 1-1
    • Seahawks 1-1
  • NFC South:
    • Buccaneers 1-1
    • Panthers 1-1
    • Falcons 1-1
    • Saints 0-2

With only a couple games under their belts, some of these teams are clearly in a good place, while others are looking at a bleak picture for the remainder of the season. With fans judging their attendance on how likely their team can pull off a win, a slow start could mean poor home team help from the fans.

Of course, it is only Week 2. If you start judging your team when they have a sluggish start, you could be damning them to a bad season when all it would take is a little more support from the fans. A strong showing from the home crowd goes a long way to bring up the spirits of a losing team. But fans are pretty tough on a team with a bad record, so those with 0-2 records have to really play good from here on out to get their fans back into the building. Otherwise, they will need crying towels to get through the season…

 

The Browns Must Get It Right In The Upcoming Draft

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Bernie KosarThe 2014 Cleveland Browns turned in marginal results. The high point commenced on November 23rd, which included a two point victory over the Atlanta Falcons that bumped their record to seven wins and four losses. Yet as excited as the fan base became, it all came crashing down with five consecutive losses to end the year seven and nine. So this is the time of year when Brown’s fans wonder who the team will select in the upcoming NFL draft. The immediate needs are defensive line, linebacker, wide receiver, and yes, a quarterback that can fill the void left by Bernie Kosar since 1993.

Cleveland-Browns-Blog-Talk-FootballCleveland Browns Gear

Defensively, the Browns ranked 27th of 32 teams in 2014. The secondary, led by Joe Haden, turned in a good season as evidenced by their 8th overall ranking in passing defense. Yet teams were able to run the ball with ease which drafting defensive tackle Danny Shelton from Washington could correct. Shelton is huge at 339 pounds. He would immediately plug up the inside run, and in addition, his athleticism will improve the pass rush. Coach Pettine’s goal is to develop the Browns into a dominating defense which would mask the deficiencies on the offensive side of the ball.

The linebackers did not assist in stopping the run, so Craig Robertson and Karlos Dansby need immediate competition to improve the inside linebacker position. A couple of options that will be available when the Browns pick 12th and 19th include the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, Missouri’s Shane Ray and a better option in Kentucky’s Alvin Dupree. Dupree has the size at 6’4”, 269 pounds and speed running a 4.54 40 yard dash to make an immediate impact to the glaring weakness the Browns had at this position a year ago.

Johnny Manziel

Finally, the quarterback position must be addressed. It is no surprise that Johnny Manziel struggled in 2014. His lack of maturity and non-existent skills for the NFL game was evident to all but the Browns. The opportunity to get it right exists if Marcus Mariota falls a few notches in the draft. Although he would not be immediately ready for week one, his size, arm strength, and demeanor are a perfect fit to finally get a franchise quarterback to Cleveland for the next ten years. Many compare him to Joe Flacco and Russell Wilson. As a Browns fan, one can only hope that the Cleveland brain trust gets it right this time.

Related stories:

The 3 Biggest Draft Needs For The 2015 Cleveland Browns

NFL Draft 2015: Cleveland Browns Team Needs

Browns ‘Now Positioned’ To Trade Up For Marcus Mariota?

Playoff Picture Looks Exciting

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With 4 teams vying for first place in the AFC North in Week 13, things are heating up to meltdown conditions even in the icy north…

The Bengals, who tied a game, are 7-3-1 while the Ravens, Steelers and Browns all have a 7-4-0 record with 2 division wins. These 4 teams will duke it out in their respective divisional games for supremacy over the AFC North.

Meanwhile, the New England Patriots (9-2-0) are running away with the AFC East (and the number 1 seed) unless someone can stop them.

A similar situation is developing in the NFC with the Arizona Cardinals (9-2-0) running away with the NFC West and the number 1 seed.

The NFC South is trying really hard to see how low a team’s record can be and still make the playoffs. The Atlanta Falcons (4-7-0) are leading the division with a 4-0 division record, having beaten each of its division rivals at least once (and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers twice).

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The Philadelphia Eagles (8-3-0) and the Dallas Cowboys (8-3-0) are vying for first place in the NFC East. One of these teams will win the division and the other will likely make the playoffs as a wild card. This week’s Thanksgiving game between the Cowboys and Eagles will decide who takes the division.

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Another game with playoff implications this Thanksgiving Day is the Seattle Seahawks (7-4-0) trip to San Francisco to take on the 49ers (7-4-0) for sole possession of 2nd place in the NFC West, behind the Cardinals. The winner will be hoping that the Detroit Lions (7-4-0) lose to the Chicago Bears (5-6-0), also on Thanksgiving Day!

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Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers (8-3-0) are looking like the likely winners of the NFC North unless Detroit has something to say about it. But the New England Patriots (9-2-0) will be coming to town this weekend to see if they can knock them down a peg.