Bears vs. Chargers Highlights Week 1
Now that the NFL has stretched out its first weekend with a game on Thursday and a doubleheader on Monday night, it can be hard to find opening games between two serious Super Bowl contenders. Sunday's best games feature three of last year's top teams, and a fourth team that threatens to return to the upper echelon in 2007.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES at GREEN BAY PACKERS
Sunday, 1 p.m.
Except for the 2005 season, which drowned in locker room turmoil and a flood of injuries, the Eagles have consistently been at the top of the NFC since the turn of the century. There is no reason to expect differently this year. The offensive line is strong, quarterback Donovan McNabb is healthy again, and he is throwing to versatile running back Brian Westbrook and a group of good receivers.
On defense, the secondary is strong and the line is deep. The only problem may be the linebackers, a group that has turned over all three starters from last year and includes only one veteran with more than a year of NFL experience, former Cincinnati and Buffalo star Takeo Spikes.
In Green Bay, all the attention will be on quarterback Brett Favre as he makes a run at Dan Marino's records for career touchdowns and passing yards, but the Packers should be dangerous this year because of their defense. They have two talented defensive ends, Cullen Jenkins and Aaron Kampman, who are right at the peak of their careers. Linebacker A. J. Hawk, one of the top picks in the 2006 draft, should really come into his own this year after a strong rookie campaign. Behind the talented front seven are two very good veteran cornerbacks, Al Harris and Charles Woodson.
The main worry for Green Bay is the running game, which was supposed to be built around a committee featuring mediocre veteran Vernand Morency and second-round pick Brandon Jackson. Jackson suffered a concussion in practice two weeks ago, although he is expected to play this week, and he may end up playing by himself. Morency struggled with knee injuries throughout the preseason and probably isn't ready for game action. The Packers acquired undrafted secondyear back Ryan Grant from the Giants a week ago, but he hurt his hamstring in practice this week and won't be able to go either.
Run defense was Philadelphia's Achilles' heel a year ago, and the inexperience at linebacker may not help things, so the Packers will need to work the ground game to win. If Jackson can't gain yardage against the Eagles' defense, that's a bad sign for Green Bay's playoff hopes, no matter how good their defense is.
CHICAGO BEARS at SAN DIEGO CHARGERS
Sunday, 4:15 p.m.
This game is clearly being promoted as a battle between the superstar-fueled San Diego offense and the dominating Chicago defense. The Chargers may have the best player in the league at three important positions: running back (LaDainian Tomlinson), tight end (Antonio Gates), and left tackle (Marcus McNeill). The Bears have All-Pro linebackers Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs, plus — healthy for the first time since Week 12 of last year — defensive tackle Tommie Harris.
Perhaps more interesting, however, is the matchup between two flawed units: the San Diego defense and Chicago offense.
Last year, San Diego's defense finished seventh in the NFL in points allowed and 10th in yards allowed, so it certainly doesn't seem like a problem going into 2007. However, the Chargers were very bad in two important categories: They had the worst red-zone defense in the NFL, and ranked 30th preventing the run on third down. Both of these are poor indicators for the Chargers in 2007. San Diego also has two new starting inside linebackers, Stephen Cooper and Matt Wilhelm, and their secondary will once again be poor unless safety Eric Weddle makes a huge impact as a rookie.
The Chicago offense, of course, has a big flaw in the middle that everybody knows about: quarterback Rex Grossman. Nobody is expecting much this year from a player coming off one of the greatest individual second-half collapses in NFL history. Nonetheless, even during that collapse, Grossman put up some reasonable stats when he played against teams with poor secondaries, including St. Louis (13-of-23 passing, 200 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions) and the Giants (18-of-30 passing, 246 yards, three touchdowns, one interception). The San Diego pass rush should be able to get to Grossman, but if it can't, he might put up some surprising numbers to give the Bears an opening win on the road.
Mr. Schatz is the editor-in-chief of FootballOutsiders.com.
