Author: jhawkes51

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND – Raiders starting quarterback Derek Carr and his sore thumb, are expected to be ready to go when the Baltimore Ravens visit O.co Coliseum Sunday at 1:05 p.m. PT, according to head coach Jack Del Rio.

“We anticipate that he’ll be ready to go,” Del Rio said after Wednesday’s according to CSNCalifornia.com Raiders Insider Scott Bair.

Carr has never missed a game at any level and questions have been mounting whether or not Carr will play in Week 2, but Carr sounded like someone who will be under center against Baltimore.

“I don’t play on it,” Carr said.

“It isn’t 100 percent, but it’s pretty close,” Carr said. “I’m not going to hurt our team and I’m not going to hurt myself further when it’s only the (second) week and go out there and make it worse. We all felt it was good enough; the coaches, training staff, the doctors, that I could go out there today.

“I went out there and took 99 percent of the reps. I think the one percent that I didn’t was just for them to be cautious and see how it reacted. It’s all fine. It felt good.”

Oakland (0-1) should look into adding another quarterback, behind Carr and backup, Matt McGloin. The Raiders are greatly fortunate that Carr’s injury isn’t serious enough to add another quarterback but, the pickings are slim. The team flirted with the idea of bringing back Christian Ponder, who was in training camp, but only if Carr was out for any extended period of time.

But Carr’s injury is just one of numerous injuries and issues facing Oakland as Baltimore (1-0) comes to town.

Both starting safeties Charles Woodson (shoulder) and Nate Allen (MCL) are hurt. Allen will be loss for the next eight weeks, while Woodson, who was originally slated to miss significant time, is holding out hope to play Sunday. Back up Larry Asante will most likely start in place of Allen.

“He’s a competitive guy,” Del Rio said of the 18-year safety. “You don’t play as long as he has with out being prideful and very competitive.”

“Guys can play with shoulder (issues), depending on the severity of it,” Del Rio said. “We’ll see how the week progress and whether or not he’ll be ready to go on Sunday.”

If Woodson doesn’t play, look for Oakland to start Taylor Mays, who was re-signed by the team on Monday. Mays was in training camp with Oakland.

Carr and the offense needs to put up a better effort than it did during their 33-13 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1 at O.co Coliseum. Oakland managed just 246 yards total offensively and didn’t advance the ball past midfield until the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach.

Baltimore limited Denver to just 219 yards total offensively in the Broncos’ 19-13 Week 1 victory at Sports Authority Field over the Ravens.

Defensively? Oakland needs to generate more pressure on the quarterback.

Bengals starting quarterback Andy Dalton had all day to survey the field and throw the football. Dalton threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns as no one in a Silver & Black uniform barley got a hand on him the entire game.

That means linebackers Khalil Mack and recently signed Aldon Smith need to make more of an impact than their total four tackles (three by Mack) produced against Cincinnati.

The Ravens are going to look to get starting quarterback Joe Flacco (18-of-32, 117 passing yards, 2 INTs against Denver) back on track and Oakland’s suspect secondary could be what helps Flacco and his wide receivers. No Ravens wide receiver had more than 25 yards receiving against Denver.

Glued to the Tube: The Four Must See Games for Week 2 by #TheFootballJunkie

Denver at Kansas City – 5:25 p.m. PT, CBS/NFL Network  – Week 2 kicks off with a dandy between two bitter AFC West rivals in the Broncos and the Chiefs.

And of course, first place is on the line.

All the talk about the dramatic decline of Broncos (1-0) quarterback Peyton Manning  (last seven games have been dreadful, with averages of 6.45 yards per attempt, 59.8 completion rate, 6:7 TD-to-INT ratio and 75.0 passer rating), by far the worse stretch of Manning’s career. Manning is 6-0 against Kansas City while under center for Denver.

But the real talk has got to be Denver’s defense. With a slew of pass rushers in DeMarcus Ware, Von Miller, Danny Trevathan and Brandon Marshall, to go along with cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Chris Harris, Denver can make life difficult for Kansas City starting quarterback, Alex Smith and Co.

Talib won AFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 1 with his unbelievable play, particularly on Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith. Smith was held to just two catches for thirteen yards, but it was the pick-six for Talib that was the difference maker for Denver in their home opener.

Kansas City (1-0) are coming off a 27-20 Week 1 victory at Houston. Smith threw for 243 yards and three touchdowns (two to tight end Travis Kelce). Kelcie finished with six catches for 106 yards receiving.

Kansas City has not thrown a touchdown to a wide receiver in 20 straight games.

Could Thursday night be different?

Broncos 23 Chiefs 27

New England at Buffalo – 10:00 a.m. PT, CBS – Both teams just don’t like each other.

Rex Ryan has re-energized the fan base in Buffalo and the Bills think this could be the year that they end New England’s dominance on the AFC East.

Buffalo’s (1-0) defensive line suffocated the Colts’ running game, holding starting running back Frank Gore to just 31 rushing yards on eight carries. Buffalo sacked and intercepted Indy’s starting quarterback Andrew Luck twice.

Bills starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor played really well, completing 14-of-19 passes for for 195 yards including a 51-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Percy Harvin in the first quarter of Buffalo’s 27-14 victory in Week 1.

The outcome of the game may come down to the play of Buffalo linebackers Nigel Bradham and Ronald Darby, particularly in matching up with New England tight end Rob Gronkowski. Gronkowski is a match up nightmare for defensive coordinators and Bills defensive coordinator Dennis Thurmond is going to have his hands full.

Gronkowski hauled in three of starting quarterback Tom Brady’s four touchdown passes in New England’s 28-21 victory last Thursday night over the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was the 23rd game with four or more touchdowns, third all-time behind Brett Favre according to Elias Sports Bureau.

“Gronk”  finished with five catches for 95 yards, while Brady set a franchise record with 19 straight completions.

Patriots 24 Bills 17

Dallas at Philadelphia – 1:25 p.m. PT, FOX – The Cowboys (1-0) took out the New York Giants 27-26 on Sunday Night Football in Week 1, thanks to Cowboys starting quarterback Tony Romo’s game-winning touchdown to tight end Jason Witten but Dallas suffered a devastating blow when star wide receiver Dez Bryant broke a small bone in his foot.

Bryant, who signed a five-year, $70 million contract in the offseason, is vital for Dallas’ quest of hoisting a sixth Lombardi trophy, so the Cowboys are hoping that Bryant does return within the 4-6 weeks timetable, but reports are saying that Bryant could miss up to 10 weeks with the injury.

With Bryant down, Witten and wide receiver Terrance Williams will be the two pass catchers that Romo will lean heavily on. Dallas traded a sixth round pick to Oakland for wide receiver Brice Butler this week to add depth to the wide receiver position.

In 25 games with Oakland, Butler had 30 catches for 383 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

Philadelphia (0-1) lost a heart breaker in Atlanta on Monday Night Football, 26-24 where Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones ran a clinic in the art of route-running. Jones finished with nine catches for 141 receiving yards and two touchdowns as Atlanta picked on Philadelphia’s cornerbacks, most notably Byron Maxwell.

Philadelphia did force two Matt Ryan interceptions, but could’ve had four if the aforementioned Maxwell didn’t drop two potential interceptions. Maxwell finished with a team-high seven tackles against Atlanta.

Eagles starting quarterback Sam Bradford and the offense will need to get off to a better start against their NFC East rival. Against Atlanta, Philadelphia found themselves down 20-3 at half time before scoring 14 unanswered points to pull to 20-17.

Bradford completed 36-of-52 for 336 passing yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in his first game in 19 months. Former Dallas running back DeMarco Murray , who signed five-year $40 million contract with Philadelphia, had a rough debut mustering just nine yards on eight carries, which included an 8-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

Expect Murray to be involved more in the offense when Dallas invades Lincoln Financial Field Sunday.

Cowboys 23 Eagles 31

Seattle at Green Bay – 5:25 p.m. PT, NBC – Seattle is traveling to Green Bay in a NFC title game rematch on Sunday Night Football.

The Seahawks (0-1) came up short in St. Louis, 34-31, in overtime in Week 1 and knows that if they go down 0-2 with a loss in Green Bay, it will set the Pacific Northwest into a frenzy. Russell Wilson was sacked six times by a vastly improved Rams defense, and running back Marshawn Lynch was stopped on 4th-and-1 at the Rams’ 42 yard line to preserve the win.

But the No. 31 should be on the minds of Seattle. Not just because its the jersey number belonging to safety Kam Chancellor, but 31 was the number of points the Packers scored in their 31-23 victory over the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, and it was the the total points Seattle scored against St. Louis.

The Packers, who squandered a 16-0 lead in their 28-22 NFC title game loss in overtime at Seattle, have been waiting to get their hands on Seattle since that disappointing Sunday in January.

Green Bay (1-0), who are playing without star wide receiver Jordy Nelson (ACL), saw starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers throw three touchdowns (two to wide receiver James Jones), while running back Eddie Lacy ran for 85 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown against Chicago.

Seahawks 17 Packers 27

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — The Raiders (0-1) home opener in head coach Jack Del Rio’s debut didn’t go so well after the 33-13 boat-race the Cincinnati Bengals put on the Silver & Black Sunday. Here are my three takeaways from the Raiders loss to the Bengals:

1. Raiders starting quarterback Derek Carr left the game in the second quarter with a sore thumb. Carr completed seven passes for 61 yards before heading to the locker room. Backup quarterback Matt McGloin finished the Raiders’ final two drives of the half. Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio confirmed to the media that X-Rays were negative.
2. Speaking of McGloin, McGloin finished the game in place of the injured Carr (who didn’t return to the game), completing 23-of-31 passes for 142 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception to avoid a shutout for Oakland. With only two quarterbacks in Carr and McGloin on the roster, should Oakland look into acquiring another signal-caller in case McGloin gets dinged up too? Perhaps, call Washington and see if former No. 2 overall pick Robert Griffin III is available and if he is, at what price? McGloin did say after the game that its a tough situation regarding Carr’s injury, but is “Ready to go if needed.”
3. Cincinnati saw nothing but green grass over the middle of the field today. Bengals offensive coordinator and former Raiders interim head coach Hue Jackson attacked the middle of the field as Oakland’s defense had no answer for Tyler Eifert. The third-year tight end out of Notre Dame  had a monster day, catching a career-tying two touchdowns against Oakland, to go along with a career-high nine catches for 104 receiving yards.

Who’s next: Baltimore Ravens (0-1) at O.co Coliseum, Sunday, 1:05 p.m. PT, CBS

Baltimore was dropped in Denver, 19-13, in a defensive battle with the Broncos. Leading 13-9 in the third quarter, Ravens starting quarterback Joe Flacco threw a crucial interception to Broncos starting cornerback Aqib Talib, who raced 51 yards for the go ahead touchdown. Flacco completed just 18-of-32 passes for 117 yards, and two interceptions.

But the bigger news from the game was that starting outside linebacker Terrell Suggs will be lost for the season after being carted off in the fourth quarter with a torn right Achilles. Suggs also tore his right Achilles during the offseason in 2012.

Losing a guy like Suggs, one of just six players with 100 sacks since 2003, is a devastating blow for Baltimore. Suggs and the Ravens’ defense seemed to be in regular season form by harassing Broncos starting quarterback Peyton Manning all day, sacking the future Hall of Famer four times while limiting Denver to 3.2 yards per play on offense.

“It’s hard to replace a guy like Terrell Suggs,” Ravens linebacker Elvis Dumervil told NFL Media’s James Palmer after the game Sunday. “He brings so much to our defense, so it’s a blow where we kind of have to rally as a team. Guys have to step up, myself included. It was one of the reasons I came here, so it’s huge. But we got guys here, we have depth and we got to rally behind each other. No one wants to feel sorry for us that’s for sure.”

Glued to the Tube Roundup: The Four Must See Games for Week 1 by #TheFootballJunkie

So, #TheFootballJunkie finished 2-2 this week (Cowboys and Packers held on with wins, Seahawks and Buccaneers delivered loses), but hey, it’s just the first week of the season so I will take a .500 record.

Green Bay trumps Bears 31-23 behind Aaron Rodgers and James Jones

Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdowns, two of them to James Jones, as the Packers defeated the Chicago Bears, 31-23 Sunday at Soldier Field.

Rodgers completed 18-of-23 passes for 189 yards, helping Green Bay (1-0) win for the 11th time in 12 meetings against Chicago (0-1), including the postseason.

Jones, who spent seven years in Green Bay before signing with Oakland last season, finished the game with four catches for 51 yards, including a sick one-handed catch for a 13-yard touchdown late in the first quarter. Jones also was in camp with the New York Giants before being released on the final roster cut.

Eddie Lacy ran for 85 yards on 19 carries, including a touchdown. Defensive end/linebacker Julius Peppers paced the Packers defense with 1.5 sacks.

Bears starting quarterback Jay Cutler completed 18-of-36 passes for 225 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.

Rams holds off Seahawks, 34-31 in OT

Trailing 31-24 with 53 seconds left in the game, St. Louis tied the game after Seahawks safety Dion Bailey stumbled, allowing Rams tight end Lance Kendricks to catch a 37-yard touchdown.

Rams (1-0) kicker Greg Zuerlein nailed the game-winning 37-yard field goal in overtime, after Seattle rallied off 18 points in the fourth quarter. Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch was stopped on 4th-and-1 at the Rams 42 yard line to end the game. Lynch finished with 18 carries for 73 rushing yards.

The Rams punished Seahawks (0-1) starting quarterback Russell Wilson, sacking Wilson six times. Defensive tackle Aaron Donald and defensive end Robert Quinn each recorded two sacks.

With running backs, (rookie) Todd Gurley (knee) and (second-year) Tre Mason (hamstring), Benny Cunningham got the start in the backfield for St. Louis and played pretty well. Cunningham finished with 16 carries for 45 rushing yards, but was also vital in the passing game, hauling in four passes for 77 yards.

St. Louis starting quarterback Nick Foles finished 18-of-27 passing for 297 yards and a touchdown in his debut for the Rams.

Wide receiver Tavon Austin scored his fourth career rushing touchdown for St. Louis, a 16-yard scamper, in the second quarter.

Wilson threw for 251 yards, a touchdown, and an interception while completing 32-of-41 passes.

Rookie wide receiver Tyler Lockett scored Seattle’s first touchdown of the game on a 57-yard punt return in the first quarter. It was Seattle’s first punt return for a touchdown since 2007, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Mariota’s four touchdown passes leads Titans past Winston, Bucs 42-14

Marcus Mariota joined Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton as the only rookies to throw four touchdowns in their debut, helping Tennessee dismantle Tampa Bay 42-14 at Raymond James Stadium.

Tarkenton did it for the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 17, 1961 against the Chicago Bears.

In the much-anticipated matchup between the top two quarterbacks taken in the 2015 NFL Draft, Mariota got the better of rookie counterpart Jameis Winston, completing 13-of-16 passes for 209 yards and no interceptions. Mariota had tons of protection and made the transition from college to the pros seem effortless with his command of the huddle and finding his receivers.

Mariota became the first rookie in NFL history to throw two touchdowns in the first quarter of a game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Wide receiver Kendall Wright led Tennessee in receiving, catching four passes for 101 yards, including a 52-yard touchdown pass from Mariota.

Winston didn’t have the best of games, completing 16-of-33 passes for 210 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Winston became the first rookie quarterback since Brett Favre in 1991 to throw a pick-six on his first pass of his career when Titans cornerback Coty Sensabaugh returned the football 26 yards for the score in the first quarter.

Second-year tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins finished with five catches, 110 receiving yards, and two touchdowns.

Cowboys defeat Giants, 27-26, lose Bryant for 4-6 weeks

Tony Romo recorded his 28th career game-winning drive, finding tight end Jason Witten for an 11-yard touchdown pass with 7 seconds left in the fourth quarter to give Dallas a 27-26 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday Night Football. Witten finished the game tied with running back Lance Dunbar (70 receiving yards) with eight catches for 60 receiving yards.

Dallas’ (1-0) fifth straight win over their NFC East foe was bittersweet, after finding out that star wide receiver Dez Bryant would need surgery to repair a broken bone in his right foot and will be lost for 4-6 weeks. Bryant left the game in the second half after catching five passes for 48 receiving yards and didn’t return to action.

Romo drove the Cowboys 72 yards in just 1:27 after forcing the Giants to settle for a Josh Brown field goal to push New York’s lead to 26-20 on the Giants’ previous drive. Romo completed 36-of-45 passes for 358 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Giants starting quarterback Eli Manning completed 20-of-36 passes for 193 yards.

Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie recovered a fumble by Cowboys wide receiver Cole Beasley and return it 57 yards for a New York touchdown in the second quarter. New York’s defense converted three Dallas turnovers into 17 points.

With the win, Dallas improves to 8-0 all time against the Giants (0-1) in openers.

Joe Hawkes-Beamon is a columnist for Sports Radio Service. Follow him on Twitter @JLHB510 and Facebook #TheFootballJunkie

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — Finally, no more waiting on roster cuts.

No more first-team offenses and defenses playing a few series here and there of “ho-hum” football.

It’s officially football season and the games count even more than they did in the preseason and that’s what we’ve been waiting for as fans and sportswriters for the last six months.

For the Oakland Raiders, who will open up the 2015 season Sunday against the visiting Cincinnati Bengals (1:25 p.m. PT, CBS), this is a season full of optimism and renewed sense of belief

They hired a brand new head coach with strong Bay Area ties in former Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio. Del Rio knows how to get the best out of his players. In his nine seasons as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Del Rio compiled a 68-71 record, but just 1-2 in the playoffs.

Del Rio is a player’s coach, but is tough and wants to instill a great toughness in a team that has not reached the playoffs since the 2002 season, in which Oakland reached the Super Bowl.

“I think it’s important to win at home,”  Del Rio said Wednesday after the team’s practice. “We’ve got great fans that are going to come out in full force on Sunday, and we want to put on a good show for them and make sure they’re proud.”

Second-year signal caller Derek Carr had a great training camp and appears to be fully entrenched as the Raiders quarterback. With the addition of former Alabama Crimson Tide star wide receiver Amari Cooper by way of the fourth overall draft pick in this year’s NFL Draft, and former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree, Carr could vastly improve his numbers.

As a rookie, Carr looked more like a seasoned veteran, becoming only the fourth rookie in league history to throw at least 20 touchdowns and 12-or-fewer interceptions in his first season. Carr threw for 3,270 yards passing, 21 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, while completing 59.1 percent of his passes. Carr continues to develop into one of the league’s top young quarterbacks and greatly wants more wins in the win column for Oakland.

“I think this time last year I knew I was the starter for about three days,” Carr said Wednesday. “This time around, obviously, it’s a little different. You have a whole offseason to prepare for the season. You know what to work on. You know what’s going to happen. You’ve already played in the games. You’ve already seen it, so there’s a lot of benefits obviously that were not here last year that we have this year. I’m definitely excited and just ready to compete.”

Oakland finished 3-13 last season after starting the season 0-10 and Carr knows that getting a win Sunday against the Bengals would be a huge boost in the right direction for the Silver & Black in 2015.

“It’s huge,” Carr said. “You always see coaches, and stats, and everyone talking about, ‘You got to start fast. You got to start fast,’ and that’s the case. You want to go out there and start fast. We have a great veteran group coming in that we’re going to play against, but we’re excited to go out there and compete, because we have a good veteran group too, and we’ve been working really hard.”

Defensively, particularly in the secondary, Cincinnati could raise some trouble for a patchwork Raiders’ secondary so cornerbacks D.J. Hayden, T.J. Carrie, and Keith McGill you better be ready because the Bengals’ wide receivers are a good group of playmakers that present unique challenges.

All-Pro wide receiver A.J. Green, Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu. After posting back-to-back 11 touchdown receiving and 97 and 98 catch seasons, Green slipped last season finishing with just 68 catches and six touchdowns. Green has recorded four straight 1,000 yard receiving seasons, and has made four trips to Honolulu for the Pro Bowl.

“Every week there’s a good test,” said Head Coach Del Rio. “We’ll talk about the talent on the other team every week. Everyone has talent in this league. Certainly they have talent and we’re looking forward to matching up on Sunday.”

Green is just 27-years-old.

Jones, the former California wide receiver, was lost for the majority of the 2014 season, but is a smooth route-runner from the slot, finished second behind Green in 2013 with 10 touchdowns receiving.

Sanu has proved to be a great compliment to Green on the outside. Sanu racked up 56 catches for 790 yards and five touchdowns in 16 games (13 starts) last year for the Bengals.

Raiders defensive coordinator Ken Norton noted Thursday that he knows that former Raiders interim head coach/offensive coordinator and current Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson has a prolific offense.

Cincinnati finished 15th overall on offense in 2014.

“They’re very, very skilled group,” said Norton. “Really nice throwers, really good catchers. Fantastic combination at the runners. Really explosive group, so we have to really take our time and do our best to matchup with them.”

At the end of the day, the Bengals’ fortunes rely on the right arm of quarterback Andy Dalton.

When the Bengals win, people are quick to point out that Dalton should win with the talent around him, which includes a stud-running attack with running backs Jeremy Hill and Giovanni Bernard.

When the Bengals find ways to lose games, Dalton becomes Cincinnati’s appointed “Fall Guy.” (Thanks Cris Carter LOL).

The match up that I’ll be paying close attention to will be between two former Alabama Crimson Tide players in Cooper and Bengals cornerback, Dre Kirkpatrick. Cooper and Kirkpatrick weren’t college teammates, as Kirkpatrick was drafted in 2012 by Cincinnati, while Cooper arrived in Tuscaloosa that spring.

Kirpartick recently told ESPN.com’s Bengals reporter Cole Harvey that Cooper, “Looks great. He doesn’t look like a rookie, I’ll tell you that…He looks like he’s been here before.”

On paper, the Bengals should win this game, but games aren’t played on paper and I think with the renewed energy that Del Rio has brought into an organization that has been choking under water for so long, coupled with upgrades to the wide receiving corps and not to mention the addition of former Saints linebacker Curtis Lofton, Oakland can win on Sunday.

The game will be close, but I think that Carr will make just one more play that Dalton that will put Oakland over the top, 27-23.

Breaking News – Raiders sign former 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith

The Oakland Raiders have signed former 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith to a one-year contract, per ESPN sources and media reports.

Smith, who was released by San Francisco on Aug. 7, has had many off-field incidents, but is eligible to play according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Oakland will consider playing Smith during Sunday’s contest against Cincinnati based on his conditioning.

Smith, who has recorded 44 sacks in 50 games as a member of a once-dominant 49ers linebacking corps,  had turned down offers from Jacksonville, Tampa Bay, and St. Louis.

The deal was first reported by Bleacher Report.

Glued to the Tube: The Four Must See Games for Week 1 by #TheFootballJunkie

Green Bay at Chicago – 10:00 a.m. PT, FOX – The NFL loves their rivalries and the Packers and the Bears are the Hatfields and the McCoys.

Green Bay, who lost to the Seattle Seahawks in last season’s NFC Championship Game, are poised for another postseason run with the incredible Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, but will have a tough time getting back to the conference title game without his go-to man, wide receiver Jordy Nelson after Nelson was lost for the season with a torn ACL.

In 2014, Nelson established career-highs in receptions (98) and receiving yards (1,519) to go along with 13 touchdown catches.

Chicago, with quarterback Jay Cutler, are just 1-11 with Cutler under center against the Packers, and have lost eight straight games against their heated rivals from Wisconsin. In those eight losses, Cutler has tossed 12 touchdowns and 21 interceptions with a QBR of 24. According to Spotrac, both Rodgers and Cutler are making $54 million guaranteed.

For Green Bay, its been money well spent as Rodgers has delivered a Super Bowl. For Chicago, its been a fleecing by Cutler.

Green Bay swept Chicago last season en route to a 12-4 record. Both games weren’t even close with the Packers outscoring the Bears 93-31.

Oh yeah, and Chicago is breaking in a new coaching staff headed by former Denver Broncos Head Coach John Fox this season, whose calling-card is defense.

Packers 31 Bears 17

Seattle at St. Louis – 1:25 p.m. PT, FOX – Another divisional rivalry that may get even hotter this season as St. Louis looks to take a major step in the NFC West, but Seattle remains the cream of the crop in the division. The two teams split both meetings last season, but the Rams have won two of the last three meetings with the Seahawks.

The Rams finally turned the page on the Sam Bradford Era by shipping the former No. 1 overall quarterback to Philadelphia for quarterback Nick Foles. Foles put up some great numbers in a Eagles’ uniform, throwing for 6,753 passing yards, 41 touchdowns and 17 interceptions with a 15-9 record. St. Louis is banking on Foles as the quarterback that can lead a resurgence (the team re-signed Foles to a two-year, $24 million ($13.7 million) guaranteed) during the offseason.

But Sunday’s encounter with the NFC Champion Seahawks will be a defensive slugfest in my opinion.

Outside of the Buffalo Bills, St. Louis may have the best defensive line in football this year.

Defensive tackles Michael Brockers and 2014 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Aaron Donald (10 sacks) are forces in the middle, and with the addition of a slimmer, former Detroit Lions’ first-rounder Nick Fairly, the Rams have added much needed depth. Throw in defensive ends Chris Long and Robert Quinn, St. Louis sport five first round picks.

That’s talent that is unmatched in the NFL, unless your Seattle whose defense is by all accounts the league’s premiere defense. But the defense is showing signs of cracking. Strong safety Kam Chancellor, the unquestioned leader of the Legion of Boom, is holding out for a new contract and won’t be in the lineup on Sunday, according to media reports.

Free Safety Earl Thomas was out for most of training camp recovering from a shoulder injury, but is slated to suit up, while cornerback Richard Sherman has recovered from the arm injury he suffered in the NFC Championship Game. Has the toll of playing deep into January over the past three seasons finally has caught up with Seattle?

The Rams are hoping so, and St. Louis could be prime for the upset, especially if “Sack City” makes life difficult for Wilson, who completed 23-of-36 passes for 313 yards and two touchdowns in St. Louis’s 28-26 home win in Week 7.

Seattle is looking to become the first NFC team in history to make three straight Super Bowl appearances.

Seahawks 23 Rams 13

Tennessee at Tampa Bay, 1:25 p.m. PT, CBS – All indications are that this will be the first time that the top two quarterbacks taken in the first round of the NFL Draft will meet when Jameis Winston leads the Buccaneers into Nashville against Marcus Mariota and the Titans.

Both Winston and Mariota have been tasked to rebuild franchises that finished 2-14, respectively. Both are decorated college-winning quarterbacks, but the jury remains out on both men.

Buccaneers 17  Titans 9

New York (N) at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. PT, NBC – Ahh the nightcap. Giants at Cowboys on Sunday Night Football.

What more can a fan want? More football.

After losing at Lambeau Field in the NFC Divisional Playoffs to the Green Bay Packers, Dallas thinks that this is the year that it finally gets back to Super Bowl and tie the Pittsburgh Steelers with six Lombardi trophies.

Quarterback Tony Romo had another stellar season with 34 touchdown passes, nine interceptions, and throwing for 3,705 yards. Wide receiver Dez Bryant (he of the five-year, $70 million ($45 million guaranteed), is a top-five wide receiver, finished with 88 catches for 1,320 yards receiving and 16 touchdowns.

But Dallas took a huge blow when they let running back DeMarco Murray bolt for division rival Philadelphia. Murray led the league in rushing with 1,845 yards with 13 rushing touchdowns. Its going to be very difficult to replace that kind of production.

Dallas has won the last four previous meetings, but last season’s Week 12, 31-28 victory (on Sunday Night Football coincidentally) was epic for the Cowboys, but that was the game that put Giants’ wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. on the map.

You know, the game with what people have called “the greatest catch” in football history.

Beckham Jr. finished the game with 10 catches for 146 yards receiving and two touchdowns, one of them was the jaw-dropping one handed catch over Cowboys’ cornerback, Brandon Carr.

Dallas usually shows up when the lights are the brightest, but so does Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who finished 29-of-40 for 338 yards passing, with three touchdowns and one interception in that game.

Cowboys 35 Giants 24

#MikePParlay’s for Week 1 – *For entertainment purposes only.

Indianapolis (-2.5) vs Buffalo            O/U 45

Carolina (-3.0) vs Jacksonville          O/U 41.5

Cincinnati (-3.0) vs Oakland             O/U 43.0

San Francisco (-1.0) vs Minnesota   O/U 41.5

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — After the projected first-team offense and defense played the entire first half in the Raiders’ 30-23 loss to visiting Arizona last Sunday that dropped the Raiders to 1-2 in the preseason, don’t expect to see starting quarterback Derek Carr and Co. to see the field Thursday night against the Seahawks in Seattle in the final preseason game for both teams.

Carr and the first-team offense struggled mightily against the Cardinals, relying on five first half field goals by Sebastian Janikowski. Carr finished 18-of-34 for 213 yards passing, but threw a terrible interception that was returned 81 yards for a touchdown.

In fact, Oakland didn’t get into the end zone until backup quarterback Matt McGloin lead an 83-yard drive late in the fourth quarter in which he found wide receiver Kris Durham for a 4-yard touchdown catch with 2:18 left in the game. Oakland added a 2-point conversion when McGloin found wide receiver Bryce Butler.

“As an offense we’re pretty upset right now,” Carr said. “We want to score a lot of points. We felt like we left a lot out there and we did.”

With the release of back up running back Trent Richardson (Richardson was cut as part of the Raiders reducing the rosters to 75), it appears that Oakland was really impressed with rookie running back Jonathan Dwyer, who is expected to share carries with projected started Latavius Murray.

Oakland’s first-team defense rocked and harassed  Arizona starting quarterback Carson Palmer the entire night. Linebacker Khalil Mack collected two of Oakland’s three sacks on Palmer. Palmer finished 8-for-22 with 103 yards passing, including two interceptions by safety Nate Allen.

The loss, albeit being the preseason, was a huge loss for Oakland as they lost starting right tackle Menelik Watson for the season with a torn Achilles’ tendon.

Seattle (1-2), are coming off a 16-15 victory in San Diego last Saturday. Seahawks kicker Steven Hauschka nailed a 60-yard field goal with 16 seconds left that carried Seattle to victory.

Rookie wide receiver Tyler Lockett returned a 67-yard punt for a touchdown.