Adam's weekly thoughts on happenings around the NFL.

While watching some of this weeks games and checking out box scores and highlights I found myself pondering a few things. Is Houston’s defense as good as they looked? Is New Orleans as bad as they looked against an Indy D that was supposed to be one of the worst in the league? Did we overrate Philly or underrate Green Bay? In the following column I hope to answer those questions:

Houston?
This game was a coming out game for last years #1 draft pick, Mario Williams. He recorded 2 sacks, 5 tackles, and returned a fumble for a touchdown, in a game that saw Larry Johnson and the Kansas City Chiefs held to a lone field goal. Meanwhile DeMeco Ryans, last years defensive player of the year, recorded 9 tackles and helped to stifle the KC offense. Since Houston's two best defensive players are very young I am not convinced that this defense can perform to this level week in and week out. Kansas City has an electric running game, but with Damon Huard at QB and no top receivers on the team Houston could play the run and force KC to make mistakes in the air. I am going to say that Houston will have a roller coaster season with this defense because of their age.

New Orleans?
Last years darlings of the NFL came out and looked like a team that could be this year’s doormat. Are they this bad? The Colts defense is supposed to be one of the worst in the NFL but with Bob Sanders in there I find it hard to believe that they really are that bad. On top of that everyone is on to New Orleans and unless they have some more diamonds in the rough such as Colston and Henderson, teams know who to watch for. With that being said the edition of Eric Johnson at TE make their offense more explosive because now NO is a threat on 3 different fronts, WR, TE, and RB. Brees had a bad game that might remind many of those early years in San Diego but I would not worry about him. This team is too dynamic to be beaten that bad every week and with a weak but improving NFC, this team is going to be a top 2 team in the conference.

Philly or GB?
Philly and Green Bay played out a close game that saw Green Bay pull off the go ahead FG in the final seconds. Is Green Bay one of the teams to beat in the NFC or are the Eagles declining faster than we though? I am going to go with a little bit of both here. In a change of events that started last year, Green Bay’s defense is one of the better defenses in the NFC. They are young, fast, play smart, and hit hard. They don’t have the glamour of a team like the Bears but they perform up to a higher standard. Green Bay's offense is anchored by old reliable Favre and he knows how to run this offense better than anyone in the game. Philadelphia on the other hand knows they are reaching the twilight of their dominance and with the release of Jeremiah Trotter this team knows they need to get younger quick or they will be left in the back of the NFC pack. McNabb has Kolb breathing over his shoulder and the Eagles best WR left for NE. Westbrook will help hold this offense together but his injury risks are a concern. So my final decision was that the Packers are better than I thought, while the Eagles are worst.

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