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Oakland Raiders and Miami Dolphins. While Sunday's meeting doesn't carry the weight of a playoff contest between two powers Marcus Cooper Jerseys 2019 , it certainly brings plenty of intrigue.Such as: Are the Dolphins (2-0) really good, and are the Raiders (0-2) pretty bad?The answers will come over the next few weeks, but this could be a strong indicator of where each team is headed in 2018.Miami has been winning the field position battle, is tied for the NFL lead with five interceptions 鈥?the Dolphins had nine all last year 鈥?and has allowed only seven points in four red-zone possessions by opponents. Healthy QB Ryan Tannehill is 9-1 in his past 10 starts; he missed the 2017 season with a knee injury.Meanwhile, the Raiders are allowing 5.7 yards per rush, worst in the league. They are tied for last with only one takeaway and have all of two sacks. Did someone say they miss Khalil Mack?Yet the key could be when Oakland has the ball and whether it can generate anything against a defense that plays most everybody who suits up."The addition of (DE Robert) Quinn is huge," says Raiders coach Jon Gruden, whose return to the sideline had Raiders fans all giddy before the Mack trade and the two defeats."He has given them supreme effort opposite Cameron Wake. And they have a very good unit inside that can generate pressure as well. It's a combination of new players, new energy and the scheme. It's fun to watch them."Maybe not for Derek Carr, the quarterback who has to face them.The weekend began Thursday night with Cleveland's first win in 635 days, a 21-17 home victory over the New York Jets.The No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield replaced injured starter Tyrod Taylor and sparked the Browns (1-1-1) , who got two 1-yard touchdown runs from Carlos Hyde in their first win since Dec. 24, 2016. And so ends Cleveland's 19-game winless streak, the NFL's second-longest since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. The Jets are 1-2.Indianapolis (1-1) at Philadelphia (1-1)One of several games with tasty matchups.The Super Bowl champions get back Carson Wentz, whose major knee injury last December led to Nick Foles taking over at quarterback 鈥?and winning the title. Wentz is healthy, which means he'll play."It's been a long time coming," Wentz says. "It's been quite the grind of an offseason. There's a lot of excitement, a lot of built-up almost anxiety over when it was going to be."It will be against the offensive coordinator, Frank Reich, who had a big role in Wentz's quick development. Reich now coaches the Colts, who have their own star QB back from injury, Andrew Luck.Luck has thrown a TD pass in 25 consecutive games, the league's longest active streak.The Colts are one win from 300 since moving to Indianapolis in 1984.New England (1-1) at Detroit (0-2)Matt Patricia spent 14 seasons working for Bill Belichick in New England. Rarely did he deal with what has gone on the past two weeks with the Lions. They have looked inept at times, Matthew Stafford has little protection and has thrown a league-high five picks. Detroit is 30th in rushing defense, which must make defensive guru Patricia cringe.Belichick is 14-8 against former assistants. New England is 45-6 after losing a game since 2003 and didn't lose two straight in 2016 or 2017. It fell at Jacksonville last Sunday.Denver (2-0) at Baltimore (1-1)One more spicy matchup, this one on the defensive side.Led by Von Miller , the Broncos seem to have rekindled the Orange Crush. He leads the NFL with four sacks, a rate that would give him a record 32. Don't bet against him.Denver has allowed only five third-down conversions in 22 tries, the best rate (22.7 percent) in the NFL.The Ravens rank second on D, no surprise there. But they'll likely be missing three-time Pro Bowl LB C.J. Mosley (knee).New Orleans (1-1) at Atlanta (1-1)In perhaps the toughest division, both of these 2017 playoff teams have been way too inconsistent so far.The Saints opened with two home games, losing to Tampa Bay and getting lucky to beat Cleveland. The defense was awful in the opener, the offense struggled last week.Still, they have Drew Brees, looking for his fourth straight road game with a passer rating over 100. WR Michael Thomas has 28 catches, an NFL record for the first two games of a season.Atlanta's up-and-down nature has been partly caused by injuries, particularly on defense. That's never a good way to approach a matchup with Brees.New York Giants (0-2) at Houston (0-2)The most watchable thing here 鈥?if you like defenses creaming quarterbacks 鈥?is whether Eli Manning or Deshaun Watson can escape the rush. Watson White Prince Amukamara Jerseys , who has terrific agility, already has gone down seven times, and he's not come close to the sensational showings he made as a rookie before tearing up his knee.Even worse, Manning has been sacked eight times and there haven't been a handful of pass plays on which he didn't feel pressure. Now, he gets to see J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney close up, with a new center, John Greco, to boot.Dallas (1-1) at Seattle (0-2)More sack time coming.In years past, Seattle's defense would be knocking down quarterbacks. This version of the Seahawks has three sacks as the unit is rebuilt.Meanwhile, Russell Wilson has gone down 12 times, and considering his escapability, that's scary in Seattle. Dallas barely let Manning breathe last week, has nine sacks from eight players and faces possibly a bigger sieve of a blocking unit this week.Los Angeles Chargers (1-1) at Los Angeles Rams (2-0)Remember when LA had no teams? Now, both figure to be contenders in their divisions. Indeed, the Rams have the most talent of any roster and are off to a powerful start.This could be a shootout. Since Week 11 of last season, the Chargers are tops in offense, averaging 436.9 yards per game. Philip Rivers has thrown three or more TD passes and has a passer rating over 100 in three straight regular-season games, and has plenty of weapons.So does Rams QB Jared Goff, particularly 2017 Offensive Player of the Year Todd Gurley. The fourth-year RB is off to another brilliant start.It's the first meeting between two Los Angeles NFL teams since Nov. 13, 1994, when the Raiders defeated the Rams 20-17.Cincinnati (2-0) at Carolina (1-1)Wait, the Bengals are unbeaten? Here's a real chance to prove they are legit.Cincinnati can get after the passer and will force Cam Newton to be creative. The Bengals are well rested 鈥?they beat Baltimore on a Thursday night in Week 2 鈥?and DT Geno Atkins has looked super, getting three sacks and plenty of pressures.But second-year running back Joe Mixon is sidelined, and Carolina has its own dangerous RB from the 2017 draft in Christian McCaffrey. He tied WR Steve Smith's franchise record with 14 receptions vs. the Falcons.Carolina has won six straight at home.Tennessee (1-1) at Jacksonville (2-0)Jacksonville being 2-0 is no shock and the Jaguars could seize early control of the AFC South here. They showed plenty of moxie in beating New England last Sunday and hope to have top RB Leonard Fournette healthy. They haven't been 3-0 in 14 years.Even though the Jags won the division in 2017, they were swept by Tennessee, helping the Titans earn a wild card. Tennessee has been very protective of its passer, whether Marcus Mariota or former Jaguar Blaine Gabbert; opponents have one sack. Getting Mariota back from an elbow injury is critical.San Francisco (1-1) at Kansas City (2-0)It's not that the Chiefs have won two straight, it's how they did it.First-time starter Patrick Mahomes came out firing and hasn't let up. He has an NFL-record 10 TD passes through the first two games and has not thrown an interception. Mahomes had six TD passes at Pittsburgh, making him the youngest player in NFL history to accomplish that. Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins all have 100-yard receiving games this season.San Francisco ranks 25th in pass defense and might not have the talent to get in a scoring free-for-all.Buffalo (0-2) at Minnesota (1-0-1)The betting line was so high, above 16 points all week, that it sent fans and bettors scrambling for precedent.Buffalo once was an even bigger underdog at 17陆 points against Miami in 1985. The Dolphins won 28-0.And 80 teams have been 16-point or more underdogs. Five of those actually won.For the Bills to even come close, they need to give raw rookie QB Josh Allen time to throw, and find a run defense.Minnesota comes off a depressing 29-29 tie at Green Bay in which the Vikings made a solid comeback, but then couldn't kick the ball straight enough to win. Daniel Carson is gone, replaced by veteran Dan Bailey, who was sensational with Dallas before getting hurt.Green Bay (1-0-1) at Washington (1-1)A gimpy Aaron Rodgers remains a prime threat Prince Amukamara Jerseys 2019 , and he has loads of talent to catch the ball in Davante Adams, Randall Cobb, Geronimo Allison and tight end Jimmy Graham. The pass defense is far too charitable, but rookie CB Josh Jackson recovered a blocked punt for a TD vs. Minnesota.Alex Smith, the top overall draft pick in 2005 when Rodgers went 24th, now is in Washington. He has a defense ranked No. 1 against the pass, so an aerial contest with A-Rod might not develop.Pittsburgh (0-1-1) at Tampa Bay (2-0), Monday nightWith the Bucs on a roll and Ryan Fitzpatrick demolishing defenses, Pittsburgh could be in trouble. The Steelers have displayed little tackling skill and give up lots of big plays. They rank 30th against the run, a very un-Curtain number.Their offense hasn't been troubled much by star RB Le'Veon Bell's holdout thanks to James Conner. This also has the makings of a high-scoring showcase, especially if Ben Roethlisberger can limit his team's turnovers.Chicago (1-1) at Arizona (0-2)The Cardinals and Bears are the only founding members of the NFL still in existence. While Chicago seems to have found its way with Mack and a defense that leads the league with 10 sacks, Arizona is foundering. The Cardinals didn't cross midfield vs. the Rams until the next-to-last play. Sam Bradford has not thrown a TD pass, has been intercepted twice and has a 55.6 passer rating. Patti and Jeff return to discuss the Bears’ new signings and the most appropriate Bear celebration snacks."Being who you thought we were since 2005!Log In or Sign UpLog InSign UpFanpostsFanshotsSectionsBearsOddsAboutMastheadCommunity GuidelinesStubHubMoreAll 322 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Latest NewsThe Bears DenNotesXs and OsSuperfansBreaking News:The Bears' 2019 Draft class is complete!脳From The Desk Of...Chicago Bears Free Agency 2019Bears Blither-Blather: Free Agency, Snacks, and 100 years of BearsNew,8commentsPatti and Jeff return to discuss the Bears’ new signings and the most appropriate Bear celebration snacks.CDTShareTweetShareShareBears Blither-Blather: Free Agency, Snacks, and 100 years of BearsMike Davis has a nice roundness to his frame.Patti Curl: Let’s just jump in to the most pressing topic concerning the Bears free agent signings. Is it immature for me to be endlessly amused by the fact that our new safeties name is effectively Ha Ha...Dix? Or, perhaps, is it so immature that it’s actually very mature?Jeff Berckes: Is this one of those “is he so overrated that he’s actually underrated” arguments? I’ve given out a few nicknames in my day that have stuck with the person, for better or worse, through childhood and into adult life. His full name is Ha’Sean Treshon Clinton-Dix and I’ll admit, when the Packers drafted him in 2014, I immediately sent my friend a text saying “well, that’s a laughable pick.” It’s kind of a funny name and it’s ripe for a meme of Nelson from the Simpsons to point and laugh every time he does something wrong. As for the second half of the name, well, that’s always funny. I think I lean into the Bears - Packers rivalry harder than most because it can be good clean fun. The fighting on Twitter and in the comments sections between fans of the two franchises about what the other is getting has been entertaining. Adrian Amos signed a really nice deal with the Packers and will improve their secondary (because it was a tire fire before he signed...), but he probably won’t have a great time of it if they expect him to be a play maker back in center field. He’s a good football player - he just happened to be about the 10th most important starter on the Bears defense. The Bears signing HHCD on a reasonable one year deal to reunite with college teammate Eddie Jackson was easily Ryan Pace’s best move this free agency and I’m not the least bit worried about him being effective in that support structure. He’s got a first round pedigree and has played at a high level in the NFL. The real losers in that swap were Washington, who forked over a 4th round pick for a half season rental and failed to resign him. That, more than anything, deserves the Nelson Muntz treatment.Other than HHCD, who are you most excited about donning navy and orange? Have you developed any draft crushes yet?PC: To stay on the subject of great first names, I have to say I’m quite fond of “Buster.” My feeling is any time your name would make a great nickname for a dog, you’re doing something right. The similarities between Buster Skrine and Ha Ha “Clinton”-Dix don’t stop there, though. They’re both replacements that have more big play potential with a little less down-to-down consistency. Combine that with Pagano’s aggressive approach, and I’m already imagining the takeaways rolling in all season. With year 2 of Nagy’s system and Trubisky’s continued development, the defense will probably only need to get one stop a game to win anyway.I’ll also say after watching Mike Davis highlights White Bennie Fowler Jerseys , the man will look good in a Bear uniform. He has a roundness to his frame that is very aesthetically appealing as he stomps down the field and I won’t mind at all if we end up with a heavy dose of Davis next season. I’ve been woefully out of the loop when it comes to the draft, partially because the Bears really don’t need to add anyone, and aside from potentially a day two running back, the drafties will be developmental and depth pieces. Although I can’t stop fawning over the fact that a 260 pound person ran the 40 at Tarik Cohen speed, I haven’t really developed any draft crushes within the Bears reach. Hopefully, you’re following closer. Are there any talented running backs with great tape that might fall to the 3rd round due to injury or poor athletic testing? That seems like the profile for a potential Bear superstar.JB: The good news for the Bears is that this draft aligns well with their needs - specifically mid-round backs. Bears Over Beers, the new podcast EJ Snyder and I host (listen, subscribe, tell your friends!), will be diving into running backs next. EJ said he’s been watching so much college running back tape that he thinks it might be two episodes! For my part, I just watch Tarik Cohen highlights so I can accurately describe his awesomeness. I’m still trying to find the right words. Stunning? Breathtaking? Incredibilisimo? One guy that keeps getting bandied about is David Montgomery, the excellent runner out of Iowa State. He’s a fine player but I’m kind of rooting against the Bears taking him for the selfish reason that I’m an Iowa Hawkeyes fan surrounded by a majority of Iowa State grads. If the Bears take Montgomery, I will be forced to have a lot of conversations with Iowa State fans at work and I simply don’t want to do that. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll cheer for the guy - I just don’t want to give any credit to the ISU faithful. One of my favorite things to watch every year from the combine is the Rich Eisen simulcam, as he always shows great humility, raises money for a good cause, and it’s fascinating to see what a typical human looks like up against these elite athletes. As someone who was electronically timed running the 40 many years ago and weighing in at a little less than that 260 pounds, I can tell you that my time was comfortably over 5 seconds. Yes, it’s fair to say that I’ve always been, what’s a nice way to say it, slower than molasses on a cold morning, but it should provide most of the armchair watchers with a little context. Montez Sweat’s run at 260 pounds in running back territory is just plain silly. This is one of the reasons why watching the NFL is so much fun - the athleticism has never been higher. We just found out that the Bears will officially host the Packers to start the year off 1-0 in celebration of the 100th season of the Chicago Bears and the NFL. It will be the 199th meeting between these two teams and a series sweep this season by the Bears will even the mark at 97-97-6. What will you do to celebrate the 100th season? PC: I’m going to need a second to process how many years of Bears football I missed out on.Ok. I took that second watching Tarik Cohen highlights, and I had almost forgotten the time James Daniels carried Cohen the final 3 yards of a game-winning first down. What a terrific pair of Bears right there.Now, to celebrate the 100th. First, I think I’ll have to do it at the beginning of the season, since I don’t want it to interfere with playoff and super bowl celebrations. Maybe I’ll finally learn to sew and fashion a dress out of a combination Akiem Hicks and Gayle Sayers jersey to make a #46 Sacks jersey, which of course would be more of a shout-out to Buddy Ryan’s 4-6 defense than a call for the Bears to only get 46 sacks next season. I could also finally make the kitty-sized “Big Cat” Williams jersey Genghis has been begging me for. Now I’m realizing I need to make more NYC Bears fan friends. Or I can just invite all the Patriots and Packers fans that infest my life and make them put on bear ears at the door.What do you think is the most appropriate Bear party food?JB: I think serving food that would make an actual bear happy makes a lot of sense. A tray with smoked salmon, mixed berries, and honey roasted nuts is an excellent starter. For the main course, serve up some bison burgers (sorry Bills fans), cooked up medium rare. The most appropriate pastry for dessert is the bear claw, obviously, and in my experience they are tasty at all hours of the day... and night. For a beverage, look no further than a nice refreshing mead, made by fermenting honey. Just let me know what I can bring!PC: I think you’re spot on with those suggestions. The only part of a Bear’s perfect diet your missing is insects. I had some fried dragonflies in Indonesia once and they were surprisingly tasty. I can see them working well as a chip replacement in some bearibly-delicious nachos. On second thought, let’s save those for the super bowl celebration meal. It should be easier to find dragonflies in Florida.