Impressive Defenses Highlight NFL

Defense has been front and center two weeks into the NFL season. After three shut outs last week, San Diego and Chicago were just minutes away from back-to-back shut outs, while Jacksonville did the trick Monday night against the defending Super Bowl champion Steelers.

The Jags were so dominant that Pittsburgh only crossed midfield once and finished with only one, that's right, one rushing first down!

The Bears, Ravens and the Chargers have been the most impressive teams to start the season and barring injuries and inconsistency, are legitimate threats for the Super Bowl. Jacksonville is till not quite there offensively and until that side of the ball improves, the Jaguars are not a Super Bowl contender. A playoff team, yes, AFC champs, no.

Chicago

Chicago looks downright scary. The defense was the best in football last season as far as points allowed and so far in 2006, Da Bears have picked up right were they and defensive coordinator Ron Rivera left off.

The Bears have given up a whopping seven points in two games, second in the league with a 3.5 average, while surrendering 256 yards a game, good enough for fifth in the NFL.

The front seven is nasty with MLB Brian Urlacher and OLB Lance Briggs leading the way. Chicago has allowed only 74 yards per game on the ground and is tied for third in the league with nine sacks.

The real story though is the maturation of QB Rex Grossman. The former Florida standout is finally healthy after two years of injuries that caused him to miss 29 games. He's comfortable in the offense and is the surprise NFL leader in passer rating after two weeks with a 128.7 mark.

Grossman has thrown for 551 yards on 38-of-53 passing (71.7%) with five touchdowns and one pick. Add a solid offensive line and the running tandem of Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson and you can see why the Bears are putting fear into the hearts of the NFC. If the offense, especially Grossman, continues to perform like this - the Super Bowl could be calling.

San Diego

The Charger defense looks just as nasty as the Bears. San Diego is second in total defense (173.5), fifth against the rush (71.0), first against the pass (102.6) and tied with Chicago for second in scoring defense (3.5). In addition, the Chargers have recorded nine sacks, three by last years Rookie of the Year, Shawne Merriman.

The big improvement for San Diego is pass defense. Last season the lightning bolts were 24th defending the pass and head coach Marty Schottenheimer worked hard in the offseason to improve his secondary.

S Marlon McRee was signed away from Carolina and CB Antonio Cromartie was drafted in the first round. They were plugged into a secondary that returned Quentin Jammer and Drayton Florence at the corners and Terrence Kiel and Bhawoh Jue at safety. So far, everything has worked out.

Offensively, LaDainian Tomlinson and his backup Michael Turner are running the ball very effectively. New QB Philip Rivers is completing passes at a 71 percent clip with zero turnovers, just what the coaching staff wanted. Keenan McCardell is ageless and Antonio Gates has six catches for 81 yards and a touchdown early on.

San Diego was snakebitten last season with four losses that occurred in the final minutes of play. This season, a more experienced defense and a better offensive line have Charger fans thinking big in 2006. If they keep playing this way, the fans just may be right.

Baltimore

The Ravens defense has its swagger back after two dominating performances to start the season.

After shutting out Tampa Bay in the opener, Baltimore dissected the Raiders 28-6 on Sunday. The Ravens lead the league in total defense (152.0), scoring defense (3.0), and rushing defense (32.5). In addition, the purple and black are third in pass defense (119.5) and first in turnover margin with a plus-8. The Ravens have collected nine sacks, six interceptions and forced three fumbles.

A healthy Ray Lewis and the additions of free agent DE Trevor Pryce and rookies DT Haloti Ngata and S Dawan Landry have made the difference. Adding Ngata and Pryce to a line that already had Kelly Gregg and Terrell Suggs gives Baltimore it's best D-line since the 2001 Super Bowl victory.

Lewis and OLB Adalius Thomas are tackling machines and the secondary of Chris McAlister and Samari Rolle at the corners and Ed Reed and Landry at safety may be the best in the game.

Even worse for the AFC, the Ravens are finally scoring points. Steve McNair has give the Baltimore offense leadership, work ethic and hustle and that has shown up on the scoreboard. The development of Mark Clayton at wide receiver and the signing of Mike Anderson in the off-season has added offensive depth were there was none before.

The AFC North is now a three-team race. Pittsburgh and Cincinnati had better keep a careful eye on this Ravens squad.

Defense is ruling the roost early on in the 2006 season and the above mentioned teams are riding the crest of that wave. The Bears are a serious challenge to Seattle in the NFC and the Ravens, Jaguars and Chargers have made an already formidable AFC even stronger.

****
Bad news on the injury front for Philadelphia fans. DE Jevon Kearse sprained his MCL and ACL ligaments and will be lost for the season. Kearse, the 1999 Rookie of the Year, has been plagued by injuries over the last several seasons.

Also gone for the year are Cincinnati LB David Pollack (broken neck), Houston T Charles Spencer (broken leg) and Minnesota DE Erasmus James (knee).

Terrell Owens will miss 2-4 weeks with a broken finger, Raiders QB Aaron Brooks will be out 2-4 weeks with a pectoral injury and Rams LT Orlando Pace may miss 1-2 weeks with a concussion.

****
The Chargers made news today by trading an undisclosed draft choice to the Tennessee Titans for QB Billy Volek.

This is a good move for San Diego, considering Rivers' backup was Clemson rookie Charlie Whitehurst. In Volek, the Chargers have an experienced, seasoned backup who has started 10 games in his seven-year career, all with the Titans.

Volek was expected to be the starter who groomed top pick Vince Young for a year or two, but fell out of favor with the Jeff Fisher and GM Floyd Reese. The Titans signed Kerry Collins a week before the regular season began and demoted Volek to third string. The former Fresno State signal caller openly voiced his displeasure with the Collins signing and asked Tennessee to trade him.

Volek is 312-of-517 (60.3%) for 3,505 yards with 26 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in his career.


Check out the most complete guide to coaching youth football ever created!