What team has suprised you most?

[Doomsday101]

I know the season is only heading into week 3 but thus far which team has suprised you the most with their play?

For me it is Chicago, I expected their defense was going to be extremely good but to see Grossman play the way he has been it has come as a surprise. Granted the Bears have not exactly been playing tough teams but their offense was not playing that great against weak teams last year. Other than the Bears I would say the Ravens have been a surprise.

[superpunk]

It's gotta be JAX, for me. I was WAY wrong underestimating them for game 1, and they have proved that in a big way. Leftwich is on fire right now. The way he's playing almost makes me think we could have done without Newman.

Nah..... :)

[ABQCOWBOY]

I know the season is only heading into week 3 but thus far which team has suprised you the most with their play?

For me it is Chicago, I expected their defense was going to be extremely good but to see Grossman play the way he has been it has come as a surprise. Granted the Bears have not exactly been playing tough teams but their offense was not playing that great against weak teams last year. Other than the Bears I would say the Ravens have been a surprise.


I can't say that Chicago or Grossman have been a big suprise but New Orleans, that has been a big surprise to me. I did not expect them to be 2-0 at this point.

[Cbz40]

I would also have to put the Vikes in the mix also.

[cowboy4eva]

Miami Dolphins. I didn't believe in the hype that they passed the Pats but I certainly thought they would push for a playoff spot. It's not too late but they should not be losing games to the Bills.

[Hoov]

Id have to say the bears offense, but when their compettition gets tougher im not sure they will be able to keep it up.

And that Jags defense looked incredible against pittsburgh, thats like a pitcher throwing a perfect game in baseball, man that was a thing of beauty, glad i was able to watch that game.

[ABQCOWBOY]

I would also have to put the Vikes in the mix also.

I kinda agree with this. I thought that they had an excellent chance of being good if they could get there WR situation fixed and get there OL to play well. They have a great deal of talent defensively IMO. Good call thou CB.

[63echo]

On the flipside, Oakland is shockingly bad. Nobody expected them to be worldbeaters, and they've played a pair of prett good teams in San Diego and Baltimore, but they look really, really bad. Same goes for the Skins. They look plain awful when I expected they'd show at least *something* during the first couple of games.

Also, I don't follow Miami closely (but then, who does?), but their 0-2 start is pretty surprising after all the hype generated during the offseason.

[peplaw06]

Atlanta... they've pretty much run over two of the toughest (or supposed to be tough) defenses of the NFC.

[AtlCB]

I know the season is only heading into week 3 but thus far which team has suprised you the most with their play?

For me it is Chicago, I expected their defense was going to be extremely good but to see Grossman play the way he has been it has come as a surprise. Granted the Bears have not exactly been playing tough teams but their offense was not playing that great against weak teams last year. Other than the Bears I would say the Ravens have been a surprise.
The Jags and Ravens have really impressed me. The Vikings are also better than I thought. Chicago has not impressed me yet. I thought the Lions and Packers would be horrible this season, and I expected Chicago to run over them. The Panthers and Bucs have suprised me by how bad they are. I expected a small slide by the Bucs, but this team is horrible.

[Cbz40]

I kinda agree with this. I thought that they had an excellent chance of being good if they could get there WR situation fixed and get there OL to play well. They have a great deal of talent defensively IMO. Good call thou CB.


The Vike Vs Bear game will be a very interesting contest. ;)

[50cent]

CArolina

[ABQCOWBOY]

The Vike Vs Bear game will be a very interesting contest. ;)

I agree. The division probably.

[Sam I Am]

I think the only team that has surprised me was how bad Oakland actually is. As for Chicago's Rex Grossman, the Bears have played all of the Packers and the Lions. Lets see how he does against the Vikings. Defensive wise we are moving from pee wee league defense to a NFL quality defense. If he puts up 3 TDs and zero INTs and 250+ yards, I will be impressed/surprised/dumbfounded/shocked/wowed/etc.

Concerning the Bears defense, they weren't so dominate last year against teams with great offense. Their overall numbers looked good because of their division sucked. Vikings/Packers/Lions didn't have any offense.

[LowTech]

I have to disagree about the Ravens. They have played well against who?

Raiders: The doormat for other NFL teams.

Bucs: They have looked no better then the Raiders.

When they beat or give a good game to a quality opponent, then we'll see.

[CoCo]

I can't say that Chicago or Grossman have been a big suprise but New Orleans, that has been a big surprise to me. I did not expect them to be 2-0 at this point.

Absolutely! 2-0 by NO is a shocker. Not that they have beaten anyone good. But to me they had all the signs of a 3-13 season in the making.

Maybe they will yet, but hats off to em for being 2-0.

[joseephuss]

I don't think I am too surprised at this point. Every time I try to evaluate a team, their current record seems right in line with whom they were playing.

The Saints at 2-0 is not too surprising because neither Cleveland nor Green Bay are that good. All three teams were fairly equal last season. The Saints made a huge improvement at QB. Brees may not be seen as the greatest, but he is far above Brooks.

I am not too surprised with Carolina either. I thought talks of them as being Superbowl contenders was greatly overrating them. It is a solid team and will compete for a playoff spot and could make a run; however, they are not spectacular and a sure fire lock to represent the NFC. They also lost their main weapon, so you have to take that into consideration. I would not even say I am surprised that Atlanta ran all over them. The Cowboys were able to run over them last season and Atlanta has a stronger rushing attack.

It is a little early to really see any trends or surprise teams. Now some media pundits are surprised, but that is because they have no clue anyway.

[CoCo]

Lots of good names mentioned here.

Atlanta is probably the one I'm most surprised on so far. And yeah despite their patsy schedule teh Bears have been impressive as well.

I sure hope Oakland has taken down their "Commitment to Excellence" banners. To me they are the most ill-directed franchise in the NFL. That used to be the Cards & Bengals. The Raiders can't even get a bullet into their gun to shoot themselves in the foot.

[Danny White]

I'd say the Saints, easily.

[tomduhain]

Tampa Bay has scored only 3 points and Oakland 6? That's crazy!
49ers might be a surprise - they're actually developing a solid offense with
Smith and Gore.

[TheKey]

The Bills. Beat Miami and should have beat NE.

[joseephuss]

Tampa Bay has scored only 3 points and Oakland 6? That's crazy!
49ers might be a surprise - they're actually developing a solid offense with
Smith and Gore.

They did play against two good defenses. I thought people were jumping the gun on Chris Simms. He is only in his 3rd year and it is not as if he lit it up last season. He will get better, but he may never be very good. I also heard that Cadillac was slowed by injury that last two weeks. That can slow their offense, which has been ranked 20 or lower in yards and points the previous two seasons.

[joseephuss]

The Bills. Beat Miami and should have beat NE.

Now New England is a minor surprise. They just have not looked too good. A little out of sorts. I guess the yearly loss of talent is starting to catch up. Still, they are 2-0.

[InmanRoshi]

I agree with Atlanta. Not just by their record, but the way they've just completely manhandled and bullied Carolina and Tampa Bay. They outrushed Tampa Bay by 266 yards, one week after outrushing Carolina by 187 yards. They did everything short of stealing their lunch money. Their defense hasn't allowed a touchdown this season.

[Everlastingxxx]

I am most surprised with the Texans, i couldnt believe they scored an opening 7 point drive against Philly, then busted out with 24 against the vaunted Colt D. Impressive. ;)

[THUMPER]

Atlanta... they've pretty much run over two of the toughest (or supposed to be tough) defenses of the NFC.

I would have to agree with you on the Falcons. No way did I figure they would be this tough. They still have no passing game but they haven't needed one so far as they have put up some big rushing yards on two tough defenses and their own defense has played extremely well.

The Bears are good but they have beaten two of the worst teams in the league so far. I'll wait to see how they fare against their next 3 opponents (Vikings, Seahawks, & Bills).

[JJB500]

The Bills. Beat Miami and should have beat NE.
I was going to say the same thing, their D looks pretty impressive so far. I guess Marv Levy did a good job with their draft.

[Big Dakota]

I thought New Orleans would suk and they are really playing well. I figured Washington would be better than they have showed. The Fins poor play has been a shocker as well.

[Doomsday]

The Bears have really shocked me I didnt think they were capable of putting up big numbers offensively 2 weeks in a row. Not even vs crappy opponents.

[jay cee]

They did play against two good defenses. I thought people were jumping the gun on Chris Simms. He is only in his 3rd year and it is not as if he lit it up last season. He will get better, but he may never be very good. I also heard that Cadillac was slowed by injury that last two weeks. That can slow their offense, which has been ranked 20 or lower in yards and points the previous two seasons.
Vince Young is in his 1st year after starting 3 years at UT right? I'm was never strong in math, but I think that makes this Simms 4th season.

That's not much more experience, so I would say that he still has time to improve, if he does not lose his confidence.

[Rampage]

the bucs, there offense looks as bad as the raiders

[TheEnigma]

Well anybody who paid attention to the Skins in Preason shouldn't be surprised at their offensive ineptitude. And don't give me that preseason means nothing. Preseason wins and losses mean nothing, but if preseason itself meant nothing, there wouldn't be preseason.

I'm not surprised by the Saints as I thought they would be an improved team this year. Now, the teams they've played haven't been all that strong, but I believe the Saints have shown that they are no longer a bottom 5 team.

The two teams I am surprised by though are the Bucs and the Falcons. I didn't think the Bucs were going to be this bad, and I didn't think the Falcons were going to be this good. They are letting Vick do what he does best out in Atlanta and they have been dominating. I wouldn't be surprised if they were one of the top 3 teams in the NFC at the end of the year.

[Doomsday101]

Well anybody who paid attention to the Skins in Preason shouldn't be surprised at their offensive ineptitude. And don't give me that preseason means nothing. Preseason wins and losses mean nothing, but if preseason itself meant nothing, there wouldn't be preseason.

I'm not surprised by the Saints as I thought they would be an improved team this year. Now, the teams they've played haven't been all that strong, but I believe the Saints have shown that they are no longer a bottom 5 team.

The two teams I am surprised by though are the Bucs and the Falcons. I didn't think the Bucs were going to be this bad, and I didn't think the Falcons were going to be this good. They are letting Vick do what he does best out in Atlanta and they have been dominating. I wouldn't be surprised if they were one of the top 3 teams in the NFC at the end of the year.

If Vick keeps running he will be lucky to finish the season. I have no problem if the falcons want to run a spread option offense but over the course of 16 games it will catch up to them.

[WV Cowboy]

If Vick keeps running he will be lucky to finish the season. I have no problem if the falcons want to run a spread option offense but over the course of 16 games it will catch up to them.
Yep, ...

[REDVOLUTION]

It's gotta be JAX, for me. I was WAY wrong underestimating them for game 1, and they have proved that in a big way. Leftwich is on fire right now. The way he's playing almost makes me think we could have done without Newman.

Nah..... :)

Leftwich is on fire?? He should be 1-1 and couldnt do squat against us until we whacked(ROY) him.... and he scored a whopping 9 points or less against Stealers.


No one suprises me in the first 8 games... teams seems to show their real metal in the last 8 games...

[Da Hammer]

Carolina because even without Steve Smith they have a lot of talent and certainly didnt expect him to be 0-2

[ZeroClub]

Several surprises to me so far.

These teams look much worse than I expected: Oakland, Bucs, Culpepper's Dolphins.

Team that look better than I expected: Ravens.

I'm not sold on the Falcons yet, but they are in a far better position than I expected. I assumed that the Panthers and Bucs would be tough competition in the NFC South, but both of those teams seem to be in trouble.

[joseephuss]

Several surprises to me so far.

These teams look much worse than I expected: Oakland, Bucs, Culpepper's Dolphins.

Team that look better than I expected: Ravens.

I'm not sold on the Falcons yet, but they are in a far better position than I expected. I assumed that the Panthers and Bucs would be tough competition in the NFC South, but both of those teams seem to be in trouble.

The Dolphins O-line had big question marks coming into the season. They have also lost guys to injury in the first two games. I think they are on their 3rd team guard because of injury. It shows because they can't run the ball.

[DallasDomination]

The Vikings are the best surprise team EASY!.

The Bears havent played anyone..

The Chargers also hvaent played anyone

The Ravens are ok..

[ZeroClub]

The Dolphins O-line had big question marks coming into the season. They have also lost guys to injury in the first two games. I think they are on their 3rd team guard because of injury. It shows because they can't run the ball.That makes sense.

I'm particularly surprised by just how bad Culpepper looks. I'm not sure that Hutch ever looked that bad. Seriously.

[PullMyFinger]

Chicago and Baltimore

[Doomsday]

The Vikings are the best surprise team EASY!.

Everyone knew the Vikings had talent and just needed a decent coach, plus they had a good offseason. I think quite a few people had them winning the division.