Nantz Previews NFL's Week 2

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

September 17, 1999 / 6:31 PM EDT / CBS

Week 1 is in the books and all that is left is upsets, injuries and surprises. With Barry Sanders considering a comeback and the New York Jets looking for answers, Week Two could become a vital point in the early stages of the 1999-2000 season.

To help you out CBS.com will be sitting down with CBS Sports announcers all season to give you their previews and opinions about current NFL news and each week's schedule.

CBS Sports analyst Jim Nantz is here to kickoff the second week of the season.

CBS.com: With Vinny Testaverde out for the season, what moves, if any, are the New York Jets going to have to make if they want to stay in contention?

Jim Nantz: Well, people are still speculating that Bill Parcells has to make a move at quarterback. But I think he first wants to see how Rick Mirer is going to respond, and obviously there is a lot of doubters out there about Rick Mirer being able to get it done and being able to direct the Jets to the place everyone expected them to be, and that is at the top of their division and maybe all the way to the Super Bowl this year.

But right now it's Mirer, but don't be surprised that sometime soon it might even be Jeff Hostetler, and Hostetler and Parcells will be reunited again like they were in that Super Bowl championship season in 1990, when Simms went down with injury, Hostetler filled in and led them to a championship.

CBS.com: Did anything disappoint you about Week 1?

Jim Nantz

Jim Nantz: I think the biggest disappointment would be the San Francisco 49ers. They have a lot to prove on Sunday against New Orleans, this is the team, the Saints, that they have trounced for a better part of the decade, but they are coming off their worst loss in a regular season game in 18 years and people are already starting to write them off. They say the 49ers are dead and it is the end of their dynasty. And you know that they have had 17 seasons where they have won at least 10 games, but they open up this campaign losing 41-3 to Jacksonville on the road, and I think people saw there a lot of weak spots on the 49ers and where you have a lot of people curious to see how they respond aganst the Saints this week.

CBS.com: What one or two games do you think will be the ones to look out for in Week 2?

Jim Nantz: The Jets against the Bills, both coming in with a loss in their opening game and both coming off playoff seasons and who wants to begin their season 0-2? Now I know that Jets fans can argue that a year ago the Jets opened up with losses to the 49ers and to the Baltimore Ravens, but you can't afford to do that every year starting two down and especially with all the injuries that the Jets have incurred to this point. And Buffalo looked like it has lost a little bit of the magic. Another telling game will be Atlanta against Dallas on Monday night, you know are the Cowboys falling back a little bit. They certainly were able to suck it up last week against the Redskins, comeback from 21 down in the fourth quarter and win it in overtime.

But what about Atlanta? I mean here is the Super Bowl team of a year ago, quarterback Chris Chandler will be doubtful and uncertain as to his playing status for Monday night, right up until game time. He has got a hamstring pull - but can the Falcons start 0-2 after winning the NFC championship a year ago? That is a critical game early.

CBS.com: You may have had your picks before the season started, but now after seeing Week 1, what teams do you think will be the strongest contenders for their conference title?

Jim Nantz: I think that the AFC comes down to Jacksonville,
Miami and Denver, those three teams.

On the NFC side it is a little harder to forecast, but I, I will stick with Atlanta out West. And then, and then in the NFC Central, it's Green Bay or Minnesota. And in the NFC East it's anybody's game. I don't like anybody in the NFC East right now, it's so hard to find a team that you're in love with, but there is any one of four possibilities there with the Eagles not having really a chance at the division.

Melanie Tipton, WVLT-TV: What is your first impression of the NFL's first week, especially the Titans comeback over Cincinnati?

Jim Nantz: Well I thought that the Titans win kind of typified the first week of the season, because there were four games decided in the last 15 seconds, which is the most the National Football League has ever had for buzzer-beaters, if you will, that is what we call them in basketball, in one week. In the 80-year history of the league there has never been that many (last minute comebacks) in one weekend, so we are off to a great start and that is a huge win for Tennessee.

The Titans could not afford to open up with a loss at home to Cincinnati, and they had to tough it out and thankfully they have one of the best kicker's in the league, in Al Del Greco, and never in doubt when Al's on the field and they're off and running.

Produced by James Hutton and Larry Roth