After
two weeks, you start to have an idea of how certain
teams are going to be for the season. For other teams, you
have to wait a third week to see if they truly deserve their
0-2, 1-1 or 2-0 record.
Some
things we know after two weeks
The New
England Patriots should be very concerned. In their home
victory over the Oakland Raiders, they allowed a blocked
punt and a blocked PAT. Against the Carolina Panthers
this week, they allowed five punt returns of over 10 yards
including three of 21, 27 and 76 yards each. I guarantee you
that Patriots coach Bill Belichick is very nervous
about this; their special teams just aren’t playing well
right now, and that’s a big problem for a team that wins by
taking close victories.
The
Tampa Bay Buccaneers are for real. Here’s the kicker
about their 2-0 start. All of the other teams that are 2-0
have had at least one game that they should have won. The
Bucs went on the road and beat the NFC North favorites, then
beat an AFC team at home. That means that the other teams in
the division will have to do one of those things, if not
both. The Panthers beat the Patriots this weekend, and that
was key. But, no one’s two victories are as impressive or
important as the Bucs’ at this point in the season.
Randy
Moss was WAAAAY more important to the Vikings
than they ever wanted to admit. What I saw last year when
Moss was out was an offense that could score still, though
not nearly enough, but which didn’t have a swagger and which
could lose games. This year, again without Moss, they’re
even worse. I loved how many said Minnesota would beat
Cincinnati this week because “the Vikings couldn’t possibly
start 0-2.” Yet, here they are, 0-2, the offense producing
as many touchdowns as the defense.
But, the
Vikes are lucky – they play in the worst division in
football. Quite possibly the worst team in the AFC this
season is the Cleveland Browns. They just went into
Green Bay and won; that used to be impossible.
Detroit’s win is against Green Bay; Chicago’s win is
against Detroit. The Chicago Bears, written off even
before they lost their starting quarterback for the season,
are about to contend for a division title with a young QB
named Kyle Orton, drafted from Purdue this season.
When I picked the Bears to finish second in their division,
it was because I heard players saying how much they liked
Orton, how much they already respected him, and how they
thought he was a true leader. Those are things that probably
three-quarters of the NFL don’t have.
Stephen
Davis, the Carolina Panthers running back who was
deemed done before the season, is officially “back” before
he was ever really gone. In the first two weeks, he has
rushed 38 times for 158 yards and four touchdowns.
The San
Diego Chargers are in trouble. Yes, a win at Denver is
going to be tough to come by any year. But, LaDainian
Tomlinson just isn’t on track; Drew Brees doesn’t
look like the worldbeater he was last year; but, the worst
part of it is, they’ve lost two close games. Looks like they
have a case of the Schottenheimers (playoff version, that
is).
I will be a
fan of whomever takes Notre Dame quarterback Brady
Quinn.
Think
New England misses former offensive coordinator
Charlie Weiss, who traded in one Brady (Tom) for another
(Quinn)? Watching him call the offense against Michigan
State this past weekend was watching a magician. There
are few college coaches who can mastermind a 21-point
comeback in the last 20 minutes of the game. And, if it
wasn’t for a pesky 12 inches, his team would have won the
game in regulation on a safety.
The
Kansas City Chiefs and the Cincinnati Bengals
were my picks to meet in the AFC Championship. Right now,
they are the class of the NFL. Both teams needed
improvements on defense – they seem to have gotten that.
Both also have solid offenses that can run and throw the
ball.
What we
need more time to know
The
Indianapolis Colts defense is much-improved. No
question. That we know. But, how much? The Raven and Jaguar
offenses last year were among the worst performers in the
League. Also, last year, Peyton Manning simply never
had a game like he had this week – at home. Sub-.500
completion percentage, 122 yards, no TDs and a pick? It
doesn’t make sense. The Colts won a big game last week; this
win against the Jaguars was one they had to have and were
expected to have. I picked them to not make the playoffs
because I didn’t believe their defense would be better. I
was wrong; they are. But, how good they are - playoff team
or Super Bowl-caliber - is one of the biggest question marks
in the NFL right now.
Take a
gander at the teams that are 0-2: Baltimore,
Houston, Oakland, San Diego, Green Bay,
Minnesota and Arizona. These teams are dead,
right? Wrong. But, which one will be this year's phoenix,
rising out of the ashes? My guess is Oakland. They have the
toughest opening schedule I can remember seeing: at New
England (won last year's Super Bowl), Kansas City (a
favorite of many to win this year's Super Bowl), at
Philadelphia (in last year's Super Bowl). After that, they
only have four of their last 13 games against teams in last
year's playoffs. They've got a lot of attitude and swagger;
if they can stop making stupid mistakes, they could be
rolling by November.
--After
two weeks, it’s ridiculous to write anybody off but some
teams are already taking on water and in danger of sinking
(also, remember that no 0-2 team in 2004 made the playoffs):
Baltimore: The 0-2 Ravens lost to Tennessee, 23-10
(the same Titans that lost by 27 last week) and are two
games behind Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. In two games,
the Ravens have scored only 17 points and on Sunday
their running game was truly ghastly—14 carries for 13
yards. This against a Titans defense that gave up 206
yards on the ground in Week 1. And the passing game is a
joke, so much so that Kordell “I’m
Not Gay” Stewart may soon get the job.
Minnesota: Fire Mike Tice! I am not sure how this
guy keeps his job but a new owner has already indicated
he has little patience. On Sunday, the Vikings were
embarrassed in Cincinnati, 37-8, and quarterback Daunte
Culpepper threw five interceptions. With eight
interceptions in two games, Culpepper is auditioning for
a job as the Ravens’ new QB. The saving grace for
Minnesota is that they play in the dreadful NFC North,
where 7-9 might win the division.
Green Bay: The Packers started 1-4 last year and 3-4
in 2003 and won the division both times, but these Green
Bay Packers have less talent than those other two teams.
The Packers lost Sunday to the Cleveland Browns, 26-24,
as their defense was repeatedly toasted in key
situations. It looks like a long season up north.
Houston: God-Squader David Carr (who
hates being called cute) was this franchise’s first
pick in 2002 and has never lived up to the billing. In
the first two weeks Carr has thrown for a total of 237
yards (admittedly against excellent defenses in Buffalo
and Pittsburgh). Carr was sacked eight times against the
Steelers and was heard bitching to his offensive line.
“Whenever you get a quarterback arguing with his team
that's a good sign,'' Steelers linebacker Joey Porter
said.
San
Diego: The 0-2 Chargers, unlike the above teams, are
actually pretty good, but they easily could be 2-0 after
blowing consecutive fourth-quarter leads. On Sunday, the
Chargers were dominating Denver, 14-3, when on the first
play of the second half Drew Brees threw an awful
interception that Champ Bailey returned for a score to
get the Broncos back in the game. It was another curious
play call by the Chargers, who seem willing to use
LaDainian Tomlinson (the game’s best running back)
almost as a decoy. Tomlinson, who had 153 catches the
last two seasons, has none this year.
Oakland: The 0-2 Raiders are the dumbest team on the
planet. This does not bode well for a team with the
mercurial Randy Moss, who tunes out whenever things
aren't going well.
Arizona: The Cardinals have perennially looked like
a leaky franchise, so this is par for the course.
--How
shocking it was to see the New England Patriots look
mortal in losing 27-17 to the Carolina Panthers. Tom Brady
was shaky, the running game was nonexistent and 12 penalties
attest to how sloppy the Pats were. A big concern has to be
the running game. Corey Dillon had only 36 yards rushing,
which put more pressure on Brady, who was honest when he
said, “we sucked.”
--Listening
a bit to the Oakland Raider radio announcers, I heard
analyst Tom Flores call Chargers running back LaDainian
Tomlinson “LaTomlian Dainlison.”
Flores and
play-by-play guy Greg Papa also bitched about Randy Moss
being called for offensive pass interference after he caught
a TD pass against the Kansas City Chiefs. After seeing the
replay, they were right; Moss was robbed (and this is a guy
who was never called for PI when he was in Minnesota). Maybe
there is something to the Raiders’ paranoia.
--I
watched games all day and heard not one homoerotic
comment or saw that many great visuals (save for Lions
quarterback Joey Harrington looking adorably depressed after
throwing five interceptions. Joey looks hotter frowning than
most guys do smiling).
--New
York Giants receiver Armani Toomer said he gets along
fine with Plaxico Burress, even though it may mean fewer
catches. "We're not in the shower beating each other up,"
Toomer said.
--The
Indianapolis Colts beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 10-3,
despite Peyton Manning completing fewer than 50% of his
passes. It was the fifth time in his career that Manning was
below 50% but only the first time the Colts won the game.
It’s the kind of game that championship-caliber teams win.
--Don’t
look now, but the Chicago Bears might be the best team
in the NFC North. Their defense has allowed only 15 points
in two games, and their 38 points Sunday against Detroit
were the most they’ve scored since 1993. All this with a
rookie quarterback in Kyle Orton.
--Bonehead
plays of the day came courtesy of the Arizona Cardinals,
who lost 17-12 to the St. Louis Rams. With 32 seconds left,
Kurt Warner hits Anquan Boldin at the Rams’ 27. Instead of
rushing up and spiking the ball, the Cardinals use their final
timeout, which gave them fewer options at the end. This came
into play when Warner was sacked with less than 20 seconds
left at the Rams’ 10. The Cardinals raced to get in position
to spike the ball, which Warner did with seven seconds
left. But tackle Leonard Davis was called for a penalty. By
rule, any penalty by a team without a timeout mandates a
10-second runoff, so the final seconds were ticked down and
the Cardinals lost. No one ever said that Warner and Coach
Denny Green were MENSA members.
