Week Two: Where the Broncos and Falcons are Still Playing

Week Two ramblings while trying not to expound on the replacement refs and the fact that they let last night’s Broncos-Falcons game drag on for 3 1/2 hours. It was 10:30 EST by the time halftime mercifully rolled around.

- Speaking of last night’s game, Peyton Manning really took the sails out of his own team. The three interceptions he threw in the first eight minutes against Atlanta set his team back 20-0 on the road. Despite the fact that the Broncos rallied back to lose by six, no team can expect to turn the ball over that frequently and come out victorious.

- What an awful week for the class of elite quarterbacks – Brady, Brees, Manning, and Rodgers. They combined for one win and five touchdowns between the four of them. Fantasy owners everywhere weep.

- Sundays like these make me yearn for the Direct TV package. Not only were the Patriots saddled with being on Fox, there was no other one o’clock game to mirror them; it’s not like Baltimore and Philly were slugging it out on CBS or anything.

- New England played one of its worst games in recent memory, and despite the Cardinals best efforts in trying to hand the game over by running a toss sweep on third down with a rookie running back, the Patriots did not deserve to escape victorious. The Cardinals lived in the Patriots backfield all day, sacking Brady four times, and making the cement-footed quarterback fear for his life. The Patriots biggest concern – offensive line – reared its ugly head, with the right guard position being the main culprit. The best defense against Brady is to get to him, and Arizona did a great job of blowing up the offensive line and collapsing the pocket.  

- If Kevin Kolb can be a competent quarterback this season, the Arizona defense could lead this team to 10 wins. They’re scary on the line with Calais Campbell and Darnell Dockett, Daryl Washington brings pain when he hits someone, Adrian Wilson is still underappreciated, and Patrick Peterson is already one of the league’s top cornerbacks in his second season. 

- If there is one positive in this loss for the Patriots, it’s the defense. They limited the Cardinals to 245 total yards. The linebacker core of Hightower, Mayo, and Spikes is already punishing anyone that gets in their way. Spikes pulled off an impressive spin move, nearly sacking Kolb, and his hit on Ryan Williams caused the fumble that nearly brought the team to victory. Devin McCourty also did a great job limiting Larry Fitzgerald to one catch for four yards. Every year the team experiences one of those required humbling losses that young players need. Two years ago it was Cleveland and last year it was Buffalo. Rarely do those losses come at Gillette Stadium.

- The tea and crumpets must not have been up to standard Sunday afternoon, because the Gillette crowd was just plain embarrassing. Not only were they quiet the whole game, besides the booing that could be heard after the first quarter, throngs of “pink-hatters” were spotted leaving early when the Patriots still had a shot to get the ball back. Anyone who leaves early in a situation like that is not a true fan.

- Don’t understand why the Jets didn’t at least insert Tebow in at the end of the game. Jets receivers did little to help out Mark Sanchez, but he just looked plain awful out there, sailing throws and hitting receivers in the back. The Jets mustered 219 total yards of offense, and while Tebow’s style may not be pretty, he has shown signs of being able move a team down the field in some capacity. Good sign for the Steelers being without Polamalu and Harrison, and still reducing the Jets offense to such futility.

- The Saints have a breather next week when they travel home to face the other 0-2 team in the Kansas City Chiefs, but I don’t see their situation improving much this season. Not only are they without their head coach until after Week Six, the defense is like swiss cheese (full of holes), they’re relying on Brees’ arm too much (he’s thrown more than 100 times in two games), and the schedule is daunting (at Green Bay, home versus the 49ers to name a few). Bounty gate has cast a season long shadow over a franchise that won the Super Bowl three seasons ago.

- The 2-0 Eagles could easily be 0-2 after another one-point victory, this time against an elite Baltimore squad. Mike Vick turned the ball over three times, and it could have been more. His offensive line is still a sore spot, and Vick is taking a beating physically. If Vick can stay healthy and the Eagles can limit turnovers they can be a dangerous team. Those two “ifs” remain quite large.

- The Idiot of the Week Award goes to Josh Morgan who legitimately cost his team a chance to win the game after committing a ghastly unsportsmanlike conduct penalty at the end of Washington’s 31-28 loss against St. Louis. It doesn’t matter that Cortland Finnegan is known as an instigator (his shove was minimal), Morgan’s actions after the play were just plain childish. The Redskins were forced to attempt a 62-yard field goal that predictably sailed wide. Jay Cutler deserves honorable mention for his quotes inciting the Packers defense.