- I learned that Jason can't have a successful week unless he talks to me trying to make me upset with his picks. It feels good to be needed.
- It didn't take long for Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints to adjust to what the Chicago Bears were doing. Brees only had to get knocked around a couple of times before the Saints and coach Sean Payton started calling plays to get the ball out much quicker. Eventually, they brought the Bears D tighter and closer to the line of scrimmage because the quick hitters were working, and that allowed Brees to get the ball over the top and beat the horrendous safeties deep. The Bears offense responded by letting Jay Cutler get his head caved in on almost every 2nd-half pass play. Improved o-line, my fat black ass.
- Carolina's 13-0 lead on the Packers was gained solely due to the great play of Cam Newton. It was also lost thanks to Cam Newton. The kid has been impressive, I can't take that away, but he clearly is firing the ball at his deepest option on almost every play and daring the opposing defense to adjust. That's great his first 1½ games out of the box, but look at what happened when Green Bay did adjust. They made his deep throws really bad options, and he went for them anyway, and the INTs started piling up. That allowed the Pack to come back and win the game, although they couldn't cover ten points. Cam's got balls and he's fun to watch, but any defensive coordinator can shift coverage to take away deep threats. Then we'll see how hot he is.
- Well-played game by Donovan McNabb and the Vikings. Well, until the end. Tampa Bay should never have had the opportunity to come back and win that game, but when you start getting cute with your offense and take the ball out of Adrian Peterson's hands, you give the other team a shot, and the Bucs took advantage and stole a win.
- I still ain't calling the Detroit Lions legit. They beat a bad TB defense and rolled a mentally handicapped Chiefs team missing their best player, RB Jamaal Charles, who destroyed his knee while running out of bounds. Two wins is two wins, but I still need to see more.
- The Colts had a shot at their first post-Peyton win, but their biggest detriment the last seven years reared its ugly head again--the porous run defense. Peyton Hillis, the other Peyton, was the reason Cleveland was able to come back to beat Indianapolis. Without a big bruising back, the Browns may not have been able to get back in the game.
- Seattle tried to cripple Big Ben Roethlisberger, diving at his knees and almost blowing out his ligaments. It was still no contest for a pissed Steelers team facing a outgunned Seahawks organization. But I'm very curious to see if Seattle will once again post some surprising home wins even though the team appears to be as bad as any in the NFL. I don't know how they did it last year, but we'll see if they can do it again this year.
- One has to think that Baltimore did indeed leave their best game on the field last week at home against the hated Steelers, because that most certainly wasn't their best game at Tennessee. When you let Matt Hasselbeck and Kenny Britt light up the back end of your defense like an arsonist in a forest, there's something very wrong. The Ravens struggled last year to rush passers consistently, and this is why they're a notch below the best teams when they can't get to the QB.
- Somebody get Dustin Keller a lifetime Jets contract, stat! The New York TE make Mark Sanchez look awesome in their pounding of the Jaguars. Someone else also made Sanchize look great--the Jacksonville QB, Luke McCown, whose 4 INTs led to the Jags anointing Blaine Gabbert the starting QB for Week 3. You know, if you were gonna wait for McCown's first bad game before giving the gig to Gabby, wouldn't you want to make it not so obvious by giving Luke the benefit of the doubt considering he was playing the Jets D? Or does coach Jack Del Rio think the Jags would have been competitive had Blaine started Sunday instead of Luke?
- Buffalo gave us our first push of the year, as I nailed, but boy, did they try like hell to lose that game. Big runs by Oakland helped build a big lead for the Raiders, and that was predictable because the Bills had the worst run defense last season. What should have been equally obvious is the Bills erasing that big lead with big runs of their own, because the Raiders had the 4th-worst run defense last season. Buffalo QB Ryan Fitzpatrick is getting a lot of love for the comeback, but it doesn't happen without Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller combining for 177 rushing yards.
- Kevin Kolb could have led a Cardinals comeback over Rex Grossman and the Washington Redskins if not for a fumble to end the game. Kolb and Grossman went back and forth before Rexy was able to lead a drive that resulted in the game-winning FG. But Kolb had one more drive left in him. Unfortunately, he threw a pass to former Jets buster Chansi Stuckey, who was promptly stripped of the ball. Both QBs can hang in there in a shootout, but I find myself rooting for Grossman because he isn't trying to be someone he's not out there. He's gonna throw off one foot into traffic with his eyes closed, and that's that. If it works, great, if not, there's always next time. I kinda admire that.
- Of the many reasons the Cowboys-Niners game was compelling, one of them is that there were downfield weapons emerging for both teams that no one had ever heard of. I can't name any of the guys Alex Smith was throwing to for San Francisco, and the big overtime play for Dallas was made by Jesse Holley, and the only reason to know him is that he was the street guy Michael Irvin brought to the Cowboys camp after Holley won a reality show for the opportunity. That's how you can become an NFL star now? Really? I'd better start working out! No one can take away Tony Romo's achievement, leading a wild comeback after having a rib broken and a lung punctured, but SF rookie coach Jim Harbaugh's blunder allowed it to happen. In the 4th quarter, leading by seven, the 49ers nailed a 55-yard FG, but someone on the 'Boys jumped on someone's back trying to block the kick, which is a 15-yard penalty. Instead of taking the points off the board and keeping the drive alive, Harbaugh opted to keep the points, which gives Romo and the offense that much more time to mount a comeback. Even if continuing the drive doesn't result in a TD, you have a shorter FG try, and you've run some clock. Harbaugh proved that he didn't expect to be playing with leads very often, or else, he would have thought his decision through much more carefully.
- Two surgeons took the field in Massachusetts, but Dr. Tom Brady was able to shine brighter than Dr. Philip Rivers in leading the Patriots to a 2-TD win over the Chargers. They were basically even after the first quarter, but Rivers started turning the ball over, and that's how New England was able to get a lead and keep it. Brady is in another world right now.
- My week of picking miracle small-spread covers by the underdog while picking the favorite straight-up continued with Denver surviving against Cincinnati. The Broncos offense continued clicking under Kyle Orton, despite the Tebow chants, but the Bengals continue to look surprisingly good, too. Andy Dalton has a strong arm, and if he can keep developing chemistry with receivers A.J. Green and Jerome Simpson, they could become a dangerous unit.
- Miami's offense with Chad Henne may work better than we all thought as well. They need a better defense to keep them in games, and they need a better kicker. Dan Carpenter shanked a 34-yard FG attempt and had a 22-yarder blocked. No offense works when the kicker blows. But the pass defense for the Dolphins has got to be feeling like they're under attack. The Patriots one week, the Texans the next. They get to go to Cleveland in Week 3, and that has to feel like a vacation.
- Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles stayed within themselves on Sunday night. They didn't try to do too much in Vick's return to Atlanta, they played under control (save for some questionable gadget play calls from Andy Reid), and they put up 31 points using only the 2nd and 3rd quarters. They somehow still lost. Philly was better than Atlanta for most of the game, but the weapon at QB who could have led the Eagles on another scoring drive in the 4th quarter when momentum was shifting towards the Falcons was knocked out of the game with a concussion. Vince Young wasn't even available as a backup, so someone named Mike Kafka had to come in, and despite some good throws, he couldn't keep the Eagles above water. Yes, credit Atlanta for hanging in there and mounting a comeback, and credit TE Tony Gonzalez for finding the fountain of youth. But this should serve as a warning to the Eagles: When Vick gets back, protect him, or wave goodbye to any hopes of a successful season.
- The Rams outplayed the Giants for most of Monday night, but I managed to win and cover this game somehow. This one was all about giving up the huge plays. New York found a way to hit home runs on offense and defense. St. Louis went for 367 yards of total offense but couldn't find the big plays. There was a muffed punt, and a backwards pass picked up by the defense and ran in for a TD, and a juggling TD catch...all plays made by the Giants in the 1st half. You can't win games bending over and giving up the booty in big moments like that. But the Rams should still win the NFC West. None of those other teams would be able to even outplay the Giants, much less beat them.
Week 2 Records--Dre 8-6-2, .571; Jay 2-12-2, .143
YTD Records--Dre 13-17-2, .433; Jay 9-21-2, .300
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