Week 2... in Review

All right.  Week 2 of the NFL season is in the books.  So, what did we learn this week?


Denver is a tough place to play football.  And it has nothing to do with the altitude.  Broncos wide receiver Kenny McKinley became the third Bronco to die in the past four years.  I intentionally avoided the term “pass away,” because passing away implies some sort of peace and acceptance of fate.  There was nothing peaceful about any of these incidents.  Darrent Williams was shot to death in a drive-by, Damien Nash was struck with a heart attack after a basketball game, and McKinley died of what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.  I’ll be the first to admit, I have a difficult time understanding what drives a professional athlete in the prime of his life with so much to live for to take his own life.  But I do know a little bit about feelings of depression, and I understand that the inability of too many men to talk to anyone – let alone someone they trust and care for – about how they feel and what they are experiencing, only serves to make a bad situation worse.  There is nothing wrong with or “weak” about admitting to someone that something is wrong and seeking out help to deal with it.  We should never have to hear another wife or mother say, “…we had no idea anything was wrong.”

Perhaps, just maybe, Brett Favre should have gone to training camp.  Watching the Vikings lose first to New Orleans and now Miami, it’s painfully obvious that the quarterback and the receivers simply aren’t on the same page.  They’re still trying to work out timing issues they could have worked out in the two months of practice prior to the start of the season, if only they had all been at those practice sessions.  I know there are still 14 games to play, but Minnesota already shares the Norris division cellar with the Detroit, and if they can’t work out the kinks in the next couple weeks, they will be looking at a lost season.  Oh, and by the way, has anyone seen Adrian Peterson?

The Detroit Lions are fun to watch.  They wouldn’t know how to win if victory beat them over the head with a stick, but they’re fun to watch.  Jahvid Best is the most entertaining Lion since Barry Sanders (no, I’m not comparing the two), and Ndamukong Suh and Kyle Vanden Bosch are having a helluva good time turning offensive linemen and quarterbacks into pancakes.  When this team finally figures out how to stop beating themselves, they might be a force in this league.

For a lesson in how to win a football game, see the Houston Texans defeat of the Redskins on Sunday afternoon.  Down 17 points at the end of the third quarter they finally took the diapers off, put on the pull-ups and fought back to beat Washington in overtime.  The Texans of 2009 would have lost that game.  One might call that progress.

But all is not well in the Lone Star State.  There’s really no delicate way to put this.  Right now, the Dallas Cowboys suck.  They can’t run, they can’t catch, they can’t cover, they can’t tackle, and they certainly can’t block.  They’ve had more penalties called on them in two games than there are silicone implants in the state of Texas.  And the worst part is that it’s costing them $160 million in salary to be winless and miserable.  I really don’t know what happened.  Marion Barber looks like he’s running in molasses and Felix Jones looks like LenDale White prior to giving up tequila and sugary snacks.  The offensive linemen physically cannot stop themselves from holding opposing defensive players, and Roy Williams seems to have soaked his hands in WD40.  To be fair, the Cowboys haven’t been able to cover anybody since Deion Sanders left town for Washington.  But that didn’t matter when they were putting up 30 points per game.  All of a sudden it’s a big freakin’ deal.  Fortunately for Dallas, no one in their division is significantly better than they are, so they still have a chance to right the ship.  But they might have to throw some people overboard in order to do it.

If I had told you two weeks ago that at this point, the Seattle Seahawks would be the class of the NFC West, you would have stuffed me with a dozen maple bars and sent me packing.  Oops.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s not pretty.  They’re not in first place because they’re any good.  They’re in first place because everyone else is just that bad.  It might as well be them and three Xerox copies of the Cleveland Browns.

The Baltimore Ravens offense is as depressing as it’s defense is impressive.  Oddly enough, the same can be said for two of the three other teams in the division.  AFC North football isn’t pretty either, but NOBODY wants to play the Steelers, Ravens or Bengals defenses.  Man it feels weird to mention defense and Bengals in the same sentence.

What a difference a week makes.  Ten days ago, Tom Brady lit up Cincinnati for 30 plus points.  This past Sunday the Patriots crumbled before the almighty Sanchez and his Revis-less Jets.  Some – my wife in particular – blame the loss on Brady’s ridiculous prepubescent haircut.  If not for a pathetic performance by an (almost) all rookie New England secondary I might be inclined to agree.  Is it time to consider the notion that perhaps Bill Belichick might not be the genius we’ve cracked him up to be?

How’s that “Man-genius” mantle working out for Eric Mangini in Cleveland?

Late last year, after Jake Delhomme continued to insist on completing passes to opposing defensive backs, John Fox benched him in favor of some dude from Oregon State named Matt Moore.  In the final four games of the season, against three absolutely worthless opponents and New Orleans’ third string defense, Moore put up some respectable numbers.  Instead of understanding that production for what it was and pursuing a real quarterback in the off-season, John Fox decided he had found his quarterback of the future and handed Moore the keys to the offense, which Matt Moore promptly crashed into a tree.  Over the course of two games, Moore has three times as many turnovers as touchdowns.  In fact, for every four completed passes he’s either turned the ball over or been sacked three times.  That’s JaMarcus Russell territory people.  Next Sunday Jimmy Claussen will get his chance to continue to ruin Steve Smith’s career.

Kudos to the Dallas Cowboys medical staff refusing to allow Jason Whitten to re-enter the game after he suffered what appeared to be a concussion.  It takes guts to stick to your guns and keep a superstar on the sidelines in a big game for his own good when you know both the player and the owner care more about winning the game than correctly treating a head injury.  Jeers to Brandon Jacobs for throwing his helmet six rows into the stands Monday night and bitching about the fan not wanting to give it back.  Next time you want to throw your helmet, make sure your head is in it.

And finally, despite what management is trying to project, there is indeed a quarterback controversy in Philadelphia.  Since Andy Reid shipped McNabb off to Maryland and handed the job to Kevin Kolb, Kolb has managed to fall behind to the Packers and rattle his brain against his skull.  Stepping in to relieve him, Michael Vick (yes, that Michael Vick) lead a near comeback against Green Bay and orchestrated 35-points and a victory against Detroit this past Sunday.  Following the Eagles win, Reid stated he was returning the started job to Kolb for next Sunday.  About 24-hours later he reversed himself, now saying Vick will start instead.  I’ll wager two more waffles before game time on Sunday.