NFL: Week 2 Recap

7:16 AM
I: What have we learned? We've learned the Jaguars are pretty darn good. We've learned the Panthers, a trendy NFC pick, are in trouble. We've learned the NFC East is as competetive as we expected. We've learned the Patriots are going to go 6-0 in the division.

The top story of Week 2 is the emergence of the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars are nasty. I think Drew and the Cowboys got vindicated on Monday night, and they didn't even play. Their struggles in Jacksonville during week 1 are nothing compared to the struggles of the defending champs last night. It is becoming clear that there are three dominant defensive teams in the NFL. The Bears and Ravens were the obvious ones. The Jaguars are becoming the third. This team is extremely dangerous.

What are your thoughts from Week 2?

12:42 PM
S: Top story of Week 2? No interceptions for Drew Bledsoe. Just kidding.

You're definitely right about the Patriots and the AFC East. It took two absolutely ridiculous plays by Jet wide receivers to even make the game close, people tend to ignore this fact. Jericho Crotchery getting flipped upside down and staying on his feet was an amazing play, but a lucky one (he landed on Eugene Wilson). And Laveranues Coles' run was brilliant, arguably a better football play than Crotchery's, but these aren't plays that will help a team like the Jets win on a weekly basis.

I still have faith that Miami will right ship and and finish with a winning record. Culpepper looked terrible against the Bills and took at least six more sacks than he should have. As he gets more comfortable with his receivers and learns to look for the open man, he will come around. He is too good not to.

The Colts may have scored 43 points, but they allowed 24. I understand that 21 of those points came in the fourth quarter when the Colts were already ahead 30-3, but letting David Carr throw for three scores and letting Ron Dayne, Wali Lundy, and Sam Gado gut you for 4.7 yards a carry does not bode well for Week 3 when they face a Jacksonville team with a deadly defense and a healthy Fred Taylor who went for 120 or so all purpose yards against the Steelers defense. Byron Leftwich was very efficient against Pittsburgh with a 66% completion percentage for 260 yards and with Matt Jones, Reggie Williams, and Ernest Wilford at receiver the Colts secondary will be kept busy all game.

Still not completely sold on the Chargers. Beating up on Oakland and Tennessee is like dropping a guy two weight classes lower than you in boxing. Wait until you match up against the heavyweights...


12:55 PM
So the matchup of this week is clearly Jacksonville at Indianapolis. The winner is probably the early favorite to win the conference, and therefore also the early Superbowl favorite. Am I wrong?

I can't even blame the media at this point for overlooking the Pats. The wide receiving corps is a huge issue. We will hear "Tom Brady is great, but he needs someone to throw to" countless times as the season progresses. The more learned Pats fan, however, understands Branch is not a gamechanger. He's not a top 10 wideout. Sure, we'd be better with him, but this team has plenty of weapons still intact. It'd be like if Wayne Knight left the Seinfeld cast. (Jerry-Belechik, Kramer-Brady, Elaine-Seymour, George-Harrison)

What surprises me is HOW little the national media thinks of this Patriot squad. Check out the ESPN Power Rankings. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/powerranking The Pats are ranked 10th, not to mention the third lowest 2-0 team, ahead of only the previously pathetic Saints and Vikings.

So my question to you regarding the national media's perception of the Patriots is: What do we know that they don't? OR What do they know that we don't?


2:45PM
Everybody has an angle on the Pats, and it differs. If they're too high in the power rankings then people say they're getting preferential treatment. If they're too low then they're not getting any respect. The bottom line is that thanks to all the superbowls and Tom Brady-mania, the Patriots have been overexposed. While it's refreshing to see a team like the Jaguars or Bengals in the top five, seeing the Colts, Patriots, Eagles up there all the time can be nauseating. Not saying that I agree, just saying that I understand.

Looking at the power rankings, it would be tough to justify the Patriots being ranked above any of the teams above them. Aside from the Chargers and maybe the Bears the Patriots have had the easiest first two games of the 2-0 teams. But the Patriots have only scored nine more points than their opponents while the Bears and Chargers proceeded to swallow and digest their opponents with gusto.

While you can make a case for the Patriots at 9 over the Steelers after that embarassing display on Monday night, you have to remember that the Steelers have given up less total points to two better teams and they did have to face Jacksonville's defense on the road with a still in preseason form Ben Roethlisberger. If we're making projections then Steelers may not even have a winning record in the NFC North let alone miss the playoffs, but we're not. The power rankings react to what happens now, on the field. If anything, I'd drop the Seahawks down and move the Falcons and Jaguars up. By the end of the season the Patriots will be a reluctant inclusion in the top 5 and Brady will cry "NO RESPECT."

As for the Pats offense, lost in all the Deion Branch hoopla (and you're right, he's not that good) is the fact that they've ran for a total of 330 yards, 180 of which against a surprisingly good Buffalo defense. They're no Falcons running game (558 yards, three guys over 100) but this has to be the best rushing attack for the Patriots this side of Curtis Martin. Thoughts?


3:13 PM
Excellent breakdown of the Pats ranking. You convinced me. Other teams have beat better teams or beat bad teams in a better way. The Pats just do whatever it takes to beat whoever is in front of them.

Remember, however, that this has been a staple for New England in this era of dominance. The last five Patriots teams have not been much for blowing teams out a la the Colts and Rams. Even when the Pats were the unquestioned supreme team in football, they still beat teams by a field goal and/or touchdown. The difference now is that they aren't coming off a Superbowl. When they are coming off a Superbowl, their narrow margins are a testament to their gritty toughness and clutch performances. When they are coming off a second round playoff loss, their narrow margins are chalked up to not having the ability to dominate. In the former case, this means they are still #1. In the latter case, it's enough reason to keep them out of the top 5. It is my prediction that, one by one, these teams ranked ahead of them will lose. Meanwhile, New England will run out to 5-1 and 7-2 with their one possession victories and steadily climb the charts in the minds of fans and the media.

Of course, a big part of this has to do with the cake division. Nevertheless, the cake division will aid the quest for homefield advantage in the playoffs, giving the cold-weather Patriots a huge boost.

As far as the Patriots' running backs are concerned, this is without question our best lot since I started following them. Curtis Martin is undoubtedly the best single talent to come out of the Patriot backfield, but between Dillon, Maroney, and Kevin Faulk, this is a phenomenally versatile platoon. Dillon's the power, Maroney has the scatback ability, and Faulk has that tremendous pass catching ability, a skill never so important considering Brady's depleted weaponry.

The Atlanta Falcons are scary good. I might have a new pick for the NFC soon. I'm pulling hard for the Cowboys, and I think Seattle and the G-Men are serious contenders, but the Falcons have everything it takes to win. They can control the clock with the best running attack in football, and their defense is not too shabby. Mike Vick is the biggest variable since Bo Jackson. Maybe he doesn't pass for 200 yards a game, but Warrick Dunn didn't turn into a rushing machine overnight. If you have Defensive Ends and linebackers keeping an eye on Vick the whole time, there will be holes for the running attack. The biggest problem the Falcons have is a questionable head coach, but he's young and can learn.