Anyone who placed a bet on the Cowboys or Vikings being winless after two weeks in the NFL is likely reading this from a tropical island. Nevermind parlaying that bet with the Chiefs and Bucs going 2-0. With that in mind, it is time to take a look back at the week that was in the NFL
Star of the week: Strong candidates included Texans quarterback Matt Schaub and Eagles running back LeSean McCoy. However, the absolute star of Week 2 is Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews. The son of long time Cleveland Browns linebacker Clay Matthews, the younger Matthews was a one man wrecking crew against the Bills. Matthews had three sacks, five quarterback hits and five tackles as the Packers defence assaulted Trent Edwards all day long and held the Bills to 186 total yards of offence. Two games into the 2010 season and Matthews already owns six sacks.
Stiff of the week: Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco had a miserable game against the Bengals and has the worst quarterback rating in the NFL. However, the winner of the stiff of the week award is none other than Mister 'Pants on the Ground' himself, Vikings quarterback Brett Favre. The 40-year-old Vikings quarterback had a miserable game against the Dolphins as the Vikings fell to 0-2. By the end of the game, Favre tossed three interceptions, fumbled once and was sacked three times. The fumble was a real killer for the Vikings -- Favre dropped back to pass in the end zone when Dolphins linebacker Cameron Wake stripped the ball out of hands and the resulting fumble turned into the game winning touchdown for Miami. Yes, Wake did a great job of beating Vikings tackle Phil Loadholt. But the 2009 version of Favre would have sensed the pressure and been able to get rid of the ball. After two weeks, Favre’s quarterback rating is a dismal 44.3, putting him in Derek Anderson territory. Last year’s magical season seems like a distant memory for Favre and the Vikings. Now the pressure is really on Favre to snap out of it this week against a Lions team that will give the Vikings all they can handle.
Team on the rise: There are two teams on the rise right now: the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In a recent article on profootballtalk.com, Mike Florio compiled the current payrolls of all 32 teams. The numbers that emerged from Florio’s piece revealed a lot about the current state of the NFL in this uncapped world. According to the previous CBA, the salary cap for the 2009 season was $123 million dollars. In 2008 it was $116 million dollars. With no cap this year, the Redskins payroll is $178.2 million dollars. The Cowboys are spending $166.5 million dollars. But get this, the unbeaten Chiefs have the second lowest payroll in the NFL at $84.5 million dollars. The unbeaten Bucs have the lowest payroll at a paltry $80.8 million dollars. In Kansas City, General Manager Scott Pioli deserves a ton of credit for putting together a team featuring a lot of young studs like Eric Berry and Dexter McCluster and seasoned professionals like Thomas Jones and Mike Vrabel. Tampa G.M. Mark Dominik also deserves credit for some of the talent they he has been able to assemble. The more I see the Bucs young quarterback Josh Freeman, the more I like him. Another hidden gem in Tampa is rookie receiver Mike Williams; who looks like a steal when you think that Dominik got him in the fourth round.
What were they thinking? Braylon Edwards for his drunk driving charges. I am pretty sure he can afford to take a cab. That was bad, but I still think what Giants running back Brandon Jacobs did was worse. A ticked off Jacobs decided to toss his helmet into the stands at Lucas Oil Stadium. Eyewitnesses estimate the helmet flew at least 10 yards (which is ironic because Jacobs only had eight yards rushing the entire game). Thankfully, no one was hurt in the incident. Now the video of the security staff trying to get Jacobs’ helmet back from the fans is priceless.
I can tell you this. Jacobs is darn lucky he didn’t pull a stunt like that at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. The security staff would have been forced to call out the Pennsylvania National Guard to get him safely out of the stadium.
The Rex Ryan Watch: Good ol' Rex had his patented fist pump working hard in the second half of the Jets win over the Patriots. Mark Sanchez threw a career high three touchdowns as the Jets and under tremendous pressure came back to beat its division rivals. Now, after taking so many penalties in a loss to the Ravens, cornerback Antonio Cromartie bounced back with a very solid game. Darrelle Revis left the game with a hamstring injury after trying to cover Randy Moss on that incredible one-handed touchdown. Cromartie took over and held Moss to with out a catch the rest of the game. Sportsnet’s NFL analyst Charles Davis made a good point about how the win will take a lot of pressure off of Sanchez. I did like Ryan’s quote after the game: “We will find a way to get it done. We don’t make excuses, we just go out and try to compete’ Next up, a tough road game in Miami against their long time AFC East rivals, the Dolphins.
The Race for the No. 1 Draft Pick: This is really shaping up to be a three horse race between the Browns, Panthers and Bills. Let us review all three candidates. The Bills go into Week 3 with a new starting quarterback. Bills head coach Chan Gailey has benched Trent Edwards and named Ryan Fitzpatrick as his starter for its game this week against the Patriots. This is what Gailey had to say about his decision: "We're looking for a spark. We're looking for something that gives us a new look, a new thought process, some new play on the field. We’re looking for the right combination. We haven’t found that yet.”
I have all the respect in the world for Gailey, but unless the Bills fix the problems on the offensive line, it won’t really matter who is in at quarterback. Meanwhile in Carolina, John Fox has benched Matt Moore and has named rookie Jimmy Clausen as his starter for their week three game against the Bengals. Finally, the Browns are in Baltimore Sunday to face a very ticked off Ravens team.
The Ronnie Lott Award: Honourable mention goes out to linebacker Geno Hayes for his beautiful shoe string tackle on Jonathan Stewart that capped off the Bucs goal line stand against the Panthers. However this week’s winner is Bears cornerback Charles Tillman. In the Bears win over Dallas, Tillman lit up Cowboys receiver Miles Austin on a text book tackle. The hit was so hard the ball popped out of Austin’s hands and resulted in an interception for DJ Moore.
The Big Injury of the Week: Before I start, I wanted to respond to “Oilfan13” who wondered why I didn’t mention the Ryan Grant injury last week. I meant no disrespect to Grant and all the Packers fans out there. But as we witnessed this week against the Bills, the Packers are so deep and talented, I think they will be able to survive an injury to player like Grant. As for Week 2, I was going to say the biggest injury was suffered by Steelers quarterback Dennis Dixon. But the way Dick LeBeau has that Steelers defence playing right now, it really doesn’t matter who is in at quarterback. The injury of the week took place late in the Saints win over the 49ers. Reggie Bush was back to receive a punt and dropped the ball. In the mad scramble to recover the football, a 49er defender fell on his leg. The early diagnosis is that Bush has a broken fibula and he could be out of action up to six weeks. The Saints hope to have a more detailed report on just how long Bush will be out of action sometime on Wednesday.
The Unsung Hero Award: Do you want to know how the Steelers defence held the Titans all pro running back Chris Johnson to 34 yard on 16 carries? Yes, Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau had a lot to do with it. But the real unsung hero was Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons. Timmons ended up with 15 tackles and a forced fumble. While James Harrison and Troy Polamalu received a lot of the glory, Timmons did a lot of the grunt work in the Steelers air tight run defence against the Titans. Of Timmons 15 tackles, six were against CJ and he also forced a Johnson fumble.
The Hot Cheerleader of the week award: Courtesy of the Atlanta Falcons. I don’t know her name and I really don’t care.
What to watch for in Week 3: All of a sudden, a mundane Eagles and Jaguars game in Jacksonville is must-see TV. Andy Reid has declared the Kevin Kolb is his starter this week. So while Kolb faces the Jags defence, Michael Vick will be standing on the sideline waiting for another chance. Vick is coming off a game where he threw for 284 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. Not only does Kolb have to win, he has to look good doing it. That's about the only way the Philadelphia media and fans will calm down ... Another game I will be keeping an eye on is the Titans versus the Giants at the Meadowlands ... Another game of great intrigue will be the battle of Texas with the Cowboys taking on the Texans at Reliant Stadium in Houston. Matt Schaub and the Texans can do no wrong this year. The Cowboys? Not so much ... On Sportsnet this week we will have the Chargers and the Seahawks on the Ontario and West channel. On the East and Pacific channel we will have the Colts taking on the Broncos in Denver. Being a head coach in the NFL is tough enough at the best of times. But Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels has to find a way to get his team ready to play the game after the sad news that receiver Kenny McKinley was found dead on Monday. A football team is much more than just a collection of players and coaches, it is a family. Upon hearing the tragic news, McDaniels had this to say to the Denver Post about McKinley: "He was a great teammate whose smile and personality could light up the room." Needless to say it will be a very emotional game for everyone involved when the Broncos take to the field Sunday at Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium.
