NFL: Week Two News, Notes, And Observations
The big game of the day was the Sunday evening showdown between the Giants and the Cowboys. Both teams are playoff contenders with the Giants being mentioned by many as a potential Super Bowl participant. Dallas was hoping to christen its new stadium with a big win over the hated Giants but Tony Romo and Wade Phillips had other things in mind.
First off, statistically speaking, Romo had the second worst game of his career but it was arguably his worst given the stage it was being played on. He was downright awful just flinging the ball all over the field in completing just 13 of 29 passes and throwing three interceptions. The majority of his incomplete passes were the result of balls being thrown completely off target. He was throwing them over the heads of his receivers, behind his receivers, or too far in front of his pass catchers.
Romo’s defenders will tell us that he is a gun-slinger in the mold of Brett Favre and they have learned to live with him having bad games. But has Favre ever had a game like this? Sure he has had his share of clunkers but a lot of interceptions are a result of him trying to force throws into coverage when he has no business doing so. A lot of his bad games come as a result of him just pressing and trying to do to much on the field while the town is burning around him. Romo’s game last night was simply a result of him missing his targets and being downright awful.
It had nothing to do with him forcing the action. Romo, like Favre, tends to get happy feet and rush things when teams pressure him. That has always been the blueprint for containing Romo, get in his face and make him into making throws before he is ready to do so. In the past his clunkers have generally come against teams that excel defensively, specifically at getting after the quarterback. What makes last night’s game so disconcerting is the fact that the Cowboys offensive line played one of the best games it has played in a long time.
Romo was barely touched all game and the Giants were never able to sustain any real pressure on a consistent basis. Top that off with 251 rushing yards and 8.7 yards per carry and one has to wonder why the Cowboys are taking shots down the field in a close game where Romo is not on point. I understand the need to keep passing to keep the defense honest but was there really a need to take shot down the field with a lead in the second half? A shot that resulted in a Giants touchdown giving them the lead back?
Wasn’t dumping Terrell Owens supposed to make Romo a better quarterback? Losing Owens affords him to spread the ball around and not worry about throwing the ball to TO ten times a game just to shut him up. Of course some are going to start piling on about needing a lead receiver like TO on the field and the Cowboys’ receivers are merely okay. Granted, it was not a banner day for Dallas receivers but this was not merely a matter of Cowboys’ receivers not getting open. Romo was merely misfiring every other time he unleashed a pass.
Aside from Romo’s play the Cowboys have some other glaring issues staring them in the face, namely the Wade Phillips led defense. Phillips took over making the defensive calls this year after the defense collapsed at the end of last season allowing 77 points over the last two games. Dallas’ defense is playing just as bad as it did to finish the season last year. They are allowing 27 points and 439 yards per game. On top of that it has yet to record a quarterback sack, pick off a pass, or force a fumble.
The secondary has been downright brutal thus far. In week one the Cowboys surrendered 276 yards to Byron Leftwich and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and 330 to Eli and Giants last night. They made Steve Smith and Mario Manningham look like Pro Bowl receivers last night. I cannot remember how many times I saw Manning hit Smith or Manningham down field with not one defensive back within three or four yards of them. Smith and Manningham were open so often that Manning rarely ever had to check down and throw to his secondary receivers. Of his 25 completions only three went to someone who was not a wide receiver. He completed 20 throws to Smith and Manningham, Domenik Hixon and Derek Hagan each caught a pass, while running back Ahmad Bradshaw and tight end Kevin Boss caught three balls between them.
The last area where Phillips dropped the ball last night was clock management during the Giants final drive. Dallas had all three of its timeouts and used just one following an incomplete pass during New York’s winning scoring drive. Do you not have to use those as a coach? Why is he not calling any time outs to try and save some time in the even they might be able to get the ball back? Ultimately, this game could be the beginning of the end for Phillips in Dallas. He was a poor host to what is likely to be the second biggest party of the year in the NFL.
Giants-Cowboys Quick Hits
Manningham and Smith combined to catch 20 passes for 284 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Is the window closing on the Giants offensive line? New York is averaging just 3.5 yards per carry this season with Brandon Jacobs logging only 3.3 per clip.
After posting 20 sacks last season DeMarcus Ware has yet to record one this season and has just one tackle-for-loss.
Marion Barber and Jason Witten were the only two Cowboys to catch more than one pass from Romo.
Patriots – Jets Quick Hits
Darrelle Revis followed up last week’s lockdown of Andre Johnson (4 catches, 34 yards) by holding All Pro Randy Moss to just 24 yards on four catches. Revis is quickly emerging as the league’s best lockdown corner after rendering two of the league’s best receivers ineffective to start the season.
Mark Sanchez was solid, but unspectacular, in leading the Jets to victory completing just 14 of 22 passes for 163 yards.
Tom Brady was mediocre completing just 23 of 47 passes for 216 yards and an interception. Brady has thrown 100 passes after two games putting him on pace to throw 800 for the year, the record is 691 held by Drew Bledsoe.
Steelers – Bears Quick Hits
Jay Cutler and Johnny Knox showed just how vital Troy Polamalu is to the success of the Steelers defense. Cutler completed 27 of 38 passes and Knox caught six for 70 yards as the Bears pulled the upset at home.
The Steelers did manage 105 yards on the ground, but, 39 came on one play.
Willie Parker has just 66 yards after two games and is averaging just 2.4 yards per carry.
Matt Forte has just 84 yards on 38 carries and is averaging just 2.2 yards per attempt. Wasn’t the presence of Cutler supposed to loosen defenses for him to run wild this year?
Ben Roethlisberger has the Steelers only rushing touchdown this season.
The Steelers would be 0-2 if not for a couple of missed field goals by Rob Bironas in week one.
Ravens – Chargers Quick Hits
The Chargers play-calling left a bit to be desired. Why tempt fate on running that last play with Sproles when Ray Lewis is on the other side of the ball? Has there been anyone who has ever played the linebacker position as well as Lewis has over the entirety of his career? The guy is 34, in his 14th year in the league, and is still making game-winning plays.
One wonders if Darren Sproles is really the long term solution at running back for the Chargers. Yes, he is a home run hitter with big play potential, but, after two games he has just 49 yards on 19 carries. LaDanian Tomlinson has more rushing yards than Sproles does and he sat out yesterday’s game against the Ravens. Tomlinson may not be the back he was two or three years ago but he is still running the ball better than Sproles is right now.
Kelly Washington led the Ravens with 58 receiving yards, meaning for the second game in a row someone not named Todd Heap or Derrick Mason led the Ravens in receiving yards. One wonders when was the last time that happened.
Does anyone throw a better deep ball than Phillip Rivers right now?
Vincent Jackson (6 catches/141 yards) is an emerging star in the league. He could be headed to a Pro Bowl this year.
Texans – Titans Quick Hits
Chris Johnson had the biggest day of his career posting career highs of 197 yards rushing, 87 yards receiving, 9 receptions, and 3 touchdowns. Johnson’s highlights included a 57-yard touchdown run, 69-yard pass reception, and a 91-yard touchdown scamper.
In addition to Chris Johnson Houston’s Andre Johnson and Matt Schaub had big days as well with Johnson grabbing 10 passes for 149 yards and a pair of scores while Schaub threw for 357 yards and a career-high four touchdowns.
Steve Slaton continues to struggle rushing for only 34 yards on 17 carries. For the year he has just 51 yards on 26 attempts.
Houston linebacker Brian Cushing had the best game of his young career recording 10 tackles, a pass defensed, and two tackles-for-loss.
Saints – Eagles Quick Hits
I will give Kevin Kolb some credit, he did play better than I thought he would but he came up short when they needed him the most. He ended the day with 391 yards and two touchdowns, but he threw three picks and a significant chunk of his yards came after the game was well out of reach.
Eagles rookie Jeremy Maclin had the first two catches of his career for 12 yards.
DeSean Jackson and Brent Celek caught over 100 yards worth of passes each.
Still not sold on the Saints defense. They did allow 463 yards today, the Eagles just failed to capitalize on being able to move the ball.
Eagles linebacker Akeem Jordan had 3 tackles-for-loss, a pass defensed and an interception.
Saints quarterback Drew Brees has thrown for 669 yards and 9 scores in his first two games this season.
Seahawks – 49ers Quick Hits
The Niners have grabbed control of the NFC West by knocking off what were supposed to be the top two teams in the Seahawks and Cardinals.
Frank Gore was the Niners offense running for 207 yards, including 79 and 80 yard touchdown scampers, leading the team with 39 receiving yards, and scoring their only two touchdowns on offense.
Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was knocked out of the game in the first half after suffering a rib injury.
Shaun Hill was his usual solid self and has yet to turn the ball over, but, he has taken four sacks in each of the first two games and one wonders how many more 4 sack games he can stand up to before getting knocked out of a game.
Seattle defensive end Lawrence Jackson has registered a pair of sacks in a game twice in his career both coming against San Francisco, in fact, four of his five career sacks have come at the hands of the Niners. Jackson’s two sacks give him a career-high of three for the season.
With each passing victory the Niners rack up Michael Crabtree is losing more and more leverage in his hold out.
Panthers – Falcons Quick Hits
Jake Delhomme bounced back from his week one fiasco with a solid effort completing 25 of 41 passes and had only one turnover.
The offense in general bounced back with DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart combining for 144 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries.
Steve Smith rebounded from a 2 catch effort last week to snare 8 balls for 131 yards.
Michael Turner posted 105 yards and a touchdown but only averaged 3.8 yards per carry.
Tony Gonzalez has caught 12 passes and scored a pair of touchdowns in his first two games as a Falcon.
Roddy White has caught 11 passes but has yet to hit 100 yard mark, for the year. He is averaging just 8.6 yards per catch.
After two games the Panthers defense has surrendered 336 yards on the ground.
Buccaneers – Bills Quick Hits
Bills bounced back from the heart breaker against New England to handle the Bucs fairly easily.
Trent Edwards was sharp once again completing 21 of 31 passes for 230 yards and a pair of scores.
Fred Jackson’s 168 rushing yards on Sunday are a career high.
The Bills run defense continues to impress as it held a Bucs rushing attack, that put up 174 yards against the Cowboys in week one to just 57 yards.
Donte Whitner’s 76-yard interception return for a score was the first touchdown of his career.
Vikings – Lions Quick Hits
Again, what is Brett Favre bringing to the table that Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels cannot do? Another pedestrian performance from Favre where his longest completion was only 14 yards.
Matthew Stafford played better this week but still only threw for 152 yards and a pair of picks to boot.
After two games not one player on the Vikings is averaging more than 10 yards per catch. Wasn’t the presence of Favre supposed to open up the passing game and make the offense more dynamic than it was last year when Gus Ferotte and Tarvaris Jackson were at the helm.
Detroit linebacker Larry Foote had 10 tackles, a sack, two tackles-for-loss, and two quarterback knockdowns.
Bengals – Packers Quick Hits
This game featured 176 penalty yards on 24 flags thrown.
Carson Palmer had another two pick game but he off set that with 3 touchdown passes.
Antwan Odom sacked Aaron Rodgers five times on Sunday meaning Green Bay’s right tackle has allowed 7 sacks after two games this season. Odom already has seven sacks himself leaving him one shy of his career high of 8.
Rey Maualuga recorded his first career sack and forced two fumbles against the Packers.
Charles Woodson had two picks returning one for a touchdown.
Cedric Benson had the second best day of his career grinding out 141 yards on 29 carries.
Browns – Broncos Quick Hits
The Broncos gouged the Browns for 186 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Correll Buckhalter’s 76 yards led the ground attack with Knowshon Moreno nipping at his heels with 75.
Elvis Dumervil recorded a career high 4 sacks last season which is one fewer than he had all last year.
Brady Quinn and Braylon Edwards finally got on the same page connecting six times for 92 yards.
Quinn struggled with ball security throwing an interception and losing a fumble.
Kyle Orton struggled with his accuracy but still managed to throw for 263 yards and did not turn the ball over.
Raiders – Chiefs Quick Hits
JaMarcus Russell was brutal in this game completing just 7 of 24 passes for 109 yards. After two games Russell has completed 35.2% of his passes and owns a 46.6 quarterback rating.
Aside from throwing two interceptions Matt Cassel was solid in his Chiefs debut completing 24 of 39 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown.
Raiders safety Michael Huff had a strong game picking off a pair of Cassel passes and knocking four other to the ground. After two games Huff already has a career high with 3 interceptions and has recorded five passes defensed, and is starting to show why he was the 7th overall pick in the ’06 draft.
Larry Johnson muddled his way to 78 yards on 24 carries and is averaging just 2.8 yards per carry for the season.
The Chiefs out-gained the Raiders 409 to 166 yet still managed to lose the game.
Raiders defensive end Greg Ellis had a pair of sacks giving him three for the season and 80 for his career.
Darrius Heyward-Bey logged his first career reception and has just one catch for 18 yards through two games.
Wallace Gilberry and Derrick Johnson recorded sacks for the Chiefs yesterday. The team had 10 all of last season.
Rams – Redskins Quick Hits
If Jim Zorn is an offensive coach why can’t his teams score any points?
Santana Moss had just 3 catches for 35 yards as he continues to struggle. After two weeks he has just 5 catches for 41 yards.
Steven Jackson bounced back with 104 yards on 17 carries.
While Donnie Avery (1 catch/4 yards) struggles to work his way back from his foot injury Laurent Robinson has emerged as Bulger’s go-to-guy leading the Rams with 11 catches and 141 yards. He has also caught Bulger’s only touchdown pass.
Albert Haynesworth’s presence has yet to have an impact on the ‘Skins rushing defense. They are allowing 20 yards more per game on the ground this year as opposed to last and are allowing 4.4 yards per rush.
Cardinals – Jaguars Quick Hits
Kurt Warner rebounds from a sub-par opener to complete 24 of 26 passes for 243 yards and a pair of scores.
Tim Hightower continues his stranglehold on the starting job by running for 72 yards on 15 carries and scoring a touchdown.
Top pick Beanie Wells was solid running for 44 yards on seven attempts but he put the ball on the turf twice.
Jags receiver Mike Sims-Walker caught six balls for 106 yards and a score.
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie had an interception, forced fumble, and a pass defensed.
