Week 2 in the NFL

Here are some things that I noticed in Week 2.

• The Cardinals may be missing Kurt Warner given how poorly his replacements have played, but their defense may be an even bigger issue.  Matty Ice looked good, but that may have more to do with the team he was playing against.  The Falcons also ran all over the Cardinals, primarily with a 3rd string running back (Jason Snelling - 186 Total Yards, 3 TDs).  What would Michael Turner have done had he not gotten injured?  He had 75 yards on only 9 carries before leaving with a groin injury.
• Speaking of which, Turner should be fine heading into Week 3.  Supposedly he was cleared to return to the game, but they decided to hold him back as a precaution given that they had a big lead.  Did I mention how bad Arizona is?
• Looks like every game the Ravens play in will be low scoring - their defense is playing great, but their offense is also bad.  Joe Flacco was supposed to break out this year, but a 4 INT game isn't helping his case.  Especially when it came against a team that Tom Brady lit up last week.  Flacco has a ways to go to reach that elite level.
• You have to wonder what's going on in the minds of the KC coaching staff when Thomas Jones is getting twice as many carries as Jamaal Charles.  I realize Jones rushed for 1400 yards last year, but that was behind a far superior offensive line in NY and he's now also 32 years old.  I like what he brings to the team as a tough downhill runner, but they need to find ways to get the ball in the hands of their most explosive player more often.
• Cleveland has had a similar issue with their RB distribution being questioned.  The difference is, both their RBs are bad.
• The Bears offense is looking good and Jay Cutler went a game without throwing an INT!  Early in the game the Dallas pass rush was knocking Cutler around (he will still have nightmares about DeMarcus Ware).  Nice adjustment by Martz to switch up the gameplan to have Cutler get rid of the ball quickly instead of the 7 step drop back that is typically seen in this offense.  It proved effective on a quick 39 yard strike to Olsen for a TD and their offense started rolling from there.
• What's up with Dallas?  They were a popular Super Bowl pick, but have now started 0-2 (thanks for making my prediction look bad, jerks!).  Romo has looked pretty good and Miles Austin is a beast.  But that three headed running game has looked more like a trio of playful kittens, averaging less than 2 yards per carry between them.  At least one of them really needs to step it up.
• Jason Witten tried to argue his way back on the field after suffering a concussion, but his plea was ignored.  Props to the Dallas coaches for making the smart choice.  Hope Andy Reid was watching.
• I thought the Eagles were supposed to be a good defensive team.  Giving up 32 points to the Lions?  Almost losing the game??  Did I mention the Lions had a backup QB and a rookie RB???
• Jhavid Best gives Detroit fans something to cheer about for the first time since Barry Sanders was around.  He's fun to watch and clearly knows how to score.  He's now tied for the league lead in rushing TDs (4) and added another through the air.
• Michael Vick had a good game, but it was against the Lions so let's not give him too much credit.  Kolb should regain the job this week and will have to struggle badly for a few weeks for there to be any chance of a real QB controversy.
• The Packers' offense is looking great.  Buffalo's offense... do they even have one?  Amazingly enough, Trent Edwards 37.0 QB rating wasn't even the worst performance of the week (see Flacco, Joe).
• Marshawn Lynch got the bulk of the carries, but it was likely only because the team wanted to showcase him to a potential trade suitor.  If so, Lynch did nothing to impress or give Green Bay any reason to want to trade for him.
• On the other hand, Ryan Grant's replacements did nothing to convince Green Bay that they aren't desperate to trade for another RB.  Didn't Buffalo have one of the worst rush defenses in the league this year?  They may be slightly improved this year, but 29 yards on 11 carries isn't going to help Brandon Jackson keep the job, even if he currently doesn't have much competition.
• What a difference Troy Polamalu makes to the Steelers defense.  Just having him on the field makes the rest of the defense better.  Seven turnovers!  You can't run or pass against this team.
• Ben who?  The Steelers keep chugging along at 2-0 without their star QB.  Dixon got injured, but they managed to still prevail with Charlie Batch.  That goes to show they can win games with anyone at QB, so they aren't in any rush to get their controversial starter back.  Then again, if he's out on the field then it will be easier for the team to keep an eye on him.  At least then they would know he's not hanging out in a bar... or a women's restroom.
• Vince Young got benched, but Kerry Collins didn't exactly light it up after he replaced him.  This seemed like the coach just sending a message to VY, not a permanent change.  Collins led the team to an 0-6 start last year and the team made a turnaround to finish a respectable 8-8 only after switching to VY after their bye week.  If they have any chance of making the playoffs they need VY to step it up.  Turning things over to Collins will not only ensure another mediocre season, but may signal the team has given up on VY for good.
• Apparently Chris Johnson is mortal after all!  After being contained by an impenetrable Steelers defense for only 34 yards, he is now only on pace for 1408 for the season.  Come on, step it up!
• Brett Farve is really starting to show his age.  What is he, 50?  No, not quite?  Well he looked like he was.  It's not all his fault, he has nobody to throw to.  Shiancoe is a nice option at TE, but he can't be your main target in a successful passing game.  They really miss Rice and need him to get healthy soon.  If they can pull off the rumored trade for Vincent Jackson then that would help a lot.
• After going 3-13 last year, the Bucs are already off to a 2-0 start! Not sure how they are doing it because they don't have anyone at the skill positions on offense that scare anyone.  Their defense has looked good, but they've played bad teams, so don't expect this trend to continue.
• The Jimmy Clausen era has officially begun in Carolina.  He's a work in progress, so don't expect him to light up the league anytime soon... if ever.  Surprised he is being thrown in so soon, but Matt Moore was just awful so far this season, so they must figure there's nothing to lose by getting their QB of the future in early to get his feet wet.  They just have to hope a losing team doesn't ruin him from a mental standpoint. 
• Seattle didn't look so good this week. Maybe they aren't the team to beat in that division after all, despite what we saw in Week 1.  Then again, the 49ers are 0-2 now, so maybe there is no team to beat.  Can the NFL pass a new rule that nobody from the NFC West gets to make the playoffs?
• No Laurence Moroney sightings on the field for Denver after they just traded for him.  Did they hold him out due to a lack of practice time with his new team, or did he manage to get himself in the coach's doghouse already?
• Thanks for nothing St. Louis!  You had a chance to put Oakland in an 0-2 hole and you nearly pulled it off until you allowed the Raiders to come back in the second half.  Their draft pick, owned by the Patriots, just lost a little value because that Rams are now worse than they are.
• Speaking of the Patriots... ouch!  They started out so well in the game, but things just fell apart in the second half.  They killed themselves with dumb penalties and turnovers.  Kind of like how things went for the Jets in Week 1.  We should have expected the Jets to step up big at home with so much on the line for them, but this was frustrating to watch.
• Tom Brady tried to force the ball to Moss too much in the second half and it hurt them.  They did better in the first half when they spread the ball around more.  Welker was practically forgotten in the second half and they could have used him more.  They seemed to think that after Revis left with an injury that Moss could carry the team, but in his career, Cromartie has covered Moss nearly as well as Revis has.  When Revis left the game they should have capitalized on the weakened depth of the Jets secondary by spreading the ball around to the other receivers.
• Brady overthrew Moss on his first interception, but Moss should have kept running to try to break up the play to prevent the pick.  The second INT was even more clearly Moss' fault since it bounced off of him.  Great play by Cromartie and Poole to combine on that tipped pass to get the turnover.
• The one handed TD catch by Moss was one of the best catches you'll see all year - against Revis no less.  Moss also nearly had another TD catch, but couldn't control the ball as he was stepping out of bounds.  So the day wasn't all bad for him.
• The Patriots young defense made Mark Sanchez look like a Pro-Bowl QB.  That won't last long, but it shows that this defense has a ways to go.  The pass rush was decent, with 3 sacks, but the young corners got picked on.  If they can't stop a TE like Dustin Keller then how bad will they look against someone like Dallas Clark when the Colts come to town later this season?
• Big game for Rivers and the Chargers offense.  Gates is still the main target in the passing game, but Malcolm Floyd showed why he was widely considered to be a breakout candidate this year.
• Rookie Ryan Mathews left early with an ankle sprain, but it's not expected to be serious.  He could have returned if the game wasn't already out of hand by then.  In other words, don't get too excited about the performance by Tolbert.  Interesting that Sproles didn't get more touches after Mathews left though.
• The Texans and Redskins game was a good old fashioned shoot out.  Matt Schaub threw for nearly 500 yards!  That offense is unstoppable, winning two weeks in a row - once with their running game, then with the passing game. 
• Donovan McNabb was nearly as impressive, so maybe he's not washed up after all.  Or maybe the Texan's pass defense is just bad.
• Last week's breakout star - Arian Foster - wasn't quite as dominant this week, but managed 138 total yards against a decent defense.  So at least it appears he's not just a one hit wonder.
• Did the Giants not watch tape of the Colts Week 1 loss?  Their gameplan should have been to come in and pound the ball against a terrible rush defense, but instead the Colts were the team that dominated the running game.  Yes, the same Colts team that was 31st in the league last year in rushing.  Granted they were down early and couldn't stop the Colts offense, but the passing game wasn't working well either, so if you know you can run better than pass then why not pound away on the ground?  They would have better luck moving the ball and would keep Payton Manning off the field.  When Bradshaw is averaging over 5 yards per carry, give him more than 17 touches!
• It didn't help the Giants that Brandon Jacobs was ineffective and got himself benched for throwing his helmet into the crowd.  That "accident" got some jeers from Colts fans that were nearly knocked out by the flying helmet, but his coaches were the ones that really gave him an earful.  If you're a 265 pound RB you need to plow straight ahead and bowl guys over. Stop pretending you're on Dancing with the Stars by showing off your fancy footwork in the backfield. North and South are the only directions you need to know.
• Payton will cheer up little brother Eli after a tough loss by offering to let him co-star in another commercial.
• The 49ers fall to 0-2, but at least they were more competitive this week.  Alex Smith looked much more competent this week.  He'll never be a star, but with the talent around him he should be better than what we saw in Week 1.  Despite the loss, this game was a good start to get back on track.
• Drew Brees missed on a lot of passes he normally makes.  The announcers during the game blamed the wind for altering some of his throws, but maybe part of it is that he's not quite tuned in with his receivers yet.  That's two good, but not great, games in a row for him.  He'll get better.
• You have to love how the standings look early in the season.  Tampa Bay and Kansas City are in first place, the Colts and Dallas are in last place.  That won't last of course, but it's sure to raise false hope for many teams while causing others to unnecessarily panic.  It's still early and there is lots more football to be played.