Things I Noticed: Week 2

It's still early in the season, but for teams coming off a loss in their opener, a win in Week 2 could be vital for saving their season.  Since the playoffs expanded to it's current format in 1990, teams that have started the season 0-2 have gone on to make the postseason only 11.6% of the time.  You can recover from a poor start and still make the playoffs, or even win a Super Bowl (as the 2001 Patriots and 2007 Giants have shown), but the odds are stacked against you.  Already we've seen two teams from last year's postseason drop to 0-2, which could open the door for new teams to step in to the postseason picture.

Meanwhile, teams that have started 2-0 since 1990 have gone on to make the postseason 63% of the time, which is great news for 8 teams.

Here are some things I noticed this week:

• The game in New England Thursday night was a sloppy mess long before the heavy rains came.  The
  
  offense for both teams looked ugly, but it's only the Jets that we expect that from.  For the Patriots, it was a very uncharacteristic performance.  64 plays and only 232 total yards.  More punts (11) than first downs (9).  4 for 18 on third downs.  That's not the type of offense New England is used to. Then again, the talent at Tom Brady's disposal isn't what he's used to either.  We know about the off-season losses and Rob Gronkowski is still recovering from surgery, but Danny Amendola was out too.  Plus Shane Vereen is going to be out at least 8 games after wrist surgery. That doesn't leave Brady with much to work with.
• Amendola reportedly has suffered torn adductor muscles in his hip that may require surgery.  He's also received conflicting reports about a possible sports hernia, which could keep him out of action for about a month. 
• Aaron Dobson's first career catch went for a 39 yard TD on the opening drive, but it was all down hill from there.  The rookie receiver repeatedly dropped passes and botched routes.  Until he turns things around, he'll now be referred to as Aaron "Dropson."  Kenbrell Thompkins wasn't any better, failing to get his hands under the ball on a TD catch that was overturned after replay.  The rookies combined for only 5 catches on 17 targets and often left Brady steaming from their mistakes.
• The Pats weren't the only ones making mistakes on offense, as the Jets had their fair share of drops too.  Between the two teams, they may have lost more yardage due to dropped passes than they gained through the air on completions!
• Geno Smith played well enough to keep his team in the game through three quarters, before falling apart in the end.  It seemed he was too anxious to put together a game winning drive that he ended up making too many mistakes.  Three of the Jets four drives in the fourth quarter ended with Smith throwing an interception.  Never a good sign when your best drive of the quarter is a three and out that ends with a punt.
• On Smith's first INT, the Jets were in field goal range to tie the game.  Smith would have been better off trying to make a run for it to try to pick up a first down or even just just throwing the ball away.  Instead, he tried to force the ball into tight coverage and paid with a turnover.  
• The Jets looked to send a message to Tampa Bay to show them how a real team takes a cheap shot at a player out of bounds.  You wait until the game has already been decided, not when the penalty can cost you the game!  Nick Mangold dove at the knees of Aqib Talib after the Patriots corner had stepped out of bounds following his game sealing interception.  That prompted a scuffle between the teams that led to multiple penalties against the Jets and two of their players getting ejected.  So now those players may receive fines and possible suspensions... so I guess that did hurt the Jets.
• Julio Jones was listed as questionable before the game and was supposed to be hobbled this week, but he looked fine to me when he was sprinting down the field for an 81 yard TD catch in the first quarter.  Jones matched his career best performance with 11 catches for 182 yards, so I guess he was feeling ok.
• Facing his old team for the first time, Steven Jackson got the Falcons on the board early with a TD catch in the first quarter.  Unfortunately, he injured his thigh on the play and was knocked out for the rest of the game.  Jackson is a 30 year old RB with a history of soft tissue injuries, so this may be a cause for concern for Atlanta.
• Rams rookie Tavon Austin caught his first two career TD passes as St. Louis attempted to mount a second half comeback.  His second score came just before the two minute warning to make it a one possession game, but Atlanta was able to run out the clock to prevent the Rams from getting another chance.
• The Bills shocked the Panthers with a game winning score with only 2 seconds remaining.  Down six with only 1:38 to play, rookie QB EJ Manuel drove the Bills 80 yards down field and capped the drive with a two yard pass to Stevie Johnson in the back corner of the end zone.
• Buffalo's winning drive was aided by a crushing penalty by the Panthers.  An interception by Manuel was negated by a pass interference call that set up the Bills with a new set of downs deep in Panthers territory.  
• For Carolina, the late game decision making of Ron Rivera comes into question again.  Should they have even given Buffalo the chance for a comeback?  Facing fourth and one on Buffalo's 21 yard line, the Panthers elected to kick a field goal to put them up by six with 1:42 left to play in regulation.  The Bills were out of time outs, so if the Panthers had converted the first down, they could have ran out the clock for the win.  Carolina has one of the best short yardage weapons in the league in Cam Newton, who has converted 88% of his chances on 3rd or 4th down with a yard or less to go in his short career.  Give the ball to your best player and let him make a play to get one yard to win the game!  If it fails, Buffalo is essentially in the same position they ended up in anyway, with the only difference being that a field goal could tie the game.  Rivera took the safe, conservative approach and failed.  Fortune favors the bold!  Rivera made the same mistake in a similar situation against Atlanta last year and lost.  Apparently he didn't learn from his mistake.  Or perhaps he cares more about keeping his job than actually winning the game.  By playing it safe, the blame falls on his weary defense for collapsing on the Bills winning drive.  Had he taken the risk of going for it on 4th down and failed, the coach takes the blame.
• Chicago edged Minnesota with a TD pass from Jay Cutler to Martellus Bennett with 10 seconds left.
  The game was a wild one from the start, with Cordarrelle Patterson taking the opening kick-off back for a score.  The Bears would counter with a long return by Devin Hester that set up a short field for Cutlers first TD, which also went to Bennett.  Both teams also exchanged defensive scores in the second quarter, with Brian Robinson returning a fumble for the Vikings and Tim Jennings retaliating with a pick-six.
• It was a typical Cutler win, with some good (290 yards, 3 TDs) mixed with some bad (2 INTs, 1 fumble), but the Bears still getting the win with a little help from their defense and special teams.
• Aaron Rodgers (480 yards, 4 TDs) was unstoppable against Washington.  At halftime he was on
  
  pace for over 600 yards and was looking to challenge the record tying 7 TDs Peyton Manning tossed last week.  Perhaps Manning's impressive performance challenged Rodgers to step up, or maybe Washington's secondary is just that bad.  He didn't quite get there as the Packers took their foot off the gas in the fourth quarter and cruised to a dominating win.
• James Jones led the league in receiving TDs last season, but has yet to find the end zone, despite that Green Bay has had no trouble scoring.  Just another example of how fluky TD receptions can be on a year-to-year basis.  Jones was held without a catch last week, but exploded with 11 catches for 178 yards.  The big yardage day was his this time, but the scores went Rodgers other main options - Nelson (twice), Cobb and Finley. 
• Eddie Lacy was supposed to change the dynamic of the Packers offense by adding a rushing threat that they've lacked for years, but he was knocked out of this game with a concussion after only one carry.  James Starks took over in the backfield and ripped off a career high 132 yards, which included a 32 yard TD run.  Starks has been with the Packers since 2010, during this stretch where the team has struggled to move the ball on the ground.  Where has this type of performance been?  Prior to this week, Starks had never had a 100+ yard game.
• Robert Griffin (320 yards, 3 TDs) finished with respectable numbers, but they mostly came in garbage time.  He got off to another slow start, taking until the second half to find his groove.  By then it was too late, with the Packers having already buried them under a flurry of Rodgers TD passes.  
• Andrew Luck has made a habit out of fourth quarter comebacks in his short career, but his luck ran out this week.  Trailing by four late in the fourth quarter, the Colts came up just short when Luck was sacked on fourth down just outside the red zone.
• Mike Wallace started earning that big contract by following up his quiet debut last week with 115 yards and a score to help Miami move to 2-0 on the season.
• Speaking of surprising 2-0 teams, the Chiefs won again to remain undefeated.  After tying for the league's worst record, the Chiefs have already matched their win total from last season.  Maybe that's not so surprising, considering Kansas City was one of the more obvious picks for a sleeper team. They are loaded with Pro-Bowl caliber talent, but that talent was just never at the QB position.  The upgrade at QB, not to mention the coaching change, may be enough to boost the Chiefs into a playoff spot.
• The one thing the Chiefs could not do was contain Dez Bryant (9 catches, 141 yards, 1 TD).  Last week the Giants limited Bryant with constant double teams by playing a safety over the top of him to prevent big plays, but Tony Romo made them pay by spreading it around to everyone else.  This week the Chiefs allowed Bryant to do his damage, while limiting everyone else and it worked.
• New coach, same issues with late game clock management for the Eagles.  With the Chargers just inside field goal range in a tie game with under 20 seconds to go, Chip Kelley made the baffling decision to start using his time outs.  I get what his intentions were - San Diego was in range for a game winning kick and he wanted to preserve some time to get the ball back.  Except the plan doesn't work as well when the Chargers still have one time out left in their pocket because it allowed them to run two extra plays to get closer for an easier kick!  They should have taken their chances by forcing Nick Novak to attempt a 49 yard kick with the game on the line.  By stopping the clock, the Eagles allowed the Chargers to gain an extra few yards before kicking.  Novak hit from 46 yards on a kick that looked to be hooking slightly left.  Would it have missed wide from a few yards further back?  Tough to say, but the Eagles never should have given them that chance.
• The Eagles fell short despite a career high 428 yards from Michael Vick, who threw 2 TDs and ran in
  
  for another score.  DeSean Jackson (9 catches, 193 yards, 1 TD) was his main target.  Jackson has always been more of a big play guy as opposed to a volume receiver, but in this new fast paced offense, Jackson is finding himself plenty involved so far.  He should be in for a monster season.
• Philip Rivers is no stranger to blowing second half leads, but this time he managed to counter with a game winning drive (even if he had some help from the opposing coaching staff).  He finished with an impressive 419 yards and 3 TDs.  Most of the damage went to Antonio Gates (8 catches, 124 yards), who surprised most of us by showing he still exists, and Eddie Royal (90 yards, 3 TDs) who is an unlikely early season favorite to lead the league in TD receptions.  In only two games he's already matched his career high with 5 scores!
• Malcom Floyd was off to a great start (5 catches, 102 yards), but his day ended with him being carted off the field with a neck injury and rushed to a nearby hospital.  Scary moment, but reports indicate that Floyd should be ok.
• Joe Flacco's day got off to a great start when his wife gave birth to the couple's second child just over an hour before kick-off.  Flacco couldn't be there to witness his baby being born though - he had a game to play.  While it looked ugly early on, the Ravens managed a pair of second half TDs to give the new father a win.
• It wasn't all good news for the Ravens, as Ray Rice was forced to exit early with a strained hip flexor. He was limited to only 36 yards before the injury.  It's not expected to be a long term concern, but he'll likely be questionable next week.  If you own him in fantasy football, you better hope you handcuffed him with Bernard Pierce!
• Jordan Cameron is one of many young TE's making an impact early on this season.  He couldn't find the end zone this week, because well... the entire Cleveland offense couldn't find it with a map, but 5 catches for 95 yards is pretty good on a day when the rest of the offense couldn't do much.
• Field goal kicking was a problem all day for the Texans, but it started getting a little ridiculous at the end of regulation.  How many times do you see a team attempt a game winning kick four times on one play?  Randy Bullock drilled the first attempt, which was waved off after the Titans called a time out at the last second.  His next attempt was blocked, but a penalty for defensive offside gave him another shot from 5 yards closer.  Since the penalty technically made it another play, the Titans were allowed to use a second time out to ice him again.  Didn't work out as well seeing as he missed the practice attempt that time.  Finally, on attempt number four, Bullock goes for the the game winning 46 yard kick as time expires... and misses!  He was 0-3 on field goal attempts in the game (granted none of them were exactly chip shots) and the game heads to OT.
• Houston won the coin toss and took the opening drive of OT down for a game winning TD pass to rookie DeAndre Hopkins.  The Texans are now the first team since the merger in 1970 to win each of their first two games of the season on the last play of the game.  Last week they won it on a last second field goal and followed that up with a TD in OT.
• Matthew Stafford picked the Cardinals defense apart early on, racking up over 200 yards through the air by halftime.  Calvin Johnson had two TD passes by that point and Detroit had the lead.  The second half was just about the opposite, as Johnson all but disappeared and Stafford failed to complete a single pass in a third quarter that included a lost fumble and a couple of 3-and-outs.  Whatever defensive adjustments the Cardinals made at halftime, they certainly worked.
• Part of what stalled the Lions offense could have been the loss of Reggie Bush, who was injured in the second quarter.  Bush had just shy of 70 total yards, doing most of his damage catching passes, before exiting with the injury.  Without the threat of him coming out of the backfield to open things up for everyone else, the Lions offense sputtered.
• Patrick Peterson does it all for Arizona.  Not only is he establishing himself as one of the elite corners and kick returners in the league, but the offense has also added a package of plays designed around him as well.  Peterson caught a pass in the game and also completed one on a trick play that surprisingly saw him launching a pass for a 17 yard completion.
• A lot of tight ends are having big seasons early on, but Jimmy Graham is still the best of them (well, at least until Rob Gronkowski returns and finds he's the only one Brady trusts enough to throw it to). Graham caught 10 passes for 179 yards and a score to lift a struggling offense.
• Drew Brees wasn't at his best, nearly blowing the game with a fourth quarter pick-six.  But when given one last chance with just over a minute to play, Brees connected on three consecutive passes to put the Saints in position for a game winning FG as time expired.
• Tampa Bay continues to dig themselves in a hole by committing terrible penalties.  Last week it was a late hit out of bounds that gifted the Jets 15 yards to put them in range for the game winning field goal. This week they were flagged three times for unnecessary roughness and hits to the head.  Through two weeks, the Bucs lead the league with 23 penalties for a staggering 220 yards.  They also had a 73 yard TD reception wiped off the board for an illegal formation penalty.  That third quarter drive would end with Josh Freeman throwing an INT instead of a TD, which ended up costing them the game.
• Safety Dashon Goldson is facing a one game suspension for his helmet-to-helmet hit.  Since 2010, he's been flagged for 15 personal fouls, more than any NFL player.  
• An Orlando area TV station actually apologized for airing the Jaguars/Raiders game over the Broncos/Giants game.  That's about all you need to know about the Jaguars season.
• Peyton Manning wasn't going to top last weeks' performance, but against the Giants, he didn't need to.  The elder Manning spanked his little brother in a blowout victory, making him 3-0 against Eli in their careers.  
• According to Petyon, this will be the last Manning Bowl ever, unless the teams meet in the Super Bowl.  Teams from opposite conferences only face off once every four years, so apparently Peyton doesn't expect to hang around that long.  Have you seen how he's throwing the ball this year?  Why couldn't he play four more years??  The world demands more face offs between the Manning brothers, if only so that we can get a double dose of Manning faces.
• Denver's offense actually got off to a slow start, which kept things close in the first half.  Partly to blame was a fumble by rookie Montee Ball at the Giants three yard line on the Broncos opening drive. After making a dive for the end zone, the ball slipped out of his hands and hit the pylon.  If the ball hits the pylon with the ball still in your possession, it's a TD.  Since it was out of his hands at that point, the result was a turnover and a touchback for the Giants.
• After watching his big brother's career game last week, Eli thought he'd try to match his brother by
  
  attempting to complete 7 passes in the end zone as well.  Apparently nobody told him that it doesn't count unless they all go to your own teammates.  Eli did throw one TD pass, but also threw four INTs, three of which were picked off in the end zone.  One of those picks came when Eli attempted to throw into triple coverage to find Victor Cruz deep.  To prove it wasn't a fluke, he tried the same pass into triple coverage on the previous play, but it fell incomplete.  So hey, why not try it again?
• Since Eli entered the league in 2004, his 151 INTs are easily the most in the league.  Peyton has 99 in that same time period.  Eli only has one 30+ TD season in his career.  Peyton has 7 (including a 49 TD season in 2004).  "But Eli has one more ring than Peyton, so clearly he's the better QB!" - said nobody that wasn't a Giants fan.  
• The Niners defense doesn't give up 100 yards to opposing running backs very often, but Marshawn Lynch came close enough with 98.  He also scored three times (twice on the ground, once through the air) as he led the Seahawks to a dominating victory over their division rivals.  
• Aside from Lynch being a one man wrecking crew, both offenses were pretty anemic in this game.  Neither QB was able to reach 50 passing yards by halftime.  Russell Wilson didn't complete a pass until the second quarter and completed only two of his first ten attempts.  Colin Kaepernick completed only 13 of 28 pass attempts, threw three picks and also lost a fumble.  Sure, these are two of the league's best defenses, but it was an ugly outing for two of the league's brightest young QBs.
• Not helping matters was an hour long delay in the first half that disrupted the momentum of both teams.  It's the third game already this season that has been delayed due to lightning storms in the area (along with this week's Bucs/Saints game and last week's Broncos/Ravens).  It's probably better to be safe than sorry when it comes to lightning, especially when the field is book-ended by field goal posts that could serve as giant lighting rods, but the delays have led to some sloppy play following the long delays.
• Last year's Super Bowl between the 49ers and Ravens was delayed due to a power outage. This year both teams have been involved in games delayed by the power of Mother Nature.
• The 2013 draft class is showing some immediate dividends for the Bengals, which was showcased on their first scoring drive late in the first quarter.  Andy Dalton found rookie TE Tyler Eifert on a 61 yard deep pass over the middle that would help set up a 7 yard TD run for rookie RB Giovani Bernard.
• The Steelers offense continues to struggle without a true number one receiver, a shaky offensive line and barely any semblance of a running game.  They went three-and-out six times and had to punt the ball away 7 times.  The Steelers picked up punter Zoltan Mesko after he was released by New England just before the season started.  In three seasons with the Patriots, Mesko averaged 3.6 punts per game.  In two games with Pittsburgh he's already punted 7 times in each game.  Clearly he'll be much busier this season.
• Through two weeks there have already been 6 QBs that have passed for over 400 yards in a game, while several others have come close.  Is 400 yards the new 300?  Passing league, indeed.