September 20, 2012
Time for my weekly thoughts on the previous NFL week. My thoughts on the New Orleans Saints game against the Kansas City Chiefs will be posted tomorrow.
This is not going to be popular, but... why didn't anyone say something about the way the Denver Broncos and head coach John Fox acted on Monday Night? I know the replacement referees struggled a bit, but the four turnovers in the first quarter cause Denver to lose their composure.
Fox was going nuts on the sideline as Payton Manning threw three interceptions and Knowshon Moreno fumbled the ball away. His team could see their coaches panic and fed off it during the scrum that took place after the Moreno fumble.
I was amazed that no one mentioned Fox's behavior on Tuesday. He lost his cool and it boiled over to his team as they lost their cool. I will give some credit to the Broncos for getting back into the game, but Matt Ryan also kept cool... and made a big throw for a first down to end the game.
Last week, I said I wasn't buying Payton Manning being back yet until he beat a team that Tebow didn't beat in the playoffs last season. Manning's arm looked weak -- but worse he never should have thrown any of the three passes that were intercepted. All three times, the Broncos receiver was well covered.
Meanwhile, San Francisco 49ers have beaten playoff teams from last season in back-to-back weeks to start the season. San Francisco plays big boy football with a hard hitting defense and a pound their opponent running game.
There is no question that over the first two weeks of the season, that the 49ers have been the best team in pro football.
Green Bay and Chicago have had more stories about their quarterbacks being divas than stories about the Packers win last week over the Bears. It was a big win for the Packers who needed it. And it showed the Bears still haven't learned to pass protect.
The Chiefs might be the worst team in the NFL. Last week's 35-17 (and the game wasn't really that close) loss to Bills is Exhibit A.
Rookie quarterbacks played much better last week. Robert Griffin III played well for the second week in a row while Russell Wilson, Ryan Tannehill and Andrew Luck all got their first pro win. Brandon Weeden played much better in a week two loss to the Bengals.
Dallas is still Dallas. The Cowboys got a big win in week one and then followed it up by laying an egg against Seattle. Dallas went from being a potential contender back to pretender status.
Eli Manning had the comeback of the week as the Giants defeated Tampa Bay 41-34 in a game the Buccaneers were leading big heading into the fourth quarter. On a side note, I have no problem with Tampa Bay trying to force a fumble as the Giants took a knee to end the game.
Also up for the choke job of the week, the Baltimore Ravens found away to lose to the Philadelphia Eagles. Michael Vick tried to give away the game for a second week in a row but the Ravens, like the Browns, didn't want to take it.
Arizona tried to choke away a win against New England. The Cardinals trying to run out the clock fumbled to the Patriots--but New England then missed a field goal.
Texans and Chargers both got to 2-0. But are they the best two teams in the AFC? Time will answer that question.
Mark Sanchez is on the clock after losing to Pittsburgh 27-10. Tebow Time will come quicker than my original thought of Week Six if Sanchez has a second straight poor performance.
On to week three picks (winners in bold):
New York Giants at Carolina Panthers
St. Louis Rams at Chicago Bears
Buffalo Bills at Cleveland Browns
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Dallas Cowboys
New York Jets at Miami Dolphins
San Francisco 49ers at Minnesota Vikings
Cincinnati Bengals at Washington Redskins
Detroit Lions at Tennessee Titans
Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts
Philadelphia Eagles at Arizona Cardinals
Atlanta Falcons at San Diego Chargers
Houston Texans at Denver Broncos
Pittsburgh Steelers at Oakland Raiders
New England Patriots at Baltimore Ravens
Green Bay Packers at Seattle Seahawks
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