1. Are the Patriots doing something unprecedented on offense?
I’ve never seen an offense operate like these 2011 Patriots. Starting tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez are on pace to combine for 2,696 receiving yards, 40 touchdowns, and a few dozen footballs spiked to the rafters. Have you ever seen an offense combine a pair of such prolific receiving tight ends? Even better, they complement each other perfectly. Hernandez is fast becoming Brady’s favorite target with 14 receptions (second only to Branch’s 15) while Rob Gronkowski is the big, soft-handed red zone threat New England has been missing since Moss lost it.
Besides the blinding pace with which Brady operates the offense, Gronkowski and Hernandez present frightening matchup problems. Wideouts Deion Branch and Wes Welker demand attention outside, leaving nickel corners, safeties, and linebacker’s to deal with the tight ends. It’s a frightening prospect, and something I have never seen before. Double tight end sets normally indicate a power formation but with New England, it’s practically a spread attack. Do you see the matchup advantages this gives New England and the ridiculous flexibility it allows Tom Brady? The Patriots can line up in a ‘12’ personnel package (one back and two tight ends) and will be in an effective package to either run or spread the defense out and pass.
2. An update on my beloved Cardinals…
As you should know by now, I’ve got way too much riding on the Cardinals this season. I’ve got no personal attachment to the team, but I went with them as my 2011 sleeper pick. In part because of the Kevin Kolb upgrade, but also because they play in the ‘remedial English’ division of football. So how did they look week two? Arizona’s defense is worse than I ever imagined, and top five draft pick Patrick Peterson is doing everything well except covering receivers. And for whatever reason, Defensive Coordinator Ray Horton has decided to send blitzes from the secondary with wild abandon…probably not the best idea if your defense couldn’t cover Vince Wilfork running a fly pattern.
Offensively, Arizona began the game with some strange play-calling, including three straight passes on their first drive. But once they decided to run the ball, Beanie Wells got going and accumulated 93 rushing yards on only 14 carries—good for a 6.6 average. With St. Louis and Seattle sitting at 0-2, and the 49ers at 1-1 with a date against the surprisingly decent Bengals upcoming, things are looking up for KEVIN KOLBBBBB!!!!! and the Arizona Cardinals.
3. Do the Chargers have the best receiving corps in the league?
New England—for the most part—covered the Chargers receivers well. They eliminated all-pro tight end Antonio Gates from the game, didn’t blow any coverages, and Ras I Dowling and Devin McCourty were stuck like glue to Vincent Jackson and Malcom Floyd. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on who you are), San Diego’s wideouts make catching footballs look pitifully easy. Philip Rivers seems to have a great repertoire with his pass catchers, and he throws it to places where the 6’3 Jackson and 6’5 Floyd can go get it. Because of their height, they’re usually the only ones in position to make the catch. If/when San Diego stops turning the ball over, they could have the league’s best offense; not New England or Green Bay. They’ve certainly got the talent…
4. Are the Indianapolis Colts really going to win the Andrew Luck sweepstakes?
Remember that old grade school adage, “Leave some water for the fish”? I’m using it here for the Colts; they’ve already got a quarterback, leave Andrew Luck for the teams that are desperate. Let me ask you a question (Colts fans please leave the room). Would you rather have Andrew Luck sit on the Indianapolis bench for three to five years or watch him transform the 49ers into a contender? Having an immense talent sitting behind your hall of famer is no doubt an excellent move (see: Green Bay Packers), but that’s one more perennial dreg that will remain a perennial dreg without a franchise signal-caller. As far as the league is concerned, that's probably not a good thing.
5. What happened in Nashville?
As great as Baltimore looked coming off of a dominant win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Titans looked just as bad off of a week one loss to the Luke McCown led Jaguars (whom, I might add, threw four interceptions against the Jets). What happened? Matt Hasselbeck tore apart last year’s sixth best pass defense (per DVOA), Baltimore managed only two QB hits on Hasselbeck and no sacks, Kenny Britt continued his ascent towards stardom, and Joe Flacco was miserable all day. Flacco went 15 of 32 for 197 passing yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Of his 15 completions, only three went for 20 or more yards, one of which was a check down to running back Ray Rice who worked his magic and took it 31 yards to the house. Furthermore, only nine balls were caught by wide receivers/tight ends—the rest were to running backs. While Baltimore couldn’t manufacture any pressure at all, the Titans managed to sack Flacco three times and added five quarterback hits. After a dominant performance vs. the Steelers, Baltimore’s offense returned to its inconsistent ways.
Meanwhile, Tennessee’s offense was stellar despite Chris Johnson’s second straight bad game. Johnson was given the ball 24 times yet only gained 53 yards and his longest run from scrimmage was a mighty…seven yards. Do you remember the days when he was the most explosive player in the league? When you weren't willing to pry your eyes off the television screen because CJ2K was a threat to break a long one every play?
6. Cam Newton…is balling?
Not only has he thrown for 400+ yards in two straight games, but he’s managed to resuscitate the corpse of Steve Smith, who is leading the league in receiving yards. Here’s what has surprised me the most about Newton: his likeability. I follow college football on the peripheral, so Newton was merely an ideal to me until the season started; a player with all the talent followed by all the drama. I certainly didn’t do my due diligence, and based solely on what I heard from ESPN Cam Newton struck me as arrogant and maybe a bit entitled. I was getting strong, strong whiffs of Jamarcus Russell from the Auburn product.
But now, almost two weeks have gone by and just like everyone else, I find myself inexplicably drawn to the aura surrounding Cam Newton. I think its two parts his demeanor (calm and collected), four parts his humble attitude towards the NFL (his comments about the Packers), and five parts his eye-popping talent. As you know from this piece, I’ve been in situations surrounded by people better than I am. For myself, it’s better writers; for Cam Newton, it’s better quarterbacks. The strong and driven among us learn from the experience, while the weak drown under the pressure.
So far, I think it's safe to say Professor Newton is doing everything but drowning...
7. Believe in the Bills at your own risk…
I’m such a douche; I just can’t soak in the glow of a feel-good-story and relish in the rise of the under-dog Harvard graduate, can I? I’m sure I’ll burn in hell at some point for this, buttttt…
The Bills were dominant against a Kansas City team that is far, far worse than the most hated of the haters could have predicted. Not only are they naturally bad, but their best offensive (Jamaal Charles) AND defensive player (Eric Berry) are done for the season. After the football gods were done with Indianapolis, they obviously set their sights on Kansas City.
After a 41-7 thrashing of the Chiefs, the Bills went on to eke out a victory against the Oakland Raiders. It was certainly heroic, as the stoic Chan Gailey can attest to, but they were down 21-3 at one point. If the RAIDERS hung 35 points on Buffalo’s defense; imagine what the Patriots will do, or any other above average offense.
But with Fitzpatrick tossing frozen ropes and Fred Jackson becoming 2011’s don’t-look-away-or-you-might-miss-an-insane-touchdown-run running back, the Buffalo Bills are a hell of a lot of fun to watch. We haven’t been able to say that for a while…
No comments:
Post a Comment