Time for our look back at Week 2 in the NFL. We saw a lot of big games with teams stepping forward and stepping back. Some huge things happened that fell under the radar, and some things happened that were hyped more than New Coke. Will they continue to shine or fade away? Only RSS tells you the truth about Week 2. Time to Protect the Shield!
Overrated Story of The Week: Mark Sanchez is better than Tom Brady, Johnny U, and every other NFL QB in history
Ok seriously. I mentioned this in the YCS on a tangent, but listening to Colin Cowherd and everyone else in the football media rave about this guy is enough to make me want to cut off both of my ears Van Gogh style and send them to Matt Leinart. I have nothing against Sanchez, he seems like a good guy, he seems like he'll be a good QB in the NFL. But, having people like Cowherd analyze his DNA and say that he'll succeed because his dad was a firefighter and he's good looking is insanity! I heard Sanchez mentioned in the same breath as Brady, Montana, and Namath for his quarterbacking ability. (Next train to Crazy Town leaves this Sunday... all aboard!)
My God, what will happen when the NFL media and the talking heads figure out he's human? There might be a candlelight vigil if he strains a shoulder or blotches some mascara.
How must Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco feel? How bout Ben Roethlisberger? Heck, even Brady himself has to be jealous of the attention Sanchez is getting. I think Brett Favre is going to retire again just to rejoin the Jets and ruin Sanchez's career for taking precious airtime away from Bretty. What if Sanchez was doing this in Buffalo? What if he graduated from Wake Forest? Would everyone treat him like he discovered the cure for cancer while landing on Mars?
You want Mark Sanchez's career numbers: 435 yds, 60.4 completion %, 2 TDs, 1 INT
Sorry, but I'm not putting him in Canton just yet, and Sanchez isn't going to be #1 in our Athletes of the Decade countdown. I've seen some sporting stars that have had too much hype in my time, but this one takes the cake. Forgive me sporting universe, please!
Underrated Story Of The Week: The Bears saved their season by beating Pittsburgh.
-An 0-2 start isn't easy to overcome. Last week we said that the Bears D would greatly suffer with Brian Urlacher out for the season. That still is true, but you have to give it up to a revitalized defensive line for keeping the Steelers at bay on Sunday. Of course, this isn't a headline if teary-eyed Jeff Reed didn't blow 2 FGs in the 4th Quarter, but c'est la vie. The big story out of Week 2 is that Jay Cutler's demise might be greatly overstated (funny how nobody says he's immature when he doesn't throw 4 picks) and getting a win over the Super Bowl Champs might give enough momentum to the Bears to carry them forward. How do you think that team, with that QB, in that city would handle starting 0-2? This victory along with playing Seattle without Matt Hasselbeck and then hosting Detroit could turn a 1-3 start into 3-1. Those two extra wins are critical in any season.
3 Stars:
3rd Star: Antwan Odom (DE-Bengals)/Kurt Warner (QB-Cards)
-These two performances were both too good to not recognize both. Odom's 5 sacks led the Bengals to a shocking win over Green Bay (nice statement after beating Chicago in Week 1), while Warner completed 24/26 passes in a blowout at Jacksonville. They certainly were the offensive and defensive performances of the week.
2nd Star: Rex Ryan (HC-Jets)
-Rex Ryan is the real star of the possible Jets revival. While we might thumb our nose at the Sanchez hype, Rex Ryan deserves most of the credit. Everything he did leading up to the Patriots game worked. The question is, will he have that ability to get his team up for battle every week? If he can succeed in amping the Jets up consistently in any way, New York will be a playoff team. Book it.
1st Star: Ray Lewis (LB-Ravens)
-His tackle on Darren Sproles on a 4th & 2 play in the last minute of the ballgame with everything on the line has been called the greatest play of his career. When you are arguably the greatest middle linebacker of all-time, that means something. Seeing the play live was unbelievable. Lewis shot through the line like a cannon and destroyed Mini Me in the backfield before the play even started. Even cooler was seeing an amped up Lewis screaming "Let's go!" before the snap. He doesn't play QB, he doesn't play in a big market, but Ray Lewis may be the best football player of this generation. The play is so great, here's the video!
Fab 5:
1. New York Giants
2. Baltimore
3. New Orleans
4. Indianapolis
5. Minnesota
11 Random Observations:
1) Ok, I know we're just starting out at RSS in our few short months of existence, but did we miss the memo about Peyton Manning now being "The Sheriff"? Why, where, when, and how did this nickname come about? I personally prefer Peyton "Cut That Meat" Manning.
2) The Raiders are bad... but the Chiefs might be even worse. How soon before we equate JaMarcus Russell with major bust? And does Al Davis even know he passed on Adrian Peterson?
3) Don't be fooled by Denver's 2-0 record with beating the Ohio "professional" teams. Good QB decision Eric Mangini, Brady Quinn is really doing a great job of validating your coaching ability thus far. Umm, on second thought...
4) Has any franchise gone through a bigger turnaround identity than the Rams. In 10 years they have gone from the Greatest Show on Turf to non-stop reruns of Cavemen. Can they average more than 5 PPG this season? At this point, take the under.
5) Oh, and congrats to the Redskins for managing to win a game AND getting booed off the field by your home fans. Quite the accomplishment, bravo!
6) If Frank Gore runs like he's the 2nd best RB in the NFL as he did against Seattle, then the 49ers will make the playoffs and Mike Singletary will win Coach of the Year.
7) Maybe the NFC East isn't all it's cracked up to be. Tony Romo looked pathetic, the Skins offense is impotent, and the Eagles allowed, hello, 48 points at home! (By the way, for those of you keeping track at home, Buck and Aikman are 2 for 2 at announcing games involving NFC East teams... the over/under for the year is 13.5)
8) The two best NFC teams might reside down South. I don't want to jinx my Saints too much, but please, anyone, jump on this bandwagon now, you are all welcome. This is definitely the most fun I've had watching a football team. I hope and pray they continue to average 46.5 PPG this season. I can't wait for the battles this season between Matt Ryan and Drew Brees.
9) Speaking of the best teams in each conference, Baltimore v San Diego is a good bet to be an AFC Championship preview.
10) How good is Chris Johnson? Almost 300 yards of offense is pretty impressive, but so was Matt Schaub putting up 34 on the road in Nashville. The Titans will have to step it up, pronto.
11) What can you do in 15 minutes that you can't do in 45 minutes? Besides winning an NFL game of course...
What Happened In Week 2 That Will Change The Season: The Cowboys discover they still have to win the games they play in Jerry Jones Palace
-Al Michaels sounded like he just got his puppy kicked off of a bridge when the Giants spoiled the grand opening of Dallas' new palatial estate. It was beautiful! Sorry, NBC, sorry Jerry Jones. While it might look purty to everyone in Big D, and stand as a great sign that everything is bigger in Texas, it can't hide the Cowboys' struggles and produce wins automatically. Don't expect any NFL team to let their awe of a giant video board and 9 stories worth of stands get in the way of winning on the road. Week 2 proved that games are won on the field, not by egotistical owners and their erected temples. If only Jerry Jones could build himself a new Tony Romo and Wade Phillips...
2 comments:
The Sanchez thing: I have to comment on. It is the fault of the media that put the Patriots over as much as they are. Sanchez beating NE is magnified because they are the benevolent Patriots, led by Tom "Moses" Brady (Moses because he led the Patriots to the promise land, much like Moses). So Sanchez's win is magnified that way.
Bears: I wouldn't count you chickens before they hatch. Although they only hung with the Vikings for one half, they showed potential. If Cutler has a repeat of the Green Bay game, who knows what can happen.
Rex Ryan: You pump him up, but bring Sanchez down. If Rex lost, how would you have viewed him? As a moron? Big mouth? If Sanchez lost, it wouldn't be spoken about as much. Lay off Marky.
Browns: Don't get me started. Too much anger and disgust built up right now to have a decent discussion.
- Brother Y
Brother Y,
Ryan does deserve more credit than Sanchez. It was Ryan's defense that shut down the Pats' O, not Marky Mark. I really like the attitude he's brought as a head coach. Some people were ripping him and his team for treating the Pats game like a Super Bowl... why? Whatever happened to playing every game like it's your last? He's a keeper.
And the Sanchez hype just didn't come about yesterday. It's been going on since the draft, and since we knew he was going to play in New York. Basically every NFL Live episode this offseason was Mark Sanchez based. Good work with the Moses joke, but people have been all up on Sanchez for a while now, it's only magnified cuz of the Pats win.
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