My plane from New York landed me back in Los Angeles at 11:45am PST. It is for these reasons I live not terribly far from the airport. I made it home in time to watch the 4th quarter of the early games, and catch the Raider-Bronco debacle in its painful entirety.
Silver and Black sobbing aside, here is the week 2 NFL recap.
Green Bay Packers at New York Giants–Yes, the Giants are injury wracked, but can football fans everywhere stop writing Brett Favre’s epitaph? Three more touchdown passes place him on the cusp of the touchdown record. The Packers are 2-0, and # 4 apparently has some gas left in the tank. He is the all time wins leader as well. 35-13 Packers
Buffalo Bills at Pittsburgh Steelers–It is too early to tell if the Steelers are that good or the Bills are that bad. Perhaps a bit of both. Although the final score was lopsided, this was a typical grind it out win. The Steelers managed only four field goals in the first half, but a methodical offense and a stifling defense led to the game being broken open when the Steelers eventually cracked the end zone. 26-3 Steelers
Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans–The Titans have a lot of heart, and Jeff Fisher is a major part of that. Adam Vinatieri made three of four field goals, as the Colts survived a late game rally by the skin of their hooves. 22-20 Colts
Houston Texans at Carolina Panthers–This might be the shocker of the day, especially for a certain columnist that had the Panthers contending for the Super Bowl. The Texans are 2-0 for the first time, and the game was not as close as the score indicated. With the Texans up 24-14, a fumbled kickoff return by Carolina went the other way to salt away the game. 34-21 Texans
San Francisco 49ers at St. Louis Rams–The 49ers might be the worst 2-0 team in a long time. Their fans are on the verge of being insufferable. This is not the 1980s. The 49ers survived two games against two bad teams, although Marc Bulger did pass for 368 yards. The 49ers were outgained by almost 2-1. A 56 yard field goal attempt by the Rams could not make it past the crossbar. Frank Gore ran well, and the 49ers are 2-0 for the first time in almost a decade. 17-16 49ers
Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns–This was one of the most wild and woolly games ever played. Three years ago the Bengals defeated the Browns 58-48, with a defensive touchdown capping off an offensive deluge. Bottom line, this game was another thriller. Carson Palmer had six…yes six…touchdown passes…and lost! Browns quarterback Derek Anderson had five touchdown passes. The teams combined for almost 100 yards of offense. Chad Johnson had 209 receiving yards. The Browns almost gave the game away by failing to put the final nail in the coffin. Leading 48-38, and 1 yard away from a 17 point lead, the Browns had to settle for a field goal and a 13 point lead. Carson Palmer’s last furious rally was snuffed out on a diving interception with 21 seconds remaining. Again, defensive plays made the difference in a game with very little defense. This might end up as the game of the year after the season ends. 51-45 Browns
New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers–I have been saying for months that despite getting to the NFC title game, the Saints were only 10-6 last year. They are not that special. Jeff Garcia and Joey Galloway put on solid performances as the Buccaneers built a 28-0 lead and cruised to a relatively easy win. The Saints are 0-2, and this should not be that surprising. 31-14 Buccaneers
Atlanta Falcons at Jacksonville Jaguars–This was Jack Del Rio football. A virtually non-existent offense combined with a jack hammer defense did just enough. As I said last week, while the league can survive without Michael Vick, the Atlanta Falcons should look forward to 2008. 13-7 Jaguars
Dallas Cowboys at Miami Dolphins–The Dallas Cowboys are a very talented team. It will be interesting to see how they deal with adversity, but right now there is none. Tony Romo made some throws that would have made Houdini proud, and Terrell Owens has never been a question mark in terms of talent and ability. 37-20 Cowboys
Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions–Neither team wanted to win this ugly effort. Both kickers missed field goals late in the game. The Vikings had the ball in overtime, which allowed them to give the game away before Detroit had a chance to do so. They fumbled deep in their own territory, Detroit recovered, and normally reliable kicker Jason Hanson atoned for his earlier miss. 20-17 Lions in overtime
Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals–The Walrus, aka Mike Holmgren, saw his team’s destined path to a fourth straight NFC Worst crown temporarily derailed today. Yes, teams play down to the level of their competition, and no it isn’t fair to judge the 2007 Cardinals based on 125 years of futility. The difference between good and bad teams is often miniscule. 2006 could have been different had Pro Bowl Kicker Neil Rackers defeated the Bears. 2007 could be different. Seattle fumbled late in the game deep in their own territory, and Rackers nailed a 42 yarder at the gun. 23-20 Cardinals
Kansas City Chiefs at Chicago Bears–Devon Hester has only played 21 NFL games, and he has eight return touchdowns. Put him in the hall of fame. He broke another return today, although the Bears will continue to be seen by this column as overrated when their prime offense is special teams. The defense of the Bears remains phenomenal, and yes, they did get to the Superbowl with very little offense, but Kansas City is not a good team. The defense could not do it all last week, and they need help from the offense. 20-10 Bears
New York Jets at Baltimore Ravens–Maybe the Jets were not having their plays stolen. Maybe they are just predictable. A late Jets rally fell short when future Hall of Famer Ray Lewis was intercepted in the end zone. The Ravens are winning ugly, with solid defense and little offense. That is pretty much the Raven way. 20-13 Ravens
Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos–For more information on the game of the day, go to www.justblogbaby.com
The Raiders won this game, although it will never be reflected in the record books. I truly believe the team is cursed. Not since Marcus Allen went to the Chiefs have the Raiders suffered as many painful losses as they have since Mike Shanahan took over the Denver head coaching job. Am I the only guy tired of hearing him basically say that Al Davis is worse than Al Queda?
The Raiders have a horrible offense. The defense is fine, but they get gassed late in games because they have no support from the other side. Forget a good offense. Even an adequate offense would be enough to have won this and many games. The Raiders fell behind 17-3, and Josh McCown did throw one touchdown pass to Jerry Porter to cut the gap to 17-10. However, the defense added a safety, and an interception return for a touchdown. A two point conversion put the Raiders up 20-17 in the fourth quarter.
Shane Lechler’s punting was magnificent, but the Broncos went on a late game drive, although the defense stiffened inside the five yard line. The Broncos tied the game at 20 apiece, and the Raiders had over two minutes and all three timeouts.
At this point I have to scream at the top of my lungs that Dante Culpepper is a much better quarterback than Josh McCown. Yes, McCown had one nice 21 yard run, but he passed for only 75 yards, and three interceptions. I watched preseason, and am in shock that Culpepper is not starting. McCown ran a terrible two minute drill, wasting an opportunity. In overtime, another Raider game was marred with controversy.
From the Immaculate Reception to the Tuck Rule to the touchback that was called a safety, I truly think the referees also blame Al Davis for 9/11. Sebastian Janikowski nailed a 52 yard field goal to win the game, and as the players were walking off the field, the kick was disallowed because Mike Shanahan had called timeout before the kick. Bill Cowher tried calling a timeout at the last possible second against the Titans in a playoff game, and it did not work, costing the Steelers the game. I hate being the type of guy to blame the refs, but at some point when the other team is walking off the field acknowledging defeat, a hard fought victory should be the end of it.
A second field goal attempt by Seabass hit the upright. Denver converted a 3rd and 11, and the Raider defense finally broke after an entire day without any help. What separates 8-8 teams from 2-14 teams are games like this. Denver is a wretched 2-0 team, but there are no moral victories. A 159 yard running day by Lamont Jordan was wasted. The Raiders can beat the Browns at home in Week 3, and if they fail to do so, may go 0-16. The Raiders won this game 23-20, but the history books will say otherwise. Mike Shanahan will announce that God (him) defeated Satan (Davis), but his smugness notwithstanding, the Raiders had every chance under the sun to win. The Raiders must immediately start Culpepper. 23-20 Broncos in overtime
The Sunday night game featured the San Diego Chargers at New England Patriots–I have said more than once that even Norv Turner needs two years to destroy a 14-2 team. He is off to a good start. Yes, the Patriots are a great team, but the Chargers should have had the revenge factor going for them. The Patriots had a chip on their shoulder as well, chafing at the idea that there entire run of success was tarnished. They rallied around the dishwater, aka Bill Bellichick, and raced to a 24-0 halftime lead. The teams traded touchdowns in the second half, as the Patriots thrashed the Chargers. Offensive guru Norv Turner has a team that has scored 14 points in each of its first two games. That will defeat a team with no offense such as the Bears, but the Patriots as good as ever. Oh yeah, and Randy Moss is pretty good. 38-14 Patriots
The Monday Night game had the Washington Redskins at the Philadelphia Eagles. I am not sure if Andy Reid is truly letting the outside pressures involving his sons affect his coaching, but if it did I would have zero criticism for him. He seems to be on top of things, and he can’t make the players make the plays when it counts. Field goals aren’t going to cut it. Joe Gibbs had to have been pleased with the running of Clinton Portis. A late Eagle rally died in the red zone, but time will tell if this 0-2 start is a temporary inconvenience as it was in 2003, or if the Eagles are in real trouble. 20-12 Redskins
eric
So, you hate the Bronco’s and Mike Shanahan I take it?
ROTFLMAO!
Actually, that game was a mess. It’s to bad that there is not a way that both teems could lose. And yes, I am a Bronco fan…
The Titans were great, They put up a helluva fight, and Young’s passes were pretty good – esecially the sideline passes, which surprised the heckoutta me!
The Jets seemed to finally start to gel in the 4th. Let’s see if the Mangini is a Mangenius after all. Remember, Belichick was no “genius” in his Browns days, but now we’re wondering again. I wonder…
The Lions are starting to make me wonder too, and so are the Cards. Maybe all that NFL socialism will finally pay off for them.
The Bucs remind me of why Bill Walsh liked Jeff Garcia. Good rule of thumb? Never question Bill Walsh. Just ask San Fran.
JMJ
Oooh, I might start hating you if you diss my Saints again. That they have performed poorly so far this year is a point conceded. But, obviously, I’m a woman who loves underdogs with heart.
As I sent pvt. to the Tygrr….. The Broncos are precisely two separate one half seconds from being 0 and 2.
In all honesty folks, I have a strange feeling that this may be one of the all time classic football seasons. The Bill’s cheating (if that is what it was… I mean, all is fair in love, war, and football!) aside. I cannot truly remember when virtually all of the teams were so close in ability across the board.
Here is my rather generalized prediction: The team that incurs the fewest injuries to starters and immediate back ups will go to the Super Bowl. I think that it is that close.
GREAT FOOTBALL! and that, friends, is what I really love!