Week 2 in the NFL
A few thoughts while I ponder a way to get Tennessee RB Chris Johnson an 8-year contract to play on my fantasy team...
- I don't remember being so impressed with a team while simotaneously watching what I think will be their fatal flaw come to frution. Miami ran the ball great, even if it was against a poor Indianapolis run defense, gaining 239 yards on 49 carries. The Dolphins controlled the ball for more than 45 minutes. But the Colts won 27-23, because Peyton Manning was able to make big plays and pile up points with the few chances he had, and the Dolphins and QB Chad Pennington weren't. Pennington is very accurate, but his lack of arm strength and inabliity to run a 2-minute drill could make finishing at .500 a struggle for the Dolphins, despite their outstanding running game.
- Right after the Bears' win over Pittsburgh concluded, I said, "Now, take us to that Baltimore/San Diego game, CBS." The network must've heard me, because it switched right to it. We saw enough of it, and enough more in highlights later on, to know that the Ravens might be scary good. The defense is still competent, at worst, and LB Ray Lewis showed what he's still capable of doing in stuffing Darren Sproles on San Diego's final offensive play. What really scares me is that the offense, led by young QB Joe Flacco, is close to catching up to the defense. Even when they won the Super Bowl a few years back, the Ravens were never an offensive juggernaut.
- It was a pretty big weekend for upsets, with Chicago beating Pittsburgh 17-14, Houston nipping Tennessee 34-31, Seattle falling 23-10 to San Francisco and the New York Jets downing New England 16-9. None of those came close to surprising me as much as Cincinnati downing Green Bay 31-24, at Lambeau Field. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers' passing game sure haven't taken off the way it looked they would in the preseason. And I couldn't believe that the Bengals, who couldn't move the ball on lowly Denver in Week 1, put up 31 on a Packers defense that looked dominant in a season-opening defeat of the Bears.
- Nothing in the league right now is as impressive as the New Orleans offense. Philadelphia is usually among the strongest NFL defenses, and I think the Eagles have an oustanding secondary, at least on paper. Drew Brees and the Saints torched the Eagles for 48 points in a blowout victory in Philadelphia. Like the rest of the world, I'm still not sure if the Saints have enough defense to make a deep playoff run. But right now, they look capable of prevailing over anybody in a shootout.
