CHIEFS 2-0, SLOPPY PLAY LEAGUE-WIDE & ARE THE VIKINGS & COWBOYS ALREADY DONE AFTER TWO WEEKS?
I don't care how ugly it was, the Chiefs are 2-0, that's all that matters.There will be plenty of time for criticism when the Chiefs lose a game or two, but as long as they're winning, I'm not going to rain on the parade by slamming their QB play. I said for years, if they start winning again, I don't care how they do it, winning is always better than losing. This team has been awful for so long, isn't it nice to say "two and O"? I'd rather say, "we won despite Matt Cassel's inefficiency" instead of "Cassel was awful, that's why we lost." Winning makes many things tolerable. Like for instance some bizarre play calling on short yardage or the very limited touches of Jamaal Charles, that kind of thing. Winning makes Eric Berry's shortcomings in pass coverage easier to swallow, you know when he gets completely fooled & the other team drops a bomb right over the spot he just vacated? Berry's run support is already superior, but he is getting sucked in on pass coverage 2-3 times a week. When you're 2-0, you hardly notice the fact that Wallace Gilberry has been the only legitimate pass rusher in two games. Being in first place all by ourselves doesn't allow for critical examination of such things, we're 2-0 for God's sake. Over the past twenty years, teams that start 2-0 make the playoffs 64% of the time.
In a quick return to reality, I'd like to give some praise to Brandon Flowers for his excellent tackling & his Pick-6 for our only touchdown of the afternoon. Also deserving mention is the special teams game plan to keep the ball away form Josh Cribbs on kickoffs. The Browns managed only 50-yards on 5 returns compared to two scores last December when Cribbs was allowed to run free. Ryan Succop continues to be a very relaible kicker, something you need with a less-than-threatening offense like ours. Derrick Johnson & Jovan Belcher, the starting inside linebackers, led the team in tackles. Johnson's resurgence is truly impressive. With San Francisco coming to Arrowhead next Sunday, there's a real sense of hope the Chiefs can go into their bye week with a 3-0 record. After the bye, the excitement may well come crashing back to earth with road trips to Indianapolis & Houston. But 2-0 is 2 & O, I'm thrilled.
I watched some of the sloppiest football I've ever seen on a Sunday. Forty interceptions, yeah, I said 40, were thrown Sunday. That's dreadful, more than 2 1/2 per game. Quarterbacks benched, star runners shut down & panic buttons pushed. It was an ugly, ugly Sunday. The Chiefs won ugly to be sure, but they weren't alone.
The Steelers lost their starting quarterback, Dennis Dixon, to a knee injury. Since Ben Roethlisberger is suspended, Pittsburgh also cut Byron Leftwich on Saturday, which left their depth chart bare except 14-year veteran Charlie Batch. The Steelers mounted a very impressive 127 total yards of offense. Antonio Brown scored on a reverse during the game's opening kickoff. Throw in 4 Jeff Reed field goals & that was the sum total of their offensive output. They won by shutting down "Mr. 2,000 Yards", Chris Johnson. He managed but 34 yards on 16 carries after surpassing the 100-yard mark in 14-consecutive games. This put the offensive burden on Vince Young & he wasn't up to the task today. He threw 2 interceptions, lost a fumble & was replaced by backup Kerry Collins. It was the definition of winning ugly.
The Bengals couldn't score a touchdown of any type, but beat the Ravens 15-10 for the third consecutive time. They forced 4 interceptions by Baltimore QB Joe Flacco. He was too impatient, he continually tried to force the ball into spots he had no business shooting for, the Bengals were very opportunistic when they forced Flacco to press. This also was an ugly win.
Oakland's Jason Campbell, Carolina's Matt Moore & Tennesse's Vince Young were all benched, but only Oakland, under Bruce Gradkowski, came back to win. Jimmy Clausen played for Carolina & don't be shocked if he doesn't get the next couple of starts.
Now let's talk about the Vikings & Cowboys, 0-4 so far in 2010. Should we stick a fork in 'em yet? Starting the season 0-2 gives a team just a 10% chance of making the playoffs. That's one in ten. Not very good odds is it? I didn't see much of the Miami-Minnesota game, but turnovers by Brett Favre played a large part in the Dolphins' victory. He threw three interceptions & lost a fumble, two of those turnovers were inside the Miami 10-yardline. Wide receiver Percy Harvin was cleared to play early Sunday, his ailing hip good enough to go, but it didn't last long, he was on the bench for most of the 2nd half. With Sidney Rice out for 6 more weeks, Favre's comfort level on offense has become uncomfortable to be sure.
Then there's Dallas. The team that couldn't score all preseason, the team that couldn't score last Sunday night became the team that couldn't score a touchdown in Sunday's second half against the pesky Bears. The Cowboys continue to impress me as a team that thinks they can just throw their helmets out onto the field & they will win.That team in the other jerseys, they get paid to play too, they really don't care what you believe. The Cowboys are circling the drain. Rushing for a piddly 36 yards on 20 carries is really pathetic. They travel to Houston next Sunday, have their bye week & then play Tennessee & Minnesota back to back weeks. They're standing around, waiting for someone to make a play. They've begun to point fingers, their owner is seeing his dream of playing a home Super Bowl game grow dimmer by the week. I can't see Wade Phillips lasting much longer, but offensive coordinator Jason Garrett ought to be chopped as well, the play calling has been horrendous. Chicago, an 8 1/2 point underdog, came into Dallas & outplayed, out hustled & simply wanted the win more than Romo & company. It's hard to pin point how a team this talented fails so miserably, but they have.
Tom Brady said it best during his post-game press conference, "We sucked." He's right. The Patriots had the game under control midway thru the 2nd quarter, but it fell apart in the second half. "We couldn't run, we couldn't pass, we couldn't do anything right" Brady said. He threw 2 second-half interceptions. Equally surprising in this game was the resurgence of Jet QB Mark Sanchez who threw 3 touchdown passes & didn't turn the ball over after his miserable performance Monday night against Baltimore. Sanchez looked downfield, threw to his wideouts, Jerricho Cotchery & Braylon Edwards catching 9 balls combined. Even stranger, the jets played better on defense after all-pro cornerback Darrelle Revis left the game with a hamstring injury. Go figure.
It wouldn't be fair not to mention the players that had a major impact in their team's win.
Lions running back Jahvid best scored 3 times on Sunday, giving him 5 touchdowns so far in 2010.
Lions DT Ndamakong Suh led his team in tackles, recorded a sack & 2 tackles for loss.
Falcons rookie linebacker Sean Weatherspoon led his team in tackles with 9, a sack & one tackle for loss.
Packer linebacker Clay Mathews recorded 3 sacks for the 2nd week in a row.
Bronco rookie wideout Damaryius Thomas caught 8 passes for 97 yards & a TD. He had previously missed the entire preseason & opening day.
Texans' QB Matt Schaub went 38 of 52 for 497 yards & 3 scores.
Redskin QB Donovan McNabb completed 28 of 38 attempts for 426 yards & a touchdown.
Schaub's starting receivers, Andre Johnson & Ken Walter, combined to catch 23 passes for 302 yards & 2 touchdowns.
Kevin Sumlin's Houston Cougars were really dealt quite a blow Saturday night when they lost their first two quarterbacks for the season. Heisman hopeful, Case Keenum, sustained a concussion & a torn ACL. His backup, Cotton Turner suffered a broken collarbone. Keenum was on the cusp of setting several all-time NCAA passing records.
Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio, who suffered thru a reported "cardiac episode" had a stent installed in a clogged artery on Sunday. He is said to be out "indefinitely" but having had this procedure myself, I can't see him out much longer than a week. He'll probably be back for the Spartans game with Wisconsin on October 2nd.
In a quick return to reality, I'd like to give some praise to Brandon Flowers for his excellent tackling & his Pick-6 for our only touchdown of the afternoon. Also deserving mention is the special teams game plan to keep the ball away form Josh Cribbs on kickoffs. The Browns managed only 50-yards on 5 returns compared to two scores last December when Cribbs was allowed to run free. Ryan Succop continues to be a very relaible kicker, something you need with a less-than-threatening offense like ours. Derrick Johnson & Jovan Belcher, the starting inside linebackers, led the team in tackles. Johnson's resurgence is truly impressive. With San Francisco coming to Arrowhead next Sunday, there's a real sense of hope the Chiefs can go into their bye week with a 3-0 record. After the bye, the excitement may well come crashing back to earth with road trips to Indianapolis & Houston. But 2-0 is 2 & O, I'm thrilled.
I watched some of the sloppiest football I've ever seen on a Sunday. Forty interceptions, yeah, I said 40, were thrown Sunday. That's dreadful, more than 2 1/2 per game. Quarterbacks benched, star runners shut down & panic buttons pushed. It was an ugly, ugly Sunday. The Chiefs won ugly to be sure, but they weren't alone.
The Steelers lost their starting quarterback, Dennis Dixon, to a knee injury. Since Ben Roethlisberger is suspended, Pittsburgh also cut Byron Leftwich on Saturday, which left their depth chart bare except 14-year veteran Charlie Batch. The Steelers mounted a very impressive 127 total yards of offense. Antonio Brown scored on a reverse during the game's opening kickoff. Throw in 4 Jeff Reed field goals & that was the sum total of their offensive output. They won by shutting down "Mr. 2,000 Yards", Chris Johnson. He managed but 34 yards on 16 carries after surpassing the 100-yard mark in 14-consecutive games. This put the offensive burden on Vince Young & he wasn't up to the task today. He threw 2 interceptions, lost a fumble & was replaced by backup Kerry Collins. It was the definition of winning ugly.
The Bengals couldn't score a touchdown of any type, but beat the Ravens 15-10 for the third consecutive time. They forced 4 interceptions by Baltimore QB Joe Flacco. He was too impatient, he continually tried to force the ball into spots he had no business shooting for, the Bengals were very opportunistic when they forced Flacco to press. This also was an ugly win.
Oakland's Jason Campbell, Carolina's Matt Moore & Tennesse's Vince Young were all benched, but only Oakland, under Bruce Gradkowski, came back to win. Jimmy Clausen played for Carolina & don't be shocked if he doesn't get the next couple of starts.
Now let's talk about the Vikings & Cowboys, 0-4 so far in 2010. Should we stick a fork in 'em yet? Starting the season 0-2 gives a team just a 10% chance of making the playoffs. That's one in ten. Not very good odds is it? I didn't see much of the Miami-Minnesota game, but turnovers by Brett Favre played a large part in the Dolphins' victory. He threw three interceptions & lost a fumble, two of those turnovers were inside the Miami 10-yardline. Wide receiver Percy Harvin was cleared to play early Sunday, his ailing hip good enough to go, but it didn't last long, he was on the bench for most of the 2nd half. With Sidney Rice out for 6 more weeks, Favre's comfort level on offense has become uncomfortable to be sure.
Then there's Dallas. The team that couldn't score all preseason, the team that couldn't score last Sunday night became the team that couldn't score a touchdown in Sunday's second half against the pesky Bears. The Cowboys continue to impress me as a team that thinks they can just throw their helmets out onto the field & they will win.That team in the other jerseys, they get paid to play too, they really don't care what you believe. The Cowboys are circling the drain. Rushing for a piddly 36 yards on 20 carries is really pathetic. They travel to Houston next Sunday, have their bye week & then play Tennessee & Minnesota back to back weeks. They're standing around, waiting for someone to make a play. They've begun to point fingers, their owner is seeing his dream of playing a home Super Bowl game grow dimmer by the week. I can't see Wade Phillips lasting much longer, but offensive coordinator Jason Garrett ought to be chopped as well, the play calling has been horrendous. Chicago, an 8 1/2 point underdog, came into Dallas & outplayed, out hustled & simply wanted the win more than Romo & company. It's hard to pin point how a team this talented fails so miserably, but they have.
Tom Brady said it best during his post-game press conference, "We sucked." He's right. The Patriots had the game under control midway thru the 2nd quarter, but it fell apart in the second half. "We couldn't run, we couldn't pass, we couldn't do anything right" Brady said. He threw 2 second-half interceptions. Equally surprising in this game was the resurgence of Jet QB Mark Sanchez who threw 3 touchdown passes & didn't turn the ball over after his miserable performance Monday night against Baltimore. Sanchez looked downfield, threw to his wideouts, Jerricho Cotchery & Braylon Edwards catching 9 balls combined. Even stranger, the jets played better on defense after all-pro cornerback Darrelle Revis left the game with a hamstring injury. Go figure.
It wouldn't be fair not to mention the players that had a major impact in their team's win.
Lions running back Jahvid best scored 3 times on Sunday, giving him 5 touchdowns so far in 2010.
Lions DT Ndamakong Suh led his team in tackles, recorded a sack & 2 tackles for loss.
Falcons rookie linebacker Sean Weatherspoon led his team in tackles with 9, a sack & one tackle for loss.
Packer linebacker Clay Mathews recorded 3 sacks for the 2nd week in a row.
Bronco rookie wideout Damaryius Thomas caught 8 passes for 97 yards & a TD. He had previously missed the entire preseason & opening day.
Texans' QB Matt Schaub went 38 of 52 for 497 yards & 3 scores.
Redskin QB Donovan McNabb completed 28 of 38 attempts for 426 yards & a touchdown.
Schaub's starting receivers, Andre Johnson & Ken Walter, combined to catch 23 passes for 302 yards & 2 touchdowns.
Kevin Sumlin's Houston Cougars were really dealt quite a blow Saturday night when they lost their first two quarterbacks for the season. Heisman hopeful, Case Keenum, sustained a concussion & a torn ACL. His backup, Cotton Turner suffered a broken collarbone. Keenum was on the cusp of setting several all-time NCAA passing records.
Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio, who suffered thru a reported "cardiac episode" had a stent installed in a clogged artery on Sunday. He is said to be out "indefinitely" but having had this procedure myself, I can't see him out much longer than a week. He'll probably be back for the Spartans game with Wisconsin on October 2nd.
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