As the NFL Turns (AFC Style)
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AFCE
The media has already Crowned the Pats as the first 16-0 squad in NFL history, so I should refrain from even mentioning the next 14 games for NE. I guess the talking heads forgot about when the Pats followed their first SB win with two blowouts and then failed to make the playoffs. I'm not picking NE to miss the bonus round, but 16-0?
The Jets are one of those teams everyone knew overachieved last year. I thought they were a .500 team last year and they're a 500 team this year. That means they'll be 6-10 this year. The big shock is that Chad Pennington got hurt one week early. The Jets have found something in Kellen Clemens though. The guy had a grow-up game against the Ravens.
The Bills looked much better defensively against Pittsburgh than most have mentioned. JP Loseman wants the team to open up the offense earlier. That means more opportunities for the Bills D to prove itself. Doesn't matter, Dick Jauron will continue to coach the Bills into doormats.
In Miami, Trent Green will not throw 4 picks every week. The question is, will he throw 4 completions? Daunte Culpepper is starting to look like a very lucky guy right now.
AFCN
At 1-1, the Ravens have hardly looked like the SB contender that so many anticipated. The offense, once again, is futile in the first part of the season, but it's the defense that has been less able to carry the load. If not for a complete meltdown by Jets WR's, the Ravens are 0-2.
Carson Palmer throws 6 TD passes and the Bengals lose. No, there aren't any pigs flying overhead, but the Browns did put 51 on Cincy. I kept checking the score expecting the Bengals to pull away, but the Browns finished. What does this mean to both teams? Nothing. Even Frank Reich had a career game, it didn't make him a starter. The Bengals are still better than Cleveland, and explosive enough to win 10-12 games on the arm of Palmer. The Browns are the Browns. They'll struggle for as long as they stick with Anderson at QB and Crennell as coach. The real question is can EgoManiacs Brady Quinn and Bill Cowher live together in 2008.
Speaking of Cowher, it seems like every week we get another quote or sound bite (or two) from Steeler players that hint of displeasure with their ex-sideline general. Nore than a couple of Steelers, Ben Roethlisberger included, have explained how much they didn't care for Cowher's empty rants and that they resented being treated like children. Now the defense is crediting its success to the fact that Mike Tomlin has "unleashed" Dick LeBeau. Even the Pittsburgh Press is treating the Tomlin Era like a return to the CEO style leadership demonstrated by Chuck Noll. One thing is for sure, Cowher thought the games were won on the sideline, and that was the biggest reason his players typically failed under pressure. Tomlin is a CEO style coach, and while he may not be as concerned with beating the Browns twice a season, he seems to have the makeup that empowers his players and coaches rather than squelches them.
AFCS
The instant the Falcons traded Matt Schaub, I went on record as saying they had traded their best QB. The Texans knew that too. The Colts are due for a down game, and Houston is white hot. Don't be surprised if the Texans pull an upset. Are they a contender, probably not this year. But Schaub makes them immediately ablt to make life miserable for any opponent.
VY stopped short of supporting Dumbavan McChoke's racist rant this week. That spoke volumes about why he just wins football games. Unlike McPuke, Young puts the QB's performance exactly where it belongs, on the QB's shoulders. What worried me about the Titans, was how hard everyone but Young tried to finish poorly against a Colts team they should have beaten. Despite VY I still think TN is going to struggle this year.
Like Joe Theismann used to say about Kordell Stewart, (the problem with having Kordell Stewart at QB, is that Kordell Stewart is your QB) David Garrard will inspire no GM to abandon the draft or FA pool. Garrard is capable of being a passable starter, but will never make a team better than average. Jax will look for a QB after they miss the playoffs this year.
As long as Bob Sanders is playing Safety/LB, the Colts can compete on both sides of the ball. As long as Peyton Manning has Dallas Clark, someone will be open on every pass play. Here's the catch, Sanders has been healthy 50% of the time, the last few seasons. The even worse news, Sanders is starting the season healthy. That means the Colts will have to outscore everyone to repeat as Champs. And here's something else to consider, the Colts laid away a doormat in the making for an opener and then struggled and should have lost to a mediocre Thumbtacks squad. Call me a cynic, but I don't see a repeat in the distribution ceneter capital of the US.
AFCW
Denver is 2-0, despite being unable to score, and courtesy of a gift or two from Joke McClown. But don't sell the Bronc's short. Jay Cutler is the real thing. Mike Shanahan is the real thing. And as long as the Broncos can get away with cut-blocking, RB X will rush for 1,500 yards. Write this down, the Broncos take the AFCW this year.
Lane Kiffin is sticking with Joke McClown because in his words "Josh gives us the best chance to win". Based on what, Lane? His 0-2 record, his abysmal numbers, or his ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory? Kiffin kept the press guessing till the bitter end on who the Raiders regular season starter would be and now we know why. If he had said, "I really like the guy that doesn't play very well" the media would have scorched him. Now he's intent on sticking with the guy who loses football games. Last I checked, a proven, high-level, NFL starter gives any team a better chance to win than a loser on the way to builidng a legacy of stifling ineptitude.
See Norv Coach. See team disintegrate. See Philip Rivers look startingly inexperienced. See Chargers miss playoffs. If not for a Bears team handing the opener to SD on the proverbial silver platter, the Chargers are where they belong at 0-2. In one off season/preseason, the Bolts have gone from an efficient, poised, juggernaut to an undisciplined, underperforming, lackadaisical squad that was totally unprepared to play their anointed AFCC opponent, the Pats. Norv Turner is the Raid of NFL coaches, he kills teams, dead.
So Larry Johnson is starting to look like a genius. He had to know that Herm would turn KC into a doormat, by both ignoring the importance of the QB spot and thinking a team can make the playoffs winning games 9-6, 6-3 and 3-0. So if you're going to get your ass kicked every week, you might as well get paid for it, right Larry? I can't say I blame him. I can say I blame Carl Peterson for recruiting a franchise killing coach, burning piles of money on losers like Kendrell Bell, and then ignoring huge losses on the OL. How bad is Edwards? He disrespected and dispatched the one player making the Chefs a threat, Trent Green, for the legendary Brodie Croyle and the journeyman Damon Huard. I've got nothing against unloading an aging QB, but you only do that if you have good option in the wings. How Edwards thought Croyle was ready to start his car, much less an NFL game is beyond me.
One game is 6.25% of a season. Evaluating a team based on one game is not a sound concept.
The Bengals will go as far as their offense takes them. They win on offense, not defense.