The NFL's 2014 season has kicked off and in just one week a lot of beliefs have been turned upside down. We look at the varied games that have left a lot of people scratching their heads -
*****
The AFC East becomes a beast - No New England runaway here. The AFC East suddenly looks full of depth. Miami's second straight win over the Patriots showcased that the Dolphins really have improved, this after being written off entering the season. And the Dolphins aren't the only division team that looks better - E.J. Manuel played strikingly well in a wild Buffalo Bills win at Chicago after a tumultuous Bills preseason featuring brawling and poor play by the quarterback - and the rumor mongering before the game was that Kyle Orton would step in to replace Manuel.
So what went wrong for the Patriots? The offensive line had been a question mark even before the Logan Mankins trade and breakdowns there came primarily in the middle with some gaffes by blocking tight end Michael Hoomanuwanui also evident; the player getting the most blame right now is rookie Jordan Devey. There was also the curious irrelevance of Darrelle Revis, whose signing was thought to give the Patriots defense the edge of a shutdown corner it ostensibly hasn't had for years. Yet Revis, despite some plays made, didn't appear to intimidate the Dolphins at all.
The Patriots aren't a team to let one bad loss ruin them, but line issues require addressing, and it shows the once-mocked AFC East is better than critics think it is.
*****
The AFC South is also a multi-team race -The Houston Oilers twins - the Titans and Texans - both won, are presently tied atop the AFC South standings, and Tennessee's win was the more impressive coming against a Kansas City Chiefs team that's better than Jay Gruden's Redskins. Jake Locker was good under center for the Titans while Alex Smith showed why the Chiefs shouldn't have signed him to that big contract. The ultimate indignity for the Chiefs then came when their former kicker Ryan Succop signed with Tennessee.
The near-upset of the day was the Jaguars as they attacked and raced to a 17-0 lead at Philadelphia, but the Eagles roared back and exploded to 34 unanswered points. That the Jaguars played that well is something Gus Bradley needs to build on as his Jaguars are no longer anyone's pushover.
*****
The wild and wacky AFC North - The trainwreck Browns and the mighty Steelers? Mismatch, right? Wrong. The Browns came to play and they played like a team that can win. The Steelers found out right away the Browns aren't the same old Browns, but the Steelers for their part also proved doubters wrong after a shaky preseason where their O-line looked atrocious.
While those two were slugging it out the Bengals pulled one of the day's upsets by handling the Ravens in Baltimore. Despite a great touchdown by ex-Panther Steve Smith the Ravens were abysmal on offense as Joe Flacco was intercepted in the endzone and threw 62 passes with just 35 completions. The Bengals offense did have struggles with five field goals needed in redzone trips, but overall they showed they're still solid while the Ravens suddenly look shaky facing a short week where they host the now-confident Steelers.
*****
The Vikings get an opening in the NFC North - The Packers got exposed and the Bears once again failed to seal the deal with Jay Cutler, so the Vikings enter Week Two with a win and a pretty big one after hammering the Rams with 34 points. Neither Rams quarterback - Shaun Hill or Austin Davis - looks ready for primetime while Matt Cassel didn't need much in volume stats to crush St. Louis.
*****
Tony Romo does his thing again. - Tony Romo keeps getting the benefit of the doubt in some analyses because of his volume stats. His performance against the Niners showed anew why he'll never amount to anything as a quarterback. The interceptions are what happen to quarterbacks who refuse to play smart football and instead insist it has to be about their arm. It's Favreball and it's garbage.
*****
NFC West close to the vest - The Seahawks did their thing and the Niners rebounded from a shaky preseason, while the Cardinals never gave up against San Diego and pulled out the win. As for the punchless Rams, they look like a last-place team.
*****
Broncos lead AFC West despite themselves - The Broncos manhandled the Indianapolis Colts but didn't seal the deal, instead giving up 24 points and nearly blowing another game where they led 24-0. They thus lead the AFC West with the Chiefs already in trouble. The Chargers meanwhile blew yet another lead and Philip Rivers is showing increasingly that he isn't the elite quarterback he's truly supposed to be. Then there is the last-place Raiders.
*****
NFC South rises again - The Panthers pulled off the win, and it gives their new-look offense some momentum to work with, while the Falcons proved they're much better than in 2013 with an amazing overtime win over the hated New Orleans Saints. The loss by the Saints nonetheless showed they will be a force this season. The Bucs meanwhile got almost nothing out of new offensive guard Logan Mankins - the irony is they played better after he left the game than they did with him.
So it is with Week Two on the way.
No comments:
Post a Comment