NFL Week 2 Reaction

I apologize for this late entry, but I think from now on, I'll wait until after the Monday Night games are played to post my thoughts. Week 2 in the NFL is in the books, but there were surprises aplenty, so let's get right to the surprise of the day for me.

Arizona 20

New England 18

The Arizona Cardinals marched into New England and took out Tom Brady and The Patriots. I mean, they really took it to the Patriots. The defense was all over Brady, dominated that offensive line, and really made it hard for the Patriots to move the ball. They came ready with a gameplan, jamming receivers at the line, and Aaron Hernandez got injured. The Patriots almost came back and won in the end, but Gostowski missed a last second FG and their 10-game home opening winning streak was broken. 

The Patriots have a chance to rebound, but it'll be hard because they have to go on the road next Sunday night and face Baltimore. The 2-0 Arizona Cardinals led by Kevin Kolb are at home next week and face The Eagles. Let's see if they can continue this surprising winning streak.

Baltimore 23

Philadelphia 24

While we're on Philly and Baltimore, these two teams collided in a smash mouth game where there was lots of fighting involved. It got really physical between both these teams and before you know it, The Philly defense was being physical with the physical Ravens defense. It didn't look good early on when Baltimore had a 17-7 lead at the half, but Vick got it together and rallied his team back to beat Baltimore. I still think Flacco and The Ravens are better, they just got caught in a bad situation facing a very determined Eagles team in their home opener. 

Baltimore has a HUGE game with New England next Sunday. They better get ready cause both teams are gonna come with everything they got. The Eagles travel to Arizona to take on the 2-0 Cardinals. Either The Cardinals will prove how legit they are, or they're going to be brought down to earth in a BIG way.

Tampa Bay 34

New York 41

This is what I mean about The Giants sometimes. They can be so inconsistent it bothers me. But then again, this is not about The Giants' inconsistency, this is about their comeback against Tampa Bay. Eli shook off a few early interceptions against Tampa Bay and it looked like they were going to get blown out, but the Super Bowl Champions rallied. Eli tossed a number of TD passes and this rejuvenated offense was stretching the field, outplaying the corners, and with a little luck, the balls landed right where they needed to be.

The Bucs defense completely broke down in the second half being gashed for 604 overall yards. Freeman and Jackson looked like a perfect combination in the first half, but none of that looked like it was there in the second half. Eli had a BIG fourth quarter and The Bucs couldn't keep up and took a loss under their column.

Tampa Bay travels to Dallas next week in a very interesting game, while New York travels to Carolina to face Cam Newton and The Panthers. Two very intriguing games indeed.

New York 10

Pittsburgh 27

I'm not surprised in the least about this one. I knew Pittsburgh was not about to let The Jets score 48 points on them like the lowly Buffalo Bills. Sanchez and The Jets scored 10 points in the first half and that was all they had for the game. They didn't score again in the second half. Once Pittsburgh adjusted their defense, Sanchez didn't know what hit him. He was on the run, getting sacked, hurried, and overall just making bad plays because the defense smartened up to what he was doing.

Big Ben played like Big Ben and played mistake free ball completing 24 of 31 passes for 275 yards and shined sending the Jets to 1-1. The offense was cooking on all cylinders and all was normal in Pittsburgh. You could argue that The Jets sorely missed Darrelle Revis. Pittsburgh was just fine without James Harrison and Troy Polamalu in this game.

The Jets travel down to Miami who beat them in the last game of the season last season and ended any hope of a playoff run. After the beatdown Miami placed on Oakland on Sunday, The Jets better be ready. The Steelers go to Oakland and face the 0-2 Raiders.

Broncos 21

Falcons 27

Bad, bad game for Mr. Manning. But then again, it is only one game. The Falcons defense played sensationally and did something not many defenses do and that's confuse Peyton Manning. Peyton Manning is arguably the smartest mind in football and throwing 3 interceptions in his first three drives were definitely a shock to see. Then again, there was a game where Peyton threw 6 interceptions. Surprised people didn't bring that game up. He almost won that one too. Manning seemed fine in the second half without any picks, but the Falcons defense still dominated the Broncos offensive line. It was like Indy all over again. Peyton had almost no time to throw and he's not completely gelled with his new receivers yet. I'm not too worried about that cause we all know who Peyton Manning is.

The Falcons played great. Their defense helped them out in a HUGE way forcing 4 turnovers setting up Matt Ryan to throw 2 TD passes. Atlanta is one of the best regular season teams in the NFL, but all this won't matter unless they can carry it into the playoffs. But on this night, they were spectacular.

The Falcons take on another BIG test and travel to San Diego to face the 2-0 Chargers. Matt Ryan won the last time he was up there. The Broncos tough schedule continues as they host the Houston Texans. 

Honorable Mentions:

Seattle - I told you guys Seattle was a tough place to play. Dallas is proof of that. They looked sleepy out there and Seattle dominated them on both sides of the ball. Russell Wilson played well and they really took it to Romo and The Cowboys. Not much else to say there. Seattle hosts Green Bay next Monday.

Carolina - The Panthers took advantage of The Saints' funk and were dominated them early, but they fended off a rally and edged out a win. Their running game and passing attack balanced each other out and the defense didn't play spectacularly, but when it came down to crunch time, they made the plays that they had to so Brees couldn't orchestrate a comeback. With the Saints in a funk, the NFC South looks pretty wide open.

Indianapolis - Andrew Luck gets his first NFL win and looks good doing it as a matter of fact. Colts scored a late field goal for the win. The Colts stay at home and host The Jaguars.

Cincinnati - A great showing at home. Although it was against The Browns, they bounced back from a blowout loss against The Ravens and look to be back on the right track. Bengals have a tough test as they face RG3 and The Redskins in his home opener.

Miami - Reggie Bush shines as the Dolphins blow Oakland out of the water. They host New York next week. Ryan Tannehill better be prepared for the Jets defense.

San Francisco - The Niners defense is extremely legit. Stafford and The Lions never really took off. I knew it was going to be long night when Alex Smith and the offense took the field and scored on their opening drive. The 2-0 Niners travel to Minnesota Sunday.

Dishonorable Mentions:

Chicago - Offense was completely non-existent during the game. And overall poor showing. A game at home against The Rams could be just what they need.

Dallas - Looked sleepy on defense, and their offense couldn't move the ball at all.

Tennessee - For my pick to at least make the playoffs, they're not off to a good start.

Green Bay - Their offense still looked a tad bit weak, despite their defense being amazing.

Oakland - Carson Palmer is not the answer they needed for this offense. This 0-2 start is a clear sign of that.

Feel free to Comment.

By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete