NFL Week 3: Holy Crap and C'mon Man Performances
Last weekend is a perfect example of why the NFL is so great.
Unlike in baseball, where there is no salary cap and no revenue sharing, the teams with the most money (i.e. the Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies) usually win with very few exceptions. These teams are good every year for the most part, and until something is done to make Major League Baseball more competitive, it will always be that way.
That's an argument for another day, but what makes the NFL so great is that any team can win on any given Sunday.
In the NFL, a team could go 4-11-1 one year and then do a complete turnaround and go 10-6 the next year and win the division, like the Cincinnati Bengals did in 2008-09. With free agency, the draft and everyone using the same amount of money to fund their franchise, every team has the ability to be good, even those who have been bad for the last decade.
This leads us to the Buffalo Bill and Detroit Lions. After so many losing seasons, the Bills and Lions are both 3-0 and in first place. They are the story in the NFL and these two Cinderella teams could be on a crash course to meet in Super Bowl XLVI. Wouldn't that be something?
Detroit and Buffalo top the list of Week 3 "Holy Crap" performers and the two teams they defeated last Sunday, find themselves in the "C'mon Man" category.
"Holy Crap" Performances
Detroit Lions: The Lions??? Who went 0-16 in 2008 and went years without winning a road game, is 3-0 and tied for first place in the NFC North. Down 20-0 at halftime to the Minnesota Vikings, the Lions came roaring back to win 26-23 in overtime.
QB Matthew Stafford continued his terrific start to the season going, 32/46, 378-yds, 2 TD, and he had help orchestrating the comeback with great performances from TE Brandon Pettigrew, 11 rec, 112-yds and Megatron WR Calvin Johnson, 7 rec, 108-yds, 2 TD. If there are were any doubts about the Lions going into Sunday's game, most of them have been erased. The Lions are here to stay and a team to keep a very close eye on the rest of the season.
WR Wes Welker, Patriots: 16 rec, 217-yds, 2 TD. Wes Welker ran wild against the Bills secondary and if he and Tom Brady continue to put up numbers like they have in the first three games this season, they could surpass the records Brady achieved with Randy Moss in 2007.
TE Rob Gronkowski, Patriots: 7 rec, 109-yds, 2 TD. With Tom Brady at quarterback, Gronkowski is quickly becoming one of the best, if not the best, tight end in the NFL.
QB Matt Hasselbeck, Titans: 27/36, 311-yds, 2 TD. The play of Hasselbeck is the sole reason why Tennessee is 2-1 and not 0-3.
DE Jared Allen, Vikings: 6 total tackles and 3 sacks from Allen was not enough in the Vikings third straight loss.
Offensive explosion in New Orleans: This is the kind of game fantasy owners dream about. I said in my week three post that Houston/New Orleans was going to be a shootout and not to toot my own horn, but was I right?
73 points, 48 first downs, 927-yards of offense and impressive passing displays put on by Texans QB Matt Schaub, 22/39, 373-yds, 3 TD and Saints QB Drew Brees, 31/44, 370-yds, 3 TD, 2 INT. Both defenses do need to find a way to improve though, if the Saints and Texans are going to make a run at the playoffs.
QB Eli Manning, Giants: 16/23, 254-yds, 4 TD from Eli helped the Giants knock-off the Eagles.
RB LeSean McCoy, Eagles: 24 car, 128-yds, TD. McCoy was the lone bright spot for Philadelphia on Sunday.
RB Darren McFadden, Raiders: 19 car, 171-yds, 2 TD. McFadden and the Raiders ran all over Rex Ryan's defense and Oakland will continue to win a lot of football games if they can consistently play like they did on Sunday.
QB Joe Flacco and WR Torrey Smith, Ravens: When Joe Flacco, 27/48, 389-yds, 3 TD, plays well the Ravens win, it's that simple. Rookie WR Torrey Smith, 5 rec, 152-yds, 3 TD, had a big coming out party and got off to a very fast start by scoring all three of his touchdowns in the first quarter against the Rams.
TE Jermichael Finley, WR Greg Jennings, QB Aaron Rodgers, Packers: Finely, 7 rec, 85-yds, 3 TD and Jennings, 9 rec, 119-yds, were Aaron Rodgers', 28/38, 297-yds, 3 TD, INT, favorite targets Sunday, as they helped the defending Super Bowl champion Packers, beat the rival Bears to start the season 3-0.
WR Mike Wallace, Steelers: 5 rec, 144-yds, TD. Wallace flew by defenders on his 81-yard touchdown catch, which begs the question, is he the fastest player in the NFL?
LB Pat Angerer, Colts: 21 total tackles, including 12 solo. The Steelers ran 68 plays and Angerer was in a third of the stops, very impressive.
"Holy Crap" Performance of the Week and maybe the Year:
Buffalo Bills: As ESPN's Chris Berman would say, "Nobody circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills." Wow. What a performance by the Buffalo Bills against the mighty New England Patriots. Down 21-0 in the first half, all seemed lost, but give the Bills a lot of credit. They climbed all the way back in large part to four Tom Brady interceptions, who only had four interceptions all of last season, and a great performance from Harvard grad QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, 27/40, 369-yds, 2 TD, 2 INT.
No one and I mean no one, thought the Buffalo Bills would be 3-0 and be all alone in first place after the first three weeks. Much like the Lions, the Bills have been bad for so long, that it's nice to finally see them winning again. Whether or not they can keep the momentum going and outlast the Patriots and Jets in the division, will be interesting to watch in the coming weeks.
"C'mon Man" Performances
Minnesota Vikings: Leads of 17-7, 17-0, and 20-0 at halftime of the Vikings first three games, has resulted in Minnesota starting 0-3. Each of the first three weeks, Minnesota has blown a double digit lead and this not only proves that the Vikings are the best first half team in football, but that you truly have to play a full 60 minutes of football in order to win.
WR Chad Ochocinco, Patriots: 2 rec, 28-yds. Ochocinco needs to tweet #CmonMan for this one. After all the criticism that Ochocinco has received in New England for his tweets and for just being Chad, he had a chance to redeem himself on Sunday in Buffalo.
Tom Brady threw a beautiful ball to Chad who could have easily walk, skipped or danced his way into the end zone, but he let the ball go right through his fingertips. The Patriots would eventually score, but it took them five more minutes. That's valuable time New England could have used late in Sunday's game in Buffalo.
RB Chris Johnson and the Titans rushing attack: Chris Johnson held out much of training camp and the preseason in order to get a new contract. Johnson eventually got a new deal, six-years, $56 million, but he hasn't earned it yet. Through three games Johnson has 46 car for 98-yds and 0 TD. He is averaging just 2.1 yards a carry and on Sunday against Denver, Tennessee ran the ball 23 times for just 38-yds, a 1.7 per carry average. The Titans are to suppose to have one the league's best rushing attacks, but they are averaging just 51.7 yards a game, dead last in the NFL.
C Phil Costa, Cowboys: It was a rough night for the second year center out of Maryland. Costa fumbled 3 times against Washington on Sunday mostly by snapping the ball when QB Tony Romo wasn't ready for it. The Cowboys managed to recover all three balls and Romo even was able to complete a pass on a ball snapped 20-yards behind him, but next time though, the Cowboys may not be so lucky.
Bengals attendance: How much to fans in Cincinnati dislike owner Mike Brown? Well, an attendance of 43,363 and a third of the luxury boxes empty, in a stadium that holds 65,535 is embarrassing and speaks for itself.
"C'mon Man" Performance of the Week:
New England Patriots: After two and a half quarters and a 21-0 lead, things looked pretty good for the Patriots, but it didn't stay that way for long. Four Tom Brady interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, costly penalties, dropped passes and the inability of the defense to stop the Bills when it mattered most, all contributed to the Patriots losing to the Bills for the first time after 15 straight wins.
In their first three games, the offense has yet to be stopped, but the problem is the defense can't stop anybody. Tom Brady and the offense can score all the points they want, but if the New England defense doesn't step up and make some plays, Sunday's result could be repeated.
The Bills visit Cincinnati and Lions go to Dallas in Week 4 and whether or not they both can improve to 4-0 will be the biggest question going into Sunday's games, along with the health and status of Eagles QB Michael Vick. I will preview the Week 4 games in the coming days.
Unlike in baseball, where there is no salary cap and no revenue sharing, the teams with the most money (i.e. the Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies) usually win with very few exceptions. These teams are good every year for the most part, and until something is done to make Major League Baseball more competitive, it will always be that way.
That's an argument for another day, but what makes the NFL so great is that any team can win on any given Sunday.
In the NFL, a team could go 4-11-1 one year and then do a complete turnaround and go 10-6 the next year and win the division, like the Cincinnati Bengals did in 2008-09. With free agency, the draft and everyone using the same amount of money to fund their franchise, every team has the ability to be good, even those who have been bad for the last decade.
This leads us to the Buffalo Bill and Detroit Lions. After so many losing seasons, the Bills and Lions are both 3-0 and in first place. They are the story in the NFL and these two Cinderella teams could be on a crash course to meet in Super Bowl XLVI. Wouldn't that be something?
Detroit and Buffalo top the list of Week 3 "Holy Crap" performers and the two teams they defeated last Sunday, find themselves in the "C'mon Man" category.
"Holy Crap" Performances
Detroit Lions: The Lions??? Who went 0-16 in 2008 and went years without winning a road game, is 3-0 and tied for first place in the NFC North. Down 20-0 at halftime to the Minnesota Vikings, the Lions came roaring back to win 26-23 in overtime.
QB Matthew Stafford continued his terrific start to the season going, 32/46, 378-yds, 2 TD, and he had help orchestrating the comeback with great performances from TE Brandon Pettigrew, 11 rec, 112-yds and Megatron WR Calvin Johnson, 7 rec, 108-yds, 2 TD. If there are were any doubts about the Lions going into Sunday's game, most of them have been erased. The Lions are here to stay and a team to keep a very close eye on the rest of the season.
WR Wes Welker, Patriots: 16 rec, 217-yds, 2 TD. Wes Welker ran wild against the Bills secondary and if he and Tom Brady continue to put up numbers like they have in the first three games this season, they could surpass the records Brady achieved with Randy Moss in 2007.
TE Rob Gronkowski, Patriots: 7 rec, 109-yds, 2 TD. With Tom Brady at quarterback, Gronkowski is quickly becoming one of the best, if not the best, tight end in the NFL.
QB Matt Hasselbeck, Titans: 27/36, 311-yds, 2 TD. The play of Hasselbeck is the sole reason why Tennessee is 2-1 and not 0-3.
DE Jared Allen, Vikings: 6 total tackles and 3 sacks from Allen was not enough in the Vikings third straight loss.
Offensive explosion in New Orleans: This is the kind of game fantasy owners dream about. I said in my week three post that Houston/New Orleans was going to be a shootout and not to toot my own horn, but was I right?
73 points, 48 first downs, 927-yards of offense and impressive passing displays put on by Texans QB Matt Schaub, 22/39, 373-yds, 3 TD and Saints QB Drew Brees, 31/44, 370-yds, 3 TD, 2 INT. Both defenses do need to find a way to improve though, if the Saints and Texans are going to make a run at the playoffs.
QB Eli Manning, Giants: 16/23, 254-yds, 4 TD from Eli helped the Giants knock-off the Eagles.
RB LeSean McCoy, Eagles: 24 car, 128-yds, TD. McCoy was the lone bright spot for Philadelphia on Sunday.
RB Darren McFadden, Raiders: 19 car, 171-yds, 2 TD. McFadden and the Raiders ran all over Rex Ryan's defense and Oakland will continue to win a lot of football games if they can consistently play like they did on Sunday.
QB Joe Flacco and WR Torrey Smith, Ravens: When Joe Flacco, 27/48, 389-yds, 3 TD, plays well the Ravens win, it's that simple. Rookie WR Torrey Smith, 5 rec, 152-yds, 3 TD, had a big coming out party and got off to a very fast start by scoring all three of his touchdowns in the first quarter against the Rams.
TE Jermichael Finley, WR Greg Jennings, QB Aaron Rodgers, Packers: Finely, 7 rec, 85-yds, 3 TD and Jennings, 9 rec, 119-yds, were Aaron Rodgers', 28/38, 297-yds, 3 TD, INT, favorite targets Sunday, as they helped the defending Super Bowl champion Packers, beat the rival Bears to start the season 3-0.
WR Mike Wallace, Steelers: 5 rec, 144-yds, TD. Wallace flew by defenders on his 81-yard touchdown catch, which begs the question, is he the fastest player in the NFL?
LB Pat Angerer, Colts: 21 total tackles, including 12 solo. The Steelers ran 68 plays and Angerer was in a third of the stops, very impressive.
"Holy Crap" Performance of the Week and maybe the Year:
Buffalo Bills: As ESPN's Chris Berman would say, "Nobody circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills." Wow. What a performance by the Buffalo Bills against the mighty New England Patriots. Down 21-0 in the first half, all seemed lost, but give the Bills a lot of credit. They climbed all the way back in large part to four Tom Brady interceptions, who only had four interceptions all of last season, and a great performance from Harvard grad QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, 27/40, 369-yds, 2 TD, 2 INT.
No one and I mean no one, thought the Buffalo Bills would be 3-0 and be all alone in first place after the first three weeks. Much like the Lions, the Bills have been bad for so long, that it's nice to finally see them winning again. Whether or not they can keep the momentum going and outlast the Patriots and Jets in the division, will be interesting to watch in the coming weeks.
"C'mon Man" Performances
Minnesota Vikings: Leads of 17-7, 17-0, and 20-0 at halftime of the Vikings first three games, has resulted in Minnesota starting 0-3. Each of the first three weeks, Minnesota has blown a double digit lead and this not only proves that the Vikings are the best first half team in football, but that you truly have to play a full 60 minutes of football in order to win.
WR Chad Ochocinco, Patriots: 2 rec, 28-yds. Ochocinco needs to tweet #CmonMan for this one. After all the criticism that Ochocinco has received in New England for his tweets and for just being Chad, he had a chance to redeem himself on Sunday in Buffalo.
Tom Brady threw a beautiful ball to Chad who could have easily walk, skipped or danced his way into the end zone, but he let the ball go right through his fingertips. The Patriots would eventually score, but it took them five more minutes. That's valuable time New England could have used late in Sunday's game in Buffalo.
RB Chris Johnson and the Titans rushing attack: Chris Johnson held out much of training camp and the preseason in order to get a new contract. Johnson eventually got a new deal, six-years, $56 million, but he hasn't earned it yet. Through three games Johnson has 46 car for 98-yds and 0 TD. He is averaging just 2.1 yards a carry and on Sunday against Denver, Tennessee ran the ball 23 times for just 38-yds, a 1.7 per carry average. The Titans are to suppose to have one the league's best rushing attacks, but they are averaging just 51.7 yards a game, dead last in the NFL.
C Phil Costa, Cowboys: It was a rough night for the second year center out of Maryland. Costa fumbled 3 times against Washington on Sunday mostly by snapping the ball when QB Tony Romo wasn't ready for it. The Cowboys managed to recover all three balls and Romo even was able to complete a pass on a ball snapped 20-yards behind him, but next time though, the Cowboys may not be so lucky.
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| The upper-levels of PBS were almost empty on Sunday. (Cincinnati Enquirer/Cara Owsley) |
"C'mon Man" Performance of the Week:
New England Patriots: After two and a half quarters and a 21-0 lead, things looked pretty good for the Patriots, but it didn't stay that way for long. Four Tom Brady interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, costly penalties, dropped passes and the inability of the defense to stop the Bills when it mattered most, all contributed to the Patriots losing to the Bills for the first time after 15 straight wins.
In their first three games, the offense has yet to be stopped, but the problem is the defense can't stop anybody. Tom Brady and the offense can score all the points they want, but if the New England defense doesn't step up and make some plays, Sunday's result could be repeated.
The Bills visit Cincinnati and Lions go to Dallas in Week 4 and whether or not they both can improve to 4-0 will be the biggest question going into Sunday's games, along with the health and status of Eagles QB Michael Vick. I will preview the Week 4 games in the coming days.
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