Take 3 on the NFL’s Week 3

Week 3 in the 2009-10 NFL season will go down as one to remember.  The Lions finally won a game, the Jets kept their strong start going,  Brett Favre reminded everyone why the Vikings brought in the aging veteran, and the Bengals (that’s right the Bengals) did it again.  The NFL season is off and running with a few teams feeling pretty good, while some others are already looking toward next season. 

• The good news for fans in Detroit is the Lions finally ended their 19 game losing streak, but the bad news is most fans were not able to see the game due to the NFL’s local blackout policy.  Matthew Stafford looked very good leading the Lions to victory, and I feel Detroit could finally have the franchise quarterback they have been looking for.  Stafford’s numbers were not gaudy, but he appears to be getting more comfortable playing the NFL game, and he made very smart decisions with the football on Sunday.  The Lions still have a long way to go, but this team is on the way up.  I guess winning one game in a season will do that. 

• Okay so what do you think is worse, being the team that loses 19 games in a row, or being the team that loses to the team that has lost 19 games in a row?  That is tough question, but the heat is squarely on Washington right now.  The Redskins have simply been awful this year.  Washington did everything they could to upgrade at quarterback in the off-season, but failed to land Jay Cutler or Michael Vick.  If Jason Campbell had any confidence left after the tumultuous off-season, it should be completely gone after being shut down in consecutive weeks by the Rams and Lions.  It does not help when Head Coach Jim Zorn continues making questionable play calls.

• With the Lions showing signs of improvement this season, the mantle of ‘really bad team’ can be passed on to a number of clubs.  The Rams, Bucs, Browns, Chiefs, and (despite a week 2 win) the Raiders are all very bad.  If you are in an eliminator pool, I recommend selecting a team that is playing one of the teams mentioned above.  I had the Ravens to beat the Browns this week.  Easy pickens! 

• Brett Favre proved to everyone why the Vikings went so far out of their way to sign him.  Favre worked his late game magic once again, throwing a picture perfect pass under pressure to the back of the endzone to win the game with two seconds remaining on the clock.  Greg Lewis made an amazing catch, but Favre put the ball in the only spot his player could make a play.  The Vikings are flying high after starting the season at 3-0.

• I usually do not buy into the ‘moral victory’ concept in the NFL, but I am buying into it with repect to the 49ers.  San Francisco proved a lot on Sunday.  San Francisco will not be happy about the result, but they proved to everyone, and themselves, that they are a team to contend with in the NFL.  The 49ers did lose Frank Gore to an ankle injury, but they have a favourable schedule the next couple of weeks, and backup RB Glen Coffee will fill in nicely. 

• I stated last week that the Patriots would be fine after looking shaky in their first two outings, and the Pats did well rebounding to beat a very good Atlanta Falcons team.  Tom Brady missed Moss on a few wide open passes, and he still needs some time to find his touch, but the Patriots are still dangerous, and will be in the mix come playoff time.  It is clear that the Patriots no longer look invincible, but they are still one of the AFC powers to contend with.

• J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets!  The New York Jets are quickly proving they are in fact for real.  I was hesitant to buy into the hype early on, but Sunday’s win over the Titans was enough for me to jump on the bandwagon.  Mark Sanchez continues to impress with his decision making, and the defense is quickly becoming one of the more dominant in the league.  Rex Ryan is the toast of the town in New York!

• The Titans lost three games all of last year, but have now equaled that total after just three weeks this season.  The offense struggled to score in week 1, the defense was torched in week 2, and the special teams turned the ball over twice resulting in two Jets touchdowns.  Tennessee is finding a different way to lose each week.  The Titans have lost three close ones, but it is going to be extremely tough, if not impossible, to climb out of this hole. 

• The Miami Dolphins are another team to win its division last season, only to start the new campaign by losing their first three games.  The Dolphins also lost starting quarterback Chad Pennington to a shoulder injury in the third quarter.  Miami was the talk of the league a season ago as the ‘wildcat’ offense took the league by storm, but it appears opposing defenses have figured it out, and the Dolphins could be in for a long season.

• Break-out the Denver Broncos.  Okay, I realize the Broncos have played the Bengals, Browns, and Raiders in the their first three games, but the Bengals are the only team to score a touchdown on this group.  A lot was made of the changes at quarterback, but I could play the position if the Broncos are going to limit the opposition to 7 points or less.  The test will come next week as the Broncos take on their toughest challenge in the Dallas Cowboys. 

• The Bengals did it again.  The franchise that is known for finding ways to lose games has won two in a row by scoring late touchdowns.  The Bengals overcame a 20 point deficit on Sunday scoring the winning touchdown with 14 seconds left.  Cincinnati got off to their usual bad luck start with a stunning week 1 loss to the Broncos, but have managed to rebound nicely.  It might be an interesting year in Cincinnati after all.

• There might be a changing of the guard taking place in the AFC North.  The Pittsburgh Steelers have not looked very sharp in their first three games, and have a 1-2 record to show for it.  Meanwhile, the Ravens are off to a 3-0 start, and their offense appears to be as good as the defense this season.  The Steelers better pick it up soon, or the Ravens could run away with this division.

• This is the Jay Cutler Chicago fans have been dreaming about all summer.  Cutler put in his second straight solid performance, after a horrific week 1, as the Bears came from behind to beat the Seahawks.  Cutler hit Devon Hestor for the go ahead score with 1:52 remaining.  Jay finished the game with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception, and if those numbers become the norm, fans in Chicago will be very happy.

• Kevin Kolb put in another solid performance in only his second career start.  Kolb had his second straight 300 yard passing game in as many weeks, but this time he did not throw any interceptions.  The pressure was on Kolb as Michael Vick made his return to the NFL, but Vick was used mainly as a decoy, as he finished with zero completions and seven yards rushing.  Kolb appears to have locked down the backup job, which likely means Vick will be used as trade bait in the off-season.

• In an absolute shocker in Buffalo, Drew Brees did not throw a touchdown on Sunday, but it did not matter as the Saints were still victorious with a 27-7 win over the Bills.  Sean Payton must be overjoyed with the result.  The Saints defense was able to hold the Bills to just 7 points, as the highly touted Saints offense was held in check until breaking the game open in the fourth quarter.  The Saints were unable to win these types of games last season, and it must feel nice for Drew Brees and Co. to see the defense step up, and help out the offense.

• Another shocking development to take place in Buffalo was the fact that Terrell Owens did not catch one pass.  Owens entered the game with a streak of 185 games with a reception.  Owens usually does not start to criticize his quarterback until his second year with the team, and he held back during his post-game press conference, but that trend will change very soon if Edwards does not start throwing the ball to T.O.

• The AFC South was supposed to a tight race to the finish, but the Indianapolis Colts are quickly running away with the division.  Payton Manning appears to be getting quite comfortable with his new recievers (especially Pierre Garcon), and the defense is also getting quite comfortable running their new blitzing schemes.  The Colts pounded the defending NFC Champion Cardinals in Arizona on a short week.  Manning was superb throwing for 379 yards and 4 touchdowns.  No other team in the AFC South has a winning record, so catching the Colts is going to be a tall task.       

• Finally, a lot was being made of the fact that the Cowboys had yet to record a takeaway in their first two games.  Well they were handed the perfect cure for that ailment on Monday night as Jake Delhomme and the Carolina Panthers came to town.  Delhomme threw two more interceptions (the second was returned for a touchdown), and lost a fumble on the final drive in the Panthers loss to Dallas.  John Fox has defended Delhomme time and time again, and the Panthers receivers did not do their quarterback any favours in the loss, but at some point Carolina is going to have to take a serious look at the quarterback position, and consider upgrading in the off-season. 

Well that pretty much sums up week 3 in the NFL.  It is too bad we have to wait six more days for week 4 to roll around.  Week 4 features a number of great match-ups including: Jets vs. Saints, Cowboys vs. Broncos, Ravens vs. Pariots, Chargers vs. Steelers, and of course Packers vs. Vikings.  I’m thinking that last match-up might garner some attention through the week.