Week 3 musings...

[off_the_wall]

Without question, the surprise team of the week and year, are the Bills at 3-0, after beating New England. That being said, an off-day by Brady kills the one-dimensional Pats. I'm going to the Bills/Eagles game in two weeks, who would have guessed when I got these tickets that this game could actually mean something ?

After seeing the Colts, it makes me wonder how much Peyton Manning is really worth ? He certainly covers up a lot of warts in the Colts offense, for sure.

RB Chris Johnson still has yet to hit 100 yards rushing, for the season, three games in.

QB Jason Campbell must be loving Darren McFadden right about now.

So much for all the talk of the Falcons " opening up " the offense this season.

Minnesota with a dubious record. The only team in the history of the NFL to be leading by double digits at the half of three straight games, and end up losing all three games. The 2nd half 3rd down stats, tell the tale...Minnesota 1-15, opponents are 13-22.

Matt Hasselbeck has played better than I thought he would have thus far.

I'm not sure who can stop Green Bay.

That mad rush you hear are fantasy football owners running to the waiver wise trying to nab rookie WR Torrey Smith, after his 152 and 3 TD games this week versus the Rams.

Who gets canned first, Tony Sparano in Miami or Todd Haley in KC ? Me thinks Sparano.

I can't remember when so many teams had mediocre offensive lines.

How does QB Sam Bradford only have 3 passing yards in the first half ?

No matter what Wes Welker does, he seems to be perennially underrated.

Lions haven't been 3-0 since 1980.

The more I see of Darren Sproles, the more I can't help but think that Reggie Bush is grossly overrated.

Anyone who watched the Bengals/Niners game should sue the league for fraud.

[Bodhizefa]

The more I see of Darren Sproles, the more I can't help but think that Reggie Bush is grossly overrated.

Watching Bush be completely useless the last two weeks has been massively painful. As a Dolphins fan, I was never a big proponent of the Bush deal for Miami. And when they said they'd use him as the feature back, it made me cringe. He was great in Week 1, but then the "slight" groin tweak occurred and he's been useless ever since. Yuck.

P.S. This is one of my favorite football threads on the planet. Thanks for bringing it back this year.

[Hammer]

Johnson doesnt get 100 on a Broncos team missing DJ Williams and Dumervil.

Campbell is the epitome of 'game manager'.

The pre-season darling Rams arent looking so darling.

McFadden shredded that Jets D.

The Patriots are becoming a gimmick team. They cant run and they cant stop anybody but they put up pinball like numbers in the passing game.

[revo]

Ben-Jarvus Green Ellis is playing his way into uselessness. Is Stevan Ridley on the way?

Eli Manning is Dr. Jeckyll one week (like yestetday), and Mr. Hyde others. While that could be maddening at times, it seems like he's gotten over his case of Interceptionitis.

Those of you who drafted Matt Stafford, take a bow.

Wes Welker had 16 of the 19 receptions by NE wide receivers yesterday.

Tom Brady had as many picks yesterday as he did all last season.

The next three weeks will determine if this is the end of Cedric Benson's Bengal career, or Bernard Scott's.

Texan TEs accounted for 202 yards receiving yesterday.

Looks like this is going to be another long year for Antonio Gates owners.

Ryan Grant's demise was greatly exaggerated.

When will teams learn to stop taking WRs in the 1st round of the NFL Draft? For every Dez Bryant, Hakeem Nicks or Calvin Johnson, you get five Demaryius Thomases, Darius Heyward-Beys and Craig "Buster" Davises.

Of all the "elite" RBs, I'm least impressed by Rashard Mendenhall. He's certainly capable & dependable, but he seems to lack that breakaway ability that all elite RBs need to have.

[Erik]

Sparano should have been fired last year. You can't go 1-7 at home if it's not a rebuilding year.

The lockout probably has a lot to do with the mediocre line play. If anyone needs time to gel, it's those guys. It's not like most defenses are playing out of this world either, though.

[Bodhizefa]

Sparano should have been fired last year. You can't go 1-7 at home if it's not a rebuilding year.

I still don't understand how they didn't fire him after the whole Harbaugh swing and miss. If you're going to very publicly chase after another head coach, it's pretty obvious you don't have any loyalty or belief in the current one. That Sparano was allowed to stay on shows just how dysfunctional the Dolphins' organization is. Truly, it's like they're the New York Knicks of the NFL -- always taking on ****ty "name brand" players who are either past their prime or never had a prime worthy of discussing. I know very little about football overall, and I think I could do a better job as their GM. It's sad how awful the organization has become in the last 15 years (post-Marino/Shula/Jimmy Johnson).

[Erik]

When Dave Wannstedt was in charge, they traded a 2nd round pick for AJ Feeley. And the FO hasn't gotten any better since then!

[Trautdiggity]

Watching Bush be completely useless the last two weeks has been massively painful. As a Dolphins fan, I was never a big proponent of the Bush deal for Miami. And when they said they'd use him as the feature back, it made me cringe. He was great in Week 1, but then the "slight" groin tweak occurred and he's been useless ever since. Yuck.

P.S. This is one of my favorite football threads on the planet. Thanks for bringing it back this year.

I'm not seeing how he was great in week 1. He averaged 3.5 yards rushing and 6.2 receiving. Just because Henne checked down to him a lot doesn't make him great, it makes everyone else on the team mediocre. They've tried like hell to make the Bush addition bigger than it is and it's laughable.

[Bodhizefa]

I'm not seeing how he was great in week 1. He averaged 3.5 yards rushing and 6.2 receiving. Just because Henne checked down to him a lot doesn't make him great, it makes everyone else on the team mediocre. They've tried like hell to make the Bush addition bigger than it is and it's laughable.

Valid points. I was looking at him more in terms of fantasy for what he produced in Week 1, but in reality, you're absolutely right. He was mediocre from a standpoint of value production in non-fantasy football. Thanks for making me recognize that my Dolphins are even worse than I figured

[Bodhizefa]

When Dave Wannstedt was in charge, they traded a 2nd round pick for AJ Feeley. And the FO hasn't gotten any better since then!

My favorite football team is the dopey-ass Dolphins. My favorite baseball team is the ****ty Seattle Mariners. And my favorite NBA team is the now defunct Seattle SuperSonics. I hate my (sports) life.

[Judge Jude]

from Big Lead Sports

Only 4 teams in NFL history had managed to lose three different games in a season when they were leading by double digits at halftime – the 1999 Cowboys, 1990 Vikings, 1987 Bengals, and 1983 Chiefs. Those teams spread it out over the course of a full season; this year’s Vikings have managed to do it in three games.

[Long John]

I'm now more annoyed than ever that the Packers and Lions are playing on Thanksgiving Day. That's going to be a very good game - if the Lions offense stays healthy.

Pundits that said the Eagles offense would struggle early were wise beyond their years. Still there's no excuse for the defense not tackling.

While the Chargers didn't show up this week, it took a really bad throw by Cassel to seal the deal.

I really thought the Bucs offense would be doing more so far.

[Erik]

Pundits that said the Eagles offense would struggle early were wise beyond their years.

There are two factors at play here.

1. Andy Reid teams always get off to slow starts and appear out of sync at the beginning of the season. Then they hit their stride after the bye week. The only year they hit their stride out of the gate was 2004.

2. If there was any team that needed a full offseason of minicamps and whatnot, it was the Eagles. A ton of new players and coaches, all of whom need time to implement their schemes and get used to each other.

Put those two things together, and anyone who was expecting a quick start was deluding themselves.

[onejayhawk]

The Chiefs need to buy a MASH chopper for their starting lineup.

As with pervious lockouts/strikes, some teams got much more prepared than others.

Young teams fit on both sides of above.

With respect to top of the draft RBs, this season reminds me of 1999: Barry Sanders retired, Jamaal Anderson went south, Terrell Davis got hurt, etc.

They used to say that Bart Starr couldnt do anything but beat you. Cam Newton is that in track shoes.

SucK for Luck has got to be the dumbest bumper sticker to ever get really popular.

I have a dirty sock. Would someone please stuff it in Dieon's moth.

J

[chancellor]

Lessee...comments on above:

Ryan Grant had a good game, but I'm not sure I'd get too fired up. He's still solid between the tackles, and doesn't fumble, but IMO, he's pretty limited due to lack of speed. But he's a nice 1-2 with Starks.

As a Packer fan, the only thing more fun than beating the Bears is beating the Bears AND watching the Viqueens choke a 3rd consecutive game away.

If I were Tom Brady, I'd wonder why I bother throwing to Ochostinko at all. Roberto Duran, meet someone with harder hands than yours.

Gotta agree with Revo about Mendenhall. Yes, the blocking hasn't been great, but he's missing some of the few holes that are actually there.