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Week 2 Thoughts
* Concerns about Peyton Manning’s arm strength, at least at his point, are overblown. More valid are the concerns about his fit in the Gary Kubiak offense, a concern I highlighted in the Week 1 thread before the first game. (Get on my level, NFL pundits). Thursday night in KC, we saw Manning and the Broncos O struggle while working the Kubiak system, only to start to right the ship as they started running plays from the Manning playbook. By the end of the game, the Broncos secured a comeback, and Kubiak’s playbook was in a trash can fire. But that’s just for this week. Will they use the long week to add some Kubiak wrinkles to the Manning offense, or will Kubiak see the extra practice time as an opportunity to double-down and give the O extra reps learning his attack?
* This was the week of Year 2 quarterbacks. Derek Carr and Blake Bortles led their team to last-minute comeback wins. Teddy Bridgewater bounced back from a bad Week 1 with an efficient win. And even Johnny Manziel got in the action, throwing up a couple of prayers that connected against the Titans. (Granted, he only completed a Tebow-like 8 passes, but still.)
Carr: 30/46, 351 yds, 3 TDs, 1 INT
Bortles: 18/33, 273 yds, 2 TDs, 0 INT
Bridgewater: 14/18, 153 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT
Manziel: 8/15, 172 yds, 2 TDs, 0 INT
* Despite winning with Manziel last week, the Browns announced that they will start Josh McCown this week, following his successful completion of the concussion protocol. Therefore, we will have both McCown brothers starting NFL games on Sunday . The last time this happened? Almost 8 years ago , December 9th of 2007, Week 13. Josh took the Raiders on the road to Lambeau to lose to the Packers 38-7, while Luke took the Buccaneers into Houston for a more competitive 28-14 defeat.
* To give the Browns and Saints some hope, the week before that, Week 12, Josh led the Raiders to a win at home against Denver, 34-20, while throwing 3 TDs and 0 INTs. Meanwhile, Luke went into the Superdome in New Orleans and led the Bucs to a 27-23 win, throwing for 313 yards and 2 TDs.
* That game was one of only two victories in Luke McCown’s career in which he attempted a pass in the game. He is 2-17 lifetime in such games.
* It was a bad day for the 49ers, but Colin Kaepernick had one of his best days as a passer: 33-of-46, 335 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs. The “new and improved Kaepernick” has held up so far, completing 69.4% of his passes and throwing 0 INTs, and is tied for 6th best graded QB at PFF.
* PFF’s lowest graded QB through two weeks? Peyton Manning (-7.4). Technically, Manning is tied with Ryan Mallett. And Mallett earned that grade in only one game. But still.
* DeMarco Murray’s 8 carries for 9 yards in Week 1 was followed up with 13 carries for 2 yards in Week 2. With the team falling to 0-2 and the offense looking awful in both outings, buzz about the genius of Chip Kelly has subsided, at least temporarily. PFF had some comments on Philly’s run game: "The problem isn’t talent; it’s that the Cowboys knew exactly what was coming. The Eagles have run almost the same handful of running plays ever since Chip Kelly got there in 2013 and after seeing it four times the Cowboys had learned how to combat it. Dallas overloaded to the strong side of the formation, and the Eagles line had little chance against the fronts they saw."
* Despite the loss, Marcus Mariota did nothing to make Titans fans doubt him, though his evaluation grades out a bit lower than his stats. His efficiency dropped sharply when pressured. He didn’t turn the ball over, but the pressures ended drives. But that’s to be expected from a young QB making his first starts.
* “Jarryd Hayne” getting some extra reps in:
VIDEO
Missed Extra Point Watch: Blair Walsh (MIN), Chandler Calanzaro (ARI), Josh Scobee (PIT), Zach Hocker (NO)
PFF QB Performances of the Week: QB Ben Roethlisberger (+7.5), QB Tom Brady (+5.3), QB Carson Palmer (+4.2)PFF Non-QB Offensive Performances of the Week: LG Gabe Jackson (+5.6), WR Antonio Brown (+5.4), C Russell Bodine (+4.3)PFF JJ Watt Defensive Performance of the Week: DE JJ Watt (+0.3) :OPFF Non-JJ Watt Defensive Performances of the Week : DT Aaron Donald (+7.9), OLB Justin Houston (+6.8), OLB Sean Lee (+6.6)PFF Worst Performance of the Week: OT Don Barclay (-10.8)Greg Robinson Watch : OT Greg Robinson (-0.4) :O
Pick ‘Ems
Pittsburgh at St. Louis : Pittsburgh gets Le’Veon Bell back, just in time for a road trip to play against one of the toughest defensive fronts in football. Or, at least, they are supposed to be, but after wrecking havok against the Seahawks, the Rams struggled to impose any kind of will upon the Redskins, allowing 182 yards of rushing between their two running backs, and letting Kirk Cousins go 23-of-27 with only brief bouts of pressure. St. Louis has yet to unveil Todd Gurley, who said publicly that he could play week 3 if called upon, but it doesn’t sound like he’s getting the green light just yet. I’m taking Pittsburgh on the road.
New Orleans at Carolina : This is for Enix. You wanted a Carolina pick, here it is. The Saints are on the ropes, and Drew Brees is out. This is a smash-your-division-rival game for Carolina . Enjoy, Enix
Indianapolis at Tennessee : How long can Indianapolis be this bad? Tennessee’s pass defense, coming off a game in which Johnny Manziel could beat them deep, seems like a prime opportunity for Andrew Luck to start playing up to his level. The matchup is tougher than it looks at first, though. Tennessee’s defense grades out more positively at PFF through two games than you might expect, and could do better if they take Michael Griffin out back behind the barn and put him out of his misery. But alas, Griffin is still there, ready to bite on every half-assed fake or misdirection any slap-dick offense throws at them. Indianapolis crawls out of the gutter here.
Atlanta at Dallas : It’s Weeden time! Atlanta .
Kansas City at Green Bay : After a heartbreaking loss to Denver on Thursday night, the Chiefs roll onto primetime again with an even tougher matchup, on the road in Lambeau. Vegas is not giving them great odds, but they at least come well-rested after the long week. Only really picking this because it’s the Monday game. Green Bay .
Check these numbers, and let me know if your totals are wrong
Week 2 Results
onewild: 4-1
Infyrnos: 4-1
jonfentyler: 4-1
Certis: 3-2
Kush15: 3-2
tboon: 3-2
oldmanscene24: 3-2
Jowner: 3-2
LeapingGnome: 3-2
TheGameGuru: 3-2
Cobble: 3-2
PorkSmoothie89: 3-2
kaostheory: 3-2
thejustinbot: 3-2
Mr E.B. Slugworth: 3-2
Torq: 3-2
Jayhawker: 3-2
Stele: 3-2
iaintgotnopants: 3-2
Peedmyself: 3-2
*Legion*: 3-2
UpToIsomorphism: 3-2Oddsmakers: 2-3
Atras: 2-3
AnimeJ: 2-3
Tempest Blayze: 2-3
Bighoppa: 2-3
garion333: 2-3
karmajay: 2-3
Elliottx: 2-3
Abu5217: 2-3
cube: 2-3
Paleocon: 2-3
Zaque: 2-3
MilkmanDanimal: 2-3
Vector: 2-3
Psych: 2-3
Rat Boy: 2-3
Gumbie: 2-3
Bubs14: 1-4
Grumpicus: 1-4
EvilDead: 1-4
BEPNewt: 1-4
Top_Shelf: 1-4
whispa: 0-0
sr_malo: 0-0
Neozilla: 0-0
Minase: 0-0
troubleshot: 0-0
GioClark: 0-0
Nomad: 0-0
Season to Date
onewild: 7-3
jonfentyler: 7-3
garion333: 7-3
tboon: 7-3
Psych: 6-4
*Legion*: 6-4
Stele: 6-4
oldmanscene24: 6-4
LeapingGnome: 6-4
TheGameGuru: 6-4
Infyrnos: 6-4
UpToIsomorphism: 6-4
Mr E.B. Slugworth: 6-4
Peedmyself: 6-4
Jayhawker: 6-4
Zaque: 6-4
MilkmanDanimal: 6-4
Torq: 6-4Oddsmakers: 5-5
Top_Shelf: 5-5
PorkSmoothie89: 5-5
Kush15: 5-5
Gumbie: 5-5
Rat Boy: 5-5
Cobble: 5-5
iaintgotnopants: 5-5
karmajay: 5-5
Atras: 4-6
Neozilla: 4-1
Abu5217: 4-6
kaostheory: 4-6
Paleocon: 4-6
BEPNewt: 4-6
Vector: 4-6
thejustinbot: 4-6
Bighoppa: 4-6
Certis: 4-6
Elliottx: 3-7
EvilDead: 3-7
Grumpicus: 3-7
Bubs14: 3-7
whispa: 3-2
Jowner: 3-2
Tempest Blayze: 2-3
AnimeJ: 2-3
Nomad: 2-3
cube: 2-3
Minase: 2-3
sr_malo: 1-4
troubleshot: 0-0
GioClark: 0-5
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