NFL Daily Presents: The NFL Analytical Assault

Lots of week 2 surprises. Let's see what went down.

- Let's start with the shocker of shockers. The Bengals were so unbelievably overconfident that they got lit up by Derek Anderson and LOST to their rival Browns 51-45, a score usually seen by my home town Dragons. Carson Palmer threw 6 TD passes and lost. For being a defensive coach. Marvin Lewis' defense is quite the smelly, funky swiss cheese. That's the difference between Lewis and Tony Dungy, a defensive coach who's defense is actually succeeding. For someone over the hill, Jamal Lewis sure killed it. And a note to Chad Johnson, don't jump into the arms of your enemies. Can't end up well.
- The loss of Orlando Pace and a Special Teams fumble killed the Rams in their 17-16 loss against the Niners. And I'm calling out St Louis head coach Scott Linehan who down by 1 went for it 4th and 7 on their own 43 and failed, and tried a 56 yard field goal at 4th and 3 on the 49er 38 with 1:08 and missed it for the loss. If you have the offensive weapons like the Rams do, you take your chances, get 5 wide in there and get closer to the game winning score. Gotta give props to the 49er defense, their offense is last in the league and they're 2-0. Bravo to Mike Nolan.
- How bad is the Giants defense? I'm a journalist, and words can't describe it. 2 weeks, 80 points, zero passion, and one big fat forthcoming pink slip for the head coach. Even Pam Oliver was dishing out the smack against th Little Blue d. They had Bubba Franks and Donald Lee playing like Gonzalez and Gates. Brett Favre was tremendous and the youngry Green Bay D was outstanding, especially the vastly underrated CB duo of Harris and Woodson which is probably the best corner tandem in the NFC.
- Buffalo was either going to play inspired or expired, the latter was the case in their blowout loss to Pittsburgh. JP Losman was OK, but the Steelers held the ball 35 minutes, Willie Parker had another good rushing week, and Big Ben did a marvelous job of distributing the ball and is really embracing his role in Mike Tomlin's new opened up offense. The AFC North is getting interesting.
- Grab a carton of milk, you'll likely see the Saints offense front and center on it. And 31 points to Tampa? Joey Galloway threw it back 7 years and was really good and Caddy Williams found the end zone twice. McAllister and Bush were awful, and the New Orleans offense isn't going to work when Drew Brees has to chuck the rock 44 times. Maybe 30 rock, but not 44. Sean Payton needs to switch things up, or K-Ville may be down in the dumps again and not just because your best copper is Anthony Anderson.
- Carolina looked so good last week, but the Texans are the league's biggest surprise. Matt Schaub looks like a brilliant move by this team, and Gary Kubiak is the insanely early frontrunner for coach of the year. Best start in franchise history. They rushed the ball a lot to allow Schaub to manage the game, and Andre Johnson looks like he's elevated his game to a new level. Steve Smith may have scored 3 TD's, but the Panthers only ran it 18 times. Any offense needs to keep the defense honest, and they didn't. The Texans were able to stay back in coverage and easily fended off the Panthers. Is it hot in here, or is it just John Fox's swivel chair?
- If Jacksonville is a depressing team to watch, (which they are) Atlanta is suicide. It was bad versus worse here, a stinkfest. Joey Harrington was sacked 7 times, as many points as they scored. Jacksonville had 11 penalties, 2 shy of their point total. David Garrard was the lone bright spot.
- Tennessee always plays Indianapolis tough, but Vince Young has to complete his game. He has to realize that he has to use his arm in the 4th quarter and not his feet. Adam Vinatieri was uncharacteristically bad, missing a field goal and an extra point. It was a pretty even game throughout, and Tennessee has to grab a moral victory here.
- Props to the Cardinals, for a big division win in the wiiiiiiide open NFC West. Edge James has regained his mojo in Ken Whisenhunt's offense, and the team now has the balanced attack they envisioned when they pried James away from the Colts. This was a really well played game, and this time it was Arizona that put a final drive together to win it. Good football, good division.
- What's the opposite of good football? Why, Vikings-Lions of course. 10 turnovers, 19 penalties, 1 concussion, numerous cases of headaches and heartburn. There were more wasted opportunities then there are troops in Iraq, and thankfully the Lions finally ended it. The Mike Martz offense seems to be working, and Jon Kitna is closer to proving everyone wrong.
- Trent Green allowed the Cowboys to pull away late, and Marion Barber and the defense guided Dallas to a 37-20 win. 4 picks, 1 fumble, 1 insanely embarrassing fumbled spike, and 1 terrible game for Green. The Dolphin running attack was held in check, as was Tony Romo for the most part but he was able to get the throws in when he needed including a 34 yard TD to TO.
- Justin McCareins had a sure TD to tie the game and let the ball, and a potentially uplifiting, season making, awe inspiring comeback led by Kellen Clemens. He later threw a pick to lose it, and Gang Green left Baltimore with a sour taste in their mouth. McGahee and Boller were impressive, as was Jerricho Cotchery, Thomas Jones was not. It was a wasted opportunity to bring the Jets team back to life, instead they'll be fighting for theirs next week.
- Combined with how much the Chiefs suck and a great day from Cedric Benson, the bad outing by Rex Grossman wasn't enough to keep Chicago from winning. Devin Hester also broke one for a score, and an offensive lineman caught a TD. What was also masked was that an offensive skill player doesn't have a TD this season. There are problems in the Second City, one week they may come to the forefront.
- The Broncos game ended in controversy, but I call it good 'ol fashioned icing the kicker. That's why I picked Mike Shanahan for coach of the year, he won it for Denver on Sunday. What lost it for Oakland was 53 yards passing, 46 came on one play to Joey Porter. That's pathetic and should bring Culpepper into the fold. Henry and Walker were superb for Denver, who keeps winning close games. This will bode well for later.
- San Diego failed to adjust in the first half, and it cost them the game early. New England knew that the Bolts rush D was legit, so they threw on 13 of their first 19 plays and the Chargers looked painfully puzzled. LT was shut down again, and the Patriots cemented their status as the team to beat,
- Boomer Esiason and Mark Schereth sang the praises of Jason Campbell in their big win over the Eagles, Donovan McNabb was blasted by Philly fans and some are already calling for Kevin Kolb. The Skins defense was very good in a very evenly played match. Maybe Washington could hang around for a while.