Week Two is often seen as a “correction” week in the NFL, when week one’s surprise teams get their comeuppance and struggling playoff contenders get a chance to right their course. It’s also a chance to see if the hidden trends that emerged in Week One continue to play out and define the story of the 2011 season.
Here’s how my Sunday of football is shaping up.
Early Games: Focus on the NFC North
Here in St Louis, the efforts of the Lions and Bears to continue their surprising starts will be given primetime coverage by CBS and Fox. (NFL Coverage Map, Week 2). Both teams are a part of a potential power shift in the NFC from the South to the North. As Shane Clemons wrote in a season preview, we may see three playoff teams come from this rising powerhouse division.
If that unlikely event is going to happen, winning big games like these outside the division will be critical.
The Lions face a Kansas City Chiefs team that struggled throughout the preseason, and carried those struggles right into week 1, running into the buzzsaw known as the Buffalo Bills. Todd Haley’s team never established Jamaal Charles and the run game, nor could Matt Cassel show any kind of consistency. Worst of all, an already struggling defensive unit is now without Eric Berry for the season. Last year’s surprise winner of the AFC South has given themselves a hard road in 2011.
The Lions not only established momentum in the preseason, they built a swagger, as evidenced by Tony Scheffler’s sword-fighting routine in Tampa Bay’s end zone.
Matt Stafford and Calvin Johnson were nearly undefendable, and their other offensive weapons are benefitting. The team now plays like they expect to win games. If they don’t win handily, I’ll be surprised.
Meanwhile, the Bears shocked many by absolutely destroying the Atlanta Falcons in week 1. To be fair, though, Atlanta was more than happy to contribute by making a parade of mistakes. Now, Chicago hopes to continue rampaging through the NFC South, taking on the well-rested Saints.
Brett Solesky of MidwayIllustrated.com predicts that this Bears-Saints matchup will come down to defense, and makes a series of bold proclamations:
Out of their 11 starters which player would you start over one of the Bears’ players on defense? The simple answer is none, and I”ll even jump over to the other side of the ball. Drew Brees is an elite QB, but given Cutler’s comfort level in the Martz system and his skill set would you start Brees over Cutler?
The conventional wisdom around the NFL is “Hell yes, I’m taking Brees,” but Cutler will have his chance to go head to head on Sunday. This will be the best matchup of the early games.
Late Games: Offensive Fireworks
Tom Brady and Philip Rivers get primary network coverage in most viewing markets, as two of the NFL’s most explosive offenses face off. Last week, the combination of Brady’s heroics and the Pats’ sieve-like pass defense created the single-highest combined passing total in NFL history.
As TGS’s Matt Yoder points out in his excellent analysis of the NFL’s passing trends, Brady and Rivers are just taking advantage of a league increasingly skewed downfield.
Is it because the league wants to gain even more fans because passing makes games more exciting? Is it because quarterbacks are being protected by the commish like delicate flowers? Is it because defenses aren’t allowed to play physical coverage and hit receivers like they used to? Does the lockout have anything to do with the astronomical Week 1 numbers? All of those elements are certainly factors, but perhaps no factor is more evident than good old evolution.
If Brady and Rivers are at top form, this game could join last week’s opener between Green Bay and New Orleans among the most thrilling games of the year.
Prime Time: Michael Vick returns to Atlanta
My friend Patty Hsieh (@patycake15), an avid football fan and new columnist at 101 ESPN in St Louis, often likes to say that the NFL is “a soap opera for men.” One need look no further than the love triangle brewing between Matt Ryan, Mike Vick, and the city of Atlanta to see proof.
You have to feel for Matt Ryan. He has been the good guy who stepped in after the entire city crashed hard, the rebound boyfriend trying to make himself into marriage material. He has been everything Vick hasn’t — a quiet public persona, a model of good behavior, and a good to very-good pocket passer.
Now he has to watch as the cleaned-up ex-boyfriend, the bad boy who trampled all over the hearts of Atlantans, comes back to town. To the house he moved into.
Setting aside bromantic entanglements, the Falcons will have to seriously step up their game from an abysmal week one if they hope to hang with the Eagles. Philadelphia barely got their offense in gear last week and still had no trouble dropping 31 points on an improved Rams team. Atlanta is struggling to find the pocket on defense, which could spell for a long night against Vick.
Stinker of the Week: Colts vs Browns
Every weekend has one, a game that nobody wants to watch. I feel bad for the good people in Austin Texas, who inexplicably are having coverage of an entertaining New York Jets team interrupted by this dog of a game. Call it the Colt McCoy factor. Hopefully he’ll give them something worth watching, as the Colts are making a beeline for Andrew Luck-ville.
Enjoy your Sunday, all. Hopefully this gives you something to chew on.
