Two weeks into the NFL season, Jason Whitlock revealed some “truths”.
One of them was this gem.
8. Tom Brady is never going to mentally get over his knee injury.
Whitlock’s belief was shaped by the fact that after he tore his ACL in college, he has struggled to recover mentally from it. Maybe it’s just me, but Brady’s mental make up is something I’m not confident that Whitlock is qualified to diagnose and after the past two weeks, Whitlock would probably lose his license to practice.
Tom Brady looks like he is rounding back into form after two impressive victories over the Ravens and Falcons.
Two weeks ago Brady struggled mightily against the Jets’ pass rush in one his career’s worst performances. This was also one week removed from an incredible fourth quarter performance against the Bills in which Brady went 12-14 on the last two New England touchdown drives in a spectacular comeback.
Maybe it’s just me, but maybe it was possible that Brady just had a bad game, couple with his recovery from a major knee surgery. However, since the debacle against the Jets, Brady has shown that he is returning to his pre-injury form in leading the Patriots to two impressive victories over the Atlanta Falcons and Baltimore Ravens.
6. Indy’s victory over the Dolphins raised far more questions about the Colts than it answered.
Whitlock goes on to state his belief that the Colts’ defense has no chance of stopping the run and then went on to say that “Tennessee is going to smoke Indy”. First of all, even if the Titans beat the Colts I have a feeling, based on the Titans’ 0-4 start, it will be a tight game.
The Colts were atrocious in their Week 2 game against the Dolphins, giving up 239 yards on 49 carries. In their other 3 weeks the Colts have given up a total of 187 rushing yards on 76 carries for an average of 2.46 yards per carry. While the quality of their opposition can be called into question, the overwhelming evidence at this time suggests that at the least the Colts are an above average defense against the run.
This isn’t an attack on Whitlock as much as an example of why drawing conclusions on the week-to-week performances of teams is foolish. Even after four weeks it seems hasty to be coming to conclusions about the fate of teams and individuals.
Even after their Week 2 loss at home that dropped them to 0-2, nobody predicted that the Titans would drop to 0-4 with an abominable performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Two weeks ago most were predicting that Jacksonville had given up on head coach Tony del Rio, but now after two consecutive victories that opinion has shifted once again with two victories against divisional opponents.
Other than there Week 2 stink bomb against the Cardinals, the Jaguars have played extremely well, including their Week 1 loss to Indianapolis on the road in which they had a chance to tie the game on a 2-point conversion in the fourth quarter. Fortune is fickle and in the NFL every game can change the course of a team’s season. That’s why it is better to judge the season in quarters, 4 games at a time.
Here are a few things we know for certain after 4 weeks in the NFL season about the AFC.
AFC East:
The Patriots and Tom Brady look like they will once again be a huge factor come playoff time and have a good chance to win another AFC East crown. The Jets are going to be good as long as their defense continues to dominate and they can run the ball effectively. As long as rookie Mark Sanchez is not asked to win games for them through the air, the Jets will be tought for anyone to beat. Think the Baltimore Ravens from last year.
The Dolphins with Chad Henne in now for the season will take their lumps, but their future outlook should be improved with their young signal caller now getting experience. In the long-run Chad Pennington’s injury will be a blessing when they look back.
The Buffalo Bills are hopeless and as a Bills fan I think it’s officially time we end Dick Jauron’s coaching tenure. If the Bills could actually hire someone with creativity that can utilize our talent at the skill positions that would be a start. No team with Lee Evans, Terrell Owens, Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson should struggle like this to put up points.
AFC North:
The Pittsburgh Steelers don’t make anything easy and their inability to run the ball consistently may be their Achilles heel. Playing in a division with the Ravens and the rejuvenated Bengals, making the playoffs will be no lock.
Can Ed Reed cover up for the rest of Baltimore's porous secondary?
The Ravens are a complete team and Joe Flacco has the potential to be top quarterback in the league. If I were the Ravens though my main concern would be how exceedingly porous the secondary has looked. It certainly looked like a problem against the Chargers in Week 2 and was exposed again by the Patriots yesterday.
The Bengals with Carson Palmer, Chad Ochocinco and an improved defense look dangerous, but can they sustain this for 16 games? I’m not completely sold yet, but as a fan of both Palmer and Ochocinco I hope they can get back to the playoffs. On the brighter side of things they are the best in Ohio now that it’s confirmed Eric Mangini is clueless and the Brown with him at their helm are hopeless.
AFC South:
The Colts look like world beaters, with Manning making his no-name receivers blend in seamlessly into the offense. Their defense, as I addressed earlier, looks good and Bob Sanders is yet to play this season. The Texans are dangerous with their potent offense led by Matt Schaub and all-world wide receiver Andre Johnson, but their defense is still prone to giving up big plays.
The Jaguars have certainly reversed their fortunes after a poor start, but an overall lack of explosive playmakers makes me doubtful of any real success. Can you really win with David Garrard as your franchise quarterback?
Titans look to be feeling the prolonged affects of losing a devastating home playoff game to the Ravens. Their ability to consistently shoot themselves in the foot with turnovers in that game is only outdone by their ability to sustain that throughout the first four weeks of this season. That defense looks like a sieve as well this season after losing Albert Haynesworth and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz this offseason.
AFC West:
This division barely maintains the semblance of an NFL division. The Broncos have at least done their part starting 4-0, though two of those were against the Browns and the Raiders. A miracle play against the Bengals accounts for their third victory and a home win against an overrated Cowboys team barely qualifies as an impressive resume. However, you can only beat who you play and when you give up 26 points in 4 weeks, regardless of who you play its impressive. Having Brandon Marshall on the same page as head coach Josh McDaniels has certainly helped the Broncos.
WR Brandon Marshall and the Broncos stellar defense has helped lead them to a surprising 4-0 start.
The Chargers inability to play defense, has shrouded the fact that they also cannot run the ball and that Tomlinson looks like he’s over the hill. It’s also meant that Philip Rivers will once again suffer the consequences as he continues to put up amazing numbers while he attempts to carry the Chargers virtually by himself into the playoffs once again.
The Raiders and Chiefs are both franchises that at the moment look hopeless. While the Chiefs at least were able to sign Scott Pioli as their GM and still have an owner with fully functional mind, the Raiders lose in both of those departments as Al Davis continues to tarnish his legacy.
The JaMarcus Russel experiment in Oakland looks like it’s a failure once again showing why you should be very careful in drafting quarterbacks when the most positive thing on their resume is their strong arm. Being a quarterback in the NFL also involves your ability to read defenses, accurately deliver the ball and being in shape for most of the part. Russell fails in all four of these criteria.
After four weeks, the AFC looks like it could be wide open with a number of teams in contention for playoff berths. As the season progresses look for the playoff picture to clear as more questions are answered and we are able to discern more effectively the contenders from the pretenders.