THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY FROM WEEK 3

The Good: The Lions comeback win.

While the Lions looked terrible in the first half of their game against the hapless Vikings, you have to be impressed with the way they kept themselves in the game despite being down 20-0 at half. They did not give up on themselves and they fought back as a team. It doesn’t hurt that, when healthy, Calvin Johnson might be the best receiver in the NFL. I have not been a believer in this team, but this game is making me rethink my opinion of them. They are turning their talent on paper into success on the field, which has been their problem the last few years. I hope this team stays healthy because they are really fun to watch. Can you believe the Lions are one of three undefeated team, a list which includes the Bills? What has the NFL come to?

The Bad: The Jets’ run defense.

Remember when the Jets were the ground and pound team that lead the NFL in rushing? Me neither. The Jets barely made it to 100 yards rushing, while the Raiders galloped for a whopping 234 yards against the Jets’ usually stout run defense. The Jets defenders seemed to forget basic gap responsibility and they were gashed for huge gain after huge gain in the run game. The Jets need to rebound quickly because they have to stay on the road for the next two weeks against the Ravens and Patriots, and then come home to a Dolphins team that always seems to give them trouble. They have to find a way to win two out of the next three games or they might be sitting on the couch when the playoffs roll around.

The Ugly: Tom Brady’s 4 interceptions.

After going out on a limb last week on my Stubborn Oxen Blog (http://stubbornoxen.blogspot.com/) saying that Tom Brady is the best quarterback to ever play the quarterback position, Brady comes out an delivers one of the worst performances of his career. After throwing four interceptions all of last season, he threw FOUR picks against the Bills this week, who they had not lost to in almost 8 years. To make matters worse, Brady looked dominant in the first half, throwing for three touchdowns and jumping out to a 21-0 lead over the Bills. They got cocky after their big lead and it cost them this game. It was not just Brady who lost them that game, especially considering how poorly their defense continues to play, but Brady, for possibly the first time in his career, was the main reason his team lost. 

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY FROM WEEK 2

The Good: Tony Romo plays with broken ribs and punctured lungs to win in OT.

What a bounce back performance by Romo after a horrible 4^th quarter in Week 1 against the Jets that cost his team the game. Romo made up for it by coming back into Week 2’s matchup with a punctured lung and broken ribs. He lead his team from behind to make it into overtime and then made the plays to give his team the win without his top two receivers, Miles Austin and Dez Bryant. This is exactly the type of game that he needed to quiet his critics.

The Bad: The Raiders defense giving up 5 touchdown drives in a row to the Bills.

The Raiders have more talent on their team in 2011 than they have had in probably over a decade, which includes their 2003 team that went to the Super Bowl. However, the constant turnover on their coaching staff is still killing this team. They are horribly undisciplined and it is probably going to cost them a shot at the playoffs. Injuries have hurt them as well, but they need to put it all together and play up to their potential on both sides of the ball in one game. If they can do that, they will be a hard team to beat. Until then, they will continue to lose games the same fashion they lost to the Bills. No team had ever in the history of the NFL scored 5 touchdowns in five straight possessions, and they allowed the Bills to do that to them. The Chargers are licking their lips after getting beat by the Raiders twice last season.

The Ugly: The Ravens getting blown out by the mediocre Titans.

How did the Titans win this game with Chris Johnson averaging 2.2 yards a carry? It is completely inexcusable that the Raven only ran Ray Rice 13 times in this game, when Flacco was clearly struggling and he had such a good game last week against the Steelers top run defense. The Ravens need to get better against the pass and they cannot let mediocre quarterbacks throw for over 350 yards on them. Flacco needs to play better on the road or this team is not going to make the playoffs.

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY FROM WEEK 1

The Good: Cam Newton throws for 422 yards.

What a performance by Cam Newton in his first start. I am not ready to stamp him as a franchise quarterback, since we all knew the kid has a ton of potential. He will have to prove himself against better competition, but considering everyone was expecting the Cardinals defense to have a field day against him, this was one heck of a performance. The biggest surprise was the Panthers inability to run the football, which makes Newton’s 400 yard passing performance even more impressive. I am not sold on Newton yet, but this provides a lot of hope for a team that had none last season.

The Bad: Just about every teams’ special teams.

Remember when everyone thought the new kickoff rules would limit the number of kickoff returns for touchdowns? That didn’t really pan out this week. Three kickoffs were returned for touchdowns, which was part of a record setting week that saw 8 returns for touchdowns. That doesn’t even include the numerous blocked kicks and punts we saw this week. A lot of special team players are running sprints as we speak as punishment for their horrible performances in week 1.

The Ugly: Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers’ performance.

I do not think Ben Roethlisberger has ever had a worse performance than he did against the Ravens this week. After looking so strong in the preseason, he looked completely lost in this game and seemed to have forgotten how to play the quarterback position all together. You have to give the Ravens defense a lot of credit for an amazing game plan against all of the Steelers weapons, including Rashard Mendenhall who could not find a running lane all night long. This is the worst the Steelers have played in a very long time. 

Stubborn OXen Blog: Welcome to the Stubborn OXen Blog!

Stubborn OXen Blog: Welcome to the Stubborn OXen Blog!: Here is a new blog I am starting with my good friend JT Stallsmith. We have been good friends for years now, despite my love of the Jets and his deep roots as a Boston/Patriots fan, ugh! I will continue to add postings of my own on What I Know About Football, but I will also be doing weekly posts with Stally on our SOB blog. We will be battling back and forth on which teams will be victorious in their weekly matchups, as well as who will win their divisions and take home the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the year. Enjoy!

PLAYERS TO AVOID

Everyone that has played fantasy football has gotten burned by drafting a one year wonder, a veteran player past his prime, or just a player who has gotten way too much hype for not proving they can consistently be relied upon in fantasyland. Here are some guys that you might want to avoid in your draft so that you are not scratching your head in a month wondering why you drafted one of these players so high.

Quarterbacks:

Eli Manning: The Giants offense clearly needed work after last season when Eli Manning threw a league high, and a career high, 25 interceptions. What did the Giants do? They let Steve Smith and Kevin Boss walk in free agency, as well as cut three long time starters on the offensive line. In a division with some scary pass rushers, Eli could be running for his life and throwing picks left and right again. I would not count on him as anything besides a solid backup fantasy quarterback.

Kevin Kolb: There was a lot of talk last season about Kolb being a number 1 fantasy quarterback, but that was with the plethora of weapons in Philly. Larry Fitzgerald is an unbelievable receiver, but he alone cannot make an offense effective, as we saw last year. With the loss starter Steve Breaston, they have even fewer weapons in the passing game than last season. Todd Heap is way past his prime and has a ton of injury concerns. If one of the Cardinals young receivers does not step up and become a legitimate starting receiver, Kolb could be in for a very long season.

Donovan McNabb: I do not think there was a single person more upset that the Vikings let Sidney Rice go in free agency than Donovan McNabb. I still think McNabb has a good amount left in the tank, but without Rice, the Vikings are very thin at receiver. McNabb has wanted a big, fast receiver like Rice his entire career, but he will now have to go another season without one. Percy Harvin is a good receiver, but he works best out of the slot. The Viking have two good tight ends, which will help in the red zone, but McNabb thrives on throwing passes deep downfield and I don’t think they have a player who can stretch the field.

Running Backs:

UNDERVALUED FANTASY PLAYERS

People love putting together their list of sleepers, super sleepers, and breakout players. Let’s make this much simpler. Here are my top players who I believe are undervalued in most drafts. These are guys that you can target later than you may expect, but could end up being big steals that help you win a championship.

Quarterbacks:

Matt Schaub: The Texans’ offense should be one of the top scoring offenses in the league this year. Schaub has an unbelievable amount of weapons at his disposal and still has not reached his full potential. He has just turned 30, which for quarterbacks is the prime of their career, and should improve on his touchdown totals from last season with a healthy Owen Daniels back in the lineup.

Josh Freeman: One of the most underrated fantasy quarterbacks last season, Freeman scored just 11 points less than Drew Brees last season. He was unbelievably consistent and there is no reason he cannot put up similar, or even better, numbers than he did last year with the progression of this very young offense.

Matt Cassel: People have been very low on Cassel, who is coming off of a Pro Bowl year in which he threw a career high 27 touchdowns to only 7 interceptions. He put up those elite numbers with one of the worst receiving corps in all of the NFL and with a rookie tight end. With the additions of Steve Breaston and rookie Jonathan Baldwin, as well as the progression of tight end Tony Moeaki, Cassel should have this offense rolling at full speed. I see the Chiefs throwing the ball more this year and having a more balanced attack after leading the league in rushing last season.

Ryan Fitzpatrick: Despite only starting 13 games last season, Fitzpatrick put up career numbers and seems to have stabilized the quarterback position for the Bills, which has plagued them for over a decade. Fitzpatrick will benefit from being named the starter before the season for the first time in his career. With one of the easier schedules in the NFL, he has the skills to be a borderline number 1 fantasy quarterback or at least a solid backup, despite the loss of Lee Evans.

Running Backs:

BRONCOS SHOULD TRADE TEBOW

After the Broncos failed to trade Kyle Orton to the Dolphins, they have no choice but to start him over Tim Tebow because he is clearly the better quarterback for 2011. I am not saying that Tebow has no chance of becoming a good starting quarterback, although I am very skeptical of that happening, but Orton is the better quarterback right now. Since neither seems to be the future of the franchise, one of them needs to be off the team. A team cannot carry two decent quarterbacks on their roster and not put their full support behind either one of them. This causes way too many controversies in the locker room and makes your starting quarterback jittery, since he will have to look over his should all season long.

I have constantly made a case that Orton is an underrated starting quarterback and should be the Broncos starter in 2011. Orton was on pace to break Dan Marino’s single season passing record before he was injured and then kept on the bench for Tebow to start. He is a smart and accurate quarterback who has never gotten the credit he deserves. He will never be a top 5 quarterback, but he is more than serviceable, which is more than you can say about most starting NFL quarterbacks. Orton’s best attributes are his decision-making and his accuracy, which allows him to get the most out of a young and talented group of receivers. This allows Orton to be at his best and helps the Broncos’ offense run at full speed.

Tebow on the other hand is incredibly inaccurate and inconsistent, which is to be expected from such a young quarterback with almost no experience in a pro style offense. The only qualities that he possesses that Orton lacks are dynamic running abilities and unmatched leadership. However, those don’t make him a great quarterback. His throwing mechanics and accuracy have to improve for him to even be considered a starting quarterback in the league.