Five Absurd Overreactions Two Weeks into the NFL Season
Welcome to the NFL. A well-oiled machine that will make a preacher curse. Like every year, a small sample of a team turns into overreaction by many. One early loss in the season turns into “They won’t make it to the playoffs”. Or an early season win against a “contender” results into “We are going to the Super Bowl”. The NFL season is a long, 17-week process that can change at the blink of an eye. We are only two weeks in, but here are four absurd overreactions.
1.The Seahawks and Colts won’t make the playoffs
After two rough weeks for both teams, Seattle and Indianapolis are a combined 0-4 to start the season. Many fans and analysts believe these Super Bowl favorites won’t turn the ship around and produce this season.
Let’s start with the Super Bowl runner ups. Seattle has been in two close games so far this season. The loss to St. Louis in Week 1 went into overtime, and Green Bay never led by more than 10 points all game long in Week 2. In fact, Seattle was up 17-16 going into the 4th quarter. Two things are hurting Seattle that are easy fixes. Jimmy Graham and Kam Chancellor.
Jimmy Graham has seven receptions, 62 yards, and one touchdown so far in his Seahawks career. He isn’t involved in the offense at a rate he is used to seeing. While playing for New Orleans the past five seasons, minus his rookie year, Jimmy Graham never had less than 10 receptions, 135 yards, and one touchdown. Over that span in the first two games of a season, Jimmy Graham had an average of 14 receptions, 179 yards, and two touchdowns. If this offense wants to get going, it has to get Jimmy involved.
Flip it to the other side of the ball, and you can clearly see this team is missing their captain. Kam Chancellor is currently in a holdout with Seattle, in hopes to be the highest paid Safety. If this team continues to play defense like they have been, Kam will get his wish. Against St. Louis and Green Bay, Seattle gave up 546 yards passing, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. To make things worse, the completion percentage for both quarterbacks combined was 72 percent and the passer rating was 116.4. The Hawks need Kam badly, and one more game like the previous two, could force their hand in this holdout saga.
2.Andrew Luck and the Colts are overrated.
Indianapolis, which is a Super Bowl favorite for a lot of people, has gotten off to a slow start. Two consecutive losses to Buffalo and the Jets will open your eyes. Andrew Luck does not look comfortable in the pocket, and the Colts don’t have a running game, even after bringing in Frank Gore during the offseason.
The Colts have eight turnovers in two games, and six of them are by QB Andrew Luck. If this team wants to win, they have to protect the ball. What many aren’t factoring into the equation, is it takes time to build chemistry, even if you had all offseason to work together. As I said earlier, the Colts brought in RB Frank Gore. They also signed WR Andre Johnson, OL Todd Heramans, DE Trent Cole, and many more. It’s going to take a few games for this team to understand one another.
When the offensive line gets it going, and it’ll be soon, it will open the door for the running game, which in return will open up the passing game for Andrew Luck. Counting out Luck is a bad move on anybody’s part. He has advanced an additional round each year in the playoffs since 2012. So if you are a Colts or Seahawks fan, don’t panic. Your issues are easy to correct.
3.Peyton Manning and the Broncos Aren’t Contenders, Despite Their 2-0 Start
We are talking about Peyton Manning here. The man that just joined Brett Favre as the only quarterbacks in NFL History to throw for 70,000 yards. Peyton Manning has been sloppy this year, we all can see that, but it’s a product of the offense Head Coach Gary Kubiak brought over from Baltimore.
Let’s breakdown Manning from the first six quarters of the season to the remaining two quarters of the season.
In his first six quarters of 2015, Peyton Manning went 37/59, 291 yards passing, two touchdowns, and two interceptions (returned for touchdowns). Those numbers are not what we are used to seeing from number 18. Kubiak doesn’t run a no-huddle offense in which Manning likes. Instead, Kubiak likes to get the running game going and slows the pace down to take time off the clock. As you can see, Manning didn’t fair too well like that.
In the second half of the Kansas City game, Manning and company started running their no-huddle offense, and it was proving to be very effective. In the third and fourth quarter last Thursday, Manning threw for 140 yards (only threw for 175 yards the whole game against Baltimore), one touchdown, and no interceptions. Peyton looked comfortable, and the offense was in sync.
Something that has gotten stronger from last year, is the Broncos defense. Over a two-game span, Denver has caused seven turnovers, four of which have been interceptions, and caused six sacks. Of the seven turnovers this fierce defense have created, two have been returned for a touchdown. The Denver D is stingy when it comes to points. Baltimore and Kansas City have combined for 23 offensive points against Denver. That’s a measly 11.5 points per game they are giving up.
Peyton manning will take this offense back over and be the “offensive coordinator” he has been his whole career. 12 points per game won’t be enough to beat this team. Count out Manning and his crew if you want to, it just won’t be your best decision.
4.The Washington Redskins will win the NFC East with Injuries to the Cowboys
Washington has played two good games so far this season. Miami pulled off a close one in Week 1, but the Redskins stormed back in Week 2 to defeat the St. Louis Rams. The two teams Washington has faced so far, were preseason favorites to enter the playoffs. Unfortunately, those teams have not been living up to the hype so far. The other part to this, is that the Redskins have yet to play a game on the road. In the last two seasons, Washington is a combined 2-14 on the road.
The QB carousel seems to be at ease right now, after a solid Week 2 performance by Kirk Cousins. What has helped him out is running game that is averaging close to 172 yards per game. The bad thing for Washington is that tougher defenses await. In three of their next four contests, the defenses don’t allow over 98 rushing yards a game.
A lot of this talk comes from what is happening in the NFC East. The Dallas Cowboys have lost QB Tony Romo and WR Dez Bryant in consecutive weeks, for a long period of time. The Philadelphia Eagles aren’t clicking on offense like a Chip Kelly coached team should. Finally, the New York Giants seem to implode in the fourth quarter of games, after giving up a 10 point lead in both games played this year, both resulting in a loss.
Washington started 2014 off with a record 1-1 as well. A solid Week 2 performance by Kirk Cousins at QB in 2014 happened as well. Their next opponent, the New York Giants, brought them back to reality after a 45-14 beat down on Thursday Night Football. Washington’s next opponent just happens to be the New York Giants on TNF. Will it be the same result; we will have to wait and see. Also, remember that 172 yards per game they are averaging so far this year? In 2014, the Redskins averaged 161 yards per game in their first two contests.
The moves made in the offseason strengthen this team tremendously, but a jump from 4-12 the season before to NFC Champs this year won’t happen. Still left on the schedule is Buffalo, Carolina, Atlanta, New England, New York Jets, New York Giants twice(1-5 last three seasons), and a Week 17 showdown at Dallas with Tony Romo and Dez Bryant back in the lineup.
5.This Will Be Chip Kelly’s Final Season with Philadelphia
Out of all the overreactions through only two weeks of the NFL Season, this is the most absurd. Chip Kelly stepped in as Head Coach for the Eagles two years ago, and led a 4-12 team the season before, to a 10-6 record and NFC East Champions. His second season, had it not been for a season ending injury to Nick Foles, could have been more successful than his first. The Eagles started the 2014 season 5-2, then Nick Foles was lost for the season due to a shoulder injury. Backup QB Mark Sanchez came in for the rest of the season, but a three game slide at the end of the season kept the Eagles from securing a second straight playoff berth.
This year, Philadelphia has started 0-2. A lot of ridicule has been thrown Chips way because of his questionable offseason changes to this team’s roster. Chip Kelly shocked the world when he traded Pro Bowl RB Lesean McCoy to Buffalo for Kiko Alonso, a LB who was coming off an ACL tear. Then to prove his dominance, Kelly traded QB Nick Foles to St. Louis, for QB Sam Bradford. Bradford himself stayed injured while in St. Louis. Before playing in Weeks 1 and 2 this year, his last start was in 2012. All was forgiving with Chip when he signed RB Demarco Murray, 2014 NFL Rushing Leader, to replace Lesean McCoy.
Unfortunately in 2015, the results have not been positive for Chip and company. With a tough, close loss to Atlanta in Week 1, where the offense started clicking on all cylinders in the second half, Philadelphia seemed to be ready to explode in Week 2 against Dallas. That was not the case. Dallas pulled off the win, and the Eagles offense was nowhere near what we witnessed in the preseason.
Do you remember that word I used earlier, chemistry? Well that’s all the Eagles are missing, and it will come sooner than many believe. All it will take is a long run by Demarco Murray, or a fast paced drive that results in a touchdown by the offense. The defense is getting pressure on the Quarterback as well. It will all come together for the Eagles. It just takes some patience, something Eagles fans don’t have.
Chip has taken this league by storm since becoming the Eagles Head Coach, he is a smart man that still hasn’t shown his hand fully. He has a few tricks up his sleeve with this offense.
