411's NFL Round Up 9.23.08: Week 3 Edition

Posted by Emmett Wilks on 09.23.2008

Breaking down week 3 of the NFL season, with big shifts happening in the AFC East and all of the NFL. All this plus news and notes in this edition of NFL Round Up!

Hello everyone, welcome to the Week 3 NFL Round Up! The big storyline right now is the shift of overall dominance from the AFC to the NFC. For the past 10 years of so, since the rise of the Broncos to close out the 1990's, the AFC has been the superior conference in almost every measurable way. But this season, there has been a massive shift back to the NFC. There is no real way of explaining these shifts. Injuries, age, and new blood all play a factor. Tom Brady's injury, the Colts getting older, and new QB's like Eli Manning, Tony Romo, and Jason Campbell all have something to do with it, but as this decade is closing, we may be entering back into the time when we'll see the NFC once again be the dominant force in football. Now, onto the Round Up!

QUICK NOTES

A weekend with a great many good plays, but one is just sticking out more than any other. While driving down for a touchdown in the 2nd half of their must win game against the Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars QB David Garrard hands off to running back Fred Taylor who, after seeing no running lane on the right side, cuts back and runs left for a 15 yard gain. Leading the blocking out front was no other than Garrard, who peeled back around and helped spring the run. It is plays like this that can build a team. When the QB, the leader of the offense, is leading the way for the running back, that is the kind of player I want to build a team around.

The Raiders still have not pulled the trigger and fired coach Lane Kiffin after one season and three games. When this should finally happen, it will make the average lifespan for Raiders coaches the last six season just 24 games, or a season and a half. That is just not the continuity a franchise needs in order to win in today's NFL.

The outlook on Eagles All-Pro running back Brian Westbrook is very optimistic after he injured his ankle in the 2nd quarter on Sunday. An MRI and X-ray were both negative, showing no major damage. While limping, he is not expected to miss significant time. From the standpoint right now, he's will be doubtful for Sunday nights Eagles game against the Bears. Ankles for running backs are notoriously tough to gauge, and we could see him line up Sunday, but I wouldn't count on it.

And speaking of the Eagles, one of the big reasons they were able to muster their sensational, 9 sack defensive performance was the play of corners Asante Samuel and Sheldon Brown. Left on an islands for most of the day against Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes, the two did not allow any quick hitting big plays to develop and let their defensive line teammates handle the rest. Like a really good offensive lineman, a corner is at his best when you never hear his name.

Through the first three weeks, two defenses have jumped ahead of everyone else; the Titans and the Ravens. For now, I am going to give the edge to Tennessee as the NFL's best right now. They have allowed just 9,7 points per game, stopping teams 74% of the time of 3rd down, and 11 sacks. Offensively, they have had the widely inconsistent Vince Young to help them and Giants reject Kerry Collins, making the feat all the more impressive. Yes the Ravens have a rookie QB, but that defense has not yet been challenged. I think we have a very interesting match-up between these two squads for the season.


This is not the rebound season that the Rams had hoped for

I really don't think that the St. Louis Rams wanted to be in the "worst team in the league" debate for the second straight season. Along with Kansas City, they are absolutely abysmal; the worst defense, an offense not too far behind, and no chemistry or discipline to be found. One can sort of understand the Chiefs situation (three QB's in three weeks would be problematic for anyone), but the Rams have several Pro Bowl level players on the squad, and no positive signs thus far this season.

There is a new push among Texans fans to get Sage Rosenfels back into the starting lineup over starter Matt Schaub. Rosenfels, who started the last three games for the Texans last year when Schaub was injured, went 3-1 in that stretch. He hoped to compete with Schaub, but head coach Gary Kubiack put the kibosh on that, putting his eggs all with Schaub. The Texans are now 0-2, and Schaub, $46 million contract and all, has not looked very good.


WEEK 3 BREAKDOWN


Ronnie Brown and the Dolphins ran OVER the Patriots this weekend

Game of the Week

Dolphins- 38 Patriots- 13

Not so much for the exciting back and forth action of the game, but for the seismic shift the game may represent in the AFC and the NFL as a whole. I have been rather optimistic about the Pats, arguing that a solid, make few mistake offense and a very good, deep defensive unit would win 10 to 11 games for them. After watching this beatdown, everything is up for grabs. While you can never put everything into one game, this was as big a letdown as the Patriots could have had this entire season. Nothing, and I mean nothing, looked good for New England. Porous run defense, no pass defense (0 sacks, picks, and little to no pressure), and an offense who could protect the QB. The Patriots need to be concerned about the anemic performance their offense, and quarterback Matt Cassel in particular. But there is no denying that the Patriots should be downright terrified about the defense after this one. Miami had five separate touchdown drive that measured 9, 7, 11, 11, and 6 plays, all the while utilizing both the run and passing game. Few expected the Pats offense to continue at the same level with Tom Brady, but Brady never played a down of defense, and now may begin the real panic time for the Patriots after this small disaster.

Player of the Week

Ronnie Brown- RB Miami Dolphins

Brown probably will take this award from every sportswriter after this weekend. If he had this sensational performance (17 carries, 113 yards, 4 rushing TD's, and 19 yards TD pass) against the Rams, he still would get the nod. But this was the New England Patriot of coach Bill Bellichick. Credit of course must also go the offensive line, who was downright dominant for 60 minutes. But Brown was the guy with the ball in his hand, so the credit rightfully needs to go with him.

Runner Up-

Drew Brees- Another unbelievable passing performance. 39-for-48, 421 yards, 1 TD, 0 picks in a loss to the Broncos. If the Saints D can get it together, he's the front runner for MVP in my book.

Marion Barber- RB Dallas. Very well may be the most important player on the best team in football, showing it with a 28 carry, 142 yard game against 2-0 Green Bay.

BUST OF THE WEEK

Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line

A tough pick for me, because the game was as much good Eagles as bad Steelers, but 9 sacks and almost 20 hurries to go along with just 33 yards rushing is just inexcusable. The coaches need some of the blame, as it seemed few, if any adjustments were made during the game. The Steelers took a step backwards after this one.

Runner Up-

Matt Cassel- QB Patriots- Again, a tough one, due to the fact that the Patriots keep the leash pretty tight for him during the game. But the interception to Miami's Randy Starks in the 1st quarter was just terrible, and set tone for the rest of the afternoon.

Biggest Surprise

The Raiders playing competitive football

Not trying to be too down on them, heck, there still a professional team, but they really played their butts off in Buffalo, losing on 38-yard field goal at the end of regulation. For a team with such controversy surrounding it (and a coach ready for final push off the plank of unemployment), the Raiders came out looking aggressive, motivated, and together. Yes, they gave the game away in the 4th, but with the attitude they demonstrated, they will not be embarrassed very often this season.

Least Surprising Development


This year's NFC East may be the best division football has seen in quite a while

The NFC East in 10-2 this season, with both loses coming from within the division.

Maybe this is a homeboy pick here, as I am a Eagles fan, but this division is just phenomenal. It is reminiscent of the early 1990's, when the NFC East won four straight Super Bowls (Giants 1990, Redskins 1991, Cowboys 1992 and 1993), and the Eagles possessed teams each of those years that were championship contenders. With Dallas almost being universally praised as the NFL's best team, the Giants 3-0 (and DEFENDING CHAMPIONS!), the Eagles 2-1 (looking very sharp) and the Skins 2-1 (with a big collection of offensive playmakers), I will be shocked if this division doesn't send three teams to the playoffs by January.