Conor O'Neill
Week 1 has come and gone, and we already have controversy. Between talks of a lockout, a QB controversy in Philadelphia that will drive P.E.T.A. crazy and Calvin Johnson's "no-catch" in Chicago, there wasn't a shortage of story lines from the past weekend.
But enough about those things already. Mike Vick should start, he deserves that chance. Johnson did not maintain possession of the ball. A rule is a rule. There probably will be a lockout next year, so enjoy this year. Which brings us to what we should expect to see in week 2.
The game that stands out on the schedule to me is the Sunday Night Football match up. Colts vs. Giants. Peyton vs. Eli. Anybody want to try to guess how many times we'll see Archie in the luxury suite? I know it's way to early to determine what is a 'must-win' game, but for the Colts, it just might be that. This is a team that has dominated in the past 10 years, yet suffered a loss to the mediocre Texans last week. And Peyton had pressure in his face from Mario Williams last week? Then how will he deal with the 4-5 pass rush specialists for the Giants?
Everybody's fantasy football revelation from last week was Houston's Arian Foster, and it was well deserved. 231 yards is quite impressive. But he won't go over the century mark this week. The Redskins' defense was most impressive against the Cowboys last Sunday, and it seems like new defensive coordinator Jim Haslett has created a monster. Those of you who know me will call me a homer, and that's fine. But for this one, I'm calling it as I see it. Expect the Texans-Redskins match up to be one of low scoring nature.
Another interesting game on the schedule is the Bengals-Ravens game. These two teams received their fair share of preseason Superbowl hype, although the Ravens deserved more than the Bengals did. Now they face off in Week 2 for a slugfest in Cincinnati. Last week, the Ravens showed that they can win the ugly game, as a 10-9 victory over the Jets shouldn't inspire anybody to purchase Superbowl tickets. Meanwhile, the Bengals apparently forgot to show up for the first half in Foxboro, and their rally fell short in an embarrassing 38-24 loss. This will be another game filled with hard hits and low scoring, no strangers to the AFC North.
Like the Bengals, the Vikings desperately need a bounceback game. And that will be a hard task against the Dolphins, a team that I think is better than many people give them credit for. Chad Henne has developed into a solid quarterback, and the Vikings will have to account for more than just Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. But the biggest concern in Minnesota has to be on offense. What happened to "We need Brett to come back so we can move the ball?" Watching that game against the Saints, I'm not sure Tarvares Jackson wouldn't have done a better job leading the offense. At least he's mobile. Favre hasn't been mobile for 5 years.
Lastly, I'm interested by the Steelers-Titans match up in Tennessee this week. The Steelers defense is again a top tier unit, but can they stop Chris Johnson? Nobody else seems to be able to. And when teams have been able to at least slightly hinder C.J., Vince Young has shown that he is more than capable of being a winning quarterback in the NFL. Nevermind the Heisman, Vince. Just win a Superbowl. That's a more prestigious accomplishment anyway.