Week Three Observations

1. Make no mistake about it, Detroit outplayed the Redskins on Sunday. This was no fluke. I am having a tough time diagnosing what’s wrong with the Skins. Their offensive line is a bit of a mess and they can’t get the running game going. Their defense isn’t creating turnovers. They just don’t seem that bad to me though. They are the kind of team that gets 11 yards on third and 12, the kind of team that can’t overcome a holding penalty, the kind of team that doesn’t confuse a Matt Stafford into turning the ball over, the kind of team that will have a new coach in three months.

2. Jim Schwartz has to be my favorite coach in the league – even ahead of Mike “Olde Whitey” Smith. He reads Football Outsiders, rocks a bit of a fauxhawk, doesn’t draw attention to himself, and coaches well. Some of my other favorites:

QB: Tyler Thigpen
RB: Ahmad Bradshaw
TE: Brandon Pettigrew
WR: Eddie Royal
WR: Larry Fitzgerald
OL: Ryan Clady
DE: Jared Allen
DT: Jay Ratliff
LB: Ray Lewis
CB: Champ Bailey
S: Adrian Wilson
P: Mike Scifres
K: Mason Crosby

3. Lions rookie S Louis Delmas is left cleaning up a lot of messes on the back end.

4. The Packers stick with Ryan Grant and the ground game, though it’s unimpressive.

5. Someone explain to me the difference between Greg Jennings and Lee Evans. How does Jennings always seems to be available for a couple bombs, while Evans is rarely targeted and always blanketed?

6. Kyle Boller could be better than Marc Bulger at this point in their careers. I know one thing – Boller was VERY excited to get his opportunity.

7. Shaun Hill showed me what I needed to see. Hill, Vernon Davis, and Josh Morgan flashed enough of a passing game to make the Niners a comprehensive team. The game was snatched cruelly away from them, but Sunday was still a good day for San Fran – each of their division rivals lost.

8. Minnesota is not blowing teams away, but they are not going to be easy to beat. The Vikings have unstoppable players on offense and defense.

9. Michael Turner hasn’t lost a step, or a half-step, but he may have lost a quarter-step.

10. Atlanta had a nice matchup week one against the Dolphins, but since then it has become obvious this team has no defense. They can’t get off the field.

11. Houston’s defense looks just like Atlanta’s: one good pass rusher and a bunch of stiffs. Not enough speed or strength, poor tackling, and little playmaking. These teams have explosive offenses but they can’t get a hold of the ball.

12. Jets rookie RB Shonn Greene has yet to set foot on an NFL football field.

13. The funny thing about the Chiefs is that Matt Cassel is as good or better than advertised, and they still completely suck.

14. It’s staggering to think that of all the wideouts that have come out of USC the last decade, Steve Smith of the Giants is easily the most productive pro.

15. Derek Anderson gives the Browns just a sliver of hope, as he can deliver the ball downfield to Braylon Edwards. Brady Quinn really needs dynamic short-pattern receivers to succeed. A legit tight end would have helped him out.

16. I’m not the first to say this: the three worst words in sports are Doctor James Andrews.

17. The Bears would really be in trouble without Jay Cutler. There are not many things they do well. Cutler has already bailed them out of two games they should have lost.

18. Underrated coaching performance of the week: Sean Payton grinding out a win in Buffalo, leaving the ego on the shelf, and using a low-risk game plan which virtually insured a New Orleans victory.

19. Second year LT Ryan Clady has given up half a sack in his career for the Broncos. Clady may be the best offensive lineman in the world.

20. Correll Buckhalter is averaging 7.4 yards per carry.

21. Denver’s defense, one of the worst in NFL history last season according to several statistical models, currently ranks in the top ten of every category you can think of. Some of the more

Yardage – 1st
Passing yardage – 2nd
Yards per pass attempt – 3rd
Opposing QB rating – 3rd
Pass touchdowns – 1st (0 on the season)
Interceptions – 5th
Sacks – 1st
Rushing yardage – 7th
Yards per rush attempt – 7th
Rushing touchdowns – 4th
Forced fumbles – 1st
Recovered fumbles – 2nd
Points per game – 1st (averaging a ridiculous 5.3, less than half #2 NY Jets)
First downs – 1st
Third down stop percent – 4th
Fantasy points – 1st

22. ***Softball analogy of the week***
You see some pretty weak girls step up to the plate playing coed softball. Girls that have little chance at getting the ball out of the infield, let alone getting on base. At the same time, almost every guy is at least competent – and many are terrifying bashers who always hit the ball hard. I play third base, which is positively terrifying when one of those big boppers steps in. There are men who threaten to reconstruct my face Anquan Boldin style. Now, throwing strikes is not that easy. Throwing accurately underhand is challenging. But when our pitcher walks a weak girl, I lose my mind. Not only did we just put someone on base who is probably going to come around and score, not only did the chances of my teeth spilling onto the infield just increase, but we lost a great opportunity to record an out.

The Denver Broncos lucked out in a win over the Bengals, then took care of business against the Browns and Raiders. The Broncos haven’t walked any girls so far this season.

Which is mandatory, because Denver’s next eight games look like this:
Dallas
New England
@San Diego
@Baltimore
Pittsburgh
@Washington
San Diego
NY Giants

Late-season trips to Indianapolis and Philadelphia lurk as well.

23. Pittsburgh looked like a behemoth to me on Sunday. Their loss to the Bengals was the flukiest of the NFL season thus far. The Steelers dominated a solid team on the road.

24. Marvin Lewis is officially the worst clock-managing head coach in the league.

25. In retrospect, the Colts couldn’t have had a better matchup than they had against the pass-first Arizona Cardinals, who can’t run the ball and can’t protect Kurt Warner.

26. In 2009, I am convinced that the name of the game is defensive line. Carolina, who lost Ma’ake Kemoeatu before the season began, does not have a defensive line.

27. Once every 381 days, you can count on a big game from Dante Rosario.

Defensive MVP of the Week: Kevin Burnett, San Diego
Offensive MVP of the Week: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay
Defensive Breakout Player of the Week: Kevin Burnett, San Diego
Offensive Breakout Player of the Week: Lynell Hamilton, New Orleans
Defensive Coordinator of the Week: Dean Pees, New England
Offensive Coordinator of the Week:

Power Rankings:

32. Cleveland (32)
31. Oakland (29)
30. Kansas City (30)
29. St. Louis (31)
28. Tampa Bay (26)
27. Detroit (28)
26. Miami (18)
25. Seattle (25)
24. Houston (24)
23. Jacksonville (27)
22. Buffalo (20)
21. Washington (21)
20. Arizona (23)
19. Carolina (17)
18. Chicago (15)
17. Green Bay (16)
16. Cincinnati (12)
15. Denver (19)
14. San Francisco (22)
13. Tennessee (14)
12. San Diego (13)
11. Atlanta (10)
10. New England (11)
9. Dallas (10)
8. New York Jets (7)
7. Philadelphia (8)
6. Minnesota (6)
5. Pittsburgh (5)
4. New Orleans (4)
3. Indianapolis (3)
2. Baltimore (2)
1. New York Giants (1)