NFL Regular Season Week 2 Thread
 

Bears at Saints. Before the season, I had figured that the Bears were the most likely candidate for "come crashing back down to Earth" status. A big win here after destroying the Falcons in Week 1 would put some serious egg on my face.

For the Saints, they need to show that the loss to Green Bay had a lot more to do with Green Bay and less to do with them. Even if Chicago and Green Bay are top-five teams, the Saints really cannot afford to start 0-2.

The other thing I'll be watching for is Buffalo's offense. Was that just a horrible KC team, or is Buffalo kinda for real? I must say, as someone who was coming of football age during the Jim Kelly years, there is something right about seeing a Buffalo offense that can score with anyone. With the Pats and Jets in that division, I don't know if there is really anywhere for Buffalo to go this season. But I'd love for them to become this year's feel-good story.

Obviously I expect Green Bay to destroy Carolina. Arizona made a lot of mistakes or they could have scored 40 pretty easily, Carolina's defense is truly awful and losing their best player in Beason will just make it worse. Aaron Rodgers will rip them apart.

But hell, who cares, expectations are non-existent this season, lets see how Cam looks against the Packers. I don't expect much, and don't really care. There's a number of games where Carolina maybe can compete if Newton plays well, Jacksonville in Week 3, etc. Not gonna worry about what might happen against the super bowl champs. A lot of Panther fans around here have gone completely delusional after that first game so I'll be looking forward to the local talk radio next Monday.

The Seahawks and Steelers will see a familiar official as the referee of that game.

Chargers secondary better not take any advice from the Dolphins secondary.

I'm going to start calling the Celebrifins secondary their "tertiary".

Is that as bad as the K/T boundary?

Detroit host KC which with their injuries is bad timing for KC.

Also, the Colts are playing the Browns this week. If they lose big again, that means that the Manning-less Colts are probably the worst team in the NFL this season.

Which, if true, actually makes me think more of Manning. That's a team that made the playoffs year after year after year with him but that actually has 2-14 talent.

Also, it makes me think that the Colts front office is actually horrible. They made one great decision: Manning over Leaf. And that has covered up a decade of roster mis-management otherwise.

dola: But, if the Colts win, all of that I said probably goes away.

Brown are 3 point road favorites after losing at home to the Bengals. Vegas seems to think the Colts are the worst team in football.

dola- Giants get to show the whole country how banged up the defense is on Monday night. If we can't beat a young Rams team with no Jackson and a banged up Bradford we are in big trouble.

The Colts got their asses kicked in Week 1 in Houston last year, too.

We need to see a few more games before we say they're worse than the Browns or the Bengals or the Seahawks or the 49ers or the Patriots.

Can Manning win the MVP without playing a down? Because, he's probably worth 8 wins to that team. While other players, Brady and Rodgers, are also valuable, there is enough talent on those teams that without either of them, NE and GB are still 8-8 or 9-7 teams.

This will be an interesting game to show how the Packer defense is. They didn't look very good against the Saints, but that is a tough offense to contain. GB also doesn't tend to play well against new QBs, so we'll see if one game provides enough of a scouting report on Newton. It wouldn't surprise me to see another shootout.

That game last year was a 3 point lead at the half for the Texans. I'm all for optimism, but you can't compare the two games.

Also, for Vegas to put the Browns as the favorite in that game speaks volumes, they have millions at stake and rarely are wrong.

Let's just see what happens. I'm not ready to write them off yet.

They're not going to have 2 fumbles on their own 20 and pretty much give the other team 2 TDs every week.

The Texans had 1 drive that started on their side of the field that resulted in the TD. They had 3 decent drives all day.

The Texans didn't score in the 2nd half either. You could say that's because they didn't need to, etc. But who is the one team they would kick the shit out of if they could?

The Colts lost because of fumbles and punt return for a TD. Take those away and it is a different game.

The truth of the matter is the Colt's defense is built to play with a lead and get after the QB. This worked great when Manning was around. You either had a lead or had Manning to dig your D out of trouble when you got down.

More likely than not the Colt's will have neither this year. They won't have a lead and they won't have Manning to dig the D out of trouble when they don't have a lead. I would love to be wrong, I am a Colts season ticket holder after all, but I think this year could be bad. Browns bad? Come on. I just don't see it.

1-0 Buffalo (That's right, 1-0, even though it was against a shitty Chiefs team, Buffalo whipped on them) hosts the Raiders. Hopefully they play as well at home as they did in KC....

Then why does Vegas have them as a 3 point road favorite?

I wish I was close to Vegas. I would drop $1000 on that.

Vegas has never been wrong right? Just like all of these experts saying the Colts are in the Suck for Luck sweepstakes?

I see 7 wins on their schedule, 8 if KC continues to be shit and 9 if Pittsburgh sucks since the game is here.

I am so glad I am not a Chief's QB this week......

Any team with an above average Defense is going to beat the colts this year. Collins is a fumble machine. Anyone with even a halfway decent pash rush is almost guaranteed a fumble or two in their favor.

The Browns Defense has an awesome front 4, they get after the QB, they shut down the run quite well. The colts can't run for shyte and if shyte goes away then Collins is in for a very long painful afternoon.

I wouldn't bet against the Defense in that situation.

I guess that's why they play the game! :D

You guys could be totally right. I hope you're not.

When they don't make the playoffs, hopefully they use their early 1st round pick to get a difference maker on Defense. They've needed a Clay Matthews type MLB to set the tone for a long time, someone that can make 1 on 1 plays.

They are right a lot more than they are wrong.

It's how they build those million dollar casinos in the dessert.

Doesn't Vegas just set the lines to get equal play on both sides?

stop using facts

I'm not really sure what that has to do with the Browns being a 3 point favorite, not to mention home field is worth 3 extra points, so in the opinion of Vegas, the Browns are 6 points better than the Colts.

In order to get play on both sides you need an accurate line, Vegas typically sets lines close to their predicted outcome. It's how they make their money.

Isn't the ideal scenario an equal amount of bets on each side so I can pay the winners with the losers money and pocket all the juice? That's not really outcome based, is it?

But it's not like they just pick arbitrary numbers, they base the line using their expected outcome of the game. Anyone who bets sports can tell you they are accurate a large portion of the time.

I'm taking the Steelers in my survivor pool this week.

I'm unsure of your endgame here Lathum. Would you like us to lay down and submit on behalf of the Colts? Book it 24-21 Browns?

I mean I can see your point. They really nailed the Chiefs as about a touchdown favorite in week 1. Clearly they are infallible. Right?

Personally I would rather just watch the game and draw conclusions after I see it.

I agree, and clearly Vegas is wrong sometimes. My point was just that it was interesting the way Vegas set that line. TBH I couldn't care less one way or the other.

I bet sports, and I wouldn't necessarily call them "accurate" as far as predicting actual outcomes. How many games were dead on last week from a point spread standpoint? Anyone push? You can say they are close I suppose...but I wouldn't bet favorites all year banking on the idea that bookies know something I don't...

Don't forget their top WR is out, too.

Looks more and more like he'll play. How effective he'll be is another story.

Premiere of "A Football Life: Bill Belichick" is on NFLN right now. Mic'd up Bill and the hoodie for the 2009 season.

recording that and really looking forward to watching it

Half right on the drafting. They had 1st round picks of Wayne, Freeney, and Clark in consecutive years. He basically drafted well until about 2006 (for the way the Colts are built, I still think Addai was a solid pick). His best draft pick since then is Antoine Bethea and you could probably say Austin Collie was a great pick in the 4th. Otherwise? Nothing. We keep UDFAs and roster castoffs and somehow a lot of fans buy into this because of in Polian we trust. But, ever since the decision not to go for 16-0, I've questioned Polian. And don't get me started on Caldwell. Best case scenario is we do so bad that Caldwell gets fired, Manning comes back and starts grooming Luck.

Dola

And the Browns will win this game. No Brackett for the Colts. We have no one up the middle capable of tackling Hillis.

Watched it. Loved it. Belichick is not who I thought he was. I loved his interaction with Derrick Mason.

Not who you thought he was in what way?

Loved it too.

The Derrick Mason thing was interesting - I rewound and watched it again and I still couldn't tell if he was legit angry or if he found it amusing.

I thought his insights on Ed Reed were awesome to see (man, can you imagine if Beli had someone like him to coach?), as were Brady's, and the whole "two of them devising a play" thing was cool too.

I guess it's only a two-part thing? I wish it was more? Be cool if they did it week by week, instead of taking us through like half the season in a week.

I guess I always thought he was a serious, angry guy who didn't have a sense of humor or anything like that.

At the beginning when he had the O-lineman try to catch a punt and if he did, the team had the night off, I never would have thought he would do something like that. I figured he would be serious all of the time.

Seeing him talk about his days with the Giants was cool and let you see a side of him that I don't think most people know is there.

I'll be happy when this week is over so I can stop hearing about Michael Vick going back to Atlanta.

fixed lol

He's pretty simple, it's a zero sum game with him. He figures he has nothing to gain by sharing the inner workings of the team with the media, only something to lose if the other team finds out(however minor). So he just stonewalls everyone outside the locker room and that's what we see. The punt bit has been reported on quite a bit though.

I'm not surprised he let them put this together, think he respects NFL films and he wants to be remembered when he's long gone, but I am surprised he let them release it while he was still coaching the Pats.

I am going to be happy when this week is over because I think my Birds are going to get brutalized by Philly's Birds.

If the Falcons only win one game all season (and after last week that seems plausible) I hope it's this one.

I don't think there's much chance of that happening mind you, but I can still wish for it.

How bout them Panthers?

Cam 90 yards passing with a TD on the opening drive.