The Lions break the streak and other NFL thoughts

It was a week that reminded us of why we love the league so much. Sanchize and the Jets are sitting on top of the world with a 3-0 record. The defending Super Bowl and NFC Champions are both 1-2. We still have seven teams that are undefeated and one team proved that in the NFL, as in life, every dog has its day.

(1) The Detroit Lions are no longer the Detroit Felines. After losing 19 games in a row, dating back to 2007, the Lions finally got into the win column with a solid 19-14 victory over the Washington Redskins. They finally won because they took advantage of a vulnerable foe the same way they have been taken advantage for the better part of two seasons. They finally won because they put together their best offensive performance since 2007. The most impressive statistic was that the Lions did not turn the ball over with a rookie quarterback and a team confidence that can best be described as shaky. It is safe to say that tons turnovers are littered throughout their lengthy losing streak. Another impressive part of their big victory is that they amassed 23 first downs by converting 55% of their third downs. By keeping the offense on the field, the Lions were able to rest their defense, which certainly played a big part in the victory. The Lions allowed Jason Campbell to go a little wild in the 2nd half but they held the Redskins’ running game in check. The final thing that impressed me was the balance they demonstrated on offense. They rolled up 381 total yards with 227 coming via the pass and 154 coming on the ground. It will be interesting to see how the Lions build on this win. They have been enveloped by a culture of losing for so long that it is still going to take quite awhile for them to get back to respectability. You have to remember that, even though most of the media was focusing on their 19-game losing streak, the Lions had actually lost 25 out of their last 26 games. I, for one, am hoping that the Lions find a little success for themselves and the city that has supported them through many losing seasons.

(2) Well, we know for sure that the Lions will not be mentioned in any conversation about the best team in the NFL, but who should be in the conversation. There are still seven undefeated teams in the NFL but I don’t think all of them deserve to be in the conversation. First things first, throw the Denver Broncos right out the window because they have played the NFL’s equivalent of the Little Sisters of the Poor. I’m also not even thinking about the Minnesota Vikings because they shouldn’t even be undefeated anymore. The other five, the Colts, the Saints, the Giants, the Ravens and the Jets all have compelling reasons why they should be considered the best through the first three weeks. The Saints have crushed the Eagles on the road and have proven that they don’t need Drew Brees to carry them every week. The Colt just finished crushing the defending NFC champs on their home turf and they probably have the best player in the NFL running their show. In addition, they continue to demonstrate that the more things change the more things stay the same. The Ravens have a young, hot shot quarterback and they also have an impressive win on the road in San Diego. Despite all of their accomplishments through the first three weeks, I put the Colts, Ravens and Saints just a notch below the New York Jets and the New York Giants. Let’s start with the Jets. They have been the Texans, the Titans and the Patriots in the first three weeks. Who has beaten a better trio than that? They have the 4th ranked defense in the entire NFL. They have shutdown the high-flying Texans’ offense, Tom Brady and the Titans’ running game. They have the best young defensive back in the NFL, Darrelle Revis, who shackled Andre Johnson and Randy Moss in the first two weeks. They also have the hottest commodity in the NFL, a quarterback named Mark Sanchez aka the “Sanchize.” He has played unlike a rookie quarterback in the early portion of the season. He has been fiery, he has been resilient, and he has shown great leadership. Normally, the Mark Sanchez phenomenon and the Jets’ success would be enough for one town, but the J-E-T-S still have to contend with their roommates in the Meadowlands for the back pages of the New York dailies. The G-Men are definitely at the top of the NFC after their complete dismantling of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They have the 2nd rated defense in the NFL even though they are now missing Chris Canty and Justin Tuck. The Giants have been about great defense for several years now and 2009 is shaping up to be more of the same. They also have the 5th ranked offense in the NFL led by a more confident Eli Manning. He seems to be in total control of the Giants offense. As I said last week, I have never seen him calmer than he was in leading the Giants to a victory in Dallas last week. Eli is currently the 3rd highest rated passer in the NFL. He seems poised to ascend to the next level of NFL quarterbacks. He isn’t the only weapon that the G-Men have at their disposal. Even though Earth Wind & Fire was broken up with Derrick Ward’s departure, Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw have shown that they are more than capable of holding down the fort. The other major concern was how they would operate without Plaxico Burress. Their young receivers are demonstrating that they are better collectively than they would have been had Burress still been the dominant figure. Last week it was Mario Manningham shining bright and this week it was Sinorice Moss stepping to the forefront. I think that the best days are ahead of this group of wide receivers. Ultimately, I give the overall edge to the Giants because of their experience at quarterback and their track record of stellar defense.

(3) You can debate who the best team in the league is until you are blue in the face because everyone is going to have their own opinion. Another topic that can create endless debate is who deserves to be the NFL MVP. I know that we are only three weeks into the season, but it is never too early to start the debate. At this point in time, my list of early candidates is heavy on quarterbacks. My front-runner right now is Peyton Manning. Over the years, he has had so many reasons to take a step back but he continues to produce at a high level. This season alone, he has had to overcome the departure of Tony Dungy and Marvin Harrison. In addition, he has no running game to speak of with the disappearance of Joseph Addai. Finally, he loses one of his top targets, in Anthony Gonzalez, and he doesn’t seem to miss a beat. All he has done so far is complete nearly 70% of his attempts for 983 yards and seven touchdowns. He has thrown for at least 300 yards in all three games and he has already won two road games against playoff participants from a year ago. He is essentially a player and a coach. The biggest reason that I think he is the leader in the clubhouse is that nothing strikes more fear into the hearts of Colts fans than Jim Sorgi warming up to play. Nipping at his heels is Mr. Drew Brees. Like Peyton, Brees is also piloting an undefeated team. He also has won two games on the road. He is the highest rated quarterback in the NFL and he leads the NFL in touchdown passes. A third candidate that is gaining some momentum in my eyes is Peyton’s little brother. If Eli can continue to play with the cool efficiency that he has shown through the first few weeks, then he is going to inject himself into the debate whether the public wants him to be or not.

(4) The darkhorse candidate for MVP, the player who is zooming up the charts is Joe Flacco. He is also the biggest surprise in the early part of the NFL season. After watching Flacco play rather inconsistently last year as a rookie, I didn’t expect him to unleash his alter ego, Joltin Joe, on the NFL. He has already set a personal high for passing yards in a single game twice with 307 yards against the Chiefs and 342 yards against the Browns. He has completed better than 60% of his passes in each game that he has played. He has also posted a passer rating better than 95 in each game, which he never accomplished as a rookie. His development has transformed the Ravens offense from run-first and conservative to well-balanced and explosive. With the defense that the Ravens normally field, Flacco’s huge step forward is going to make the Ravens extremely tough to beat. I certainly didn’t see it coming, just like I didn’t see the Tennessee Titans starting 0-3 a year after leading the NFL with 13 wins. The Titans are the biggest disappointment of the young season. They have found different ways to lose each week. In week one, they fought extremely hard but they gave Ben Roethlisberger too many chances to beat them. In week two, their secondary was torched by the Texans. In week three, four turnovers and some shaky decision-making from their veteran quarterback dug them a grave that was way too deep to climb out. I don’t think they are as bad as their record indicates. They could easily be 2-1. They have to start the uphill climb by shoring up their secondary performance. In 2008, the Titans finished 9th in the league against the forward pass. So far in 2009, the Titans are hanging around with the dregs of the NFL at 29th in the league against the pass. In addition, they need Kerry Collins to play smarter than he did in the Jets game. If they wanted a quarterback to throw passes to the other team they could start Vince Young. Nevertheless, I think the Titans will finally get on the winning track this week. It remains to be seen whether their once promising season has gone up in flames due to their extremely slow start.

(5) Another team that is on the verge of having their season blow up for all the wrong reasons is the Seattle Seahawks. They lost another winnable game because their defense couldn’t get off the field when it counted and their offense left far too many points on the field. Even worse, their veteran kicker missed two field goals, which ended up being the difference in the game. Also, I’m contractually obligated to mention that the Hawks were without Matt Hasselbeck and six other starters. No matter what excuse you choose to use it all added up to another half-full performance by Seattle. Let’s start with the defense. They actually played pretty well considering the handicap that they were under without several starters. The Bears only averaged 3.0 yards per carry on 28 rushing attempts. The Hawks held them to only 14 first downs all game and they got off the field on third down pretty consistently. The negative part is that the Hawks did not generate a lot of pressure against Jay Cutler. As a result, Cutler was able to complete 77% of his attempts and throw three touchdowns. Despite having some success against the Bears’ offense, the Hawks could not get a stop at the most crucial point of the game. The Bears took over with just over five minutes remaining, trailing by two points and marched down the field in only six plays for the winning score. This was the point in the game where someone needed to make a play to preserve the victory. Instead, the Hawks did their finest torero impersonation and allowed Cutler to move down the field as if he was royalty. Despite the uneven performance from the defense, I need to give a big shout out to the Heater, David Hawthorne, on his 16-tackle performance. The offense does not get nearly the love this time around. Last week, I was worried about how Seneca Wallace would perform and his actual numbers reinforced my belief that he is nothing more than a good back-up quarterback. Overall, the Hawks had seven scoring opportunities but only one of them was a touchdown. No one, including Seneca, was able to step up and make a play to get the Hawks another six points. It was just one of those games where the Hawks moved the ball between the 20’s, but couldn’t cash in when the space got tight in the red zone. You can blame it on play calling, the quarterback or someone else, but the bottom line is that the Hawks have to find a way to score more touchdowns. Six field goals are way too many, especially when your supposedly steady veteran kicker misses two of them. In the end, the Hawks are on the precipice of having their season go into the toilet. It is pretty much guaranteed that they will lose next week at Indianapolis regardless of who is playing quarterback. After a 1-3 start to the season, they would face must-win ballgames against the Jaguars and the Cardinals. Fortunately, both of those games would be at Qwest Field. I just hope we start getting some of our guys back healthy so that we can actually compete next week and beyond.