"Bowled Over In A Cloud of Dust"
Week 2 Recap:

Not exactly a banner week over here at Prognostication Central.

For Week 2:
Vs W/L: 9-7-0
Vs Spread 6-10-0
Vs. O/U 16-15-1

For The Season:
Vs W/L: 17-15-0
Vs Spread 15-17-0
Vs. O/U 8-8-0

Here’s where we’re at via the Spread relative to the “Sportsline Experts”:

Expert “P”: 20-11-0
Expert “J”: 18-13-0
Expert “D”: 16-15-0
Expert “S”: 15-16-0
PFN: 15-17-0
Expert “H”: 13-18-0
Expert “R”: 11-20-0

In fifth place, five back of “P”. It could be worse, but a whole lot better is expected around here.

San Diego came to Foxboro with a chip on their shoulder and left with their tails between their legs. The wall-to-wall coverage of “Videogate” was simply too nauseating to bear. This is what happens when uneducated reporters ask “well-meaning” (STUPID) questions about matters they know next to nothing about, all to get a “story”. It’s sort of like talking about quantum physics and String Theory. Around here, if there’s something we don’t understand, Roscoe and I do a little basic research before offering a slightly-informed opinion. (We can’t help you in the physics department).

Clandestine activities in football have gone as far back as Knute Rockne and the Four Horsemen. The Spy vs. Spy games that Halas and Lombardi played with each other are legendary. George Allen ran his Redskins with the heightened security of a military installation. The terminology used in defining plays is encoded with the sophistication of a vault. None of this is “new”. Everyone in the game knows that intellectual piracy is an accepted part of the business, despite what this new Commissioner says about “the integrity of the game”. Talk to me about “integrity” in the NFL when the League and its players get around to increasing the pensions and improving the medical care of the men who built the game into what it is today. What do you think that all of those coaches up in the press box are doing with cameras, anyhow? Zooming in on the cheerleaders?

The only thing that was noteworthy was the fact that an ex-employee (who retained intimate knowledge of sensitive, proprietary information) waited for an appropriate opportunity to burn his former boss in order to further his own career. That sort of pernicious back stabbing behavior is a fact of life in the business world (hardly endorsed around here). The troubling aspect in all of this is that such behavior generally does not inure to the benefit of the whistleblower.

Every industry has its codes and dirty little secrets. Exposing the behavior of one transgressor has the effect of bring everyone in the group’s activity greater scrutiny. Now the whistleblower has not only pissed off his target, but also everyone else in the group. Louis Brandeis may have stated that “sunshine is the best disinfectant”, but that was only the Constitution to which he referred. This is football we’re talkin’ about! (We’re jesting, here, friends).

The talking heads in the media (the ones who know “where all the bodies are buried”) allowed the media frenzy to consume a reasonable discussion of the facts with innuendo and misinformation. I am not suggesting for a moment that because every team engages in this sort of conduct to one degree or the next that it is acceptable. Rules are written in black and white while life is played between the infinite shades of gray in between.

The Patriots and Belichick were found to have violated a rule and were punished accordingly. Whether the punishment meted out is “fair” is purely subjective, entirely based on what the Commissioner deemed to be “fair”.

So, while all of this nonsense was killing time for the media, the Patriots went out and played an amazing football game, blowing out the Chargers 38-14. The Pats more than doubled San Diego’s total net yardage while Brady, Maroney and Moss had banner evenings. LaDainian Tomlinson gained 25 yards on 17 carries, while Philip Rivers went 19/30 179 yd., 2 TD 2 Int. Adailus Thomas’ pick and return for a touchdown was just beautiful. The Patriot defense harassed and banged Rivers around all night. Belichick left the field to a standing ovation, and it appears as though he was genuinely moved (no kidding) by the crowd’s reaction. Now that OJ’s back in the limelight again the bloodthirsty media will focus their eyes and fangs on him once more. Next week, New England hosts Buffalo, who cannot be overlooked for an instant while the Chargers travel to Lambeau in what ought to be a fantastic game with the unbeaten Pack.

Turning now to the other Week 2 games, Although the ’07 season is in its early stages, there are a number of pleasant surprises and disturbing disappointments. My goodness, can anyone get to the bottom of what happened in Cleveland on Sunday? The Browns’ 51-45 victory over Cincinnati was mind-boggling. How does one of the worst offenses in the League suddenly put up 554 yards of total offense? For that matter, how does a quarterback throw six touchdown passes and end up losing the football game? While it's certainly a cause for celebration for the Browns, major red flags went up regarding Cincinnati's defense. Their performance was an abomination. We hate to keep harping on a point, but until such time as Coach Lewis can develop an emotionally mature group of professionals who are committed to playing disciplined football, his team may talk the talk, but they’re going nowhere, and nowhere fast.

In Carolina, yesterday, the Panthers took it on the chin, losing 34 -21 at the hands of the surprising Houston Texans. Ahman Green had a good afternoon running the football and the Texans took advantage of three turnovers to come away with the win. For the second consecutive year, the Panthers have stumbled coming out of the gate. They had a golden opportunity to get a toehold on first place in the NFC South and literally fumbled the chance. But give credit to the Texans, as their defense has been stout in the early going. Matt Schaub had another nice afternoon throwing two touchdowns and no interceptions.

After yesterday’s 17-16 loss at home against San Francisco, it appears that any chance that the Rams had to contend in the NFC West went down the drain. From here on in, they're no more than an also-ran. Yeah, they'll play a few good games, and get a few wins here and there, but don't expect anything of substance coming out of this team. Offensively, they dominated the 49ers, racking up 331 yards and passing. They more than doubled the ‘Niners output offensively and still lost. Of course, three fumbles were the real story. San Francisco played much as they had in their Week One victory over Arizona, nothing fancy or exciting, but they nevertheless found a way to win the game. Looking at the numbers yielded nothing of value. The ‘Niners made plays when they had to. Sometimes statistics aren’t what they’re cracked up to be.

Another strange game was Atlanta's 13-7 loss at Jacksonville. Had this been a more talented opponent, the Jags would have been flattened. Joey Harrington, ended up having a pretty good afternoon, at least he didn’t throw any interceptions, nor did the Falcons commit any turnovers. That, in and of itself, was a pretty good accomplishment. It's not the team's fault that their regular starting quarterback is at home, awaiting sentencing to a federal prison. He's not coming back under any circumstances. So now the team finds itself having to develop an identity on-the-fly. It's going to take time, but by season’s end, the Falcons will be a much better football team under Coach Petrino. But what about Jacksonville? This is the second straight week that their offense has fizzled. Is Garrard truly a NFL quarterback? Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor combined for 87 yards rushing. If the Jaguars are going anywhere this year, they need to have much better results in the running game.

The Bills went down to Pittsburgh on Sunday, and were not even in the same league with the Steelers as evidenced by their 26-3 defeat. In the first half, Pittsburgh ran the ball up and down the field at will, yet could only manage four field goals. Buffalo's offense was flat, while the defense surrendered 420 total yards. Willie Parker ran wild, to the tune of 126 yards and a touchdown. No one can question the Bills’ heart. But it's only been two weeks, and the team has been ravaged by injuries. Next week, they travel to Foxboro, where the Patriots should not take them lightly, not for a moment because there's nothing a worse than underestimating a wounded opponent. Meanwhile, the Steelers are in their cupcake part of the schedule, where they will host the 49ers.

The Jets-Ravens game was as hard-hitting and competitive as anyone could ask from either club considering that both starting quarterbacks were out. The Ravens were up 17-3 heading into the fourth quarter, when the Jets made their comeback, hitting a field goal scoring a touchdown later. Willis McGahee had the first of what promises to be many exciting afternoons, picking up 97 yards on the day. Jerricho Cotchery also had a nice afternoon for New York, with seven catches for 165 yards. Ultimately, the game turned on Kellen Clemens' two interceptions. But the loss was not entirely all of his doing. Justin McCareins dropped a couple of balls in the fourth quarter that may have been the difference between victory and defeat. Next week, the Jets are home to face Miami, where they have a pretty good chance to get into the win column this year. The Ravens host Arizona at Sunday, while Matt Leinart is probably having nightmares of being terrorized by Ray Lewis.

Meanwhile, in Detroit, Jon Kitna rebounded from a concussion in the first half to lead the Lions to a 20-17 overtime victory at home against the Vikings. The Detroit Lions are undefeated, and that is not a misprint. Of course, had Tarvaris Jackson not been intercepted four times, maybe the outcome would have been different. Right now, Jackson is terrible quarterback, and Minnesota will rue their decision not to select one of the higher rated quarterbacks in last year's draft. Adrian Peterson started out like a house on fire last week, but crashed back to earth on Sunday only gaining 66 yards on 20 carries. The only thing saving the Vikes right now from falling into the abyss is the strength of their offensive and defensive lines. For Detroit, a 2-0 start must have folks in Michigan jumping for joy. Matt Millen is probably jumping joyfully as well, because his ass is in the ringer big-time. But Millen, Coach Marinelli, and the Lions unquestionably understand the deficiencies in the team's game. There’s a lot of work left to do. Their running game was downright awful, and their quarterbacks combined for three picks, so all around, this game won't be one to make the highlight-reel classics, for sure. All that we can take out of this game is that the Lions can throw the ball and the Vikings can stop the run. Beyond that, all we can say for sure is that these teams will be fighting it out to for last place in the NFL's Black and Blue Division.

Get a little credit to the Oakland Raiders. They were royally screwed on a late timeout call that cost them an overtime victory. Sebastian Janikowski appeared to have kicked the winning field goal in overtime; however, Denver's coach signaled a timeout a nanosecond before the ball was snapped. Having been forced to make a second try, his kick went wide left and the Broncos regained possession and their kicker made the winning field goal. That's the second straight week that Denver's Jason Elam has pulled victory out of the jaws of defeat. But the Raiders need not hang their heads in shame. For a young team going on the road in such a tough environment and taking the Broncos to overtime is a pretty nice accomplishment. LaMont (Sanford) Jordan had a big day for the black and silver running for 159 yards. Josh McCown, who wasn't supposed to start, really didn't do much, getting intercepted three times with one touchdown and picking up a grand total of 73 yards. Denver's Jake Cutler was also intercepted twice, but the Broncos were able to move the ball more effectively. Travis Henry (who will be paying child support until he's in his late 80s) had a good afternoon as well, running for 128 yards. Next week, Denver hosts Jacksonville, which should be a tougher test than their first two opponents and will be a much better barometer by which to judge this team. Oakland returns to the Black Hole to face Cleveland, in what should be a very interesting game.

Indianapolis played good enough to win on the road in Nashville but it wasn't easy, nor was the outcome certain until the last play of the game. What was interesting was the fact that the Titans had some success for running the football. This is the first time that cracks appeared in the Indy defense since last year’s AFC Championship (may its memory be erased for a thousand years). Vince Young accounted for 237 yards when running and passing the ball. Maybe teams have underestimated him or haven’t figured him out yet. Time will tell. Next week, Indianapolis travels to Houston where we will see if the bloom falls off the rose or the Texans are for real. Tennessee travelers to New Orleans to face the utterly underwhelming Saints in their home opener next Monday night.

Leading the pack of disappointments are the NFC finalists from last year, the New Orleans Saints. Do you remember the days when the Saints were pathetic and fans wore paper bags over their heads at the Superdome? After losing to Tampa Bay on Sunday they’re looking more like the ‘Aint’s of old, rather than Super Bowl contenders.
What has gone wrong with the Saints? They have been humiliated in back-to-back weeks. Sure, any team can get whipped at the hands of Payton Manning, but to go on the road to Tampa Bay and lose 31-14? OK, so it was over 100º at field level, but it’s not as if the Saints train in Yellowknife, for cryin’ out loud. There's a whole lot more going on than simply laying an egg. Reggie Bush is averaging only 3 yards per carry. That's not only unacceptable, that's insane. He ought to give consideration to giving back some of his money. Deuce McAllister hasn't fared much better. Drew Brees is playing as if he's in a fog. It was 28-0 before the Saints actually mustered a score. Perhaps it's time to rethink this team's chances. Based on what we've seen so far it now appears as if they're going through a conference championship hangover season. It happens. Jeff Garcia had a very productive afternoon, throwing two touchdowns, while only attempting 16 passes and Cadillac Williams also had a decent afternoon running the ball and scoring two touchdowns. Coach Chucky couldn't ask more from this group than he got on Sunday. It was a nice win for which his team is to be commended. Coach Payton has an additional day to prepare for Tennessee. Let's hope he figures out what has gone wrong so far, so that his team has a chance before it all slips away. Tampa Bay hosts St. Louis. That ought to be a toughie to figure out.

Seattle stunk on Sunday, there’s no getting around it. Sure, The Edge had another great afternoon, but the Seahawks are much further along in development than are the Cardinals. As far as the Chiefs, well…as bad a shape as they’re in, Rex the Wonder Boy still wasn’t worth the –12. If the Bears have to rely on their quarterback to win ballgames, it’s going to be a long, tough year. But with their defense, the Bears are good enough to hammer the doormats and hang in against the better teams. Dallas went down to Miami and were feeling the heat, all right. The Dolphins made the Cowboys sweat, before Dallas prevailed 24-20.