Tampa Bay Bucs
This pass defense spent the first month of the season getting torched. Now that secondary gets even weaker without top playmaker, Aqib Talib, suspended for the next four games after violating the league?s drug policy.
The run defense was stellar against Kansas City with lots of penetration up front. Held NFL?s leading rusher Jamaal Charles to 8 yards on 7 carries in the first half and 40 yards for the game. It?s certainly helped that they were facing a bottom tier QB, allowing their defensive focus on stopping the ground game.
At times, it seems Josh Freeman is a weaker QB than he was two years ago when he inspired his teammates with a series of impressive, gutty, fourth quarter comebacks. This was the first game where Freeman really connected with his big play wideouts Mike Williams and Vincent Jackson, throwing a trio of TD passes.
Love the rookie RB Doug Martin ? tough between the tackles runner and he?s developing into a passing game weapon. This was an inspiring performance for a team that has at least some potential to make a mid-season run.
Kansas City Chiefs
I didn?t think it was possible for a QB to look worse than Matt Cassel, but Brady Quinn sure made a case. His first drive was three passes for -1 yards, unable to throw a simple slant route to the correct spot. Quinn looked like a guy that hadn?t started an NFL game in three years, making rookie-type blunders like throwing four yard out passes on third and 5.
The Chiefs? league leading 20th turnover came in the red zone on another bad Quinn throw. No. 21 was returned the other way for a touchdown. This team has offensive weapons. We had a Dexter McCluster sighting. Dwayne Bowe is commanding double teams and Charles looks 100% recovered from his ACL injury, with 461 yards rushing on 81 carries over the previous three weeks.
Tight end Tony Moeaki is healthy again, and young receiver Jon Baldwin has all kinds of potential. The QB play is downright lousy, and I?m not impressed with OC Brian Daboll?s play calling here any more than I was when he was doing it for the Dolphins and Browns.
KC still hasn?t led in any game this season ? their lone win at New Orleans came via a last second tying field goal and a game winner in OT. They?ve been outscored 51-6 in the first quarter. That?s just not how this team is built.
Dallas Cowboys
Where?s the pass rush? This team is getting zero penetration with a four man rush ? if they don?t blitz, Joe Flacco has all day to throw. DeMarcus Ware finally got some pressure in the fourth quarter, but it was mostly quiet. And without a pass rush, they couldn?t get off the field on third down, allowing huge conversions leading to scores on 3rd and 14 and 3rd and 18.
RB Demarco Murray had a huge game against the Giants in his season opener, then was essentially silent for the last month. He was featured here and ran extremely well; hitting the edge quickly showing a great speed/power combo. Then, inevitably, he got hurt, leaving the game with a foot injury. The rebuilt O-line with a healthy Phil Costa back as the starting center, blew open holes for Felix Jones and Philip Tanner against the Ravens. Yet they still struggled with holding calls and false starts. Both tackles ? Doug Free and Tyron Smith ? had crucial penalties, negating offensive momentum and forcing punts.
The Cowboys couldn?t get out of their own way here. They couldn?t stop a TD with 12 men on the field defensively. Dan Bailey missed the potential game winning field goal after Jason Garrett?s play calling with the clock winding down left him with a 51 yard try instead of something shorter. Dez Bryant dropped passes; so did Kevin Ogletree. It?s worth noting that Tony Romo hasn?t thrown a TD pass on third down all year, and he?s got the single lowest QB rating in the league on that down!
New York Jets
We definitely saw some offensive improvement here ? New York got good blocking up front, and was able to run the ball effectively all afternoon. It?s clearly time to give up on Mark Sanchez. Like Matt Leinart before him, superstardom at USC has not translated to NFL success.
I understand it?s tough to bench the guy ? they?ve spent the last four seasons trying to build up his confidence and his brand. And Sanchez can look very good for a quarter, a half, even a full game. His strike into tight coverage for the Jets first TD was a brilliant throw. On a weekly basis, he?ll made four or five throws that are simply unconscionable for any starting NFL QB.
Penalties continue to haunt New York, turning a pick six into an Indy first down ? more than 70 penalty yards in the first half alone. We saw yet another good return from Joe McKnight in the kicking game. The Jets are winning the field position battle and showed signs of competitiveness. The Colts game was the best they?ve looked since an opening day blowout against Buffalo.
Oakland Raiders
There were as many positive signs as negative ones in the tight loss at Atlanta. On offense Darren McFadden had little room to run. He was blasted in the backfield repeatedly, leaving Oakland in numerous third and long situations. This offensive line was simply not controlling the line of scrimmage.
Carson Palmer is better now than a month ago, but no longer the QB he was when coming into the league in terms of his accuracy, missing open receivers. His mobility in the pocket wasn?t good to begin with; now he?s a statue, unable to escape even modest pressure.
These WR?s are really fast ? all that attention to drafting speed from the Al Davis era has paid off with some playmakers on their current roster. While this secondary got picked apart at times, they also made some plays ? 3 INT?s in the first half alone.
The Raiders also put together a great goal line stand on D ? this front four wasn?t pushed around. Oakland was the better team on the field on Sunday, but as they?ve done for the last decade found a way to lose.
