Joe's NFL Opening Drive: Week 2

 

 

Following a slew of off-performances and odd endings in week one, teams will start to establish their identity in week two, whether it be good or bad. Here are the games story-lines you should keep an eye on as the NFL kicks off!

 

 

Tennessee and Pittsburgh are remarkably similar in this week 2 match-up. Both teams work to establish their ground attack while playing tough defense and will start quarterbacks that have the ability to make plays with their legs at any given moment but aren't the most prolific of passers. Chris Johnson may only get one or two opportunities to break long runs against the always-highly ranked Steeler D, so he needs to make the most of them. This just screams low-scoring. 

 

This is one of the bigger "show me" games of the weekend, featuring two teams who did little to impress the last time they were on the field. Miami barely beat Buffalo and Minnesota couldn't muster more than nine points and looked out of sync. Chad Henne has to take advantage of Minnesota's still-weak secondary to take the pressure of Ronnie Brown and the running game, which won't find many holes against the Viking front seven. Brad Childress can't forget about Adrian Peterson this week or the Vikings will be in an 0-2 hold in the division.

 

Coming off an slug-fest with the Jets on Monday night, the Ravens face an important early division game. As the AFC North always beats each other up, only a game or two will separate the division champs from the second and third place finishers. Ray Rice should find a bit more running room against the Bengals and Flacco will need to spread the ball around to find the holes in Cincy's worthy secondary. Carson Palmer must find his younger self this week and attack through the air against the Ravens in order to even up this race.

 

This may not be a flashy game, but there's certainly reason to pay attention. Can Pete Carroll's 'Hawks build off of the spanking they handed out to the Niners last week, who by the way are looking at 0-2 after the play the Saints? If you go back and look at the stats, Seattle didn't overpower the Niners, they just didn't make mistakes and played smart fundamental football. Denver's pass defense is suspect (as always, it seems), but at least Kyle Orton looked in control of this offense. He may have as many weapons as he used to, but the offense isn't suffering too much... yet.

 

After essentially playing their Super Bowl in week one, are the Texans in for a let-down? If they can put up a mere 17 points, I doubt it. The 'Skins just don't have the firepower to keep up with them and the Texan offense is certainly more on-track if not simply better than the Cowboys'. Washington's defense has to play a perfect game in order to make up for any offensive shortcomings, but if McNabb can find his groove in Shanahan's system then we could have ourselves a fun one in DC.

 

Okay, who else enjoyed the Jets getting the trash-talk kicked out of them last week? I loved it. Now they host the division rival Patriots who just dominated the similarly-styled Bengals in the first half of their opener. Tom Brady knows this Jets defense and will find Wes Welker when in trouble, but the match-up to watch is obviously corner Darrelle Revis on receiver Randy Moss. If Moss is to stay in NE or get a new contract in the offseason he needs to play big in games like these. If Revis isn't exclusively on Moss throughout the day, then you know his hamstring is bothering him significantly. Maybe that's why you should come to training camp? Oh, and if Mark Sanchez stinks for a second straight week the Jets have NO shot of beating the Pats.

 

An off-the-radar contest, the Chargers are looking to get back on track after an odd early loss, just like they do every year. You can tell they (especially Philip Rivers) miss Vincent Jackson's vertical threat. The Jaguars could sneak out of here with a win, but the east-to-west coast travelers usually aren't on their game. Garrard needs to stay in the 20-24 attempt range and the Jags need to dish out a heavy dose of Maurice Jones-Drew.

 

Sunday night Manning Bowl y'all! Who's ready? The two QB brothers are playing at a high level following week one, but their teams are still feeling things out. The Giants are transitioning to Ahmad Bradshaw at running back, turning them into more of a passing offense. Peyton's Colts have actually lost a regular season game they wanted to win, so that's always odd. What isn't odd is Bob Sanders' injury. The Colts defense was already susceptible to the run, so Bradshaw could factor largely into their demise. Regardless, there will be plenty of aerial barrages tonight, so don't miss it!

 

Monday night's contest features squads that should be at the top of their division when it's all done but need to come out and show their true colors this week. While the Saints won, their offense didn't look as crisp as it usually does. However their defense should be able to make Alex Smith look like a bust (I said it). The Niners can't afford to go 0-2, but they probably will. Frank Gore will have a better day out of the backfield, but he won't run rampant over the Saints.   

 

Enjoy the games and Happy Football!