NFL Week 2: The Five Players Under the Most Pressure and Week 2 Picks
If there's one thing sports fans and media excel at in 2010, it's overreacting.
Every play is treated like it's the last down of the Super Bowl. Every interception or fumble is made by a player coaches shouldn't have even had on the field in the first place.
Every touchdown allowed is only because the official didn't see the obvious holding in the backfield.
Because of this, overreactions were predictably plentiful after numerous Super Bowl favorites (Vikings, Jets, Chargers, Cowboys, Falcons) started the season 0-1.
It's easy to simply dismiss concerns as asinine, but stats tell us that their concerns have some merit.
Starting 0-1 isn't apocalyptic.
But starting 0-2 may very well be, as only 13 percent of teams that start 0-2 have made the playoffs since 1990.
And, in case you're not a math major, you can't start 0-2 without first starting 0-1.
Because if this, pressure is already mounting in the sophomore week of the 2010 NFL season.
Some of this pressure is fan-inflicted, while other pressures are solely self-inflicted. Which players are under the most pressure heading into Week 2? Well, that's why I'm here.
Without further ado, the five players facing the most pressure this week, as well as my Week 2 Picks.
5. Michael Vick
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Whether Eagles coach Andy Reid wants to publicly admit it or not, there is a quarterback controversy brewing in the City of Brotherly Love.
Kevin Kolb knows it deep down. The Eagles fans know it. And, most importantly, Michael Vick knows it.
Reid is like the husband that everyone knows is cheating on his wife (Kolb) with the hot secretary (Vick) at the office but he steadfastly denies it, so his wife believes him.
If Vick's brilliance turns out to be a one-week facade, then Reid will dump him like he's was just a one-night stand who meant nothing.
But if Vick eviscerates the Lions and energizes his teammates like he did in Week 1 against Green Bay, Reid won't be able to hide his indiscretion anymore.
Not even the best liar can pull off the "those are your panties" argument.
4. The Entire Dallas Cowboys Offensive Line
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Coming into the season, anyone with an IQ over 12 knew that the Cowboys' offensive line was their most glaring weakness.
But no one knew it was that bad.
Following a destruction by the Redskins' anemic pass rush, there is no unit under more pressure coming into Week 2 than the Cowboys O-Line.
With the Bears spending the GDP of a small country on Julius Peppers this offseason to boost their pass rush and reports surfacing that much-maligned tackle Alex Barron could play Sunday, Chicago could very easily pull off the upset.
And, as you heard 5,452 times during the pre-season, the NFC East is the toughest division in the National Football League.
You cannot start 0-2 and expect the make the playoffs in that division, especially when the mental toughness of your team is questionable at best. And your coach is Wade Phillips.
The key to the Cowboys season begins and ends with the offensive line. And if they throw another stink bomb in Week 2, it may have already ended.
3. Darrelle Revis/Randy Moss
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My favorite stat regarding the clash of the titans coming Sunday between Randy Moss and Darrelle Revis came from ESPN.com's Matthew Berry:
"Moss picked up only 58 total yards combined in two games against the Jets last season. Add in the two games in 2008, and you have a total...a total, mind you, of 106 yards in four games against the Jets."
Sure, Moss has scored twice in those four games, but for all intents and purposes, Revis has owned Moss for the past two seasons.
So you'd think Moss would come into his Week 2 matchup with Revis quietly motivated to prove he hasn't lost a step to the game's best corner.
Well, as all Pats fans found out last Sunday, Randy Moss isn't being quiet about anything this season.
After being provoked by Revis earlier this week, Moss warned Revis to be careful what you wish for, and in the process, made an already important battle for AFC East supremacy even more intriguing.
But if the past indicates future production, Revis might not have so much to be careful about after all.
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2. Brett Favre
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In one of the biggest overreactions of the week, national pundits are up in arms about Brett Favre's struggles last week against New Orleans.
ESPN2's "First Take" program posed the question "Old or Unprepared?" to its panelists. Numerous columnists gave a scathing review of the 40-year-old quarterback's performance.
Fans wondered if the "magic" Favre mentioned during training camp can all be found in Sidney Rice's injured hip.
All these people are forgetting one fundamental fact: Favre struggled early last season, too.
In the first two games of the 2009 season, Favre threw for 265 yards in 48 attempts and took seven sacks.
Even in the infamous San Francisco game Week 3, Favre struggled mightily before his improbable last-second pass to Greg Lewis.
The only difference between this season and last season is that Minnesota's first three games of the season were against Cleveland, Detroit, and San Francisco—not the defending Super Bowl champions.
This week the ol' gunslinger faces a vastly underrated Dolphins defense with the pressure of going 0-2 on his shoulders.
If Minnesota loses this week, the avalanche of overreactions will expand even further.
Even if Minnesota wins in a close game where Favre struggles, members of sports journalism's schadenfreude movement will continue piling on.
Favre has no leeway this season. He has to win and do so brilliantly to escape criticism.
1. Mark Sanchez
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I wrote in my season preview that I wasn't sold on Sanchez's potential to become an elite NFL quarterback.
As a matter of fact, I wasn't even sold on him as a quarterback good enough to lead a multi-talented team to the playoffs.
(Before you mention it, I did happen to call Matt Cassel an "above-average" NFL quarterback. They're not all winners, folks.)
Seventy-four yards passing, two interceptions, and one home loss later, I'm feeling even better about my 7-9 prediction for Broadway Joe 2.0 and his Jets.
All gloating aside, as I was watching the game Monday I couldn't help but think, "Did Sanchez get worse?"
Sure, Shonn Green's abysmal performance didn't help, but all the Jets defense needed was a pedestrian performance from Sanchez to win the game (where he excelled in the 2009 Playoffs), and he failed.
One could credit the Ravens defense or comment on the overall sloppiness of both teams, but Sanchez's "there's nothing wrong with 15-1" comments place the target of this team's success and/or failure squarely on his and brash coach Rex Ryan's back.
I'm still just not sure he can hold the weight.
Week 2 Picks
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Last Week: 8-6-2
Season Record: 8-6-2
Lock of the Week Record: 1-0
Atlanta (-6.5) over Arizona
Miami (+5.5) over Minnesota
Green Bay (-13.5) over Buffalo
Philadelphia (-6) over Detroit
Dallas (-7.5) over Chicago
Carolina (-3.5) over Tampa Bay -- Lock of the Week
Kansas City (+1.5) over Cleveland
Oakland (-3.5) over St. Louis
Baltimore (-2) over Cincinnati
Pittsburgh (+5) over Tennessee
Seattle (+3.5) over Denver
Washington (+3) over Houston
San Diego (-7) over Jacksonville
New England (-3) over NY Jets
Indianapolis (-5) over NY Giants
New Orleans (-6) over San Francisco
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