The Bottom Line: NFL Week 2 Thoughts

Here are some of my thoughts after watching Week 2 of the NFL season.

Minnesota Vikings: Is this what Brett Favre came back for? The offense has been out of sync and turnover prone (largely due to Favre). His timing with his receivers is incredibly off, especially since he is without Sydney Rice. See Brett? This is where training camp comes in handy, so you don’t come into the season unprepared and looking like you’re still playing preseason games. The offense has looked pretty bad so far and has managed to put up a total of 19 points this season when they averaged 29 points a game last season. Favre himself has thrown 4 interceptions already this season while he only thre 7 all of last season. Sitting at 0-2 is a little unsettling especially if you look at their upcoming schedule. Following the Week 4 Bye, they have to play the Jets, Cowboys, Packers, and Patriots. To make matters worse, 3 of the 4 are on the road. They could easily find themselves at 1-6 by November 1st. The Bottom Line: The Vikings need to get it together soon or there wont be a postseason for them.

San Francisco 49ers: Even though they are 0-2 the 49ers have to be pleased with their ability to compete witht eh New Orleans Saints on Monday Night. The 49ers thoroughly dominated the Saints in almost all aspects of the game for about 58 minutes and 30 seconds. However, I saw some of the same mistakes by the 49ers offense. Alex Smith needs to play every drive like its a 2 minute drill. He had poise, defense recognition, accuracy, athleticism; he essentially showcased why he was the #1 overall pick in 2005, he just needs to do it more consistently. Gore was an absolute beast in the backfield and in the flats as a receiver, he controlled the Saints defense. The 49ers need to cut down on the turnovers. David Baas’ snap that sailed way over Smith ended in a safety and was a bad start to the game. Smith’s inaccuracy on the dump off to Gore near the Saints 30 yard line was a big blow. Delaney Walker’s fumble at the Saints 8 yard line was an even bigger blow. And Phillip Adams’ muffed punt return at the SF 17 yard line that allowed the Saints to extend their lead to 22-14 may have been the biggest blow. The Bottom Line: The 49ers need to stop shotting themselves in the foot.

Alex Smith seems to finally have a grasp of this offense. Picture courtesy of Getty Images and Yahoo Sports.

Chicago Bears: I’ll admit it, I’m a big believer in Jay Cutler and Mike Martz’s offensive scheme. Martz has the perfect weapons at his disposal: a strong- armed QB, speedy WRs, and a RB that can catch out of the backfield. Sounds kinda like the St. Louis Rams with Kurt Warner, Tory Holt, Isaac Bruce, Az-Zahir Hakim, and Marshall Faulk doesn’t it? Albeit, it is not quite as good but the pieces are there for Martz to succeed as the offensive coordinator. And the result? The Bears are off to a surprising 2-0 start. Not sure how long they can ride their hot-streak, but they have the Packers coming in on Monday night this week, this will be the true test. The Bottom Line: The Bears are for real and don’t be surprised to see them in the playoffs.

Pittsburgh Steelers: All I can say is wow. That Steelers defense is simply amazing. The offense is not turning the ball over and taking what they can get, but the defense is truly leading them so far this season. Last week against the Titans the Steelers had 3 interceptions (2 of which were off Vince Young and led to his benching), forced 7 fumbles and recovered 4 fumbles. The Steelers defense is literally insane and it’s not hard seeing them go 4-0 into their Week 5 Bye and Big Ben’s return. Troy Polamalu and James Harrison are back and have this defense locked in as a unit and they are simply dominating the opposition. The Steelers are poised for another Super Bowl run and it is just scary to think how good they can be once Rothlisberger gets the offense on track. The Bottom Line: The Steelers odds for making the Super Bowl just increased.

The Steelers Defense is just as good as ever. Picture courtesy of the the New York Times.

This is just an opinion…so please Pardon My Bias.