NFL Week 3

Good points on the Cincy game, Andy.  I like it and like this young scrappy team, but don't think I can fire on them as favorites as of yet.

This week looks like a SNAKE PIT to me.  I don't think in the 8 years I have been seriously wagering on football have I seen a card where I was honestly don't like a single game on the entire card.  The NFL has changed drastically the last few years and I'm starting to wonder if I'm not adequetely adapting.  A wicked postseason run last year kinda shielded the fact that I was pretty much only a hair over .500 for most of last year(which is awful to the standards I have set for myself) and after two weeks this year I find myself exactly at .500.  I am better than that number, but looking at this week's card all I can do is shake my head.

So no early leans, but watched a bunch of short cuts this afternoon so I'm gonna throw out some quick observations I made.....

- The Lions rout was incredibly misleading.  It was one of those "when it rains, it pours" kind of games.  Kansas City played even with Detroit for most of that game.  I would even dare to say they outplayed Detroit quite a bit, but absolutely nothing went right for the Chiefs.   Not to take away anything from the Lions though.  Their defense was scrappy and made stops when they needed and Stafford was on point.  Kid has some fucking arm and he is underrated in how he evades the pressure just enough to extend the play and make a good throw.  Sadly I looked to see who KC was playing so I could hopefully find some value in them after two duds and find them on the road at SD in a game I don't think I can touch.  Another thing.  Does Matt Cassel ever throw a pass without completely staring down his receiver?  He is awful

-  The Colts are not a good football team, but not nearly as bad as they have been perceived to be after just two weeks.  If they didn't shoot themselves in the foot so often, they might be 1-1 right now.  Collins was much more comfortable this last game and made some nice plays.  Indy's offensive line also stood out to me.  They played a really good game and opened up many holes for Addai to run through.  I'm not quite sure if they will be the "automatic fade" that I thought they would be minus Peyton. Of course they are hosting Pittsburgh so it's not the best of spots to jump on them.  Maybe Pitt beats them up, the world sees it, the fans boo them out of the stadium, and it opens up a shot to take them on an inflated line next Monday night at Tampa.  I'm also very interested in how Miami exploits that Cleveland run defense this upcoming week.  They might be a good play if they tick up to +3 by gametime.

-  Wow, the Bears offensive line is bad.  I had a glimmer of hope for my squad after they beat up on a very good Atlanta team in Week 1, and losing to an excellent Saint team on the road is nothing to be embarrassed about, but goddamn were they bad.  Cutler doesn't even have a chance back there.  I know Williams throws some wild blitzes at teams, but this was more than a good coach calling a great game and getting pressure.  I saw Cutler sacked and pressured NUMEROUS times from 3 and 4 man rushes.  Their linemen were just flat out beat in almost every one on one situation and they also put the offense in bad spots with a bunch of holds and false starts.

-  Cam Newton is fucking impressive.  Okay, so he torched the Cards awful D, but how he handled the Packer D was something else.  I don't even think the Packer D is super elite or anything, but I respect Dom Capers brilliance and his gameplan more than the talent on the field, and Newton was up to the task with the exception of a few bad throws that wound up being interceptions.  Those turnovers turned out to be the difference, but even then I don't blame Newton.  The difference was a chain of events that happened in the 1st quarter.  4th and an inch at the 3 yard line up 7-0 and Rivera brings out the FG team.  Total box move.  Then 10-0 a few minutes later and Newton dives into the EZ for a touchdown but was called back on a phantom hold.  They settled for another FG, but that game should have been 17 or 21 zip instead of 13-0.  Back to Newton, his eyes are always downfield, he is making correct reads in coverage, he has the legs to run if all else fails, and his medium to deep balls are very accurate with just the right amount of touch on them.  He has built up a nice relationship with his tight ends so that trust gives him a nice safety net if his receivers aren't open.  I noticed that he does struggle on short to intermediate crossing patterns/outs.  Those are really the only throws that he seems to either miss(missed a WIDE OPEN td pass on an out to LaFell) or he is throwing behind guys.  One other thing is Stewart.  Is there any question right now who the absolute superior RB is on this team?  This might sound silly, but if I was the GM, I would ship DeAngelo the fuck out of there while he is still worth something and cross my fingers J Stew can stay healthy.  Number 95 is a beast as well(can't think of his name).  Guy is everywhere on the field and constantly pressuring the quarterback.

- When are the Bucs gonna drop the milquetoast offensive gameplan and let Freeman do his thing ALL GAME?  He is at his best when behind and playing almost with instinct, rather than trying to work that lame offense the first 40 minutes of a game.