TMQB

Three teams sit atop the AFC East at 2-0.

Week 2 of the NFL has come and gone, and like every year, what you are seeing now will surely be forgotten as the weeks go on.  Are the Buffalo Bills for real?  Or have they benefitted from playing two bad teams right out of the gate?  We will find out where they stand this Sunday when they take on the Patriots, who are definitely for real.  Brady is on pace to destroy the single season passing yard record set by Dan Marino.  He will come back to earth eventually…..right?  Only problem is, he set the bar so high in his first two games, throwing for a mere 330 yds and two TD’s may be a disappointment.

Anyone remember what team started off 2-0 last season?  Hopes were high in Miami last season after week 2 and rightly so.  They went on the road and beat the Bills, then followed that up with another road win against Farve and the Vikings.  How did that turn out?  I’m not completely sold on the Bills yet, but congratulations to them for taking care of business in games they should win.

The Patriots took care of a tough San Diego team at home.  Brady threw for 423 yds and 3 TD’s against a San Diego team many have going to the Super Bowl, including myself.  San Diego had plenty of chances to win that game on Sunday, but shot themselves in both feet and fell 14 points short.  The Patriot defense has plenty of holes, only problem is, their offense (with an offensive line that seemed to be built overnight mind you), doesn’t.  How is it they can built a line in a week and it has taken Miami over two years to build a line that doesn’t even come close to theirs?

The Jets took care of business at home by completely dominating the Jacksonville Jaguars.  They really didn’t have a chance in this one.  The Jets defense held the Jags to 203 total yards, had 2 sacks, a safety, and 4 picks.  Mark Sanchez threw 2 picks himself and also added 182 yards and 2 touchdowns.  That defense played the way a top defense is supposed to play, something that can’t be said  for the team that sits at the bottom of the division at 0-2, the Miami Dolphins.

The Miami Dolphins failed to win at home once again, losing 23-13 to the Houston Texans.  The game went like most Miami games have went during the current 1-11 home UGLY streak.  The offense failed to score in the redzone, the defense gave up a big play at a crucial time, the other team forced turnovers, the Dolphins didn’t.  This is getting so old.  The sad thing is, I almost missed this game.

I live in New Mexico, so the only way I can get my heart broken when the Dolphins aren’t playing in prime time is to order the Sunday Ticket from Directv.  So I switched to the channel the game was supposed to be on, and the Bills are playing the Raiders.  So I’m thinking, ok, they’ll switch over right before kickoff.  Well….they didn’t.  I got that vaunted message in the bottom right corner of the screen, ‘The game is not available on this channel, searching for available channel.’  If a channel wasn’t found, I would have felt sorry for whoever answered the phone at Directv.  A channel was found, but it was regional coverage since they were playing Houston.  So I switched to that channel, little did I know I would begin to feel the mysery I was going to feel for the rest of the afternoon.  I had to watch Buffalo finish off their dramatic comeback against the Raiders.  Ryan Fitzpatrick did what Miami fans can only dream about seeing from Chad Henne and the Miami Dolphins.  He led his team to victory in the 4th quarter, and took the Bills to 2-0.

The Dolphin game finally came on with about 8 minutes left in the first quarter.  I was pissed I had to miss any of the game due to the price I pay every year to make sure I don’t miss a snap, but at least it was on now, and I could relax a little, a very little.

Despite holding the Texans to two field goals on their first 2 possesions, the defense gave up 115 yards, and the Texans held the ball for over 9 minutes.  That spelled bad news for a defense that less than a week ago showed how out of shape they were.  The offense didn’t help them out too much either.  3 and out for -6 yards on their first possession.  They managed a FG on their 2nd possession.  They moved the ball well but stalled deep in Texan territory, only holding the ball for 3:13.

When is this team going to figure out how to score touchdowns?  Why hasn’t anyone figured it out yet?  Two more trips deep into Houston territory led to two missed fieldgoals.  Miami went into halftime down 16-3, and had to be doubting themselves after the missed opportunities to be leading this game.  No wonder the defense has been playing bad, think they aren’t sick of watching the offense continue to not get the job done?  Then to top it off they had to watch Dan Carpenter miss two fieldgoals he usually makes.

There was still hope in the second half.  They pulled within 6 of Houston in the 3rd quarter, the offense was doing well behind the running of Daniel Thomas, who was making his NFL debut.  He did have a fumble in the game, but you can’t be upset with the 107 yards on 18 carries.  He ran well, and will surely get the bulk of the carries against Cleveland, especially since the Dolphins cut Larry Johnson for the 2nd time in about 2 weeks.

Miami managed to get within 3 early in the 4th quarter, then things fell apart.  The communication, or lack there off led to the best receiver in the NFL getting wide open for a touchdown.  The offense had no answer and Henne couldn’t lead his team to victory in the 4th quarter.  The Dolphins found a way to lose at home like they have over 1-11 streak.

During the game, it was the same old story, the Dolphins had a chance to win, but found a way to not get it done.  This team just doesn’t have it figured out, they don’t know how to win games late.  After the game, it was the same old story.  Coach Sparano talked about all the good things that took place, how the team has gotten better, blah blah blah.  Is anyone else tired of hearing this crap?  I don’t want to hear it anymore.  The fact is the Miami Dolphins are 0-2, and their next three games are on the road against teams that beat them last year.  Why not rip this team for finding a way to lose?  No, coach Sparano has too much respect for his players he won’t say anything bad about them in public.  Instead he fills our ears with how they are going to go back to work and continue to get better.  How when he watched the tape he saw a lot of positive things the team can build on.  I’m not sure what tape is getting watched, but the games I watch are filled with the same mistakes over and over again. When is all this hard work and positives the coach saw going to start to equal wins?  How much longer do we have to hear it before we start seeing results?  Well it better start fast or Sparano could end up getting canned during the bye week.  Now, on to the rankings……

32 Kansas City Chiefs  (27).  Despite the start, Hailey’s seat isn’t as hot as Sparano’s.

31 Seattle Seahawks  (32).  They got shutout and moved up a spot!!

30 Indianapolis Colts (30).  Prime time against Pittsburgh…oh boy.

29 Jacksonville Jaguars (26).  Bring on the rookie.

28 Cincinnati Bengals (28).  Close but yet so far away.

27 Carolina Panthers (31).  Newton is setting rookie passing records?

26 Denver Broncos (23).  Barely beat the Bengals at home.

25 San Francisco 49ers (24).  They broke Romo’s ribs, but he broke their hearts.

24 Cleveland Browns (29).  Lost to the Bengals, beat the Colts, that would be puzzling any other year.

23 Minnesota Vikings (21).  AP can’t do it all.

22 Tennessee Titans (25).  If Chris Johnson ever shows this team could be scary.

21 Miami Dolphins (14).  In a must win in week 3.

20 Oakland Raiders (22).  This team will be a pain in everyone’s neck.

19 St. Louis Rams (18).  Showed how injured they are.

18 Tampa Bay Bucaneers (20).  They too have a young QB who can get it done in the 4th quarter.

17 Buffalo Bills (19).  Finally face a true test this week.

16 New York Giants (17).  This team suffered more injuries in the win……..or did they?

15 Arizona Cardinals (16).  They played tough despite the loss at Washington.

14 Washington Redskins (15).  They are targeting Romo’s ribs.

13 Chicago Bears (13).  Cutler is still trying to get away from Saints defense.

12 Dallas Cowboys (12).  They will struggle if Romo can’t play.

11 Detroit Lions (11).  Could this be the year?

10 Atlanta Falcons (10).  There’s a team that knows how to win at home.

9 Pittsburgh (8).  First Seattle then Indy, what a life.

8 New York Jets (9).  Defense still picking off passes.

7 Baltimore Ravens (5).  They must have celebrated a little too long after beating the Steelers.

6 Philadelphia Eagles (4).  How does Andy Reid keep finding quarterbacks?

5 San Diego chargers (3).  They get to host the Chiefs next, then Miami.

4 Houston Texans (7).  After playing Indy and Miami, their defense is ranked #1 in the NFL.

3 New Orleans Saints (6).  Game of the week against the Texans.

2 New England Patriots (2).  Dan Marino is throwing darts at a picture of Tom Brady.

1 Green Bay Packers (1).  Watched the Cam show for awhile, then decided to put it on them.

Phins Up!

BEL