NFL Week 2

-Manning Bowl II: A classic nail-biter, it wasn't. A reminder of how good the Colts can be when they get rolling, it certainly was. This was a statement win for Indianapolis. All week, their players have been hearing a smorgasbord of the following: the Colts can't defend the run, they're soft, they can't run the football, they are over-reliant on Peyton Manning, their offensive line is poor, etc., etc. During one the pregame shows, ESPN pundit Keyshawn Johnson repeatedly maintained that after watching hours of game film, he believed the Colts era was coming to an end.

Don't be making plans for the funeral just yet, Keyshawn.

The Colts first statement of the night was to score a rushing touchdown (a 7 yard run by Donald Brown) on their opening drive. Indy's defense went on to make a number of statements: harnassing the Giants running game, continuously pressuring Eli Manning and causing turnovers.

The elder Manning is long through with having to make any statements, but he went 20 of 26 for 255 yards and three touchdowns on the night just for the heck of it. The game was as good as over by halftime, with the Colts up 24-0.

The victory once again demonstrated the strength of the Indianapolis Colts franchise. It seems that every time the media starts asking questions of them or sniffs out some perceived vulnerability, the Colts respond well and deliver a performance that reminds us of why they have been at or near the top of the AFC for so long.

-Two high profile quarterbacks struggling = Two traditional NFC powerhouses start 0-2. Let's start with Brett Favre (I heard somewhere that he likes top billing). After looking shaky last week in the Thursday night season-opener against the Saints, Favre had a day to forget against Miami: tossing three picks, losing a fumble (which was returned for a touchdown) and throwing two incompletions on fourth down for two more turnovers.

Until he starts winning some games, the questions are going to continue rain down about his age, his desire and quite simply if he still has it. The bad news for Minnesota is that they have very little in terms of a backup plan at quarterback: they are going to live and die with Favre under center this season. I wonder, I just wonder if they might be starting to kick themselves for passing on Carolina rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen with the 34th pick of the 2010 draft.

Meanwhile, in Dallas, the season has been all about missed opportunities. Just as they did in their opener, the Cowboys got into promising positions time and again, but failed to convert those opportunities into maximum points. There was the David Buehler missed field goal from 44 yards, the Roy Williams fumble and the two Tony Romo interceptions. Romo did end up throwing for almost 400 yards on the day but came up short in the business end of the game.

Both the Vikings and the Cowboys have a decent shot at winning next week against the Lions and at the Texans respectively, but if either of them don't, the alarm bells will be doing more than ringing.

-Last season, it was the Jets defense that had everyone talking. This season, the Steelers defense is back, in a big way. Where do you want to start? Holding the league's best running back to 34 yards on 16 carries? Brutalizing Vince Young to the point where Jim Fisher felt forced to bench him?Laying big hit after big hit on the Titans playmakers? Nah, let's go with turnovers. Pittsburgh forced six of them against Tennessee (and a seventh on special teams): three interceptions and three fumbles. When the Steelers D plays like that, led by safety Troy Polamalu and linebacker James Harrison, they become Pittsburgh's best offense, regardless of who they have at quarterback.

-How about those Buccaneers? They may not have beaten two of the league's best teams, but still, who had them starting 2-0? I certainly didn't. Tampa Bay owes its emergence to:

a) The continued improvement of second-year quarterback Josh Freeman who may only be completing a little over 55% of his passes this season (29 of 52) but has a 4-1 TD to interception ratio through two games.
b) Its rookie wide receiver Mike Williams, who already has two touchdown grabs for the Bucs.

Still, their winning record could very well be history sooner rather than later as they face the Steelers, the Bengals and the Saints in their next three games. But for the moment, Tampa Bay should enjoy the rarefied air at the top.

-A mostly “Darelle-Revis-less” Jets secondary holds up well against the Patriots passing attack. When Revis left the game with a tight hamstring and New York trailing New England 14-7, it appeared that Tom Brady might have a great opportunity to really get rolling. Instead Antonio Cromartie, rookie Kyle Wilson, backup safety Brodney Pool and co. shut Brady down. They intercepted him twice, and covered Randy Moss and Wes Welker brilliantly: the two star receivers had only one catch between them in the second half.

On the other side of the ball, the Jets offense avoided mistakes and, thanks to big days from the rejuvenated Ladanian Tomlinson, the rejuvenated Braylon Edwards, and Mark Sanchez, scored the points that they couldn't last week in Baltimore.

-Rookie Performance of the Week: Against the Eagles, Lions running back Jahvid Best ran like the player who terrorized Pac-10 defenses for the last two seasons. Best was effective both running and receiving the ball: rushing for 78 yards and two touchdowns and catching 9 passes for 154 yards and another TD, on this beaut of a play.

-Play of the Week: Randy Moss doing what he does best.

-Ridiculous Play of the Week: Bounce, bounce, bounce....

-Five Quick Hits:

1/If you like comebacks and you like offense, you better have been watching the Redskins-Texans overtime thriller. There were 947 yards of total offense in the game of the season to date, as Houston overcame a 27-10 deficit late in the third quarter to win on a Neil Rackers kick..

2/ Graham Gano, you just got iced.

3/ I don't how Andy Reid is going to keep both his promise to Kevin Kolb and the fans in Philadelphia happy.

4/ Clay Matthews once had to walk on to the USC football team. Today, the second-year outside Packers linebacker leads the NFL in sacks with six, three of which came Sunday against Buffalo. He's going to have a big, big year.

5/ Thank you Derek Anderson for proving my interception prediction true (Twice). Could the Max Hall era really start in Arizona before the winter kicks in?

Picking NFL Week 2

How I did last weekend: 8-8

Rustier than Brett Favre's throwing arm.

Record on the season so far: 8-8

Don't be taking any of these picks to the bookies just yet.

Steelers at Titans: I don't have anything against Chris Johnson – he's undoubtedly one of the league's most exciting players – but I think he's dreaming if he really thinks he can have a 2,500 yard season. Even if he avoids injury and plays in every game, he's going to have to average 156.25 rushing yards per game. That means his vintage performance last week against the Raiders (142 rushing yards at an average of 5.3 yards per carry and 2 TDs) isn't good enough. The Steelers linebackers will help him rein in his targets a little. Steelers.

Ravens at Bengals: Watching Baltimore's opener, it appeared that Joe Flacco may finally have enough receiving weapons to regularly convert in obvious passing situations, something he hasn't had over the course his professional career so far. That's bad news for the division rivals Bengals who beat the Ravens twice last season. Meanwhile Cincinnati is in a slump: they haven't won against a good team since they overcame the Steelers in week 10 of last season. They need a W in a game like this one. Ravens.

Eagles at Lions: The battle of the backup QBs? If Kevin Kolb isn't cleared to play from his concussion, that's what this game will be. Even with 19 months of prison time under his belt, I'd still take Michael Vick over Shaun Hill any day (what an un-PC thing to say...apologies). After a poor preseason, Vick flashed the dual-threat ability that made him an NFL superstar while leading an Eagles fightback against the Packers last week. Should he produce another good individual performance, the Eagles faithful will be calling for the Kolb experiment to end though it has barely begun. Eagles.

Cardinals at Falcons: Derek Anderson shredded the Rams secondary for almost 300 yards last weekend, but he completed only 22 of 41 passes. I'm not buying Anderson stock just yet. I think Mr. Consistently Inconsistent throws at least one pick against Atlanta. Falcons.

Dolphins at Vikings: Miami always seems to be involved in close games: they don't earn many style points in victory (as evidenced by their uninspiring 15-10 victory over Buffalo last week) but they rarely get blown out either. Minnesota's current offensive frailties will keep this game close also, but Adrian Peterson is due a monster day and he'll deliver against the Dolphins. Vikings.

Chiefs at Browns: The Chiefs had a big win against San Diego last Monday. But I remember a similar win at home against the Steelers in week 11 of 2009. I jumped on the Kansas City bandwagon after that one, only to see them lose five straight games. What's that famous George W. Bush quote? “Fool me once...Shame on...Shame on you....You fool me, you can't get fooled again.” Point is Matt Cassel 's disappointing day (10 of 22 passes for 68 yards) was well disguised by some big special teams and defensive plays. I think the Browns will expose his lack of progress as the signal caller in Kansas City. Browns.

Buccaneers at Panthers: Big test for rookie defensive tackles Gerald McCoy and Brian Price. The two new starters will be charged with stopping two fuming running backs in DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, who each rushed for 1100+ yards last year but were held to 74 yards on 21 carries between them in week 1. Panthers.

Bills at Packers: If you have any doubt as to who is going to win this game, then you haven't been watching Aaron Rodgers run the Green Bay offense over the last twelve months. Packers.

Bears at Cowboys: Neither Chicago nor Dallas set the world alight in week 1. The Bears needed a controversial no-catch call to overcome the Lions, while the Cowboys played mistake-full football on route to being upset by the Redskins. Julius Peppers will be licking his chops at the prospect of facing the Cowboys porous/ hold-happy offensive line, and if the Bears can limit the damage done by Dallas receiver Miles Austin (easier said than done: he had 10 catches, 146 yards and a TD last week), they could win in Jerry's house. Cowboys.

Seahawks at Broncos: New Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll looked like his boisterous, energetic, USC self last Sunday and his players were loving every minute of it. How Carroll manages his team in moments of adversity, however, will be the true test of whether he succeeds in his return to the world of professional coaching. Playing on the road against a team that desperately doesn't want to lose its sixth straight regular season game (dating back to last December) could provide a first taste of adversity. Broncos.

Rams at Raiders: Way to ease your new franchise quarterback into the fray, Steve Spagnuolo. 55 pass attempts in Sam Bradford's first regular season start? You gotta be kidding me! Only Peyton Manning threw more passes in week 1. The bad news from Bradford's debut: the three picks he threw. The good news: he completed 58% of those passes and looked cool and collected out there. The best news: if he stays healthy, he's only going to get better. Raiders.

Jaguars at Chargers: David Garrard looked sharp in Jacksonville's opener, but I just can't see the Chargers slipping up at home when a 0-2 record is on the line. Chargers.

Patriots at Jets: New York's All-World cornerback Darelle Revis has been grabbing headlines (again), this time with a sore left hamstring that held him out of some practices during the week. But the Jets cornerback who should really be under pressure against the Patriots is Antonio Cromartie on the other side of the field. The Ravens picked on Cromartie last week, throwing pass after pass in his direction. He did intercept one, but he also gave up a lot of yardage. Now he faces the slippery Wes Welker, Brady's favorite third down target, who looked to be back to his best against Cincinnati. New York's offense struggles to keep pace with New England's. Patriots.

Texans at Redskins: You don't go and blow all the momentum gained from finally getting the better your longtime nemesis (as Houston did against Indianapolis last weekend) by losing the following week to a “work in progress” team like the Redskins. The game's two key match-ups: Texans running back Arian Foster against the Redskins defensive front seven and Houston Pro Bowl defensive end Mario Williams versus Washington rookie left tackle Trent Williams. The Texans win both. Texans.

Giants at Colts: Manning Bowl 2: Peyton vs Eli. Peyton got the better of the brothers' first professional encounter, leading the Colts to a 26-21 victory back in 2006. This time around, Peyton needs to win again to prevent the Colts from slipping to an 0-2 start for the first time since his rookie season in 1998. The Giants will try and test the Colts run defense, which is clearly one of their biggest weaknesses, as showcased by the Texans game. However New York's running game isn't as strong as Houston's. I expect both quarterbacks to get 30 to 40 passing attempts and you always like Peyton in a shootout situation; especially against his snot-nosed little bro. Colts.

Saints at 49ers: San Francisco suffered a major implosion last week in Seattle, casting serious doubt over their ability to be the cream of the NFC West crop. This Monday night game is a great chance for them to have a statement win by beating the Superbowl champs in front of their home fans and a national TV audience. Mike Singletary will have his team fired up that's for sure; if their defensive leader Patrick Willis doesn't lay someone out with a big hit by the end of the first quarter, I'd be very surprised. This game will be close, but until I actually see more out of the San Francisco offense in a non-preseason situation, I just can't pick them over New Orleans. Saints.