NFL Week 2 Recap

Just a few of the stories from the second week of the NFL season that jumped out and grabbed me.

Kolb gets the nod for week 3

1. The QB Carousel
It's turning all right. The Carolina Panthers have demoted Matt Moore for rookie Golden Domer Jimmy Clausen. The Philadelphia Eagles are going back to Kevin Kolb despite the fact that Michael Vick played well in both games. The Buffalo Bills are benching Trent Edwards for Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Oakland Raiders have not made an announcement yet if they're staying with Jason Campbell or turning to Bruce Gradkowski for next week's game.

Update: Reid fooled all of us. Well, I took him at his word when he said Kolb was the guy after Vick led the Eagles to a win over the Lions. He has named Vick as the starter.

2. Two early Super Bowl favorites are struggling at 0-2
The Dallas Cowboys were simply outplayed by the Chicago Bears Sunday. No other way to look at that game. After the week 1 debacle in Washington and the home loss to the Bears, the players held a "player's only" meeting. I question the offensive leadership here. There's no one player I can look at and confidently say he's the one guy.
The Minnesota Vikings could be 2-0 if the offense had shown up. And is it me or does Brett Favre look a little disinterested? He stated a reason he considered not playing this season is because of losing. Yes, I chuckled at that one.

Rackers celebrates his OT win

3. The Houston Texans
Everything appears in order for Gary Kubiak's team...except for the porous pass defense. Granted, they faced Peyton Manning in week 1, but allowing Donovan McNabb and the rather unimpressive receiving corps of the Washington Redskins to also accumulate over 400 yards of pass offense is difficult to comprehend. Still, they beat Indy, a thorn in their side, in week 1 and overcoming a 17-point deficit in week 2 speaks to the heart of this team. And they won with a field goal by Neil Rackers. Reminds me a tad of a team from last year that won it all. Explosive offense and opportunistic defense.

4. This year's Saints is not the Saints of 2009
The defense has been solid. It's the offense that has me confused. Where's the explosiveness? Have opponents already figured out Sean Payton and his play calling? Has Drew Brees already lost that "touch"? Have the Saints already lost that luster off of last season?

Lewis' postgame rant was not becoming
of a champ

5. Ray Lewis
I understand Lewis' frustration in the Ravens 15-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. The rules for quarterback "protection" do seem ridiculous, but unless you hear the opposing QB actually whine and/or cry to officials, don't bring it up. Don't bring their paycheck into it either. And for the love of the NFL, do not compare the game of football to a war. Others (Kellen Winslow, Jr. just to name one) have been severely criticized for similar comparisons in the past. Football is a game, war is not. Sounds contrite, but it's true. Look, I'll listen to Ray Lewis talk at any time and that is coming from a guy that lives an hour from Cincy. Your beef, Mr. Lewis, is with the NFL, not your opponents.

6. San Francisco 49ers
Many experts thought the Niners would practically run away with this division. They're luck it's so poor or they could be two games behind. They did play New Orleans last night, but they did dig their our hole in that game with turnovers. QB Alex Smith did impress on the last drive, but what else?

7. The Undefeateds
Green Bay, Chicago, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, Miami, Pittsburgh, Houston, Kansas City
Only two weeks in and only 25% percent of the teams are prefect. The biggest surprise to me is Kansas City. No offense at all. Half of their TDs (4) are either by the defense or special teams.

8. The Winless
Buffalo, Cleveland, Dallas, Minnesota, Detroit, Carolina, St. Louis, San Francisco
The 25% percent rears its ugly head here. The biggest surprise here has to be Dallas. Maybe I bought into the preseason hype too much. Two winnable games went by the wayside. Now, they venture to Houston.