Monday Musings: Seahawks, Broncos look great, but cool it on rematch talk
I call the first Monday of the NFL season "Overreaction Monday."
Nobody is as bad or good as they looked to open the season. But you would be hard-pressed to find many out there who would argue that one weekend in, it looks like we are headed for a Super Bowl rematch. After the first 14 games of the season, who doesn't think it will be Denver and Seattle?
Last Thursday, Seattle opened defense of its Super Bowl victory with a pounding of Green Bay, a team that also is considered a Super Bowl contender. They made it look easy.
Then Sunday night, the Denver Broncos beat the Indianapolis Colts, jumping to a 24-0 lead en route to a 31-24 victory that got a little tight at the end thanks to some careless fourth-quarter play.
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Seattle blew out Denver in the Super Bowl in February, but this Denver team is much better than the one that showed up that day, despite the fourth-quarter collapse against the Colts.
Here's why:
• The offensive line has Ryan Clady back at left tackle, which means the pass rush will be held off better than it was in the Super Bowl. Chris Clark has moved from the left side to the right side and Orlando Franklin is now at left guard.
• In addition to Clady, corner Chris Harris, outside linebacker Von Miller and safety Rahim Moore, three more starters who missed the Super Bowl, are back. Miller didn't do much against the Colts, but he's coming off an ACL injury.
• They've added some key pieces on defense, including defensive end DeMarcus Ware, who had 1 1/2 sacks of Andrew Luck on Sunday night. Corner Aqib Talib and safety T.J. Ward also helped fortify the defense. Emmanuel Sanders adds speed to the offense. Talib helped Denver do a nice job on T.Y. Hilton against the Colts.
• Growth of young players. Tight end Julius Thomas, with three touchdowns against the Colts, looks even better than a year ago when he had his breakout season. On defense, Malik Jackson and Sylvester Williams look much better on that line.
• Peyton Manning. He just gets better as he gets older. Manning threw the three touchdown passes and didn't get picked against the Colts. He also didn't get sacked until late in the game, which is a good sign after the pressure he got in the Super Bowl.
So one week in, it looks like Denver and Seattle are on a collision course to a rematch.
Of course, we know better. There's so much football to be played and assuming that would just fall in line with "Overreaction Monday."
More musings
• I hated to hear that Texans LB Jadeveon Clowney would miss 4-6 weeks after tearing his meniscus against the Redskins. Clowney was expected to provide a nice second option to J.J. Watt in terms of the pass rush. Watt, by the way, was all over the field against Washington. He had a sack, two tackles for loss, a fumble recovery and a blocked extra point -- and spent the day in the Redskins' backfield. He is worth that $100 million contract, that's for sure. It will be tougher without Clowney.
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• Have to give credit to Bills quarterback EJ Manuel. After a terrible preseason, he had a solid game in helping Buffalo upset Chicago. Manuel completed 16 of 22 passes for 173 yards with one passing TD and a rushing score. Those aren't gaudy numbers, but he was efficient and after his preseason, it had to be better.
EJ Manuel is efficient in an upset of the Bears in Chicago. (USATSI)
• Chad Henne made a few nice throws for the Jacksonville Jaguars early on, but his second half against the Eagles wasn't very good. And that's the problem. The Jaguars had chances to add to their surprising lead, but had so much trouble moving the ball in the second half. Henne really struggled on third down. In fairness to him, his line isn't very good and he had two rookie receivers starting. But he has to be better than he was in the second half. The Jaguars have to go to Blake Bortles sooner rather than later.
• The Bengals had to be happy to see Wallace Gilberry get 1 1/2 sacks on the final two plays of their victory against Baltimore. Gilberry, who took over as right end when Michael Johnson signed with Tampa Bay, dropped Joe Flacco on third down and then combined with blitzing safety Reggie Nelson to dump him on fourth down. Gilberry is a classic try-hard player who has turned himself from a practice-squad player into an impact defender.
• Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton got off to a good start against Baltimore, throwing for 301 yards and a 77-yard game-winning score to A.J. Green. The ball was perfectly thrown in stride to Green, who bobbled it before gathering it in and running in for the touchdown. The Bengals showed a lot of different stuff under new coordinator Hue Jackson, including having Dalton run the option and pitch it. The loss of tight end Tyler Eifert (elbow) will hurt the offense, but there is still a lot of talent.
• How good is Vikings receiver Cordarrelle Patterson? He had 176 all-purpose yards against the Rams, but only 26 of that came on catches. He had 102 rushing yards, including 35 on two jet sweeps and 67 on a touchdown run on a pitch. Patterson is big, strong and fast. In a year, he might be in the mix to be considered one of the best in the NFL.
Cordarrelle Patterson racks up 102 rushing yards against the vaunted Rams defense. (USATSI)
• I know Eagles quarterback Nick Foles got it going in the second half against Jacksonville, but he looked unsettled in the first half. That has to be concerning for the Eagles. He lost two fumbles and threw a horrible end-zone pick. He seemed to be holding the ball way too long in the pocket. He did hit some big plays in the second half thanks to busts in the Jacksonville secondary, but he really struggled to get it going. He did bounce back, which is a good sign.
• Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan was sensational against the Saints, throwing for a career-best 448 yards as the Falcons rolled up 568 yards of total offense. Ryan had pressure on a lot of his throws, but did a great job of climbing the pocket to make throws. It's time Ryan starts getting the due he deserves for being a top quarterback, no matter what his playoff record.
• What happened to that New Orleans defense? Jairus Byrd, their top free-agent addition, made a nice play to punch out the ball on a Julio Jones fumble, but he whiffed on a bunch of tackles. As a whole, the Saints' tackling was terrible.
• Saints rookie receiver Brandin Cooks will be a star. He is fast, quick and knows how to run routes. He had 77 receiving yards and a touchdown against the Falcons.
• I think LaRon Landry is a liability in the back end for the Colts. He can't cover. He doesn't move laterally well enough. He should spend less time lifting weights and more time working on his footwork.
• Minnesota's Everson Griffen had two sacks against the Rams. The Vikings opted to pay him and let Jared Allen walk. Allen, who signed with the Bears, had one tackle against the Bills. Advantage: Griffen.
• Joe Flacco threw it 62 times for Baltimore. He can't throw that much if the Ravens are to win consistently.
• Big props to the Miami pass rush. Cameron Wake had two sacks and two forced fumbles and the Dolphins had two other sacks. They really got after Tom Brady. In Wake and Olivier Vernon, the Dolphins have two nice edge rushers.
Cameron Wake's two forced fumbles are critical in a Dolphins win over the Pats. (USATSI)
• The Patriots have to be really concerned with how their two lines played against the Dolphins. They were mauled up front on the offensive line and they got pushed around on the defensive line. That's not a good thing.
• The Chiefs have the look of a five-win team -- at best. And now they lost defensive tackle Mike Devito and linebacker Derrick Johnson to ruptured Achilles tendons for possibly the season. It's bad.
• Smart man, that Alex Smith, for signing that deal before the season. The Chiefs will struggle. Smith didn't look good against the Titans, either. He was picked three times.
• Maybe Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt is the quarterback whisperer. He has had great success with quarterbacks like Ben Roethlisberger and Kurt Warner in the past, and he has Jake Locker off to a good start. Locker threw for 266 yards, two touchdowns and no picks against the Chiefs. He was impressive.
• The way Josh McCown played for Tampa Bay, can it be long before Mike Glennon takes over? I know McCown got it going a bit late, but he was dreadful through three quarters. You are what you are in this league, and he is a journeyman. It's cruel, but true.
• I still can't believe the Packers didn't challenge Richard Sherman at all last Thursday. He's a great corner, but why not go after him some? It makes no sense. I get that thought that the better matchup was on the other side with Jordy Nelson matched against Byron Maxwell, but you have to challenge Sherman. Nelson was lined up on the right only twice in the game. By using this strategy, Green Bay allowed safety Earl Thomas to cheat over to Nelson's side a bunch. The Packers didn't even look to the right at Jarrett Boykin against Sherman. That's just dumb.
• Seattle's offensive line is really improved. Left guard James Carpenter mauled Mike Daniels, who is a rising player for the Packers. Right guard J.R. Sweezy is also much better than a year ago. What was projected to be a weak spot might turn into a strength for the Seahawks.
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