Scouting Notebook: Vick clicks

The Week 2 Scouting Notebook has some apologies and regrets – as is normal this time of year – but we also hold firm on some summer calls that were well outside the mainstream.

While I can claim some sort of victory in forecasting that teams will contain Michael Vick's(notes) running with a week to prepare, the broader point was that Vick couldn't throw. And the Vick we last saw could not. But you can't deny his impressive passing since replacing Kevin Kolb(notes). And his chemistry with DeSean Jackson(notes) has been great. Maybe he needed to be in a system like Andy Reid's. I know the company line is that Kolb is still the QB. But that can't happen. If it does, Reid loses this team and probably his job.

The "Brandon Jackson(notes): Feature Back" story seams headed for a rewrite. Not only was his production sub-pedestrian (even accepting the gift TD plunge), he received only 11 of 20 carries (former fullback now one-back John Kuhn(notes) got the others) before the garbage time began. This is another instance of not being able to believe everything coaches say. But ignoring what they say doesn't make sense either. Jackson was bettable, but there never are any guarantees.

LaDainian Tomlinson(notes) is the big fantasy story for the Jets. While I did expect him to get lots of action at Shonn Greene's(notes) expense and never would have paid close to a market price for Greene this draft season, Tomlinson has shocked me by looking vintage. He's defying the rules on carries and age thus far. In retrospect, this should not shock because truly great players like Tomlinson defy rules by definition. He's also clearly the Jets short yardage/goal-line back due to his leaping ability. The injury risk is greater due to the miles, I guess, but Tomlinson has never been seriously injured.

It was reported in the Buffalo News this summer that C.J. Spiller(notes) would get 20 touches per game. Through two games, he has 15. He needs about 30 a game to do anything in that offense. Trent Edwards(notes) isn't going to make it. Most don't.

Joe Flacco(notes) futures are trading low right now, too. Why has everyone seen a future star in the making? His career upside is Kerry Collins(notes). When has he ever shown any star quality over even consecutive weeks, never mind the requisite months and years.

The Dolphins offense was just pitiful. Chad Henne(notes) can't get anything going with any receivers. What is the Dolphins A-game when push comes to shove? The Wildcat? That's a gimmick. Their running game without the trickery is ordinary at best. Henne is in his third year, so the time is now to unleash him if he's unleashable. Sunday night against the Jets is not going to work out.

I believe age has little to do with Brett Favre's(notes) current struggles. We've seen this bad Favre before. Here are some full-season TD/INT ratios: 19/24 (1993), 22/23 (1999), 20/25 (2005), 22/22 (2008). This is going to be one of those turnover-prone years that pop up with Favre with alarming frequency considering his lock Hall of Fame status.

Teams look at backs like Jamaal Charles(notes) and see that sub-200-pound size and say, "change-of-pace." It's stupid. We know Charles can do it because he only had the best final four-game rushing total in the history of the NFL. But betting on coaches to mismanage running backs by deferring to experience and more prototypical size is safe. The fact that the Chiefs are 2-0 will also convince Todd Haley that there's nothing wrong with these running splits (22 carries for Thomas Jones(notes) to 11 for Charles). So suck it up Charles owners, this was always a strong possibility given the Chiefs' offseason.

Jay Cutler(notes) and Mike Martz are hitting it off a lot better than Matt Cassel(notes) and Charlie Weis.

Felix Jones(notes) isn't going to pick up where he left off in January. That doesn't make sense considering that Marion Barber(notes) has been an ordinary runner at best for two years. Note too that Jones is actually bigger, faster and better than Barber. Don't cut Jones given that some serious offensive shakeups are in order in Dallas. The Cowboys offensive line is a joke.

Michael Turner(notes) was cleared to go back into the game, had it been contested. The standard advice is for Turner owners to "handcuff Jason Snelling(notes)." But if you haven't yet, you can't now. Paying a premium for insurance never works out.

As for Matt Moore(notes), QBs just can't be allowed to play the week after any concussion. Ben Roethlisberger(notes) tried it against the Raiders a few years ago and threw four picks. It's hard enough to play QB without cobwebs clogging your thinking.

Jeff Fisher showed again that he has never believed in Vince Young(notes) and never will. I once believe and now do not. So I'm with Fisher I guess.

Demaryius Thomas(notes) is making a name for himself, which isn't helpful for rookie receivers – even ones as big and fast as him. Safeties will rotate to his side because no one else on the Broncos scares you. And Knowshon Moreno(notes) is still terrible (2.1 yards per carry).

Donovan McNabb(notes) owners were very frustrated seeing his long passes result in cheap Clinton Portis(notes) TDs. Buy McNabb because Mike Shanahan knows how to get guys wide open deep downfield. (McNabb also overthrew a wide open Joey Galloway(notes) by a half of foot on a would-be 60-plus yard TD that would have iced the game in the fourth quarter.) The big question on the Texans side is: Buy Kevin Walter(notes)? He had six catches and his TD after the score was 27-10 in the fourth quarter. I'd be selling if I was able to pick him up as a free agent this week.

Very disappointed in some lower-level wideouts that I thought would rise in 2010 – Legedu Naanee(notes) did not follow up on his good Week 1 and Pierre Garcon(notes) disappeared after the game's first drive after a tough first week despite 75 receiving yards. Both had one catch. Garcon was still on the field in two-WR packages though. So hold him. I'm also holding firm on my prediction that Naanee will be a top 30 wideout, but reasonable minds may differ, I now concede.

Michael Salfino writes for the Wall Street Journal and is a regular contributor to Yahoo! Sports.